The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-01-16
WHAT WAS DONE
State Labor Society Issues Re-
port on Legislation.
This Is Known as "The Rab-
bit Book"
USELAFOLLETTEP PLAN
Quotes Roll Calls en- the Labor
Bills.
includes Summary of Work Of
Post Five Gocciouc
includes Summary of Work of
Past Five Sessions,

The report of the legislative COM
mtttee of the State Society of Labor
and Industry has just been issued. 1t
has been delayed for some time be-
cause of the failure of the chief clerks
OF the house and senate to furnish the
state printer with the index of their
work
The summary of the work of the
legislative committee for the past five
sessions follows:
1899-Bills passed 8, bills lost 8,
hostile bills beaten 1.
1901-Bills passed 8, bills lost ~;
hostile bills beaten g.
1903-BiIls passed s. bills lost 49,:
hostile bills beaten 1.
1905-Bills passed 10; bills lost IA;
hostile bills beaten l.
19O7-Bills passed Z; bills lost 6;
hostile bills, beaten 1. F--7---'7-r7r -
The report of the committee is a
sort Of a rabbit book" It adopts the
LaFollette plan of quoting roll calls.
The roll call of both house and SEN
ate on every bill affecting labor mat
tiers is given. However, the roll call
GOES not always show which way the
member voted in committee of the
whole, and it is in committee of the
whole that the assassin gets in his
work.
The legislative committee of the
society of labor is supported by a ner
capita tax of 10 cents on the union la
Dor men of the state. By this means
fund of $1,225 was raised for the
legislative session of 1907, and of this
amount, 1929 was expended most in
the form of per diem for the mem
bers of the legislative committee
The legislative committee is sent here
by union labor organizations for the
purpose of urging the passage of laws
which the labor unions want and also
to accomplish the defeat of laws winch
union labor
of the bette noirs of the union labor
Legislative committee is the bill increas-
ing the amount of a workman's salary
which is liable to garnishment for his
bad debts. The retail merchants of
the state are continually trying to get
such law passed so that they can
force dead beats to pay up, while the
union labor people fight such a meas
ure on the ground that the merchant
ought to be more careful in allowing
people to buy goods on credit Thus
far the union labor people have won
though once the bill got through the
legislature, and was vetoed by Cover
nor Bailey.
The report of the legislative commit
tee shows that during the 1907 session
the following bills advocated by the
commit tee were passed:
1. Giving police power to state mine
inspector
2. Providing additional help for
bureau CT labor.
8. Providing car sheds for car
workers in Indictment Weather
4. Regulating the handling of black
powder at mines.
5. Auth orizing additional deputy
mine inspectors.
6. Amending 16-hour law
Z. Amending railroad liability law
The bills which the committee
wanted and which failed to pass were
as follows:
l. Boiler inspection. bill.
2. Providing for state publication Of
text books.
8. Employees liability law.
4. Requiring electric headlights
5. Requiring branding of convic
made goods.
6. Building inspection law
One bill which was deemed inimica
to the interests OF labor was defeated
This bill reduced the freight rates or
crude oil, thus placing it in competi
ton with steam coal. Such a reduc