Page:1889 North Dakota Session Laws.pdf/149

 more than 1,000 copies of the printed report shall be furnished to the commissioner for free distribution to the public.

§ 3. PENALTY.] Any person who willfully impedes or obstructs the commissioner in the full and free performance of his duties, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than ten (10) nor more than fifty (50) dollars, or imprisonment not less than seven nor more than thirty days in the county jail, or both.

§ 4. OFFICE HOURS.] The office of the commissioner shall be open for business from 9 o'clock a. m. until 5 o'clock p. m. every day, except non-judicial days, and the officers thereof shall give to all persons requesting it, all needed information which they may possess.

§ 5. POWER TO SEND FOR PERSONS AND EXAMINE WITNESSES.] The commissioner shall have power to send for persons whenever, in his opinion, it is necessary, and he may examine witnesses under oath, being hereby authorized to administer the same in the performance of his duty, and the testimony so taken must be filed and preserved in the office of said commissioner.

§ 6. OFFICE.] The Secretary of State shall provide a suitable office for said commissioner, properly furnished.

§ 7. MEDIATE IN CASE OF STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS.] If any difference shall arise between any corporation or person, employing twenty-five or more employes, and such employes, threatening to result, or resulting in a strike on the part of such employes, or a lockout on the part of such employer, it shall be the duty of the commissioner, when requested so to do by fifteen or more of said employes, or by the employers, to visit the place of such disturbance and diligently seek to mediate between such employer and employes.

§ 8. IMMIGRATION.] It shall be the duty of the commissioner to look after and devise means to advance the immigration interests of the State, and to encourage and promote the permanent settlement and improvement of all sections of the Štate. He shall have charge of the preparation in manuscript. the publication and the distribution by mail and otherwise of any and all documents and articles of reading matter designed to convey correct and full information on all matters pertaining to the growth and development of the agricultural, manufacturing, commercial and mining interest of the State. He shall attend to all correspondence relating to immigration and shall do all in hi power by letter, by the use of published printed matter and through personal efforts to secure the most liberal and extensive advertisement of the resources and opportunities of the State. It shall be his aim to induce the investment of capital in agriculture, in mining, and in different industrial and merchantile pursuits, and to facilitate the coming to the State of persons and families seeking permanent location for new homes. Ít shall be the duty of the commissioner to procure the most favorable rates of fare obtainable from rail-