Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, January 4, 1905, Page 1

—e VOLUME 2. NUMBER 209. NEW CAPITOL IS OPEN Lk CLAPP GETS 127 VOTES Governor Johnson Submits His Message to the -Deals Principally With Railroads and Rates. Legislature. St. Paul, Jan. 4.—The republican caucus held last night to nominate a successor to Senator Clapp resulted in a vote of 127 for Clapp and one for Gillfillan. Governor Van Sant did not receive a single vote. The elec- tion will occur January 17. The legislature met in the new mar- ble capitol on Wabasha Hill this morning at 10:30 and listened to the messuges of the incoming and outgo. ing governors. STATE FINANCES, is called. and the e; same year $,546,106.50. expenditures at $4,044,000; 745,000, with estimated expenditure $4,379,000. The estimate for 1906 revenue of $800,000. 1907 Governor Johnson’s inaugural mes- sage to the legislature is as follows: Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: Having taken the oath of office as required by the constitution my first official duty is the communication by message to the legislature such sug- gestions and information concerning the condition of the siate as I have deemed expedient. The message of the Incoming governor, having been pre- pared prior to his installation in office, must necessarily deal with state ques- tions in a general rather than in a spe- cific way. At the outset I wish to ais- cuss a question which, during the past few weeks, has impressed me as being of much importance. I reier to ine tenure of oifice of the governor. A newly clected executive is so burdened with the duty ot selecting his oilicial famuly that he finds litue time for the study of the conditions of the several Btate institutions and matters of state concern generally. Then, too, he goes into oslice with the convening of the legislature so that his administration finds its greatest work at the begin- ning of his term. For these and other reasons I believe that the tenure of this office should be extended to four years, with the provision that the ex- ecutive should not be eligible for re- election. Under these conditions he would certainly be enabled to give the state his best possible service unham- pered by any ofiicial duty which migat be performed with a view of perpetuat- fug himself in office. The suggestion is not a new one and is ba; upon the experience of other states in which the tenure of four years has accom- plished the best and most satisiactory results. If the suggestion meets with your approval 1 olter the added sug- gestion that in thus amending the con- stitution the change be made eifective al the conclusion of the present term, with the provision that the present executive would not then be elig:ble to a term of four years. In acknowledging my appreciation of the honor conferred upon me in the election to this high office by the peo- ple of the state, irrespective ol polit- ical aftiliations, I wish to assure you that in the administration of state af- fairs 1 shall be guided by one and only one purpose—that of serving the state as a whole, and to that end I ask the co-operation of the legislature with the executive arm of the state govern- ment. It should be your purpose and mine to place the state above party or personal interest and as chosen serv- ants of all the people we should strive to serve the state without regard to any interest save the interest of the whole state, and to this end I pledge you all the support which the execu- tive can give. tively. for 1906 and $2,600,000 for 1907. be met with a great deal of care, for it. ture use and care. tor the permanent trust funds are rapidly increasing. - paid refundment bonds. TAXATION. unsatisfactory., A large portion tirely. from that of taxation. Under enue, tax system. come tax upon credits. constitution. matter which should be considered this session. The state auditor has presented his report of the financial condition of the state, to which your earnest attention His total estimate of the revenue fund for 1905 is $4,609,169.40 imated expenditures for the For 1906 the income is estimated at $4,570,000, with and for 1907 the revenue is estimated at $4,- of is based on a tax of 1 mill, yielding a For 1906 and he has based his estimate on a tax levy of ome-half a mill, yielding $400,000 and $425,000 per year respec- In his estimate of revenues for 1906 and 1907 he has calculated the income of railway taxes at 4 per cent, yielding a revenue of $2,500,000 In his estimated expenditures for the lat- ter two years no allowznce is made for buildings at the state institutions. You will observe that this leaves a very close working margin unless the tax levy is raised, a condition which should 1 heartily concur in the suggestion of the state auditor that the appropria- tions be kept within the estimated re- ceipts, believing that the tax levy should not be increased. We are con- fronted with a new situation, which requires your attention. The new cap- itol building, being a larger and more commodious structure than the old, requires a larger working force to care The old capitol building is still the property of the