Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1925-01-23
LEGISLATURE GETS
DOWN TO WORK
Drift Of Sentiment Is Against
the Federal Child Labor
Amendment.

IuTe, dIteT giving llb llTsl WIEN VII
reservedly to the task of preliminary
organization and to the ceremonies
that go with a change of administra
ton, got down to work Monday. The
child labor amendment to the federal
constitution was pushed to the fore In
both houses this week, the friends Of
the measure launching an uphill fight
to overcome the drift Of sentiment
away from the amendment which op
ponents claim has been running for
the past two months and which gained
a fresh impetus when Governor Ro
land Fl. Hartley severely criticised the
measure in his inaugural address.
A women's lobby is the most active
force in favor of the amendment; the
labor lobby that was expected to insist
upon ratification did not materlalize
last week and was not, measurably
strengthened when the second week
opened. Thus far the child labor
amendment has been discussed dis
passionately and final action on the
measure is not expected to leave any
ill-effect upon the lawmakers.
Road Legislation Studied.
Beginning to come to the fore is
road legislation. The recommendation
of Governor Hartley in his inaugural
address that the state appropriations
be limited to not more than $5,000,000
annually and that money be taken
from the gas tax receipts to reimburse
the counties for the loss of the III.
mill permanent fund tax levy which
he proposed to repeal has been sinking
home for almost a week. Because
child labor discussions had started and
the issue was coming up for imme.
diate consideration, the governors ref.
erence to the constitutional amend.
ment attracted most of the attention
last week, but now the legislators are
beginning to declare openly that, after
all, their constituents are vitality In
terested in roads and the legislature is
turning its attention to study of Just
how far s5,OOO,0OO a year could be
stretched During 1924 the states
highway expenditures amounted to ST..
623,692, and official estimates show
that the gas tax and automobile tax,
as now levied, would yield not less
than S7,500,000 a year for the coming
biennium. Last years 1h-mill per.
manent highway fund levy yielded ap.
proximately s1,7000OO. The legisla.
ture this week began considering seri.
ously whether it should deduct the
equivalent of the permanent highway
fund levy, or s1,7OO,0OO year, from
the gas and motor vehicle license fund
Highway Conference Held.
The views of the state highway com,
mittee, consisting of the governor,
treasurer and auditor, on the road con.
struction program have not been trans.
mitted to the legislature. Two of the
members of this committee, Governor
Hartley and Treasurer Potts, are new
to the board and the membership held
its first conference last Friday.
Among the membership of the roads
and bridges committees of the two
houses there is an attitude of anxious
waiting to determine whether the new
highway committee will pare down the
program outlined or tentatively sug.
gested by its predecessor to meet the
suggestion of limiting highway ex
penditures to $5,00Q,OO0 year.
Appropriations Committees Function
The appropriations committees of
both houses have begun functioning
A number of state officials have ex.
planned their needs to the committee
as whole and subcommittee have
been named to make personal investi
cations of the departments. There is
general tendency to ask more money
However, the outstanding feature of
the preliminary work of appropria
lions committees Is the fact that sen.
timent is rapidly crystallizing in favor
of working out some plan for an in.
telligent building program for the
state institutions. 1t is conceded III
both senate and house committees
that some of the overcrowded institu-
lions have reached stage where i'm.
mediate building relief is imperative.
Big delegations of lawmakers who on
Saturday visited the boys training
school at Chehalis where more than
so boys have been sleeping in tents
even during the bitter cold of the pres
ent winter returned to Olympia this
week strongly impressed by the fact
that earlier legislatures neglected that
institution. In an effort to learn by
first hand inquiry whether similar
overcrowding exists at the insane asy-
lums, special visiting parties are being
organized to inspect the west side asy.
Inns Mt Fort Stejlaconm aud Sadrc