The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-02-23
BIPARTISAN COMBINE is PRE-
VENTING FULF,LLMENT OF
DEMOCRATIC PLEDGES.
MOCK BATTLE GOES ON
It's Corporation Masters Desire and
All Good Bills Die as Per Schedule
Prime Movers in Fair Removal
Soon May Be Revealed.
(Staff Correspondence.)

Helena, Feb. 22.-The close of the
last full week but one finds the
measures included in the democratic
reform program stll far from the
hands of Governor Stewart, and with
a distinct menace that if they ever do
reach the executive they will have
been so mutilated as to be nearly
valueless to the people. Some of
them, indeed, will be wholly SO, un-
less the bipartisan combine in the
senate reverses its attitude toward the
bills The treatment of the platform
pledges for a. public utilities law and
a Workmens compensation and en-
ployers' liability law are typical illus
trations of just what the attitude of
the combine has been.
The Byrnes public utilities bill came
over from the senate several days
ago, and was put at the head of gen.
eral orders in the house by the steer
ign committee. In good faith the house
took up it's task, and after amending
the bill to make it fairly responsive
to the needs of the people of the state,
sent it back to the senate as amended.
In the senate the amended bill was
not permitted to be considered at all,
but was sent back to the committee
from which the bill originally came,
and there it slumbers.
Similar Tactics.
Identically the same tactics were
pursued with reference to the matter
of an employers liability and work.
mems compensation bill. The house
passed the Murphy bill unanimously.
The senate passed the Minor bill. The
two bills are based upon diametrically
opposite and conflicting theories. The
house bill was referred to the joint
steering committee, while the Minor
bill was placed upon the senate gen.
eral file for action. But it remained
there only a short time, when a mo-
tion prevailed to take the bill from
the general file and refer it to the
committee on labor and capital. which
committee Is controlled by the BIZ
partisan combine There it sleeps. as
peacefully as does the Byrnes public
utilities bill in it's committee.
Meanwhile the senate hammers away
on a whole raft of inconsequential
bills, most of which are the merest
time killers.
The progressive combination in the
house has done it's level best to pass
upon bills in the interest of the people,
and whenever a bill of general inter-
est has been placed within it's reach by
being put on general orders by the
steering committee, it has been given
prompt and earnest consideration
But few bills OF this character how
ever, have been placed within its reach,
the steering committee having seen
to it that general orders had few
measures to which the senate combine
had objections.
The house this week passed an ex-
cellent tax commission bill, intro
duced by Lovelace OF Park, but it
quickly disappeared into the nav of
the steering committee. This bill is
an honest attempt to carry out the
democratic platform pledges for an ef-
fective tax commission. For that
identical reason it is a safe predic-
tion that it will not be permitted to
pass the senate. In fact, it would not
be risking much to prophesy that it
will never be given even a place on
the general file OF that body.
The bipartisan combine in the SEN :
ate will oppose to this bill the Donlan
Do or en-, \