The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1915-02-11
A BLUE SKY" BILL
MEASURE WILL PROVIDE FOB
DIFFERENT METHOD OF
CHECKING.
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
From the Capital City, the Various
State Institutions and from
Many Different Parts Of
the Sunshine State.
Western Newspaper Union News Service.

Western Newspaper Union News Service.
Pierre.-The new bill which is being
worked out TO prevent the selling OF
blue sky in South Dakota provides
to- q different method of checking the
vendors in the unstable commodity.
Whereas under the old law it was left
to the securities commission to deter
mine whether or not investment com
panies seeking reasonable chance for
investors to earn interest on their
money, the plan now is merely to pro-
vide severe punishment for frauds in
investment offerings. 1t is alleged
that no commission can determine GER
tainly the value of an investment. In
stead of passing OF investments they
are now to enforce fraud laws, and 1t
is believed the heavy penalties provid-
ed for fraud will check the disposition
of fraudulent companies to operate
in this state.
Bunny Hug" Law o. X.
The bunny hug" law which gave
South Dakota some ~notoriety in the
freak legislation line two years ago.,
Is not freak legislation at all, according
to the sober judgment of the house,
which by a decisive vote refused to
take favorable action on the bill to re-
peal the act. One member went so
far as to say it was the best law pass
ed by the 1913 session. 1t prohibits
the grizzly bear" snake wrestle,"
turkey trot," bunny hug" and all sug-
oa-fiNn onl fornpIa1 IonnnC Tho
committee that had the bill to repeal
the law under consideration thought
best to leave it on the statute books
and the house voted to sustain this
decision 81 to 10.
Swapping Law Repealed.
South Dakota must get along with
out its famous swapping law" In
order to get rid of it as quickly as pos
sible the house had passed an amend
ment and the law, one of the products
of the legislative instincts of r. 0.
Richards of Huron, will be repealed
as soon as the governor signs the bill.
Incidentally the several counties of
the state will have on hand some eX-
pensive 17-column blank filing books
in which ii was hoped by the author of
the bill that laboring men would re-
cord their need of work and employ.
ers their need of labor with the result
that the jobs and jobless would be
brought together. The law never full
filled its purpose, and so few made
use of it that 1t was practically a dead
letter.
Convict Labor Doomed.
Another important recommendation
of Gov. Byrne in his annual message
was emphatically Endorsed when the
senate, without a dissenting vote, pass
tract labor system for the work Of On
victs at the state p~enitentiary. AS
soon as existing contracts have expired
the system will be abandoned, if the
bill becomes a law, and measures are
under way to employ the prisoners by
doubling the capacity Of the Irvine
plant and providing more farm work.
Salaries Of Officials.
The proposal constitutional amend
ment giving the Legislature power to
fix the salaries of state officials was
amended by the senate on a previous
day requiring a three-fourths vote to
change salaries instead of two-thirds
majority, which was provided in the
bill as it came from committee. The
margin by which this amendment was
pnt in was very narrow, but it was
confirmed by a much larger vote on a
motion to reconsider, and the indica-
tions are that If the resolution passes
it will contain this provision. 1t win
not 60 far toward securing adequate
| salaries for South Dakota officials.
The resolution is in the formative
stage and will be badly mangled by
the time it gets through both houses.
Senate.
On motion of Howell, the senate con-
Cured in the house amendment add.
ing the emergency clause 10 the bin
repeating the Richards information blu.
reau law. This clears the way for this
bill to become a law and Immediately
effective.
McLean's bill to abolish the system
of contracting convict labor passed
the senate without a single dissenting
vote.
Senator Whittemore moved a recon-
sideration of the vote of the day pre-
vious by which the bill giving the leg
islature power to fix salaries of state
officials was amended to make the nee
essary majority thr%ee-fourths instead
Of two-thirds. He said a three-fourths
vote OF the senate was "a. The Chero-
kee strip might defeat any proposal
by the legislature to fix a salary. Stu.