The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-03-04

AAV8 O. ! 0S008O
By House Claimed
BY L. l.. Twichell
that assembly failed to receive two
thirds majority.
The bill provides for . two-per-cent
tax on sales Of articles and on profess
sional services.
The senate killed the house chain
store bill, providing for . tax on chain
stores, by a vote Of ~ to 20.
The house recessed shortly after
noon to meet again at ! p. m. Thirty
bills are yet to be acted on by that
assembly, with indications Of . long
session in prospect.
The university ana agricultural col
Ilege budgets are still in conference,
the subject Of bitter dispute as to the
amounts to be allowed.
The senate also passed the bill pro-
viding for issuance Of scrip. The vote
was 26 to 20.
Until 1:4o a. m. Saturday the as
semblies worked feverishly to clear
an unusually heavy schedule Of BUSH
ness, only to call q halt until a. m,
while one Of the legislators made an
insistent demand that the legislators
cease work because, he claimed, the
session had run beyond the time al
lowed by the constitution.
Highlights Of last nights dramatic
session were:
A declaration by Sen. w. Z. Martin
Of Morton county that the assem-
bly's actions were illegal because they
had met beyond midnight and vto-
lated the constitution.
Passage Of the sales tax bill by the
house, 81 to 43, and its transmission
Saturday to the senate for final &C
ton on amendments.
Concurrence by the house In the
senate amendment to bill fixing the
legal rate Of interest at eight per
cent.
Kill Dry Law Repeal
Killing of the house measure to
repeal most Of the states prohibition
enforcement laws.
Final passage Of the measure set
ting up municipal liquor stores and
controlling manufacture and distri-
button Of beer II congress legalizes It.
While crowds packed the galleries
and the floors Of the two assemblies,
the members worked past midnight
to break one Of the most unusual
jams Of legislative proposals expert
enced during a session Of the North
Dakota legislature.
Possibility Of q new outbreak on
the capitol commission bill hung as
pail over the senate. Proponents
Of the bill to transfer the duties of
the commission to the board of adj
ministration hoped to bring about a
reconsideration Of the emergency
clause, defeated for lack Of q two
thirds majority when the bill passed
Thursday, but whether the matter
would come up before adjournment
remained indefinite. Opponents of
the measure, however, were of the
opinion that supporters of the bill
would avoid reconsideration because
Of inability to obtain the sufficient
two-thirds margin.
At Friday nights session no at
tempt was made to bring about re-
consideration and Saturday the ad-
ministration leaders were more par
ticularly interested in the sales tax
measure above all other proposals.
Resurrect Sales Tax
The sales tax bill. passed by the
senate and sent to the house, was
amended and approved by the latter
assembly. then returned to the sem
ate.
The measure providing for an old
age pension fund passed the senate
Is to Is. It goes to the governor.
The senate sustained a ruling by
Lieut.. Gov. Ole Olson for the second
time this session when he ruled an
amendment which would have pro-
yided for appointment Of the state
printer by the governor to a bill
originally dealing with process serv-
ing was unconstitutional.
An appeal was made by Senator D.
H. Hamilton and IS senators sup
ported the lieutenant governor. while
q dissented.
One house bin remained on the
senate calendar as an hours recess
was taken shortly after noon, but a
huge amount of work remained to be
threshed out by conference commit
tees.
An outstanding topic Of discussion
QnaOy1o 1oUic1o <rvc ma tina sI~n,~, t>c =
tossed into last nights session by Sem
ator Martin.
He arose, following the defeat Of
the prohibition repeal bill for which
he had voted, to challenge the legality
Of the senate'S actions.
He pointed to the legislative clock,
stopped at 1883 p. M. and insisted
the real time was past midnight and
that the present legislative session
had become matter Of history. His
statement. coming as IT did with
measures pending for appropriations
to operate all state departments and
for other important institutional ap-
preparation bills. threw the assembly
into confusion. until finally q vote was
taken to re-affirm q previous motion
that the time Of the legislative clock
was the Official time Of the assembly
Points to Consultation
Martin began with q statement
that under the constitution the ses-
sion expired at midnight. He handed
statement to the desk clerk to that
effect and asked that 1t be printed in
the journal Of the days proceedings.
His motion, however, failed Of a Sec
|ond.
He commented that leach senator
has sworn to support the constitution
and not Q single law you can pass will
be legal because 1t Is past midnight
by my watch"
"You have raised hell enough" he
said, "and you haven't done damned
thing"
The clerk then read his statement: