The Columbus journal., 1909-03-10
Unlimited Number of Employees.


The senate Tuesday decided to re-
peal two laws that were placed on
the statutes by Ex-Governor Sheldon
when he was a member of the state
senate. One of the laws is an act
for a one-mill levy to wipe out the
state debt which consists of outstand-
ing state warrants. The law provides
for fund to be raised by taxation
to redeem outstanding state warrants.
The levy made last year will be suf-
ficient to complete the work of wiping
out this debt, which only few years
ago was $2,0OO.OOO.
The other law which Mr. Sheldon
placed on the statute books is one
limiting the number of officers and
employees of the senate to forty-nine.
Prior to the Sheldon act of 1905 the
statute on this subject was indefinite
as tc the number of employees. His
bill made it certain. The number
of employees years ago sometimes
reached the one hundred mark. The
democrats allege that the Sheldon
act has been violated by two repub-
lican legislatures. Howell of Douglas
introduced bill to repeal the statute
limiting the number of employees,
This was done after the present demo-
cratic state senate had exceeded the
limit fixed by law. The bill intro
duced by Howell is S. F. No. 80.
Tuesday it came up in committee of
the whole and was recommended
for passage.
The senate Friday passed Senator
Fuller's bill to provide for the assess
ing of property every two years. The
measure was passed with four mega
tive votes. The present law provides
that the assessment shall be every
four years. BIZ. the new measure
makes provision for a valuation of all
the property IN the state. beginning
April I. every two years.
The Fries bill. which came from
the house providing for the exemption
of precinct officers from election un-
der the primary was passed. The bill
also excludes all village. township and
school officers from the primary law
regulations.
The Randall bill for the require
ment Of real estate intersection of
all railroads where it is deemed nee.
essary by the state railway commits
sion and for the erection of platforms
and track connections wherever 1t is
feasible.
The Myers bill preventing the drain
ing Of any lakes in the state which
contain more than twenty acres was
passed by the senate The bill places
the disposition of all of these lakes
under the state board of irrigation.
The measure authorizing counties
having population of from $4,000 to
loo. 600 population to pay $500 year
for a detective was approved by the
upper house.
Precinct Assessors to Be Elective.
House Roll No. PA, making precinct
assessors elective instead of appoin-
tive, was passed by the house of rem
resentatives Friday afternoon, repub-
licans voting with the democrats for
it. The bAl received IS votes. and
none were cast in the negative H. r.
No. 215. a companion measure provid-
ing for the salaries of the deputies, |
was also passed unanimously. 20 to 0. |
Neither bill does away with the Office
of county assessor, who is still left
as the Official head of the taxing de-
partment in each county
The Noyes bill amending the fish
and game laws, H. R. No. 224, was
passed Il to 5. 1t permits seining in
the Platte river with a net whose
n'eshes are not smaller than two
inches in size. Game fish are not to
be taken from the stream The bill
else allows an open season of two
months on squirrels, which are now
immune from the hunters gun the
year around. The two weeks open
season on quail is abolished, and that
fowl win have the laws protection
during the entire year. Uuder tn
terms Of this bill.