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55t h C o n g r e s s , ) HOUSE OF EEPEESENTATIYES.cDoo. Ho.206r 2d Session. Part i. BULLETIN OF TH E No. 14-JANUABY, 1898. ISSUED EVERY OTHER MONTH. ED IT ED B Y CARROLL D. W RIGH T, COMMISSIONER. OREN W . W E A V E R , CHIEF CLERK. W ASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 1 89 8 . CONTENTS. Page. The Negroes o f Farmville, Virginia: A social study, l>y W . E. Burghardt Du Bois, Ph. D .................................................................................................................. 1-38 Incomes, wages, and rents in Montreal, by Herbert Brown Ames, B. A ........ 39-51 Digest o f recent reports of State bureaus o f labor statistics: Illin o is............................................... *............................................................................. 52-54 M ain e................................................................................................................................ 54,55 Massachusetts................................................................................................................ 55,56 Ohio........................................................................................... 57,58 Census o f Massachusetts for 1895.................................................................................... 59-61 Digest o f recent foreign statistical publications....................................................... 62-75 Decisions of courts affecting labor.................................................................................. 76-117 Laws of various States relating to labor enacted since January 1, 1896.......... 118-139 Recent Government contracts.......................................................................................... 140 hi BULLETIN OF THE D E P A R T M E N T OF L A B O R . N o. 14. WASHINGTON. Ja n uary , 1898. THE NEGROES OE EARH VILLE, V IR G IN IA : A SOCIAL STUDY. B Y W . B . BURGrHARDT DU BOIS, PH . D. For many reasons it would appear that the time is ripe for under taking a thorough study of the economic condition of the American Negro. Under the direction of the United States Commissioner of Labor the present study was made during July and August* 1897, as the first o f a series of investigations of small, well-defined groups of Negroes in various parts o f the country. In this work there has been but the one object of ascertaining, with as near an approach to scientific accuracy as possible, the real condi tion o f the Negro. PRINCE ED W A RD COUNTY. Prince Edward County is a small irregular quadrangle o f about 300 square miles, situated in the middle country of Virginia, between the Piedmont region and tide water, about 57 miles southwest of Richmond, and midway between Petersburg and Lynchburg. This county is thus near the geographical center of the State, and is also in the center of a district that produces seven-eighths of the tobacco crop of Virginia. The county seat is Farmville, a market town of 2,500 inhabitants, situ ated on the upper waters of the Appomattox. This county has had an interesting history as regards its population. A century ago it had a population of 8,000, evenly divided between whites and blacks; to-day it has a population of over 14,000, but the increase is almost entirely among the blacks, the number o f whites i 2 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. still remaining under 5,000. The following table shows the white and black population of the county at each census from 1790 to 1890: POPULATION OF PR INCE E D W A R D COUNTY, 1790 TO 1890. Census year. Whites. Slaves. 4,082 4,978 5,264 4,627 5,039 4,923 4,177 4,037 4,106 4, 754 4,770 3,986 5,921 6,996 7,616 9,593 8,576 7,192 7,341 1790 1800 3810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 Free Total Negroes. Negroes. 32 63 149 334 475 570 488 466 7,898 9,914 9,924 Total popula tion. 4,018 5,984 7,145 7,950 9,068 9,146 7,680 7,807 7,898 9,914 9,924 8,100 10,962 12,409 12, 577 14,107 14, 069 11,857 11,844 12, C04 14,668 14, 694 Of the total population o f the county, less than one-third live in towns of 25 or more inhabitants, leaving the great mass o f the people thor oughly rural and agricultural. Before the late war more than 75 per cent of the farms were o f 100 acres or over, and were worked by gangs o f from 10 to 50 slaves, (a) By 1870 these farms had become so broken up that nearly 40 per cent of them were less than 50 acres in size. Since then something of a reaction has taken place and more waste land brought under cultivation, so that in 1890 31 per cent of the farms were less than 50 acres in size. The following table shows the number and per cent of farms in Prince Edward County, according to size, at each census from 18G0 to 1890; NUM BER A N D PER CENT OF FAR M S IN PR INCE E D W A R D COUNTY, B Y SIZE, I860 TO 1890. 1870. 1860. 1880. 1890. Size of farms. Number. Per cent. Number. Percent. Number. Percent. Number. Per cent. Under 10 acres........ 10 or under 20 acres. 20 or under 50 acres. 50 or under 100 acres ..................... 100 or under 500 acres ..................... 500 or under 1,000 acres ..................... 1,0C0 acres or over. T otal............... 6 45 1.23 9.24 23 49 164 3.75 7.99 26.75 34 152 161 3.23 14.44 15.29 65 118 159 5.93 10.77 14.51 70 14.37 120 19.58 147 13.96 171 15.60 318 65.30 232 37.85 472 44.82 505 46.08 46 2 9.45 .41 23 2 3.75 .33 73 14 6.93 1.33 67 11 6.11 1.00 487 100.00 613 . 100.00 1,053 100.00 1,096 100.00 A t the same time tenants and metayers, who had a large part of the land in cultivation in 1870, have decreased from 1880 to 1890, so that over 70 per cent o f the farms are now cultivated by their owners. The following table, compiled from the United States census returns (report on agriculture), shows for the county the number of farms of a There were 582 slaveholders in the county in 1860, holding 7,341 slaves. O f these slaves 1,289 wero held in lots of from 1 to 9 by 303 owners, and tho rest by 279 owners. See census o f 1860. 3 THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. various sizes cultivated by owners, rented for money, and rented on shares in 1880 and 1890: TEN U RE OF F A R M S IN PRINCE E D W A R D COUNTY, 1880 A N D 1890. Size of farms. Cultivated by owners. 1880. Rented for money. 1880. 1890. 1890. Rented on shares. 1880. 1890. TTnrler 1ft ncresi.......... 1ft or nnrler-2ft acres___________ . . . . . . . . . 2ft nr Titiflor 5ft ncres_____ _____________ _ 50 or under 100 acres. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iftft or nndpr 5ftft ncres_______________ . . . 5ftft r»r nti er 1 ftftft nr*,ms________ _______ 1 ftftft nr,rr*s or over__________ _____. . . . . . 15 47 68 80 332 56 9 35 76 103 127 366 60 8 3 40 33 29 70 8 4 11 12 19 30 68 1 1 16 65 60 38 70 9 1 19 30 37 14 71 6 2 T otal_______ _______________ . . . . . . Per cent.__________________________ 607 57.64 775 70.71 187 17.76 142 12.96 259 24.60 179 16.33 Less than 2 per cent of these farms are encumbered, but the liens on crops amount to a considerable per cent each year. Agriculture is the chief occupation of the inhabitants of the county, tobacco being the leading product. Corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes are also raised, together with dairy products and poultry. The follow ing table shows the principal products of the county at each census, 1850 to 1890: P R IN C IP A L PRODUCTS OF PRINCE E D W A R D CO U N TY, 1850 TO 1890. Products. 1850. Tobacco...................................................... pounds.. 2,571,850 214,350 Corn............................................................ bushels.. 75,762 W heat........................................................ bushels.. 87,229 O ats............................................................bushels.. 487 H ay....................................................................tons.. 7,700 Irish potatoes........................................... bushels.. 12,454 Sweet potatoes........................................bushels.. 47,932 Bu tter........................................................ pounds.. 1860. 4,231, 797 233,833 79,521 122,126 151 7,700 8,772 67, 288 3870. 960, 700 87,440 43,820 67,445 268 7,544 4,484 51,791 1880. 1890. 2,462,326 192,462 45,838 59,870 1,100 5,319 6,323 56,350 1,633,830 106, Oil 58,481 43,050 2,513 12,737 12,871 133,511 In addition to this agricultural exhibit there is a little manufactur ing (a), and there are three lines of railway crossing the county and bringing it into touch with the markets. (b) The total assessed valuation o f real estate and personal property in the county was $2,397,007 in 1890, and on this was raised by taxation the sum of $24,281, making a tax rate o f $10.13 per $1,000 of valuation. The money raised was distributed as follows: To t1ie State, $7,192; to the county, $7,191; to the towns, $5,104; to the schools, $4,794. (c) a In 1890 there were 39 manufacturing establishments in the county, with a capital of $113,285 and an annual output worth $183,362. &Tho Norfolk and Western, running east and west through Farmville, the Rich mond and Danville, running north and south and crossing the southeastern part of the county, and a narrow-gauge road connecting Farmville and the James River. c The county received $8,343 as its share o f the State school fund. It spent $2,058 for charity and $429 for roads and bridges. For schools it spent in all $13,565, dis-* tributed as follows: Salaries for teachers, $10,894; construction and care o f build ings, $770; libraries and apparatus, $10; miscellaneous, $1,891. The county has no debt. There were, in 1890,20 paupers in the county almshouse, 4 white and 16 black See Eleventh Census. 4 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. Turning to tlie Negroes of the county, we find that in 1895 the 9,924 Negroes therein owned 17,555 acres of land, which, together with build ings, was assessed at $132,189. The whites o f the county, in the same year, owned 202,962 acres, and the assessed value of their lands and buildings was $1,064,180. The following table, compiled from records in the county clerk's office at Farmville, shows the number of acres of land owned by Negroes in Prince Edward County and the assessed value of their land and buildings for each year from 1891 to 1895: ACRES OF L A N D OW N ED B Y NEGROES IN PR INCE E D W A R D CO U N TY A N D ASSESSED V A L U E OF L A N D A N D BU ILD IN G S, 1891 TO 1895. Year. 1891.............................................................................................................................................. 1892.............................................................................................................................................. 1893.............................................................................................................................................. 1894.............................................................................................................................................. 1895.............................................................................................................................................. Acres of land owned. 12,215 13, 207 14, 754 16,467 17, 555 Assessed value of land and buildings. $83,212.48 89, 787.75 97,341.53 105, 024.48 132,188.66 Situated in the geographic center of an historic slave State, near the economic center of its greatest industry, tobacco culture, and also in the black belt o f the State, i. e., in the region where a decided majority of the inhabitants are of Negro blood, Prince Edward County is pecu liarly suited to an investigation into Negro development. The few available statistics serve to indicate how vast a revolution this region has passed through during the last century. They show the rise and fall of the plantation* slave system; the physical upheaval of war in a region where the last acts of the great civil war took place (a), and the moral and economic revolution of emancipation in a county where the slave property was worth at least $2,500,000. They indicate, finally, the ensuing economic revolution brought about by impoverished lands, changes in the commercial demand for tobacco and the methods of handling it, the competition of the West in cereals and meat, the grow ing importance of manufactures which call workers to cities, and the social weight of a mass o f ignorant freedmen. The present stu^y ’ 'S not, however, concern itself with the whole county, but merely w * jhe condition o f the Negroes in its metropolis and county seat, Earn ille, where its social, political, and industrial life centers, where its agricultural products are marketed, and where its development is best epitomized and expressed. FARMVILLE. Farmville is in the extreme northern part of Prince Edward Comity. It is thoroughly Virginian in character—easy-going, gossipy, and conaTlie operations in tlie Grant campaigns o f 1864 and 1865 took place near and in Farmville, and Lee surrendered in a neighboring county. 5 THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. servative, with respect for family traditions and landed property. It would hardly be called bustling, and yet it is a busy market town, with a long, low main street full of general stores, and branching streets with tobacco warehouses and tobacco factories, churches, and substan tial dwellings. Of public buildings there is an opera house, a normal school for white girls, an armory, a court-house and jail, a bank, and a depot. The air is good, and there is an abundance of lithia and sulphur waters, which now and then attract visitors. Farmville is the trading center of six counties. Here a large pro portion of the tobacco of these counties is marketed, and some of it manufactured into strips; here are a half-dozen or more commission houses which deal in all sorts of agricultural products; and here, too, is the center for distributing agricultural implements, clothing, gro ceries, and household wares. On Saturday, the regular market day, the town population swells to nearly twice its normal size from the influx of country people—mostly Negroes—some in carriages, wagons, and ox carts, and some on foot, and a large amount of trading is done. Naturally such a town in the midst of a large farming district has a great attraction for young countrymen, on account of its larger life and the prospect of better wages in its manufacturing and trading establishments. A steady influx of immigrants thus adds annually to the population of the town. A t the same time Farmville boys and girls are attracted by the large city life of Richmond, Norfolk, Baltimore, and New York. In this manner Farmville acts as a sort of clearing house, taking the raw country lad from the farm to train in industrial life, and sending north and east more or less well-equipped recruits for metropolitan life. This gives the town an atmosphere of change and unrest rather unusual in so small a place, and at the same time often acts as a check to schemes of permanent prosperity. The population of Farmville has grown steadily since 1850. Since 1890, however, the Negro population appears to have fallen off—a fact due doubtless to the large emigration to Northern cities. The follow ing table, compiled from flies in the Census Office and from schedules, shows the white and black population of Farmville for each census year from 1850 to 1890 and the black population in 1897: POPU LATIO N OF F A R M V IL L E , 1850 TO Year. 1850............................................................................................................................. I860 ........................................................................................................................... 1870 .......................................................................................................................... 3880 ......................................................................................................................... 1890 ........................................................................................................................... 1897 ........................................................................................................................... Whites. Negroes. 599 683 598 872 961 848 853 945 1,186 1,443 61,350 (a) Total. 1,447 1,536 1,543 2,058 2,404 (a) a Not reported. 6 There are possibly more omissions in an investigation of this sort than in a census, where the primary object is to count the population. No attempt was made in this investigation to reach serv ants living entirely in white families, and persons habitually absent, although calling Farmville t heir home, were omitted. Making all allowances, however, the Negro population seems to have fallen off. 6 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. In 1880 the population of Farmville district,including Farmvilletown, was 3,310, of whom 1,120 were whites and 2,190 blacks; and in 1890 the population of the district was 3,684, o f whom 1,246 were whites and 2,438 blacks. The chief industries of the town are: The selling of tobacco and its storage in warehouses, which is done by stock companies composed o f Negro as well as white.stockholders; the manufacture of tobacco into strips, carried on by 7 white firms in 16 tobacco factories; woodwork ing by the Farmville Manufacturing Company; coopering by a firm; fruit canning by the South Side Canning Company; grinding of feed by the Farmville mills, and the running o f 57 retail stores, etc., divided as follows: Eight clothing stores, 12 grocery stores, 4 general stores, 4 commission merchants with stocks of harness and hardware, 4 drug stores, 3 dry-goods stores, 3 meat stores, 3 millinery stores, 2 restaurants, 2 book and stationery stores, 3 hardware stores, 2 furniture and under taking stores, 1 jewelry store, 1 confectionery and toy store, 1 stove and tinware store, 1 wagon store, 1 steam laundry, and 2 saloons, (a) The total valuation o f the town for 1890 was $661,230—real estate $541,230, personal property $120,000—on which a total tax of $9,855 was raised, and distributed as follows: To the State $1,983, to the county $1,983, to the town $3,906, to the State school fund $661, and to the county and town school fund $1,322. In 1880 the town had a debt of $11,200, and in 1890 this had increased to $65,000. The following table gives the assessed valuation o f real estate and its division between whites and blacks in Farmville, as shown in the records at the county clerk’s office, for the years 1891 to 1895: ASSESSED V A L U A T IO N OF F A R M V IL L E R E A L E S T A T E , 1891 TO 1895. Real estate owned by— Total. Whites. Negroes. Year. Amount. 1891............................................. ..................... $523, 355 530,685 1892................................................................... 1893.................................................................... 543,610 1894.................................................................... 545,130 1895.................................................................... 525, 205 Per cent Per cent Per cent of in Amount. of in Amount. of in crease. crease. crease. 1.40 2.44 .28 a 3.66 $42,834 51, 865 52, 765 53, 340 51,240 21.08 1.74 1.09 a 3.94 $566,189 582, 550 596,375 598,470 576,445 2.89 2.37 .35 a 3.68 a Decrease. About three-fifths of the inhabitants of Farmville, August 1,1897, were of Negro descent, and it is with this part o f the population that this study has to do. The investigator spent the months of July and August in the town; he lived with the colored people, joined in their a There was also a “ bucket shop” in full blast during the summer o f 1897, where considerable gambling in stock “ futures” was indulged in. THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. 7 social life, and visited tlieir homes, (a) For the inquiry he prepared the following schedule of questions for each family and individual: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. Number of persons in tbe family? Relationship of this person to head o f family? Sex? Age at nearest birthday? Conjugal condition ? Place of birth? Length o f residence in Farmville? Length o f residence in this house? Able to read? Able to write? Months in school during last year? Usual occupations? Usual wages per day, week, or month? Weeks unemployed during year? Mother of how many children (born living)? Number of children now living? Present whereabouts of such children ? Does the family own this home? Do they own any land or houses? ' Rent paid here j>cr month? Church attendance? There was usually no difficulty experienced in getting the Negroes to answer these questions, ^o far as they could. The greatest uncertainty in the accuracy of answers was in connection with the first and fourth questions; the first on account of members of the family temporarily absent, and the fourth because in so many cases the age is unknown. Answers as to wages were of course more or less indefinite, although fairly good returns were obtained. The fifteenth question could be answered only when the mother herself was present, and then not always with sufficient accuracy. Only a few answers to this query were recorded. On the whole, the answers seem to approach the truth nearly enough to be of some considerable scientific value, although a large possible margin of error is admitted. AGE, SEX, AND BIRTHPLACE OF NEGRO POPULATION. The total number of Negroes in Farmville who reported as to age and sex was 1,225. I f 250, estimated as not reporting, be added to this number, the total in and about Farmville is found to be about 1,475. Subtracting from this total 125 who lived outside the corporation, we find that the Negro population of the corporation of Farmville was approximately 1,350 in 1807. As the corporation line, however, cuts off somewhat arbitrarily a considerable number of Negroes who really share a Letters of introduction and some personal acquaintances among tbe people ren dered intercourse easy. Tbe information gathered in tbe schedules was supple mented by conversations with townspeople and school teachers, by general observa tion, and by the records in the county clerk’s office. 8 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. the group life of Farmville, they have been included in the total, except when otherwise stated. Twenty-five people whose residence in Farmville was for such indefinite periods as to make their citizenship ques tionable have been omitted; they have families here, but themselves work mostly in the North. About 75 servants, mostly young women living in white families as servants and having no other town homes, were not interrogated at all, and consequently are not accounted for in these returns. Their number and the number of those otherwise omitted are estimated and not actually counted. Taking the Negroes o f the Farmville group as shown in the table fol lowing, we find that there are 598 males and 627 females, or the propor tion of 1,048 females to every 1,000 males (a). This is much above the general proportion for the United States (952.8 females to every 1,000 males), and even above the proportion in the North Atlantic States. This excess of females indicates a large emigration o f males. The fol lowing table shows, by age periods, the number of Negroes of each sex from whom reports were obtained: N U M BER OF NEGROES IN F A R M V IL L E FROM W H O M REPORTS W E R E O BTAIN ED , B Y A G E PERIODS A N D SEX, 1897. Age periods. U n d e r 1 y e a r ____. . . . . . . . . . _________ . . . . . . . _______ . . . . . . ____ . . . . ____________ 1 to ft y e a r s ______ ________ _________ . . . . . . . . . . ____________________________________ Males. Females. Total. 1 ft to 19 y e a r s _______ ________________________________________________________________ 2ft t o 2ft y e a r s .............................................................................................................. ...................... 3ft to 3ft y e a r s ________________ ______________ _____________ ________ __________________ 40 to 49 years .............................. ................................................... ........................ ............... 5ft to 5ft y e a r s ___________________________ _______ ____________ ________________________ 60 to 69 years..................................................................................................................................... 70 t o 7ft y e a r s .............. ................................................................. ...... <________________________ Aft t o Aft y e a r s ..................... ...................................................................................................... ...... 00 to ftft y e a r s ____________ ______________ ________________ ________ __________________ 100 y e a r s or o v e r ______________________________________ ___________________________ Age unknown......................................................................................................... 12 127 182 87 53 47 44 23 14 3 1 1 4 12 150 147 101 67 55 52 24 15 3 1 24 277 329 188 120 102 96 47 29 6 1 1 5 Total................................................................................................................ 598 627 1,225 Considering the percentage in different age periods, it is interesting to bring the Negro population of Farmville into comparison with the colored population of the United States, the whole population of the United States, and the populations of various foreign countries. This comparison is made in the following table. a The number of females in excess would be still larger i f the omitted house serv ants were included. However, they are not in all, i f in a majority of, cases citizens of Farmville, but have homes in the country. Those living in Farmville are perhaps balanced by other omissions. 9 THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. PER CENT IN D IF F E R E N T A G E PERIODS OF NEGROES IN F A R M V IL L E A N D OF T O TA L PO PU LATIO N IN VA R IO U S COUNTRIES. [The per cents for Farmville are computed from schedules ; the others are taken from the United States census of 1890 and Mayo-Smith’s Statistics and Sociology.] Age periods. Negroes of Farm ville. Colored popula tion of the United States, (a) Under 10years ............................................ 1ft to 19 yftflTfl______ _____________ . . . . . . . ____ 2ft to 29 y e a r s ______ ____________ ______________ 3ftt o 39 y e a r s ___________________. . . . . . . . . . . . 4.0 to 49 y e a r s _______________________ ____ fiOf.o yAfVTS_________________ ___. . . ____ fift to fi9y e a r s ______ ____________. . . . . . . . . . 70 y e a r s or o v e r ______________ . . . . . . . . . . 24.57 26.86 15.35 9.79 8.32 7.84 3.84 3.43 28.22 25.18 17.40 11.26 7.89 4.92 2.88 2.25 T o ta l..................................................... 100.00 ICO. 00 Population of— Total popula tion of the Germany. Ireland. France. United States. 24.28 21. 70 18.25 13.48 9.45 6.38 3.94 2.52 100.00 | 24.2 20.7 16.2 12.7 10.4 7.8 5.2 2.8 20.8 23.4 16.2 10.8 9.8 8.5 6.0 4.5 17.5 17.4 16.3 13.8 12.3 10.1 7.6 5.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 a Persons of Negro descent, Chinese, Japanese, and civilized Indians. Here again we have evidence of the emigration of persons in the twenties and thirties, leaving an excess of children and old people. This excess is not neutralized by the immigration from the country districts, because that immigration is apt to be of whole families—young, middle-aged, and old—rather than of young men and young women alone. The proportion of children under 15 is also increased by the habit which married couples and widowed persons have of going to cities to work and leaving their children with grandparents. This also accounts for the small proportion of colored children in a city like Philadelphia. With regard to persons 35 or 40 years of age or over, there is undoubtedly considerable error in the age returns. They do not-know their ages, and have no written record. In such cases the investigator generally endeavored, by careful questioning, to fix some date, like that of Lee7s surrender, and find a coinciding event like marriage or the “ half-task” child-labor period of life, to correspond. There are 263 males of voting age and 512 children of the legal school age (5 to 20), or 367 of the usual school age (5 to 15). From the statistics of birthplace it is found that of the 1,225 Farmville Negroes 531, or 43 per cent, were born in the town; 750, or 61 per cent, in Prince Edward County, and 1,181, or 96 per cent, in the State. Of those born outside the State, 1 was born in Alabama, 4 in Georgia, 1 in Kansas, 2 in Massachusetts, 4 in New York, 4 in North Carolina, 1 in Tennessee, and 5 in West Yirginia. Two came from the West Indies, and the birthplaces of 20 are unknown. The town population is thus shown to be a local concentration from neighboring country districts. Of the 262 families o f Negroes in the town, 202 reported as to length o f residence there. Eight had resided there less than a year, 17 from one to five years, 35 from five to ten years, 45 from ten to twenty years, 61 from twenty to thirty-five years, and 36 thirty-five or more years. In other words, about one-half the population has moved into the town since 1880. 10 BULLETIN OE THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. CONJUGAL CONDITION, BIRTHS, AND DEATHS. In the table following, relating to the conjugal condition of the Negroes of this community, it is found that o f the 351 males over 15 years o f age who returned answers 147, or 41.9 per cent, were single; 178, or 59.7 per cent, were married, and 14, or 4 per cent, were widowed. The remaining 12, or 3.4 per cent, were in no case regularly divorced, but were permanently separated from their wives and have been so scheduled. Of the 392 women, 126, or 32.1 per cent, were single; 178, or 45.4 per cent, were married; 76, or 19.4 per cent, were widowed, and 12, o** 3.1 per cent, were permanently separated. CONJUGAL CONDITION, BY S E X A N D A G E PERIODS. Males. Age periods. Single. W id owed. Married. 15 to 19 Years-........ 20 to 29 years . . . . . . 30 to 39 years . . . . . . 40 to 49 years ______ 50 to 59 years COto 69 years . . . . . . tn 70 y e a r s _____ Ffl tn 80 y e a r s ______ 90 to 99 years . . . . . . 100 years or over Unknown ______ 79 55 6 3 2 1 1 1 T o ta l............. 147 178 Females. 28 46 37 30 20 12 3 1 Sepa rated. 3 7 2 1 Single. 3 1 3 4 71 44 10 1 Married. 3 51 49 30 32 9 4 W id owed. Sepa rated. 3 6 22 17 14 11 3 3 2 3 3 1 76 12 1 1 14 12 126 178 The table following compares the conjugal condition of the Negroes in Farmyille with the conjugal condition of the populations o f various foreign countries. The table relates to persons 15 years of age or over. CONJUGAL CONDITION OP TH E NEGROES OF F A R M V IL L E A N D OF T H E PO P U L A TIONS OF V A R IO U S FOREIGN COUNTRIES, B Y SEX. [Tiro per cents for Farmville are computed from schedules; those for foreign countries are taken from Mayo-Smith’s Statistics and Sociology. The figures for divorced are not shown for the foreign countries.] Per cent of males 15 years of Per cent of females 15 years of age or over. age or over. Civil division. Single. Fpnn vipn________ . . . . _____ . . . . _______ _ France__________. . . . . . . . . . . ___. . . . . . . . . . G erm any__ ____________________________ Great Britain. . . . . . . . ___ ______ H u n g a r y ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tfftl anf l __ ___ ___________________________ I t a l y . . . . . . .................. ..... ....................... 41.0 36.0 40.9 39.5 31.5 49.3 40.9 Married. Widowed. 50.7 56.5 53.7 54.9 63.7 44.8 53.1 »7 .4 7.5 5.3 5.6 4.7 5.9 6.0 Single. 32.1 30.0 36.5 37.3 22.0 43.5 33.2 Married. Widowed. 45.4 55,3 50.8 50.9 62.8 32.1 53.2 a 22.5 14.7 12.4 11,8 15.0 14.4 13.6 a Including separated. In the table following the conjugal condition of the Negro population o f Farmville is compared with that of the entire population of the United States. Only persons 20 years o f age or over are considered. 11 THE NEOROES OE FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. CONJUGAL CONDITION OF TH E NEGROES OF F A R M V IL L E A N D OF T H E P O P U L A TION OF TH E U N IT E D STATES, B Y SEX. [The per cents for Faruiville are computed from schedules; those for tie United States are taken from the United States census of 1890.] Per cent of males 20 years of age or over. Per cent of females 20 years of age or over. Civil division. Single. Farm ville............... United States: Native whites, native* par ents ............... Native whites, foreign par ents ............... Foreign whites N egroes............ Total United States ........ Married. Wid owed. Divorced. Single. Married. W id owed. Divorced. 25.00 65.44 5.15 a 4.41 17.30 55.03 23.90 a 3.77 28.54 66.08 4.74 6.64 16.75 67.88 12.79 6.53 48.82 28.06 25.01 48.65 65. 93 £9.02 2.25 5.51 5.40 6.2 8 6 .5 0 6 .5 7 34.83 15.39 15.71 58.76 68.05 65.02 6.02 16.21 18.41 6.89 6.35 6.86 30.95 63.83 4.65 6.5 7 19.92 66.35 13.19 6.54 a Separated. 6 Including unknown. Comparing tlie conditions in Farmville with the conditions in foreign lands and in the United States as shown in the tables immediately pre ceding, we find some very instructive indications, (a) In slavery days marriage or cohabitation was entered upon very early, and the first generation of freedmen did the same. The second generation, however, is postponing marriage largely for economic reasons, and is migrating to better its condition. Consequently we find, in a race young in civili zation, that the percentage of single men over 15 would seem to be larger than in Great Britain, France, Germany, Hungary, or Italy, if the conditions in Farmville are generally true, and that the number of single women is larger than might be expected. This leads to two evils—illicit sexual intercourse and restricted influence of family life. When among any people a low inherited standard o f sexual morals is coincident with an economic situation tending to prevent early mar riage and to promote abnormal migrations to the irresponsibility and temptations of city life, then the inevitable result is prostitution and illegitimacy. Thus it is quite possible to see these evils increase among a people during a period when great general advance is being made. They are the evils inseparable from a transition period, and they will remain until the industrial situation becomes satisfactory, migration becomes normal, and moral standards become settled. The records of births as kept by the county are far from complete, and therefore not to be relied upon. The birth rate among the Negroes is large, but apparently decreasing. The per cent of illegitimate births a The numbers involved in the Farmville inquiry were of course very small, and conclusions from percentages computed from them must consequently be made with due reservation. It is not intended in this or similar eases to push comparisons too far, but in all cases the conclusions stateil are borne out by general observation here and elsewhere as well as by the figures. 12 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. is, of course, still more difficult to determine. By careful inquiry it was ascertained that there were living in the town August 1, 1897, at least 44 illegitimate children under 10 years of age. The total number of children under 10 was 301, indicating, roughly, a rate of nearly 15 per cent o f illegitimate births. Even this rate is, by universal testi mony, a great improvement on conditions in the past. The records of deaths in the town are better kept than those of births, but these, too, are probably incomplete. There were 33 deaths reported in Farmville in 1896, indicating a death rate o f 13.5 per 1,000. This is too low, but the true death rate is not high. There is a large infant mortality, but otherwise the colored population seems fairly healthy. Their death rate, of course, exceeds that o f the whites. While facts bearing on miscegenation between whites and blacks are difficult to obtain and interpret, yet they are of interest. O f the 44 illegitimate children mentioned, 10 were, in all probability, children of white men) 4 of these belonged to one mother, who was openly known to be the concubine of a white man who had a white family; 2 of the children belonged to another mother, and there were four mothers each having 1 illegitimate child, making six mothers in all having such children. There is no doubt that this illicit intercourse has greatly decreased in recent years. Curiously enough, there are in the vicinity of the town two cases of intermarriage of colored men and white women, which are undisturbed, despite the law. Some attempt was made to determine what proportion of the whole population was of mixed blood, but with only partial success. If, as is often assumed in such inquiries, all cases o f intermingling were matters of a single generation, or of two, the investigation would be easier. But when a person is a descendant of people of mixed blood for four or five generations the matter becomes very difficult. A record was kept of the personal appearance of a majority of those Negroes of the town who were met by the investigator face to face. O f 705 Negroes thus met, 333 were apparently of unmixed Negro blood 5 219 were brown in color and showed traces of white blood, and 153 were yellow or lighter, and showed considerable infusion of white blood. According to this, one-third to one-half the Negroes of the town are of mixed blood, and verifying this by observations on the street and in assemblies, this seemed a fair conclusion. SCHOOLS AND ILLITERACY. The town o f Farmville has no school for colored children, but sends them to the district school just outside the corporation limits. The schoolhouse is a large, pleasantly situated frame building with five rooms. It has one male principal, and one male and three female assistants. It is not at present, if the general testimony of the towns people is to be taken, a very successful school. It is practically ungraded, the teachers are not particularly well equipped, except in 13 THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. one, possibly two, cases, and the school term is six months—Septem ber 15 to April l. The teachers’ salaries do not average over $30 a month, which confines the competition for the school to residents of the town. The average attendance at the school for the year ending in 1895 was 260.5; in 1896 it was 260, and in 1897 it was 269. (a) This is between 80 and 90 per cent o f the registration. Of the 512 children in Farmville between the ages of 5 and. 20, 239, or 46 per cent, were in school dur ing the year ending in 1897. Of the 367 children between 5 and 15 years o f age, 205, or 55.9 per cent, were in school. The following table shows the school attendance by age and sex: SCHOOL A T T E N D A N C E , B Y A G E A N D SE X . Males. Age. Pemales. Popula In school. Popula In school. tion. tion. 5 ypifiTB___ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 years.................................................................................................. 7 y^ars________________________________________________ . . . ___ 8 yft^rs___________ ___. . . __________________________ . . . . . . . . . . ft yoars_____ ________________________________________ . . . . . . . . 10years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 years..................................... ..... .......................................... ........... 12 ypiara___________ ____________ ___. . . __ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 13 years_____ ___________ ____. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 years................................................................. ................................ 15 years............................... ...................... ......................................... 20 8 13 13 16 23 14 29 22 15 19 1 4 5 11 16 11 21 17 13 9 22 17 19 21 13 15 10 18 7 23 10 1 4 & ia li 10> 7 15 5 15- T o t a l ..................... ...................................... ................................................... to 20 y o a r s ................................ .......... . . . . ..................................... ............... 192 74 108 13 175 71 97 266 121 246 j 15 Grand total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __ . . . . 8 21 118 Between the ages of 5 and 15 years the boys and girls attend school in about the same proportion; after that the boys largely drop out and go to work. As compared with the boys, a larger proportion of the girls receive some training above that of the common grades. The effect o f child labor in housework and in the tobacco factories is easily traced in the figures as to the length of school attendance during the year. Of the 205 children from 5 to 15 years of age who attended school during the year 1896-97, only 52 per cent attended the full term of six months, 33 per cent attended half the term, and 11 per cent less than three months. Four per cent eked out the public school term by three or more months in private classes. The following table shows the length of school attendance of children from 5 to 15 years of age by sex: LEN G TH OP SCHOOL A T T E N D A N C E , B Y SEX. School attendance. Males. Pemales. Total. 22 68 Under 3 months ..................................................................... . 3 months. . . . . . . . . . . ..................................................... ............. ......... . . . . . . . . . . 6 m o n t h s ____ ______________ ______ ____ __________________________ „ ____________ 9 months or over................................ ............................................................... 11 39 55 3 11 29 52 5 107 g Total.................................................................................................................... 108 97 205* a From records in county superintendent’s office, Prospect, Prince Edward County. 1821—No. 14----- 2 14 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. Even so indifferent; a scliool system lias had its effect on the illiteracy of the town. O f the 908 people reporting, 42.5 per cent could read and write, 17.5 per cent could read but could not write, while 40 per cent were wholly illiterate. I f we divide the population into four classes— those reared in slavery, those reared in time of war and reconstruction, those reared since 1867, and present youth—we can trace the steps of advance by the decreasing amount of illiteracy. Nevertheless, 23 per cent of the youths from 10 to 20 years of Age are illiterate. The fol lowing table shows the degree of illiteracy by sex and age periods: L IT E R A T E S A N D IL L IT E R A T E S , B Y SEX A N D A G E PERIODS. Able to read and write. Able to read. 10 to 20 years......................................................................... 21 to 30 years..................................................................... . 31 to 40 years........... - .............................. . 41 years or ov e r................................................................... Age unknown....................................................................... 97 38 30 34 1 49 16 7 13 1 45 26 10 80 1 4 1 5 1 195 81 47 132 4 Total m ales............................................................... 200 86 162 11 459 10 to 20 years......................................................................... 21 to 30 years......................................................................... 31 t o 40 years........... ............................. .......................... 41 y e a r s or o v e r ___________ _____ ____________ ____________ Age unknown....................................................................... 96 52 28 10 21 21 17 14 34 23 28 116 3 1 1* 154 97 73 140 1 Total females.............................................................. 186 73 201 5 405 10 to 20 years......................................................................... 21 to 30 years......................................................................... 40 years.............. ......................................................... 41 years or o v e r.................................................................... Age unknown....................................................................... 193 90 58 44 1 70 37 24 27 1 79 49 38 196 1 7 5 2 349 178 120 272 5 Total, both sexes...................................................... 386 159 363 16 924 Sox and age periods. Illiter ate. Not re ported. Total. MALES. FEMALES. BOTH SEXES. 31 to Many of the Earmville boys and girls are attending various schools and academies away from home. Those most frequented, in order of popularity, are: Virginia Seminary, Lynchburg, a colored Baptist school; Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, Petersburg, a State school; Hartshorn Memorial College, Richmond, a school for girls; Hampton Institute, Hampton; Ingleside Seminary, Burkeville, a Presbyterian school. One noticeable change in the later generations is that the excess of illiteracy which was formerly among the women is now among the men. Naturally statistics of illiteracy which depend on voluntary informa tion -contain a degree of error. In the present case the least favorable construction was put on all doubtful or evasive answers, and the error is probably not larger than usual in such statistics. 15 THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. OCCUPATIONS AND WAGES. The opportunities for employment in Farmvillo explain much as to the present condition of its Negro citizens, as, for example, the migra tion from country to town and from town to city, the postponement of marriage, the ownership of property, and the general relations between whites and blacks. I f we divide the total colored population above 10 years of age according to the popular classification of pursuits, we have in professional occupations, 22; in domestic, 287; in commercial, 45; in agricultural, 15; in industrial, 282; not engaged in gainful occupations, 259, and not reported, 14. Using a different classification, we have those working on their own account, 36; laboring class, 350; house service, 92; day service, 149; at home, unoccupied, and dependent, 259; professional and clerical, 24, and not reported, 14. The following table shows in detail the occupa tions, classed by sex and age periods: OCCUPATIONS, B Y SE X A N D A G E PEPvIODS. Occupations. 10 to 15 years. 16 to 20 years. 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 years Age un years. years. or over. known. Total. MALES. 1 2 2 Apprentices.................................. 1 B aker.......................................................... 1 1 1 1 Rarhfira........ .......... ..... .............. .............. Blacksm iths................................ *.......... ________ 1 _________ Brakeman...................... . 2 Bricklayers and plasterers................... ............... i .............. 1 6 G Bookmakers ................................ ..... ..... . 2 Butchers.................................................... Cabinetmaker___________ ____________ l Canning-factory omplovee_____ . . . . . . 1 2 Carpenters__________ ________________ Clergymen____ _________ _____________ 2 1 Clerkj Railway Mail Service................. 1 1 Coachmen.............................. ................... 1 Coopers...................................................... 1 2 7 4 Domestic servants.................................. 1 1 1 1 1 Farm laborers........................ __.............. 2 Farmers...................................................... 1 Firemen, stationary engine_____ _____ 2 Hostlers_____ ________________________ 2 2 •Tanitors________ _________ ____________ 9 9 4 11 Laborers..................................................... 1 Laundry proprietor.... ........................... 1 2 5 Mechanics, wood turning....................... Merchant, w ood....................................... 1 3 Merchants, grocery............... . Painters...................................................... Peddlers, candy, e t c _________________ 2 2 1 1 Porters.______________________________ 5 Restaurant keepers_____ ____________ 1 1 1 Pawmill employees . . ______ Silversmith and clock repairer______ Shoe makers a.nd repairers________ . 1 T e a c h e r_________ _________ __________ 1 1 Teamsters___ ________________________ 2 19 35 39 9 Tobacco-factory employees................... 1 2 Waiters - - ___________________________ Wheelwright - .................- 1 Net reported____ T. _ ________________ 4 1 At borne______________________________ 3 2 14 1 At school (ol , . T____ , _____________ 4 2 58 Total m ales.................................... 122 74 81 47 5 1 5 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 l 3 14 3 1 1 14 6 1 2 4 16 13 H 4 3 2 9 2 3 5 1 3 25 3 58 2 1 1 3 2 8 1 10 1 5 3 4 17 2 2 1 4 7 25 1 1 1 3 5 2 131 4 3 1 4 1 11 128 4 1 10 25 65 459 a Children who do nothing hut attend school. Many of the children work at service or in the tobacco factories a part of the year and also attend school. Such children are here enumerated under their occupations, and not as school children. 16 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. OCCUPATIONS, B Y SE X A N D A G E PERIODS— Concluded. Occupations. 10 to 15 years. 16 to 20 years. 4 11 1 18 FEMALES. “Rookbeeper.............................................. nanninpr.factory employee..................... Day workers and housewives.. . . . . . . . Domestic servants......................... "Wereh ts, grnfiftry__________________ Nursea_______________ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public eonks___________ . . . . . . . . . . . . . Restaurant keeper .......................... Seamstresses and housewives. . . . . . . . Teachers____________ ____ _______. . . . . Tobacco-factory employees____ . . . . . . Tobacco and canning factory em ployees and housewives_____ ______ jfoj; reported T- .. r__________ ______ Housewives .. r_______ ______________ Athome- _____________________. . . . . . . A t school (o-)____ __________. . . . . . . . . . 21 to 30 years. 31 to 40 41 years A ge un or over. known. years. 1 6 9 24 27 1 2 1 1 5 1 1 2 16 54 1 6 8 2 1 3 6 14 8 4 4 1 3 2 8 11 20 15 29 12 Total fem ales................................ 83 71 96 Total males and females.............. 205 145 177 1 1 33 114 65 2 2 2 1 10 15 23 1 4 61 8 5 28 6 1 7 72 119 | Total. 1 23 4 67 34 68 142 1 465 273 5 924 a Children who do nothing but attend school. Many of the children work at service or in the tobacco factories a part of the year and also attend school. Such children are here enumerated under their occupations, and not as school children. In the table following the Negroes of Farmville are compared with the population o f the United States as regards the percentage engaged in certain classes o f gainful occupations. The United States census classifications are used. PER CENT OF NEGROES OF F A R M Y IL L E A N D OF TO TA L PO PULATION OF T H E U N IT E D S T A TE S A T W O R K , EN G AG ED IN E A C H CLASS OF G A IN F U L OCCUPATIONS. [The figures for Farmville are from schedules; those for the United States are from the census of 1890.] Negroes of Farmville. Classes of occupations. Males. A gricnltnre_____________________________. . . . ______ Professional s e r v i c e ................................................ . Females. Total. Per cent in the United Per cent. States. Manufactures and mechanical industries............... 15 7 91 44 202 15 217 3 57 15 22 308 47 259 2.30 3. 38 47.31 7. 22 39.79 39.65 4.15 19.18 14.63 22.39 Total......................................................................... 359 292 651 100. DO 100.00 D o m e s tie and p e r so n a l s e r v i c e _____ __________________ T r a d e and t r a n s p o r t a t io n ..... ...................................... ........... While the range of employment open to colored men is not large, that open to women is peculiarly restricted, so that most girls have only the choice between domestic service and housewifery. The different classes of employment are taken up in turn: T h e P r o f e s s i o n s . —There are no colored physicians or lawyers in the town, preachers and teachers being the only representatives o f the learned professions. The position of preacher is the most influential of all positions among the Negroes, and brings the largest degree of per sonal respect and social prestige. The two leading preachers in the town receive, the one $480 and house rent ; the other, $600 a year. Both are graduates of theological seminaries and represent the younger THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. 17 and more progressive element. They use good English and no scandal attaches to their private life, so far as the investigator could learn. Their influence is, on the whole, good, although they are not particu larly spiritual guides, being rather social leaders or agents. Such men are slowly but surely crowding out the ignorant but picturesque and, in many particulars, impressive preacher of slavery days. Types of the latter are now to be found only in small churches, or in country districts where they care for two or three churches and receive salaries ranging from $75 to $300 a year. The teacher stands next to the preacher in general esteem. An increasing number of these are now young women, and those in Farmville teach the schools of the surrounding country districts. The school terms are from four to six months, and in addition there is consider able private teaching done. The teachers earn from $100 to $250 a year by teaching, and sometimes they do other work during vacation. T h e E n t r e p r e n e u r s . —The individual undertaker of business enterprise is a new figure among Negroes, and his rise deserves to be carefully watched, as it means much for the future of the race. The business enterprises in which Farmville Negroes are engaged on their own account are brickmaking, the grocery trade, barbering, restaurant keeping, furniture repairing, silversmithing and clock repairing, shoe making, wood selling and whip making, steam laundering, contracting and building, painting, blacksmithing, wheelwrighting, hotel keeping, and farming, representing in all 32 separate enterprises conducted by 36 proprietors, and employing, besides, about 40 other persons. The entire brickmaking business of Farmville and vicinity is in the hands of a colored man—afreedman, who bought his own and his family’s freedom, purchased his master’s estate, and eventually hired his master to work for him. He owns a thousand acres or more of land in Cumber land County and considerable Farmville property. In his brickyard he hires about 15 hands, mostly boys from 16 to 20 years of age, and runs five or six months a year, making from 200,000 to 300,000 brick. His meii receive about $12 a month, and extra pay for extra work. Probably over one-half the brick houses in and near Farmville are built of brick made in his establishment, and he has repeatedly driven white com petitors out o f business. The grocery store, as kept by the Negro, is a comparatively new ven ture in Farmville, and is quite successful, although most o f the stores are naturally small and unpretentious affairs. There are seven grocery stores in the town conducted by Negroes. O f these, three are flourishing and do a business of from $50 to $100 a week. The three proprietors of these stores have been in business from five to eight years, are property holders, have a good common-school training, and 'appar ently possess good business judgment. Their wives generally help in the stores, and only occasionally do they hire clerks. Two other stores are newer than these, and are doing fairly well, with prospects of better 18 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. trade in future. They are kept by young men who got tlieir capital by menial service in New York City. The proprietors of these five stores depend entirely on their business for support. The two other stores are conducted by women as side enterprises. They have only a small patronage. An eighth grocery store, not noted in the table of occu pations, was started in August, 1897, during the progress of this investigation. The barbering and restaurant businesses were the ones to which the freedmen most naturally turned after their training as house servants. On this account, they do not to-day enlist the best talent of the race, since they savor in some respect of the unpleasant pash; yet they are still largely followed. The wealthiest Negro in the town is the leading barber, who is reported worth not far from $10,000. There are five barber shops altogether—three for whites and two for blacks—and all run by Negroes. This is rather too many for the trade o f the town, and one at least is being forced out. The income o f barbers varies largely j probably from $5 to $15 a week would be the average. There are five proprietors, and generally five assistants, who receive from $3 to $5 a week. There are two restaurants which do a good business, especially on Saturdays, with the farmers. They employ about four persons besides the proprietors. There is also a lunch business done by one of the grocery stores. Two blacksmiths and a wheelwright do a good business, sometimes taking in from $5 to $8 a day. There are also four shoe makers and repairers and two furniture repairers. A silversmith, who is a good workman, learned his trade of his former master, and is kept busy. There are three contractors—one in painting and two in small building jobs. A colored contractor on a larger scale resides temporarily in the town, but belongs in Richmond. He is building a fine country mansion for the leading white tobacco merchant of the place. The only steam laundry in the county is conducted by two young colored men, brothers, who also own one in Richmond. The Farmville laundry employs five or six persons besides one of the brothers and his wife. It is equipped with the latest machinery, and the proprietors own the x>remises. They probably do a business o f $100 a week in summer. The town jailor, a Negro, is also a wood merchant, whip maker, and farmer. He is assisted by his son, and owns, besides his farm, a pleas ant home in town. The timely assistance o f a son of his former master enabled him first to become a property holder. He is now educating his younger daughters at the seminary in Lynchburg, (a) A new enterprise in the town is a bakery and hotel. It occupies a neat building on the main street, and is conducted by a Hampton grada Ono of tho shoemakers was also materially aided by his master. At the close of the war tho master gave him the stock o f leather and tools in the shop and never asked for pay. There are other cases of good will of this sort between ex-masfer and freedman. THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. 19 uate and lier liusbaud. The bakery so far is the more successful part, but the hotel feature has a chance to grow. F a r m e r s . —Most of the Negroes have given up farming for the industrial chances of the town. Of those living in town, three—the briekmaker, the wood merchant, and one of the barbers—own large and well-conducted farms. Besides this, nearly every family has a vegeta ble garden, sometimes of considerable size, from which produce is sold. Many factory hands hire out as farm laborers during the spring and summer; they receive from 35 to 50 cents a day and board, or, if they work by the month, from $8 tc $10. I n d u s t r i e s . —The industries in which Negroes are employed are tobacco manufacturing, cooperage, wood working, fruit canning, feed grinding, railroading, and briekmaking. The chief and all-absorbing industry, and the one that characterizes the town, is that of preparing tobacco strips—an industry in which Farmville ranks among the first cities of Virginia. There are in all 10 factories for this industry in the town; two firms operate 4 each; one operates 3; one 2, and three other firms 1 each. These factories are large barnlike structures of wood, 3 or 4 stories high, with many windows. The manufacture of tobacco strips consists in ridding the dry tobacco leaf o f the woody stem. The loose tobacco is taken to the factory and placed on the floor of a room in piles, according to grade, style, and quality. Enough of a certain grade to make a hogshead of strips is then taken to another room and sprinkled and steamed, a little at a time. The bundles are then ready to be stemmed, as the leaves are supple and pliant. Women and young men, assisted by children who untie the bundles and place them in position, dextrously draw out the stems, and the children tie the strips thus left into uniform bundles. The bundles are then weighed, stretched on sticks, and hung up in the drying room for from eight to twelve hours. When thoroughly dried and cooled the tobacco is again steamed as it hangs, and then cooled for two days. Finally, it is steamed a third time in a steam box, straightened, and quickly packed in hogsheads, (a) The women and young men who stem the tobacco get 50 cents for every hundred pounds of stemmed tobacco, and can, with the aid of children, stem from 100 to 300 pounds a day, thus earning from $2.50 to $9 a week or more, for from five to seven months in the year. Other women laborers receive 35 or 40 cents a day, while the men who prize', steam, and pack tobacco receive from 75 cents to $1 a day for eight or nine months. The better classes o f women do not like to work in the factories, and the surroundings are said to be unsuitable for girls. Many children are kept from school all or part of the time to enable them to help in this factory work. An adjunct to the tobacco business is the a See United States Census of 1880, Statistics o f Agriculture, Report on Culture of and Curing Tobacco tp. 211. 