1923 Wisconsin Social LegislationAuthor(s): Aubrey WilliamsSource: Journal of Social Forces, Vol. 1, No. 5 (Sep., 1923), pp. 578-580Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3005137 .

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578 The Journal of Social Forces

Beginning in the fall, the state secretary ex-

pects to issue a circular letter from time to time to all members, keeping them informed of the

outstanding questions to be discussed at the 1924 conference.

THE IOWA CONFERENCE AND CHILD WELFARE

LOUISE COTTRELL

At the annual meeting of the Iowa Conference of Social Work, held at Mason City in July, the

following resolution was passed: "1. Be it resolved by the Iowa State Confer?

ence of Social Work that the Governor of the State of Iowa be requested to appoint a commis? sion to study the entire question of child welfare in Iowa; to compile our present laws relating to the same; to draft proposed new laws required for the completion of an adequate child welfare

program in Iowa and report on same to the next

regular session of the state legislature. "2. That the State Conference of Social Work

request the special session of the 40th General

Assembly called to meet December 4, 1923, to consider the advisability of the following pro? cedure :

"To confine its work merely to a compilation of

existing laws, using the 1919 Compiled Code of the 39th and 40th Assembly Laws as the basis with adequate editing; to adjourn immediately upon the completion of such task without con-

sidering the numerous bills drafted by the Code Commission or any new legislation except a minimum of measures of paramount importance necessitated by some crisis requiring immediate treatment.

"The reasons for such course of action are: "1. It will save the state many thousands of

dollars. "2. The original and primary reason for the

appointment of the Code Commission was to effect a compilation of existing laws, and not to alter the fundamental structure and meaning of the law as will be done if the bills drafted by the Code Commission are passed.

For some months the conference has been work?

ing in behalf of a Children's Code for Iowa. Conference officials believe that the collecting of all statutes bearing on children is the first effective

step towards a Children's Code. Hence, the reso-

lution quoted above. Mr. William Dodson of the Child Welfare Legislation Division of the Rus- sell Sage Foundation was a speaker at our Mason

City Conference and we expect to keep in very close touch with him in the future on this subject.

1923 WISCONSIN SOCIAL LEGISLATION

AUBREY WlLLIAMS

The chief points of concern to social workers in the work of the 1923 Wisconsin legislature were: the annulment of the mandatory clause of the county nurse law, the abolition of the bureau for the care of the blind, the failure of the men? tal hygiene measures, the veto and consequent failure of enactment of a state institution inves?

tigating legislative committee, the poor showing made in child labor legislation and the failure of the workmen's unemployment insurance bill, all of which seems to indicate that the subject mat? ter of their concern was mostly negative.

This was not altogether true, for there were some high positive points of interest. Among these were: three bills restricting the power of courts in issuing injunctions, the hotel working women's ten hour bill, the reduction in maximum number of hours in "Working Women's Hours of Labor Bill," and the prohibiting of diseased

persons from working in food distributing estab- lishments.

Health

By the passage of a rather innocent looking- measure, giving county boards of supervisors the right to discharge any employee of the county, except elective officials, the position of county nurse made mandatory by recent legislative en? actment was made optional with each county. There were enough counties in which public opin? ion was not yet sufficiently in favor of such a work to secure the annulment of the mandatory feature and its is highly probable that as good and in certain cases better, work can be done where the office is optional.

Of the other social-health enactments there were three of major interest. The passage of an anti-narcotic act patterned on the Harrison fed? eral law; the enactment of a law making it un- lawful for a diseased person to be employed in bakeries, hotels, restaurants, dining cars, or any other establishment distributing or handling of

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The Journal of Social Forces 579

food; the third gives the state board of health

power to condemn houses as unfit for human habitation because of unsanitary conditions.

The "Spoor Bill" which requires pre-nuptial physical examination of males, came very near

losing its life when an attempt was made to in? clude women. In the attack which followed, friends of pre-nuptial examination soon had all

they could do to save the present bill. Teaching of health in the schools is now a curriculum re-

quirement with certain exemptions. The Shep- herd-Towner federal aid was again secured.

Education

The most far reaching educational legislation was the doing away with the word "consolida- tion" in the act which relates to powers of town boards. The old law which has had the con- solidation feature for 57 years provided for ap- peals to the state superintendent. The new law strikes out this appeal clause, and at the present time persons feeling themselves aggrieved will have to resort to the courts. The law makes null and void all consolidations since 1921.

