Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1911-04-07
NAY BLOW ! Up
any MOMENT
Lower House Of Legislature
Sitting Over a Mine
KLEMER EPISODE STILL alive
Effect Of Bad Feeling Caused by Incl
dent Apparent in Action on
Certain Measures.
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence
st. Paul, April 3.-The Minnesota
house Of representatives is a loaded
mine. 1t is likely to blow up at almost
any moment. The Klemer episode has
been settled, for the time being, but
the motives which prompted the out
break are still alive. Representative
Klemer, the man who precipitated the
trouble, is not the kind of a man to
lead a revolution. He is a mild and
soft speaking individual, but was ap-
parently disappointed in his committee
assignments. He made the charge of
packed committees without apparently
knowing just what he was doing and
without proper appreciation of what
the charge meant. After he had made
it he was willing to apologize, but he
was prevented from doing so upon the
advice of friends who were glad to see
the matter stirred up. Later he did
apologize for his supplementary Ian
guage.
i. !. +
The dramatic incident of the 0cca-
sion occurred when, after Mr.. Klemer
had made his apology for using unpar-
liamentary language, Speaker Dunn,
from the floor, and after Representa-
tive Fowler of Minneapolis had been
called to the chair, demanded that
Representative Klemer and Represen,
tative w. T. Stone of Hubbard county,
who had Joined in the charges, be
called to the bar of the house and be
asked to state specifically what com
mittees they regarded as packed and
with what members they regarded
them as being packed. Previous to
that resolution Of censure had been
passed OF Representative KIemer
which incorporated the language OF
the apology which he had intended to
make. The debate over the PROPOSE
ton occasioned some hard feeling and
Robert c. Dunn, losing his temper, ap-
piled the unparlia mentary term OF
miserable whiffet" to Representative
Clinton Robinson of Winona. Mr..
Dunn later said he 'humbly apollo
gized" for his unparliamentary Ian
guage, but Representative Robinson
refused to accept it, saying cts set
too long," and the laughter which fol-
lowed mellowed the tenseness of the
situation
-
When hailed before the bar Of the
house neither Representative Klemer
nor Representative Stone had any def
mite charges to make. Representative
Klemer, when questioned by Represen-
tative Spocner did not even know that
Mr.. Spooner is chairman of the house
committee on appropriations, the most
powerful committee in the body. The
two men took refuge in the excuse
that they had not had time in which
to prepare their charges Representa-
tive Klemer and his friends still
threaten to make specific charges and
demand an Investigation.
+ !. ).
Back of all the trouble in the house,
1t is said, is an effort to split the Re-
publican party on the issue of insur-
gency with q view of securing the
Minnesota dele cation for La Toilette
in the next national convention and
against the continuation of President
Taft in office The Eberhart admin
istration forces are aligned on the
side of Taft. Speaker Dunn has
shown disposition to be regular. All
factions claim to be progressive, but
without an issue the La Toilette
forces would be LETT in bad way and
their only hope is in raising the issue
of "reactionaryism" in Republican pol
tiles. The Democrats are carefully
watching the situation and throughout
the session have been playing an ex-
cellent game of politics.
!. + j.
Speaker Dunn, since the eruption
In the house, has been very sick
man. The speaker had a touch Of
ptoma1ne poisoning, complicated with
threatened typhoid, and all in all has
been having hard time Of it.
j. + !.
Reapportionment is still hanging
IRE In the senate. Senators Rockne
and Clague were ready to introduce
their new bill, giving Hennepin county
one extra senator, St. Louis county
one extra senator and distributing the
other four in the Red River valley,
on Thursday. During the week an
effort to secure the passage of a con-
stitutional amendment to the effect
that the number of senators should be
limited to four from each county
struck snag and was finally prog
ressed. The Rockne- Clague bill is still
pending.
= \
Strenuous efforts are being made to
defeat the Keefe bill, passed by the