The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 22, 1917, Page 7

Railroad Lobby “On the Job” St. Paul Men at Bismarck Working on Old Guard in the Senate— House Wise to Sltuatlon—Good Bills Will Pass By Ralph Harmon, Leader Staff Corre- spondent ISMARCK, Feb. 17.—The presence B of a big railroad lobby, which ar- rived Thursday from St. Paul in & special car attached to No. 3, has focused attention upon the railroad bills, which give promise of being among the most important, if not the most important measures to be con- sidered by this session of the legisla- ture. The lobby is one of the largest, say members of other years, that has paid Bismarck a visit during any legis- lative session in years. The railroad men are interest- ed chiefly in Sen- ate Bill 79, by Mostad (member of the senate in- dorsed by the League), which is the full-crew bill, and in House Bill 288, by Dupuis of McKenzie county, (Nonpartisan League member), which is virtually the Cashman law of Minnesota. A party of rail- road men were in Bismark a week ago and protested against Senate Bill 79, and as a result of their ac- tion, it was held up in committee one week, while they returned to St. Paul to gather data and return armed with argu- ments against it This measure, in brief, proposes that for freight trains of 50 cars or more, there shall be one extra brakeman provid- ed and certain ex- tra men on light engines for the protection of hu- man life. When the lob- byists’ car arriv- ed in Bismarck it was met instantly by Senator Hag- gart of Fargo, a member of the senate railroad committee, who boarded the spe- cial car and held a conference with the railroad men before any of them alighted. Later Mr. Hag- gart was seen to leave the car alone and go back to his hotel, and railroad men who went up town waited until Mr. Haggart had left the vicinity before emerging. BILL BY DUPUIS WOULD REDUCE RATE Representative Dupuis’ bill is leng- thy, and provides detailed schedules of rates to go into effect in North Dakota on a distance basis, which, rate experts say, would reduce freight rates in this state on the average about 30 per cent. ‘While the railroad lobby has not ap- peared before the house railroad com- mittee, apparently knowing that its arguments against the passage of such a measure would fall on the ears of Nonpartisan Leaguers, no one believes that House Bill 288 will get by the senate without feeling the full force of the lobby's influence. They are merely waiting until the bill is assign- ed to the senate railroad committee, where railroad interests are strongly intrenched and the League minority is powerless, before saying the word that it is feared may Kkill the bill in the senate. An effort has seemingly been made to soothe house members into thinking that Senate Bill 77, introduced by Nel- son of Richland and passed by the senate really covers all the important rate points, and that therefore House Bill 288 is superfluous, but this view is not held by the house majority. It is maintained by the house majority, headed by Chairman Dupuis of railroad committee, that Senate Bill 77 the’ merely authorizes in a general way what House Bill 288 makes specific and compulsory. The senate measure gives ‘the railroad commissioners the power to fix just freight rates without dis- crimination between shipping points, on a mileage basis, and the question of its operation would lie with the rail- road commission and its power to en- force its orders. a good bill, and althought proposed by a senator who is not allied with the League, the bill got the vote of every League man, the only opposition being Senator Nelson of Grand Forks. Above, N. P. bridge over the Missouri river at Bismarck, N. D. the ice are drifts of snow, cut into knife-like ndges and streaked with sand blown from the wind swept spaces on the bank, at a distance resembling a turbulent current in spring time. Sleighs and automobiles now make frequent trips be- tween Mandan and Bismarck, crossing on the ice just below the Northern Pacific trestle. A line of saplings is stuck in the ice to mark the sleigh road across the river. Below, remnants of the Missouri river’s pioneer traffic days. on the sandy beach at the ferry on the left bank of the river, the boats now badly out of repair and drifted over with sand and snow. In the foreground, almost burried in drifts, may be seen the ferry and its pilot wheel. It was regarded as . Surprise that the senate had passed a measure that seemed to make possi- ble the lowering of rates, without a dissenting argument and only one vote against, was lessened when it was found that a double-barreled scheme had been worked on the house in the hope of getting the League majority in the house to kill the bill and leave it responsible for the defeat of a gqod rate measure that might mean the saving of thousands of dollars to North Dako- ta shippers. This scheme was discovered a day or two after the senate passed Senate Bill Opposition Hampers Work Useless Dillatory Tactics Used Against League Members in House and Senate at Bismarck