New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1917-04-11
Action 81, Big Bills.


The. members of both houses have
carried out their intention Of giving the
most important measures aschance. Not
all of them have been enacted into law
by any means, but they have all had their
chance. a general drainage bill and a
flood control bill, two of the most inn
portant measures to the farming interest
of the state, have passed the House.
Constitutional prohibition has passed
both House and Senate. Statutory
prohibition was killed in the House. A
proposed constitutional amendment,
granting suffrage to women, passed the
House, but probably will be defeated in
the Senate, which killed the statutory
bill granting partial suffrage. The bill
for a tonnage tax on iron ore got thru the
House by four votes, but was defeated in
the Senate.
Prinnary Bills Defeated.
The presidential primary law was re-
pealed, but neither Senate nor House
would consent to any change in the state
primary law, affecting either legislative
or executive offices. The Senate. passed
the bill for non-partisan state conven-
ton to nominate justices Of the supreme
court.
A new road law under which single
commissioner takes the place of the old
highway commission Of three members
already is in operation, and it is pre-.
dicted that there will be more road build
ing in Minnesota during the next two
years than during any similar period in
the states history. '
House Committee Fights.
The House committee has made a
determined fight for the abolition of the
one-man petition and the expensive pre-
liminary proceedings and to this the
Senate committee was unwilling to agree.
The Senate committee at first proposed
to kill the bill outright, and to present as
substitute a few amendments to the
present laws. Then it was proposed to
select a few Of the provisions of the
House bill as amendments to the present
law. Neither plan was satisfactory to
the House members, and the final result
is in doubt.
Efficiency Measures Passed.
OF the bills prepared by the interim,
Efficiency and Economy Commission,
both houses have passed those providing
for reform in the handling Of the states
investments; purchase of supplies for all
state departments by the Board Of Con-
troll; placing the state public school at
Owatonna under the Jurisdiction Of the
Board of Control and giving the same
board control of the Capitol grounds.
The Senate has passed the bills re-
organizing the state Board of Health, and
creating a state board of education to
replace the state normal board, the state
high school board and the state library
board, and their prospect for passing the
House is good. .
Domain Bill in Doubt.
The fate of the public domain bill, the
most important Of all the program, is in
doubt. Defeated in the Senate by one
vote, it has been amended in the House
to meet the objection of some Of the OPP
posing senators, and has become the
bone of I contention in the most sensa-
tional political fight Of the year between
Governor Burnquist, favoring the bill,
and State Auditor Preus, opposing it..
Dead One.
The bill divorcing the: grain depart
ment from the jurisdiction Of the Rail
road and Warehouse Commission has
been killed by the Senate, and the bill to
reduce the size Of the Legislature has
been killed by the House. Neither ap-
parently ever had chance Of passing at
this session.