Denver labor bulletin., 1917-03-03

Tor the repeal OF the mOnSJrOuS stat
ute, these representatives have been
attacked viciously and their utterances
warped and twisted in an effort TO
discredit the entire labor movement
of the nation.
Chairman Lewis Insults Labor.
On Monday evening, February 26,
the joint committees on industrial re
lations of the senate and house met
in the house chamber to continue the
hearings on the repeal of the indus
trial commission law. A week prior
the first hearing was held.
Before these hearings were begun
it had been arranged between the leg
islative committees representing the
Colorado State Federation of Labor
and the Railroad Brotherhoods and
Chairman George Lewis of the senate
industrial relations committee, who,
by custom, becomes the chairman of
joint sessions of senate and house in
dustrial relations committees, that
representatives of labor should open
and close the discussion on the repeal
of the industrial commission law.
Repudiates Formal Pledge.
Representatives of labor having
opened the discussion on the repeal
at the first hearing, those opposing it
were heard at the second hearing, and,
according to agreement with Senator
Lewis, representatives of labor We're
to have an opportunity for rebuttal,
but the agreement was repudiated and
labor's voice stified.
Attorney L. Ward Bannister who
drafted the original industrial bill
opened the second hearing for the op-
position. His arguments, altho wholly
based upon the employers standpoint,
were courteous and in the main
except that his crit
icism of the utterances of labor's rep
resentatives were far-fetched and en-
shrouded with fine legalistic specious-
ness.
In his address covering one hour and
thirty minutes Mr.. Bannister regis
tered a note of apology for the pres
ent law. He was employed by former
Governor Carlson TO draft the original
bill introduced at a special session of
the legislature two years ago. 1t did
not contain the thirty-day notice
clause or other compulsory features.
These were written into the act by
Senators Lewis and Candlish, who
were a committee created by the sem
ate to redraft the industrial commits
sion and workmen's compensation bills
as they finally passed the legislature
at the special session.
Candlish's Filibuster Speech.
Senator Candlish, representing the
mining interests, was the employers
prima donna. He rambled for over
an hour in an attempt to answer the
arguments presented by labor for the
repeal. After having exhausted his
small storehouse of employers stock
phrases he devoted his attention TO be-
rating everyone who were not in ac-
cord with his views. With venom and
sarcasm he ridiculed and castigated
the officials of labor and frankly con-
fessed his part in the conspiracy
against labor two years ago when he
co-operated with Senator Lewis in re
drafting and having passed the in
famous industrial commission law.
Then he began to filibuster and talk
against time for the purpose of car
rying out the secret program which
had been arranged to deprive the rep
resentatives of labor of being heard
in rebuttal. as had been promised. On
and on he wandered in redundant
verbosity. waved the flag, slammed
labor as "Bohunks," eulogized the en-
ployer, saying that when a wage