The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1915-02-04
THE LEGISLATURE
SENATOR URDAHI DISCOVERS \
JOKER IN BILL TO IN
CREASE SALARY.

JOKER IN BILL TO IN
CREASE SALARY.
Pierre, Feb. "A provision in the
bill increasing the salary of Doane
Robinson to $4,000, as director of
state census and vital statistics and
numerous other important business
of the state, might have given oppor-
tunity for serious abuses and il was
accordingly stricken put of the bill
on the motion of Senator Urdahl.
who made the important discovery.
Section % Of chapter SO of the
laws OF 1905 provided that the states
attorney should prosecute officials or
persons who failed to comply with
the law requiring returns necessary
to keeping up the record of vital sta
~tistics. The bill repealed this section
and substituted for il a provision
that when information was not re-
ported after demand, the superin-
tendent of vital statistics might send
a special messenger to secure the in
formation and charge the expense OF
such messenger to the county, the
county having right of recovery from
NV OALitidA vi pc WV NV f'AA'A
to make the right report.
Senator Urdahl c%ontended hat this
would open the way for serious
abuses, as there are delinquencies in
reports OF births and deaths from al
most every county. and the superin-
tendent might send messengers to all
parts of the state at the expense of
the counties. The trips might be
made a political asset and distribut-
ed as favors TO persons who would
get per diem and mileage and all ex-
penses paid. This section was strick-
en- out Of the bill and il was then
passed.
A proposal to bring the salaries of
the state officials up TO a higher fig
ure was before the senate today.
Amendments to the constitution with
this object in view have been per-
sistently turned down by the people
in elections for a number of years
past. The present plan is for an
amendment giving the legislature
power to fix salaries by strong ma
jority vote, and the hope vas express
ed that il would find more favor with
the people than an amendment for a
specific increase which might be con
sidered by some voters too much and
by others too little.
There was objection to the form
of the bin which n part Of the
constitution fixing salaries and adds:
1T shall not be competent for the
legislature TO fix salaries except by
concurrence OF three-fourths OF the
members, etc" This negative form
ii was urged by Senator Urdahl look
ed like deception. In opposition TO
this view ii was suggested that the
new provision that the attorney gem
eral must prepare a statement of the
meaning of all measures to be voted
on, such statement to be printed on
the ballot, removed the possibility of
misunderstanding of its import.
There were one who expressed the
view that South Dakota officials were
receiving an adequate salary. Final
action on the bill was deferred.
That the Milwaukee railroad COM
pany had divided the state of South
Dakota into three districts, heaven,
purgatory and hades, was the way
Representative Hall of Lyman county
described the railroads method of di-
viding up freight charges between
different parts of the state. Mr.. Hall
was speaking to his resolution me-
morializing congress to compel the
: Milwaukee railroad to build n perma.
rent bridge across the Missouri river
at Chamberlain.
He said the people of the western
part of the state were made to pay
/, heavy freight tariffs and given no ad.
equate accommodations. They hac
been promised a permanent bridge
when the temporary structure was
first put in when the road crossed the
| river. 1t was to be built as o a:
the line was completed to Rapid City
Later they were told to wait unit
) the transcontinental line was com
/ pleted. That had been finished sew
} eral years and the temporary bridge
: carried out several times annually by
floods, was still with them. The state
) railroad commission having no au
: thority in the matter. they had de
) cided to appeal to the federal govern
ment. The resolution was passed by
the house.
: rear that the highway toliiulSoloi
/ created by the 1913 legislature tC
serve without pay, would ask for al
appropriation. seemed TO be the chic
cause why the house voted to abolish
the commission. II was admitted
that some good work has been done
: by the commission in the last two
years and Chairman Issenhuth, the
father of good roads movement in
) South Dakota, was given due credit
for his efforts. Several of the mem
bers thought the commission should
not be asked to work longer without
at least an appropriation for their ex.
penses, and expressed the opinion
: that the commission ought TO be
: abolished or given some money tc
work with.
} A capital joke on the state at large
or the legislature or the state insti
tutions or some one, has just come to
light through the researches OF G
member who wanted to introduce
bill abolishing the scholarship priv
n ~-~- ~ A. I--sIn4n~n Al a1I 10 m