The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1908-10-15
LEGISLATIVE
FORECAST
Railways Will Receive Less
Attention This Session
As PHYSICAL VALUATION OF ROADS
viii Not Have Been Com
pleted


pleted
About the only recommendation
which the railway commission can
make to the next legislative session
in regard to their work of securing the
physical valuation of the railways OF
the state for the purpose OF taxation
and rate making, will be to report
progress, and ask for funds to con-
tinue the work which they have be-
gun in that direction. The lines or
the North Western have I'll been gone
over, and the rest OF the year VIII
be put in by the experts employed
for that work in the compilation OF
their figures. This will show what
one line alone is supposed to be
worth, and on this showing the legis-
lature will hardly be in shape to do
much in the way of rate making. This
will leave the situation where the
railway legislation will probably be
largely in the ways of strengthening
or modification of the statutes of the
last session, where experience has
shown that changes would be beneh-
cial 1t is likely that the newspaper
men of the state will ask the coming
session to- amend the anti-pass law
to allow them to make contracts for
advertising with the roads to be paid
in mileage. They have not been salts
fed with the workings OF the present
law as it stands, and will no doubt
make an effort to secure a change III
it that far.
While the conditions will practically
of necessity cut out much in the way
of railroad legislation, the telephone
and express companies doing business
in the state are likely to receive a
great deal Of attention. Under the
present existing feeling and sentiment
in regard to legislation for the con-
troll of corporations all over the coun-
try. it is not likely that the average
legislator will show any indication OF
cuddling up to any corporation which
comes up for legislative supervision at
the session, and something radical
governing these corporations Will no
doubt be introduced.
At the last session Representative
Parmley introduced strong and ra-
dical good roads bill, following what
he thought was the public sentiment
in regard to such legislation, as shown
by the discussion in the press of the
state prior to- the opening of the ses-
sion But it had no sooner shown its
head in the house until the farmers
gathered their clubs to smash it. They
denounced it as bill in the interest
of the "dudes who used automobiles"
but finally settled their opposition on
the ground that such bill would
destroy the value of thousands OF dol
lars of township road machinery which
was owned over the state, and that
they would never vote to- waste the
money so invested. If that factor is
to be used to defeat good roads legls-
lation, it means that each year will
give it stronger following, and the
change of the road system of the state
be an impossibility, and bill to reme-
dy the situation will never get far
beyond the committee stage of ex-
istence.
Another proposition which the
members of the coming session Will
have given to them to work out is
some matter of securing funds on
the capitol building lands without
selling them at sacrifice. Thous-
ands of acres of these lands are loca-
ted in Butte county at least sixty
miles from railroad, and the best
they would bring if thrown upon the
market at the present would be from
50 to SO per acre. The lands are
of good class, and with railroad
within convenient distance would
bring from $40 to $12 an acre. To
sell them at the present prices would
mean a shortage in the fund for the
completion of the building that would
would have to be made up through
general taxation. If money can be
raised by the state with the lands
as security, the fund will be ample
to build the structure from the sales
of lands alona, and there would need
be no tax whatever for construction
of the building. The legislature will
be called upon to devise some way
to raise the funds without sacrificing
the lands, and by such method to save
the state thousands of dollars in
cash in the future.
1t is little unusual for candidates
for appointive positions to get into
the field prior to the election. but
A. A. Rowen is candidate for the
position of secretary of the senate,
and is after it right now. He has
been at the head of the senate en-
crossing force for several years, and
thinks with his experience in the
ways of legislation, he should be
advanced step, and certainly has
had the experience to know what will
be required of him as chief clerical
officer of the senate, If he succeeds
in landing what he wants.
REPUBLICAN RALLY.