Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-04-22

ton.
l believe in the primary election
law. With the experience of two
years ago and this year the legislature
should be able to cure any defects by
amending it. Under our form of gov
eminent a minority should never be
given the power to nominate or elect
officials. The present governor is a
minority candidate. He received only
62,4O2 votes as against vote for his
opponents of 101 ,665. l am satisfied
from recent developments that the
people of Minnesota will never permit
such 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.
1t was known as the Minette bill.
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
dred 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 will
see to it that such action will not
| recur.
| People Paying Veto Penalties.
This legislature also passed by an
overwhelming vote a bill known as
the Nolan bill, the purpose Of which
was to permit the city Of Minneapolis
to manage its 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 to
learn, was that the public utility cor
porations of Minneapolis desired to
keep out from under local supervi-
sion. The governors excuse for this
action was that he desired a state
commission of his own appointing that
would have supervision over all the
public utilities of the state The peo.
pie are paying the penalty of his
vetoes through excess charges and in
convenience
In his veto message and in public
addresses he asserted that the people
were not competent to manage their
own affairs; that municipal officials
were incompetent and dishonest, and
he declared that their opposition to a
state commission rested on their de-
sire to hold on to these sources of cor.
ruption.
think | need not remind you of
the great improvements in the person
mel OF our municipal officials in recent
years, or that a state commission was
not heard of in Minnesota until the
utility companies found that these Of
icials were not only honest, but were
capable of looking after the peoples
interests. The governor threatened
and repeatedly asserted that he would
call an extra session of the legisla-
ture to pass such law, but, after a
campaign of several months, the gov
ernor found public sentiment so
strongly adverse to his utilities bill
that he abandoned the attempt
l am unalterably opposed to such a
commission for such a purpose. I be-
lieve that in the matter of public util-
tiles the principle of home rule and
local control should govern, and if
elected 1 shall exert my influence for
the creation, development and perfec-
ton OF system of utility supervision
and control that will recognize as
paramount the rights and powers of
| local government
Believes in County Option.
| | believe in county option and that
the people of any governmental unit
should have the legal machinery pro-
vided for the expression of their will
upon the liquor question. In addition
to providing a county option law, 7
L