Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1909-01-21
AMENDMENTS TO
PRIMARY LAW
Many Will Be Offered During
Legislative Session.
|GOSS|P FROM THE CAPITAL

Eleventh Legislative Assembly Larg-
est in Point of Membership and Is
Expected to Be One of the Most
Important in the Nature of Things
Accomplishments Week Devoted
Mainly to Organization.
Bismarck. ian. 4.-The Eleventh
Legislative Assembly of the state of
North Dakota, the largest in point Of
membership and probably destined to
be one of the most important in the
nature of things accomplished, will
meet at noon Jan. 5. The proceedings
of the opening will be the usual for
NAL gathering of the two bodies, the
election of the speaker Of the house
and of the officers of the house and
senate and the notification of Gov
ernor Burke that the legislative as
sembly is organized and ready for
BUSINESS. Nothing in the way of leg
,~slation will be accomplished and lit
tie attempted during the first week of
the session. A few bills will be pre-
scented, but the committees will not
be named until after a recess of sew
eral days, in which the speaker and
the president of the senate will be
given an opportunity to make their
selections of committees, and all mat
tiers of legislation will wait for the
naming of the committees.
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Present indications point to less
bitterness in the opening struggles
than might be expected from the fac
tional differences that have rent the
Republican party of the state in twain
in the course of the past few years.
The house will be called to order by
P. ID. Norton. who was chief clerk of
the last house. and the oath of office
to the s~peaker-elect will be admins
tered by N of the judges of the SUI
preme court at the same time that an
other judge is administering the oath
to the lieutenant governor, R. S.
Lewis. and the new members Of the
senate. The work of electing the of
fcers OF the two houses will occupy
the first days session and the mes
sage OF Governor Burke will proba-
bly, be delivered to the two houses in
joint session on Wednesday.
The governors message will be of
considerable length and will deal
closely with the fiscal and other at
fairs of the state. While nothing has
been given out with regard to it in
detail it is pretty we'll understood
that it will recommend important leg
~islation along the lines of primary
law amendment, legislation for the
better enforcement OF the prohibition
law of the state, laws to change the
system of assessment and taxation in
the state and for the taxation of prop
erty that has in the past partly or en-
tirely escaped taxation. The gov
ernor has devoted the past several
weeks to a consideration of what he
thinks important to be recommended
to the legislature and has put in the
past week to putting his message into
final shape for delivery.
i. X !.
Following the delivery of the gov,
ernor's message an adjournment will
probably be taken for several days,
until after the inaugural ball, which
is to be held Friday night, and prom
Uses to be largely attended by people
from all parts Of the state. The ball
will be held in the chamber Of the
house of representatives and supper
will be served in the capitol dining
room. The inaugural ball is always
the social event of the session and
indications are that ii will be unus.
ually brilliant this year.
i. !. X
The senate this year has an in
creased membership, due to the
change in the apportionment of legis.
lative members at the last session to
meet the demands OF those sections
of the state where there has been
great growth in population within the
past few years. Ward county, which
heretofore has had only Il senator,
and that in connection with Williams
county, has this ear three senators
and will have 4 representation in the
senate equal to Cass and Grand Forks
counties. Williams county has a sen
ator, where before it has been at
tached to another county. Mclean
county has W. senator's and in prior
sessions has had one senator and two
members of the house in connection
with Mercer county. Billings, Oliver
and Mercer counties have a senator
and two members. Trail county
which two years g had two sen
ators. has now only one. The same
REIMBURSEMENT has been made through
various parts of the state and there
are forty-seven members of the state
senate against forty two years ago
The house has ninety-seven members
but the apportionment of them has
been changed and the representation
of the various districts has been made
more in keeping with their popula
ton.
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