Full text of Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, Nos. 1 - 100 : January 1904 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 50, Volume IX

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58th C o n g r e s s , (H O U SE O F REPRESEN TATIVES. J D o c .N o .343,
2d Session.
f
l
Part 1.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR.

BULLETIN
OF THE

BUREAU OF LABOR.

NO. 50—JANUARY, 1904.
ISSUED EVERY OTHER MONTH.

W A S H IN G T O N :
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1904.

EDITOR,

CAR R O LL D. W R IG H T ,
COMMISSIONER.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS,

G. W . W . H A N G E R ,
CH A S. H . Y E R R IL L , G. A . W E B E R .

CONTENTS.
Page.

Labor unions and British industry, b y A . Maurice L o w .............................................1-103
Land values and ownership in Philadelphia, b y A . F. Davies............................. 104-131
Agreements between employers and em ployees............................. ........................- - 132-147
Digest of recent reports of State bureaus of labor statistics:
M aryland.............................................................................................................................. 148-150
M ich ig an ..............................................................................................................................

150-152

North Carolina...................................................................................................................

152-155

O h i o ....................................................................................................................................... 155-157
Deports of State boards of arbitration.............................................................................. 158-161
Digest of recent foreign statistical publications............................................................ 162-171
Decisions of courts affecting la b o r ....................................................................................

172-208

Laws of various States relating to labor enacted since January 1, 1896............ 209-218

iii

B U L L E T IN
OF THE

BUREAU
No. 50.

OF L A B O R .

W ASH IN G TO N .

J anuary,

1904.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.
BY A. MAURICE LOW.

(a)

The answer to a question which is not demonstrable mathematically,
which can not be solved by exact statistics or figures by which a balance
can be struck, must always be colored by the sympathy or prejudice
o f the person whom it most nearly affects. In making an investiga
tion of English trade unions hnd their effect on British industry, it must
be evident that there could be no answer returned which might not be
criticised, if not even attacked. That certain conditions exist to-day
can be easily determined, but whether those conditions would exist if
there were no trade unions, whether those conditions would be better
or worse, whether improved industrial conditions would prevail,
whether, in short, a hundred things would be different if certain forces
were not in existence, is a speculation fruitless and unprofitable and
leading to nowhere.
It must also be self-evident that a question so broad in its scope as
this should not be dogmatized about. Prejudice and self-interest will
sway conviction. In one sense the trade union represents a force
antagonistic to the union o f capital; in another the trade union is the
ally o f capital. Naturally, therefore, the simple question what the
effect o f unions o f workers has been on industry will be answered in
« The writer desires to express his thanks for the courtesy shown him and the
valuable assistance rendered b y Sir Alfred E . Bateman, K . C. M. G ., Mr. H . L lew ellyn
Smith, C. B ., M r. John Burnett, of the Board of Trade, and other officials of the
Board of Trade and the H om e Office; M r. Sidney Low, L. C. C ., M r. John Burns,
M . P., M r. Richard Bell, M . P ., M r. Sidney W e b b , L . C. C ., Sir George Livesey,
Lord Glenesk, M r. George N . Barnes, M r. George S. G ibb, M r. D. A . Thom as, M . P .,
M r. W . Brace, and the editors of the Engineering Magazine.

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOB.

more than one way, and honestly, according to the view point of
capital or labor.
These divergent views, instead o f leading to hopeless confusion, as
might be imagined, lead very directly to a common ground where
conflict o f opinion can be reconciled. In spite of differences as to
details, disagreement even as to principles, there is substantial accord
as to the service which the trade union has rendered by substituting
fo r the arrangement between individual employer and employee the
more scientific and more satisfactory method o f collective bargaining
under which a trade is' heard through its spokesman, and uniformity
is secured in rates o f wages, hours o f labor, or other conditions o f
service with practically all employers. W hile the great majority o f
employers in Great Britain favor collective bargaining as leading
to greater stability and as producing more satisfactory results, a
certain number regard the power o f the trade unions as inimical to
their interests because the workmen, leagued in a union, are more
powerful and less easily reduced to terms when it comes to a trial o f
strength than they were when there was no nexus to bind men o f
different crafts in a compact body united in a common cause, and
every man, employer as well as employee, bargained as an individual.
The idea o f certain economists that labor and capital are cogs in a
machine, which must engage if the machinery is to do its work, the
one set o f teeth as important as the other and both mutually depend
ent, is not the general view entertained by. British labor. What labor
has won labor has fought fo r is the statement, less epigrammatically
expressed, o f English workmen.
Their increase in wages, their
decrease in hours, their better condition generally, they have fought
fo r and the employers have conceded to them, the workman believes,
because the workman as a cohesive force was powerful enough to
compel compliance with his demands and not voluntarily, not because
they were impelled by considerations o f charity or philanthropy, not
even because o f the narrower view that it was more economic and
therefore more profitable to them in the long run.
Y et it is this knowledge o f power, this use o f it— and often its mis
use—which has unconsciously led to better relations between British
labor and British capital, and which has exercised a marked influence
on British industry. The investigation embraced an attempt to dis
cover not only what the effect o f unionism has been on industry, but
also what the unions have done for their members, and what is the
position o f the unions and what are their relations to industry. Here
one treads on no uncertain ground; the footing is firm. It can be
clearly demonstrated what has been accomplished since the trade
union became one o f the great social factors.
It is proper to state here the method pursued in an attempt to gain
an accurate comprehension o f a subject so extremely complex, and so

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

largely colored by personal prejudice. Several weeks were spent in
personal interviews with representative trade unionists and with some
o f the largest employers o f labor. With these men the writer talked
freely and at considerable length. The statement that follows is a
synopsis o f their views, which are given in detail later. F or the
present it is sufficient to draw attention to the salient facts which these
interviews developed.
It is the conclusion o f the clearest observers o f the labor question,
observers who view the problem from the standpoint o f capital as
well as o f labor, that the labor union in England, where it was born,
and where it began as a benefit and charitable society formed for
the purpose o f succoring its members when ill or out of work, soon
became a militant society whose main object was to better the condi
tion o f its members at the expense o f employers, and without regard
fo r the rights o f employers, the equities involved, or the practical
question whether an employer was able to meet the demands made
upon him and continue to operate his works at a fair profit. It was
a period o f agitation and continued unrest. The leaders were men
who were trying to embitter the relations between the members o f
the society and the employers. They believed, most o f them quite
honestly, that the only way to bring about any improvement in the
condition o f the men in the ranks o f the great army of labor, was to
sow discontent and keep alive the spirit o f dissatisfaction. That era
has passed. The fighting trade-union leader has been succeeded in
England by a leader who is no less courageous, but who is certainly
more intelligent. This new leader has given time and thought to
the study o f industrial questions, and comprehends that if the wage
worker is to improve his condition, earn good wages, and be in
the receipt o f steady employment, it is essential for him to maintain
friendly relations with his employer, to make strikes as few and as
infrequent as possible, and to do nothing foolishly to restrict the
conduct o f business or increase the cost o f production and thereby
help a foreign competitor.
The appeal to force— the strike on the one hand and the lockout on
the other— is by no means an archaic weapon in England to-day, but
both sides recognize the wastefulness and folly o f resorting to force,
and endeavor by every means possible to secure a settlement o f diffi
culties b y an appeal to reason and the employment o f methods of
conciliation.
It is impossible to discuss any question relating to capital and labor
in England without immediately involving the United States in the
discussion and without drawing parallels and comparisons between
the conditions existing in the two countries. The reason for this is
obvious. The United States is a factor o f no mean importance in its
influence on labor and industrial conditions in Great Britain. The

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

connection and intercourse between the two countries is now so inti
mate that it is no exaggeration to say that anything which affects
labor as a whole in one country immediately has its reflex upon labor
in the other. W hat impresses the observer with significant force is
the comment frequently made, by employers as well as by working
men, that in the United States the unions are at the present time
passing through the same stage which is part o f the history o f union
ism in the United Kingdom a quarter o f a century ago. Questions
which have been settled in Great Britain are yet to be settled in the
United States. Viewing the present condition o f trade unionism in
the United States in the light o f the history o f the movement in Great
Britain, the men whose opinions are here presented, believe that in
the United States trade unionism has not yet advanced to the high
level it now occupies in Great Britain. This is one reason why, in
their opinion, the relations between capital and labor in America are
not so cordial as in England; and it also explains why strikes in
America are more common than in England and are carried on with
greater bitterness on both sides.
It must be understood that these general statements are not the per
sonal opinion o f the writer, but simply reflect the belief o f men whose
opinions are entitled to respectful consideration. The statements
may not be correct, but they are indicative o f what capitalists, as well
as unionists, believe; and, in one sense at least, they are statements o f
fact, and not o f mere opinion. In so far as they relate to the past and
present history o f trade unionism in Great Britain they cease to be
speculative and pass into the domain o f fact. The weight of evidence
sustains the conclusion that the relations existing between employers
and unionists are better to-day than they ever were. It is also an
indisputable fact that the relations form erly were not only unfriendly
but actually hostile.
Although America is the younger country, one is forced to the con
clusion that the United States in recent years has exercised greater
influence on English labor and English labor methods than has England
on American labor.
The general tendency in America has been to adopt every possible
improvement and to substitute at the earliest opportunity the new
machine or tool fo r that less modern. The Englishman, both employer
and employee, has been more conservative and more inclined to cling
to that which has form erly served him. It is the constant remark
o f manufacturers that machines are earlier and more frequently
“ scrapped” in America than in England, and the same thing is said
by the employee, who is inclined to believe that the American work
ingman is earlier “ scrapped ” than the British workingman, by which
he means that in America the workingman is used up sooner than in
England and is prematurely declared unfit for further manual labor.

LABOR UNION'S AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

But in recent years, due. doubtless, to the unbounded prosperity
prevailing in the United States and the competition of American
manufacturers, the Englishman has turned his attention more and
more to America, and has not hesitated to profit by what he has
learned there. Significant o f this is the recent action of Mr. A lfred
Moseley in paying the expenses o f a commission o f workingmen to
investigate industrial conditions in the United States. These men
have seen things which in some respects have been a revelation to
them. They have learned from the United States the use o f laborsaving machinery, and it may be set down as a fact that, owing largely
to the influence o f the United States, they now no longer oppose the
use o f such machinery.
One notices also another extremely interesting fact which sharply
emphasizes the difference between labor conditions in England and in
the United States, and undoubtedly has its influence in both coun
tries. M ore than once the remark has been made to the writer by
intelligent workingmen that in England the average workingman is
not expected to think, but is simply required to do the work for
which he has been engaged, and the more he becomes merely a part
o f the machine committed to his care and does his work in a purely
mechanical fashion the greater his chances are o f retaining his position
and not being interfered with by foreman or employer.
UI don’t hire you to think,” in the words o f one intelligent observer,
may be summed up as the attitude o f the employer toward the work
ingman, and men say that when they have suggested improvements,
as the result o f their practical knowledge and experience, they have
been severely snubbed fo r their pains. In the United States, these
same observers say, the workman is expected to think, the employer
encourages it, and there is always in every factory o f any importance
a certain number o f men who, in order to better their condition, are
constantly trying to see how they can improve the methods o f work.
The opposition o f the union man to working with the nonunion
man is less marked in England than in the United States. In nearly
every case brought under the notice o f the writer, union and non
union men have been found working side by side. It is not asserted
that there are trades in which this opposition does not exist, but
certainly among the most important o f the highly organized trades
the intense antipathy for the nonunionist, which is such a frequent
cause o f labor disputes in America, does not manifest itself so violently
in England, and the “ sympathetic strike” is every year falling into
greater disrepute.
The evolution o f the trade unions— the newer view o f the relation
that ought to exist between employers and employees— has led both
sides to look upon harmony rather than strife as the great end to be
attained. There is constantly noticed a marked increase in the desire

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

o f both employers and men to create the machinery, in many cases
reaching the dignity o f a tribunal, by which, by voluntary compact,
any matter in dispute, whether it be the comparatively insignificant
one o f a holiday or the much more vital one o f a decrease or increase
in wages or hours, shall be settled in an orderly method under pre
scribed rules, both sides loyally abiding by the decision. This method
finds its most scientific illustration in those trades that are thoroughly
organized and whose workers are o f the highest intelligence. In trades
where the degree o f intelligence required is lower and where, due to
this lack o f intelligence and other causes, the unions are weaker, this
system has not yet reached such perfection, and strikes are more
frequent.
In a form er bulletin o f this Bureau (a) was given a concise but complete
history o f the growth and status o f conciliation and arbitration in
various industries in Great Britain. In this article the subject will be
discussed only in connection with those industries which formed the
subject o f the writer’s investigation, and only incidentally as one o f
the factors o f trade unionism in social development and having a great
bearing on the main proposition—the effect o f trade unions on British
industry.
One o f the most important steps taken by any association o f work
ingmen to eliminate friction, prevent labor disputes, and substitute
law and order fo r force is the plan adopted by the Durham Miners’
Association, a union o f 90,000 men working in the Durham coalfields.
The association has 192 branches in the county of Durham. A ll con
trol o f arrangements relating to wages is vested in the hands o f the
central committee, the subordinate branches, or lodges as they are
known, having the power to make their own arrangements, subject to
ratification by the central authority.
The administrative machinery o f the association is worked by means
o f a joint committee composed o f 6 colliery managers and 6 working
men, 3 o f whom are elected by the lodges, the remaining members o f
the committee being general officers o f the association. This com
mittee deals with any local differences that may arise.
There is also a conciliation board consisting of 36 members— 18
employers, 9 miners, 3 mechanics, 3 enginemen, and 3 coke workers.
The board has an “ independent chairman,” L ord Davey, one of the
lord justices o f appeal, whose functions are never exercised except
when the board requires him to act. In all other cases the board is
presided over by one o f its own members, usually an employer. On
an average the board meets every three months and takes up for dis
cussion and settlement all questions relating to wages, and such
« Bulletin of the Department of Labor, No. 28, M ay, 1900: V oluntary Conciliation
and Arbitration in Great Britain, by John Bruce McPherson.

UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

matters as
generally affect the relations existing beween employ
ers and employees.
The selection o f Lord Davey as the “ independent chairman,” a
somewhat incorrect title, is such an enormous stride in what may
be properly termed mutual labor legislation that it is worthy o f very
careful study by everyone who has the best interests o f labor at heart,
and who endeavors to reduce the risk o f disagreements between
employers and employees. The system which has been put into
operation by the Durham miners is unlike that prevailing, so far as
the writer has been able to ascertain, in any other trade in the United
Kingdom, and it is believed that no such method exists in any other
country in the world. To the Durham miners must be given the
credit for having acted as pioneers and taken a long step forward,
and in the interests o f society, it is hoped that this system will soon
be imitated by employers and employees generally.
Lord Davey is more than an “ independent chairman.” Practically
and to all intents and purposes in deciding a case brought before him
by the conciliation board o f the Durham Miners’ Association he sits
as a justice o f appeal, precisely as he sits on the bench of his own
court representative o f the majesty o f the law and panoplied in wig
and ermine; and precisely as he sits there empowered to enforce his
mandate which appellant and appellee must obey, no matter whether
they are satisfied or not, so his decision on any appeal brought before
him by the conciliation board has all the force and effect o f a mandate
based on the powers conferred by statute, and from this decision there
is no appeal. But let it be remembered that this mandate acquires
force because in advance both sides have acquiesced in the finding,
whatever it may be. In short, it is a beautiful example o f all law in
a highly civilized state o f society depending for its enforcement upon
the consent o f the governed.
Regarding L ord Davey in the light o f a judge o f appeal, the con
ciliation board is an inferior court o f original jurisdiction. The
method o f procedure, in the case o f any disagreement arising between
masters and men, is to submit the dispute to the board. Here it is
argued and discussed in the usual way. I f it should not be possible
for an agreement to be reached either side may ask for a further con
sideration, either by a committee or by the board itself at a future
hearing. In this way there is no hasty action, and any passion which
may have been aroused is given ample opportunity to cool off. It may
be, and it has happened, that a matter has been before the board for
a year, but if after repeated hearings it becomes patent to both sides
that an agreement is manifestly impossible an appeal lies to Lord
Davey. Before him appear the representatives of the contending in
terests, who become plaintiff and defendant as they would in a case
tried before a court o f justice. L ord Davey listens to the fullest

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU Of

argument on both sides and acts not only as judge,
o as judgeadvocate; as the friend o f both parties in interest it is his function,
not only to bring out all the facts, but also to get at the equities
involved, and in due course he renders his decision. From that deci
sion there is no appeal; and while Lord Davey has no legal power to
enforce his decision, while he has no such power as he is vested with
when sitting on the bench o f the appeal court, both sides regard them
selves as morally bound to comply loyally with the verdict. It is
significant that twice in 1895 the matter o f wages was brought up on
appeal from the conciliation board to Lord Davey, and on both occa
sions L ord Davey’s decision worked a reduction o f wages, a decision
that was accepted by the men without further action. Quite recently
Lord Davey decided that the men were entitled to the August bank
holiday, the granting o f which the masters had tried to resist, and
although the decision went against them the masters accepted it with
out demur.
As showing how perfectly the system works, and how successful it
has been in preventing disagreements between employers and men
which might lead to serious, costly, and dangerous strikes, Mr. John
W ilson, M. P ., the secretary o f the association, states that last year
not more than £5 ($24.33) was drawn from the strike fund, and this
only in one or two minor instances o f such a trivial character as hardly
to be worthy o f notice.
A somewhat similar system, with some modifications, governs the
relations between employers and employees in the South Wales coal
mines (page 41).
Am ong the important trades where provision is not made for the
appointment o f an “ independent chairman” or an umpire, results
almost as satisfactory have been reached by the employers who form
themselves into associations and, through a committee, meet a similar
committee from the men and discuss any question affecting the rights
o f either side. This is the practice prevailing in the textile industry
(page 48) and the engineering trade (page 22).
The foregoing shows in a measure how trade unionism has affected
industry, but it may be properly termed the sociological side and not
the economic, although anything that has a tendency to produce
harmony between employers and employees, and especially to prevent
or diminish strikes or other interferences with the steady output o f
mill or mine, must have a marked influence upon economic results.
Taking up fo r consideration the vexed question whether the English
trade union has exercised a malign influence in obstructing the use o f
labor-saving machinery or a more improved type o f machinery, or
whether it has by arbitrary and tyrannous rules and regulations
hampered the employer in the conduct o f his business or prevented a
factory from being worked to its highest capacity, thereby decreasing

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

output and increasing cost —which is the strictly economic phase o f
the inquiry— one finds a more marked divergence o f opinion than in
any other line o f investigation, and the reason for this can be quickly
comprehended.
Trade unionists do not disguise the fact that the object o f the union
is to better the condition o f the great body o f wage workers, and they
are firmly convinced that the improved conditions o f to-day, which
are in such marked contrast to conditions half a century ago, have
been brought about principally through trade-union agitation and
the struggle which organized labor has carried on for shorter hours,
better sanitary surroundings, greater safeguards to life and limb,
and a larger share o f the profits o f capital. Labor representatives
unite in saying that labor has no objection to the employment o f
labor-saving machinery or the use o f any method by which output
may be increased and the cost o f production decreased, provided that
whenever it is possible by the use of improvements to increase the
profits o f capital some portion o f that increase should be shared by
labor. The defense o f the workman always is that he must for his
own self-protection take measures to prevent himself from being
“ exploited” by the unscrupulous employer, who, but for the power
o f the union, would take advantage o f his needs and degrade the class
to which he belongs.
On the other hand, the charge was made by more than one employer
that the influence o f unionism had been decidedly injurious to British
industry, in that the unions., because o f their unintelligent grasp o f
affairs, had become possessed o f the perverted idea that if they could
prevent the use o f machinery employment would be found fo r a larger
number o f men, which would be for the advantage of the body o f work
ingmen as a w h ole; and by the same reasoning if they could prevent
men from working to their fullest capacity it would necessitate the
employment o f additional men, and the more men employed the better
off all would be. It was not easy, however, to obtain specific instances
o f what is known as “ ca5 canny.” Sir George Livesey, the chairman
o f the South Metropolitan Gas W orks, cites it (page 37), so does Major
Vane Stowe (page 46) and Mr. Brett (page 54). To offset this we
have the testimony o f Mr. Arnold F. Hills (page 29), M r Gibb (page
62), and others.
Here again the conflict o f opinion may lead to a middle ground which
will once more enable a satisfactory and just conclusion to be reached.
That in the past the trade-unionists as a class opposed with all their
strength the introduction o f labor-saving machinery, fought improve
ment in every form , and penalized the more efficient workman to the
extent that it was impossible for him to profit by his superior natural
advantages, higher skill, or greater industry, can not be controverted,
and is reluctantly admitted by the most intelligent among the labor

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

leaders. Nor has this policy been entirely abandoned even to-day, but
it exists in a less vicious form in unions embracing the more highly
specialized trades and finds its greatest exponent where the general
intelligence is lower. Thus the engineers, perhaps the most highly
skilled labor in Great Britain, did at one time oppose the introduction
o f improved labor-saving machinery, and sanctioned, if they did not
actually approve, u ca’ canny,” but to-day they make no objection to
the use o f any machine, provided they are not “ exploited” by its
introduction; and their official organ, the Amalgamated Engineers’
Monthly Journal, has denounced “ ca’ canny ism ” with as much vigor
as would the organ o f capital.
Referring again to the sociological side o f trade unionism, there is
substantial agreement that the unions have ten^sd to elevate the status
o f the workman and have exercised upon him a sobering influence, in
that there has been an endeavor to impress upon the members a sense
o f their responsibilities and a knowledge that any action taken by an
individual workman which would lead to a dispute between that work
man and his employer might fall on the whole body o f workmen and
cause them great injury.
The more important unions in England are strong financially and
have large sums in their treasuries, some o f them having real property,
cash, and other live assets exceeding $1,500,000. These funds are the
sinews o f war o f the trade-unionist, and are used to support men who
are out o f work because o f a strike or lockout, to pay sick or accident
benefits, and in many o f the unions to provide pensions when their
members reach a certain age or have been subscribing members o f the
fund for a prescribed period. The members o f these large unions are
therefore in a sense capitalists, and they become possessed o f the con
servatism which is the inherent virtue o f capital. They are ready to
strike and to use their funds for the support o f their striking brethren
if a principle must be defended, but they are not reckless in money
matters, and a full treasury, instead o f being a standing menace to
peace, has in practice proved one o f its strongest safeguards. A fu r
ther restraining influence has been the decision o f the House of Lords
in the Taff Vale case. A short history o f this most important judicial
decision as affecting the rights o f labor will be found on pages 77-92
o f this Bulletin.
Labor in England has always been the subject o f special statutory
enactment. In the old days these enactments often pressed with
severe and repressive force on the worker; at the present time his
rights are jealously guarded and he is accorded certain privileges
which belong exclusively to him. Thus the trade unions acquire their
legal existence by virtue o f two acts o f Parliament applicable only to
them, which accord to such associations o f workingmen certain distinct
privileges possessed by no other association, whether formed to earn

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

money, to pursue scientific research, or merely for social companion
ship. A belief that the legislature intended to grant even greater
privileges than in the opinion o f the courts was the intention o f the
lawmaking power led to the unions exceeding their supposed legal
rights and resulted in the Taff Vale decision. Parallel also are the
employer’s liability act, the workman’s compensation act, the conspir
acy and protection o f property act, and the conciliation act, all special
legislation in the interest o f labor. Labor unionists claim that this
legislation is due to their efforts, their agitation, and the influence
which they have exercised on public opinion; employers challenge this
assertion and contend that labor has simply shared in the general prog
ress which the world has made.
What, however, is not open to discussion is the self-evident fact that
such schemes as Mr. Arnold F. H ill’s premium system (pages 25-28) and
Sir George Livesey’s profit-sharing plan (pages 33-37) are the direct
results o f trade unionism. Both the premium system and the profitsharing plan are not unknown in the United States, but the profitsharing system in force at the South Metropolitan Gas W orks has
features so unlike that o f any similar scheme in this country that it has
appeared to the writer worthy o f being explained in detail. Sir George
Livesey believes that it is the solution o f what is commonly called “ the
labor problem ;” that it not only insures perfect harmony between
employer and employee, with the most satisfactory economical results,
but also is to be approved because it is the only ethical relation that
ought to exist between labor and capital. English employers are
deeply interested in Sir George Livesey’s methods. Some have not
yet been converted to his doctrine. Others assert that the plan would
not apply to the ordinary commercial undertaking, though it can be
made to work successfully in the manufacture o f gas, where the price
o f the product is determined by statute and the return o f capital bears
a fixed relation to the cost to the consumer, and perhaps in other public
utilities owning monopolistic rights by the grant o f municipal or
other franchises, where price and dividends are narrowly limited by
statute or ordinance. But Sir George Livesey who has devoted many
years to a careful study o f the labor problem and who is a sociologist
as well as a'keen man o f business, does not share this view. He holds
that by adjusting circumstances to conditions what has been done at
the South Metropolitan Gas W orks can be done, broadly speaking,
everywhere with the same happy result that has followed in the great
manufacturing concern o f which he is the head*
Having explained the object sought to be obtained by the present
inquiry, the methods pursued, and the salient features developed,
there are now presented the views o f representatives of capital and
labor.
Mr> John W ilson, member o f Parliament for Mid-Durham, is the

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOE.

secretary o f the Durham Miners’ Association. Mr. W ilson is a prac
tical miner, having worked in the pits both in England and the United
States; in the latter country on the Monongahela and also in Illinois.
Thirty-three years ago the union was formed, and looking back over
those thirty-three years and comparing the condition o f the miners
then with what it is to-day Mr. W ilson finds that it has immeasurably
improved, and that improvement he ascribes almost entirely, if not
solely, to the union. In the days when the union first came into
existence Ihe miner worked from ten to eleven hours per day; to-day*
his actual hours o f labor are six and three-quarters. Not only has he
gained the great boon o f a shorter workday, but he has had his wages
increased, and both have followed from the agitation carried on by the
union and, if agitation was not successful, then by striking. Some of
the trades o f England are endeavoring to obtain an eight-hour day by
statutory enactment, but the miners, Mr. W ilson says, are opposed to
the eight-hour law because they are now better off without it, and
instead o f profiting by legislation that constituted eight hours a legal
day’s labor they would lose by it.
But, Mr. W ilson asserts, not only has the union improved the con
dition o f the men, but it has, pari passu, helped the employers by
steadying the trade and creating a fixed set o f rules, by raising the
standard o f the men, by making them more intelligent, and by imposing
upon them a due sense o f their responsibility and the obligations which
rest upon them no less than upon their employers.
The charge so often brought against the unionist that he has been a
detriment rather than an advantage, both to labor and to capital,
because he has imposed foolish and unwarranted restrictions on out
put, the conduct o f business, and the use o f newer and more scientific
methods and appliances, is emphatically denied by Mr. Wilson. He
says the unionist, or speaking specifically his own union, has not
in any way tried to interfere with the management of the business;
and in regard to the use of labor-saving machinery the miners have
never objected to its use, provided the employers did not gain all
the benefit from its introduction. The employers are at liberty to do
what they please so long as they remember that labor has a right to
expect a share in whatever is contributed to the increased wealth o f
capital.
In referring to the Mine W orkers’ Association o f America, Mr.
W ilson stated that it was his belief, as a practical miner who has had
experience in the United States, that the union tries to cover too much
ground and endeavors to control too wide a territory, and that if
the American miners would pattern after their English coworkers and
have smaller and more compact organizations, such as the Durham
Miners’ Association, the result would be much more satisfactory. He
also pointed out that if some method could be devised by which

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

employers and employees could be brought into more familiar and
frequent contact, such as exists in his union, disagreements as they
arise from time to time would be much easier o f solution.
The Amalgamated Societ}^ o f Engineers is the largest and in some
respects the most important and influential trade union in the United
Kingdom. Its last report showed a membership of 95,000, o f whom
53,259 were fitters and 25,522 were turners (called machinists in the
United States), 5,467 were blacksmiths, and the remainder were men
(mostly pattern makers) who worked in various other branches o f the
trade, and stationary and marine engineers.
The society erected and owns a fine building in Peckham, London,
worth £12,500 ($60,831), which is used solely for the general offices of
the society and the residence o f the general secretary, who is paid
£4 10s. ($21.90) a week, with free rent, coal, and gas.
A ny man who has served five years at his trade and is recommended
by two members in good standing as a capable mechanic, and is in
receipt o f the standard rate of wages in his district, is eligible to mem
bership. It should be noted here that the hours of labor and the rate
o f wages are not uniform in the trade in all parts o f the Kingdom,
but vary according to local and other conditions, and are determined
in each district by the local branch o f the society. The moral qualifi
cations o f applicants fo r membership are supposed to be inquired
into before admission, but it is admitted that they are not closely
scrutinized; on the other hand members who are considered undesira
ble, or who for any cause have been guilty o f conduct which makes
them objectionable or tends to cast discredit upon the society, are
expelled. The result has been that the standard of membership is
being continually raised, as members are reluctant to stand sponsor
for men whose characters may cause their expulsion. Any man who
has received six months5 sick or “ donation55 benefit— the latter paid
when a member is out o f work— must fully satisfy the society that
there are good reasons for his receiving relief. It is assumed that a
man who is unable to find work fo r six months, or who is sick fo r that
length o f time, is responsible for his condition and is o f little value to
himself or his fellow-craftsmen. The burden o f proof is placed upon
him to prove the contrary.
Mr. George N. Barnes, the general secretary o f the society, said to
the writer:
That the unions have increased production, I think, can be quite
clearly demonstrated. By insisting on high wages they have given a
stimulus to employers to substitute modern instead o f the form er lacka
daisical methods, and sometimes in cooperation with employers5 asso
ciations have been the means o f the use by employers o f machinery.
Let me explain this and make myself understood so that there will be
no wrong impression created. It is quite true that up to a few years
550— N o. 50— 04------- 2

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

ago, say ten years ago, some unionists sought to prevent and hamper
the introduction o f machinery, but since then the matter has been
thrashed out and has been settled because the men have seen that they
can not oppose progress and it is useless for them to think that they
can stand m the way o f the use o f machinery. The rank and file,
against the advice o f their leaders, opposed machinery. Trade-union
leaders in modern times have not clone so, and to-day it is only the
extraordinarily stupid man who thinks he can prevent the adoption
o f the latest and most improved forms o f labor-saving machinery.
Furthermore, what some leaders now insist on is not only that there
shall be no opposition to the use o f machinery, but that men shall use
their machinery to the best advantage. Remember, of course, that
while 1 talk in a general and broad way about unionism, I am referring
more especially to my own trade and my own society.
I said a few minutes ago that the unions have given a stimulus to
the employers and forced them to the use of better methods and more
advanced manufacturing processes. The reason for this you can readily
understand. The unions have been the means o f obtaining for their
members better wages and shorter hours, and it follows as a matter of
course that the employer, to compensate himself fo r the increased cost
o f labor, has been forced to obtain from labor the highest return of
productive energy. He could not do this by sweating his men or by
making them work excessively long hours, because the union would
not permit that, and therefore he had to seek his compensation by
increasing the productive output o f his factory by the use o f the latest
and most approved machinery. Y ou will find in all unorganized trades
the use o f not only crude i
facture. It is noticeable
this country— that is to saj ,
o „
both on the part o f the employer and the employees— the cotton
spinning industry, only the best machinery is to be found, and the
most advanced methods prevail.
It has often been asserted that the unions are extremely selfish and
tyrannical; that they are stupidly insistent upon what is termed the
rights o f the workingman without giving any thought or considera
tion to what arc clearly the rights o f the employer. Now, to be per
fectly frank and honest, it may be admitted that a certain part of this
charge is true. There have been instances when the men have sought
to obtain an advantage, when they have even attempted to interfere
with the conduct o f the business, when they have objected to the use
o f certain machinery, and to that extent they have retarded and inter
fered with the proper conduct o f business. But everyone knows the
reasons. In the industrial field labor and capital were in conflict, and
worked as opposing forces instead o f a united force for a common end.
I am not defending labor, or making any excuses or apologies for what
1 think requires neither excuse nor apology from me. I am merely
stating facts, and it is largely owing to the influence o f unionism and
to its having provided a bridge to connect the two sides that much o f
this friction has disappeared and the relations between employers and
men are so much better than they were in the past. Formerly there
was an impassable gu lf; to-day one may say, speaking with due mod
eration, that although that gu lf is there it is not nearly so wide nor so
deep as in form er days, and the means o f crossing it are now so easy
and so many that it no longer offers the obstacle which it did in a time
even so close to the present as ten or fifteen years ago.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

Now, just a word as to the charge o f selfishness. I do not think
because men are members o f a trade union that they are any more
selfish or any different from men outside a union or from men gener
ally. They have the same vices and the same virtues, the same defects
and the same good qualities. They are looking out for their own inter
ests, trying to get tne most out o f life, and trying to make life as easy
as possible fo r themselves as a whole; and yet it should not be over
looked that the cardinal principle o f trade unionism is that an injury
to one is an injury to all, and that anything that is supposed to be a
benefit to one is really not a benefit unless it is a benefit to labor as
a whole. For instance, although repeated efforts have been made to
unionize women, it has always been a rank failure, the reasons for
which it is not necessary that I should enter into here; yet, indirectly,
the position o f women has been greatly advanced because o f the con
tinual agitation on the part o f trade unionism, as a whole, for the pas
sage o f better and more humane factory acts, and that agitation has
resulted in most important reforms. Our society, for instance, has no
direct concern in laws affecting the employment of women and chil
dren, because, as you are aware, women and children are not employed
in our trade, yet we have always taken our full share in trying to
ameliorate the condition o f female labor, because we recognize that it
is fo r the advantage o f all to improve their condition, and it is a mat
ter o f such vital concern to us that we can not selfishly ignore wrongs
that we know to exist. As one concrete instance o f this I call your
attention to the fact that last year an act o f Parliament was passed
decreasing the hours o f labor in textile factories one hour a week, and
I unhesitatingly say that this boon to women and children is largely
due to the efforts o f the trade unions.
Another great reform must assuredly be placed to the credit of
unionism. In the old days what was known as the “ truck” system
largely existed, which was one o f the most formidable obstacles to the
workingman improving his condition. Men were not paid their full
wages in money, but were paid in store orders, and for everything
they obtained at the company’s store they were charged exorbitant
prices, with the result that often at the end o f the month not only they
did not receive any money fo r their month’s labor, but they were fre
quently found in debt to their employer. Under this system they were
virtually reduced to a condition o f slavery, and were tied to their place
o f employment because, being in debt, they were unable to leave until
their indebtedness was liquidated, and they did not have even a shilling
to take them to another place or to support them while they were
looking fo r work. The ‘ truck” system has now been abolished,
weekly payments are now almost invariably the rule, and every man is
paid directly by his employer instead o f through a foreman or some
other agency, so that there is no chance o f a “ rake off,” as you say in
America. Also the contract system, what you know as sweating, now
exists only in unorganized trades and home industries. A ll these
reforms have been largely brought about through trade unionism.
Now, to answer the charge so frequently made that we impose
restrictions upon employers and insist upon regulations which hamper
production. It is quite true, that we do impose restrictions to protect
the men so ag to protect their health and efficiency, which tend to
improve their general welfare and elevate their condition, but we
regard these things as o f more importance than an enormous produc
tion accomplished only at the expense o f physical deterioration and

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

the degradation instead o f the uplifting o f the great body of wage
workers. Not only do we regard it as vitally essential to protect the
great body o f workingmen against the cupidity and in some cases the
inhumanity o f their employers, who are always more competent to
safeguard their own interests than are their men, but also do we deem
it essential to protect the great body o f workingmen from the unscru
pulousness and superior strength o f the individual worker, because
while the individual may profit from the possession o f certain physical
or other powers, he can do so only at the expense o f the great body o f
his fellow-workers. To that extent the charge that we impose restric
tions is a charge which I am perfectly willing to admit, but it is done
in the interest o f the men, and is fo r the advantage o f the community;
in the long run it is for the good o f employers as well as the good o f
the employees; it is not fo r the benefit o f any one particular trade or
industry or any small class o f men, but for the people o f England as
a whole. In some o f our districts the men will not under any circum
stances work on Sunday. Some employers object to this, and regard
it as a vexatious and annoying regulation which causes them great
inconvenience when repair w ork has to be done in a hurry. Quite so,
from the standpoint o f the employer, but from our standpoint, if the
men o f the district, either from conscientious or economic reasons,
object to work on Sunday, is it not perfectly fair and proper that they
should not be compelled to w ork on Sunday, but should have that day
to themselves fo r rest and reasonable recreation? In some o f the dis
tricts there is no prohibition against Sunday work, but it must be paid
fo r as double time; in other districts the men will not work overtime
more than two whole nights in the week, and then it must be paid fo r
at the rate o f time and a half. A ll these regulations are made, not in
the interest o f the exceptional individual or to embarrass or harm the
employer, but simply because we believe they are for the greatest good
o f the greatest number.
So far as we are concerned we do not limit the number o f appren
tices, and instead o f being opposed to the apprenticeship ^system we
are, on the contrary, strongly in favor o f it. W e regard it as a good
thing, because the system maintains the general level of skill and
keeps the trade up to a high standard. In America we have noticed
that your trades are recruited not from the apprentices who have
acquired their trade by careful training, but from the handy man, who
picks up rather than carefully learns his business. The result, I
believe, is not fo r the advantage o f American industry. W e notice
that in the American factories a large number o f the foremen are
either English or Germans or Scandinavians, and we attribute that to
the fact that the foreigner who has served his time as an apprentice
has a better all-round training than the American, who is very apt to
be specialized in a particular branch o f the trade.
In one respect at least we are much more liberal in this country than
are the workingmen in America. American unionists object to work
with British union men or with nonunion men; here we make no objec
tion to union and nonunion engineers, or to British and American union
men being fellow-workers, provided wages do not suffer in conseuence, and all are competent, and consequently good work is done.
>f course, we believe that all men in our trade should be members of
the union, because we think it for their advantage, but if men are so
foolish to their own interest to remain outside o f the union, that is
their affair, and while we may regret it we are not going to deprive