20 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. making of hogsheads and tierces, in which colored coopers are employed. They earn from $6 to $8 a week for the major part of the year. The “ foundry,” as it is called, formerly did some iron molding, but now is engaged in woodworking, chiefly the turning of plow handles. It employs ten colored and four white mechanics, and pays them from 75 cents to $1 a day, without discrimination. The feed mills employ a few Negroes, and the Norfolk and Western and Farmville and Powhatan railways have colored section hands and brakemen. The section hands receive $1 per day and the brakemen not much more. A canning establishment, which is at present canning tomatoes, employs many women and men. Women receive 2 cents a bucket for paring tomatoes, and can earn from 40 to 50 cents a day; men receive from 75 cents to $1 a day. T h e T r a d e s .—Among the skilled trades Negroes are found as paint ers, shoemakers, cabinetmakers, coopers, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, brick masons, plasterers, carpenters, bakers, butchers, and whip makers. A ll o f these have been alluded to before, save those in the building trades. There are 14 carpenters, 3 painters, and 3 masons who live in the town, besides several who live in the country and work in town. White and black mechanics are often seen working side by side on the same jobs, and get on without apparent friction, although there is some discrimination in wages. Colored carpenters get generally from 75 cents to $1 per day, and painters and masons not over $1. There are apparently more Negroes with trades than white men, but there is a dearth o f young Negro apprentices, so that colored contractors often have to hire white mechanics. C l e r i c a l W o r k . —Yery little clerical work of any kind is done by Negroes. There is one railway-mail clerk, who secured his position through civil-service examination. He has had one route for seven years. The wife of the laundry proprietor does his bookkeeping, and occasionally a temporary helper is needed in the colored grocery stores. Very often the colored porters in white business establishments do considerable clerical work; they are, however, paid as porters. Common Laborers.—There are 92 common laborers, including 17 porters and 3 janitors. The porters work in stores and commission houses, and are often old and trusted servants. They earn from $8 to $10 a month and board. Three laborers in the foundry receive 50 cents a day; 11 teamsters receive from 75 cents to $1 a day; the other 58 laborers do odd jobs of all sorts, work now and then on farms or in the tobacco factories, do chores about private houses, drive cows, keep gar dens, etc. They receive from 30 to 75 cents a day. D o m e s t i c S e r v i c e . —Twenty-two men and 65 women, among those who appear upon the schedules, and about 75 others, some o f whom are residents of the town and some not, are wholly engaged in domestic service. The men receive from $8 to $10 a month. The women receive from $1 to $5, according to age and work; a general servant in an ordi THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. 21 nary family receiving $4 a month; a nurse girl, from $1 to $3, and a cook, $5. Besides this they get good board, fair lodging, much cast-off clothing, and not a little training in matters of household economy and taste. There is considerable dissatisfaction over the state of domestic serv ice. The Negroes are coming to regard the work as a relic o f slavery and ’as degrading, and only enter it from sheer necessity, and then as a temporary makeshift. Parents.hate to expose their sons to the early les sons of servility, which are thus learned, and their daughters to the everpossible fate of concubinage, (a) Employers, on the other hand, find an increasing number of careless and impudent young people who neglect their work, and in some cases show vicious tendencies, and demoralize the children of the family. They pay low wages, partly because the Southern custom compels families, who ought to do their own work, to hire help, and they can not afford to pay much; partly, too, because they do not believe the service rendered is worth more. The servants, receiving less than they think they ought, are often care ful to render as little for it as possible. They grow to despise the menial work they do, partly because their employers themselves despise it and teach their daughters to do the same. This may not represent the open, conscious thought of the com munity, but it is the unconscious tendency of the present situation, which makes one species of honorable and necessary labor difficult to buy or sell without loss of self-respect on one side or the other. One result of this situation is the wholesale emigration of the better class o f servants to the North, where they can earn three and often four times the wages for less work. At the same time one curious modifi cation of the domestic-service system is slowly taking place, which may mean much in the future, and that is the fact that Negroes themselves are begining to hire servants. Ten families among Farmville Negroes regularly hire one servant each, and several others have a woman to help occasionally. This system is, however, very different from the hiring of Negroes by whites. The employers in this case in no respect despise common labor or menial duties, because they themselves have performed such work all their lives. Their servant, too, is a neighbor’s daughter, whom they know and like and treat practically as a member of the family. Thus there grows up a system very much like that in New England or in parts of Germany to-day, where housework is honored. A t the same time, the Negro employers learn to sympathize with the complaints of the whites as to inefficient servants. In this way, possibly, the one circumstance which more than all others serves to ruin domestic service in the South may be modified, namely, the making of the term-u Negro” and u servant” synonymous. Even to day a This is, of course, much more rare now than formerly, hut nearly all present cases originated in the close contact of female servants with thoughtless or design ing members of families. 22 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. the economic importance of the black population of Farmville has brought many white men to say a mister” to the preacher and teacher and .to raise their hats to their wives. D a y S e r v i c e . —Just as the field hand of slavery days developed into the metayer, so the house servant easily developed into the day worker. Thirty-three single women and 114 housewives go out regu larly at day work in families or take family washing into their ho'mes. The increased independence of the servant and the decreased responsi bility of the employer make this a popular system. It is, however, poorly paid, being a subsidiary employment for most families; and in hard times, when the house servant would have to be retained, it is easy to cut off this sort of worker. *Those who work in families are either paid like house servants, by the week, or if they work by the day, from 30 to 50 cents a day. Much neglect of their own household duties and o f children, especially of growing girls, is a result of this absence of the mother from home. Those who take in washing receive from 50 to 75 cents for a family wash. The girls at the white normal school pay $1.25 a month each for their washing. In this way many a Farmville mother helps her husband support the family, or during dull times keeps them all above want. T h e U n e m p l o y e d . —A considerable number of idlers and loafers shows that the industrial situation in Farmville is not altogether sat isfactory and that the moral tone of the Negroes has room for great betterment. One of the principal causes of idleness is the irregular employment. A really industrious man who desires work is apt to be thrown out of employment from one-third to one-half o f the year by the shutting up o f the tobacco factories, the brickyard, or the cannery. I f he wants to get on in the world or accumulate j>roperty, he often finds that he must seek better wages and steadier employment else where; or if he can not himself go, he sends a son or a daughter. Fully one-half, if not two-thirds, of the property owned by Negroes in the town has been paid for in large part with money earned outside the town. On the other hand, if the man be of only ordinary caliber he easily lapses into the habit of working part of the year and loafing the rest. This habit is especially pernicious for half-grown boys, and leads to much evil. Undoubtedly the present situation prolongs some o f the evils of the slave system, and is the cause of much of that apparent laziness and irresponsibility for which so many Negroes are justly criticised. It is also true that larger, better, and steadier indus trial opportunities in a town like Farmville would in time be able to counteract the tendency of youth to emigrate, would build up a faith ful and efficient laboring community, and would pay good dividends to the projectors of new enterprises. The great demand is for steady employment which is not menial, at-fair wages. The women, too, demand enlarged industrial opportunities outside o f domestic service, and of a kind compatible with decency and*selfrespect. They are on the whole more faithful and are becoming better THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. 23 educated than the men, and they are capable of doing far better work than they have a chance to do. As it is they can only become servants, and if they mast serve they prefer $12 a month in New York to $4 in Farinville. This explains the growing excess of colored women over colored men in many Northern cities. However, besides all these willing workers, or those capable of train ing, there is undoubtedly in Farinville the usual substratum of loafers and semicriminals who will not work. There are probably five or six regular prostitutes, who ply their trade chiefly on Saturday nights. There are also some able-bodied men who gamble, and fish, and drink. Then there are the men who work, but who spend their time and money in company with the lowest classes. These people live in a few crowded tenements, easily distinguished, and are regarded by whites and blacks as beneath notice. Occasionally serious crime is perpetrated by this class, but their depredations are generally petty and annoying rather than dangerous. During 1896,13 Negroes were indicted for serious crimes in the whole county 5 4, for housebreaking, received sentences varying from six months in jail to four years in the penitentiary; 3, for petty larceny and assault, received a few months in jail; 2, for infanti cide and attempted murder, received three and eight years, respec tively, in the penitentiary; 3, for highway robbery, received from five to fifteen years in the penitentiary, and 1 received ten years for horse stealing. (a) In the town some ten years since, there was one case of lynching for rape; but it is now generally conceded that the female was a lewd character, and that the black boy was guilty of no crime. The slum elements of Farinville are as yet small in number, but they are destined to grow with the town. They receive recruits from the lazy, shiftless, and dissolute of the country around; they send them on to Washington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore as fit candidates for the worst criminal classes of those cities. The problem of Negro crime, therefore, is best studied and solved in towns of this size. ECONOMICS OF THE FAMILY. The question o f the.size of Negro families is important, but difficult to determine, on account of the varying meanings of the word ufamily.” The economic family, i. e., those living together under conditions of family life, must obviously be the unit of a national census, but when it is used as the basis of a study of the fecundity of a certain part of the population the logic is dangerous. For this reason an attempt has been made to schedule the Negro families according to three conceptions of the word “ family,” viz: 3; The possible family, i. e., the parents and all children ever born to them living. a Three murder cases -were tried in the county by change of venue. The majority of petty cases vrere tried by justices. See records in county clerk's office, Farinville. 24 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. 2. The real family, i. e., the parents and all children living at present. 3. The economic family, i. e., all persons, related and unrelated, living in one home under conditions of family life. Statistics of the possible family are not complete, partly on account of the difficulty o f obtaining reliable answers and partly because this question was inserted in the schedules after the canvass had begun. The answers to the other questions are fairly full. The following table presents statistics of Negro families in Farmville: NU M BER OF F A M IL IE S, B Y SIZE. The possible family. The real family. The economic family Size of family. Families. Persons. Families. Persons. Families. Persons. 1 member. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 members..................................................... 3 num bers..................................................... 4 members..................................................... 5 members..................................................... 6 members..................................................... 7 members........................... ............... R members___________ _________________ ft members___________ ______ ________ ___ 10 members..................................................... 11 members..................................................... 12 members.......................................... . . . . . 13 members .................................. ................. 14 members..................................................... 15members . . . . . . . . _____ _______________ 16 members............................. 1 7 members ................................................... 21 members_________ ___________________ 2fi mem hers , ____ r_________________ T o ta l..................................................... A verage...................................... 1 2 1 1 1 6 4 5 6 1 4 1 3 10 44 12 39 1 1 15 16 1 1 21 25 19 205 10.79 2 42 39 48 33 25 16 19 11 7 5 84 117 192 165 150 112' 152 99 70 55 2 1 26 14 1 17 249 1,253 5.03 13 52 34 48 t 31 26 19 16 11 5 7 262 13 104 102 192 155 156 133 128 99 50 77 a l , 209 4.61 a Not including 16 brickyard laborers, etc., who might be counted in families, but who have prefer ably been called “ floating, ” so as not to disturb the economic statistics. The small number of cases makes the figures for the possible family of value only as vaguely indicating the extreme limit of Negro repro duction which the large infant mortality and the preventive check to reproduction (late marriages) keep from realization. This method of inquiry rightly pursued might make an interesting comment on Mal thusianism. The size o f the real family comes nearest to being a true test of the fecundity o f the race under present conditions, while the economic family shows the results of the present economic conditions. The economic family in Farmville is the complement of the Negro family in a city like Philadelphia, and these two families are very often but parts o f one family; for married couples going North often leave their children in Farmville, and single persons live alone in cities and are counted as families o f one, etc. In this way the continual migration complicates the question of the size of Negro families. Nevertheless, when all allowances are made, there is no doubt that the average Negro family in Farmville, in Virginia, and probably throughout the country is gradually decreasing in size. This is natural and salutary, and is due to day not so much to a large death rate—for that is a factor which has always been reckoned upon and was undoubtedly more powerful 25 THE NEGROES OP FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. in the past than now—but to the comparatively sudden application of the preventive check to population, viz, late marriages. This view receives further confirmation if we compare various sizes of families among Farmville Negroes with the sizes of families in the whole United States and in the North Atlantic States. This comparison is shown in the following table: PER CENT OP NEGRO F A M IL IE S OF F A R M V IL L E A N D OF TO TAL F A M IL IE S OF TH E U N IT E D ST A TE S A N D OF T H E NORTH A T L A N T IC STATES IN E A C H GROUP, B Y SIZE OF F A M I L Y . [The figures for Farmville are from schedules; those for the United States are from the census of 1890.] Size of family. 1 mem b er__ ___________________________________ . . . . . . . . _________. . . ____ 2tnfi members ____________________ ______________________ . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 to 10 members ...................................................................... 11 momhers or over____________________________________. . . . . . . ____. . . . . . Negroes of Farmville. United States. 4.96 72.90 19.47 2.67 3.63 73.33 20.97 2.07 North Atlantic States. 3.23 78.05 17.00 1.72 The houses which the 262 Negro families of Farmville occupy vary from 1 to 9 rooms each in size, but have generally 2 or 3 rooms. The following table gives the distribution of families by size of family and number of rooms to the dwellings they occupy: F A M ILIE S, B Y SIZE OF F A M IL Y , A N D NU M BER OF ROOMS TO A D W E L L IN G . Families occupying dwellings o fSize of family. 8 or 9 1 room J2 rooms. 3 rooms. 4 rooms. 5 rooms. 6 rooms. 7 rooms. rooms. Total. 1 1 member_______________ 2 members ........................... 3 members........................... 4 members........................ 5 members _______________ 6 members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 members______________ 8 members .. _____ ____ 0 members______________ 1ft Tntvmbars ____ 11 members_____ _________ Total families........... Total rooms............... 1 8 4 8 1 9 27 16 26 19 14 12 5 4 1 1 3 2 1 134 268 45 135 4 17 17 1 7 6 11 3 5 2 1 7 4 5 3 3 1 3 1 1 3 3 3 3 2 1 2 2 2 1 31 124 19 95 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 21 5 42 1 8 48 13 52 34 48 31 26 19 16 11 5 7 262 750 The one-room cabin is rapidly disappearing from the town. Nearly all the 17 one-room dwellings are old log cabins, although there are a few frame tenements of this size. Such houses have one or two win dows, a door, and usually a stone fireplace. They are from 15 to 20 feet square. The 134 two-room homes are mostly tenements. A large cheaply built frame house is constructed so as to contaiu two such ten ements. In such houses the kitchen, by a very sensible arrangement of the tenants, is usually upstairs and the living room on the first floor. The rooms are from 15 to 18 feet square and have two windows. The staircase in many instances is open, so that there is no way to shut off the upper room. Three-room houses are generally owned by their 26 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. occupants, and are neater and more tasteful than the tenements. They are usually tiny, new frame structures, with two rooms, one above the other, at the front, and a small orie-story addition, for the kitchen, in the rear. To this a small veranda is often added. Four-room houses are similar, with a room above the kitchen, or are built similar to the double tenement houses. The large houses generally follow the plan of the old Virginia mansion, with a wide hall and rooms on either side in both stories. Few of the houses have cellars and many are poorly built. Nearly all, however, are in healthful locations, with good water near by and a garden spot. Of the 262 families, 6.5 per cent occupied one-room homes; 51.1 per cent, two-room homes; 17.2 per cent, three-room homes) 11.8 per cent, four-room homes, and 13.4 per cent, homes of five or more rooms. On an average there were 1.61 persons to a room and 2.9 rooms to a family. There are about 240 separate houses occupied by Negroes. O f the 262 families, 114, or 43.5 per cent, own the homes they occupy, and 148 families, or 56.5 per cent, rent. The following table shows the number of families owning and renting homes by size of dwellings: F A M IL IE S OWNING- A N D R E N T IN G HOMES, B Y NU M BER OF ROOMS TO A D W E L L IN G Families occupying dwellings o fTenure. 1 room. 2 rooms. 3 rooms. 4 rooms. 5 rooms. Grooms. 7 rooms J j rooms. Owners _______. . . . . . ______ Renters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tntnl _____ 3 14 25 109 31 14 22 9 18 1 8 17 134 45 31 19 8 Total fami lies. 3 I .............. 4 1 114 148 j 5 262 3 Of these 148 tenants, 15 rent from Negroes and 133 from whites. Several of the tenants own land. The rents paid by 83 typical tenants are reported in the following table, and from these the total annual rent charge of this community is estimated at about $5,006: RENTS P A ID B Y T Y P IC A L F A M IL IE S, B Y NU M BER OF ROOMS TO A D W E L L IN G . Families occupying dwellings of— Monthly rent. 1 room. 2 rooms. 3 rooms. 4 rooms. Free............... ...... ................................................ $1. CO....................................................................... $L. 2 5 ....................................................................... $ 1 .5 0 ....................................................................... $ 2 .0 0 ........................................... .'.......................... $ 2 .5 0 ....................................................................... $ 2 .7 5 ....................................................................... $ 3 .0 0 ....................................................................... $ 3 .5 0 ....................................................................... Total............................................................ Not reported........................................................ Total Annual 5 rooms fami rent or lies. paid. more. 1 2 1 3 1 7 7 a Estimated. 9 15 1 38 64 45 1 1 1 5 1 3 9 5 3 6 2 1 2 1 4 11 16 1 43 4 $24 15 72 264 480 33 1,548 168 83 65 a 2, 268 2,604 27 THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. The total annual income of the 262 families is naturally very difficult to fix with accuracy. Written accounts are seldom kept, and many families could not answer if they would. However, wages do not vary much in the town, and by taking into account the usual wages received, the months employed during the year, the total wage earners in the family, and the general style of living, the accompanying estimate has been made, which seems to give a fair indication of the truth, althoitgh the possibility of error is considerable. NUM BER OF F A M IL IE S , B Y SIZE OF F A M I L Y A N D A N N U A L INCOME. Such figures are better understood when they are read in connection with figures as to the cost and scale of living in the community. The following price list of commodities usually bought by Hegroes is there fore presented. The data were furnished by colored grocers. PRICES OF COMMODITIES A T F A R M V IL L E . Article. Food, etc.: Fresh p o r k ............. Pork steak............... Beefsteak................. Ham and bacon----Chickens................... Hens........................... T u rk eys................... Wheat flour......... Wheat flour............. Corn meal................. R ic e ........................... Cabbage ................... Potatoes................... Green corn................ Tomatoes................. P e a s........................... Beans......................... Canned goods.......... T e a ............................ Coffee......................... Sugar ........................ L ard .......................... Unit. Price. Pound .. Pound.. $0.08 Pound. . .08 Pound.. .08 Each . . . . 124 Each . . . .20 Pound.. 12-ponnd bag. Barrel.. 4.00 Peck . . . .11 Pound.. .05 Head . . . .01 Bushel.. .50 Ear........ Gallon.. Q uart... Quart.. . Can........ .08 Pound.. Pound.. .15 .05 Pound.. .07 Pound.. $0.06 to .10 to .10 to .10 to . 15 to .25 .07 .35 to 4. 50 to .12 to .06 to .06 to .60 .01 .05 .05 .05 to .10 .40 to . 18 to .06 to .08 Article. Food, etc.—Concluded. B u tte r..................... S a lt.......................... Herrings................. E g g s ........................ Apples..................... Apples, d r ie d ........ W aterm elons........ Pepper..................... M ilk ......................... Buttermilk............. S o a p ......................... Starch ..................... Fuel and lighting: Wood, uncut.......... Wood, p.nt,_______ Coal, bituminous.. Coal, anthracite... Kerosene o i l ......... Clothing: Men’s s u its........... Boys’ suits............. Women’s dresses.. Unit. Price. Pound.. $0.124 to $0.25 Pound.. .01 Each . . . .01 Dozen .. . 10 to . 12 Peck . . . .05 to .25 Pound.. .06 Each . . . .01 to .20 Pound.. .15 Quart .. .06 Gallon.. .10 Cake . . . .05 Pound.. .05 C o rd .... Cord. Ton . . . . Toil . . . . Gallon.. 2.00 2.50 4.50 7.50 .15 Each . . . Each . . . Each . . . 7.00 to 12.00 2.00 to 5.00 3.00 to 8.00 In this connection the following budgets, estimated by the three lead ing colored grocers of Earmville, are also given. The budgets relate to the yearly incomes and expenditures o f three families, each consisting of 5 persons. 28 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR, E S T IM A T E D A N N U A L INCOM E A N D E X P E N D IT U R E OF F A M I L Y OF 5 PERSONS I N M OD ERA TE CIRCUMSTANCES. Income. Items. Head of family: 24 weeks’ labor in tobacco factory, at 75 cents per day.......................... 16 weeks’ labor on farm, at 40 cents per d a y __________ __________ ___ _____ Housewife: 50 weeks’ labor on three family washings, at $1.50 per week.......... T otal................................................... Expenditure. Amount. $108.00 38.40 75.00 221.40 Items. Food per week: 1 bag flour, 35 cents; 3 pounds meat, 25 cents; 3 pounds sugar, 18 cents; 1 pound coffee, 15 cents; 3 pounds lard, 25 cents; soap, etc., 8 cents; starch, 8 cents; milk, butter, eggs, and vegetables, 30 cents. 52 weeks, at $1.64 per w eek ........................ Fuel and lighting: 1 load of wood per week for 20 weeks and 1J loads per week for 32 weeks, at 40 cents per load, $27.20; oil, etc., 52 weeks, at 10 cents per week, $5.20........................................... Clothing.......................................................... R e n t.................................................................. Miscellaneous................................................. Amount. $85.28 32.40 50.00 36.00 15.00 Total....................................................... Surplus................................................. . ......... 218.68 2.72 Total....................................................... 221.40 E S T IM A T E D A N N U A L INCOM E A N D E X P E N D IT U R E OF F A M I L Y OF 5 PERSONS IN POOR CIRCUM STANCES. Expenditure. Income. Items. Head of family: 24 weeks of common labor, at 50 c e n ts p e r day____________________ Oddjobs................................................. Housewife: 20 weeks’ work in canning factory, at 40 cents per day............... . Boy: 12 months in service, at $2 per m onth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T otal................................................... Amount. Items. Amount. Food, 52 weeks, at $1.50 to $2 per w eek.. Fuel and lighting, 52 weeks, at 40 cents to 50 cents p e r week_________ _______ _. Clothing: 1 suit, 2 pairs of pants, and 2 pairs of shoes, for man, $12; clothes for woman, $9; clothes for children, $4. R e n t..................................... ........................... Miscellaneous................................................. $91.00 24.00 Total....................................................... Surplus............................................................ 173.40 .60 174.00 Total....................................................... 174.00 $72.00 30.00 48.00 23.40 25.00 24.00 10.00 E S T IM A T E D A N N U A L INCOM E A N D E X P E N D IT U R E OF F A M I L Y OF 5 PERSONS O W N IN G HOME A U D IN M O D ERA TE CIRCUMSTANCES. Income. Items. Head of family: 32 weeks’ work as carpenter, at 75 cents per day.................................... Housewife and b oy: 20 weeks’ work as stemmers in tobacco factory, at $7 per week.. T otal................................................... Expenditure. Amount. $144.00 140.00 284.00 Items. Amount. Food per week: Flour, 30 cents; meal, 12 cents; sugar, 12 cents; coffee, 15 cents; lard, 16 cents; meat, 50 cents; soap, 5 cents; butter, 10 cents; mis cellaneous, 50 cents. 52 weeks, at $2 to $2.50 per week........................................ F u e l.................................................................. Clothing.......................................................... T axes................................................................ Miscellaneous................................................. $117.00 30.00 60.00 8.00 30.00 Total....................................................... Surplus............................................................ 245.00 39.00 Total...................................................... 284.00 These budgets are not the actual written accounts of particular fam ilies, because it is difficult in an unlettered community to obtain such accounts, but are based, as mentioned above, on the estimates of the three leading colored grocers, and represent the accounts o f various families who trade at their stores. As such they possess considerable value. In the light of these budgets, and from actual observation, the 29 THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. investigator has concluded that of the 262 families, about 29 live in poverty with less than suffices for ordinary comfort, 128 are in moder ate circumstances, 63 are comfortable, and 42 well-to do according to the standard of the town. With fairly steady employment, and perhaps the aid of a grown son or daughter, an ordinary colored family finds it possible to buy a lot for from $50 to $100, and build a three-room house thereon at a cost of from $300 to $500. A building association composed of both colored and white shareholders, but largely conducted by the whites, has greatly facilitated the buying of property by Negroes. Ex-masters and white friends also have often helped. On the other hand, there have been flagrant cases o f cheating the ignorant freedmen, and sometimes o f making them pay twice for the same land. The following detailed list of actual Negro taxpayers in the town in 1895, with their holdings, will best illustrate the division of property among them. Some changes have occurred since 1895, but not enough to make material difference. ASSESSED V A L U A T IO N OP R E A L E ST A T E OW N ED B Y NEGROES W IT H IN THE COR PORATION OF F A R M V IL L E , 1895. Tax payer num ber. 1......... 2......... 3......... 4 ......... 5 ......... 6......... 7 .......... 8......... 9.......... 10......... 11......... 12......... 13......... 14......... 15......... 16......... 17......... 18......... 19......... 20......... 21......... 22......... 23......... 24......... 25......... 26......... 27......... 28......... 29......... so......... 31......... 32......... 33......... 34......... 35......... 36......... 37......... 38......... 39......... 40......... Assessed valuation. Lots. $25 50 50 50 50 75 75 75 75 75 40 50 100 100 100 125 140 50 50 150 75 50 100 100 50 100 100 50 100 50 100 100 125 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 Build ings. Total. $60 50 100 100 100 150 100 100 150 100 100 150 100 150 100 100 125 200 200 150 200 200 150 200 $25 50 50 50 50 75 75 75 75 75 100 100 100 100 100 125 140 150 150 150 175 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 Tax payer num ber. 41........ 42........ 43........ 44........ 45........ 46........ 47........ 48........ 49........ 50........ 51........ 52........ 53........ 54........ 55........ ! 56........ 57........ 1 59........ j 60........ 61........ 1 62........ 63........ 1 64........ ' 65........ 66........ ! 67........ 68........ 1 69........ i 70........ j 71........ ; 72........ ! 73........ 74........ 75........ . 7 6 .... 77........ 78........ 79........ | 80........ Assessed valuation. Lots. $50 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 50 100 100 100 100 150 50 50 150 75 150 100 200 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Build ings. $200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 250 200 250 250 250 200 300 300 200 300 250 300 200 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 Total. Tax payer num ber. 81___ $250 300 82___ 300 83___ 84___ 300 300 ■ 85___ 300 1 86___ 300 8 7 .... 300 ! 88___ 300 89___ 90___ 300 91___ 300 300 92___ 300 93___ 300 94___ 300 95___ 300 96___ 300 97___ 300 98___ 300 99___ 300 100___ 300 101___ 350 102___ 350 1 0 3 .... 350 104___ 350 105___ 350 106___ 350 107___ 350 108___ 375 109___ 400 n o ___ 111___ 400 400 112___ 400 113___ 400 114___ 400 115___ 1 1 6 .... 400 117___ 400 400 118___ 400 119___ 400 Assessed valuation. Lots. $100 100 100 100 50 100 200 200 100 100 50 200 200 100 100 •100 150 100 150 100 100 200 100 200 250 150 200 150 200 200 100 200 200 200 200 400 150 200 1,500 Build ings. $300 300 300 300 450 400 300 300 400 400 450 300 300 400 400 400 350 400 400 500 500 400 500 400 350 500 500 550 600 600 700 700 800 800 1,200 1,100 1,400 1,600 1,300 Total. $400 400 400 400 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 550 600 600 600 600 600 600 650 700 700 800 800 800 900 1, ooo 1, 000 1,400 1,500 1,550 1,800 2,800 While the above table seems to show but 119 taxpayers, there were in reality 124 individual property holders among the Negroes, two or more in some cases holding a single piece of property. 1821—No. 14----- 3 30 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. Among the whites there were 232 holders of real estate. The largest assessed valuation placed upon real estate held by any one Negro of the town* was $2,800; by anyone white, $16,000. Seventy-seven whites owned $2,500 or more worth of real estate each. In addition to the Negro realty holders in the town o f Farmville, there were in the district o f Farmville a considerable number o f landowners, chiefly farmers. The detailed list of these shown in the statement fol lowing gives some idea of the size o f farms held by Negroes in the sur rounding county districts. Those owning lots from one-eighth to onehalf of an acre in size live near town and are included in the general totals of this study, but not in the table above. ASSESSED V A L U A T IO N OF R E A L E S T A T E O W N E D B Y NEGROES IN F A R M V IL L E DISTRICT, E X C L U SIV E OF T H E T O W N OF F A R M V IL L E , 1895. (a) Assessed valuation. Taxpayer num Acres ber. owned. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 10 17 18 39 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 30 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 40 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 0.50 5.00 .13 3.00 8.00 4.00 5.00 5.00 1.00 5.25 5.25 4.50 8.00 4.50 .25 0.50 (5) .50 5. 00 3.00 7.00 1.50 1.50 10.00 13.25 2.00 ( b) 1.00 10.00 2.00 2.00 8.00 16.00 3.00 9.50 12.50 .25 .25 1.00 1.00 (b) (b) 10.00 9.50 10.00 10.00 .50 1.00 .25 10.50 23.33 10. 00 12.50 Land. $20 25 25 30 15 40 15 15 40 17 17 20 20 45 20 25 50 50 25 26 31 60 GO 60 41 20 75 25 30 80 50 80 87 65 45 100 50 100 100 100 100 100 75 75 50 50 50 40 100 80 82 125 125 Build ings. $25 25 25 25 25 25 25 30 25 25 25 25 25 50 50 50 30 25 50 50 25 25 50 50 50 60 25 25 Total. Assessed valuation. Taxpayer num Acres ber. owned. $20 5 4 ....................... 14.00 5 5 ....................... 25 .25 5 6 ....................... 25 2.00 5 7 ...................... 13.00 30 40 5 8 ...................... 12.00 5 9 ....................... 40 5.00 40 6 0 ....................... .25 40 6 1 ....................... 20.00 40 6 2 ....................... .50 42 6 3 ....................... .50 6 4 ....................... 42 .25 6 5 ....................... 45 .50 45 6 6 ....................... .50 C7....................... 45 .25 50 6 3 ..................... . 35.50 50 6 9 ...................... 24.00 50 7 0 ....................... 50.00 7 1 ....................... 50 .50 50 7 2 ....................... .25 51 7 3 ....................... .13 56 7 4 ....................... .50 7 5 ....................... 60 50.00 7 6 ..................... 60 6.00 60 7 7 ....................... .50 66 7 8 ....................... 40.00 70 7 9 ....................... 20.00 8 0 ...................... 75 30.25 75 8 1 ....................... 44.00 80 8 2 ....................... 52.00 80 8 3 ....................... 10.00 80 . 8 4 ...................... 10.00 80 8 5 ....................... 55.00 87 8 6 ...................... 39.00 90 8 7 ....................... .25 95 8 8 ....................... .13 8 9 ....................... 40.00 100 100 9 0 ....................... .50 9 1 ....................... 100 .25 100 9 2 ....................... .50 9 3 ....................... 100.00 300 100 9 4 ....................... 1.00 9 5 ....................... 100 1.00 100 9 6 ....................... .50 100 1.00 9 7 ....................... 100 9 8 ....................... .13 100 9 9 ....................... .13 100 100....................... .25 100 101....................... 110. 00 100 102....................... 57.88 105 103....................... 139.00 107 104....................... 121. 00 125 105....................... 8.50 125 Land. Build ings. $110 50 100 76 80 75 100 150 100 300 100 100 100 100 163 90 225 50 50 50 50 250 70 50 260 150 253 58 212 100 70 185 270 100 100 200 50 200 200 350 50 50 100 100 50 50 200 585 502 534 1,536 890 $30 100 50 80 100 115 100 50 300 100 100 100 100 300 50 150 25 200 200 200 200 200 250 40 150 50 250 100 250 300 200 120 300 300 200 350 200 200 50 350 350 350 350 450 450 300 75 250 300 400 1,850 Total. $140 150 150 156 180 190 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 213 240 250 250 250 250 250 250 270 300 300 300 303 308 312 350 370 385 390 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 450 450 500 500 500 660 752 834 3,936 2,740 a The county is divided into several districts, one of which is Galled Farmville district; a small part of this district is incorporated and called the town of Farmville. b Not reported. 51 THE NEGROES OP FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. A SIDE LIGHT: ISRAEL HILL. By the will of John Randolph, of Roanoke, his slaves were emanci pated at his death in 1833. By a similar act on the part of another member of the Randolph family a number of slaves were emancipated and given a tract of land in the district of Farmville called Israel Hill, and situated about 2 miles west of the town. The descendants of these slaves still liver here, and their peculiar situation together with the small ness o f this farming community makes a brief study of its conditions valuable for the light it throws on Farmville conditions. In this community many disturbing factors in Negro development are eliminated. Race antagonism is in its lowest terms, because there is but one white family near the community. The land question is partly settled, because nearly all the farmers own their land. One economic problem, however, remains unsettled, and that is the problem of suffi cient paying employment for men and women. This economic demand, and its attempted settlement by wholesale emigration to a neighboring industrial center, receives curious illustration in the case of Israel Hill and Farmville. August 1, 1897, Israel Hill had a population of 123 inhabitants. The numbers are too small to warrant positive conclusions, and yet it is noticeable what a gap the emigration of the young men and women has left. Only a fourth of the total population reporting as to age are between the ages of 20 and 50, although under normal conditions this part o f a community is about 40 per cent of the whole. The accom panying table gives in detail the population of Israel Hill, by sex and age periods: PO PU LATIO N OP ISR A E L H ILL , P,Y S E X A N D A G E PERIODS. Age periods. 1 to 9 years................................................................................... ........................... 10 t o 19 years.................................. ......................................... .............................. 20 to 29 years........................................... ............................................................... 30 to 39 years........................................................... ................... ................. ........ 40 to 49 years________ _______________ ______________________ _____________ 50 to 59 years............................................... ............................................. . 60 to 69 years............................................................................................................ 70 t.n 79 yfinrs.... ......................................................................... ................ ............ 80 to 89 years......................................................................................................... ‘NTftt, Twnortorl .. __ . __ . ___ __________ . . _______ Tot.nl__________ Males. Females. Total. 14 12 11 11 3 3 3 5 3 2 2 12 6 12 2 1 13 9 17 5 2 3 25 64 59 123 9 2 25 21 .13 The economic stress is also exemplified in the conjugal condition of the group. Only one person under 30 years of age of those reporting is married. Of all the men reporting who were above 20 years of age, two-fifths are bachelors, and of the women 4 out of 2G are unmarried. The following table gives the conjugal condition in detail, by sex and age periods. 32 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. CONJUGAL CONDITION OF P O PU LATIO N OF PERIODS. IS R A E L H IL L , B Y Males. Age periods. Females. Single. Mar ried. 10 1 2 3 2 20 to 29 years......................... SO to 39 years......................... 40 to 49 years........................ 50 to 59 years......................... 60 to 69 years......................... 70 years or over . . . . . . . . . . . Not reported......................... 5 3 2 W id owed. Not re ported. Single. Mar ried. W id Not re Total. owed. ported. 13 3 3 8 1 1 2 , 1 3 9 4 17 1 12 10 Total........................ SEX A N D AGE 14 2 12 4 6 16 5 5 13 25 13 77 Begarding the conditions as to illiteracy, shown in detail in the table following, we find that 32, or 43 per cent, of those over 10 years of age who reported are wholly illiterate 5 10, or 14 per cent, can read, and 32, or 43 per cent, can read and write: L IT E R A T E S A N D IL L IT E R A T E S OF PO PU LATIO N OF IS R A E L H ILL , B Y S E X A N D A G E PERIODS. Males. Age periods. 10 to 20 years........ 21 to 30 years . . . . . 31 to 40 years . . . . . 41 years or o v e r ... Not reported T otal............ Females. Able to Able to read Able to Illiter Not re Total. read Able to Illiter Not re ate. ported. and read. and read. ate. ported. Total. write. write. G 4 7 4 14 2 9 5 2 1 2 11 1 3 24 5 9 9 2 2 1 2 1 2 12 15 12 18 12 50 8 5 23 13 i 21 13 13 49 There is a small schoolhouse in the midst of the settlement where a Farmville teacher holds a session of about five months each year. O f the 36 children between 5 and 20 years of age, 16 attended school; of those between 5 and 15 years old, 14 attended school. O f the children under 10 years of age, 3 were illegitimate. The following table gives the school attendance in detail: SCHOOL A T T E N D A N C E A T IS R A E L H IL L , B Y S E X A N D A G E PERIODS. Males. Age periods. Females. Popula In school. Popula In school. tion. tion. 5 to 10 years.......................................................................................... 11 to 15 years........................................................................................ 16 to 20 years .................................... 10 7 6 4 4 6 5 2 3 3 2 T o ta l............................................................................................ 23 8 13 8 The men are mostly employed at farming or in the tobacco factories o f Farmville, whither they cau walk each day. The women are gener ally engaged in housework and farming; a few are at service and in the Farmville tobacco factories. The question of employment is a 33 THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. serious one here. Farming alone on the small, impoverished farms, far from a market, does not at present pay. If, however, one can follow it as a side occupation and earn fair wages at something else he can live prosperously. Thus the carpenters and masons are in a flourishing condition, with neat, new frame houses and decent-looking farms. The factory hands and those who have grown children working at service in the North or elsewhere do next best. The rest, however, have a hard time scratching sustenance from the earth and living in the same ancient one-room cabins in which their fathers lived. The following table gives the occupations in detail, by sex and age periods: O C C U PA TIO N S OF P O P U L A T IO N OF I S R A E L H IL L , B Y S E X A N D A G E P E R IO D S. Occupations. 11 to 15 years. 21 to BO years. 16 to 20 years. 31 to 40 years. 41 years | A ge un- j or over. known, j Total. M A LES. B rick m a s o n ..................................................................... j C arpenters......................................................................... Farm la b orers............................ 2 2 F a rm e rs ............................................................................ j L a b o r e r ....................................... 1 ................. Tobacco-factory em ployees........................ 4 W a ite r.............................................................|.................. N ot re p o rted ................................................. |.................. A t h o m e ..................................... 1 ................. A t school .................................. 3 !................. Total m a le s ..................... 7 j 1 3 j 11 6 1 1 8 6 | 12 12 3 3 12 49 FEM ALES. D ay w o rk er................................ Dom estic s e rv a n ts ................... F a r m e r s ..................................... H ousew ives and at w ork........ Tobacco-factory em p loy ees... N ot re p o rte d .............................. H ou sew ives................................ A t h o m e ........................ ............ A t s c h o o l ................................... Total fe m a le s ................. Total males and fem ales. 1 2 4 2 13 5 12 2 8 2 11 3 3 21 36 13 25 3 13 13 3 5 46 95 Some newcomers have disturbed the calm of this sleepy village. Of the 98 inhabitants of Israel Hill who reported their place of birth, 57 persons, or 58 per cent, w e r ^ o m in pie settlement, 11 persons were born in Prince E dw ardC opht^ Hill, and all of the others, except 1 born in K e n t w e r e b^fn in adjoining counties. Those who have come from elsewh^e hhye^^epefally come through marriage. Twenty-five did not report'tuHff birth places. Of the 25 families 22 own their homes. The other 3 rent of colored landlords, a n d l of the renters owns land. The holdings of land vary from 4.5 to 35.5 acres, and the farms and buildings are assessed at sums ranging from $ 10 to $300, the total assessed value of the commu nity’s real estate being about $2,500 or $3,000. Seven of the 25 families live in one-room log cabins; 9 live in tworoom log cabins, i. e., cabins with a lower room and a loft for sleeping purposes; 3 live in neat tliree-room frame houses, and 6 live in houses 34 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. of four rooms or more. The average size of the families is 4.9 members. The real family, i. e., parents and all living children, is much larger tliaji this. There are 13 families of five or more members, 4 of four mem bers, 2 of three, 5 of two, and 1 of one member. There are about 2 persons to a room and 2.5 rooms to a family. On the whole, this little hamlet presents two pictures in strange juxtaposition— one of discouragement, stagnation, and retrogression, the other of enterprise and quiet comfort. The key to the situation is the migration of the youth. Where a prospect of profitable employ ment has kept them at home the community has correspondingly pros pered; but wlnre they have been compelled, or thought themselves compelled, to seek work elsewhere and have left the farm and the old folks and children and gone to Farmville or farther their homes have fallen generally into decay. GEOU P LIFE. The Negroes of Farmville, Israel Hill, and the neighboring county districts form a closed and in many respects an independent group life. They live largely in neighborhoods with one another, they have their own churches and organizations and their own social life, they read their own books and papers, and their group life touches that of the white people only in economic matters. Even here the strong influ ence of group attraction is being felt, and Negroes are beginning to patronize either business enterprises conducted by themselves or those conducted in a manner to attract their trade. Thus, instead of the complete economic dependence of blacks upon whites, we see growing a nicely adjusted economic interdependence of the two races, which promises- much in the way of mutual forbearance and understanding. The most highly developed and characteristic expression of Negro group life in this town, as throughout the Union, is the Negro church. The church is, among American Negroes, the primitive social group of the slaves on American soil, replacing the tribal life roughly disorgan ized by the slave ship, and in jn a i^ r g ^ e c ts antedating the establish ment of the Negro i l i o n o ^ m ^ ^ i i o m e ^ . ' i s much more than a religious organization: it la tne*c^iei%$ga&df social and intellectual intercourse. . A s such it naturally^ii;p 4ae Jrpe democratic organiza tions of the Baptists and beifer^suited to its purpose than the stricter bonds of the Presbyterians or the more aristocratic and ceremonious Episcopalians. O f the 2G2 families of Farmville, only 1 is Episcopalian and 3 are Presbyterian; of the rest, 26 are Methodist and 218 Baptist. In the town of Farmville there are 3 colored church edifices, and in the surrounding country there are 3 or 4 others. The chief and overshadowing organization is the First Baptist Church of Farmville. It owns a large brick edifice on Main street. The audi torium, which seats about 500 people, is tastefully finished in light wood with carpet, small organ, and stained glass windows. Beneath this is THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. 35 a large assembly room with benches. This building is really the central clubhouse of the community, and in greater degree than is true o f the country church in New England or the West. Yarious organizations meet here, entertainments and lectures take place here, the church col lects and distributes considerable sums of money, and the whole social life o f the town centers here. The unifying and directing force is, how ever, religious exercises of some sort. The result o f this is not so much that recreation and social life have become stiff and austere, but rather that religious exercises have acquired a free and easy expression and in some respects serve as amusement-giving agencies. For instance, the camp meeting is simply a picnic, with incidental sermon and singing; the rally of country churches, called the “ big meeting,” is the occasion of the pleasantest social intercourse, with a free barbecue; the Sundayschool convention and the various preachers’ conventions are occasions of reunions and festivities. Even the weekly Sunday service serves as a pleasant meeting and greeting place for working people who find little time for visiting during the week. From such facts, however, one must not hastily form the conclusion that the religion of such churches is hollow or their spiritual influence bad. While under present circumstances the Negro church can not bo simply a spiritual agency, but must also be a social, intellectual, and economic center, it nevertheless is a spiritual center of wide influence; and in Farmville its influence carries nothing immoral or baneful. The sermons are apt to be fervent repetitions of an orthodox Galvan ism, in which, however, hell has lost something of its terrors through endless repetition; and joined to this is advice directed against the grosser excesses of drunkenness, gambling, and other forms disguised under the general term “ pleasure” and against the anti social peccadillos of gossip, “ meanness,” and undue pride of position. Very often a distinctly selfish tone inculcating something very like sordid greed and covetousness is, perhaps unconsciously, used; on the other hand, kindliness, charity, and sacrifice are often taught. In the midst of all, the most determined, energetic, and searching jneans are taken to keep up and increase the membefgllip of the church, and “ revivals,” longcontinued and loud^ although looked upon by most of the community as necessary evils, are annually instituted in the August vacation time. Revivals in Farmville have few of the wild scenes of excitement which used to be the rule; some excitement and screaming, however, are encouraged, and as a result nearly all the youth are “ converted” before they are o f age. Certainly such crude conversions and the joining of the church are far better than no efforts to curb and guide the young. The Methodist church, with a small membership, is the second social center of Farmville, and there is also a second Baptist church, of a little lower grade, with more habitual noise and shouting. Next to the churches in importance come the secret and beneficial organizations, which are of considerable influence. Their real func tion is to provide a fund for relief in cases of sickness and for funeral 36 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. expenses. The burden which would otherwise fall on one person or family is, by small, regular contributions, made to fall on the group. This business feature is then made attractive by a ritual, ceremonies, officers, often a regalia, and various social features. On the whole, the societies have been peculiarly successful when we remember that they are conducted wholly by people whose greatest weakness is lack of training in business methods. The oldest society is one composed of 40 or 50 women—the Benevo lent Society—which has been in existence in Farmville for over twenty years. There is a local lodge of Odd Fellows with about 35 members, which owns a hall. The Randolph Lodge of Masons has 25 members, and holds its sessions in a hired hall, together with the Good Samari tans, a semireligious secret order, with 25 local members. One of the most remarkable orders is that of the True Reformers, which has head quarters in Richmond, conducts a bank there, and has real estate all over Virginia. There are two “ fountains” of this order in Farmville, with perhaps 50 members in all. There have lately been some interesting attempts at cooperative industrial enterprises, and some capital was collected. Nothing tangi ble has, however, as yet resulted. There is a genial and pleasant social life maintained among the Farmville Negroes, clustering chiefly about the churches. Three pretty distinctly differentiated social classes appear. The highest class is composed of farmers, teachers, grocers, and artisans, who own their homes, and do not usually go out to domestic service; the majority of them can read and write, and many of the younger ones have been away to school. The investigator met this class in several of their social gath erings; once at a supper giveu by one of the grocers. The host was a young man in the thirties, with good common school training. There were eight in his family—a mother-in law, wife, five children, and him self. The house, a neat two-story frame, with 6 or 8 rooms, was on Main street, and was recently purchased of white people at a cost of about $1,500. There was a flower and vegetable garden, cow and pigs, etc. The party consisted of a mail clerk and his wife; a barber’s wife, the widowed daughter of the wood merchant; a young man, an employee in a tobacco factory, and his wife, who had been in service in Connec ticut; a middle aged woman, graduate o f Hampton, and others. After a preliminary chat, the company assembled in a back dining room. The host and hostess did not seat themselves, but served the company with chicken, ham, potatoes, corn, .bread and butter, cake, and ice cream. Afterwards the company went to the parlor and talked, and sang—mostly hymns—by the aid of a little organ, which the widow played. A t another time there was a country picnic on a farm 20 miles from town. The company started early and arriVed at 10 o’clock on a fine old Virginia plantation, with manor house, trees, and lawn. The time was passed in playing croquet, tossing the bean bag, dancing, and lunching. THE NEGROES OF FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA. 37 Again, a considerable company was invited to a farm house about a mile from town, near Israel Hill, where an evening was passed in eating and dancing.(a) Often the brickmaker opened his hospitable door and entertained with loaded tables and games of various sorts. Among this class of people the investigator failed to notice a single instance o f any action not indicating a thoroughly good moral tone. There was no drinking, no lewdness, no questionable conversation, nor was there any one in any of the assemblies against whose character there was any well-founded accusation. The circle was, to be sure, rather small, and there was a scarcity of young men. It was particu larly noticeable that three families in the town, who, by reason of their incomes and education would have naturally moved in the best circle, were rigidly excluded. In two of these there were illegitimate children, and in the third a wayward wife. Of the Farmville families about 4!'— possibly fewer—belonged to this highest class. Leaving the middle class for a moment, let us turn to the Farmville slums. There are three pretty well-defined slum districts—one near the railroad, one on South street, and one near the race track. In all, there would appear to be about 45 or 50 families of Negroes who are below the line of ordinary respectability, living in loose sexual relationship, responsible for most of the illegitimate children, chief supporters of the two liquor shops, and furnishing a half-dozen street walkers and numerous gamblers and rowdies. It is the emigration of this class of people»to the larger cities that has recently brought to notice the large number of Negro criminals and the development of a distinct criminal class among them. Probably no people suffer more from the depreda tions of this class than the mass of colored people themselves, and none are less protected against them, because the careless observer overlooks patent social differences and attributes to the race excesses indulged in by a distinctly differentiated class. These slum elements are not par ticularly vicious and quarrelsome, but rather shiftless and debauched. Laziness and promiscuous sexual intercourse are their besetting sins. Considerable whisky and cider are consumed, but there is not much open drunkenness. Undoubtedly this class severely taxes the patience of the public authorities of the town. The remaining 170 or more families, the great mass of the population, belong to a class between the two already described, with tendencies distinctly toward the better class rather than toward the worse. This class is composed of working people, domestic servants, factory hands, porters, and the like,* they are a happy minded, sympathetic people, teachable and faithful; at the same time they are not generally very energetic or resourceful, and, as a natural result of long repression, lack “ push.” They have but recently become used to responsibility, and their moral standards have not yet acquired that fixed character and superhuman sanction necessary in a new people. Here and there a Dancing, although indulged in somewhat, is frowned upon by the churches and is not a general amusement with the better classes. 