Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-26

| ties
Mr.. Boswell from the Committee on
Salaries and Fees reported Ought to
pass" on bill AN Act to amend Section
IS Of Chapter A of the Revised Statutes,
relating to expenses of the inspector of
boilers, engines, etc, of steamboats, upon
inland waters"
The reports were accepted and hills
and resolves ordered printed under joint
rules.
j Majority and minority reports of the
Committee on Labor, to which was re-
ferred bill, IAN Act to create a State
Board of Arbitration and Cancellation
the majority reporting Ought not to
pass" the minority reporting ought to
pass.
Mr. BEALS of Auburn: sMr Speaker,
being the introducer of this bill and one
of the minority of the labor committee to
sign the report as fought to pass" l wish
at this time to say few words in favor
OF the bill.
This bill is not labor measure. Its
object is the industrial peace of our State
and it's benefits will be felt by not only
the employers and employees, but by the
| tltltS anu tOWI "HtTc idDOI u clllpiOy GU
to any great extent.
| l question if there is a man on the floor
of this House who has studied the labor
conditions and labor troubles more deeply
than myself, and I have seen many and
many cases where a board of this kind
| could have, and / firmly believe would
| have. averted serious trouble. For in
| stance, take crew of men working in
| a shop or factory and some condition
arises either through the notice of a cut
in wages or a change in their work for
which they think they should have more
pay. These men talk the matter over and
| at last send man or go in a body to the
Icmployer. He refuses to listen to them
and the men go back to work dissatisfied.
and the next thing is talk of a strike.
| At this time if there was a board such
as this bill provides. that these men could
appeal to, 80 times out of 100 the differ
ences could be Strengthened out and good
| feeling restored and the men remain at
| work. But in the absence of such board
| these men go on strike and when a crew
leaves a mans shop and closes his facto-
ry or forces him to suspend business. that
moment the employer feels he has a
greater grievance than his men and the
| breach, small one in the beginning,
grows wider and wider
| Now, 1 claim that if there was State
| board of arbitration that a very large ma
| jority of these troubles could be adjusted
in the beginning without interruption to
the employers business and without loss
| of time and money to the employees. 1
have in mind strike which has occurred
| in our State within a year. and l refer to
| the pulp and paper mill strike of last
| summer and fall during which the paper
| business was so seriously crippled as to
| effect the whole country in the matter of
getting paper for the newspapers.
And not only that but thousands of dol
employed in these mills and necessarily
was felt to very great degree by the
business men in the towns where these
mills are situated.
And further than that, hundreds of men
were forced to take their families and
leave the towns and maybe the State.
| Now, gentlemen. 1 was called upon to
| go into a number of these towns during
that strike and think I know what am
talking about when 1 say that in the be-
ginning it would have been very easy
matter to have settled the matter with
out the men leaving their work. And if
no call for this service arises during the
year. the State has been put to no ex-
pensc. If occasion arises and their SER
| vices are called for and they save a strike
| of serious difficulty such as the one |
| have just spoken of they will have saved
many times. Twenty-three states have
| boards of this kind and l have seen by
| their reports that they are looked upon
as very important state office.
| For these reasons l move that the mi
nority report Ought to pass be adopted
Mr.. TRIMBLE of Calais: Mr.. Speaker
as one of the signers of the ma iority re-
port | would like to say word regarding
the reasons why we took that attitude
At the hearing before the committee on
labor in regard to this bill there were
perhaps several parties that appeared in
favor of the bill and they were employees
The employers were not represented at all
and ii was a peculiar fact that there
was n division of opinion among the en-
ployes themselves. Certain branches of
labor favored the bill and certain others
opposed it. One of the very strongest
labor unions in the State is very strongly
opposed to this bill. l mean the railroad
men, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Eli
gineers and Conductors Union. The en-
poyers. the business interests themselves
were not represented at all Apparently
the matter was either Objectionable to
them or they We're Indifferent in regard
to it. 1t seemed to us that that matter
was one of not any great Importance
one that the State or the people in the
State cared very little for. and conse-
quently the majority of us voted that the
bill ought not to pass: and | trust that
the motion of the gentleman from Au-
burn will not prevail.
The question being to substitute the
minority report for the majority report.
Mr.. Wing of Kingfield called for a di.
vision.
A division was had and Sc voted in The
affirmative and Il in the negative.
So the motion prevailed.
The bill was then tabled for printing
under the joint rules.
| Majority and minority reports of the
committee on legal affairs, to which
| An Act T., ,nr;1e