Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1913-09-19

might convince some that we of this
day and date have no monopoly OF
this particular virtue. Perhaps you
do not know it, but there has always
existed form Of initiative and refer
endum in Minnesota; that at enc
time Minnesota contributed thousands
of dollars for the encouragement of
immigration; that there were just
as stringent laws for the regulation
of LIQUOR then as now, and that re-
trenchment was the order at more
than one session. The che thing then
was that cures for ills were not sugar
coated. We use the hypodermic now
:. :. :.
Purity Sunday is the Il est move
ment to receive official eG iorsement.
Sunday, Nov. 3, has beo,. salscted and
Governor Eberhart has just issued
proclamation requesting its observ-
ance. On that day pulpits are to be
devoted to appeals for a general
cleansing of the body civic and poll
tic. His excellency, in issuing his
mandate, refused TO call it proclama-
ton. Commentator was his word
\ =. I.
Whether it is a case of trying to
find out public sentiment on the ques-
ton or that the date has really been
decided upon is not known, but the
Twin City publications continue to
pick October as the month when Gov
ernor Eberhart will call the legisla-
ture in special session for the CON
sideration of statewide control of
public utilities. AS for his excel
lency he refuses absolutely to say
when he will issue the CALL Last
week the executive began a tour OF
the county fairs of the state, with his
public utility idea as the chief fea-
ture of his addresses, and the reports
are to the effect that he was well re-
ceived. The initial talk was at st.
Charles He is still engaged in MAX
ing the tour.
+ + !.
The seven senators act and other
measures calculated to reduce repre-
sentation in the two bodies of the
Legislature are bitterly assat4edpbys the
big cities, still it is of record that in
the early days of statehood such was
advocated BY no less leader than
Governor Sibley. In message to the
legislature iii 1859 hep advocated the
reduction of the membership of the
senate from thirty-seven to twenty
five and of the house from eighty to
fifty. Regular sessions OF the legis-
lature, he advised be confined to
sixty days and special sessions to
thirty days. And he came near get
ting away with it, too.
a + s
The abolishment of capital punish
ment, which was done two years ago,
was attempted at the first legislative
session held in the state. 1t was at
a time when retrenchment i'm public
expenditures was the order of the
Gay and the BILL being sent to the
Judiciary committee to be passed up
on as to it's constitutionality, the
committee reported: "The bill, if
passed, will be legal, but in view OF
the spirit of retrenchments which is
abroad we believe that it would be
cheaper to hang prisoners convicted
OF capital crimes than to feed them
at the public expense" The bill did
not pass.
In the opinion of the state tax COM
mission dogs are worth more than
/ sheep or hogs for assessment pur-
poses and it accordingly fixed the val,
ue of each at 1882. Sheep were listed
at $1.5G each and hogs at 1925 Last
week the board completed its assess
ment of personal property in the
state and the result is total assessed
valuation of $227,923,882.
:. 4 =
Representative L. C. Spooner of
Morris, it is said, will make his resi-
dence at Minneapolis in the near
future. The intimation is that he
has made his last try for a legislative
job.
Another legislator who will be
among the missing when the two
lawmaking bodies meet two years
hence will be Representative Frank
son of Fillmore county. He, too, has
moved to the Twin Cities.
:. :. +
The state fair did not realize very
heavily this year because of bad
weather. Now plans are on for an ap-
peal to the legislature. A new agri-
cultural display building is wanted