The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1911-01-17
SOME CRITICISM
OF COMMITTEES.
Speaker Dunn Did Not Satisfy
All Factions.
NOW READY FOR REAL WORK
Legislature Expects to Get Down to
Business Without Further
PreIiminaries.


st. Paul, JAN 16.-With the appoint.
ment of his committees by the speaker
of the house the legislature has finally
got down to real work. The character
of both the house and senate commit
tees makes it plain that from this
time on it will be pushed. Naturally
there is among those who opposed Mr..
Dunn'S election more or less disposi-
ton to criticise his committee assign
ments, principally on the ground that
the progressives have not been given
adequate representation In respect to
the progressives who held out for Mr..
Burnquist and thus, to a greater or
less extent, embarrassed the speaker
in the work it is customary for him
to do before the house meets, this
criticism has no doubt some foupda
ton. In the case, however. of &C.
knowledged progressive Republicans
who aligned themselves with Mr.
Dunn's supporters, and there we're
many of these, no such complaint can
be made. They have informally re-
ceived generous treatment at his
hands.
1t is only fair to Mr.. Dunn to state
that he has so grouped the strong
men of the house, without respect to
their affiliations, as to make a COM
pact and well differed working or
ganization. Some complaint is made
that on the committee on taxes and
tax laws the so called interests have
greater representation than the mem
bership Of the house would seem to
entitle them to, which, judging of the
past affiliations of some of the COM
mittee's members, is likely to prove
true in case radical measures are in
troduced as, for instance, for the
taxation of iron lands. One would
expect the committee to be opposed
to the tonnage tax. But there seems
little probability at this time that
such measure will be pushed; and
there is nothing otherwise in the consti-
tuition OF this important committee to
warrant the assumption that any fair
measure for the equalization of the
taxation in this state or for such re-
forms as are advanced by the tax COM
consideration.
The temperance committee is the
only other committee that has been
subject to serious criticism-this of
course from the advocates of tenn
perance reform This committee is
composed of fifteen members. The
chairman and five of his associates
are said to favor county option. The
balance are supposed to be liberal in
their views and opposed to county op-
ton. The speakers pledge in regard
to this committee was that it would
be fair one and make such re-
port as would insure county option
full and fair consideration How this
is to be brought about remains to be
seen. The course the committee will
pursue, however, is anticipated to be
that the bill will be reported out &C.
companied by minority and majority
report, and that subsequently it will
be considered by the committee of
the whole where the matter can be
threshed out, as it doubtless will be,
and later the members put On record
with regard to it. However that may
be, there is no reason to anticipate
that the speaker will not fulfill his
pledge to the letter so far as county
option is concerned. 1t is anticipated.
nevertheless, that in regard to general
temperance legislation. the commit
tee will not hold specially advanced
views.
The education committee headed by
Representative Kunze, formerly super
intendent of schools at Red Wing and
one of the acknowledged progressive
Republicans enrolled under Speaker
Dunn's banner, has been the first to
report bills referred to it. The most
important was for a constitutional
amendment to provide for educa-
tional qualifications for county super
intendents of schools. 1t is proposed
that in the meantime a county board
Of education be formed to appoint such
superintendent. This subject has been
discussion for some years, both in the
legislature and out of it, and sentiment
in favor Of the change appears to be
growing. The committee recommend
ed the bill under consideration for
passage.
I. !. 4
Two bills have passed the house.
and the first of these the senate also,
under suspension of the rules. This
measure provides for an appropriation
for the hospitals for criminal insane
and insane tuberculosis patients at st.
Peter. These hospitals have recently
been constructed, it was explained,
but no appropriation was made for
their maintenance. The need of haste
in making the appropriation was that
man who had committed murder in
Dakota county and had been acquitted
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