The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-02-25
UNIFORM UTILITY
ASSESSING LOOMS
IN House MEASURE
Independents Sanction Plan
Against Which Nonparti.
sans Are United Bloc
GAS REFUND BILL KILLED
Sioux County Seat Removal
Referendum Is, Made Party
Policy by Majority Vote

Sanction by Independents promises
passage in the house Of bill to
provide uniform procedure for
assessing public utilities.
The NonpartiSan minority Satur-
day set themselves solidly against the
measure when 1t was considered in
the committee of the whole. They
maintain that an amendment to the
bill makes it special legislation for
the public utilities. It will be on to-
days calendar.
Fight which broke Friday over a
bill to change procedure in making
refunds under the state gasoline tax
law was definitely settled when the
bill was killed. Though it received q
majority vote it failed in getting the
two-thirds necessary for its passage.
It required q two-thirds majority in
that 1t sought to amend an initiated
measure.
With little opposition the house
passed bill to amend the constitu-
ton to permit four-year terms for
state and county officers. It also
passed q bill to reduce annuities of
the state teachers insurance and re-
tirement fund.
Ask Crime Superintendent
Among new bills introduced was
one to provide for state superin-
tendent of original Identification.
r. E. Swendseid, Mountrail county,
was spokesman for the minority
against the public utilities bill. He
declared that the bill II passed as it
now stands would enact into law
provisions contrary to present stat
utes. He said that it would give
public utilities privileges not now en-.
joyed by other tax payers.
In his remarks Swendseid read from
the statutes relating to trading OF
votes among members Of the house
and to members taking issue in meas
ures in which they had personal
interest.
IF any person in this house has
broken those laws, II someone has
traded votes or done any bribing, I
demand that the gentleman tell who
it Is" L. L. Twichell, Cass county, re-
sponded. mo one has any right to
make insinuations Of that kind on the
floor Of this house. I call the gem
tleman's bluff"
Swendseid replied that he was max
ing charges against no one but that
there were rumors that this had been
done.
Twichell declared that he disliked
to see any man deliberately mislead
the house. He maintained that the
bill does not give special privilege to
public utilities.
Made Partisan Issue
The bill to permit Sioux county to
move its county seat by majority vote
Saturday became q party measure.
G. Vernon Freeman made q motion
that the bill be re-referred to COM
mittee. J. H. McCay. Sioux county,
opposed the motion. With Independ-
ents favoring the motion, it was car
ried. The bill was opposed before it
reached the calendar but it was not
made partisan issue.
O. e. Erickson, Kidder county.
again led the attack on the bill to
change refund procedure under the !
gasoline tax law. He commended that |
II oil dealers were forced to pay a
license fee In serving rs agents Of |
the state in collecting gasoline taxes, |
they should be paid. He asserted that !
Il they did not receive pay, they would |
add q cent to the gasoline price and
the consumers would be made to nay
the bill.
Twichell replied that dealers had
no opposition to the bill, that the COL |
lection Of gas tax means better roads.
use OF more automobiles and q con-.
sequent added income to the dealers.