The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1908-10-30

n. D., FRID.
Hired Man does not show that even one
bill was ever smothered by this COM
mlttee, it does not need further notice.
NOT ON JUDICIARY COMMITTEE.
But that awful judiciary graveyard
presided over by Mr.. Little, "and of
which Mr.. LaMoure was generally a
member" Let us see again. Mr.. La
Moure was not member of that CON-
mittee IN either 1897, 1899, or 1907. He
was a member in 1901, 1903, and 1905.
"Generally" with the Hired Man seems
to means shalt"
ONE MORE THAN 13.
Again Mr.. Hired Man gives us some
new parliamentary law as to the pow
ers of single members of committee.
Such could force chairman, whose duty
1T is to report bills by order of the ma
jority of the committee, to report bills.
Certainly Mr.. LaMoure must have been
a power, that as minority of one in a
committee he could force the chairman
to report any bill that he chose or on the
other hand, compel the same chairman
to suppress any otherIbill that he chose
to be suppressed, and that committee is
usually composed of from eleven to thir-
teen members of the best Drained mer
of the senate.
There is only one inference to be made
from such a statement as that, and it
ought to come home to every voter, that
it we have man in the first district who
has the brains and ability to thus handle
the judiciary committee, and through
them the whole legislature, then who is
the man that we ought to have to repre-.
sent this district and this county in the
legislature3 We believe the answer is
self-evident.
Mr.. Hired Man found little over a
dozen bills that had been smothered in
the judiciary committee-"by Mr.. La.
Moure." The sessions of the committees
are practically private and no records
are kept, but this Hired Man knows
that it was always Mr.. LaMours,no mat
ter whether he was member Of the
committee or not, or whether he was
present or not-and that at all times the
other members were either asleep or in a
comatose state. What need to pursue
such absurdity farthers
All these turned down bills are in the
opinion Of the aforesaid Hired Man, good
bills. Now that ought to settle it. No.
body else has any right to think differ
emily. Now we all know that Mr..
LaMoure has never taken any such con-
ceited stand on his own behalf. He has
had his opinions and allowed others to
have theirs. He has often had the back
bone to be one Of two or three to vote
according to his views, even on railroad
matters, when by such action he left
himself open to the structures and false
criticisms of, demagogues, who slways
seize the opportunity to make out that
such vote is necessarily 'agalnst the
people" Mr.. LaMoure has acknowledged
that in some votes and acts that he was
wrong. He would have been indeed re.
markably wonderful man, if in all the
vast amount of legislation that has been
incidental to the making of new state,
he had always been just right. He has
made his mistakes, but they are few in
deed compared with great amount of
legislation with which he has been
directly connected.
The especial duty of the judiciary
committee,as it name implies, is to Judge
of the constltutionality of proposed laws
and their compatibility with existing
laws. Very many of the laws that come
before it are turned down just for these
causes, and as we said before, many
times, similar proposed laws are here
made into one, and that of course means
that several ''are never seen again.
1t is already an acknowledged fact,
that while Mr.. LaMoure is not trained
lawyer, yet there are few men in the
state who are better informed as to the
matter contained in the state constitut-
ion and in the enacted statutes. He is
an acknowledged authority on these
matters and it is true,as the Hired Man
says, that Mr.. LaMoure by his natural
ability, experience and general know
ledge of legislative matters. is conceded
to be one of the most influential mem
bers of the legislature, and that he is
looked upon as a leader, and his advice
listened to, by almost every old or new
member of that body.