The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-02-10


dominant farmer-labor faction in the
house of the forty-eighth Minnesota
legislature is riding hard and reckleSsly
over the political terrain. It stops
not for break and it stops not for
stone" and it votes without reason when
reason it has none. 1t has had couple
of bad spills, when it rode reckleSSly
at dangerous hurdles, but for the most
part it has sat firm in the saddle and
ridden ruthlessly.
It has stubbornly refused TO shorten
the legislative session, it bitterly de-
nounced nepotism when it was on the
outside looking in, but now that 1t IS
on the inside looking out it blithely
embraces the damSel, it deliberately
denied a seat to man chosen by the
people and seated instead partizan OF
its own, and last week 1t added to its
petty crimes and misdemeanors by
spurning plea for tax relief one day
and on the next stubbornly declaring
for minority rule.
Trading on the Taxpayers Distress
The farmer-labor majority Of the
house, which SHES at the name and
prefers to be called the liberal" ma
tority, last week refused to authorize
an investigation into the proposition of
suspending for two years payments due
on ditch bonds. These bonds are a
heavy burden, in the case Of many
counties an impossible burden, and the
state has assumed some of them. The
inquiry proposed was to determine
whether the taxpayer might be tenn
porarily relieved of this burden,
amounting to some hundreds of thous-
ands, possibly a million dollars. The
liberal" majority voted loudly and
strongly to refuse to look into the
matter; thus they smartly slapped the
conservative" minority, which had pro-
posed the inquiry, at the expense OF
the misery Of the people.
Tampering With the Constitution
Flushed with this victory" the hard
riding liberals, sans argument and sans
Judgment, voted for minority rule and
for making it easy to tinker with the
fundamental law of the state, the state
constitution. BY q vote Of 70 to Al
they passed bill to allow the con-
stitution to be amended by go per cent
of those voting on the proposition pro-
Yided the yes vote is also 40 per cent
OF all taking part in the election. At
present it requires majority Of all
voting at the election to amend the
constitution. During the past IA years,
% amendments have been voted on by
the people, II have been adopted and II
have been rejected. Under the bill
forced through by the liberal" ma jority
of the house, 20 of the proposed amend
ments would have been adopted and
only three would have been rejected. If
the new rule prevails experience shows
that out of every amendments pro-
posed will be adopted.
It is fundamental that the basic law
of the state should not be easily changed
and it is automatic that the majority
should rule, but this act makes it certain
that the constitution can be easily
amended and in almost every case the
amendment will be accomplished by a
minority of the people.
A Different Picture
It Is different picture in the senate.
There the conservative" majority, more
practieed in ruling, although keeping a
firm hold of the reins of power, divides
it's privileges and responsibilities with
the minority. The senate minority
holds important chairmanShips, it has
been entrusted with important investi-
cations, and it is generally given fair
consideration.
The Doctors Disagree
Three times within the last week the
Governor fell out with his own party,
which, to tell the truth, is being pretty
precipitate with its law-mahng. The
Governor nominated a republican, a
personal friend, Harry Boyle, county
attorney of st. Louis county, to sue
coed J. G.. ArmSon on the state tax COM
mission and the Governors spokesman
In the senate fairly frothed at the
mouth; with haste almost unSeenly the
farmer labor house voted to wipe the
states liquor enforcement laws from the
statute books, but when the bill reached
the senate the Governor fairly flabber-
gasted his followers with the declaration
that he would veto the liquor repeal
measure unless 1t was accompanied with
q regulatory act as the tide of Senti-
ment rose for cut in the automobile
license that would wreck the highway
department and the farmer-labor
henchmen were preparing to put it
through, the Governor came out fatty
for a s. to 81 reduction in the minimum
and no other cut whatever.
System Is Hard Beset
The highway system of Minnesota is
In real peril. Both license and gas re-
ceipts fell off last year, federal funds
have been anticipated and used up,
new expenses and old debts have been
loaded on the trunk highway fund, and
the people hurrah for Secretary of State
Mike Holm's fifty per cent cut in the
license fee. In any event, says Highway
Commissioner Elsberg, construction
during the coming two years must be
cut down 10 to 80 per cent; if the fifty
per cent license reduction Is adopted
there will be less than 100000 for new
construction, he declares.
Here Is something else for the lover
of good roads to think about. Governor
Olson has borrowed 81, $50, 900 from the
Reconstruction Finance Corporation for
Minnesota poor relief. It has practi-
cally all been spent and the Governor
has applied for s6500Oo more. Other
applications will be made. All this