Excerpt from Bulletin Labor Legislation: Enacted by the Forty-Seventh General Assembly of Illinois, 1911 Substantially every legislative measure supported by organized labor was passed by the Forty-seventh General Assembly. In respect to progressive labor legislation, the record made by the late session is in every way commendable, marking as it does, an epoch in labor law enactments. The appreciation, not only of the members and officers of organized labor, but the equally valuable approbation of men in various positions and pursuits in life who realize the necessity for such economic relief, is generously tendered to those whose votes were potential in putting Illinois where it belongs in respect to such advanced legislation. A most notable feature in connection with this legislative record is the fact that notwithstanding some of these measures, particularly that defining and extending the liability of employers, known as the Compensation Act, were bitterly opposed by certain interests, the vote of the General Assembly in House and Senate was practically unanimous in their favor. This was made possible largely because the chief measures - the Compensation Act - the Act relating to occupational diseases - and the revision of the coal mine Act and other laws pertaining to mining, were all the products of special commissions appointed for the purpose. These commissions gave much time and careful study to the respective subjects and the bills recommended by them embodied the latest and best thought on these questions. In respect to measures involving new legislation, it has become the practice to delegate their special consideration to commissions authorized by the Legislature. This is not usurping the powers of the General Assembly as some think, but rather a necessary aid, as the time of the average member during a brief session does not permit him to assemble the information required or to fully comprehend the purpose of new legislation dealing with separate or technical subjects. For a quarter of a century the representatives of organized labor had appealed in vain to the Legislature for some legal relief from the results of industrial accidents. Third in rank in the Union as a manufacturing state, Illinois was without any clearly defined or comprehensive enactment on the question. The failure of the regular session of the Forty-sixth General Assembly, like its predecessors, to meet the demand for some measure of justice in this matter, induced Governor Deneen in convening the Legislature in special session - 1910-to include in the call, a request for the enactment of a law relating to employers' liability. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.