Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1912-05-10
END REAL LABOR
OF EXTRA SESSION
All Important Questions Settled
in Schedule Time.
WATERPOWER BILL KILLED
Legislature Passed Nineteen Bills in
Five Days and Closely Followed
Plan Mapped Out by the Admins
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Club Bill Loses.

Madison.-The special session OF
the Wisconsin legislature practically
cleaned up all work after being as
sembled for five days, and nearly all
of the members of both houses have
left for their homes. Gov. McGov-
ern's prediction that the session
would not last more than one week
came true. Organization prelimin-
airy to the meeting of the legislature,
and the fact that neither house spent
much time on matters not strictly
within the provisions of the call
made this possible.
Final adjournment will be taken
when the governors signature has
been attached to the bills passed.
The last important act of the leg
islature was the killing of the wa
terpower bill in the senate.
During the session twenty-eight
bills were introduced in the assem-
bly,, nineteen were passed, one was
non-concurred in, and the remainder
fell by the wayside. Three joint res
olutions were introduced in the low
er house.
Thirteen bills were introduced in
! the senate, five were passed and
eight were killed. Three joint resO-
lutions and three senate resolutions
were introduced in the upper house.
The most important bills passed
during the session were:
Appropriating $106,0OO to Black
River Falls to relieve the destitu-
ton caused by flood, improve SAM
tary conditions and construct dams
and retaining walls to safeguard city
in future.
Appropriating $4,000 to strength
en- the levee system in and near the
city of Portage.
Appropriating $4,000 for COM
mittee appointed to Investigate the
general levee system in and near
Portage and report to the governor.
| Providing for non-partisan NUM-
cipal elections in the city of Milwau-
kee and all of the cities of the state.
Providing that presidential cleo
tors shall be elected at the platform
convention instead of by presidential
delegates.
Validating election of delegates to
national convention.
Clearing up points in election laws
and the fish and game laws.
Authorizing the use of short berry
boxes, properly marked, until March
/, 1913.
Admitting the Lloyds insurance
association to the state.
Measures killed were:
The waterpOWer bill.
The Milwaukee county non-parti
san bill.
Jefferson club bill, permitting a
candidate to have his name placed
on more than one ticket.
The issue in the contest over the
passage of a water powers bill was
whether the state should grant mill
dam and water power franchises in
perpetuity or for a limited time. The
representatives of the water powers
were opposed to any legislation on
the subject, but if any act were pass
ed they preferred provision for per-
petual permits.
The committee bill on the subject
authorized the state railroad COM
mission to grant franchises on condi-
tions relating to the construction and
maintenance of the dam. 1t contain
ed a provision reserving to the state
right of repeal and provided for state
supervision and inspection of dams,
but imposed no fee to defray the ex-
pense of such supervision. The most
Objectionable provision to the water
power interests was the repeal
clause.
Senator Husting drafted a substi-
tute bill which contained most of the
restrictions of the committee and in
addition imposed an annual fee based
on horsepower for supervision and
inspection.
When the bill was reported by the
committee Senator SanbOrn of Ash
land offered an amendment providing
that franchises granted under the
act should be limited to twenty years
with the privilege of two successive
extensions of ten years each. This
was adopted, reconsidered and re-
adopted. The vote on readoption was
IA to 12
The Husting substitute bill was
then rejected by vote of IL to IA.
Finally the committee bill was re-
fused third reading and engrossment
by vote of l to "a.
Meat Contract Higher.
Madison.-The board of control
contracts for meat for the coming
cINu Y,