The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-03-11
Senate Passes The
Distance Tariff Bill
eastman Wins After Spending Sew
eral Years in Hard Work For
The Measure,
TURN DOWN THE PLESS BILL
House Members Refuse to Re-Instate
Capital Punishment in This
State
TURN DOWN THE PLESS BILL
(By Grove E. WILSON,


Distance tariff passed the Senate
Wednesday by vote of 35 to 20.
Ernest Pless' bill to reinstate capt.
tai punishment in this state was killed
on Friday by close vote.
Those were the two most important
events in the legislature last week.
The distance tariff fight Of years
standing eliminated on Tuesday when
the eastman bill came to vote on
special order. Senator Tom eastman
has been giving this distance tariff his
undivided attention during a number
of years and he naturally is greatly
elated at the success attained.
There is room for serious doubt of
the efficiency of the measure which
seems quite likely to pass the house.
The bill as passed by the senate differs
in some points from the one which has
been in effect in Iowa for twenty-five
years and may work better than that
law is said to have worked.
The reports from Iowa with refer
ence to the distance tariff law results
are contradictory. 1t is readily adj
mitted that Iowa has been losing pop
ulation and there are good many who
attribute this fact to the distance
tariff
Also in Iowa there are large num-
Der OF small factories but none or very
few large ones. 1t seems to be admit
ted that the state wc~,a.rrost froTsrrz
few more large concerns.
1t should not be forgotten that the
Iowa law went into effect before con-
ditions down there were crystalized
and therefore did not work any serious
hardships upon communities. In Min
nesota large industrial centers with
enormous investments have grown up
and the practical operation of the dis
lance tariff would tend to destroy
these centers and wipe out millions of
dollars worth of property.
At that it seems reasonable to sup
pose that the small places in the state
would reap the benefit. But the cues
tion of tariffs is so involved and COM
plicated that Philadelphia lawyer
twice removed would find himself a
bowling lunatic in their presence.
Now the question is: What will
Governor Eberhart do with the bill if
it is passed to him to sign? There are
those bold enough to think he will veto
it. Such move would be extremely
brave and might not rebound to his
political credit. Probably however the
governor will feel that on a matter of
this kind he would have no option but
to sign bill of this nature.
If approved it is certain the law will
be bitterly fought in the courts of the
state and probably in the federal
courts so that it may be long time
before it goes into effect even if ap-
proved in the end by the court of last
appeal.
Ernest Pless of Gibbon made a
splendid fight IN a bad cause. Mr..
Pless is one of the most popular and
lkable members of the house. He is
serving his first term having defeated
George Mckenzie last September and
he is making an excellent record which
should keep him in the house for some
time If the people of Sibley county
care for results.
Mr.. Pless introduced bill to restore
capital punishment in Minnesota. by
giving to juries the right to inflict the
extreme punishment in exceptional
cases. The law was not so drastic as
the one repealed two years ago and
might not have been onerous but the
humanitarians of the house looked up
on it, and / think rightly, as a step
backward.
The measure came up on Friday and
after long debate was lost as it re-
ceived only 81 votes. On Saturday
morning an effort was made to recon-
slider but this failed and the bill is now
carefully tucked away for at least two
years.
A somewhat similar matter was
taken up in the senate and passed.
This was bill introduced by Gen.
Wilson of Minneapolis imposing the
death penalty upon prisoners who aft
er being sentenced to life commit muir
der in attempting to escape. If the
house maintains the standard set by