The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-07-15
RESUME OF WORKINGS OF
The LAST LEGISLATURE
THE FLINNITES PLAYED A LEG
ISLATIVE GAME OF BLUFF.

Public Decency Political Issues.
Harrisburg, July 14.-Now that
the fog and confusion that marked
the closing hours of the Legislature
| have cleared away it is apparent
that the net result of the six months
work is an amount of advanced leg
islation far in excess of the general
expectation when the body convened
in January and it became apparent
that party of political guerrillas
would have to be taken into consid-
Grafton, and it more than bears out
the assertion frequently made in
these letters that the session would
be the most progressive in the his
tory of the State.
Attempted Fake Legislation.
From first to last an immense
amount of so-called progressive leg
islation was dumped into the hop
| per. Some of it was meritorious,
lots of it was the product of cranks,
but by far the most sinister influence
of the whole session was the mass of
bills introduced and touted as pro-
gressive when in reality they had no
other purpose than the promotion
of the political fortunes of the
Flinnites. Peanut politics was the
! besetting sin of the session. 1t was
responsible for the disgraceful drag
ging out of the deliberations which
cost the taxpayers thousands upon
thousands of dollars and it was re-
| sponsible for the failure of the child
labor bill at the last moment.
fractional FOolishness.
From the beginning the Flinnite
| npaipn hoSp6 nDnn q dpSipp
to secure fractional advantage. A
| great mass of election bills were in
| troduced and the word went out that
they were designed to rescue the
| people from the thraldom of party,
but when the bills were examined it
was found that the only thing they
would accomplish would be the
turning over of the control of the
| Republican organization to the Finn
outfit. The Democrats were alive
to this situation and were willing to
| give aid to the Finn followers until
it became apparent that if they pur-
sued that course there would be no
election reform whatever. Then
Lowry Humes, of Crawford county,
the Democratic floor leader in the
House and member of the primary
bill conference committee, proposed
a compromise which was finally
adopted and which insures that Penn
sylvania will have primary cleo
tion law second to none in the coun-
try.
Truth About Child Labor Bill.
In this case the dog-in-the-mange
tactics of the Finn outfit was check
mated but some of the more import
ant social, or, as they are more COM
monty called, humane bills, did not
have such fortunate fate. In a
number of these the people who are
seeking to undermine the Republi-
can party played both ends against
the middle with such consummate
skill that nothing was accomplished
The most spectacular instance of
this kind of interference was the or
derly course of legislative delibera-
tions was furnished in the fate of
the child labor bill which in all like
lihood will figure large in the poll
tics of the immediate future through
out the entire state. This bill was
bitterly fought by manufacturers in
terested, but it was a foregone con-
clusion that something that would
mark long step in advance would
be passed. Sometime during the
day on which the Legislature ad-
journed an agreement was reached
between the House and Senate con-
ferees which under the circum-
stances that existed was acceptable
to the interests Immediately concern
ed-the employers and the people
who were working for the better
ment of conditions under which chill
dren labor in this state. The salient
| M int Nff hi Al
maximum number Of hours children
shall work shall be fifty-one and-a-
half per week. Under the law now
on the books the maximum is sixty.
: Informally an understanding was
entered into that the bill should go
through on this basis, but when the
: political steerers who had charge of
the Finn interests heard about it a
protest went forth and their Great
ures were ordered to hold out for
fifty hours. The result was a dead
: lock which insured the defeat of the
bill.
F'linnites Over Reach Themselves.
An immense amount of fuss and
fury attended this incident which
occurred during the very dying hours
of the session and it was some time
| IL was Cl6dlly uHu6ISIOOu
what had happened. Then there
was something resembling a sensa-
ton. After things had simmered
down it was the consensus of opinion
that the Finn party again had over
reached itself. 1t does seem that il
will be difficult to justify the killing
of a measure that contained many
important concessions that have long
been Sought simply because there
was a difference of an hour and a
half in the working time permitted
each week.
Great Salt Tears Are Flowing.
OF course, the Finn organs and
the Finn bureaus, although bitterly
/ disappointed over the progressive
s character of the legislation tha
l was passed, are making all they car
' out of the situation that exists anC
2 fhau ara Nunaninp Qraat salt p,