Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1909-03-19


the representa- tiyes who are IA tho
sconffd ence Of the win City Rapid
Transit company have found it "a
their advantage to break up combine
tions already formed for other pllr.
poses and that the new alignment In
creases the probability Of the passage
Of a tonnage tax law. The split IN the
tri-county delegation over this and the
schism created by the proposition to
establish packing plant at New
Brighton BODIES no good to the organi.
cation which the United States Steel
corporation has been trying to build
up IN the legislature
!. !. j.
Firm as was the hold it was bel
Aeyed the liquor interests had over
the legislature there are a number OIL
indications that the country members
are hesitating about carrying out the
programme which has been prepared.
This programme included the refusal
to extend local option to towns under
10000 population, the passage of a
bill extending the time of closing the
saloons in the larger cities to IL
o'clock midnight and the enactment
OF law permitting the sale of liza.
uors in clubs in st. Paul, Minneapolis
and Duluth without license. While
1t is unlikely that the legislature will
extend local option to the smaller cit
les it is significant that the house re-
fused to approve the recommendation
OF the temperance committee that the
measure be indefinitely postponed;
and still more significant that it re.
fused to advance the IL o'clock lid
bill to the calendar. II favorable ac
ton will not be taken on the local op.
ton bill there is not greatly more like
lihood either that change will be
made in the closing hours In the cit
les or that clubs will be exempted
from The. operation of the license law.
The temperance people have no rea-
son to conclude that reactionary
| measures will prove popular even in
house which On that subject may
! truly be characterized as at least soon
servatiye"
A bill has been proposed by Mr..
Bendixen permitting the state to again
lease its iron LANDS, which was pro-
hibited by the act Of 1907. Leases
heretofore granted provided for roy.
atty of 25 cents ton. Under the Ben
dixen bill royalties are graduated on
a sliding scale, depending on the value
of the ore, ranging from Is to 80 cents
a ton. I was talking about this the
other day to r. C. Dunn, whose knowl-
edge of conditions on the iron range is
F., not excelled by any one who is not a
| mineral expert, and his views ap-
peared to me as eminently worthy of
consideration. "This should not be
done,' he said, "The state has moth
ing to lose by holding on to it's min
eral lands. The value of the ore in
them will increase with the lapse of
years. There is an abundance of ore
In the mines now being operated and
in the lands which have been pros
pected for all present purposes and
the lands now owned by the state may
we'll be reserved for some future time
when the ore will be worth more. I
think that it would be mistake for
the state to lease new lands at the
present time"
Representative Spooner's bill pro-
viding for the acceptance by the state
from the federal government of the
Indian school located at Morris and
the lands attached thereto and the
establishment there of an agricultural
school has passed the house and has
been sent to the senate. Mr.. Spooner
has addressed letter to each of the
senators urging the approval by them
Of this measure, in which he refers to
1t as the apple of his eye, the pearl Of
his heart and the price of his life.
It's enactment, he says, will be the
very joy of joys of his limited public
service. Nothing I have accom-
plished," he adds, 'is, in the estima-
ton of my constituents, worth while
compared with the beneficial effects
expected to be assured to the several
counties of my legislative district and
the several surrounding counties, such
as Swift, Big Stone, Wilkin, Pope and
perhaps Others. by the establishment
Of the agricultural school provided for
in this bill; and the desire Of my
home city and county for the estab-
lishment of this. school is more in
tense than can adequately describe
to you"
!.
After describing the property which
under the bill the state accepts. re-
lating the negotiations which resulted
in the cooperation of the federal gov.
eminent he goes on to say that if the
state accepts the gift he has in view
to undertake something further at
Washing ton, viz, supplemental act
making the gift effective July 1, 1909.
and in connection Herewith get the
appropriation Of $27, $50 made by the
last congress for the support Of the
school up to July !, 1910, set over to
the state of Minnesota. st $500
| !.