The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1913-01-17
the public demands and needs proeec-
ton along blue sky" lines 10 manifest

ton along blue sky" lines 10 manifest
+ +
Johnson of Union. believing that
n Of the uncorrected and glaring
corrupt practices 10 tho common one
OF paying men to convey voters to|
the polls, has q bill prohibiting ths|
same by q heavy penalty. The conf
veyance Of infirm voters il excepted
from the general prohibition. Under
the cover OF hiring men to bring vot
era to the polls there is no doubt d
good deal of polite bribery and the
practice may be we'll abandoned inj
the interest of public morality. Can
didates and committees, as we'll 81
all persons acting for them, coms|
within the operation Of the bill.
+ !. +
Last summer the supreme court
found itself in an embarrassing situa-
ton. An action was brought before|
1t in an original proceeding which in-
volved the legality Of the nomination.
of three members "a majority Of the
COURT and a majority is required byI
law to deliver an opinion. There
was no provision Of law by which,
other judges could be called in to try
compelled by force of circumstancesl
to try their own causes. The court
has prepared a constitutional amend
ment which provides hat in all cases|
where a majority of the supreme|
court are parties in interest, or forI
other cause are ineligible to sit, the
governor may designate the proper
number Of circuit judges to sit in the|
places Of the disqualified judges.
i. !. +
Governor Byrne's strong position|
pertaining to the employment Of the
opposition to contract prison labor
and especially to the shirt factory
contract now in force. and his recon-
mendation for the employment of as
many as possible of the trusty con-
victs in agricultural labor and high
way building has set a good many
Legislative minds at work upon meth
DDS for making the governors recon-
mendations practical. The chief sug-
gestion looks in the direction of highy
way labor. but to this Governor Byrae
himself advanced the chief objection
and that is that except for rock work
In the Black Hills most road building
is done with modern machinery and
in such a manner that prison camps
could not well be established. How
ever. there is no doubt that employ
ment for some of the cOnvicts can be
utilized on the roads and others in
agricultural pursuits. Really the hu-
name instincts OF most inquiring
members are aroused and they are
giving attention not only to lettering
the condition of the convicts them
selves. but are looking to a lettering
of the condition of convicts' families
by permitting them to share in the
earnings of the prisoner. Bills along
these ines are being formulated and
apparently will be very popular.
= :. !.
Governor Byrne is as much as ever
in favor of the insurance of bank de-
posts in the interest OF depOsitOrs.
Bank Examiner Wingfield has prOvid-
ed some very interesting figures bear
ing upon this proposition. He shows
that for the period of ten years pre-
cedins June 80, 1912. the total net
losses resulting from failed banks in
this state has been s245,473.6S, while
for the same period the cumulated
deposits have been S3o3,062 1893, or
that an annual tax of $4,000 of | per
cent upon deposits would have paid
the total net losses from failed banks.
The comptroller Of the currency sup
plies even more interesting figures.
He shows that the total net losses
from failed national banks in Amer
lea since the foundation OF the ma
tional banking system have been $37,-
oO9.a50 and that the aggregate depos-
its in all national banks on Sept. l.,
1911. was $5.3O4. 1888 .306.45. That is
to say that a levy of Z mills on the
dollar Of the deposits lying in nation
al banks on Sept. /. 1911, would have
paid every dollar ever lost to depos-
tors in such banks during the nearly
half century of the national banking
system. The figures supplied by MI.
Winefield. as well as the statistics or
banking generally. all indicate that
Inc modern system of state and prl-
vatn bank supervision is eliminating
much Of the danger of loss. but that
where the cost is SO small that 1t is
not good business to permit deposits
70 go uninsured.
>. =. :.
The people OF Bennett county, or
sanized last spring, being outside OF
any legislative district under the APP
porticnment of 1911. elected a repre-
sentative and scnt him to this ses-
sion. His friends proposed that he
be given all of the rights and emolu~
ments of a representative except Il
vote, but upon looking up the prece-
dents il was found that in the session
of 1895 similar conditions existed in
GREGORY and LYMAN counties and an