The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1915-04-24
UNIONS MUST TAKE
DEEPER INTEREST
IN LEGISLATION
Employment Agency Bill Dies
In Committee. Labor Failed
To Act.
Unconstitutional"

How familiar this word sounds to
labor union men!
Whenever a measure aiming to al
leviate the condition of the working
class is advocated or introduced. into
a legislative body, and the enemies
OF the measure can find no valid argu-
| ment against the merits of it, they
fall back on that time-worn, cob
webbed document, the constitution, for
relief from an embarrassing situation.
| II there is nothing upon which to
, base an argument against it, then sure
ly it must be unconstitutional
The employment agency bill intro
duced in the senate by Senator Rich
| ard Jones early in the session would
have been acted upon ere this, but its
enemies, fearing to meet the issue up
! on the floor of the senate, succeeded
in referring it to the Judiciary COM
| mittee to determine its constitution
atty.
Killed In Committee.
After the bill had slumbered peace
| fully in committee for a number OF
weeks, the subcommittee on constitu-
tlonal law, by vote Of three to one
! one member did not consider the bill
| at all-reported to the general COM
! mittee, that in their opinion the bill
was in violation of the constitution in
that it was an unsound classification;
| it violated the liberty of contract
| and was mot a proper exercise of the
| police power
The chairman of the subcommittee
is w. w. Dunn, vice president and
! attorney for the Hamm Brewing com.
pany. Arguments were made before
the subcommittee and briefs were
submitted. When the bill was finally
considered by the general committee
perhaps IL members out of a total of
20 were present. After arguments for
and against the constitutionality of
the bill, a motion was made and, al
though there was division Of opinion,
the opponents at least yelled louder
than the friends and the, chairman
declarded the motion to report the
bill unconstitutional as carried.
Dead for This Session.
l. This practically kills the bill 50 far
as this session is concerned, and the
| workers must suffer from the abuses
of the private employment agency at
least until another legislature shall
act upon this question
! To: legislate- in such a way that will
eliminate the wrongs practiced by the
private employment agency upon the
unsuspecting worker who pays his las,
dollar for a job, and is sent to fal
off point and finds there is no jot
waiting for him-to legislate in 8
manner that will cure such a wrong
is Unconstitutional"
And why is it Unconstitutional? p
Because Of the case Of sO-and-st
vs.. so-and-so, decided in England e
hundred years ago in which the iprin.
ciple involved stands as a precedent
for our own courts to follow. This i.
the basis for the reasoning of the old.
line lawyers who help to make up til,
Judiciary committee of the Minnesota
senate. --
Ten decades of progress makes nj
difference with our constitution yo,
see. The trainers Of the constitution
We are told, built. wiser than the.
knew and the document framed 70,
thirteen sparsely settled states, con
tanning about three millions Of people
is supposed to suit our present need
with population Of nearly one hun
dred millions of people.
Labor Not on the Job. -
The opponents of the Jones bill
were active in their opposition. TIL
labor unions and those who hoped t
profit by the passage Of the bill wer,
lethargic and failed miserably; to de
mand of their friends In the legisla
ture t4at they desired the passage .
the btu ..
abor must arouse itself, either. b,
e Z Is 81 & more u 81 t i e q