The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1917-04-05

commission bills to be considered.
There are several others to come,
among them one divorcing the grain
department from the grain and ware
house commission. 1t is needless to
say that the state railway and ware
house commission is working overtime
to bding about it's defeat.
The lone brewer in the house is
Hans Birkhofer of Alexandria, Doug
las county one of the dryest districts
in the state, and in getting by he de-
feated a strong prohibitionist candi-
date. Answering a strong supporter
of the present primary laws and the
nonpartisan act as it applies to the
legislature he declared that he stood
for some changes and that in the face
of the fact that if it were not for the
primary act he would not be in the
legislature now. "My opponent was a
prohibitionist," said Mr.. Birkhofer,
"and they did not like him, so they
elected me. They had no other alter
native. The primary law did not per-
nit any. In a dry county like Doug
las l never would have had show
under the old convention system.
There the party would have had some
say"
The house is not overburdened with
orators of the finished kind, but its
members had to sit up and take notice
in an impassoneded speech, ripped off
the covering nd exposed what he ex-
planned was a deliberate attempt on
the part of big business to blind the
farmer element of the house as to the
merits of the McGrath-Gleason bill
regulating injunctions. The bill is
duplicate of the Clayton federal anti
injunction act and got by only after
Mr.. Davis had pointed out the charac-
ter of the opposition to it. II was
generally expected that the bill would
fail and it was agreed at the close
that Mr.. Davis interference was all
that saved the day for labor. One day
recently was given over to the special
consideration of labor bills and a num-
Der favoring the working classes of
both sexes were advanced.
Both legislative branches were ia
vored the other day with visit and
short talk from Miss Jeanette Ran
kin of Montana, the first woman to
sit in the halls of congress. Miss Ran
kin was chaperoned by Governor Burn
quist and was given royal welcome
by the members of both houses. Miss
Rankin was timed to aid the suffrage
bill, then up for consideration in the
senate, but her appearance did not
save the measure.
Between the Teigen grain investiga-
ton, with its frequent wordy clashes
between James A. Manahan, attorney
for the Equity Grain Exchange, and
the chairman of the committee, and
the bill divorcing the Mayo Medical
Foundation from the state university,
both houses have all the entertain
ment they desire. The one provides
lots of conversation and the other
we'll filled mail box. Eq-
uity Exchange boosters say the Teigen
grain investigation is simply for the
purpose of discrediting the Equity
movement and to help out the Mime
apolis chamber of commerce. This is
probably putting it rather strong, but
it has to be said that Chairman
Teigen is ruthless in his self-appointed
task of delving into Equity history
and operations.
A small majority in the house re-
fused to permit special order for the
of the bill regulating
blind pigs and providing for the abate-
ment of nuisances generally, but it is
understood that the fight is by no
means at an end. The bill, which has
the backing of the house temperance
committee and which has been re-
modelled by leaders of the State Anti
Saloon league, is most drastic.
Minnesota will have fully equipped
war board if duplicate bills offered by
Senator George Sullivan of Saltwater
and Representative Pratt of Anoka
prevail in the two bodies. The bill
creates a safety commission of seven
with the governor and attorney gen.
eral as members ex-officio, who are
endowed with power sufficient to meet
and handle any war contingency that
may arise. The bill, in effect, prac-
tically turns the control of the sttae
over to the board which it creates.