The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1912-11-01
Send YOurOwn
MentoOlympia
U MO CANDIDATES FOR
LEGISLATURE BEST QUAIL
IFIED TO WORK FOR PRO
GRAM OF LABOR LEGISLA-
TION.

This is the Journals last opportunity
before eelction to appeal to the voters
not to forget the legislative candidates.
1t is as important that we send the
right kind of men to the state legisla-
ture as it is that we elect the right
kind of a governor or any other state
officer. 1t would be foolish to elect a
progressive governor and then turn
around and elect lot of reactionaries
to the legislature. The legislative branch
of our state government is as import
ant as the executive or judicial and we
should bestow equal care upon its make
up.
Particularly do we appeal to union
men and women and their sympathizcrs
in this article. Organized labor of
Washington has labored long for the
passage of progressive legislation Years
before the Initiative and Referendum
became a dominant issue in politics our
representatives were urging it upon the
legislature. The Women's Eight-Hour
law and other labor measures now upon
the statutes did not come because of one
sessions activity. Year after year Or
ganized labor has been working for these
laws. Year after year our representa-
tives have been in Olympia urging upon
legislative sessions the passage of rem
edial legislation. Year after year the
rank and file has been backing up the
efforts of their legislative committee
with petitions and telegrams year after
year labor has worked to arouse public
sentiment to the demands of social JUS
tice through the mediums of press and
the platform. Such remedial legislation
as we have secured has ben the result
of years of accumulative effort. Most
of it has been wrung from Il reluctant
legislature. We are proud of the work
that has been accomplished, but it
shouldn't have cost so much effort. We
are to blame for that in that we de-
manded and expected labor legislation
and then voted for men to go down to
Olympia who were out of touch with
our program-men who had no sym
pathy for our cause.
We have an ambitious labor program
for the next session of the legislature.
We are going to ask the passage of
law putting the paid employment shark
out of business; we are going to try to
increase the amounts paid to injured
workmen by the Industrial Insurance
Commission at least % per cent, and
the insertion of the First Aid clause in
the law; we are going to try to make
it possible for the people to amend
their state constitution through the
initiative. As it has done in the past,
so organized labor must do during the
coming session-viz., bear the brunt of
the fight for the desired legislation. The
logical thing to do the wise thing to
dds to send men from our own ranks
to the legislature to work and vote for
our laws. If you were going to build
a house you wouldn't hire blacksmith
to draw the plans, you would send for
an architect. You wouldn't hire gro
ceryman to do the construction work.
vou would hire building mechanic.
Can't we use the same sense in electlng
men to make our labor laws that we
would employ in planning and erecting
a house?
Organized labor in this legislative dis
trict offers you three men from its own
ranks-men who know what labor wants
and needs-men who have been tried in
in the crucible of active service. John
Campbell, progressive candidate for SEN
ator from the Thirty eighth district; H.
J. Olinger, socialist candidate, and Fred
X. Overman, progressive candidate, from
the Forty eighth legislative district, for