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

them o f their means o f earning a livelihood because they are not sensi
ble enough to see what is lor their own advantage. Moreover, if
American engineers— or machinists, as they are termed in America—
come here we welcome them, but if our members go to the other side
they are molested by the American unionists, who are just now some
what narrow in this respect. However, this will, I believe, pass away
as we get to know one another better.
The unions have conferred two benefits on the workingman. They
have increased his wages and reduced his hours—the increase o f wages
being fixed by unionism and. custom. Broadly speaking, that is the
most important thing they have done fo r labor, and they have accom
plished that by having been able to negotiate with employers, which
was impossible so long as the men were unorganized, and it was only
possible when they became a cohesive force and were able to be repre
sented by delegates who spoke for them as a unit, and also because the
men, through their unions, were able to have trained men to represent
them, which placed them more on an equality with their employers.
Indirectly the unions have been an educational force in the country.
It is impossible fo r men constantly to meet and discuss economic,
political, and social questions without profiting by this interchange o f
thought, without their horizon widening; and these discussions, and
the contact o f man and man. are having a distinct educational value.
M ore and more unionists are taking part in political affairs.
Mr. Barnes was asked if in his opinion the unions have done any
thing to lessen intemperance, to which he replied:
Certainly not directly. Unfortunately the meetings o f our local
societies are generally held in public houses (saloons), except in Scot
land, where not a single district meets in a public house, and meeting
in a place o f this kind is apt to throw temptation in the way o f our
members. O f course there are many men who g o to meetings and
who do not drink, who never touch anything, but still it is a dangerous
thing to gather in public houses. Nothing will decrease intemperance,
in m y opinion, except to improve the workman’s general condition,
and give him a larger outlook. When the union requires that a man
to be a member shall be a man o f good character, when it makes him
pay the penalty o f his folly or disobedience by refusing to associate
with him if he fails to conform to proper regulations, it has done
something to raise the standard.
The unions have encouraged better work. Through our journals
we constantly impress on unionists the necessity for their taking an
interest in their work, to do the best work possible, and to show up
shoddy work.
But perhaps one o f the chief reasons why unionism should command
the hearty support o f everyone is that it has improved relations
between employers and their men. It has undoubtedly been the means
of decreasing the number o f strikes. Strikes are now regarded as the
last resort, when all other means o f settling differences have failed,
and it is a fact that no persons are more opposed to strikes than the
chief officials o f unions. That is why union officials endeavor by every
means in their power to avoid a strike, and reluctantly sanction it only
when it is the last alternative, when a great principle is involved which
justifies men in fighting; just as nations fight when not to fight would
be to sacrifice national honor.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

So far as this society is concerned, we have adopted measures which
afford every opportunity for discussion and the bringing together o f
both sides before there is a stoppage o f work. The society is divided
into branches o f not more than 300 members each, each branch elect
ing its own officers and managing its local affairs, subject, o f course,
to the control and direction o f the general governing body o f the soci
ety. Branches are grouped into districts represented by a district
committee, who have power, subject to the approval o f the executive
council, to deal with and regulate the rate o f wages, hours o f labor,
terms o f overtime, piecework, and general conditions affecting the
interests o f the trade in their respective districts. In case o f a dispute
the matter is discussed between the district committee and the local
association o f employers, usually through a small subcommittee, and
if no agreement can be reached by them, the question is referred to the
executive council o f the society and the executive o f the employers’
federation. These two executive bodies meet as a rule once every
three months and take up all the business which has accumulated in
the interim, and generally they are able to reach an agreement, usually
in nine cases out o f ten.
In case o f shop disputes the district committee has power, with the
consent o f the executive council, to take a vote o f the members o f the
district upon the advisability o f assisting the strike committee in
the district b y a local levy; but that levy must not exceed 6d. [12
cents] weekly during the continuation o f the dispute. In the case of
a shop dispute the members are not permitted to leave their employ
ment without having first obtained the approval of the district com
mittee. In such cases the rules provide that where any sections
o f the society can with advantage be exempt from being drawn out,
their special cases shall be investigated with a view to the best inter
ests o f the society being conserved. No general strike shall be entered
upon in any district affecting the whole o f the members unless carried
by a majority o f three votes to two o f the members voting o f that dis
trict, and no settlement shall be decided upon unless accepted by a
similar majority. The vote must be taken by ballot.
On the application o f any district committee, where a dispute is
existing, the executive council may apportion a sum from the general
strike levy, which the council has the power to order, not to exceed
6d. [12 cents] per member per week, but which shall not be in force
fo r more than one month without a vote being taken as to its continu
ance fo r the same period. No levies shall be enforced unless by the
consent o f the majority o f the members voting, nor shall any levy
continue in force longer than three months without a second vote
being taken, and none o f the money may be applied to the relief o f
men who are not members o f the society.
In support o f his assertions regarding the unionist view of the rela
tions between employers and men, Mr. Barnes called attention to an
article which he wrote fo r the Engineering Magazine, January, 1901,
and also an article from his pen in the Amalgamated Engineers’ Journal,
the official organ o f the society, January, 1901.
In the Engineering Magazine Mr. Barnes said:
The new unionism is frequently held up to opprobrium, as the dis
turber o f the peace in questions o f demarcation o f work and kindred

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

troubles. The exact opposite is the fact. The new unionism seeks to
prevent labor organizations being pitted against each other. Its lead
ers have actively opposed the fomenting o f squabbles between rival
trades. I f at any time it has backed up the old unionism against an
incursion o f unskilled labor into a trade, it has not done so for the
purpose o f seeking privileges for one section at the expense o f other
sections o f labor, but because convinced that such incursion would
lead to overspecialization with attendant evils. It accepts specialization
as inevitable, but desires to regulate the application of the newer methods
arising therefrom, so as to make them harmonize with wider interests
than those arising from mere considerations o f production.
Again, the new unionism is often charged with restricting produc
tion, so as to spread work and em plojm ent over a larger number of
men. This may have been at one time and fo r the reason stated, and
it should not excite surprise if workmen had thus interpreted the
theories once current as to the sources o f wealth and wages. Tradeunion organization has certainly been used at times to cover up
malingering, but this by no means implies that trade unionism is
responsible fo r a disposition, common to human nature, to rub along
through life as comfortably as possible. It is no part o f trade union
ism, either old or new, to restrain production below a point consistent
with the requirements o f health and permanent efficiency; and the
new trade-unionist, at all events, knows full well that the larger his
production the larger, other things being equal, will be his wages;
but, while believing in a fair day’s work, the trade-unionist declines
to be entirely guided by short-sighted views o f production. He bases
his case upon the broad basis o f humanity, refusing to regard himself
or his fellows as mere wealth-producing machines. Trade-unionists,
both old and new, claim for workmen a voice in the fixing o f the gen
eral conditions under which they shall work. Both are alike inter
ested in protecting workmen from the admitted evils o f piecework,
from overspecialization o f industry, from long hours o f labor, and
from low wages. I f there is any difference between them on these
points, it can be summed up in the different importance which each
may assign to them.
In the journal o f his society Mr. Barnes thus addressed his fellowmembers:
Trade unions are being made the object o f bitter attacks by certain
organs o f public opinion, and are being held up as the scapegoats
responsible for the relatively better position now occupied by America
and other countries, as compared with form erly, in the race for indus
trial supremacy. Trade-union leaders,* it is being said, advocate restric
tion o f output, so as to spread work and wages over a large number
o f workers.
These statements really emanate from certain rat employers, who
from time to time are induced to unburden themselves in regard to
the shortcomings o f the British workman in general and the tradeunionist in particular. Now, it may be fairly claimed that these pages
afford, at least, pretty good evidence as to the lead given as far as the
Amalgamated Society o f Engineers is concerned, and we might chal
lenge our traducers to produce anything from them at any time which
would bear out the accusations made. There has been much, on the
contrary, to show that we are favorable to the rendering o f a fair day’s

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

work fo r a fair day’s pay, and we believe that trade-unionist leaders
generally have long outgrown the fallacy o f a work fund or a wages
fund. W e believe that, speaking generally, wages increase with
increased product, and that therefore it is to the interest o f the work
man, within certain limits, to do his best. Those limits are: Due
regard (1) to his own health and permanent efficiency, and (2) to the
condition necessary to foster and maintain a fellow-feeling among
workmen.
Overtime, for instance, we believe to be injurious and a bar to edu
cation, therefore we oppose it; and we also oppose unregulated piece
work, because we know that thereby those who are physically strong
and morally unscrupulous are used by some employers to set impossible
tasks for the average man.
In a word, trade unionism exists— not to act as the bell horses to make
up for capitalistic muddle or educational deficiency, nor to crucify labor
fo r the purpose o f retaining trade in any one country as against
another— but fo r the purpose o f securing such conditions as will con
duce to the health, education, comfort, and permanent efficiency o f
labor.
But we are not averse to the greatest possible production, or to the
adoption o f any method o f securing it, so long as the principle o f mutu
ality is maintained and the standard rate o f wages safeguarded.
Within those limits we have no right and no desire to restrain any
man, and we know that trade-union leaders take, as a matter o f fact, a
far more enlightened view in these matters than is taken by the aver
age workman.
Having stated our position, then, in general terms, we venture to
add a few words on the subject which has recently exercised the minds
o f our journalistic critics. W e believe that the competition o f America
can be met only by better workshop equipment and more thorough
education. The first is a matter entirely fo r the employers, but the
question o f education is one in which the society might finally take some
. * * * It occurs to our mind that the jubilee of the society might
ttingly celebrated by some scheme being inaugurated whereby young
members or the sons o f members could take part; but it must be on
a wide basis. Education does not in our judgment consist only in train
ing men to be producing machines, but should aim at making men think
and inducing them to take an intelligent interest in affairs.

On July 13, 1897, as the culmination o f a long series o f disputes
between the engineers and their employers, and a specific demand fo r an
eight-hour day, a strike, or— as the men contend— a lockout fo l
lowed. The dispute lasted froni July 13,1897, until January 31,1898,
when work was resumed without the concession of the eight-hour day
having been won; 27,000 men were involved; the funds of the Amal
gamated Society o f Engineers were depleted by <£207,140 ($1,008,047);
other trade unions contributed £69,457 0s. lid . ($338,012.52); the con
tributions from abroad amounted to £28,399 7s. 5d. ($138,205.54), and
from the general public and other miscellaneous sources there were
received £18,023 10s. lid . ($87,711.39).
The loss to the employers and the damage done to the British
engineering trade can never be known, but it was enormous, and the

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

strike or lockout is one o f the most important in British industrial
history.
As a result o f the strike, employers and employees adopted the
follow ing agreement, which is now in existence and governs the
conditions o f the trade:
GENERAL PRINCIPLE AGREED TO OF FREEDOM TO EMPLOYERS IN THE
MANAGEMENT OF THEIR WORKS.

The federated employers, while disavowing any intention of interfer
ing with the proper functions o f trade unions, will admit no interfer
ence with the management o f their business, and reserve to themselves
the right to introduce into any federated workshop, at the option of
the employer concerned, any condition o f labor under which any mem
bers o f the trade unions here represented were working at the com
mencement o f the dispute in any o f the workshops o f the federated
employers; but in the event of any trade union desiring to raise any
question arising therefrom, a meeting can be arranged by application
to the secretary o f the employers’ local association to discuss the matter.
Nothing in the foregoing shall be construed as applying to the
normal hours o f work, or to the general rises and falls o f wages, or to
rates or remuneration.
ILLUSTRATION OF THE ABOVE GENERAL PRINCIPLE.

Freedom, o f employment.
Every workman shall be free to belong to a trade union or not, as
he may think fit.
Every employer shall be free to employ any man, whether he belong
or not to a trade union.
Every workman who elects to work in a federated workshop shall
work peaceably and harmoniously with all fellow-employees, whether
he or they belong to a trade union or not. He shall also be free to
leave such employment, but no collective action shall be taken until
the matter has been dealt with under the provisions for avoiding
disputes.
The federation do not advise their members to object to union work
men or to give preference to nonunion workmen.
PIECEWORK.

The right to work piecework, at present exercised by many o f the
federated employers, shall be extended to all members o f the feder
ation and to all their union workmen.
The prices to be paid fo r piecework shall be fixed by mi#tual arrange
ment between the employer and the workman or workmen who perform
the work.
The federation will not countenance any piecework conditions which
will not allow a workman c f average efficiency to earn at least the
wages at which he is rated.
The federation recommend that all wages and balances shall be paid
through the office.

BULLETIN <5F THE BUREAU OF LABOR.
RATING OF WORKMEN.

Employers shall be free to employ workmen at rates of wages mutually
satisfactory. They do not object to the unions or any other body of
workmen, in their collective capacity, arranging amongst themselves
rates o f wage$ at which they will accept work, but while admitting
this position they decline to enforce a rule of any society or an agree
ment between any society and its members.
The unions will not interfere in any way with the wages o f w ork
men outside their own unions.
General alterations in the rates o f wages in any^ district or districts
will be negotiated between the employers’ local association and the
local representatives o f the trade unions or other bodies o f workmen
concerned.
APPRENTICES.

There shall be no limitation o f the number o f apprentices.
PROVISIONS FOR AVOIDING DISPUTES.

W ith a view to avoid disputes in the future, deputations o f work
men will be received by their employers, or b}^ appointment, for mutual
discussion o f questions in the settlement of which both parties are
directly concerned. In case o f disagreement the local associations o f
employers will negotiate with the local officials of the trade unions.
In the event o f any trade union desiring to raise any question with
an employers’ association, a meeting can be arranged by application to
the secretary o f the employers’ local association to discuss the question.
Failing settlement by the local association and the trade union o f
any question brought before them, the matter shall be forthwith
referred to the executive board o f the federation and the central author
ity o f the trade union, and pending the question being dealt with
there shall be no stoppage o f work, either o f a partial or general char
acter, but work shall proceed under the current conditions.
The rules o f the Amalgamated Society governing the payment o f
u donations ” and other benefits are as follows:
Any member o f ten years’ standing who is discharged or leaves his
employment under circumstances satisfactory to the branch to which
he belongs is entitled to donation benefit at the rate of 10s. ($2.43) per
week fo r the first fourteen weeks, 7s. ($1.70) per week for the next
thirty weeks, and a further sum o f 6s. ($1.46) per week for so long as
he remains out o f employment; but in no case shall he receive more
than £19 18s. ($96.84) in any period o f fift}T-two weeks. Members of
less than ten years’ standing but not less than five are entitled to 10s.
($2.43) per week for the first fourteen weeks, 7s. ($1.70) per week for
the next thirty weeks, and 6s. ($1.46) per week for the next thirtyfour weeks, when the benefit terminates; and in no case shall a member
of less than ten years’ standing, receive more than seventy-eight weeks’
donation benefit in succession. Members with less than five years’
standing receive 10s. ($2.43) per week for the first fourteen weeks; 7s.
($1.70) per week fo r the succeeding fourteen weeks, and 6s. ($1.46) per

LABOB UNIONS AND BBITISH INDUSTBY.

week for the following twenty-four weeks; but in no case shall the
benefit exceed fifty-two weeks in succession. A ny member who has
been paid benefit during the twelve months previously shall receive
onty the balance of the benefit to which he is entitled. Thus, a man
who has received full benefit o f 10s. ($2.43) a week for any period short
o f fourteen weeks becomes entitled to a continuation of such benefit
for a further period which would make up fourteen weeks, and so on.
A n y member losing employment through neglect of his work,
drunkenness, or disorderly conduct is not entitled to benefit until he
has again been in employment at the trade eight consecutive weeks at
the ordinary rate o f wages. A man who from private objections
refuses work, or neglects to apply for work when informed o f a
vacancy, is not entitled to benefit until he again obtains employment
at his own trade and shall have received the ordinary rate o f wages for
four successive weeks.
A member thrown out o f employment because o f a strike for an
advance o f wages, or against a reduction o f wages, or for other causes
approved o f by the district committee, or the council, as the case may
be, is entitled to contingent benefits at the rate o f 5s. ($1.22) per week.
Contingent benefit is limited to fifty-two weeks.
Any member who is sick, when such sickness is not due to drunken
ness, disorderly conduct, or any disease improperly contracted, is, if
a member o f ten years’ standing, entitled to 10s. ($2.43) per week for
twenty-six weeks and 5s. ($1.22) per week so long as he continues ill,
but not to exceed a total o f £ 1 9 10s. ($94.90) in the first fifty-two weeks.
I f he has under ten and not less than five years’ membership, he is
entitled to 10s. ($2.43) per week fo r twenty-six weeks, and 5s. ($1.22)
per week for seventy-eight weeks, when the benefit terminates. I f he
has under five years’ membership, he is entitled to 10s. ($2.43) per
week for twenty-nine weeks and 5s. ($1.22) per week for thirty-two
weeks. The member, on his recovery, must send notice in writing to
the secretary within two days, or be fined Is. (24 cents). No member
receives benefit fo r less than three days, and no member is paid sick
benefit for any day that he lias partially worked. As in the case o f
donation benefit, the same deduction is made when members have
received sick benefit within one year from date.
A ny member who by accident or otherwise is permanently disabled
and unable to follow his trade is paid the sum o f £100 ($486.65).
A n y member o f 55 years o f age who has been for twenty-five
years successively a member of the society, who is not in arrears, and
who through old age or infirmity is unable to obtain the ordinary rates
o f wages or to follow his usual occupation, may receive the sum o f
Ts. ($1.70) a week, or if thirty years a member, 8s. ($1.95) a week; if
thirty-five years, 9s. ($2.19) a week; if forty years or upward, 10s.
($2.43) a week.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

The last (1902) annual report o f the society showed an income account
for the year o f £353,402 Is. 6fd. ($1,719,831.21), o f which £331,20616s.
2id. ($1,611,817.94) was received from contributions, fines, and levies.
There was brought forward from December, 1901, a balance o f £492,356
12s. 4d. ($2,396,053.48), consisting o f branch and office balances, amount
ing to £262,182 Is. 9^d. ($1,275,909.14); general fund investments,
£94,117 16s. 8d. ($458,024.44); superannuation reserve investments,
£135,856 13s. 10£d. ($661,146.60), and moneys in transit, £200
($973.30), making a gross total of £845,758 13s. 10fd. ($4,115,884.69).
The expenditure for the year was £265,263 12s. H id . ($1,290,905.54),
o f which donation benefits, travelers, etc., absorbed £87,029 2s. 3£d.
($423,527.19); sick benefits, £50,199 15s. 3d. ($244,297.14); superan
nuation benefits, £95,767 8s. 8£d. ($466,052.22); general and branch
officers’ salaries, £10,711 19s. 8£d. ($52,129.88); printing, stationery,
postage, telegrams, salary o f treasurer and other salaries not already
mentioned, rent, taxes, insurance, and legal and other expenses,
£21,555 7s. ($104,899.11).
Mr. Arnold F. Hills is the president o f the Thames Iron W orks,
Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, one o f the largest
shipbuilding and engineering concerns in London. The company
employs in busy times from 3,000 to 5,000 men, and at the time this
investigation was made had more than 4,000 men on its pay rolls.
Mr. Hills indorses unionism, because, in his belief, it led to better
relations between employer and employee, after both had passed
through a period o f conflict. That conflict, as usually happens in
the progress and evolution o f society, resulted in a clearer and
better understanding o f the “ rights” of both sides. The effect of
unionism has been, in the opinion o f Mr. Hills, to give the men a feel
ing o f security and stability, without which no man can amount to
much; and it has also had a tendency to steady and discipline the men.
Furthermore, one o f the results o f the men combining and forming
themselves into a union has been to make the employers form a federa
tion, thus leading to two well-organized and disciplined hosts instead
o f two loose and disjointed bodies, one o f which was engaged in iso
lated attacks, which the other was trying to repel. As a result, Mr.
Hills, speaking from his experience in the management of his own
great establishment, says that the relations existing between himself
and his employees are, and have been, o f the most friendly character
for several years past, and there has been no strike of any consequence
and no serious disagreement for the past ten years.
It should be stated, however, that the friendly feeling which undoubt
edly exists between Mr. Hills and his workmen may be traced in
part— and one would be justified in believing in a very large part—
to the policy which has characterized his management o f his com
pany. The Thames Iron W orks, Shipbuilding and Engineering Com

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

pany presents the striking and extremely interesting anomaly o f
an industrial establishment working its men only eight hours a day,
when nine hours constitute the normal day in the shipbuilding and engi
neering trade. It must not be understood from this that the Thames
Company is the only concern where the eight-hour system prevails.
There are others, both in and out o f London, but all told they are in a
decided minority, and concerns like Mr. Hills’s and others, where all
over eight hours a day is paid fo r as overtime, are brought in direct
competition with firms whose normal day is nine hours, or one-eighth
more. A t the time o f the great engineering strike and lockout, to
which reference has been made, the Thames Company conceded the
eight-hour day. Despite the fact that the hours in the Thames Com
pany are shorter than those in most other establishments, Mr. Hills
says that his company is able to make money and to hold its own with
its competitors. He attributes this to the fact that the difference in
time is more nominal than real. In shipbuilding yards working nine
hours a day, there are three breaks as against only two in his estab
lishment, and he estimates that each o f these breaks means a loss o f
about ten minutes in the stoppage and resumption of w ork; and,
furthermore, that when men work with only one division in their day’s
labor, instead o f two, there is a further saving o f time. Therefore this
accounts for part o f the hour, and the remainder o f the time, in the
belief o f Mr. Hills, is compensated fo r by the better condition o f the
men in their being able to work as well at the end o f the day as they
are at the beginning. He says quite frankly that, without going too
scientifically into the causes, the results are such as to satisfy him.
Possibly also the amicable relations existing between employer and
employee in the Thames Iron W orks, and the satisfactory nature o f
their output and its cost, may be due to what Mr. Hills describes as
the “ good-fellowship system,” which is practically what is known in
the United States as the “ premium system,” and is based upon the
workmen being able by superior diligence or more intelligent work to
earn a premium on the normal amount o f his labor based on the normal
wage. In taking a contract fo r the building o f a war ship, which is the
principal work o f the Thames Company, the basis of the estimate o f
the calculation is made on the amount o f labor and materials per ton
o f construction, the unit o f measurement being the ton. I f the labor
cost falls below this estimate the workmen profit by the difference and
earn a premium on their wages.
H ow the 6‘ good-fellowship svstem” came into existence and its
results are thus explained bv Mr. Hills:
On July 9, 1889, the boiler makers went out on strike to secure the
principle that no workman in their trade should be employed by the
company except such as belonged to their union. This struggle lasted
fo r over three months. It involved over 200 workmen and a loss o f
wages exceeding £3,000 [$14,600].

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOK.

Stirred by the combative example o f their comrades, the laborers
went out on August 23, demanding an increase of wages, with a mini
mum o f 6d. [12 cents] per hour. This strike did not last long, break
ing down o f its inherent weakness, but it involved 1,396 workmen and
a loss o f wages o f £1,785 [$8,687].
On March 1, 1890, the joiners went on the warpath, demanding an
increase o f wages from 6s. 6d. [$1.58] to 7s. [$1.70] a day, and stayed
out until June 23 o f the same year. This strike involved 50 skilled
workmen and a loss o f wages o f £1,560 [$7,592].
A year later, on August 11, 1891, the engineers were infected with
the same fighting frenzy, and called out their men, because at the time
we had undertaken to repair a hydraulic press for Messrs. Samuda,
with whom their union had a difference. This strike lasted only three
weeks, till September 2, but it involved 236 workmen and a wage
loss o f £1,317 [$6,109].
And finally, on November 24, 1892, the shipwrights, not to be left
out in the cold, called their men out, demanding 7s. [$1.70] a day for
a forty-eight-hour week. This strike originally involved some 50 men,
but it dragged on fo r more than eighteen months, and must have cost
the shipwrights a wage loss o f more than £7,600 [$36,985].
Not one o f these strikes effected the object fo r which it was instituted.
The good-fellowship system was established during the strike period
in the year 1892. It laid down as a first principle that the interests
o f capital and labor were identical, and that every workman should be
encouraged to take a direct personal interest in the product of his
own hand.
It took the position that, beyond his normal weekly wages, every
workman might, under well-devised conditions, be expected to earn
more, both fo r the company and himself.
The labor value o f every contract, and, so far as possible, o f every
job and piece was ascertained, and when the wage cost of production
was less than the labor value thus ascertained the balance o f gain was
divided in monthly distributions among those who had earned it by
extra skill and energy.
In the course o f establishing a somewhat elaborate and intricate
system many mistakes were made, but never to the disadvantage o f
the workmen. It was a bona fide attempt to break down the old
vicious system o f subcontracting, in which the ganger took all the
spoils and sweated his men; and for the most part something more
than justice was done to all whose work could be included under the
new system o f measurement and reward.
A t all events, more than £80,000 [$389,320] has been paid in goodfellowship dividends during the last ten years, and I expect that this
amount will be at least doubled in the decade yet to come.
Two years after the establishment o f the good-fellowship system
the way lay open fo r the introduction o f the eight-hour day, and 1
beg once again to repeat that it was only the good-fellowship system
which made its introduction possible and its experience a practical
success. Theorists and doctrinaires may demonstrate to their own
entire satisfaction that the deduction o f one hour from the day’s work
must, under the present conditions o f international competition, prove
the inevitable prelude to England’s commercial destruction; but, after
all, the proof o f the pudding is in the eating, and we o f the Thames
Iron W orks have no cause to complain o f our adoption of the eighthour day.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

What are the facts? The eight-hour day, or, to speak more cor
rectly, the forty-eight-hour working week, was introduced into our
works on A pril 26, 1894. Here are the annual wage bills fo r the nine
years preceding and the nine years subsequent to its establishment:
£
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893

164,086
142,852
115,263
137,355
113,192
182,606
212,941
199,858
112,590

T otal. 1 ,3 8 0 ,7 4 8

s. d.
16 2 [$7 9 8,5 2 8.4 5 '
5 10
[6 9 5 ,1 9 0 .68=
4 5
'5 6 0 ,9 2 8 .46s
8 2
'6 6 8,4 4 0.1 0 '
12 6
5 5 0 ,8 5 1 .9 1 '
18 11
'8 8 8 ,6 5 6 .7 0 '
17 7 [1 ,0 3 6 ,2 8 1 .6 6 '
9 4
[9 7 2 ,6 1 1 .2 3 '
14 4
[547,922. 72'
7

3 [6 ,7 1 9 ,4 1 1 .9 1 ]

1 8 9 4 ..
1 8 9 5 ..
1 8 9 6 ..
1 8 9 7 ..
1 8 9 8 ..
1 8 9 9 ..
1 9 0 0 ..
1 9 0 1 ..
1 9 0 2 ..

106,243
152,916
165,637
231,415
265,209
279,115
301,472
324,049
239,647

15 1
18 6
0 11
9 9
12 3
2 8
18 1
1 7
13 0

[$ 5 1 7,0 3 5.2 3 '
[74 4 ,17 0 .21 '
[80 6 ,0 7 2 .6 8 '
[1 ,1 2 6 ,1 8 3 .4 7 '
'1 ,2 9 0 ,6 4 2 .5 8 '
1 ,3 5 8 ,3 1 3 .8 0 '
1 ,4 6 7 ,1 1 7 .8 9 '
1 ,5 7 6 ,9 8 4 .8 4 '
1 ,1 6 6 ,2 4 5 .2 9 '

T otal. 2 ,0 6 5 ,7 0 7 11 10 [1 0 ,0 5 2 ,7 6 5 .9 9 ]

An increase in output, as measured in wages of over £70,000
[$34:0,655] a year, or an average aggregate increase of 50 per cent,
does not seem to indicate that the good-fellowship sj^stem and the
eight-hour day have led to any decrease in orders, so far as our expe
rience to date is concerned.
Let me make a comparison between five vessels of war built before
the introduction o f the eight-hour day and five constructed since. The
mean average o f labor (all trades) in the case of H. M. S. Benbow,
/Sans B areli, Blenheim , G rafton, and Theseus was £28.66 [$139.4:7]
per ton; the mean average cost o f labor (all trades) in the case o f
1. J. B. F u ji and Shikishima and H. M. S. A lbion, D uncan, and
Cornwallis was £26.85 [$130.66] per ton, or a reduction o f cost o f
£1.81 [$8.81] per ton.
The total weight o f metal in the five earlier ships was 21,261 tons,
which at £1.81 [$8.81] equals £38,482 [$187,273].
The total weight o f metal in the five later ships was 30,365 tons,
which at £1.81 [$8.81] equals £54,961 [$267,468].
W ith regard to profits, o f which the exact figures can not be pub
lished, it is sufficient to say that, comparing the same two perioas of
nine years, before and after the introduction of the eight-hour day,
they have very considerably increased, while the losses incurred on
unsuccessful contracts have during the later period been reduced by
three-fourths.
The figures in regard to good-fellowship dividends paid to our w ork
men in excess o f tneir standard weekty wages, which are the highest
paid in any part o f the United Kingdom, are equally illuminating.
They are as follows:
£
1892.
1893.
1894.
1895.
1896.
1897.
1898.
1899.
1900.
1901.
1902.

Total

s. d.

4 ,80 4
2 ,50 3
1,11 2
5 ,85 2
5,081
7 ,77 4
15,390
13,135
11,976
9 ,57 9
4 ,98 4

11
16
16
2
13
5
4
6
6
‘
17

$ 23 ,3 8 1 .5 3
1 12,184. 91
5 ,4 1 5 .5 4
2 8 ,4 7 9 .3 7
24, 729.95
3 7 ,8 3 3 .5 3 ]
74,896.55"*
6 3 ,9 2 2 .9 6 ’
’ 5 8,282. 66’
4 6 ,6 1 8 .3 1
’ 2 4 ,2 5 8 .9 1 ]

82,195

3 [4 0 0 ,0 0 4 .2 2 ]

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

But this is not all. The true criterion o f manufacturing progress
is to be found not in quantity alone, but as it may be combined with
quality. Cheap construction is good, but first-class craftsmanship is
better. H ow do we stand in this matter? Self-praise is no recom
mendation, but 1 think we may with proper pride point to the fact
that the I. J. B. Shikishima (which was designed, built, engined,
armored, armed, and put through her trials in the record time o f
thirty months) has been recently made the flagship o f the Japanese
Nav^, and we may note that the engines o f H. M. S. Duncan, Corn
wallis, and Albem arle have passed through the most extensive trials
without even water on their bearings, and that the gun trials have been
completed without damage o f any kind.
A similar statement could not be made o f any of the other vessels
o f this class, and therefore I think that I may fairly claim that with
shorter hours and higher pay the right hand o f the Thames iron worker
has not lost its cunning.
Thus, up to the present time, whether we regard the actual business
results o f the good-fellowship system and the eight-hour day from the
point o f view o f the shareholder, the workman, the output o f work,
the cost o f construction, the quality o f workmanship, or the increase
o f profit and reduction o f loss, the verdict seems to be equally conclusive.
But the commencement only has been made, and truly does the
Frenchman say, <?est le prem ier pas qui coute. No one beside myself
will ever know the seemingly insuperable obstacles of prejudice, ridi
cule, and ill will through wnich this experiment in the economics o f
philanthrophy has had to make its way.
M ais le jeu vaut la chandelle. The candles o f good-fellowship and
the eight-hour day have been lit in the Thames Iron W orks, and by
G od’s good blessing they shall never be put out till they have lightened
the dark places o f industrial tyranny and heralded the dawning o f the
golden day.
A t the time o f the interview Mr. Hills stated that four-fifths o f his
men were members o f the various unions. W hile no discrimination is
made between union and nonunion men, and the only thing considered
in engaging a man and retaining him in the employment o f the com
pany is his efficiency as a workman and his general conduct as a man,
Mr. Hills admits that his preference is for union rather than for non
union men, because, as a rule, the better class o f mechanics belong to
the unions and the union man is therefore apt to be the superior work
man, and also because in any question affecting relations between
employers and men it is on the whole easier to deal with unionized
labor than with labor that is not organized into a union.
Mr. Hills said that in the earlier days o f unionism there was a good
deal o f friction between unions and employers, owing to the somewhat
tyrannical and arbitrary methods employed by the unions, but now
they have become more reasonable and take a more sensible view o f
things, with the result that the unions o f the men have led to the fed
eration o f the employers, and both sides find it easier to get along
amicably. W hen asked whether he would abolish the union if he had
the power to do so his reply was an emphatic No, and he added that

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

he had done everything in his power to promote unionism. His reason
is that unionism, instead o f causing differences between employers and
employees— which is the opinion held by many employers—has the
effect o f disciplining and steadying the men. It increases their effi
ciency, and also facilitates negotiations and communications between
capital and labor.
Mr. Hills was asked whether the effect o f unionism was to prevent
or to make more difficult the introduction o f labor-saving machinery;
whether it tended in any way to hamper or restrict the conduct o f
business; whether it served to prevent men from doing the maximum
amount o f work, or using machinery or tools to the best advantage.
To these questions Mr. Hills replied that in the earlier days it was
true that some o f the unions had interposed an objection to the intro
duction o f labor-saving machinery, but that time had passed and an
employer could now put in all the labor-saving machinery he wanted
and it would not arouse the antagonism o f the men. Practically, he
could make the same answer to the second question, because, as he had
already said, the men did not try to interfere with the conduct o f busi
ness, and he had already testified to the friendly relations which existed
between himself and his employees. A s to what is known as “ ca’
canny” he could see no evidence o f it, because although they were
working only eight hours a day they were able to carry on a profitable
business.
There is published quarterly by the Thames Iron W orks an illus
trated magazine— Thames Iron W orks Quarterly Gazette— devoted to
topics o f interest to everybody connected with the plant. Mr. Hills
called the attention o f the writer to the Gazette for March, 1902, in
which he defends with great vigor trade unionism and emphatically
denies 66that one o f the great dangers by which our industrial suprem
acy is beset is the policy o f the trade unions (express or implied) to
encourage the restriction o f output.”
F or my own part, having now for many years had acquaintance with
trade unions and the leaders o f the labor world, I am prepared to affirm
that this accusation o f ‘ ‘ca5canny ” is not so much a charge as a calumny.
It has been met and universally repudiated by the leading trade unions
o f the country and is, I believe, without substantial foundation or fact.
Let me repeat my own conviction as to the value o f trade unions fo r
the maintenance o f British industry. Their function is not to hamper
the employers, but to assist their members to a higher level o f industrial
prosperity. That in the main this worthy ideal has been followed may
be easily seen from the articles on trade unions which have recently
appeared in our Gazette. * * * The engineers have always been
somewhat aggressive in their methods, as I have myself known by
painful experience, but, like all aggressors, they have had to learn
that fighting does not pay in the long run, and that the true function
o f unions is education, concentration, and, above all, conciliation, that
the adjustment o f labor conditions may be continuously in favor of
550—No. 50— 04-----3

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

their own members. Force is no remedy in industrial any more than
it is in international politics, and the mailed fist is apt to dip unpleas
antly deep into the pocket o f provident reserve. * * *
There can be no reasonable doubt that the trade unions o f the country
have, as a whole, rendered an incalculable service to organized labor.
It needs only fo r amicable adjustment to be voluntarily made between
the competing claims o f capital and labor to secure the satisfactory
settlement o f the so-called industrial crisis o f to-day.
In support o f his assertion that the trade unions are something
more than associations to encourage disputes and to support their
members when on strike, Mr. Hills cited a series o f articles which has
appeared in the Gazette tracing the origin and growth o f the princi
pal unions embracing the trades employed at the Thames Iron W orks.
From these articles are gathered some interesting statistics relating to
the income and expenditure o f the unions, and especially to the amount
expended under the heading, “ provident benefits,” that is, for the
support o f men out o f work, due to causes other than strikes, such as
accidents, trade depression, sick and funeral allowances, and old-age
pensions. Thus, the United Society o f Boiler Makers and Shipbuild
ers fo r thirty-four years expended £1,663,245 ($8,094,182) for provi
dent benefits, arid £97,305 ($473,535) for disputes. Since 1882 a table
has been compiled showing the percentage o f the cost o f disputes to
the whole income o f the society. The highest cost was in 1884, when
it amounted to 8 f per cent; the lowest was in 1900, when it was onetwentieth per cent.
In fifty years the Amalgamated Society o f Engineers has expended
fo r donation benefits £2,664,237 ($12,965,509); for sick benefits,
£1,156,024 ($5,625,791);
superannuation allowance, £1,153,491
($5,613,464); accidents, funeral, and benevolent funds, £531,425
($2,586,180), and “ assistance to others,” £319,716 ($1,555,898). The
society lumps the amount expended on disputes— that is, strikes—in the
general benefit fund, so that it is impossible to tell what the percent
age has been fo r strikes.
The Iron Founders’ Society is one o f the oldest trade unions in the
United Kingdom. Since its existence it has spent in provident bene
fits £1,612,721 ($7,848,307) and for dispute pay, £55,169 ($268,480).
The average cost per member a week fo r provident benefits has been
Is. id . (25 cents), for disputes, id . (1 cent), which means that for
every half-penny the molders have expended to carry on industrial
warfare they have devoted twenty-five times as much to succor the sick
and aged, the injured, and the out o f work.
On the vexed questions o f the restriction of output the Iron
Founders have officially placed themselves on record. In the annual
report o f the general secretary this language is used: “ W e favor
restriction so far as not to allow a man to do as much for a time day’s
work as he would on piece, as, if one man with extraordinary strength

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

and ability were allowed to go on unchecked, others would follow, and
in many cases it would be utterly impossible for them to do so. Still,
we expect every member to do a fair day’s work for a fair day’s wage.
This is stipulated in many o f the branch by-laws, leaving the branches
to say what shall constitute a fair day’s work.”
In forty-one years the Amalgamated Society o f Carpenters and
Joiners has spent £1,543,850 ($7,513,146) for provident benefits and
£220,177 ($1,071,491) fo r dispute pay.
The United Pattern Makers’ Association does not keep a separate
account o f provident and dispute benefits, so that it is impossible to
tell with exactness the proportion that each bears to the general expend
iture o f the society. Figures are available, however, showing that
from 1896 to 1901 the total amount expended on purely strike pay was
£937 10s. ($4,562.34), while the expenditure for sick and funeral bene
fits fo r the year 1901 was £2,804 16s. lOd. ($13,649.76), which would
indicate that the pattern makers, similar to most o f the better man
aged and highly organized trade unions, devote most o f their funds to
the amelioration and improvement o f their members rather than to
support them while idle.
One o f the largest employers o f labor in London is Sir George Livesey, chairman o f the board o f directors o f the South Metropolitan Gas
light Company, one o f the three large companies furnishing the met
ropolitan area with gas. The area supplied by this company is 51
square miles, and the total number o f its consumers is 252,677. In the
opinion o f organized labor Sir George Livesey is the bitter foe o f
unionism, fo r reasons which shall be more clearly explained later, but,
despite this, several o f the prominent labor leaders and officials o f
unions suggested that his views on the question should be obtained.
W hen informed o f the object o f the writer’s visit he said frankly that
he was not regarded by some o f the workingmen as particularly friendly
to the unions, but notwithstanding his reputation he would endeavor to
deal justly with the subject.
He came into the service o f the company more than half a century
ago and prior to that time his father had been in the service o f the
same company, so that practically his entire life has been spent in
learning the business and managing it. W ith this experience behind
him he is naturally regarded as one o f the greatest authorities in his
line in England, if not in the world, and his intimate knowledge o f the
British workingman and his character and peculiarities is exceeded
perhaps by no other English employer o f labor. A t the present time
some 4,000 men are on the pay rolls o f the company.
In his opinion the union has been one o f the factors in advancing
and improving the condition o f the men, and while it has not been an
unmixed blessing, regarded from the standpoint o f the employer, he
is frank enough to say that the union has been the means in some cases