38 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. tlieir daughters have fallen before temptation, or their sons contracted slothful or vicious habits. However, the effort to maintain and raise the moral standard is sincere and continuous. No black woman can to-day, in the town of Farmville, be concubine to a white man without losing all social position—avast revolution in twenty years; no black girl o f the town can have an illegitimate child without being shut off from the best class of people and looked at askance by ordinary folks. Usually such girls find it pleasanter to go North and work at service, leaving their children with their mothers. Finally, it remains to be noted that the whole group life of Farm ville Negroes is pervaded by a peculiar hopefulness on the part of the people themselves. No one o f them doubts in the least but that one day black people will have all rights they are now striving for, and that the Negro will be recognized among the earth’s great peoples. Perhaps this simple faith is, of all products of emancipation, the one of the greatest social and economic value. CONCLUSION. A study of a community like Farmville brings to light facts favor able and unfavorable, and conditions good, bad, and indifferent. Just how the whole should be interpreted is perhaps doubtful. One thing, however, is clear, and that is the growing differentiation of classes among Negroes, even in small communities. This most natural and encouraging result of 30 years’ development has not yet been suffi ciently impressed upon general students of the subject, and leads to endless contradiction and confusion. For instance, a visitor might tell us that the Negroes of Farmville are idle, unreliable, careless with their earnings, and lewd; another visitor, a month later, might say that Farmville Negroes are industrious, owners of property, and slowly but steadily advancing in education and morals. These apparently con tradictory statements made continually of Negro groups all over the land are both true to a degree, and become mischievous and misleading only when stated without reservation as true of a whole community, when they are in reality true only of certain classes in the community. The question then becomes, not whether the Negro is lazy and criminal, or industrious and ambitious, but rather what, in a given commu nity, is the proportion of lazy to industrious Negroes, of paupers to property holders, and what is the tendency of development in these classes. Bearing this in mind, it seems fair to conclude, after an impartial study o f Farmville conditions, that the industrious and prop erty accumulating class of the Negro citizens best represents, on the whole, the general tendencies o f the group. At the same time, the mass of sloth and immorality is still large and threatening. How far Farmville conditions are true elsewhere in Virginia the present investigator has no means of determining. He sought by inquiry and general study to choose a town which should in large degree typify the condition of the Virginia Negro to-day. How far Farmville fulfills this wish can only be determined by further study. INCOMES, WAGES, AND KENTS IN MONTREAL. B Y H ERBERT BROW N AM ES, B. A, The commercial metropolis of Canada is the city of Montreal. Sit uated at the point of union between the St. Lawrence system and ocean navigation, it is naturally the center o f the trading, manufacturing, and distributing interests of the Dominion. With a population of nearly 250,000 souls, Montreal exhibits therein the largest aggregation of industrial workers to be found, and affords a field for the study of the phenomena of associated human life unexcelled throughout British North America. The national and civic authorities are just awakening to the need of accurate sociological data concerning Montreal, and information from official sources regarding incomes, wages, rents, etc., among the resi dents of this important city being but scanty, recourse is necessary to somewhat incomplete returns from private investigation. During the autumn and winter of 189G a private industrial census was taken of a district deemed to be of sufficient area and population to give averages fairly characteristic of the entire city. The canvass ers were instructed to obtain information upon the following points: Regarding each place of employment, the number of workers and their division into men, women, and children; regarding each residence, the number of families therein, number of rooms per family, number of per sons in family and the proportion thereof of adults, school children, young children, and lodgers, the rental x>aid, the wages earned, the sanitary accommodation, the nationality, and other similar matters. The results of this house-to-house canvass have recently been published in a monograph entitled The City Below the Hill, and as this is the first and as yet the only effort of the kind that has been made, it is x^ermissible to utilize its results as a groundwork for the present article. The City Below the Hill is the name given to a typical industrial district o f Montreal. The locality comprises about one-sixtli of the entire city, constituting its southeastern x>ortion. To those acquainted with Montreal it will be readily recognized when described as the lower half of St. Antoine Ward and all of St. Ann’s Ward except Point St. Charles. The district canvassed was divided into thirty sections, and the results of the industrial census were worked out not only for the entire district but for the several sections comprising it. 39 40 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. For many reasons the district chosen was especially adapted to sociological investigation. In the first place, it contained nearly equal proportions of the three nationalities, French-Canadian, British-Canadian, and Irish Canadian, of which the city population is composed. The choice of any other industrial section would have confined the investigation to the study of a single race in a mixed community. Again, the district was, in the main, fairly homogeneous with regard to the social status of its inhabitants. Nearly all the families resident therein were dependent upon local industries, and at least 75 per cent of them belonged to the real industrial class. Yet, again, natural boundaries separated the district from adjoining territory. Were one to pass its western limit, he would be required to ascend a considerable hill, and in so doing would enter the exclusive habitat of the well-to do. Passing across the northern boundary, the heart of the city, with streets devoted wholly to warehouses and stores, would be reached. To the east lies what is known as Point St. Charles, a distinctly separate com munity gathered around the offices and workshops of the Grand Trunk Bailway, the residents of which have little communication with the adjoining district. The only arbitrary limit lies to the southward, where the city line separates the district from the outlying municipality of St. Cunegonde. On the whole, however, no portion of Montreal could have been chosen for sociological study whose boundaries so naturally separated it from dissimilar localities. In the main the district is low-lying and level. Through its center passes the Lachine Canal, while its eastern border extends to the Iiiver St. Lawrence. The two leading railways of Canada, the Grand Trunk and the Canadian Pacific, have their central stations within its bounds. In extent it is about a square mile and includes 475 acres actually utilized for purposes of business or residence. It furnishes employ ment for 16,237 persons and contains 7,671 families. The total number of wage earners employed exceeds that of wage earners resident by 5,384, a fact which proves that the district is capable of sustaining, by means of the industries therein operated, a much larger number of families than it now contains, and that with suitable dwellings every wage worker employed therein might live in comfort and health within easy walking distance of his place of employment. The table following contaius the results of the unofficial industrial census upon matters relating to family incomes and workers’ wages in the district selected for investigation. A t the bottom of the table are given general averages for the entire district, while opposite the number of each subdivision is the sectional average, showing local variations. 41 INCOMES, WAGES, AND KENTS IN MONTREAL. ST A TISTIC S R E L A T IN G TO INCOMES A N D W A G E S . Section. 1 ......... 2 ............. Character of section. Wage Families. earners. Well-to-do.................................. Well-to-do.................................. Largely manufacturing........ 3............. 4 ............. 5 * .___ 6 ............. Largely well-to-do................... 7 ............. 8 ............. Industrial................... . 9............. Well-to-do.................................. 1 0 ............. Industrial.................................. 1 1 ............. Industrial.................................. 1 2 ............. Tnfinstrial.... .................. ........... 13............. Typical industrial................... 14............. Typical industrial______ 15............. Typical industrial................... 16............. Typical industrial................... 17............. Typical industrial................... 18............. Industrial............. ...... . . . . . . . 19............. Industrial................................. 20 ............. Industrial.................................. 21............. Mainly commercial................. 22............. Largely irregular work.......... 23............. Largely irregular work.......... 24............. Largely irregular work......... 25............. Typical industrial................... 26............. Industrial.................................. 27............. Mostly nonresidential..........*. 28............. Typical industrial................... 29............. Typical industrial................... 30............. Typical industrial................... Total. Section. 1................................ 0. 3................................ 4 ................................ 5 ................................ 6................................ 7................................ 8 ................................ 9................................ 10................................ 11................................ 12................................ 13................................ 14................................ 15................................ 16................................ 1 7 ........................ . . . . 18................................ 19................................ 20............................... 21................................ 22................................ 23.............................. 24................................ 25................................ 26................................ 27................................ 28................................ 29................................ 30................................ T otal............. | Wage earners per family. Total weekly income. 181 104 134 157 344 262 259 253 178 311 209 301 661 496 457 227 267 249 193 157 84 356 136 394 450 97 3 284 131 336 257 124 167 218 446 390 399 397 218 469 288 410 910 769 618 316 382 316 285 227 98 470 178 543 672 142 5 439 188 512 1.42 1.19 1.25 1.39 1.30 1.49 1.54 1.57 1 . 22 1.50 1.38 1. 36 1.38 1.55 1.35 1.39 1.43 1.27 1.48 1.45 1.17 1. 32 1. 31 1.38 1.49 1.46 1. 67 1. 55 1.43 1.52 $2,130 1,462 7,671 10,853 1.41 84,998 2 ,10 0 2,024 3,796 3,777 3,400 2,663 2,840 3,412 2,404 2,972 6,286 5,651 4,901 2,397 3,250 2,659 2, 307 1,867 681 2, 920 1, 093 3,442 4,857 1,065 38 3,468 1,459 3, 677 Average Average weeklyweekly income wage per per worker. family. $11.77 14.06 15.67 12.89 11. 03 14.42 13.13 10.53 15.96 10.97 11.50 9.87 9.51 11. 39 10.72 10.56 12.17 10 .6 8 11.95 11.89 $8.29 11.79 12.57 9.28 8 . 51 9.68 8.52 6.71 13.03 7.28 8 .35 7.25 6.91 7.35 7.93 7.59 8.51 8.41 8.09 8 .2 2 6.95 8 .1 1 8 .2 0 6 .2 1 8.04 8 .74 10.79 10.98 12. 67 1 2 . 21 11.14 10.94 6.14 6.34 7.23 7.50 7.60 7.90 7. 76 7.18 11.08 7. 83 Percentage of Average Percentage of— e Esti families with— weekly- Averat weekly mated income wage per average per Indus weekly family, in worker, Regular Irregular Well-toPoor fami trial of dustrial industrial incomes. incomes. dolies. families. income class. families. the poor. class. $10.28 11.10 11.20 9.25 9. 71 12. 36 12. 45 11.38 13.52 11.01 8. 95 9.47 9. 29 10. 18 10.11 9. 30 10.48 10.00 10. 66 10. 65 8.17 8. 92 8.45 9.34 10.15 10. 88 $6.64 10.07 9.74 7.09 7.86 8.94 8.45 7. 30 11. 96 7. 37 6. 50 6.67 6.76 6.92 7.98 6.65 7.90 7. 89 7.64 7.82 6.68 6.37 6.51 6.50 7.03 7.36 72 81 94 80 93 96 90 80 99 85 84 76 78 82 78 73 90 76 83 82 54 62 62 55 59 69 28 19 6 20 7 4 10 20 1 15 16 24 22 18 22 27 10 24 17 18 46 38 38 45 41 31 24 41 52 37 16 32 29 8 37 8 25 10 8 16 10 19 16 13 14 12 6 2 5 6 11 11 60 47 45 52 78 63 62 76 63 80 66 77 79 74 80 63 81 76 84 86 75 76 69 67 79 73 16 12 3 11 6 5 9 16 $i. 13 4.83 4.50 4.41 4.15 4.38 4.28 4. 35 12 9 13 13 10 10 18 3 11 2 2 19 22 26 27 10 16 4. 56 4.61 4.60 4. 52 4.50 4.76 4. 28 4.75 4 50 4.00 4.33 4.12 4.48 4.51 4.27 4.15 4.80 11.40 9.91 10.46 7.60 7.20 7.00 79 71 74 21 29 26 14 18 12 78 71 76 8 11 12 4.84 4.66 4.81 10.20 7.33 78 22 15 73 12 4.46 42 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. The composition of the family is the first subject for investigation. It was found that the 7,671 families aggregated 37,652 persons. O f these persons, 25,051 were sixteen years of age or upward, and might reas onably be regarded as adults. These 25,051 adults were again divisible into three classes, viz, the wage earners, male and female, numbering* 10,853; the home tenders, numbering 11,720, and the lodgers, number ing 2,478. The children numbered 12,601, divisible into two classes, viz, children of school age, of whom there were 6,948, and young chil dren of five years or under, of whom there were 5,653. Deducing from these figures an average, the typical family will be found to con tain 4.90 persons. O f this number 1.41 work for wages and are the family’s support ; 1.53 remain at home and contribute more or less to its care; 1.64 represent the children, of whom 0.91 is of school age and 0.73 ah infant in the house. To every third family there is assignable one lodger. W ith this latter element eliminated, our typical family would be reduced to 4.58 individuals. These proportions may be more graphically expressed by imagining a block to contain 30 families. In such case we would expect to find 147 persons, 42 of whom would be wage earners, 46 would be home tenders, 10 would be lodgers, 27 chil dren o f school age, and 22 infants. These figures represent the rela tive proportions of the various elements in the average family of the district under consideration. Knowing now what proportion of the average family contributes to the common purse, an examination of the amount earned may next be> taken up. As near as can be ascertained, the average aggregate income per week throughout the year for all the families under examination amounts to $84,998, equivalent to $11.08 per week for each family, or about $2.25 for each man, woman, and child resident within the district. Localities vary greatly in the family averages, which range from $15.96 in section 9 to $8.04 in section 23. The sixteen sections inhabited more especially by industrial workers exhibit a sequence as follows: $9.51, $9.87, $10.53, $10.68, $10.72, $10.79, $10.94, $10.97, $10.98, $11.03; $11.14, $11.39, $11.89, $11.95, $12.17, $12.21. From this it is evident that a range of family incomes from $9.50 to $12.25 per week may be regarded as characteristic, when all classes are included. Adopting a somewhat different method of dealing with the figures by attempting to analyze the whole and to classify the families according to weekly incomes, wo have the following: O f class A, the well-to-do, with a reg ular family income of $20 or more, 10 per cent; of class B, where the family income ranges from $15 regularly received to $20 irregularly received, 12 per cent; of class O, where the family income ranges from $10 regularly received to $15 irregularly received, 23 per cent; o f class D, where the family income ranges from $7.50 regularly received to $10 irregularly received, 28 per cent ; of class E, where the family income ranges from $5 regularly received to $7.50 irregularly received, 17 per cent; of class F, where the family income is not more than $5 irregu larly received and often even less than that amount, 10 per cent. INCOMES, WAGES, AND RENTS IN MONTREAL. 43 Now class A , to which belongs the shopkeepers, hotel men, saloon keepers, resident professional men, and landowners, being of the wellto-do, and class F, wherein are included the u defectives, dependents, and delinquents,” or those families which through force o f circumstances or depravity are upon the lowest scale of living, ought not properly to be taken into account when seeking to ascertain the family income of the regular industrial workers. Having eliminated these two elements from the calculation, the average family income of the real industrial class alone, throughout the thirty sections, will be found to be $10.20 per week, or 88 cents less than the figures given where all classes were included. That this last result adequately expresses the condition of the working class can be further verified by taking into consideration only the sixteen sections more especially inhabited by this class, when a family average o f $10.07 per week will be the result. Therefore from $10 to $10.25 per week may safely be taken as the family income of the real industrial class in the district of Montreal under investigation. An attempt at ascertaining the regularity with which incomes were received brought out the following information: Although all families containing at least one regular worker, and all households receiving for a considerable portion of the year at least $10 per week, were classified as in receipt of regular incomes and therefore eliminated, there still remained 1,724 families, or 22.5 per cent of the total number, whose small incomes could not be depended upon as constant or regular throughout the year. O f course this included instances of alternative trades. This irregularity of employment was found to vary greatly with the locality, being most in evidence along the river front, where the proportion was as high as two families out of every fiye. That nearly one-fourth o f the industrial workers are not steadily employed throughout the year at the same kind of work is a fact that accounts largely for the low figures of the average income. When the canvass was being prosecuted an endeavor was made to obtain access to the weekly pay rolls of various business establishments. Many managers, however, were unwilling to furnish information upon such matters to enumerators reenforced by no official sanction, and the returns, being incomplete, were of little value. It becomes necessary, therefore, to fall back upon an analysis of family incomes in order to approximately determine the scale of wages in force among the workers. We have already seen that the average family contains 1.41 wage earners. The aggregate income of $84,998 per week was the combined reward of 10,853 wage earners, giving a contribution of $7.83 per indi vidual worker when all classes of society were included. The families of the industrial workers alone, however, received through 7,794 wage earners the sum of $57,139 per week, or $7.33 per worker, which latter estimate more truly represents industrial Montreal. Taking the real industrial class families alone in 16 sections the series of weekly aver ages per worker ran $6.67, $6.76, $6.92, $7, $7.03, $7.20, $7.30, $7.36, 44 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. $7.37, $7.60, $7.64, $7.82, $7.86, $7.89, $7.90, $7.98. From $6.50 to $8 per worker, therefore, may be taken as the range of wages. When investigating the question of employment throughout this dis trict of Montreal, it was ascertained that 77 per cent of those locally employed were men, 20 per cent were women, and 3 per cent were chil dren from 14 to 16 years of age. I f this proportion were maintained throughout the industrial population just examined, and we have no reason to believe that any considerable variation would be encountered, then of the 7,794 wage earners 6,001 would be men, 1,559 women, and 234 children. I f the men be credited as capable of earning $8.25 per week, the women $4.50 per week, and the children $3 per week, it will practically account for the $57,139, the total amount earned by these 7,794 workers. This estimate fairly represents wage averages in Montreal. The housing problem for this part of industrial Montreal comes next for consideration. Two principal questions naturally arise: First, What is the character of the home accommodation now furnished to the work ing classes'? And, second, How much is the wage earner required to pay for what he receives1? Following are presented in tabular form statistics relating to the homes of the wage earners in the district canvassed: STATISTICS R E L A T IN G TO HOMES OF W A G E EAR N ER S. Section. Dwell ings. Tene ments. Tene Rooms ments per per family. dwelling. Average number of per sons to each oc cupied room. Density of popu lation per acre. Percentage of— Front tene ments. Unoc cupied tene ments. 1................................ 2................................ 3................................ 4................................ 5................................ 6................................ 7 ................................ 8................................ 9 ................................ 10................................ 11................................ 12................................ 13................................ 14................................ 15................................ 16................................ 17................................ 18................................ 19................................ 20................................ 21................................ 22................................ 23................................ 24................................ 25................................ 26................................ 27................................ 28................................ 29................................ 30................................ 135 92 114 132 244 163 192 178 114 193 129 172 328 276 244 158 188 125 130 88 54 197 76 205 260 56 3 183 80 200 198 121 145 166 375 279 301 283 207 334 224 334 706 534 506 267 299 266 •212 180 96 374 147 424 480 101 3 313 147 368 1.47 1.32 1.27 1.26 1.54 1.71 1.57 1. 59 1.82 1.73 1.74 1.94 2.15 1.93 2.07 1.69 1.59 2.13 1.63 2.05 1.78 1.90 1.93 2.07 1.85 1.80 6.28 7.20 7.27 5.93 a 5.64 6.85 6.40 6.06 7.71 5.53 6 6. 39 4.39 3.99 4.77 4.28 c5. 78 4.74 4.24 4.80 4.60 4.31 4.49 4.51 4.18 4.26 3.99 0.92 .86 .74 .87 .98 .78 .77 .88 .60 .94 .84 1.08 1.10 1.01 1.04 .90 1.05 1.14 .98 1.09 1.12 1.00 1.05 1.19 1.09 1.15 95 87 80 72 121 141 80 134 74 148 164 143 149 168 215 58 95 96 64 54 23 103 42 113 149 16 89 85 96 96 95 99 90 91 100 97 77 89 61 86 89 85 94 93 91 93 100 96 99 95 96 97 9 14 8 5 8 6 14 11 14 7 7 10 6 7 10 15 11 6 9 13 13 5 7 7 6 4 1.71 1.84 1.84 4.21 4.66 4.43 1.13 1.08 1.08 109 30 68 93 90 93 9 11 9 T otal............. 4,709 8,390 1.78 5.02 .98 83 90 9 a 5.44 exclu d in g hotels. 65.52 exclu d in g hotels. c 4.67 exclu d in g hotels. 45 INCOMES, WAGES, AND RENTS IN MONTREAL. STATISTICS R E L A T IN G TO HOMES OF W A G E EARN ERS—Concluded. Section. 1 ................................ 2................................ 3 ................................ 4 ............................... 5 ............................... 6............................... 7 ................................ 8 ................................ 9 ................................ 10................................ 11............................... 12................................ 13................................ 14................................ 15................................ 16................................ 17................................ 18................................ 19................................ 20................................ 21................................ 22................................ 23................................ 24................................ 25............................... 26................................ 27................................ 28................................ 29................................ 30................................ Total............ Percent age of occupied Average Percent monthly tene age of ments rental per rental of with family. income. waterclosets. 80 84 81 64 54 90 85 70 100 80 55 42 49 54 49 31 36 53 61 41 46 20 29 27 20 19 i , | i 1 i 29 1 40 , 22 1 49 i Esti mated rent value per room per month of model accommo dation. Persons Actual Distance employed Death rental within paid per in miles rate per one1,000. room per from city fourth center. month. mile. $12.11 15.02 15.93 13.34 9.58 14.92 12.63 10.81 14.89 9.64 11.12 7.91 7.21 7.82 6.60 8.84 8.47 7.14 8.01 7.15 7.44 7.12 6.71 6.45 6.44 6.31 24 25 23 24 19 24 22 24 21 20 22 18 17 16 14 19 16 15 15 14 21 20 19 17 -14 13 $2.60 2.60 2. 60 2.80 2.40 2.40 2.20 2.00 2.00 L. 80 2.80 2.20 2.20 2.00 1.80 2. 60 2.40 2.20 2.00 1.80 2.40 2.20 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.80 $1.93 2.09 2.19 2.25 1.70 2.18 1.97 1.78 1.93 1.74 1.74 1.80 1.80 1.64 1.54 1.52 1.79 1.68 1. 67 1. 56 1.73 1. 59 1.49 1.54 1.51 1.58 0.1 .3 .5 .1 .4 .7 .9 1.0 1.2 1.2 .3 .6 .9 1.1 1.3 .2 .5 .8 1.0 1.2 .2 .3 .3 .5 .6 .8 7,000 6,000 3,500 10,000 3,500 2,500 1,250 1,250 500 2,000 9,000 4,000 3,000 2, 000 2, 500 12,000 5,000 3,500 2, 500 3,500 6,000 7,500 4,500 6,000 3,250 1, 500 18.18 23.16 20.77 25.79 19.58 22.06 21.17 11.16 24.13 17.48 17. 73 40. 70 29. 30 26.68 16. 66 22.12 17. 33 21.64 35.04 24.20 44. 34 21.31 23.22 19.95 31.15 10.91 6.66 7.16 6.32 12 15 13 1.80 1.80 1.60 1.58 1.54 1. 31 .9 1.2 1.5 4,500 4, 000 3,500 14.84 22.76 10.61 8.73 1 18 2.00 1.74 22.47 In analyzing the preceding table it is to be remembered that sections 1 and 2 contain many boarding houses, sections 3 and 5 contain hotels and boarding houses, sections 10, 11, and 16 contain hotels, and sec tions 4,15, and 21 are mainly commercial. The accepted ideal for the city home is one where the front door is used by one family only, where there are at least as many rooms as there are members in the family, where the house faces a through street, and wherein proper sanitary accommodation is provided. This ideal is by no means universally attained throughout the district investigated, and the extent of that deficiency now comes up for exam ination. To this end the following matters are dealt with: Number of tenements (families) per house; density of population; number of rooms per individual; number of rooms per family; sanitary accommo dation; rear tenements; death rate; proportion of tenements unoccu pied—all these being factors which must be taken into account before the standard of house accommodation at present attained can be determined. The ordinary dwelling used for residential purposes throughout the district under examination accommodates two families, the one living above the other; or, to be more exact, the district contains 4,709 sepa rate dwellings, which include 8,390 tenements, or an average of 1.78 1821—No. 14----- 4 46 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. per dwelling. The three-story dwelling is rare in Montreal, and the four-story, as a residence for families of the industrial class, is almost unknown. Section 13, which exhibits the largest number of tenements per dwelling, viz, 2.15, is still a district occupied mainly by two and’ three-story buildings. Only sections 13, 15, 18, 20, and 24, in all but five sections out of twenty-nine, show their average dwelling to contain more than two tenements. The small house is not without its advan tages, in that it tends to make the tenant independent and self-reliant, and, giving a considerable degree of privacy, preserves those things which belong to a separate family life. On the other hand, it has its disadvantages, in that it means but few rent payers to the acre, and this, upon expensive land, results invariably in either high rents or mean accommodations. The density o f population is a matter which it is pertinent to exam ine at this point. Owing to the fact noted above, that Montreal is a city in which the ordinary dwelling accommodates but two families, we do not find, either in the district under consideration or in the city at large, a density that compares unfavorably with that found in other cities. About 40 persons to the acre will be the average for Montreal, taking its entire extent into consideration. An average of not more than 120 persons to the acre is to be found even in its most densely populated ward. The territory under examination, all spaces included, averages about 55 persons to the acre. Its most densely populated region is that which is known as the u Swamp,1 ” comprising sections 12 to 15. This covers about 54 acres upon which buildings have been or might be erected, and has a joint population of 8,863 souls, or an aver age throughout the belt of 163 to the acre. Several areas of smaller extent will exceed this belt average. One plot of 10 acres accommo dates 2,000 persons, while another, covering slightly more’ than 3 acres, supplies homes for 955 persons, or over 300 to the acre; but this is the maximum. Taking only the occupied portions of the city below the hill into consideration, an average density of 82.5 persons to the acre expresses the number of persons immediately surrounding the typical home. W e must not only consider the proximity of the people to one another, as evidenced by the density per acre, but also determine the number of persons assignable to each occupied room before we can pronounce a district unhealthfully crowded or otherwise. A section may have a high density and yet ample room space, so that the danger arising from the former condition may be neutralized by the latter. The number of occupied rooms (38,543) throughout the district investigated is almost identical with the number of persons (37,652). In fact, the average would be 1.02 rooms per individual. Where, as in sections 1 to 11, the average family accommodation exceeds 5 rooms, the standard is sur passed in that there are, as a rule, fewer persons than rooms. On the other hand, where the average home contains less than 5 rooms, as is INCOMES, WAGES, AND RENTS IN MONTREAL. 47 tlie ease in nearly all the remaining sections, then more than one per son to each room is the rule. The most overcrowded section, 24, shows an average of 1.19 persons per occupied room. Isolated instances of overcrowding were discovered within the confines of nearly every sec tion. In some cases five, six, seven, or even eight persons occupied 2 rooms. Seven persons in 3 rooms was a condition found in a score of families. The worst group of overcrowded homes, located near the southern boundary, revealed 49 persons in 20 rooms. However, these isolated instances were not numerous. Not 2 per cent of all the homes visited exhibited a condition of overcrowding equivalent to two persons per occupied room. One person to 1 room may then be regarded not only as the ideal but also as the rule in the district under examination. The 7,071 families in the district canvassed odcupy 38,543 rooms. This calculation includes hotels, boarding houses, schools, asylums, etc. It will be seen that it gives an average of 5.02 rooms per family. The upper and more well-to-do portions of the district show an average of 5.5 rooms per family, but for the remaining sections 4.5 rooms is the rule. The most crowded section of all under examination, viz, section 13, gives 3.99 rooms per family. A closer analysis of this section, which contains 661 families, shows 14 per cent of the families in homes of 2 rooms, 31 per cent in 3 rooms, 31 per cent in 4 rooms, 9 per cent in 5 rooms, and 15 per cent in 6 rooms or more. Families living in 1 room are very rarely encountered in Montreal. I f we could imagine ten ordinary families coming to settle within the district, the division of accommodation which would have to be made among them would be as follows: One family would have 7 rooms, two families would have 6 rooms each, four families would have 5 rooms each, two families would have 4 rooms each, and one family would have 3 rooms. This repre sents average homes in respect to number of rooms. In the matter of sanitary accommodation the home of the wage earner of Montreal is less desirable than that of his fellows elsewhere. So many are the buildings of ancient construction in the older portions of the city, and so strong has hitherto been the influence which property owners have been able to exert upon the civic authorities to restrain them from passing drastic regulations, that the out-of-door-pit-in-theground privy is still found in large numbers in the densely populated heart o f the city. Although there are 2,140 less privies in the entire city than there were in 1891, the total number at the beginning of 1896 was still nearly5,800. The district canvassed, being one of the older por tions of Montreal, suffers from this evil even more than other localities. Fifty-one per cent of the houses within it are dependent entirely upon such inferior accommodation. Although drains have been laid in almost every street, still less than half o f the contiguous residences have water-closet privileges. In the quarter known as “ Griffintown,” sec tions 21 to 26, which is thickly populated and close to the center of the city, only one home in four has a water-closet. In this respect the home 48 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. of tlie wag© earner of Montreal is decidedly deficient, and the result is manifest in the ill health of many localities. The rear tenement is not to be found in great numbers throughout the district. Nine houses out of every ten front upon a through street. This proportion would be still further increased if sections 11, 12, and 13, which are in this respect most deficient, were eliminated. Only eight sections out of twenty-nine fall below the district average of one rear tenement in every ten. The typical rear tenement of .Montreal is not a large building, but an ancient wooden structure of the rural habitant type or a two-story building incased with refuse brick and reached by rickety wooden stairs and galleries. These rear tenements rarely contain more than two families, generally only one, and though still a menace to the public health, because of their dilapidated condi tion, do not contain a sufficiently large proportion of the population to seriously affect the general health. The healthfulness o f the district as a whole and the salubrity of its various sections are matters also to be taken into consideration when describing residential conditions. The local death rate is usually accepted as a test in this matter. For the year 1895, in the entire city of Montreal, this rate was 24.81 per 1,000. For the district canvassed it was in 1896 slightly lower, viz, 22.47 per 1,000. It is significant that even this latter rate is nearly double that for the locality of similar extent just above the hill, occupied by the well-to-do. Certain sections of the nether city, however, show a death rate greatly exceeding the average of the whole. Section 21 shows a rate of 44.34 per 1,000; sec tion 12, 40.70; section 19,35.04; section 25,31.15. The high death rate in certain sections, being doubtless indicative o f undesirable conditions, must be taken into consideration when estimating the surroundings of the homes of the working people. The demand for homes in this portion of industrial Montreal is not in excess of the supply, a fact which, having a tendency to enlarge the choice of the tenant, leaves the less desirable houses unoccupied. Out o f a total of 8,390 tenements, 719, or 8.6 per cent, were noted to be unrented and unoccupied when this census was taken. This is equiva lent to about one dwelling out of every twelve, and might appear at first glance to be a large proportion. Local causes, however, accounted for the lack of tenauts in many sections. Thus in section 2 it was uncer tainty regarding the widening of the adjoining street; in sections 7 and 8 it was the depreciation caused by the introduction of an elevated railroad. Making allowance for residences unoccupied on account of similar local causes, it is probable that not over 5 per cent of the houses in a fair state of preservation were vacant. The percentage ran highest in the well-to-do sections. Where the working people lived, lack of occupancy was comparatively rare. A score of blocks in localities of this latter character were found without a vacant house. At least nine teen out of every twenty houses suitable for the industrial class were occupied. INCOMES, WAGES, AND RENTS IN MONTREAL. 49 To recapitulate, what has been found to be the facts? The average dwelling of the district canvassed contains 1.78 families. The typical home is surrounded by a population equivalent to 82.5 persons per acre. It contains an average of 5.02 rooms. To each room there is one occupant. Ten per cent of these homes are to be found in rear tenements. Fifty-one per cent of them are without proper sanitary accommodation. An average local death rate of 22.47 per 1,000 shows the presence of pathological conditions. About one-twelfth of all dwellings are unoc cupied. These statements express in brief residential conditions as they will average in the whole district. It is not difficult to note that to a very considerable degree the home actual falls short of the stand ard of the home ideal as set forth at the outset of this inquiry. Having described existing residential accommodation within indus trial Montreal, the question of cost is next to be considered. The average rental paid per family, all classes included, throughout the district canvassed is $8.73 per month. In the more well-to-do sec tions and those wherein the land is largely taken up by industrial establishments, such as sections 1,2,3,4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11, rents are higher, ranging from $10.81 in section 8 to $15.93 in section 3. Through out the remaining 20 sections averages between $6 and $9 per month are well-nigh universal. This latter estimate may be taken as the rul ing figure for rent among the wage earners, varying according to desirability of accommodation, and, as will be later demonstrated, according to location. Of the entire earnings of the residents of the district rental absorbs about 18 per cent. In the more well-to-do localities this proportion is greater, sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 11 showing from 22 to 25 per cent. Among the very poor, also, as was discovered through a special inquiry covering 300 families, rent was found to absorb fully one-fourth of the income. Among families of the real industrial class, however, about 16 per cent of earnings went to satisfy the landlord, and this proportion decreased toward the southern limits of the city. It was found, further, that where a workingman’s family was large he was compelled to take up his residence near the suburbs in order to obtain the requisite num ber of rooms at a price which h6 could afford to pay. No study of rentals would be complete, however, without some effort being made to ascertain in a measure the influence exerted upon values by location and the nearness of employment. Accommodation other wise of equal desirability commands greatly differing prices in con sequence of these factors. In the preceding table an attempt has been made to express relative convenience of location for the workingman by showing the distance in miles and decimals of a mile from the heart of each section to the city center, at McGill street and Victoria square. Sections 1 and 4, being but 0.1 of a mile from this northern limit, exhibit high rentals, while distance accounts for the much lower rates in sections 10, 15, 20, and 30. Nearness to abundance of local employment, while 50 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. it reduces the desirability of high-class residential properties, tends to increase the value of land designed for industrial class residents. T|he extent of this influence is indicated for each section in the table liy figures showing approximately the number of persons finding steady employment within a quarter of a mile, or 5 minutes7walk, of the homes within the section. Rental values in sections 1 ,2, 4,11,16,17, 21, 22, and 24 are higher from the fact that all these sections are within easy reach of from 5,000 to 12,000 opportunities for individual employ ment. The average home of the district canvassed would lie about three-quarters o f a mile from the city center—that is, about 15 min utes7walk each way, or half an hour daily. I f the street-railway service were taken advantage of, the time required might be reduced one-half, but an expense of 38 cents per week would be thus incurred by each person. This would not, however, be the case with the great number, for local employment of at least 4,500 hands is within 5 minutes7walk of the average home. In fact, as already stated, the district affords more than enough employment to supply the resident wage earners. In conclusion, let us endeavor to formulate an expression that will enable comparison regarding rental values to be made between Montreal and other cities. To this end a standard of accommodation must first be fixed, a reasonable valuation placed thereon, and adequate allowance made for failure to reach the desired excellency. Since the size of the home affects its rental value, this calculation will be based upon the average rental value of a single room. The erection o f model dwellings which fulfill the home ideal early set forth in this article has been undertaken in at least one instance within industrial Montreal. The best example of this form of invest ment is found within the district investigated, viz, the Diamond Court undertaking, situated upon the William street boundary of section 24. Here are four blocks of buildings conforming with the small-house type so universally popular, occupied by 40 families of varying nationalities and conditions. These buildings furnish model accommodation at an average price of $2 per month per room, and yet yield a return of 5 pey cent upon invested capital. Now, the value of the land upon which these buildings were erected is 80 cents per square foot. To estimate what it would cost to duplicate them elsewhere requires but one variable factor to be taken into consideration, and that will be the cost of the land. The expense of erection will not vary for any locality within the district. Now, if we estimate the price at which land suit able for this purpose can be obtained within each section under study, we can calculate what it ought to cost to provide model accommoda tion in that section. This result also is shown in the preceding table. Model accommodation in sections 4 and 11 would cost the tenant of the small apartment $2.80 per room; in sections 1, 2, 3, and 16, $2.60 per room) in sections 5, 6,17, and 21, $2.40 per room, and so on down to sec tion 30, where the best of accommodation could be furnished at $1.G0 per INCOMES, WAGES, AND RENTS IN MONTREAL. 51 room. Model accommodation in tlie average locality can then be sup plied at a monthly rental of $2 per room. This applies to dwellings of from three to six rooms, for which the following rentals would be charged: For three rooms, $6 per month$ for four rooms, $8 per month ; for five rooms, $10 per month) for six rooms, $11 to $12 per month. I11 more distant sections, such as 30, three rooms at $5 per month, four rooms at $6.50 per month, five rooms at $8 per month, and six rooms at $9 to $10 per month could be provided, equipped with model accom modation, and yet yielding reasonable returns to the investor. The actual price per average room iii the district is $1.74 per month. The average amounts now paid are $5.25 for three rooms, $7 for four rooms, $8.75 for five rooms, and $10.50 for six rooms. From i>revious examination we know, however, that actual home conditions are by no means up to the model standard. The difference between the rates paid and the price of model homes marks the degree of deficiency in existing accommodation. By making the necessary allowances for the causes indicated, rental averages in Montreal may be compared with prices paid for equivalent accommodation elsewhere by students pos sessing similar data regarding their own cities. These statements are believed to fairly express industrial conditions in Montreal. It is hoped that American readers may from an examina tion of them be enabled to form an adequate conception of industrial life across the border, and may be able to remark wherein they excel or fall below their own. RECENT REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR STATISTICS. ILLINOIS. Ninth Biennial Report o f the Bureau o f Labor Statistics o f Illinois. 1896. viii, 320 pp. This report consists of three parts, as follows: Franchises, 120 pages; taxation, 116 pages; gas companies in Chicago, 84 pages. F r a n c h i s e s .— This part of the report contains four chapters, com prising the subjects: Municipalities, old and new; street railways; telephones; conclusions and remedies. In the chapter relating to old and new municipalities, an historical sketch of the origin and development of municipal government is given, including a description of various systems in use at the present time and the reforms which are being most generally advocated by students of municipal government. The chapter on street railways is presented with the view of showing the excessive capitalization of various street-railway companies in Chicago. It contains a history of the street-railway business of the city and statistics showing the capitalization of the three leading rail way systems, together with statements showing the estimated cost of duplication; also other facts regarding these and minor surface and elevated street railways. The taxes, licenses, and special payments made by the three leading street railways are likewise shown. Com parisons are made between the Chicago street railway systems and those of Montreal, Baltimore, and Detroit in the matter of taxation, rates o f fare, etc. The following statement* shows the capitalization and mileage of the three leading street-railway systems in Chicago at the close of 1896: Capital sto c k ................................................................................................................... $31, 789,000 Other obligations.......................................................................................................... 29, 903, 300 T o ta l....................................................................................................................... Total per m i le .................................................................................................... 61, 692, 300 126,460 Mileage: Cable.................................................................................................................................. Electric .................................................................................................................... Horse.................................................................................................................................. T o ta l....................................................................................................................... 82.34 390.36 15.14 487.84 A detailed statement of the estimated maximum cost of all fhe items necessary to duplicate the properties o f these roads is presented. The aggregate cost, according to the estimates, was $31,739,626, or $65,062 per mile. A similar estimate of the minimum cost is placed at $28,535,699, or $58,494 per mile. The market value o f the securities of all these roads in 1896 w ^ $91,704,740, or $187,981 per mile. The taxes and 52 REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOft---- ILLINOIS. 53 all other public charges paid by these roads in 1896 amounted to $527,456.32. It is estimated that the three roads should have paid $877,148.82 for taxes alone at the low valuation of other property in the business districts of the city. The general taxes actually paid amounted to $253,376, or 2.12 per cent of the gross receipts. The gross receipts of the three roads during the year were $11,941,524. The chapter on telephones contains a short sketch of the develop ment of the telephone industry and the earnings realized on the same. The company which has the monopoly in Chicago had in 1895 a capital stock of $3,796,000. Its net earnings were $542,839, and its dividends amounted to $445,544. It pays the city 3 per cent of its gross receipts. In 1895 this payment amounted to $37,562. T a x a t i o n .— This chapter is devoted to an analysis of the report of a tax commission appointed by the mayor of Chicago, which report is intended to show the ratio of assessed value to estimated market value of property in the central part of the city. The commission consisted of three real estate experts and two practical builders, and it made its report April 25, 1896. Detailed tables are presented showing the .property valuation of the commission side by side with that of the assessor for each of the fifty highest and the fifty lowest assessed prop erties and for each of the properties included in the territory covered by the commission’s investigation. Attention is also directed to the dis criminating effect of the present method of equalizing taxes as between high and low assessed properties. The territory covered by the commission includes all that is situated in the south division north of Twelfth street. The commission placed the market value of all this property (exclusive of property exempt from taxation) at $438,447,180, of which $337,342,880 was-land value and $101,104,300 the value of the improvements. In the assessor’s returns for the year 1895 the same property was valued at $40,668,720, of which $24,726,880 represented land and $15,941,840 improvements. The value of land and improvements exempted from taxation, not including city and National Government property, was $22,236,250. The value of railroad property in the district investigated by the com mission was found to be $62,585,660. G a s C o m p a n i e s . —This part of the report contains copies of the acts incorporating the various gas companies in Chicago and a detailed account of their development, of the expansion of their capitalization, and of the profits realized before and after the formation of the gas trust in 1887. The report states that the properties of the four Chicago gas com panies constituting the trust, which can be duplicated for $15,000,000, are capitalized for $51,346,000. Of this, $25,000,000 is in the form of trust certificates and $26,346,000 in bonds. It is estimated that the trust realizes a profit of 5.03 per cent on its full capitalization, or 17.21 per cent on the actual capital of $15,000,000. The total market value 54 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. of the securities of these four companies is quoted at $44,726,200. A s to the assessed valuation, figures could be obtained for only three )of the four companies. The market value of the securities of these thrqe companies amounted to $38,950,160, while the equalized assessed val uation was $1,164,498, or 2.99 per cent of the real value. The actual taxes paid amounted to $100,146, while the taxes paid for other busi ness property o f the same value amounted to $371,818. MAINE. Tenth Annual Report o f the Bureau o f Industrial and Labor Statistics fo r the State o f Maine. 1896. Samuel W. Matthews, Commissioner. 242 pp. The subject-matter of this report may be grouped as follows: Manu facturers’ returns, 22 pages 5 factories, mills, and shops built during 1896, 4 pages ; strikes and lockouts in Maine, 1887-1894, 14 pages: reports 011 the history and development of the tannery, earthenware, starch, ax and scythe, and steel shipbuilding industries, 81 pages5 rail road employees and wages, 3 pages; extracts from the report of the proceedings of the twelfth annual convention of the National Associa tion o f Officials of Bureaus of Labor Statistics, 77 pages; labor laws of Maine, 11 pages; report of the inspector of factories, workshops, mines, and quarries, 14 pages. M a n u f a c t u r e r s ’ B e t u r n s . —This investigation covers 126 estab lishments, representing 25 industries. The principal results are shown in the following table: ST A TISTIC S OF M A N U F A C T U R E S , 1896. Industries. Woolen mills.......................... Cotton mills............................. Agricultural implements and tools.............................. Bakeries.................................. Blank books............................ Blocks and pumps................. Boilers...................................... Boots and shoes..................... B o x e s........................................ B r ic k s.................................... . Carriages................................ Chewing gu m ......................... Cigars........................................ Clothing.................................. Confectioneries....................... Creameries............................... Doors, sash, and blinds........ Fish curing............................ Leather board......................... Lumber.................................... Machinery.............................. Monumental w orks............. Pulp and paper....................... Silver-plated w a re ............... S oap......................................... a Ten mills. Estab lish ments. 12 10 6 7 2 3 3 11 3 3 4 3 6 6 4 2 9 3 2 7 7 4 4 3 2 Capital invested. Cost of ma terial used. Value of product. $1,417,300 a$l, 125,582 6$1,576,637 4, 629, 846 c5,332,376 9,898,500 124, 375 203, COO 26, 000 11, 000 24, 000 928, 300 17,000 26, 000 46, 500 107, 500 29,850 59, 500 17,800 90, 000 324, 500 25,000 204, 000 202, 500 120, 300 13, 800 625, 000 24,000 8,900 61, 360 129, 335 256, 347 391,880 26, 566 13, 440 11, 612 20, 343 40, 376 71, 467 1,470, 266 2,351, 630 13, 245 31, 802 35, 340 52, 780 33, 755 66, 272 37,175 75, 606 29,645 59,250 65, 500 139, 700 10,000 19, 500 100, 000 115, COO 280, 446 - 484,255 25, COO 45,100 89, 219 177, 503 301,121 167, 890 67,547 146, 631 26, 250 44,700 420,199 783, 463 31, 530 66, 041 5, 800 1*0, 750 b E ig h t m ills. Aver age Total wages weeks Em paid. in oper-! ployees. at ion. $513,907 3,480,254 49f^ 49Jj 1,390 11,472 47,887 60, 058 7,721 6,765 15,543 571,365 13, 055 9,216 19, 686 14, 246 17, 547 50,600 5, 366 3,600 122,466 8,050 40,123 82,572 31, 895 8,679 183, 545 13, 058 3,210 49 52 46 52 501 49* 47* 105 179 22 11 28 1,411 31 27 39 ' 62 39 181 • 15 14 319 23 87 180 66 13 443 31 9 m . c Six m ills. 47* 46* 47* 46 50 51 50* 38 44 51* 45* 50* 51* 43f 36 REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR— MAINE. 55 The returns for 1896, when compared with those for the preceding year, are, on the whole, unfavorable and indicate a decline in business activity. O f the 25 industries reported, 18 showed a decrease in the cost of material used, 6 an increase, while 1 showed no change. As to value of product, 15 showed a decrease, 9 an increase, and 1 no change. The total wage list was smaller in 17 industries and larger in 8. In 12 industries a decrease in the days in operation was shown, in 4 an increase, and in 9 no change. The number of hands employed in 1896 was greater in 3 industries, smaller in 17, and the same in 5 industries. The changes in the rates o f wages since 1895 were very slight, most of the establishments reporting no change. Factories, Mills , and Shops Built D uring 1896.—The amount expended in building, repairing, and enlarging factories, mills, and shops in 1896 was $1,055,900, or $311,900 less than in 1895. There was also a decrease in the number of such buildings from 102 in 1895 to 77 in 1896, and in the number of persons employed in this work from 2,797 in 1895 to 1,470 in 1896. Strikes and L ockouts in Maine , 1887-1894.—This chapter con sists of extracts from the Tenth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor. H istory and Development of Various Industries.—This con sists of a series of five articles on the tannery, earthenware, starch, ax and scythe, and steel shipbuilding industries, respectively. The lastnamed article contains illustrations of vessels and machinery built in the State. Railroad Employees.—This consists of a presentation of returns made by 22 railroad companies doing business in the State on the employment of labor and wages paid in 1896, and a comparison of these returns with those for the preceding year. The returns for 1896 show a total of 5,792 employees, exclusive of general officers, and a total wage list amounting to $2,763,353.93. In 1895 there were 4,693 employ ees and a wage list amounting to $2,268,357.86. One additional railroad was reported in 1896. MASSACHUSETTS. Twenty-sixth Annual Report o f the Massachusetts Bureau o f Statistics of Labor. March, 1896. Horace G. Wadlin, Chief, xvii, 748 pp. This report treats of the following subjects: Part I, relation of the liquor traffic to pauperism, crime, and insanity, 416 pages 5 Part II, graded weekly wages, 292 pages 5 Part III, labor chronology, 1895, 40 pages. Relation of the L iquor Traffic to Pauperism , Crime, and Insanity.—This part of the report was previously published under separate cover, and a digest of it appeared in Bulletin No. 8. Graded W eekly W ages.—The treatment of this subject by the 56 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. bureau is so extensive that only a small portion of the statistics are included in the present volume. The quotations of graded weekly wages are arranged alphabetically, according to occupations, and the present report includes only such as appear under the letters A, B, and C. Future reports will continue the tables throughout the alphabet. This subject will then be followed by statistics of “ Graded Prices in Massachusetts, other United States, and Foreign Countries.” In the present report the statistical tables are preceded by extracts from previous reports of the Massachusetts Bureau, which relate to the subjects o f wages and prices. The total number of quotations used in the statistics of graded weekly wages and prices is, in round numbers, 656,000, of which the wage quo tations number 489,600, and the price quotations, 166,400. The follow ing statement shows the distribution by States and countries of the wage and price quotations: W A G E A N D PRICE QUOTATIONS FOR M ASSACH USETTS, OTHER U N IT E D STATES, A N D FOREIGN COUNTRIES. Number of wage quotations for— States and countries. Males. Massn.p.hnsfitts____ ________. . . _________________________ _____ Other United States....................................................................... . Foreign countries....................................... T otal...................................................... . Females. Both sexes. Number of price quota tions. 251,500 121,400 58, 000 36.200 6,300 16.200 287, 700 127,700 74,200 109, 500 43, 700 13,200 430,900 58,700 489,600 166, 400 The number of employees represented in the wage quotations is not stated. One quotation may represent a single individual or several thousands. The quotations in the aggregate can not represent less than 500,000 employees, but they may cover five, ten, fifteen, or even twenty millions of employees. The quotations extend over the period from 1810 to 1891. The statistical tables of graded weekly wages show the sex of the employees, the years when the wages were paid, the grade of wages, whether high* medium high, medium, medium low, or low, and the weekly wages in dollars and cents. These are arranged according to occupations and States and countries. A digest of the statistical information can not be made until the complete data relating to graded weekly wages have been published. Labor Chronology, 1895.—This chapter contains a list of impor tant acts of labor organizations and of other events relating to hours of labor, wages, and trades linions during the year, arranged according to subjects and in chronological order, a history of trades unions, and an abstract of labor laws passed in 1896. REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- OHIO. 57 OHIO. Twentieth Annual Report o f the Bureau o f Labor Statistics o f the State o f Ohio, fo r the Year 1895. Transmitted to the Seventy-second Gen eral Assembly January 4, 1897. William Euehrwein, Commissioner. 420 pp. The following subjects are treated in this report: Introduction, 3 pages; a wonderful factory system, 4 pages; coal mining, 16 pages; rolling mills* 68 pages; blastfurnaces, 24 pages; manufactures, 258 pages; free employment offices, 23 pages; labor laws passed by the seventy-second general assembly, 1896, 12 pages. A W onderful Factory System .