The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-08
REPORTED oNTPOWERs.
Senator Dunn Presents a Unanimous
Report.


table. No hasty action, he said, should be
taken. 1t was TO some extent a political
question. He favored making the report a
special order for today at 1890
Senator Stevens admitted there was a poIiti-
cal question, but he looked at it in a different
light. He thought it was time that the Re
publican party saw to it that this department
was thoroughly divorced from partisanship.
Senator Heneman said the people would
stand by the committee, whether the senate
did or not
Senator Dunn said there was no reason. in
his opinion, for hurrying the thing through.
Senator Young said the senate had no au-
thority to reverse or amend the report of the
committee. They were entitled to be dis
charged, unless there was something more for
them to do. The senate could not make the
report say anything that the senator's who
signed 1t did not say.
The report was received. and the committee
discharged.
The report was as follows:
The undersigned your special committee
appointed to investigate the labor bureau,
under the charges appearing in the senate
journal of March 1, respectfully report as fol-
lows:
Your committee heard all the evidence per
tinent to said charges offered by the promoters
of said investigation, and also the evidence
offered in rebuttal on the part of the bureau
of labor. All the evidence was taken in
shorthand, which has been duly transcribed
and is herewith transmitted.
From the evidence so adduced we find some
of said charges sustained, and others not sus-
tanned, as follows
First-Non- enforcement of the factory law
We find that the several factory inspectors
have used their best endeavors to enforce this
law, and have accomplished much good there
under. Many orders, however, made by them
in the course of their duty have not been COM
piled with by the several factories concerned
and but little has been done by the bureau
to bring those delinquents to a literal COM
pIaEce with the orders made. We believe
the bureau should hereafter give more Of its
time and attention to a systematic course of
inspection and a more rigid enforcement of
its orders.
Second-Publishing an unauthorized work
entitled Purchasing Power of Cold at the
states expense.
We find this book is not authorized by the
law requiring the publication of biennial re-
ports by the commissioner of labor 1t does
not treat of the subjects prescribed by the
statute to be covered by such reports and
it was published at time when the matters
treated Of therein were the subject of mar
tisan discussion and party dissension.
We believe that it was unwarranted in
its subject matter and because Of the politi-
cal issues then pending; was partisan in
tone. That 1t was published earlier than
usual, to wit, about Oct. 20 1896. so that it
appeared and was distributed during the
heat of the late campaign. We believe the
department should be non-partlsan in every
respect, and that no interference Of the en-
ployes therein in political campaign work
should be tolerated. "a
Th1rd-Statistics gathered at expense Of the
We find all OF the statistics that have been
gathered by the bureau on matters pertain
ing directly to the domain of labor, have
been published, as required by law.
Some statistics have. from time to time
been gathered on subjects which we do not
believe to be within the legitimate purv:ew
OF the labor law, notably. milling stats
tics tax statistics and probate court
statistics" which have never been carried
to any definite conclusion in the department
or published in its reports.
We think this speculative line of work
should be abandoned, and the time of the
department more completely devoted to the
advancement of the practical interests Of
labor. u.fr
Fourth-Using Office force during office
hours upon a work called Farmer Hay
seed .F.tl
This charge is to soma extent true. Not
much of the time of the employees of the
bureau was so consumed, but 1t Is exceedingly
injudicious to bring the private literary work
of the commissioner of labor into the bureau
to upset and interfere with the public duties
Of the office.
charge is wholly untrue and unwarranted
The garbling Of statistics would necessarily
mean their Justification. There was no evil
dence offered to justify this charge
Sfxth-Personal charges.
We find none of the charges of personal
delinquency on the part Of Mr.. Powers are
sustained.
The time claimed to be wasted at Leech
lake and Rainy lake was shown to be part
of the annual thirty days vacation of the en-
ployes. We think. however, this custom Of al
lowing a thirty days vacation on full pay
is unwarrantabie, and the period should be
cut down.
Your committee Is of the opinion that
fewer employees in this bureau could accom-
plish all the good in the cause of labor con-
templated by this law. provided their united
efforts were directed to the purposes outlined
in the statute, and questions of speculative
philosophy abandoned
commissioner of labor at a salary OF
$1,000 year. deputy commissioner and two
competent factory inspectors will, we be-
heve, accomplish the work and by dropping
unnecessary help and eonining the work of
the bureau within the limits of the law as
demanded by the laborng element. a saving
to the state can be accomplished of at least
$500 per year over the, present extravagant
expense of the bureau.
We recommend the passage of S. F. 558.
embodying the above suggestions, for the re-
construction of said bureau on the lines above
outlined Respectfully submitted
III. H. Dunn.
E. T. Young
James McHale,
.:' p. NJ. Ringdal.
60 C J. Larson,