BLACKLISTING-DEFINING AND PROHIBITING SAME.

H. B. No. 214.]

CHAPTER LXVII.

An Act to define and prohibit discrimination against persons seeking employment, and to prescribe penalties for the breach of said act.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: Either or any of the following acts shall constitute a discrimination against persons seeking employment:

(1) Where any corporation or receiver of same, doing business in this State, or any agent or officer of any such corporation or receiver, shall blacklist, prevent, or attempt to prevent, by word, writing, sign list or other means, directly or indirectly, any discharged employe, or any employe who may have voluntarily left said corporation's service, from obtaining employment with any other person, company or corporation, except by truthfully stating in writing on request of such former employe, the reason why such employe was discharged, or his relationship to such company ceased.

Where any corporation or receiver of same, doing business in this State, or any officer or agent of such corporation or receiver, shall by any means, directly or indirectly communicate to any other person or corporation any information in regard to a person who may seek employment of such person or corporation, and fails to give such person, in regard to whom the communication may be made, within ten days after demand therefor, a complete copy of such communication, if in writing, and a true statement of such communication if by sign, or other means, and the names and addresses of all persons or corporations to whom said communications shall have been made.

(3) Where any corporation or receiver of same, doing business in this State, or any agent or employe of such corporation or receiver, shall have discharged an employe, and such discharged employe demands a statement in writing, of the cause of his discharge, and such corporation, receiver, agent or employe thereof fails to furnish a true statement of same to such employe within ten days after such demand; provided, that such demand by the employe for said statement shall be made in writing.

(4) Where any corporation or receiver of same, doing business in this State, or any agent or officer of same, shall have received any request, notice or communication, either in writing or by sign, word, list or otherwise, from any person, company or corporation, preventing or attempting or calculated to prevent the employment of a person seeking employment, and shall fail to furnish to such person seeking employment within ten days after a demand in writing therefor, a true statement of such request, notice or communication, and if in writing, a copy of same, and if a sign, the interpretation thereof, and the names and addresses of the person, company or corporation furnishing the

same.

(5) Where any corporation or receiver of same, doing business in this State, or any officer or agent of such corporation or receiver discharging such employe shall have failed to give a discharged employe a true statement of the causes of his discharge within ten days after a

demand in writing therefor, and shall thereafter furnish any other person or corporation any statement or communication in regard to such discharge, unless at the request of such discharged employe.

(6) Where any corporation or receiver of same, doing business in this State, or any officer or agent of such corporation or receiver shall discriminate against any person seeking employment on account of his having participatetd in a strike against another corporation.

(7) Where any corporation or receiver of same doing business in this State, or any officer or agent of such corporation or receiver, shall give any information or communication in regard to a person seeking employment having participated in any strike, unless such person seeking employment violated the law during his participation in said strike or in connection therewith, and unless such information is given in compliance with Subdivision 1 of Section 1 of this act.

SEC. 2. Any and all discriminations against persons seeking employment as herein defined, are hereby prohibited and are declared to be illegal.

SEC. 3. Every foreign corporation violating any of the provisions of this act is hereby denied the right, and is prohibited from doing any business within this State, and it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to enforce this provision by injunction or other proceeding in the District Court of Travis county in the name of the State of Texas.

SEC. 4. Each and every person, company or corporation, who shall in any manner violate any of the provisions of this act shall for each and every offense committed forfeit and pay the sum of one thousand ($1000) dollars, which may be recovered in the name of the State of Texas, in any county where the offense was committed, or where the offender resides, or in Travis county, and it shall be the duty of the Attorney General or the district or county attorney under the direction of the Attorney General to prosecute for the recovery of the same, and the fees of the prosecuting attorney for representing the State in proceedings under this act shall be over and above the fees allowed him under the general fee bill.

SEC. 5. In addition to the penalties and forfeiture herein provided for, every person violating any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than one month nor more than one year.

SEC. 6. In prosecutions for the violation of any of the provisions of this act, evidence that any person has acted as the agent of a corporation in the transaction of its business in this State shall be received as prima facie proof that his act in the name, behalf or interest of the corporation of which he was acting as the agent, was the act of the corporation.

SEC. 7. Upon the application of the Attorney General or of any district or county attorney made to any justice of the peace in this State, and stating that he has reason to believe that a witness, who is to be found in the county of which such justice of the peace is an officer, knows of a violation of any of the provisions of this act, it shall be the duty of the justice of the peace to whom such application is made, to have summoned and to have examined such witness in relation to viola

tions of any of the provisions of this act, said witness to be summoned. as provided for in criminal cases. The said witness shall be duly sworn, and the justice of the peace shall cause the statements of the witness to be reduced to writing and signed and sworn to before him, and such sworn statement shall be delivered to the Attorney General, district or county attorney upon whose application the witness was summoned. Should the witness summoned as aforesaid fail to appear or to make statements of the facts within his knowledge under oath, or to sign the same after it has been reduced to writing, he shall be guilty of contempt of court and may be fined not exceeding One Hundred Dollars, and may be attached and imprisoned in the county jail until he shall make a full statement of all the facts within his knowledge with reference to the matter inquired about. Any person so summoned and examined shall not be liable to prosecution for any violation of the provisions of this act about which he may testify fully and without reserve.