state and some provision should be made for its fu- According to the report of the audi- in a most gratifying condition and are Since the publication of the auditor’s report the state debt has been de- creased to the extent of $100,000, there now remaining but $859,000 of the un- The subject of taxation is always of vital interest and of more direct importance to the people than any with which you have to deal. Our pres- ent system is in many respects very of property which is properly the sub- ject of taxation escapes this duty en- The question of taxation was very thoroughly discussed at the extra session of the legislature in 1902 and, plthough nothing tangible resulted investigation, the public mind was educated in some measure to a need of a change in our system our present constitutional Hmitations there is but little oppor- ‘tunity for a change in the situation. 'All classes of property should cer- tainly bear a just proportion of the taxes for the raising of the public rev- I would recommend the passage of a bill providing a - constitutional amendment giving greater latitude to the legislature in the regulation of our I believe a partial solu- tion of this vexatious problem lies in an income tax and especially in an in- To secure this there must be an amendment to our The taxation of inheritances is a at Efforts have been made 0V. JOHNSON'S MESSAGE along this ling by preceding legisla- tures, but in every instance such legis- lation has been found unconstitutional. The defects having been pointed out by the supreme court it is possible to pass a law which will be approved by that court. An inheritance tax law which is proper and just would in- crease our revenue fund and would not be a serious burden to the class of property coming under the provisions of such a law. 3 EDUCATION. Minnesota has just reason to be proud of her splendid school system and easily takes rasik with progressive states such as New York, Massachu- setts and others. In fact our public £chool system is unexcelled in tne na tion. Our high and graded schoois are well estabished and well organ: ized. The branch of our educational sys: tem which demands the most careful attention and in which there is yel great room for improvement and ad vancement is the rural school. Iu these schools at least 60 per cent of the public school population is enrolled and the great majority of the pupils and students attending them receive no instruction beyond that received there. Of over half a million pupils in all the public schools during the past year more than one-half are enrclled in the rural schools. By reason of the primitive method stiil employed tho pupils attendant upon the rural schools lack the advantage of well construct- ed buildings, adequate books and li brary, trained and experienced teach: ers, and in addition thereto are sui Ject to the disadvantage of living re- mote from the schoolhouse. The pri- mary education of the youth is the real basis of our citizenship and every op- portunity for the encouragement of the early training of our youth should be employed. The inducement for a more general attendance should he beld out by every possible assistance of the state. I suggest that there is much occasion for improvement in our rural schoolhouses with regard to heat- ing, lighting and ventilation, with a view to the greater comfort of-the pupils. To secure this result T would recommend the adoption of some gen- eral plan whereby all rural school- houses should be constructed in the future upon plans submitted to anl approved by competent authority. I believe the special state aid provided during recent years has done much to raise the standard and increase the efficiency of rural schools, and I trust this liberal policy will be continuedl. Adequate and intelligent supe:vision for this class of schools is as.essential as for those in towns and cities. To obtain this I think a change in our law is necessary whereby our county superintendents will not only be paid adequately for their services but- which will also insure more competent supervision. Their salaries should be at least commensurate with those of other county_ officers and with those of school supervisors in cities who do & like amount of work, and in return for a proper compensation there should be some requirement which would guarantee professional service in the supervision of our rural schools. - Be- lieving that the educational system of our state should be divorced from par- tisan politics as far as possible and that superintendents should be chosen because of their educational qualifica- tions instead of their partisan politics I would urge and recommend such Pre-inventory s Sale %= Men’s and Boys’ Overcoats, Men’s Sheep Lined Coats, Ladies’ and Children’s Coats, Men’s Working Shirts and Socks must be closed out before inventory. : : O’Leary @ Bowser. v Bemidji, Mlnnesote. changes in our laws as would provide & county hoard of education whose duty would include the appointment of & county superintendent and such other school duties only as arc now performed by the board of county com- missioners. During the last ten years the