The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-01-26
THE LEGISLATURE
Things Not Moving so Rapidly as
Two Years Ago
THE MILEAGE RACKET
Members See to it That They are
Paid for Travel to and From
the Capitol Building


est. Paul Special to the Herald Jan. 25.)
The nothing doing" sign has been
conspicuously displayed in both the
senate and the house ever since they
have been called to order. Fewer
bills have been introduced in either
body than during the same length OF
time at any previous session, and up
to date only two bills have become
laws, one of these was bill appro-
priating money to pay the expenses
of the session, the salaries of the
members and employees.
This is one measure that never gets
"lost in the shuttle, There is never
any dilatoriness about its passage and
it never requires special rule to Sc
cure consideration.
The members also promptly drew
their mileage, and the mileage figures
present puzzle that would make a
distance traffic manager hustle to
solve. They never agree with the
\ Same distance.
One senator who lives 20 miles
nearer st. Paul than another travelled
% miles further in getting here. A
senator and a representative living
i'm the same town find 10 miles diff
ference in the distance to ST. Paul.
OF two men living in the same block,
one discovers that he travels two
miles further than the other. The
only explanation that can be offered
is, that some come straight and others
travel crooked in getting to the CAPT
tol.
! Many Of the members, especially
( those from the rural districts, are in
T! clined to chafe at the delay in getting
down to business and the frequent
! and many adjournments, but it is not
time wasted. The members are get
: ting acquainted with each other, siz-
ing one another up, and legislation is
being discussed In a general tentative
land informal way.
1t is we'll that this IS being done.
If the entire first month should be
spent in getting acquainted and in in
formal discussion of proposed legis-
:. lation so much the better Hastily
considered legislation is apt to be bad
legislation.
4
At the recent night session when
Senator Sageng introduced his bill
granting equal political rights to wo-
men, while it was being read from
the desk, a bunch of ''suffragettes" or
'..suffragists" as the Minnesota wo-
! men ''ballot-boosters'' style them
J selves, gathered in the gallery and
led on by Mary McFadden, the daugh-
ter Of the Minnesota Editorial Asso-
.ciation, who knows how to do things
and do them right, showered roses
on the senators. Most of them were
SHE'D at "Ole," but the ladies' aim
was poor and they fell alike on the
just and the unjust.
In England, the suffragettes throw
brick-bats and get escorted to Jail by
policemen; in Minnesota they throw
roses and get escorted home by the
bachelor legislators. 1t is hard to
decide which method is the best, but
long odds are offered that "Mary''
with her roses will get further than
Lady Parkhurst with her bricks.
Promptly at II o'clock Jan. II, the
house took up 1.-The election of Uni
ted States Senator. A ruthless MEM
Der moved that all nominating
speeches be limited to two minutes
thus choking off a number of careful
1y prepared extern poraneous"
speeches.
Senator Clapp received LOT votes in
the house, Is of them being demo-
Gratis, r. T. O'Connor nine. Mr..
Hillman leader of the socialists, has
his party well in hand and he held it
solid for his candidate; and Thomas
: Van Lear received one vote.
The vote stood in the senate Clapp
So, O'Connor 4, Hammond 3. Twelve
democratic senators voted for Sena-
tor Clapp. All the prohibitionists in
both the house and senate did the
same, and Senator Sageng, who labors
under the hallucination thati bo ic a