Full text of An Act to Establish a Department of Labor

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FIFTIETH CONGRESS.
June 13, 1888.

SESS. I.

CH. 389.

1888.

CHAP. 389.-An act to establish a department of Labor.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

epartmentof Labor United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall

be at the seat of Government a Department of Labor, the general
design and duties of which shall be to acquire and diffuse among the
people of the United States useful information on subjects connected
with labor, in the most general and comprehensive sense of that
word, and especially upon its relation to capital, the hours of labor,
the earnings of laboring men and women, and the means of promoting their material, social, intellectual, and moral prosperity.
Commissioner.
compensaton
clerical force.

Messergere, etc.

SEC. 2. That the Department of Labor shall be under the charge of a

Commissioner of Labor, who shall be appointed by the President, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate; he shall hold his office

for four years, unless sooner removed, and shall receive a salary of

five thousand dollars per annum.
SEC. 3. That there shall be in the Department of Labor, to be appointed by the commissioner of Labor: One chief clerk, at a salary
of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum; four clerks of class
four, all to be statistical experts; five clerks of class three, one of
whom may be a stenographer; six clerks of class two, one of whom
may be a translator and one of whom may be a stenographer; eight
clerks of class one; five clerks, at one thousand dollars per annum;
one disbursing clerk, who shall also have charge of accounts, at a
salary of one thousand eight hundred dollars per annum; two copyists, at nine hundred dollars each per annum; two copyists, at seven
hundred and twenty dollars each per annum; one messenger; one
assistant messenger; one watchman; two assistant watchmen; two

skilled laborers, at six hundred dollars each per annum; two charwomen, at two hundred and forty dollars each per annum; six special
agents, at one thousand six hundred dollars each per annum; ten
special agents, at one thousand four hundred dollars each per annum;
four special agents, at one thousand two hundred dollars each per
annum, and an allowance to special agents for traveling expenses
not to exceed three dollars per day while actually employed in the
field and outside of the District of Columbia, exclusive of actual
transportation including sleeping-car fares; and such temporary experts, assistants, and other employees as Congress may from time to
time provide, with compensation corresponding to that of similar
officers and employees in other departments of the Government.

specal age.

Chief clerk.

SEC. 4. That during the necessary absence of the Commissioner,

or when the office shall become vacant, the chief clerk shall perform
the duties of Commissioner.
isbursing clerk.

SEC. 5. That the disbursing clerk shall, before entering upon his

duties, give bond to the Treasurer of the United States in the sum
of twenty thousand dollars, which bond shall be conditioned that the
said officer shall render a true and faithful account to the Treasurer,
quarter-yearly, of all moneys and properties which shall be by him
received by virtue of his office, with sureties to be approved by the
Solicitor of the Treasury. Such bond shall be field in the office of
the First Comptroller of the Treasury, to be by him put in suit upon
,
any breach of the conditions thereof.
SEC. 6. That the Commissioner of Labor shall have charge in the
cuslof building

\

building or premises occupied by or appropriated to the Department
of Labor, of the library, furniture, fixtures, records, and other property pertaining to it, or hereafter acquired for use in its business,
and he shall be allowed to expend for periodicals and the purposes
of the library, and for the rental of appropriate quarters for the
accommodation of the Department of Labor within the District of
Columbia, and for all other incidental expenses, such sums as Congress may provide from time to time.

FIFTIETH CONGRESS.

SESS. I.

CH. 389.

1888.

SEC. 7. That the Commissioner of Labor, in accordance with the
general design and duties referred to in section one of this act. is
specially charged to ascertain, at as early a date as possible, and whenever industrial changes shall make it essential, the cost of producing
articles at the time duitable in the United States, in leading countries
where such articles are produced, by fully-Specified units of production, and under a classification showing the different elements of cost,
or approximate cost, of such articles of production, including the
wages paid in such industries per day, week, month, or year, or by
the piece; and hours employed per day; and the profits of the manufacturers and producers of such articles; and the comparative cost
of living, and the kind of living. " It shall be the duty of the Commissioner also to ascertain and report as to the effect of the customs
laws, and the effect thereon of the state of the currency, in the United
States, on the agricultural industry, especially as to its effect on
mortgage indebtedness of farmers;" and what articles are controlled
by Trusts, or other combinations of capital, business operations, or
labor and what effect said trusts, or other combinations of capital,
business operations, or labor have on production and prices. He
shall also establish a system of reports by which, at intervals of
not less than two years, he can report the general condition, so far
as production is concerned, of the leading industries of the country.
The Commissioner of Labor is also specially charged to investigate
the causes of, and facts relating to, all controversies and disputes
between employers and employees as they may occur, and which may
tend to interfere with the welfare of the people of the different States,
and report thereon to Congress. The Commissioner of Labor shall
also obtain such information upon the various subjects committed to
him as he may deem desirable from different foreign nations, and
what, if any, convict made goods are imported into this country, and
if so from whence.
SEC. 8. That the Commissioner of Labor shall annually make a
report in writing to the President and Congress, of the information
collected and collated by him, and containing such recommendations
as he may deem calculated to promote the efficiency of the Department. He is also authorized to make special reports on particular
subjects whenever required to do so by the President or either House
of Congress, or when he shall think the subject in his charge requires
it. He shall, on or before the fifteenth day of December in each
year, make a report in detail to Congress of all moneys expended
under his direction during the preceding fiscal year.
SEC. 9. That all laws and parts of laws relating to the Bureau of
Labor created under the act of Congress approved June twentyseventh, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, so far as the same are
applicable and not in conflict with this act. and only so far, are
continued in full force and effect, and the Commissioner of Labor
appointed under said act, approved June twenty-seventll eighteen
hundred and eighty-four, and all clerks and employees in the Bureau
of Labor authorized to be appointed by said act or subsequent acts,
shall continue in office and employment as if appointed under the
provisions of this act, and until a Commissioner of Labor, other
officer, clerks. and employees are appointed and qualified as herein
required and provided; and the Bureau of Labor, as now organized
and existing, shall continue its work as the Department of Labor
until the Department of Labor shall be organized in accordance with
this act; and the library, records, and all property now in use by
the said Bureau of Labor are hereby transferred to the custody of
the Department of Labor hereby created, and on the organization
of the Department of Labor on the basis of this act the functions
of the Bureau of Labor shall cease.