hatched up by anti-League forces at the Grand Pacific hotel last week for delaying legislation as ‘much as possible on the final passage of bills. A. G. Divet who has come into promi- nence as the instigator and leader of the opposition in the house, proposed that the anti-League representatives insist on as much reading as they can under the rules and keep a patrol of anti-League members on guard at all times to see that the house does not speed up at any time, while allowing the opponents of the League to take tlieir case in the corridors and escape the irksomeness of listening to the un- necessary reading. Through the dilatory tactics prose- cuted for a week in the passage of House Bill 44, the house is behind with its work, and special efforts have had to be made by the Nonpartisan League majority to digest bills and facilitate their passage through the house. For this purpose special forengon confer- ences have been regularly held for the past 10 days and the bills up for final passage each day have been discussed B[SMARCK, Feb. 17.—A plan was by members and their legal aspects shown by attorneys for the League in an effort to prevent any freak or joker measures crowding through at the last minute. Yet, in spite of these efforts and the extra hours put in before the regular opening of the session at 2 p. m., non- League and anti-League members have systematically followed the course of asking reconsideration of bills defeated the day before, and the greatest part of several sessions have been consumed in this effort to get reconsideration of dead measures, sometimes getting a vote large enough to carry their point. FIFTY-FOUR SIGNED Pekin, N. D., Feb. 2, 1917. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: A few days ago I sent to the secre- tary of the senate a petition with 54 signers, practically every one I asked to sign, except three. If it does not do any other good it shows the sentiment of the people. However, our senator from this district, Mr. Morkrid, is all 0. K, as far as I have seen. P. A. PETERSEN. SEVEN WA S s ® [ M0 The river is sheeted in three feet of Here are three flat-bottomed steamboats hauled up 77, which was adopted on the advice and with the connivance of the railroad lobby. While strongly opposed to giv- ing any further powers to the railroad commission, they decided to pretend that they desired this bill passed, the senate majority was primed and the railroad lobby left Bismarck to return to St. Paul, leaving the inference be- hind that they had accomplished their purpose and were well satisfied with the senate’s action. They thought, say League men who “got wise” to the plan, they would get the house to kill Senate Bill 77 in the same way that they accidentally got it to kill House Bill 172, (Staale Hendrick- son's measure for reducing passen- ger fares to two cents), by creat- ing the suspicion that the railroad gang and the rail- road senators were for it. By giving it their united support and by having the railroad lobby leave town upon the eve of its pas- sage, the senate expected that the house would be- come suspicious, fear there might be a joker in it favorable to the railroads, and thus defeat it up=- on roll call. If this was done, the anti-League senate would reap the high honor of having tried to pass a good freight rate bill, and the League house majority would be respon- sible for its de- feat. This plan was discovered, and instead of defeat- ing this senate measure, it was approved by the caucus. The fact of this double- barreled intrigue was disclosed in caucus, but the fact that it was discovered was kept secret, for fear that the sen- ate might try to recall the bill, as it tried to recall the bill that cut off side money to supreme court judges, if the rail- road senators learned that the house intended to pass it. ice. Above CHEAP AT EIGHT DOLLARS { Calvin, N. D., Jan. 30, 1917, Editor Nonpartisan Leader: During this month I have talked to a great many people about the Non- partisan League and have urged them to subscribe to the movement. Most of these have or are about to come in. Practically all farmers and many of the town people are in sympathy with the movement. They voted with it and intend to do so again. A few of these can not see why they should pay an $8 per year fee into the organization. They ask why should we pay for the privilege of voting. To all such I would say you are not paying for the privilege of voting. You are paying your share of the campaign expense. The Big Business interests are put- ting on a campaizn to place in every legislative, executive and judicial office men who will do their bidding. Un- limited money- will be spent by them to effect their purpose. It seems to me that it is up to the common people, those who actually produce the wealth, to organize for the next campaign. Let cach one pay his share of the expense; $8 a year is cheap. Let us place on the ticket for every office, -legislative, executive and judicial, men who will be guided by simple justice and the vast interests of the state. '# C. N. ROGERS,