Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1913-02-21
BY DIRECT VOTE
LEADS FOR POPULAR
ELECTION OF SENATORS
SOCIAL CENTERS IN COUNTRY
State Insanity Experts Proposed
Mothers Pension Bill In

/ Madison, Wis, Feb.-(Special) -
| Wisconsin will be one of the
first of the states to send TO
congress ratification of the constitu-
tional amendment for popular cleo
ton of United States senators. The
people of the state have repeatedly
expressed themselves in favor of the
reform and it's adoption in the ma
ton will soon increase the band in
the senate that follows the leader
ship of LaFollette
The state senate last week voted
overwhelmingly for the amendment
and the assembly will act at an early
date
Civic Centers in Rural Districts
bill in which the people of the
state at large are interested and one
OF particular interest to rural COM
munities is that introduced by SEN
ator Hoyt, of Menomonie Falls, which
turns the school houses over to the
people for public meetings, thus car
rying out the social center idea.
Uuder the proposed law of Hoyt,
the schools shall be used for all
meetings of a non-partisan, non-sec-
tartan, non-exclusive nature and for
public meetings in which the COM
munity is interested. The plan has
been tried out successfully in some
localities, particularly in Milwaukee.
Insanity Dodge Getting Stale
Long drawn legal fights on de-
fenses of insanity are to be short
ened if the law proposed by Senator
Huber, Dane county, goes upon the
statute books.
The chief fault of expert testimony
where insanity pleas are entered, it
is claimed is that the experts are
employed for either the prosecution
or defense, thus prejudicing them.
The bill of Senator Huber provides
for the appointment by the Governor
Of twenty accredited physicians a2
state alienists. These appointments
will be made in various parts of the
state and these men will be chosen
by the judges of the trial courts to
examine alleged insane persons. This,
it is pointed out, will secure unprej-
udiced decisions.
For Mother and the Kids
Mnthnrc, -,
bill by Assemblyman John Schnitzler.
De Pere, will not only be a boon to
unfortunate mothers and children,
but will be a saving of public funds.
This is the claim of friends of the
measure who say that it is not even
experimental and cite facts in proof.
The law is already in force in New
Zealand-recognized as one of the
foremost in the list of progressive
countries-New South Wales, Vic
toria, British Columbia and the state
of Illinois.
The proposed Wisconsin measure,
it is said, is better and broader than
tllOoc Ill SLlCCt III bllc pldCCS HdulCu,
the trainers of the Wisconsin bill
having benefited by the experience
of others to such an extent that the
proposed measure here lacks the
faults and inconsistencies said to be
found in measures adopted at an
earlier date.
Looks Like Short Session
The number of bills introduced in
the legislature this session are few
er in number at the close of the
sixth week than they were two years
ago. Up to date $50 have been in
troduced in the assembly as com.
pared to 600 at the same time last
session while in the senate the num-
ber is 213 while the total last ses-
sion at this time was 354.