—Under this title is given a description of a system of management adopted by a large manufactur ing establishment located at Dayton, and which is becoming generally known as the “ Dayton plan.” By this system the services of a superin tendent are dispensed with, and the management of the various depart ments is placed in the hands of committees composed of officials and employees. Various other features are added by which it is claimed that the interests of both employers and employees are materially advanced. Coal Mining.—The information presented in this and the three succeeding chapters was obtained partly by mail and partly by special agents who made personal inquiries. The tables presenting statistics of coal mines show, by counties, the quantity of coal mined, its value, the amount paid for mining and for day labor, the number of days worked during the year, miners employed, wages of mine employees, and other information of interest to the coal industry. Rolling Mills .—Tables are given showing the kind of mill and number of each, average days mills were in operation, production, rela tion of production to total capacity, number of employees, hours of labor, and daily wages of employees. Eeturns from 214 mills showed a total production of 1,569,596 tons, which was 81 per cent of their total capacity. Blast F urnaces.—Twenty-five establishments making returns showed a total capital of $5,887,600 invested in blast furnaces. The materials used cost $6,852,963, and the value of the product, including estimated value o f product on hand July 1, 1896, was $8,842,016. Wages of employees to the amount of $956,774 were paid, and the total expended for salaries of officials and clerks was $141,032. The net earnings were 14.4 per cent on the capital invested. Tables are given showing the occupations of 2,659 employees, the average number of days worked, the average yearly earnings, and the average number of hours per day for each occupation. Manufactures.—Detailed statistics of manufactures are presented by cities, towns, and for the State. The tables show the amount of capital invested, the value of materials used and of goods made, the 58 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. number of employees, their occupations, average daily wages and yearb earnings, the hours of daily labor, the number of days worked during the year, and various other items. Following is a brief analysis of some of the tables presented: f 2,254 establishments $46,771,831 was paid in wages during 1895, whic was an increase of $5,885,110 over the amount paid in the same estaL lishments during the preceding year.. A considerable increase is als shown in the other items where comparisons are made for the sam establishments. In 2,2l0 establishments the value of goods on han January 1, 1896, was $28,148,528, while on January 1, 1895, it wa $25,161,044; the value o f materials on hand was $29,666,163 on Janu ary 1, 1896, and $26,810,659 on January 1,1895. The total value c all goods made in these establishments from January 1, 1895, to Jant ary 1,1896, was $211,963,059, and the value of all materials used wa $116,836,281. The total capital invested in these establishments wa $177,809,334. During the year 1894, 2,105 establishments employed, o an average, 83,691 males and 15,842 females. In 1895, 2,232 establish ments reported an average of 96,654 male and 17,786 female employees E mployment Offices.—During the year 1896 the employmen offices at Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, and Dayton receive* applications from employers for 3,078 males and 12,632 females. Appli cations for situations were made by 12,668 males and 15,030 females Positions were secured for 2,781 males and 10,164 females. Thes( figures show an increase in the amount o f the business transacted bfc the employment offices over the preceding year. CENSUS OF MASSACHUSETTS FOE 1895. Census o f the Commonwealth o f Massachusetts, 1895. Volume I, Pop ulation and Social Statistics. 865 pp. (Prepared under tlie direction of Horace Gr. Wadlin, Chief of the Bureau of Statistics of Labor.) Volume I of the report of the Massachusetts census for 1895 appears in five parts, as follows: Part 1 (pages 1 to 68) contains statistics of imputation and legal voters; the population by towns, arranged alphabetically; a compari son o f the population for 1885 and 1895, by towns; population and sex; a comparison of the population for 1885 and 1895, by sex. Part 2 (pages 69 to 224) shows the number of families, the number of males and females, and the total population of each city and town, and the same facts for the several villages or sections of which each city or town is composed. The villages are shown by towns and in alphabetical order. There is presented in a brief manner the date of incorporation, or establishment, of every city and town in the State, together with changes in area, boundaries, etc. Following these his torical facts relative to each city and town is given the population by each census between 1765 and 1895, a period o f one hundred and thirty years. Part 3 (pages 225 to 330) shows the number of polls and legal voters by counties, cities, and towns; also the percentage of native and foreign born voters o f total voters. The political condition of the population is shown by sex and by age periods. Part 4 (pages 331 to 790) shows the number of families by counties, cities, and towns, the size of families, and composition by sex; the number o f occupied and unoccupied rooms, tenements, and dwelling houses, and the number of stories to dwelling houses and the materials of which constructed. Part 5 (pages 791 to 865) classifies the population according to native and foreign born, color and race, and conjugal condition. It also shows the number of soldiers, sailors, and marines. Each subject is presented in the form o f statistical tables, showing the results o f the enumeration for the State and by minor civil divi sions (counties, cities, and towns). The tables in each case are followed by tabular analyses. 59 60 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. The following is a brief statement of some of the returns for the entire State: Total population................................................................................................................ Males............................................................................................................................... F em a les........................................................................................................................ Native bora....................................................................... Foreign bora................................................................................................................ Legal voters......................................................................................................................... Native born................................................................................................................... Foreign born................................................................................................................ Color and race: W h it e ............................................................................................................................. Colored........................................................................................................................... Indian............................................................................................................................. Japanese.......................................................................................... i .......................... Chinese. ..................................................................................................................... Conjugal condition: S in g le............................................................................................................................. Married........................................................................................................................... W id ow ed ....................................................................................................................... D iv orced ....................................................................................................................... Unknown....................................................................................................................... Towns showing an increase in population since 1885 ........................................... Towns showing a decrease in population since 1885........................................... 2,500,183 1,214,701 1,285,482 1, 735, 253 764,930 560,802 422,676 138,126 2, 471,418 26,540 519 34 1, 672 1, 385, 030 943,245 165, 650 4,450 1,808 210 143 Since the census by the State in 1885 the population has increased 558,042, or 28.73 per cent. In 1895, 48.58 per cent of the population were males and 51.42 per cent were females. In 1885, 48.03 per cent were males and 51.97 per cent were females, the proportion of females decreasing slightly during the decade. O f the total population in 1895, 69.41 per cent were native and 30.59 per cent were foreign born. There was an increase in the relative number of foreign born during the decade, the per cent of the latter in 1885 being 27.13. As regards political condition, it is shown that 22.43 per cent of the population were legal voters. O f the latter 75.37 per cent were native and 24.63 per cent were foreign born. By legal voters is meant not only registered .voters but all who possess the legal qualifications *of voters. As to race and color, the census shows that, in 1895,98.85 per cent of the population were white, 1.06 per cent were colored, 0.03 per cent were Indian, and 0.07 per cent were Chinese. The Japanese represented less than one one-hundredth of 1 per cent. In respect to conjugal con dition, 55.40 per cent of the total population were single, 37.73 per cent were married, 6.62 per cent were widowed, 0.18 per cent were divorced, and 0.07 per cent were unknown. CENSUS OF MASSACHUSETTS FOR 1895. 61 The following statement summarizes the returns relating to families and dwellings: Number of families............................................................................................................ 547,385 4.57 Average number of persons to a fam ily................................................................... Males............................................................................................................................... 2.22 F em ales........................................................................................................................ 2.35 Number of dwelling houses.................................... 428,494 Occupied....................................................................................................................... 397,633 Unoccupied................................................... - ............................................................ 30,861 Number of tenements in occupied dwelling houses............................................. 573,958 Occupied....................................................................................................................... 547,385 Unoccupied........................................................................... ...................................... 26,573 Number of rooms in total dwelling houses............................................................. 3,946,998 \ Occupied....................................................................................................................... 3,568,385 Unoccupied................................................................................................................... 378,613 Persons to each room in occupied tenements.......................................................... 0.70 There were 547,385 families enumerated in the State in 1895. Divid ing the total population by this number, it is found that the average size of a family is 4.57 persons. Of this average number, 2.22 represents males and 2.35 females. The average number of persons to an occupied dwelling house was 6.29 and to a room 0.70. There were 310.97 persons, 68.08 families, and 53.30 dwelling houses to a square mile. This would make 2.06 acres to a person, 9.40 acres to a family, and 12.01 acres to a dwelling house. Population and social statistics are continued in Yolume II. 1821—No. 14----- 5 RECENT FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS. GREAT BRITAIN. Report on Contracts Given Out by Public Authorities to Associations of Worhmen. 1896. vi, 346 pp. (Published by the Labor Department*. of the British Board of Trade.) This report is the result o f an inquiry made by a special investiga tor of the Labor Department, in pursuance of a recommendation made by the late royal commission on labor. The inquiry covers the United Kingdom, New Zesiland, Victoria, Russia, France, and Italy. The recommendation of the royal commission on labor contemplated an investigation o f cases in which separate contracts were given by public authorities for materials needed and for work to be done, and where the latter only was given to associated bodies of workingmen. The special investigator found that such cases were very rare, and that they were not as a rule practicable. He, therefore, devoted his report to all cases where the public authorities gave out contracts to coopera tive associations. The report is very complete, and includes, in addition to the descrip tive matter, appendixes for the various countries containing copies of laws, regulations, and specifications relating to contracts with coopera tive associations $ tables showing names of cooperative associations and public authorities, dates, nature, value, etc., of contracts, wages paid, sources o f information, and other data. T h e U n i t e d K i n g d o m . —Only two cases are mentioned in the United Kingdom where contracts were made with associated bodies of workmen for labor only. The works and ways department of the Not tingham corporation gave contracts to the pavers and to the flaggers and curb layers for various classes of paving and for laying flags and curbs, respectively. These contracts, during twelve months, amounted to £1,100 ($5,353.15) in the case of the pavers and £315 ($1,532.95) in the case o f the flaggers and curb layers. The other case was that of a cooperative society called the Assington Agricultural Association, which did some stone carting for the highway authorities during two years, at a price of about £10 ($48.67) each year. Public contracts involving both the performance of labor and the supply of material, or only the latter, were frequently given to coope rative associations. Some associations simply handle supplies, and are 62 63 FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— GREAT BRITAIN. known as “ distributive,” while others also engage in production and are known as u productive ” associations. The table following shows the distributive and productive coopera tive associations that were known to have made definite contracts with various public authorities during recent years, and the amount of the contracts. In nearly every case the contract wTas given as the result of either public or limited competition—usually the former. COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS T H A T H A V E M A D E CONTRACTS W I T H PUBLIC AU TH O R ITIES FOR LABOR A N D M A T E R IA L S D U R IN G RECENT Y E A R S . Cooperative associations. Public authority. When con tracts were made. Total amount of contracts. Goods or serv ices furnished. DISTRIBUTIVE. Town Council of Halifax. Leicester Corpora Leicester Cooperative Society. tion and Board of Guardians. of Huddersfield Industrial Society... Corporation Huddersfield. of Burnley Industrial and Equitable Corporation Burnley. Cooperative Society. Scottish Cooperative Wholesale So Glasgow Corpora tion and School ciety. Board, Barnhill Poorhouse, Govan School Board. Lancaster and Skerton Equitable Lancaster Town Council and A sy Industrial Cooperative Society. lum Board. of Industrial Cooperative Society of Corporation Manchester. Droylsden. Kilmarnock Equitable Cooperative Kilmarnock In firmary. Society. Workington Industrial Society...*. Workington In firmary. Galashiels Cooperative Store So Burgh of Gala shiels. ciety. Clothing— Halifax Industrial Society... . 1890 to 1895 . . . $14, 519. 58 Boots, flour. 5,539.66 1891 to 1895 . . . Caps, boots........ 3, 060.91 1891 to 1893 . . . Caps, overcoats. 313.16 1892.1894.1895. Clothing, pre serves, brush es, printing. 6,182.58 1893.1895.1896. Clothing. 1,275. 69 1895................... Clothing............. 1,395.77 1895 ..... Bread................... 189C................... Groceries........... 1896 Trousers, great coats. ..... 632.65 (a ) (a) ! PRODUCTIVE. I W ar Office............. Northamptonshire Productive So ciety. Chosliam Productive Society........... Finedon Cooperative Boot and Shoe Manufacturing Society. Raunds Productive Society. - -------- W ar Office............. Walgrave Productive Society......... W ar Office............. W ar Office............. W ar Office............. Tingdeno Cooperative Boot and War Office............. Shoe Manufacturing Society. Irthlingborough Productive Boot W ar Office............. and Shoe Society. Ringstead Britannia Cooperative W ar Office............. Society. St. Crispin Productive Society........ W ar Office............. Northamptonshire Productive So Crown Agents for the Colonies. ciety. Edinburgh Cooperative Printing Edinburgh Free Library. Company. of Cooperative Printing Society of Corporation Manchester. Manchester, Newcastle-uponTyne, and London. of Hebden Bridge Fustian Manufac Corporation Manchester. turing Cooperative Society. School Cooperative Builders of Brixton... London Board. Cooperative Builders of Brixton... London County Council. (a) Rochdale District Cooperative Corn Mill Society. School Bristol Pioneers' Boot and Shoe Bristol Board. Productive Society. 1885 to 1887, Boots and shoes.1 491, 516.50 1889 to 1895. 1885, 1886 ........ Boots and shoes. 21,098.71 1886 to 18 9 5 .... Boots and shoes. 524,910.42 1887, 1889 to Boots and shoes. 1893.1895. 1887, 1889 to Boots and shoes. 1893.1895. 1888 to 1 8 9 2 ... Boots and shoes. 419,248. 98 156,944. 03 235,777.06 1891,1892. Boots and shoes. 36, 816. 70 1892 to 1895 . . . Boots and shoes. 46,496.97 1892,1893,1895. Boots and shoes. 1893 to 1896 . . . Boots and shoes. 59,857.95 15,462.49 1890................... 10,430.51 Catalogues, etc . 1889,1893.......... Printing and binding. 1, 828. 04 1890 2, 859. 07 ..... 1891 to 1894 . . . Clothing............. Building con 112,450.22 struction. 1891................... Building con 33,277.13 struction. 1891 to 1 8 95... Provender, bran,1 . 232,477.53 flour. I 1891 to 1895 . . . Boots................... 1 432.94 a Not reported. 64 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS T H A T H A V E M A D E CONTRACTS W I T H PU BLIC A U T H O R IT IE S FOR LABO R A N D M A T E R IA L S D U R IN G R ECENT Y E A R S —Conc’d. Cooperative associations. Public authority. W hen con tracts were made. Goods or serv ices furnished. Total amount of contracts. p r o d u c t iv e — c o n c lu d e d . Paisley Cooperative Manufactur Burgh of Paisley.. 1892,1893.......... Clothing............. ing Society. of 1892 to 1895 . . . Uniforms, over Nottingham Operative Tailors’ Co Corporation Nottingham. operative Society. coats, etc. Cooperative Bass Dressers.............. W ar Office............. 1894,1895.......... Brooms and bass heads. London County 1892,1894,1895. Bass brooms and Cooperative Bass Dressers Council. brushes. Board of Works, 1892 to 1 8 9 5 ... Brooms................ Cooperative Bass Dressers Lime House dis trict; St. Giles’ Ves try, Camber well; Battersea Vestry. Household Furnishing Company New Castle City 1895................... Brushes and of New Castle-upon-Tyne. Asylum and chairs. Jarrow School Board. Cooperative Quarrying Associa Police Commis 1895................... Paving sets tion) Condorrat (Dumbarton). sioners of Glas gow. Cooperative Quarrying .Associa Town Council of 1895................... Rough metal----tion, Condorrat (Dumbarton). Coatbridge. Kettering Cooperative Building Guardians of K et 1895................... Building con and Contracting Society. tering Union. struction. Sheffield House-Painting and Dec Corporation and of 1895................... Painting Sheffield. decorating. orating Society. $422.78 2,413.72 16,546.10 1,532.95 5,226.62 (a) 4,374.98 101.39 1,163.09 1,355.73 a Not reported. The continuance of contracts from year to year, as shown iu many cases, indicates that they were satisfactory to the public authorities. Other contracts, not mentioned in the above table, were made by pub lic authorities with cooperative associations, but no precise information could be obtained in regard to them. As an illustration of the satis factory nature o f such contracts, it maybe mentioned that, as shown in the table, the W ar Office made contracts with different productive associations during a period of eleven years for the supply of boots and shoes at an estimated cost of $1,992,697.92. N e w Z e a l a n d . —In New Zealand the great bulk o f the public railway and road work, and much of the public building work, is carried out under what is known as the cooperative system. By this arrange ment, which has existed for a number of years, the evils of the con tract system through middlemen are avoided, and the work is let direct to the workmen, who thereby secure the profits which would other wise go to a contractor. The system, which is fully described in the report, seems to be highly satisfactory to the authorities, the work is better and more cheaply done, and the men are better paid. The num ber of persons constantly employed under this system varies greatly, but averages about 2,000. V i c t o r i a . —The “ butty-gang” system of railway construction, adopted in 1892 in Victoria, is somewhat similar to the cooperative sys tem of New Zealand. It was intended as a relief measure for the unemployed, by which they were enabled to work on Government rail way construction on a cooperative plan. It proved advantageous to FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN. 65 the Government in saving time and cost, avoiding heavy claims by con tractors, and facilitating alterations in the plans of construction in cases of unforeseen contingencies. R u s s i a . —In Russia a system of cooperative labor by associated bodies of workmen, known as u artels,n has existed for a long time. The first mention of artels is as early as the end of the fourteenth cen tury. In som,e cases these artels are employed by the Government. In two o f the cases mentioned a system of labor contracts, resembling that referred to by the labor commission, seems to have been tried with success. These institutions are, however, based upon the habits and traditions of the Russian people, and are necessarily dependent for their successful operation upon circumstances which must be considered to be peculiar to that nation. F r a n c e .—Ever since cooperative production was introduced in France in 1848 the help of the State has been given toward the development of such enterprises, both by means of financial assistance and by special facilities accorded such associations for undertaking work for public authorities. As an illustration, it is shown that, in making contracts up to a certain amount, associations of workmen are not required to give security, as is the case with contractors, for the due performance of the work. They are also given the preference over ordinary con tractors when the offers are similar in amount. Through this encour agement cooperative associations have obtained-public contracts of considerable value and covering a wide range of occupations, both from the Government and from municipalities. The city of Paris has been especially favorable toward these organizations. In the report descriptions are given of 44 associations which were known to have obtained contracts from the Government departments and other public authorities. These associations comprise the follow ing trades: File makers, optical instrument makers, musical instru ment makers, tinsmiths, printers, carpenters, tile layers, cabinetmak ers, clock makers, gas and electric light fitters and plumbers, house painters, upholsterers, masons, bricklayers, joiners, pavers, stonecut ters, coach makers, locksmiths, wood carvers, stucco workers, plaster ers, stonebreakers, granite workers, cement workers, gilders, foundry workers, rolling and wire mill workers, roofers, zinc workers, saddlers, photographers, etc. There are also associations which supplied mili tary head gear, boots, belts, and other goods of a similar nature. Forty-five other cooperative associations are mentioned which are known to have had at some time contracts with public authorities, but which are now probably no longer in existence. The only instance mentioned in which a cooperative association furnished the labor only was that of the Association du Journal Officiel. This association, which employs from 190 to 195 persons, attends to the work of printing the official journal of the Government. The arrangement has existed since 1881 and is reported to be very 66 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. satisfactory and to have resulted in a considerable gain to the Govern ment. I taly .—Special legislation has also been enacted in Italy with the view of promoting the execution of public works by cooperative asso ciations. These enactments include not only provisions dispensing with the deposit o f securities by cooperative associations up to certain limits o f value, but also provide, in suitable cases, for the separation o f contracts for the supply of materials from those for the performance of labor. Notwithstanding these enactments the cooperative associa tions have, in practically every instance where work involved the supply of materials, furnished both the labor and the materials. The report contains detailed descriptions of a large number of cooperative associations which have made contracts with the public authorities for the supply o f labor and materials. A table compiled by the director o f the Italian statistical department contains a list of 157 cooperative societies of production and labor to which contracts for public works were granted during the years 1889 to 1891, inclusive. During this period a total of 713 such contracts are shown in the list, involving altogether $2,190,488.74. Second, Third, and Fourth Annual Reports on Changes in Wages and Jlours o f Labor in the United Kingdom, 1894, xcv, 343 pp.; 1895, lxxvii, 208 pp.; 1896, lxxxi, 273 pp. (Published by the Labor Depart ment of the British Board of Trade.) These reports are the second, third, and fourth of a series published for the purpose of recording from year to year the principal changes in market rates of wages, recognized piecework lists, and standard hours o f labor in the more important industries in the United Kingdom. The contents of the three reports are grouped as follows: Second Annual Report, 1894: General report and summary, 20 pages; report on special groups of trades, 47 pages; summary tables, 21 pages; changes in rates o f wages, detailed tables, 259 pages; changes in hours o f labor, detailed tables, 11 pages; piece price lists, 28 pages; append ixes, 29 pages; indexes, 16 pages. Third Annual Report, 1895: General report and summary, 15 pages; report on special groups of trades, 34 pages; summary tables, 20 pages; changes iu rates o f wages, detailed tables, 149 pages; changes in hours o f labor, detailed tables, 11 pages; piece price lists and sliding scales, 27 pages; appendix, 8 pages; indexes, 13 pages. Fourth Annual Report, 1896: General report and summary, 16 pages; report on special groups of trades, 31 pages; summary tables, 26 pages; changes in rates of wages, detailed tables, 227 pages; changes in hours o f labor, detailed tables, 18 pages; piece pricelists and sliding scales, 15 pages; indexes, 13 pages. As the ground covered by the three inquiries as well as the statis tical presentation is very nearly the same, the subject-matter o f the FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS-----GREAT BRITAIN. 67 three reports is considered together in the synopsis which follows. The scope and method of inquiry pursued have been described in the digest of the first annual report of this series, which appeared in Bul letin No. 2. The changes recorded are based upon returns furnished by employers, employers’ associations, tiade unions, and other parties concerned. C h a n g e s i n B a t e s o f W a g e s a n d H o u r s o f L a b o r .—The fol lowing comparative statement summarizes the principal data relating to changes in rates of wages and hours of labor, as shown for the years 1893 to 1896: CH ANGES IN R AT ES OF W AG ES A N D HOURS OF LABOR, 1893 TO 1896. 1893. Items. 1894. 1895. 1896. Changes in rates of wages: Increases....................................................................... .......... Decreases........................................................................................ 508 198 608 171 624 180 1,471 136 T o ta l........................................................................................... 706 779 804 1,607 Separate individuals affected— By increases in rates of wages...... .......................................... By decreases in rates of w ages............................................... By changes leaving wages same at end as at beginning of year........................................................................................ 142,364 256,473 175,615 488,357 79,867 351,895 382,225 167, 357 151,140 6,414 4,956 58,072 T o ta l........................................................................................... 549,977 670,386 436,718 607, 654 Average weekly increase in rates of w ages................................ $0.112 a $ 0 .330 0.314 $0.213 Changes in hours of labor: Increases........................................................................................ Decreases........................................................ ............................... 16 139 2 219 12 129 22 223 T o ta l............................................................................................ 155 221 141 245 Separate individuals affected— By increases in hours of labor................................................. By decreases in hours of labor................................ - .............. 1,530 33,119 128 77,030 1,287 21,448 73, 616 34, 655 T o ta l........................................................................................... 34,649 77,158 22, 735 108, 271 Average weekly reduction in hours of labor.............................. 1.99 4.04 1.94 0.73 a Decrease. ' With regard to the rates of wages, it is shown that the number of changes in each year has steadily increased, probably largely due to improvements in the means of collecting the information. In the years 1893,1894, and 1895 the number of persons whose wages fell greatly exceeded the number whose wages rose; but in 1896 the number whose wages rose was more than twice the number of those whose wages fell. In regard to changes shown in the average weekly rates of wages per head, the increase in 1893 was due to abnormal conditions produced by a great coal dispute. There was a falling tendency in rates of wages in 1894 and 1895, and this was followed by a rise in 1896. The number of changes in the hours of labor fluctuated from year to year, being greatest, 245, in 1896, and least, 141, in 1895. The number of changes resulting in decreases greatly exceeded the number result ing in increases during each of the four years, 1893 to 1896. The num ber of persons affected by changes in hours of labor rose from 34,649 68 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. in 1893 to 77,158 in 1894, when the eight-hour day was introduced into many o f the Government establishments. In 1895 the number sank to 22,735, but in 1896 there was a rise to 108,271. The number of per sons affected by decreases in the hours of labor greatly exceeded the number whose hours were increased during each of the years 1893, 1894, and 1895. In 1896,however,the conditions were reversed, largely accounted for by the London building trades, in which the readjust ment o f working rules involved a trifling increase in the average hours worked. The average number of hours o f labor per week per employee showed a decrease during each of the four years. The following table shows the number of employees affected by changes in the hours of labor, classified according to the extent of such changes per week, and for the years 1893 to 1896: EM PLO YEES A F F E C T E D B Y C H ANGES IN HOURS OF LABOR, B Y E X T E N T OF CH AN G E PER W E E K , 1893 TO 1896. Employees whose hours were— Change per week. Increased. 1893. U n d e r 1 Tionr____. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 or under 2 hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 or Tinder 4 h o u r s ____________________ 4 or u n d e r 6 h o u r s _____ ____ _________ 1895. 480 803 247 43 85 431 17 150 500 189 1,530 128 3,287 6 or under 8 hours.............................. 8 hours or over.................................... T otal........................................... 1894. Decreased. 3896. 1893. 1894. 71,899 144 1,036 252 250 55 5,538 9,800 15,058 1,491 1,011 221 73,616 33,119 1895. 1896. 2,686 4,141 37,535 9,536 20,504 2,628 2,961 9,675 5,235 1,926 1,229 422 4,871 10,695 11, 939 2,200 3,301 1,649 77,030 21,448 34,655 It will be seen from the above figures that, in the case of 71,899 out o f a total of 73,616 persons whose hours of labor were increased in 1896, the increase was less than one hour per week. A s previously alluded to, this large number is accounted for by the London building trades, in which a readjustment of working rules involved a trifling increase in the average hours worked. In the case of changes o f over one hour per week, the number of persons affected by decreases greatly exceeded the number whose hours were increased during each of the four years mentioned. FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— GREAT BRITAIN. 69 111 tlie following table the number of changes in rates of wages during the years 1894? 1895, and 1896, and the number of individual employees affected, are shown by industries: "NUMBER OF IN C REASES A N D DECREASES IN W E E K L Y W A G E S , A N D EM PLOYEES AFFE C TE D , B Y IN D U ST R IES, 1891 TO 1896. 1894. Changes. Industries. Employees affected. Wages same at Wages In De end as at Total. Wages in de creased. begin creases. creases. creased. ning of year. Total. B u ild ing................................................. Mining and quarrying......................... Metal, engineering, and shipbuildi n g ........................................................ Textile..................................................... Clothing................................................... Miscellaneous........................................ Employees of public authorities.. . . 247 25 7 35 254 60 32,618 98,491 101 437,938 274 2,773 32,993 539,202 73 44 31 75 113 68 32 2 23 4 141 76 33 98 117 18,344 8,662 3,457 4,894 9,149 39,384 3,936 1,450 5,468 80 893 2,135 58,621 14,733 4,907 10,701 9,229 Total............................................. 608 171 779 175,615 488, 357 6,414 339 670,386 1895. Rnilding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ___ Mining and quarrying......................... Metal, engineering, and shipbuildin g ........................................................ Textile........................................ .......... Clothing................................................. Miscellaneous....................................... Employees of public authorities___ 217 22 37 217 59 24,431 14,127 313,192 111 66 29 72 107 96 16 1 29 1 207 82 30 101 108 18,392 10,192 1,785 4,101 6,839 26,431 5,396 40 6,740 96 4,935 Total............................................. 624 180 804 79,867 351,895 4,956 436,718 54, 000 88,946 207,136 24,431 327,319 21 49,758 15,588 1,825 10,862 6,935 1896. Building................................................ Mining and quarrying........................ Metal, engineering, and shipbuild ing ......................................................... Textile______ _____________________ _ Clothing................................................. Miscellaneous.......................... . Employees of public authorities— 280 29 3 23 283 52 88,922 3, 961 24 149,175 764 55 31 155 157 74 17 2 14 3 838 72 33 169 160 240, 777 7,122 2,697 24,464 14,282 13,043 2,834 700 1,340 241 4,072 257,892 9,956 3,397 25,804 14,523 Total............................................. 1,471 136 1,607 382,225 167, 357 . 58,072 607,654 The returns for the year 1894 show that there were 779 changes in rates o f wages, 608 resulting in increases and 171 in decreases. These changes affected 670,386 individuals, 175,615 gaininganetincreaseand 488,357 sustaining a net decrease. In the case of 6,414 individuals, the wages were changed during the year, but were the same at the close as at the beginning. Of the entire number of persons affected by changes, 539,202, or 80 per cent, were employed in the mining and quarrying industries. During 1895, 804 changes in rates o f wages were reported, 624 being increases and 180 being decreases. O f a total of 436,718 individuals whose wages were changed, 79,867 gained a net increase, 351,895 sus 70 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. tained a net decrease, and in tlie ease of 4,956 tlie wages were clianged during the year, but stood at the same level at the end as at the begin ning of the year. Til the case of the building trades, all o f the 217 changes reported, which affected 24,431 persons, resulted in increase*! wages. The figures for 1896 showed 1,607 changes in the rates of wages, of which 1,471 were increases and 136 were decreases. These changes affected 607,654 individuals, of whom 382,225 gained a net increase and 167,357 sustained a net decrease. In the case of 58,072 the wages underwent changes during the year, but were the same at the close as at the beginning. The following statement shows by industries for the years 1893 to 1896 the number of individual employees affected by changes in rates of atages, and the net results as shown by the average increase or decrease per head per week, respectively: EM PLOYEES A F E E C T E D B Y CHANGES IN R A T E S OF W A G E S , 1803 TO 1886, B Y IN D U ST R IES. Employees affected by changes in rates of wages. Industries. Building.................................. Mining and quarrying........ Metal, engineering, and shipbuilding....................... T e x tile ........................ .......... Clothing.................................. Miscellaneous....................... Employees of public au thorities .............................. Average increase per bead per week. 1893. 1894. 1895. 1896. 1893. 1894. 1895. 44,538 309,926 32,993 539,202 24,431 327,319 88,946 207,136 $0.360 .228 $0,345 a. 421 $0,411 a. 461 $0.502 a, 127 121,256 55,087 3,599 5,404 58,621 14, 733 4,907 10, 701 49,758 15, 588 1,825 10,862 257, 892 9,956 3, 397 25,804 a. 218 a. 086 .385 a. 020 a. 157 .112 .335 a. 076 .005 .046 .502 a. 127 .370 .020 .314 .416 - 1896. 10,167 9,229 6,935 14,523 .380 .360 .390 .294 T o ta l............................. 1 549,977 670,386 436,718 607,654 .112 a. 330 a. 314 .213 i a Decrease. During the entire period of four years the groups of building and clothing industries and employees of public authorities showed a steady increase in the average weekly rates o f wages per employee. The employees in the mining and quarrying industries appear to have suffered most in regard to reduction o f rates of wages since 1893. In 1896 there was an increase of wages in all the principal industries except the last mentioned. The changes in the hours of labor during the years 1894,1895, and 1896, and the number o f individual employees affected, are shown, by industries, in the table following. FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— GREAT BRITAIN. 71 N U M BER OF INCREASES AND DECREASES IN HOURS OF LABOR, A N D EM PLO YEES AFFE C TE D , B Y INDUSTRIES, 1894 to 1896. 1894. Changes. Industries. Employees affected. Total. Hours in Hours de Total. creased. creased. In creases. De creases. Building........................................... Mining and quarrying__ . . . . . . . . Metal, engineering, and ship building......................................... Tfixtilfl . T____ ______________ Clothing_________ ______________ Miscellaneous.................................. Employees of public authorities. 1 60 5 61 5 31 7 7 65 44 31 7 7 66 44 Total........................................ 2 219 221 1 43 Decrease per em ployee in average weekly hours of labor. 10,119 1,957 10,162 1,957 2.38 3.41 4,496 989 962 12,194 46, 313 4,496 989 962 12, 279 46, 313 7.70 4.57 4.97 4.14 4.02 128 77,030 77,158 4.04 85 1895. Bnilding........................................... Mining and quarrying................... Metal, engineering, and ship building ........................................ Textile............................................... Ol^t-bincr _T__-__________ _______ Miscellaneous.................................. Employees of public authorities. 2 1 49 4 51 5 420 3 12,180 2,341 12,600 2,344 1.46 3.80 3 1 14 4 3 40 24 570 77 4 1 11 3 3 36 23 211 6 2,734 359 298 1,504 2,032 3,304 436 298 1,715 2,038 .02 2.64 2.17 2.43 5.32 Total....................................... 12 129 141 1,287 21,448 22,735 1.94 1896. Building.......................................... Mining and quarrying'.................. Metal, engineering, and ship building......................................... Tfixtile________ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clothing........................................... Miscellaneous.................................. Employees of public authorities. Total....................................... 8 2 79 1 87 3 69,830 174 9,900 500 79,730 674 0.06 3.07 3 39 2 5 60 37 42 2 7 63 41 450 2 3 4 820 271 2,071 6,945 125 1,901 12,298 2,986 7,395 125 2,721 12, 569 5,057 1.28 3.85 .62 3.71 2.65 22 223 245 73,616 34,655 108,271 .73 There were 221 changes reported in the hours of labor in 1894, of which all but two resulted in decreases. The changes affected 77,158 persons, o f whom 77,030 had their hours decreased and 128 had their hours increased. A greater number was affected by decreases in the hours of labor in 1894 than during any other year for which data were obtained. This was due to the introduction of the average eight-hour day in Government establishments, which affected 46,313 of the employ ees reported. In 1895,141 changes in the hours of labor were reported, of which 12 were increases and 129 were decreases. Thesechanges affected22,735 persons, 1,287 o f whom had their hours increased and 21,448 had their hours decreased. The figures for 1896 showed a total of 245' changes, of which 22 resulted in increases in the number o f hours o f labor, affecting 73,616 employees, and 223 resulted in decreases, affecting 34,655 employees. 72 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. During each of the three years each group of industries showed a decrease in the average number of hours per week worked by an employee. Eeturns regarding wages of agricultural laborers in England and Wales showed a downward tendency in 1894 and 1895, but in 1896 a change for higher wages was reported. The number of laborers in dis tricts in which changes in the current rates of wages took place was 129,481 in 1894, 119,890 in 1895, and 99,329 in 1896. O f these, 107,000 in 1894, 92,334 in 1895, and 40,751 in 1896 were in districts in which wages fell, and 22,481 in 1894, 27,556 in 1895, and 58,578 in 1896 were in districts in which wages rose. The total net effect of these changes was a fall o f £2,705 ($13,164) per week, or 5d. ($0.10) per head, in 1894, and £2,629 ($12,794) per week, or 5Jd. ($0.11) per head, in 1895, and a rise of £383 ($1,864) per week, or Id. ($0.02) per head, in 1896, on all laborers in the districts in which wages changed. Calculated on the total number o f agricultural laborers in England and Wales, the fall per head was fd . ($0,015) in 1894 and 1895, as compared with a rise of £d. ($0,003) per week in 1896. The information presented regarding changes in rates of wages of railway employees in 1894, 1895, and 1896 was derived mainly from returns furnished by their trade unions. The rates of wages during the three years did not, so far as ascer tained, undergo any marked changes, but there appeared to be a slight upward tendency. With regard to the hours of labor, there seemed to be a tendency toward a decrease. Changes in hours of labor are of two classes—(1) those resulting from representations by the board of trade under the railway-regulation act of 1893, where there were rea sonable grounds for complaint on account of excessive hours, and (2) other changes. In 1894 information was received of changes of wages affecting 3,004 persons, o f whom 2,968 had increases and only 36 decreases. These figures represent the number of persons whose rates of pay were altered, but it does not necessarily follow that they all benefited or lost during the actual year 1894. There were 98 cases of reduction in hours of labor resulting from representations by the board of trade. The changes reported from other sources affected 540 railway employees, all of whom had their hours reduced, the average reduction being 12 hours per week. In 1895, 558 unions of railway employees made returns, of which 139 contained particulars of changes of wages and hours of labor and 419 unions bad no changes to report. The changes in rates of wages affected 823 persons, but in the case of 228 the changes affected indi vidual workers only. Of the remaining 595 work people, 389 had a rise and 206 suffered a fall in wages. There were 71 cases of reduction in hours of labor resulting from representations by the board o f trade. Changes reported from other sources affected 5,103 railway employees, 5,007 of whom had their hours decreased and 96 had them increased. The average reduction for the year was 5 hours per week. FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— GREAT BRITAIN. 73 In 1896, 422 trade unions made returns regarding changes in wages and hours of labor of railway employees. Of these, 116 contained par ticulars of such changes and 306 had no changes to report. Altogether 1,217 persons were reported as affected by changes in rates of wages, but in the case of 144 the changes merely affected individual workmen. O f the remaining 1,073 persons, 1,000 had their wages advanced and 73 had them reduced. The hours of labor were reduced in 50 cases where representations had been made by the board of trade. Eeturns from railway employees’ unions show 98 cases of hours reduced and 13 of hours increased. So far as returned, the reductions affected 1,058 persons and the increases 44 persons. The average net reduction per week per employee was 8J hours. The data presented for 1894 and 1895 regarding seamen show a slight fall, while those for 1896 show a slight rise in wages. P i e c e P r i c e L i s t s a n d S l i d i n g S c a l e s .—Piece price lists adopted or revised in 1894 are given for the shipbuilding, quarrying, cotton-weaving, lace, boot and shoe, clog, tailoring, printing, glass-bot tle, and brush-making industries, and for dock labor. Piece price lists for 1895 are given for the shipbuilding, cotton-weaving, hosiery, boot and shoe, clog, tailoring, printing, and glass-bottle industries. Sliding scales are shown for the coal-mining industry, blast furnace men, and iron and steel workers. Piece price lists for 1896 are given for the metal trades, cotton-spinning, cotton-weaving, hosiery, boot and shoe, clog, tailoring, printing, glass-bottle, basket, and brush industries, and for dock and river-side labor. One new sliding scale for coal miners is shown. GERMANY. Drucksaclien der Kommission fiir Arbeiterstatistik: Erhebungen Nr. X. Zusammenstellung der Ergebnisse der Ermittelungen iiber die Arbeitsverhaltnisse in der Kleider- und Wasche-Konfektion. 110 pp. This is the tenth of a series of investigations conducted by the com mission on labor statistics of the German Empire. The nine preceding reports were reviewed in Bulletin No. 4. This report contains the results of an investigation into the labor conditions of garment work ers. It treats of the garment industry according to the nature of the goods made, the localities where certain lines prevail, systems of work and employment, irregularity of employment, labor contracts and wage payments, earnings, and sanitary and moral conditions surround ing the garment workers. An appendix contains extracts from laws regulating garment work in Switzerland, Austria, England, France, and the United States. The information was obtained partly by the testimony o f witnesses before the commission and partly by personal investigations by officials. The report covers 13 manufacturing centers, 835 workshops and fac tories, and 4,143 dwellings where home work was done. Under the 74 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. Lead of garment-makin g industry are included men’s, boys’, and women’s clothing, cloaks, blouses, and overalls, light summer garments, and men’s and women’s furnishings, such as shirts, collars, cuffs, underwear, etc. Three systems o f work are considered, namely, factory work, shop work, and home work. Factory work, in connection with home work, is most common in the manufacture of men’s furnishings, such as shirts, collars, cuffs, linen shirt fronts, and similar articles. Women’s linens and underwear, laborers’ blouses and overalls, and light summer clothing are also made in this way, but to a comparatively small extent. This system is unknown in the men’s and boys’ clothing industry. Shop work, in connection with home work, through the medium of the same contractor, is found in all branches of the clothing industry in Berlin, Stettin, Breslau, and Erfurt. Single men are, as a rule, employed in workshops and factories, married people at home work, and single females at factory, shop, and home work. Coats and overcoats are made almost exclusively by males; pants, vests, overalls, and light summer garments are made mostly by females ; while women’s garments and all linens and underwear are made almost exclusively by females. A s to regularity of employment, those engaged in the manufacture o f linens and underwear are least affected by changes of season. In the men’s and boys’ clothing industry work is almost entirely suspended for about 3 months each year. In the women’s clothing industry, which consists chiefly o f cloak making, employees work on full time for only about 6 or 7 months per year, and work is almost entirely suspended for 2 or 3 months. The average hours of actual labor range from 9 to 11 per day in the factories and from 12 to 13 per day in the workshops. It is diffi cult to estimate the average working time o f home work on account of the many interruptions occasioned by domestic duties. It is about 13J to 14J hours per day of actual labor. Sunday work, as a rule, is done only during a very busy season. A t such times garment workers are engaged from 2 to 5 hours during the morning. The rates of wages of time workers are, as a rule, uniform through out the year, while those of piece workers vary with the demand. ‘ The earnings vary greatly with the nature of the work and the locality. As to general health, the garment workers are unfortunately situated. Persons adopting this trade are generally those who are physically weak or are in poor health. The sanitary condition of workshops is not what may be desired. Overcrowding is frequent, and ventilating appliances are very rarely found. O f 350 factories and workshops visited in Ber lin, over one half had less than 16 cubic meters (565 cubic feet) of air space per person; 5 i>er cent had 6 cubic meters (212 cubic feet), and some had only 3 and 4 cubic meters (106 and 141 cubic feet) air space FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— GERMANY. 75 per person. Of 3,046 dwelling workshops visited, about 1,000 were simultaneously used as living rooms, an equal number as kitchens, and about 900 were also bedrooms. In the remaining cases the workshops were used for two or more other purposes. The danger of dwelling or tenement work as a medium for the spread o f contagious diseases was also a subject of investigation. In the above-named dwelling workshops there were during two years 40 cases o f diphtheria, 19 o f measles, 23 o f scarlet fever, and 5 of con sumption. As to the moral condition o f garment workers, the commission found that females employed in this branch o f industry compared favorably with those engaged in other vocations. DECISIONS OE COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. [This subject, begun in Bulletin No. 2, will be continued in successive issues, deal ing with the decisions as they occur. A ll material parts o f the decisions are repro duced in the words o f the courts, indicated when short by quotation marks, and when long by being printed solid. In order to save space, immaterial matter, needed simply by way o f explanation, is given in the words o f the editorial reviser.] DECISIONS UNDER STATUTORY LAW . C o n s t it u t io n a l it y of Sta t u t e — F e l l o w -S e r v a n t A ct of T e x a s —Missouri, Kansas and Texas B y. Go. v. Hannig, 41 Southwest ern Reporter, page 196.—Action was brought in the district court of Clay County, Tex., by William Hannig against the above-named rail way company to recover damages for injuries received while in the employ of said company as a section hand. Hannig recovered a ver dict and the railway company appealed the case to the court o f civil appeals of the State, which rendered its decision May 12, 1897, and affirmed the judgment of the lower court. The title of chapter 91, acts of 1893 (23d legislature), page 120, reads as follows: An act to define who are fellow-servants and who are not fellowservants, and to prohibit contracts between employer and employees, based upon the contingency of the iujury or death of the employees", lim iting the liability of the employer for damages. The first and second sections o f the act define who are and who are not fellow-servants, and the third section reads as follows: Se c . 3. No contract made between the employer and employee, based upon the contingency of death or injury of the employee, limiting the liability of the.employer under this act, or fixing damages to be recov ered, shall be valid and binding. This case depended upon the above-mentioned act, and one of the assignments of error made by the railway company in its appeal was that the act should have been declared unconstitutional under the pro visions of section 35 o f article III of the constitution o f Texas, which reads as follows: Sec tio n 35. No bill (except general appropriation bills, which may embrace the various subjects and accounts, for and on account o f which moneys are appropriated) shall contain more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title. But i f any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be so expressed. 76 77 DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. The court o f civil appeals, in affirming the decision of the lower court,, overruled the point made as above and used the following language concerning it in its opinion, which was delivered by Chief J ustice Tarlton: The act of the twenty-third legislature (page 120), known as the u fellow-servants act,” is not unconstitutional on the ground that it embraces more than one subject, both being expressed in the title. The prohibition referred to in the caption [title] and covered by the third section o f the act does not constitute a different subject, but is merely auxiliary to the main purpose of the act authorizing a recovery b y employees when injured by the master’s negligence. In other words, the prohibition referred to in the title and in section 3 of the act is but one phase of the subject expressed in the title. C o n s t it u t io n a l it y of S t a t u t e — L ia b il it y of Cit y for D am —Pennsylvania Company v. City o f Chicago, and Yazoo* and Mississippi Valley B. B . Co. v. Same, 81 Federal Beporter, page 317.—These were actions on the case against the city of Chicago,, brought by the above-named companies, in the United States circuit court for the northern district of Illinois, under section 256a of chapter 38 o f the revised statutes of Illinois o f 1895. Said Section reads as follows: age by M ob Whenever any building or other real or personal property, except property in transit, shall be destroyed or injured in consequence of any mob or riot composed o f twelve or more persons, the city, or if not in a city, then the county in which such property was destroyed shall be liable* to an action by or in behalf of the party whose property was thus destroyed or injured, for three-fourths of the damages sustained by reason thereof. There is nothing in the report of these cases, as found in the Federal Keporter, to show whether the causes of action arose during a labor disturbance or a strike, but the clerk of the circuit court, in response to a communication from the Department of Labor, says: uAccording to the brief reference in the declaration in Pennsyl vania Company v. City et al., the destruction of the property complained of occurred during the riots of July 6,1894.” These riots grew out of the great u Chicago* strike” o f June-July, 1894. The circuit court rendered its decision June 1,1897, and decided that the statute above quoted was constitu tional and valid. The opinion o f the court was delivered by District Judge Grosscup, and the following is quoted therefrom: The declaration avers the possession of property by the plaintiffs and its destruction within the city of Chicago, at the time named, in consequence of a mob of twelve or more persons, and there is in its aver ment substantially nothing more. The declaration in no feature pro-' ceeds upon any grounds of negligence or misconduct upon the part o f the city or any of its agencies, nor upon the ground of any contract 1821—No. 14----- 6 78 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. relation between the city and the plaintiffs. The defendant pleads that it in fact exercised all its power to prevent the loss complained of; that the State of Illinois and the United States o f America, equally with the city of Chicago, were interested and engaged in protecting the property eventually lost, and that the city of Chicago has no property or funds, except such as cau hereafter be raised by taxation, to meet the payment o f such losses. The plaintiffs have demurred to these pleas, the con sideration o f which carries the case back to the declaration. The statute upon which the case proceeds is one o f indemnity, pure and simple, and can be sustained only upon the principle that a State may rightfully and constitutionally compel its subdivisions, such as counties or cities, to indemnify against losses arising from mobs and riots within their limits, independently of any misconduct or negli gence upon the part o f such city or county, to which the loss can be attributed. The statute in question burdens the taxpayers of the city to reimburse the losses suffered within its limits by means of a mob of twelve or more persons, independently entirely of any connection, other than that arising from locality, between the city and such losses. The question thus raised has been argued with great ability by counsel for the city, and, if the question were an original one, or had not been dis posed of by such weight of authority, I might have come to a conclusion different from that which I shall now announce. The same question has been before the courts of last resort. New Hampshire: Underhill v. Manchester, 45 N. H., 214. New York: Darlington v. Ma^or, etc., 31 N. Y., 1G4. Pennsylvania: Allegheny v. Gibson, 90 Pa. St., 397. In each of these cases the constitutional validity of similar statutes has been upheld. The doctrine announced in these cases has likewise received the approval o f Judge Cooley. (Cooley, Taxation, 480.) The right of a State to impose such a burden upon a municipality is touched upon in the opinion, though not involved in the decision, o f the Supreme Court o f the United States in Louisiana v. Mayor, etc., o f city of New Orleans, 109 U. S., 285, 3 Sup. Ct., 211, where it is said: “ The right to reimbursement for damages caused by a mob or riotous assemblage of people is not founded on any contract between the city and the sufferers. Its liability for the damages is created by a law of the legislature, and can be withdrawn or limited at its pleasure. Municipal corporations are instrumentalities of the State for the con venient administration o f government within their limits. They are invested with authority to establish a police to guard against disturb ance; and it is their duty to exercise their authority so as to prevent violence from any cause, and particularly from mobs and riotous assemblages. It has, therefore, been generally considered as a just burden cast upon them to require them to make good any loss sustained from the acts o f such assemblages which they should have repressed.” The above quotation, it is true, is obiter dicta; neither is it at all clear that the court had in mind any other than a case where, by the exercise of any or all o f the city’s legitimate powers, the mob could have been repressed. But there is a bearing in the intimation, taken in connec tion with the preceding authorities, especially in the absence of any countervailing decision, which seems to carry the sanction ot the court (United States Supreme Court) to the constitutionality of such statutes; at least there is enough to prohibit a trial court from declaring the stat ute unconstitutional, except upon grounds the clearness and stability of which are beyond question. Upon these considerations, I feel it my duty to sustain the demurrers. 