The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-02-11
Former Lieutenant Governor Gilman
Trying to Take Election Certih-
Gates From Coates
HOUSE TURNS DOWN LAWYERS
Local Option Bill Passes the Senate
And Two Cent Fare Act Goes
Through House
TONNAGE TAX SCRAP is ON
Measure viii Start Fireworks in
House-Distance Tariff Being
Very FavOrably Considered
(Bv Grove E. WILSON,

This afternoon former Lieutenant
Governor Gilman of St. Cloud IS max
ING a sensational fight for seat IN
the lower branch of the legislature.
He is irving to take from Joseph II.
Coates a certificate of election handed
out by the Stearns county auditor
when the official board reported Coates
elected.
No contest in the state has aroused
more comment than this and the out
come of none was ever more IN doubt
on the eve of the vote.
The Gilman people won first blood
when they defeated the proposition to
ask the attorneys for the contestants
to address the house on the merits OF
the case. This was not test vote but
it was significant and there are few
interested in the case who would be
surprised to see Gilman seated.
All of last week the legislature had
the proverbial busy bee looking like
slazv Chink after night spent with
the pipe" The dimly portentlous
future may hand the present leglsla-
ture package but one thing the most
tcritical can't say, truthfully, If the
most critical is ever truthful, is that
n the session wasted time. No, Stree.
Time has been manhandled by this
session until he hasn't leg left to
stand on and is busy trying to get
more hours in to the day. The first
YOU know some active little member
will introduce a bill increasing the
number of hours in a day, and get
away with it.
Early morning sessions and evening
committee meetings are things of dali
ly mad nightly occurance. That's 60
ing some, and the session not held ov-
er. 1t looks as though the good people
of the state would have some law sup
plement to peruse next spring.
The house passed two mighty i'm
portant measures. On was the {. NJ.
Bendixen bill for two cent passenger
rate and the other was r. c. Dunn's
bill creating the office of county asses
sor. Add to this the initiative and
referendum which was also passed
with only seven dissenting votes and
you have rather busy week pictured.
Incidentally the vote on the initia-
tive proves that the people are coming
IL Hon. r.nfn or "a
has been advocated for a good many
. years First, | believe, by our friends
the Democrats and later picked up and
made part of the Republican platform.
Always bitterly opposed in the legis-
lature and only two years skillfully
killed by a multiplicity of bills and
foolish percentages, one going as high
as thirty-tive, the measure now passes
with six dissenting votes and itcarries
a percentage of three. What do you
think of that? Peoples rights? IN
der this law they can GUST the legls-
lature and do their own law making,
which after all is the ideal system.
Dunn's bill creates the Office of coun-
ty assessor and if passed by the senate
will do away with the town and city
assessors that now make life one glad
sweet song with their annual visits.
There is considerable objection to
the bill and it passed the house by
rather narrow margin having only
eight more votes than the necessary
81. 1t does away with large number
of small offices which doubtless is the
secret of most of the opposition.
Clague's local option bill passed the
senate with flying colors and if passed
by the house, which seems certain,
Redwood Falls will vote direct on the
liquor problem next January.
Mr.. Clague is entitled to a great
deal of credit for getting this measure
through. 1t is has been proposed Of
ten in the past but it is understood
that the friends of the liquor traffic
have always killed it. 1t therefore re-
quired a great deal of hard work on