The San Francisco call., 1903-01-12

ALL HEADQ UARTERS, SACitA-
n MENTO, Jan. u.-Members of the
/ " Legislature, partly those who have
- been here as members during pre-
yious sessions, are of the opinion
that it viii require seventy-nve days In
which to complete the business which Will
come before them at this session. They
do not include in this estimate the time
which would be required TO properly re-
wise the several State codes along the
lines indicated by the Supreme Court
when it declared that the action of pass
ing the codes as a whole, as was done at
the last session, was illegal. and that
therefore the codes were imperative and
void.
When some time during the present
week the gates are opened there will be
flood of bills, which promises to exceed
any previous first rush. The irrigation
bill may be the subject of the big fight
in both houses. As is always the case,
the Legislature has begun this session by
trying to kill time. For the first month
there will be no Saturday sessions, and
the two houses will more often adjourn
over from morning sessions until the fol-
lowing day than meet and transact bust
ness during the afternoon. Then, after
about the first of the month, there will be
regular afternoon sessions, with commit
tee meetings.
MANY BILLS FROM LABOR.
1t has been reported that from the I'm
lon Labor members alone 600 bills will be
received. The Union Labor members do
not consider that their constituency is
confined to the citizens Of their respective
districts. They are here as the repre-
sentatives of organized labor throughout
the State. and any labor union which has
some pet measure of legislation which it
wishes to have considered has only to
send it to. them and 1t will be introduced
That is what they are here for. and if the
interests of the laboring classes are not
properly looked after it will not be the
rault a, OF this neY element in legislative
Their most important measure the pro
posed restriction upon the power of in
Juction, has been placed in other hands
than theirs simply because of its irnpor-
tance, and AssembIyman Grove johnson
OF this city has been given the task of
1athering the measure. That there will be
opposition to it in its present form is GER
tain. for some of the corporate interests
or the State will, IL is said, instruct their
standing lobby TO see to it that their in
terests are not jeopardized by any too
radical legislation
The so-called injunction bill is but one.
zations will present. There are measures
designed to more properly regulate child
labor. to fix the liability of employers for
injuries to employees, to protect the wage
Garner under contract, to prohibit even
more strongly than at present the en- /
ployment of aliens upon public works. Z
and hundreds of other measures designed .
to improve the condition of those who
work with their hands. There is even in
contemplation bill designed to place un-
der statutory ban those workingmen who
have not allied themselves with the ex-
isting organizations of laboring men, but
this may not be vigorously insisted upon
because such legislation would be difficult
of enforcement in the courts on the /
ground that 1t is of class character.
LAWS MUST BE CHANGED.
Eliminating the main code revision mat
ter from the prospect, there are certain !
sections Of the codes which must be |
adopted for the proper protection of State |
institutions and these will be presented as /
separate and distinct bills. Then there |
are the many bills carrying appropria-
tions, all of which have to be more care |
fully considered this session than before |
because of the condition of the State |
treasury. Nearly every member will
have some bill on the subject of county
and township government; the country
members will have their bills for State
highways; the constitutional amendments
adopted by the people at the last general
election will have to be made legally ef-
fective. and that will require action by
both houses.
The routine work will be commenced
Wednesday morning. The committees
will be announced by that time, but the
real work of the session will not be taken
up until after the election of a United
States Senator
he tod hot
ure will cause the real contest of the ses-
sion. The bill which has every prospect
of being given that distinction is the pro
posed new irrigation law, which will be
presented at the instance of the State
Water and Forest Association.