The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1909-01-21
MIKES SPICY LETTER.
President Hills appointment on the
Highway Commission Seems to
be Generally Approved.
Senator Works the Administration
!Mouthpiece- Harrison Bennett
Will Not be Appointed.
Jnion's Special Correspondence.

Unions Special Correspondence.
St. Paul, Jan. 20, 1909.
six years ago, aye, even less, the
appointment of a member of the Hill
family to position in the state gov
eminent would have set Minnesota
agog. Press and public would have
joined in characterizing it as bid
for the support of predatory wealth,
and the luckless Individual respon-
sible might just as we'll have prepared
to retire to private life. No act of
his could condone for the offense.
Still the other day I saw the senate
confirm the appointment of Louis W.
Hill, president of the Great Northern
hallway company, as a member of the
state highway commission, and not
member batted an eye or made move
tosprotest. Gov. Johnson was re-
sponsible for the selection and the
next day the Twin City papers pro-
claimed the fact in news articles and
editorials teeming with praise and
under headlines that gave every evil
dence of sanction. The whole thing
made me stop and ponder. 1 could
not help it. Was it because a demo-
cratic governor made the appoint
ment or is public sentiment regarding
such things changing?
:. i.
Banking interests over the state will
probably be interested in bill DOW
in the making providing for state
banks as the sole depository for state,
county and city funds. The individual
selected to offer it for legislative con-
sideration has not been announced,
but it will be heard from just the same.
The excuse offered for the measure is
that at the present time national funds
must be deposited in national banks,
which with the postal savings law now
under consideration will practically
give these institutions a monopoly of
the banking business. The state banks
want tito be protected. That there
will be a protest and vigorous one
from the national banks against the
bill goes without saying.
z + So
e Senator S. D. Works of Mankato
has been selected as the democratic
mOuthpiece and from now on his
efforts will be directed at fathering
the schemes concocted by the kitchen
cabinet. His first effort was bill
creating Gov. Johnson's and Sam
VERSIONS joint idea of a special de-
partment for the handling of the states
lands and mineral resources That it
will ever get beyond the body it was
first introduced in is doubtful. With
out any reference at all to the spirit
which actuates it, men like Senator
Clague of Lamberton. Virgil Seward
of Marshall, and Geo. r. Laybourn of
Duluth have come out fatty against
the new department, holding it to be
useless fifth wheel and with nothing to
back it beyond selfshness They hold
that the state already has enough of
useless boards
The scheme of new department for
the care of the states land. mineral
and forestry resources would not be
complete without the gossip incident
to the idea that is back of it all.
Those who dope out such things con-
meet Gov. Johnson and the kitchen
cabinet with little game which has
for it's end the capture of the state
auditors department with it's one
hundred or more employees and dis
bursting fund of something like 800, 900.
If the new department is created Gov.
Johnson, they have it, is to name
State Auditor Iverson as its head.
This will leave the state authorship
vacant. The rest is left to the
of the reader If the kit
chen cabinet owes you anything just
get busy. Thesjobs run from 81, 200
to 50, 500 a year.
!. !. +
Lawrence 81. johnson of Minneapo-
lis, former speaker of the house, makes
the latest bid for publicity in the
shape of q bill placing the street car
companies of the state on q gross
earnings basis: Larry is also back
of q measure designed to give the state
. system Of county agricultural
schools. In the matter of the street
car tax the revenue is 70 be distributed
the same as heretofore, but am very
much afraid he will run up against
snag in an effort on the part of the
country to make the distribution
general among the counties the same
as the tax against the steam railways.
This the cities will never stand for.
The excuse for the new method of tax
ation is that the supreme court in a