The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-02-02

and at the general election. There
was not the shadow of doubt but
he was the man that large majority
of the voters of the district wanted to
represent them in the senate. The
lquestion OF his citizenship was raised
and it was admitted that if he was
not citizen he had no legal right to
a seat in the senate. The lawyers
laid down some rules regarding the
establishment of citizenship that
ought to make the courts sit up ana
take notice. They laid down the rule
that the burden of proof lay upon
the contestant to prove that the con-
testee was not citizen, that the
contestant could not be made to an
swer questions as to the pace OF his
birth and that man was presumed
to be citizen unless it was proven
to the contrary. If the courts should
adopt these rules as court procedure
it would be impossible to prove that
! WI Ting Fang, the Chinese minister,
was not citizen of the United States
| if he alleged that he was, but as a
righteous verdict was arrived at, no
one complains at the weird law propo-
sitions laid down. The senate is a
.'law unto ITSELF and no one will
ever question it hereafter.
There has been a noticeable alb
sence of freak and discriminating
bills so far this season, but they are
beginning to bob up.
A bill was offered last week pro-
viding that a man who took a drink
of intoxicating liquor should not be
permitted to use or fire high power
rifle the same day, the idea being to
prevent the loss of life by the hand
ling of firearms by intoxicated per-
sons during the hunting season. The
idea was not half bad, but how is
such law to be enforced? To bring
about even the possibility of it's en-
forcement it would be necessary to
4
send policeman with every hunter
that enters the northern woods and a
fire-arm expert, also, to determine the
character of his rifle.
Another bill prohibits the drinking
of spirituous, malt or vinous liquors
on all railroad cars except Bullets and
dining cars and gives conductors and
brakemen police power to enforce the
act. If this bill becomes law who
wouldn't be brakeman or a conduc-
tor? The tips they could collect for
allowing bibulous ones TO indulge,
would make them rich beyond the
dreams of avarice in a few years.
1t is hard for man to understand
why it is any worse for lumber. jack
to take drink out of a black bottle,
in smoking car filled with men, than
| it is for member of the legislature
to take one out of a twenty-five cent
'tindividual" in a buffet car filled with
women and children.
| Why should it be made crime for
a German farmer to wash down his
frugal lunch with bottle of beer in
day coach and aristocratlc men and
women be permitted to swig to their
hearts content in diner? There
seems to be an inordinate tendency
on the part of legislators everywhere,
| to regulate, restrict and circumscribe
the individual actions of men who
shovel for a living, walk and travel in
smoking cars and to permit those who
cut cupons for subsistence, ride in
benzine buggys and travel in Pull
mans to do as they please.
Every dead letter law placed on the
statute books makes it more difficult
to enforce enforcible legislation and
lessons respect for the law. !.
There is a law now in force in this
state prohibiting the sale of cigarettes
and cigarette paper in this state, yet
recently there were counted at one
time, in the corridors of the capitol,
| five boys smoking cigarettes while
the legislature was in session on the
floor above. 1t is no common thing
to see members putting coffin nails
on the floor OF the house and senate,
during recesses and the "makings''
can be purchased with impunity in
the cigar stands at the capitol.
Any attempt at reform legislation
based on discrimination is sure. to re-
suit in failures. Reform based on
discrimination is as incongruous as
religion based on money. Both have
often been attempted and inevitable
failure has always been the result.
f. M. EDDY