The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1913-03-27

Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence
st. Paul, March Ex-Governor Eber-
hart has signed the eastman distance
tariff bill, affixed his signature to the
new reapportionment act and with
pen poised awaits the coming of the
initiative and referendum amendment
It has passed both houses and only
needs to be enrolled to make it law
Not in a decade, perhaps, have as
many important progressive measures
been turned out by Minnesota legis-
lature in so short a time and the
leaders are congratulating themselves
because of the fact. To them and a
majority of the members of the two
bodies it was red letter week in
Minnesota's history. Nor was this all.
R. G. Dunn of Princeton, with that
fighting spirit which has always char
acterized his leadership, forced
through the house a new automobile
license bill which will go far toward
aiding the cause of good roads, and
the senate, not to be putdone, sent to
the governor bill giving civil service
to Minneapolis. This latter act alone
will free fully 5000 municipal en-
ployes from political bondage. Wire
pulling for jobs in that city will be in
disfavor from now on.
\ !. :.
One of the surprises of the week
was the pronlptness with which Gov
ernor Eberhart affixed his signature
to the distance tariff bill. The time
intervening between it's receipt by the
governor and the giving of his ap-
prevail was less than two hours. It
was expected that there would be a
flood of protests against the bill and
that the governor, in Difference to the
showing made by business men who
believed that the act would be harm
full to their interests, would veto it.
In fact this belief was so strong about
the capitol building that bets were
made that he would veto it. The ex-
pected protests failed to materialize
st. Paul and Minneapolis business
men, who We're the most active in op-
posing the bill, evidently agreed to
take their medicine, as none Of them
appeared to argue the matter with
the executive. Many think Governor
Eberhart got the bill out of the way
as quick as he did in order to save
himself the embarrassment of q lot
Of protests, but my bunch is that he
would have signed it protests or no
protests. It would have meant polit-
ical suicide to do otherwise.
:. :. ::
Now it is State Auditor Iverson
who is under fire, with A. w. Thomp-
son of Fillmore county, a former
chief deputy in the office, as the &C.
cuser. Mr.. Thompson, who has
grievance-he says he was kicked out
of the department by Mr.. Iverson to
make room for the auditors brother
1n-law-insists that Mr.. Iverson, while
posing as conservator of the states
resources, has been feathering his
own nest at state expense and before
the house committe on accounts and
expenditures told of a number of Off
cial transactions which, in his opin-
ion, were shady. They involved the
sale of school lands, the issuance of
mineral leases and sales of timber
which, in Mr.. Thompson's opinion,
ultimately benefited the state auditor
in financial way. The one thing,
however, which went far to minimize
the charges was Mr.. Thompson's ad-
mitted unfriendliness to Mr.. Iverson,
who, he said, he had never spoken to
since he had been kicked out of the
office and did not want to speak to.
The fact that for nearly eight wears
ne has remained silent in the matter
OF things which he believed were vio-
lat1ons of the law further detracted
from his apparent earnest desire tn
put the committee next.
\ :. ).
From all accounts Thompson's an
pearance at the capitol and his ten
der of evidence calculated to put Mr.
1verson in bad was not at the REQUEST
of the full committee, but the work of
two of its members. One of these
was Representative Charles Sawyer,
who in an effort to pass the Kneeland
public domain bill bitterly assaulted the
administration of former State Audi
tor Dunn by quoting extensively from
the report of former Public Examiner
Johnson covering an examination of
the state land department. The Knee
land bill proposed divorcing the audi
tors office from the land, department
and the attack on Dunn's administral
ton by Mr.. Sawyer was for the pur-
pose of showing the need of such sep
aration. AS some see it the bringing
of Thompson to st. Paul was for the
purpose Of further discrediting the
state land department and thus aid
In the passage of the Kneeland bill,
which was recommitted to the house
committee on public domain.
+ !.
If the Kneeland bill putting under
no