The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-08-13
VERMONT LABOR MEN
WANT MANY CHANGES
Ask Congress to Recognize Irish Re
public Want Representatives
On State Boards.
Especial to The Reformer.l

MONTPELIER, VT, Aug. l3.
A resolution endorsing the trolley
strike at Burlington was introduced at
today's session of the Vermont branch
of the American Federation of Labor in
session here, also resolutions asking
congress to recognize the Irish republic
and favoring amendment to the work
mems compensation law.
Lieut. Governor Mason S. Stone ad
dressed the convention this afternoon.
The executive committee has made
several recommendations which are
very interesting to the political status
in Vermont. They include a demand
that representatives of labor be made
members of the board of control, state
board of health, the board of trustees
! Of the state university and all other
| arpontive state commissions where
| labor is not now represented. They
demand that the eight hour day be es
:, tablished further that system of
land taxation be inaugurated so that
land selling for speculative purposes
will bear a larger share of the burden
| They stand firmly for public ownership
of public utilities and demand the re
| tention by the federal government OF
the railroads, express and telegraph
companies.
They insist that there shall be nc
curtailment in the progressive and hui
manitaran work of our state govern
ment and that reactionary measures
will not be permitted to become laws
on the statute book.
The resolution committee asked Gov
Clement to appoint a commission Il
investigate the high cost of living;
to convene a reconstruction convention
to determine the relation between til
employers and employees; favoring the
league of nations and protest to tbs
members Of congress IRON Vernon,
against the high cost of living.
The following report of the legisla
tive committee of the Vermont brancl
Of the federation of labor has jus
been made public
.'The legislature of 1919 may b,
classed as the most reactiOnary bod,
that has represented Vermont in tn
past 20 years in so far as the welfar
Of the workers is concerned. 1t wa
indeed no fault of some of our Iegis
lators that even our present labor law
were allowed to remain on the stat
books It took considerable of the tim
money and patience of 'ahor's r"nre
sentatives to convey to those reaction
aries the fact that they were pIaym
with fire and that any work undOne b
them would help to stir the flame o
unrest which has been held in abeyanc
during the war period. True, we ha
few friends who recognized the fac
that. we deserved as much attentio
as cattle pigs and fish, but look ovt
your improved laws and you Will fin
that outside of $4,000 voted to indi.
ent tuberculosis patients and $4,000
to hospitals, $4,000 has been set asiC
to carry out the work of the commi
sioner of industries for the next tN
years. Hence it does not take pc
son gifted with much foresight to ;,
that the workmen 5 compensation al
factory inspection departments w
function only in proportion to the a
preparation provided by the legislator
The child labor law was attacked al
those interested succeeded in amendil
+ the present law so that canning COZ
- panies of Vermont could 'can roul
dollars out of their labor. Thu
could never get Gov. Graham to sis
such bill as that.
:" A measure to provide for improv
conditions in the granite industry al
especially relating to the question
removing dust has been referred