The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-02-26
NOTES OF SENATE.
Larger Counties "GOatc of Nine
Hour Law.
Senate Exempted 100 Counties
From Bill Today.

The five big counties in the state
We're radically Disseminated against
this morning when the senate passed in
the committee of the whole, the house
Dill by stone providing for a maximum
number of hours for working girls. The
snators from the country districts
supported an amendment to the meas
ure which excluded from the author
1ty OF the law, all counties with less
than $4,000 inhabitants. This means
tnat only Shawnee, Sedgwick, Craw-
ford, Wyandotte and Montgomery
counties shall be placed in line to obey
the nine-hour law.
The amendment exempting thh
smaller counties gave the senators
who were afraid of the bill an open
cnance to disregard all humane val
ueS and attempts at the betterment of
working conditions, and vote for some
thing that would not affect their dis
tricts. 1t also gave a number of
Democrats an open thoroughfare to the
support of the party platfornl-with
the assurance that the law would not
affect their own territory.
However, the fight isn't over.
The bill was recommended for pass
age subject to amendment and debate.
This is when the big onslaught will
be led by Troutman of Shawnee,
Nighswonger of Sedgwick, Porter of
Crawford, Milton of wyandotte and
Overfield of Montgomery.
In other words the big counties and
larger cities of Kansas are not intend
ing to allow the small county repre-
sentative senators to force a law on
selves.
In modern slang-the big counties
have been made the goats of the
maximum hour law.
Senator Price, of Clark county. served
notice on the senate this morning that
when the bill came UP for final passage
he would Introduce two amendments
one to include domestic help in the
law and the other to include women
working in newspaper offices. The
Clark county senator has been ,pounced
upon by the lady lobbyists for the last
rev weeks ana he has plan whereby
he can make them take their own
medicine" and accept the law as APP
piled to their servants and hired girls.
The bill worked up g, row in the sem
ate in only few minutes after its
adoption this morning. Joseph fight
ing for his well known and much ex-
plotted mutual telephone company,
Howe for his department store clerks
and Mcmillan for his small town en-
ployees thought the bill should not ap-
ply to their districts. Kinkel, of Morris,
with a store full of women employees
threw aside the personal results of
the bill and manfully stood up for it
as applied to every county in the state.
Mahin said the senate was violating the
labor laws by allowing the girl steno-
graphers and committee clerks to work
Is hours a day and allowing boy pages
wonger, Davis, Gray. Troutn1an and
Bowman thought it should be in effect
in all parts of the state.
Senator Waggener tackled an amend
ment on to the $4,000 population limit
by giving the public utilities power to
Iar 40 ~ 1n1-o
it was thought necessary. This amend
ment was favored.
The senators from the large counties,
although feeling they have been dis
eliminated against, look with pleasure
to the action which undoubtedly will
to that body. The house would
not stand for applying the bill to only
certain counties.
The senate was filled with lobbyists
while the bill was under discussion.
liable and penal institutions providing
for an appropriation to- buy an island
in the Missouri river near the state
penitentiary was introduced in the SEN
ate this morning. This measure Will
be supported strongly by Stillings, of
Leavenworth, and other members OF
the penitentiary at Lansing.
The sspure shoe" bill is up again. The
failure to recall the measure from the
governor on account of a serious mis-
take the other day has resulted in the
introduction of a new bill prepared by
the committee on penal and charitable
institutions The bill in the hands of
the governor would make 1t mis- |
demeanor for a man to sell a shoe not !
made under the Simpson law whether
he sold the shoe knowingly or not. The
governor would not sign a measure OF
this kind It was a mistake IN the
printed bill.