The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1917-01-11
LEGISLATURE GETS
DOWN TO BUSINESS
Forty Seven Bills Introduced By the
House in First Weeks Work

Pierre, S. ID. Jan. 9.-Forty-seven
bills introduced and all committees
appointed is the first weeks record
for the house and work in earnest
began Monday. The senate has over
half of it's committees and sixteen
bills have been introduced. Commit
tees have been appointed in both
houses for fixing pay days and the
date of recess.
Among the Senate Committee ap-
pointments Senator G. M. Waters, of
Hand and Hyde counties has been ap-
pointed on the following committees:
Judiciary; State Affairs; Band and
Banking; Chairman Courts and Court
Procedure; Engrossed and Enrolled
Bills.
Representative B. F. Magness, of
Hand, was appointed on the following
House committees: Capitol Building
and Grounds, andTelegraph and Tele-
phone.
The non-partisan league, which has
gained such a foothold in North Da-
kota, is starting its encroachment on
South Dakota soil. Several members
of the present session are members of
the organization, and are acting in an
informal way as recruiting officers
among their fellow members. 1t is
their purpose to become as strong in
this state in the coming election as
they were in North Dakota last year
and if this boom doesn't have a fall
before that time, the chances are
favorable for a certain amount of sue
cess here on a similar boom. They
are overlooking the fact that cOnstitu-
tional provisions in South Dakota
would prohibit some of their Gre
forms as practiced in the sister state
to the north, and would have to be
radically changed before any of their
work could be accomplished; but their
coming seems inevitable, and it is the
purpose of this session to, so for as
possible, get ready for them. The on
ly question along which there is any
doubt in the minds of leaders here is
how far the tide will come before it
Gibbs again; and whether or not their
boom can last till election time comes.
The session will have about a half
dozen matters of general state wide
Importance to consider, and along
with these the usual grist of minor
measures to keep the hopper filled
and the mill going.
While most of the bills presented
for the first week have been under
minor in their scope, those which are
Of material interest to the state are
the proposed state land bank by Re-
preventative Hall, to put rural credits
into operation in the state and allow
the agricultural element the privilege
of loans at a rate which will give
them a show at securing money need
ed for earring on their affairs, at a
rate approximately nearer that grant
ed in other business enterprises. The
bill by Rowe, appropriating a quarter
of a million dollars to meet the re-
quirement of the national government
for a share of the appropriation in
aid of highways construction, both
under the action of the people at the
last election in the endorsement of
such constitutional provisions. The
budget system in the Urdahl bill, in
the senate, and Benson house dupli-
cate by Benson, and the free text book
bill by Amsden in the senate have
been the source of practically as much
publicity and general discussion over
the state as have either of the two
constitutional measures mentioned.