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

o f increasing wages and decreasing the hours o f labor. In many cases
employers have looked too much after their own interests without
regard for the interests o f their employees, and if there had been no
unions the conditions o f the latter would have been harder. “ I am
afraid the unions have been necessary to prevent oppression,” he
remarked regretfully. He does not believe, however, that the unions
have encouraged the men to do better work or to protect more care
fully the interests o f their employers. As he expresses it, each side has
looked out fo r itself and not for the other, and while he admits that
the decrease in the hours o f the working day may be in some measure
attributed to the unions, the increase in wages he should more largely
attribute to the law o f supply and demand and to the more humane
conditions existing now, due to the general progress o f society. In
short, he sums it up by saying that the unions have hastened advances
and retarded reductions, subject always to the general law of supply
and demand.
In support o f this assertion he cites the fact that unskilled labor,
among which no unions exist, has obtained much greater advances in
wages than skilled labor with its unions. In the thirties unskilled or
common labor was paid 2s. 6d. (61 cents) a day o f ten hours, or
3d. (6 cents) an hour; in the forties wages had increased to 3s.
(73 cents) a day fo r the same number o f hours, and that rate o f
increase has been maintained so that now that class o f labor which in
the thirties was paid 3d. (6 cents) an hour is paid from 6£d. (13 cents)
to 7id. (15 cents), and it is a better, a more intelligent class.
The South Metropolitan Gaslight Company is an industrial estab
lishment o f particular interest to the investigator of economic and
sociologic problems, because it is probably the only concern in the
world where the shareholders (that is, the proprietors), the purchasers
(that is, the public), and the producers o f the product (that is, the work
men) are members o f a joint partnership to the extent that the lower
the selling price o f gas, almost paradoxical as it may sound, the higher
the rate o f dividend paid to the shareholder; and the lower the price
o f gas, which is o f course an advantage to the consumer, the higher
the wages o f the men. It will therefore be apparent that it is to the
interest o f all concerned that gas shall be sold as cheaply as possible,
and unlike any other business, where the greater the price paid by the
consumer the greater the return to the proprietor, here the amount o f
the dividend rests upon a reduction o f price.
This unique economic paradox is due to two causes. So far as the
public is concerned it owes its existence to the act o f Parliament reg
ulating the price o f gas and dividends; so far as the employees are
concerned it is the direct outcome o f an attempt made by the Gas
W orkers and General Laborers’ Union to regulate the conduct o f the
company’s business, and a determination on the part o f the company

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

to resist outside interference and to submit to no meddling with its
affairs.
B y act o f Parliament the divisible profits o f the company rest on the
price charged for gas. The initial or starting point is 3s. Id. (75 cents)
per thousand feet. A t that price to the consumer the shareholders5
dividend may not exceed 5 per cent. F or every reduction o f Id.
(2 cents) charged the consumer the shareholders become entitled, by
the company’s act, provided o f course that the money is earned, to
2s. 8d. per £100 (yVu per cent) additional dividend; and on the other
hand, should the price o f gas be raised the dividend is reduced 2s. 8d.
per £100 (TV3ir per cent) fo r every penny. It is, therefore, to the
interest o f the shareholders that gas should be sold as cheaply as
possible. But the act o f Parliament in applying the principle o f the
sliding scale to the public and the shareholders did not apply it to the
employees o f the company. Consequently, they had no direct interest
in the price at which gas was sold.
In 1889 the company had a serious strike, the culmination o f a long
series o f disagreements between it and the union relative to wages,
conditions o f employment, etc. To bring about peace, the company,
on November 6 o f that year, adopted the bonus or profit-sharing
scheme with the “ sole object,” as stated in the report o f the directors
o f that year, “ o f attaching the men to the company and securing their
interest in its working. The mechanics and yardmen, with few excep
tions, were not members o f the union, and they almost to a man gladly
and promptly accepted it. Acceptance was perfectly voluntary, but the
stokers, guided by their union executive, almost to a man declined, and
there the matter might well have rested, for no pressure was brought
to bear upon them and they might have continued to work on the exist
ing conditions. Although they had repeatedly said they were satis
fied with their pay, they demanded the bonus in the shape o f a weekly
increase o f wages, which was quite out o f the question.”
The union then demanded the discharge o f three unionists who had
signed the bonus agreement, and on the company rejecting this demand
the men went on strike, the strike lasting two months, although the
company was able to secure new men and keep its plant going with
some inconvenience and at a largely increased cost. “ The direct cost,”
the directors stated to the shareholders, “ has been very heavy, proba
bly no less than £50,000 ($213,325), while the indirect expenses and
losses may amount to about, half that sum in addition. In conse
quence, a dividend o f 12 per cent was declared for that year, instead
o f 13i per cent as at the last report.”
Sir George Livesey conceived the plan o f giving the men a direct
interest in efficient and economical production by paying them a bonus
on their wages based on the price o f gas, this bonus to be at the rate
o f 15s. per £100 ( f per cent) on the annual salary o f officers and the

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

wages o f workmen fo r each penny (2 cents) at which gas sold below
3s. Id. (75 cents) per 1,000 feet. A t this scale if the gas was sold at
or above 3s. Id. (75 cents) per 1,000 feet there is no bonus; at 3s.
(73 cents) the bonus is f per cent; at 2s. lid . (71 cents), 1£ per cent; at
2s. lOd. (69 cents), 2 i per cent; at 2s. 9d. (67 cents), 3 per cent, and
so on down to 2s. (49 cents), when the bonus would be equivalent to
9 f per cent.
One-half o f the bonus is required to be invested in the names o f
three trustees in the company’s ordinary stock until the amount
credited to any profit sharer is sufficient to give him a stock certificate
in his own name; the remaining half o f the bonus is withdrawable at
a week’s notice, but it may be left in the company’s hands to accumu
late at interest, or it may be invested in stock with the trustees.
The bonus is paid only to those employees who work under written
agreements to serve the company fo r various periods, not exceeding
twelve months, with a proviso that any individual can leave by con
sent (which is always given) at any time, the directors reserving the
right to refuse agreements to any man and to withhold the agreement
in case a man has not shown a proper interest in his work. To pre
vent discrimination or favoritism no foreman is allowed to withhold
agreements, which can be done only by action o f the officers o f the
company. The bonus is calculated on the daily wages earned by the
workman in the course o f a year, overtime not being considered. No
deduction is made fo r sickness unless the total amount o f sickness
exceeds two calendar months in any one year, and then only the excess
over the two months is deducted. No bonus is earned until the end
o f the fiscal year (June 30) or the expiration o f the agreement, and no
employee is entitled to any part o f the bonus until such times, except
in case o f death or on leaving the service o f the company. W hen the
bonus is earned and declared it becomes the absolute property o f the
employee, and under no circumstances whatever, except fraud, can the
bonus, or any part, or any o f its accumulations, whether in the hands
o f the trustees or in the name o f the employee, be forfeited.
The bonus fund is managed by a committeee o f 36 members, o f
whom 18 are workmen and the remainder consist o f the chairman o f
the board o f directors and 17 members elected by the directory. A
quorum consists o f 17 members, o f whom no fewer than 8 shall be
workmen.
This committee appoints 3 trustees— one director, one
officer, and one workman— in whose names the bonus and the divi
dends as they accrue are annually invested in the company’s ordinary
stock. A n y employee can at any time sell his stock at the market
price on application to the secretary o f the profit-sharing committee,
but any employee selling his stock to an outsider without the consent
o f the secretary o f the company at once ceases to be a profit sharer,
notwithstanding any agreement he may have signed. In explanation

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

of this restriction it is said that at one time it was discovered that
publicans and other undesirable persons were buying the stock from
the men at a discount, and it was to discourage this and to prevent
outsiders from profiting by the company’s liberality that the rule was
adopted. A ny difference arising as to the construction o f the rules
adopted by the company shall be referred to the committee, whose
decision shall be final, and no alteration can be made in the rules with
out the sanction o f the committee. The company provides all neces
sary books and other incidentals and keeps the accounts and records
without charge to the committee.
The result o f the profit-sharing scheme has amply justified the most
sanguine hopes o f its promoter, who says it has been worth many times
more than its cost. Sir George Livesey relates as proof of its econ
omy that on one occasion he was explaining the scheme to one o f the
largest manufacturers in the north o f England and said to him: “ Is it
not worth 5 per cent to feel that your men are contented and satisfied
with the terms o f their employment?” and the answer of the manu
facturer was: “ Five per cent; it is worth 20 per cent, and is cheap at
that! ”
Sir G eorge Livesey says that in proposing the profit-sharing scheme,
which at that time was an experiment fraught with a good deal o f risk
and more liable to failure than to success, he had two distinct and welldefined objects in view. One was to attach the men to the company
and thereby improve the relations existing between the company and
its employees, the other was to benefit the condition of the men.
“ Employers,” he says, “ must work in the direction o f partnership
with their men; in other words, they must make them partners in
their business so as to make them take an interest in their work and
achieve the best results fo r both. The interests o f both are identical
and not antagonistic, and thai} both sides ought to recognize.”
Since the profit-sharing scheme went into operation the company
has not discriminated between union and nonunion men. A t the present
time both union and nonunion men are employed, and work side by
jside and apparently without friction. Whenever a man is engaged no
question is asked whether he is or is not a member o f a union; the
#*o»union men do not object to the presence o f union men except in
fhose rare cases where the nonunion men have reason to believe that
the unionists are not working for the best interests of the company.
'To use Sir George Livesey?s words: “ The men work very comfortably
together.”
He is firmly o f the opinion that the scheme has done more for the
men than the union could have accomplished, and he is equally firm
in the opinion that the company has profited by it. So far as the men
are concerned he is convinced that they are better off, because not
only are they paid the same wages that are paid by all the other met

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

ropolitan gas companies, but in addition they receive the bonus, and
the company deals liberally with them in the matter o f holidays, con
tributions to sick and benefit funds, and in other ways. He remarks
that the attitude o f indifference and the look o f sullenness which was
form erly so noticeable on the face o f the workingman has disappeared
and given place to one o f content. Foremen are greeted with a pleas
ant “ good morning,” and give the same in return. He says that the
cheerful, contented, satisfied workingman is worth all that he costs.
That the company is better off by the present arrangement, and
this means in the last analysis the public, because under the mutual
arrangement the cheaper the gas can be produced the lower is the price
to the consumer, has been quite clearly demonstrated by the figures o f
cost in one important branch o f gas manufacture. A t the time when
the union was strongest it cost the London companies from 2s. 6d.
(61 cents) to 2s. 8d. (65 cents) per ton o f coal fo r the labor o f handling
the coal and removing the coke, what is known as the retort-house
work, all the companies paying the same wages. The demands made
by the union and the restrictions it imposed resulted in increasing the
cost about Is. (24 cents) per ton. A fter the South Metropolitan Com
pany broke with the union the cost to that company fo r such work was
gradually reduced to the old figures, or even a trifle below, while the
other metropolitan companies have been able to effect a reduction o f
only a few cents; but, Sir George Livesey points out, this economy has
not been reached by reducing the rate o f wages or increasing the hours,
in other words, not by sweating or exploiting labor, because exactly the
same wages for the same number o f hours are paid by all the companies.
It is the result o f his company having overthrown the tyranny o f the
union, and it is the better work done by men who are more satisfied
and who take a greater interest in their work. Much o f this economy,
he admits, is due to the introduction o f machinery for drawing and
charging the retorts, but he calls attention to the fact that machinery
had been o f little use to the other companies because the union would
not allow them to obtain its full benefit, having imposed restrictions
and regulations which prevented the machinery from being worked to
its highest capacity. These other companies are now making better
use o f machinery and other labor-saving devices because the Gas
W orkers’ Union, he says, has lost its power, and no longer exercises
the dominant influence that it did at the time when he had his great
contest with it. As proof that the men will use machinery to the best
advantage when they are not prohibited from so doing by the rules o f
the union, he says that it has been found necessary to fix a limit o f
work upon the retort-house men, otherwise they would do more than
they properly ought to do. Further, he said:
A ny system o f profit sharing that treats all employees alike, the effi
cient and the less efficient, and pays them all an equal bonus, is in my

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

opinion a bad system, and has been one o f tbe reasons why profitsharing schemes have not been successful. When that system exists
the men simply look upon the amount o f profit as so much extra wages
which they will receive in any event, which does not depend upon the
character o f their work. In our case the men know that only those
are entitled to a share in the profits who have signed the agreement,
and because an agreement may be withheld in the case of a man whose
work has not proved satisfactory, they strive to do their best to entitle
them to receive the agreement. Men value these agreements so highly
that on the day they expire they apply fo r a renewal, and in many
cases the wives come with their husbands and take charge o f the agree
ments when they have been delivered, so important do they regard
them.
The unions, I believe, have been an enormous injury to industry.
Take the case o f the bricklayers fo r example. By common consent it
is admitted that a bricklayer some few years ago could lay 1,000 bricks
a day, while now the average day’s work is 400 or less. The whole
tendency o f unionism is to give as little and get as much as possible.
Still I am bound to say that this also has been the principle o f some
employers; but what I am afraid o f is that the union looks only on
one side o f the question. I think there is no doubt that the unions
have restricted the use o f machinery, and that the unions are largely
responsible for many disagreements between employers and men. The
old days o f the tyranny o f the employers have gone, but the tyranny
o f the union is still with us.
It is worthy o f mention that in August, 1903, the price o f gas was
2s. 3d. (55 cents) per 1,000 feet, or lOd. (20 cents) below the standard;
therefore the annual bonus was equivalent to 7 i per cent on wages and
salaries. The bonus has fluctuated with the price o f coal. In 1892
the bonus fell from 5 per cent to 3 per cent; in 1900 it dropped from
9 per cent to nothing, and started again at 3 f per cent in 1901. The
men, however, accepted the position cheerfully, and relaxed none o f
their interest in the company.
The company’s semiannual report fo r June 30, 1903, showed that
the employees had £190,000 ($924,635) in the stock and on deposit at
interest with the company, an average o f about £45 ($219) a man.
Sir George Livesey is a director in the Crystal Palace District Gas
Company, and through his influence the profit-sharing and agreement
system has been adopted by the company. Although it has been in
operation onty a short time the results are satisfactory, and as much
for the benefit o f the company as they are for the men.
The South Metropolitan Gas Company has also established an acci
dent fund, which, by mutual agreement, is a substitute for the work
man’s compensation act, 189T. (a)
A ll men employed by the company in receipt o f weekly wages are
invited to contribute to the fund and become its beneficiaries, the fund
«S ee Bulletin of the Department of Labor, No. 32, January, 1901: T he British
W ork m an 's Compensation A ct and its Operation, b y A . Maurice Low .

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

to be used to compensate the men for loss by reason of accident while
in the employ o f the company. Every man in receipt o f weekly
wages exceeding 21s. ($5.11) pays id. (1 cent) a week; men whose
wages do not exceed 21s. ($5.11) a week pay half that sum and receive
half the benefits. The company contributes at least twice as much as
the men. The scale o f compensation is as follows:
Minor or slight accidents, disabling fo r not less than three days or
more than a fortnight, entitle members to benefit at the rate o f 12s.
($2.92) a week, excepting those men who subscribe an extra 3d. (6
cents) per week to the sick fund, who receive, in addition to the acci
dent allowance, the weekly payment to which the extra 3d. (6 cents)
entitles them according to the sick-fund rules.
Serious accidents, causing incapacity fo r more than a fortnight,
entitle members to the benefit at the rate o f 18s. ($4.38) a week.
The benefit for accidents clearly caused by the negligence of the
company or its officers is 24s. ($5.84) a week.
A ny member whose injuries have been caused by his own “ serious
and willful misconduct,” whatever may be the period o f disablement,
receives nothing from the accident fund, but if he is a member of the
sick fund, receives benefit therefrom according to its rules.
In addition to the money allowance free medical attendance is
furnished.
The company pledges itself to find work for injured men on their
recovery (except those men whose injuries are due to their own
“ serious and willful misconduct” ) at not less than 24s. ($5.84) a week,
if the wages exceeded that amount, and fo r those injured by the
negligence o f the company, at not less than four-fifths o f the day
wages previously received, and in no case less than 24s. ($5.84) a week,
if the wages exceeded that amount.
In case o f permanent incapacity to do any work, the profit-sharing
committee decides what permanent weekly allowance or lump sum
shall be paid, in addition to any pension from the superannuation
fund to which the injured man may be entitled, but the total shall be
not less than he could have obtained under the act o f 1897.
The amounts due at death from sick and superannuation funds shall
be paid, and a pension o f not less than 10s. ($2.43) a week shall be
granted to the widow while leading a respectable life or until remar
riage, at which time a sum not exceeding £10 ($48.67) shall be paid
her. However, the profit-sharing committee may, according to cir
cumstances, grant, during the first three years, any amount not exceed
ing £1 ($4.87) per week, which amount may be reduced gradually to
the minimum o f 10s. ($2.43) at the end o f three years or sooner. I f
the deceased man was a widower leaving children dependent, or a
man leaving other dependent relatives, the profit-sharing committee

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

shall decide what, if any, allowance shall be made, but it shall in no
case exceed what would have been given had there been a widow with
children.
The rules o f the fund provide for a jury o f twelve workmen to
inquire into accidents and fix the responsibility. In order to secure
an impartial jury, an alphabetical list is made o f men who have been
in the company’s service fo r three years, and in selecting a jury the
names are taken in the order in which they appear on the list. The
jury is required to hear evidence, and, to the best of its ability, to
arrive at the real cause o f the accident, not hesitating to say whether
any blame attaches to any official or workman, or whether the plant,
machinery, or means o f protection are defective, if satisfied there has
been any neglect, carelessness, or defect. The jury shall determine,
if necessary, the class in which the injured man shall be placed, and
in case o f dispute the question shall be decided by ballot by a twothirds majority. The jury shall sit in public— that is, in the presence
o f as many o f the workmen as can conveniently attend without inter
fering with their work.
No alterations or additions to the rules can be made without the
approval o f two-thirds o f the men, and nothing can be done that would
make the provisions o f the scheme less favorable to the men than the
provisions o f the act.
There has also been created a sick and burial fund and a superan
nuation fund (two separate and distinct funds), membership in which is
voluntary and is not a condition o f service. To the first the weekly
contributions range from 3d. (6 cents) to 6d. (12 cents), and the relief
from 6s. ($1.46) to 18s. ($4.38) per week; at death a sum o f <£12 10s.
($60.83) is paid to the member’s representatives; on the death o f a
member’s wife he is paid £7 10s. ($36.50). The company subscribes
yearly such amount as may be required to insure the financial stability
o f the fund, and also bears all the cost o f management.
A n y workman over 18 and under 40 years o f age may join the super
annuation fund. The ordinary contribution to the fund is 3d. (6 cents)
weekly, but 6d. (12 cents) a week may be subscribed, and entitles the
subscriber to increased benefits. The company subscribes not less than
3d. (6 cents) a week for each man and guarantees the stability o f the
fund; the company also pays all expenses o f management.
Every subscriber o f not less than twenty-five years’ membership shall
have the right to claim his pension when he is 65 years o f age, a con
tribution o f 3d. (6 cents) a week for twenty-five years yielding a weekly
pension o f 11s. ($2.68), and of 6d. (12 cents) a week 15s. ($3.65), the
scale rising to 17s. ($4.14) and 23s. 6d. ($5.72) a week, respectively, for
forty-three years’ membership. A ny member who has subscribed for
ten years to the fund and has been in the service o f the company fo r not

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

less than twenty-five years, in the event o f infirmity due to natural
causes, shall receive weekly not less than 10s. ($2.43); a member who
has subscribed fo r less than ten years, in case o f leaving the company’s
service fo r any cause (fraud and dishonesty excepted), is entitled to
the return o f all his payments; if he has subscribed fo r more than ten
years, to a return o f two-thirds o f his payments, no interest being paid
on the money thus refunded; a subscriber o f not less than twenty-five
years’ membership and not less than 55 years o f age, who desires to
retire before he can claim his full pension, may, instead o f drawing
out his money, receive a reduced weekly or annual allowance, the
reduction- to be at the rate o f Is. (24 cents) per week if the member
has subscribed 3d. (6 cents) per week, and Is. 6d. (37 cents) per week
if the subscription has been 6d. (12 cents) based on the scale fo r every
year short o f sixty-five.
The widow or dependent children o f any member who has subscribed
for less than ten years to this fund are entitled to a return o f the whole
amount o f the member’s payment; in the event o f the member having
subscribed fo r a longer period than ten years the widow or children
are entitled to a return o f three-fourths o f the member’s payments,
but if the member has received benefit o f less amount than the threefourths o f his payments, his widow or children are paid the difference.
In case a man leaves neither widow nor dependent children the
amount o f his contributions lapses to the fund.
The accounts o f the various funds for the year 1902 show that 3,533
workmen contributed £2,398 13s. 9d. ($11,673.21), to the superannua
tion fund, and the company £3,264 4s. Id. ($15,885.25), the payments
from the fund being £3,394 17s. ($16,521.04). On January 1, 1903,
there was a balance to the credit o f the fund o f £36,636 19s. 5d.
($178,293.82).
There were 4,422 contributors to the sick and burial fund, whose
payments aggregated £4,178 17s. 3d. ($20,336.43), the company con
tributing £1,486 5s. 6d. ($7,232.96) to meet the deficiency.
This
entire amount was expended.
To the accident fund 5,544 men contributed £ 50118s. 3d. ($2,442.56)
and the company, £1,120 15s. ($5,454.13), the whole amount, with the
exception o f a balance o f less than $150, being used in paying accident
benefits and in paying pensions to widows o f workmen who lost their
lives in the company’s service.
Mr. W illiam Brace is the vice-president o f the South Wales Miners’
Federation and a member o f the central council o f the Miners’ Federa
tion o f Great Britain; he is also a member o f the royal commission
appointed to inquire into the coal resources o f Great Britain, which
is now sitting. Mr. Brace has never done any work except as a miner.
The territory o f the South Wales Miners’ Federation comprises South
Wales and Monmouthshire, and, in round figures, 150,000 men and

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

boys are employed. Practically every worker in the mines is a
member o f the federation.
For a number o f years past wages have been regulated by a sliding
scale, the selling price o f coal being the factor in determining wages.
The last sliding scale was signed in 1898 to continue for fou r years—
after a seventeen-week’s strike fo r the purpose of obtaining better
wages. A t the beginning o f the strike the men were poorly organ
ized and returned to work without having improved their condition.
They immediately began a systematic organization and affiliated them
selves with the national federation, which includes all mine workers
except those working in the Durham and Northumberland coal fields.
A t the end o f the four years the sliding-scale system was abolished
and there was substituted for it a conciliation board to adjust the ques
tion o f wages, with Viscount; Peel, the late speaker o f the House o f
Commons, as the independent chairman o f the board.
L ord Peel’s functions are similar in some respects to those o f L ord
Davey, as chairman of the Durham Miners’ Association, already
described, but Lord Peel possesses power only to decide for or against
any direct proposition presented to him, and does not enjoy the power
to deviate by way o f awarding a less amount o f advance or reduction
which either side may have demanded. The result o f this new system
in a sense revolutionized conditions existing in the South Wales coal
fields, and has led to work having been continued since that time with
out any stoppage caused by disagreements between employers and
the men. The organization o f the men led to a similar and equally
powerful organization on the part o f the colliery owners.
W ithout question, in the opinion o f Mr. Brace, trade Unionism not
only has improved the condition o f the miners, but also has demon
strated its beneficial influence in preventing strikes or lockouts. “ A t
every colliery,” he explained, “ there is what is known as a works
committee, which has power to deal with local disputes and discuss the
various questions which are constantly arising. In the case o f the
failure o f the works committee to agree with the representative o f
the owner and adjust differences, resort is had to one o f the general
officers o f the Miners’ Federation, who meets the manager; and in the
event o f these two men being unable to agree the case comes before
the conciliation board. The result is shown in very few strikes, and
those o f such a trivial character that they are hardly worthy o f notice.”
1 am a firm believer in the moral and educational value o f the trade
union. There is hardly a mining village without its institute containing gymnasium, billiard room, library, and other accommodations fo r
the recreation and improvement o f the men, which is supported by the
joint contributions o f men and employers, but is exclusively controlled
by the men. These institutes have done much to improve the condi
tion o f the men and are only a part o f the educational and progressive
work which is such a distinguishing feature o f trade unionism. A s

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

a result o f the men being organized into unions they acquire a larger
and wider knowledge o f affairs, because at their meetings not only are
practical questions affecting the trade discussed, but also politics, eco
nomics, and the other leading topics o f the day, the leaders o f the
union acting as teachers.
Mr. Brace was asked if in his opinion the masters as a body could
abolish the union would they do so, to which he answered:
It is my firm conviction that while some would, owing to their preju
dice against the union and their dislike o f it and its methods, the
majority o f employers would not, because they believe that it is the
union which makes collective bargaining possible, and collective bar
gaining is better than individual bargaining. W ith the union em ploy
ers can deal with employees as a body; if there was no union each
employer would have to deal with each employee separate^.
Labor leaders, that is the most progressive and sensible, are opposed
to anything that will lead to a stoppage o f work, because they know
that ultimately the cost will fall upon the workmen. They realize
that it is fo r their own interest to help their employers to make money,
so as to enable them to share in their good fortune.
The South Wales Federation prohibits the working o f union men
with nonunion men because they believe it is a dishonest practice.
They say that the nonunion men obtain all the advantage which has
been gained at the expense o f the union, and therefore if a man profits
by what has been won for him by the union it is only right and proper
that he should belong to the union and give it his material and finan
cial support. The grievance o f the union men is not against the em
ployers, but against the nonunion men, and to force the nonunionists
into the union they are prepared to go to the length o f striking if
necessary.
Mr. Brace asserts that his union has never attempted to restrict out
put, interfered in the management o f the business, or objected to the
use o f machinery.
The second largest trade union in Great Britain, and one o f the most
important because o f the intimate relations existing between its mem
bers and the public at large, is the Amalgamated Society o f Railway
Servants, with a membership o f 60,000. Its general secretary and
executive officer is Mr. Richard Bell, member o f Parliament for Derby
in the labor interest, a man o f great intelligence and breadth of view.
Mr. Bell, like all other trade-union leaders in Great Britain, is a prac
tical member o f the craft which he represents, and for many years
worked on the railroad as a guard (conductor) and in other capacities.
A ll his influence has been directed against strikes and in favor of
averting strikes unless a strike was the only remaining remedy to redress
wrongs. Recognizing the union as an educational and social force, a
force which has been mutually beneficial fo r both capital and labor,
his efforts have been exerted toward the exercise o f conciliation when

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

ever possible, and in bringing about a better and more intelligent
understanding between the man who pays and the man who is paid.
In a discussion on trade unionism in general and the work o f his
society more especially, Mr. Bell said that the union had undoubtedly
been an advantage to employers, because it had enabled them to
deal with their men collectively, through officers o f the union, rather
than with individuals^ which was not only a saving o f time and labor,
but was also much more satisfactory in reaching definite results.
The question of so-called 44compulsory arbitration” was mentioned to
Mr. Bell, who said that he did not favor the scheme because he did
not believe that it would produce practical results. What Mr. Bell
does most emphatically support is a method o f settling disputes, or
perhaps it might be more correct to term it a method to prevent dis
agreements, by what he terms ‘ 4compulsory conciliation.” To carry
this idea into effect Mr. Bell has introduced into Parliament a bill,
which applies only to railways, which makes it impossible for a strike
or a lockout to take place until after the matter has been submitted to
a board o f conciliation. The full text o f Mr. Bell’s bill will be found
in Appendix B.
The majority o f the members o f his society, Mr. Bell says, approve
the bill and would like to see it enacted into law, but owing to the
opposition o f the employers no action has as yet been taken on the
measure. Mr. Bell is frank enough to say that a great majority o f
strikes are due to the stubbornness or stupidity displayed on one side
or the other, and anything that would substitute a rational method for
passion, prejudice, or ignorance would be an immense gain to society.
In view o f the Taff Yale decision it is quite natural that Mr. Bell
should deeply deplore the tendency o f 44 government by injunction.”
The use o f the process o f injunction is regarded by Mr. Bell, in com
mon with other labor leaders,, as a misuse and perversion, and danger
ous to the rights and liberties, o f the subject.
Mr. Bell points out that the union has been of immense advantage
to the workingman. He said:
It has done a very great deal fo r him. It has elevated him generally;
it has improved his wages; it has raised his standard as a worker; it
has reduced his hours, and, generally speaking, the hours o f workmen
in Great Britain are lower tha n in any other country, due solely to trade
unionism and the agitation which we have carried on in favor o f a
reduction o f time. 1 think it. may be fairly said that no emploj^erwill
spontaneously increase wages or reduce hours. In other words, what
ever he has given in that direction he has been made to give, partly
owing to the force o f public opinion; but public opinion nas simply
become an effective force after we have crystallized that opinion.
In various ways the trade unions have raised the standard o f the
workingman, and in no other direction has it done so much as in incul
cating the virtue o f temperance. I believe I do not exaggerate when

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

I say that nine out o f ten o f the trade-union leaders are total abstainers;
o f seven general officers o f this society five are strict temperance men.
Trade unionism sets its face against drunkenness, because it knows per
haps better than any other organized agents o f society the evils of intemerance and the mischief that is caused by drunkenness. Trade unionism
as always taken an active part in all outside movements that might in any
way be a benefit to the great body o f wage workers, such as the housing
problem, temperance reform , old-age pensions, etc., and it has by coop
eration been the means o f men owning their homes and thereby enabling
tfiem to acquire a provision for their old age. It has encouraged thrift,
good-fellowship, charity; it has brought men into closer relation with
each other, which has made them more tolerant, and, if I may use the
expression, more humane. Roughly speaking 95 per cent o f the mem
bers o f trade unions are also members o f friendly societies, which is
absolute proof that our men are becoming more saving and displaying
a broader spirit o f fellowship.
Not less valuable has been the work o f the trade union in encourag
ing better work. Our union will not pay benefits to a man who has
been dismissed because his work has been badly performed, and we have
always impressed upon our men that they must do their very best in
whatever capacity they may be placed. It has been often asserted that
the tendency o f trade unionism in fixing a standard wage is to level
down the best man to the plane o f the worst, but that I deny. W e do
not fix the maximum wage, but simply the minimum, and it is left to
the employer to pay the employee whatever additional wage he is
deemed worthy o f as compared with the employee o f lower capacity.
Intelligent employers recognize this and reward it by compensating
the better workman; thus the locomotive engineer who by more care
and greater skill can cover a certain mileage with a smaller consump
tion o f coal than one who burns more coal, and thereby decreases the
cost o f operation, receives on some railways a bonus based on the
amount o f money saved. I think it may be said that every man, speak
ing generally, o f course, is anxious to do the best w ork that he can,
provided he knows that his work will be properly recognized.
W e have seldom opposed the use o f machinery; we have never
objected to larger locomotives and trucks, which are an economy and
facilitate traffic, but we do claim that when such improvements are
introduced they should be o f mutual advantage and the men as well as
the employer should receive some o f the benefits. A larger engine
hauls a greater number o f wagons [cars], which imposes on the engineer
greater responsibility and greater labor. Now it is not fair in such
cases that the engine driver should be paid no additional wages. I f
employers will frankly recognize that when, through the introduction
o f machinery or other improved methods, they add to their gains a
percentage at least o f that gain should g o to the men who make the
use o f that machinery possible, the friction which has often arisen
between employers and employees over the use of machinery will
disappear.
Y ou ask me whether employers generally, if they possessed the
power, would abolish the trade union. I can only say to that, in my
opinion, one-half o f them would and the other half would not.
So far as our own organization is concerned, we work on absolutely
peaceable terms with nonunion men; in fact, it is difficult for anyone
to distinguish between union and nonunion men in their daily inter

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

course, and, so far as my experience and knowledge go, that is the
practice o f the better class o f trade unions in this country.
Mr. David A lfred Thomas, for the last fifteen years senior Liberal
member o f Parliament for Merthyr Tydvil, the largest mining con
stituency in Great Britain, has for many years been what is known as
an independent coal operator, that is, he is not a member o f any
employers’ federation, but deals directly with his men.
“ Y ou are fully a generation behind us in America in the relations
affecting labor and capital,” was the opening remark of Mr. Thomas,
when asked to give his views on the question under consideration, and
he continued as follows:
In England the employers do not object to meeting the men to dis
cuss conditions o f employment; in fact, they regard that as a part of
the business. The influence o f the times, good or bad, is far more
potent on wages and the relations between employer and employee
than is any organization. From the standpoint of the employer,
broadly speaking, 1 am o f the opinion that the union has exercised an
influence fo r good because it has established better relations between
the two sides and has put in force collective bargaining, which is a
thing much more to be desired than individual dealings. For these
reasons the union has my approval.
So far as the South Wales colliery owners are concerned, the demands
o f the union for higher wages and shorter hours have enabled the
owners to insist upon and obtain higher prices for their coal. Prior to
that time the owners fought each other and cut prices in their competi
tive efforts, so that it became a common saying that the coal business
was either a feast or a famine; either great profits were made or else
the business was conducted virtually at a loss. In the time o f large
returns the men obtained a little o f the advantage, but when prices
fell the wages o f the men were o f course reduced. The owners have
now discovered that they are able to obtain better prices by acting
practically in concert, although there is no trust, and have no objection
to paying better wages when they know that the cost o f producing the
coal bears a fixed relation to its selling price; therefore the increase of
wages does not fall upon them.
In South Wales, in the coal-mining industry, the union has raised
little objection, if any, to the use o f labor-saving machinery, but then
it should be added that practically no attempt has been made to substi
tute machinery fo r manual process. The effect o f unionism has not
been to make the men loiter oyer their work, or to induce them to do
as little as possible fo r the wages they receive.
There is a very human disposition on the part o f the collier, not
unknown in other walks o f life, to take life easier as income improves,
but, except in a few cases— such as where men are on day work prior
to the fixing o f the cutting price in a new colliery or seam, and have
limited the output with a view to influencing a settlement— I have
never known it to take the form o f what may be called “ ca’ canny,”
though very possibly the man who works exceptionally hard and
remains long hours may not be regarded with the most friendly eye
by the less energetic man in the neighboring stall, who might look
upon it as bad form and express himself accordingly. The effect o f
550— N o. 50— 04------ 4

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

the general disposition to take things more easily in good times can not
be measured statistically because the output per individual in periods
of depression is necessarily diminished by the stoppage o f the colliery
from want o f trade.
O f recent years perhaps more friction has existed between London
compositors and their employers than in any other industry. The
employers bitterly complain o f the tyranny o f the men and the attempts
they have continually made to prevent the introduction of typesetting
machines. When finally the men were forced to yield to the march of
improvement and found that they could not continue to set up news
papers and certain kinds o f book work by the antiquated method
o f hand composition, they deprived the employer of the economy of
machinery by restricting output and imposing arbitrary, tyrannical,
and foolish regulations governing the use o f machines.
Many o f the largest printers in London, including several o f the
most prominent daily newspapers, are members o f the Master Printers5
Association, o f which Maj. Vane Stow is the secretary. Talking about
the relations between employers and men, M ajor Stow gave it as his
opinion that in the past the trade union was possibly a beneficial insti
tution as it relieved the worker from the tyranny o f the employer,
but such tyranny never existed in the printing trade, and until a few
years ago the relations between employers and men were friendly, as
it was not often that the power possessed by either side was abused. O f
recent years it has been noticed that the printers5union has been man
aged on different lines; its members have manifested a tyrannical dispo
sition, and the union is constantly making new demands and seeking
fresh interpretations o f agreements or rules that have been accepted
by both sides.
Major Stow complained o f the injuiy that the union has done in
restricting output and in compelling employers to make use of a larger
number o f men than is actually necessary or would be required if the
men were permitted to obtain the full output from their machines.
Like many other men who discuss the labor question from the stand
point o f capital and the employer, M ajor Stow believes that the effect
o f the trade union has been to destroy incentive among the men, and
that unionism offers no inducement to the best and most competent
workman to work up to his full power. On the other hand, he admits
that the union has been o f benefit in that it has substituted collective
for individual bargaining, and collective bargaining he regards as an
advance over individual negotiation, as it enables the two sides to meet
each other through representative bodies.
Asked the direct question
whether, in his opinion, employers as a rule would abolish the union
if they had the power to do so, M ajor Stow said he would not like to
answer the question because so much would depend on individual
employers, but even if the union were abolished, he thought it would

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

be necessary for something to be substituted in its place fo r the con
venience o f having collective rather than individual bargaining.
One o f the oldest and most influential newspapers in London is the
Morning Post, o f which Lord Glenesk is the sole proprietor. A t the
time when Lord Glenesk became its owner the paper was neither as
influential nor as profitable as it is to-day, but animated by a spirit o f
benevolence and wise liberality in trying to make the relations between
himself and his employees as friendly as possible, he unionized the
composing room. L ord Glenesk voices the feeling of many employers
in England, and especially those employers who have to deal with
printers. He says he has no hostility to the union or unionism in gen
eral; on the contrary, he would do everything in his power to encour
age the union if the union would confine itself to its legitimate
functions. It is because the union often attempts to interfere with
matters with which it has no concern, and to restrict and hamper busi
ness operations, that employers are frequently forced to regard the
union as inimical not only to the interests o f the employer but also
to the best interests o f the men. Despite the efforts of a just and
liberal employer to treat his men properly, on the part o f the unions
there are a number o f small things that constantly arise which in the
aggregate spell hostility. W hat an employer objects to perhaps more
than anything else is that, although the relations existing between
himself and his men may be o f the most satisfactory character, the
men will go out on a strike in sympathy with other men employed in
quite another line o f trade.
L ord Glenesk points out that labor makes the mistake o f believing
that it is capital, while, as a matter o f fact, it is nothing o f the kind,
and it becomes capital only when the product of labor is turned into
money. Labor is not capital, and fo r labor to consider itself capital
leads to a confusion o f ideas and involves the correct functions o f both.
Lord Glenesk takes issue with the trade-union leaders that the pres
ent improved condition o f the British workman in the matter o f higher
wages and reduced hours is the result o f unionism. He ascribes this
better state o f affairs to the general prosperity not only of Great
Britain, but also of the world at large; to the fact that the world is
incomparably richer to-day than it was half a century ago, which has
been brought about by the advancement o f science and improvement
in the mechanical arts, and because the various countries o f the world
are no longer detached and isolated, but, by steam, cable, telegraph,
and other means o f communication, are brought into close contact.
This has enormously increased the general wealth and the general wel
fare, and in that wealth the workingman has shared, as has everybody
else, and he lives better to-day precisely as do all other classes, because
science and the march o f improvement have made that possible.
Instead o f having helped British industry, in the opinion o f Lord

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Glenesk, the unions have hampered it, because of the unnecessary
restrictions which they have placed upon employers in their oppo
sition to the introduction o f machinery. This has been especially so
in the case o f the printers, who, by every means in their power,
opposed the introduction o f typesetting machines, and when finally they
were forced to yield they still prevented the full benefit to be derived
from the use o f the machines by imposing restrictions which obstructed
their full output, or required that an unnecessary number o f men should
be employed in their manipulation. Lord Glenesk also believes that the
result o f trade unionism has been to reduce the worker to a dead level
instead o f affording the intelligent or ambitious man the opportunity to
rise. A n army in motion, to use his simile, moves at the pace o f its
slowest unit, because it has to make progress as a compact organization.
It is the same with the trade union. There is a certain pace set, and that
pace is the pace not o f the fastest but o f the slowest, the result being
that the man who could move faster is prevented by the rules of his
union from exceeding the pace o f the slowest, or least intelligent, or
least capable, o f the army o f workers. 661 can only repeat,” Lord
Glenesk added in conclusion, 44that while I am not hostile to the union
so long as it does anything to improve the condition of the men and
better the relations between them and their employers, I object to it
only when the union departs from its proper field and attempts to
invade the domain o f the employer. I f instead of doing that the
unions would, for instance, teach their members how to cook, if it
would take some o f them to France and let the British workman see
how much better the French workman lives on less money, I think it
would do an immense amount o f good.”
F or twenty years Mr. J. W . Shackleton, at the present time mem
ber o f Parliament fo r Clitheroe, Lancashire, was a weaver in the cotton
mills, and for ten years prior to his election to Parliament was the
secretary o f the Darwen Weavers5 Association of Lancashire, and is
now the vice-president o f the Northern Counties Amalgamated W eav
ers5 Association, with a membership o f 90,000 men, women, and
44young persons,” all o f whom work in the cotton textile trade.
In Lancashire in the cotton trade there is a joint committee composed
o f operators and employers whose functions are to settle all questions
relating to wages and the conditions o f labor. There is also a body
known as the Textile Association, which includes in its membership all
o f the various textile societies embracing the different branches o f the
trade— cotton spinners, cardroom workers, overlookers (fixers, in
America), weavers, twisters, drawers, and bleachers. This association
deals solely with legislative matters, that is, all questions coming before
Parliament, but not with trade disputes. The employers have a simi
lar organization called the Employers5 Parliamentary Council, and as
occasion demands it these two bodies meet fo r discussion and agreement.

