The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1919-04-09
Our Legislature
Is Cosmopolitan
SOME INTERESTING STATISTICS
GIVEN ON THE PERSONNEL
OF LAWMAKERS.

According to the Minneapolis Jour
nal, members of the Minnesota legis-
lature do not have to go outside of
their own body for the necessaries of
life. From food to shave, most in
dustrieS are represented.
If you are hungry, you had better
go to the house, for farmers FREEDOM
mate in that body, the new legisla-
tive Manual. or "blue book" shows,
while if you are in difficulties, the
lawyers of the senate, who are in the
lead in the upper body, can take care
of you.
But there are bankers, merchants,
contractors and insurance men in
both houses, while between the two
you can get your business advertised
or find lecturer if you are in need
of one.
The "blue book" gives biographical
sketches of all members, from mater
ial they furnished themselves. The
biographies shows that Sc out of the
131 members of the house are farm
ers by occupation, nearly all of them
living on their farms.
The Nonpartisan league in most
cases put up farmer candidates for
the legislature. and "a of the farmer
members of the house were elected
by the league, but they are outnum-
bered by the farmers who were elect
ed in spite of the opposition by the
league, or without it's Endorsement.
There are 80 farmer members of the
house free from Townley influence,
and this does not count several mem
bers who are interested in farming,
but have other business to which they
give their chief attention.
Only % Lawyers.
Less than one house member out
of every five is a lawyer, the total
being %. There are II merchants in
the house membership, one of them
Nonpartisan league member.
Real estate dealers, g; bankers. 8:
statesmen, A; plumbers, A; insurance
men, 3; contractors, 2; Newspaper ed
itors, 2; grain dealers, 2: and / each
of the following: Lumber dealer. liv-
erystable proprietor. machinist, lee
turer, advertising agent, civil engi-
neer, barber and stationary engineer.
The machinist and the barber in the
house are socialists
IA Farmer Senators.
Lawyers predomlnate in the SEN
ate, with a list of "a, more than
third of the senate membership. There
are IA farmer senator's, six of them
members of the Nonpartisan league.
and eight not affiliated with the
league. The league has seven mem
bers OF the senate in all, the other
one being a banker. The one social
list is listed as lawyer. The other
occupations represented in the senate
are:
Merchants, 8; bankers, 5; real es-
tate dealers, A; contractors, 2; plumb
ers, 2; hotel proprietors, 2; and one
each of the following: manufacturers,
newspaper editor, locomotive engi-
neer, forester, and insurance man.
Practically one-fourth of the
of each house is foreign
born. More than half of the native
born members are natives of Mime
sofa. The house with 131 members
has SO born in the United States and
80 born in foreign countries. The
foreign born are divided as follows:
Norway, q; Germany, z: Sweden. 6:
Great Britain, 4; Denmark, 8; Ice
land, z; Canada, /; Ireland, 1; Hol-
land, /.
State Represented.
Minnesota is the native state of Sc
house members, the great majority of
the younger members being gophers.
States are credited with nativity of
members as follaws:
Iowa, 10; Wisconsin, 9; Michigan.
5 Pennsylvania. 8; Indiana, 8: North
Dakota. 8; New York, 2; Illinois,
Massachusetts,, Maine, Maryland.
West Virginia. Vermont and Georgia,
one each, and one not given.
The Senate has 18 foreign born
members out of total of 81, and of
these six were born in Sweden. four
in Norway, four in Canada, and one |
each in Germany, Great Britain. Ire
land, Holland. There are Is Mime |
sofa born men in the senate. Other
states are represented as follows:
Wisconsin, z; Michigan, 5; New
York, 2: and Iowa, Illinois, Maine,
South Dakota, Vermont, Pennsylva-
MIA Louisiana Marv1on1 M..oorI..-