Another act of wide application is that relating to physical education. This provides that at least two and one-half hours a week shall be devoted to

physical education in every school in the state. It further provides that high school training de?

partments and state normal schools shall require each student to take a course in physical edu? cation.

All other bills of major importance relating to education either failed of enactment or were ve- toed by the governor. Among these were two bills relating to sub-normal children. One of these bills provides for the payment by the state to the school district of one hundred dollars a

pupil enrolled in classes for mentally defective

children. The other provides for additional help in the department of public instruction in carry-

ing on clinic psychological examination through? out the state.

Labor

Adult labor fared splendidly, securing five im?

portant enactments, but failed woefully in child labor phases of its program.

Three of these enactments deal with injunction cases. One of these requires that contempt of court in injunction cases must be tried by a jury.

Another makes it unlawful for a court commis?

sioner to issue an injunction, and also provides that 48 hours' notice must be given to the adverse

party prior to issuance of an injunction. The

third makes it unlawful to issue an injunction pro-

hibiting peaceful persuasion to quit work or ab-

stain from entering employment. The women of the state were successful in get-

ting through a law limiting the hours of women

who work in hotels to 10 hours any day, or 55

hours any week of day work, or 9 hours any

night, or 54 hours any week of night work. The

"Women's Hours of Labor Law," in force since

1911, was amended to provide that women in

certain industries work not more than 9 hours

any day or 50 hours any week of day work?the

night limits of 8 hours any night and 45 hours

any week were left unchanged. The unemployment insurance bill, which has

been the center of battle in the last two sessions

of the Wisconsin legislature, was introduced with the seasonal work amendment put on it at the

1921 session. Two other amendments were of? fered this year, one striking out the state-wide mutual insurance feature, and the other provid? ing for an interim investigation committee. The former never came to a vote, and the latter failed of passage in the assembly and with it the bill.

Congress was memoralized in favor of federal

regulation of child labor by an amendment to the federal constitution.

Two other specific child labor bills failed of enactment. One of them sought to give the in? dustrial commission power to regulate child labor in beet fields, cranberry marshes, market garden- ing, and marketing for canning industries. The other sought to prohibit any child under 14 years of age taking part in any theatrical performance, and providing for the issuance of permits for such participants between 14 and 17 years of age.

Social Per Se

Very little social legislation per se was en- acted. The right to give consent to adoption was secured to child caring institutions licensed under the board of control, by providing that in case of "actual abandonment or gross neglect or moral

unfitness, so that the court shall deem the child

morally abandoned," that "the court shall ex-

pressly so find" and state in the commitment

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580 The Journal of Social Forces

papers. Such commitment gives the institution the right to consent to adoption.

In striking contrast to the laws just passed in

Illinois, making it easier to secure divorce, Wis? consin has sought to strengthen the courts both in securing the facts and in enforcing the decree of the courts. This is done by providing for a divorce council that may bring in such witnesses as will aid in the establishing of all facts and further that will enforce the ruling of the court as to alimony, education, and care of children.

"The Small Loan Bill" passed both houses for the second time only to be vetoed by the governor. This bill was similar to others sponsored in other states by the Russell Sage Foundation and the

Legal Reform Bureaus. Towards the end of this session a bill which

held out much promise was introduced. The bill

provided for the appointing of a legislative com? mittee to investigate state institutions established for the care of dependent and neglected children, the feeble-minded, insane, delinqunts, criminals, and further to investigate the causes of the con? dition of these unfortunates and suggest measures for their prevention. This act passed both houses but was vetoed by the governor.

It is not often that the same administration establishes a board or bureau and then abolishes

this same bureau. This was the fate of the bu?

reau for the care of the blind established in 1921

by the present administration and abolished in

1923 by the same administration. In its place an

agency was created to be under the state board of

control to be run in connection with the Wiscon? sin school for the blind. Pensions for the blind now revert to the county board of supervisors, who are to make awards after being assisted by the members from the field agency. The amounts to be awarded are materially increases.

THE ALL-PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL WORK

Taking as its challenge the phrase, "Come now, let us reason together," the AU-Philadelphia Con? ference on Social Work inaugurated in April? and voted to make it an annual event, a new sort of conference. Said one: "Something has broken loose in Philadelphia that is affecting the whole life of the city, and it feels good to me." They reported an aggregate attendance of over 7,200 with a reported total of individuals amounting to

two thousand. The conference represented re?

ligious, civic, and social work groups, as well as the public official groups. Says the committee:

"A new tool for perfecting our community life has been placed in our hands."

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