The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1917-03-09
HUNDREDS OF
new LAWS
Continued from page u

CONTINUED from page u
tory Of Montana. Much legislation
Of a new character was passed. The
senate especially was progressive in
the extreme as witnessed by the pass
age and introduction of several very
important measures; bills, which
among other things provided for the
consolidation of several needless de-
partments and offices and the elimi-
nation Of others, state hail, fire and
bonding insurance, extension of the
farm loan provisions and acts pro-
viding for greater efficiency and
economy in the administration of the
states affairs and for a more equable
distribution of the burdens of taxa
ton among all classes.
Every line of industry was affected
more or less by the laws passed.
There were bills of particular inter-
est to people interested in farming,
merchandising, banking, stockgrow-
ing, education, public utilities. city
and county management, fish and
game, railroading, etc.
Just before the senate adjourned
Thos. Larson, senator from Teton
county, was elected president protein
and will serve IS governor of Mon
tana during the absence of the gov
ernor and lieutenant governor in the
next two years. He is a well-known
Teton county farmer and capitalist.
Owing to the adoption of the So
day rule no legislation was passed
with hasty consideration on the part
of both houses. Both the senate and
house had at least 10 days in which
to 60 over any legislation proposed
by the members of the other branch.
AS a result the session was we'll done
with it's labors and while it took un-
til afternoon Friday to complete its
labors, if it had not been for the
tedious work enrolling the large APP
preparation bills and the time spent
comforting owe the two big appro-
priation measures, the session would
have ended at midnight Thursday on
schedule time.
Several precedents were set. Meth
err house held a night session the eve.
ming before adjournment. Governor
Stewart named William Cults Of
Butte as a member of the house
vice Jere Flanagan, deceased, ant
he was seated. Efforts on the par
of the attorney general to have hin
unseated failed in the supreme court
After the session was closed further
proceedings by the attorney genera
to test the right Of the governor t.
appoint the pay warrant of Mr.. Cult
2 was held up. Another precedent wa
! the efforts of the senators to worl
. along non-partisan lines.
: While there We're % republican,
and 13 democrats in the senate ant
: 40 democrats and as republicans il
9 the house political bunk was no
passed very much. The tendency wa
1 rather to divide along sectional o
) industrial lines, especially in tn
!: house where the farmers and the min
{ ers went to bat several times. Tn
4 influence of the farmers was stronge
3 in this session than in previous ones
d In fact 20 members of the senate ar
: shown in the roster as being engage
9 in agricultural or allied pursuits. TIL
. delegates of the various farmers SO
~cieties were much in evidence, NOR
SO even than the delegates from tn
labor organizations. Both got prae
tically everything they went after.
Probably the most important piec
!: of legislation was the Gould corpol
s alton tax bill, amended in the senat
to make the tax ! per cent of tn
= net income of all corporations doin
over $4,000 in business. 1t is est
mated that the revenue from thi
s bill will be sufficient with the othe
: state to take ARE of all al
Z preparations, all deficits and leave
. balance that will run into at lea
4 six figures by the time the next lei
islature c%onvenes. Express con
!! ! panies, private car companies al