Semi-weekly herald., 1915-01-14
Inauguration Address
BY Governor Carlson

AttSAus ol creating harmony DetWeen
labor and capital through the form
ing Of a state Industrial commission,
the establishing of workman's COM
pensation act, cutting down state ex-
penses by abclishing needless boards
until the state is established on
business basis, were the central feat
ures Of Governor Carlson's inaugural
address delivered to the twentieth
general assembly today.
He said in part:
To the Members of the Twentieth
General Assembly of the State of
Colorado:
Greeting: In my few days asso-
citation with you ] have become i'm
pressed with the fact that the desire
OF each to serve is intense. and your
determination to accomplish is def
mite and firmly fixed. Colorado is
young in history. Her vast resources
are yet in the earliest infancy of de-
velopment. Mighty problems have
proven battling, but ! am most high
ly gratified to find nowhere among
you a disposition to quail or cringe.
Giant problems are the despair of the
weak, but they only serve as a spur
to the strong. The complexity of
your problems is only matched by
your opportunity for service.
Industrial Commission.
Colorado and the immediate parties
have suffered much from Industrial
disputes. Frequent conflicts between
employer and employe have occurred,
and each conflict has been character
lied by increased bitterness, and, in
some instances, attended by destruc-
tion Of property and bloodshed. 1t.
therefore, must be apparent to all
that the present methods of prevent
ing and settling grievances between
employer and employe are entirely
unsatisfactory, and quite frequently
disastrous to those directly involved,
and to the public at large. 1t is,
therefore, imperative that this legis-
lature earnestly and diligently adj
dress itself to the problem of ascer-
tanning and removing, II possible, the
causes Of those industrial disputes.
To preserve peace is but part of the
problem. The causes at the bottom
Of disorder must be recognized and
measures adopted to eliminate them.
The time has now come when Colo
rsdo must cease being merely mega
tive force. Our state government
must become a positive and vital
agency to harmonize our antagonistic
industrial forces; an agency to stand
between employer and employe and
compel fair dealing between them. /
believe this result can best be accom-
plished by the establishment of an
industrial commission charged with
the power and duty of administering
laws now existing or hereafter en-
acted concerning the relationship be-
tween employer and employe. Boards
and bureaus now existing and design
ed TO deal with certain phases of this
relationship lack coordination, uni
formity, and definite plan, and
should be abolished and their powers
and duties delegated to the commits
sion.
This commission should be given
broad, general powers. 1t should have
power TO administer and enforce laws
pr ,tecting the life, health, safety, and
welfare Of employees; to investigate
and prescribe what safety devices and
other methods of protection are best
adapted to render the employees of
every department safe; to do all in
its power to promote the voluntary
arbitration, mediation, and concilia-
tion of disputes between employers
and employees, and to avoid the ne
cessity Of resorting to strikes, lock-
outs. boycotts. blacklists, discrimina-
tions, md legal proceedings in mat
ters Of employment; to establish and
conduct free employment agencies and
to do all in its power to bring to-
gether employers seeking employees
and workers seeking employment; to
devise and adopt the most efficient
means within its power TO avoid un.
employment and to prevent involun.
fary idleness; to prevent distress fol-
lowing involuntary idleness; to pub
lish Information relating to the work
under its jurisdiction; to subpoena
Witnesses and to examine books.
Economy.
The people are demanding that this
legislature incrcnse the efficiency and
eliminate the extravaganza and
Of the present organ
zation Of our state government. Il