Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1909-02-12

lating to the management of the
school lands has long been q subject
of public debate. One party believes
they should as speedily as possible be
converted into cash and the energies
OF the department be devoted to the
management Of the investments. The
other party regards It as - mistake
that any part of the school lands were
disposed OF, but that they should
from the beginning have been rented
for agricultural purposes and the
lands held as a permanent investment
by the state. General Beadle, the
author of the $40 MAXIMUM, favors
holding the lands permanently.
Against this It is urged that renters
will manage the lands badly, allowing
them to become foul and worthless,
of land will be kept off the tax rolls
and will not be improved and made
homes; that renters will not build
habitations upon the state lands and
that the state will always be COM
PEELED to put up with the poorest and
most shiftless of the renters, while
the enterprising one will take the
lands of individuals who are in a posi-
tion to give them buildings and con-
cessions which the state could not un-
dertake. All these points were
threshed out In a general debate over
the passage of III. j.. r., submitting a
constitutional amendment permitting
the school. lands to be leased for agri-
cultural purposes. The resolution
passed the house on Thursday, secur-
ing SO votes.
X + +
to the primitive practice of electing
county commissioners from districts
by the voters thereof. That was the
plan before 1901, when for a political
eason the Republicans adopted the
present law for the election of COM
missioners from districts by the cleo
tors at large. This gave Republican
control of several counties then dom
mated by Democratic boards. The
Democrats have always opposed the
present law and sought for it's repeal.
The senate last week passed the Arne-
son bill restoring the old method and
1t bids fair to go through the house.
= + i.
Interest upon registered state war
rants has always been Z per cent and
the state at this time is paying z per
cent on more than $500, 900, though
she a borrow all the money she
wants at 4 or Az. Senator Ewert In
troduced a bill reducing the interest
to 6 on registered warrants, which
was amended to 5, and passed the
senate. The warrants will find as
ready a market at 8 as at 7 and the
state will be the gamer by several
thousand dollars annually.
Senator Seward has a bill which has
passed the senate which entirely
changes the common law rule relat-
ing to evidence in some particulars.
1t is S. B. 125. providing that an ad-
verse party may call any party to an
action and cross-examine him without
being bound by his testimony, but
may then rebut and refute it. The
common law is that a party may not
impeach the testimony of his own wit
ness.
We have from the adoption of the
Australian ballot nearly twenty years
ago had much trouble with the ar
rangement of party tickets upon 1t.
Generally this has been left to the
county auditor, who has at his dis
erection placed the party with which
he was identified first and the others
In such order as to be least advantage
Gus to the leading opposition. To Sc
cure uniformity and fairness Zieback
has provided that the parties shall be
placed upon the ballot in the order of
their strength, the strongest party in
the first place and so on down the
list; the strength of parties to be de-
termined by the vote for governor at
the last election. The house has
passed the bill.
There was not a single vote in
either house against the bill to in
crease the limit of expenditure upon
the new capitol to $500, 900. The bill
provides that marble shall be used
throughout inside, where the original
specifications provided for imitation
marble and cast iron. 1t gives the
commission full power to provide the
mural decorations at their discretion
and to adopt any plan they may deem
expedient for the Improvement of the
grounds. 1t is generally understood
the lake scheme will go. At the east
end of the capitol park is a depres
sion. known locally as Hilgers gulch
across which Capitol avenue passes
upon a high embankment. The plar
involves reinforcing this embankmen,
with concrete, making a dam or catch
basin, into which the surface water of
the back country will fall, making a
lake Of about ten acres In extent. The
evaporation will be overcome by bor-
L