The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1933-03-02
accomplishments Of the session.
mo Politics In 1t"

mo Politics In IT.
A major issue, upon which has
been done, but whose further pro-
gress is full of perils, is congress
sional reapportionment. The house
has passed reapportionment bill.
Chairman Horfindahl, of Swift,
who was sorely vexed two years ago
by the seventh district gerrymand-
or, and his reapportionment COM
mitee of nineteen farmer-laborites
and two conservatives evolved a
bill which gives the seventh dis
trict a fairly compact shape al
though it's waist line is somewhat
suggestive of the waist line of the
gay nineties. The jig-saw puzzled
craze almost crept into the bill for
the second district is somwhat
pigglety, and the third district runs
an almost complete ring around the
twin cities. On the whole it is a
pretty good bill-for the farmer
labor congressman-although it
does not completely satisfy any,
body. 1t gives Henry Arens a pure
ay agricultural district, which, it is
understood, is important. It puts
Paul Kvale and Magnus Johnson in
separate districts-also highly i'm
portant. The first and the second
districts fought against Dakota
county and it's South st. Paul pack
ing plant, but it was finally fast
ened on to the first district just as
the committee proposed. The SEN
ate also has re-apportionment bill
about which it shows signs of being
firm. The senate's bill does not
rend the second district in twain as
does the house bill, but conforms
more to the old lines. Hennepin
county members cIawed at each
others threats over the division of
precincts, wards and legislative dis
tricts. The fourth district (Ram-
sey), the eighth and the ninth,
which are not much affected, look
anxiously on hoping that the war
ring contestants, if they must de-
stroy each other, will not destroy
reapportionment into the bargain.
Relief with Safety
Another major issue, apparently
well on the road to solution, is
state wide relief. Early in the
session Governor Olson submitted
a plan of state relief in seven bills
with the admonition to pass 'em
quick" It has irked him some
what that the public affairs COM
mittee took time to consider. The
bills conferred wide powers on the
executive and broke down the safe
guards which the people have set
up against indiscriminate bond is
sues. The committee has unani-
mously agreed upon the bills after
modifying them somewhat. Cover
nor Olson's borrowings of the
Reconstruction Finance Corpora
ton are ratified, his choice of the
Board of Control as the agency for
the distribution of relief is approx
ed, the big cities are given author
ity to band within present limits
while the limits for smaller COM
munities are expanded subject to a
vote of the people. The program is
yet to be acted upon in house and
senate, but it is concrete plan
for each body to consider. The all
important preliminary work, which
takes the most time, has been &C
complished.
An Experiment, Noble In Purpose
Governor Olson's major issue, we
are told, is Unemployment Insur-
ance. This is a theory, connected
by university professors, and adopt
ed by Governor Olson with var;a-
tions. Its purpose is to alleviate
the miseries of unemployment by
means of setting up "unemploy-
ment reserves"
Unemployment insurance, in var
ious forms, is now being tried by
almost all European countries. It
has nowhere been tried in this
country, although Wisconsin has a
law on the subject which has not
yet gone into force. European un-
employment insurance, which has
almost wrecked England and SER
iously compromised Germany, is
small potatoes compared to the
Minnesota scheme. The Wisconsin
law is a gentle zephyr beside the
Minnesota gale. House File 973,
the Minnesota Unemployment In
surance Bill, proposes to attempt
something that has never been tried
anywhere in the world.
The university professors, in ex-
pounding their theory Of "unem-
ployment reserves" gave urgent
warnings of the dangers which at
tend the proposal, and they sug-
gested stringent safeguards. Some
of these safeguards Governor Oh
sons bill adopts others of major
import it discards. For instance,
the professors declare, in common
with other economists, that the
employer cannot bear the whole
burden and that the system must
break down unless it is cooperative
between employer and employee.
House File 973 places the whole
burden of 40 mill tax on the en-
ployer. A sound schame, econom-
lists declare, must provide company
reserves, but politics denies this
precaution, and DEGREES that
thrift and wise dealing must bear
the sins Of waste and foolishness.
Discussion Of this major issue
has just begun. If signing on the
dotted line as authors, sight un-
seen," of majority OF the men,
bership of the legislature, sans
thought, is any indication, it may
become law with little considera-
ton other than that which is polit-
ical.
Other Major Issues
Two income tax bills have been
much mulled over-a statutory in
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