The Parma herald. (Parma, Idaho) 1903-1917, 1917-03-08

snip purchase bill, the Adamson eight
hour railroad law, child labor law. q
measure to forbid the immigration Of
illlterate allSas, rural credits bill. Z
vocational educational bill and an act
reorganizing the government of Porto
Rico and extending citizenship to the
islanders.
The ship purchase bill established
a government shipping board to SUI
pervise shipping matters generally. 1t
appropriated $5O,OOOO00 to be OBJ
tanned from the sale of Panama canal
bonds for the purchase or construction
of ships to be leased to private indi-
yiduals in an effort to restore the
American merchant marine.
The Adamson eight-hour railroad
law was enacted on the eve of ad-
1Journment of the first session of the
last congress. The enactment of
the measure prevented a nation
wide railroad strike. 1t, however.
has never become effective. Be
tween the time of it's enactment and
the time for the commencement of its
operation, January last, the constitu-
tionality of the measure was chal-
lenged by the railroads, and the whole
matter Is now pending in the Supreme
court.
Supplemental railroad legislation,
proposed by President Wilson in his
annual message last December, failed
of enactment. This legislation would
have provided for the prevention of
strikes by compulsory legislation. 1t
was heartily opposed by all of the
bodies of organized labor which had
previously sought the eight-hour rail-
road law.
Child Labor and immigration.
The child labor law barred from in
aterstate commerce all products of chill
dren under sixteen years of age in
mines or of children under fourteen in
factories.
The passage of the immigration bill
with its literacy test was accomplished
over President Wilson's second veto.
The literacy feature had been a
subject of controversy between the ex-
ecutive and legislative branches of the
government for the past twenty years.
Presidents Taft and Cleveland both We
tOed immigration measures because
they carried the literacy feature,
which all three presidents thought was
not a proper measure of the fitness of
aliens for admission to the United
States.
The federal farm-lOan act, commonly
called the rural-credits bill, created
u federal land banks with $750,O0O
capital each. The bill provides a sys-
TEN whereby loans may be made to
farmers for productive purposes
through national farm-loan associa-
tons. 1t will meet more particularly
the needs of agriculturists in the West
and South.
Under the vocational educational act
the federal government on a gradually
scale covers every state ap-
preparation dollar for dollar for secOn-'
dairy school instruction in agriculture
and the mechanical and Industrial arts.
On the eve of adjournment congress
passed the pOst-Office appropriation
bill, with an amendment making bone
dry" all states having prohibitOry laws.
This measure was introduced in the
senate by Senator Reed of Missouri.
Its unexpected enactment had the eff
feet of absolutely prohibiting the ship
ment in interstate commerce of intoxi-
cants into states or territories which
forbid the manufacture or sale of
liquor.
1t also closes the mails to all liquor
including newspaper ad-
vertising. Neither can letters solicit
ing liquor orders be carried in the
mails.
Sixteen Senators Retire.
Sixteen senators have now discarded
their togas and preixed their titles
with Eek" This disturbance of per.
sonnet reduces but does not upset the
Democratic control of the upper house.
The Democratic. majority of 16 is cut
TO u, leaving out of consideration such
and senators-elect as La Fol
cite. Hiram Johnson, PoindeXter and
Norris. officially classed as Republic
ans but not always voting according to
classification.
Among the nationally known sena-
.ors now retired to private life are
Clarence D. Clark of Wyoming, who
mas served in the senate continuously
since January %. 1895; Moses E. CIapp
If Minnesota, one of the original Pro-
Luke Lea of Tennessee, now
only thirty-seven years old, known as
the Baby Senator" James E. MARITIME
NJ New Jersey, who acquired fame
early in his senatorial career by his
stanch defense of applejack as a bev-
arage. and John w. Kern of Indiana,
who has been Democratic leader of the
senate.
Needing no introduction" among the
new senators are Hiram Johnson of
California, Frank B. Kellogg, trust
Duster." of Minnesota, and Philander
.. Knox of Pennsylvania. Unlike the
rest of the senators-elect, their repu-
-ations are made ;" all they need to do
IS to Give up to EN-"