Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1911-02-16
town, that the two essentials of good

IN the state legislature.
The bill to create commissioner of
noxious weeds, and one TO provide for
poorhouse and Jail inspectors for the
state, has called out the comment that
if all bills asking for new commissions
and laws requiring many men to enforce
continues, the looping off of the tele-
phone Inspector and the state surveyor
will only be drop in the bucket in the
way of reduction, with whole barrel
of increases in official places to be paid
for by the state or by fees paid in
through the departments which the new
officials will be called upon to inspect
or look after in their official capacities.
House bill l47, the headlight bill, was
recommended for passage. This is
practically the same measure that the
people voted down last fall. This par.
ticular piece of legislation, on its face,
seems particularly strange to be brought
forth two months after the people had
voted it down by an overwhelming
majority There mas been a persistent
lobby for the measure by some of the
railway operative organizations, but it
is contended by railway people that the
order of locomotive engineers is not in
favor of the bill, but that the allied
order of railway train men, which
includes firemen and temporary engin-
GERS, is particularly anxious for the bill
for the reason that the older men can
not stand the glare of the electric head
light.
A committee on rules reported an
amendment to rule 60 which provides
that during this session that any bill
reported to the house without recon-
mendation goes on the calendar for
final passage by being considered in the
committee of the whole. This report
was adopted because of a return of
house bill los to the house during the
session. This bill is one which provides
that prosecuting attorney may COM
ment on the action of a defendant in
not testifying or taking the stand in
his own behalf during a trial. There
was more promiscuous oratory on this
proposition than any subject so far
introduced in the house, but the bill
was brought out just the same.
Following advices from Washington
that congress has given South Dakota
new representative, Representative
Whiting, of Woonsocket, prepared and
on Tuesday introduced congressional
apportionment bill, creating district
number one, all east of the Missouri
river and north of the south line of
Brookings county; district number two,
all east of the Missouri and south of
this line; and district number three, all
west of the Missouri Lieutenant gov
ernor Shober has plan which would
trict. Number one would include all
north of the south line and east of the
east line of Hughes county. Numbe,'
two would be the same as in Writings
plan, all south of the south line of
Hughes and east of the Missouri. Num-
Der three would include all west of the
river and all of the tier of counties west
of the east line of Hughes.
The railroad commission has pre-
sented bill which seeks to amend the
common carrier act of of 1907, which is
practically rewritten and made TO
apply to express companies, which will
allow the commission to make joint
rates; which will require rate schedules
to be posted for thirty days before
going into effect; which will authorize
the commission to suspend rates; and
making rebating in any form, either
direct or through the claim department
of a railroad, penal offense. On this
last clause it is alleged that it is found
by the interstate commerce commits
sion that since the laws against rebat-
ing have been enacted, that the claims
departments of the different roads have
been working overtime, and that this
part of their business has grown enors
mously and there appears to be feel
ing that the two have some connection.
The Dakotan, published at the CAPT.
tol, in commenting on the legislative
session, says: eff the legislature could
meet often enough and be prevented
from passing any new legislation, the
present revised code would be repealed.
Ninety per cent of the legislation pro-
posed at this session is to repeal and
amend certain sections of the laws of
the code, Even the multiplicity of
joint resolutions proposing constitu-
tional amendments suggests the thought
that this document would be repealed
too if the legislature had the power
This shows that most of our legislation
Is but lily advised and poorly consid-
cred. One session of legislature
arrives On the Stage, struts around for
a brief Hsr.od Masses q hatch of laws