Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-04-09
APPOINTMENT or SITTING COM.
MirTEE CONFESSION OF
INABILITY.
MEMBERSHIP TOO LARGE
FOR EFFICIENT WORK
Of Committees in Both
Houses Follows Closely on Heels Of
Rejection Of Proposal to Reduce tho
Observation-Disclosures and Maxi
mum Hour Bill Defeated.
/ to Times Republican.

Special to TimeS-Republlcan.
Des Moines, April "A striking
anomaly in legislation is presented by
the fact that a general assembly which
has only recently, almost with show
OF feeling and anger, dismissed from
consideration proposal to reduce by
only a small part the unwieldly men,
bership of house and senate. in the In
terest Of efficiency and economy. should
have SO soon abandoned its proper
functions and coufessiag abject failure
have turned the business of lawmaking
over to fourteen men. This has been
done at time when by far the most
important work of the entire session is
yet to be whipped into shape The
two committees now, or very soon to
be, in full control of the legislation,
are as follows:
Senate sifters - Larrabee, Wilson.
Chase, Hilsinger, Thompson, White and
Gillette.
House sifters-Griffin, Roberts, Sui
Ivan, McFarlane, Nayman, Jamison
and Moore.
The counties represented are: Web
ster, Appanoose, Hamilton, Jackson,
Des Moines, Iowa. Cherokee, Woodbury..
Ringgold, Kossuth, Black Hawk, Fay
cite and Guthrie. The only county that
has two is Des Moines county. There
seems to be a fair division between the
large and small counties, the big cities
and the rural districts, the wet and the
dry, the going forward and the hang
ing back elements. In the senate only
one of the sifters is a new man in
the game: In the house, five of the
seven are serving first term.
It has been pointed out that five OF
the seven senate sifters have been
counted as reactionaries on capitol eX-
tension. The majority are not very
strong for going ahead in highway
matters. Several Of them are pro-
nounced "wets." But these questions
are all fairly we'll out Of the way. A
determined effort will be made, OF
course, to pass the house bill to sell of
most Of the capitol extension tract. The
senate sifters, however. will not have
very much to do until the house sifters
send over q batch OF house bills. The
senate committees reported nearly ev-
erything in hand and the calendar is
an enormous one.
The chief advantage OF the two sift-
ing committees must lie now in the
arrange trades and dicl1ers and thus
get thru many bills that would ether
wise fall by the wayside.
Senator Thomas, the earnest, excita-
BILE, almost explosive, senator from Tn
ion, went to defeat with his bill for
minimum wage and maximum hours of
labor for women and minors and ap-
prentices; but he made gallant fight
and did not give up until he had issued
a warning to the other candidates that
after the women are given the ballot
next year they will have to reckon
with the voters on this and similar
questions. Mr.. Thomas declared that
in other states the minimum wage idea
has been adopted. It Is In force in
most industries in Australia 1t is in
vogue in England and Lloyd George
is urging It for practically all indus
tries there He declared, with much
earnestness, that the wage Garner IS
entitled to a living wage before the
capitalist Is entitled to a return on his
Accommodations, that whatever else may
happen the laborer must have his
breakfast and that the very first thing
in the Industrial life Of the world must
ever be the welfare of the laborers.
The discussion was largely as to re-
tails of the bill. 1t provided mini
mum wage Of 1-3 cents an hour for
minors under 49, and minors over IS,
learners and apprentices 10 cents an
hour; for adults from u to IL cents an
hour according to size Of city: maxi
mum hours per week for females or
minors ffty-fve; exemption Of hotels,
restaurants, canning factories, nurses,
telephone exchanges etc.
The first section was struck out. It
stated:
1.-THE welfare Of the state Of Iowa
demands that women and minors be
protected from conditions of labor
which have pernicious effect on
their health and morals. The state Of
Iowa, therefore, exercising herein its
police and sovereign power, declares
that inadequate wages and insanitary
conditions of labor exert such per-
nicious influence"
The bill was attacked by Whtmore.
Francis, Hageman, Schrup. Head and
others.