The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1911-02-23
STATE LEGISLATURE
,Froshaug is Seated in the Senate by
Vote of Thirty One to Thirty
Cast for His Opponent.

Two Bills introduced in the House
for the Further Consolidation
of the Rural Schools.
Unions Special Correspondence
St. Paul, Feb. Pas I predicted,
Senator Froshaug has been confirmed
IN his seat. He had a closer shave
than I anticipated. He had only 81
votes to his opponents 30. The fight,
however, was not directed altogether
against him. Indeed toward the end
the seat became, to all intents and
purposes, a side issue. The contest
developed into combination between
the old guard republicans and the
democrats to down Lieutenant
Governor Gordon's organization. It
was the last despairing effort of the
old guard and it left them stranded.
i. 50;
It wouldn't have, however, if Mr..
Farrington's contest had not been so
plainly branded with fraud. When
men like Gunderson and Haycraft and
Putnam and Boyle, after having gone
to the trouble to send for the ballot
boxes and personally examined the
ballots, declared, as a result of their
examination, their conviction that
there could be no question that in the
five disputed precincts the ballots had
been tempered with, that settled the
matter so far as senator's we're con-
cerned who had not determined to
vote for harrington, evidence or no
evidence. Mr.. Gunderson said that
the evidence of fraud was as plain on
the ballots themselves as the nose on
asman's face. Mr.. Haycraft said that
no court on earth would hesitate to
convict man accused of crime on
evidence as direct and certain. Mr..
Boyle, who said he had wanted to
vote for Harrington, declared he
could not in the face of such con-
elusive and damning proof. In effect
they agreed with Mr.. Fosnes of
counsel for Froshaug that the fraud
was rank and smelled to heaven.
Fairminded men under such circum-
stances, however favorable they
might be to Mr.. harrington, could do
no less than cast their vote for a man
whom an attempt had plainly been
made to defraud of his seat. That
was why the democrats lost eastman,
whose vote they had counted on.
That was why Duxbury and Marden
refused to go into camp with the old
guard with whom their sympathies
lay. Thus the plan to give the
Gordon organization a black eve
failed, and has probably put an end
20 similar attempts at this session.
Education reform is in the air this
year. The advantages of agricultural
and manual training in state high
schools, as provided for in the
Putnam law of last session, will,
without doubt, be extended at this
session to other high schools: Legis-
latlon will be enacted for the further
consolidation of rural schools and
providing workable machinery for the
organization of consolidated school
districts and liberal state aid to rural
consolidated schools. I have ALREADY
referred to the school text book bill
which is still under consideration.
But this is not all. It is now pro-
posed to reorganize the entire educa-
Sional system.
There have indeed been two bills
introduced for this purpose. One by
DR.. Stone of Park Rapids is very
radical in it's terms. It would do
away with all local organizations
elected by the people, as local boards
OF school trustees and so on, and
have all teachers from the district
school up to the university selected by
central body and subsidiary boards
appointed by it. His scheme, how
ever, is regarded by the house educa-
tion committee as impracticable, and
it is likely that it will prefer to
approve Mr.. Kunze's bill which, while
progressive, is greatly less revolu-
tionary in it's provisions.
!. &. !.
This bill Of Mr.. Kunze leaves out
the university, which will continue as
at present to recognize the board of
regents as its governing body. For
the control of other educational insti-
tutlons the bill provides for a non
partisan board of five members to
serve without remuneration to be
known as the state board of education.
It is to take the place and discharge