Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1909-04-02
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Join IN PROT EST
Nolan Bill for Control Of E|ec-
tric Lines Is Doomed.
GOVERNORS PLAN DEFEATED
Senate Kills Proposal to Create New
Department to Have Charge Of State
Lands, Minerals, Forests and Water
Powers-Exciting Time Promised
When Tonnage Tax Sill Is Taken
Up in the Senate.

st. Paul, March 29.-Evidently we
! have heard the last of the Nolan bill
to put electric lines under the super
vision of the railroad and warehouse
| commission. At first opposition to it
seemed to be confined to the Twin Cit
les, where the local right to super
wise and control electric lines is re-
| garded as in the public interest and
not one to be lightly given up. Now,
however, an almost equally strong
protest is coming in from country
towns, which strenuously object to a
proposition which will place their
streets for trolley line purposes at
| the disposal of the railroad and ware
| house commissioners. The upshot will
probably be that the attempt to per
feet a measure of any kind will be
abandoned at this session. None the
less if trolley lines are to traverse
! this state as they do others their op.
erations must ultimately be subjected
to some central authority.
i. i. !.
There will be no division of the du-
ties now assigned to the state auditor
this session. That was what Governor
Johnson recommended in his message,
as may be remembered. It was his
opinion that the state auditor, being
an accounting officer, should have &C.
| counting duties only and that a bureau
or department should be provided
which should be given the charge of
the states lands, it's minerals, its for
ests and its water powers. The propo-
sition met with general approval and
number Of bills were proposed to
give effect to the governors recon-
| mendation. What was recognized as
the administration measure was the
| bill introduced by Senator Works,
which provided for a commission of
three members, to be paid $4,000 a
year each and to constitute separate
department. These officers were to
be appointed by the governor. The
bill presented by Senator Garfield pro
vfded for three deputies in the au-
ditor's department, to be appointed by
him. to be assigned practically the
missioners would have to perform. He
wasn't quite so lavish in the matter
of salaries, $500 a year, I think, was
the figure. Lastly there was Senator
Nelson's proposition, backed by Mr..
1verson, which provided for single
commissioner, with authority to ap-
point the necessary clerks, to be elect
l al hv1 hn ha
were made special order Friday and
their merits and dement's were fully
discussed. None of them, however,
found favor with sufficient number
of the senate to insure their passage.
The Democrats voted for Senator
Works bill, twenty-five members for
Senator Canfield's and five for Sen
ator Nelson's. So the result is that
the auditors Office will be conducted
in the future as in the past.
!. i. i.
The senate is likely to be made the
scene before the close of the session
of very pretty fight. It will center
around the tonnage tax bill and inter
est is added to it because of an open
rupture between the railroads and the
steel interests. The first open dis
play of this was made in the house
when the Johnson bill requiring all
plans for railroad construction for
which stocks or bonds are to be issued
to be laid before the board of railroad
and warehouse commissioners and
prohibiting the issuance of such bonds
or stocks except on payment for them
of the full par value thereof. The
steel trust crowd, smarting under the
passage of the tonnage tax law, which
result they attributed to the failure
of the railroad people to cooperate
with them, went in body to the sup
port of the Johnson bill, with the re-
| suit that it passed the house and was
| sent to the senate, where the tonnage
tax bill is being considered in commit
tee. The purpose is, of course, to
play one against the other. In other
words, the steel trust crowd propose
to use the Johnson bill as a club to
whip the railroads into line against
the tonnage tax. What success they
|
events, it is new experience for the
railroads in this state to be threat
ened with big stick by other inter
ests.
4. /. +
The Casnman dlstance tariff. bill
was again killed by the senate this
|year, although it received % votes.
one more than two years ago. And
this in spite of the active opposition
to it on the part of the attorney gen
eral; Mr.. O'Brien, the reinsurance
commissioner, now of counsel for the
state in the rate cases now being tried
in the federal court, and the board of
railroad commissioners. Their prin-
cipal ground Of objection to the dis
tance tariff law was that it would re-
suit in bringing about conditions
which would put an end to the cause
for the litigation now under way and
in all probability result in the bring
Ing of suits against the new law IN