The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1921-04-15

until midnight next Wednesday
Special Orders" on some of these
measures are set for every day. They
are all matters bound to excite differ.
ences of opinion and debate, 30 that
the mass of measures now on the cal
endar and on general orders seem
likely to stay there and to die there.
A new feature of the closing days of
the session is Special Order of a
considerable number Of bills of gen.
eral state wide Importance. This
special order in the house has been
prepared by the rules committee and
viii take up a large part Of the time
of the house during the remainder Of
the session.
Days of Work. Nights of Toll.
The closing days of a Legislative
session are always marked by unre-
hitting toll on the part of the finance
Tin the senate) and appropriations
Tin the house) committees. These
committees have now for some time
been meeting three times day en-
deavoring to cut the requests for the
biennium from the 5000, 900
asked for to a point near the $780,
100000 appropriated by the last leg
islature. During the past few weeks
every department of the state gov
eminent has appeared before these
committees, submitted their requests
and explained and defended them.
Now, in between the sessions of the
house and senate these committees
are sitting almost constantly in ex-
ecutive sessions, going over the re-
quests, sitting them item by item,
estimating, debating, guessing, de-
Gliding.
The state university has an increase
of SO per cent in its enrolment. It
now has almost 5000 resident stud
ents. 1t asked for about $1,000, 900
for its upkeep for the next two years.
The appropriations committee in the
house did not even attempt to weigh
the needs of the university. It re-
fused to wrestle with the problem.
1t simply said to the University:
Here is s5,000,000; take it and do
the best you can with it." This intel
igent method of ministering 10 the
needs of the people of the state has
created quite an uproar, and the end
is not yet
The laws of Minnesota declare
that SO much money shall be paid by
the state each year to schools which
teach agriculture, so much to schools
which teach industrial training, SO
much for home economics, so much
for commercial courses. The house
appropriations committee one day last
week decided that it would not keep
the pledge made by the state to the
schools and calmly and fatty refused
to appropriate to the schools the half
million necessary to make the states
word good in this respect. 1t did
this after having unburdened itself
of various and sundry remarks to the
effect that the department of educa-
ton, which administers the law as to
shool aid, has been autocratic in
"foisting" these "fads" and 'frilis"
upon the people of the state. New
the people of the state are just be-
ginning to learn how "overbearing"
and "autoeratic" the appropriations
committee has been and they are
beginning to holler about it. Letters
and kilograms of protest have been
pouring in on members of the legis-
lature and the end is not yet.
The need for economy, however
is urgent. The agricultural interest
OF the state is fat on its back. The
farmer can't pay his taxes. His sit
uaiton is desperate. He can endure
no burdens that are not absolutely
necessary. All new buildings and
purchases of land and new undertake
ings must, and are, being rigIdly cut
out of the estimates. The state will
pay what it must in order to "carry
on, but it ought not, it must not,
be compelled to pay a penny more.
Wonders Never Cease.
Much to the surprise of everybody
the house passed the big educational
bill of the session last week after an
all day fight. The vote was surpris-
ing, too,-97 to 16. The bin was
bombarded with a perfect broadside
of amendments, 81 all told. Twenty
one were of major Importance and of
these nine were adopted. A little un-
necessary pork (s4OO. 600 WORTH was
poked into the bill, giving the polite
ally inclined fine opportunity to
eulogize the little red school house,.
"Fads and frills", "Fudge and fudge
aprons" got terrible. drubbing and
the 100000 that had been so gush-
ingly bestowed upon the rural schools
was promptly taken out of the hide
of the high schools. The state de-
partment of education was skinned
alive and roasted over a slow fire.
Finally, thinking they had wrecked
it completely, the house passed the
BILL If it had dreamed how much
good was left in it, the house would
euralv have vo{nI - 1<xvx,
+ Police Bill Msltrsatsd.
What the house did to the educa-