The San Francisco call., 1897-02-15
WILL WORK HARD
FOR LAROR'S LAWS
Union Delegates Discuss
Proposed Legislative
Acts.
Roast Certain Legislators and
Decide to Have Mass.
Meeting.
Many Bills Favorab Reported, but
Still to Be Urg; d-C4r.Fare
Reduction.

terday afternoon at 915 Market street, de.
voted its entire attention to a discussion
of pending labor measures now before the
State Legislature, in secret session roasted
certain OF the legislators for their lethargy
and political hesitancy, and decided 10
hold rousing mass meetlng here in the
near future for the purpose of further Gre
ating at interest IN and urging the passage
by the Legislature of particular labor bills
during the present session which ends
March f.
Delegates from about forty labor unions
were in attendance.
A committee, consisting of John Hill,
2. H: Mccarthy, George Lafayette, Ed
Rosenberg and Guy Lathrop, was ap-
pointed to make arrangements for a NJ ass
meeting. BY a special vote J. W. Rose.
chairman of the convention, was al ded to
this com mittee, which Will report back 10
the conven ton at a special meeting OF the
Labor Convention to be held next Wednes-
day evening at s O'clock in the same hall
at 915 Market street
Walter Macarthur and James W. Rose,
as delegates to the Legislature, re ported
progress upon labor bills as follows:
Assembly bill II has passed both houses,
with The exception of the clause empowering
the Labor Commissioner to enforce the act.
Assembly bill 33. providing for the remission
OF costs In suits TO recover wages, is still in the
Assem- bly,, and has been reported uufavora bly,
and Withdrawn from the Senate Assembly
bill A, 10 establish q department of labor was
reported tavorably by the AS emb bly, committee
and discussed in committee OF the whole of
the House, but owing to mistake in the
printed bill il was referred back 70 the Com
mlttee on La Dor and Capital, where it now
lies awaiting the final action by the House be-
fore it Will be reported by the committee.
Assembly bill. 81, providing for an eight
hour day on public works, has passed the
Senate, after being amended so as to exclude
municipal corporations from its provisions,
and is on file for third reading in the House.
Assembly bill so, providing for the employ
ment OF citizens on public works, read for the
third time in the House and amended so as to
include persons who have declared their in
tentions, has passed the Senate as amended.
Assembly bill 81, providing for prompt pay
ment OF wages, Is still In committees of both
houses. Assembly bill 80, to prevent collusions
between employers and employment agents,
passed the senate and is still in the hands of
the House committee. Assembly bill 1877,
providing Tor bond on public works, has
passed its second reading in the Senate and
has been amended so as to make the bond half
Inc contract price ana TO strike out the Sec
ton giving the Labor Commissioner power TO
enforce the act. Assembly bill $50 10 define
the duties OF employment agents, has passed
its third reading, but is still in the Sem
ate committee Assembly bill 621, providing
tor stated paydav, is file Tor lis third
reading / n the house and has not been ntro-
duced IN the 5 te- Assembly bill POI, for
insp ection of b lie 5, is s.i ii House Com
mi'!ee Assembly bll 279, providing for a
ten-hour day in bakeries, i, sl.l in ne House
Commute and has been ad for the second
lime In the senate. Assembly, Ii Is 293 294
and 295, argiDg Lab Dor Day to the first Mon
day In ;, p emoer, mas pa .sed the Senate and
Is ON nle Tor IL 1ri ding IN the house.
In subs ance the bills pss ed or in g fa.r way
to be passed are tho Sc relating to minimum
CON pei SAT-, n, citizens help, tight-hour day
ana l. b r DHv. The amer dments to the citl-
zenshiP ard eight-hour bills practically de-
stIoy their effect.
so far as the committee had been able TO
learn every thing puSs1ble has been done to
further the labor bills. Further work by the
committee would be unnecessary. Great diff
cult vas + und in getting the committees OF
both houses 10 meei, and when they d there
were usually so few members present that no
definite action could Le taken toward report
ing the bills.
TIE g!ea est difficu ty was experienced with
the i ior the estab. .isnment of depar men t
of labor on account of the political compu-
sltion of the Legisla ure and the opposition OF
the employment agents. Great d. lot was ex-
essed as to passage Of the m -asure.
The committee, in conclusl. II, recommended
that the work of the La Dor convention be con-
tfnued du ing the present ses sion of the Legis-
lature Tor The benefit of labor.
h. A. Knox, a delegate from the rail-
road employees, placed before the conven-
lion some facts and figures calculated to
prove that legislation for the reduction of
streetcar fares to 2L cents during the
early morning and evening hours would
pracLcally amount To cOnhScatlOn OF the
property of the railroads, because they
could not under such conditions pay ex-
penses. He read a statement OF the case
made by the San Francisco and San Ma
teo Railroad Company, which was practi-
cally an assertion that should the bill pass
the Legislature the company would have
to stop business and the employees would
be out of work. Similar statements with
additional arguments were made by ex-
mdVOr SutTO in " hich Ia aYn1aiD ho =
the Sutter- street Railroad Company and
the Sutro Railroad Company by a system
OF transfers actually get but 21l cents on
fare, and would under the proposed re-
duction get but Il cents fare.
The Union street Railway Company was
also quoted as one of the roads that would
be forced TO shut down.
In conclusion, Mr.. Knox declared that
these four companies would be materially
injured to tue extent pro bly, of furnish
Ing no further employment to all the men
now earning q Livelihood from them as
operatives, while the complicated South
ern Pacific street-railroad system would
not necessarily suffer, for it could stop
transfers, charge extra for small parcels
carried by patrons, and could buy up the
smaller roads forced out of business. and
might ultimately profit from the bill
which 1t alone OF all the com panies is no:
opposing. He said finally that he pur-
posed to go to Sacramento this morning
to work personally against the bill.
II nrAn nf