duties i iImposed upon the depnrtmen., of public Instruction have practically doubled, while the working force during 2ll this time has increased with but a single clerk and the funds at the disposal of the department have been only corre- spondingly increased. In view of the increased duties of this department, touching every branch of our public schools and other educational service, I recommend that the legislature make provision for another assistant and that the permanent fund of the work- ing force of the office be made $5,000 annually. TIMBER TRESPASS AND MINERAL LEASES. The public examiner of Minnesota states in his official report that hun- dreds of thousands of dollars are due the state by reason of timber trespass and urges suits for the collection of the amounts due, He states further that suits haye been instituted for the Tecovery of back taxes due the state from railway companies. The work of prosecuting these cases has been de- layed, he reports, by the inability of the attorney general to reach them because of a multitude of other duties. There should be no cessation' in the | prosecution of these claims and I would suggest to you the advisability of making provision with sufficient ap: propriation for the employment of spe-| clal counsel to take up the !mrk collecting the ‘amounts. port makes referen also to timber trespass, bearing out the statement of the public examiner. From these two offices the claim has been-made that the law has been openly violated and it appears that the statement of the public examiner, “that it was cheaper to steal the timber znd settle for it than it was to buy it,” is in some meas- ure true. It is alleged also that thou- sands of dollars’ worth of timber has been stolen from the state of which no report has been made. It would be ‘wise to appropriate sufficient funds to enable the executive to make a com- plete investigation of our timber con- ditions with a view of bringing of- fenders to justice and securing to the school funds of the state the amounts properly belonging: thereto. The public examiner further states, as a result of investigation, that min- eral leases have been issued contrary to law and to persons not legally en- titled to hold them. I‘assure you that proper steps will be taken to revoke such leases. As a preecaution against future violations of the law that this class of property may yield to the state the greatest possible revenue I recom- mend the passage of 4 bill to provide for the sale of mineral leases at pub- lic auction to the highest bidder, and that every such sale should be after due and proper advertisement and after a mineralogical iexamination of the land by the state before such sale. Within a few years vast mineral beds have been uncovered and there is rea- son to believe that still greater dis- coveries are to follow. The interests of the state must be‘safeguarded in every possible way and again I call your attention to thls most important question. RAILWAY LEGISLATION. One of the greatest problems of the time, and which is of the greatest and most vital concern to fhe¢ -people re- presented by you, is hat of railway transportation and tariff: rates for the same. There is no need to rehearse the history of recent litigation affect- ing combinations of parallel.and com- peting railway lines. The United States supreme court in a decision ren- dered by it has decreed against the merger of such parallel and compet- ing lines of railway. And yet we real- ize and know. that combinations are in effect which completely annihilate competition. Railway rates in our state are much higher than across our border in Canada. That there is an unjust discrimination there is no ques- tion. Speaking of railway control Justice Bradley of the United States supreme court said: “The superintending power over the highways and the charges imposed upon the public for their use always remains in the government. This is not only its indefeasible right, but is necessary for the protection of the people against extortion and abuse. These positions we deem to be incon- trovertible. Indeed, they are adjudged the law in the decisions of this court. Railroads and railroad corporations are in the category.” You are the representatives of the people. To you they look. for relief: By many the Iowa distance tariff law is believed to be the solution of this question for our own state. Railway rates are lower in lowa than in this state by from 25 to 40 per cent. Some- thing is radically wrong with a sys- tem which places the Minnesota ship- pers at such a disadvantage. That the Iowa distance tariff law would be of benefit to our state is of grave doubt. The railway situation in Iowa differs materially from our own. Iowa is-a state compact in physical form, having within her borders no great terminal markets and whose products are mainly agricultural, the great surplus being carried to termi- nal markets beyond the state in car- load lots. With us the condition is wholly different and after investiga- tion T have concluded that it is an open question whether or not the Iowa plan would be to our advantage as a whole state. A