LABOB UNIONS AND BBITISH INBUSTBY.

The creation o f these two organizations, representing both employers
and employees, Mr. Shackleton regards as an excellent arrangement,
and he thinks they have on many occasions prevented strife and
averted war. He points out that properly speaking they are boards
o f conciliation and not o f arbitration; their function is to try to har
monize difficulties when they exist; but, of course, if all other means
have been exhausted and an agreement is not reached there is only one
resource left, that is, to fight in the usual way by means o f a strike.
The Northern Counties Amalgamated Weavers’ Association is the
central body. Each town in the Lancashire cotton district has its local
union, which, to all intents and purposes, is autonomous and is g ov
erned by a committee elected by the men, members o f that union.
A nybody working in the trade is eligible to membership. The scale
of prices governing the trade is fixed by joint agreement between
committees o f employers and the Northern Counties Amalgamated
Weavers’ Association, and that list governs prices in all branches o f
the cotton weaving or manufacturing departments; the scale continu
ing for an indefinite period, but subject to change at any time by
mutual consent, or if no common basis of agreement can be reached
both sides have the alternative in the usual way, that is, by a lockout
on the part o f the employers or a strike on the part of the employees.
It should be noted, however, that the scale under which the men are
now working went into effect in 1892, and since then there has been
only one modification, which was an advance of 2 i per cent to the
operatives in 1898. It will therefore be seen that there has been a
long period o f peace in the Lancashire cotton trade. Other branches
of the trade, spinners, carders, and so forth, are working under similar
agreements.
The general position assumed by the Weavers’ Association, as stated
b}^ Mr. Shackleton, is that neither operatives nor employers have the
right materially to m odify this scale without giving an opportunity to
the joint committee to adjust the matter. A ll questions affecting the
trade are discussed once a month at a council meeting held in various
parts o f Lancashire, but which sits usually in Manchester, as being the
most central point. This council is composed o f one representative for
every 1,000 members. There is a central committee consisting o f 11
members elected by ballot by the central council; its members hold
office fo r twelve months, one-half o f the council retiring every six
months, but eligible for reelection.
It has been stated that the local societies or unions enjoy an autono
mous form o f government. This liberty o f action extends to the
fixing o f the rate scale, the scale not being uniform in all districts,
but being governed by local and other conditions. The local societies
also pay the local benefits in case o f sickness or other causes, and have
in some cases sanctioned local strikes, but such a strike is ultra vires

BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR.

unless it has been passed upon and received the approval o f the central
body. The policy o f the central body is to stand aloof and not to
interfere unless its aid is evoked by one or both o f the contestants. In
that case it intervenes, but it never tenders the exercise o f its good
offices unless they have been sought.
Mr. Shackleton has no hesitation in saying that the union has been
o f the greatest possible benefit to the men, and also o f great benefit to
the employers. It has helped the men because the union has become
an effective power and that power can be enforced if necessary; it has
been o f advantage to the employers, because it has provided a means
for both sides to get together, and the fact that the employers meet the
men through the joint committee proves this. I f it had not been for
the unions, in the belief o f Mr. Shackleton, wages would have had a
tendency to go down rather than to have advanced, as individual em
ployers would have taken advantage o f the necessities of their men, and
would have reduced wages, which would have led to all employers
doing the same thing. The union has been the means o f reducing the
hours o f labor, which has been done by organized effort, and which
has resulted in all men engaged in the trade, whether union or non
union, receiving the same benefits. Here, as in many other trades,
union and nonunion men work side by side, although the union men
naturally try to make converts o f the nonunion men to the doctrine
and principles o f unionism.
The condition o f workers in the textile trade has been improved to
the extent that unionism, Mr. Shackleton asserts, has raised the gen
eral standard. The union has not restricted the use o f labor-saving
machinery; but, to use his words, “ we believe that whenever laborsaving machinery is employed, which means an increase in profits to
the employer, we should obtain our share, whatever it may be, either
by receiving better wages or by a reduction o f hours. In other words,
we do not regard it as fair that the workingman, by the use o f machin
ery, should be exploited solely fo r the benefit o f the employer. Only
to that extent can it be fairly said that any objection has been raised
to the use o f any form o f machinery; and wherever its introduction
has been follow ed by the men profiting in some degree with the profit
o f the employer no objection has been made.”
In 1897 some o f the largest employers o f labor in the United K ing
dom formed the Labor Protection Association, which was primarily
intended to enable a scientific study to be made o f the causes relating
to trade disputes generally, but which shortly after its organization,
and since then, materially widened the scope o f its action. Not long
after its formation the great strike o f the engineers occurred and the
association supplied nonunion men to those firms which were at war
with the union, and also took measures to furnish police protection for
the nonunion labor. In 1898 there was formed the Employers’ Parlia

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

mentaiy Council, organized for the purpose o f watching legislation
affecting employers. The two associations are separate bodies, but
they work in unison and many members are members of both.
Mr. F. W . Read, the assistant secretary o f both the Labor Protec
tion Association and the Employers’ Parliamentary Council, speaking
in his official capacity, gave the views o f these great representative
bodies o f employers regarding the trade unions. He says:
The unions have undoubtedly certain useful functions, and no
employer objects to the union so long as it confines itself to those
functions that are useful and legitimate, but what the employer does
object to is the union exercising its power to restrict output; to inter
fere with the proper conduct o f business, and especially to interfere
with men who do not belong to the union, who do not want to belong
to it, but who, owing to this interference and coercion, are made to
join it. W ithout doubt the unions have been an injury to British
industry by restricting output, by imposing unnecessary regulations,
and by trying to prevent the introduction o f labor-saving and other
machinery. It is quite impossible to point to any documentary evi
dence that would sustain these allegations, but we consider that the
fact has been clearly established by the conduct o f men in union work
shops; and when, as has sometimes happened, the union men in those
shops have been displaced by nonunion men, the gain has been shown
by a large increase o f the output.
It has been frequently asserted by union men that the union has
been o f great benefit because it has led to the substitution o f collective
for individual bargaining, and if collective bargaining is a good thing,
then the unions have served a useful purpose. But we deny that it
has been fo r the real advantage o f the men, and we contend that it
has had the effect o f depressing the best worker to the level o f the
worst; and it has been especially bad for the good man who, left to
himself, would have gone ahead, but who, under the restrictive rules
of the union, becomes o f no greater value than the least effective
workman. It must be admitted, however, that the unions have been
o f advantage to the men on what may be termed the provident side—
that is, in enabling them to save and to make a provision for sickness
and old age.
It is also claimed by the unions as one o f the things to justify their
existence that, largely owing to their efforts, there has been an increase
o f wages and a decrease o f hours. This I hold not to be due to the
unions, but to purely economic causes. The general increase o f wages
may be traced to the general increased wealth o f the country and the
world at large, and also to the rise o f the standard o f comfort. It is
significant that the increase o f wages is greater among unorganized
labor than with organized, and possibly in no class has the increase
been so large as among domestic servants, who of course are totally
unorganized.
In my opinion it would be better for trade at large if there were no
unions, and yet I can not say that all employers would abolish the
unions if they had the power to do so. Some o f them would not,
because they believe that it is more advantageous for them as employers
to treat with the unions as the representatives o f the great body o f
workers than for them to deal with individuals.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Referring to the Taff Yale decision and its effect upon unions and
union labor generally, Mr. Read advanced the opinion that it would
have the tendency to keep in check what employers regard as the
worst features o f trade unionism and make the leaders more cautious;
that in the future, when a strike occurs, the unions would be careful
to conduct the strike so that no legal rights would be infringed. It
would not be fair, Mr. Read continued, to bring the charge that union
leaders have in the case o f a strike encouraged violence or other
illegal methods, but it is fair to say that in the past, knowing that the
worst that could happen to them would be the conviction o f a few men
for violence or intimidation, fo r which the punishment would be merely
a short term o f imprisonment, they were indifferent to the conduct
o f some o f the members. But now that it is known that the funds o f
the unions can be seized and be made to pay for the injury and dam
age done, everybody connected with the union, the officers as well as
the youngest member, fo r self-protection, will be more cautious and
will be less inclined to do anything which may subject the union as a
whole to pecuniary responsibility.
“ I think it should also be said,” Mr. Read added, “ that the relations
existing between employers and men are better to-day than they were
in the past, and that the larger and best organized unions want to
adopt methods o f conciliation, and endeavor to avoid strikes.”
The shipping trade has been one o f the most important industries o f
Great Britain in which, up to a few years ago, disputes between mas
ters and men were o f frequent occurrence, and carried on with great
bitterness on both sides, frequently being attended by scenes o f vio
lence, destruction to property, and bodily injury. In talking o f the
shipping industry it should be understood that this term means, in
Great Britain, not only the crews o f ships, but also the stevedores and
dockers in London and in the other great ports o f the Kingdom. A
disagreement between a ship owner and his crew might, and frequently
did, involve the stevedores and dock laborers, who had no direct inter
est in the question at issue, but who made the cause their own. And
conversely, sometimes a trivial dispute about the employment o f a few
dock laborers might result in tying up shipping and in rendering use
less many vessels because they were unable to load or discharge their
cargoes.
To meet this condition o f affairs numerous ship owners and ship
owners’ associations formed themselves into the Shipping Federation,
which is unusual in one respect at least, as, unlike all other associa
tions o f employers, the Shipping Federation is a limited liability com
pany, organized under the acts creating and governing limited liability
companies in Great Britain, and is subject to the same legal rights,
restrictions, regulations, and obligations as any other joint-stock com
pany. The federation was organized in 1891 primarily to deal with

LABOE UNIONS AND BEITISH INDUSTEY.

questions affecting labor, and. it was essentially a protective associa
tion o f employers, but since then its scope has been extended and its
objects widened. In case o f a labor dispute in which any member is
involved, the federation comes to his assistance in whatever way may
be necessary, by procuring for him a crew, if the difficulty is one with
seamen, or by furnishing him with stevedores, if the controversy has
involved that branch o f labor., F or the last three years the relations
between ship owners and men have been improved, which members o f
the federation attribute to the perfection o f its organization, and also
to the wholesome fear which the unions have o f trying conclusions
with the powerful association of employers.
The secretary o f the federation is Mr. Michael Brett, who explained
that one o f the methods employed by the federation to improve the
relations between its members and their employees has been the crea
tion o f a benefit fund which gives a bonus to well-behaved seamen who
live up to the terms o f their agreement. Every seaman, which includes
every person on board ship, who is engaged on any federation ship
must register at one o f the oflices o f the federation, these offices being
found at all the principal British ports. The terms of the agreement
are that the man will agree to serve on the ship fo r which he is engaged,
whether he is a union or a nonunion man, and the federation makes no
discrimination as to his connection with the union. I f he serves for
six months and receives a good discharge he is given “ a benefit
certificate,” which entitles him. to compensation in case o f accident, the
compensation ranging from 5s. ($1.22) a week to 40s. ($9.73) for a maxi
mum period o f thirteen weeks, according to rating, and in case o f death
or total disablement his representatives are entitled to from £12 10s.
($60.83), for an Asiatic seaman, to £100 ($486.65) for the master o f a
vessel over 200 tons. The holder o f a certificate does not have to pay
any contribution, but is required to appear personally and renew his
certificate every year, or in case o f his absence from the United K ing
dom at the date for renewal to do so immediately upon his return.
The ticket is forfeited in case o f desertion, and may be suspended for
various causes, but is subject to renewal for subsequent good behavior.
The federation has paid out a large amount o f benefit money, Mr.
Brett stated, but he preferred not to give figures. The federation
regards it as a hopeful sign, and indicative o f the beneficial effect o f
the fund, that the number o f certificates forfeited and suspended is
constantly growing smaller.
When the federation was first organized it was bitterly fought by
the unions, who claimed that its purpose was to lower wages and crush
the union. This, it is asserted, is untrue. So far as wages are con
cerned the federation does not. concern itself, as wages are subject to
the standard scale adopted at the port, wages not being uniform in all
ports, but varying according to circumstance.
Instead of being

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

antagonistic to the union, as already explained, the federation does
not discriminate against union men, and only demands o f them that
they shall be efficient and shall not try to create trouble.
The members o f the federation represent the ownership of 9,000,000
tons o f registered shipping. Mr. Brett does not approve o f the union.
He said:
A t the present time the shipping trade is not suffering from trade
unionism because we are able to keep it in check, but I do not think
that any other employer can say the same, and if it were not for the
federation the shipping business would have been paralyzed. A few
years before the federation was organized conditions were so bad that
an owner had no power to select his crew; he might not discharge
his ship with the machinery at his command; often when he wanted to
go to a particular port he was prevented. In a word, the owners were
at the absolute mercy o f the men, who used their power unscrupulously,
tyrannically, and ignorantly. Things have changed because organiza
tion has been met with organization, and the owners are now strong
enough to resist the men.
During the last twenty years the condition o f seamen has vastly
improved, but that improvement has not been brought about by any
particular union, or unionism in general, but is the result of general
conditions. The seaman to-day has better accommodations, better
food, and better treatment than he ever had.
One o f the grievances o f shipowners against the union is the attempt
made by the union to prevent the use o f labor-saving machinery, and
even to-day that attempt is still made whenever the union thinks itself
strong enough to be able to enforce its unreasonable demand. Here
is a typical instance o f union tyranny and interference. A t Cork
quite recently the dockers, or, as they are known in the trade, the coal
porters, demanded that in discharging certain coal-laden vessels hand
winches and not steam winches should be used, the use o f the steam
winch naturally facilitating the work and enabling a ship to be dis
charged more expeditiously. When the owners insisted that they
would use steam winches as being a modern appliance the men struck,
but as the vessels involved belonged to members o f the federation, men
were sent from Hull to take the place o f the strikers.
So far as the union is concerned we do not care in the least whether
it exists or not, nor do we fear it. W e would encourage the union if
it looked after its members or elevated them or improved their condi
tion in any way, and did not interfere with our business; but this last
it will do, while the things it ought to do it will not do.
In some respects the functions o f the British Board of Trade cor
respond with those o f the United States Department o f Commerce and
Labor, the English centralized system o f government, however, plac
ing in the hands o f the Government complete authority, flowing out
o f the power granted by act o f Parliament, over the entire United
Kingdom. The Board o f Trade is intrusted with the collection and
dissemination o f statistical and other valuable information relating to
trade and industrial movements and such other data as bear upon the
relations between employers and employees, its functions being sim

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

ilar in some respects to the work performed by the Bureau o f Labor
o f the Department o f Commerce and Labor.
Mr. John Burnett is the chief labor correspondent of the Board
o f Trade, a title which is a misnomer and conveys a wrong impression
o f Mr. Burnett’s duties, as it suggests that he corresponds with the
Board o f Trade, while as a matter o f fact, instead o f being a corre
spondent he more nearly approaches an editor, and in the United States
would be known as the chief o f a bureau. Mr. Burnett, before enter
ing the Government service, was a workingman and a member o f the
Amalgamated Society o f Engineers. His views, therefore, on the
labor question are of additional value, because he knows the question
not only as surveyed from the standpoint o f labor, but also as viewed
from the more judicial and impartial standpoint o f a Government
official, whose duties have been for a number o f years past to deal
scientifically with the many complex problems involved.
Mr. Burijett gave it as his opinion that the effect o f trade unionism
clearly had the tendency to raise wages, part o f that increase being due
to the law o f supply and demand, but one o f the most important causes
being the union. It had also reduced the hours o f labor. To the trade
union must be awarded the credit fo r the beginning of the movement
to make strikes less frequent and to have legislation adopted which
would make it possible to reach a settlement of a dispute when it
occurs. Whether the trade union has made the men strive to do better
work is a somewhat difficult question to answer offhand, but, generally
speaking, Mr. Burnett is inclined to say yes, because the rules of most
o f the unions provide that men shall not be admitted to membership
unless they are competent workmen, and this rule is generally enforced.
Men who are not competent are liable to discharge, which may lead
to a conflict between the union and the employer, and therefore, as
a matter of self-protection, the members o f a union exercise some
method o f selection. Another important influence of the trade union
has been the providing o f means whereby negotiations between employ
ers and men have been carried on between their representatives,
instead o f between individuals, which has naturally, and as the next
step, led up to boards o f conciliation and arbitration, which are o f
enormous benefit to everybody concerned, and which would have been
absolutely impossible without organization. The substitution o f col
lective for individual bargaining must also be looked upon as a great
social advance. Mr. Burnett said:
It would seem to me that the trade union has tended to develop the
men’s sense o f duty and responsibility to their employers; it has done
much to inculcate temperance, because when a man loses his place
through drunkenness he forfeits his benefits, and it has encouraged
thrift by helping the men to borrow money from the building socie
ties and in other ways encouraging them to save.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Generally speaking, I believe that the trade union has improved the
relations between capital and labor. It would be somewhat difficult
to say whether trade unionism has hampered industry, but speaking
broadly for the larger and best conducted unions, I think they do not
place obstructions in the way o f the usa o f labor-saving machinery,
although there may have been a tendency to restrict output. I think
it can be said without much question that if it were not for the trade
union the condition o f workmen generally would not be so good as it
now is, because the union has not only been the means o f securing
better wages and shorter hours, but it has also promoted legislation
which has been o f great good for the great body o f workers, and
especially in behalf o f women and children. W hile it must be admitted
that many employers are opposed to the union, it is also a fact that
many o f them are equally favorable to it, because it provides a more
convenient and better method whereby employers and men can settle
their differences.
W hat the State legislature is to the State in the United States the
union is to its particular trade in England; and broadly speaking the
General Federation o f Trade Unions bears the same relation to the
separate and independent unions that the Congress does to the United
States at large. The General Federation o f Trade Unions came into
existence four years ago because trade-unionists realized the necessity
o f a better and more systematic financial scheme for the general wel
fare o f unionists when financial assistance became necessary. Just as
every State o f the American Union is sovereign and independent within
its own borders, but has delegated certain powers to the Federal G ov
ernment fo r the good of the entire body politic, so the General Fed
eration possesses powers which can be exercised only by the federation
itself. The General Federation has a membership o f 420,000. Every
union a member o f the General Federation pays a contribution o f 2s.
(49 cents) per member per annum, who receives when on strike a
benefit o f 5s. ($1.22) per week. The union may reduce the per capita
contribution one-half and the members receive a correspondingly
reduced benefit.
In explaining the object and purpose o f the federation, Mr. Isaac
Mitchell, its general secretary, stated that one o f the most important
ends sought to be accomplished by the federation is to prevent trade
disputes and eliminate friction between employers and employees, and
where, unfortunately, differences arise, to try to bring the contending
parties together. I f after investigation and every attempt to seek a
reconciliation fails and the federation, through its executive commit
tee, becomes convinced that the men are in the right and are justified
in their demand, they are given financial support; but if it is the
opinion o f the committee that the justification does not exist, then no
such support is extended. In the four years since the federation came
into existence it had twelve times refused to give financial help when it
had been asked and in numerous other cases it had prevented a rupture.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

Recently at Wolverhampton there was a dispute in the lock trade
which threatened a strike. Owing to the mediation o f the federation
a wages board was constituted which resulted in an amicable under
standing. Mr. Mitchell said:
Our policy has been to obtain the confidence o f employers no less
than that o f the men by taking a strictly impartial attitude in our
investigations and making both sides understand that we are more
desirous o f justice and lasting benefits than mere temporary advan
tages gained through the use o f arbitrary power.
The affairs o f the federation are controlled by a management com
mittee o f 15 members, elected annually by the council. The council
is composed o f delegates representing the various unions, a union with
a membership o f not exceeding 10,000 being entitled to one delegate;
exceeding 10,000 and not exceeding 25,000, two delegates; exceeding
25,000 and not exceeding 50,000, three delegates, and all over 50,000,
four delegates.
The federation has no power to take the initiative in ordering a
strike, but when the council o f the federation sanctions a dispute the
union involved is entitled to benefits. A fter a dispute has lasted 12
weeks, or sooner if considered necessary, the management committee
o f the federation has power fco investigate it, and if it is deemed that
no good can result from its further continuation, benefits can be sus
pended after 14 days’ notice.. No union is entitled to benefits from
the federation unless it has been 12 months a member o f the federa
tion and has paid 12 months’ contributions.
The federation is opposed bo the sympathetic strike, because it does
not believe in the wisdom o f men belonging to one trade striking to
redress the grievance o f another trade. “ The federation has acted
as a restraining influence, and a balance wheel,” says Mr. Mitchell.
64It is no use disguising the fact that there have been many unreason
able strikes, caused often by the men getting excited and rushing
their executives, who allow their members to get out o f hand, and
who yield when they ought to be firm. In such cases when the
executives say to the men that the federation will not approve the
strike, which means that they will not receive any help from us, it
makes the men hesitate and think very seriously whether it will be
advisable fo r them to strike against our consent. In that way the
federation stiffens the backbone o f the union leaders and stands in the
way o f hasty action.”
During the course o f the.interview, Mr. Maddison, the treasurer of
the federation, took part in the conversation. Both Mr. Mitchell and
Mr. Maddison attribute the present improved status of the workmen
to the influence o f the union, In p roof o f this Mr. Maddison pointed
out that forty-five years ago the journeyman iron founder o f Y ork
shire received 23s. 6d. ($5.72) a week as against 38s. 6d. ($9.37) now

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

paid to him. “ Our contention is this,” said Mr. Mitchell. “ I f it
were not for the union any reduction made by any individual
employer for any cause whatever, which might be brought about in
some cases by lack o f intelligence on the part o f the employer to
manage his business with as much skill as that o f his rivals, results in
that reduction falling on the great mass o f workers. Our contention
further is that the workingmen o f this country are, as a rule, paid not
according to their skill, the arduousness o f their work, or the risks
incurred, but according to the way in which they are organized; in
other words, that to secure better wages and better conditions gen
erally they must make o f themselves an organized force.”
“ Here is an instance o f this,” Mr. Maddison added. “ In South
W ales our craftsmen (iron founders) are paid 16s. [$3.89] a week as
against £2 [$9.73] in London. The same skill and the same labor is
required in both places, but in South Wales the men are not organ
ized, while in London they are, which explains why they are able to
obtain in London more than twice the wages paid in South Wales.”
Referring to the present condition o f wage-workers generally as
compared with the conditions that prevailed in England half a century
ago, and everybody admits that the condition o f the workman has been
immensely improved during that time, M r. Mitchell advanced the
opinion that this improvement had been brought about more largely
by the educational work and militant propaganda o f the unions than
by any other cause. He admits that the early factory acts, and
especially the legislation which Lord Shaftesbury succeeded in placing
upon the statute book, was purely humanitarian and dictated by phil
anthropic and lofty motives, this legislation having been enacted
before the trade unions acquired their pow er or became a factor in
social or economic affairs; but for the last thirty years whatever the
workingmen have gained they have won by fighting fo r it, and they
could not have fought successfully had they not been organized. The
new condition o f affairs dates from about 1867. It was then that the
trade union, according to Mr. Mitchell, began to be a force, and from
that time on its strength has steadily increased.
The charge so frequently made by the opponents of trade unionism
that the unionist opposes the introduction o f labor-saving machinery
is stoutly challenged by Mr. Mitchell, who denies the justice o f the
charge, but admits, as do other unionists, that men object to the use o f
machinery if thereby it lowers the standard o f the workers or substi
tutes unskilled for skilled labor. If, fo r instance, there can be put
into a factory a machine which will displace four or five men and can
be operated by a growing lad, who with his machine can do the work
form erly done by these four or five men, unionists will object to the
use o f such machine, because they believe its use is not good for
the men, the country at large, or the grow ing lad. The lad may be

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

paid more than he would otherwise earn, but because he will become
simply a part o f the machine itself the effect will be to stunt him both
mentally and physically. Experience, Mr. Mitchell says, proves that
nothing is so devitalizing and demoralizing as to place a young per
son in charge o f a machine. Far less injury is done in the case o f a
man who has reached his full growth and whose mind is formed.
Therefore, in such a case where the introduction o f machinery would
lower the general standard men would properly object to its use. In
short, the working man to-day will not permit himself to be exploited
simply fo r the benefit and profit o f his employer, and Mr. Mitchell
adds:
It has, o f course, frequently been said that the trade unions have
imposed upon employers unwarranted and foolish restrictions, which
have hampered the conduct of business, and in some cases made it so
costly that foreign competitors have profited thereby. Our answer is
that whenever restrictions have been imposed they have been forced
upon us by the action o f unscrupulous employers who have compelled
their men in self-defense to adopt protective measures. The fixing o f
hours o f labor and the work to be done was the natural corollary o f
the adoption by employers o f what is known as “ blood money.”
Employers, in the hope o f getting an undue amount o f work out o f
their men, have privately offered a particular man 5s. [$1.22] or 10s.
[$2.43] a week more than the regular wage in consideration o f his
exerting himself and thereby setting the pace fo r the others, and com
pelling them to keep up with it; but observe, those others were not
paid the extra money, and therefore the employer was obtaining this
extra labor for nothing. It is because o f these things, and simply as
a measure o f self-protection,, that we have been compelled to make
certain regulations and to insist upon their enforcement.
I think it will be generally conceded that unionism has led to better
relations between employers and men, and one of the great benefits it
has conferred is that strikes are made more difficult. Disputes between
employers and employees are now considered on broader and more
scientific grounds than they ever were beforehand with regard to all
the circumstances governing the conditions o f the trade. The result
is that strikes become less frequent, and it is a matter o f pride to
unionists to know that there are fewer strikes in the organized trades
than there are in the unorganized.
Interesting in this connection, as showing that in the best and most
highly organized unions the efforts o f the executives are continually
directed against the use o f a strike except when all other means have
failed, attention may be called to a difference of policy existing in the
Amalgamated Society o f Engineers at a time when this investigation
was made. The engineers working in the Glasgow district refused to
accept a reduction in their wages o f Is. (24 cents) per week, and deter
mined rather than to submit to this reduction to go on strike. The
local unions indorsed this action and submitted it to the executive
council in London, which refused to give its approval. Notwith
standing this veto, and also that the general federation opposed the

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

strike, the men ceased work and remained idle for two weeks, during
which time they were paid strike benefits o f 10s. ($2.43) a week, and
at the expiration o f two weeks returned to work at the reduction o f
Is. (24 cents) a week in their wages. Inasmuch as the strike money
had been paid out o f the funds of the local branch o f the Amalgamated
Society without the consent o f the executive council, and therefore
was an unconstitutional payment and in violation o f the society’s rules,
the executive council directed that every member who had received
£1 ($4.87) in benefits should refund that amount to the treasury.
Mr. Mitchell was asked whether, in his opinion, the employers
would abolish the unions if they had the power to do so, and he replied
that he believed they would. “ I do not think,” he added, “ that the
employers love us any too well, but they simply tolerate us because
they have no other alternative and also, perhaps, because they regard
us as the least o f the two evils.”
Mr. Mitchell worked in the Quintard Iron W orks in New Y ork
ten years ago. He was well satisfied with living in America and but
for family reasons would have remained there. Contrary to the
opinion expressed by Mr. Barnes, he believes that the general condi
tion o f the American workingman is superior to that o f the British.
One o f the largest employers o f labor in the United Kingdom, who
has an intimate knowledge o f the great transportation interests o f
Great Britain, frankly stated that it was the prevailing opinion among
a majority o f employers, and especially those engaged in the manage
ment o f railways, that the union was a dangerous and disastrous thing;
that it was in the interests o f employers to prevent the men from
joining the unions, and believing this, employers fought the unions
whenever it was politic to do so. He continued:
One hears a great deal o f humbug these days about the identity o f
interests between employer and employee, and it is the stock theme
o f demagogues in and out o f Parliament, in board rooms as well as in
lodges, that employer and employee are members o f one family, and
that both have the same end in view. This is rank nonsense. The
interests o f capital and labor, instead o f being identical, are antago
nistic, and naturally almost must be so. I, an employer o f labor, and
the trustee o f the persons who have invested their money in the busi
ness which they have placed in my hands to manage, desire to buy my
labor for as little as possible, precisely as it is my object to buy
everything else that enters into the cost o f production at the lowest
possible price in the market. The workman who has something to
sell— that is, his time, because that is the only thing the workman has
to sell— desires to obtain fo r that commodity the highest possible price
that he can secure fo r it, and in that respect he does not differ in the
least from the seller o f anj commodity. Therefore I am trying to pay
as little as possible, and neither side will yield to the other except under
duress. I f I propose to pay 25s. a week and I am forced by the union
to pay 30s., I pay it not because I do it gladly but because I must
either pay or fight and take the hazard o f war. That in a word is the

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

relation to-day between employer and employee. Now, the union has
this effect. Feeling the support o f a union behind them, the men are
more ready to adopt extreme measures when they try to secure higher
wages or when any difference o f opinion rises between them and their
employers. Men who are not in a union are more cautious about a
strike, more amenable to reason, more willing generally to live in
peace, more reluctant to take offense at a trifle and throw down their
tools. The union has done such wonderful things for the men. Bosh!
I tell you what the union is to-day. It is a means o f providing a few
men with excellent places as officers in the unions, who are paid three
or four times as much as they could earn in any other way under the
most favorable circumstances, and who have about one-third as little
work to do. That is modern trade unionism.
Extremely interesting in contrast to this opinion is that o f Mr.
George S. Gibb, general manager o f the North Eastern Railway
Company, one o f the largest and most important railway systems in
the country, which has on its pay rolls more than 46,000 men. Mr.
Gibb advanced it as his opinion that it is a fact to be recognized that
the trade unions have been to a very large degree the means o f obtain
ing for their members higher wages; and while an unwise labor leader
might be the means o f working untold mischief, just as an unwise
manager or employer o f labor might do an equal amount o f harm, the
right o f the men to combine and form themselves into unions must be
admitted and accepted. Mr. Gibb has always been in favor o f employers
frankly recognizing the unions, because he considers it just that the
men should have the advantage in their negotiations with an employer
o f being represented by a skilled agent, exactly as the employer is; and
the men can obtain the benefit o f this skill and knowledge only by
means o f the union. I f the unwise or dishonest labor leader is elimi
nated, which eliminates the danger always to be feared from such a
man, it is for the interest o f the employer, Mr. Gibb holds, to deal
with the union as the representative o f the workers as a body rather
than to try to deal with an assemblage o f excited men, many o f whom
are unpractical and undisciplined. The labor leader who is fit for his
place, as most o f the present leaders are, has usually given considerable
study to the questions involved, and he knows trade conditions almost
as well as does the employer. He knows, too, when the union can
press fo r an advance o f wages or a reduction o f hours and stand a rea
sonable hope o f securing its demand, and when it would be foolish to
do so. Mr. Gibb says that in the management o f his company’s affairs
he recognizes the union and corresponds with its officers as freely and
frankly as he does with anybody else. He does not, o f course, allow
any interference by union men or anybody else with matters o f dis
cipline or the conduct o f the company’s business, but he is ready at all
times to discuss with them any questions which are properly subjects
o f discussion between employers and men. In the employment o f men
550— N o . 50— 04------5

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

there is no discrimination between unionists and nonunionists, and,
roughly speaking, the men in the company’s employ are about evenly
divided between the two classes. Neither class has any advantage in
freedom o f access to him or to the other officials, and whenever any
question arises that ought to be discussed its consideration is readily
obtained. The relations between the company and its men are very
satisfactory, and since 1897 there has been no strike or any serious dis
agreement. In 1897 a question arose regarding hours and wages, and,
as it was impossible fo r an agreement to be reached, the matter was
referred to L ord James, o f Hereford, one o f the lord justices o f ap
peal, for his decision. Mr. Bell, the general secretary of the Amal
gamated Society o f Bailway Servants, represented the interests o f the
men, and Mr. G ibb those o f the company, and Lord James, after the
case was fully presented to him, delivered his decision, which was a
compromise, and was accepted by both sides. Two years later a further
question arose affecting hours and wages, which was settled between
Mr. Bell and Mr. Gibb without reference to an arbitrator.
The North Eastern Company builds its own engines, passenger
coaches, and freight cars. Both in the shops and in working the road
Mr. Gibb has not noticed any objection on the part o f union men to
the introduction o f machinery or labor-saving devices. W henever
machines are introduced, however, there is a tendency among the
employees, he says, to try to force the employment o f a larger number
o f men.
Mr. Gibb regards with favor boards o f conciliation and other con
ciliatory methods, but owing to the satisfactory relations that exist
between himself and his employees the North Eastern system has not
felt the necessity for introducing anything o f the kind.
The Engineering Magazine is recognized, both by employers and
employees, as one o f the leading authorities in England, not only on
subjects pertaining strictly to engineering, but also on problems affect
ing the general relations between capital and labor. The editors are
practical men, whose long experience and intimate knowledge of the
complex questions governing industry, fortified by numerous impar
tial articles which have been written fo r their magazine by represent
ative men on both sides, entitle their opinions to be heard with the
greatest respect. In their belief unionism has unquestionably been
beneficial to both employers and employees. It has been beneficial to
the men because it has enabled them to obtain better wages and shorter
hours; it has been equally beneficial to employers because it has raised
the general standard o f work and has led to better relations between
them and their men. A s to the great question whether labor unions
have done anything to hamper the use o f the latest and most improved
machinery, the evidence o f these gentlemen is that when the unions
were younger, not so well organized, and not so intelligently con

LABOE UNIONS AND BEITISH INDUSTRY.

ducted, this opposition made itself very manifest. A t the present
time, speaking generally, intelligent men are at the head o f union
affairs, and these men realize that it is folly to fight progress in any
form, and instead o f antagonizing machinery or anything else that
will cheapen the cost o f production or improve or increase the product,
they try to make their associates understand that it is fo r the best
interests o f all to facilitate rather than to obstruct the march of
improvement.
The editors also called attention to a sociological phase of the labor
question in England, which is worthy o f mention. In England the
influence o f the patriarchal system is still felt in the relations between
employers and men, and at times there is found a man working in the
same factory in which his father worked, the father having worked
fo r the father o f the present proprietor. Such cases, however, are
becoming less frequent owing to the constantly increasing tendency in
all modern commercial enterprises o f magnitude to convert the private
copartnership into the limited liability company, in which the personal
proprietor is replaced by a board o f directors or a managing commit
tee. In those cases the directorate does not come into immediate
contact with the men and does not have the personal acquaintance
with them that used to exist when important enterprises, hereditary
in certain families, were handed down from father to son, and when
the head o f the firm fo r the time being felt a pride in knowing his
men by name and regarded it as his duty to take an interest in them
and their families.
It is the opinion o f the editors that there is more migration among
journeymen in the United States than is to be found in England. In
America a certain number o f workers appear to take a delight in
wandering from place to place, especially if there are no strong
home ties or attachments. This is notably true o f the printing trade.
To a less extent is this found in Great Britain, and men, as a rule,
do not leave a place o f employment unless compelled to leave it by
the stress o f circumstances. In England there is an aristocracy o f
labor and caste. The Londoner born and bred, who has worked all his
life in London, regards it as lowering himself in the social scale to
work in a smaller place even at better wages, and will not voluntarily
do so, except in a few o f the large centers, such as Liverpool, Man
chester, Birmingham, and Sheffield.
Am ong many interesting contributions to the pages o f the Engineer
ing Magazine on the subject under investigation, short extracts are made
from three articles. Mr. P€>rcy Longmuir, a worker in steel, iron,
and brass, writes in the number fo r January, 1902:
“ The dominating policy o f trades unionism has undoubtedly
restricted the expansion o f British trade,” but he claims that in addi
tion to the restrictive union policy some o f the responsibilities must

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

be laid at the door o f the employer, as there is much room in Great
Britain fo r improvement in commercial methods and in the education
o f employer, workman, and merchant.
A n equally interesting article is contributed by Mr. T. Good in the
August, 1902, number on 44Some unacknowledged conditions in British
workshops.” M r. G ood is a self-educated galvanizer in business
on his own account. “ That this 4ca ? canny5 policy is in extensive
operation in many industries,” he says, “ that it has a demoralizing
influence upon workmen, and that it materially affects the larger prob
lem o f foreign competition I freely admit,” but he claims that under
present conditions a clever workman is in too many cases valued by
his employer no higher than a bad one. The consequence is that
under the system, “ men lose all incentive to put forth their best
energies, and honest work and genuine ability are placed at a discount.
It is a sorry admission, but I must say that m y varied experience has
convinced me beyond the shadow o f a doubt that honest workmanship
seldom pays.” In short, Mr. G ood’s indictment brought against
employers as a whole is that if the workman would succeed and keep
his place he must— by a system o f 44tips ” a n d 44treats ” — in other words,
bribery— 44stand in ” with the foreman that he may be favored with
the cleanest and most comfortable job, keep his place when others
are dismissed and demand slackens, and be singled out for promotion.
Sir Benjamin C. Brown, D. C. L ., one o f the great builders o f
machinery in England, writes:
I have always held, and I believe most fair-minded employers and
workmen hold, that the best position fo r negotiations to be carried on
between capital and labor is that o f absolute equality, and that neither
side ought to wish to have any advantage over the other; and if all ques
tions could be settled on the basis o f justice, fair play, and the general
good o f the trade, it is quite clear the questions as to which was
stronger would not be o f any importance, or enter at all into the calcu
lations o f either side. It is only because o f the possibility o f an appeal
to brute force that these things have to be borne in mind.
O f course one great point is to make up our minds whether we think
it better there should be trades unions or not. M y own feeling has
long been that large unions, both o f workmen and employers, are by
far the most satisfactory. A ll disputes, then, before they can lead to
stoppages o f w ork are taken away from the original disputants, and
are brought before selected employers and workmen o f knowledge and
experience in dealing with such matters, men who know each other
well personally, and who have usually established a friendly and to a
great extent confidential footing with each other, and numbers o f dis
putes which would lead to a stoppage o f work, if they had to be settled
between an employer and workmen in the works, get smoothed and
settled amicablv by the time they reach the last court o f appeal.
To refer to those who suppose unions are an evil, I think they take
as an ideal some self-reliant workman, who has a very strong charac
ter, great self-confidence, who can make his own bargains, and then
they say, if all men were like that, how nice it would be. But they

