Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1909-06-03
NEWSPAPERS Determine TO CALL HALT
TO COLLECTION OF INSPECTION TAXES
LITTLE POWER DRIVEN PLANTS BEING HELD UP FOR ANNUAL MSPEC
TON TAX WHERE MACHINERY is NOT DANGEROUS.
PUBLISHERS WILLING TO TEST CONSTTUTONALTY OF The LAW
ances Editors Who Do Not Fear the Power State ofCa-Com
Of Circular Letter Newspapers.

Under vague and loosely worded
act OF the legislature the state labor
commissioner is trying to make every
newspaper and printing office pay
the annual five-dollar inspection fee.
He has sent out letter in which
he makes this statement, which is
false:
''rhe Daily Capital Journal of this
City Is the only institution I'm Salem
and the only newspaper I'm Marion
county that failed Co pay It's inspection
fees under the state factory inspec-
tion law, after repeated notification"
We have called Mr.. Hoff's atten-
ton to the fact that he has not col
lected the inspection fee from the
state printing plant of Hon. Willis
Duniway. who operates n large power
plant with fast presses and really
dangerous machinery and has not
paid any tax when he IL n hundred
times more able To pay than the
Frcewater Times or scores of other
little one-prcss printing offices. Mr..
Hoff has misinterpreted the law and
the intention OF the law which is
intended for factories and manufac-
turing plants employing dangerous
machinery and large power plants.
Cinch the Little Fellow.
We oppose this tax because II is
clear attempt 10 cinch the little
fellow.
here are thousands of small con-
Germs In the state that operate ma
chinery with power that are not fac
tories nor workshops In the sense OF
the inspection act. Yet they are all
IlwNI.. a.. ha h.II .,t f.,s fItN. animal
inspection fee. IL is fact that Labor
Commissioner hoff did try to make
all the grocers and butchers In the
state using power coffee grinders and
sausage cutters pay the inspection
tax and fell down at Il. Many re-
fused TO pay and all are anxious to
see the act tested out I'm the courts.
II the act Is not tested out all the
candy shops and ice cream freezers
and everything that uses an electric
motor where anything is manufac-
tured by labor for gain will be swept
into the net for five dollars year.
No one should blame Mr.. Hoff for
the gradual extension of the system
as more deputies must constantly be
employed and the more they collect
the more they will want 10 spend
and by using the magic words labor
commissioner" Il Is made TO appear
that it'is In the interest OF labor
when IL IN officialism that II back of
IL.
Own Report Condemns IL.
Mr.. Hoff thinks the fee should be
reduced from five dollars TO two dol
lars.
An examination OF the last report
OF his labor bureau shows that he
himself has interpreted the law to
refer tO "mills and factories" and not
printing offices. Nowhere does he
speak OF inspecting country printing
offices. He refers 10 Oregon fac
tories on pages and 6. lie went
TO olympia. Wash. TO learn about
the Washington factory inspection
law" lie tells In many places about
the inspection OF factories but mo-
where about the inspection of print
Ing offices. In the first quarter OF
1908 he made twelve trips To Port
land aud one 20 Dallas 20 Inspect
factories" Mr.. Hoff must realize
that no jury would consider a news
paper printing office with one power
press, run few hours a day or pos
sibly few hours week. factory.
lie prints In his report the names OF
about two hundred newspapers and
publications" but he does not call
them factories. and Il would be in
interesting to know how many OF
these offices he has inspected and
collected the five dollar fee from,
an, why he does not enumerate the
job printing offices. His report does
not bear out his own contention,
Law Has Vicious Feature.
Why does MIR. Hoff single out this
one newspaper 10 send out circulars
from the state labor bureau3 Because
Il is the only newspaper that has re-
fused TO sanction his effort To wrong
fully employ this law 10 collect five
dollar fees from every little printing
office ana job printing office in this
state. In addition. II every little ma
chine that Is run by power. no more
power than one-press printing plant
requires. there will be five hundred
little shops using power that will
have To pay this inspection fee In
Marion county alone. II will be only
another step To extend Il TO windmills.
water motors. cream separators and
scores of other machipes. like gaso-
line wood saws. gasoline carpet clean
ers, irrigation pumps. etc, II Is the
wording OF the act that makes the
law Vicious Ia the hands OF a labor