The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-03-04

Tells What Great Things His De-
Law Enforced and Accidents Re-
duced to Minimum - Laboring
People May Now Organize for
Mutual Protection.
The biennial report of ex-Labor
Commissioner Powers has been filed
with the governor, who yesterday
transmitted 1t to the state printer The
document is about the size of an atlas,
and omits all argument upon the pur-
CHASING power of gold" which charac-
terlzed the last annual report made by
the former incumbent of the office
Owing to the lack Of funds, the re-
port viii remain in manuscript, unless
the legislature makes special provision
for its publication, which is not re-
garded as probable. The introduc ion
covers about thirty pages, containing a
report of the work of the commission
err his assistant, five deputies and six
factory inspectors The following
ures collected by the bureau during
the eight years that Mr. Power he'd
Office.
In opening, Mr.. Powers reviews the
history Of the bureau, which was es-
tablished by the legislature in 1887.
The original amount of the legislative
appropriation for carrying on the
work was $4,000, but the legislature of
1893 increased this to $4,000. Mr..
Lamb. the first labor commissioner,
laid out a line of work that he thought
properly came within the jurisdiction
of the department. N.r. Powers as
serts that many of Mr.. Lambs ideas
were carried out by the department
during the last few years. The scope
tended to the inspection of all factories,
workshops, mines and department
stores, and an enforcement Of the
child labor law.
The inspection of factories was pro-
ductive of the introduction Of safety
devices in factories, and has, Mr..
Powers says, resulted in the saving of
many lives and a reduction Of the
number of accidents in factories to
minimum. Minnesota was among the
first states to introduce safety appli-
ances in factories.
OF the operation of the factory in
spection law the report says that the
introduction of safety devices has been
of the greatest benefit to the employer
and employe alike. The report esti-
mates that $4,000 has been saved en-
ployers by the use of safety devices
around dangerous machinery, belts,
shafts, etc.
According to the report the bureau
was - instrumental in securing the
passage of a law by the legislature
guaranteeing 1aboring people the right
interests. The matter was first brought
UP through an investigation made by
the department in 1893, as the subject
was at that time being strongly advo-
Gated by the laboring people and chal-
lenged by the press in many cases. The
department submitted its report which
led to the adoption of the law before
the legislature of 1893 concluded its ses-
sion, and in 1895 it was slightly amend
ed to make it entirely operative. An
other case of curative legislation is cit
ed by the report referring to the law
against blacklisting, which emulated
from the bureau in 1895.
The report refers somewhat at length
to the proposed law regulating bake
shops, as one of great benefit to those
actively engaged in the industry.
Child labor legislation comes in for
several of the pages of the report, re-
citing the effects of the law upon the
lahoring people. Mr.. Powers says the
law has been uniformly successful in
Minnesota. resulting in reduction Of
the percentage of child labor in Mime
state in the Union
The report concludes with a report
upon the bureaus study Of taxation
It is as follows:
''In the last three years the bureau
has given great attention to the sub
ject of land taxation. It calls atten-
ton in this, it's sixth, report to the in
Justice now being wrought under the
present administration of existing laws
by which the poor farm owner is made
to pay more than his just share of the
taxes. In pointing out this fact and
showing how the evil arises and how
1t can be removed, the commissioner
believes that a service has been per-
formed to the toilers Of the state sec
ond in final Importance, not even with
that which followed the Introduction Of
factory inspection and the reduction Of
accidents in Minnesota factories.
cit was planned at the outset to
take up the whole field Of taxation.
That of railroads and other corpora
lions, as well as that Of realty Much
valuable information has been gath
cred bearing upon number of these
subjects, but there was not time in
which to properly present the same. 1t
is hoped that the bureau may continue
even under the new administration, its
study of this phase of the subject and
thereby make the accompanying inves-
tigation of tax laws and methods Of
taxation complete by covering the
whole field, Of which only a part Is
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