distance tariff might be of temporary benefit to the rural dis- tricts and at the same time be the means of gradually tearing down our internal terminal markets, the resuit being eventually to our disadvantage. There is a remedy, it seems to me, in the establishment of a maximum freight rate that will be fair to the shipper and not be a hardship to the transportation company. The railway and- warehouse commission is now clothed with proper legal authority to establish fair and equitable rates. That this has not been done is be- cause of a lack of aggressive admin- istration rather than a lack of legal authority. I would, therefore, recom- mend the appointment by you of a Jjoint legislative committee to make 8 full and complete investigation ‘of the prevailing rates of transportation within this state with a view of estab- lishing by law a maximum tariff rate for transportation within this state which shall be based upon a reasonabie rate of interest and profit on the in vestment and which will be fair to aii parts of the state and absolutely pro- hibit an unjust discrimjnation be- tween localities or individuals. Nor is our complaint alone in the matter of rates within our own state. There is the same ground for dissatis: faction on interstate traffic. On this class of business. state authority is powerless ~to. make any regulation, ven the interstate commerce commis- on is limited in its authority and to ity igation, I Wouid earnestly i6coiimeni the adoption of a joint resolution which will explicitly endorse the said “Cooper bill” and request our senators and representatives in congress to support -said measure. To enable our ! people to fully avail themselves of the benefits of the national laws regulat- ing transportation and of the interstate commerce commission in the adminis- tration of these laws I would urge the passage of a bill which would author- ize the state board of railway -and ‘warehouse commissioners to represent any individual complainant before. the interstate commerce commission when, in the judgment of said board of rail- way and warehouse commissioners, the grievance of the complainant is a just one, In the discussion of this question of transportation I beg to remind you that generally we have dealt with steam railways. Every indication points to the fact that within a few years our state will be quite generally traversed by electrical railways and that within the coming two years sev- eral of these lines will be under con- struction. Being common carriers it would be wise, in my judgment, to in- corporate in our statutes at this time & provision which would place all such common, carriers under the control and jurisdiction of the board of rail- way and warehouse commissioners, 1 would also urge your attention to the advisability of giving said board power to regulate and control telegraph and telephone companies. Every - public service corporation which gets its au- thority from the state and is protected by the state should be forced to sub- mit to public control. RAILROAD PASSES, During past years a strong prejudice has arisen in this state against what is commonly termed the “pass sys- tem.” T am not among those who be- lieve that the giving or accepting of a free railroad pass or a frank is in- tended in any way as a bribe and yet the mere acceptance of the courtesy necessarily places the recipient under some slight measure of obligation to the corporation. ‘Public officials and men prominent in other walks of life have been the bleneficiaries of this system, which has been in vogue ever since our existence as a state; and the system has bien so much abused that sentiment has become aroused against a continuation of the practice. All cor- porations do business on an earning basis and every-free pass or favor granted by a corporation is of neces- sity paid for by the cldss of citizens who do not come within the favor of the corporations. Public opinion in this state has grown to such an extent that there is a general demand for the passage of a law similar to that adopt- ed in the state of Wisconsin, and which is most stringent and effectual. I would urge the adoption of a law which will abolish the pass system in this state. The legislature should not hesitate to give expression to this sen- timent. PRISON LABOR. For a number of years the state has maintained a plant at the state prison for the manufacture of binding twine, and the messages of my several prede- cessors in office have in almost every instance acknowledged the wisdom of the establishment of that plant. It is a profitable source of employment for our convict labor and, in addition thereto, is of great benefit to the farm- ers of the state by giving to them cheaper binding twine. The situation in this regard is peculiar to the extent that in this instance the convict labor thus employed is not thrown into com- petition with the free labor of the state. It would be wisdom upon the part of the state to deyote practically all of the prison labor to the manufac- ture of binding twine. It would be a source of revenue equal to that de- rived from the manufacture of other products. Prison