The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-01-22
Beltr.mi Editor Meets Opposi-
ton in Asking Questions;
!: : Sorry for Opsahl
STATE HIGHWAY CAN'T
:. DIVERT FROM PLANS
a.. g.. =. aZsss: .s..
Road Promised From kelliher
to Baudette in Two Years; .
T. : Nord Is Working Hard
BY William T. Noonan..
WRITTEN for Bemidii Pioneer.

10. St. Paul, Jan. Alt pains US be-
yond measure to have to spill ashes
on the slide Of our old friend, j. J.
Opsah1, but truth compels us to as
sert that his plan to have the leg
islature donate him the authority to
crochet a railroad from Kelliher to
Baudette Is deader than two barrels
of. salt herring The writer has tax
en-. the pains to interview many leg
islators ton the subject, and without
exception they state that they can
; find cheaper ways OF accumulat1ng
trouble than, by going into the rail
road construction game. They are
positive that it would rbe imp possible
to cook upSasiaw such as Mr. Opsahl
suggests, and. at this stage 1T looks
liks a waste of time to go ahead
with the project. We hope this won't
discourage. the. versatile J. j., and
that he will blossom forth with other
chemes that he may havesinside his
skull for the development of nor
thern Minnesota and its one particu-
lar garden spot-good old Beltrami
county Tai SIC =
Can't Divert Highway.
Another exceedingly tough assign
1nent Tor our trio Of legislators ts to
have thu HIGHWAY commission in
clude the Kelliher-Baudette route in
what is now well known as the Bah
) cock plan OF hard surfaced roads
Frankly, our opinion is that 1t
cant be did, .Messrs. Rako, Nc
. Partlfn and Nord have been work
ing, sixty minutes of every hour IN
efforts to have the commission in
: clude the route, but with no success
The system is to connect county seats
and is not to be built from one point
in a county to another, says the COM
mission, and they say that we might
Just as we'll put our aspirations on
the ears with a }f1atiron.- However
; ther road, from =. International Falls
! through Baudette is to be included
Road in Two Years.
But don't get the idea under your
;. hat that the Kelliher-Baudette road
isn't going to be pulled out of the
. debris. The commission gives out
! the glad tidings that good road will
decorate the scenery between Kel-
liner. and Baudette within two years
+: which is every minute as soon as 8
road could be admitted under the
: Babcock plan. There will be plenty
Of federal, state and county money
. handy for the construction OF tht
road, say members of the commission
and they assert positively that 1t will
be built. H.,
McPartlin in Limelight.
Representative F. J. McPartlin o1
Koochiching county made his nader
speech in the house the other day
and it was what is commonly known
as "hum-dinger." A member wht
Is "alive" but who comes from a so
cialist ward of Minneapolis, started
the storm by delivering a grandstand
speech under the disguise of patriot
ism. Mac" didn't lose second II
= getting to his feet, to pay, his re
spencts to the socialist party, ant
those who didn't know him had little
idea of the earfull that was coming
to them. He spoke for about ter
minutes and when he sat down mem
bers jumped to their feet and de-
stroyed the silence for full minute
1t was the biggest ovation given
member this session and MAC" was
showered with congratulations. III
was Immediately dubbed "the fight
ing Irishman from Koochichint
county" and it looks as If the de
scription will stick to him.
Raise County Treasurer.
A bill to raise the starvation sal
aries paid the treasurers of Beltram
and Koochiching counties has beer
introduced by the members Of thu
two counties, and it will pass with
out difficulty.
Another bill that Is likely to hav'
little trouble in passing provides To-
a monument to those who lost thei1
lives in the ,Baudette-Spooner fire o
1910.
"Suff" Bill Thursday.
The woman's 8 suffrage bill is du'
to disturb the peace of the house OF
: Thursday, and already fair "suffs'
are fiuttering around the capitol lik'
butterflies with turpentine on thei
wings. We don't claim to be :
prophet, but our guess it that it will
get by this time.
~ The vote on the dry ratification
bore spontaneous resemblance Il
a circus. 1t was foregone con