79 DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. E of i g h t -h o u r the U Law — E n it e d ig h t States of for A c t io n of Laborer C o m p e n s a t io n for in A Em ploy d d it io n a l o u r s — Coleman v. United States, 81 Federal Reporter, page 824.— This suit was brought in the United States district court for the district of Kentucky, and the decision of said court was rendered June 1, 1897. A ll the facts in the case and the reasons for the decision are given in the opinion o f the court, which was delivered by District Judge Barr, and which reads as follows: In this case the plaintiff alleges that— “ On th e ------day of February, 1888, he was employed as a laborer on a dredge boat on the Louisville and Portland Canal, in the State of Kentucky, for the United States, at a salary o f $40 per month, and continued to discharge the duties o f such position as laborer on said dredge boat at said place and at said salary until the 3d day of Septem ber, 1890, when he was relieved from duty on said canal, and he has not done any work for the United States since that time. That, during the time above referred to, he discharged the duties of laborer on said dredge boat, and was so employed and performed the duties of said laborer, and that he was compelled to, and did, work and labor as such laborer during each and everyday o f said time, Sundays excepted, and was on duty and worked each day for ten hours, and not less. That he never had any special agreement or contract with the United States, or with any of its officers, department officials, or representatives, that he was to work or be on duty for ten hours per day for the same sum per month as specified above, nor did he ever agree to work ten hours a day for the same amount of salary and pay as for eight hours a day. That, contrary to law, he was compelled to, and did, work, and was on duty each day of said time, Sundays excepted, for two hours longer than a legal day’s work, to wit, eight hours per day; and the United States then and there received the benefit and accepted his said two hours of labor during each day of his said time, Sundays excepted. The United States then and there became indebted to the petitioner upon an implied contract for the value of said two hours additional work and labor during said time. That said additional labor so received during said time was and is of the value of $1,000. Said sum is still due and unpaid.” To this petition the United States have filed a general demurrer. Section 3738, Eev. Stat., declares: “ Eight hours shall constitute a day’s work for all laborers, workmen, and mechanics who may be employed by or on behalf o f the Government o f the United States;” and the question under this demurrer is whether or not this provision of the law gives the petitioner, Coleman, a right of action for the extra time over the eight hours per day for which he was employed. The Supreme Court, in United States v. Martin, in considering this statute, says: “ W e regard the statute chiefly as in the nature of a direction from the principal to his agent that eight hours is deemed to be a proper length o f time for a day’s labor, and that his contract shall be based upon that theory. It is a matter between the principal and his agent in which a third party has no interest.” (94 U. S., 404.) Subsequent to this employment, to wit, by an act approved August 1, 1892, Congress declared that “ the service and employment of all labor ers and mechanics # * * upon any of the public works o f the United States * * # is hereby limited and restricted to eight hours in any H 80 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. one calendar day, and it shall be unlawful for any officer o f the United States * * * or any such contractor or subcontractor whose duty it, shall be to employ, direct, or control the services o f such laborers or mechanics, to require or permit any such laborer or mechanic to work more than eight hours a day, except in case of extraordinary emer gency,” and prescribes that the person who violates this provision o f the law shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished upon conviction. The provisions o f this act, however, do not have any application to the case at bar, as all contracts made prior to its passage are expressly excluded, but it (the act) is material in considering how Congress con strued the act o f 1868 (which is now section 3738), and shows, we think, quite clearly that that act was never intended to give the laborer or workman or mechanic a right of action, or to raise an implied contract, if they should work more than the time. The fact, as alleged, that this party was paid a salary of $40 a month, and there being no allegation that the money was not received regu larly, and no allegation that he protested either at the time of receiving the money or during the time when the work was performed, precludes, we think, any right of action now. The mere allegation of the petition that he never made any special agreement or contract with the United States, or with any of its officers, that he was to work or to be on duty for ten hours per day for the sum specified, nor that he ever agreed to work for ten hours per day for the same amount of salary and pay as for eight hours, is not sufficient to raise an implied contract, and give him a right of action for the extra two hours per day. Even if the construction o f the statute herein indicated is too broad, and the peti tioner is entitled to its benefit, he would have no right of action now, since the Government or its agents should have had notice, by protest or objection, that the petitioner, who had agreed to labor at a salary of $40 per month, claimed that the agreement required that he should only work eight hours a day of each day for the month. W e conclude as the statute did not make a contract between the United States and the petitioner that a day’s work should be eight hours, that the receipt o f the money, the $40 a month, as compensation for his month’s labor, precludes any recovery now. The act o f 1868 was not a contract between the Government and its laborer that eight hours shall constitute a day’s work. It did not pre vent the Government from making agreements, either express or implied, by which a day’s labor could be more or less than eight hours a day; nor does it prescribe the amount of compensation for that or any other number of hours labor. This is clearly decided in United States v. Martin, supra. W e conclude therefore that the demurrer should be sustained. E ia H T -n o u R L a w — R i g h t of Laborer to R eco ver Com pensa —Billingsley v. Board o f Commissioners o f Marshall County, 49 Pacifie Reporter, page 329.—Action was brought in the district court of Marshall County, Kans., by S. C. Bil lingsley against the board of county commissioners. A judgment was rendered for the defendant, and the plaintiff brought the case on writ of error before the court of appeals o f the State, which rendered its decision June 16,1897, and affirmed the judgment o f the lower court. t io n for A d d it io n a l H ours DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 81 No statement of facts appears in the case farther than that contained in the opinion o f the court, which was delivered by Judge Wells, and which reads as follows: The only question in this case is whether a person can contract with a county to do certain clearly specified and described work for a certain specified sum monthly, perform the services, and receive pay therefor under the contract, and then, after the expiration of the contract and all renewals thereof, upon a showing that in the performance o f said contract more than eight hours of labor a day were required and by him performed, collect of said county pay for such excess over eight hours a day, under the provisions of chapter 114, laws 1891. In the consid eration of this question, let us assume, as claimed by plaintiff in error, that the object o f this law is : First, to shorten the hours of labor for the employed; second, to give the unemployed a better chance to get work, and then inquire how either of these objects is to be aided by allowing one man to contract to do a day and a half’s work each day, and then collect for the excess. It seems to us that the allowance of the plain tiff’s claim would directly tend to defeat both. It is a familiar rule that a thing may be within the letter of a stat ute, and yet not within the statute, because not within its spirit or intention. But in this case the claim of the plaintiff is not within the letter o f the law. The law referred to makes it unlawful for any county or any contractor therewith to require or permit any person to work more than eight hours per day under any contract with it, except in cases of extraordinary emergency, as therein designated. In this case there was no claim of any such emergency as contemplated in the exception. W e are therefore juesented with this alternative: Either the plaintiff in error violated the letter and spirit of the law in ques tion, and now insists on being paid for doing so, or that chapter does not apply to cases of this kind. Each of these positions is equally fatal to the plaintiff’s claim. It is an elementary principle of law that a person can not base a cause of action upon his own wrong. In the case at bar, if the services performed came within the scope o f said chapter 114, then it was unlawful for the plaintiff to work more than eight hours each day, and it was unlawful for the commissioners to allow him to do so; and he by his act violated the law, and subjected the commissioners, if not himself, to a criminal prosecution, and now asks to profit by it. The writer of this is of the opinion that the law in question only applies to people who work by the day, and not to those taking contracts of a certain amount of work for so much money. Chief Justice Horton, speaking for the supreme court in State v. Martindale, 47 Kans., 150, 27 Pac., 852, says: “ The words ‘ laborers, work men, mechanics, and other persons,’ in section 1, chapter 114, evidently do not embrace any officer or employee for whom an annual salary has been specifically named and appropriated by the legislature. Further, chapter 114 is a penal statute, and must therefore be strictly construed. It can not be extended by construction.” The decision of the court below will be affirmed. 82 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. E m p l o y e r s * L ia b i l it y — R a il r o a d C o m pan ies — F e l l o w -Se r v a n t s — Wright v. Southern By. Go. et al.9 80 Federal Reporter, page 260.—This action was brought in the United States circuit court for the western district of North Carolina by one Wright against the above-named railway company to recover damages for personal injuries incurred while in the employ of said company. The injuries he com plained of were incurred some time prior to February 23,1897, the date of the passage by the legislature of North Carolina of an act regarding the liability of railroad companies for injuries to their employees, which act reads as follows: Sectio n 1. Any servant or employee of any railroad company operat ing in this State, who shall suffer injury to his person, or the personal representative o f any such servant or employee who shall have suffered death in the course o f his services or employment with said company by the negligence, carelessness, or incompetency o f any other servant, employee, or agent o f the company, or by any defect in the machinery, ways, or appliances o f the company, shall be entitled to maintain an action against such company. Se c . 2. A ny contract or agreement, expressed or implied, made by any employee of said company to waive the benefit of the aforesaid sec tion shall be null and void. S e c . 3. This act shall be in force from and after its ratification. The plaintiff, by his counsel, claimed that while his injury might have been caused by the negligence of a fellow-servant, which under the common law would have prevented him from recovering damages, yet this act changing the common law on that point should be construed to have a retroactive effect and should be held to apply and govern in his case. The United States circuit court rendered its decision April 30,1897, and on this point it decided adversely to the plaintiff’s con tention. In the opinion o f said court, delivered by District Judge Dick, the following language was used in considering this point: The counsel o f plaintiff, in their argument, called the attention of the court to the recent statute of this State changing and modifying the legal doctrines in regard to fellow-servants established in the Federal courts and some State courts by judicial decisions founded upon the general principles o f the common law. They confidently insisted that, as such statute was manifestly remedial in its nature, and conformed in some degree to the law on the subject announced by the supreme court of this State, it should be construed to have a retroactive effect in this case, at least to the extent of carrying into application the principles o f the common law as declared by the supremo court of the State as to the relations o f fellow-servants. The statute may be expedient, just, and salutary in its objects and purposes, and it shows a manifest legislative intent to remedy what was regarded as existing evils arising from extra State judicial decisions; but, as the statute contains no express provision for retrospective oper ation, I must conclude to observe the general and sound rule for the construction of statutes, and give this State statute only prospective operation. I may well presume that, if the State legislature had in tended to make this important statute retroactive, the purpose would 83 DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. have been clearly, directly, and positively expressed in the body of the statute. I f the legislature, in express terms, had given this statute a retrospective operation, then questions of law as to its constitutionality would have been presented to the courts. I will not consider such ques tions further than to say that, in my opinion, a retrospective operation o f the statute in this case would clearly and injuriously affect vested rights acquired by contract, and impose new liabilities, which were not in existence and were not contemplated by the parties, when they entered into the relation of master and servant for the operation of the railway. A t the time this cause o f action arose the nonresident corpo ration defendant was entitled by the laws of the United States to have its obligations, duties, and liabilities passed upon in a Federal court, and be determined by the principles of law declared and established by the Supreme Court of the United States. Em ployers’ L ia b il it y — R a il r o a d .—Boston C o m p a n ie s — F e l l o w -S e r v and Maine R. JR. Co. v. McDuffey et al., 79 Federal Reporter, page 934.—Action was brought in the United States circuit court for the district o f Vermont by the widow and children of James B. McDuffey against the above-named railroad company for damages for the death of said McDuffey, who, while on his engine as a locomotive engineer in the employ of said company, was killed by collision with another train at Capleton, in the Dominion o f Canada. A judgment was rendered for the plaintiffs, and the defendant company brought the case on a writ o f error before the United States circuit court o f appeals, second district, which rendered its decision April 8,1897, and reversed the judgment of the lower court. The points upon which the decision was made are of no particular interest, but in the course of the opinion, delivered by Circuit Judge Lacombe, one interesting point was decided in favor of the plaintiffs. The following, quoted from the opinion, shows the facts in the case and the point above referred to : The defendant, a Massachusetts corporation, operated a continuous line of railroad from White River Junction, in Vermont, to Sherbrooke, in the Province of Quebec. McDuffey was a citizen o f Vermont, resi dent at Lyndonville, in that State, where he entered into the employ ment of defendant, at first as fireman, afterwards as engineer. For about three years he drove the engine o f a freight train between points wholly in the State of Vermont. In July, 1892, he was, at his own request, employed to drive an engine drawing a passenger train between White River Junction, Lyndonville, and Sherbrooke. It was while thus employed that he met his death, on March 12,1894. It was con tended that defendant had failed to supply reasonably safe appliances, in that a water tank on the tender was insecurely fastened, but the jury, to whom special questions were submitted, found against the plain tiffs on that issue. The jury further found that two of McDuffey’s fellow-servants, viz, Robinson, the conductor o f his train, and Mower, the engineer of the colliding train, were negligent, and that such neg ligence caused the catastrophe. ants, etc 84 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. The Civil Code of Lower Canada (article 1056) provides as follows: “ In all cases where the person injured by the commission o f an offense, or a quasi offense, dies in consequence, without having obtained indem nity or satisfaction, his consort and his ascendant and descendant rela tions have a right, but only within a year after his death, to recover from the person who committed the offense, or quasi offense, # * * all damages occasioned by such death.” It is not disputed that Robinson and Mower were fellow-servants with McDuffey. Had this accident occurred in Vermont, and McDuffey survived, the fact that the negligence which caused the collision was, as the jury has found, that of a fellow-servant, would have prevented recovery. The law o f Canada was proved as a fact in the circuit court. Besides article 1056, already quoted, the following articles from the Civil Code were read: “ A r t . 1053. Every person capable of discerning right from wrong is responsible for the damage caused by his fault to another, whether by positive act, imprudence, neglect, or want of skill. “ A r t . 1054. He is responsible not only for the damage caused by his own fault, but also for that caused by the fault of persons under his control, and by things which he has under his care. * * Masters and employers are responsible for the damage caused by their serv ants and workmen in the performance of the work in which they are employed.” The expert called for plaintiffs testified without contradiction that, as construed by the Canadian courts, these articles applied to corpora tions, and that, where an accident causing injury to a servant was the result o f the negligence o f a fellbw-servant, tiie employer would never theless be liable in damages to the injured person, and, in the event of his death within the time prescribed, to the persons to whom article 1056 gave the right o f recovery [wife, children, etc.]. It is contended by plaintiff in error, however, that the law of Vermont is to be applied here, and that since it appears from the special verdict that the efficient cause of the accident was the negligence o f a fellowservant, plaintiffs can not recover. In other words, does the law of Canada or the law of Vermont determine the question of liability for the consequence o f this accident? This is not an action to recover upon a contract, but for damages resulting from a tort committed elsewhere than in the State where the action is brought. The right o f action accrued where the tort was com mitted, and it is to enforce such right of action that suit is brought. It is sufficient to refer to Railroad Co. v. Babcock, 154 IT. S., 190,14 Sup. Ct., 978 (citing, with approval, Herrick v. Railroad Co., 31 Minn., 11, 16 N. W ., 413), as authority for the proposition that “ in such cases the law o f the place where the right was acquired or the liability was incurred will govern as to the right o f action; while all that pertains merely to the remedy will be controlled by the law of the State where the action is brought. And we think the principle is the same whether the right of action be ex contractu or ex delicto.” The question whether or not an injured servant shall have a right of action for damages against a negligent master, when such master’s negligence has been committed through the instrumentality of another servant, is one which deals with the right of action itself, not with the remedy. In our opinion, it makes no difference that the contract by which the relation o f master and servant was established was made in Vermont. Conceding that it is to be assumed that, under such contract DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 85 of employment, McDuffey assumed the risks incident to the negligence of his fellow*servants on so much of his run as lay within that State, where such negligence gives no right of recovery for resulting injuries or death, it does not follow that he agreed thereby to assume like risks when running his engine in Canada, where the statutes gave a right of recovery therefor. I n t e r p r e t a t io n of Statu te- A s s ig n a b il it y of Preferred —Faleonio v. Larsen, 48 Pacific Reporter, page 703.—Action was brought in the circuit court of Multnomah County, Oreg., by Donny Faleonio against E. S. Larsen to establish certain claims for wages. Judgment was rendered for the plaintiff, and the defendant appealed the case to the supreme court of the State. Said court rendered its decision May 1,1897, and affirmed the judgment of the circuit court. The opinion of the supreme court was delivered by Judge Wolverton, and the following, quoted therefrom, shows the facts in the case and the principal points of the decision: C l a im s for W ages The purpose of this action is to establish 98 different and distinct claims, ranging in amount from $1.25 to $100, preferred by certain laborers and employees against the estate of E. S. Larsen, an insolvent debtor, for labor and services rendered the said Larsen within ninety days prior to the date of his assignment for the benefit of his creditors, and is prosecuted under the provisions of an act entitled “ An act to protect employees and laborers in their claims for wages,” approved February 20,1891. Larsen was a contractor for the construction o f a ditch for irrigating purposes in Wasco County, and the claimants were laborers, and in that capacity performed work, labor, and services thereon at his special instance and request. Each of them made a statement of his claim under oath, in all respects as required by the statute, and presented the same to the assignee within thirty days after the assignment. Some twenty days later, Larsen filed exceptions thereto, and thereafter they were all assigned by the claimants to Donny Faleonio, who brings this action, setting forth in his complaint as many different causes of action as there were original claimants. It is alleged that each of said claims was assigned for collection, and that the amount collected is to be paid to the respective claimants. The principal question suggested by the controversy is touching the assignability o f claims of laborers, the preferment of which the enact ment is designed to promote. No contention is made but that the claimants might each for himself have prosecuted an action in his^own name of the nature here adopted to establish his individual claim; but it is insisted that the preference which the law raises is a privilege strictly personal to the claimant, and one which he alone can exercise; that the mode or process by means of which he may avail himself of the privilege is specifically pointed out by statute, and, being a pro cedure unknown to the common law, it should be strictly followed in the establishment of the preferential right’, and, until fully perfected, it is not in any event assignable. The statute, in so far as it concerns the case.at bar, is in effect as follows: That hereafter, whenever any assignment for the benefit of creditors 86 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. shall be made, the debts owing to laborers or employees, which have accrued by reason of their labor or employment, to an amount not exceeding $100 to each employee for work and labor performed within 90 days next preceding the assignment, shall be considered and treated as preferred debts, and such laborers and employees shall be preferred creditors, and shall first be paid in full; but,if there be not sufficient to pay them in full, then the same shall be paid to them pro rata after pay ing costs. Any such laborer or employee desiring to enforce his claim for wages under sections 1,2, and 3 o f this act, shall present a statement under oath, showing the amount due after allowing all just credits and set-offs, the kind o f work for which said wages are due, and when per formed, to the assignee, within 30 days after the property shall have been placed in the hands of such assignee. (The form o f the statement is given, and runs in the first person.) And thereupon he shall serve upon the debtor, or upon his assignee where personal service can not be had, a copy o f such claim, and thereafter it shall be the duty of the assignee to report the amount of such claim or claims to the court hav ing jurisdiction, together with a statement of all costs occasioned by the assignment; and such court shall order said claims to be paid after pay ment o f costs and expenses of the assignment, out of the proceeds of sales o f the property assigned: Provided, That any person interested may contest such claim or claims, or any part thereof, by filing in said court exceptions thereto, supported by affidavit; and thereupon the claimant shall be required to establish his or her claim by judgment in such court before any part thereof shall be paid. When any claim is excepted to, the person desiring to establish the same shall file in said court his verified complaint, as in an action at law, and serve the same upon the person excepting and the principal debtor, and thereafter the cause shall proceed to final judgment between said parties as an action at law. Section 2 provides for the adjustment of costs and attorney’s fees, and section 3 that the assignee shall not be discharged until every claimant presenting his or her claim under the provisions o f the act shall have been paid in full or pro rata, or shall have consented to the discharge. The act creates a new right, and prescribes a remedy for its enforce ment. In so far as it imposes a burden upon specific property, it should be strictly construed; but, where the right is clearly given, the interpre tation should be such as will promote, rather than impede or destroy, the remedy, so as to meet, if reasonably within the terms of the statute, the exigencies which impelled the enactment. In other words, a remedy is the concomitant o f a right; and, where anew right is established, its usefulness depends upon the means of its enforcement, so that, when the legislature attempts to prescribe a remedy, it will be presumed that it intended to adopt such a one as will effectuate the purpose, and the inter pretation of the remedial enactment will be such as to promote the intendment as fully as the language employed will admit. Theundoubted purpose of the act was to constitute the laborer or employee a preferred creditor, as it pertains to the property of his employer seized upon by any process, or passing to a receiver or assignee. Under all the con ditions enumerated, the property is placed in custodia legis, and there after it is administered in pursuance of law; and the act in question imposes an additional burden upon it, and subjects it, first, after the payment of certain costs, to the payment of the labor claims designated. The enactment does not create a lien, but invests the laborer or employee with all the rights and privileges incident to the relation o f preferred creditor, and directs the order of payment out o f a fund which is already in the custody o f the law, for the purpose of DECISIONS OP COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 87 administration, in subordination to its rules and regulations. The act declares that hereafter, when the property of any person shall be seized, etc., such laborers or employees “ shall be preferred creditors, and shall first be paid.” (Acts 1891, p. 81, sec. 1.) Thus, the legisla ture has inseparably coupled the preference with the event, which inures instanter upon the happening thereof, to the benefit of the designated classes. It is a substantive right, created by edict, and not the right to acquire it by the doing of certain things or the observance of any conditions. The property is charged, ipso facto the happening o f the seizure or the assignment, with the prior payment of the debts of laborers or employees, which have accrued under the conditions con templated. W ith the. right or preference thus clearly established, it remains to examine the manner of its enforcement, and to determine to what extent the remedy must be pursued as a personal privilege. Manifestly, the statute comprehends only such debts as are owing to the laborers or employees at the date of the seizure or assignment, and these debts are denominated “ claims for wages.” Now, it is provided that any such person desiring to enforce such a claim shall, in case of an assignment, present a statement, made out and verified in the form and manner prescribed, to the assignee, within thirty days after the property has been placed in his hands, and serve a copy upon the debtor. Such is the method by which a claimant may avail himself o f his pref erence. Thus far it would seem that the privilege is personal to the laborer or employee, as he may adopt the remedy if he desires within the statutory period, or he may waive it as a debtor may waive his exemptions from seizure upon execution, by not claiming them in due season from the officer having the property in charge. When a claim is thus presented, a duty is devolved upon the assignee to report it to the court, and upon the court to direct its payment first, after the pay ment of the costs and expenses of the assignment, out of the proceeds of the sale o f the property. But it further provided that any person interested may contest such a claim by filing exceptions thereto, and thereafter it is made incumbent upon the claimant to establish the same by filing a verified complaint, as in an action at law, and that thereafter the cause shall proceed to judgment between the parties. W e take it that the matter which is here made the subject of litiga tion and contest is the debt, and it is the province of the court to deter mine the nature, and what, if any, [of] such debt has accrued and remains unpaid; but whether or not the claim has been properly made out or verified or presented, and whether within the prescribed time, are purely questions of law that have necessarily to be passed upon, whether there is a contest or not. So that the purpose of the contest is not to establish the preference, but the claim. The preference is established when the privilege is exercised by a due presentment of the verified statement. Now, it will be conceded that the claim, aside from the preference which may be denominated a “ personal privilege,” is assignable, and, under the code practice, may be sued upon by the holder in his own name; but, when the privilege is exercised, the pref erence becomes an incident o f the debt, which is thereby constituted a preferred claim, and when the debt is assigned the incident accompa nies it. So we see no reason why the assignee of the debt may not file a complaint in his own name to establish the claim, as he might do upon the simple demand, and, if established, the preference abides with it still, as an incident. The right of exercising the privilege in claiming the preference we hold to be personal; but, when exercised by the presentation of the 88 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. statement, the preference becomes an incident of the debt or claim for wages, and may be assigned; and henceforth the action may be prose cuted in the name o f the legal owner and holder of the claim if con tested. This interpretation is manifestly in consonance with the spirit o f the act. It was designed to protect a deserving class of individuals, who are usually dependent upon their recent earnings for the suste nance o f themselves and those dependent upon them, and it was undoubtedly the purpose of the legislature to make the wages o f labor speedily available, and the assignment o f their preferred claims would more frequently promote the purpose than otherwise. Judgment affirmed. DECISIONS UNDEE COMMON LAW . B e n e f i c i a l A s s o c i a t i o n s — E ia H T o f A c t i o n b y M e m b e r —Mar tin v. Northern Pacific Beneficial Association, 71 Northwestern Reporter, page 701.—One Joseph A . Martin was a member of the above-named association, which was unincorporated and composed of officers and employees o f the Northern Pacific Eailway Company, the object of said association being to provide relief for its members when disabled by acci dent or sickness, and at their death for their families. He was injured by an accident, and thereupon he was taken to the hospital of the asso ciation for medical treatment, pursuant to the constitution and by-laws o f the association, where, through neglect and maltreatment, he died. His wife, Margaret K. Martin, as administratrix, sole heir, and next of kin, brought suit against said association in the district court of Hen nepin County, Minn., to recover damages suffered by reason of his death in the manner aforesaid. The association demurred to her complaint and the court issued an order sustaining said demurrer. From this action the plaintiff appealed to the supreme court of the State, which rendered its decision June 15, 1897, and affirmed the action of the lower court. The opinion o f the supreme court was delivered by Judge Buck, and from the same the following, showing the reasons for the decision, is quoted: There is no allegation or pretense that this association is a corpora tion. It is merely a combination or association of individuals, and no one was to be liable except for assessment, with the right to surgical care and treatment in case o f injury while in the employment o f the railroad company. The suit is one at law for a tort. A s the deceased was a member o f the association, he must be deemed to have been as much a party to the selection of the physicians and nurses at the hos pital and its management as any other member of the society. No member had any greater or less rights or obligations than the deceased. The employees at the hospital were just as much the servants of Mr. Martin as they were of all or any other one of his associates, and he could not bring a suit against another for a personal wrong done him by such servant, because it would be as much the act o f Martin as that o f his associates. I f a tort has been committed upon the person of Mr. Martin by the employees of the association, the remedy is against those who committed it, either separately or jointly, and not against DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 89 the association. Martin was in the hospital by virtue of his member ship in the association. He had the same interest in the whole subjectmatter of its operation and management as any other member. This being so, he, as one of the members of the association, could not have maintained such an action, and hence his personal representative can not do so. Counsel for appellant cite General Statutes, 1894, section 5177, as authority for maintaining this action against defendant under their firm name. That section provides that when two or more persons associate in business, and transact such business under a common name, they may be sued by such common name, and, when judgment is obtained, it shall bind the joint property of all the associates in the same manner as if all had been named as defendants. That rule would be applicable where the plaintiff had a cause of action against those who were asso ciated and doing business under a common name, but it does not apply to the case at bar, because plaintiff has no cause of action against the association, either upon contract or tort. In the case of McMahon v. Eauhr, 47 N. Y., 67, it was held that part of the members of an unincorporated association could not sue the rest at law, on the contract of the association. To the same effect is Burt v. Lathrop, 52 Mich., 106,17 N. W., 716. I f a suit at law on contract against such an unincorporated association will not lie, certainly one based upon tort committed by some of its members can not be upheld. E m p l o y e r s ’ L i a b i l i t y — C o n t r i b u t o r y N e g l i g e n c e — Lasch v. Stratton et al., 42 Southwestern Reporter, page 756.—This case was appealed from the circuit court of Jefferson County, Ky., to the court of appeals of the State, and the decision of said court was rendered October 6, 1897, and reversed the decision of the lower court, which had rendered a judgment for Stratton et al., the defendants above named. The plaintiff brought the suit for damages for injuries sus tained while in the employ of the defendants, caused, as was shown by the evidence, by a defective machine at which he was working. The defendants alleged contributory negligence on his part, and that he was therefore not entitled to damages. On this point the court of appeals used the following language in its opinion, which was delivered by Judge Guffy: It is earnestly contended by counsel for appellees that the evidence shows contributory negligence upon the part of the appellant, or at least his knowledge of danger was such as to preclude his right to recover. It will be seen from the evidence that the appellant, a minor, had knowledge that some time before his injury other servants had been injured by the machine which he was operating; but it is also shown by the testimony that appellant notified the foreman of appellees, who had charge and management of the factory, that the machine was dangerous, or at least expressed a fear of it, but he was assured by the foreman that the machine was all right and not dangerous; and it further appears that the appellant relied upon the assurance of the fore man and commenced operating the machine. It seems clear to us, upon both reason and authority, that in this case 90 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. appellant had the right to rely upon the assurance o f the agent o f the master as to the safety of the machine, and that appellant was not in any sense guilty of contributory negligence. Em ployers’ L ia b il it y — D u t ie s of the M aster — A s s u m p t io n —Mangum t\ Bullion Beck and Champion Min ing Company, 50 Pacific Reporter, page 83d.—Action was brought in the district court for the fifth district of Utah, by Willis L. Mangum against the mining company above named, to recover damages sus tained while in its employ. The facts appear to be that the plaintiff, while being lowered in the cage down the shaft of the mine, was, through some defect in the machinery, thrown down and severely injured by the violent and sudden stopping o f the cage; that the defect in the machinery caused the cable by which the cage was suspended to vibrate; that it was this vibration o f the cable which, in the opinion of expert witnesses, caused the cage to stop at the time of the accident, and that the plaintiff was aware of this vibration before he entered the cage on the trip during which he was hurt. A judgment was rendered in the district court in favor of the plaintiff, and the defendant company appealed the case to the supreme court of the State, which rendered its decision October 30, 1897, and affirmed the decision of the district court. In the opinion of the supreme court, which was delivered by Judge Rartch, the law upon certain interesting points is laid down as follows: of R is k b y E m ployee While the employer is not required to furnish machinery and appli ances for the use of his servant which are absolutely safe, or to furnish the best which can possibly bo obtained, still it is his duty to exercise ordinary and reasonable care and diligence to obtain and furnish such as are reasonably safe, and reasonably well adapted to perform the worl$ for which they are intended, and such as the servant may, with the exercise o f ordinary prudence and care, use in the performance o f his work with reasonable safety to himself; and it is likewise the em ployer’s duty to exercise reasonable care in operating the same, and to keep them in suitable condition and repair. The mere fact that the respondent [Mangum] was aware that the cage was shaking, and not running smoothly, is not sufficient to justify us in holding that he had assumed the risk, and there is no evidence to show that the defects were of such an obviously dangerous character that he ought to have appreciated the risk, and ceased his employment, or that a man of reasonable precaution, placed under similar circum stances, would have done so. It is shown that the plaintiff was not skilled in mechanic arts, had never worked in a machine shop, and never had anything to do with machinery, except in this mine. There fore he had the right to rely, at least to a reasonable extent, on the judgment of his employer, who is presumed to have a knowledge of the machinery used in his business, and to assume that he would dis charge his duty by furnishing reasonably safe machinery and keeping it in proper condition and repair. Where an employee has knowledge DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 91 o f defects in machinery used in his employment, and the defects are not so dangerous as to threaten immediate injury, or the danger is not such as to be reasonably apprehended by him, his continuance in the service will not defeat a recovery for injuries resulting from such defects. If, however, the defects are so obviously and immediately dangerous that a person o f ordinary prudence and precaution would refuse to use the machinery, then, if the servant continues its use, he assumes the risk. “ Mere knowledge o f the defect is not sufficient, unless it does or should carry to a servant’s mind the danger from which he suffered. A servant may assume that the master will do his duty; and therefore, when directed by proper authority to perform certain services, or to perform them in a certain place, he ordinarily will be justified in obey ing orders, subject to the qualification that he must not rashly or deliberately expose himself to unnecessary and unreasonable risks which he knoAvs and appreciates. It is one thing to be aware of defects, and another to know and appreciate the risks resulting there* from.” (Thomas Neg., 851.) In Patterson v. Bailroad Co., 76 Pa. St., 389, Mr. Justice Gordon, delivering the opinion of the court, said: “ In this discussion, however, we are not to forget that the servant is required to exercise ordinary prudence. I f the instrumentality by which he is required to perform his service is so obviously and immediately dangerous that a man of common prudence would refuse to use it, the master can not be held liable for the resulting damage. In such case the law adjudges the servant guilty o f concurrent negligence, and will refuse that aid to which he would otherwise be entitled. But where the servant, in obe dience to the requirement of the master, incurs the risk of machinery, which, though dangerous, is not so much so as to threaten immediate injury, or where it is reasonably probable it may be safely used by extraordinary caution or skill, the rule is different. In such case the master is liable for a resulting accident.” In Lee v. Bailroad Co., 101 Cal., 118, 35 Pac., 572, the supreme court of California, respecting the risk of an employee, said : “ It is not only necessary that an employee should know of the defect in the machinery in order to hold that he assumed the risk, but the danger arising from the defect must also be known or reasonably apprehended by him.” So in Bailroad Co. tv Herbert, 116 TJ. S., 642,6 Sup. Ct., 590, Mr. Justice Field said : “ The servant does not undertake to incur the risks arising from the want o f sufficient and skillful colaborers, or from defective machinery or other instruments with which he is to work. His con tract implies that in regard to these matters his employer will make adequate provision that no danger will ensue to him. This doctrine has been so frequently asserted by courts of the highest character that it can hardly be considered as any longer open to serious question.” W e find no reversible error in the record. The judgment is affirmed. E m p l o y e r s ’ L i a b i l i t y — N e g l i g e n c e o f E m p l o y e r —Knicker bocker Ice Co. tv Finny 80 Federal Reportery page 483.—William Finn, an employee of the above-named ice company, recovered a verdict in the United States circuit court for the southern district of New York in an action against said company for damages caused by the kick of a horse 92 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. belonging to said company. The ice company appealed the case to the United States circuit court of appeals for the second circuit, which rendered its decision May 3,1897, and sustained the judgment of the circuit court. The following, quoted from the opinion of the circuit court of appeals, shows the important part o f the decision: The defendant’s remaining point is that the plaintiff was, in driving the horse, disobeying a rule of the defendant, and was therefore guilty o f contributory negligence. The defendant had a rule, on paper, which Finn knew, and which prohibited any employee, except the drivers themselves, from driving the horses. There was ample evidence that this rule was, and was known by the company to be, a dead letter. The defendant insisted that the plaintiff ought not to recover, because at the time he was hurt he was acting in violation of this rule. The court [circuit court] charged as follows: “ I f there was a rule or that character in force, and the plaintiff was violating it at the time he received this injury, he is not entitled to recover; but if you come to the conclusion that, although there was such a printed regulation, it was not enforced, it was a dead letter, that everybody connected with the company knew that the helpers were expected on occasions to drive the defendant’s horses, and that the plaintiff was injured while driving upon one of these occasions, then the rule is no defense.” To the correctness of this charge, both in morals and in law, there can be no valid objection. An employer can not be permitted to set up as a valid defense against the consequences of his own negligence the employee’s violation of a rule which the employer had knowingly permitted to be practically abandoned. The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed. I n j u n c t i o n — I n t i m i d a t i o n o f E m p l o y e e s — D a m a g e s — OWeil v. Behanna et al., 37 Atlantic Reporter, page 843.—A bill for an injunction and damages was filed in the court of common pleas o f Fayette County, Pa., by one Margaret O’Neil, doing business as the Fayette City Coal Works, against Noah Behanna and others. There was a decree for the defendants on a report o f a master in chancery, and the plaintiff appealed the case to the supreme court of the State. Said court ren dered its decision July 15, 1897, and reversed the decision of the lower court. The only statement of facts in the case is that given in the opinion of the supreme court, which was delivered by Judge Mitchell, and from which the following is quoted: W e are obliged to differ wholly from the view of the facts reported by the learned master. It is totally irreconcilable with the testimony, read in the light of experience and a knowledge of human nature. Nor can we agree entirely with the view of the court below, though it is more in accordance with the evidence and the law. The learned judge, in his opinion, says: “ The testimony establishes the fact that certain DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 93 of tlie defendants overstepped these bounds, and used annoyance, intimidation, ridicule, and coercion to prevent new men from engaging in work for the plaintiff. When the new men were followed, and impor tuned not to work, from their point o f embarkation to their destination, and there met by the strikers in considerable numbers, and followed to their lodging places, all the time being pressed and entreated to return, and called ‘ scabs’ and ‘ blacklegs,? and sometimes surrounded, and the effort made to pull them away, and unfriendly (at least) atmosphere about everywhere, it must be admitted that there was something more than mere argument and persuasion and the orderly and legitimate conduct of a strike. This was certainly serious annoyance, and well calculated to intimidate and coerce $ and that effect was apparently pro duced on more than one occasion. Nor did such acts entirely end when the men imported actually began work, but such men were on occasions, and in a less public manner, approached in a like manner in their inter vals of labor, and advised that there would be trouble there and they had better leave. No actual violence, however, was employed.” This is a mild and judicially restrained statement of what the evi dence clearly showed. The strikers and their counsel seem 4o think that the former could do anything to attain their ends, short of actual physical violence. This is a most serious misconception. The uargu ments” and “ persuasion” and “ appeals” of a hostile and demonstrative mob have a potency over men of ordinary nerve which far exceeds the limits of lawfulness. The display of force, though none is actually used, is intimidation, and as much unlawful as violence itself. An attempt is made to argue that the strikers only congregated at the place of arrival of the new men, in accordance with the custom at boat and train arrivals in small towns. But this disguise is too flimsy to hide the real purpose. I f they desired in good faith to meet peace ably and lawfully lor their own business, they should have selected another place, sufficiently remote to be free from the excitement and crowds which, their own testimony admits, attended the arrival o f the new men, and also far enough away to avoid the intimidating effect of a hostile crowd on the newcomers. But, in truth, they did not desire to avoid that effect. On the contrary, that was what they were there for, and their presence indicates their real intentions too plainly for any verbal denials on their part to offset. It is further urged that the strikers, through their committees, only exercised (“ insisted on ” is the phrase their counsel use in this court) their right to talk to the new men, to persuade them not to go to work. There was no such right. These men were there presumably under contract with the plaintiff, and certainly in search of work, if not yet actually under pay. They were not at leisure, and their time, whether their own or their employer’s, could not lawfully be taken up and their progress interfered with by these or any other outsiders, on any pre tense or under any claim of right to argue or persuade them to break their contracts. Even, therefore, if the arguments and persuasion had been confined to lawful means, they were exerted at an improper time, and were an interference with the plaintiff’s rights, which made the perpetrators liable for any damages the plaintiff suffered in con sequence. But, in fact, their efforts were not confined to lawful means. The result of the evidence, as stated by the learned judge, is that the new men were u followed and importuned not to work, from their point of embarka tion to their destination, and there met by the strikers in considerable numbers, * * * called 6scabs ’ and cblacklegs,’ and sometimes sur rounded and the effort made to pull them away.” This view is quite 1821—No. 14-----7 94 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. sufficiently favorable to the defendants, and, as already said, a hostile and threatening crowd does nob heed to resort to actual violence to be guilty of unlawful intimidation. The acts o f these defendants were an unlawful interference with the rights o f the new men, and with those o f the plaintiff. In Oote v. Murphy, 159 Pa. Stat., 420, 28 Atl., 190, it is said by our brother dean that “ it is one of the indefeasible rights o f a mechanic or laborer in this Commonwealth to fix such value on his services as he sees proper, and under the constitution there is no power lodged any where to compel him to work for less than he chooses to accept,” nor, as the same right maybe stated with reference to this case, to prevent his working for such pay as he can get and is willing to accept. W e regard the testimony as demonstrating that the defendants were guilty o f ail unlawful combination, which, while professing the intention and trying to maintain an outward appearance o f lawfulness, was carried out by violent and threatening conduct, which was equally a violation o f the rights of the new men who came to work for plaintiff, and of the plain tiff herself, and that they are liable in this suit for all the damages which plaintiff suffered thereby. Not the least notable feature is the expression of surprise by the counsel, and even by the court, that the case was pushed after the strike was over. It appears to be a fact that the strike was less vio lent and disorderly than others which had preceded it, and a sentiment seems to have pervaded the community—even the court not being entirely exempt—that, the strike being over, the subject had better be dropped. This is not law nor justice. A plaintiff who might have been hurt worse than he was may be inclined not to push his claim for compensation for the injury actually received; but it is for him, and not for others, and especially not for courts, to make the choice, and there should be no judicial surprise if he insists on his rights, though other men may think discretion the better part of valor. Decree reversed, bill reinstated, and damages directed to be ascertained in accordance with this opinion. I njunction—I ntimidation of W orkmen by Labor U nions— Consolidated Steel and Wire Company v. Murray et al., 80 Federal Re porter, page 811.