The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1931-02-14
Solons Tangled in
Political Mesh as
Another Week Ends

Political Mesh as
Another Week Ends
CONTINUED from page one)
draw and the expense accounts which
they present.
One non in the caucus Is said to
have contended that the present bill
would raise $4,000 for the. mainten-
ance Of the weights and measures
department alone.
The highway department difficulty
has been s%in,nering but no ono knows
when the lid will be blown off and the
whole situation exposed to the public.
First mention Of It came with In
PRODUCTION by Senator A. +. Bonner,
Jr., Lidgerwood, Of. q bill to revamp
the highway department In what he
declared to be the interests Of ef-
fictency and economy. In . state
ment which accompanied the In
PRODUCTION Of his bill, Bonner labeled
the present highway administration q
sinking miasma" Of politics.
He Is an I. v. A., or rather has ].
v. A. leanings on many matters, but
his attack on the highway admins
tration was regarded as q thrust at
the shafer administration. since the
governor Is the chairman Of the high
way commission and directly respon-
sible for the departments admins
tration.
The Bonner bill, chaperoned by the
state affairs committee in the house,
has not yet come to q hearing. and
desperate efforts r being made by
the !. v. A. majority to adjust" its
difficulty with the Richland county
solon before he kicks off the lid an
tirely.
In his original statement, Bonner
asserted that only IS cents Of the tax
payers dollar gets to the roads, the
rest being eaten up by salaries and
maintenance charges.
To date no spokesman for the ad-
ninistration and no representative Of
the highway department has taken
issue with Bonner and the most start
ling and significant statement OF the
present session, from q political
standpoint, has gone unchallenged.
Whatever the governor and his sup
porters have said about Bonzer or his
measure has not been said for pub
lication.
With keen factional interest CEN
tered on, the Fowler bill to eliminate
the presidential primaries and make
precinct representation on party com-
mittees commensurate with the vote
cast, efforts to revise election laws
were faced with q new proposal, this
one by Senator Ole Ettestad, Nom
partisan, McfIenry county.
The Fowler bill Is aimed only at a
revision Of the system for organizing
party machinery.
Ettestad,s proposal goes much fur
ther. It would bring about the
peculiar situation Of q Republican
convention in which both the /. v. AS
and Nonpartisans would be rep
resented.
Precinct representation would be on
the basis Of one committeeman o all
but those precincts casting more than
$50 votes. These would have two
committeeman.
County committees would nominate
two party candidates for each county
office and state committees would
nominate two party candidates Tor
each state office. This would be done
by placing both the man receiving the
most votes and the man next largest
number Of votes on the ballot. Under
this situation, a state Republican con-
vention probably would nominate
both an 1.sV. A. and q Nonpartisan
for each office, since It Is hardly con-
ceivable that one group would be able
to muster enough votes to. hold more
ttlsn three-fourths Of the proposed
party convention.
The bill also would do away with
he'rno-perty ballot except for judges
Of. the supreme court. The super1n-
tendent OF public instruction would
be nominated on the state party
ticket, District judges would be NOM
mated at district judicial conventions
and. Legislative. candidates ct legisla-
tive district conventions.
The same system Of getting two
names on the party primary ballot
would, prevail ct each convention,
thus insuring each major faction Of .
party Of representation on the pr1-
mary ballot.
No provision Is made for the adop-
ton Of . platform BY the party con-
ventions at which the candidates
would be nominated.
The bill In question Is No. 224 and