The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1915-01-07

route allow him to explain the use
to the House. If the Chairman OBJ
tains unanimous consent to the men,
ber's explanation, that should be final;
but if not then submit the construction
to a vote of the House.
The majority of the last legislature
collected on long routes. One in
stance will show the imperative neces-
sity of this rule. A member who lived
according to the railroad timetable,
40 miles from Bismarck, travelled
somewhere 1872 miles, then found him
self on another road 1877 miles from
the capitol, or 81 miles farther from
Bismarck that when he started. He
colleced for the long route both ways.
His mileage bill was nearly three
times larger than it should have been.
A penalty should be prescribed.
Register the Lobbyist.
There should be rule requiring all
lobbyists to register, giving their pro-
fession, home address, name of COM
pany and persons they represent, am
cunt of their allowance for expense
and salary while lobbying, and by
whom paid, name of particular bills
and subjects interested in, and if the
question in which they are interested
in is not included in bill or bills al
ready introduced, then to state the side
of the question for which they are lob
bying. The registration should be
sworn to. A penalty should be attach
ed. It ought to be plain to everyone
that the object of this rule is to ex-
pose the hands of "invisible govern
ment" and "sly greed"
Fair Play.
H. R. 8 and S. 9, should be amended
allowing two persons, when they rise
at the same time to speak on a ques-
ton before the House, the one recog-
nized first to speak first, and the other
to speak second. This rule to except
all instances with the one or both
when they rise to make motions. H.
r. % should be amended to allow the
Speaker, with unanimous consent, to
appoint the chairman, otherwise allow
his election.
Attention to Duty.
The last two lines Of H. r. 81 should
be amended to read: "and no member
shall be entitled to draw pay for the
day on which he is absent from roll
call on the final passage of any bill
without leave of absence"
When we recall that Sec. IS of the
Constitution requires majority of all
"members-elect," instead of a major
ity of those voting, to pass bill it is
plain that anyone absenting himself
without leave, during vote, helps to
defeat a bill, therefore he is derelict
to duty. Many times an absence dur
ing a vote is either to prevent showing
which side he favors, or else because
he is under the influence of invisible
government"
DecOrum.
There should be committee on de-
corum of small number, and H. r.
AZ so amended that any member hav-
ing an acquaintance visiting the legis-
lature, such visitor may be introduced
to the Decorum committee with the
request that the privileges of the
floor be extended to him. The Decorum
committee may ask the U. c. for the
privilege. 1t should be the duty of
this committee to take cognizance of
all indecorus acts during the sessions
of the Houe and committee of the
whole, and recommend plans to amel-
iorate the irritations of spasmodic de-
baters.
Yes, my prime object is to force
invisible government" and "sly
greed" into the open. Those who ask
for no special privileges, and desire
only equal justice between man and
man, have no objection to working in
the open. Lest someone may say that
conditions do not warrant or need such
rules as will force all into the open,
just read the boast Of the most pow
erful lobbyist in the state: "Now,
there was another bill introduced, and
it was quite generally discussed, and
l think it was passed in the House, re-
ducing the legal rate of interest to six
per cent and the contract rate to ten
per cent. We didn't get excited over
that law, because the same has been
introduced in every session of the.leg-
islature since North Dakota has been
state, and the invisible government
took care of it. 1t died in the Senate
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