Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1911-03-24
HALF Of BILLS HAVE
BEEN CONSIDERED
Committees Make Good Progress
on Measures introduced.
HOLDS UP COMMISSION PAY
Secretary Frear Sends in Word to the
Wisconsin Civil Service Commits
sion That He Has Accepted
Opinion of Bancroft.

oEiNtOT OF bancroft.
Madiscn.-Fully half the bills intro
duced at this session of the legislature
have been gone over by committees,
and most of them will be reported to
the various houses some time this
week, when morning sessions are be-
gun. The members of the assembly
especially have obeyed Speaker In
grams Injunction, to report out the
small stuff first, and especially the
stuff that should be killed off, then
bend your energies to the important
measures
At the night session of the assem-
bly, there was presented by Assembly
man Thomas ROycraft, q joint resolu
ton calling for the appointment Of
committee Of five-three from the as
sembly and two from the senate-to
Investigate alleged illegal acts of paid
legislative agents and report at an
early day
The resolution was drawn early in
the week after Speaker Ingram and
several leaders in the assembly had
satisfied themselves that only &
small proportion of the lobbyist
population Of the capitol was regis
tered with the secretary of state, as
required by law, and they also are
satisfied that the activity of many
persons, registered and unregistered,
has been in the direction of attempt
ing unlawfully to influence members
personally in regard to pending legis
latiOn. 1t is considered significant
! that up to the present time about 275
| have registered, but that there are
perhaps as many more who have not
obeyed the law and are working for
the most part secretly. Compared to
the session two years ago, when hard
ly two dozen lobbyists had signed
their names in Secretary Frear's red
book" the increase at this session is
laid entirely to the statement of the
speaker at the outset that it was
the intention of the assembly to see
that the law is obeyed.
Secretary of State James A.
Frear sent an official communica-
ton to the Wisconsin civil service
commission in which he notified that
body that he has accepted the opinion
of Attorney General Bancroft as to the
constitutional doubt Of the commits
sion being a legally constituted body
of the state. This matter comes up
in relation to the bills of the commits
sion and in effect means that the sec
rotary Of state and state treasurer
will refuse to audit and pay off the
| commission from this time on.
The matter will no doubt be tried
out in the courts. In his communica-
ton Secretary Frear invites the CO.
| operation of the commission to arrive
I at decision.
The senate committee on education
| decided to report out a bill which ex-
| tends the time of the university re-
| gents to a six-year term. This is one
| of the measures of the special educa-
| ton committee and is in part an adop-
| ton of the plan submitted. The COM
mittee rejected the bill which removes
women members Of the board.
There was not quorum present in
either house at the morning session
| The past week has been easily the
most strenuous of the entire session,
especially as committee work was
| piled up by reason of the invasion of
Madison by the suffra gists. The SEN
ate is nearly cleared up with it's work,
but the assembly Is still far from be-
ing caught up"
Renewing the efforts of two years
ago to obtain the passage Of a law for
certified public accountants with a
state examining board, the organized
sented before the assembly commit
tee on state and economic betterment
when the Mortenson bill came up. The
| bill provides for an examining board
which shall issue certificates to &C
| countants after examination Herman
E. Georgi, former member of the as
sembly, spoke for the bill. There is
SO little opposition to it this year that
the committee is expected to favor
| the bill The committee also took up
| the Golf bill extending greater dis
| cretionary power to the state board Of
! dental examiners. Theodore Kron-
shage, attorney for the board, and c..
E. PatZer, it's special examiner, ap-
peared on the bill, as did DR.. w. H.
Hardy of Milwaukee, member of the
| board.
DR.. John B. Andrews bill for the re-
porting of occupational diseases to
the labor commissioner will be recon-
mended for passage by the assembly
committee on public health and sani-
tation. There was no opposition to
the bill when it came up.