The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1911-02-16
STATE LEGISLATURE
Continued From Page 1.

1OIAlE LEGISLATURE
Continued From Page 1. 49, Fs
the house by Mr.. Davis have been
taken from general orders by the
direction of the. house and referred to
the committee on judiciary. The con
tention is that money appropriated
for expenditure under the supervision
OF the highway commission can not
be spent as proposed, and it has al
ready been decided that the legisla-
ture cannot appropriate money
directly for the purpose.
A scheme has been devised for a
new basis of reapportionment. It
appears in the form of bill to amend
the constitution which bears the sig
allure OF Senators Duxbury, Moonan,
Haycraft and Weis, none of whom are
believed to be violent in their sup
port OF any kind of reapportionment
at all. They want to so amend the
constitution that, when reapportion-
ment is made, the basis will be the
total vote cast for governor at the
last election preceding reapportion-
ment. In the house Representative
Robinson wants the reapportionment
made on the basis of population.
aliens excluded. There are large
numbers of aliens employed in mining
and numbering, and it is quite posi-
BILE that many new settlers in the
northern part of the state have not
yet fully become legal citizens. The
idea is to exclude these from the count
when reapportionment is made. The
senate bill to which I have referred
would accomplish the same purpose.
In both measures the design to
deprive northern Minnesota of Just
representation is apparent.
i j.
A characteristic feature of the Dux-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS bill is a
provision which limits the maximum
senatorial represention of counties to
four. This, of course is to deprive
the counties of Ramsey, Hennepin and
st. Louis of the representation to
which they are entitled on a popula-
ton basis. The large representation
of the counties is what sticks in the
crops of good many country mem
bers.
Ex-senator Stephens has created
quite sensation by charges made
before members of the legislature
visiting the Crookston agricultural
school of ill-treatment of boys at the
school at Red Wing. They are un-
mercifully whipped there, he says.
Among his other statements is that a
whipping machine is used; you press
the button and the machine does the
rest. The charge, made by a less
prominent man than Senator Steph-
ems, would be regarded as joke, but
Senator Stephens insists that it is
true. On the other hand it is strenu.
ously denied by Mr.. Whittier, the
superintendent of the school, a man
whose reputation is high. He de-
mands an investigation. The state
board of control and the state board
OF visitors profess ignorance and are
sceptical as to the truth of the charges,
but suggest also an investigation.
Senator Rockne from Goodhue coun-
ty, where the school is located, is
also incredulous and believes that
inquiry will develop that Mr.. Steph-
ems has been misinformed. On his
motion the senate decided on the ap-
pointment of an Investigating CON-
mittee which will at once inquire into
the matter and report to the legisla-
ture.
Possibly, however, the scope of the
inquiry will be enlarged to include
the girls school. This result is likely
to follow the action of the house to
which Mr.. Rockne's resolution went
after it had passed the senate. A
member from St. Paul intimated that
he was in possession of information
which led him to believe that in the
girls as we'll as the boys school the
teachers we're unnecessarily harsh.
Possibly it will not be we'll to attach
too great Importance to these charges.
These boys and girls are sent to the
reform schools at Red Wing because
they are unruly and often incorrigi-
BILE. Discipline at such institutions
must necessarily be strict and the
boys and girls are all the better for
being obliged to submit to it when
it is within reason, although of