The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-05-28
HITS THE PORK BILL
ACTION BEGUN BY SENATOR COOKE
TO KNOCK OUT MEASURE.
Former Attorney General Douglas Has
Been Engaged to Press the Suit;
Legislature Appropriated Six Hun
dred Thousand Dollars for Roads
and Bridges; Also Repair of City
Streets; and There's the Rub.
From Mondays Daily.

l
tutionality of the SG00,000 road and
bridge bill passed by the last legisla
ture. action has been started by Sena-
! tor l.. O. Cooke of Wabasha county
to restrain State Auditor Iverson from
warrants under tn eprovisions of the
measure. w. b. Douglas, former at
torney general and former state SUI
preme Justice, has been engaged to
conduct the case through the courts
| The action will be filed i'm the Ram
sey county district court at once.
The 1909 pork barrel" bill prepared
| by the good roads committees of the
house and senate, appropriated 100000
out of the state revenue fund and scat
tered it over the state for the purpose
of building bridges and "improving'
roads. An analysis of the bill showed
that the measure appropriated state
money for the improvement of city and
village streets, and the building of
bridges within corporate limits. The
pork barrel is biennial affair and
although it appropriates money to be
spent entirely without state supervision
it has been defended on the ground that
it gives the farmer his only dip" into
the state treasury,
Money to City Streets.
The new feature of the 1909 bill was
the fact that it appropriated 100000
more than ever before and that in
stead of being confined to the better
ment of country roads, it's provisions
authorized special grants for highway
improvements inside city and village
limits. In 1907, when the first omni-
bus road and bridge appropriation bill
was passed, there were provisions for
road and bridge improvements inside
city and village limits, but such pro-
visions were not on the wholesale
scale of the 1909 bill.
The state highway commission has
nothing to do with the expenditure of
the money appropriated in the bill.
There is no check on the persons named
in the measure to supervise the expen-
diture of the state funds and in many
cases members of the legislature are
themselves named as the dispensers of
the funds. In fifteen counties the
money is turned over to the county
commissioners. The 100000, if spent,
will come from the state revenue fund.
which is obtained partly from railroads
and other corporations, and partly by
direct tax.
Senator Cooke, who has characterized
the "pork barreP as "a grab" has
instructed General Douglas to fight the
case to finish and the supreme court
will undoubtedly be called upon to de-
eide the constitutionality of the bill
General Douglas is probably as well
equipped as any other lawyer in the
state to question the constitutionality
of the bill, for he is the author of the
good roads" amendment of 1898. an
amendment which will figure promi-
nently in the coming litigation.
The constitutionality OF the "pork
barreP' will be tested on two grounds
In the first place it will he urged that
it is in violation of section 5, article
9 of the constitution and i'm the second
place that it is contrary to the cOnsti-
tntional amendment of 1898, known as
the good roads amendment"
Section 5. article Q of the constitu-
ton, prohibits the appropriation of
money for internal improvements within
the state except where the appropria
ton is from money derived from grants
of land to the state for specific pur-
poses. The part of the section on which
General Douglas will rely reads, "The
state shall never contract any debt for
the works of internal improvement, or
be party in carrying on such works.
except in cases where grants of land
or other property shall have been
made to the state, especially dedicated
by the grant to specific purposes, and
in such case the state shall devote
thereto the avails of such grants. and
may pledge or appropriate the revenues
derived from such works in aid of their
completion" Prior to 1907 the appro-
priations for roads and bridges were
made from the internal improvement
land fund.- a fund derived from the
sale of land granted to the state for
purposes of internal improvement. Gen
eral Douglas will, argue that the ap-
preparation of money from the internal
revenue fund for road and bridge i'm
provement is illegal
The good roads amendment of 1898
creates the state highway commission
and the "state road and bridge fund"
This fund, under the provision of the
constitution, not only includes money
derived from the internal improvement
land fund, but "all funds aceruing to
any state road and bridge fund, how
ever provided" General Douglas main
tains that under this provision without
regard to the question of whether the
constitution authorizes the legislature
to appropriate the state money for
village and city roads, renders the bill
unconstitutional. as the bill does not
place the fund in the hands of the
highway commission for distribution.
Judge Douglas will begin preparing
the papers in the case at once. 1t
is probable that pending the decisions
of the courts. State Auditor Iverson
will be restrained from issuing war
rants under the provisions of the
bill