The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 8, 1917, Page 7

People’s Mea ' sures Slaughtered Election to Knock Out Party Rule, Relief for Workingmen and Bill to Enable People to Amend Their Constitution--All Killed by Oid Gang (X bills introduced by Non- partisan ILeague members in the North Dakota house and senate to extend popular gov- ernment, bring relief to labor, and provide for the nonpartisan elec- tion of state and county officials, and & bill to make effective the right of the people to amend the constitution were killed in one three-hour session of the reactionary senate on March 1, the day before the session adjourned and one other was amended out of shape. Every one of these bills had the unit- ed support of the labor and farm ele- ment of the state and had been care- “fully drawn. None of them had come into consideration late in the session. All were familiar to every member, and - several of them had“been up for con- sideration since early ix} January. STAND BY PARTY RULE IS THE OLD GANG CRY There were: House Bill 71, provid- ing for the nonpartisan ballot and complete elimination of all party names on primary or general election ballots; House Bill 78, providing workmen's compensation for persons injured in hazardous occupations; House Bill 69 limiting the hours women can work, and prescribing a minimum wage, amended to cut out the wage feature; House Bill 298 which would have re- " duced freight rates 28 per cent through- out the state; House Bill 376, prescrib- ing the' way in which constitutional amendments proposed by initiative shall be published (which took the place of Senate Bill. 119 killed some time ago by the old gang senate); House Bill 373, calling for a construc- tion of section 202 of the constitution ‘regarding the initiating of amendments by petition (which took the place of Senate Bill 120, also killed by the old guard some time ago) and Senate Bill 78, providing semi-monthly paydays for railroad men. ALL PEOPLE'S MEASURES KILLED BY REACTIONARIES Every one of these bills would have resulted in improving the conditions of workers; farmers, or consumers of commodities. It was the biggest kill- ing the senate has had a chance to make during the entire session for most of the bills that League members have fought for were killed in pairs or sing- ly. These had been held back until the last, and they formed the bulk of the important legislation before the senate on that day. The fight against 298, which grew more intense all through the last week, and-one day came near causing the Senate railroad committee hearing to end in a fistfight, with accusations of falsehood flying back and forth<culmi- nated February 28 in a secret®caucys of a majority of the senate. The fate of this freight rate bill (which is the same as that under which Minnesota consumers now obtain their goods) was sealed in the private office of Senator Ployhar of Barnes county. Senator Ployhar is interested in the Bismarck Gas company and owns the building at Fifth and Broadway where the death warrant to the freight bill was signed. PLOYHAR SUMMONS GANG TO HIS OFFICE IN BISMARCK Slipping away from their accustomed hotels early in the evening, the reac- tionary senators gathered in Ployhar's back office, and seated on gas stoves and a few chairs gave each other'the pledge that they would stick together to kill the last grist of important League measures. They had with them Rate Expert Little of the North Dako- ta Railroad commission to discuss the technical points of the.-bill, and they were in session for three hours break- ing up only after midnight. M. P. Johnson (League) member of the railroad commission learned where they were and tried to get them to - agree /to meet with the Nonpartisan League members and have Mr. Little talk technical rates with both factions, but they refused, declaring they would not do so unless pledged that-no news- paper men should be allowed to b present. : After an attémpt to get the Non- partisan IL.eague members to go to the old gang secret caucus, Mr. Johnson refurned, after midnight with the only counter proposition they would make, and that was this: The old gang would discuss House Bill 298 with the Ieague members Thursday afternoon at 1 p. m. if the League' members would agree to go into executive session and exclude C. F. Dupuis; author of the bill. Mr. Johnson thought Mr. Dupuis should be allowed to be present to discuss the measure,” but the old gang said “No.” They would only have Mr. Little. LEAGUE MEMBERS AROUSED BY OLD GUARD PROPOSAL The proposition that the senate should go into executive session for the The people shall not rule—The supreme court said it last fall and the reactionary Old Gang in the senate has repeated it—The people voted to assert their right to amend the consti- tution by initiative—The court held the amendment wasn’t “self-enacting’’; that the legislature must provide the means before the people could have what they demanded— The house did its sworn duty by providing the way—The Old Gang in the senate killed the measures SO AS TO PREVENT THE PEOPLE FROM MAKING. THEIR OWN CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION— “The people shall