The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1917-03-30

III OO, lOli'
of the 1915 session. The people had
paid little attention to the material
which they sent to the legislature.
1t is now 10 days since the legislature
adjourned. That ought to be suffi-
cient time for the rough corners to
wear off, and | feel that | can look
back and calmly survey what was
done by the body-only God forgive
me for looking back, when there is
so much in the future that might be
looked forward to. But, looking back,
am sure that we received more from
the legislature than we had any
right to expect.
We had no right to expect any
thing from the legislature until we
make some effort to send forward
looking men to represent US in that
body. Only a handful of the men
elected to the 1917 session of the
legislature were men of vision
All others were there as the repre-
sentatives of the interests that eX-
plot labor-labor of the mill, the
shop, the mine, the forest and the
farm. They were the type of men
who looked to the interests of the
taxpayer with miserly exactitude in
all matters of public expenditure for
human betterment, but threw the flood
gates of extravaganza wide open to
every demand for appropriations for
other purposes.
They were the type of men who
could spend hours Grating over the
"welfare of dogs" pass an appropria-
tion for an armory, and although it
was the next bill on the calendar,
pass up the needy children of the
state for the want of five minutes
time in which to consider the bill to
make necessary amendments to the
mothers pension law.
They could not see the need of such
health and safety measures as the
plumbing inspection and boiler in
spection laws, yet could force through
with little effort law to extermin-
ate the "jitneys" of the state, in the
face of the fact that the "jitney" bus
mess is already sufficiently regulat-
ed by ordinance in the cities in which
they operate. Governor Lister came
to the rescue of the jitney business by
ivetoing this bill, which was introduced
and lobbied through by the traction
companies, but the refusal of the leg
islature to pass reasonable and just
bonding law may yet work great hard
ship upon those who are engaged in
the business of motor traffic.
The fact that this legislature did
not differ greatly from the notorious
session of 1915, was pretty well de-
monstrated by the way in which SEN
ator Palmer, the man of one idea, put
through his so-called criminal syndi-
calist" bill. Palmer hoped to strike
the same sort of blow at the labor
unions of the state by the enactment
of this bill as he did with his "anti-
picketing" bill of the former session.
He was cunning enough to do it by
striking through the unpopular |. w.
w. at whose practices the bill is al
LEGGED to aim. 1t worked like a charm,
for after reading from an |. w. w.
song ribald parody on the popular
hymn, Coward Christian Soldiers"
about everybody got excited and jam
med the bill through, even refusing to
give calm consideration to amend
ments that were proposed to make the
bill reasonable and strike from it its
dangerous and drastic features. 1t is
not safe to trust the liberties of the
people to body of men who cannot
dispassionately consider matters of
Legislation.
The many special labor bills were
fairly and ably presented to the legis-
lators by special delegations repre-
senting the unions most directly in
terested. The plumbers inspection
law, the boiler inspection law, the
BARRIERS license bill, the wo-platoon
system for firemen, and the twice-a-
month payday law, were all ably
presented by delegations who work
ed faithfully for their enactment, yet
not one of these bills We're enacted.
The twice-a-month payday bill, which
was presented by the railroad broth
erhoods, got little further than any
of the others. This bill passed the
senate by a safe majority, but miss
ed in the house by two votes. The
railroad boys then got busy and Sc
cured pledge of sufficient votes to
pass the bill on reconsideration, but
in tho r,1aaptiooo apOuub of tho man,