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Show SENATE D EFESTS PICKETJEPEflL Annulment of Statute Is Quashed by Lack of Single Vote. Picketing was a subject written large on the calendars of both house and senate of the Utah state legislature during their closing sessions yesterday. The practice was discussed at length, not only on the floors of both houses, but in the galleries, which, in the morning morn-ing were filled with approximately one y thousand shopmen from the Denver & '.J, Rio Grande and Oregou Short Line railroads, who gaye physical evidence of their disapproval of any attempt to amend the existing law. The proposed annulment of the statute stat-ute went only as far as the senate, where a bill to repeal a soction of the present law was defeated for lack of a single vote necessary for the con-, stitutional majority of ten. The closeness close-ness of the vote indicated the divergence diver-gence of opinion in the senate regarding regard-ing the efficacy of the present law. A large part of the objection voiced to a repeal of the law was based on the claim that picketing would go on whether the law were repealed or not, and that picketing had often been the subject of court decision in which the right was upheld. Senator Olson, often the spokesman for the labor -interests, led the fight against the bill, citing judicial authorities authori-ties for the opinion that picketing was a right which' the state legislature . .could hardly abridge, and stating that to repeal the law now on the books would only breed trouble. Senator J. W. McKinney was equally vehement in his statements concerning the law on 1he subject, holding that the remedy of such conditions as complained com-plained of in the memorials from commercial com-mercial and civic bodies is to be looked for in the proper performance of their duties by the police. He referred to the Labor day trouble before a restaurant res-taurant and said in effect that the police had failed to exercise their functions func-tions as peace officers and by throwing throw-ing the blame for the affair on the existing ex-isting law had sought to "get away from the possible political effects." He added that to repeal the measure would be simply to give agitators fuel for inflammatory attacks on the state government in a time when there is already too much unrest, j-. Senator Quince Kimball, who intro- v,, duced the bill, said that he did so with . the hope of casting oil on the troubled , waters of the day. He asserted that, there was nothing in his measure to ' abridge free action. A petition with thirty feet of signatures sig-natures attached was presented to the I : ; senate from the delegation of union men in protest against repeal of the law. The protest was formally ' presented pre-sented to Governor Bamberger when the delegation' reached the capitol, and referred re-ferred by the. governor to the senate. In the house, Representative R. E. Currie started a commotion in the galleries gal-leries with members of the labor delegation dele-gation when he denounced the presence on the floor of some policemen, and demanded to know why they were there. When he made this move the galleries began to applaud, but were quickly quieted by Representative Currie himself. him-self. He never got an answer to his question to the policemen, for Representative Repre-sentative Grace Stratton Airey denied his right to put visitors on the witness stand. .' With a dozen members on their feet at the time, endeavoring to get the attention of the speaker, the confusion confu-sion was suddenly ended by a motion to adjourn. Governor Bamberger, who had greeted the delegation, said afterwards that he had no knowledge of the presence of policemen, nor did he consider them necessary under the circumstances, be-living be-living that the delegation of working-men working-men had the privilege of attending the legislative session in common with all other citizens. Representative Currie made some remarks re-marks during his stormv speech concerning con-cerning "white collar I. W. W.'s". sent to urge the repeal of the picket law by the Commercial club and other civic bodies. Resentment against the action of the representative was strong among other members of the house and for a time it seemed possible that some action might be taken. But the affair was smoothed over and with the refusal of the senate, to repeal the measure, the issue was ended. |