The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-02-09


read to the house. 1t began by
calling Ben ga silly ass" and ever
lastingly damning him 9and all the
rest of you jackals in the legislat-
ure." Blasphemy ran amuck through
amending pages, and the reading
clerk, in the first few pages waded
through more hell and damnation
than he knew before existed on
earth. After that he said blankety-
blank and left the rest to magma
ton. The letter rioted in pictur-
esque denunciation of Mr.. Bendixen
because that gentleman had dared
to advocate Is miles per hour as
the proper limit of speed for auto
mobiles upon public highways. Also
it cussed pretty much everybody in
thu legislature, out through the cor
ridor and down to the foot of the
capitol steps. After the reading
had progressed for 20 minutes Dan
Delury moved that further read
ing be dispensed with" and that the
communication be referred Ito the
committee on temperance. But
the house thirsted to hear more of
it. Finally, after we had had it
amply proved to us that we were all
equally as bad as Bendixon, the
house cut short the reading in mid
volume and turned the thing over
to the postal authorities.
Upper and Lower Bodies.
The senate is the upper" body
of the legislature and the house
the lower. The senate is more
exclusive, more dignifed, quicker to
step and smoother in action. But
an lrishman would like the house
better. You've got to fight to get
your bills through the house. Every
individual one hundred and thirty
first part of the house wants to
know why" at every move. Nice
things like the ebb and flow of
money must start in the house;
that's where we are vastly superior
for once to the senate. The senate
works fast but the mills of the
house grind finer; the house is a
more ponderous body and it lacks
somewhat in Senatorial courtesy"
for it is no respector of persons.
The bill to set the salary of the
county superintendent of schools of
st. Louis County at $4,000 passed
the senate under suspension Of the
rules by unanimous vote, but in
the house we fought for it for two
days and then pulled it through with
only four votes to spare. The sem
ate is grand machine but the
house has the punch.
He's Our Grand Old Man.
Representative Hompe of Otter
tail, eighty and considerable more
years old, who served in the legis-
lature of Minnesota "a years ago in
the old capitol, has bill to abolish
the indeterminate sentence for per-
sons committed to Saltwater. In
presenting his bill to the committee
on crime prevention the other day
Mr.. Hompe made half hour talk !;
it was the finest extemporaneous
effort we have heard this session.
The opposition to Mr.. Hompe's bill
commended that the return to the
hxed sentence would just exactly
suit the criminal and would be
long step backward in the effort to
solve society's penal problem They
were fortified, too, with formidable
facts and figures. The parole board,
however, is under fire from other
sources and several bills are in
aimed to restrict its powers. The
boards defenders make an exceed
ngly, good argument for it, but
popular indignation doesn't care
Whit for argument.
Fire Fighter. Up Against 1t.
Some OF us have bill to pay
SOS, 900 in wages to settlers and
others who deserted their own af-
fairs and fought valiantly to beat
back the forest fires last fall when
all Northern Minnesota was threat
ened with loss of life and property.
Southern Minnesota folk, however,
VINO 90 not have forest fires and
who do hold the states purse
strings, think We ought to be pat
rIotic enough up North to fight for
notning. they say, too, that we
ought to be glad to have forest
fires-they clear our land for ms
and are worth all of $40 an acre
to US. Wonder if the 400 and more
who died in the fire at Moose Lake
are singing hosannas in heaven to-
day over the $40 per acre their
death saved to their heirs? Forest
fires in the past few years have
cost the state, in state timber de-
stroyed, enough money to have kept
an adequate fire fighting force on
the ground for hundred years.
When their penny wise and pound
foolish policy has frittered away
the states great wealth in the
Northland, the South, perhaps, will
awake to its folly. Thousands to
tight for a tonnage tax but not
penny to protect precious lives or
valuable property.
This Is Different.
Two Southern Minnesota towns
about economy. They are the Teach
ers College towns of Mankato and
Winona. The normal schools in
these, two cities burned down as
everybody BODYBUILDING that
originally cost some fifty or sixty
thousand dollars each and to re-
a million and a half. This is one
of the little extra" things which
the state must spend its money for
this year. Another trifinp EXTRA
is $1,500,O0O which pretty much
everybody is beginning to demand
to make up the school aid deficiency
for the past year. But s65 900 to
save the lives and property of the
people of Northern Minnesota?
Never!
Hearings Are Epidemic.
Seldom in any Minnesota legis-
iatlye session have so many evening
meetings been held early in the SEES
sion. Hearings are epidemic. The
debates and the oratory of the Leg
islature of 1928, thus far. have been
the debates and the oratory of out
siders, of those who want to be
"heard'ii Members are surfeited
with hearings" and if they do not
soon abate, the legislature "wont
get no lawmaking done" this year
which might not be very much of
a disaster either.
st. Paul, Feb. z.
Wednesday, Feb. ID, will be Val