Free Fights, No Laureate

Two neighboring Governors struck each a blow--in the interest, they said, of free institutions. In Madison, Wis., Governor John J. Elaine (LaFollette man) vetoed a bill aimed against rodeos. Pointing out that the bill would be rendered ridiculous by the natural struggle of "single-comb white wyandotte" roosters against "black Minorcas," would be barked to scorn by village dogs, the Governor concluded: "The innocent owner of midnight prowling cats not only is to be annoyed by their wails, but if he knows they are fighting and permits the fight to go on, he may be fined and thrown into jail unless he has the temerity to pile out of bed and stop it. . . . "This bill creates another new sin, an unenforceable law." In Lansing, Mich., Governor Alexander J. Groesbeck vetoed a bill for the appointment of a state poet laureate. Forgetful of the state poets of republican Athens, the Governor's historical knowledge led him to describe the bill as "a reversion to monarchical customs" which "has no place in a republican form of government."