Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1929-03-28
DOINGS OF THE
LEGISLATURE
Continued from Page u

Continued from Page ID
lis. Frank Starkey of ST. Paul, Gerald
Mullin of Minneapolis, Conrad john
son of Almelund and Joseph Kodak
of Minneapolis.
Mr.. Dunn read letters from the gov
errors of various states where a Gig
aret tax law is in force and from
other officers, all commencing such a
tax to the favorable consideration OF
the Minnesota legislature. 1t is esti-
mated that the Dunn bill, if enacted
into law, would bring into the state
treasury about $2,000,000 per year.
When it comes to home rule there is
division in the Hennepin delegation.
The conservatives are against reStor-
ing to the city council control of the
street railways by repeating the
Brooks Coleman law, but favor the
so-called grade separation bill. which
would take from the railroad and
warehouse commission the regulation
of steam railroad grades and cross
ings. Last week the Minneapolis rad
icals in the house fought shoulder to
shoulder with the conservatives in
favor of this bill, but the country
members licked them almost two to
one. The small cities and villages
want to leave grade and crossing
problems to the state, as they have
no engineers of their own to serve
them. 1t was raher amusing to see
the Minneapolis radicals accept the
leadership of w. |. Norton in the los
ing fight
Highway Commissioner Babcock has
no reason to feel unhappy, despite the
recent sortie against him by his enc
mics in the house and the move to
have him investigated" The investi-
cation resolution of Andrew Finstuen
and Otto c. Nelman has been held up
in the house rules committee and will
doubtless be killed there, and the
other day the highway committee of
the house and the corresponding com
mittee of the senate endorsed a plan
of refunding the S32,000,0O0 in high
way bonds in such manner as to in
crease the fund at Mr.. Babcock's dis
poSal the next four years by some
S19,000,000 Indeed, if the cent gas
tax bill passes-which it will. unless
the signs fail-Mr. Babcock will have
the neat sum of about S54, 100000 to
use in improving the trunk highways
the coming four years. So why
shouldn't the commissioner be happy?
MIR. Babcock, like w. |. Norton is
q slender man, who doesn't look like
a man ''rarin'" for a scrap, but if the
other fellow wants a scrap awfully
bad, he doesn't run.
OF course, there's many a slip 'twiXt
the cup and the lip and the house and
the senate may change the program
agreed upon by the two highway COM
mittees.
The senate had a real scrap, Fri
day, when an attempt was made to
pass over the governors veto the bill
allowing another judge in the six
teenth judicial district of western
Minnesota. The governor vetoed the
dill on the ground that no more judges
ought to be allowed before there has
been a reapportionment of the judicial
districts, but no less than 43 senators
voted to pass the measure over his
yeto-just two short of victory. Sen
ator L. p. Johnson of Ivanhoe, said
that there are enough judges now to
40 all the work, provided the districts
are properly arranged. He led the
fight against the bill, while Senator
f. Z. Putnam took the lead for it,
Two years ago Governor Christian
son vetoed a bill apprOpriating $500
for the creation of new state park
at Morton, TO be called the Birch
COulee Memorial Park" but when this
Legislature passed a similar bill, his
eXcellency signed it. Either Ted isn't
quite so tight this winter, or he has
been reading up on the story of the
Indian outbreak and the battle of
Birch Coulee and is getting more en-
thusiastic over the idea of memorial
Izing that lurid struggle.
And now it is claimed that owners
of office buildings in ST. Paul are con-
spring to defeat the bill which pro-
vides for the erection of a state office
building near the state capitol. There
seems to be an overwhelming senti-
ment for a new state building in both
branches of the legislature, but there
Is disagreement over the manner of
supervising the work of construction.
The governor and his ardent followers
want the Big Three in charge The
senate majority prefer a special build
ing commission of seven.