The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1921-03-24
STATE LEGISLATURE
House Takes Up Motor Vehicle Tax
Measure Today-Ore Tax Comes
Up in the Senate Later.
Preus Signs Five Farmers Bills
Senate Committee Votes Down
Cut in BabcOck's Salary.

Senate Committee Votes Down
Cut in Babcock's Salary.
Today (Thursday) on special order
the house will take up the motor
vehicle tax and wheelage measure.
Within a week the ore occupation
tax bill will come up for consideration
in the senate.
Governor Preus has signed five
farmers program" bills: The rural
credits amendment supplies an. issue
for the 1922 state campaign, as it is
2 constitutional amendment and must
be ratified at the polls. 1t YVES adopt
ed unanimously by tie senate. The
amendment is along the line of the
South Dakota system, under which
$35 ,0O0, 900 has been raised by the sale
of state bonds and lent to farmers on
thci: land. The senate committee
struck out provisions the; would per-
NIT state loans to cooperative COM
panics and would allow counties to
make farm loans. Two of the bills
are aimed at grain. exchanges. One
limits future trading in grain to the
transactions necessary to supply a
hedging market. Another declares
grain and livestock exchanges "open
markets." requiring them to open their
doors to cooperative concerns. The
other two measures passed ere joint
resolutions dealing with grain grades.
One directs the re-establishment of
Minnesota state grades after August
l of this year. The other provides for
a joint committee of two senator's and
three house members to go to Wash
ington and urg: changes in federal
grades that will be more fair to spring
wheat growers.
The senate highway committee was
everlastingly right in voting down pro-
posals to reduce the salary of the COM
missioner of highways below $4,000.
That is little enough TO pay man who
will have charge of the construction
and maintenance of 1000 miles of
state highway. Expenditures in this
huge work will average something
like $10,000,0O0 year, and the total
cost of the highways will amount to
something like $1OO,O0O,OO0 in the
course of ten years. This is approxi-
matcly quarter of the total cost of
the Panama ccnal. The job is 4 big
one, and the state cannot afford to
hire cheap man to supervise it. A
salary Of twice $4,000 would not be
too much to pay commissioner who
will do the work economically and cf-
fcicntly.
1t is expected that the senate will
dispose of the highway administration
bill this week ard send it back to the
houc, for concurrence in the amend
ments made.
The house committee on agriculture
and horticulture has recommended for
passage the bill providing that the
agricultural department shall investi-
gate the cost of producing farm prod
ucts in Minnesota. Another bill sent
out to the house floor mcmorializes
congress to place an embargo on po-
tatocs end starch products. The lat
ter is a good measure.
Provision for state inspection Of
meat animals before slaughter was
killed by the house committee on pub
lie health. Women's organizations
supported the measure but dealers said
it was not practical. Many defects
were found in committee end it was
decided to leave the entire matter to
the next legislature.
A joint resolution providing for ad-
journmcnt of the legislature on April
9 was introduced in the senate by Sem
ators Cumming, Void, Bonniwell and
others. A similar resolution is repos-
ing in the house, rules committee,
where it probably will be allowed to
die, inasmuch IS the appropriations
committee has announced that it could
not possibly complete it's work in time
for such an early adjournment.
Professor Knute Haaland of the
University of Wisconsin, formerly of
Minnesota, has offered to sell the
rhinestone he discovered at Kensfng-
ton many years ago to the state for
$4,000, and laid his proposal before
Governor Prcus. Professor Haaland
claims the stone has runic inscrip-
ton, stating that party of Nor
wcgian explorers passed that way in
1862, and that 10 members of the