Imperial Valley press., 1921-03-26
UNIONS AND
j IL | 7 les
WILL TAKE
NOTICE
Legislative Measures Intro
duced That Are Calculat-
ed to Make Employers and
Employees Get Busy AT
Sacramento.
Especial to The Press

SACRAMENTO, March 26.-About
the time the legislature gets every
thing before it and sees what is neces-
sary to be done before settling down
into the long home stretch, somebody
throws a metaphorical monkey wrench
into the machinery Or another spoke
in the wheel, or something that sort of
disarranges things.
The "wets" and the "drys" have
been engaged in a wordy battle for
the last two or three legislative days
1t is over the. two resolutions intro
duced in the assembly having reference
to the national prohibition amend
amendment, and increasing the alco-
holic content in beer and wines; from
one and One-quarter per cent in beer
to five per cent, and in wines to Is
per cent. Crittenden of San Joaquin
declared himself yesterday against
frittering away the time of the law
makers in a resolution having to do
with the national constitutional amend
ment He declared it a silly waste of
time.
Then there is senate bill No. $50,
introduced by bennett of Stanislaus
and referred to the committee on pub
lie utilities. 1t confers authority on
the railroad commission to fix the
wages and salaries to be paid by all
public utilities and other corporations
under the jurisdiction of the commits
sion. A hurried reading of the bill
gives one the impression that such
utilities, under the proposed act, will
come under the complete control, and
practically operation by the state,
regulating as it does, not only the
rates to be charged, but the number,
wages and salaries of employees.
Some discussion has been indulged in
as to Senator Dennett's object in in
Producing such measure. 1t is re-
ferred by some as "soviet" provi
sion. This discussion is occasioned by
the fact that Senator bennett is an old
time American and comes from a long
line of American ancestors. The gen
eral impression seems to be that it is
not his intention to press the bill, but
it is introduced for the purpose of
making the utility corporations "sit
up and take notice" of future possibil-
tiles.
Then there is Assembly bill No.
1899 just introduced by Hurley of Ala
media county, and referred to the COM
mittee on labor and capital. The bill
declares that "any person, firm, cor
poration or copartnership who shall
employ or cause to be employed any
other person, firm. corporation or CO.
partnership for the purpose of join
ing or entering into any union of
workingmen for the purpose of secur
ing knowledge of their activities on
trade union matters, or for the pur
pose of securing knowledge of the ac
tivities of any individual member there
of or for the purpose of fomenting
trouble or strife among the members
of such union or for the purpose of
agitating the members of such union
to commit offenses against the pub
lie peace shall be guilty of misde-
meanor." The act also provides that
violation shall be punishable by fine
and Imprisonment. There is no use in
camouflaging the situation. People
generally have an idea that every pub
lie industry having a large number of
people employed must keep itself in
formed of the intentions of such en-
ployees affecting the industry. They
want to know in advance if strike
is in prospect, and not wait for in
stance, until tomorrow morning when
no employees come on the job, ma
chinery is idle and the entire industry
temporarily paralyzed. AS for that
part of the section referring to the
employing Of person or persons for