LABOB UNIONS AND BBITISH INDUSTBY.

must know that all men are not like that. People who can take the
lead and act entirely on their own self-reliance are very scarce in every
relation o f life, and what used to happen much more before unions
were so strong was, that suddenly a feeling would arise among a body
o f workmen that they were dissatisfied or offended, and that they ought
either to have a large rise in wages or something else. A mass meet
ing would be called by the most violent o f them, and the most extreme
would force themselves to the front, the delegates would be elected by
clamor and then come as the representatives o f the whole party o f the
workmen, saying they must have the most unreasonable concession or
they would go on strike, and take such course as a wise trade-union
leader would never adopt. I think anyone who has known the labor
market for the last thirty years will say that the demands are almost
without exception far more moderate in their character than they used
to be before the men were so much under the influence o f the unions.
Sir William Mather, M. P ., senior partner in a great North o f Eng
land engineering firm, says o f the influence o f trade unionism on British
industry:
W e employers owe more than, as a body, we are inclined to admit to
the improvements in our methods o f manufacture, due to the firmness
and independence o f trade combinations. Our industrial steadiness
and enterprise are the envy o f the world. The energy and pertinacity
o f trade unions have caused acts o f Parliament to be passed whicn
would not otherwise have been promoted by employers or politicians,
all o f which have tended to improve British commerce. And it is
worthy o f note that this improvement has gone on concurrently with
great and grow ing competition o f other nations, owing to the develop
ment o f their own resources. The enormous production o f wealth in
Great Britain during the present half century, which is due to natural
resources and the labor and skill bestowed upon their development,
has grown most rapidly during a period remarkable for the extension
o f the power o f trade unionism. Prosperity beyond the dreams o f
avarice nas followed in the wake o f our industrial habits and customs,
and these have undoubtedly been largely promoted by the great labor
organizations. Some forty acts o f Parliament, affecting the rules and
customs o f almost every occupation, have been promoted, and mainly
supported or extended, by the influence o f trade unions during the
last fifty years. Some deal with the safety and health o f the laboring
classes as a whole while in the pursuit o f their work. Others protect
women and children from oppression or conditions of employment
unsuited to their sex or age. Many o f them tended to promote
improved appliances in all industries whereby labor is less o f a
drudgery. Every intelligent employer will admit that his factory or
workshop, when equipped with all the comforts and conveniences and
protective appliances prescribed by Parliament for the benefit and
protection o f his work people— though great effort, and it may be
even, sacrifice on his part, has been made to procure them— has
become a more valuable property in every sense of the word, and a
profit has accrued to him, owing to the improved conditions under
which his work people have produced.
One o f the chief efforts o f the union, Sir William Mather says, is
to obtain high wages and short hours. But he maintains there is no

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

case on record where any union has struck or agitated for one or the
other o f these objects without believing that the trade could stand it,
or without discrediting the statement o f the employers to the contrary,
and in deriding their fears that the industry by which they both lived
would suffer. The belief may have been erroneous. A disastrous
strike or lockout has not infrequently resulted from ignorance o f facts
which proved that the views o f the trade union were completely mis
taken. On the other hand, he maintains, strong and persistent agita
tion to benefit the workers has secured substantial concessions from
employers without any check to the progress o f the trade.
Sir William Mather also says he is not unmindful o f the fact that the
trade unions in their struggles to obtain good results have even used
unjustifiable means, have caused much acute though temporary suffer
ing, and have employed even brutal methods occasionally. But these
mistakes and evil doings have always included among the sufferers
those who so rashly entered upon a bitter and unnecessary conflict.
Viewed historically, they have left no permanent evil or injury con
tinually sapping trade, though for a time they have weakened it, while
the good effected by them has passed into industrial life to strengthen
it and into the laws o f the country to improve them.
One o f the foremost writers in England on sociological and eco
nomic questions, whose reputation is international, is Mr. Sidney W ebb,
a member o f the London County Council. Mr. W ebb says that what
unionism has done for the great body o f workers can be most readily
seen when one compares the difference in conditions in those trades in
which women are organized and those in which they are unorganized.
The only trade in which an organization exists among women is among
the cotton weavers and card-room hands, and one has only to see how
much better is the position o f those women compared with women in
other trades to appreciate what they gain by the union. The condi
tions in Lancashire among the cotton operatives are regulated by law
and collective bargaining, and that has been one of the great results
o f trade unionism— the substitution o f collective for individual bargain
ing. When an employer can deal with each employee as an individual
and separately he has an enormous superiority which he ought not to
possess, and which enables him to obtain an advantage either in the
matter o f wages or hours o f labor. The substitution o f collectivism
for individualism corrects in a measure that great wrong and brings
the two sides nearer to an equality.
Mr. W ebb does not hold that the effect o f trade unionism has been
to reduce all workers to a dead level. He maintains that they have a
perfect right to establish a standard o f production precisely as they
have the same right to try to obtain an increase of wages. The work
man has something to sell— his time and his labor— and he has a right
to obtain for these whatever he can.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

The foremost labor member o f Parliament in England is Mr. John
Burns, who has long taken a leading part in the labor struggle. He
said:
So far as the labor leaders are concerned we are all strongly opposed
to the restriction o f production; we are all in favor o f higher wages
and shorter hours, which will enable men to enjoy sober and proper
recreation, and above all we are in favor o f better and more conscien
tious work. And if those things should incidentally mean a diminu
tion in the production o f cheap and nasty goods, only to that extent
can it be alleged that we are in favor o f a restriction o f production.
Mr. Burns points to the statistics relating to changes in rates o f
wages and hours o f labor for 1902, published by the Board o f Trade,
as proving the beneficent effects o f trade unionism. This report
shows that while 91,812 work people received advances during the
year amounting to £5,326 ($25,919) per week, or an average o f Is. 2d.
(28 cents) per head, 793,011 sustained decreases amounting to £78,027
($379,718) per week, or an average reduction o f Is. ll^ d . (18 cents)
per head, and these changes, which fell heavily upon the workingman,
were accomplished without serious strikes or stoppage o f work, as
the number o f disputes was lower than that for the preceding year,
hitherto the lowest on record. The report to which Mr. Burns refers
says: “ Changes affecting 80 per cent o f the work people were
arranged by conciliation, arbitration, wages boards, sliding scales, or
other conciliatory agencies. This large percentage is due to the fact
that the changes in the coal and iron trades, in which the most wide
spread changes o f .wages occurred in 1902, are now usually arranged
by such methods.” Mr. Burns also calls attention to the fact that
98.6 per cent o f all the changes were made without stoppage o f work,
and among only 1.1 per cent o f the whole number o f work people
employed were changes effected after work had ceased. Mr. Burns
maintains that the influence o f trade unionism is steadily exerted
against strikes and in favor o f accepting lower wages when it is
proved that the employer is justified in making a reduction, and that
the whole tendency o f trade unionism is directed toward maintaining
the most amicable relations with the employer and at the same time
properly protecting the rights o f the employee.
In a paper read before the Industrial Conference, at the Crystal
Palace, London, July 10,1903, Mr. S. B. Boulton, a prominent whole
sale merchant of London, chairman o f the London Labor Conciliation
and Arbitration Board, said:
The formation o f trade unions led, in many industries, to the estab
lishment o f employers’ associations, the objects of the two classes o f
combinations being usually antagonistic; it was only later on that the
idea occurred o f using these rival associations as vehicles fo r arriving
at a mutual understanding between masters and men. The first serious
attempt o f reducing this idea to a practical reality appears to be due

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

to the initiative o f Mr. Mundella, who, in 1860, at Sheffield, after a
grievous series o f strikes in the hosiery trade, succeeded in forming a
conciliation and arbitration board. The movement, although regarded
at first with extreme suspicion, turned out to be a marked success,
and as nothing succeeds like success, the example gradually spread to
the lace trade and to other trades. In 1869 it was adopted by the
manufacturing iron trade at Darlington. The iron trade in South
Staffordshire, in South Wales, and in Scotland, and the Cleveland
ironstone mines, the Staffordshire potteries, the chemical trades of
Northumberland and Durham, and various large collieries followed
suit.
I will not attempt to describe in detail the very numerous trade
conciliation boards which have been form ed down to the present time
upon a somewhat similar basis to that founded by Mr. Mundella.
Their constitution is mainly that o f a joint board or committee com
posed partly o f employers and partly o f employed, who meet together
to settle rates and conditions o f labor in connection with the particular
trade in which they are jointly interested. Some o f these boards
assemble from time to time, as occasion may arise, others—as, for
instance, in the case o f the great colliery associations— adjust the rates
o f wages periodically, as we all know, by means o f a sliding scale,
fluctuating with the selling price of co a l; many o f them appoint an arbi
trator or umpire in the event o f the joint board being unable to come to
an agreement. These boards have had an extremely useful career,
and have done incalculable good in greatly diminishing the frequency
o f strikes and lockouts, although they have not, in some instances,
succeeded in preventing them. This type o f conciliation appears to
be best adapted to large industries spreading over whole districts,
where both the trade unions and the employers’ associations are well
organized, and are able to speak with authority on behalf o f their
respective constituents.
The great London dockers’ strike in 1889, which affected the pros
perity o f the greatest commercial port in the world, led to the forma
tion o f the London Labor Conciliation and Arbitration Board, which
was the work o f the London Chamber of Commerce.
The board is composed o f 12 members representing employers, who
are annually elected by the council o f the chamber, and o f 12 repre
sentatives o f labor annually elected by the delegates of the trade unions
o f London, every member having equal voting powers. In case o f a
labor dispute within the metropolitan area o f London, the board offers
its services to the disputants and invites them to a friendly conference.
I f the meeting takes place, neither side is committed nor compromised
to any further course except with its own consent, but an effort is
made to induce the disputants to arrive at an amicable agreement. In
many if not in most cases, this procedure by conciliation has proved
to be successful in arriving at a settlement. Where, however, concil
iation by the above method has not succeeded, a recourse to arbitration
under the auspices o f the board is recommended. When requested,
the board proceeds to appoint arbitrators, who, without delay, give a

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

full hearing to both parties in the presence o f each other, and after due
consideration the board makes its award. In appointing arbitrators,
the board is not bound to confine nominations to members o f its own
body; but in this direction it has, after careful experiment, made a
new departure which has proved eminently successful. It consists in
naming a panel o f arbitrators, either two or some other even number,
one-half o f whom are employers and the other half workmen, but none
o f whom is concerned in the dispute under adjudication. Thus con
stituted, the arbitrators are thoroughly impartial, and they are also
practically acquainted from both sides o f the question with the pre
vailing conditions o f labor in the port o f London. Mr. Boulton said:
W hen this idea was first mooted it was met in some quarters with
something like derision. It was said that, as a matter o f course, the
workmen on the panel would all vote one way and the employers the
other, and that a deadlock would thus at once ensue, and that in such a
case the two orders, having an equality o f votes, would never agree as to
the choice o f an umpire. It will surprise those who have not given
much attention to the proceedings o f the London Labor Conciliation
and Arbitration Board, and it; will gladden the hearts o f all those who
believe in a future o f better relations between capital and labor, to be
told that in every single instance when arbitrators have been appointed
as above described the decision has been absolutely unanimous. I
have taken part, as chairman, in almost all the arbitrations which have
been conducted under the auspices o f the board since its commence
ment. A s an employer o f labor in this and other countries, and as
one who, during a long business career, has had some experience in
arbitrations o f various kinds, I can bear testimony to the spirit o f
thorough impartiality in which these mixed panels, the workmen
equally with the masters, have approached and dealt with the questions
submitted to their arbitration. And, as another matter for sincere
congratulation, since the formation o f the board there has never been
an instance where the award arrived at under arbitration or the agree
ment entered into under the auspices o f the board by its methods o f
conciliation has not been accepted and loyally carried out by both
parties to the dispute. In almost all instances the board has been
cordially thanked by both disputants; and it is o f frequent occurrence
that, after a first experience o f its methods, both employers and
employed in various industries continue from time to time to bring
their difficulties before the board for adjustment. I can not but think
that methods which have produced such results are worthy o f more
extensive application than has hitherto been accorded to them, and
that voluntary conciliation boards, conducted upon principles which
have thus far stood the test o f experience, are perhaps the best
methods o f maintaining industrial peace.
To make this inquiry complete it was deemed advisable to obtain
the views o f a nonunion workingman o f standing and character. Such
a man was found whose character and efficiency as a workman was
vouched for by his employe]:, one o f the most prominent in London.
This nonunion workman said he had no objection to giving his views

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

provided his name was not used, as he did not wish to become involved
in difficulties with his associates. He said:
I have worked at my trade, man and boy, for more than forty years,
and in all that time, except fo r a very brief period, I was never a mem
ber of a union. W hen I was quite young, immediately after I was out
o f my time, I was induced by the other men in the snop to become a
member o f a union and I remained a member fo r about three years,
when I gave up my card, and I have never been connected with a union
since. I don’ t believe in the union. I don’t believe it has done much
good fo r workingmen, and I feel quite sure that it has done them a great
deal o f harm. I f there were no unions the best man among workmen,
the man who can do the best work and who is willing to work the
hardest, would get along the best and make the most money, just the
same as he does in any other class; but the union won’t let us do that.
It insists that the man who wants to work shall do no more work than
the lazy fellow, and the best workmen can earn no more than the worst.
I do not believe in this talk about the union having done so much to
improve the condition o f the workingman. I think the workingman
would have been just as well off if there had never been a union, and
in some ways he would have been a great deal better off, because there
would have been fewer strikes and not so many stoppages.
This man was asked whether the union had not enabled the working
man to save. His answer was:
I can’t see it in that way. Come good, come bad times, I have
always managed to put away a bit every week, and I can belong to a
friendly society or a building society without having to be a member
o f a union. The unions take money from us to pay for strikes, and I
want my money to be saved fo r the time when I can’t work, or meet
with an accident, or fo r the w ife and children when I’m gone. A ny
man can save more outside o f the union than he can in. I would
belong to the union if 1 thought the union would do me or my mates
any good, but 1 don’t believe it does.
In 1896 Parliament passed an act—the conciliation act o f 1896—
which empowers the Board o f Trade, where a difference exists or is
apprehended between an employer and his workmen, to inquire into
the cause and circumstances o f the difference; to take such steps as to
the board may seem expedient for the purpose o f enabling the parties
to meet together under the presidency o f a chairman mutually agreed
upon and nominated by the Board o f Trade, with a view to amicably
settling all the differences; on the application o f employers and work
men to appoint a person to act as a conciliator or to appoint a board
o f conciliation; on the application o f both parties to appoint an arbi
trator. The Board of Trade is required to present to Parliament a
report o f the proceedings under this act, and the latest report, August
1,1901, gives a history o f proceedings under the terms o f the act since
it went into effect. “ During the period covered by the present report
the two most important points in connection with the administration o f
the conciliation act have been the relative increase in the number o f joint
applications to the Board o f Trade for arbitration as compared with

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

ex parte applications for conciliation, and the growing tendency on
the part o f the volunteer boards o f conciliation and arbitration to em
body in their rules for an appeal to the Board of Trade to appoint
umpires in case o f a deadlock.”
F or the first ten months after the passage o f the act 35 cases were
acted upon by the board; during the next two years there were 32
cases, and during the last two years, ending July 1, 1901, there were
46. The total number o f cases since the passage of the act is 113.
During the last two years there were 3 cases o f action by the board o f
trade without application from either side, 3 applications from
employers only, 16 from workmen only, and 24 from both employers
and workmen. The report says:
A n interesting development in connection with the rules of* voluntary
conciliation boards and agreements between employers and work people
providing fo r the establishment o f such boards is the insertion in many
cases o f a clause providing that if the board fails to agree upon any
question submitted to it the Board o f Trade shall be asked to appoint
an arbitrator or conciliator. No less than 35 boards are known to nave
adopted clauses o f this character.
So far every application to the board for the appointment o f an
arbitrator or umpire, under the rules o f the conciliation board, has
been complied with. Provisions o f this character provide a useful
escape from the deadlock created when a conciliation board fails to
agree, and, so far as possible, the board o f trade has encouraged their
adoption.
In the report on strikes and lockouts in the United Kingdom in 1901,
issued by the Board o f Trade, M r. H. Llewellyn Smith, the head o f
the labor department, uses this language:
The settlement o f strikes and lockouts forms but a very small pro
portion o f the work o f permanent conciliation and arbitration boards
and joint committees. T o appreciate these agencies at their true value
account should also be taken o f the numerous alterations effected in
working conditions by them without any stoppage o f work having
taken place. Thus in the recent report on changes o f wages and hours
o f labor in 1901 it is shown that 75 per cent o f all the changes o f the
year, as measured by numbers o f persons affected, were arranged by
sliding scales, wages boards, or other methods o f arbitration and con
ciliation, while only 2 per cent o f the changes followed upon strikes or
lockouts.
According to the eighth annual abstract of labor statistics of the
United Kingdom fo r 1900-1901, issued by the Board o f Trade, at the
end o f the year 1900 there were 1,272 trade unions, with a total mem
bership o f 1,905,116. A statistical abstract o f the status o f one hundred
o f the principal trade unions shows that these unions had a member
ship o f 1,158,909 and an aggregate income o f £1,974,611 ($9,609,444),
an average per member o f £1 14s. Id. ($8.29). Their expenditures
amounted to £1,490,582 ($7,253,917), an average per member o f £1 5s.
8fd. ($6.26). The total funds aggregated £3,766,625 ($18,330,281),

BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR.

which gave an average o f £3 5s. ($15.82) per member. These hundred
unions expended fo r unemployed benefits during the year £265,328
($1,291,219), fo r dispute benefits £150,283 ($731,352), for sick and
accident benefits £323,231 ($1,573,004), and fo r superannuation bene
fits £190,039 ($924,825).
CONCLUSION.
Certain legitimate conclusions can be drawn from these opinions of
men whose views are often antagonistic and antithetic— from the expe
rience o f men who always must look at the labor question from the
opposite sides o f the shield— who, no matter how sincere their pur
pose not to be governed by selfish motives or material consideration,
are unconsciously influenced by personal interest. Whatever else
may be subject o f dispute, whatever else may continue to remain open
to speculative inquiry and unsol vable because its solution rests on the
personal answer which each man will supply according to his own
personal convictions, it is evident that each side in some cases and
both sides in others are convinced that trade unionism has produced
certain exact results, so apparent, so firmly established, that they have
ceased to be theories and have become facts. These are:
(1) The workingman who is a member o f a union is firmly con
vinced that the union has been the means o f materially improving his
condition.
(2) The union workingman believes that the union and trade union
ism in general has enabled him to obtain higher wages, shorter hours,
and more humane treatment from his employer.
(3) But fo r the union, the cohesive force o f organized labor, and
the strength which comes from organization, the workingman believes
that his wages would have been reduced, his workday lengthened, and
legal and other social reforms would not have been made or their
accomplishment would have been much slower.
(4) But for trade unionism collective bargaining would have been
impossible, and the workingman believes that nothing has done more
to improve his condition and bring about the general improvements
which he credits to trade unionism than the substitution o f collectivism
for individualism in carrying on negotiations between employee and
employer.
(5) A certain number o f employers believe that trade unionism has
been positively detrimental to the interests o f the workman, as well as
to the employer, and generally injurious to British industry and
commerce.
(6) A certain number o f employers, while not regarding the trade
union in all its features for the best interests o f capital and labor, still
approve o f it in principle, because by means o f the trade union col
lectivism has been substituted for individualism, which is clearly for
the benefit o f both sides.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

(7) Leaving aside the speculative inquiry whether boards o f concilia
tion and arbitration would have come into existence if there had been
no trade unions, those employers who believe in some method o f
averting or settling labor disputes by amicable adjustment rather than
by force are convinced that the existence o f the labor union has made
it easier fo r the creation o f such machinery and it has been o f incal
culable benefit to both sides.
(8) Employers who have instituted premium or bonus systems, or
other methods by which superior and more economical work is com
pensated by a bonus over a standard wage, admit that these systems
naturally flowed out o f unionism, as the union has established a
standard o f wage and output which forms the basis o f cost in the
process o f manufacture, the additional output above the minimum
being regarded as an additional tax on the energy and skill of the
worker, entitling him to extra remuneration. No employer pretends
that in paying a bonus he is animated by philanthropic motives; he
pays it because he believes it will pay him.
(9) Both employers and workmen are agreed as to the effect o f
unionism in restricting output, but they give it their own interpreta
tion. Those employers who are convinced that unionism has restricted
output look upon unionism as disastrous to industry. Those unionists
who admit that it is necessary to fix a maximum, to protect the worker
and prevent him from suffering from the cupidity or dishonesty o f the
employer, claim that the great body o f workmen need to be protected
against themselves, sometimes against their fellows, but more generally
against their employers, and in adopting such measures o f protection
they are simply obeying the great rule o f nature— that self-protection
is paramount to every other consideration.
(10) Reluctant admission is made by unionists that in the past the
attitude o f the unions was antagonistic to the adoption o f labor-saving
and improved machinery. They claim that at the present time this
antagonism is to be found only among those unions whose members, as
a body, are low in the scale o f intelligence, or occasionally among mem
bers o f the highly skilled organizations who are ignorant o f economic
laws. The most intelligent labor leaders, however, assert their right to
restrict the use o f labor-saving and improved machinery when that use
inures solely to the advantage o f the employer and disastrously affects
labor; when a machine, fo r instance, requiring only one or two men or
boys to care fo r it, supplants the labor o f perhaps six men. But, they
assert, that if some o f the profit accruing to the employer is shared by
the employee in the form o f increased wages or other amelioration of
conditions o f service, the workingman o f intelligence does not oppose
improvements in process o f manufacture. The workingman believes
it to be his duty to prevent himself from being “ exploited” solely for
the benefit o f the employer; in other words, his manhood requires that

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

he shall resist by every means in his .power having his face ground on
the whetstone o f capitalistic cupidity, which is the thing he fears most.
Every improvement in the mechanical arts has led either to the dis
placement o f a certain number o f men or a rearrangement of manual
labor. It is this constant flux, often resulting in severe distress until
the displaced labor can be absorbed in other industries, that causes
labor to regard with suspicion every mechanical improvement, and to
make some o f the least progressive men in their ranks look upon the
machine as the means whereby they may be “ exploited” by the
employer, their pain being his profit.
Here one must proceed with more caution and a feeling of uncer
tainty. The investigator now sails a chartless sea, with no compass to
point the direction to the safe haven, where the waters are unruffled
by polemical waves. The assertion o f the trade unionist that he is
always willing to render “ a fair day’s w ork for a fair day’s p ay ” is met
by the rejoinder from the employer, “ What is a fair day’s w ork ?”
and the employer often contends that the position assumed by the
unionist supports the allegation that the great aim o f the union is to
restrict or hamper the free exercise o f the workman’s powers, that the
most baneful effect o f trade unionism is to reduce all men to a dead
level, and to set the amount o f the day’s work by the skill o f the most
inefficient rather than by the most efficient. A fair day’s work fo r a
fair day’s pay is magnificent, but it is not business, some employers
say. It sounds well rhetorically, but it means nothing practically.
W hat constitutes a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay? employers
have repeatedly asked, only to be told that a fair day’s work is the
least that will satisfy the demands o f the employer, but the fair day’s
pay is the utmost that can be obtained from the employer by the
trade union.
One explanation given for the hold trade unionism has over its mem
bers in England is that the unions representing large and well-paid
trades usually have well-filled treasuries and their members have con
tributed for so many years that they can not afford by any infringe
ment o f the rules or by noncorapliance with the orders o f the governing
body to forfeit their share o f the accumulated funds. “ In a certain
sense it would not be difficult to regard all the activities of trade
unionism as forms o f mutual insurance,” is the expression used by
Sidney and Beatrice W ebb in “ Industrial Democracy*” The trade
union not only provides a form o f insurance, but many unions make
provision fo r the time when their members, through advanced age or the
loss o f their physical powers, are no longer in receipt o f full wages;
and in case o f a dispute with an employer, or when slack times cause
a stoppage o f factories and throw men out o f work, it is to the union
they look fo r support. A member may have joined his union before
reaching his majority and may have met his payments and assessments

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

for a score o f years, and yet at any moment he may be expelled or fo r
feit all claims against the society. Against his fellow-workers there
is no appeal and no redress. Therefore, to enjoy the benefits which
he has helped to create, a member o f a trade union finds himself com
pelled to obey orders proceeding from the executive body, even if
individually he regards those orders as foolish and unwarranted and
distinctly detrimental to himself and his fellow-workers.
Many employers point to this as one o f the evil influences o f trade
unionism. They say it has often happened that strikes have been
ordered against the wish o f the men, who were forced into leaving
their work when a strike was declared because they could not afford
to lose their savings, regarding temporary discomfort and the loss of
their weekly wages as a smaller loss than the danger o f expulsion from
the union and the forfeiture o f their accumulated savings.
The constitutions o f most unions, however, throw many safeguards
against hasty action by executive bodies and make it impossible for a
strike to be declared unless it is agreed to by at least a majority o f the
members, and in many cases three-fourths o f the membership must
assent. The larger and better managed unions leave the matter o f strikes
to the branches, and while those subordinate branches have it in their
power to prevent their members from working, provided always that
this action has been indorsed by from a majority to three-fourths o f
the membership o f that subordinate branch involved, the members can
not look for financial support from the union as a whole unless the
executive committee or other governing body has sanctioned this
extreme method for obtaining redress fo r a real or imaginary wrong.
The members o f the executive committee are usually cautious and
well-balanced men. They take a businesslike view o f affairs. They
are reluctant to spend the funds o f the union, involving in some
cases hundreds o f thousands o f dollars and the welfare of thousands o f
men, unless a vital principle is at stake or something may be gained
worth fighting for. It is freely admitted that many strikes have been
prevented because the members o f the subordinate branches knew that
they would not receive the financial support o f the union and their
local funds were not large enough to engage in a contest with any
hope o f victory.
The walking delegate and the business agent o f the American union
are practically unknown in England, and the tendency steadily in
creases to concentrate responsible power in the hands o f a strong
executive committee or other governing body. The executive officer
is usually the secretary, an intelligent, capable, experienced man, who
is subject to the control o f this governing body and administers the
affairs o f his union within the narrow and rigid limits prescribed by
constitution and rules. He possesses little, if any, discretionary power.
The constitutions o f the larger and better organized trade unions

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

clearly prove that the intent o f the union is to retain the power o f
action producing serious consequences, or which may vitally affect the
interests o f the trade, in the hands o f the managing body or council
with the members the court o f last resort. Thus it is impossible for
any one man to order a strike or to cause a stoppage o f work because
in his personal opinion the men are not properly treated, or the rules
and customs governing the trade are being violated, or to pay off an
old score. It is true that the Taff Yale strike was brought about
mainly through the action o f one man— the organizing secretary— who
after he had forced the strike was supported by his union, but the
effect o f the Taff Yale decision has been to make such a thing almost
impossible in the future. It will more narrowly restrict the power of
any one man and will make the action o f the union the action o f its
responsible officers, who must assume the responsibility and suffer the
penalties if the law has been violated.
Nor should the fact be overlooked— perhaps the most vital fact in
modern trade unionism in England— that the constant effort o f labor
leaders is to substitute legal and peaceful methods for force, and to
make the strike a thing to be availed o f only when all other methods
have been attempted and have failed. Alm ost every large union has
either a conciliation board or some other machinery by which a dis
agreement or threatened dispute can be discussed without prejudice
and without passion and means devised whereby an understanding can
be reached without resorting to a suspension o f operations. W ithout
statute, without the intervention o f the lawmaking power, a certain
number, and by no means an inconsiderable number, o f the working
men o f Great Britain have erected a code which has been accepted not
only by themselves but by their employers, and which has proved an
important auxiliary to the code created b y Parliament. W hat may
not inappropriately be called the judicature o f labor— such agencies
as the Durham miners5 conciliation committee and other committees
o f the same character that have been mentioned in this report— is
perform ing its functions exceedingly well and doing that which it is
the end o f all law to accomplish, the substitution o f reason for folly, o f
an exact and orderly method o f procedure fo r falsehood and violence.
A result o f this movement, o f more importance perhaps than any
thing else, has been the enforcement o f discipline and loyal accept
ance o f a verdict no matter how unpalatable, and the moral effect o f
this is simply incalculable. There is in Great Britain much room
yet for improvement in the relations existing between capital and
labor, but# anyone who knows what has been done there to improve
those relations must feel that in some things British labor sets an
example to other countries which might well be followed, subject to
the necessary modifications always required to engraft a foreign sys
tem on domestic institutions. The time and labor which this investiga

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

tion involved will not have been wasted if the facts herewith presented
help in even the smallest degree to promote more friendly relations
between capital and labor, to diminish labor disputes, and to make
strikes in the United States less frequent in the future than they have
been in the past.
APPENDIX A .—THE TAEF V A L E CASE.

The following is a brief history o f a dispute which led to one o f the
most important judicial decisions affecting labor in England:
In June, 1900, discontent existed among the men employed on the
Taff Yale Railway, a system formed by the amalgamation o f four small
lines in Wales, the general office being in Cardiff. On June 30, James
Holmes, one o f the organizing secretaries o f the Amalgamated Society
o f Railway Servants, stationed in Cardiff, addressed a circular to the
signalmen employed on the Taff Yale system, asking them if they
were in favor o f a movement to obtain an advance o f wages, prom o
tion by seniority, additional pay fo r Sunday duty, and a better arrange
ment o f working hours. UA more favorable opportunity,” Mr. Holmes
wrote, “ will never present itself, and if you are dissatisfied with the
present conditions, sign this paper and return it to me.”
This circular came to the notice o f Mr. Richard Bell, the general
secretary of the society, in London, and he wrote to Mr. Holmes,
warning him that he was in danger o f meeting with the disapproval
of the executive committee, the administrative council o f the society,
for exceeding his functions.
In his report fo r July to the Railway Review, the official organ o f
the society and published by it, Mr. Holmes used the follow ing lan
guage in referring to the Taff Vale Railway management. Mr. Bell,
who, in addition to being the general secretary o f the society, is also
the editor o f the Review, exercised his editorial prerogative to delete
Mr. Holmes’s report, but the suppressed portion was later published
in a special report made by Mr. Bell:
I am also very much surprised if two o f them, at least, will not soon
have plenty to do at home— but we shall see, we shall see. There is
nothing I would like better than to measure swords with this T. V . R.
dictator, and who knows how soon the chance may come? I don’t not
only not fear him but court a try, and if the men will only prove men
I snail have no fear o f the results. There is a black mark to rub out
and I swear I won’t rest till it has been done. The whole o f the men
victimized by Mr. Hurman have now got good jobs, and the society
money has made up the loss sustained, and it has done one thing more
than that— it has shown them that this man is not everybody, and
just given them a little more independence, Mr, Hurman, and by good
nursing it will giye an account o f itself ere long. It is the fear of
losing their jobs we have to kill, and that is being done the quicker
the nearer the goal.
550— N o . 50— 04-------6

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Meanwhile the feeling between the men and their employers had
been growing more acute. The men had held meetings and had deter
mined to strike, or, as the term goes in England, “ hand in their notices ”
unless granted concessions, and Holmes had addressed meetings at
which, to put it moderately, he used language the reverse of concilia
tory. The company had increased the tension by taking action which
was either a tactical blunder or else a deliberate adoption o f methods to
arouse feeling. Ewington, a signalman who had been for more than
twenty years in the company’s service, and who had taken a leading
part in the agitation in favor o f improved conditions, was ordered to be
transferred to a remote part o f the system. Rightly or wrongly, the
men interpreted this order as an attempt to intimidate them and to make
a victim o f Ewington. The company asserted that, on the contrary,
Ewington’s transfer was in the nature o f a promotion, as it carried with
it an advance o f two shillings (49 cents) a week. A t the time Ewing
ton received his notice o f transfer he was confined to his bed with
rheumatism and therefore was physically unable to comply with his
instructions. He protested against being transferred, even at an
increase of wages, as he was satisfied where he was; but, on recovery,
finding that his protest was unheeded, offered to accept the new place,
only to be told that inasmuch as he had refused the place the vacancy
had been filled, and so also had been his old box or “ cabin.” The com
pany then offered him a new cabin, but at three shillings (73 cents) a
week less than he form erly received. This Ewington declined and
demanded that he be restored to his form er place. The company
refused his demand.
Holmes wrote to Bell “ that the treatment o f Ewington is the worst
case I have ever experienced;” and Bell replied to him, under date o f
July 31, 1900, “ 1 have received full details from Mr. Ewington about
his treatment by the company. I feel that the men have done right
in protesting against such treatment, and I hope the effort they have
made toward his reinstatement will have some effect upon the
management.”
A fter several meetings, the men, on August 6, sent in their notices
to the company, and Holmes, in his report to Bell, said the matter was
very serious, and “ there is nothing fo r it but a strike unless Signal
man Ewington is reinstated.” Replying to Holmes the next day, Mr.
Bell wrote:
A fter carefully considering the whole statement made in your
letter and also in the newspaper report, I can not help but think that
the men have been very impatient and very undecided as to their
course o f action, and I fear whether what they have done will be con
ducive to the best results. I see that 363 notices were handed in on
August 6 on behalf o f a portion o f the signalmen, guards, and
brakemen, that another portion will be handed in by the same classes
o f men on Monday next, and, judging b y the report o f the firemen’s

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

meeting held last Sunday, the notices o f the firemen will be handed in
on the Monday following that. I can not fo r a moment understand
why the men should be so undecided as to their course o f action,
at any rate with regard to the date fo r taking action. They all seem
to have gone absolutely on their own responsibility, disregarding the
society’s rules, the E. C. [executive committee] decisions, and all
reasonable advice.
Bell also added that “ even had this movement received the sanction
o f the E. C. it is not being conducted in accordance with the rules. ”
And again, a few days later, Bell once more called Holmes’s attention to
the fact that for the men to strike without the sanction o f the executive
committee was in violation o f the rules. Holmes o f course knew that
he was proceeding unconstitutionally, but evidently relied on obtaining
the support o f the executive after the die had been cast. Interviewed
by the South Wales News on August 14, he said he had no fear o f the
men not being supported by the executive. “ But failing that,” he*
added, “ the committee are going to appeal to the 600 branches o f our
society and ask them to contribute out o f the management fund, as
they have full power to do, £1 ($4.87) per 100 members. ”
Recognizing the seriousness o f the situation and the dangers involved,
the Right Hon. C. T. Ritchie, M. P ., the president of the Board of
Trade, and a member o f the cabinet, invited Mr. Bell to an unofficial
interview to discuss the dispute. As a result o f that interview, after
a conference between Mr. Ritchie and the chairman o f the Taff Yale
Railway Company, Mr. Ritchie informed Mr. Bell that the company
will “ provide Ewington with a situation at a signal box which would
not entail upon him either traveling or removal from his present
abode.” Bell agreed to g o to Cardiff to try to have Ewington accept
the company’s offer, but before leaving he received a letter from
Holmes, who said:
I still hope we shall avoid a conflict, but I have now not much hope.
Public sympathy is dead in our favor, and if it comes to a fight I have
every confidence we can beat them and dictate our own terms in six
days.
Bell went to Cardiff and there met Holmes, Ewington, and others.
“ About the first thing that took place,” Bell says in his official report,
“ was that Mr. Holmes said he hoped I had not come down to inter
fere with them; that the movement had been carried on by the men
themselves, and the negotiations made by him, and that it was quite
independent o f the society. He handed me a circular he had issued in
proof o f the statement that it was carried on apart from the society,
and that he was assisting the men in his personal capacity.”
This circular urged the men “ to remember the hundred and one
grievances under which you have suffered far too long,” and exhorted
the men to stand firm and “ we can settle this dispute in our own way.”
Bell took Ewington aside privately, told him what had happened

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

between Mr. Ritchie and himself, and asked him if he would accept
the company’s offer. To this Ewington answered that he was entirely
in the hands o f his fellow-workmen, and that he could not accept as
they would think him a coward.
Mr. Ritchie was informed by telegraph o f Ewington’s refusal, and
replied by wire that the chairman o f the company had telegraphed him
that unless the men withdrew their notices it would be necessary fo r
the company to engage new men. Mr. Ritchie also wired that the men
would put themselves in the wrong, and that the company had never
been actuated by unfriendly feelings in their treatment o f Ewington.
Mr. Bell had wired Mr. Ritchie asking whether he would object to his
seeing Mr. Vassall, the chairman o f the company, and Mr. Ritchie at
once replied: “ Have wired Vassall it will be well for him to see you .”
Thereupon Mr. Bell wired Mr. Vassall asking for an interview and
received this curt answer: “ Regret can not meet you to discuss men’s
conditions o f service.” Mr. Ritchie made a final effort to prevent a
strike by wiring to Mr. Bell, after that gentleman’s return to London
on August 18, that in his opinion a strike would be unwarrantable and
would not be sustained by public opinion.
A special meeting o f the executive committee had been called fo r
August 19, and at this meeting a resolution was offered recognizing
the justice o f the men’s claims for improved conditions o f service, but
refusing them financial support because the rules o f the society had
been violated. This resolution was defeated and an amendment, in
the follow ing language, adopted by 7 votes to 5:
That, after hearing the evidence o f the deputation from the Taff
Vale Railway and the correspondence relating to the dispute, we can
not but conclude: First, That the move o f the men by taking action
prior to obtaining the consent o f this committee [w]as most condemna
tory; secondly, that by the removal o f Signalman Ewington the man
agement o f tne company has acted most arbitrary, inciting the men to
the present act; thirdly, having regard to both sides o f the issue, we,
as administrators o f the society, decide that every effort be made by
the general secretary and others we may appoint to bring the dispute
to a speedy termination. W e further, after careful consideration,
hereby decide to support them financially.
Holmes was notified o f the action o f the executive committee, and a
letter was sent b y M r. Bell to Mr. Ritchie, in which the following
language was used:
From their report it appeared clear to my committee that a willful
attempt had been made by Mr. Harland, superintendent o f the line, to
victimize Ewington. In support o f this it is stated that Mr. Harland
said he should inform Ewington that he had brought it all on himself,
the company were determined to have a contented staff in their service,
and they would be perfectly justified in discharging all those who took
part in the recent agitation. I believe this can be proved, and that being
the case, my committee were determined at all costs that such tyranny

