The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1911-03-11
BILLS FOR PROGRESS
REGARDED WITH FAVOR
Woman's Suffrage Bill One Of
Few Progressive Measures
to Get Icy Hand.
United States Senators From Min
nesota Must Be Elected
By the People.
Special Correspondence:


(By W. E. McEWen.)
ST. PAUL. March 9.-Legislation
CT a progressive character went the
rounds In both houses this week. The
woman's suffrage bill had the floor
first on Tuesday in the Senate. In
committee Of the whole Senator Sa-
geng moved that the bill be recon-
mended for passage. Senator Carl
Wallace of Minneapolis wanted the
bill recommended for postponement.
His motion was lost. When the Sa-
geng motion was put it was also lost,
and so the bill is now just where it
has been for two weeks. 1t may be
reached again today. and action one
way or the other taken.
1t is said that the opponents of
woman's suffrage have polled the
Senate and they are sure of 80 votes,
just enough to defeat the bill. How
ever, the women are undismayed, and
led by Miss Mary D. McFadden, the
cleverest little woman in Minnesota,
they are bending every effort to in
duce the members Of the Senate to
permit the people to decide whether
or not woman should have the right
Of suffrage.
The extension of the primary cleo
ton law to state officers will not be
acted upon until the initiative and
referendum is out of the way.
The House took up yesterday under
special orders the bill of Represent
ative Keefe Of Redwood providing for
the election of Senators by the people,
The bill is almost an exact copy of
the Oregon law, and passed the house
without a dissenting vote. 1t is be-
lieved that the Senate will lose no
time in passing the bill, and making
it a law.
The Initiative and Referendum Is
to be made a special order in the
House today. All kinds of guesses are
made on the outcome. There are
two bills to be considered, one by
Representative Pfeander which re-
quires petition of 25 per cent of the
voters to initiate legislation, and 10
per cent to have a law referred tC
the people. The other is by Repre-
sentative Campbell, and is supported
by most Of the progressives It's pro-
visions call for an initiative petition
" ~ po' SChI VI lnc NOteISs aha
referendum petition of per cent.
Both sides are claiming victory, bu,
Judging from the attitude of the
House on other bills of the progress
sive type it is safe to predict that the
Campbell bill will pass. A bill re-
curing petition of 25 per cent OF
the voters to initiate legislation ought
to be defeated. No true friend of di.
rect legislation will accept such a
prohibitive measure.
The vote on putting the Tonnage
tax on general orders came like a
clap of thunder out of a. clear sky
yesterday. It looks as if the bill will
pass the House unless St. Louis
county people get busy. A St. Louis
county Senator admitted to me yester-
day that If the bill reached the Senate
1t would pass that body. The situa-
ton is indeed critical.
/ wonder what Governor Eberhar,
will do in the event of the passage OF
| tonnage tax bill. The opinion is
general down here that he would fol.
low Governor Johnson's course and
veto it. But Governor Eberhart is
! not Gov. Johnson, and even if he
would promise to veto it one day, anC
| the bill came to him the next day he
might sign it. 1t Is characteristic Of
! the man.