Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-04-26
legislature
OF 1911
BY LYNN HAINES

"
1t was a fitting finish. A legis-
nature which has emphasized itself
as an unparalleled prodigy of expense
and impotency. ended in disorder.
In its dying days everything hap
pened save the things which should
have happened. Instead of meet
ing the issue of the session honestly
and making a belated effort to
justify their existence. these states
men expended their last energies
in evasion and subterfuQe. profan-
ity and imprecations. There were
fights and fiascos.
In the Senate two of the most
vital reform measures had just been
reached when the standpatters
sought safety for the special inter-
'ests in final adjournment. The
motion to adjourn the session sine
die was made and lost by the fol-
lowing vote.
FOR ADJOURNMENT-Ander-
son. Boyle. Carpenter. Clague,
Collier, L. o. Cooke, Denegre, Dunn.
Duxbury. Fosseen, Froshaug. GIotz-
bach Gum, G.. D. johnson, Johnston,
Klein. Mardon, Murray, Olson,
,Poehler, Pugh. Rockne. Rustad,
Stebbins. G.. H. Sullivan, j. D.
Sullivan. Swanson. VanHoven
Wallace and Weis-30.
AGAINST FINAL ADJOURN
MENT-Ahmann, Bedford, Benson,
eastman. Cheadle, C. F. Cook.
Dale. Donaldson, Dues, Dwinnell,
Elwell. Gunderson. Hackney. Hand
dan. Hanson. Haycraft, V. l.. John
son. Lende. L'Herault. McGrath,
Moonan, Nelson, Odell. Pauly. Pet
ergon. Putnam, Sageng, 6augstad,
Schaller. Sundberg. Thoe, Wilson.
and Works--33.
Here occurred one of the most
lamentable accidents in the history
of Minnesota law-making. As
sistant. Secretary W. A. Simonton
announced to Lieutenant Governor
Gordon that the vote was 80 for to
80 against the motion and that
official declared the Senate adjourn
ment. Instantly there was a scatter
ing and when the mistake was dis
covered it seemed impossible to
reassemble the senators.
Perhaps it was not an accident,
although I believe that it was But
the people will be INDIGNANT. and
justly so, because the mistake de-
feated the recall and the extension
of the primary to state officers.
The thirty-three who voted against
adjournment and a few others
would have voted for the bills which
were pending when the Senate was
thus illegally dissolved.
As to the House. no words of
mine can adequately describe the
disgraceful scene at the close. In
that body, a bunch Of brewery men,
sbers, threatening physical force il
necessary to attain their end, gath
cred beneath the clock and prevent
ed the hands being turned back as
has been done in every session for
years. These spigot statesmen thus
compelled the adjournment of the
House and defeated bills like the
extension Of local option rights to
cities Of the fourth class and the
new child labor law.
In this connection Speaker Dunr
is reported as saying that he ouqh,
to have smashed the clock. A bet.
ter way for him would have beer
to have smashed the reactionar,
House machine three months before
Had the House not been organic
ed as it was, important business
would not have been delayed unit
the last minute. By giving then
every advantage the Speaker him
self played the game Of the inter
ests and politicians, which was de
lay and disorder.
( There is not space here to NOR
than suggest. few things. In
very short time | expect to tell tn
whole story of the SESSION in "Th'
Minnesota Legislature of 1911.
which will follow the genera
lines of the volume on the 1890
Legislature. For the present not
4 these characteristics: