The San Francisco call., 1897-01-18
LABOR LAWS ARE
WELL REGARDED
Some Favorable Reports
Received From Sac
rament0.
Proposed Labor Bills That Have
Passed the Second
Reading.
Convention of Union Men Discuss
the Various Measure in Which
They Are Interested.

The California Labor Convention met
yesterday at 915N Market street to hear
reports on the fight for new labor laws
now being waged at Sacramento and to
keep up interest in the struggle. James
Rose occupied the chair.
Credentials were presented by Frank
Cooke Of the Sacramento Labor Conven-
ton and the Sacramento Book binders
Union, J. D. Campbell of the Carpenters
and Joiners' Union No. % of San Fran
cisco, Louis +. Reeber of the Journeymen
Bakers and Confectioners' Union, Henry
Christensen of the Amalgamated Wood
workers Union and O. N. Moreno OF the
Sacramento Typographical Union, all OF
whom were seated in the convention.
Delegate Macarthur of the Sailors
Union, who was appointed a committee OF
one to represent the convention at the
capital, reported on the various bills pre-
pared by the State Labor Bureau and re-
vised by the San Francisco Labor Conven-
ton. He said that all the bills had been
presented to the Legislature in both
houses and six of them acted on by the
Comm ittee on Labor and Capital OF the
Assem- bly,.
Assem- bly, bill No. II, entitled, IAN act
fixing the minimum rate OF compensation
for labor on public work, making the
figure So day, had passed its second
reading and was going to the third or
final reading.
The bill to establish bureau OF labor
(No. A in the Assembly, had its title al
tered by the addition OF and to appro-
pirate money therefor" instead of leav-
ing it to the discretion of the Labor Com
missioner to establish bureaus whereso-
ever he pleases. Los Angeles and san
Francisco are named as the places for
labor bureaus. a section was introduced
providing for voluntary arbitration IL
labor disputes, and the bill was further
amplifed, but it was not recommended,
and consequently is as if 1t had not been
introduced.
Assembly bill No. 80, providing for
the employment of citizens OF the United
States upon public works within the
State, was reported favorably, and the au-
thority to decide citizenship was given to
the Labor Commissioner.
Sanford of Point Arena introduced a
bill providing for limit of ten hours for
days labor in logging camps and saw
mills. This bill has been faVorably re-
ported.
Some difficulty was met in getting any
one to introduce the bill providing Tor the
examination of steam boilers because It
was technical and not intellig1ble to the
laymen of the Legislature. Mr., Mac
arthur urged that it would take consid-
erable pushing in the committee by engi-
neers Interested in its passage.
With regard to the bond for public
works, several measures concerning it
have been introduced, providing for bond
for the protection of laborers. Macarthur
suggested that the amount of the bond
should amount to one-half of the contract
price, instead of the whole, as offered by
the convention. He therefore recon-
mended that this matter be reconsidered
by the convention.
Bills have been introduced changing
Labor day from October to September l,
abolis hing poll and road tax, exempting
seamen's and fishermen's wages from at
tach m ent but the last one was laid aside.
Several schemes are on hand to disrupt
the State Printing Office, and bill has
been brought up to furnish free textbooks
for the public schools.
An act providing a lunch hour for en-
ployes was dropped, as it was not re-
garded as a constitutional measure.
Macarthur concluded by stating that
verything seems favorable to the labor
bills, and every body at Sacramento was
friendly to the movement. The Sacfa-
mento Federated Trades is doing every
thing possible for the success of these bills.
The bakers bill has been introduced in
both houses, but it has not yet come up in
the committee. ALI the other bills will
likely come up in committee during this
week.
Resolutions were adopted declaring that
the movement for department OF labor
in California is not a party measure, and
the onvention adjourned.