not rule—we are the mas- ters” said the Old Gang in the senate—They boast that they still control you and say: “What are you going to do about it?” both sides flocked out into the corridor. ‘When the bill came up on special orders March 1 Senator Jacobsen spoke at length about it, declaring it would deprive the gailroad commission of all power to fix rates; would put rate making in the hands 6f the railways; injure business interests of North Da- kota; handicz}p “infant industries” deferred, but the old gang refused to give time for amendmerits or for joint consideration of the measure and it went to the scrap heap along with Senate” Bill 79, House Bill 44 and a mass of other people’s legislation, which the League has been unable to pass over the votes of four or five senators who hold the balance of power. HOW THEY VOTED ON FARMER'S MEASURE . The roll call on this bill was: For the bill: Benson, Cahill, Carey, «Drown, Ettestad, Gronvold, Hamerly, Hamilton, Hemmingsen, Hunt, King, Levang, Morkrid, Mortenson, Mostad, McCarten, Nelson of Richland, Pen- dray, Sikes, Thoreson, Welford, Wen- strom and Zieman. Those against the bill were: Allen, Beck, Ellingson, TEnglund, Gibbens, Haggart, Heckle, Hyland, Jacobsen, Kirkeide, Kretschmar, Lindstrom, Mar- tin, - Murphy, McBride, McGrey, Mc- Lean, Nelson of Grand Forks, Ploy- har, Porter, Putnam, Rowe, Sandstrom, Stenmo and Young. BOYS, STAY WITH IT ‘Wimbledon, N. D., Feb. 3, 1917. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: And so the hold-over senators,.in the face of that 18,000 to 87,000 ma- jority, saw fit to kill House Bill 44. What is their idea? Do they think that people who, two years ago, elected them as their repre- sentatives in the senate have left the state and were not in that 70,000 ma- Jjority for the League program? Or are they like one business man said todays . Investigating' Taxes in State of Montana Senators Kane, chairman, and Dwi ,ture engaged in the investigation of taxes in Montana. to show how the big corporations of Montana—the minin farmers are bearing an unfair burden. . - urpose of passing upon legislation aroused League members to white heat. They declared they would not thus violate their oaths of office, and put” over secretely -on the: people something they. were afraid to meet in . the open senate. This proposition to attempt uncon- stitutionally to transact legislation was the outgrowth of an unsuccessful at- tempt to do the same thing earlier on Wednesday. The senate went into executive session and immediately. took up- House Bill 298. < Nelson of Richland, ‘a non-League member, but one in favor .of the bill declared it would have to be a real executive session or he would demand that a stenographer be called to. take Mr. Little's testimony. Senator Cahill (League) said if they were going to try to have one side of the rate matter presented - by Mr. Little, Mr. Dupuis should be allowed to be present to hear what was saidcand discuss the same points. The senate refused to do this and the attempted secret session dissolved, and the angry senators of 5 SEVEN that the state desires established, and prevent the fixing of homeseekers’ rates. GANG SENATORS OBJECT. TO REDUCING FREIGHT RATES Senator Cahill replied pointing out that the state can not fix home-seeker’s rates anyhow because they are inter- state;- that Bill 298 would cut freight ratés 28 per cent, even though it did fix them permanently and relieve the railroad commission of that additional “duty; that the railroad commission has no power to fix rates under the present Iaw, and therefore would not be de- . prived of any power; and finally he asked: “If this is such a bad rate bill, and I admit it may not be the best that could be framed, why has not North Dakota'’s rate expert come forward with a bill that is all right? Why have we not had him before us with his ex- pert knowledge of rates with a mea- sure’ that meets the conditions?” Senator Cahill tried. to have action ght and Hogan are members-of the senate committee of the Montana legisla- This investigation is of the utmost importance, as it is expected g and water power monopolies—are _getting off easy while the “Every business man in this town would be for the League program, but leave the constitution alone.” Now isn’t.that bright? The old one doesn’'t allow it and they don’t want it changed. They might as well say: “Certainly, we are with you as long as you just talk, but you must not do anything.” If there was any doubt in any mem- ber's ‘mind as to the necessity of re- newing his membership in the League this ought to settle that doubt. - By all means give us the vote in the senate on this bill. Our Representative Carr from this distri¢t voted against Houde Bill 44, but after all it is only about 15 months to the opening of the next campaign and I believe we can remem- ber him until then and let him return to his farm, which he was forced to rent to take up his new duties. We want, in 1918, ‘to thoroughly complete the job ‘of political house-cleaning i this state which we have undertalken. We know what we want and we are bound to have it. Boys, stay by the ~Nonpartisan League. Yours for success, R. C. ZIMMERMANN. [4 T — T