Mohave County miner., 1912-08-17
Initiative and
 Referendum Measures.

them will be some very important matters. The Kenney bill, which failed in the legislative session, will have it's initiative at the election in November. This measure proposes to make the employment of non-English people in hazardous employment a misdemeanor. It is said that it's adop- ton would mean the discharge of more than 10000 Mexicans, now employed in Globe, Miami, Douglas, Bisbee and Morenci. On the other hand it is claimed that the employment of these foreigners endanger the life of all English speaking employees, and also that their employment is a blow to the upbuilding of the country. The measure vii receive the hearty support of the English speaking laboring vote as well as the business interests, aside from the employing corporations.
 The Women Suffrage initiative will be one of the hardest fought amend ments to the constitution of all the measures to be enacted, but it is all most sure to carry, big majority of the laboring class being for it. Es- pecially is this the case with the socialists and the mormons.
 The railroads have asked the refer. endum on four measures. having filed big petitions with the Secretary of State. One of the measures refers to semimonthly pay days The company believes that this would be of great inconvenience to them. while doing no good to the employees. On the other hand it is held that by reason of the long wait to pay day employees have to hook their pay checks and pay large interest to brokers and others to keep them until the next pay day. With companies having stores the month ly pay day compels the workers to trade at these stores, to their dis advantage, it is said. It is probable that the voter will affirm the meas. ure.
 House Bill 50, relating to the quail fications of conductors and engineers, has had the referendum invoked. The measure requires that engineers must have fired at least three years before having been set up as engineers. Con- ductors must have served as brakemen three years before taking a train. It is alleged that this law would impair the service if called into effect at the present time, and that its enactment is simply to place club in the hands of trainmen in the event of strike On the other hand it is alleged that by favoritism men are set up as en- gineers and conductors with practical, ly no experience and that the travel ing public is not sufficiently safe. guarded.
 House Bill A. the Full Crew Law. will take the vote of the people to bring into life. The railroads say that in the short tine given them after the passage of the bill they could not comply with this act. The act re. quires that train drawing certain number of cars should have fixed crew and that where more than that number of cars are added to the train one more brakeman shall be employed. A light engine is a train under the law.
 House Bill 42, referring to electric headlights on trains: This measure requires all locomotives to be equipped with electric headlights. The rail roads are willing to provide such lights, but claim that it would be im- possible to make changes on all their locomotives before the law became ef- fective and only ask for time in which to equip the locomotives with the lights.
 Senate Bill "A, the three cent fare measure: This measure is designed to cut all fares within the state to three cents. At the present time the main line fares are a fraction over four cents and the branch lines charge six cents. The railroad commission of the state figure that a good profit can be made by the railroads at the three cent fare limit. but the railroads claim that there is no profit even at the present fare. And on the other hand