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

should be put down. * * * I regret very much the strike taking
place. I believe you are aware they are things I detest, and will do
anything almost to avoid.
This is now beyond my control, and I have nothing to do but to lead
the fight. However, I shall be quite ready at any moment to meet
the management o f the company to try to arrange terms. A t this
stage the settlement can be made only through me.
In obedience to the resolution adopted by the executive committee,
Mr. Bell proceeded to Cardiff to take personal command o f his forces.
On arriving in Cardiff (August 20) he sent a communication to Mr,
Beasley, the general manager o f the Taff Yale Railway, making cer
tain proposals fo r a settlement, but the effort was fruitless and the
men went on strike. Mr. Ritchie made still another attempt to restore
peace by notifying Mr. Bell by wire on August 23 that the company
had decided to leave to him (Ritchie) the decision whether Ewington
had been badly treated, provided the men would at once return to
work, but to this the men would not consent, and on August 25 Mr.
Hopwood, o f the Board o f Trade, was sent to Cardiff to take personal
charge o f the negotiations as Mr. Ritchie’s representative.^) He had
repeated conferences with Mr. Bell and the directors o f the company,
and on August 30 the men and the company accepted a compromise
by which the company pledged itself to receive deputations from the
men to discuss their grievances. Some o f the men went back to work
on September 1, and nearly all o f the others were reinstated during
the following week. Thus the strike, one o f the shortest and one o f
the most important in the history o f English labor, was brought to an
end, but it proved to be one o f the most costly, as the sequel will show.
How far-reaching its effect and how deeply it may affect economic con
ditions, only the future can answer.
Immediately follow ing the action o f the men in leaving their em ploy
ment, the Taff Yale Company obtained summonses against 208 men
for breach o f contract for having left the company’s service without
notice or with insufficient notice, and in the Cardiff police court 60 men*S
o
« M r . H opw ood in his report to the president of the Board of Trade said:
So far as I fim personally concerned, and putting aside the Amalgamated Society
of Railway Servants for the moment, this case has done enough to confirm m e in m y
opinion that railway companies would lose nothing b y deciding to receive in con
ference an agent of their servants, whoever he m ight be, as long they were given
reasonable evidence that such an agent really represented the majority of a class, and
was prepared to take the responsibility of binding that class b y his actions.
T he decision of the executive was received w ith regret b y M r. Bell and the leaders
who acted w ith him . M r. Bell, as is usual in cases in w hich I have negotiated with
him , played his difficult part with admirable fairness. H e struggled hard to gain,
and he did obtain through me, everything which he deemed would be essential to
the best interests of the men, and I do not in the least blam e him for being unable
to induce the executive committee to accept terms which he knew to be fair and
equitable under all the circumstances of the case. M r. Bell, taking a wide and gen
erous view of the pros and cons of the w hole matter, grasped the fact that the terms
w ould receive the approval of public sentiment. T h e executive committee, influ
enced b y the strong feeling of their constituents, could merely deal w ith the subject
from a narrower point of view.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

were each fined £4 ($19.47) and costs. The company next, August 28,
applied for an injunction to restrain the Amalgamated Society o f Rail
way Servants, Bell, Holmes, and the other officers and the members
generally from doing certain acts alleged to be illegal, such as picket
ing, “ besetting” the plaintiff’s stations, intimidating and using violence
toward the company’s employees, and generally interfering with and
obstructing the conduct o f the company’s business; also claiming dam
ages in the sum o f <£24,626 ($119,842) fo r the injur}^ done to the plain
tiffs by the loss o f their business and the extra expense involved arising
out o f the unlawful and malicious conspiracy of the defendants. A
temporary injunction and restraining order was issued against Bell,
Holmes, et al., and the writ made returnable on August 80.
The case was heard in the high court o f justice before Mr. Justice
Farwell, who took under advisement the application against the society,
but granted an interim injunction against Bell and Holmes to restrain
them from watching and besetting the works o f the plaintiffs or the
places o f residence o f any workman employed by the plaintiffs, for the
purpose o f persuading or preventing any persons from working for
the plaintiffs. On September 5 he made two orders, one refusing to
strike the name o f the society out o f the action, and the other granting
an interim injunction against the society, holding, contrary to the con
tention o f the society, that it could be sued as a trade union. The
defense set up b y the society was that under the two acts o f Parliament
enacted fo r the creation o f trade unions (84 and 85 V ic., c. 81, and 89
and 49 V ic., c. 22, more generally known as the trade unions acts o f
1871 and 1876) a trade union was neither a corporation nor an indi
vidual nor a limited-liability company, and while the trustees o f a union
were empowered to bring or defend any action touching the property
o f the union, and in all cases concerning the real or personal property
o f the union might sue or be sued, the union, as a union, was not col
lectively liable fo r the acts o f its members or responsible for those acts
either civilly or criminally. The importance o f a judicial interpreta
tion o f this section o f the act was o f the utmost consequence to the
trade unions no less than to the general public.
Justice Farwell gave a new status to the trade unions by deciding
that the union, as a union, was an entity to be reached by the process
o f the court, arriving at his conclusion in these words:
Although a corporation and an individual, or individuals, may be the
only entities known to the common law who can sue or be sued, it is
competent to the legislature to give to an association of individuals,
which is neither a corporation nor a partnership nor an individual, a
capacity fo r owning property and acting by agents; and such capacity,
in the absence o f express enactment to the contrary, involves the necessar}Tcorrelative o f liability, to the extent o f sucn property, for the
acts and defaults o f such agents— in other words, the liability o f being
sued in its registered name.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

As to the competency o f the action against Bell and Holmes, as
individuals, no question was raised, but from the decision granting
the interlocutory injunction against the society an appeal was taken.
The strike terminated long before the appeal could be heard, and
therefore, so far as the injunction affected the freedom o f action o f
the parties involved, it was a dead letter, but both sides saw at once
that a vital question was at issue. The Taff Yale Company knew that
an action for damages against individual members, in the event o f that
action being successful, would in all probability be a barren victory,
as on other occasions employers had obtained verdicts and damages
against their employees which could not be satisfied because the
employees, not being men o f substance, had no property that could be
attached. But here was an entirely different case. Here was a soci
ety with $1,500,000 in its treasury, and if the decision went against
the society it could not escape its responsibility. Naturally, both sides
were determined to defend what each considered to be its rights.
The appeal came on fo r hearing in the court of appeals before the
master o f the rolls, Lord Justice Collins and Lord Justice Sterling
on November 12, 1900.
The only question at issue was whether
Mr. Justice Far well had erred in deciding that the society could be
sued. Mr. Haldane, Q. C., M. P ., fo r the appellants, maintained that,
following the strict letter o f the acts o f 1871 and 1876, a trade union
could not be sued. Sir E. Clarke, Q. C., fo r the respondents, con
tended that if this argument was sound the act o f 1871 had created
“ a society that would bear the character o f a chartered libertine. I
maintain,” he said, “ that the legislature intended to create an entity.”
Judgment was given on November 21, the master o f the rolls read
ing the unanimous opinion o f the court. In his opinion the master
o f the rolls said:
I f a trade union can be sued in the manner proposed in this case, the
funds o f the union will be liable to be taken in execution under a judg
ment obtained against the union in the society’s name. W hether this
ought to be so or not is one thing which I have not to inquire into.
W hether it is so, that is, whether the union can be sued in this manner
proposed, is another matter, and this I have to decide. Mr. Justice
Farwell has held that this action is maintainable against the union in
the society’s name, and against this judgment it is that the members
o f the trade union appeal. The learned judge in the early part o f his
judgment says what is undoubtedly the truth when he said that a 46trade
union is neither a corporation nor an individual, nor a partnership
between a number o f individuals,” and in this I entirely agree. There
can, in my judgment, be no doubt that at common law the defendants
could not be sued in the name in which they are sued in this action,
any more than a tradesman could sue a defendant in the name o f a
W est End club fo r goods supplied by him to that club, for the simple
reason that the name o f a club is not the name o f a corporation nor an
individual member o f a partnership, which, apart from statute, are the
only entities known to the law as being capable o f being sued. In order,

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

therefore, that the action can be maintained against the defendants in
the name o f “ Amalgamated Society o f Railway Servants,” there must
be some statute enabling this to be done, either by creating the society
a corporation or enacting that it may be sued in its registered name,
and tnis, as the learned judge states— and in this I also agree— depends
upon the true construction o f the trades-union acts.
The court held that there was no section in the acts empowering a
trades union to sue or be sued, and that if the legislature had intended
to make that possible a the legislature well knew how, in plain terms,
to bring about such a result.” In conclusion, the master o f the rolls
said:
As there is no statute empowering this action to be brought against
the union in its registered name, it is not maintainable against the
Amalgamated Society o f Railway Servants, eo nomine, and these defend
ants must therefore be struck out, the injunction against them must be
dissolved, and the appeal as regards these defendants must be allowed
with costs here and below.
From the judgment the company asked leave to appeal, and served
notice on the society that it had lodged an appeal in the House of
Lords, the court o f last resort in England.
The appeal was heard before the L ord Chancellor and Lords Macnaghten, Shand, Brampton, and Lindley, the court, by a unanimous
bench, overruling the court o f appeal and sustaining the judgment o f
Mr. Justice Farwell. In pronouncing the opinion of the court the
Lord Chancellor said:
In this case I am content to adopt the judgment o f Farwell, J ., with
which I entirely concur; and I can not find any satisfactory answer to
that judgment in the judgment o f the court o f appeal which overruled
it. I f the legislature has created a thing which can own property,
which can employ servants, which can inflict injury, it must be taken,
I think, to have impliedly given the power to make it suable in a court
o f law fo r injuries purposely done by its authority and procurement.
I move your lordships that the judgment o f the court o f appeal be
reversed, and that o f Farwell, J ., restored.
Lord Macnaghten in concurring said:
May a registered trade union be sued in and by its registered name?
For my part I can not see any difficulty in the way o f such a suit. It
is quite true that a registered, trade union is not a corporation, but it
has a registered name and a registered office. The registered name is
nothing more than a collective name fo r all the members. The regis
tered office is the place where it carries on its business. A partner
ship firm which is not a corporation, nor, I suppose, a legal entity,
may now be sued in the firm’s name; and so, when 1 find that the act
o f Parliament actually provides fo r a registered trade union being sued
in certain cases by its registered name as a trade union, and does not
say that the cases specified are the only cases in which it may be so
sued, I can see nothing contrary to principle or contrary to the pro
visions o f the trade-union acts in holding that a trade union may be
sued by its registered name.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

Lords Shand and Brampton, in short opinions, agreed with Lord
Macnaghten, using substantially the same language. L ord Lindley
said:
I entirely repudiate the notion that the effect o f the trade-union act
o f 1871 is to legalize trade unions and confer on them rights to acquire
and hold property, and at the same time to protect the union from
legal proceedings if their managers or agents acting for the whole
body violate the rights o f other people. F or such violation the prop
erty o f a trade union can unquestionably, in my opinion, be reached
by legal proceedings properly framed. The court o f appeal has not
denied this, but it has held that the trade union can not be sued in its
registered name; and in strictness the only question for determination
by your lordships now is whether the court o f appeal was right in
holding that the name o f the trade union ought to be struck out or the
writ and the injunction granted against the trade union in that name
ought to be discharged.
A careful study o f the act leads me to the conclusion that the court
o f appeal held, and rightly held, that trade unions are not corpora
tions; but the court held, further, that, not being corporations, power
to sue and be sued in their registered name must be conferred upon
them, and that the language o f the statutes was not sufficient fo r the
purpose. Upon this last point I differ from them. The act appears
to me to indicate with sufficient clearness that the registered name is
one which may be used to denote the union as an incorporated society
in legal proceedings, as well as for business and other purposes. The
use o f the name in legal proceedings imposes no duties and alters no
rights; it is only a more convenient mode o f proceeding than that
which would have to be adopted if the name could not be used. I do
not say that the use o f the name is compulsory, but it is, at least,
permissive.
Immediately after the decision in the House o f Lords, the company
began an action fo r damages to recover the sum o f £24,626 ($119,842),
the bill o f complaint o f plaintiffs setting forth:
The plaintiffs have suffered damage by reason o f the defendants,
other than the trustees, unlawfully and maliciously conspiring together
to molest and injure the plaintiffs in their business, or alternately by
reason o f an unlawful combination on the part o f the said defendants
to carry on a strike o f the plaintiffs’ servants by unlawful means, or
in the further alternative by reason o f the said defendants individually
having knowingly committed violations o f the legal rights o f the
plaintiffs.
The company secured a verdict fo r the full amount claimed in its
bill o f complaint, and seeing the futility o f further continuing the fight,
the society reached a settlement with the company and paid the sum
o f £23,000 ($111,930) to compromise the suit and in payment in full
o f all damages against the society or any o f its officers or members.
The case from first to last cost the society in round figures, £50,000
($243,325), as in addition to the £23,000 ($111,930) paid as damages,
the society paid the company’s taxed costs, amounting to £13,000
($63,265), and the society’s costs and other legal expenses reached an

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

amount not much less. But it is interesting to note as showing the
financial strength o f the society that after the payment o f these heavy
sums, and without having to levy any increased or extra assessment to
meet them, there still remained in the treasury £274,000 ($1,333,421).
Pending the trial o f the action a serious division was caused in
the ranks o f the society because the suggestion was made that the
society should disavow Holmes and his actions, and allow him to defend
himself without the financial support o f the society. The solicitors
engaged by the society suggested that it might be wise for Holmes
to be represented by separate counsel at the trial o f the action, so that
the union would be in a position to claim that the actions o f Holmes
were unauthorized. To this suggestion Mr. Bell replied that it was
impossible for the society or himself to associate themselves with Mr.
Holmes in his defense, as his actions up to the 20th o f August were
entirely upon his own responsibility and contrary to the rules and
regulations o f the society. Holmes appealed to the executive com
mittee not to separate his defense from that o f the society, and warned
the committee that if this plan was followed he would be a hostile wit
ness against the society, which would be the means of costing it thou
sands o f pounds.
A fter prolonged debate the executive committee decided that Holmes
should receive full legal protection at the trial and the funds o f the
society should be used in his defense. W hen the result o f the com
mittee’s action was known the Liverpool branch served notice on the
executive committee that in case society funds were used in payment
o f Holmes’s defense, members o f the committee and the trustees would
be held personally and pecuniarily responsible, and steps would be
taken to secure a refund, and a few days later action was begun by the
Liverpool branch fo r an injunction to restrain the society from using
the funds. The motion coming on for hearing before Mr. Justice
Joyce in the courjt o f chancery, the injunction prayed for was granted
on the ground that the use o f the society’s funds for the purpose pro
posed was contrary to the rules and constitution o f the society. The
question o f an appeal from the decision o f Justice Joyce was seriously
considered, but further proceedings were rendered unnecessary by the
settlement o f the main action.
This celebrated case gave rise to a long debate in the House o f Com
mons on the 14th o f M ay, 1902. A resolution was introduced declar
ing that “ legislation was necessary to prevent workmen being placed
by judge-made law in a position inferior to that intended by Parlia
ment in 1875,” and the supporters o f the resolution demanded that the
Government appoint a committee to investigate the subject and ascer
tain if the law needed amendment.
Mr. Bell, in the course o f his speech, said:
The promoters o f the act had not the least notion o f making unions
legal and suable entities. Therefore, from 1871 to 1901, thirty years,

LABOR UNION’S AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

during which period not less than 25,000 strikes and lockouts must
have occurred, lords, commons, judges, lawyers, employers, and work
men, all had believed that trade unions were not suable for wrongs
committed by officers and members. * * *
T o expose the large amalgamated societies o f the country with their
accumulated funds, sometimes reaching a quarter o f a million sterling,
to be sued fo r damages by any employer in any part o f the country,
or by any discontented member, or nonunionist, for the action o f some
branch secretary or delegate, would be a great injustice. I f every
trade union were liable to be perpetually harassed by actions at law
on account o f the doings o f individual members; if trade unions funds
were to be depleted by lawyers5 fees and costs, if not even by dam
ages and fines, it would go far to make trade unionism impossible for
any but the most prosperous and experienced artisans.
Mr. Bell contended that while it was declared illegal fo r trade unions
to strike in order to compel men to join unions, the employers were at
liberty to discharge men simply because they were members o f trade
unions. “ W hat we complain o f,55 he said, “ is that the new interpre
tation put on the law by the judge is all in favor o f the employer.55
The Attorney-General, Sir Robert Finlay, replying, said:
W hat the House o f Lords decided was that the ordinary law o f the
land applied to trade unions as to everybody else. They did not intro
duce any exceptional law fo r the case o f trade unions; they decided
that where those who constitute trade unions employ officials, for the
acts o f those officials within the scope o f their authority, within the
scope o f their duty, they are liable, just as any other employer is liable
for the acts o f his servants. That is the whole decision in the Taff
Yale case. * * *
It would be a marvelous thing if an association o f individuals were
to be at liberty to employ servants and officials for the purpose o f
doing a certain class o f acts relating to trade disputes, and yet not be
liable in the case o f injury being done by those acts.
The debate was further participated in by Mr. K eir Hardie, Mr.
Asquith, Mr. Haldane, and other prominent lawyers, who pointed out
that too much uncertainty existed regarding the legal status o f trade
unions, and that the trade-union acts needed amendment.
The resolution, however, was defeated, but some months later,
owing to continued agitation on the subject, the Government admitted
that a useful purpose might be served by an inquiry and appointed a
royal commission on trade disputes. The commission consists o f the
Rt. Hon. A. Graham Murray, K. C., M. P ., Lord Advocate for
Scotland, chairman; Sir William Lewis, Bart., a leading colliery
owner o f South Wales; Sir G odfrey Lushington, G. C. M. G ., K. C.
B., form erly under secretary to the home office, Arthur Cohen, K . C.,
a leading member o f the bar, and Mr. Sidney W ebb, L. C. C., the
well-known sociologist. The trade unions, however, have resolved to
ignore the commission on the ground that a fair inquiry is impossible,
unless organized labor is represented on the commission by a mem
ber; and that the commission as it is now composed is virtually

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

packed against labor. Labor men call attention to the fact that Mr.
Murray, both in 1902 and in 1903, voted against the trade-unionists,
that Sir W illiam Lewis, as an employer, has always been an active
opponent o f trade unionism, and that both Sir G odfrey Lushington
and M r. Sidney W ebb have written articles upholding the Taff Vale
decision.
A t a joint meeting o f the management committee o f the General
Federation o f Trade Unions, the parliamentary committee o f the tradeunion congress, and the labor representation committee, which was
held after the appointment o f the commission was announced, a reso
lution was adopted protesting against the appointment o f the com
mission as “ being calculated to hinder the early settlement o f the
point at issue, and in addition to this fundamental objection, we pro
test against the composition o f the committee, which includes a
majority o f members already committed to a course o f action in rela
tion to the subject they have to examine and report upon, and, in
addition, certain representatives o f the organized employers but no
representative o f the organized workman, and is therefore neither
impartial nor judicial.” It was also agreed that no evidence or assist
ance was to be given to the commission by workingmen, and since the
commission has been organized, although numerous invitations have
been extended to the representatives o f organized labor to appear
before the commission, they have resolutely declined to do so.
Because o f the leading part taken b y M r. Richard Bell, the general
secretary o f the Amalgamated Society o f Railway Servants, his views
on this momentous decision are o f more interest than those o f any
other man connected with labor. Its effect, he says, can not yet be
determined, because sufficient time has not elapsed. One thing, how
ever, has clearly demonstrated itself, and that is, it will have an enor
mous political effect—a greater political effect than anything that has
ever before happened in Great Britain. The decision will be felt by all
workers, members o f unions and those who are outside the unions,
and will inevitably lead to political action. Mr. Bell said:
F or thirty years past the unions believed that under the law which
gave them a legal existence their funds could not be attached, and sud
denly, without warning, this blow was struck at them—a blow which
entirely upset all their previous calculations and forced them to take
an entirely different view o f their position in the eyes o f the law. I
am not discussing now the justice or injustice o f this decision, but I
am merely voicing what every unionist believes, and that is that his
funds were safe from attack; that they were immune from assault,
which possibly may have led to a certain looseness in union manage
ment, which was only natural, which perhaps resulted in a certain lax
ity in the framing o f our rules, which, considering the practice that
has prevailed for more than a quarter o f a century, is not to be won
dered at.
Where we feel that this society has been hit very hard is that here

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

was a decision, casting us in enormous damages, which came upon us
without notice, without the least opportunity for us to put our house
in order. Had we been given any admonition, and had we then con
tumaciously disregarded it, that would have been another matter, but
we were given no opportunity to keep ourselves within our legal rights.
Let me make it quite clear to you why we consider a great injustice
has been done us. Prior to the time o f the rendering o f this decision
we were led to believe that we enjoyed certain privileges not possessed
by the employer, in that a trade union could not be sued except by its
members, or could not sue except in protection o f its own rights and
property. Now we find ourselves not on the same legal level as
employers, but reduced below them, because they are permitted
legally to do certain things which would be illegal fo r us to do.
F or instance, an employer may refuse to employ or may discharge
a man because he is a member o f a union, and he incurs no legal
liability fo r that action,* whereas for a union man to refuse to work
because he objects to the employment o f a nonunion man subjects
the unionist to the pains and penalties o f conspiracy. Let me illus
trate. Suppose a shop employing 100 men, 95 o f whom are members
o f the union and 5 nonunionists. I f the 95 men say to the employer
he must discharge the other 5 or they will strike, and the employer
refuses to discharge the 5 obnoxious men and the 95, after having
given proper legal notice, without threat, violence, or intimidation of
any sort, leave their employment, they may be held guilty o f having
conspired together and be punished accordingly. And if, on the other
hand, the employer should say that he can not afford to have a strike,
and therefore it is cheaper fo r him to discharge the 5 nonunionists, and
accordingly does discharge them, the 5 men so discharged are within
their legal rights when they bring an action fo r conspiracy against the
95 fo r having conspired together to prevent them from earning their
livelihood and enjoying the right to work. Mind you, the action is not
against the employer, but against the men. Y ou see, therefore, that the
employer incurs no liability or responsibility whatever. He has all the
rights, and we, the union workmen, must suffer all the consequences.
This we hold to be most decidedly unjust and inequitable, and as g iv
ing to the employer privileges superior to those which we possess.
That, o f course, is wrong.
W e do not ask that the trade unions or trade-unionists as a class should
be relieved o f any responsibility that properly belongs to them, but
we do ask that no greater or heavier responsibility should be imposed
on trade-unionists than on employers as a class. A ll we ask is that a
union should not be made responsible fo r the acts of individual mem
bers or the unauthorized action o f subordinate officials, but should
only be held to strict accountability fo r whatever follows as the result
o f the action o f those officials who by the constitution and by-laws o f
the society are vested with its management. That is the crux o f the
Taff Vale decision. W hat was done in the case was done, as a history
o f the case will show, not by the action o f the executive committee o f
our society, but in violation o f its rules and owing to the advice given
by a minor official. The danger is that unscrupulous employers— mind
you, I do not mean to say all employers, or even a majority o f them,
but certain employers who are not mindful o f their obligations— might
goad their men into taking such action as would, under this latest
judicial decision, subject the men to the charge o f having entered into a

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

conspiracy, and thereby make the union responsible and liable in
money damages.
The effect o f this decision, in my opinion, will be twofold. It will
undoubtedly have considerable political effect and make the great body
o f workmen trust less to others and more to their own class and fo r
that reason try to secure a larger labor representation in Parliament.
This feeling may result perhaps in the wisest men not being selected
at first, but ultimately the right men will come to the top and the most
level headed will be those who will lead the labor party.
The other effect o f the decision, which has already been seen, is
undoubtedly to make unionism more cautious, and it has steadied the
firebrands. Before proceeding to take extreme action men will want
to feel quite certain that they are acting strictly within their legal
rights, because no one will want to run the risk or committing an ille
gal act which may be attended with such disastrous results. In our
case it has led to certain amendments o f our rules in accordance with
the terms o f the decision.
Mr. Isaac Mitchell, the secretary o f the General Federation o f Trade
Unions, believes that the effect of the decision will be to make the
unions develop more and more into political organizations and force
them to exert their strength to elect their own members to Parliament.
A t the time when this investigation was being carried on England was
much interested in an election for Parliament which had just taken
place to fill a vacancy in the Castle Barnard division of Y ork caused
by the death o f its form er representative. The election resulted in
the choice o f Mr. Arthur Henderson, the labor candidate, who was
opposed by both a Conservative and a Liberal, and it was admitted by
politicians o f all shades o f opinion that it was distinctly a labor vic
tory. Mr. Henderson is a member o f the Iron Founders’ Union.
Members o f Parliament, unlike members o f Congress, are not paid,
and therefore it is practically impossible fo r a man without means to
sit in Parliament. T o overcome this difficulty, the Iron Founders’
Union pays M r. Henderson from its funds the sum o f £300 ($1,460) a
year.
Mr. Maddison, the treasurer o f the General Federation o f Trade
Unions, is a member o f the Iron Founders’ Union, one o f the oldest, if
not the oldest, union in the country. Not until about a year ago, said
Mr. Maddison, did his union pay any attention whatever to political
questions; but now, as shown by the support given to the election o f
Mr. Henderson, it had become political, and this was due entirely, he
asserted without hesitation, to the Taff Yale decision.
Practically
every union in the country had decided to do the same thing, and will
try to elect as many members o f Parliament as possible at the next
general election, so as to form in Parliament an independent labor
party, that party to be neither Conservative nor Liberal, but to vote
with Conservatives or Liberals as it might be for the best interests o f
labor for the time being.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

Mr. Mitchell also believes that the Taff Yale decision will result in
a modification o f the existing rules o f many o f the unions, and it will
possibly compel them to proceed more cautiously, and even make them
to err on the safe side, until they more clearly understand what their
exact powers and privileges are. The decision will not intimidate the
men or frighten them out o f the union. On the contrary, it will help
unionism by making it a political power and increase its membership,
because men who before took no interest in the union and saw no
occasion for joining it will now see that it is fo r their personal interest
to strengthen organized labor and act with it as a political factor.
Summed up, the opinion o f Mr. Mitchell is that while the decision is
unjust it is one o f the best things that couldhave happened for unionism.
Mr. Gibb, the general manager o f the North Eastern Railway Com
pany, believes that the ruling o f the House o f Lords will make the
unions more cautious and increase the power o f the leaders to control
their more hot-headed members. The unions, or some o f them at
least, Mr. Gibb thinks, have shown a tendency to revert to the mili
tant type, due in some measure to the lack o f tact of employers. The
Taff Yale decision will not make the unions lose their power, but it
will make them exercise greater care when a strike takes place and
less inclined to do anything which may bring them within the prohi
bition o f the law.
The labor unions object to Mr. Sidney W ebb as a member o f the
royal commission to investigate trade disputes because they claim he
has written in defense o f the Taff Yale decision. The sum o f his
offending is found in the preface to the 1902 edition o f “ Industrial
Democracy,” where he uses this language:
A t first sight there would seem little or nothing to complain about.
The judgment professes to make no change in the lawfulness o f trade
unionism. No act is ostensibly made wrongful which was not wrong
ful before. And if a trade union, directly or by its agents, causes
injury or damage to other persons by acts not warranted in law, it
seems not inequitable that the trade union itself should be made liable
for what it has done. The real grievance o f the trade unions, and the
serious danger to their continued usefulness and improvement, lies in
the uncertainty o f the English law and its liability to be used as a
means o f oppression. This danger is increased and the grievance
aggravated by the dislike o f trade unionism and strikes which nearly
all judges and juries share with the rest o f the upper and middle
classes.
The public opinion o f the propertied and professional classes is, in
fact, even more hostile to trade unionism and strikes than it was a gen
eration ago. In 1867-1875, when trade unionism was struggling for
legal recognition, it seemed to many people only fair that, as the
employers were left free to use their superiority in economic strength,
the workmen should be put in a position to make a good fight o f it
against the employers. Accordingly, combinations and strikes were
legalized, and some sort o f peaceful picketing was expressly authorized

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOB.

by statute. So long as no physical violence was used or openly threat
ened, the mild tumult and disorder o f a strike, a certain amount o f
harmless obstruction o f the thoroughfares, and the animated persuasion
o f blacklegs b y the pickets were usually tolerated by the police and
not seriously resented by the employers. It all belonged to the concep
tion o f a labor dispute as a stand-up fight between the parties, in which
the State could do no more than keep the ring. Gradually this concep
tion has given way in favor o f the view that, quite apart from the
merits o f the case, the stoppage o f work b y an industrial dispute is a
public nuisance, an injury to the commonweal, which ought to be pre
vented by the Government. M oreover, the conditions o f the wage con
tract are no longer regarded only as a matter o f private concern. The
gradual extension o f legislative regulation to all industries, and its suc
cessive application to different classes o f workers and conditions o f
employment, decisively negatives the old assumption o f the employer
that he is entitled to hire his labor on such terms as he thinks fit. On
the other hand, public opinion has become uneasy about the capacity
of English manufacturers to hold their own against foreign competi
tion, and therefore resents as a crime against the community any attempt
to restrict output or obstruct machinery o f which the trade unions may
be accused. A nd thus we have a grow ing public opinion in favor o f
some authoritative tribunal o f conciliation or arbitration, and an intense
dislike o f any organized interruption o f industry by a lockout or strike,
especially when this is promoted by a trade union which is believed—
often on the strength o f the wildest accusations in the newspapers— to
be unfriendly to the utmost possible improvement o f processes in its
trade.
AP PE N D IX B .—M B. RICHARD BELL’ S BILL TO LEGALIZE THE
CONDUCT OF TRADE DISPUTES, INTRODUCED IN THE HOUSE
OF COMMONS, MARCH 2 5 , 1 902.
[2 E d w . 7 .]
T rade D
c o n d u c t o f tra d e d isp u te s.

is p u t e s .

—A

B i l l to le g a liz e th e p e a c e fu l

B e it enacted by the K ing's most E xcellent M ajesty, by and w ith the
advice and consent o f the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Com
mons, in this present Parliam ent assembled, and by authority o f the
same, as fo llo w s:
1. W here an act is done in contemplation or furtherance o f a trade
dispute, the person doing the act shall not be liable to an action on
the ground that by that act he interfered, or intended to interfere,
either with the exercise by another person o f his right to carry on his
business, or with the establishment o f contractual relations between
other persons: Provided, That nothing in this section shall exempt
such persons from liability on any other ground.
2. A n agreement or combination by two or more persons to do or
procure to be done any act in contemplation or furtherance o f a trade
dispute shall not be ground for an action, if such act when done by
one person is not a ground fo r an action.
3. A n action shall not be brought against a trade union, or against any
person or persons representing the members o f a trade union in his
or their respective capacity, fo r any act done in contemplation or
furtherance o f a trade dispute.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

4. Attending at or near the house or place where a person resides,
or works, or carries on business, or happens to be, or the approach to
such a house or place, in order merely to persuade such person peace
ably to do or abstain from doing that which he has a legal right to do
or abstain from doing, shall not be deemed a watching or besetting
within the meaning o f section 7 o f the conspiracy and protection o f
property act, 1875.
5. This act may be cited as the Trade Dispute Act, 1902.

APPEN D IX C.—THE TRADE UNIONS ACTS OP 1871 AND 1876.

A n A ct to amend the law relating to trades unions [29th June, 1871].
B e it enacted by the Queen's most E xcellent M ajesty, by and w ith the
ad/vice and consent o f the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons,
in this present Parliam ent assembled, and by the authority o f the same,
as fo llo w s:
PRELIMINARY.

1. This act may be cited as “ The Trade Union Act, 1871.”
CRIMINAL PROVISIONS.

2. The purposes o f any trade union shall not, by reason merely that
they are in restraint o f trade, be deemed to be unlawful, so as to
render any member o f such trade union liable to criminal prosecution
fo r conspiracy or otherwise.
3. The purposes o f any trade union shall not, by reason merely that
they are in restraint o f trade, be unlawful so as to render void or
voidable any agreement or trust.
4. Nothing in this act shall enable any court to entertain any legal
proceeding instituted with the object o f directly enforcing or recover
ing damages fo r the breach o f any o f the follow ing agreements, namely:
(1) A n y agreement between members o f a trade union as such con
cerning the conditions on which any members for the time being o f
such trade union shall or shall not sell their goods, transact business,
employ, or be employed.
(2) A n y agreement fo r the payment by any person of any subscrip
tion or penalty to a trade union.
(3) A n y agreement fo r the application o f the funds o f a trade union
(a) to provide benefits to members; or (b) to furnish contributions to
any employer or workman not a member o f such trade union, in con
sideration o f such employer or workman acting in conform ity with the
rules or resolutions o f such trade u nion; or (c) to discharge any fine
imposed upon any person by sentence o f a court o f justice; or,
(4) A n y agreement made between one trade union and another; or,
(5) A ny bond to secure the performance o f any o f the above-men
tioned agreements.
But nothing in this section shall be deemed to constitute any o f the
above-mentioned agreements unlawful.
5. The follow ing acts, that is to say, (1) the friendly societies acts,
1855 and 1858, and the acts amending the same; (2) the industrial and
provident societies act, 1867, and any act amending the same; and

550—No. 50—04----- 7

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

(3) the companies acts, 1862 and 1867, shall not apply to any trade
union, and the registration o f any trade union under any of the said
acts shall be void, and the deposit o f the rules o f any trade union made
under the friendly societies acts, 1855 and 1858, and the acts amend
ing the same, before the passing o f this act, shall cease to be o f any
effect.
REGISTERED TRADE UNIONS.

6. A n y seven or more members o f a trade union may, by subscribing
their names to the rules o f the union and otherwise complying withi
the provisions o f this act with respect to registry, register such trade*
union under this act, provided that if any one o f the purposes o f such1
trade union be unlawful such registration shall be voia.
7. It shall be lawful fo r any trade union registered under this act to
purchase or take upon lease in the names o f the trustees fo r the time
being o f such union any land not exceeding one acre, and to sell,
exchange, mortgage, or let the same, and no purchaser, assignee, mort
gagee, or tenant snail be bound to inquire whether the trustees have
authority for any sale, exchange, mortgage, or letting, and the receipt
o f the trustees shall be a discharge fo r the money arising therefrom;
and fo r the purpose o f this section every branch o f a trade union shall
be considered a distinct union.
8. A ll real and personal estate whatsoever belonging to any trade
union registered under this act shall be vested in the trustees fo r the
time being o f a trade union appointed as provided by this act fo r the
use and benefit o f such trade union and the members thereof, and the*
real or personal estate o f any branch o f a trade union shall be vested in
the trustees o f such branch, and be under the control o f such trustees,
their respective executors or administrators, according to their respect
ive claims and interests, and upon the death or removal o f any such
trustees the same shall vest in the succeeding trustees for the same
estate and interest as the form er trustees had therein, and subject to
the same trusts, without any conveyance or assignment whatsoever,
save and except in the case o f stocks and securities in the public funds
o f Great Britain and Ireland, which shall be transferred into the names
of such new trustees; and in all actions, or suits, or indictments, o r
summary proceedings before any court o f summary jurisdiction, touch
ing or concerning any such property, the same shall be stated to be the
property o f the person or persons fo r the time being holding the said
office o f trustee, in their proper names, as trustees o f such trade union,
without any further description.
9. The trustees o f any trade union registered under this act, or any
other officer o f such trade union who may be authorized so to do b y
the rules thereof, are hereby empowered to bring or defend, or cause
to be brought or defended, any action, suit, prosecution, or complaint
in any court o f law or equity touching or concerning the property,
right, or claim to property o f the trade union; and shall and may, in
all cases concerning the real or personal property o f such trade union,
sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in any court o f law or equity,
in their proper names, without other description than the title o f their
office; and no such action, suit, prosecution, or complaint shall be dis
continued or shall abate by the death or removal from office o f such
persons, or any o f them, but the same shall and may be proceeded in
by their successor or successors as if such death, resignation, or

LABOR UNIONS AND BBITISH INDUSTRY.

removal had not taken place; and such successors shall pay or receive
the like costs as if the action, suit, prosecution, or complaint had been
commenced in their names fo r the benefit o f or to be reimbursed from
the funds o f such trade union, and the summons to be issued to such
trustee or other officer may be served by leaving the same at the
registered office o f the trade union.
10. A trustee o f any trade union registered under this act shall not
be liable to make good any deficiency which may arise or happen in
the funds o f such trade union, but shall be liable only for the moneys
which shall be actually received by him on account o f such trade
union.
11. Every treasurer or other officer o f a trade union registered under
this act, at such times as by the rules o f such trade union he should render
such account as hereinafter mentioned, or upon being required so to do,
shall render to the trustees o f the trade union, or to the members o f such
trade union, at a meeting o f the trade union, a just and true account o f all
moneys received and paid by him since he last rendered the like account,
and o f the balance then remaining in his hands, and o f all bonds or securi
ties o f such trade union, which account the said trustees shall cause to
be audited b y some fit and proper person or persons by them to be
appointed; and such treasurer, if thereunto required, upon the said
account being audited, shall forthwith hand over to the said trustees
the balance which on such audit appears to be due from him, and shall
also, if required, hand over to such trustees all securities and effects,
books, papers, and property o f the said trade union in his hands or
custody; and if he fail to do so the trustees o f the said trade union
may sue such treasurer in any competent court for the balance appear
ing to have been due from him upon the account last rendered by him,
and fo r all the moneys since received by him on account o f the said
trade union, and fo r the securities and effects, books, papers, and
property in his hands or custody, leaving him to set off in such action
the sums, if any, which he may have since paid on account o f the said
trade union; and in such action the said trustees shall be entitled to
recover their full costs o f suit, to be taxed as between attorney and
client.
12. I f any officer, member, or other person being or representing
himself to be a member o f a trade union registered under this act, or
the nominee, executor, administrator, or assignee o f a member thereof,
or any person whatsoever, by false representation or imposition obtain
possession o f any moneys, securities, books, papers, or other effects o f
such trade union, or, having the same in his possession, willfully with
hold or fraudulently misapply the same, or willfully apply any part of
the same to purposes other than those expressed or directed in the
rules o f such trade union, or any part thereof, the court o f summary
jurisdiction fo r the place in which the registered office o f the trade
union is situate upon a complaint made by any person on behalf o f
such trade union, or by the registrar, or in Scotland at the instance o f
the procurator fiscal o f the court to which such complaint is compe
tently made, or o f the trade union, with his concurrence, may, by
summary order, order such officer, member, or other person to deliver
up all such moneys, securities, books, papers, or other effects to the
trade union, or to repay the amount o f money applied improperly, and
to pay, if the court think fit, a further sum o f money not exceeding
twenty pounds [$97.33], together with costs not exceeding twenty shil

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

lings [$4.87]; and in default o f such delivery o f effects, or repayment
o f such amount o f money, or payment o f such penalty and costs afore
said, the said court may order the said person so convicted to be
imprisoned, with or without hard labor, fo r any time not exceeding
three months: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall prevent
the said trade union, or in Scotland H er Majesty’s advocate, from
proceeding by indictment against the said party; Provided, also, That
no person shall be proceeded against by indictment if a conviction
shall have been previously obtained for the same offense under the
provisions o f this act.
REGISTRY OF TRADE UNION.