183
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Commis-

Reports.

lab or

Bureau

tmerged
vol. 3.p.GO.

FIFTIETH CONGRESS.

SESS. I.

CHS. 389, 390.

1888.

SEC. 10. That on the passage of this act the Commissioner of Labor
shall at once submit estimates for the expenses of the Department
of Labor for the next fiscal year, giving in detail the number and
salaries of officers and employees therein.
Approved, June 13, 1888.

Etimate

CHAP. 390.-An act to authorize the Fort Smith and Choctaw Bridge Compan)

June s1,1888.

to construct a bridgd across the Poteau River in the Choctaw Nation, near Fort

Smith, Arkansas.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

FortSmithandChoc- United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be
lawful for the Fort Smith and Choctaw Bridge Company, a corporaCPoeau
ayBridge
near

Ri

tion duly created and organized under the laws of the State of Arkansas,
their successors or assigns, to build, construct, and maintain a bridge
and approaches thereto for the passage of wagons, cars, and vehicles
of all kinds for the transit of animals and for foot-passengers across
the Poteau River in the Choctaw Nation at or near Fort Smith, upon
the land owned and claimed by Mrs. M. A. Bower, a member of the
Choctaw tribe of Indians.

err

ast,p. 8.

SEC. 2. That if said bridge shall be made with unbroken and con-

constuction.

tinuous span, the spans shall not be less than seventy feet in the clear,
and the main span shall be over the main channel of the river. The
lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge shall be at least thirty
feet above extreme high water, as understood at the point of location:

Spans.

proviss.

Provided, That if the same shall be constructed as a draw-bridge,

Drw.

the draw or pivot shall be over the main channel of the river at an
accessible navigable point, and give a clear opening of seventy feet
in width, and the spans shall not be less than ten feet above extreme
high-watermark, as understood at the point of location, to the lowest
part of the superstructure of said bridge: Provided also, That said
draw shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signal for the passing
of boats.
SEC. 3. That said corporation is authorized to take and use for all
purposes of a highway or approaches to said bridge, and for no other

PRight of wayfra

prouvso.

purpose, a right of way not exceeding fifty feet in width on each side
of said Poteau River, over the lands claimed by individuals under the
laws and usages of said tribe of Choctaw Indians, and may contract
for and obtain the same from such Indian or Indians by purchase:
Provided, That no part of the lands herein authorized to taken be
be
leased or sold by the company, and they shall not be used except in
such manner and for such purposes only as shall be necessary for the
construction and convenient operation of said highway; and when any
if portion thereof shall cease to be so used, such portion shall revert to

Lands to rever
not used for highway. the individual Indian or Indians from which the same shall have been
1
lacrpenat

etereed.

taken.
for

SEC. 4. That before said highway shall be constructed through
any lands held by individual occupants according to the laws, customs,

and usages of the Choctaw nation, full compensation shall be made to
such occupants for all property to be taken or damage done by reason
of the construction of such highway. In case of failure to make
amicable settlements with any occupant, such compensation shall
be determined by the appraisement of three disinterested referees, to
be appointed, one, who shall act as chairman, by the President, one
by the chief of the nation to which said occupant belongs, and one
by the said bridge company; who, before entering upon the duties
of their appraisements, shall take and subscribe before a district
judge, clerk of a district court, or United States commissioner, an
oath that they will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties
of their appraisement, which oath, duly certified, shall be returned
with their award to and filed with the Secretary of the Interior within