Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1916-01-28
FOUR INITIATIVE MEASURES
State Federation of Labor, the State
Grange and Farmers Union Will
Submit Four Bills to People.

Fred Hudson and AL Galloway, rep
resented the local Trades Council at
the North Yakima convention of the
State Federation of Labor last week
They will report to the Council at it's
first meeting in February, as follows:
The convention of the State FEEDER
alton in North Yakima, January IT
to 22 was successful meeting,
judged by the earnestness noticeable
| in the conduct of all the business
of the convention. The sessions
opened promptly on the hour set, and
the deliberations proceeded steadily
throughout the day. An extra ses-
sion was held Thursday night, in
order to clean up the business.
About one hundred and fifteen del
egates were present. The delegation
of each city contained many familiar
faces, SO there was no hitch in the
order of business, the different prop
ositions being taken up and disposed
of with the regularity that character
! ICES meeting Of this central body.
A number of speakers addressed
the convention during the week. OF
these was B. Kegley, master of the
Washington State Grange; Mrs. Reed,
vocational instructor in the Seattle
public schools; President Suzzallo of
the State University; Fraternal Dele
gate Johnson of the Canadian Trades
and Labor Congress, and H. L..
Hughes, legislative agent of the Fed
Grafton. Master Kegley expressed
entire agreement Of the Grange with
the aims and purposes of the State
Federation, and assured the delegates
that there would be no faltering on
the part of the Grange in CO.
operation with the Federation in
every phase of the progressive work
which the organizations were seeking
to promote.
Mrs. Reed gave an outline of the
work in which she was engaged, and
eulogized the labor movement for the
noble work which it was carrying for
ward. Her address was received by
the convention with manifest ap-
prevail.
Fraternal Delegate Johnson, in ad-
dition to presenting fraternal greet
ings from the British Columbia Fed
Grafton, gave an account of the hard
conditions which the war and cOnse-
quent slump in business, had forced
upon trades unionists of Canada.
President Suzzallo's subject was
Vocational Training in the schools,
and in his talk he emphasized the
changes in methods of instruction
which had taken place within the
century. One illustration was that in
the olden time teachers of spelling
attempted to cram the scholar with a
vocabulary of 1000 words, while to-
day 1000 words was considered more
than sufficient for every purpose. The
time heretofore wasted in this way
was now given to more essential
things-to efforts toward finding the
proper vocation of the student. A
bureau of industrial research at the
State University has for its purpose a
survey of the Industrial field in an
attempt to equalize the pressure upon
industry.
About 70 propositions were con-
sidered by the convention. The most
important committee - legislative -
made its report Thursday evening
the last session of the convention.
This committee detailed the action OF
the Joint legislative forces in forcing
referendum upon number of
laws passed by the last legislature
which they considered vicious, and
submitted to the convention for ap-
proval four initiative bills-a nom
partisan primary law, first aid law,
public utilities law, and tax reform
bill. The first aid law may be con-
sidered a Federation measure, the
tax reform bill Grange measure, the
public utilities bill measure of first
importance to city jewellers. and the
non-partisan ballot law appealing to
the progressive element among all
classes of citizens.
The first aid bill, briefly, taxes the
industry for first aid care of its in
jured workmen and essays to pre-
vent the grating Of the employe
through the medium Of hospital fees,
which are arbitrarily withheld from
the workers pay check by the en-
ployer under the system now IN
vogue. The tax reform bill aims to
equalize the burdens of taxation by
lowering the tax on improved land
and personal property and adding to
the tax on natural resources, such as
fish, standing timber, coal and water
power resources. The utilities bill
places control of public utilities In
the hands of the municipalities which
charter them and is measure alter
native to the certificate of necessity
law which has been forced to a REFER
endum of the electors of the state.
The non-partisan primary bill pro-
vides for a blanket primary ballot.
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