Mohave County miner. [volume] (Mineral Park, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1882-1918, 1914-08-08
1.-THE Eighty Per Cent Law"

we nave CdAlcu IiiC oICCueioh Va Jul
readers several times to the proposed
amendment to the Constitution, which
is known as the Eighty Per Cent Law,
and which was drafted by one Bert
Davis, chairman of the Labor Council
of the State, and which was later en-
dorsed by the labor locals of Arizona.
We quote the measure in full:
AN ACT.
To protect the Citizens of the United
States in their employment against
Non-Citizens of the United States, in
Arizona, and to Provide Penalties and
Punishment.
Be it enacted by the people of the
State of Arizona:
SEC. l. Any company, corpora
ton, partnership, association or indi-
vidual who is, or may hereafter become
an employer of more than five (5)
workers at any one time, in the State
of Arizona, REGARDLESS OF KIND
OR CLASS OF WORK, OR SEX OF
WORKERS, shall employ not less than
eighty (80) per cent QUALIFIED
ELECTORS of the United States or
some subdivision thereof.
SEC. 2. Any company, corpora
ton, partnership, association or indi-
vidual, their agent or agents, found
guilty of violating any of the provisions
of this Act shall be guilty of misde-
meanor, and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be subject to a fine of not less
than one hundred ($10O.0O) dollars, and
imprisoned for not less than thirty (30)
days.
SEC. 8. Any employee who shall
misrepresent, or make false statement,
as to his or her nativity or citizenship,
shall upon conviction thereof, be sub
ject to fine of not less than one hun
bred ($100.00) dollars, and imprisoned
for not less than thirty (30) days.
Now, while it is true that this law
was primarily intended to make it i'm
possible to employ aliens in any capa-
city in the state where five or more
persons, are employed, it will be noted
that this law would reach so far and be
so destructive Of the rights of employer
and employee that it would be at once a
most wicked enactment. If five per-
sons were employed four of them must
be qualified electors of either the State
of Arizona or some other state of the
Union. Boys and girls below the age
of twenty-one could not be employed,
except where the whole number of en-
ployes was below five. Now let US see
just what the measure would do:
To obtain work in Arizona a man or
woman must be citizen of the United
States either by naturalization or birth.
Must be over the age of twenty-one
years.
Must have resided within the state at
least one year.
Must be able to read the English Ian
guage and to write his name. This
qualification is required to make a per-
son qualified elector. And it makes
no difference if the man or woman
were educated in every other language,
they would be disbarred if they had
not the necessary qualification in the
English language.
If this vicious law went into effect it
would put every boy and girl under
twenty-one years of age out of employ
mant; 1t would have the same effect on
every section hand employed on the
railroads of Arizona; No native Indian
could be employed in any capacity
whatever, and every industrial pursuit
in the state would be at once put out of
commission.
If this is socialistic measure we
must say that Arizona socialists have
forgotten the underlying principles of
that order-that of the uplifting of
mankind and the benefitiug of their fell
low man. But whether it is socialis-
tic measure or not, it is one of the
most outrageous measures ever pro-
posed in any state of this great Union.
We are heartily in favor of the employ
ment of English speaking people in
hazardous occupations, that is: below
ground in the mines, or where injury
may result from the employment of
fellow workmen who cannot understand
the language of each other, but we are
opposed to the pauperising of nom
English speaking people in Arizona or
in any of the other states of the Union.
This measure is on par with the
probition and other measures that are
coming before the people at the cleo
ton next November, and which we are