13. W ith respect to the registry under this act o f a trade union and
of the rules thereof, the follow ing provisions shall have effect:
(1) An application to register the trade union and printed copies o f
the rules, together with a list o f the titles and names o f the officers,
shall be sent to the registrar under this act.
(2) The registrar, upon being satisfied that the trade union has com
plied with the regulations respecting registry in force under this act,
shall register such trade union and such rules.
(3) No trade union shall be registered under a name identical with
that by which any other existing trade union has been registered, or
so nearly resembling such name as to be likely to deceive the members
or the public.
(4) W here a trade union applying to be registered has been in opera
tion for more than a year before the date o f such application, there
shall be delivered to the registrar before the registry thereof a gen
eral statement o f the receipts, funds, effects, and expenditure o f such
trade union in the same form , and showing the same particulars, as if
it were the annual general statement required as hereinafter mentioned
to be transmitted annually to the registrar.
(5) The registrar upon registering such trade union shall issue a
certificate o f registry, which certificate, unless proved to have been
withdrawn or canceled, shall be conclusive evidence that the regula
tions o f this act with respect to registry have been complied with.
(6) One o f H er Majesty’s principal secretaries o f state may, from
time to time, make regulations respecting registry under this act, and
respecting the seal (if any) to be used fo r the purpose o f such registry,
and the forms to be used fo r such registry, and the inspection o f doc
uments kept by the registrar under this act, and respecting the fees,
if any, to be paid on registry, not exceeding the fees specified in the
second schedule to this act, and generally for carrying this act into
effect.
14. W ith respect to the rules o f a trade union registered under this
act, the follow ing provisions shall have effect:
(1) The rules o f every such trade union shall contain provisions in
respect o f the several matters mentioned in the first schedule to this
act.
(2) A copy o f the rules shall be delivered by the trade union to every
person on demand on payment o f a sum not exceeding one shilling [24
cents].
15. Every trade union registered under this act shall have a regis
tered office to which all communications and notices may be addressed;
if any trade union under this act is in operation for seven days with

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

out having such an office, such trade union and every officer thereof
shall each incur a penalty not exceeding five pounds [$24.33] for every
day during which it is so in operation.
Notice o f the situation o f such registered office, and o f any change
therein, shall be given to the registrar and recorded by him; until
such notice is given the trade union shall not be deemed to have com
plied with the provisions o f this act.
16. A general statement o f the receipts, funds, effects, and expendi
ture o f every trade union registered under this act shall be transmitted
to the registrar before the first day o f June in every year, and shall
show fully the assets and liabilities at the date, and the receipts and
expenditure during the year preceding the date to which it is made
out, o f the trade union; and shall show separately the expenditure in
respect o f the several objects o f the trade union, and shall be prepared
ana made out up to such date, in such form , and shall comprise such
particulars, as the registrar may from time to time require; and every
member of, and depositor in, any such trade union shall be entitled to
receive, on application to the treasurer or secretary o f that trade
union, a copy o f such general statement, without making any pay
ment fo r the same.
Together with such general statement there shall be sent to the
registrar a copy o f all alterations o f rules and new rules and changes
o f officers made by the trade union during the year preceding the date
up to which the general statement is made out, and a copy o f the rules
of the trade union as they exist at that date.
Every trade union which fails to comply with or acts in contraven
tion o f this section, and also every officer o f the trade union so failing
shall each be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds [$24.33] for
each offense.
Every person who willfully makes or orders to be made any false
entry in or any omission from any such general statement, or in or
from the return o f such copies o f rules or alterations o f rules, shall
be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds [$243.33] for each
offense.
17. The registrars o f the friendly societies in England, Scotland,
and Ireland shall be the registrars under this act.
The registrar shall lay before Parliament annual reports with respect
to the matters transacted by such registrars in pursuance o f this act.
18. I f any person with intent to mislead or defraud gives to any
member o f a trade union registered under this act, or to any person
intending or applying to become a member o f such trade union, a copy
o f any rules or o f any alterations or amendments o f the same other
than those respectively which exist fo r the time being on the pretense
that the same are the existing rules o f such trade union, or that there
are no other rules o f such trade union, or if any person with the intent
aforesaid gives a copy o f any rules to any person on the pretense that
such' rules are the rules o f a trade union registered under this act
which is not so registered, every person so offending shall be deemed
guilty o f a misdemeanor.
LEGATj PROCEEDINGS.

19. In England and Ireland all offenses and penalties under this act
may be prosecuted and recovered in manner directed by the summary
jurisdiction acts.

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

In England and Ireland summaiy orders under this act may be made
and enforced on complaint before a court o f summary jurisdiction in
manner provided by the summary jurisdiction acts.
Provided as follows:
(1) The “ court of summary jurisdiction,” when hearing and deter
mining an information or complaint, shall be constituted in some one
of the follow ing manners; that is to say,
(a) In England (1) In any place within the jurisdiction of a metro
politan police magistrate or other stipendiary magistrate, o f such mag
istrate or his substitute. (2) In the city o f London, o f the Lord M ayor
or any alderman o f the said city. (3) In any other place, o f two or
more justices o f the peace sitting in petty sessions.
(b) In Ireland. (1) In the police district o f Dublin metropolis, o f a
divisional justice. (2) In any other place, o f a resident magistrate.
In Scotland all offenses and penalties under this act shall be prose
cuted and recovered by the procurator fiscal o f the county in the sheriff
court under the provisions o f the summary procedure act, 1864.
In Scotland summary orders under this act may be made and enforced
on complaint in the sheriff court.
A ll the jurisdictions, powers, and authorities necessary for giving
effect to these provisions relating to Scotland are hereby conferred on
the sheriffs ana their substitutes.
Provided that in England, Scotland, and Ireland—
(2) The description o f any offense under this act in the words o f
such act shall be sufficient in law.
(3) A ny exception, exemption, proviso, excuse, or qualification,
whether it does or not accompany the description o f the offense in this
act, may be proved by the defendant, but need not be specified or neg
atived in the information, and if so specified or negatived, no p roof in
relation to the matters so specified or negatived shall be required on
the part o f the informant or prosecutor.
20.
In England or Ireland if any party feels aggrieved by any order
or conviction made by a court of summary jurisdiction on determining
any complaint or information under this act, the party so aggrieved
may appeal therefrom, subject to the conditions and regulations
following:
(1) The appeal shall be made to some court o f general or quarter
sessions fo r the county or place in which the cause o f appeal has arisen,
holden not less than fifteen days and not more than four months after
the decision o f the court from which the appeal is made:
(2) The appellant shall, within seven days after the cause of appeal
has arisen, give notice to the other party and to the court o f summary
jurisdiction o f his intention to appeal, and o f the ground thereof:
(3) The appellant shall immediately after such notice enter into a
recognizance before a justice o f the peace in the sum o f ten pounds
[148.67], with two sufficient sureties in the sum o f ten pounds [$48.67],
conditioned personally to try such appeal, and to abide the judgment
o f the court thereon, and to pay such costs as may be awarded by the
court:
(4) W here the appellant is in custody, the justice may, if he think
fit, on the appellant entering into such recognizance as aforesaid,
release him from custody:
(5) The court o f appeal may adjourn the appeal, and upon the hear
ing thereof they may confirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the
court o f summary jurisdiction, or remit the matter to the court o f

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

summary jurisdiction with the opinion o f the court o f appeal thereon,
or make such other order in the matter as the court thinks just, and if
the matter be remitted to the court o f summary jurisdiction, the said
last-mentioned court shall thereupon rehear and decide the informa
tion or complaint in accordance with the opinion o f the said court o f
appeal. The court o f appeal may also make such order as to costs to
be paid by either party as the court thinks just.
21. In Scotland it shall be competent to any person to appeal against
any order or conviction under this act to the next circuit court o f jus
ticiary or, where there are no circuit courts, to the high court o f jus
ticiary at Edinburgh, in the manner prescribed by and under the rules,
limitations, conditions, and restrictions contained in the act passed in
the twentieth year o f the reign o f His Majesty King George the Sec
ond, chapter forty-three, in regard to appeals to circuit courts in mat
ters criminal, as the same may be .altered or amended by any acts of
Parliament fo r the time being in force.
A ll penalties imposed under the provisions of this act in Scotland
may be enforced in default o f payment by imprisonment for a term to
be specified in the summons or complaint, but not exceeding three
calendar months.
A ll penalties imposed and recovered under the provisions o f this act
in Scotland shall be paid to the sheriff clerk, and shall be accounted
for and paid by him to the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remem
brancer on behalf o f the Crown.
22. A person who is a master, or father, son, or brother o f a mas
ter, in the particular manufacture, trade, or business, in or in connec
tion with which any offense under this act is charged to have been
committed, shall not act as or as a member o f a court o f summary
jurisdiction or appeal fo r the purposes o f this act.
DEFINITIONS.

23. In this act the term summary jurisdiction acts means as
follows:
A s to England, the act o f the session o f the eleventh and twelfth
years o f the reign o f Her present Majesty, chapter forty-three, entitled
“ An act to facilitate the performance o f the duties o f justices o f the
peace out o f sessions within England and Wales with respect to sum
mary convictions and orders,” and any acts amending the same:
As to Ireland, within the police district o f Dublin metropolis, the
acts regulating the powers and duties o f justices o f the peace for such
district, or o f the police o f such district, and elsewhere in Ireland,
“ the petty sessions (Ireland) act, 1851,” and any act amending the
same.
In Scotland the term “ misdemeanor” means a crime and offense.
The term “ trade union” means such combination, whether tempo
rary or permanent, for regulating the relations between workmen and
masters, or between workmen and workmen, or between masters and
masters, or fo r imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct o f any
trade or business, as would, if this act had not passed, have been
deemed to have been an unlawful combination by reason o f some one
or more o f its purposes being in restraint o f trade: Provided, That this
act shall not affect—
(1) A n y agreement between partners as to their own business;
(2) A ny agreement between an employer and those employed by
him as to such employment;

100

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OP LABOR.

(3)
Any agreement in consideration o f the sale of the good-will o f a
business or o f instruction in any profession, trade, or handicraft.
REPEAL.

24. The trades unions funds protection act, 1869, is hereby repealed.
Provided that this repeal shall not affect—
(1) Anything duly done or suffered under the said act:
(2) A n y right or privilege acquired or any liability incurred under
the said act:
(3) A n y penalty, forfeiture, or other punishment incurred in respect
o f any offense against the said act:
(4) The institution o f any investigation or legal proceeding or any
other remedy fo r ascertaining, enforcing, recovering, or imposing any
such liability, penalty, forfeiture, or punishment as aforesaid.
F ik st S c h e d u l e .
O f m atters to be provid ed f o r by the rules o f trade unions registered under this act.

1. T h e nam e of th e trade union and place of m eeting for th e business of the trade
union.
2. T h e w hole of th e objects for w hich th e trade union is to be established, th e
purposes for w hich th e funds thereof sh all be applicable, and th e conditions under
w hich any m em ber m ay becom e entitled to an y benefit assured th ereby, and th e fines
and forfeitures to be im posed on any m em ber of such trade union.
3. T h e m anner of m aking, altering, am ending, and rescinding rules.
4 . A provision for th e appointm ent and rem oval o f n general com m ittee of m anage
m en t, of a trustee or trustees, treasurer, and oth er officers.
5. A provision for th e investm ent of the funds, and for an annual or periodical
audit of accounts.
6. T h e inspection of th e books and nam es of m em bers of th e trade union b y every
person having an interest in th e funds of th e trade union.
S econ d S c h e d u l e .
M axim u m fees.
£

F or registering trade u n ion..............
F or registering alterations in rules,
F or inspection of docum ents.............

A n A ct

1 0
0 10
0 2

0
0
6

[$ 4 .87'
’$ 2 .43s
$ 0 .61s

to amend the trade union act, 1871 [30th June, 1876].

Whereas it is expedient to amend the trade union act, 1871:
B e it therefore enacted by the Queen's most E xcellent M ajesty, by and
w ith the advice and consent o f the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and
Commons, in this present Parliam ent assembled, and by the authority
o f the same, as fo llo w s:
1. This act and the trade union act, 1871, hereinafter termed the
principal act, shall be construed as one act, and may be cited together
as the “ Trade Union Acts, 1871 and 1876,” and this act may be cited
separately as the 66Trade Union A ct Amendment A ct, 1876.”
2. Notwithstanding anything in section five o f the principal act con
tained, a trade union, whether registered or unregistered, which insures
or pays money on the death o f a child under ten years o f age shall be
deemed to be within the provisions o f section "twenty-eight o f the
friendly societies act, 1875.

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

101

3. Whereas by section eight o f the principal act it is enacted that
“ the real or personal estate o f any branch o f a trade union shall be
vested in the trustees o f such branch: ” The said section shall be read
and construed as if immediately after the hereinbefore recited words
there were inserted the words “ or o f the trustees o f the trade union,
if the rules o f the trade union so provide.”
4. W hen any person, being or having been a trustee o f a trade union
or o f any branch o f a trade union, and whether appointed before or
after the legal establishment thereof, in whose name any stock belong
ing to such union or branch transferable at the Bank o f England or
Bank o f Ireland is standing, either jointly with another or others, or
solely, is absent from Great Britain or Ireland respectively, or becomes
bankrupt, or files any petition, or executes any deed for liquidation of
his affairs by assignment or arrangement, or fo r composition with his
creditors, or becomes a lunatic, or is dead, or has been removed from
his office o f trustee, or if it be unknown whether such person is liv
ing or dead, the registrar, on application in writing from the secretary
and three members o f the union or branch, and on proof satisfactory
to him, may direct the transfer o f the stock into the names o f any
other persons as trustees fo r the union or branch; and such transfer
shall be made by the surviving or continuing trustees, and if there be
no such trustee, or if such trustees refuse or be unable to make such
transfer, and the registrar so direct, then by the accountant-general or
deputy or assistant accountant-general o f the Bank o f England or
Bank o f Ireland, as the case may be; and the governors and companies
o f the Bank o f England and Bank o f Ireland respectively are hereby
indemnified fo r anything done by them or any o f their officers in pur
suance o f this provision against any claim or demand o f any person
injuriously affected thereby.
5. The jurisdiction conferred in the case o f certain offenses by sec
tion twelve o f the principal act upon the court o f summary jurisdic
tion fo r the place in which the registered office o f a trade union is
situate may be exercised either by that court or by the court o f sum
mary jurisdiction fo r the place where the offense has been committed.
6. Trades unions carrying or intending to carry on business in more
than one country shall be registered in the country in which their
registered office is situate; but copies o f the rules o f such unions, and
o f all amendments o f the same, shall, when registered, be sent to the
registrar o f each o f the other countries, to be recorded by him, and
until such rules be so recorded the union shall not be entitled to any
o f the privileges o f this act or the principal act, in the countiy in
which such rules have not been recorded, and until such amendments
o f rules be recorded the same shall not take effect in such country.
In this section “ country” means England, Scotland, or Ireland.
7. Whereas by the “ life assurance companies act, 1870,” it is pro
vided that the said act shall not apply to societies registered under
the acts relating to friendly societies: The said act (or the amending
acts) shall not apply nor be deemed to have applied to trade unions
registered or to be registered under the principal act.
8. No certificate o f registration o f a trade union shall be withdrawn
or cancelled otherwise than by the chief registrar o f friendly societies,
or in the case o f trade unions registered and doing business exclusively
in Scotland or Ireland, by the assistant registrar for Scotland or Ire
land, and in the follow ing cases:

102

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OP LABOR.

(1) A t the request o f the trale union to be evidenced in such man
ner as such chief or assistant registrar shall from time to time direct.
(2) On proof to his satisfaction that a certificate o f registration has
been obtained by fraud or mistake, or that the registration o f the
trade union has become void under section six o f the trade union act,
1871, or that such trade union has willfully and after notice from a
registrar whom it may concern, violated any o f the provisions o f the
trade union acts, or has ceased to exist.
Not less than two months previous notice in writing, specifying
briefly the ground o f any proposal, withdrawal, or cancelling o f cer
tificate (unless where the same is shown to have become void as afore
said, in which case it shall be the duty o f the chief or assistant registrar
to cancel the same forthwith) shall be given by the chief or assistant
registrar to a trade union before the certificate o f registration o f the
same can be withdrawn or cancelled (except at its request).
A trade union whose certificate o f registration has been withdrawn
or cancelled shall, from the time o f such withdrawal or cancelling,
absolutely cease to enjoy as such the privileges o f a registered trade
union, but without prejudice to any liability actually incurred by such
trade union, which may be enforced against the same as if such with
drawal or cancelling had not taken place.
9. A person under the age o f twenty-one, but above the age o f six
teen, may be a member o f a trade union, unless provision be made in the
rules thereof to the contrary, and may, subject to the rules o f the trade
union, enjoy all the rights o f a member except as herein provided, and
execute all instruments and give all acquittances necessary to be exe
cuted or given under the rules, but shall not be a member o f the com
mittee o f management, trustee, or treasurer o f the trade union.
10. A member o f a trade.union not being under the age o f sixteen
years may, b y writing under his hand, delivered at, or sent to, the
registered office o f the trade union, nominate any person not being an
officer or servant o f the trade union (unless such officer or servant is the
husband, wife, father, mother, child, brother, sister, nephew, or niece
o f the nominator), to whom any moneys payable on the death o f such
member, not exceeding fifty pounds [$243.33] shall be paid at his decease,
and may from time to time revoke or vary such nomination by writing
under his hand similarly delivered or sent; and on receiving satisfac
tory p roof o f the death o f a nominator, the trade union shall pay to
the nominee the amount due to the deceased member not exceeding
the sum aforesaid.
11. A trade union may, with the approval in writing o f the chief
registrar o f friendly societies, or in the case o f trade unions registered
and doing business exclusively in Scotland or Ireland, o f the assistant
registrar fo r Scotland or Ireland, respectively, change its name by the
consent o f not less than two-thirds o f the total number o f members.
No change o f name shall affect any right or obligation o f the trade
union or o i any member thereof, and any pending legal proceedings
may be continued by or against the trustees o f the trade union or any
other officer who may sue or be sued on behalf o f such trade union,
notwithstanding its new name.
12. A n y two or more trade unions may, by the consent o f not less
than two-thirds o f the members o f each or every such trade union,
become amalgamated together as one trade union, with or without any
dissolution or division o f the funds o f such trade unions, or either or

LABOR UNIONS AND BRITISH INDUSTRY.

103

any o f them; but no amalgamation shall prejudice any right o f a cred
itor o f either or any union party thereto.
13. Notice in writing o f every change o f name or amalgamation
signed, in the case o f a change o f name, b y seven members, and coun
tersigned by the secretary o f the trade union changing its name, and
accompanied by a statutory declaration by such secretary that the
provisions o f this act in respect o f changes o f name have been complied
with, and in the case o f an amalgamation signed by seven members
and countersigned by the secretary o f each or every union party
thereto, and accompanied by a statutory declaration by each or every
such secretary that the provisions o f this act in respect o f amalgama
tions have been complied with, shall be sent to the central office estab
lished by the friendly societies act, 1875, and registered there, and
until such change o f name or amalgamation is so registered the same
shall not take effect.
14. The rules o f every trade union shall provide fo r the manner o f
dissolving the same, and notice o f every dissolution o f a trade union
under the hand o f the secretary and seven members o f the same shall
be sent within fourteen days thereafter to the central office hereinbe
fore mentioned, or, in the case o f trade unions registered and doing
business exclusively in Scotland or Ireland, to the assistant registrar
fo r Scotland or Ireland, respectively, and shall be registered by them:
Provided, That the rules o f any trade union registered before the pass
ing o f this act shall not be invalidated by the absence o f a provision
fo r dissolution.
15. A trade union which fails to give any notice or send any docu
ment which it is required by this act to give or send, and every officer
or other person bound by tne rules thereof to give or send the same,
or if there be no such officer, then every member o f the committee
o f management o f the union, unless proved to have been ignorant of,
or to have attempted to prevent the omission to give or send the same,
is liable to a penalty o f not less than one pound [$4.87] and not more
than five pounds [$24.33] recoverable at the suit o f the chief or any
assistant registrar o f friendly societies, or o f any person aggrieved,
and to an additional penalty o f the like amount for each week during
which the omission continues.
16. So much o f section twenty-three o f the principal act as defines
the term trade union, except the proviso qualifying such definition,
is hereby repealed, and in lieu thereof be it enacted as follows:
The term “ trade union” means any combination, whether temporary
or permanent, fo r regulating the relations between workmen and
masters, or between workmen and workmen, or between masters and
masters, or fo r imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct o f any
trade or business, whether such combination would or would not, if
the principal act had not been passed, have been deemed to have been
an unlawful combination by reason o f some one or more o f its
purposes being in restraint o f trade.

LAND VALDES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.
BY A. F. DAVIES.

For a study in growth o f value and change in distribution o f land
within a territory illustrating urban development, Philadelphia offers
a better field than any other American city. This is, first, because o f
its history and physiography. Its origins are not obscured. The
city was plotted and established according to a settled plan. Sub
division o f the area and change o f ownership have been subjects o f
record from the first. A s the space limits set by the founder expanded
under the pressure o f growth they met no obstacles in the conforma
tion o f the adjacent districts. Like Berlin, Moscow, or St. Louis,
Philadelphia is a city o f riparian situation, capable o f facile expansion
in every direction. Consequently its use o f land under the pressure
o f increasing population is free from such physical hindrances as have
complicated or may complicate expansion in cities differently situated—
Boston, New Y ork, or Chicago, fo r example, or St. Petersburg, with
the water blocking growth in one direction, or Duluth, to instance the
additional difficulties o f a hillside and terrace location, or Paris, set on
an island and restrained through generations by exigencies o f military
defense from free growth beyond its limits— while the action o f these
same hindrances in condensing the population and driving values
upward has been lacking, giving the problem in Philadelphia a com
paratively simple form. For some two hundred and twenty-five years
the process o f growth has gone on until 29 square miles o f unim
proved land has become a modern city. New territory has been
added to the plot o f the original city, but geographically and logically
the additions have been no less “ c it y ” than the city itself, and the
changes have been formal rather than real.
On October 25, 1701, William Penn granted Philadelphia a's a city
its first charter. Twenty years earlier the first surveys o f the orig
inal city had been begun, and fo r seventeen years the settlement had
existed as a borough. This first city charter remained in force up to
1789, when a new charter was granted, which, with supplements, was
operative until 1851, in which year it was modified and extended by
the act o f consolidation.
The area o f the original town and borough, as o f the city, was fixed,
extending from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, 2 miles, and in breadth,
104

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

105

north and south, 1 mile. There was thus an area o f 2 square miles, or
1,280 acres, offering, to the mind o f the proprietary, abundant oppor
tunity for expansion. The growth o f the first year, to a village o f
66about four score houses and cottages,” gave great satisfaction to those
interested in the province. In Hazzard’s Register a table o f taxables
fo r the city and the county o f Philadelphia, compiled in 1828 from the
records o f the county commissioners, indicates approximately the rate
o f growth within the city and the county o f Philadelphia from 1720
to 1828.
TAXABLE PROPERTY IN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY OP PHILADELPHIA, 1720 TO 1828.
Years.
1720.........................................................................................................
1740.........................................................................................................
1761______________________________________________ ___________
I
1760......................
1771.....................

_______
1786.........................................................................................................
1793_________________ _____ ___ ___________
1779

!
1800......................
1807...................... ................................................................................... if
1814

_______

1821.........................................................................................................
1828.........................................................................................................

City.

$2,634
3,751
3,681
4,876
7,088
6,625
7,813
9,383
12,696
16,556

Comity.

$5,687
6,704
7,066
4,516
6,885
7,919
9,055
10,486
15,196
20,750

Total.
$1,195
4,850
7,100
8,321
10,455
10,747
9,392
13,973
14,544
16,868
19,869
27,892
37,306

Leaving out o f account the irregularities supposably due to the R ev
olutionary war and to the prevalence o f fevers in the city between 1793
and 1800 this table shows a century o f fairly uniform growth. In con
junction with the population table constructed from Doctor Mease’s
estimates and the United States Census given in the table immediately
following, covering the years 1753 to 1850, it indicates the character
istic development o f Philadelphia, namely, a steady increase o f popula
tion, manufactures, and other business on the stable basis o f a body o f
citizens very largely above the tax-paying line o f responsibility.
Seventy-eight years after the first borough organization o f Philadel
phia, the legislature began the incorporation o f districts adjoining the
city fo r the government o f their local affairs. This course was con
tinued for ninety-one years, nine corporate districts being added in
that time, as follows:
Southwark, March 26, 1762; Northern Liberties, March 9, 1771;
Moyamensing, March 24, 1812; Spring Garden, March 22, 1813;
Kensington, March 6, 1820; Penn, February 28, 1844; Richmond,
February 27, 1847; W est Philadelphia, A pril 3,1851; Belmont, A pril
14, 1853. (a)
In 1853 the city had been far outstripped in area, population, taxa
bles, and real estate values by the surrounding districts and the rate o f
« P rice; H istory of th e Consolidation of th e C ity of P hiladelphia.

106

BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR,

advance was overwhelmingly in their favor, as illustrated by the
follow ing tables:
POPULATION OF THE CITY AND OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF PHILADELPHIA AT
VARIOUS YEARS, 1753 TO 1850.
[Figures in this table are from Price’s History of the Consolidation o f the City of Philadelphia.]
Year.

City.

1753.....................................
1760.....................................
1769.....................................
1790.....................................
1800.....................................

City and
county.

<*14,563
a 18,756
<*28,043
528,522
41,220

54,391
81,009

Year.
1810...................................
1820...................................
1830...................................
1840...................................
1850..................................

o A ccording to Dr. Mease’s statement.

City.
53,722
63,802
80,462
93,665
121,376

City and
county.
111,210
135,637
188,797
258,037
408,762

&United States Census.

TAXABLE INHABITANTS OF PHILADELPHIA AND ADJOINING DISTRICTS IN 1853.
[Figures in this table are from Price’s History o f the Consolidation o f the City o f Philadelphia.]
City and districts.
P hiladelphia..........................................
Southw ark.............................................
M oyam ensing........................................
Passayunk.............................................
Northern L iberties................................

Number.
22,024
8,193
6,153
335
9,130

City and districts.

Number.

Spring G arden.....................................
K ensington.............................. ..........
Penn......................................................
Boroughs and townships north of
c ity ............... ...................................

12,817
11,563
3,658
11,332

VALUATION OF REAL ESTATE IN PHILADELPHIA AND ADJOINING DISTRICTS, 1844
AND 1853.
[Figures in this table are from Price’s History o f the Consolidation o f the City of Philadelphia.]

City and districts.

1844.

1853.

P ercent
o f in
crease.

P hiladelphia..............................................................................
Southw ark..................................................................................
M oyam ensing.............................................................................
Northern L iberties....................................................................
Spring G arden...........................................................................
K en sington................................................................................
Other districts, boroughs, and tow nships..............................

657,708,858
5,367,581
2,323,210
9,056,948
9,149,604
3,793,508
12,893,513

666,497,465
6,036,047
3,838,791
9,637,466
15,128,817
7,148,502
19,931,570

15.2
12.5
65.2
6.4
65.3
£58.4
54.6

T o ta l..................................................................................

100,293,222

128,218,658

27.8

The multiplication o f corporate civic bodies in what was practically
a continuous population was harmful and wasteful. (a)
In Philadelphia County, the smallest county in the State, there were
some forty corporate or quasi-corporate bodies making executive laws
and managing public affairs in twenty-nine independent territorial
divisions. a W ith no paramount or pervasive power o f legislation or
control, no laws, uniformly operative over the whole, could be adopted
or executed beyond the respective bounds o f each (local government).
Rioters suppressed within one jurisdiction take refuge and find impu
nity within another. Measures o f public improvement by the city or
respective districts are arrested at each extreme o f their narrow limits;
« I t was estim ated th at th e im proved m ethod of collecting taxes in th e consolidated
city saved about $100,000 per annum to th e taxpayers.

LAND VALUES AND OWNEKSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

107

and works erected competent to supply the wants o f all with but slight
additional expense are curtailed o f their usefulness, and other works
at large expense uselessly erected by other corporations. The vary
ing laws o f so many localities in close contiguity are so numerous and
so little known that the citizens in their hourly movements are subjected
to legal obligations and powers o f which they have no knowledge.
These divisions and unseen lines and complications o f powers are poten
tial alike to paralyze or arrest every effort to advance the common wel
fare and to suppress general evils. 55(a)
Philadelphia County under these conditions was an earthly paradise
for the citizens seeking a municipal job. The heavy reductions antici
pated in the number o f municipal employees had much to do with the
delay o f consolidation and the consequent loss o f standing to the city.
Nearly ten years of agitation were needed to secure the legislation
which ended this condition and brought into one commonwealth this
group o f jealous and reciprocally injurious neighbors.
The act o f consolidation, which became a law February 2,1854, made
the area o f the city and county coterminous, brought it under a unified
municipal control, and thus made possible a future of growth and power.
From the passing o f the act o f consolidation to 1900 the city had nearly
half a century during which her area was unchanged. H er record o f
taxation was continuous, and there occurred, with the exception o f the
celebration in 1876 o f the Centennial o f the Declaration o f Independ
ence, no circumstances peculiar to the city to disturb normal growth
in population, industries, and values. This period, 1855 to 1900, has
been selected fo r this study o f various aspects o f the conditions and
tendencies o f real estate.
The data embodied in the tables were 1:ound in the assessors5 books,
which list all property, taxable and exempt, giving valuation fo r taxa
tion, areas, and names o f owners. Properties exempt from taxa
tion were not included in the tables. Decennial periods were taken
as the points for examination, beginning with 1855, the first year o f
taxation under consolidation. The figures given for the population
have been calculated by the usual method fo r intercensal years. The
books o f 1855 are damaged slightty, and in 1855 and 1865 many areas
are unrecorded. In some cases, no very great number, the owners are
reported “ unknown.” Cases o f doubtful identity, such as “ John
Smith,51 etc., have been lumped with the unknown owners.
B y a legislative act o f March 14,1865, the board o f revision o f taxes
was created. That act, as amended in 1867, provides that the court o f
common pleas shall appoint three persons who shall compose the board
o f revision o f taxes. They have the power to equalize assessments by
raising or lowering valuations, either in individual cases or by wards;
a Price, H istory of Consolidation of the C ity of P hiladelphia.

108

BULLETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF LABOK.

to rectify all errors; make valuations when they have been omitted;
require the attendance o f assessors or other citizens for examination,
and hear all the appeals and applications o f the taxpayers, subject to
an appeal to the court o f common pleas, whose decision shall be final.
The assessors are appointed by the board o f revision of taxes for the
term o f five years. Their duty is to ascertain the dimensions and
quantity o f each lot or piece o f ground assessed and return the same
with their assessment. Each assessor is also required to ascertain the
proper orthography o f the name o f each taxable person within the
district assigned to him; the exact number o f the residence o f such
person; his occupation, profession, or business, and to state plainly all
such particulars in the assessment list. A method o f obtaining this
information is provided b y an act o f 1865 which established a registiy
bureau, in which the description o f all real estate and the names o f the
owners thereof shall be registered and plotted in plan books, so that
accurate descriptions o f the same and the names of the present owners
may be obtained.
Previous to 1865 the assessors were elected by the people, the rec
ords were scanty and unreliable, and no definite or consistent policy
as to basis o f valuation was followed. The establishment of a board
o f revision o f taxes, which should be appointed by the court of com
mon pleas, and which should in turn appoint the assessors and control
their work, was supposed to assure honest and consistent work in taxa
tion, a thorough and centralized system o f records, and freedom from
the domination o f machine political interests. In general it is true
that the board o f revision o f taxes has put the taxes o f the city on a
far more satisfactory basis than had been secured before its organization.
In 1865 the board appointed* the assessors, but this did not affect the
work o f that year. U p to 1885 the work o f the assessors was some
what irregular, and the basis of valuation varied. Sometimes twothirds o f the value was taken, sometimes the full value. Inexact
estimates and no little fraud marked the years preceding 1885. Since
and including 1885 the board has had a fairly fixed policy. The law
requires property to be listed at such a valuation as it would bring at
public sale after due notice. The purpose o f the law is clearly to tax
real estate at its true value, the principle o f taxation which obtains in
Massachusetts and toward which the older and more developed States
o f the eastern seaboard are evidently tending. In order to avoid the
danger o f too high a level o f valuation and consequent ground o f com
plaint on the part o f owners, the board attempts to list the taxable
value o f property at 80 per cent o f an estimated fair to outside price.
These estimates are roughly made, arid experience shows that the
tendency o f valuations to move downward is well nigh universal, but
it is probable that, with the exception o f very valuable properties.

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

109

errors balance in the mass, and in the main from 60 to 80 per cent of
the true value o f real estate is taxed. (a)
This is regarded by the board o f revision o f taxes as some increase
over the level o f valuation from 1875 to 1885 and a great increase over
that o f the fifties and sixties, while the reliability and uniformity of
the records are o f far higher grade after than before 1885. Although
the percentage o f the true value subjected to taxation seems to fall
considerably below the intent o f the law, it is, relatively to the prac
tices o f other cities, at a high level. Great variations in systems o f
levy and keeping o f accounts make accurate comparison o f different
places impossible, but certain general statements may be made which
bring into clearer view the ranking o f the city under particular con
sideration. In New Y ork, for example, taxation has been based upon
60 per cent o f the nominal value o f real estate. The experience o f
many years shows that this is about the maximum that can be borrowed
upon real estate security, and hence 60 per cent may be regarded as
theoretically the actual value in all contingencies. In Boston taxation
is based on actual value. In Chicago some astonishing history has
been made in the record o f valuation. Under a law calling for assess
ments based on true value, every form o f tax corruption grew up. The
wealthy tax dodger and tax fixer set the pace for the taxables o f mod
erate means. Every pressure was used on the assessors, who were
elected officers, in the interest o f undervaluation. The average valu
ation for the assessment o f Chicago property dropped to the level
of 10 per cent o f its real value.
In 1895 a report o f the Illinois Bureau o f Labor Statistics, dealing
with the subject o f taxation, gives a list o f properties in which the
assessors5 valuation ranges from 4 to 12 per cent o f true valuation as
based upon actual sales and the opinions o f real estate dealers. In
Cook County (practically Chicago) the assessment valuation o f real
estate in 1893 dropped more than $18,000,000 below the valuation in
1873. A reform was wrought, after long agitation, by changes in the
law dealing with the methods o f assessment. The assessing powers
were taken from the townships and given to a small body o f county
assessors. A fixed ratio was established between actual value and
assessment valuation, making the latter one-fifth o f the former, which
was defined as the price to be expected at voluntary saler, and the pub
licity o f tax lists was provided for. This last point guards against
inequalities o f valuation, which is a matter o f far greater significance
« In th e a s s e s s o r valuations of the current year, 1903, th e attem pt is being m ade
to list th e fu ll values of property w ith the purpose of low ering th e tax rate from
$1.85 to $1.50.

T he lists can not be regarded as reliable or consistent in an y high

degree, though th ey undoubtedly bring a large num ber of properties of h igh value
far nearer th eir proper relative position in th e scale of taxable values.

550—No. 50—04----- 8

110

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

than the percentage of true value subjected to taxation. In Chicago
the general drop to a level o f valuation that made the support o f the
city government increasingly difficult was due to the demand from
small owners that their modest holdings should be listed at a percent
age o f value no higher than that enjoyed by the larger owners. I f a
million-dollar hotel could secure a valuation o f only $6,000 above its
bonded debt, or a manufacturing company with a capital stock o f
$54,000,000 could escape taxation except on an assessment valuation
o f $1,500,000, the numerous holders o f values ranging from $1,000 to
$50,000 argued, pari passu, that their burdens should be light. Prac
tical means o f convincing the assessors being found, there followed
easily and promptly the disastrous fiscal results already described.
In the whole problem o f real estate as the basis o f governmental
revenue, the element most deserving study and demanding most care
ful scientific treatment is this element o f valuation. Let the percentage
o f value taxable be as low or as high as the needs of time and place
and the demands fo r public improvements seem to justify. But there
must be developed in the interest of social well-being, some system o f
valuation which shall assure uniformity; so that every person and cor
poration shall assume a burden o f taxation in proportion to the value
o f his, hers, or its property, and shall reduce favoritism and bribery
to the lowest possible terms. The law, says the old jurist, should
make it as easy as possible to do right and as difficult as possible to do
wrong. The tax law should be framed on this principle. Unless
practical measures o f this quality are discoverable the taxing systems
o f our States and cities, designed fo r the nourishment and upbuilding
o f the bony structure o f public finance, and acting, after a poor fash
ion, to this end, must be classed as diseased organs of the social body,
which, because o f their moribund condition, slowly poison all the sur
rounding tissue. A body o f citizens among whom a man who volun
tarily makes honest tax returns is regarded as a fool can not be classed
as the highest embodiment o f American ideals, and it is hardly to be
denied that this point has been reached in more than one municipality.
The system o f valuation in St. Paul, Minn., shows the best example
available in American cities o f an effort to reach the root o f the valu
ation trouble. For this system the claim is made that it comes nearer
than any other to giving the actual cash value of all realty. The city
is districted and every two years an assessment is made. Each district
has a volunteer commission o f property owners and experts in values
familiar with the district. The commission takes a block at a time and
sets a value fo r one property on each street bounding the block. The
value o f each o f the remaining properties is determined by its mathe
matical ratio to the standard lots. The commission notes the valuation
and the legal description o f the properties. A fter the commission has
finished this work the assessors are sent out and make their valuation
on each lot. The owner is then required to file a statement o f what be

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

I ll

considers the fair selling price o f his property. The board o f assessors
thus gains three independent estimates on which to base the final valu
ation. I f the board decides to raise or lower the valuation of any
given property, the other lots in the same block must undergo a pro*
portionate change. Improvements are listed with full descriptions by
the deputy assessors, and the board has the services of a special com
mittee o f contractors and architects to help it in fixing the valuation.
These valuations are then compared with the owners’ statements, and
discrepancies are adjusted before the final figures are reached.
Three wards, believed to be fairly typical o f the city of Philadelphia
in general, were chosen as the basis of this study— Wards 1, 8, and 24.
In 1889 W ard 24 was divided, a large western section being formed
into W ard 34. In 1898 W ard 1 was divided, making W ard 39 o f its
southern portion. Consequently the area o f Wards 1, 8, 24, 34, and
39 was covered by the inquiry. These five wards had an area o f 10,280
acres, or 12 per cent o f the total area o f the city. Their population in
1890 was 13 per cent, and in 1900 15 per cent of the total population
o f the city. Their real estate in 1885 was valued, for purposes of tax
ation, at $81,208,005 and in 1900 at $163,108,018, or 14 per cent and 19
per cent o f the total valuation o f the taxable real estate of the city for
the same years, which was, respectively, $587,749,828 and $879,295,355.
Thus, roughly speaking, fo r the last third o f our selected time period
the material presented in the tables covered between 12 and 19 per
cent o f the city in area, population, and taxable real-estate values.
In physiographic character these wards ranged from land over which
the tide ebbed and flowed to that lying 100 feet above sea level.
Nearly two-thirds o f W ard 39 in 1900 was subject to overflow by the
tide, because o f the breaking o f the sluice gates or the embankment
which protected its river frontage fo r some miles along the Delaware.
A considerable amount o f filling had been done and the made land,
mainly along the river, was used or held for the future, chiefly by
manufacturing interests. The work o f filling and draining League
Island Park had been begun. This park lay at the extreme southern
limit o f the city and comprised some 300 acres o f land o f which about
one-third lay within the limits o f W ard 39. It was intersected by
Broad street, the western boundary o f W ard 39, which was continued
by a bridge to the navy-yard on League Island. The proposed
improvement o f the southern end o f Broad street and the park
involved filling, in many places, to the depth o f 16 feet. No part o f
Wards 1 and 39 reached the 40-foot line o f elevation. Ward 8 reached
an elevation o f nearly 60 feet, dropping below 40 feet toward its ends,
while Wards 24 and 34 rose from 20 feet near the Schuylkill frontage
to 100 feet toward the city line, their western boundary.
The vital statistics o f the city give these wards a very fair ranking
as compared with the rest o f the city. Even W ard 39, with its low
level, drawing its water supply in the lower section from shallow

112

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

wells which seemed mere stand holes fo r the river water, had a fair
health record and was said to be growing perceptibly less malarial
with the passing years.
In social and civic characteristics and in general lines o f economic
development, the five wards show great variation. The oldest o f
them, W ard 8, lies in the heart o f old Philadelphia. It contains some
of the most valuable business properties o f the city, and to the west
and south o f the commercial section lies the fashionable residence
quarter, o f which Rittenhouse Square may be taken as the center.
The public side o f the complex life o f the well-to-do largely centers in
this ward. Hotels, theaters, churches, schools and colleges, libraries,
political and social clubs of men and o f women, scientific societies,
banks, fashionable shops, the administrative offices o f missions and
charities—all these have grown up in W ard 8 in a body o f residents
long native to the city, and have brought with them rapid increase in
values, a gradual lessening o f the population, and in the last fifteen
years a slight decrease in the number o f holders.
When the city was first settled W ard 1 consisted o f marsh and
natural meadow, bearing a plentiful growth o f forest timber and under
wood. During the years o f clearing and semicultivation it became a
serious menace to the health o f the southern end o f the city, but a
fuller cultivation o f the soil in the development o f grazing and garden
lands rescued the city from the poisonous exhalations o f “ The Neck.”
For many years before the railroads gave transportation for live stock
or refrigeration for food stuffs this section furnished grazing for cattle
brought on foot from farther west. Here they were rested and fat
tened fo r the local market. The change to railway transportation fo r
cattle from western grazing lands to eastern markets brought to W ard
1 a serious shrinkage in values, from which it gradually recovered in
the development o f market gardening and the advance o f the line o f
city improvements.
A t the time o f consolidation W ard 1 was almost all farm land. Busi
ness and residence building had crept down the line of the river front and
had begun to push southward on Eighth street. It was evident that this
section o f the city would belong to the commercial and manufacturing
interests and to a humble working-class population. The increase in
the population and the number o f holders was steady throughout the
whole period, but the early promise in lines o f manufacture was not
fulfilled, the growth in industry finding its outlet more largely in the
northern and northeastern than in the southern sections o f the city.
The northern portion o f the old First W ard in 1900 was continuously
built up with modest houses and shops. Its residents were mainly
thrifty working people and small business men, and it was fairly sup
plied with churches and public schools, although other provision for
the social and intellectual life o f the people was little in evidence. The
earlier native population had become nearly one-fourth foreign through

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

113

the heavy immigration from Europe, which began to flow into the city
in the eighties, and this increase o f foreigners was considered to have
a depressing effect on real estate values. In W ard 39 only about onefourth o f the total area was improved. Some farms were under par
tial cultivation; a few small and wretched settlements o f colored people
were found, planted for speculative purposes and left to deteriorate;
in the semimarsh lands toward the south had developed piggeries,
maintained contrary to city ordinance, but winked at by the authorities,
which serve as a profitable dumping ground for much of the city’s
garbage. The population belonging to this section seemed depressed
and degenerate, isolated from almost every stimulating social and edu
cational opportunity. The land, notwithstanding, was held at high
values and was mainly in the hands of holders who could afford to
wait fo r the growth o f the encroaching city. Two railroads, the Penn
sylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio, had sent their lines southward
and eastward through “ The Neck,” and these, with the extended water
front, made it reasonable to anticipate commercial and manufacturing
demands that would repay long waiting.
The area o f the present W ards 24 and 34 in 1855 was largely farm
land and country places. W hile these wards in 1900 had manufactures
worth millions o f dollars in value o f annual output, their characteristic
development had been as residence quarters, having the usual supply
shops lining certain streets and meeting local needs. The proxim ity
o f Fairmount Park insured the popularity o f this section among the
well-to-do, while at the western limit had come suburban development
o f a high class. Between these districts a large middle and workingclass residence section was found, with a considerable amount o f open
land held fo r future improvement. A bout three-fourths o f the popu
lation were native white Americans, and the supply o f churches,
schools, and other resources for communal activities was fairly com
mensurate with the population and prosperity o f these wards. The
follow ing table shows the race distribution in W ards 24 and 34, W ards
1 and 39, and W ard 8, according to the United States census reports
for 1890 and 1900:
RACE DISTRIBUTION IN SELECTED WARDS, 1890 AND 1900.
Wards 1 and 39.
Year and nativity.

