The Connecticut labor news., 1922-02-17

Crowther, penalizes by fine or i'm prisonment, or both, the giving of contracts for railroad repair work or for equipment by any manager or purchasing agent of railroad who est in the firm or corporation to whom the contract IS let, except that
 it be to the lowest bidder after fair competitive bidding. The fact is the the cost of production in the railroad shops, and with the guarantee given to the railroads of per cent. the extra cost of the contract price will be an additional burden to meet the 6 per cent. interest guarantee. It IS charged and not denied that directors and large stockholders in the railroad companies are also interested in the contract shops.
 Retirement.-H. R. 6433, by Rep resentative Maloney, Massachusetts, provides for increasing the annuities of Federal employees placed on the retired list. 5. 28o3, by Senator Ster- ling, provides for the extension of re- tiremcnt pensions to Federal em ployes in independent establishments not within any government depart ment.
 U. S. Employment Service.-Al- though the reactionary element i'll Congress is opposed to appropriating funds for the United States employ ment service there are number of progressive members who believe in the necessity for it's support. Every opportunity is taken by them to sub init an amendment providing for proper appropriation. While H. R. o458 providing for the relief of the starving people of Russia, was under consideration an amendment was offered by Senator Ashurt appropri- ating $Ioo,ooo for the unemployment service. This was approved by the Senate and the bill passed. But the amendmnet was stricken out by the conference committee.
 Monthly Labor Review.-Members of Congress who are supporting II. R. 0z26, by MT. Johnson, of Wash ington, apparently have not read the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The bill pro- poses to limit the size of publications of any department of the government to 48 pages and for strict censor ship of anything printed in them. For many years the Monthly Labor Re view has been of incalculable beneht to the people of our country because of it's publication of facts that 1t IS necessary to know. Not only IS 1t intended to censor all matter publish ed in the Monthly Labor Review but the farmers of our country are to be prevented from obtaining necessary information affecting that industry from publications of the Department of Agriculture.
 Supreme Court Decisions.-So much indignation has been aroused by the methods of deciding questions by the Supreme Court that a bill (H. R. o755) was introduced January by Representative McSwain regulating the procedure of that body. It pro- vides that no state law can be held unconstitutional unless. at least seven members of the said court concur in the opinion. The American Fedora ton of Labor has declared that the Supreme Court has no legal power vested in it and no right to decide unconstitutional and invalid any law passed by any state within the union which in itself is not in contraven- ton of a Republican form of gov ernment.
 Immigration.-An immigration law must be enacted at this session to take the place of the per cent. act