The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1919-03-07
TONNAGE TAX HIT

Takers Now ScrappIng Among
ThemseIves.-A Merrg War.
Do Somebody.
St. Paul, March 6.
The tonnage tax is fast getting to
be an "on again, off again" prop
osition. When the hour arrived for
the special order on the tonnage tax
today, with both the Bendixen per
cent bill and he Nonpartisan league
10 per cent bill up for consideration,
the advocates of the two measures
were still quarrelling among them
selves as to which had the better bill.
After half hours fight both bills
were referred back to the tax COM
mittee and the tonnage tax advocates
are now worse off than they were at
the beginning of the session. The
tax committee is heartily sick of the
whole row, and nobody knows what
the committee will do.
Two motions, one to compel the
committee to report out some kind of
a tonnage tax bill within the week,
and the other to compel the commit
tee to report within two weeks, were
both beaten, the iron range country
voting solidly against them.
There is now no possibility of the
tonnage tax issue coming to a vote
within ten days in the house, and it
will probably be much later than
that. Many predict that the tom
mage tax issue is dead for this ses-
sion.
The forty-first session of the Min
nesota legislature has not quite
reached its halfway house, the 45th
day. Few laws have been made, but
federal prohibition, agreement for
women's suffrage, the 1000 mile
paved road program, fire sufferers
relief-have been disposed of. Rad
ical changes in the primary election
law and in state aid for schools, TO-
gether with a complete reorganiza-
ton of the educational sytem of the
state, are well under way. After
many weary hearings a constructive
plan for state compensation insu-
or,I fo,. hcto ntso1
in the benefits secured to the work
man under the compensation law
were reported this week and will
soon come up for final decision in
both senate and house. Although
only 80 laws have been written into
the states statute books, no legis-
lature in the history of the state has
accomplished more than the forty
first session has already achieved.
Heap Big Talk.
At the expense of great deal of
oratory the house last week passed
five important bills. The Red Flag
bill was passed with two socialist
votes and two Nonpartisan league
votes in opposition-but only after
a great deal of patriotic eloquence
had been spilled on the floor of the
house. The senate Immediately
passed the bill by unanimous vote,
without a single Grafton. The War
ner-Hompe bill to provide for po-
litical party conventions occasioned
long fight in which all the orators
of the house brought up their heavy
artillery. The bill had IL votes to
spare, the final vote being 70 to 81.
The range s'threw away" it's votes,
Burrows and Murphy voting for the
bill and Gill and the writer yo-
ting against it. The bill providing
an eight hour day occasioned another
all day fight, many farmers objecting
to an eight hour day, for farm hands;
it finally passed with 48 votes in OPP
position, all the range representatives
voting for it. Two days later the
opposition tried to recall the bill, a
change Of sentiment having taken
place, and mustered 70 votes which
was not enough, two-thirds of the
whole house being required, Theo-
dore Christianson's bill giving the
state sweeping powers for the pun
ishment Of sedition and Anthony
Welch's bill prohibiting the sale of
oleomargarine in state institutions
each consumed whole day, but each
finally passed by wide margin.
Must Speed Up.
Although many big things are out
of the way, there are a host of little
things on the waiting list. About
900 bills have been introduced in the
house and some 600 in the senate.
Both houses will soon have to work
~f r