Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1913-01-15

celVeQ IL TO Do Cnelr DUTY TO so ar
range matters that their authority
would be unquestioned. Acting on
the assumption that, as John Lennon
puts it, the rules committee is rather
the personal cabinet of the speaker
than representative Of the house
membership, it had been made up en-
tirely of those who in the preliminary
campaign for the speakership had
had been Mr.. Rines' partizans. When
Mr.. Pfaender, who appears to be re-
garded as the Democratic leader,
protested, and asked that the Demo-
Gratis be given representation, Mr..
Lennon, in addition to defining the
status Of the rules committees as in
Dictated above, woke the ire Of fire.
eating Southerner who represents
Washington county by referring to
members of the minority party as
barnacles. While the personal con-
flict threatened was happily averted,
that this represents not unfairly the
attitude Of the organization towards
the minority party is indicated by the
fact that the house was whipped into
line to defeat Mr.. Phaender's propo-
sition which anyone familiar with
parliamentary proceedings must re-
gard as eminently fair. If the motion
had been made after the committee
assignments had been announced
Question whether it would have been
defeated so easily. There is no
gratitude quite so overlooking as that
Of a politician who is inspired with
a lively sense Of favors to come.
AN EFFECTIVE MACHINE.
Given a committee like that ap-
pointed by Mr.. Rines, regarding it's
mission as indicated by Mr.. Lennon,
and given also committees so organ
lied that a majority Of their men,
bership are to. be depended upon to
pull together, it only remained to give
the committee on rules the right to
dictate to other committees when
they should meet, to make Mr.. Rines'
authority much more absolute than
that Of any Of his predecessors. This
authority it asked at the hands Of the
house. The protest against it, how
ever, was so loud that it was aban-
doned, after a lively tilt in which a
number Of prominent members took
part. The opposition to it agreed in
contending that Gear Reed was a
mere tyro compared with those who
proposed to so tie up the Minnesota
house. Possibly it wouldn't be as
bad as that, and there is no warrant
to conclude that Mr.. Rines would
abuse the authority vested in him,
but that in evil hands it could easily
be made an engine Of disagreement
there can be little question. Real
lprogressives would be the last to set
a bad precedent of this character.
ISOME GUBERNATORIAL RECON-
MENDATIONS.
The governor in his annual mess
age deferred measurably. to public
sentiment in endorsing the initiative
and referendum. Otherwise it con-
tanned no surprises. Two recommen-
dations he makes seem to meet with
practically universal approval, one
that the many irresponsible boards
now holding Office be merged in a res
ponsible department., and the other
that the fee system be abolished
There is little doubt that this lat
ter is greatly abused, and that be-
cause Of it the burdens Of the tax
payers are unnecessarily increased
The most conspicuous examples Of
: unearned fees going into private
pockets are perhaps those collected
T. by the governors secretary and the
clerk Of the supreme court. There
should be no delay in putting these
Offices on a salary basis.
VI THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
: Mr.. R. C. Dunn, who is perhaps as
l we'll informed as anyone on the sub.
t ect does not agree with the cover.