The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1921-03-17

cOuInCdotClly PdLt Va lAG oIotCy hiay
be secured this session as the bill pre-
pared by the drainage committee,
carrying an appropriation Of $4,000,
has been approved by the a%ppropria.
ton committee and has been reported
so to pass. Battle for this legislation
i. the result of flood conditions in the
southern part of the state at certain
seasons of the year which cause great
loss to the farmers.
The old saying that all legislation is
done before the measure comes to the
floor was disapproved when the house
passed the foreign language bill by a
vote of GA to SO, ending a fight of two
years made by the American Legion
to get adequate legislation in public
schools to insure teaching of the Eng
lish language in lower grades. The
bill was put through by carrying the
house in some of the best speeches
made during the present session.
Tom Ayers of Mitchell filed with the
secretary of state an initiative petit
ton bearing more than $4,000 sigma.
lures and seeking establishing of the
Bank of South Dakota. The petition
provides for submission Of the ques-
ton to the people Of the state at the
next election. The bank would be run
along the same lines as that of North
Dakota. An appropriation of 800, 900
would be made to start operations,
A change in the educational proceed.
ure of the state was started on its way
when the house adopted a resolution
amendment taking the county SUPER.
intendents out of the list of other coun.
ty officers. If the senate agrees on
submission of the amendment and the
people adopt it, the legislature will
have authority to determine the term
| and manner of selection of the county
superintendent.
The Hanson bill providing for a com.
missioner on feeble mindedness and a
survey of the state on this question
passed the senate. It would give the
county board Of insanity authority to
commit feeble minded people much as
they do insane persons now and per.
nit the state board to go further than
under the old law in s~egregating peo-
pie Of poor mentality to protect the
rest of the state from them.
The senate passed the house moth,
ers' pension bill with a $40 reduc
ton. The house put a maximum of
$50 on the pension that could be paid
senate cut it down to $40. This is still
a raise of SIS from the old law, and the
pension for following children Is raised
from 81 to $40. Aid for expectant moth
ers is also included in the bill, which
was not in the old law.
Sunday baseball, movie censorship
and the American Legion boxing bill
may all fall by the wayside as a result
of petty politics entering into the
fight. Representative Wall, of Butte,
county, one of the advocates Of censor.
ship, angered by the failure of the
house to adopt the emergency clause
TO the censorship bill, is said to have
taken a solemn oath to kill the other
two bills as a r~etaliatory measure .
The bill fixing county officers sal
aries on a valuation and population
basis was killed in the house. The
bugabo of higher taxes was raised
against the whole bill with some mem
bers fearing that to fix their salaries
on all assessed valuation basis would
prompt officers to raise the assessed
valuation and that would be hard on
the tax payers, too
The fight on the public utilities bill
panies under the jurisdiction of the
railroad commission may end with an
unfavorable report on this bill by the
municipal corporations committee.
The adverse recommendation has been
decided on by the committee and they
will fight for it on the floor of the
house.
The general appropriations bill
carrying $685. 900 for the mainten-
ance of state departments and insti-
passed the house withauOaficao EFT
tutions for the coming two years
passed the house without change or
debate. 1t had been amended in the
senate from the original figure to add
the salary Of the parole officer omitted
in the original draft.
Possibilities of the development of
rich unsettled lands in the Rosebud
country and northwestern South Da-
kota was opened when the senate
adopted the house bill authorizing lo-
cal bonding for building railroads. The
bill authorizes counties, towns and
townships to issue bonds to build
roads and then to take stock in the
roads in return for the bonds.
Submission of the present proposed
initiated laws in South Dakota will
add 500, 600 to the expense of the next
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