Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-04-05
Minnesota legislature
Proceedings at the Minnesota State Capitol for the
Past Week.
fdSt week.

IL Past
st. Paul, March 25.-The senate
passed by vote of 40 to the Hay.
craft direct primary bill to apply to
all state officers, including governor
and lieutenant governor.
But In the course of the discussion,
the senator's placed themselves in the
peculiar position Of voting to have the
party platforms made in convention
composed exclusively Of nominees for
the legislature and senators holding
over. while few minutes later they
voted 81 to 18 that the platforms so
made should not be binding upon any
nominee and that he could go back to
his district, or stump the state, as the
candidate of his party. at the same
time disavowing the platform which
he had helped to make and running on
any old plank that happened to suit
his fancy or be good politics.
The final roll call on the passage of
the bill was as follows: aye, Amman,
Anderson. Bedford, Benson, Boyle,
Carpenter, eastman, Cheadle, Clague,
c. F. Cook, Dale, Denegre, Donald
son, Duxbury, Dwinnell, Elwell, Fos-
seen, Froshaug, Glotzbach. Gunderson,
Hackney, Hanson, Haycraft, Johnson,
V. L. Johnston, Klean, Lende. L'Her-
ault, McGrath, Marden, Moonan, MUIR
ray, Nelson, Odell, Olson, Peterson,
| Pugh, Putnam, Rockne, Rustad, Sa-
geng, Saugstad. Schaller, Stebbins,
Sullivan. J. D. Sundberg, Swanson,
Thoe, Wallace, Weis, Wilson.
Those voting no were: Collier, L..
c. Cooke, Dunn, Gum, Johnson, G. D.,
G. H. Sullivan, VanHoven.
Arguments for and against the
Rochne public utilities bill were heard
before the house committee on .tele-
phones and telegraphs. The hearing
was public and the public took ad.
vantage of it to express it's views at
| length.
The bill provides that all telephone
and telegraph companies operating
| within the state shall be under the
| supervision Of the state tax commits
sion. The two main features of the
bill are that the tax commission is
authorized to COMPEL all telephone
companies to allow other companies
to use their lines when necessary to
complete long distance calls and TAX
! ing the power of granting franchises
away from the towns and vesting it in
| the tax commission.
The Spooner waterways bill, placing
! all water powers on navigable streams
| under the control and regulation Of
the state, passed the lower house of
the legislature by vote of "a to 28.
| It's advocates declare that it is de-
| cided step towards the conservation
of the resources of Minnesota.
St. Paul, March 29.-Turning the
tables on the attackers of the dignity
of the house, friends of Speaker Dunn
overturned their enemies and won a
notable victory in the house.
Seeing the way things were turning
against them, friends of Representa-
| tive Klemer, who had charged that
| the committee Of the house were
| packed in the interest of the special
| interests" attempted to turn the tide
| by inducing Representative Klemer to
| apologize. He did so, but in his apol-
ogy he retracted nothing relative to
! the charges he had made and his
| apology was refused by the friends of
the speaker.
Just at the moment when the house
| insurgents thought they had scored a
parliamentary victory by putting
across the apology Of the offending
member, Speaker Dunn, sitting in the
chair Of member in the rear of the
house, arose in his seat. Pointing a
finger at the offending member, he
moved that Representative Klemer,
and Representative w. T. Stone who
had Joined in the charges of Repre-
sentative Klemer, be brought to the
bar of the house.
Vote Of Censure Passed.
After considerable jockeying in a
session which lasted all day, the vote
| of censure, accompanied by an amend
| ment offered by Representative Pfaen-
der. house leader of the Democrats,
| criticiZing Representative Klemer and
| declaring his charges false, was adopt
ed.
The adoption of the motion to CEN
sure did not occur until the afternoon,
and not until Representative Dunn
had lost his temper and Representa-
tive Clinton Robinson, of Winona, had
declared that ''he had had an idea for
a long time that even the representa-
tives of the press were packed and
several other things had occurred.
After many parliamentary moves
designed to protect the representatives
from the wrath of the house, Speaker
Dunn's motin was finally adopted.
Representatives Stone and Klemer
| were accordingly brought before the
bar of the house.
Standing there they were questioned
as to tho reasons which had caused
them to make the charges accredited
to them. Mr.. Klemer declined to an
swer and was excused.
Stone More Aggressive.
In his own statement, Representa-
$4,000 FINES FOR ART FRAUD.