Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1914-04-24

years ago and this year the legislature
should be able to cure any defects by
amending it. Under our form of gov
eminent minority should never be
given the power to nominate or elect
officials. The present governor is
minority candidate. He received only
62,402 votes as against vote for his
opponents of 101,665 1 am satisfied
from recent developments that the
people of Minnesota will never permit
such a thing to happen again.
The question of the elective fran
chise for women is challenging our
attention. No one should object to
permitting the people to express their
will upon this question. The legisla-
ture should submit the necessary con
stitutiOnal amendment.
Probably the most important ques-
ton affecting the right of the people
to govern that has arisen in recent
years is that concerning the control
| and regulation of the service and
| charges of our public utilities 1t is
important not only in that it affects
us economically, but because it in
wolves our political and social we'll
being.
The last legislature, which has
many things to it's credit, passed a
law requiring telephone companies to
make physical connection so that peo-
| pie living upon one line could talk
to people living upon any other line.
The governor of the state vetoed this
bill. No one can find any reason for
his doing so except that it was de-
sired by the Northwestern Telephone
! company.
This law, if the governor had not
vetoed it, would be helpful to a hun
bred thousand families scattered all
over Minnesota. The people who have
| gone to the expense of constructing
local telephone lines connecting neigh.
bors and neighborhoods, are now
robbed of one-half their value and eff
ficiency because they cannot get con
nections with local exchanges and
trunk lines. The telephone companies
are common carriers, and the same
| principle is involved in securing ply
steal connection of lines as was in
volVed in the famous jacobson Rail
road Wye" case, which was passed
upon and sustained by the courts
The Minette bill passed both houses
by almost unanimous votes, and the
governors action in vetoing it is in
defensible. I believe the people viii
see to it that such action will mo-
Tecur
People Paying Veto Penalties.
This legislature also passed by al
overwhelming vote a bill known as
the Nolan bill, the purpose of which
was to permit the city of Minneapolis
to manage it's own local public utili
ties. The governor vetoed that also
Now, the only reason for his doing SO
SO far as anyone has been able tt
learn, was that the public utility cor
pOrations of Minneapolis desired t.
keep out from under local supervi
sion. The governors excuse for thi
action was that he desired a stat
) commission Of his own appointing tina
would have supervision over all tn
| public utilities of the state. The pee
pie are paying the penalty of hi
? vetoes through excess charges and in
convenience.
| In his veto message and in publ
addresses he asserted that the peOpl
! were not competent to manage thei
own affairs; that municipal official
were incompetent and dishonest, an
l he declared that their opposition to
} state commission rested on their dc
: sire to hold on to these sources of col
t ruption.
' think l need not remind you Q
' the great improvements in the person
mel of our municipal officials in recen
5 years, or that a state commission wa
not heard Of in Minnesota until tn
9 utility companies found that these O.
: ficials were not only honest, but wer
= capable of looking after the people
/ interests. The governor threatene
e and repeatedly asserted that he woul
J. call an extra session of the legisls
e ture to pass such a law, but, after
/ campaign of several months, the go7
S ernor found public sentiment S
0 strongly adverse to his utilities bi
: that he abandoned the attempt.
e I am unalterably opposed to such
L commission for such a purpose. I b,
l. lieve that in the matter of public uti
d tiles the principle of home rule an
e local control should govern, and
elected | shall exert my influence fC
# the creation, development and perfe
e ton of a system of utility SUPERVISE
i and control that will recognize 6
u paramount the rights and powers
l. local government.
y Believes in County Option.
e | believe in county option and tn;
Il the people of any governmental I'm
e should have the legal machinery DR.
S, Vided for the expression of their wi
1t upon the liquor question. In additic
e to providing a county option law,
il believe in further reducing the pow,
;e OF the brewery in politics and cur
ing the sinister influence of the liuu
q traffic nv DrnVpntino brouor1y O1,,, =