The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1911-04-08
With Dying Days Of Legislature
Hope of Labor for Remedial
Laws Vanishes.'
EASY TO DEFEAT BILLS
BUT HARD TO PASS THEM
Child Labor Bill Strongly Op.
posed-Likewise Measure for
Relief of Women.
(By ". f.. McEWEN.)

ST. PAUL, April 5.-(special Cor
respondence)-Any old person can
get any old kind of bill introduced
in the legislature, but it takes a
mighty strong force to succeed in
getting a good bill passed. The spe-
cial interests got all they wanted from
Minnesota law makers years ago. All
they ask now Is to be let alone. 1t
is always much easier to kill bill
than it is to obtain it's passage.
For this reason the tonnage tax
bill was defeated, and because of this
fact also the railroads experience lit
tie difficulty in heading off legisla-
ton inimical to their interests. Like
wise the brewers can defeat county
option, statewide prohibition and
other measures affecting their inter-
ests. Even labor can marshall suffi-
cient votes to prevent compulsory
arbitration law from being enacted.
Hard to Pass Bills.
If, on the other hand, any of these
attempt to secure the passage of bills
protecting their interests they find it
exceedingly difficult. The brewers,
able to stop county option, could not
muster sufficient number of votes
to pass a midnight lid bill. The
railroads and the steel trust would
have the same experience should they
attempt legislation granting to them
more privileges.
All of these interests, however, can
combine their forces in the most mys-
terious manner to defeat labor leg
islatfon. There Is no more popular
legislation these days than that pro-
hibiting the employment of children.
but committees of workingmen are
obliged to fight like Trojans to in
duce the legislature to consider a bin
on this subject. Only yesterday a
senator held that bill framed by
the Bureau of Labor prohibiting the
employment of girls as messengers
and otherwise strengthening the pres
ent child labor law was the 'fruit Of
impractical and visionary minds. and
would only serve to abet the tyranny
of labor unions
breaches Posts Philosophy.
I surmise that this learned solon
must have spent much of his time re-
Gently reading the rantings of Mr..
Post in his paid advertisements on
the Labor Trust"
1t indeed looks gloomy for every
kind of labor legislation The loco
motive engineers have presented but
one bill to this session of the legis-
lature. 1t requires that every engi-
neer shall have had at least three
years experience as a fireman, and
every conductor shall have had two
years experience as brakeman be-
fore being permitted to act as an en-
gineer or conductor.
This bill was introduced early in
the session by Mr.. Hillman, the only
Workingman in the legislature It
was reported out of the committee on
railways February II, but at this
writing it seems to have a poor
chance Of becoming law
Clearance Bill Favored.
The locomotive firemen and train
men nave had bill before both
houses Of the legislature requiring
railroads to remove all overhead OBJ
struct1ons and clearances to a safe
distance from the tracks to protect
the lives of railroad employees. There
was enough postage wasted on this
bill by the railroads to pay a con-
siderable of the expense in removing
all dangerous distractions. Eyerv
owner of a country elevator was So
l1c1ted by Mr.. Beeks, the errand boy
of the railroads, to write his member
OF the legislature against the passage
of this bill.
After two months of committee de-
liberation the bill is before the house.
and it stands a good show of being
buried with all of the other Ia bor
measures.
New Employers Liability.
The last employers liability bill
to be introduced in the house, known
as H. F. 1923, abrogates the doctrine
of contributory negligence, and puts
1t on basis of comparative negli-
gence. 1t is the least harmful to the
employers of any of the bills pre-
sented at this session of the legisla-
ture. I surmise that the Republican
organization of the house intends to
pass this bill as a palliative to labor.
The Lundeen bill, fixing the num-
Der of hours labor per week for fe-
male employees Is meeting with more
opposition than almost any other Ia.
Dor Dill. It prohibits females from
working longer than 4S hours In any
one week. 1t covers every kind of
employment
st. Paul Merchants Busy. =
The st. Paul association of COM
merce, federation of all the busi-
ness organizations Of this city, has
very adroitly worked the endless
cha1n letter plan against this BILL.
Mr.. Beeks, its secretary, has written
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