The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1909-01-29
SOUTH DAKOTA LEGISLATURE.
Review of the Most 1mpor-
tant Work of the State
Legislators for the
Week.


The senate Saturday ooh another
step in the principal railway and ex-
press bills by passing them up to the
house after favorable action. These
are the 2-cent rate. electric headlight
and express rate bills. They carry the
emergency provision, and will mean
some early legal action after they
have been PASSED upon by the house.
Other bills passed by the senate
were the Byrne bill providing life in
surance policy forms, and an act to
assist in the organization of Perkins
and Harding counties.
The only bill of importance in the
senate today was one defining the
crime of theft Of gold products from
mills and fixing the penalty for the
same.
In the house a few minor railroad
measures yer presented and bills fix
ing the hours of labor in mines and
mills at eight hours, and amending
the election law to require tickets to
be placed upon the ballot in order Of
party numerical strength. The first
session act to get to Gov. Vessey for
his signature was sent in Saturday.
tive expenses of the present session,
and received his signature at 5 o'clock.
The house is in shape to rush the
2-cent bill Monday or Tuesday by SUBJ
shutting the senate bill for the du-
plicate house bill, favorable reported
Saturday.
The equal suffrage contingent is
gathering from all parts OF the state,
and this morning had a conference
with Representative Fitch, who intro
duced the resolution a few days ago
with the property qualification.
This is not satisfactory to the equal
suffrage leaders, who say the resolu-
ton for such an amendment was pre-
scented without consulting them, and
they desire a resolution providing for
complete franchise instead of the linn
tied proposition which has been Of
fered.
South Dakota Tuesday had her first
| practical test Of the working of the
primary law so far as it refers to the
selection Of United States senatorial
candidates, and, for the first trial at
least. it worked without a hitch, ev-
cry Republican member of the house
voting to sustain the results of the
primary election last June.
No caucus was required. Senator
Tobin of Beadle placed the name Of
Coe |. Crawford, the primary choice.
before the senate. Nearly every coun-
ty seconded the nomination. Senator
Hitchcock, for the Democrats, named
Andrew E. Lee, nominee for governor
in the fall campaign, as the caucus
choice, and he received six Democratic
votes of the senate, the rest of the
ffty-fve going to Crawford. Repre-
sentative Ziebach of Buffalo that of
Lee, who received the nine Demo-
cratic votes, the rest of the l04 going
to Crawford.
There will be no official announce
ment of the vote until moor tomorrow,
when both houses meet in joint ses-
sion for that purpose.
A third inebriate asylum bill was
presented in the senate by Laurson
today, locating such an institution at
Alexandria. The house resolution for
a constitutional amendment increasing
the salary of the attorney general to
$4,000 a year was amended to provide
that his compensation should be fixed
by the legislature and as amended
passed by a vote of 81 to 80.
Both houses will hold forenoon ses-
sions tomorrow to allow the members
to attend the bar association meeting
in the afternoon.
The legislature in joint session
Wednesday,, declared Coe l. Crawford
Of F"ron elected as United States
senator for the term ending March
4, 1915. After the election was an
nOunced Mr.. Crawford addressed the
legislature and in a short talk thank
ed all who had assisted in giving him
the high position and declared that he
bore no malice for anything which
had been said or done in the recent
hotly contested campaign.
The house passed the Mcdonnell
two-cent rate bill after a warm dis
cussion, in which a few members
were pleading for delay, but all but
three voted for the act. Both houses
have nov enacted such bills. but none
has passed either branch.