The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1929-02-15

An enLlrely new cHdpJer was VIII
ten in the debate" between the Uni
versity of Minnesota and the state
| finance commission, university officials
objecting to figures presented to the
house appropriations committee by the
big Three" in the controversy over
the budget.
While the house committee was delv-
ing into university financial affairs,
the senate finance committee made it's
first major decision of the session,
voting to double the allotment of build
ings to care for feeble minded.
The senate committee voted for two
new buildings at Faribault and two at
the Cambridge colony for epileptics.
These would provide for 400 additional
patients.
The committee also recommended
| hospital for criminal insane at the
| Saltwater state prison, costing $685.
900. This will be paid for from spe-
Gil prison fund. The committee also
approved a new building for the state
public school at Owatonna.
The house appropriations showed
much interest in salary matters at the
university, President Coffman stating
the university lost $50 persons in a
single year, most of them because of
| salary consideration.
President Coffman went into de-
| tails to attack figures presented by Mr..
Rines on enrolment and on summer
school operations. Mr.. Rines had
| quoted university statistics to show
the summer session is selfsupporting
as an argument against including sum-
| mer enrolment in totals to show in
creases. President Coffman and Con-
troller w. T. Middlebrook, however,
said the summer session in 1928 cost
| $646,000, with revenue of $4,000.
This includes proportion of salaries OF
610 persons who are paid on a year.
| round basis.
The house received a bill which
would extend to cities and villages out
side of the cities of the first class the
authority to establish a police civil SER
vice commission. OF three members
| who would have absolute control and
supervision over employment, dis.
charge and suspension of all police de-
partment members.
The house was also asked to pass
a measure for the establishment of
plant at the st. Cloud reformatory for
| the manufacture of motor vehicle IL
| cense plates, highway markers and
signs and like Identification matter re-
quired by state departments. The bill,
| directs the state board of control to
establish the plant. The products
| would be sold to the state departments
at price which would not exceed 10
per cent profit, the bill appropriates
$4,000 for the building, and purchase
Of necessary equipment. Fifty per
cent of the annual profit would be paid
into the state treasury until the total
of $4,000 was reached The bill was
| referred to the committee.
An appropriation of $225,000 is ask
ed for the establishment of a state
printing and binding plant in bill in
troduced by Representatives S. A.
Stockwell of Minneapolis and Frank
Starkey of st. Paul. A similar meas
ure is pending in the senate. '.-
A joint resolution proposing au in
vestigation of the state highway de-
partment was approved by the house,
in committee of the whole.
The resolution, bearing &C members
names, proposes a friendly investiga-
ton to ascertain the percentage of the
total number of miles of routes en-
braced in the trunk highway system
specified by the state constitution that
have been constructed and permanent
ly improved.
If the legislature should accept the
Lommen substitute for thu original
resolution supporting tie Shipstead-
Newton bill, it would be approving pro-
posals to raise the levels of lakes along
the international border, j. C. Ober-
hotter, president of the Quetico-Su-
perior Council, charged in Il statement.
The Lommen resolution as first pre-
scented, according to Mr.. Oberholtzer,
would have omitted the chain of boun-
| dairy lakes from Loon lake, through Lac
La Croix to Eastwood lakes, the parti-
cular section which opponents of the
E. w. Backus project Insist would be
ruined by dams. THAI omission was
typographical error, Senator Lommen
explained, and it was amended to again
change the area.
Cites Other Objections.
Mr.. Oberholtzer, declaring there are
still vital objections 10 the Lommen
resolution, said:
Evidently, very few or Mr.. Lom-
mems friends have read his resolution,
even if he has read it carefully himself.
They do not realize the resolution, as
worded at present, whatever it's inten-
ton, does not prohibit flooding, but, on
the contrary, expressly approves the
alteration of water levels without the
consent of congress. 1t says in lines
! 35 to 81, that the alteration without the
| ter level of lakes and streams along
or adjacent to that part of the interna.
tional boundary hereinafter described
be and the same hereby is approved
'In other words, Mr.. Lommen's
| friends are merely enlarging the area
along the border, in which they reaf.
firm the present freedom to dam lakes
without the consent of congress-the
very opposite Of the main purpose and
| principle of the Shipstead- Newton bill.
legislative SideIights
St. Paul organizations renewed de
mands for repeal of the Brooks-Cole.
man act regulating streetcar opera.
lions and fares reneal hill Ia