labor should not com- pete with free labor.. It might be a source of economy to engage a pOr- tion of this labor in the manufacture of shoes and clothing for the inmates of our other public institutions, but, aside from this, I believe: it would be wise, economical and profitable to ex- tend the twine plant to such an extent as to provide employment for the re: mainder. Our present contract system is open to a great deal of criticism. By the change suggested two results would be accomplished, both of which would be to the best interests of the state. LABOR LEGISLATION. Another 'subject which is of great interest to the working people of our state is what may be described as tae common law doctrine as to the noa- liability of a master to a servant for injuries occurring' through the negli- &ence of a fellow servant. This an- € eommon Taw. coupled | generally referred tion Senator Clapp Renominated by a Majority of 127 to 1.---Had 35 More Than a Major- of the Legislature. era when high geared.and dangeiocus machinery performs such a large part in the production of manufactured articles. This fact has been recog- nized in the matter of operating rail- roads, the “fellow servant” rule having been abolished in this state as to them. The true rule is that the industry should bear the risk and not the un: fortunate workmen who are now daily deprived of the means of earning a livelihood by those appalling accidents Which are occurring with more and more frequency of late. SWAMP LAND DRAINAGE. Vast tracts of land, located largely in the northern part of the state, are at present a useless waste because they are low, wet and untillable. This land drained would reclaim to the state countless acres rich in soil and capable of profitable cultivation. I urge upon your consideration the en- actment of a law having for its pur- pose the drainage of this land under state 'supervision. To do this I would Tecommend the establishment of a re- volving fund from which the expense Droviding for this improvement may be met, the money thus expended to be returned to this fund in deferred Dayments, without interest, from taxes levied upon and collected from -the- lands benefitted. The present system 1 unsatisfactory. I'deem it my duty also to call your attention to the national swamp land grant. by which thousands of acres of swamp land were deeded to the state with the understanding and consid- eration that these lands were to be drained by the state, The duties and obligations thus imposed should be met and the pledge made by the state to carry out its part of this agreement should most certainly be redeemed. INSURANCE DEPARTMENT. ‘There is need at this time for a gen- eral revision of our present insurance laws. Under present conditions insur- ance companies are permitted to so transact their business that the intei- est of the policyholder is not fully pro- tected. Such large amounts of the people’s earnings are invested in vari- ous kinds of insurance that it is high ly necessary and proper that legi tion should be had at this session which will not only make the super- vision of the insurance department fair and efficient but which will abso- lutely safeguard every interest of the policyhold and which will compel every company doing an insurance business in the state to do that busi- ness upo® a legitimate basis. The DPresent law permits the collection of fees by the commissioner, the pro- priety of which there is much doubt. The slate canrot afford to pursue any uncertain policy in this or in any other matter. All fees collected by this de- partment should be covered into the state tr Y. The work of this department is of great importance and the best inter- ests of the policyholder and companies doing a legitimate business demand that the commissioner be placed upon an exciusive calary basis. The com- densation should be such that men of acknowledged ability and high char- acter could be secured for the posi- tion. GOOD ROADS. The subject of good roads is promi- nent in the public mind and there has been something done during recent years looking to the improvement of our public highways. Iation is much desired and I assume that you are sufficiently familiar with the situatipn to 1equi. e 19 spccial com- Inent on tae part of the executive. An increased tax for the road and bridge fund would undoubtedlly accomplish 800d resuifs and state aid in township ‘work would probably stimulate en- deavor along this line. IMMIGRATION. Throughout the northern part of our commonwealth larze tracts of land are idle and unproductive because of the lack of pcople to tilt the soil. Our bors have been busy in the en- ragement of settlers to locate with them and within a very few years thousands of homeseekers have passed thiough our own state to find an abid- ing place in the Dakotas, ilontana, ‘Wacshington and Canada, Minnesoia offers every advantage to the setiler and by well directed effort a large pro- portion of peopic seeking new homes might be induced to locate in our owa state and materially aid in its growth and. development. A state immigr tion' gociety has Dbeen organized, but, lacking state