Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1921-05-04
LECISLA TIVE R RESULTS
ACHIEVED BY WOMEN

ACHIEVED By WOMEN
Council Of Minnesota League Secures
Passage Of Impor talt Legislation
At 1921 Session
The record of legislative achieve
ment for the session of 1921 of the
Legislative Council Of the Minnesota
League of Women Voters is, on the.
whole, gratifying. The Council did not
get all the measures it went out for
but it accomplished one or two things
not contemplated in its program and
actually did pass several important
bills The record of bills passed reads
as follows: Bill for an increase in the
maximum allowed under the mothers
pension law; three bills making women
eligible for jury service; a bill regu-
lating the street trades of children un-
|dertaken with the State Federated
Clubs; the bill for the redistribution
Of state aid to schools; a bill for an
amendment to the state school attend
ance law; maternity and infancy bill
to accept the provisions of the Shep-
pard- Towner bill now before Congress.
The bill for S-hOur day and 4S-hOur
week for women in industry was final
" amended in both houses to a 56-hOur
week but was passed in the house so
late on the last night of the session
that there was not time to substitute
it in the senate and it was lost by a
fuke at the very last moment Of the
session in the same hour that saw vic
tory for the bitterly fought for increase
in the mothers pension.
Interim Commission
One Of the keen disappOintments of
the session was the mutilation Of the
Important State Aid School Bill but
through the untiring efforts Of Mrs.
Andreas LELAND and Miss Marguerite
Wells in cooperation with Speaker
Nolan and Lieutenant GOVERNOR Louis
Collins resolution was passed by
both houses providing for an interim
commission in both house and senate
to study the school situation of the
state The commission, instead of be-
ing selected from school men and eX-
.perts is to be appointed solely from
the two houses of the legislature and
the range Of the investigation will in
clude the public schools of the state
that are within the scope of state aid,
the Teachers Colleges, formerly called
Normal schools, and the State Univer-
sity. The commission will investigate
the action Of other states in regard to
these institutions, and will report early
III the session Of 1923 The appoint
ment of this commission is counted by
the League Of Women Voters one of the
signal successes Of it's work at the leg
islature and the women active in Sc
curing it were more than pleased by
the cooperation offered by men In both
houses interested in the educa tional
problems Of the state.
Three Jury Bills
When the amendment to the existing
state law regarding the service OF
jurors was contemplated it was thought
that one bill would cover the matter
of admitting the service of women
jurors but at the advice of the Judiciary
committees Of both houses it was deem
ed necessary to introduce other bills IN
regard to the appointment of a woman
bailiff and bill for special exemptions
for women jurors. The latter bill
proved to be the main bone of conten-
ton and amendments were added to
the existing exemptions for jurors per-
hitting the exempting Of nurses and
mothers needed for the care Of small
children These were finally amended
on the floor of the senate to read ito.
be excused at the discretion of the
court and SO accepted by the house.
In this form the three bills were pass,
cd. But they entailed more time and
detail than was anticipated. IN the
rural districts the women jurors will
probably be chosen from the voters
lists as are men. But i'll the cities the
custom has been to call jurors from
the directory and the directory does,
not contain the names of women except
as independent hOusehOlders and bust
ness women. The city judges are III a
.quandary as to how to get the eligible
Womans names but it is suggested by.
the Attorney General that the simple
method will be the using of voters lists
which now hold largely the names of
women. The League of Women " ters
is not in sympathy with submitting to
the judges lists of picked women for
jury service. as has been suggested.
That method is not considered demo-
cratic or fair by the League.
Mothers Pension
Up to the time of adjournment
neither house nor senate committees
on appropriat tons had made any ap-
preparation for the payment of the
states third of the mothers allowances