The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-03-11
ENTHUSIASM, DOUBT, HOPE AND
FEAR RETURNED WITH COM
MITTEE SAYS REPRE-
SENTATIVE
LEGISLATORS ADDED MONDAY
AND TUESDAY TO THE WEEK
END VACATION-HOME
To VOTE.
BY R. w. HITCHCOCK
Representative. Goth District

st. Paul, March 10-A close OBJ
server of the way the legislature
works its law-making to- perform
might be pardoned the thought that
the principal business of the men,
bers is going home for week ends.
This week we again added Monday
and Tuesday to the week end vaca-
ton, so that the members may take
part in the annual village elections.
Some of the difficulties in enact
ing a successful bank guaranty law
were illustrated by the remarks of a
This gentleman addressed the house
recently and in the course of his re-
marks referred to Minnesota's pain
full record of bank failures. In this
activity Minnesota has no monopoly,
however, he declared, for bank fail
ures are most unpleasantly frequent
down where the tall corn grows. The
Iowa legislature recently sent COM
mittee of six to Nebraska to examine
the much advertised bank guaraty
law of that state. The committee was
instructed to bring back no recon-
mendations; just facts. When the
committee returned it was hopelessly
divided, three to three, as to what
were the facts! The Minnesota leg
islative committee of four has also
returned from an investigation of the
workings of the Nebraska law. En-
thusiasm, doubt, hope and fear re-
turn with the commit. The Ne
braska law has been in operation
since 1911 and no depositor in the
e IL 1Tv Ii
dollar by bank failures in that time.
That's the good part of it. But today
rs of Nebraska's banks need closing
and Nebraska's problem is how to
close them without wrecking its bank
guaranty law. That's the bad part
of it.
On the Trail of the Prison.
Notwithstanding its splendid rec
ord of self support, the farmers of
Minnesota are still much displeased
with the state penitentiary. The
prison has saved the farmers millions
in binding Irvine and some hundreds
of thousands in farm machinery. The
manufacture of farm machinery at
the prison, however, has not been
profitable. Two years ago the price
of prison made farm machinery was
slightly advanced, this action being
taken over the protests of a legisla-
tive committee. The advance yielded
the prison a very small profit. Now
another legislative committee de-
mands that the prison reduce it's
prices and forego its profit. Not
withstanding all the blessing the pris-
on activities have heaped upon the
farmer, he is discontinued. He does
not call the prison revolving fund of
81 100000 splendid; he calls it scand-
alous, because, he says, it was all
wrung from the farmer.
Evidences of this feeling break out
now and then on the floor of the house
and senate. The other day when this
bitterness broke out afresh, Repre-
sentative Otto Kolshorn, himself a
rural member, declared that the
country should not take the prison
profits so much to heart for the cities
furnish 80 per cent of the labor.
Prisoners Want Work.
One of the big problems at the st.
Cloud reformatory, the biggest prob
lem, in fact, is how to keep the in
mates busy. There is literally moth
ing for large proportion of them to
do. The Irvine industry has been
pushed to- it's utmost in Minnesota,
freight charges have put an end to
crushing rock for road purposes and
organized labor objects to almost
any other activity that can be pro-
posed. The board of control is now
working out plan, however, for the
manufacture at ST. Cloud of the
states automobile license plates and
this will partially relieve the un-
employment situation at the reform
atory. Here it may be noted, in
passing, that bill is lurking in the
corridors, looking for an opportunity
to get into the legislature, which re-
quires an outline map of Minnesota
upon every Minnesota automobile IL
cense plate.
Did 1t Single Handed.
The newspapers have reported that
the house has passed bill which
provides that the state may trade a
certain valuable dock site which it
owns at Duluth for some other de-
sireable dock site. The newspapers
were mistaken. DR.. Cullum, the vet
eran legislator from Duluth, passed
that bill. The house is still wonder
ing why a trade should be desirable,
still doubling whether the transac-
ton will be advisable, but DR.. Gull
lum says the bill is a good bill and
we believe him. DIR. Cullum says
pass it, and we pass it. The distin-
guished gentleman from Duluth is the
only member we know of who can
persuade the house against it's will.
When the doctor says vote, the house
voteth.
The doctor has only one fault; he
is a perfectly hard hearted wretch
when it comes to voting money for
rural high school education in st.
Louis county. Millions for high
school education in Duluth, but not a
cent for high school education in the
country unless the country supplies
the cent, might well be the doctors
slogan. He is even willing that Du-
luth shall tax itself for an expensive
junior college in Duluth, but not an
other farthing from Duluth for edu-
cation in the country.
Equal Educational Opportunity
The "unorganized territory" rural
school district of st. Louis county,
an area as large as some states, with
more than $50 schools and several
thousand young Americans eager for
an education, is now taxing itself
nearly 20 mills every year to give the
boys and girls chance. Various
forces are year by year hammering
down the meager ability of the people
of this great sweep of country to give
their children an education. The
Mountain Iron school district took
S35O,0O of the rural districts valua-
ton recently. the woodman's axe cuts