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Show rrious educator to do his "damdest" I for the university but there are many J who er.vy his efficiency. He may be seen almost every cay in conference with those interested in educational matters. The first and only real "lobby" to visit the capitol thus far and to get on a legislative floor was a group of women leaders working in the interest inter-est of the child labor resolution. Most of them are prominent figures in feminine movements throughout the state. They did a good job, but admitted it was a tight squeeze too tight to be comfortable. The old-time lobbyist is noticeable by his absence at the current legislative legis-lative sessisn. He may be heard after session hours but he's rarely seen nowadays in action near the legislative chamber. It's the bussiest and hardest working work-ing legislature Utah has ever seen in the estimation of many who have had close-up views cf past lawmaking lawmak-ing bodies at work and one prone to speed up matters to a great degree. de-gree. Anent this point of speed it behooves be-hooves those having an interest in any specific legislation to "shake a leg" if they desire to be heard by committees or individual legislators. They may wake up to find their pet measures out of committee and up for floor consideration before the shaking is well under way. It's a legislature for early birds only. GRIST FROM THE LEGISLATIVE HOPPER Some legislators saw in the records of the public utilities commission offered of-fered as a house exhibit a sort of lefthanded bid by Frank Csler, commission com-mission secretary, for appointment as a commission member . . . refusal of the house to vote on a bill pensioning pen-sioning employes of the Utah State hospital is viewed as an inclination by many legislators to await federal government action on social security measures before going far along these lines here . . . Senator Wilf ord Day's suggestion that automobile speedometers be equipped with a device de-vice to sing "Nearer My God to Thee" on hitting a fixed high speed limit was greeted with acclaim by many members . . . Talking again of speed several senators surprised folks by demands for increasing the motor vehicle speed limit. Some advocated removing the limit entirely. entire-ly. The more conservative gave way to a five-mile increase. Republican senators voted muohly last week with their Bourbon colleagues. col-leagues. Then even promised hearty support for at least one constitutional constitution-al amendment if it came bef ore the people the homestead tax exemption exemp-tion resolution. Representative Will R. Holmes and Daniel Mitchell swung the pendulum in favor of Utah ratification of the proposed child labor amendment by changing their nay votes to aye on the reconsideration recon-sideration balloting . . . Speaker Walter K. Granger continues adding to his reputation of being the most popular speaker the house has had. Senatorial President Maw is going great guns too. . . . House and senate sen-ate galleries continue to be well filled. fill-ed. Folks are interested in what is going on at the capitol. i to meat products; the beets without sugar mills to make beet sugar; the wheat without flour mills to grind it into the stuff that makes the staff of life, and of fruits and surplus crops without the canneries to bring them via the canned route to the tables of consumers? When they talk of the taxes that may put them out of business through inability to meet competitive competi-tive outside prices the industrialists include proposed changes in the state workmen's compensation law that, in their opinion, would not only add to production costs materially, but prevent them borrowing money because be-cause a mortgage taken to secure a loan could be readily wiped out through awards by a commission fearing no judicial review of its find- , ings or reversal of its award decrees. Legislators opposed to overbur- . dening industry with excessive taxation taxa-tion point to the fact that it is generally gen-erally if not always the consumer consum-er who bears the burden in increased increas-ed prices for goods. But, they ask, what if the price increases following overloading of overhead forces the Utah manufacturer to charge more for his "pickles" than the price paid by buyers for the out-of-state maker's mak-er's goods. They declare that the only answer is for the Utahn to close up shop. And when he goes out of business he goes far to take the farmer and stock grower with him. That the Peterson bill limiting the power of the governor in calling out the state militia in the event of riots or disorders caused by labor troubles trou-bles is unconstitutional was the belief be-lief expressed by Adjustant General W. G. William in a hearing on the measure before the house committee on military affairs. According to the general, -the governor gov-ernor uses only the soverign power of the state when he calls out the national guard to preserve order in the event that civil authorities have thoroughly demonstrated their inability in-ability to do so. He contends that under the state constitution the chief executive must do this just as much in the case of riots and the like caused by labor troubles as in any other trouble-creating field. Governor Williams declared that Govemar Henry H. Blood, military authorities and everybody else connected con-nected with state governmental affairs, af-fairs, desire in all trouble instances that the civil authorities handle the situation take care of their own difficulties and that only as a last resort should the vested power of the state be called upon to quell disorders. dis-orders. But says the man behind the Utah guns the governor must, under the constitution preserve law and order under any and 'all conditions. There can be no differentiation classifying labor troubles as exceptions. Guess whom some of the legislature legisla-ture class as- the most adroit and successful of those legislative hall visitors who come seeking this or that for the institutions they represent. repre-sent. Dr. George Thomas, A. B., Ph. D, president of the University of Utah, is the answer. He's voted the king bee of all the go-getters the very last word in winning over aherents to the cause of more of this and that for the institution on the hill. None gainsay the right of the illus- Thc far-flung and intensive agitation agita-tion throughout Utah during the past two j oars or more for reductions reduc-tions in taxation especially as it affects the "little fellow" is being reflected dally in regular sessions of the twenty-five legislature and In committee meetings, open and closed. Indeed, the whole trend of current legislation thus far has been in favor fav-or of the "small gentleman" as against the "higher bracketed gentry." gen-try." It reached an early near-climax in the speedy and unanimous adoption by the senate of a joint resolution providing an opportunity for the electorate to vote at the next general election on a constitutional amendment exempting homesteads up to $2000 from taxation. A vote of approval would be considered a mandate for the next legislature to enact the exemption into law and thus vitally affect the state's tax system. In many other matters large and small the legislative guideposts seem to point to a lawmaking road labeled "This way to lighten the burdens bur-dens of the little fellow." Just who will shoulder the burdens to be lifted from the aforesaid small home and farm owner is as yet to be determined deter-mined by the travelers along the road. Many legislators backed' by back homers feel that too much of the load should not be shifted to industry, more particularly that of the home variety. So the legislators realizing this in large measure are confronted with the vexatious problem of where and how to tax in order to make up the losses in state revenues certain to accuer by the very substantial re ductions proposed for the "little fellow." Increased income and corporation cor-poration franchise are expected to take care of a portion of the deductions. deduc-tions. An increase in the state sales tax may help solve the problem, but the proposal to raise this from two to three per cent may fail if labor and consumer interests oppose it strongly. strong-ly. Increase in taxation of mines is none too popular with legislators, although al-though proposed in several measures. Many declare it smacks too much of decreased production, with consequent conse-quent loss of employment. "Keep Utah competitive." It is under this slogan that Beehive Bee-hive state manufacturers the "little fellows" of industry especially are battling taxation proposals that they feel will tend to destroy the smaller industries of the state which represent rep-resent a large bulk of Utah manufacturing. manu-facturing. The manufacturers many of them admit that industrial history 1 shows but few concerns forced out of business through taxation. But they argue and rightly too, according accord-ing to many legislators that the taxation point may be reached where their overhead boosted materially by taxation makes their manufacturing manufac-turing costs too high to permit successful suc-cessful competition with the goods shipped into Utah by the non-taxed outside competitor, who can undersell under-sell them in their own state. And say legislators opposed to overburdening industry what good is livestock grown by Utah cattle and sheep men without packing houses to turn the "on the hoof" in- |