—This was a suit in equity brought in the United States circuit court for the northern district of Ohio, eastern division, by the above-named company against Patrick Murray and others, to enjoin them from interfering with said company and its employees. Said court rendered its decision May 8, 1897, and issued a temporary injunction. The facts in the case and the reasons for the decision are given in the opinion o f the court, delivered by District Judge Sage, which reads as follows: The complainant is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, with its principal place of business in the city of Chicago. It is engaged in the State o f Illinois, in the city o f Cleveland, Ohio, and elsewhere, in the manufacture o f steel wire and wire nails. DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 95 In the city o f Cleveland it owns and operates a large plant and mill, having about a half million dollars invested in its business, and employ ing, when running up to full capacity, about 500 men as operatives. Prior to April, 1896, it had contracted with a full complement of men for the operation of its mill and plant, and, it is set forth in the bill, had made a satisfactory agreement with each of said men as to the price of his labor for the period of one year. Complainant’s contracts were suffi cient to continue its mill and pla'nt in full operation for that period. The bill sets forth that for several weeks prior to April, 1896, the defend ants, including P. J. Mundie Lodge, NTo. 1, and Banner Lodge, NTo. 2, of the Bod-mill Workers of America—voluntary organizations—through their officers, agents, members, and employees, notified complainant and its employees that complainant was not paying wages to its employees in accordance with the so-called u Cleveland scale,” and undertook to compel said employees to become members of said lodges, or one of them, and to enforce the payment of wages by complainant in accord ance with the “ Cleveland scale; ” that the complainant refused to recognize the right of said defendant lodges, or their members, officers, agents, or employees, to interfere with it in the management of .its said business, and the employees of complainant refused to become mem bers of said lodges, or either of them; that thereupon the said lodges, through their officers, members, agents, or employees, declared a strike in the mill and plant of complainant, and attempted to, and did, by force and violence, restrain many of complainant’s employees from entering the complainant’s works and engaging in the duties which they had contracted to xierform; and that in many cases said employees were by the defendants assaulted and beaten, and by force and vio lence prevented from approaching or entering upon the complainant’s premises. By reason of the acts aforesaid, and of continuous, uninterrupted attempts o f defendants to compel complainant to recognize the said lodges or unions, and the scale of prices dictated by said lodges or unions, and to coerce its employees to become members of said lodges, or one o f them, complainant, in the month o f April, 1896, determined to, and did, close indefinitely its mill and works in the city of Cleve land, and they remained closed until about the 1st day of March, 1897, when they were opened, and complainant offered employment to such laborers as might be acceptable to it for the positions which it had at its disposal. Thereupon the defendant lodges, acting through their officers, agents, members, and employees, began to attempt to coerce the laborers and employees engaged in the operation of said mill and works to become members of said lodges, or one of them, and to force complainant to pay wages according to the “ Cleveland scale,” arbi trarily fixed by said lodges, and other lodges, of said Bod-mill Workers of America, and they have continuously since that time, without inter ruption, persisted in attempting to so coerce and force complainant and its laborers and employees. It is further averred in the bill that no contract rights existed between the complainant and said lodges, their officers, agents, members, or employees; that complainant at all times refused to recognize in any man ner whatsoever said lodges, their officers, agents, members, or employees, none of whom are now employees of complainant, nor have they been in complainant’s employment, “ at least since the month of April, 1896.” It is further averred that the defendants and others daily congregate in large numbers, in and about complainant’s works, in their attempt to 96 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. coerce complainant’s employees to become members of said lodges, or one o f them; that in numerous instances complainant’s employees have been attacked by defendants and brutally beaten; that, by threats and other wise, defendants and others have endeavored to compel said employees to desist from performing their contracts with complainant, and to refuse to work for complainant; that defendants and others persisted in follow ing complainant’s employees on their way home, and in intercepting them in lonely places, beating and maltreating them, greatly endangering life and limb, and depriving them o f the freedom guaranteed to them by the constitutions of the United States and of the State of Ohio; that defendants have been engaged and are engaging in said acts solely for the purpose o f compelling complainant to recognize said organizations or lodges, and to submit itself to their dictation in the matter of the payment o f wages, and also in the matter of* hiring and discharging employees. The bill then proceeds to allege a conspiracy on the part of defendants for the unlawful purpose o f preventing complainant from operating its mill and works in the city of Cleveland, excepting by the employment of persons members of said lodges, or other lodges, of said Kod-mill Workers of America, and by the dismissal of its pres ent force of employees, who are willing and anxious to work for com plainant, and that in furtherance of said conspiracy the defendants, with others, are and have been congregating each morning and even ing at and near the mill and works of complainant and in the streets leading thereto, and in large numbers, for the avowed purpose of inducing complainant’s employees to leave its employment, threaten ing personal violence if they refused, and that in furtherance of said conspiracy they continuously maltreated, attacked, and injured com plainant’s employees; that the police powers of the city of Cleveland have been invoked, aud, although a detail of policemen was in con stant attendance for three days prior to the filing of the bill in and about said works, it was unable to restrain or prevent said violent and unlawful acts. Complainant further avers that at the time of the filing of the bill it had at work in its mill and works about 275 sober, industrious men, who were satisfied with the wages they were receiving and willing and anxious to continue in complainant’s employment; that defendants have threatened and were threatening to blow up and destroy, by the use of dynamite and other dangerous agencies, complainant’s mill and works, and that by reason of the aforesaid violent and unlawful acts and threats it is unable properly to operate its mill and works; that the lives and limbs of persons in its employ were constantly threatened and in danger, as was its property; that the said authorities were unable to protect said employees and said property from the damage and injury constantly done and threatened by defendants. The bill further sets forth that the complainant and its employees are entitled, under the constitutions and laws of the United States and o f the State of Ohio, to the free and unrestricted exercise of their personal rights; that is to say, to the right of complainant to employ such persons as it may see fit in connection with its said mill and plant, and the right of its employees to work and labor for complain ant if they so desire, without the let, hindrance, or disturbance o f any person, persons, or associations whatsoever. The bill further sets forth that said employees desire to continue in its employ, and are in need o f the wages stipulated for their labor for the support of themselves and their families, and that there are large numbers of DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 97 other men who are out of employment, and are seeking employment from complainant, and who are in need of the wages they would earn thereby, which complainant is ready and willing to pay, provided said men can bo protected from the violent and unlawful acts of the defendants. The bill further sets forth that the complainant has outstanding large contracts for its products to various persons and companies, which it will be prevented from fulfilling if defendants be permitted to continue so as aforesaid to unlawfully interfere with complainants business, and that, unless complainant is permitted to operate its works in accord ance with law, damages accruing by reason of complainants inability to fulfill said contracts will be very large, and cause great loss to com plainant; that the defendants, and each of them, are financially irre sponsible and insolvent, and the complainant is without adequate remedy at law against any and all of them for any damages it may suf fer by reason o f their unlawful actions as aforesaid. The bill concludes with a prayer for an injunction and for other proper relief. Upon complainant’s application, on the 9th o f April, a preliminary restraining order was issued in accordance with the prayer o f the bill, to continue in force until the hearing and disposition of complainant’s motion for a temporary injunction, which was set for hearing on the 22d of April. For the complainant 38 affidavits are filed, and for the defendants 47 affidavits. The affidavits for the complainant fully sup port the averments of the bill, and the circumstances of many cases of assault and maltreatment are detailed with the names of the defendants concerned therein. On account o f their number and length it will be impracticable to refer specially to each affidavit, either of those for the complainant or o f those for the defendants. Each individual defend ant makes affidavit denying any acts o f intimidation or violence attrib uted to him, and enters upon a general denial, which is substantially the same in all the affidavits. It is that at no time during the periods mentioned in the bill did he congregate, with others, at or near the entrance to the complainant’s works, for the purpose of intimidating or threatening or using violence or force upon any of its employees, agents, or servants, and that at no time has he hindered or delayed the complainant, or its agents, servants, or employees in the operation of its mill or the conduct of its business, or entered upon its premises for any purpose whatever, or molested or interfered with any o f its property, or with its employees or machinery, or solicited or endeavored to coerce any o f the employees of the complainant to join the Eod-mill Workers’ Association of America, or any of its lodges, or in any manner interfered with or molested any person or persons employed by the complainant in the operation of its mill and plant, or while engaged in the discharge of duties in connection with said employment, either while they were upon the premises of the complainant or at any other place; that he has not induced other persons to do any unlawful act or thing against the comj)lainant company, or its employees or its property; that he is not upon any strike, but that he is an employee of the American Wire Company (or of some one o f the other wire companies of the city of Cleveland, as the fact may be), and engaged in the performance of his duties as such. That any threat was made by him to blow up complainant’s works with dynamite or other explosive; or that he has entered into any conspiracy or com bination for that purpose; or that he has carried any revolver or deadly weapon, in or about complainant’s works for the purpose of intimi 98 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. dating or injuring employees, or for any other purpose; or that he has threatened them, or attempted to coerce complainant to pay the Cleve land scale, or aqy other scale, of wages to its employees; or that the police power o f the city has been invoked, and been found ineffectual to restrain violence to complainant’s property, or to its employees, is denied by each individual defendant, and like denials on behalf o f the defendant lodges are made by their officers and agents.. On the con trary, it is averred that at no time have more than~ four or five police men been present at or near the complainant’s works, and that the usual detail was one or two; that no occasion existed for invoking the powers of the city o f Cleveland, the county of Cuyahoga, or the State o f Ohio to keep the peace, and prevent trespassing, violence, molestation, or injury to property or person. Three policemen of the city—Paul Weis, Jeffrey Gibbons, and John J. Connell—make affidavits that they were on duty at and near complainant’s works and plant at dates* beginning March 24,1897, and reaching to April 20,1897, and that they never saw any disorder or disturbance of any kind, that the defendants whom they saw around and near the works were orderly and peaceable, that no acts o f violence occurred, no additional force of policemen was required, and none was present, excepting on one occasion, when there were five extra policemen there. W hy they were presentis not explained. There are two Gibbonses and there is one Connell in the list of defend ants. Whether they are relatives of the policemen o f the same name, who are affiants, does not appear. It is enough to say of these affidavits that they are so overwhelmingly contradicted as to be utterly dis credited. I f the affiants are not foresworn, they are, to put the matter in the most charitable light, gifted with such facility for appealing from their knowledge to their ignorance as to be altogether unworthy of belief. On the other hand, more than a score o f affidavits, by complainant’s employees and others, including persons entirely disinterested, recite acts o f intimidation and violence by the defendants, and by others o f a mob, assembled morning and evening and day after day at and about the entrance to complainant’s mill, preventing employees from going to their work, assaulting, beating, wounding, and maltreating them, and as they came out from the mill following them, and falling upon them, and making unprovoked, brutal, and outrageous attacks upon them, so that they went bruised and bloody to their homes, where many o f them remained, fearing to attempt to go again to their work. The affidavit o f John T. Kane, grand president of the National Association o f Eod-mill Workers o f America, and for six years last past an employee in the rod-mill department of the American Wire Company in the city o f Cleveland, denies all charges of the commission o f violent and illegal acts by him. Admitting that he has on several occasions requested employees of the complainant company not to work for that company until it should pay a reasonable rate o f wages in its rod-mill department, so as not to prejudice the interests o f employees o f the other mills in the city of Cleveland in like departments, he affirms that he has at all times conducted himself peacefully and quietly toward the complainant’s officers, agents, and employees, and has used his influence to cause others to act in like manner. He denies that he has ever requested or sought to induce complainant’s employees to join the association o f which he is president, or to organize a lodge thereof, and avers that it is a matter of absolute indifference to him whether said employees are so organized or not, so long as they are receiving a rate o f wages equal to that received by himself and his coemployees. DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 99 He denies that the complainant has suffered any injury to his property or business at the hands of the defendants in this cause, and avers that, if any such injury has come to complainant^ it has been caused by its own acts in attempting to secure men to do its work at less than a rea sonable rate of wages, and less than is usually paid in the city of Cleve land, and in attempting to force down the wages of its employees to a point below what is reasonable and fair for the services rendered. He denies that the prices fixed by the complainant company in April, 189G, were satisfactory to the men in its employ, avers that several of its employees quit its employment for the reason that the prices were not satisfactory, and that they asked the association of which he is presi dent to assist them in obtaining a fair rate of wages, and, as to the men who remained in the employ of the complainant company at the rate fixed by it, they did so because they were compelled by their necessities. He denies that the association declared a strike in the complainant’s mill, or that he or his fellow-members sought to coerce the complainant to adopt the “ Cleveland scale,” but admits that he and his codefend ants have sought by all lawful means to prevent the depression by com plainant company of wages in its mills below those ordinarily and usually paid in other mills in Cleveland for similar services. He admits that they have sought to induce the employees of complainant to exer cise their right to abandon complainant’s service. He denies that said employees were under any time contracts, and declares that his efforts w^ere limited to pointing out to them what they were doing to both employer and employee by continuing in the service of complainant at less than a fair rate of wages. He further affirms that the complainant company, through its super intendent, held repeated conferences with affiant and other members of said association on the subject of the differences between complainant company and the defendants, twice at the superintendent’s own house, twice at the office of the complainant company, and once at the Forest City Hotel, in the city of Cleveland, and that said negotiations were always conducted in a friendly and cordial spirit, and that, by mutual concessions by the defendants and by the complainant’s superintend ent, “ the differences between said company and defendants had reached a settlement, except to receive formal ratification by the lodges of said defendants, and would have been so settled in an amicable and friendly manner, and without the intervention and extraordinary process of this honorable court, but for the hasty and ill-considered action of the presi dent o f complainant company in ordering the commencement of these proceedings.” Ho further denies that the defendant lodges and the other defend ants, or that ho himself and the other defendants, have congregated morning and evening at the works of the complainant, or in the streets leading thereto, and declares that, except three or four of the defend ants, all are engaged at other mills in the performance of their regular work, “ and that three or four men have been placed at intervals in the public streets leading to said works for the purpose of seeing that order was preserved, and to observe who entered and left the works of said complainant.” The statement in this affidavit that friendly and cordial negotiations between the defendants and the complainant’s superintendent had reached a settlement, needing only formal ratification by the defendant lodges, and that they would have been so settled but for the institution of this suit, is remarkable. Why this complainant company, if it desired settlement as represented, should, just when it had been fully agreed to 100 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. on botli sides and was on the eve o f final consummation, break it off, and resort to proceedings in court which must inevitably put an end to all negotiations, is to the court so entirely inexplicable as to be simply incredible. In the affidavit of defendant Patrick Murray he states that he “ has been present on several occasions in the public highway leading to said company’s works, under instructions o f the supreme officers of the Rod-mill Workers’ Association, to do all in his power to preserve order, and to prevent any act o f violence, or any threats or intimidation of the employees o f said company while said employees were going into or coming out of the works of said company; that his duties on those occasions consisted in observing who went in and came out o f the works of said company, and take a report thereon to the supreme officers of said Rod-mill Workers’ Association, and also, in as far as he could, prevent any interference with said employees while going to or returning from their work in said company’s works.” The averments o f these last two affidavits, taken in connection with the fact that in none of the defendants’ affidavits (excepting the affida vits of the policemen, to which reference has already been made) is there any denial of the specific averments of the bill, or of the affidavits filed for complainant, that there was continuously a riotous assemblage, which, through one or more of the persons composing it, threatened, intimi dated, abused, and maltreated complainant’s employees, at times pre venting their going to their work, at other times turning them back bruised and bleeding to make their way to their homes, are tantamount to an admission of the averments of the bill, notwithstanding the denials of the defendants that they participated in the unlawful acts o f the rioters. In no other view can it be understood why the affiant Murray was sent, under instructions of the supreme officers of the Rod-mill Workers’ Association, to do all in his power “ to preserve order, and to prevent any act o f violence, or any threats or intimidation of the employees of said company while said employees were going into or coming out of the works of said company.” The statement which follows, that his duty on those occasions was to observe “ who went in and came out of the works o f said company, and take a report thereon to the supreme offi cers of said Rod-mill Workers’ Association, and also so far as possible to prevent any interference with employees while going to or returning from their work for complainant,” amounts to an admission that the association was keeping complainant’s mill and its employees under close surveillance. These averments, taken together, make it clear, not only that there was continuously a riotous assemblage known to the association, but that for some reason it was the object of the association to keep up at least the semblance of preservation of law and order, while, for some pur pose, not disclosed, its object was also to have a complete list of all who went into or came out from the complainant’s mill. When we consider these last two affidavits, in connection with the fact, about which there is no question, that upon the issuing of the tem porary restraining order herein, the causes of complaint mentioned in the bill at once ceased, that everything at and about plaintiff’s mills has from that time until now been quiet, and the complainant’s employees have been unmolested and undisturbed, the conclusion is irresistible that the defendants were in close relations with the mob, and were in fact the ruling and controlling spirits, without whom there never would have been any disturbance whatever. Counsel for the defendants, upon the argument of the motion, assured the court that the defendants were well-disposed, orderly citizens, and DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 101 that it had not been their intention, in anything that they had done, to exceed their rights, or in any respect to violate the law. In Barr v. Trades Council, 53 N. J, Eq. 101, 30 Atl., 881, the court of errors and appeals o f the State of New Jersey, referring to a similar assurance, said: “ The defendants claim, and they are entitled to be credited with being sincere in the contention, that they believe they have, in all mat ters complained of, acted strictly within the lines of their legal rights. This position justifies us in assuming that, if they had not believed so, and had not been satisfied they were correct in law, the acts challenged would not have been committed, and, if now convinced they are wrong, will not again be attempted.” This court, accepting the statements of counsel in this case, as the like statement was accepted in the New Jersey case, will be at some pains to refer to the authorities, and to set forth the principles o f law here applicable, proceeding first to consider the cases which have been decided by State courts, for among these are the earlier cases, in order that it may be made fully to appear that the Federal courts have not been making any new law in reference to strikes or boycotts or labor agitations, but have been following well-established precedents. It will appear later in the opinion that the State courts had for every principle involved and every rule o f law stated ample precedent in well-recognized authorities promulgated long prior to their decisions. In State v. Glidden, 55 Conn., 46, 8 Atl., 890, the defendants were prosecuted for a conspiracy having for its object to compel a newspaper publishing company against its will to discharge its workmen and to employ such persons as the defendants and their associates should name. This case was decided in February, 1887. It is the first Ameri can case in which the word “ boycott” is used. That word originated from the efforts o f certain Irish tenants to exclude Captain Boycott from all intercourse with his neighbors because he endeavored lawfully to collect his rents. The supreme court, in State v. Glidden, said: “ It seems strange that in this day and in this free country—a coun try in which law interferes so little with the liberty of the individual— it should be necessary to announce from the bench that every man may carry on his business as he pleases, may do what he will with his own, so long as he does nothing unlawful, and acts with due regard to the rights o f others, and that the occasion for such an announcement should be, not an attempt by government to interfere with the rights of the citizen, nor by the rich and powerful to oppress the poor, but an attempt by a l^rge body of workingmen to control, by means little, if any, better than force, the action of employers.” The court further said that the defendants in effect said to the pub lishing company: “ It is true we have no interest in your business, we have no capital invested therein, we are in no wise responsible for its losses or failures, we are not directly benefited by its success, and we do not participate in its profits; yet we have a right to control its management, and com pel you to submit to our dictation.” The court declared that the bare assertion of such a right was start ling, and that— “ Upon the same principle, and for the same reasons, the right to determine what business others shall engage in, when and where it shall be carried on, etc., will be demanded, and must be conceded. The prin ciple, if it once obtains a foothold, is aggressive, and is not easily checked. It thrives by what it feeds on* and is insatiate in its demands. More 102 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. requires more. If a large body of irresponsible men demand and receive j>ower outside o f law, over and above law, it is not to be expected that they will be satisfied with a moderate and reasonable use of it. All history proves that abuses and excesses are inevitable. The exercise o f irresponsible power by men, like the taste of human blood by tigers, creates an unappeasable appetite for more.” The court sustained the verdict o f guilty against the defendants. The case o f State v. Stewart, 59 Yt., 273, 9 Atl., 559, was a prosecu tion for conspiracy to hinder and prevent the Eyegate Granite Works, a corporation, from employing certain granite cutters, and to hinder and deter certain laborers from working for said corporation. The court, sustaining the indictments, held that— “ The labor and skill of the workman, the plant of the manufacturer, and the equipment of the farmer, are in equal sense property; every man has the right to employ his talents, industry, and capital as he jfieases, free from the dictation of others; and if two or more persons combine to coerce his choice in this behalf, it is a criminal conspiracy, whether the means employed are actual violence or a species of intimi dation that works upon the mind.” The court further said: “ The exposure o f a legitimate business to the control of an associa tion that can order away its employees and frighten away others that it may seek to employ, and thus be compelled to cease the further prose cution of its work, is a condition of things utterly at war with every principle of justice, and with every safeguard of protection that citizens under our system o f government are entitled to enjoy. The direct tend ency o f such intimidation is to establish over labor and over all industries a control that is unknown to the law, and that is exerted by a secret asso ciation o f conspirators, actuated solely by personal considerations, and whose plans, carried into execution, usually result in violence and the destruction of property.” The same court, in State v. Dyer, decided at the October term, 1894, and reported 67 Yt., 690, 32 Atl., 814, held— “ That a combination o f two or more persons to restrain an employer to discharge a particular workman by threatening to prevent his obtain ing other workmen, or to constrain a workman to join a certain organi zation by threatening to prevent him from obtaining work unless he does so, is a criminal conspiracy at common law.” The supreme court o f Pennsylvania, in Murdock v. Walker (January, 1893), 152 Pa. St., 595, 25 Atl., 492, decided that a court o f equity will restrain by injunction discharged employees, members of a union, from gathering about their former employer’s place of business and from fol lowing the workmen whom he has employed in place of the defendants, from gathering about the boarding houses of such workmen, and from interfering with them by threats, menaces, intimidation, ridicule, and annoyances on account o f their working for the plaintiffs. The court o f errors and appeals of the State of Hew Jersey, at its October term, 1894, in the case of Barr v. Trades Council, 53 H. J. Eq., 101, 30 Atl., 881, very thoroughly and elaborately considered the ques tions involved in this case. Before entering upon the discussion the court said: “ Ho unprejudiced person at this day wishes to place any obstacle in the way of labor organizations conducting their operations within law ful limits. It is unfortunate that, despite the warning and counsel of accredited leaders, the reckless and revengeful among the members, with the vicious and lawless always to be found among the idle, so often DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 103 take advantage of labor demonstrations to commit acts of violence against persons and property, and thus weaken the sympathy of the public with the system. Yet every one must acknowledge that organi zation has accomplished much in the past for the benefit of the work ingman, and recognize its possibilities to secure to him in the future, enjoyment of other privileges. But while engaged in this laudable purpose, those who give direction to affairs should not attempt to secure their ends by infringing the lawful rights of others.” The suggestions contained in this quotation are well worthy of con sideration by all labor organizations. No class of men stands more in need of the protection of the law and of its safeguards than do labor ing men, nor to any class is public sympathy and the support of public opinion more desirable; and to no class will both these be more cordially extended so long as these organizations keep themselves within the limits o f law and order. Whenever they exceed such limits, they greatly weaken themselves and the cause they represent, for an overwhelming majority of the American people are so thoroughly in favor of the main tenance and supremacy of law that they will defeat any attempt to per vert or overturn it. The court, in Barr v. Trades Council, declared that a man’s busi ness is his property, and that the right to acquire, possess, and pro tect property is a natural and inalienable right, which all men have, with those of enjoying and defending life and property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. The court said that this was an echo of Magna Charta, and quoted from Mr. Justice Bradley in the Slaughterhouse Cases, 16 Wall., 36, at page 116, where he says: “ For the jireservation, exercise, and enjoyment of these rights [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] the individual citizen, as a neces sity, must be left free to adopt such calling, profession, or trade as may seem to him most conducive to that end. Without this right he can not be a freeman. This right to choose one’s calling is an essential part of that liberty which it is the object of the Government to pro tect; and a calling, when chosen, is a man’s property and right. Lib erty and property are not protected where these rights are arbitrarily assailed.” The court also said : “ This freedom of business action lies at the foundation of all com mercial and industrial enterprises. Men are willing to embark capital, time, and experience therein, because they can confidently assume that they will be able to control their affairs according to their own ideas, when the same are not in conflict with law. I f this privilege is denied them; if the courts can not protect them from interference by those who are not interested with them; if the management of business is to be taken from the owner, and assumed by, it may be, irresjmnsible strangers, then we will have to come to the time when capital will seek after other than industrial channels for investments, when enter prise and development will bo crippled, when interstate railroads and canals and means of transportation will become dependent on the pater nalism of the National Government, and the factory and the workshop subject to the uncertain chances of cooperative systems.” The court found that the acts of the defendants practically infringed upon the exercise of this right by Mr. Barr. The defendants were 18 bodies known as “ labor unions,” embracing many trades in the city of Newark, affiliated in a society or representative body known as the “ Essex Trades Counci].” One of these unions was incorporated; the others were not. The Essex Trades Council itself was a voluntary 104 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. association, composed of delegates or representatives cliosen thereto by each of the 18 different unions or associations. Mr. Barr, as proprietor of the daily morning newspaper in Newark, determined to employ plate or stereotyped matter in the making up o f his paper for publication. A ll the employees were members of the local typographical union, which had declared against the use of plate matter in the city of Newark, as Mr. Barr well knew. The Essex Trades Council then undertook to boy cott Mr. Barr’s newspaper, by distributing circulars, by issuing an offi cial bulletin, and by undertaking to persuade the public to withhold support from the paper. The defendants denied that they had made any threats, or attempted to intimidate or coerce any of the advertisers or patrons of the Times, and claimed that everything was done in a peaceable and orderly manner, but the court said: “ It is true, there was no public disturbance, no physical injury, no direct threat or personal violence, or of actual attack on or destruction of tangible property, as a means o f intimidation or coercion. Force and violence, however, while they may enter largely into the question in a criminal prosecution, are not necessarily factors in the right to a civil remedy. But, even in criminal law, I do not understand that intimida tion, even when a statutory ingredient o f crime, necessarily presupposes personal injury or the fear thereof. The clear weight of authority undoubtedly is that a man may be intimidated into doing or refraining from doing, by fear of loss of business, i>roperty, or reputation, as well as by dread of loss of life or injury to health or limb; and the extent of this fear need not be abject, but only such as to overcome his judg ment, or induce him not to do or to do that which otherwise he would have done or left undone. There can be no reasonable dispute that the whole proceeding or boycott in this controversy is to force Mr. Barr, by fear o f loss o f business, to conduct that business, not according to his own judgment, but in accordance with the determination of the typographical union, and, so far as he is concerned, it is an attempt to intimidate and coerce.” The court then proceeded to a review of the cases, and the discussion of the jurisdiction in equity, and awarded an injunction as prayed. The case of Sherry v. Perkins, 147 Mass., 212, 17 N. E., 307, was decided in June, 1888. It was there held that banners displayed in front o f a manufacturer’s premises, with inscriptions calculated to injure his business and to deter workingmen from entering into and continuing in his employ, constituted a nuisance, which equity would restrain by injunction. The court said that the plaintiffs were not restricted to their remedy at law, but were entitled to relief by injunc tion ; that the scheme in pursuance of which the banners were displayed and maintained was to injure the plaintiff’s business, by intimidating workingmen, so as to deter them from keeping and making engagements with the plaintiff. The banners were a standing menace to all who were or wished to be in the employment of the plaintiffs, to deter them from entering his premises, and maintaining them was a continuous unlawful act, injurious to his business and property, and a nuisance such as a court o f equity wTould grant relief against. The latest case in Massachusetts is Yegelahn v. Guntner, decided Oc tober, 1896, and reported in 44 N. E., 1077. The defendants in that case conspired to prevent plaintiff from getting workingmen, and thereby to prevent him from carrying on his business, unless and until he would adopt a certain schedule o f prices. The means adopted were persua sion and social pressure, threats of personal injury or unlawful harm conveyed to persons employed or seeking employment, and a patrol of DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 105 two men in front of plaintiff’s factory, maintained from lialf past 6 in the morning until half past 5 in the afternoon, on one of the busiest streets of Boston. The court said that intimidation was not limited to threats o f violence or of physicial injury to person or property; that it had a broader signification, and there might be a moral intimidation, which was illegal, including patrolling or picketing, under the circum stances stated in the case. The court further said that the patrol was an unlawful interference both with the plaintiff and with the workmen, within the principle of many cases, and, when instituted for the purpose of interfering with his business, it became a private nuisance. The defendants in that case contended that the acts complained o f were jus tifiable, “ because they were only seeking to secure better wages for themselves, by compelling the plaintiff to accept their schedule of wages.” The court was of opinion that that motive or purpose did not justify maintaining a patrol in front of the plaintiff’s premises, as a means of carrying out their conspiracy, and added: “ A combination among persons merely to regulate their own conduct is within allowable competition and is lawful, although others may be indirectly affected thereby. But a combination to do injurious acts, expressly directed to another, by way of intimidation or constraint, either of himself or of persons employed or seeking to be employed by him, is outside of allowable competition, and is unlawful.” In support o f this proposition the court cited a long list of cases. Upon the point, urged, also, in argument in this case, that the defendants’ acts might subject them to an indictment, the court said that that fact did not prevent a court o f equity from issuing an injunc tion. “ It is true that, ordinarily, a court of equity will decline to issue an injunction to restrain the commission of a crime; but a continuing injury to property or business may be enjoined, although it may also be punishable as a nuisance or other crime.” In support of this prop osition the court cited a long list of cases, including the following: Sherry v. Perkins, 147 Mass., 212, 17 N. E., 307; Cranford v. Tyrrell, 128 N. Y., 341, 28 NT. E., 514; Gilbert v. Mickle, 4 Sandf. Ch., 357; Port of Mobile v. Louisville and N. R. Co., 84 Ala., 115, 4 South., 106, and the following English cases: Emperor of Austria v. Bay, 3 Be Gex, F. & J., 217; Loog v. Bean, 26 Ch. Biv., 306; Mon son v. Tussaud [1894], 1 Q. B., 671. The court further held that such a. conspiracy, in order either to pre vent persons from entering plaintiff’s employment or to prevent persons in his employment from continuing therein, was unlawful, even though such persons were not bound by contract to enter into or continue in his employment. Moores & Co. v. Bricklayers’ Union No. 1, 23 Wkly. Law Bull., 48, decided by the superior court of Cincinnati in general term, is a case much quoted, in which it was held that a combination by a trade union and others to coerce an employer to conduct his busi ness with reference to apprentices and the employment of delinquent members of the union, according to the demand o f the union, by injur ing his business through notices sent to his customers and material men, stating that any dealings with him will be followed by similar measures against such customers and material men, is an unlawful con spiracy. Judge Taft, in delivering the opinion of the court, said: “ W e are o f opinion that, even if acts of the character and with the intent shown in this case are not actionable when done by individuals, they become so when they are the result of combination, because it is clear that the terrorizing of the community by threats of exclusive 106 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. dealing in order to deprive one obnoxious member of means of suste nance will become both dangerous and oppressive.” The latest case in any State court—Charles Curran against Louis Galen, as president (known under the title of “ Master Workman” ) of Brewery Workingmen’s Local Assembly 1796, Knights of Labor— was decided March 2,1897, by the court of appeals of the State of New York, and will appear in 152 N. Y., at page 33, 46 N. E., 297. The court there held, first, that the organization or cooperation of workingmen is not of itself against any public policy, and must be regarded as having the sanction of law, when it is for such legitimate purposes as that of obtaining an advance in the rate of wages or com pensation, or o f maintaining such rate; second, if the purpose of an organization or combination of workingmen is to hamper or restrict the freedom of the citizen in pursuing his lawful trade or calling, and, through contracts or arrangements with employers, to coerce other workingmen to become members of the organization, and to come under its rules and conditions, under the penalty of the loss of their positions and of deprivation of employment, such purpose is against public policy, and unlawful; third, the fact that a contract between the work ingmen’s organization and an employers’ association was entered into on the part of the employers, with the object of avoiding disputes and con flicts with the workingmen’s organization, does not legalize a plan of compelling workingmen not in affiliation with the organization to join it, at the peril of being deprived of their employment. With reference to organizations of workingmen the court said: “ The social principle which justifies such organizations is departed from when they are so extended in their operation as either to intend or to accomplish injury to others. Public policy and the interests of society favor the utmost freedom in the citizen to pursue his lawful trade or calling, and if the purpose of an organization or combination of workingmen be to hamper or to restrict that freedom, and, through contracts or arrangements with employers, to coerce other workingmen to become members of the organization, or to come under its rules and conditions, under the penalty of the loss of tlieir positions, and of deprivation of employment, then that purpose seems clearly unlawful, and militates against the spirit of our Government and the nature of our institutions. The effectuation o f such a purpose would conflict with that principle of public policy which prohibits monopolies and exclu sive privileges. It would tend to deprive the public of the services of men in useful employments and capacities.” The court further along in the course o f the opinion said: “ The sympathies or the fellow-feeling which, as a social principle, underlies the association of workingmen for their common benefit, is not consistent with a purpose to oppress the individual who prefers by single effort to gain his livelihood. I f organization o f workingmen is in line with good government, it is because it is intended as a legiti mate instrumentality to promote the common good o f its members.” The English cases are in accord with the American cases above cited. Lord Campbell, C. J., in charging the jury in Beg. v. Hewitt, 5 Cox, Cr. Cas., 162, said: “ By law every man’s labor is his own property, and he may make what bargain he pleases for his own employment. Not only so; mas ters or men may associate together. But they must not, by their asso ciation, violate the law. They must not injure their neighbor. They must not do that which may prejudice another man. The men may take care not to enter into engagements of which they do not approve, DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 107 but they must not prevent another from doing so. I f this were per mitted, not only would the manufacturers of the land be injured, but it would lead to the most melancholy consequences to the working classes.” In Eeg. v. Druitt, 10 Oox, Cr. Cas., 592, Bramwell, B., said: “ NTo right of property or capital, about which there has been so much declamation, is so sacred or so carefully guarded by the law of this land as that of personal liberty. * # * But that liberty is not liberty of the body only. It is also a liberty of the mind and will; and the liberty o f a man’s mind and will to say how he should bestow him self and his means, his talents, and his industry is as much a subject of the law’s protection as is that of his body. *# # # And if any set of men agree among themselves to coerce that liberty of mind and thought by compulsion and restraint, they would be guilty of a criminal offense, namely, that of conspiring against the liberty of mind and freedom of will of those toward whom they so conduct themselves. # * * The public has an interest in the way in which a man disposes of his industry and his capital; and if two or more persons conspired, by threats, intimidation, or molestation, to deter or influence him in the way in which he should employ his industry, his talents* or his capital, they would be guilty of a criminal offense.” In Steamship Co. v. McGregor, 23 Q. B. Div., 598, Lord Justice Bowen said: “ O f the general proposition that certain kinds of conduct, not crimi nal in any one individual, may become criminal if done by combination among several, there can be no doubt. The distinction is based on sound reason, for a combination may make oppressive or dangerous that which, if it proceeded only from a single person, would be otherwise; and the very fact of the combination may show that the object is simply to do harm, and not to exercise one’s own just rights.” Coltman, J., in Gregory v. Duke of Brunswick, 6 Man. & G., 953, illustrates the proposition by the act of hissing in a public theater, which is prim a facie a lawful act, and, “ even if it should be conceded that such an act, though done without concert with others, if done from a malicious motive, might furnish a ground of action, yet it would be difficult to infer such a motive from the isolated action of one person, unconnected with others.” In Beg. v. Bowlands, 17 Adol. & E. (N*. S.), 671, where there was a combination to prevent certain workingmen from continuing in the service of their employers, and thereby to compel the employers to change the mode of conducting their business, the court of queen’s bench approved of the charge given to the jury by Mr. Justice Erie that— “ A combination for the purpose of injuring another is a combination of a different nature, directed personally against the party to be injured; and jthe law allowing them to combine for the purpose of obtaining a lawful benefit to themselves gives no sanction to combina tions which have for their immediate purpose the hurt of another. The rights o f workmen are conceded; but the exercise of free will and freedom of action, within the limits of the law, is also secured equally to the masters. The intention o f the law is, at present, to allow either o f them to follow the dictates of their own will, with respect to their own actions and their own property, and either, I believe, has a right to study to promote his own advantage, or to combine with others to promote their mutual advantage.” 108 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. A ll these and many other English authorities will be found among the citations in the American cases referred to in this opinion, and they fully support those cases. Without referring to a single Federal case, there is ample authority upon all the questions involved in the consid eration of the motion which has been argued and submitted to this court. Nevertheless, it will be instructive, and I trust beneficial, to review, briefly as possible, some of the decisions of the Federal courts. In Casey v. Typographical TJnion, 45 Fed., 135, decided January 31, 1891, it was held that a combination or a conspiracy, by a trades union, to boycott a newspaper for refusing to unionize its office, was illegal, and would be enjoined by a court of equity. The court, in con sidering the contention, for defendants, that no threats were used and there was no intimidation, only courteous requests, and “ fair, although sharp and bitter, competition,” cited In re Wabash B. Co., 24 Fed., 217, where, during a strike organized to resist a reduction o f wages, a printed notice was sent to the several foremen of the shops of the rail way company as follows: “ You are requested to stay away from the shop until the present difficulty is settled. Your compliance with this Will command the pro tection of the Wabash employees. But in no case are you to consider this as an intimidation.” The court, in holding that that was an unlawful interference with the management of the road by the receiver, and a contempt of court, said that— “ The statement in all these notices that they are not to be taken as intimidations goes to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the writer knew he was violating the law, and by this subterfuge sought to escape its penalty.” The court, in Casey v. Typographical Union, also cited United Sthtes v. Kane, 23 Fed., 748, where Judge (now Justice) Brewer, by way of illustrating what is a threat, supposes that one of two workmen is dis charged. The other is satisfied with his employment, and wishes to remain. The discharged workman comes, with a party of his friends, armed with revolvers and muskets, and says: “ Now, my friends are here. You had better leave. I request you to leave.” In terms there was no threat, only a request 5 but it was backed by a demonstration of force intended and calculated to intimidate, and the man leaves really because he is intimidated. “ Again,” said the judge, “ armed robbers stop a coach. One of their number politely requests the pas sengers to step out and hand over their valuables. To the charge of robbery the defense is made that there was no violence; there were no threats; there was only a polite request, which was complied with.” Judge Brewer properly said that any judge who would recognize such a defense deserved to be despised. In Pettibone v. United States, 148 U. S., 197,13 Sup. Ct., 542, it was held that a combination of two or more persons to accomplish, by con certed action, either a criminal or unlawful purpose, or some purpose not in itself criminal or unlawful by criminal or unlawful means, is a conspiracy. It was held in Thomas v. Eailway Oo. (the Phelan Case), 62 Fed., 803, that a combination to incite the employees o f all the railways in the country to suddenly quit their service without any dissatisfaction with the terms o f their employment, thus paralyzing all railway traffic in order to coerce the railroad companies and the public into compelling an owner of cars used in operating the roads to pay his employees more wages, they having no lawful right so to compel him, DECISIONS OP COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 109 is an unlawful conspiracy, by reason of its purpose, whether such purpose is effected by means usually lawful or otherwise. That the employees of the receiver of the road had the right to organize into or to join a labor union, which should take joint action as to their terms o f employment, was conceded; the court stating that, as they had labor to sell, if they should stand together they would be often able to command better prices for their labor than when dealing singly with rich employers, because the necessities of a single employee might com pel him to accept any terms offered him. In illustration the court said that if, when the receiver made a reduction of 10 per cent in the wages of his employees, Phelan had come to Cincinnati, and urged and suc ceeded in maintaining a peaceable strike, he would not have been liable to contempt, even if the strike seriously impeded the operation o f the road under the order of the court, and that his action in giving advice or issuing an order based on unsatisfactory terms of employment would have been entirely lawful, but that his coming to Cincinnati, and his advice to the employees to quit work, had nothing to do with their terms of employment. They were not dissatisfied with their service or their pay. His coming was to carryout the purpose o f a combination o f men, and as a part of that combination to incite the employees of all Cincinnati roads to quit work. The plan of this combination was to inflict pecuniary injury on Pullman by compelling the railway com panies to give up using his cars, and in the event of their refusal so to do to inflict pecuniary injury on them by inciting their employees to quit their service and thus paralyze their business. That combination, the court held, was for an unlawful purpose, and was conspiracy; citing Angle v. Railway Co., 151 U. S., 1,14 Sup. Ct., 240. The court also held that the combination was unlawful without respect to the contract fear ture, because it was a boycott. The court recognized th at the employees had the right to quit their employment, but declared that they had no right to combine lo quit, in order thereby to compel their employer to withdraw from a profitable relation with a third person for the purpose of injuring him, when that relation had no effect whatever on the char acter or reward of their service. Phelan was held guilty of contempt, and sentenced to imprisonment. The Supreme Court of the United States, in the Debs Case, 158 U. S., 564,15 Sup. Ct., 900, held that the jurisdiction in equity to apply the remedy by injunction when any obstruction was put upon highways, natural or artificial, to impede interstate commerce or the carrying of mails, was not ousted by the fact that the obstructions were accom panied by or consisted of acts in themselves violations of the criminal law, or by the fact that the proceeding by injunction is of a civil char acter, and may be enforced by proceedings in contempt, inasmuch as the penalty for a violation of such injunction is no substitute for and no defense to a prosecution for criminal offenses committed in the course o f such violation. This authority, which is conclusive in this court, disposes of the objection, made in this case, that if the defendants had committed the acts charged against them they were amenable to the criminal laws and should be put upon trial. The remedy by injunction was not first apjilied in the United States, either by State courts or by the Federal courts. Mr. Stimson, in his Handbook on the Labor Law of the United States, at page 315, says that it is traced back to the leading case o f Spinning Co. v. Riley, L. R., 6 Eq., 551, decided in 1868, which was prior to any o f the Ameri can cases. He adds that that case did not announce any new doc trine, but rather the revival of a very old one, referring to the exercise 1821—No. 14----- 8 110 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. of the chancellor’s authority in the reign of Richard II to repress dis orderly obstructions to the course of law. Spinning Co. v. Riley was overruled by the court of chancery appeals in Assurance Co. v. Knott, 10 Ch. App., 142, in 1874; Lord Chancellor Cairns deciding (and Sir W. M. James, L. J., and Sir G. Mellish, L. J., concurring) that the court in chancery has no jurisdiction to restrain the publication of a libel, as such, even if it is injurious to property. The court, in Spinning Co. v. Riley, enjoined the issuing of placards and advertisements intending and having the effect to intimidate and prevent workmen from hiring themselves to the plaintiffs; that being the only act complained of, and the court finding that the plaintiffs were thereby prevented from con tinuing their business and that the value o f their property was thereby seriously injured. Vice-Chancellor Malin’s opinion is a strong presen tation o f the doctrine recognized by him, but no American court, State or Federal, has gone to the length of that case, nor beyond the doctrine stated by the Supreme Court of the United States in the Debs Case. It conclusively appears, from the authorities above referred to, that the English courts, the American State courts, and the Federal courts are in perfect harmony, and that, while they recognize the right of employees of whatever rank or degree to combine for the purpose o f resisting any measures of oppression or coercion by their employers, and even for the purpose of instituting strikes and adopting other measures for their own protection or for the bettering of their condi tion, they are agreed that they must not interfere with the rights of employers to manage their own business in their own way, so long as they do not trespass upon the rights o f others. Counsel for defendants in this case insisted that his clients had the right, as individuals to solicit and persuade employees of complainant to give up their situations, insisting, also, that the employees were under no contracts to labor for any specified peridd. Counsel then advanced the proposition that, if defendants had the right singly to persuade complainant’s employees to quit work, they had the right to do so in companies or in mass, and that they had the right to congregate for that purpose in the public streets, and that therefore the congregat ing in the vicinity o f complainant’s mill and plant was lawful, and should not be restrained by the court. That complainant’s employees were under no term contracts is, I think, established by the evidence. But the conclusion deduced by counsel, although ingenious, is altogether unsound. It is negatived by Casey v. Typographical Union, by United States v. Kane, by Pettibone v. United States, by Thomas v. Rail way Co., and by the Debs Case. That the defendants might, as counsel put it,"peaceably and quietly persuade complainant’s employ ees to quit work, is not, and can not be, successfully denied. But persuasion, with the hootings of a mob and deeds o f violence as auxiliaries, is not peaceable persuasion. A s to the proposition that defendants were only exercising their constitutional rights, the court commends to their perusal the recent case o f Garrett v. T. H. Garrett & Co., 24 0 . 0. A., 173, 78 Fed., 472, decided December 8,1896. The appellants were manufacturers o f snuff, known to the trade as “ Gar rett’s snuff,” and sued to restrain defendant company from using the name “ Garrett” on packages and cans o f snuff manufactured by it and placed upon the market for sale. It was contended for the defendant that.every man has the right to the use o f his own name in business, and, as to the order of injunction below restraining defendant from DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. I ll using white paper for its labels, that every person has a constitutional right to use white paper. The court said: u These propositions, in the abstract, are undeniably true; but coun sel for the time overlooked the fact that, wherever there is an organic law, wherever a constitution is to be found as the basis o f the rights of the people, and as the foundation and limit of the legislation and juris prudence o f a government, there the mutual rights of individuals are held in highest regard, and are most jealously protected. Always, in law, a greater right is closely related to a greater obligation. While it is true that every man has a right to use his own name in his own busi ness, it is also true that he has no right to use it for the purpose of stealing the good will of his neighbor’s business, nor to commit a fraud upon his neighbor, nor a trespass upon his neighbor’s rights or prop erty; and, while it is true that every man has a right to use white paper, it is also true that he has no right to use it for making counterfeit money nor to commit a forgery. It might as well be set up, in defense of a highwayman, that, because the Constitution secures to every man the right to bear arms, lie has a constitutional right to rob his victim at the muzzle o f a rifle or revolver.” Counsel for defendants closed his argument with a somewhat impas sioned appeal to the court, coupled with the expression o f his hope and confidence that the decision would not be calculated to drive his clients to become anarchists. So long as labor organizations keep themselves within the limits o f law, they will not be interfered with by courts, and they will have the sympathy and good will o f a vast majority o f welldisposed citizens. When they exceed those limits, they will be restrained by the courts, and dealt with, whatever the consequences may be, and they will lose the sympathy and good will of the public. The extraor dinary character of the appeal made to the court justifies me in adding that the courts will be ready for the emergency whenever and wherever the spirit o f anarchy may manifest itself, whether within or without the lodges, and the American people, if need be, will rise in their majesty and their might, and crush it as a trip hammer would crush an eggshell. Upon the facts o f this case, and upon the law as stated in the authori ties cited, the complainant’s motion for a temporary injunction will be granted. A bond o f $2,000 will be required. I njunction—Marching on H ighway —Intimidating Employ Court—Maekall v. Ratcliford. et al., 82 Federal Reporter, page 41.