The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-02-11
PRINCIPAL ISSUES HAVE NOT BEEN
INTRODUCED IN THE LEGISLATURE


that period has passed, license to
practice will be granted, ETC., etc.
All this is well, but now arises the
much .mooted question-shall indi-
vidual practitioners, not a member
of the staff of some accredited beauty
parlor, be allowed to go forth pro-
miscuously into the home of the peo-
pie and practice their profession
single-handed? All, there is the rub!
The committee hearings are mob
bed, adjoining rooms are requisi-
toned into which the debaters and
the gallery overflow and the contest
RACES furiously into exciting over
time hours. There have been no
casualties this far, but the end is not
yet.
Iron Range On the Carpet.
Between annual jostlings hither
and thither by the iron mining indus
try at home and biennial attacks by
the legislature, the Minnesota Iron
Ranges certainly have lively time
of it. A hearing before the tax COM
mittee on the proposed bill to limit
the expenditures of Stuntz, Balkan,
Biwabik and White townships on the
Range brought large delegation of
prominent Range citizens to the cap
itol last week. The hearing was
rather hurried, but the men from the
Range gave a good account of them
selves. They rather took the wind
out of the sails of the proponents of
the bill by freely admitting miscon-
duct of certain Range affairs in the
past; they made strong showing to
the effect that the Range had set its
own house in order; they entered a
vigorous plea that it be allowed the
same privilege so freely accorded to
the rest of the state of attending to
its own affairs. The Range delega-
ton raised some doubts, perhaps,
as to the propriety and wisdom, on
the part of southern Minnesota mem
bers of the legislature of interior
ing in matter in which they have
no interest, but whether they con-
WINGED these same southern Mime
sofa members that the Iron Range
should enjoy the same right of self
government which they defend so
iercely for themselves-that is an
other question.
Fear Rules the RoOst.
The violence of the opposition to
the small loan bill is one of the mys-
teries of the legislature. The rail-
road brotherhood supported the bill
four years ago, but this year it was
arrayed in opposition. The brother
hood has a lobby in St. Paul whose
language is picturesque and pungent.
The small loan bill is Immoral, sin
full, ubiquitous, falgitious," declares
this lobby in circular distributed to
every member. Words fully as sui
phurous as these made up most of
the argument in the house against
the bill.
Everybody knows that loan sharks
flourish in the larger cities, squeez-
ing from their hard-pressed victims
from $50 to 400 per cent per year in
interest on small loans. To make
such loans does require high rate of
interest and the Russell Sage founda-
ton, after much study, proposed a
law that would allow three and one
half per cent per month or total Of
AZ per cent year on small loans.
This law is now in fairly successful
operation in more than twenty states.
R. j. Quinlaven of Stearns county,
in the principal argument for the bill,
said that three things could be done
the present scandalous condition could
be allowed to continue, a severe pen
atty could be attached to usury, or
the needy borrower of small amounts
could be protected and the loan shark
curbed and regulated by the small
loan law. When the roll was finally
called after an acrimonious debate,
Sc voted to continue present condi-
tions and 81 voted for curbing and
regulation.
The debate as well as personal con-
tact with the members of the house
seemed to show that a strong de-
sire to remedy present conditions ex-
lists, but that many members feared
some enemy might Stay them some
time in the future with the charge
that they had voted for an Immoral,
sinful, iniquitous, fagitous" AZ per
cent. So the loan shark evil continues
and wakes greater day by day.
Introducing Mr.. ROckne.
A. ]. Rockne of Goodhue is a vet
eran of the legislature. He served
for some terms as a member of the
house, was elected speaker, and fin
ally, many moons ago, went to the
senate. For many sessions past, he
was, and he is today, chairman of the
senate committee on finance. He is
one of the most able and powerful
members of the legislature. In the
house the Craftsmanship of the ap-
preparations committee is considered
enough work for it's head, but Sena-
tor Rockne not only heads the COM
mittee on finance, but serves actively
on such important committees as
rules, elections, general legislation,
etc. He happens just now to be out
of sympathy with Governor Chris
tianson's new department of admins
tration of finance. A goodly proper
lion of the senate is said to agree with
MIN. While Senator Rockne is fam
Gus as watchdog of the treasury,
this situation does not-auger well
for the governors attempt to confine
the appropriations of the session to
0,000,000.
NATIONAL COMMANDER IN