The Ely miner., 1915-02-12
HOUSE EXPECTED
TO DO LIKEWISE
Senate Approves County Option
by Small Majority.
LONG BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE
Proposition Has Been Feature OF
Every Session for More Than
Twenty Years.

st. Paul (SpeciaD D-These are trou-
BILE making days for the venders and
manufacturers of the cup that cheers.
County option prevailed in the senate
and the chances are excellent that 1t
will get by the house. For the first
time in its history one branch of the
legislature gave it's sanction to an act
which, if it prevails, will put half OF
the counties of the state in the dry
column. Try as they would those op-
posing the measure were unable to
stem the tide in it's favor. The vote
as registered was SO to 81 and the
hackers of the movement are even
now claiming a larger margin in the
house. The nearest county option
ever came to getting through branch
of the Minnesota lawmaking body was
two years ago, when the vote in the
house was SO to SO. Prior to 1913
the difference was always from five
to ten in favor of the opposition. Not
in recent years has any proposed law
been attended with the interest mani
when county option, as proposed by
Senator Peterson of Clay county, was
taken up as a special order. 1t was
reached in the afternoon, but long be-
fore the hour named for its conSidera-
tion those interested began to gather
They filled the galleries, sought posi-
tions of vantage on the floor and so
IL, oI, {I,nt
or ingress was almost impossible.
Four long hours were spent in debat-
ing the measure and when the vote
was reached and the result announced
it was greeted with cheers. Even the
opponents of the measure were glad
that it was over. They were not hap
py, it is true, but many of them down
in their hearts were pleased, as it
brought an end to matter that has
bothered them for years.
:. !. :.
County option has been a feature OF
every session of the legislature for
more than twenty years. In the early
days its introduction and considera-
tion was largely perfunctory, but of
late years it has come pretty near be-
ing the ranking legislation. Several
times the bill has almost nosed
through, only to be checked at the last
ditch. The sessions of 1905, 1907 and
1909 saw the forces behind the meas
ure at their best They put up a fight
that was strenuous in the extreme and
the defeat of the bill each time was
only at the cost of much labor and
time on the part of those opposing it.
This time it was believed that the is
sue, while a live one, lacked the
necessary votes to put it across, but
the vote in the senate gave such the
lie. The one hope Of the vets is that
if it does get by in the house
Governor Hammond will veto it. Fol-
lowing its passage in the senate he
gave out an interview to the effect
that whatever he did would be strict
ly in line with his campaign pledges.
While carrying the intimation that if
a county option bill is sent to him he
will sign it, yet nothing definite in
this respect is established. Governor
Hammond in his campaign talks gave
county option little consolation. He
always said he was against it, as he
believed the right to permit or pro-
hibit the sale of liquor was a local
function. He did not think that the
county, as the larger unit, should have
the say.
= !. !.
ri Hr
limited kind of prohibition. 1t
grants to the county at large the right
to say whether or not liquor shall be
sold or manufactured in its confines
Special elections are provided at
which the question is passed upon
and, in the case of a wet district,
these elections can be held as often
as those interested in a dry condition
can force them. Should the drys pre-
vail, however, the vets are not so
favored. Their right to force another
election is limited. 1t is this one fea-
ture of the proposed act that has
always made it distasteful not only
to the liberal element but to a large
number who believe in square deal.
1hOy II lOO one
sided
!. !. =
Two other pieces of proposed tenn
perance legislation made their ap-
pearance when Senator Gardner Of
fered bill limiting the alcoholic con-
tent of all liquors for consumption to
4 per cent and fixing a license fee of
$4,000 for all manufacturers. The 9TH
er was by Senator Gandrud and makes
the finding Of liquor in ones posses
sion prima facie evidence that such
was intended for sale. 1t is directed
at blind pigs and severe penalty is
provided in the event of conviction.
!. !. !.
The efficiency and economy bill
now before the house is to be re.
ported out by the committee in charge
not later than March 2 A resolution
providing for such was adopted by
the house. Representative Spooner
is trying to put the bill over, but the
Job is an uphill one. AS far as the