Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1935-02-28
legislative Notes

trivial and minor controversial mat
tiers, the house will find itself against
4 stonewall when the fiftieth day ar
rives.
Cautioning the membership to
move promptly from now on, Leavitt
left the warning as q spokesman for
the minority group he would mot
permit the wholesale passage of bills
on the fiftieth day unless l know
what they are about" He added that
he seriously doubted The ability Of
the house to accomplish its objective
in the remaining days.
Though considerably denatured
from the form in which it made its
appearance in the lower chamber, H.
B. 279, legalizing gambling, the com-
bined effort of 4 select committee, is
expected by levying state, county
and city taxes on gambling devices
to raise thousands of dollars yearly
for the general relief and old age
funds.
1t also includes a local option pro-
vision whereby the counties may re-
ject the licensing plan and provides
a ban on slot machines. Inspections
and enforcement of the licensing pro-
visions would be in the hands of the
state board of equalization.
Continuing for a brief time with
its third reading calendar, the house
has passed the controversial egg, grad
ing law! the law defining major de-
pendents under the workmen's COM
pensation act; the act to dissolve
herd districts; another permitting
cities to fix flat rates for water
users; one permitting certain oun
ties to retain attorneys for criminal
or civil prosecutions, and another re-
lating to the fees of the secretary of
state.
The committee on labor reported
back f%avorably S. H. B. 20, the sub
ject for recent bitter debate, which
would fix the minimum wages of fe-
male workers. As revised by the
committee three salary classifications
were fixed, SIG in cities Of $4,000;
$14 and SIP in proportionately small
Ter cities.
1t also advanced H. ]. M. 8, urging
congress to forbid the return to
America of persons who returned to
Germany to vote in the Saar pleb-
%iscite; H. ]. M. 9, urging federal aid
for the schools, and H. ]. R. S, for
ratification of the St. Lawrence sea-
way. H. j. M. 2, for an investigation
of the acquisition Of 43 square miles
of land in Park and Gallatin counties
by the forest and park service, also
was adopted.
Over four companion acts relative
to public utilities, the consuming
public and public service commission,
all of them sponsored by -owler of
Billings, the house engaged in one
Of it's most bitter scraps of the ses-
sion and in the end killed three and
advanced one to third reading.
The surviving bill provides that
consumers of any utility may band
together to undertake a privat- in
vestigation and call a hearing before
the commission on utility rates or
charges, and that if they win their
case the costs may be levied against
the utility and amortized over five
years, and charged up by the utility
as operating expense. The bill ad-
vanced toward passage.
With little fuss or feathers, the
senate applied the ak to a bill which
passed the house and by which CHR
o~practors of Montana might be per-
mitted to use electro therapy and
other devices of that nature in treat
ing the afflicted. The measure died
on a motion to indefinitely postpone
The senate committee on public
lands reported f~avorably on S. B..
104, defining the liability of the state
to protect the public school perman-
ent fund.
In advancing the temperance COM
mission act toward passage the sem
ate devised its original financing
provision and reduced from 2 per cent
to Y per cent, the amount of oper
ating profit from the liquor control
system to be devoted to carrying out
the program of education on the evils
of rum. The reduction carried by a
vote of 33 to ID.
The measure provides for the crea-
ton of a commission headed by the
state superintendent of public in
struction and to be composed of other
state officials who would conduct
through the press, on the lecture plat
form and otherwise a campaign Of
education.
Senator Campbell of Missoula, its
author, declared the United States is
the most temperate nation in the
world, and that if 1--WE educate, it's
bound to have an effect"
Bills signed by the governor are:
H. B. 34-Taxing freight line COM
panies. H. B. 72-Providing for a re-
count of the votes. H. B. 102-Estab-
fishing the names of university units.
H. B. 104-Relating to seed grain
loans. H. B. 105-Relating to time Of
making assessments. H. B. 106-Pro-
viding for the assistance of electors at