—The decision here reported was rendered August 21, 1897, in contempt proceedings in the above-named case, held in the United States circuit court for the district of West Yirginia. The opinion was delivered by Circuit Judge Goff, and the facts in the case are clearly stated in that part of the opinion which is quoted below: The simple question here is, Are these defendants in contempt of this court? On the 16th instant this court granted an injunction, restrain ing the defendants and all others from in any wise interfering with the management, operation, and conducting o f the mines in the bill men tioned, either by menaces, threats, or any character of intimidation used to prevent the employees o f said mines from going to or from the same, or from engaging in their usual business o f mining. A ll persons were restrained from entering upon the property of the Montana Coal and ees —Contempt of 112 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. Coke Company for the purpose o f interfering with the employees o f said company, either by intimidation, or by the holding o f either public or private assemblages upon said property, or in any way molesting, interfering with, or intimidating the employees of that company so as to induce them to abandon their work in the said mines. This injunction was served on a number o f the defendants early on the morning of the 17th instant. It was also served on other o f the defendants, together with an additional or supplemental or construing order, on the morning of the 18th instant. I f the defendants were aware that the court had passed the decree granting the injunction mentioned, if they were aware of its terms and import, and if they then interfered with or intimidated the employees of said coal com pany, thereby preventing them from going to or from their work, or causing them to abandon the same, then they are guilty o f the con tempt charged, and should be, must be, and will be punished. The strikers had the right to quit work themselves, and they had the right to induce other miners, by peaceable means, by the persuasive force o f public or private argument, exerted in a lawful way, to also quit work and join them. But it must be kept in mind that the miner who still desired to work had the same right to do so as the miner to quit work; and also, it should be remembered that the owners of the mines, indi vidual or company, had the right to operate the same, the right to employ the labor o f those willing to work, the right to use the highway leading to the mines for themselves and for their employees, even as had the strikers to quit work, the miner to go on with his work, or the agitator to indulge in the right o f u free speech.” It seems from the evidence, that but few of the miners employed at the Montana mines had joined the strikers. All efforts to induce them to do so had appar ently failed. A t this juncture a company of marching strikers, mostly from Monongah, went into camp about one mile from the Montana mines. During Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, this company, under com mand o f its officers, with music* and banners, marched and counter marched along the county road running through the property o f the Montana Coal and Coke Company. This marching was very early in the morning and in the afternoon, at times when the miners of said company were either going to or coming from their work. The march ing was from the camp down to the mine opening, then back to the village where the miners lived, thence again past the mine opening, and so on, u to and fro,” during certain hours o f the morning and after noon. They did not march past the property of the company, for the reason, as stated by their leader, that the river stopped them. The marching was therefore from the camp to the river, and from the river back to the camp, always by the mine opening and the miner’s homes. There was an object in this, and the intent will be disclosed by the facts. These miners had refused to join the strikers, and had neglected to attend the strikers’ meeting, evidently preferring to remain at work. The camp was established near them for the purpose o f influencing them. Was that influence to be exerted, and was it exerted, in a law ful and proper manner? The answer to that question determines the guilt or innocence o f these accused. In endeavoring to influence the miners to join them, did the strikers prevent them from going to or from their work, and did they use any character of intimidation in so doing? A body o f men, over 200 strong, marching in the early hours of the morning, before daylight, halting in front of the mine opening, and DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 113 taking position on eacli side of the public highway for a distance of at least a quarter of a mile, at the exact places where the miners were in the habit of crossing that highway for the purpose of going from their homes to their work, is at least unusual, and, in the state of excite ment usually attending such occasions, neither an aid to fair argument, nor conducive to the state of mind that makes willing converts to the cause thus championed. That the marching did intimidate quite a number o f the miners is clear, if the evidence offered' is to be believed; and the court finds it uncontradicted and entitled to credence. The court is also forced to conclude, from all the facts and circumstances detailed by the witnesses, from the object the marching men had in view, and from the locality where they marched, and its topography, that the intention o f the marching strikers was to interfere with the oper ation of the Montana mines, with the miners engaged in working said mines, to intimidate them, and thereby induce them to abandon their work, and then secure their cooperation in closing the mines. The marching men seemed to think that they could go and come on and over the county road as they pleased, because it was a public high way. But this was a mistake. The miners working at Montana had the same right to use the public road as the strikers had, and it was not open and free to their use when it was occupied by over 200 men stationed along it at intervals of 3 and 5 feet—men who, if not open enemies, were not bosom friends. That some miners passed through this line is shown. That others feared to do so is plain. That the marching column intended to interfere with the work at the mines would be foolish to deny. A highway is a way over which the public at large have a right of passage. It is a road maintained by the pub lic for the general convenience. True, the strikers had a right to march over it as passengers just the same as all other citizens; but they had no right to make it a parade ground, or stop on its side ways at frequent intervals, and by the hour, at times when other people who had the same right to its use were in the habit of using it for the purposes connected with their daily avocations. The miners of the Montana mines, as well as the owners of that property, had the same right to use the public road as had the marching strikers. It seems to the court that the men whose work is-interrupted and the people whose property is damaged by the improper use and occupation of the highway are the people who have the true grounds of complaint because of the improper use of what in the early books of the law is chlled the “ King’s highway.n The building in which we are now hold ing this court is located on the corner of Third and Pike streets, Clarks burg. A ll the citizens of that town can use those streets for purposes connected with their business. A ll persons properly deporting them selves can pass along and upon them for all proper business matters, or for the mere purpose of transit; and all persons, due regard being had for the public interest and safety, may parade, with banners, flags, ahd bands of music, along and over said streets at reasonable times and seasonable hours, provided the same does not prevent the reason able and seasonable use of said streets by those entitled to the same. I f such use should close the business houses along said streets, by pre venting employees from reaching them, then, if such parades were not prevented by the city authorities, the owners of property so affected would be entitled to the aid o f the courts in protecting their rights. Ho one portion o f the community has a right to march along those streets day after day, night after night, and station themselves along them at intervals of 3 or 5 feet, for hour after hour, thereby preventing 114 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. the owners o f property located thereon from reaching the same in per son, or by their clerks or other employees, for purposes connected with their regular business. Under such circumstances the police of the city would either move the column along, out o f the way o f the public business, or take into custody the men who without authority obstruct the streets and public highways. The marching men had then no such right on the county road as they claimed. That the parties now in custody knew that the injunction had been issued is not denied—is plain from the evidence. They spoke of it jocularly, mostly, now and then resentfully and disrespectfully. Such terms as these passed along the line: u W e are used to papers like that.” u W e will take the consequences.” u I will eat mine for break fast.” The officers were careful in explaining its terms, and, I may say, in beseeching the strikers not to violate them. They told the marchers to march on and pass by if they wished to, but not to march and coun termarch u to and fro ” by the mines, because such marching was pro hibited by the court. But the advice was not heeded, the disregard of the court’s order continued, and the conduct that constituted violation o f the injunction was openly resorted to and persistently maintained. These defendants are all guilty of the contempt charged. Their con duct, in connection with their knowledge of the action theretofore taken by this court, concerning the injunction referred to, was evidently in violation o f the provisions of section 725 of the Revised Statutes o f the United States (providing for punishment of contempts by the United States courts). Here the court spoke at length concerning the sentences of those held guilty o f contempt and imposed sentences of three days in jail, and con tinued as follows: In this case, for the reasons mentioned, justice has been tempered with mercy; but if, with the light of this investigation in their path way, these defendants shall persist in disregarding the decrees o f this court duly entered in causes properly before it, then let it be remembered that mercy shown to contempt under such circumstances would be not only a crime, but the death of justice. Invention by Employee—Implied License of E mployer— Blauvelt v. Interior Conduit and Insulation Company, 80 Federal Reporter, page 906.—This was a suit in equity by James M. S. Blauvelt, trustee, against the above-named company to restrain the alleged infringement o f a patent brought in the United States circuit court for the southern district of Hew York. After a hearing the circuit court dismissed the suit and Blauvelt appealed the same to the United States circuit court o f appeals for the second circuit. Said court rendered its decision May 26, 1897, and affirmed the decree of the circuit court. The following, quoted from the opinion of the circuit court o f appeals, which was delivered by Circuit Judge Shipman, sufficiently shows the facts in the case and the decision: The case is, therefore, that o f an inventor, who, as a workman in the employ o f another, manufactures for him, in his shop, and with his DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 115 materials, and upon weekly wages, machines wliicli the employer uses as a part of his tools, without knowledge of any objection thereto, and for which the inventor, during the term of his employment, obtains a patent, and thereafter seeks to restrain the employer from the use o f the particular machine or machines which had been thus made in the employer’s shop under the supervision o f the employee, and apparently as a part o f his ordinary mechanical work. This subject was considered at length in Gill v. United States, ICO U. S., 426; 16 Sup. Ot., 322. The court said the case raised the question, “ which has been several times presented to this court, whether an employee paid by salary or wages, who devises an improved method of doing his work, using the property or labor of his employer to put his invention into practical form, and assenting to the use of such improvements by his employer, may, by taking out a patent upon such invention, recover a royalty or other compensation for such use. In a series of cases, to which fuller refer ence will be made hereafter, we have held that this could not be done.” The court further said that the principle upon which all the decisions were based is “ an application or outgrowth of the law of estoppel in pais.” The decree of the circuit court is affirmed. Right of A ction for D amages—Coercion of Employer by Labor U nion to Compel D ischarge of Employee—Perkins v. Pendleton et al, 38 Atlantic Reporter, page 96.—Action was brought in the supreme judicial court in Waldo County, Me., by Webster C. Per kins against Fremont Pendleton and others to recover damages. The defendants filed a demurrer to the declaration, and the court issued an order overruling the same. To said order the defendants filed excep tions, and on said exceptions the case was brought before the full bench o f the supreme judicial court, which rendered its decision April 9,1897, and overruled the exceptions. The facts in the case, as well as the reasons for the decision, are stated in the opinion of the court, which was delivered by Judge Wiswell, and from the same the following is quoted: To the plaintifPs declaration the defendants filed a general demurrer, which was overruled by the justice presiding at nisi prius, and the declaration adjudged good. The case comes to the law court upon exceptions to this ruling. The plaintiff alleges that upon a certain day he was, and for twentytwo years prior to that time had been, in the employ of the Mount Waldo Granite Company as a stonecutter, working by the piece; that he was making large profits out o f his employment; that he would have con tinued in such employment from the day named until the date o f his writ “ but for the wrongful acts,inducements, threats,persuasions, and griev ances committed by said defendants against the said plaintiff as here inafter set forth;” that on the day named, and “ at divers other times thereafter until the date o f the plaintiff’s writ,” the defendants “ did unlawfully and without justifiable cause, molest, obstruct, and hinder the plaintiff from carrying on his said trade, occupation, or business as a stonecutter for the said Mount Waldo Granite Company, and wrongfully, unlawfully, and unjustly had him discharged without any 116 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. justifiable cause from tlie employment of the said Mount Waldo Granite Company by willfully threatening, persuading, inducing, and by other overt acts compelling the said Mount Waldo Granite Company, against its will, and without any desire on its part so to do, to discharge the said plaintiff from its employ for the sole reason that the plaintiff would not become a member in the order o f the Mount Waldo Branch of the Granite Cutters’ National U n i o n w h e r e b y he suffered the injury specially set out in his declaration. Does this statement o f facts suffi ciently set out an actionable wrong upon the part of the defendants? That an action lies under certain circumstances for procuring a third person to break his contract with the plaintiff has been frequently decided by the courts of England and of this country. The court here cites, quotes from, and comments upon several cases bearing upon the point at issue, and then continues as follows: In view of these authorities and others, which it is not necessary to refer to, it must be conceded that for a person to wrongfully—that is, by the employment of unlawful or improper means—induce a third party to break a contract with the plaintiff^ whereby injury will natu rally and probably, and does in fact, ensue to the plaintiff, is action able ; and the rule applies both upon principle and authority as well to cases where the employer breaks his contract as where it is broken by the employee; in fact it is not confined to contracts of employment. But in this case the plaintiff does not allege that the Mount Waldo Granite Company was induced by the wrongful means adopted by the defendants to break a contract, nor that there was any contract between the plaintiff and the employees for any definite time. W e must, there fore, assume that there was none, that either party had the right to ter minate the employment at any time, and that the act of the Mount Waldo Company in discharging the plaintiff was lawful, and one which the company had a perfect right to do at any time. The question pre sented, then, is whether a person can be liable in damages for inducing and persuading, by threats or other unlawful means, an employer to dis charge his employee when the terms o f the contract of service are such that the employer may do this at his pleasure, without violating any legal right o f the employee. The question is a novel one in this State, but it has already arisen and been passed upon by the courts of some other States. Here the court again quotes from several important cases, and then goes on to say: Our conclusion is that wherever a person, by means o f fraud or intimidation, procures either the breach o f a contract or the discharge o f a plaintiff from an employment, which, but for such wrongful interfer ence, would have continued, he is liable in damages for such injuries as naturally result therefrom; and that the rule is the same whether by these wrongful means a contract of employment definite, as to time is broken, or an employer is induced, solely by reason o f such procure ment, to discharge an employee, whom he would otherwise have retained. W e think that the important question in an action of this kind is as to the nature of the defendant’s act, and the means adopted by him to accomplish his purpose. Merely to induce another to leave an employ ment, or to discharge an employee, by persuasion or argument, however whimsical, unreasonable, or absurd, is not, in and of itself, unlawful, and we do not decide that such interference may become unlawful by reason DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. 117 o f the defendant’s malicious motives, but simply that to iutimidate an employer by threats, if the threats are of such a character as to produce this result, and thereby cause him to discharge an employee whom he desired to retain, and would have retained, except for such unlawful threats, is an actionable wrong. It is the opinion of the court that the plaintiff’s declaration fairly sets out a cause o f action in accordance with these principles; that the question is one of proof, rather than of pleading; and that, if the plain tiff can prove the essential allegations contained in his declaration, he is entitled to recover. Exceptions overruled. LAW S OF VARIOUS STATES RELATINO TO LABOR ENACTED SINCE JANUARY 1, 1896. [Tk« Second Special Beport of the Department contains all laws of the various States and Territo ries and of the united States relating to labor in force January 1, 1896. Later enactments are repro duced in successive issues of the Bulletin from time to time as published*] ARKANSAS. ACTS OF 1897— REGULAR SESSION. A c t N o . 21 .—Protection o f railroad employees. Section 1. Every person who shall by any letter, mark, sign or designation what ever, or by any verbal statement, falsely and without probable cause, report to any railroad or any other company or corporation, or to any individual or individuals or to any o f the officers, servants, agents or employees o f any such corporation, individual or individuals, that any conductor, brakeman, engineer, fireman, station agent or other employees o f any such railroad company, corporation, individual or individuals, have received any money for the transportation o f persons or property, or shall falsely and without probable cause report that any conductor, brakeman, engineer, fireman, station agent or other employees o f any such railroad company, corporation, individual or individuals, neglected, failed or refused to collect any money for transportation o f persons or property when it was their duty so to do, shall,* on conviction, be adjudged guilty o f a misdemeanor, and shall be fined in any sum not less than one hundred ($100) dollars, nor more than five hundred ($500) dollars. S e c . 2. A ll laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed, and this act [shall] take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved, February 19, 1897. ACTS OF 1897— E X T R A SESSION. A c t N o . 20 .— Convict labor. S e c t i o n 1. Section 5499 of Sandels & H ill’s Digest [shall] be amended so as to read as follow s: S e c t i o n 5499. The said board [penitentiary commissioners] shall have the general management and control of the State penitentiary, and all convicts sentenced to said penitentiary, whether within or without the walls thereof. It shall make or approve all contracts for the building o f any additions, repairs, barracks, stockades and improvements necessary to he made in connection with the penitentiary or con vict system o f this State on the terms prescribed by law, or in the absence thereof, on such terms as it may consider for the best interest of the State. It shall have power to purchase or cause to be purchased with such funds as may be at its disposal, not otherwise appropriated, any lands, buildings, machinery, live stock and tools necessary for the use, preservation and operation o f the penitentiary, to the end that, the largest number o f convicts that can be comfortably accommodated and be made self-supporting may be confined therein and until adequate provisions be made by the general assembly for the confinement and employment of all convicts within the w alls; said board shall cause to be employed the excess of convicts at labor out side the walls, either under the contract or State account system, under such regu lations, conditions and restrictions as it may deem best for the welfare o f the State and the convicts; and said board is hereby empowered and authorized to purchase or lease and equip a farm or farms upon which to work State convicts, and to pay for the same out o f the labor or product o f the labor of any of the convicts, or they may select any lands o f the State, and clear and improve and establish a farm on same of. sufficient area to employ all convicts who are able to work in cultivating same. And said board is hereby empowered to perform any and all acts necessary in the purchase or lease and equipping of said farm or farms. Provided, Said board shall not have the power to remove or sell the present peni tentiary under this act. Provided, The board shall only apply such proceeds for the payment o f said farms as are not actually needed for the support and maintenance of the State convict farm. S e c . 2. A ll laws in conflict herein [herewith] are hereby repealed, and this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved, June 4, 1897. 118 LABOR LAWS— ARKANSAS— ACTS OF 1897. 119 A ct No. 33.—Convict labor. W hereas, The State of Arkansas has leased and may in the future lease to various and sundry parties in several parts of the State, certain convicts on the share-crop system and otherwise; and, W hereas, The roads in the neighborhood of and leadiug to these various convict camps are very much used and cut up in hauling supplies for use of [camps] and wood, cotton, cotton seed and corn raised at said camps, and in some instances prac tically made useless for the people in the neighborhood; and, W hereas , There is no law now on the statute [books] requiring these convicts to do their share o f the labor in repairing these roads; Therefore, Be it enacted, etc. Section 1. That the superintendent of the penitentiary may in his judgment and at such times as such convicts are not occupied in making and gathering crops, or otherwise employed in work for the State, order the roads leading to and in the neighborhood o f the several camps now occupied or which may hereafter be occupied by said convicts, worked and repaired by said convicts. Provided, That nothing in this act will require State convicts to work said roads for a greater number o f days for each man than is now allowed by law for the regular road hands; and, Provided further, That nothing in this act shall repeal any law which requires the regular road hands to work said roads. Sec . 2. A ll laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed, and this act [is] to take effect from and after its passage. Approved, June 21, 1897. A ct No. 43.—Exemption from garnishment— Wages. Section 1. Hereafter no garnishment shall be issued by any court in any cause where the sum demanded is two hundred dollars or less, and where the property sought to be reached is wages due to a defendant by any railroad corporation until after judgment shall have been recovered by plaintiff against defendant in the action. Sec . 2. No railroad corporation shall be required to make answer to, nor shall any default or other liability attach because o f its failure to so answer any interroga tories propounded to it, in any action against any person to whom it may be indebted on account o f wages due for personal services, where a writ or [o f] garnishment was issued in advance o f the recovery by plaintiff o f a personal judgment against the defendant in any action for two hundred dollars or less, and any judgment rendered against any railroad corporation for its said failure or refusal to make answer to any garnishment so issued before the recovery o f final judgment in the action between the plaintiff and defendant in the cases mentioned in section 1, shall be void, and any officer entering such a judgment or who may execute or attempt to execute the same, shall be taken and considered a trespasser. S e c . 3. A ll laws and parts o f laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed, and this act shall take effect and bo in force from and after its passage. Approved, June 26, 1897. A ct No. 48.— Wages preferred—Inpayments by receivers. Section 4. As soon as the receiver shall have taken the property into his custody, he shall proceed under the direction of the court, or of the judge, in vacation, to con vert the same into money, and upon final hearing, the court, after deducting the cost and paying all public taxes, shall order the proceeds to be distributed among the creditors in the order and with the preferences following: First— The salaries of employees earned within three months, and all laborers’ wages shall be paid first. * * • * # * # # Approved, June 26, 1897. 120 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. COLORADO. ACTS OF 1897. Chapter 2.—State board o f arbitration. Section 1. There shall he established a State board o f arbitration consisting o f three members, which shall be charged, among other duties provided by this act, with the consideration and settlement by means o f arbitration, conciliation and adjustment, when possible, o f strikes, lockouts and labor or wage controversies arising between employers and employees. Sec . 2. Immediately after the passage of this act the governor shall appoint a State board o f arbitration, consisting o f three qualified resident citizens o f the State o f Colorado and above the age o f thirty years. One o f the members o f said board shall be selected from the ranks o f active members o f bona fide labor organizations of the State o f Colorado, and one shall be selected from active employers o f labor or from organizations representing employers o f labor. Tho third member of the board shall be appointed by the governor from a list which shall not consist o f more than six names selected from entirely disinterested ranks submitted by the two members of the board above designated. I f any vacancy should occur in said board, the gov ernor shall, in the same manner, appoint an eligible citizen for tho remainder o f the term, as hereinbefore provided. Sec . 3. The third member o f said board shall bo secretary thereof, whose duty it shall be, in addition to his duties as a member o f the board, to keep a full and faithful record o f the proceedings o f the board and perform such clerical work as may be necessary for a concise statement o f all official business that may be transacted. He shall be the custodian o f all documents and testimony o f an official character relating to the business o f the board; and shall also have, under direction o f a majority o f the board, power to issue subpoenas, to administer oaths to witnesses cited before tho board, to call for and examine books, papers and documents neces sary for examination in the adjustment o f labor differences, with the same authority to enforce their production as is possessed by courts o f record or the judges thereof in this State. Sec. 4. Said members o f tho board o f arbitration shall take and subscribe the con stitutional oath o f office, and be sworn to the due and faithful performance o f the duties o f their respective offices before entering upon tho discharge o f the same. The secretary o f state shall set apart and furnish an office in the State capital for the proper and convenient transaction o f the business o f said board. Sec . 5. Whenever any grievance or dispute o f any nature shall arise between employer and employees, it shall be lawful for the parties to submit the same directly to said board, in case such parties elect to do so, and shall jointly notify said board or its clerk in writing o f such desire. Whenever such notification is given it shall be the duty o f said board to proceed with as little delay as possible to the locality of such grievance or dispute, and inquire into tho cause or causes o f such grievance or dispute. The parties to the grievance or dispute shall thereupon submit to said board in writing, clearly and m detail, their grievances and complaints and the cause or causes therefor, and severally agree in writing to submit to the decision of said board as to the matters so submitted, promising and agreeing to continue on in business or at work, without a lockout or strike until the decision is rendered by the board, provided such decision shall be given within ten days after the completion o f the investigation. The board shall thereupon proceed to fully investigate and inquire into the matters in controversy and to take testimony under oath in relation thereto; and shall have power under its chairman or clerk to administer oaths, to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses, the production of books aud papers in like manner and with the same powers as provided for in section 3 o f this act. Sec . 6. After the matter has been fully heard, the said board, or a majority o f its members, shall, within ten days, render a decision thereon in writing, signed by them or a majority o f them, stating such details as will clearly show the nature o f the decision and the points disposed o f by them. The clerk o f said board shall file four copies o f such decision, one with the secretary o f state, a copy served to each o f the parties to the controversy, and one copy retained by the board. Sec . 7. Whenever a strike or lockout shall occur or seriously threaten in any part o f the State, and shall come to the knowledge of the members of the board, or any one thereof by a written notice from either o f the parties to such threatened strike or lockout, or from the mayor or clerk o f tho city or town, or from the justice o f the peace of* the district where such strike or lockout is threatened, it shall be their duty, and they are hereby directed, to proceed as soon as practicable to the locality o f such strike or lockout and put themselves in communication with the parties to the controversy and endeavor by mediation to effect an amicable settlement of such LABOR LAWS— COLORADO— ACTS OF 1897. 121 controversy, and, i f in their judgment it is deemed best, to inquire into the cause or causes of the controversy; and to that end the hoard is hereby authorized to sub poena witnesses, compel their attendance, and send for persons and papers in like manner and with the same powers as it is authorized by section 3 o f this act. Sec . 8. The fees o f witnesses before said board o f arbitration shall be two dollars ($2.00) for each day’s attendance, and five (5) cents per mile over the nearest trav eled routes in going to and returning from the place where attendance is required by the board. All subpoenas shall be signed by the secretary o f the board and may be served by any person o f legal ago authorized by the board to serve the same. Sec . 9. The parties to any controversy or difference as described in section 5 of this act may submit the matters in dispute in writing to a local board o f arbitration and conciliation; said board may either be mutually agreed upon or the employer may designate one of such arbitrators, the employees or their duly authorized agent another, and the two arbitrators so designated may choose a third who shall be chairman o f such local board; such board shall in respect to the matters referred to it have and exercise all the powers which the Stato board might have and exer cise, and its decision shall have such binding effect as may be agreed upon by the parties to the controversy in the written submission. The jurisdiction o f such local board shall be exclusive in respect to the matter submitted to it, but it may ask and receive the advice and assistance of the State board. Such local board shall render its decision in writing, within ten days after the close o f any hearing held by it, and shall file a copy thereof with the secretary of the State board. Each o f such local arbitrators shall be entitled to receive from the treasurer of the city, village or town in which the controversy or difference that is the subject o f arbitration exists, .i f such payment is approved by the mayor o f such city, the board o f trustees o f such village, or the town board of such town, the sum of three dollars for each day of actual service not exceeding ten days for any one arbitration: Provided, That when such hearing is held at some point having no organized town or city govern ment, in such case the costs o f such hearing shall be paid jointly by the parties to the controversy: 'Provided f urther, That in the event o f any local board o f arbitration or a majority thereof failing to agree within ten (10) days after any case being placed in their hands, the State board shall be called upon to take charge o f said case as provided by this act. Sec . 10. Said Stato board shall report to the governor annually, on or before the fifteenth day o f November in each year, the work o f the board, which shall include a concise statement o f all cases coming before the board for adjustment. Sec . 11. The secretary o f state shall be authorized and instructed to have printed for circulation one thousand (1,000) copies of the report o f the secretary o f the board, provided the volume shall not exceed four hundred (400) pages. Sec . 12. Two members o f the board o f arbitration shall each receive the sum of five hundred dollars ($500) annually, and shall be allowed all money actually and necessarily expended for traveling and other necessary expenses while in the per formance o f the duties o f their office. Tbe member herein designated to be the sec retary of the board shall receive a salary of twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) per annum. The salaries o f the members shall be paid in monthly installments by the State treasurer upon warrants issued by the auditor o f the Stato. The other expenses of the board shall be paid in like manner upon approved vouchers signed by the chairman o f the board o f arbitration and the secretary thereof. Sec. 13. The terms o f office o f the members o f the board shall be as follows: That o f the members who are to be selected from the ranks o f labor organizations and from the active employers o f labor shall be for two years, and thereafter every two years the governor shall appoint one from each class for the period o f two years. The third member of the board shall be appointed as herein provided every two years. The governor shall have power to remove any members of said board for cause and fill any vacancy occasioned thereby. Sec . 14. For the purpose o f carrying out the provisions o f this act there is hereby appropriated out o f the general revenue fund the sum o f seven thousand dollars for the fiscal years 1897 and 1898, only one-half o f which shall bo used in each year, or so much thereof as may be necessary, and not otherwise appropriated. Sec . 15. In the opinion of the general assembly an emergency exists; therefore, this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Approved March 31, 1897. Chapter 5.—Convict labor. Section 1. Section one of an act entitled “ An act to amend section one o f an act entitled ‘An act concerning convict labor and the product o f convict labor, approved April 2, 1887’ ” [section 3447, Mills’ Annotated Statutes, 1891], is hereby amended so as to read as follow s: “ Sec . 1. Every able-bodied convict shall be put to, and kept at, the work most suitable to his or her capacity, and most advantageous to the people o f the State of 122 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. Colorado, and which may least conflict with the free labor o f the said State, during his or her confinement; and the earnings o f such convict, after deducting sufficient thereof to pay and satisfy the cost o f maintenance and retention, shall he given to the family o f such convict, or dependents, i f there he any, i f there he none, the same accumulated shall ho paid to such convict upon discharge from the penitentiary.” S e c . 2. The sum o f ten thousand dollars ($10,000) is hereby appropriated, out o f any moneys in the State treasury, not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose o f carrying this act into operation and the payment o f warrants drawn on account thereof. S e c . 3. A ll acts and parts of acts and all laws and parts of laws in conflict here with are hereby repealed. s S e c . 4. In the opinion o f the general assembly o f the State o f Colorado an emer gency exists, therefore this act shall take effect and he in force from and after its passage. Approved April 28, 1897. C h a p t e r 26.— Wages preferred—In assignments. S e c t i o n 27. The valid claims of servants, laborers and employees of the assignor, for wages earned during the six months next preceding the date o f the assignment, not to exceed fifty dollars, to any one person then unpaid, and still held by the per son who earned the same, * * * shall he preferred claims and he paid in full, prior to the payment o f the dividends in favor o f other creditors. Approved May 5, 1897. C h a p t e r 31.— Blacklisting and boycotting. S e c t i o n 1. Any railroad or telegraph company, or any officer, agent or employee o f any railroad or telegraph, company, or any other company, corporation or indi vidual doing business within the State o f Colorado, shall not issue, circulate, or publish, or cause to [be] issued, circulated or published, any black list, circular, or other statement, regarding any person or persons who may have been in the employ o f any o f the above-mentioned railroads, telegraph, or other companies, corpora tions, or individuals, which will deprive said person or persons of, or in any way prevent them from obtaining employment. S e c . 2. Any dismissed employee shall on demand be furnished by the aforesaid employer o f said dismissed employee specific reasons in writing for said dismissal: Provided, That no person or corporation shall be held liable cither civilly or crimi nally for any such reasons so given upon such request. S e c . 3. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, or combination o f persons,* or society, or union, to establish or institute, or engage in a boycott against any individual, firm or corporation carrying on any kind o f trade or business, by agree ing not to patronize, trade or do business with any such individual, firm or corpo ration, or to induce others not to so patronize, trade or do business with any such individual, firm or corporation. S e c . 4. Any violation o f this act shall be a misdemeanor and punishable by fine o f not less than five hundred (500) dollars, nor more than one thousand (1,000) dollars, or imprisonment not less than sixty (60) days, nor more than one year, or both fine and imprisonment at the discretion o f the court. Approved, April 21, 1897. C h a p t e r 37.— Coal mines—Check iveighmen. S e c t i o n 1. Hereafter in all coal mines in this State, operated by individuals or corporations, whether as owners or lessees and working twenty or more miners under ground, there may be employed a check weighman, who shall be selected by the miners employed in said mine and whose wages shall bo paid by the miners therein employed. Sec . 2. The duties o f such check weighman shall be to see that all coal, mined in the coal mine at which he is employed, is accurately weighed and for that purpose every such aforesaid owner or lessee shall give to such weighman, free access to all scales and weights used for that purpose and to all books wherein the weights o f coal mined by the miners o f said mines are recorded. S e c . 3. Any mine owner, operator, manager, superintendent or lessee operating 'any coal mine in this State who shall refuse to allow any such check weighman to be so employed or shall refuse such check weighman access to such aforesaid scales, weights or books shall bo deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in the sum of not less than $25.00 nor more than $500.00. Approved, March 31, 1897. LABOR LAWS— COLORADO— ACTS OF 1897. C h a p t e r 50 .—Coercion 123 of employees. Section 1. It shall he unlawful for any individual, company or corporation or any member o f any firm, or agent, officer or employee o f any company or corporation, to prevent employees from forming, joining or belonging to any lawful labor organi zation, union, society or political party, or to coerce or attempt to coerce employees by discharging or threatening to discharge them from their employ or the employ of any firm, company or corporation, because o f their connection with such lawful labor organization, union, society or political party. Sec . 2. Any person or any member o f any firm, or agent, officer or employee of any such company or corporation, violating the provisions o f section one o f this act shall be deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for a period not less than six months nor more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. Approved, March 18, 1897. C h a p t e r 54 .—Begulating practice o f horseshoeing. Section . 1. No person shall practice horseshoeing as a master or journeyman horseshoer in any city o f this State having a population of 70,000 inhabitants or more, unless he is duly registered as hereinafter provided in a book kept for that purpose in the office o f the county clerk o f the county in which he practices. Apprentices may follow the occupation o f horseshoeing while learning the trade. Sec . 2. No person shall be entitled to register as master or journeyman horseshoer without presenting a certificate o f satisfactory examination before the board of examiners as provided for in section 4. Sec. 3. Any person who has been practicing as a master or journeyman horseshoer in the State for the period o f not less than four years preceding the passage o f this act may register within three months after the passage o f this act, upon making and fil ing with the county clerk of the county in which ho practices an affidavit stating that he has been practicing horseshoeing for the period hereinbefore prescribed, and upon complying with this section shall be exempt from the provisions o f this act, requiring an examination. Any person who wishes to practice as a master or journeyman can apply to the board o f examiners, and upon passing a satisfactory examina tion shall receive a certificate to practice as such. Sec . 4. A board o f examiners, consisting o f one veterinarian and two master horseshoers and two journeymen horseshoers, is hereby created, all o f whom shall be resi dents o f the State of Colorado, whose duty it shall be to carry out the provisions o f this act. The members o f said board shall be appointed by the governor, and the term of office shall be for two years, or until their successors shall be duly appointed and qualified. The board o f examiners shall hold sessions for the purpose o f examin ing applicants desiring to practice horseshoeing as master or journeyman horse shoers as often as shall be necessary, and shall grant a certificate to any person show ing himself qualified to practice, and shall receive as compensation a fee o f two dol lars from each person examined. Three members of said board, including the vet erinary surgeon and at least one master horseshoer, shall constitute a quorum. The board shall adopt a set o f rules governing examination of applicants. The board of examiners shall regulate as to the time apprentices shall serve in learning the trade, which shall not be more than three years at any time, and an apprentice may make application to the board o f examiners, and i f he passes a satisfactory examination they shall grant him a certificate to practice as a master or journeyman. The board o f examiners shall submit to the governor a biennial report as to receipts and expenditures, and the business transacted by them. They shall also submit to him the rules for examination for his approval. Sec . 5. The veterinary surgeon appointed on said board shall be a practicing graduate, having a diploma from some reputable veterinary institute, who has been a resident o f Colorado three years prior to his appointment. The master horse shoers appointed on said board shall have had ten years'* practice as horseshoers, and in business giving employment to horseshoers prior to and at the time o f appoint ment, having had a bona fide residence of five years in the State o f Colorado. The journeyman horseshoers shall have had ten years’ practical experience in horseshoe ing, with a residence o f five years in Colorado prior to appointment. Each member of the board shall give a bond o f $500 to the State for the faithful performance of his duties as member o f the board. Sec . 6. The county clerk o f each county containing any such city shall provide a book to be known as the 4‘ Master and Journeyman Horseshoers’ Register,” in which shall be recorded the names o f the registrants, who shall then be entitled to continue the practice o f horseshoeing. Every applicant who shall have complied with the 124 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. provisions o f sections 2 and 3, shall he admitted to registration, and shall pay the clerk o f said county the sum o f twenty-five cents, which shall he received as full compensation for such registration. Se c . 7. Any person who shall present to the clerk for the purpose o f registration any certificate which has heen fraudulently obtained, or shall practice as a master or journeyman horseshoer without conforming to the requirements o f this act, or shall otherwise violate or neglect to comply with any o f the provisions o f this act, shall ho guilty o f a misdemeanor, and shall he subject to a fine o f not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars, or imprisonment in the county ja il for a period o f not less than one day and not exceeding thirty days for each and every violation hereof; each day being considered a separate offense. Se c . 8. Justices of the peace shall have jurisdiction in all cases arising under this act. Approved March 31, 1897. Chapter 69.—Railroads—Protection o f employees—Safety apparatus. Section 1. From and after the passage o f this act, it shall he the duty o f all cor porations, companies and persons using, maintaining, operating or controlling* any railroad, or railroad track, to safely and securely block between the switch rails going into each o f the head chairs for a distance of six feet from each and every head b lock; and to safely and securely block between the rails from the point where the iron fill ing which extends from the point o f each frog ends for a distance o f four feet from the end o f said filling; and to safely and securely block between each and every guard rail and the main or other adjacent rail for the entire distance o f the curve, or curves, in all guard rails at both ends o f each and every guard rail; and to safely and securely block between each and every wing rail or all frogs and the heel o f each and every fro g ; and to safely and securely block between the rails in each and every wedge o f all frogs; and to safely and securely block for a distance o f five feet from the end o f each and every split rail between such split rail and the adjacent rail o f all split switches. Sec . 2. In all trials in all courts in this State, to recover for personal injury, and in all cases o f personal injury to employees, or other persons, occasioned by, or in any manner directly or indirectly resulting from being caught between any o f the aforesaid rails, testimony relative to compliance with the requirements o f this act shall be admitted. And where a failure is shown on the part of any such corpo ration, company or person to have safely and securely blocked such rails in accord ance with the provisions o f this act, such failure to have complied with any o f the provisions o f this act shall be prima facie evidence of the negligence o f any such corporation, company or other person so failing to comply with any o f the provisions o f this act where any such employee, or other person, may be caught between such rails not blocked in accordance with the provisions of this act. Approved April 1, 1897. CONNECTICUT. ACTS OF 1897. Chapter 40.— Wages preferred—Inpayments by receivers. Section 1. A ll debts due to any laborer or mechanic for personal wages, from any corporation or copartnership for which a receiver shall be appointed, for any labor performed for such corporation or copartnership within three months next pre ceding the service o f the application for the appointment o f a receiver, shall be paid in full by the receiver, to the amount o f one hundred dollars, before the general liabilities o f such corporation or copartnership are paid. Sec . 2. Chapter C C X L II of the public acts o f 1895, and all other acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed. Se c . 3. This act shall take effect from its passage. Approved March 17, 1897. Ciiapter 174.— Bake shops— Inspection, etc. Section 1. Every building, room, or place, used in or in connection with the man ufacture for sale o f any article o f food composed wholly or in part of flour or meal from cereals, shall be known under this act as a “ bake shop.” Sec . 2. Every bake shop shall be properly drained, plumbed, ventilated, and kept in a clean and sanitary condition, and conducted with proper regard to the health o f the operatives and the production o f wholesome food. LABOR LAWS-----CONNECTICUT-----ACTS OF 1897. 125 " Se c . 3. Every bake shop shall bo provided with a proper wash room and watercloset or closets, apart from the bake room or rooms where the manufacture o f such food products is conducted, and no water-closet, earth closet, or privy shall be within the bake room of any bakery. Sec . 4. The sleeping places for persons employed in a bake shop shall bo kept separate from the room or rooms where flour or meal food products are manufactured or stored. Se c . 5. The factory inspector shall examine all bake shops as frequently as may bo necessary, to ascertain whether they are kept and conducted ih the manner herein provided; and shall, in addition to such regulation as the factory inspector is by law now authorized to make, report in writing to the local health officer o f any town, city, or borough, every bake shop located within such jurisdiction found not kept and conducted as herein provided; and such health officer shall thereupon investigate, or cause to be investigated by other health officer or officers, such unsanitary conditions so reported to him, and i f found to exist, shall cause the same to be removed in the manner now provided by the laws relating to public health, as provided in section 2592 o f the general statutes. Approved May 25, 1897. Chapter 184.— Blacklisting. Every employer who shall blacklist an employee with intent to. prevent such employee from procuring other employment shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than two hundred dollars. Approved May 25, 1897. Chapter 241.— Inclosed vestibules and gates upon street railicay cars. Section 1. Whenever the railroad commissioners deem it needful in the interests of the public or employees thereon concerned, that the platforms of any or all of the cars operated upon any street railway in this State should bo protected by gates or vestibules more or less inclosed, said commissioners may order the company operating such car or cars to inclose the platforms thereon with gates or vestibules, or both, of the kind and in such manner as they may deem necessary and proper for the protection o f said interests, first giving such company reasonable notice to appear and be heard thereon, and may from time to time similarly modify or revoke any such order; and said commissioners shall have sole and exclusive jurisdiction with respect to requiring that the platforms of any street railway car or cars be protected or inclosed by gates or vestibules. Sec . 2. Any company operating such car or cars which shall neglect or refuse, to comply with any such order shall forfeit to the treasurer of the State twenty-five dollars for each day o f such neglect or refusal. Sec. 3. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. Sec. 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage. Approved June 11, 1897. DELAWARE. ACTS OF 1897. Chapter 452.— Protection o f female employees. Section 1 (as amended by chapter 453, acts of 1897). It shall be the duty o f every person or corporation employing female labor to the number o f ten or upwards in New Castle County to provide, within three months after the passage o f this act, a room or rooms, plainly and appropriately furnished, for such female employees to dress, wash and lunch in, separate and apart from the male employees o f such person or corporation, allowing in said separate room or rooms [sic] ; and further , to provide washing sinks for such female employees, separate and apart from such male employees, allowing one such washing sink to each fifteen o f such female employees employed by such person or corporation; and further , to provide water-closets for such female employees, separate from those used by such male employees: Provided , That nothing in this section shall apply to canning establishments doing business in the rural districts o f said county. Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of every storekeeper in New Castle County to provide seats for his or her clerks and employees, so that when unemployed such clerks and employees may be seated. Sec . 3. It shall be the duty o f every person or corporation employing female labor to provide such places for such female employees to work in during cold weather as shall be reasonably and comfortably warm. 1821—No. 14----- 9 126 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. Sec . 4. It shall be unlawful for any employer of female labor, or any overseer, superintendent, foreman or boss o f any such employer of female labor to use toward female employees any abusive, indecent or profane language, or to in any manner abuse, misuse, unnecessarily expose to hardship, or maltreat any such female employee. Sec . 5. Any person violating any provision o f section 4 o f this act shall be deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less th^n ten and not exceeding one hundred dollars for each offense; any person or corporation violating any*provision o f the first, second and third sections o f this act shall be deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined the sum o f ten dollars, and shall be subject to the further penalty of ten dollars for each day thereafter during which such corporation or person shall refuse or neglect to provide the furnished rooms, seats, appliances or furnish the heat therein mentioned. Sec . 6 (as amended by chapter 453, acts o f 1897). Prosecutions for violation o f the provisions of this act may be instituted upon the complaint of any person before any justice o f the peace of New Castle County resident in tho hundred in which the place o f business of such employer shall be located, or in a hundred adjacent thereto. Any such justice of the peace shall have jurisdiction to hear, try and determine such complaints with an appeal to the court o f the general sessions o f the peace and ja il delivery. Upon conviction o f violation o f any o f the provisions o f this act tho ju s tice o f tho peace hearing said complaint shall remand the defendant or defendants, i f individuals, to the custody o f the sheriff, until the fines, costs and penalties imposed by him in such case shall be paid upon conviction of violation o f any of tho provisions of this act. Tho justice of the peace hearing said complaint, in cast said defendant is a corporation, shall have authority to issue execution against saic defendant for the fino and costs and all penalties imposed or accruing against said defendant under the provisions of this act. All fines and penalties imposed under this act shall be paid into tho treasury of New Castle County. In any prosecution under the first section of this act it shall not bo necessary to aver in the complaint, or to prove in behalf of the prosecution at the trial thereof, that the defendant employs female labor to the number of ten or upwards; Provided, however, That tho defendant in any such prosecution may introduce evidence upon this point, and i f the justice of the peace trying said cause shall find that such defendant does not employ female labor to the number o f ten or upwards, said prosecution shall fail. A ll prosecutions under this act shall be in the name o f [the] State o f Delaware. Se c . 7. The chief justice o f the State of Delaware is hereby authorized and required within sixty days after the passage o f this act to appoint a female inspector, whose duty it shall be to visit from time to time all stores, mills, factories and other places o f business where female labor is employed and to duly enforce the provisions o f this act. Whenever said inspector shall ascertain that the provisions o f this act or any o f them are being violated by any employer in New Castle County, it shall be the duty of said inspector to serve upon such violator o f the provisions of this act written notice that unless such employer shall conform to the requirements of this act, and wholly cease any violation thereof within ten days from the services of such notice, such employer will be prosecuted under the provi sions o f this act. And it shall further be the duty o f said inspector in case o f the neglect or failure o f such employer, who has received such notice, to conform to the provisions of this act, and to cease all violations thereof within ten days from the said service o f said notice, to institute the prosecution of such recalcitrant employer or employers under the provisions of this act, by swearing out before any justice o f the peace in New Castle County resident in the hundred where said employer may have his, her or its place o f business, or in an adjacent hundred, the necessary warrant or complaint and thereupon to assist and enforce the prosecution of the person or corporation so complained of to the full extent o f her power, and it shall further be the duty of such inspector in case any prosecution under the provisions o f this act shall be begun or instituted by any other person than such inspector, to aid, fnrther and assist such independent prosecution of such employer to the best of her power, and whenever such independent prosecution of any such employer shall be begun by any person other than said inspector it shall be the’duty o f the justice of the peace before whom such complaint shall be made to straightway notify by due course o f mail the inspector appointed under this act, informing such inspector of the name o f the complainant and defendant, o f the names o f the witnesses indorsed upon said complaint and o f the day, hour and place fixed for the hearing of said cause. Sec . 8. It shall be the duty of every employer of female labor in New Castle County, whether to the number of ten or upward or less, to permit said inspector tc have full and free access at qny time during tho working noon hours o f said employees to the place of business o f such employer where such employees are employed, anti in case any such employer shall refuse such inspector full and free access to his place of business as aforesaid, or shall in any way hinder or prevent tbe full performance LABOR LAWS— DELAWARE-----ACTS OF 1897. 127 of lier duties of inspection under the provisions o f this act, such employer shall he deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor, and upon every conviction o f such interference with said inspector in the performance of her duties, shall pay a fine to New Castle County o f ten dollars, which fine shall he collected in the same manner as the other fines and penalties heretofore provided for in this act. Se c . 9 (as amended hy chapter 453, acts of 1897). The inspector appointed under this act shall hold her said office for the term o f two years, or until her successor is appointed, and shall receive an annual salary of three hundred dollars, payable quarterly, hy warrants upon the county treasury; it shall further he her duty on the first day of August in each year subsequent to the year of her appointment, to make a written report to the chief justice of her acts and of all transactions under this statute. The provisions of this act shall apply to and he enforced only in d u l y incor porated towns and cities in New Castle County. Passed at Dover, May 10, 1897. ILLINOIS. ACTS OF 1897. Employment o f children, (Page DO.) Section 1. No child under the age o f fourteen years shall he employed, permitted or suffered to work for wages at any gainful occupation hereinafter mentioned. Se c . 2. It shall he the duty of every person, firm or corporation, agent or man ager o f any firm or corporation employing minors in any mercantile institution, store, office, laundry, manufacturing establishment, factory or workshop within this State to keep a register in said mercantile establishment, store, office, laundry, manufacturing establishment, factory or workshop in which said minors shall he employed or permitted or suffered to work, in which register shall he recorded the name, age and place of residence of every child employed, or permitted or suffered to work therein under the age of sixteen years, and it shall he unlawful for any per son, firm or corporation, agent or manager of any firm or corporation to hire or employ, or to permit or to suffer to work in any mercantile institution, store, office, laundry, manufacturing establishment, factory or workshop, any child under the ago o f sixteen years and over the age o f fourteen years, unless there is first provided and placed on file in such mercantile institution, office, laundry, manufacturing establishment, factory, or workshop an affidavit made hy the parent or guardian stating the name, date and place of birth of such child. I f such child shall have no parent or guardiah, then such affidavit shall he made hy the child. And the register and affidavits herein provided for shall, on demand, he produced and shown for inspection to the State factory inspector, assistant State factory inspector, or deputy State factory inspector. Sec . 