Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-03-28

tEram's Injunction. TO report out tAA
small stuff first, and especially the
stun that should be killed of, then
bend your energies to the important
measures"
At the night session of the assem-
bly, there was presented by Assembly
man Thomas RGycraft, a Joint resnia-
ton calling for the appointment OF a
committee of ave-three from the aa-
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 q
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. II is considered significant
that up TO the present time about 275
have registered, bit that there are
perhaps as many more who have not
obeyed the Law ana 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 o the statement OF the
speaker at the outset that 1t was
The intention of the assembly to see
that the law is obeyed.
Arguments for the passage of the
bill appropriating 100000 as a re-
yolving fund for the working of the
binder Irvine plant at the Waupun
state prison were heard before the as
sembly committee on charitable and
penal institutions. For over an hour
Henry Towne, warden of the prison,
answered innuEerable questions put
to him by members and others on
both sides of the proposition. Mr..
Towne made 1t clear that he was per
sonally taking no stand In the mat
ter, and was prepared merely to give
figures and facts asked for in rela-
ton to the prison and its activities.
He said that the net per capita cost
of maintaining prisoners at the insti-
tuition, after deducting the amount re-
ceived from the contractors who use
prison labor in the manufacture of
hosiery, is $44 year and the gross
per capita cost is $1S6 a year.
Mr. Towne did not assume to
know whether 1t would be possible for
the prison plant to manufacture and
sell twine at a lower price than the
regular manufacturers. but assuming
that this would possible with cheaper
labor, etc, he said that If the Irvine
manufactured could be sold at profit
of one cent per pound the prison would
be self-sustainlng.
Ex-Judge d. o. Mahoney, represent
ing the American Society of Equity,
appeared for the bill, witch he said
was desired by the farmers of the
state and would relieve them from
the heavy burden of trust-manufac-
tured binder twine A. D. Conover,
former presiden, of the board of con-
troll, and w. H. Graebner we're at the
meeting to speak for the bill, espe-
cially on the necessity of equipping the
Waupun plant. They did not, however.
speak until afternoon. In opposition
to the bill there were delegations here
from the Merchants and Manufactur-
eTs' association and the Wisconsin
Manufacturers association; Arthur B.
Strong, secretary of the Lindsay Bros
company of Milwaukee.