The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-02-23
LEGISLATIVE
...LETT7 Err.
BY R. w HITCHCOCK
Representive, Goth District.
Observation-Disclosures
st. Paul February /,

St. Paul, February 16.
Demand is being voiced in legis-
lative halls in Minnesota for the re-
peal of the weed inspection law.
A more constructive suggestion
might be for the appointment of a
few weed inspectors in the legislat-
ure. The sow thistle and the bar
berry are not the only noxious
weeds that threaten the state. There
is the legislative ''trade" which
spreads as fast as the sow thistle
and is as hard to eradicate as the
barbery; it puts more bad laws on
the statute books and .chokes off
more good laws than any other
single legislative evil.
This noxious legislative plant
burst into full flower last week and
scattered it's seeds far and wide.
There is bound to be a big crop;
we shall be busy harvesting it the
remainder of the session. The lady
from Ottertail, Mrs. Kempfer, open
ly accused the gentleman from
trading. The gentleman from
Washington, who points wicked
finger, leveled it plumb at the lady
from Ottertail and Indignantly de-
MED the accusation. Perhaps the
indignation of the gentleman from
Washington was righteous; maybe
he was not guilty; but the suspicion
of the lady from Ottertail that
trading votes was under way has
been amply justified by the events
of every days session since that
time.
The house killed the bill to lower
the standard of rural school teach
ers by allowing the freshman and
sophomore years of the state farm
schools to license teachers; it also
killed two st. Louis county bills
one authorizing clerks for the county
commissioners and the other Great
ing fifth assistant county attor-
ney. Trading the next day almost
brought the farm school bill back
to life and actually did revive the
two st. Louis county bills. Whether
these bills are good or bad is not
the point; the fact is that none of
the three succeeded on its merits
but trading saved two of them and
almost made a law of the third.
Far be it from US to accuse the diff
ferent factions contending for diff
ferent rural credit bills of trading
yet we are forced to admit that we
have seen a lot of things that look
like trading. You scratch my back
and I'll scratch yours is weed
that grows as rank in the legislat-
ure as it does in most other in
habited places and knowing lust
how to invest this weed is what
makes good politician and an able
bad legislator.
Two Things That Distinguish Us.
The dollar mark is branded bold
ly on every legislative brow at this
session of the Minnesota legislature
and we will stand for anything, no
matter how silly, if somebody tells
US it will help the farmer. We
will fight for days over anything
that touches the pocket book but
we are only lanquidly interested in
hospitals or any other well
fare work The strongest argument
that can possibly be offered in sup
port of bill is that it will not cost
anything; the quickest way to kill
any bill is to denounce it as threat
ening to involve the state in ex-
,ense. Facts, logic, eloquence may
De piled mountain high for or
against measure, but nobody. is
ring a silver dollar on
he desk before you, however, and
rom the lady from Dan to the
,entleman from Beersheba every
,ody pricks up his or her ears and
'ou are an orator who speaks to the
'urpose and your notion carries
Nth whoop. Then, too, we just
ant deny the farmer anything.
We know he is in a bad way, a
cry bad way, and if he wants a
ural credits bill or a bill to deduct
-16 of an acre of roadway from
is tax assessment because of a,
Dad that runs through his farm