Primary Bill Passes House

PRIMARY BILL PASSES HOUSE

COLBY'S MEASURE THROUGH BY VOTE OF 79 TO 13.

GALBRAITH'S SUBSTITUTE BILL WAS TURNED DOWN.

DEBATE ON THE MEASURE LASTED THREE HOURS.

Lansing, Mich., April 9. - By a vote of 79 to 13, the house Wednesday afternoon passed the Colby-Stone-Powell primary election bill providing for a direct vote on all nominations, including state officers, and next week the final struggle will be on in the senate. The Galbraith substitute, proposing to retain convention, was turned down by the house, after a long and thorough debate, and the opponents of the primary system confessed themselves thoroughly beaten.

An interesting incident of the debate occurred when Representative Wade, of Allegan, in declaring that Congressman Wm. Alden Smith favors the passage of the Colby bill, announced that Smith is a candidate for United States senator, the announcement being heartily applauded.

There were three hours of talk which was really unnecessary, as the members were all lined up early in the day. In the morning session of the committee on elections, amendments were agreed to which met the principal demands of the Democrats and of the country members who voted for delay last week, and the bill was certain to pass, the talking simply giving some of the leaders a chance to air their views. The principal amendments were to cut down the fees for candidates to practically one-fourth of 1 per cent of the salaries of the offices to which candidates might aspire; ,giving parties which cast 2 per cent or more of the vote at the preceding primary the right to official ballots and making it optional with villages whether the bill should apply as to nominations of local officers. The Democrats tried to have the bill further amended so as to provide for a blanket ballot, but neither the committee nor the whole house would agree to this change, and the Democrats then lined up for the bill.

Although the final vote was 79 to 13, the real test was on the question of giving the bill immediate passage, on which the rote stood 70 to 22, some of the members getting on the bandwagon when they saw that opposition was useless.

The bill now goes to the senate.

By a vote of 17 to 3 the senate Wednesday afternoon passed the bill to increase the salaries of the tax commissioners from $2,500 to $3,600, as reported out by the committee on taxation.

Other features of the session were the passage of a bill providing for the examination and licensing of undertakers. and the killing of Senator Kelly's bill reducing from 100 to 50 per cent the amount to be charged against the payment of delinquent tax titles. The former bill makes it mandatory on all undertakers to qualify under this law before they can practice embalming in the state. The old law only compelled undertakers to be licensed embalmers where a body was to be shipped out of the state.

Senator Fuller's bill which was passed, makes an appropriation of $78,050 for the fish commission, about $400 less than two years ago. A bit appropriating $6,000 for an Andersonville monument also passed.