The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1912-07-18
MADE GOOD IN
BATON ROUGE

III IHe General Assembly CT louisiana
and the working people have found &
friend who stood by them in every mea
sure that came before that body fol-
consideration. Ranging in his activi
ties from securing an elective schoo
board of five members for the City OF
New Orleans and free ferriage for the
school children of Algiers, to securing
the first law ever enacted in Louisiana
limiting the working hours of a man
engaged in any occupation and the pro
lection of pedestrians from the con
slant danger of death and injury by the
passage of law requiring tenders on
all street cars throughout the state
Mr.. Koppel was ever ready to take an
active part in the passage of any meas.
ure tending to benefit the district he
represents and the state at large.
In his gallant, though losing fight for
the full crew bill and his valuable aid
in passing the twice-a-month pay day
bill, Representative Koppel has won
himself a host of friends in the Fifth
District. Aside from the introduction
of these two measures he was the ia
Their of bill requiring railroad COM
panies TO block the angles in all frogs
and switches so that trainment might
not catch their feet in these dangerous
crevices and be held while trains lit
orally moved them down. This meas
ure has received the signature of the
Governor. The Koppel bill requiring
an adequate number of fire escapes on
factory buildings, stores, schools, asy-
lums, hospitals, hotels, lodging houses,
etc., passed both the House and SEN
ate, but unfortunately, Governor Hall
permitted it to receive a pocket veto.
Other bills introduced by the Algiers
representative included an act reauir-
ing owners of cotton factories to pro-
vide employees with mouth shields to
breathe through in order that they
would not have to inhale the small par
ticles of cotton that float through the
air in these places; a bill requiring the
state to pay the members of the mill
tia S25 per year for each man who at
tended % drills during the year; a bill
providing for the respectful treatment
of the American flag. This bill awak-
ened nation wide comment, so much
so that President Taft and the Secre-
tary of State of the United States wrote
letters commencing the bill.
The Koppel bill requiring railroad
companies to equip all locomotives with
electric headlights was killed by the
Railroad Committee of the House, after
hearing at which railroad officials
from Chicago, Louisville, Natchez.
Vicksburg, Kansas City, Cincinnati and
New Orleans argued with the commit
tee. At this same committee meeting
the bill introduced by the Algiers mem
Der requiring railroad companies to |
build sheds at division terminals to
protect employees engaged in work on
car equipment from rain and sun was
also reported unfavorably.
The passage of the law limiting the
working hours of stationary firemen to
eight, which bill was introduced and
passed by Mr.. Koppel. as the first law
OF its kind in the state, brought forth a |
shower of congratulations on the in
PRODUCER from the officers of the Gen.
trail Trades and Labor Council and
other labor leaders who were in Baton
Rouge at the time. In aiding the men,
bers of the New Orleans fire depart
ment Mr.. Koppel rendered efficient SER
vice in securing representation for the
rank and file of the department on the
board of pension commissioners. The
original bill provided for the Mayor,
the chief, the secretary and two assist
ant chiefs to comprise the board, while
the Koppel amendment removed the
assistant chiefs and placed four of the
men below the grade of assistant chief
on the board in their places.
Mr.. Koppel also aided Captain Hea-
ney, the legislative delegate of the fire.
men, in attempting to secure the pas
sage of law taxing insurance compa-
MES one per cent, the proceeds of this
tax to be used in paying pensions to
fremen's widows and orphans, but the
bremen were unsuccessful in their fight
for this bill.
In the fight to abolish the Fire Rat
ing Board and to change the Fire Pre-
Vention Bureau, thus breaking up this
insurance trust, the Algiers member
vas again one of the leaders and was
commended by the committee
If citizens who were fighting this trust.
Among the labor measures for which
he Algiers representative voted were
he following: An act defining the word
laborer" and '1aborer's wages; the
let granting privilege in favor of
employees; the act prohibiting employ
rs from loaning money to their en-