Imperial Valley press., 1919-04-25
WHAT STATES
l. E G. ISLATURE
is ACHIEVING

The last three days have been days o
feverish excitement attendant upol
putting through in the RESPECTIVE
houses the various bills Orginatin.
therein. The time -honored custom
about 9 in the evening was fount
necessary in order TO get through
most of the work within the techni
cal day. Indeed the Assembly did no
actually adjourn until S:l5 in th
morning.
Tie governor has won his fight fo
economy. Following his message o
last week warning the Legislature
that it was running over the amount
of money available for expenditures
he issued another public statemen
yesterday morning on the same sub
ject. This time he was more spe
cific and most positively said tina
he would not hesitate to use the vet,
and in the event he did so the entir,
responsibility must rest upon the leg
preparations in tie direct face of of
ficial warning.
The amended automobile law haC
its last contest in the morning. Sen
atOr Harris moved to reconsider fol
the sole purpose of amending the
law by reducing the legal limit o.
speed from thirty-five miles an houl
to thirty. A spirited debate touch
ing upon the automobile accidents, the
difficulties of traffic officers anC
speed officers and the dangerous
character of the motor when reckless
+, ly driven, the motion to reconsider
was lost and the legal limit now re-
mains at thirty-five miles an hour.
i The bill, of course, is still to be
acted upon by the governor. The
next bill to come up that will arouse
something of conflict will be A. B
375, which deals with the subject OF
private employment agencies. The
feature of the bill that arouses the
most opposition is that limiting the
commissions to be charged by private
employment agencies to 10 per cent
of one months wages. The bill passed
| the Assembly by large majority. The
! Senate committee on capital and la
| Dor passed it out with the recon-
mendation that it "do not pass A
lively debate is looked for on the
floor
Friday night the Judiciary commit
tee of the Assembly will take up two
of the Workmens Compensation bills,
which have already passed the Senate.
The salient features of the bills are
the provisions of one reducing the
waiting period from ten to seven days.
The waiting period is that period of
time which elapses after a man is in
jured before his compensation begins
to run. The other bill provides for
what is termed Vocational Rehibili-
tation" A fund is provided for in
the following manner. In the case of
workmen being killed in industry,
without leaving any dependents, the
employer or his surety company is TO
Fay to the Accident Commission $3.50
for vocational rehabilitation purposes.
The moneys thus collected are to be
used by the commission for the pur-
pose of aiding workmen, who have
been injured, to such an extent that
they cannot no longer follow their
original trade or calling, acquire new
trade which their injured condition
will enable them to pursue.
For instance, a miner, losing his
eyesight through blasting, would be
taught to read by the blind system.
He would also be taught weaving or
could support himself. A carpenter
losing an arm would be equipped with
a modern artificial limb and taught
tie use of it so that he might resume
his trade A man losing a leg or
both legs would be likewise equipped
with physical appliances and, if need
be, taught some calling requiring the
use only of his hands. The theory OF
the performance is that followed by
the European government in restoring
TO industrial activities the wounded
and crippled soldiers or the European
battlefield. The proponents of the
measure likewise claim that it will
serve to wipe out a present discrimi-
nation against married men. AT pres
ent an employer carries larger risk
by employing married man because
+ho married man has legal depen-
Iii, than he would if he employed
a single man who had none. The
opposition to the bill is mainly upon
the following grounds: That it i'm
poses upon the California employer
an additional financial burden, which
is not borne by the employer OF
neighbcring states, and therefore puts
him at a disadvantage in the natural
competition of business. The second
ground of opposition is: That the ex-
pense of rehabiltating injured men
should not be borne by a fund, the
main contributions to which come
from employers fer whom the injured
man never worked.
The famdes Trading Stamp bill is
row on the Assembly files for final
Iassage. No bill has provoked more
political discussion than this one. 1t
is largely supported by the various;
grocers' associations of the state and
/ seeks to prevent the giving of free
COUPONS or trading stamps in connec-
ton with the sale of goods. There
are active lobbies for and against the
ILL, but the indications are strongly
that the bill will pass the Assembly
YANK SUPPLIES
SAVING PEOPLE