Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1917-04-27

Rills Became Laws and Many I'm
portant Ones Failed of Passage
(By Martin w. Odland)
St. Paul, April 2G:-Tne fortieth
session Of the Minnesota Legislature
adjourned sine die Thursday after
noon. The last day for passing bills
was Wednesday, but both the senate
and the house turned back the clock at
midnight and kept at"work, the house
til l:45 Thursday morning and the
senate till after 4 O'Clock. This was
for the purpose OF getting eleventh
hour action on bills in which the mem
bers were keenly interested but which
| they had been unable to bring up
! earlier in the session. 1t is always
thus at the close of legislative ses'
sion, for more bills are always recon-
mended for passage bv the committees
than the house and senate finds time
to consider. If the committees were
more ruthless in killing bills Of doubt
full value and if the members were
willing to put in longer hours during
the first half of the session each house
would be able to clean up its calendar
in an orderly manner before the limit
set by the constitution is reached.
! It looked for time Wednesday as
| if an extra session might become ne
cessary, owing to the inability Of the
senate and the house to agree On GER
tain items in the appropriation bills.
One serious disagreement was over the
state aid to schools. AS have stated
in former letters, the legislature Of
1915 cut down the school aid to such
an extent that when the session of
1917 opened there was a deficit of 81 ,
O52,O0O in the school aid fund and
school boards all over the state were
up in arms demanding that the deficit
be made good. This the house de-
cided to do, but the senate, which was
responsible for the deficit, refused to
fall in line. For hours the senate
finance committee and the house ap-
preparations committee debatedI this
question and finally the senators yield
| ed. The next serious disagreement
was over the amount Of aid to be vot-
ed the schools for the next biennial
period. The representatives insisted
that the sum be large enough to give
the schools all that the state agreed
to give when the legislature of 1913
enacted the present law. The sena'
tors stubbornly refused for a long
time to agree to this, but in the END
they gave way and the appropriation
allowed will give the schools all that
they are entitled to for the year 1918
and almost all they are entitled to for
year 1919.
But the most serious disagreement
Of all was over an item in the social
ed claims bill allowing the railroad
companies some $4,000 in rebates for
excessive tax charges. The senators
insisted that the claim be allowed; the
representatives stubbornly objected.
A few minutes before midnight some Of
the house conferees yielded, over the
protests of Chairman Theodore Chris
Hanson and after sharp debate in
the house the report was adopted and
the matter definitely settled. If an
agreement hadnot been reached an ex.
ira session would have been necessary.
In the language Of Charles B. Chen
ey, the we'll known political reporter,
two important drainage measures went
through in the closing hours. One was
the general drainage bill, revised in
conference. It amends the ditch laws
in several important particulars. The
law now requires that IS per cent Of
the property owners to be benefited
must petition for a ditch though the
| number required shall not exceed
eight. County auditors fees are lin
tied to $3.50 on any one ditch, and at
torney's fees are to be fixed by the
| board Of court with provision for ap-
peal. On petition OF IS per cent Of
the property owners, a ditch proceed
ing may be dismissed. The county
auditor, chairman OF the county board
and clerk Of courts are to join in let
ting ditch contracts.
The tri-state flood control bill SINH
lar to measures agreed on and passed
by North and South Dakota, was
| amended to exclude from it's provisions
the Minnesota valley, except the up
per so miles. Elsewhere flood control
districts may be formed, joining with
similar districts OIL adjoining states to
control flood waters. Congressional
action is not necessary as the bill fin
| ally passed, only permission from the
war department to control the inter
state waters.
| It is planned to divert the Whet-
stone river, now empty1ng into the
Minnesota, and to turn it into Big
Stone lake, which will be damned to
hold back excess water in the spring,
and to create waterpower.
Two new state institutions got a
start from this legislature on build
ings, after the 1915 legislature pro-
vided for sites. The appropriation
bill allows $4,000 a year for buildings
to begin the women's reformatory at
shakopee, and $150,o0c for the first
buildings at the Bemidji normal
school. While the university and the
other normal schools get practically
nothing in the way Of buildings,
Crookston managed to get 100000 fol-
a new building at the branch school
Of agriculture. The Willmar flag
farn,'' turned into an asylum for in
sane, gets $4,000 for additional
buildings. The senate committee al.