The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1909-02-05
BIG ISSUES AWAIT soLoNA.
Voluntary Guaranty Of Bank Deposits
Likely to Be Provided For.

Likely to Be Provided For.
It can now be said that the re-
mainder Of the session of the legis-
lature will be occupied particularly
with consideration of the following
proposed measures:
Guaranty of bank deposits.
Increase of the membership of the
supreme court to five.
Pure drug and food bills.
Permanent tax commission.
At least three of these four will be-
come laws, it being doubtful whether
the legislature will reach the passage
of the tax commission bill urged espe-
cially in the farewell message Of Gov.
Crawford. A 2-cent fare bill will be
passed, but the necessity of doing this
in compliance with the party plat
forms is so generally recognized that
the action will be taken perfunctorlly
and with comparatively little discus
sion.
Both the fire and life insurance COM
panies will ask changes in or addi-
tons to the laws, but it is doubtful
if there will be n extensive re-
visions of the insurance code and the
conditions are such that it will hardly
become one of the major topics in the
work of the legislature.
The. so-called administration bill for
volutary insurance of bank deposits
will be passed. with minor amend
ments. This is in the hands of Byrne
in the senate and Isenhuth in the
house. Senator Arneson of Hamlln
has a compulsory guaranty bill and
the committee measure will be the
product of these two bills. In the
main the law will be that provided in
the administration bill, which permits
the voluntary formation of an associ-
alton, representing the combined
capital stock of not less than 100000,
through which the banks may pay an
annual tax of / mill on their deposits,
to constitute a fund by which to in
sure the deposits.
The measure is preferred by bank
ers because it does not force guaranty
upon the banks and it is maintained
that s%elf-interest will draw into the as
ISOLATION banks whose affairs are we'll
enough administered to give them the
opportunity.
There seems no question about the
increase in the number of supreme
court judges. With a single eXcep-
ton, every attorney in he legislature
is said to favor the bill. Farmer mem
bers, who might be expected to object
on the ground of economy, are for it,
because nearly every n of them
knows of some instance of justice de-
layed three of four years by the in
ability of the court to come anywhere
near keeping up with the calendar.
Food Commissioner Wheaton has
both a pure food and a pure drug bill,
The grocers take vigorous exception
10 tIle lOOu measure, anu luc vi uS'
gists to the other. Sentiment seems
overwhelming in favor of adopting the
national food n drugs act, which
would be acceptable to both grocers
and druggists.
The need Of tax refor mis- recogniZ.
so large a subject that it may not be
possible to decide at this time upon
a commission. Opinion is, for the
most part, with Gov. Crawford and it
Is freely predicted a permanent com
mission will be created either at this
session or the next.
An interesting situation is found in
the insurance interests. All insurance
men were asked to meet with Commits.
siOner Basford several weeks ago, and
a second meeting at Aberdeen tive
weeks ago finally agreed upon desir.
ed legislation. The fire insurance
people and the commissioner have
come to an agreement. The life in
! urance agents are divided. Some OF
them want changes in the laws, par
ticularly that taxing gross premiums
2 per cent, and they have been trying
to work with the commissioner,
though he does not approve OF that
change. The other camp of life in.
surance men has refused to take part
! in any legislative campaign, but have
Joined in an attempt to prevent the
reappointment Of Commissioner Bias.
ford. In view of this division there
is no prospect of much consideration
of legislation relating to life insur.
ance.
The fire insurance men would like
the repeal of the valued policy law,
but in this the commissioner opposes
them. They also desire. permission to
engage in reinsurance, whereby the
insured agrees to keep in force a Ger.
tain amount of insurance or share in
the loss. thereby making possible spe.
cial low rates.