The Colorado statesman., 1915-01-16
COLORADO GOVERNOR DELIVERS
INAUGURAL ADDRESS AT
AUDITORIUM.
MUST OBEY The LAWS
New Executive Recommends Economy,
An Industrial Commission, Work
mems Compensation Act, and Asks
That Capital and Labor Clasp Hands
for a Reunited Greater Colorado.
Western Newspaper Union News Services.

Western Newspaper Union News Services.
Denver, Jan. 12.-Besides the mem
bers of the Legislature, a large num-
Der of people assembled at the Audi
torium at noon today, when Governor
George A. Carlson delivered his in
augural address. Substantially, the
new executive said:
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE TWEEN
TIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
THE STATE OF COLORADO:
pressed with the fact that the desire
of each to serve is intense. and your
determination to accomplish is defin-
lite and firmly fixed. Colorado is young
IN history. Her vast resources are yet
in the earliest infancy of develop
battling, but 1 am most highly graft
fled TO find nowhere among you dis
problems are the despair of the weak,
but they only serve as spur to the
lems IS only matched by your opportu-
nifty for service.
Industrial Commission.
COLORADO and the immediate parties
disputes. Frequent conflicts between
employer and employe have occurred,
anu eaCn cOnIllCt mas been character
iEed by increased bitterness and. in
some instances. attended by destruc-
ton OF property and bloodshed. 1t,
therefore, must be apparent to all that
the present methods of preventing and
settling grievances between employer
tory, and quite frequently disastrous
to those directly involved and to the
public at large. It is. therefore, i'm
ly and diligently address itself to the
problem of ascertaining and removing,
II possible, the causes of these indus
trial disputes. To preserve peace is
but part of the problem. The
causes at the bottom of disorder must
eliminate them.
Early in our country's history in
dustries were small and industrial
competition much less keen than to-
employees and were on close, friendly
relations with their employer. There
agency, established specially to pre-
serve harmony and Insure fair deal
ing between the two. But time saw
sources. and out of this development
grew gigantic industries and large
labor-saving machinery, and the ever
increasing size of industries made a
very complex proposition out of what
had been very simple one, and tend
ed to push the employer further and
further away from the employe, and
the employe from the employer. Ger
tain conflicting purposes of employer
and employe clashed, bitterness de-
veloped and evidenced itself. from time
TO time, in strikes, boycotts, black
lists and lockouts. Colorado has ex
perienced all of these. Amid these
epochal changes there was developed
no intermediate agency to protect the
employer and employe from the ex-
cesses' of the other. Our own state
government acquiesced in the widen
ing breach and made but feeble pro-
test for the inestimable damage done
the state by these recurring and vio-
lent disputes.
The time has now come when Colo
rado must cease being merely mega
become positive and vital agency to
harmonize our antagonistic Industrial
forces; an agency to stand between
employer and employe and compel fair
dealing between chem. believe this
result can best be accomplished by the
establishment of an Industrial commits
sion charged with the power and duty
of administering laws now existing or
hereafter enacted concerning the rela-
ploye. Boards and bureaus now eX-
isting and designed to deal with GER
tain phases of this relationship lack CO.
ordination uniformity and a definite
plan. and should be abolished and
their powers and duties delegated to
the commission.
This commission should be given
broad, general powers 1t should have
power to administer and enforce laws
welfare of employees: to investigate and
prescribe what safety devices and 9TH
adapted to render the employees of ev-
cry department safe; to do all in its
power to promote the voluntary arbi-
tration, mediation and conciliation of
disputes between employers and en-
ployes, and to avoid the necessity of
resorting to strikes. lock outs. boy
colts. black lists determinations and
legal proceedings in matters of en-
ployment; to establish and conduct
free employment agencies and to do
all in its power to bring together EN-
ployers seeking employees and work
ers seeking employment; to devise and
adopt the most efficient means within
It's power to avoid unemployment and
TO prevent involuntary idleness; to pre-
vent distress following Involuntary
idleness: to publish Information relat-
ing to the work under its jurisdiction; I;
to subpoena witnesses and to examine
books.
Power to form an advisory board
board, composed of persons serving
without compensation and represent
ing the different interests affected by
able TO give valuable aid and sugges-
tlon TO the commission and tend to
minimize criticism of its rulings
10 addition to the power TO issue
and enforce general orders. the com
mission should have power to issue
special orders where particular or un-
usual circumstances would make n
general order work an unreasonable
Heretofore, our state government
bitter until finally violence occurred
The state troops We're then called out
An industr rial commission armed with
fun Information as to the exact con-
ditious In disturbed employment
with power Of mediation and concilia-
tion and offering inducement to arbi-
tration would In most cases he able
10 suggest a satisfact ory solution. In
case either side proved unfair, or
agreement could not he ~eached the
public would he In fun possession of
the facts This is the application of
the commission to a situation grown
acute.
its broad powers to decrease unem-
ployment. To compel safe places of en-
ploymeut. to enforce ~Nisting and fu-
ture laws concerning the relationship
OF employer ano employs would GER
tainly tend to diminish the present
Indn rInI unrest mud a hllsh cnn-