SEC. 8. Said written cause of discharge, if true, when so made by such agent, company or corporation, shall never be used as the cause. for an action for libel, either civil or criminal, against the agent, com pany or corporation so furnishing same.

SEC. 9. The importance of this measure, and the near approach of the close of this session creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended, and that this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.

Approved April 5, 1907.

Takes effect ninety days after adjournment.

COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL ARTS-VALIDATING DIPLOMAS. H. B. No. 120.]

CHAPTER LXVIII

An Act validating the diploma of the "Texas Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls of the State of Texas in the Arts and Sciences," as a first grade State teacher's certificate; providing for the validation or extension of such diploma as a permanent State teacher's certificate; and authorizing school trustees to employ the holders of such diplomas as teachers, and to pay them from the State, county and local funds.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: That the "Texas Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls of the State of Texas in the Arts and Sciences" (popularly known as the "College of Industrial Arts"), is hereby empowered to confer upon certain of its graduates, designated in Section 2 of this Act, a diploma having the force of a State teacher's certificate of the first grade, and that such diploma may be validated as a permanent State certificate as provided in Section 3, following:

SEC. 2. A diploma bearing the force of a first grade State teacher's certificate may be conferred by the board of regents of the "Texas Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls of the State of Texas in the Arts and Sciences," on the recommendation of the faculty of said college, upon students of the institution who, in

addition to completing a regular course leading to graduation, shall also have pursued the study of pedagogy which shall be prescribed by said institution, and approved by the State Board of Education. Said diploma shall have the force of a first grade certificate for six years following the date of its issue.

SEC. 3. At any time during the last three years of the term of validity of said diploma as a first grade certificate the State Superintendent of Public Instruction may endorse said diploma validating it as a permanent State certificate; provided, that the holder of said diploma shall have taught successfully for three years in Texas following her graduation from said institution.

SEC. 4. School trustees are hereby authorized to employ the holders of said diplomas from the Texas Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls of the State of Texas in the Arts and Sciences, and to pay their salaries from State, county and local funds as salaries of other teachers are paid.

SEC. 5. The fact that there is now no law providing that graduates of the Texas Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls of the State of Texas in the Arts and Sciences can be employed as teachers in the public schools of Texas creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended, and that this take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.

Approved April 5, 1907.

Takes effect ninety days after adjournment.

COURTS-REORGANIZING THE THIRTY-SIXTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT.

An Act to amend Section 4, Chapter 58, of the Acts of the Regular Session of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Texas, reorganizing the Twentythird, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, Thirty-sixth and Forty-ninth Judicial Districts of Texas, so as to change the time of holding district court in said Thirty-sixth Judicial District.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: That Section 4, of Chapter 58, of the Acts of the Regular Session of the Twenty-ninth Legislature, be and the same is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

Section 4. That the Thirty-sixth Judicial District shall be composed of the counties of McMullen, Aransas, San Patricio, Live Oak, Atascosa and Wilson, and that the district court shall be held therein as follows: In the county of McMullen on the first Monday in September and February, and may continue in session one week.

In the county of Aransas on the second Monday in September and February, and may continue in session three weeks.

In the county of San Patricio on the fourth Monday after the first Monday in September and February, and may continue in session three. weeks.

In the county of Live Oak on the seventh Monday after the first Monday in September and February, and may continue in session two weeks. In the county of Atascosa on the ninth Monday after the first Monday in September and February, and may continue in session four weeks.

In the county of Wilson on the thirteenth Monday after the first Monday in September and February, and may continue in session until all business is disposed of.

SEC. 2. All writs and other process heretofore issued out of the district courts of the several counties heretofore constituting the Thirtysixth Judicial District of Texas, shall be held valid to the first terms of said courts as provided for in this act; provided, said writs are otherwise valid in law, and the clerks of said courts shall, on the taking effect of this act, make all writs returnable to said courts as they meet under this act.

SEC. 3. The importance of the passage of this act to the people of the various counties of the said judicial district, creates an imperative necessity and emergency requiring that the constitutional rule that bills be read on three several days in each House be suspended, and the said rule is therefore suspended, and this bill is put upon its third reading and final passage, and that this act take effect from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.

[NOTE. The enrolled bill shows that the foregoing act passed the House of Representatives by a two-thirds vote, yeas 97, nays 0; and passed the Senate by a two-thirds vote, yeas 21, nays 0.]

Approved April 5, 1907.

Became a law April 5, 1907.

COURTS-PRESCRIBING THE TIME FOR HOLDING COURTS IN FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT.

An Act to change and prescribe the time for holding District Court in the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Texas, to conform all writs and process from such courts to such changes, and to repeal all laws in conflict herewith.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:

SECTION 1. The Fourth Judicial District shall hereafter be composed of the Counties of Rusk, Harrison, Panola and Gregg. The terms of the District Court shall hereafter be held in said District as follows: In the County of Rusk on the first Monday in January and July and may continue in session five weeks. In the county of Harrison on the fifth Monday after the first Monday in January and may continue in session six weeks; on the twenty-first Monday after the first Monday in January and may continue in session four weeks, and on the fourteenth Monday after the first Monday in July and may continue in sessión six weeks. In the County of Panola on the eleventh Monday after the first Monday in January and on the ninth Monday after the first Monday in July and may continue in session five weeks. In the County of Gregg on the six