Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-02-03
LABOR IS ON GUARD
PROCEEDINGS OF LEG
ISLATURE WITH GREAT
CARE.
TO BE GIVEN
ON SEVERAL BILLS
Free Text Books, Voting Away From
ONE, Minimum Wage and Maxi
mum Time For Women and Children
Who Work, and Regulation Of Mines
and Railroads Some Proposed Laws
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Feb. 3.--Labor interests
are watching the Legislative session
with great care. Representatives OF
the labor unions are on the ground
prepared TO urge good legislation and
to head OFF anything that might be
inimical Thus far few hearings have
been given 10 the bills in which the
laboring people are interested, but they
will be given on all the bills Here are
the most important measures in which
the laboring people are Interested;
Free text books-There are bills be-
fore the legislature directing and COM
pelling all districts to buy text books
for the children in the schools The
chief heneficiaries will be the laboring
men and wage sarners who find that
the cost of text books is a great burden,
especially to those having large fam
lilies and which by reason of their occu-
patton move from district to district.
Voting away from home-The labor
ing men say that they are just as much
interested in this as are the travelling
men or other classes of voters. This is
especially true of railroad men. The
bill that Will accomplish this has not
yet been introduced.
Requiring special shot firers in
min es.-Iow-a provides for an inspector
of shot firing in mines. What is
wanted is employment of a special shot
firer, to set off the blasts. and to require
that no firing be done until every per-
son has come out of the mine. 1t is
stated this would save many lives.
Iowa uses more powder per ton of coal
mined than any other state of the
union and has practically no regula-
ton of the most dangerous part of the
mining.
Minimum wage and maximum time
for labor for women and children
Several bills are before the legislature
paid TO women and children and to ap-
prentices and fixing a minimum wage.
There are also bills affecting the time
of service, limiting the time a woman
may be employed. requiring a certain
time for the lunch. etc. These bills will
have to be whipped into shape in COM
mittees before they are ready for
action.
Semi monthly pay bill on railroads.
There Is complaint among the rail-
lends itself to bad debts and money
borrowing.
The railroad men want a law passed
passenger trains. Similar laws are in
many states. They also want law re-
quiring that when light engine travels
over a line. an engine without cars, it
shall have conductor or pilot. as to
20 oil ho1
trains.
Some effective legislation to meet the
loan shark evil is being framed up. but
the bin the laboring interests will back
has not yet been introduced. They are
very DESTROYS Of having this matter
cleared up.
The labortng men, especially the rail-
road men. want some form of regula-
ings.
The appropriations committee, after
more than two hours of discussion and
debate. after several tie votes on
various propositions, after much
heated controversy and many sug-
gestions as to what to do, asked a
sub committee to frame up bill to
be reported to the senate providing
for $4,000 to be appropriated in aid
of the exhibitors for Iowa at the
Panama Pacific exposition at san
Francisco. The bill is to provide that
the money be placed in the hands of a
special commission to be appointed BY
the governor to be used in aid Of the
work of the commission named by the
Greater Iowa Association, but the bill
Will designate the purposes for which
certain items are to be used and
divide up the appropriation as be-
tween the conflicting interests 1t is
said TO have recently developed that