3. Every person, firm or corporation, agent or manager o f a corporation employing, or permitting or suffering to work children under the age o f sixteen years, and over the age o f fourteen years, in any mercantile institution, store, office, laundry, manufacturing establishment, factory or workshop shall post, and keep posted in a conspicuous place in every room in which such help is employed, or per mitted or suffered to work, a list containing the name, age and place of residence of every person under the age of sixteen years employed, permitted or suffered to work in such room. Sec . 4. No person under the age o f sixteen years shall ho employed or suffered to work for wages at any gainful occupation more than sixty hours in any one week, nor more than ten hours in any one day. Se c . 5. The presence o f any person under sixteen years of age in any manufactur ing establishment, factory or workshop shall constitute prima facie evidence of his or her employment therein. S e c . 6. No child under the age of sixteen years shall he employed, or permitted or suffered to work hy any person, firm or corporation in this State at such extra hazardous employment whereby its life or'limb is in danger, or its health is likely to he injured, or its morals may ho depraved. Se c . 7. It shall he the duty of the State factory inspector to enforce the provisions of this act, and to prosecute all violations of tho same before any magistrate or any court of competent jurisdiction in this State. It shall ho the duty of the State fac tory inspector, assistant State factory inspector, and of the deputy State factory inspectors, under the supervision and direction of the State factory inspector, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to visit and inspect, at all reasonable times, and as often as possible, all places covered hy this act. Se c . 8. The words “ manufacturing establishment,” “ factory” or “ workshop,” as used in this act, shall he construed to mean any place where goods or products are 128 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. manufactured or repaired, dyed, cleaned or sorted, stored or packed, in whole or in part, for sale or for wages, and not for personal use of the maker, or his or her family or employer. Se c . 9. Any person, firm or corporation, agent or manager of any corporation, who, whether for himself or for such firm or corporation, or by himself or through, subagents or foreman, shall violate or fail to comply with any o f the provisions o f this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) fbr each offense. Any corporation which, by its agents, officers or servants, shall violate or fail to comply with any o f the provisions of this act shall be liable to the above penalties, which may be recovered against such corporation in an action for debt or assumpsit, brought before any court of competent jurisdiction in this State, Se c . 10. A ll acts or parts o f acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. Approved June 9, 1897. Fire escapes on factories, tenement houses, etc. (Page 222.) S e c t i o n 1. W ithin three (3) months next after the passage o f this act all build ings in this State which are four or more stories in height, excepting such as are used for private residences exclusively, but including flats and apartment buildings, shall be provided with one or more metallic ladder or stair fire escapes attached to the outer walls thereof, and provided with platforms o f such form and dimensions, ahd such proximity to one or more windows o f each story above the first, as to ren der access to such ladder or stairs from each such story easy and safe, and shall also be provided with one or more automatic metallic fire escapes, or other proper device, to be attached t o the inside o f said buildings so as to afford an effective means or escape to all occupants who, for any reason, are unable to use said ladders or stairs; the number, location, material and construction o f such escapes to be subject to the approval of the inspector o f factories: Provided, however, That all buildings more than two stories in height, used for manufacturing purposes, or for hotels, dormi tories, schools, seminaries, hospitals, or asylums, shall have at least one such ladder fire escape for every fifty (50) persons, and one such automatic metallic escape, or other device, for every twenty-five (25) persons, for which working, sleeping or living accommodations are provided above the second stories of said buildings; and that all public halls which provide seating room above the first or ground story shall be provided with such numbers of said ladder and other fire escapes as said inspec tor o f factories shall designate. Sec . 2. All buildings o f the number o f stories and used for the purposes set forth in section one (1) o f this act which shall be hereafter erected within this State shall, upon or before their completion, each be provided with fire escapes o f the kind and number and in the manner set forth in this act. Sec . 3. It shall be the duty o f said inspector o f factories to serve a written notice, in behalf o f the people o f the State o f Illinois, upon the owner or owners, trustees or lessees, or occupant, o f any building within this State not provided with fire escapes in accordance with the requirements o f this act, commanding such owner, trustee, lessee or occupant, or either o f them, to place or cause to be placed upon such building such fire escape or escapes as provided in section one (.1) o f this act, within thirty (30) days after the service o f such notice. And the grand juries o f the several counties o f this State may also, during any term, visit or hear testimony relating to any building or buildings within their respective counties for the pur pose o f ascertaining whether it or they are provided with fire escapes in accordance with the requirements o f this act, and submit the result o f their inquiry, together wilih any recommendations they may desire to make, to the circuit court, except in Cook County, and to the criminal court of Cbok County, and said court may there upon, i f it find from the report o f said grand jury that said building or buildings is or are not provided with a fire escape or escapes in accordance with this act, cause the sheriff to serve a notice or .notices upon the owner, trustee, lessee or occupant o f such! building or buildings. Sec. 4. Any such owner or owners, trustee, lessee, or occupant, or either o f them, so served with notice as aforesaid, who shall not, within thirty (30) days after the service o f .such notice upon him or them, place, or cause to be placed, such fire escape or escapes upon such building as required by this act and the terms o f such notice, shall be subject to a fine o f not less than twenty-five or moie than two hun dred dollars, and to a further fine o f fifty dollars for each additional week o f neglect to comply with such notice. ./Sec. 5, The erection and construction o f any and all fire escapes provided for in this act shall be under the direct supervision and control o f said inspector o f fac LABOR LAW&— ILLINOIS— ACTS OF 1897. 129 tories, and it shall he unlawful for any person or persons, firm or corporation to erect or construct any fire escape or escapes, except in accordance with a written permit first had and obtained and signed by said inspector of factories, which permit shall prescribe the number, location, material, kind and manner o f construction of such fire escapes. Sec ,. ,6. Any person or persons, firm or corporation, who shall bo required to place qne or more fire escapes upon any building or buildings, under the provisions o f this act, shall file in the office o f said inspector o f factories a written application for a permit to erect or construct such fire escape or escapes, which application shall briefly describe the character of such building or buildings, the height and number of stories thereof, the number of fire escapes proposed to be placed thereon, the pur poses for which such building or buildings is or are used, and the greatest number of people who use or occupy or are employed in such building or buildings above the second stories thereof at any one time. Se c . 7. An act entitled “ An act relating to fire escapes for buildings,” approved June 29,1885, in force July 1,1885 [chapter 55 a, Revised Statutes of 1891], is hereby repealed. Approved, May 27, 1897. Exemption from garnishment— Wages. (Page 231.) Se c t io n 1. Section 14 of an act entitled “ An act in regard to garnishment/' approved March 9,1872, in force July 1, 1872, as amended by the act of May 31,1879, in foi’ce July 1,1879 [section 14 of chapter 62, Revised Statutes of .1891], is hereby amended to read as follow s: S e c t io n 14. The wages for services of a defendant, who is the head of a family and residing with the same, to the amount of eight (8) dollars per week shall be exempt from garnishment. All above the sum o f eight (8) dollars per week shall be liable to garnishment: Provided, The person bringing suit shall first make a demand in writing for the excess above the amount herein exempted. No cost or expenses shall be chargeable to the defendant unless he shall refuse to turn over to the cred itor the amount due him above that herein exempted upon such written demand. Approved, June 14,1897. ‘ Examination, licensing, etc,, o f horseshoers. (Page 233.) , Se c t io n 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to practice as a horseshoer in this State unless such person shall have received a license to do so as hereinafter provided. Se c . 2. A board of examiners, to consist of four practicing horseshoers and a vet erinary surgeon, is hereby created, whose duty it shall bo to carry out the provisions of this act, two o f said horseshoers to be master horseshoers and two o f them to be journeymen horseshoers, and a veterinary surgeon not to be engaged in the practice o f horseshoeing during his term of service on said board, and in case that either o f said journeymen horseshoers shall become a master horseshoer, or either o f said master horseshoers shall become a journeyman horseshoer, during his term o f office as herein provided, then he shall forfeit his membership on said board and his place shall be immediately filled in the manner provided for in the original appointment o f said board. The members of said board shall be appointed by the governor. The term for which the members of said board shall hold their office shall be five years, except that the members of said board first appointed hereunder shall hold their office for the term o f one, two, three, four and five years, respectively, and until their successors shall be duly appointed. In case of vacancy occurring on said board, such vacancy shall be filled by the governor. Stec. 3. Said bdard shall choose one of its members for president, one for secretary, and one for treasurer thereof, and it shall meet at least once in each year and as much oftener, and at such times and places, as it may deem necessary. A majority o f said board shall constitute a quorum, and the proceedings thereof shall be at all times open to public inspection. Se c . 4. It shall be the duty o f every person who is engaged as a horseshoer in this State to cause his or her name and residence to be registered with said board o f examiners within six months after the date of the passage of this act, and said board o f examiners shall keep a book for that purpose, and it shall be the duty o f said board to know that the persons so registering are horseshoers, and every person who 130 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. shall so register with said hoard as a horseshocr may continue to practice the same as such without incurring any o f the penalties provided for in this act. Sec . 5. No person whose name is not registered on the hooks o f said hoard as a horseshoer within the time prescribed in the preceding section shall be permitted to practice as a horseshoer in this State until such person shall have been duly exam ined by said board and regularly licensed in accordance with the provisions o f this act. S e c . 6. The necessary qualification to practice as a horseshoer in this State shall bo that the applicant has worked four years at the business o f horseshoeing and lias complied with section five o f this act. Se c . 7. Any and all persons who shall so desire may appear before said board at any o f its regular meetings and be examined with reference to their knowledge and skill in horseshoeing, and i f the examination o f such person or persons shall prove satisfactory to said board, the said board shall issue to such person or persons a license to practice in this State as a horseshoer. S e c . 8. The secretary of said board shall issue a license on the recommendation of two members o f the board to any applicant upon the presentation by such applicant o f the evidence of the necessary qualifications to practice as a horseshoer, and said board may provide such method o f examination as it may deem wise, and such tem porary license shall remain in force until the next regular meeting o f said board occurring after the date o f such temporary license, and no longer. Se c . 9. Any person who shall violate the provisions o f this act shall bo liable to prosecution before any court o f competent jurisdiction, and, upon conviction, may be fined not less than $25.00 nor more than $200.00 for each and every offense. Ail fines recovered under this act shall be paid into the common-school fund of the county in which said conviction takes place. S e c . 10. In order to carry out the provisions of this act and maintenance of the said board o f examiners, the said board of examiners shall charge each person apply ing to or appearing before them for license to practice as a horseshoer a fee o f $5.00, and for each yearly renewal thereafter $2.00, and out o f the funds coming into the possession o f the said board from the fees so charged the members o f said board shall receive as compensation the sum of $5.00 per diem for each and every day engaged in the dis charge o f the duties of their office, and all necessary expenses incurred by said hoard, and no part o f the salary o f said board or other expense shall be paid out o f the State treasury. A ll moneys received in excess o f said per diem allowance and other expenses above provided for shall be held by the treasurer of said board, he giving such bond as the board from time to time shall direct, and shall not bo used or expended by him except as ordered by the board, and said board shall make an annual report of its proceedings to the governor by the 15th o f December o f each and every year, said report to show the names o f all tho horseshoers, their places o f busi ness, and tho moneys received and disbursed by -them pursuant to this act. Se c . 11. Any person or persons, not practical horseshoers, desiring to engage in the business o f horseshoeing will be permitted to do so, providing such person or persons employ as superintendent or foreman o f their shoeing establishment a prac tical horseshoer who has complied with section 7 o f this act by presenting himself before the board of examiners for examination and by proving to the board that he is entitled to a license to practice in this State as horseshoer. Sec . 12. It is required that any person contracting to serve an apprenticeship at horseshoeing shall serve for four years, and in addition will be required (if convenient) to attend a course o f lectures each year in some institution devoted to the anatomy o f the horse’s feet, so that he may obtain for himself a knowledge of tho same, which is acknowledged by all practical horseshoers to bo necessary in order to attain the high standard in horseshoeing which tho passage o f this act is intended to insure. Se c . 13. All persons who have served tho apprenticeship of four years, as pre scribed in this act, shall, at the expiration o f their apprenticeship, appear before the board of examiners.for examination as to skill and knowledge o f horseshoeing, and i f found competent shall receive a license to practice horseshoeing in this State. Any applicant failing to pass tho examination w ill be granted an extension o f one year in which to qualify himself, and may appear before tho board at any of its regular meetings for reexamination. Se c . 14. It shall be the duty of tho secretary o f tho board of examiners to notify all practicing horseshoers in the State of Illinois o f the provisions o f this act within six months after the board shall have been appointed. Sec . 15. This act applies only to towns and cities o f 50,000 inhabitants and over, but it shall be optional with all towns and cities o f 10,000 or over to come under the provisions of this act. Approved June 11, 1897. LABOR LAWS-----ILLINOIS---- ACTS OF 1897. 131 Factories, etc.— Use of blowers upon mcial-polishing machinery. (Pag© 250.) S e c t io n 1. All persons, companies or corporations operating any factory or work shop where emery wheels or emery belts of any description are used, either solid emery, leather, leather-covered, feit, canvas, linen, paper, cotton, or wheels or belts rolled or coated with emery or corundum, or cotton wheels used as buffs, shall pro vide the same with blowers, or similar apparatus, which shall be placed over, beside or under such wheels or belts in such a manner as to protect the person or jmrsons using the same from the particles of the dust produced and caused thereby, and to carry away the dust arising from or thrown off by such wheels or belts while in oper ation directly to tho outside o f the building or to some receptacle placed so as to receive and confine such dust: Provided, That grinding machines upou which water is used at the point o f the grinding contact shall be exempt from the provisions of this act: And provided, This act shall not apply to small shops employing not more than one man in such work. Se c . 2. It shall be the duty of any person, company or corporation operating any such factory or workshop to provide or construct such appliances, apparatus, machinery or other things necessary to carry out the purpose o f this act, as set forth in the preceding section, as follow s: Each and every such wheel shall bo fitted with a sheet of [or?] cast-iron hood or hopper o f such form and so applied to such wheel or wheels that the dust or refuse therefrom will fall from such wheels, or will be thrown into such hood or hopper by centrifugal force, and be carried off by the current o f air into a suction pipe attached to same [said] hood or hopper. Se c . 3. Each and every such wheel six inches or less in diameter shall be provided with a three-inch suction pipe; wheels six inches to twenty-four inches in diameter with four-inch [such] suction pipe; wheels from twenty-four inches to thirty-six inches in diameter with five-inch suction pipe; and all wheels larger in diameter than those stated above shall bo provided each with a suction pipe not less than six inches in diameter. The suction pipe from each wheel, so specified, must be full size to tho main-trunk suction pipe, and tho main suction pipe to which smaller pipes are attached shall, in its diameter and capacity, be equal to the combined area of such smaller pipes attached to the same, and the discharge pipe from the exhaust fan, connected with such suction pipe or pipes, shall bo as large or larger than the suction pipe. S e c . 4. It shall bo the duty of any person, company or corporation operating any such factory or workshop to provide the necessary fans or blowers to be connected with such pipe or pipes, as above set forth, which shall be run at a rate o f speed as will produce a velocity o f air in such suction or discharge pipe of at least nine thou sand feet per minute to an equivalent suction or pressure o f air equal to raising a column o f water not less than five inches in a U*shaped tube. All branch pipes must enter the main-trunk pipe at an angle o f forty-five degrees or less, the main suction or trunk pipe shall be below the emory or buffing wheels and as close to the same as possible, and to be either upon the floor or beneath the floor on which tho machines are placed to which such wheels are attached. All bends, turns or elbows in such pipes must be made with easy, smooth surfaces, having a radius in the throat of not less than two diameters o f the pipe on which they .are connected. Se c . 5. It shall be the duty of any factory inspector, sheriff', constable or prose cuting attorney o f any county in this State in which any such factory or workshop is situated, upon receiving notice in writing signed by any person having knowledge of such facts, accompanied by tlio sum of one dollar as compensation for his services, that such factory or workshop is not provided with such appliances as herein pro vided for, to visit any such factory or workshop and inspect thesame, and for such purpose they are hereby authorized to enter any factory or workshop in this State during working hours, and upon ascertaining the facts that the proprietors or man agers of such factory or workshops have failed to comply with tho provisions o f this act, to make complaint o f the same in writing before a justice of the peace or police magistrate having jurisdiction, who shall thereupon issue his warrant, directed to tho owner, manager or director, in such factory or workshop, who shall be thereupon proceeded against for the violation of this act and [as] hereinafter mentioned, and it is made the duty of tho prosecuting attorney to prosecute all cases under this act. Se c . 6. Any person or persons or company, or managers, or directors of any such company or corporation who shall have the charge or management o f such factory or workshop, who shall failto comply with the provisions o f this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof before any court o f competent jurisdiction, shall be punished by a fine o f not less than twenty-five dollars and not exceeding one hundred dollars. Approved June 11, 1897. 132 BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. Coal miners. (Pag© 268.-) Section 1. From and after the passage of this act every person desiring to work by himself in rooms o f coal mines in this State shall first produce satisfactory evi dence to the mine manager o f the mine in which he is employed, or desires to bo employed, that he has worked at least two (2) years with or as a practical miner. Until said applicant has so satisfied the mine manager o f the mine in which he seeks such employment of his competency, he shall not be allowed to mine coal, unless accompanied by some competent coal miner, until he becomes duly qualified. Sec . 2. Any violation o f section one (1) of this act shall work a forfeiture of the certificate o f the manager of the mine where any such party or parties are employed* Approved, June 7, 1897. Inspection, etc., o f coal mines. (Page 269.) Section 1. Section eleven e (lie ) of the amended act of 1895, entitled “ An act to amend section eleven (11) of an act entitled ‘An act providing for the health and safety o f persons employed in coal m ines/ approved May 28, 1879, in force July 1, 1879, as amended by an act approved July 18> 1883, and an act approved June 30,1885, and to repeal section two (2) of an act entitled ‘An act to require inspectors o f mines to furnish information to the State geologist and to provide for paying the expenses o f the sam e/ ” approved June 18, 1891, approved June 15,1895, in force July 1, 1895 [Revised Statutes of 1891, chapter 93, section lie ] , is hereby amended so as to read as follows: Section lie . It shall be unlaw ful5for any person, company or corporation to operate any coal mine in this State, where more than five men are employed at any one time, without first having complied with all the conditions and sanitary regula tions required under existing laws, and paying all inspection fees provided for in this section, and in case o f the refusal o f any person, company, corporation, owner, agent or operator to pay said inspection fees, after assuming to operate a coal mine, it shall be the duty o f the mine inspector in said district, through the State’s attor ney o f the county or any other attorney, in case o f his refusal promptly to act, to proceed on behalf o f the State against such person, company, corporation, owner, agent or operator o f said mine by injunction, without bond, to restrain said person, company, corporation, owner, agent or operator from continuing, or attempting to continue, to operate said mine or carry on a mining business. Approved, June 7, 1897. Payment o f wages of coal miners. (Page 270.) Section 1. Every person engaged in mining coal for any corporation, company, firm or individual, shall be paid in lawful money of the United States for all coal mined and loaded into the mine car by such person for such corporation, company, firm or individual, including lump, egg, nut, pea and slack, or such other grades as said coal may be divided into, at such price as may be agreed upon by the respective parties. Sec . 2. It shall be the duty of the mine inspector to ascertain whether or not the provisions o f section one of this act are being complied with in his district, and i f he shall find that any corporation, company, firm or individual are violating the provisions o f section one o f this act, it shall be his duty to at once have instituted suit in the name o f the People o f the State o f Illinois, in some court o f competent jurisdiction, for the recovery o f the penalty provided for in this act, and it shall be the duty o f the State’s attorney of the county in which such suit is brought, when notified by the mine inspector, to prosecute such suit as provided by law in other State cases. Sec . 3. Every corporation, company, firm or individual violating the provisions of this act shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than two hundred dol lars for each offense. Approved, June 3,1897. LABOR LAWS— ILLINOIS— ACTS OF 1897. 133 Examination, licensing, etc., of plumbers. (Page 279.) Section 1. Any person now or hereafter engaging in or working at the business of plumbing in cities or towns of 5,000 inhabitants or more, in this State,'either as o. master plumber or employingplumber or as a journeyman plumber, shall first receive a certificate thereof in accordance with the provisions of this act. Sec . 2. Any person desiring to engage in or work at the business o f plumbing, either as a master plumber or employing plumber, or as a journeyman plumber, shall make application to a board of examiners hereinafter provided for, and shall, at such time and place as said board may designate, be compelled to pass such examination as to his qualifications, as said board may direct; said examination may be made in whole or in j>art in writing, and shall be o f a practical and elementary character but sufficiently strict to test the qualifications o f the applicant. Sec. 3. There shall be in every city, town or village of 10,000 inhabitants or more a board of examiners o f plumbers, consisting o f three members, one o f which shall be the chairman of the board of health, who shall be office [ex officio] chairman of said board of examiners; a second member, who shall be a master plumber, and a third member, who shall be a journeyman plumber. Said second and third members shall be appointed by the mayor and approved by the council or by the board of trustees of said town or village within three months after the passage o f this act for the term of one year from the first day of May in the year of appointment, and thereafter annually before the first day of May, and shall be paid from the treasury of said city, town or village the same as other officers in such sums as the authorities may designate. Sec . 4. Said board o f examiners shall, as soon as may be after the appointment, meet and shall then designate the times and places for the examination of all appli cants desiring to engage in, or work at, the business of plumbing, within their respec tive jurisdiction. Said board shall examine said applicants as to their practical knowledge of plumbing, house drainage and plumbing ventilation, and, i f satisfied of the competency o f such applicants, shall thereupon issue a certificate to such applicant, authorizing him to engage in, or work at, the business of plumbing, whether as master plumber, or employing plumber, or as a journeyman plumber. The fee for a certificate for a master plumber> or employing plumber, shall be $5.00; for a journey man plumber it shall be $1.00. Said certificate shall be valid and have force through out the State, and all fees received for said certificates shall be paid into the treasury o f the city, town or village where said certificates are issued. Sec.. 5. Each city, town or village in this State having a system of water supply or sewerage shall, by ordinance or by-law, within three months of the passage of this act, prescribe rules and regulations for the materials, constructions, alteration and inspection o f all plumbing and sewerage placed in, or in connection with, any building in such city, town or village; and the board o f health or proper authori ties shall further provide that no plumbing work shall be done, except in case of repairing leaks, without a permit being first issued therefor, upon such terms and conditions as such city, town or village, shall prescribe. Sec . 6. All persons who are required by this act to take examinations and procure a certificate as required by this act shall apply to the board in the city where he resides or to the board nearest his place o f residence. Sec. 7. Any person violating any provisions o f this act shall be deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor and be subject to ai fine o f not less than five dollars ($5.00) nor exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) for each and every violation therefor, and his certifi cate may be revoked by the board o f health or proper authorities o f said city, town or village. Sec. 8. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. Approved June 10, 1897. MASSACHUSETTS. ACTS OF 1897. Chapter 265.—Examination, licensing, etc., o f gas fitters— Boston. Section 1. No person, firm or corporation shall engage in or work at the busi ness o f gas fitting in the city of Boston after the first day o f October in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, either as employer or as a journeyman, unless such person, firm or corporation has received a license therefor in accordance with the provisions of this act. The word “ journeyman,” as used in this act, shall be deemed to mean one who personally does any gas fitting or any work in connection therewith which would be subject to inspection under the provisions of this act. 134 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. Sec . 2. Every person, firm or corporation desiring to engage in the business of gas fitting in the city o f Boston shall make application therefor to the building com missioner, and shall, at such time and place as may be designated by the board of examiners hereinafter provided for, to whom such application shall be referred, be examined as to his qualifications for such business. Sec . 3. The board o f examiners shall consist o f the building commissioner, the chairman of the board of health, who shall be ex officio members of said board and serve without compensation, and a third member, to be chosen by the board o f health, who shall be a practical gas fitter o f at least five years’ continued practical experi ence during the years next preceding tho date o f appointment. Said tliird member shall be chosen within thirty days after the passage o f this act, for a term ending on the first day of May in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and thereafter annually; and he shall be allowed a sum not exceeding five dollars for each day o f actual service, to be paid from the treasury o f tho city o f Boston. Sec . 4. Said board of examiners shall, as soon as may be after the appointment of said third member, meet and organize by tho selection of a chairman and clerk, and shall then designate the times and places for the examination of all applicants desir ing to engage in or work at tho business o f gas fitting in tho city of Boston. Said board shall examine said applicants as to their practical knowledge of gas fitting, shall submit the applicant to some satisfactory form o f practical tesfe, and, i f satis fied o f the competency of the applicant, shall so certify to the building commissioner, who shall thereupon issue a license to such applicant, authorizing him to engage in or work at the business of gas fitting, first requiring him to register in the office o f the said building commissioner his name, place o f business or residence, license number, date of examination, and in what capacity licensed. In case o f a firm or corporation, the examination of one member o f tho firm, or of the manager o f the corporation, shall satisfy the requirements of this act. The fee for the license o f any employing gas fitter shall bo two dollars, and for a journeyman, fifty cents; and said license shall continue in force until revoked or canceled, but shall not bo transferable. Sec . 6. Every licensed gas fitter shall display his license number conspicuously at his place o f business. * * * * * * * S e c . 11. Any person violating any o f the provisions o f this act shall be deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor, and shall be subject to a fine o f not exceeding one hun dred dollars for each offense, and i f such person has received a license under this act his license may be revoked by the building commissioner. Sec. 12. The building commissioner shall include in his annual report to the city council a report of the proceedings o f the building department under this act, and shall include therein a report o f the board o f examiners appointed under this act, giving their proceedings during the year ending on the first day o f February. Sec . 13. All acts and parts o f acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. Sec. 14. This act shall take effect upon its passage, except so far as is hereinbefore otherwise provided. Approved April 10, 1897. Chapter 328.—Civil-service commission—Begistraiion of applicants for labor. Section 1. Applicants for positions in the labor service o f the Commonwealth or o f the cities thereof shall be allowed to register, to the number of five hundred, on the first Monday o f February, May, August, and November in each year, at the places appointed for the registry of such applicants, and any rules heretofore made by the civil-service commissioners which are inconsistent with the provision of this act are hereby annulled. Sec. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. Approved April 29, 1897. Chapter 412.— Convict labor. Section 1. The number of inmates of all the prisons in this Commonwealth who may be employed in tho industries hereinafter named shall bo limited as follow s: In the manufacture o f brushes not more than eighty; in the manufacture o f cane chairs with wood frames not more than eighty; in the manufacture of clothing other than shirts or hosiery not more than three hundred and seventy-five; in the man ufacture o f harnesses not more than fifty ; in the manufacture o f mats not more than tw enty; in the manufacture of rattan chairs not more than seventy-five; in the manufacture of rush chairs not more than seventy-five; in the manufacture o f shirts not more than eighty, and none but women to be so employed; in the man ufacture of shoes not more than three hundred and seventy-five; in the manufacture o f shoe heels not more than one hundred and twenty-five; in the manufacture o f trunks not more than tw en ty; to be employed at stone cutting not more than one hundred and fifty; to be employed at laundry work not more than one hundred. LABOR LAWS— MASSACHUSETTS---- ACTS OF 1897. 135 Sec . 2 (as amended by chapter 480, acts of. 1897). Not over thirty per cent of the number o f inmates o f any penal institution having more than one hundred inmates shall be employed in any one industry, except in the industry of cane-seating and in the manufacture o f umbrellas. Sec . 3. After the first day o f January in the year eighteen hundred and ninetyeight the general superintendent of prisons shall not approve the employment of any prisoners on the contract or piece-price plan in the penal institutions o f the Commonwealth, except in the industry o f cane-seating and in the manufacture of umbrellas. A ll existing contracts which can be terminated by notice shall be so ter minated; and the general superintendent o f prisons and the principal officers of the prisons and reformatories are hereby directed to notify the contractors forthwith in accordance with the provisions o f said contracts, that the same will be terminated on the date named in this section. Sec . 4. This act shall not apply to prisoners engaged in the manufacture o f goods for use in the prisons or to be used in any of the public charitable institutions or hospitals of the Commonwealth. Sec . 5. No goods manufactured in any penal or reformatory institution of this Commonwealth, house of correction or county jail, shall be sold for less than the wholesale market price prevailing at the time of such sale for goods of the same description and quality: Provided, That this sec tion shall not apply to goods furnished to public institutions for the use o f the inmates thereof. Sec. 6. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. Sec. 7. This act shall take effect on the first day of January, in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. Approved May 18, 1897. Chapter 434.— Convict labor. Section 1. The laws relating to the labor of prisoners in the State prison, reforma tories and houses of correction shall apply to the labor o f prisoners in the jails and at the State farm ; and the general superintendent of prisons shall have the same authority over the industries in the jails and at the State farm which he now has in respect to the industries in said State prison, reformatories and houses of correction. Sec . 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. Approved May 26, 1897. Chapter 452.— Protection o f motormen, ctc.y on street railways. Section 1. A ll cars purchased, built or rebuilt by any street railway company after the first day of January in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and. used by such company in the transportation o f passengers during the months of January, February, March, November and December shall, during each o f said months, have the platforms of such cars inclosed in such a manner as to protect the motormen, conductors or other employees operating said cars from exposure to the wind and inclemency o f the weather: Provided, That said platforms shall bo so inclosed as not to obstruct the sight of the employees or endanger the safe manage ment of the cars, in such manner as the board of railroad commissioners may deter mine. Any street railway company which fails or neglects to comply with the provisions of this act shall bo fined not more than one hundred nor less than fifty dollars for each day during which such failure or neglect continues. Se c . 2. The term “ car,” as used in this act, shall include all cars operated by steam, cable or electricity, which require the constant care or attention o f any person on the platforms thereof while they are in motion. The term “ company,” shall include any corporation, partnership or person owning or operating a street railway. Sec . 3. The superintendent or manager of any street railway or any officer or agent thereof who causes or permits any violation of the provisions of this act shall be jointly and severally liable with the corporation, partnership or person employing him to the fine hereby imposed, and in default of payment thereof may be committed to ja il until the same is paid: Provided, That he shall not be so committed for a longer period than three months. Se c . 4. This act shall take effect on the first day of January in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight; but it shall not apply to any street cars operated in a city o f more than fifty thousand inhabitants, unless the board of railroad commis sioners, after hearing and investigation, shall certify that, in its opinion, such cars can be operated therein with safety to the public. But this exemption shall not apply to the cars o f any street railway company which shall not, on or before the first day o f October in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, file with said board a request for such hearing and investigation. Approved Juno 3, 1897. 136 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. C h a p t e r 491.— Employers’ liability. S e c t io n 1. One or mor ^ cars in motion, whether attached to an engine or not, shall constitute a train within the meaning o f clause three o f section one o f chapter two hundred and seventy o f the acts o f the year eighteen hundred and eighty-seven [the employers’ liability act] and acts in addition thereto or in amendment thereof. Se c . 2. Any person who, as a part o f his duty for the time being, physically con trols or directs the movements o f a signal, switch or train shall be deemed to bo a person in charge or control o f a signal, switch or train within the meaning of clause three o f section one o f chapter two hundred and seventy o f the acts o f the year eighteen hundred and eighty-seven and acts in addition thereto or in amend ment thereof. Approved June 10, 1897. MICHIGAN. ACTS OF 1897. A ct N o . 13.—Incorporation of labor associations. Se c t io n 1. Labor associations may be incorporated under the provisions o f this act. Se c „ 2. Any ten or more residents o f this State, who are members o f any char tered body, or o f different chartered bodies, which body or bodies receive their charter from the American Federation of Labor, or from any international labor organization issuing charters under authority from the American Federation o f Labor, may make and execute articles of association under their hands and seals, which said articles o f association shall bo acknowledged before some officer o f this State having authority to take acknowledgments o f deeds, and shall set forth : First. The names o f the persons associating in the first instance, their places o f residence and the name and location o f the labor organization or organizations to which they severally belong. Second. The corporate name by which such association shall be known in the law. Third. The purposes of the association, which shall be to provide a building or buildings to be used in the interests of organized labor, and the period for which such association is incorporated, not exceeding thirty years. Se c . 3. A copy o f said articles o f association shall be filed with the county clerk o f the county within which such corporation shall.be formed and shall be recorded by such clerk in a book to be kept in his office for that purpose, and thereupon the persons who shall have signed said articles o f association, their associates and suc cessors, shall be a body corporate by the name expressed in such articles o f associa tion. A copy o f such articles o f association, under the seal o f the county clerk in whose office said record is kept, and certified by him, shall be received as prima facie evidence "in all courts o f this State of the existence and due incorporation o f such association. Sec . 4. Every corporation organized under the provisions o f this act may take, receive, purchase and hold in its corporate capacity and for its corporate purposes, real and personal property, and the same or any part thereof demise, sell, convey, use and dispose o f at pleasure; and may erect and own suitable building or buildings to bo used in whole or in part for meetings of labor organizations or for any other purpose in the interests of labor organizations, and may borrow money, and for that purpose may issue its bonds and mortgage its property to secure the payment o f said bonds.. Sec . 5. Every such corporation shall have full power,and authority to provide by its by-laws for the issuing o f certificates or shares of stocks and for the manner in which the same shall be held and represented. A11 stockholders o f every corporation formed under this act, shall be limited in their liability to creditors o f any such corporation, to an amount equal to the amount unpaid on their said stock. Sec . 6. Every such corporation shall have power to provide by its by-laws for succession to its original membership, and for new membership, and shall also have power to provide by its by-laws for election from its members o f a board o f trustees and to fix the number and term o f office o f such trustees. Sec . 7. The management and control o f the business, affairs and property of such corporation shall be vested in said board of trustees, and said board shall have power to borrow any money, and cause to bo made and issued any bonds and mort gages authorized by section 4 o f this act. Said trustees shall appoint from their number a president, secretary and treasurer, who shall perform the.duties of their respective offices in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the board o f trustees. This act is ordered to take immediate effect. Approved February 18, 1897. LABOR LAWS— MICHIGAN— ACTS OF 1897. 137 A ct No . 92.— Factories and workshops—Employment o f children, etc. Section 1. Sections numbered two, five, ten and fourteen of act number one hundred and eighty-four, session laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-five, entitled 4‘An act to provide for the inspection o f all manufacturing establishments and workshops in this State, and to provide for the enforcement, regulation and inspec tion o f such establishments, and the employment of women and children therein,” approved May twenty-second, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, are hereby amended so as to read as follow s: Sec. 2. No child under fourteen years o f age shall be employed in any manufactur ing establishment within this State. It shall be the duty of every person employing children to keep a register, in which shall be recorded the name, birthplace, age and place of residence o f every person employed by him under the age o f sixteen years; and it shall be unlawful for any manufacturing establishment to hire or employ any child under the age of sixteen years without there is first provided and placed on file a (sworn) statement in writing made by the parent or guardian, stating the age, date and place of birth of said child. I f said child have no parent or guardian, then such statement shall be made by the child, which statement shall be kept on file by the employer, and which said register and statement shall be pro duced for inspection on demand made by any factory inspector appointed under this act. Sec . 5. It shall be the duty of the owner, agent or lessee of any manufacturing establishment where hoisting shafts or welllioles are used to cause the same to be properly inclosed and secured. It shall also be the duty o f the agent, owner or lessee to prpvide or cause to be provided at all elevator openings such proper trap or automatic doors or automatic gates so constructed as to open and, close by the action of the elevator either ascending or descending. The factory inspector, assist ant factory inspector and deputy factory inspectors shall inspect the cables, gear ing or other apparatus of elevators in manufacturing establishments at least once each year, and more frequently i f necessary, and require that the same be kept in a safe condition. Sec. 10. Every factory in which five or more persons are employed and every factory or workshop in which two or more children, young persons or women are employed shall be supplied with proper wash and dressing rooms, and kept in a cleanly state and free from effluvia arising from any drain, privy or other nuisance, and shall be provided within reasonable access with a sufficient number of proper water-closets, earth closets or privies, for the reasonable use o f the persons employed therein; and whenever two or more male persons and one or more female persons are employed as aforesaid, a sufficient number of [separate] seperate and distinct waterclosets, earth closets, or privies shall be provided for the use of each sex, and plainly so designated, and no person shall be allowed to use any such closet or privy assigned to persons of the other sex. Sec . 14. Sections one, two and three o f this act shall not apply tp canning fac tories or evaporating works', but shall apply to any other place where goods, wares or products are manufactured, repaired, cleaned or sorted, in whole or in part; but no other person, persons or [corporation] corporations employing less than five per sons or children, excepting in any o f the cities of this State, shall be deemed a man ufacturing establishment within the meaning of this act. Approved, April 24, 1897. A ct No . 111.—Factories and ivorkshops—Fixing responsibility for making improvements. Section 1. Whenever fire escapes, elevator protection or repairs, water-closets and other permanent improvements to buildings are ordered by factory or deputy factory inspectors under the provisions o f act one hundred and eighty-four, session laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-five, said improvements shall be made by the owner of the building or premises where such improvements are ordered: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with any contract between owner and tenant whereby the tenant agrees to make such improvements when ordered by factory or deputy factory inspectors. Sec . 2. Whenever the owner o f any building or premises as mentioned in section one of this act is a nonresident of this State, the tenant shall make such improvements and may deduct the cost thereof from the amount of rent for use of said premises. This act is ordered to take immediate effect. Approved, May 7, 1897. 138 BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. A ct No. 123.— Duties, etc,, o f mine inspectors. S e c t io n 1. Section three o f act number two hundred thirteen o f the public acts o f eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, entitled u An act to provide for the appoint ment o f inspectors o f mines and their deputies in certain cases, to prescribe their powers aud duties and provide for their compensation,” is hereby amended so as to read as follows: S ec . 3. The duties o f the mine inspector shall be to visit all the working mines of his county once in every sixty clays, and oftener i f in his judgment necessary, and closely inspect the mines so visited, aud condemn all such places where he shall find that the employees are in danger from any cause, whether resulting from careless mining or defective machinery or appliances o f any nature; he shall compel the erection o f a partition between all shafts where hoisting o f ore is performed, and where there are ladder ways, where men must ascend and descend, going to and from their work. In case the mine inspector shall find that a place is dangerous from any cause as aforesaid, it shall be his duty immediately to order the men engaged in work at the said place to quit work, and he shall notify the superintendent, agent or per son in charge, to secure tho place from the existing danger, which said notification or order shall be in writing, and shall clearly define the limits o f tho dangerous place, and specify tho work, to bo done or change to be made to render the same secure, ordi nary mine risks excepted, it shall also be tho duty of the mine inspector to command the person, persons or corporation working any mine, or the agent, superintendent, foreman or other person having immediate charge of the working o f any mine, to furnish all shafts and open pits o f such mine with some secure safeguard at the top of the shaft or open pit so as to guard against accident by persons falling therein or by material falling down the same, also a covering overhead on all the carriages on which persons ascend or doscend up and down tho shaft, i f in his judgment it shall bo practicable and necessary, for the purpose of safety: Provided, That when any mine is idle or abandoned it shall be the duty o f the mine inspector to notify the person, persons or corporation owning the land on which any such mine is situated, or tho agent o f such owner or owners, to erect and maintain around all the shafts and open pits of such mine a fence or railing suitable to prevent persons or domestic animals from accidentally falling into said shafts or open pits. Said notice shall be in writing and shall be served upon such owner, owners or agent, personally, or by leaving a copy at tho residence of any such owner or agent i f they or any o f them reside in the county where such mine is situated, and i f such owner, owners or agents are none o f them residents of the county such notice may be given by pub lishing the same in one or more newspapers printed and circulating in said county i f there be one and i f no newspaper be published in said county then in a news paper published in some adjoining county, for a period o f three consecutive weeks. I f such owner, owners or agent shall not within thirty days after receiving such notice or within thirty days after tho completion of said publication erect such suitable fences or railings as above provided, it shall betbe duty o f the mine inspec tor to cause such suitable fences or railings to be erected and to make a return o f his doings in the case, with tho description o f the land or lands on which such shafts and open pits are located, together with an itemized statement of the actual expenses incurred in such case on each description of land, to the county clerk o f the county, which return and statement shall be verified by the affidavit of the mine inspector. All expenses incurred under the provisions of this section shall bo audited by the board of supervisors of the county, and all sums allowed by such board for such expenses shall be paid from the general fund of the county. The county clerk shall certify to the board of supervisors at its annual meeting in each year the amount of expense incurred under the provisions of this section during the preceding year and the amount belonging to each and every description o f land on which any such mines arc situated and said amount shall be certified to the supervisors o f the proper townships in the same manner as county taxes are certified to said supervisors, and the amount o f the'expense incurred as above on each description shall be assessed by said supervisors upon the said description upon their assessment rolls for that year, in a separate column, and shall be collected in the same manner as county taxes, and when so collected, paid into the general fund o f the county. Approved, May 13,1897. LABOR LAWS-----MICHIGAN-----ACTS OP 1897. 139 A ct No. 221.— Payment of wages— Use of script redeemable othertvise than in money prohibited. Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any corporation to sell, give, deliver or in any manner issue, directly or indirectly, to any person employed by him or it, in payment o f wages due for labor, or as advances on the wages o f labor not due, any script, token, order, or other evidence of indebtedness purporting to be payable or redeemable otherwise than in money. Any violation of the provisions o f this sec tion shall bo punishable by a fine o f not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than thirty days or both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court, and any such script, token, order, or other evidence of indebtedness issued in violation of the provisions of this act, whatever its provisions as to the time or manner o f payment shall be, in legal effect, an instrument for the unconditional payment of money only on demand, and the amount thereof may be collected in money by any holder thereof in a civil action against the corporation selling, delivering or in any manner or for any purpose issu ing the same; and such holder may be either the person to whom such instrument was originally issued or who acquired the same by purchase and delivery. Sec . 2. Any script, token, order, or other evidence of indebtedness, issued in vio lation o f the provisions o f this act, and jjresented by the holder thereof, shall be taken as prima facie evidence, in any court of competent jurisdiction, of the guilt or indebtedness o f any corporation selling, giving, delivering or in any manner issu ing the same. Sec . 3. Any person selling, giving, delivering or in any manner issuing said script, token, order, or other evidence of indebtedness in behalf of any corporation in vio lation of the provisions of the preceding sections shall be the defendant to the crimi nal action, and the corporation shall be held as defendant to the civil action: Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not apply, when any employee shall voluntarily request or consent to receive script, tokeus or orders upon any person, company or corporation in payment, or part payment, of wages due, or to become due, to such employee. Sec. 4. All acts or parts of acts in any manner contravening the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. Approved, May 29, 1897. A ct No . 241.— Factories and tcorksliojis— Inspection. Section 1. Section fifteen of act one hundred and eighty-fonr of the public acts of eighteen hundred and ninety-five, entitled “ An act to provide for the inspection of all manufacturing establishments and workshops in this State, and to provide for the enforcement, regulation and inspection of such establishments, and the employr ment of women and children therein,” approved May twenty-second, eighteen hun dred and ninety-five, (is) hereby amended so as to read as follows: Se c . 15. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act the commis sioner o f labor is hereby authorized and required to cause at least an annual inspec tion o f the manufacturing establishments or factories in this State. Such inspection may be by the commissioner of labor, the deputy commissioner of labor, or such other persons as may be appointed by the commissioner of labor for the purpose of making such inspection. Such persons shall be under the control and direction of the commissioner of labor and are especially charged with thexluties imposed, and shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed by the commissioner of labor, not to exceed three dollars a day together with all necessary expenses. All compensa tion for services and expenses provided for in this act shall be paid by the State treasurer upon the warrant of the auditor general: Provided, That not more than twelve thousand dollars shall bo expended in such inspection in any one year: And provided further, That the commissioner of labor shall present to the governor on or before the first day of February, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, and annually thereafter, a report of such inspection with such recommendation as may be nec essary: And provided farther, That in addition to the above amount allowed for expenses, there may be printed not to exceed one thousand copies of such reports for the use of the labor bureau for general distribution. And all printing, binding, blanks, stationery, supplies or map work shall be done under any contract which the State now has or shall have for similar work with any party or parties, and the expense thereof shall be audited and paid for in the same manner as other State printing. Approved, June 2, 1897. RECENT GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS. [The Secretaries of the Treasury, W ar, and Navy Departments have consented to furnish statements o f all contracts for constructions and repairs entered into by them. These, as received, will appear from time to time in the Bulletin.] The following contracts have been made by the office of the Super vising Architect of the Treasury: O m a h a , N e b r .— November 2,1897. Contract with George Moore & Sons, Nashville, Tenn., for the erection and completion o f the Transmississippi and International Exposition Building, $43,937. Work to be completed before April 25,1898. H e l e n a , A r k .— November 6, 1897. Contract with L. L. Leach & Son, Chicago, 111., for approaches to court-house and post-office, $0,893. Work to be completed within four months. O m a h a , N e b r .— November 16,1897. Contract with James F. Earley, Washington, D. C., for plaster models for Transmississippi and International Exposition Building, $3,120. Work to be completed within ninety days. N e w Y o r k , N. Y .— November 24, 1897. Contract with G. A . Suter for boiler plant, low-pressure and exhaust steamdieating and ventilat ing apparatus, water supply and filtering plant and fire protection sys tem, basement floor, etc., for appraiser’s warehouse, $68,800. Work to be completed within four months. C h a r l e s t o n , S. C.—December 20, 1897. Contract with Wm. Everroad & Son, Columbus, Ind., for improvement to grounds of court-house, post-office, etc., $12,091.29. Work to be completed within one hundred and twenty working days. 140
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