Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1911-04-21


against the. Hanson bill and when it
came up last week it was voted down
without a record vote. -. ..~. I
: ~ + 4. + /
Governor Eberhart has decided not
to call an. extra session in the interest
Of reapportionment. At the meeting |
Of the Northern Minnesota Develop
ment association at Brainerd he had !
said that unless a sincere effort was
made on the part of the senate to pass |
reapportionment measure he might
call an extra session. He has decided |
that no kind of reapportionment bill
could pass the present senate and that
to call an extra session would be futile /
and would merely involve extra ex-
pense to the state. The result is that
reapportionment is dead
The Spooner waterways bill seems
TO have struck snag. The bill has
been generally regarded as too drastic,
although there was a general feeling
that some such legislation is desirable.
Last week the attorney generals Of
fee gave out an opinion to the effect
that the bill would be unconstitutional
if passed. This is expected to mean
the final defeat of the bill in the clos
ing hours Of the session. The accom-
panying Spooner bill, calling for all
appropriation of $4,000 for an inves-
tigation of the feasibility of canalizing
the state Of Minnesota, is regarded as
fantastic and If passed by the senate
would probably be vetoed by the gov
ernor.
i. + !.
| The eastman distance tariff bill, un-
der new name, originating in the
house, is one of the important meas
ures with which the senate will deal
in its closing hours. When this letter
was written it was not expected the
bill would pass. During its original
discussion in the senate the attorney
general wrote an opinion, bolstered up
by similar opinions from former At
torney General Edward T. Young and
| former Justice of the Supreme Court
Thomas D. O'Rrien, that the enact
ment of the bill would nullify the rate
cases which were then in litigation.
| The defeat Of the state as registered in
| the opinion Of the week before by
! Judge Sanborn aroused considerable
! feeling over the matter, and this, with
| the speakers personal influence, Sc
| cured the passage of the bill in the
lower body. The feeling in the senate
was that the state should not be moved
by pique or indignation over the out
come of the first round in the fight
The state has spent great deal of
money in prosecuting the rate cases
and they are yet to go before the su.
preme court. 1t is felt the state can
afford to wait until the case is def
nitely decided by the highest tribunal
before changing it's attitude relative
to rate regulation. Senator Moonan
offers resolution appointing a CON-
mission to work without pay to inves-
tigate the workings and effects of the
Iowa distance tariff law, upon which
the proposed Minnesota law is based,
to report to the legislature two years
from now.
!. :. !.
Theodore Roosevelt appeared before
the legislature Friday night and adj
vised that body as to it's future course
of action. He announced that he was
a progressive and favored the initia-
tive and referendum, the recall, the
hn
Of United States senators. He quail
fed each statement so that both sides
on these questions believe the former
president was with them. In declaring
for the initiative and referendum he
insisted the percentages necessary to
invoke the use of either initiative or
referendum should be so high that
they could not be invoked lightly or
frivolously The radical element in
the house had insisted on low per-
centage, while the more conservative
progressives had insisted on high
percentage. A measure of the latter
class was passed. It is now in the
| senate.
Relative to the recall the former
president intimated he believed in the
recall, but stated positively it should
not apply to the judiciary. The house
has passed two recall bills, one Of
them originating in the house and the
other introduced by Senator Moonan
In the senate. AS amended by the
house both apply to the judiciary, SO
on this question both sides again claim
the former president is with them
Colonel Roosevelt said he favored
some plan Of ending the services OF
judges not in sympathy with the spirit
of the times and recommended that
their services be ended through ma
jOrity action OF the legislature. He