The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1915-02-04
SOUTH DAKOTA WILL
DROP DEATH PENALTY
FROM CRIMINAL CODE
House and Senate Both Vote II
Favor Of Proposal, But on
Separate Measures.

Hastings, Neb.. Feb. 3.-Harry Wat.
lire South Dakota legislature crowded
into the senate chamber and galleries
and after a debate of three hours. the
senate finally passed the bill abolish
ing capital punishment in the state
by vote OF "a to IS. A similar bill
had previously passed the house by
larger majority and as it was one oil
the special recommendations In the
Governors annual message that ths
death penalty be abolished. One or the
bills still must pass the other branch
but 1t is quite sure there will be nc
trouble on that point
In the debate a great array of argu'
ments for and against the death pen
atty were offered. The author OF the
bill, Pin P Beebe. of Ipswich de
Tended it at length.
feature Of the debate was the scor
ing which the practice of pardonins
ceiVed. Both sides condemned these
pardons, and turned the condition to
support of their own contentious. On
the one hand 1t was alleged that hang.
ing would prelude the possibility OF
pardons, and on the other that there
would be more convictions and less
pardons If the penalty for murder were
life imprisonment.
information Law Repealed.
useless and expensive legislation when
1t repealed the bill passed by the 1918
legislature known as the Richards Blu
reau of Information law. This law pro-
Vided for ain elaborate system of blank
books and records to be kept in each
county for the purpose of recording APP
plications OF men for jobs or articles
for sale or trade. 1t has been practi-
Cally a dead letter except as to the
expense OF securing the books which
has been paid by the several counties.
Both houses have passed the bill re-
vote in its favor in the senate and
eight in the house. The bill passed
the House with the emergency clause
and will go back to the senate for a
similar amendment
The longest discussion in the senate
came on house bill No. II. permitting
the employment Of five assistant game
wardens at a salary OF 800 per month
each Mclean thought this an unneces-
sary expense and said the bill was a
joke over the state. He thought the
sheTiffs should do the work. He said
the bill was good politics but bad bust
ness.
Urdahl offered an amendment max
ing the number of wardens three in
stead OF fiVe He said the investigat-
ing committee had reported that there
were too many forest men. He thought
the forest reserve in the Black Hills
should be able to take care of the
buffalo. Stephens said the money in
forest reserves and buffalo was an in
vestment instead of an expenditure,
and that the amendment would cripple
the department. McKinnon said there
was $4,000 on hand in the game fund
and that hunters feel 1t should be spent
in protecting the game. Urdahl thought
the running expenses OF the game de-
Partment equaled the income. The bill
was finally passed.
The proposal to appropriate $4,000
for finishing up the farmers institute
work of the fiscal year again up on
a motion to reconsider the vote by
which 1t was lost on a previous day.
Bielski, of Stanley, objected to the ap-
preparation and suggested an investi-
CATION to find out what was done with
the liberal appropriation made for this
work. He said young men just out OF
college were getting 5000 month and
expenses to travel around and lecture
to farmers. Women, mo better cooks
than my wife," are getting $40 a day
to talk on home economics. Young
men are getting $4,000 a year for talk
ing to farmers when our state officers
are receiving only $1,000, and the peo-
pie of the state refuse to vote to raise
their salaries. He did not want to OPP
pose the farmers, but thought some of
those posing as friends of the farmer
were wolves in sleeps clothing" An
derson, of Corson, thought II was
cheaper to take a good farm paper
than to come to town to attend a farm
ers' institute. Boreson, of Davidson,
objected to the practice Of planning
the work so that there would always
be deficiency. Discussion was stopped
by moving the previous question, and
the bill was again lost by a vote of
50 for to AZ against, failing to get the
necessary two-thirds for an appro-
priatiOn. Swanson, OF Brown, asked
to explain his vote and said he voted
no" because he found that in his
town 1t was the sidewalk farmers who
attended the institutes.