The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1911-04-20

l9ll.
aimed to be fair ii his rulings and to
give everybody square deal. The
speakers influence: was cast on the
side OF more conservative legislation.
Tonnage tax was defeated in the
house, county option was beaten after
fair hearing, and reapportionment
was passed by a large majority.
Then came the Klemer charges.
Representative Klemer charged that
the speaker had packed the committees
in the interest of the special interests.
This was Indignantly denied by the
speaker and his friends and stormy
scenes followed. Representative
Klemer and DR.. W. T. Stone, who had
Joined with him in the charges. we're
brought before the bar of the house.
where they admitted they had no spe-
cltlc charges to make. Later they in
PRODUCED resolution demanding an
Investigation, which was mysteriously
dropped. The speaker became ill
Immediately afterwards, and upon his
temperance in the house became the
most radical of radicals. He rushed,
the eastman bill, already killed in
the senate, through the house, making
a speech on the subject, and casting
his fortunes with sectional politics.
The reapportionment bill in the form
OF constitutional amendment, found
him an ardent sectionalist, and abso-
lutely unlike his previous position.
When the speaker first appeared on
the political horizon he was pic
turesque figure; with his long hair and
lean and lanky figure, he was fire.
quently compared in appearance to
| Abraham Lincoln. At a banquet
given in St. Paul he declared he COM
menced his republicanism with a large
"R" and needed no qualifying adjec-
! tive to describe it. It was assumed
then that the speaker had statewide
ambitions and desired to become
governor. Since then his most recent
attitude has been taken as an indica-
tion that he is barred from statewide
politics and aims to become the next
congressman from the First con-
gressional district.
In the senate Lieutenant Governor
S. Y. Gordon also has gubernatorial
aspirations. The lieutenant governor
was elected as county optionist. In
organizing the senate he overturned
the old-tjme ruling spirits and placed
his own friends in control of the CON-
mittees. The result of this alignment
was shown in the election contests
where the elections committee ap-
pointed by the lieutenant governor
was sustained in every instance.
Since then it has been rumored that
the lieutenant governors friends have
formed an alliance with the supporters
of Senator LaFollette, who aims to Sc
cure the delegation from Minnesota
for Senator LaFollette for president.
Fhe most embarrassing situation for
the lieutenant governor has been the
reapportionment question. Most of
his friends we're among those who
we're trying to raise the specious cry
of country against city. In his first
rulings on the question he seemed to
favor the anti-reapportionists, but
squared himself with northern Min
nesota by his ruling of Monday night,
from which he later threatened to re-
cede. The senate organization was
against reapportionment.
In both bodies there has been
large amount of dust-throwing. The
personal and political hostility to the
governor has been largely responsible
for the defeat of many constructive
measures. The legislature has dealt
largely with reform political
measures, but has ignored real con-
structive legislation. Outside of the
Dunn good roads bill and the Keefe
bill for the direct election of United
States senator's, little or nothing can
be accredited to the present session.
In addition to the defeat of the five
per cent gross earnings tax, the silent
death in committee of the Rockne
watered stocks bill, probably the most
important piece of legislation before
the session was the employees, CON-
pensation bill. At the previous ses-
sion Governor Johnson had been en-
powered to appoint a commission to
visit Europe, where they should inves-
tigate European methods of dealing
with employees, compensation and re-
port to the present legislature. b.
w.. Mercer, George M. Gillette, and
W. E. McEwen we're members of this
commission. They reported two bills,
McEwen and Mercer signing one re-
port and Gillette signing a minority
report. Former justice of the supreme