assistance, the result of ir labor has natuially been limited, ‘The establishment of a permanent 1 i suficiezt funds to prosecute the worlk of urging settlers to locate here would Tesult in great good. MANAGEMENT OF STATE INSTI- 8" D;flperly a maner for your @mest consideration. Twe Suitable legis- j U(:iea ing government by a board of control is comparatively new. Many of our peo: ple differ in their opinions as to the best method of institutional- govern- ment. The board of control system obtains now and must be given a fair opportunity to demonstrate its value. Some of the methods employed by the board of control are subject to criti- cism. Contracts are made in secret and the business in which the public has an interest is withheld from the public itself. Whether or not it is wise to make all of the business, the letting of contracts and the purchase of supplies, open to public inspection, there certainly should be some provi- sion made by which all of the transac- tions of the board of control would be subjected to regular inspection and investigation by the public examiner or some other competent authority. CARE OF INSANE. The care of the unfortunate wards of the state is worthy of your most earnest and careful consideration. The state has been very generous in the past and in its provisions for the care of the insane and the feeble minded Minnesota ranks favorably with her sister states. Much progress has been made along this line of work .during recent”years and it has now-become established that in-the care of the in- sane. it is the duty of the state to pro- vide humane care for this class of our unfortunate citizens and that it should also be the duty and the privilege of the state to develop the study of in- sanity as a disease and make proper progress along the lines of scientific treatment of the insane with a yiew of the education of the medical profes- sion in a more thorough knowledge of insanity. More attention should be paid to the treatment of new cases and the best of facilities should be pro- vided with that end in view. /Our hospitals for insane should be placed on the high plane of general hospitals and they should be relieved so far as possible of the incubus of the incura- ble inmates who only require personal care but whose presence means the crowding out of those who need and might be benefited by medical treat- ment. I would call your attention to the advisability of providing nurses’ homes at the various hospitals. Sep- arate homes would mean economy of room in the kospitals themselves and ‘would be a simple act of judgment to the nurses employed. I would also di- rect your attention to the need of pro- viding a place at the state prison for the retention of the criminal insane as well as the insane criminal. . The con- vict or criminal insane should not be allowed to mingle with the non-crimi- nal insane. Insanity is no more a crime than tuberculosis. The care and treatment of those who are mentally deranged or ill from nervous diseases should be along the most modern and scientific lines. Our entire system should be reorganized and based upon the idea of curing the disease rather than caring for the being. STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. A very lmportant. work in the pub- lic service is that done under the su- pervision of the state board of health. In general, everything relating to the work of this board has grown enor- mously during the past decade. Not only has the board undertaken work of 8 general sanitary nature, but it is do- ing and has done splendid-work inthe matter of infectious and contagious diseases. It has also performed good service in dealing with infectious dis- -~ eases of amimals. The work should be facilitated by every possible encour- agement which can be rendered it by the legislature. STATE TRAINING SCHOOL. A reform is suggested by a number of our philanthropic people looking to- ‘wards a separation of the sexes at our state training school. I heartily en- dorse the proposition, believing that the present association is detrimental to both sexes and that a more com- plete reformation would follow by rea- son of such a separation. SOLDIERS’ HOME. ~ Our nation and state have pursued a policy in providing homes for the vet- erans of the Civil war which has met with the approval of all patriotic eiti- - zens. Our people have been generous in their recognition ‘of the services of the old soldier. In cur generosity to {he soldfers of the Civil war the state has been emiss in the duty it owes to the wives, the mothers and the widows of the old soldiers. At the last depart- ment encampment of the Grand A of the Republic the matter of admit- ting the mothers, wid6ws and wives to. the soldicrs’ home was taken up and, as a result of that movement, the board of trustees of the State Soldie; iome recommends an amendment to the law which will permit their admission and they ask for an appropriation to: con- struct suitable buildings for their care and maintenance. No one has ques- tioned the justice of caring for the old. ‘soldier nml it thgre is: ]naflue in mak- provision. for there i8 n¢ wh ose Qirectly dt