Popula
tion.

Per cent of
total.

Wards 24 and 34.

Ward 8.
Popula
tion.

Per cent of
total.

Popula
tion.

Percent of
total.

1890.
Native w hite...........................
Foreign w h ite .......................
C olored...................................

42,117
10,940
825

78.2
20.3
1.5

9,455
4,485
3,031

55.7
26.4
17.9

51,609
12,619
2,049

77.9
19.0
3.1

T otal..............................

53,882

100.0

16,971

100.0

66,277

100.0

Native w hite...........................
Foreign w hite.........................
C olored..................................

60,365
16,329
1,602

77.1
20.9
2.0

9,732
3,534
2,491

61.8
22.4
15.8

77,999
14,859
4,048

80.5
15.3
4.2

T otal..............................

78,296

100.0

15,757

100.0

96,906

100.0

1900.

114

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Throughout the city the story of the development of residence
quarters must be written in terms o f two and three story houses.
The city was originally laid out in generous squares, and it was pur
posed that improvements should be confined to their four fronts. The
interior portions, unoccupied by buildings, were fo r yards and gardens
and the free circulation o f air. The subdivision o f squares was not
forbidden, however, nor were regulations established fo r its limitation
and control. For nearly a century from the granting o f the first
charter the location and width o f streets opened by individual owners
o f land, the water supply, drainage and sewer connection, paving,
material o f construction, and so on, were left practically unregulated
by public enactment. There followed inevitably the small street,
alley, and court which have been profitable financially to real estate
holders and have made occupancy and ownership o f separate homes
a characteristic o f the life o f Philadelphia, but which have brought
troublesome and enduring problems o f physical and moral sanitation.
As the population increased the demand fo r small houses grew apace
and the streets and alleys o f narrow dimensions were multiplied. By
an act o f 1805, all streets, alleys, courts, and lanes which had been or
might thereafter be laid out, opened, and appropriated to public use
b y private persons within the city, provided the same were not less
than 20 feet wide, were declared to be in all respects public highways,
and were thus subject to the regulation and control of councils as to
paving and cleaning. A s it is possible to find alleys less than 2 feet
in width, it is easily seen that before the middle of the nineteenth cen
tury the cupidity or thrift o f individual owners had sufficient latitude
to develop the network o f narrow streets which embody the housing
problem o f the city. Their curious variety o f little dwellings; their
limited water supply; their surface drainage, foully odorous in heat,
miniature glaciers in cold, disgustingly mussy always; their loath
some open privy vaults, which, even when “ well cared f o r ” and not
technically “ nuisances,” furnish air heavy with putridity as the daily
portion o f thousands o f the city’s inhabitants fo r at least three-fourths
o f the year— these suggest that the problems o f practical sanitation
are the crux o f the housing question in Philadelphia rather than the
congestion o f the population within narrow geographical limits.
Parallel with this development o f streets well fitted to become the
“ slums” there came a better class o f building for the homes o f
moderately circumstanced citizens and for those o f greater wealth but
o f the simple habits and unostentatious living which has prevailed
throughout the greater part o f the history o f the city.
On January 1, 1900, the total number o f dwellings in Philadelphia
could be listed as follows:

LAND VALUES AND OWNEBSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

115

O ne-story d w e llin g s.................................................................................................................

380

T w o-story d w ellin gs................................................................................................................. 129,504
T hree-story dw ellings ............................................................................................................. 123,022
F our-story d w e llin g s...............................................................................................................

5 ,6 9 9

F ive-story d w ellin gs.................................................................................................................

T o ta l................................................................................................................................... 2 58 ,6 84

O f these nearly 5 per cent were old frame dwellings antedating th'
modern building laws. Almost all the rest were of the usual red brici
In the newer parts o f the city, after 1885, these were put up in block
by speculative builders for immediate sale, and the quality o f construe
tion found in them was none too good. The progress and fluctuations
in this operative building in W ards 1, 39, 24, and 34 are here shown
for 15 years:
TWO AND THREE STORY HOUSES ERECTED IN WARDS 1 AND 39, 24 AND 34, AND IN THE
ENTIRE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, 1887 TO 1901.
Wards 1 and 39.
Year.

Twostory.

Threestory.

Wards 24 and 34.
Twostory.

Threestory.

Total
selected
wards.

Entire city.
Twostory.

Threestory.

Total.

1887...........................
1888...........................
1889...........................
1890...........................
1891.....*...................
1892...........................
1893...........................
1894...........................
1895...........................
1896...........................
1897......................... .
1898...........................
1899...........................
1900...........................
1901...........................

204
270
680
1,062
368
503
203
322
563
393
613
142
25
2
219

20
21
29
40
35
75
20
63
174
15
22
20
1
4
26

252
390
628
695
378
432
141
424
186
793
1,192
769
478
355
826

132
172
219
311
187
225
245
239
331
264
280
346
52
155
228

608
853
1,456
2,108
968
1,235
609
1,048
1,254
1,465
2,107
1,277
556
516
1,299

4,569
5,987
7,450
7,301
4,632
5,110
3,881
3,905
4,491
5,040
5,490
3,685
2,772
2,302
3,625

1,629
1,436
1,992
1,958
1,343
1,744
1,737
2,001
2,612
1,760
1,561
1,373
798
775
939

6,198
7,423
9,442
9,259
5,975
6,854
5,618
5,906
7,103
6,800
7,051
5,058
3,570
3,077
4,564

Total...............

6,469

565

7,939

3,386

17,359

70,240

23,658

93,898

The devotion to dwellings o f this type to be used by single families
has not prevented congestion o f the population in the older parts of
the city, where the three-story houses have been adapted to tenementhouse methods o f life. A lack o f clear definition o f tenement use and
lax requirements as to alterations when an ordinary dwelling is con
verted to such use make the transformation inexpensive and specula
tively attractive.
European immigrants, in their early years o f
American life, are not exacting as to space and improvements; house
overcrowding is frequent and rental values go up, though in general
selling values seem to depreciate. This is because the immigrant,
while willing to pay a high rent, will not pay a high purchase price.
He is the only buyer in the market in a large number o f cases. The
owners whom he and his kind displace as respects residence must sell as
they move and can sell only to him at a price which he makes. The taste
fo r privacy in the older population and the rapid construction o f small
houses has served, however, to keep the ownership o f his own home
a common, practicable ideal to the man earning wages or on a small,

116

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

fixed income, in that values have been kept within extremely reason
able bounds, while the development of numerous building and loan
associations, (a) ready to make loans repayable upon easy terms, have
fostered by easily gratifying the desires o f small holders.
Compare with the figures given above fo r the selected wards the fo l
lowing statement o f building operations in the whole city for the same
time. W e include here four-story dwellings, while the 44total new
buildings” column includes all industrial buildings— warehouses, dye
and dry houses, factories, engine and boiler houses, breweries and
bottling houses, foundries and shops— as well as special buildings,
such as hospitals, apartment houses, etc.:
CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS IN PHILADELPHIA, 1887 TO 1901.

Year.

Twostory.

Threestory.

Fourstory.

Total two
to four
story.

Total new
buildings.

Per cent of
Total two two to three
to three
story of
story.
total new
buildings.

1887......................
1888......................
1889......................
1890......................
1891......................
1892......................
1893......................
1894......................
1895......................
1896......................
1897......................
1898......................
1899......................
1900......................
1901......................

4,569
5,987
7,450
7,301
4,632
5,110
3,881
3,905
4,491
5,040
5,490
3,685
2,772
2,302
3,625

1,629
1,436
1,992
1,958
1,343
1,744
1,737
2,001
2,612
1,760
1,561
1,373
798
775
939

3
14
34
22
12
12
14
16
31
33
23
16
19
18
26

6,201
7,437
9,476
9,281
5,987
6,866
5,632
5,922
7,134
6,833
7,074
5,074
3,589
3,095
4,590

6,784
8,262
10,250
10,136
6,738
7,611
6,255
6,563
7,540
7,115
7,344
5,353
3,877
3,399
5,032

6,198
7,423
9,442
9,259
5,975
6,854
5,618
5,906
7,103
6,800
7,051
5,058
3,570
3,077
4,564

91.4
89.8
92.1
91.3
88.7
90.1
89.8
90.0
94.2
95.6
96.0
94.5
92.1
90.6
90.7

T o ta l.........

70,240

23,658

293

94,191

102,259

93,898

91.8

The great importance o f the small holder in the Philadelphia realestate market is evident. The demand fo r two-story dwellings has
made them 68.7 per cent o f the total number o f buildings erected,
while the inclusion o f three-story dwellings shows 91.8 per cent o f the
total buildings as the proportion destined in large part fo r sale to the
householder o f moderate income. The follow ing table shows that the
« I t w as in F rankford, w hich is now a part of P hiladelphia, th at th e first bu ildin g
society of th e U n ited States w as organized in 1831.

In 1892 an investigation conducted

b y th e U n ited States G overnm ent show ed som ething over 450 as th e num ber of such
societies in P h iladelph ia.

A statem ent constructed b y M r. M ichael J . B row n, form er

president of th e B u ild in g A ssociation League of th e U n ited States, covers practically
th e tim e of th e existence of building societies in th e city, and show s, as n early as
possible, th e num ber of properties acquired b y m em bers in P hiladelphia through
th eir societies.

A period of six ty-tw o years is divided in to ten parts as follow s: 10

years, hom es acquired, 100; 10 years, hom es acquired, 4 80 ; 6 years, hom es acquired,
1 ,20 0 ; 6 years, hom es acquired, 2 ,4 0 0 ; 6 years, hom es acquired, 4 ,8 0 0 ; 6 years, hom es
acquired, 9 ,6 0 0 ; 6 years, hom es acquired, 1 4,400; 6 years, hom es acquired, 19,200; 6
years, hom es acquired, 2 4,0 0 0; 62 years, hom es acquired, 76,180.

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

117

average number o f real-estate transfers in Philadelphia for the same
time, excluding the year 1887, has been 18,287:
REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS IN PHILADELPHIA, 1888 TO 1901.
Number.

Year.

12,679
15,945
15,571
14,204
13,374
12,965
12,137
13,336
13,746

1888..............................
1889..............................
1890..............................
1891..............................
1892..............................
1893
..................
1894
..................
1895.
1896..............................

Year.

Amount.
862,663,201.87
80,225,270.88
82,879,105.22
71,875,876.33
79,079,818.00
72,777,192.51
64,597,185.40
83,753,342.37
74,457,645.12

Number.

Amount.

1897............................
1898............................
1899............................
1900............................
1901............................

12,876
11,880
11,950
12,160
13,195

878,117,354.46
65,644,095.54
63,835,684.67
62,752,733.57
84,339,888.19

T ota l.................

186,018

1,026,998,394.13

Annual average.

13,287

73,357,028.15

Although classes o f transfers have not been discriminated, it seems
probable that half or more than half the total should be assigned to
small purchasers.
A comparison o f the figures in the tables which show lots and values
averaged among holders suggests a wide distribution of holdings and
a level o f values in the outlying residence wards such as to encourage
the investment o f small savings in homes. In the central and business
section it shows no less clearly the tendency to an increase in value
o f property held by each holder quite independently o f any significant
increase in areas held. This would be still more marked but for the
fact that Philadelphia has been extremely slow to alter or replace old
business buildings. Many properties in the business district would
be tremendously increased at once in productive value if improved or
replaced to meet the present demands o f business convenience.
PER CAPITA DISTRIBUTION OF LOTS AND VALUES AMONG HOLDERS IN SELECTED WARDS
FOR SELECTED PERIODS, 1855 TO 1900.
Wards 1 and 39.

Year.

1855..........
1865..........
1875..........
1885..........
1895..........
1900..........

Lots to
each
holder.

1.86
1.41
2.32
2.20
2.33
2.24

Value held by
each holder.

Lots to
each
Relative
amount holder.
Amount. based
on
1865.
81,545
2,225
4,015
3,597
3,931
3,945

Ward 8.

Wards 24 and 34.

Value held by
each holder.

69.4
100.0
180.4
161.7
176.7
177.3

1.22
1.50
1.92
2.08
2.10
2.37

Value held by
each holder.

Lots to
each
Relative
amount holder.
Amount. based
on
1865.
82,198
1,708
6,224
6,709
5,827
6,328

128.7
100.0
364.4
392.8
341.2
370.5

1.43
1.42
1.48
1.53
1.57
1.53

R elative
amount
Amount. based
on
1865.
86,560
7,292
19,530
20,505
29,175
35,855

90.0
100.0
267.8
281.2
400.1
491.7

In the tables the general progress in all the elements considered is
strikingly arrested between 1875 and 1885. This is due to two causes,
one common to all parts o f the country, the other local in effect. The
first was the financial panic o f 1873, which depressed all business inter
ests and from which real estate was slow to recover. The second was
the depression o f values follow ing the Centennial in 1876. This was

118

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

felt throughout the city, but most strongly in W est Philadelphia,
including W ards 24 and 34. This region was overvalued and over
built in anticipation o f the golden harvest to be gathered from the vis
itors to the first great American 46 W orld’s Fair.” The first reaping
was profitable, but the aftermath had a different character. The whole
city suffered a long period o f depression in real-estate business which
was most acutely felt west o f the Schuylkill, throughout the regions
adjacent to Fairmount Park, within which the fairgrounds were located.
Here values and the number o f owners dropped sharply, while in
W ards 1, 8, and 39 they hardly more than held their own. The choice
o f decennial periods has equalized the changes.
The follow ing table shows the number o f persons holding land in
each ward at each period, by classified values o f holdings:
NUMBER OF PERSONS HOLDING LAND IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, BY CLASSIFIED
VALUES OF HOLDINGS, 1855 TO 1900.
W A R D S 1 AND 3 9 .
Values.
Under $500......................................................................
$500 or under $1,000..................................................
1,000 or under 1,500..................................................
1,500 or under 2,000..................................................
2,000 or under 2,500..................................................

1855.

1865.

1875.

1885.

1895.

1900.

782
479
197
97
90

924
685
226
101
68

108
493
964
483
407

97
1,017
838
630
444

112
1,005
1,210
1,095
736

130
1,097
1,399
1,301
855

2,500 or under
3,000 or under
3,500 or under
4,000 or under
4,500 or under

3,000..................................................
3,500..................................................
4,000..................................................
4,500..................................................
6,000..................................................

50
45
23
19
20

55
31
22
23
9

300
229
151
137
83

290
223
167
141
90

400
414
211
208
161

433
443
255
200
184

5,000 or under
5,500 or under
6,000 or under
6,500 or under
7,000 or under

16
16
11
6
6

18
3
8
6
5

88
43
59
31
44

76
60
54
40
37

120
85
89
63
68

141
84
96
56
71

7,500 or under 8,000..................................................
8,000 or under 8,500..................................................
8,500 or under 9,000..................................................
9,000 or under 9,500..................................................
9,500 or under 10,000..................................................

6
9
5
10
3

6
3
3
1
1

33
34
11
21
13

25
35
22
17
23

40
55
26
31
24

53
48
38
42
27

3
4
1

31
21
20
14
16

32
21
23
20
H

55
33
27
28
24

49
44
37
26
21

12
14
13
10
5

12
10
10
14
5

23
11
11
8
8

29
18
15
9
10

35
20
11
9
8

20
13
9
9
4

30
27
15
12
6

35
28
18
11
8

4
19
5
2
1

4
15
6
1

4
33
7
3

3
34
9
3
1

4,002

4,566

6,520

7,363

10,000 or under
11,000 or under
12,000 or under
13,000 or under
14,000 or under

11,000..................................................
12,000..................................................
13,000..................................................
14,000..................................................
15,000..................................................

10
2
6
2

15,000 or under
16,000 or under
17,000 or under
18,000 or under
19,000 or under

16,000 ................................................
17,000 ................................................
18,000 ................................................
19,000 ................................................
20,000 ................................................

2
3

20,000 or under
25,000 or under
30,000 or under
35,000 or under
40,000 or under

25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000

5
1
2
2
1

8
4
1
1

1,928

2,225

................................................
................................................
................................................
................................................
................................................

45,000 or under 60,000 ................................................
50,000 or under 100,000 ................................................
100,000 or under 200,000 ................................................
200,000 or under 300,000 ................................................
300,000 or under 400,000 ................................................

‘

400,000 or under 500,000 ................................................
500,000 or o v e r ...............................................................
Total persons holding lan d ................................

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

119

NUMBER OF PERSONS HOLDING LAND IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, BY CLASSIFIED
VALUES OF HOLDINGS, 1865 TO 1900—Continued.
WARD 8.
1855.

Values.
Under $500......................................................................
$500 or under $1,000..................................................
1,000 or under 1,500..................................................
1,500 or under 2,000..................................................
2,000 or under 2,500..................................................

1865.

1875.

1885.

1895.

1900.

49
174
174
84
71

40
156
189
113
101

4
35
98
72
102

1
49
81
83
76

1
39
67
36
46

1
33
68
27
48

2,500 or under
3,000 or under
3,500 or under
4,000 or under
4,500 or under

3,000..................................................
3,500..................................................
4,000..................................................
4,500..................................................
5,000..................................................

82
73
87
68
49

83
66
82
83
59

81
82
44
39
48

74
71
59
43
55

32
50
24
58
40

26
37
36
67
42

5,000 or under
5,500 or under
6,000 or under
6,500 or under
7,000 or under

64
66
46
37
49

98
47
79
36
56

53
39
58
19
39

49
43
33
28
36

71
34
43
16
39

72
36
59
20
46

27
35
17
43
18

40
49
15
53
11

24
52
31
39
15

44
54
49
63
30

31
48
22
25
30

20
45
21
27
21

10,000 or under
11,000 or under
12,000 or under
13,000 or under
14,000 or under

51
40
27
25
15

56
39
47
25
22

74
50
71
35
45

63
44
53
44
43

80
39
65
44
38

88
46
54
42
24

15,000 or under
16,000 or under
17,000 or under
18,000 or under
19,000 or under

16,000..................................................
17,000..................................................
18,000.................................................
19,000..................................................
20,000..................................................

24
15
10
12
8

33
26
8
21
5

47
47
40
59
27

34
71
56
62
36

57
46
48
58
25

46
45
42
73
22

20,000 or under
25,000 or under
30,000 or under
35,000 or under
40,000 or under

25,000..................................................
30,000..................................................
35,000..................................................
40,000..................................................
45,000..................................................

26
15
6
5
6

44
18
15
6
10

139
104
64
45
58

133
80
64
61
37

189
107
80
55
57

178
110
85
49
60

45,000 or under 50,000..................................................
50,000 or under 100,000..................................................
100,000 or under 209,000..................................................
200,000 or under 300,000..................................................
300,000 or under400,000..................................................

6
13
2

2
17
3
1

36
133
35
7
2

25
110
45
7
6

42
145
63
20
11

51
164
75
26
13

1
2

5
5

5
14

2,093

2,098

2,031

2,064

400,000 or under500,000..................................................
500,000 or o y e r ...............................................................
Total persons holding la n d ................................

1,619

1,854

WARDS 2 4 AND 34.
Under $500...................
$500 or under $1,000
1,000 or under 1,500
1.500 or under 2,000
2,000 or under 2,500

590
339
168
122
85

801
411
241
93
77

215
483
537
357
288

24
263
372
323
338

217
548
903
891
1,139

206
558
1,132
1,052
1,404

2.500 or under
8,000 or under
8.500 or under
4.000 or under
4.500 or under

3,0 0
3,500
4,000
4,500
5,000

61
57
29
36
24

42
43
35
25
19

258
192
168
153
96

231
185
176
158
114

483
617
488
386
277

563
723
503
490
345

5.000 or under
6.500 or under
6.000 or under
6.500 or under
7.000 or under

5,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500

25
10
13
13
12

15
13
12
10
4

114
70
107
56
54

106
90
126
74
55

282
171
238
135
111

364
190
255
148
135

7.500 or under 8,000
8.000 or under 8,500
8.500 or under 9,000
9,000 or under 9,500
9.500 or under 10,000

7
9
6
7
3

3
8
3
4
2

34
37
21
35
23

52
56
40
44
24

80
117
65
98
55

116
137
100
113
63

120

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

NUMBER OF PERSONS HOLDING LAND IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, BY CLASSIFIED
VALUES OF HOLDINGS, 1855 TO 1900—Concluded.
W A R D S 2 4 A N D 3 4 -C on clu d ed .
Values.
$10,000 or under $11,000..................................................
11,000 or under 12,000..................................................
12,000 or under 13,000..................................................
13,000 or under 14,000..................................................
14,000 or under 15,000..................................................

1855.

1865.

1875.

1885.

1895.

1900.

11
9
4
4
4

5
7
3
7
1

69
25
41
25
20

59
39
29
21
20

106
47
63
38
43

132
78
101
67
73

15,000 or under
16,000 or under
17,000 or under
18,000 or under
19,000 or under

16,000
17,000
18,000
19,000
20,000

4
5
4
2
2

1
7
5
4
3

20
19
18
14
13

14
12
13
18
7

59
35
35
29
19

58
42
25
26
21

20,000 or under
25,000 or under
30,000 or under
35,000 or under
40,000 or under

25,000 ................................................
30,000 ................................................
35,000 .................................................
40,000 ................................................
45,000 ................................................

7
3
2
2
1

6
4

67
30
26
14
13

36
33
19
9
14

84
57
36
30
15

95
77
52
39
31

1
1

4
37
17
1

10
30
10

16
67
14
1
1

19
79
32
8
1

1
4

3,772

3,245

8,099

9,658

45,000 or under 50,000 .................................................
50,000 or under 100,000 ................................................
100,000 or under 200,000 .................................................
200,000 or under 300,000 ................................................
300,000 or under 400,000 ................................................

400,000 or under 500,000 .................................................
500,000 or over.................................................................
Total persons holding land................................

1,682

1,917

Comparing the figures fo r the beginning and end o f the period, we
find that in Wards 1 and 39 the increase in the number o f owners in
1900 over the number in 1855 was 281.9 per cent. In W ard 8 there
was a net gain o f only 27.5 per cent, with a tendency toward a decrease
in the last third o f the period. In W ards 24 and 34 the percentage o f
increase was 474.2.
A s to general grouping by valuation levels, in W ard 1 in 1855,1,802
owners, o f 93 per cent o f the total number, held values below $5,000.
In 1900, 6,297, or 86 per cent, were below the $5,000 line. O f these,
4,782, or 76 per cent o f the group, fell below $2,500. The 14 per
cent o f total holders whose holdings are valued above $5,000 are dis
tributed into groups which descend in number, with a fair degree o f
regularity, from 141 at $5,000 or under $5,500 to 1 at $300,000 or
under $400,000 and 2 at $500,000 or over. Nearly four-fifths o f the
14 per cent lie between $5,000 and $15,000.
In W ard 8 in 1855, 911 owners, or 56 per cent, belonged to the
group holding properties valued at less than $5,000, while in 1900
only 385 holders, or 19 per cent, were on this level— 849, or 41 per
cent, standing between $5,000 and $20,000, and 811, or 39 per cent,
between $20,000 and $400,000. The remaining 1 per cent o f the holders
are located above the $400,000 line. It is a matter o f common knowl
edge, however, that within very recent years the advance o f actual
market values o f real estate in central districts has been almost

121

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

phenomenal. Assessors’ valuations have lagged behind these changes,
and consequently the figures o f the tables must be regarded as lower
than the facts justify in their presentment o f both the higher values
and the proportion o f holders above the $400,000 level.
In W ards 24 and 34 in 1855, 1,511 holders, or 90 per cent, and in
1900, 6,976, or 72 per cent, were below $5,000 in respect to values o f
holdings. O f this 72 per cent more than half falls below $2,500.
Below $10,000 we find, in 1900, 89 per cent o f the holders. The rest
are fairly evenly divided as to value levels until the $200,000 line is
reached. A bove this level only XW per cent o f the total holders are
found.
The first o f the three tables that follow gives the number o f persons
holding land, assessed value o f the land, and population; the second,
assessed value o f certain largest holdings in each ward at each period,
also the per cent o f the total valuations, and the third shows the rate
o f variation in number o f holders, assessed value, and population by
relating them to the figures fo r 1865 as a base:
NUMBER OF PERSONS HOLDING LAND, ASSESSED VALUE OF THE LAND, AND POPULA
TION IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, 1855 TO 1900.
Holders.
Years.

Wards.

Relative
Number. number
based
on 1865.

Assessedvalue of tax
able property.

Population.

Amount.

R elative
amount
based
on 1865.

Number.

R elative
number
based
on 1865.

Wards 1 and 39...................... 1855...
1865...
1875...
1885...
1895...
1900...

1,928
2,225
4,002
4,566
6,520
7,363

86.7
100.0
179.9
205.2
293.0
330.9

32,979,574
2,664,862
16,071,619
16,415,425
25,630,212
29,049,583

111.8
100.0
603.1
616.0
961.8
1,090.1

(a)
528,238
533,350
5 48,180
564,967
78,296

(a)
100.0
118.1
170.6
230.1
277.3

Ward 8 ................................... 1855...
1865...
1875...
1885...
1895...
1900...

1,619
1,854
2,093
2,098
2,031
2,064

87.3
100.0
112.9
113.2
109.5
111.3

10,621,157
13,521,130
40,878,250
43,019,850
59,254,800
73,006,150

78.6
100.0
302.3
318.2
438.2
539.9

522,157
524,877
520,872
518,214
516,353
15,757

89.1
100.0
83.9
73.2
65.7
63.3

Wards 24 and 34....................

1,682
1,917
3,772
3,245
8,099
9,658

87.7
100.0
196.8
169.3
422.5
503.8

3,697,977
3,275,320
23,477,418
21,772,730
47,196,989
61,124,285

112.9
100.0
716.8
664.8
1,441.0
1, 866.2

(a)
524,328
5 33,892
555,258
580,141
96,906

(a)
100.0
139.3
227.1
329.4
398.3

1855...
1865...
1875...
1885...
1895..-.
1900...

o Not reported.

5 Estimated.

122

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR,

NUMBER OF PERSONS HOLDING LAND, ASSESSED VALUE OF THE LAND, AND ASSESSED
VALUE OF CERTAIN LARGEST HOLDINGS IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, 1855
TO 1900.

Years.

Wards.

Number
of
holders.

Assessed
value of
taxable
property.

Taxable p rop erty
held by 10 largest
holders.

Assessed
value.

Per cent
o f total
property.

property
Taxable
held by the 1 per
cent of holders
having
largest
holdings
Assessed
value.

Per cent
of total
property.

Wards 1 and 39................... 1855...
1865...
1875...
1885...
1895...
1900...

1,928
2,225
4,002
4,566
6,520
7,363

$2,979,574
2,664,862
16,071,619
16,415,425
25,630,212
29,049,583

$335,824
295,762
1,694,500
2,071,250
3,030,850
3,534,900

11.27
11.10
10.64
12.62
11.83
12.17

$497,600
496,537
3,334,424
3,776,184
6,226,325
7,408,595

16.70
18.63
20.75
23.00
24.29
25.50

Ward 8 ................................ 1855...
1865...
1875...
1885...
1895...
1900...

1,619
1,854
2,093
2,098
2,031
2,064

10,621,157
13,521,130
40,878,250
43,019,850
59,254,800
73,006,150

859,250
1,172,300
2,935,900
4,061,700
5,779,500
10,440,000

8.09
8.67
7.18
9.44
9.75
14.30

1,179,085
1,695,620
4,828,900
6,395,500
9,191,500
15,691,160

11.10
12.54
11.81
14.87
15.51
21.49

Wards 24 and 34................. 1855...
1865...
1875...
1885...
1895...
1900...

1,682
1,917
. 3,772
3,245
8,099
9,658

3,697,977
3,275,320
23,477,418
21,772,730
47,196,989
61,124,285

512,832
470,775
3,338,200
3,398,100
5,590,425
6,226,060

13.87
14.37
14.22
15.61
11.84
10.19

662,954
650,296
5,770,940
5,127,685
11,175,487
15,168,940

17.93
19.85
24.58
23.55
23.68
24.82

RATES OF VARIATION IN VARIOUS ELEMENTS COMPARED, 1865 TAKEN AS BASE.
W A R D S 1 AND 39.

Popula
tion.

Year.

1855................................................................
1865...............................................................
1875................................................................
1885................................................................
1895...............................................................
1900...............................................................

Per cent of
property
Per cent of held
by the
Number of Total valu property
1 per cent
lie
ld
by
ation.
holders.
o
f
holders
10 largest
having
holders.
largest
holdings.

100.0
118.1
170.6
230.1
277.3

86.7
100.0
179.9
205.2
293.0
330.9

111.8
100.0
603.1
616.0
961.8
1,090.1

101.53
100.00
94.95
133.69
106.07
109.63

89.64
100.00
113.37
123.45
130.38
136.87

87.3
100.0
112.9
113.2
109.5
111.3

78.6
100.0
302.3
318.2
438.2
539.9

93.31
100.00
82.81
108.88
112.45
164.93

88.51
100.00
94.17
118.58
123.68
171.37

112.9
100.0
716.8
664.8
1,441.0
1, 866.2

96.52
100.00
98.95
108.62
82.39
70.91

90.32
100.00
123.82
118.63
119.29
125.03

W A R D 8.
1855...............................................................
1865...............................................................
1875...............................................................
1885................................................................
1895...............................................................
1900...............................................................

89.1
100.0
83.9
73.2
65.7
63.3

W A R D S 24 AND 34.
1855...............................................................
1865...............................................................
1875...............................................................
1885...............................................................
1895......................... *.....................................
1900...............................................................

100.0
139.3
227.1
329.4
398.3

87.7
100.0
196.8
169.3
422.5
503.8

The contrast in the residence and business development o f real estate
as shown in Wards 1, 39, 24, and 34 and in W ard 8, respectively, is

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

123

apparent in the ranking o f the elements as to rate of increase. Begin
ning with the one showing highest rate o f increase the elements rank
as follows:
W ards 1, 39, 24, and 34:
1. V alu ation .
2. N um ber of holders.
3. P opulation.
4. T h e 1 per cent of holders haying largest holdings.
5. Ten largest holders.
W ard 8 :
1. V aluation.
2. T h e 1 per cent of holders having largest holdings.
3. T en largest holders.
4. N um ber of holders.
5. P opulation.

The actual number o f persons included in the 1 per cent o f holders
having largest holdings and the valuation held by them have been set
in immediate relation with the figures fo r the 10 largest holders, as
follows:
WARDS 1 AND 39.

In 1855 10 ow ners held 11.27 per cent; 19 ow ners, 16.70 per cent of total valuation.
In 1865 10 ow ners held 11.10 per cent; 22 ow ners, 18.63 per cent of total valuation.
In 1875 10 ow ners h eld 10.54 per cen t; 40 ow ners, 20.75 per cent of total valuation.
In 1885 10 ow ners h eld 12.62 per cent; 46 ow ners, 23.00 per cent of total valuation.
In 1895 10 ow ners h eld 11.83 per cen t; 65 ow ners, 24.29 per cent of total valuation.
In 1900 10 ow ners h eld 12.17 per cent; 74 ow ners, 25.50 per cent of total valuation.
ward

In 1855 10 ow ners held 8.09 per cent; 16 ow ners, 11.10 per cent of total valuation.
In 1865 10 ow ners h eld 8.67 per cent; 19 ow ners, 12.54 per cent of total valuation.
In 1875 10 ow ners h eld 7.18 per cen t; 21 ow ners, 11.81 per cent of total valuation.
In 1885 10 ow ners h eld 9 .44 per cen t; 21 ow ners, 14.87 per cent of total valuation.
In 1895 10 ow ners held 9.75 per cent; 20 ow ners, 15.51 per cent of total valuation.
In 1900 10 ow ners held 14.30 per cent; 21 ow ners, 21.49 per cent of total valuation.
WARDS 24 AND 34.

In 1855 10 ow ners held 13.87 per cent; 17 ow ners, 17.93 per cent of total valuation.
In 1865 10 ow ners h eld 14.37 p erce n t; 19 ow ners, 19.85 per cent of total valuation.
In 1875 10 ow ners h eld 14.22 per cent; 38 ow ners, 24.58 per cent of total valuation.
In 1885 10 ow ners h eld 15.61 per cen t; 32 ow ners, 23.55 per cent of total valuation.
In 1895 10 ow ners held 11.84 per cent; 81 ow ners, 23.68 per cent of total valuation.
In 1900 10 ow ners h eld 10.19 per cen t; 97 ow ners, 24.82 per cent of total valuation.

In the 1 per cent group there has been a steady gain, the rate o f
which accelerates in recent years, resulting in a strikingly similar
condition in the several wards at the end o f the period, when through
out the selected wards practically one-quarter o f the valuation is held
by one one-hundredth o f the owners. The uniformity o f progress to
this point is disturbed in Wards 24 and 34 by the influence o f the Cen
tennial. The 10 largest holders have lost in relative importance in

124

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOB.

W ards 24 and 34, a little more than held their own in Wards 1 and 39,
while in W ard 8 they have made heavy gains, the increase being most
marked in very recent years. Both the total number o f holders and the
valuation show a rate o f increase far higher than that o f the population.
In W ard 8, however, the movement o f the figures o f the number o f
holders5 column seems in the last fifteen years to have changed its direc
tion. There is a slight tendency to concentration o f ownership not
discernible in the residence wards.
The follow ing two tables show, respectively, the number o f persons
holding land in each ward at each period by classified areas o f hold
ings, and the number o f lots in each ward at each period by classified
areas:
NUMBER OF PERSONS HOLDING LAND IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, BY CLASSIFIED
AREAS OF HOLDINGS, 1855 TO 1900.
W A R D S 1 AND 3 9 .
Areas (square feet).
Under 500........................................................................
500 or under 1,000 ................................................
1,000 or under 1,500 .................................................
1,500 or under 2,000 .................................................
2,000 or under 2,500 ................................................

1855.

1865.

1875.

1885.

1895.

1900.

3
80
84
82
47

20
865
348
283
105

33
1,628
829
343
236

33
1,817
971
378
273

37
2,719
1,380
610
356

38
3,233
1,583
608
380

2,500 or under
3,000 or under
3,500 or under
4,000 or under
4,500 or under

3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
5,000

14
28
20
12
9

61
62
47
27
20

122
108
86
55
44

149
142
105
75
52

236
189
142
87
72

253
219
162
104
92

5,000 or under
5,500 or under
6,000 or under
6,500 or under
7,000 or under

6,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500

11
7
8
4
3

16
23
12
6
16

31
34
37
16
20

58
35
38
20
23

73
50
60
34
37

71
57
45
33
33

7,500 or under 8,000
8,000 or under 8,500
8,500 or under 9,000
9,000 or under 9,500
9,500 or under 10,000

9
3
5
1
5

9
10
5
6
6

16
12
12
11
11

18
14
16
18
15

22
20
14
21
11

33
23
15
20
15

10,000 or under
11,000 or under
12,000 or under
13,000 or under
14,000 or under

11,000 ................................................
12,000 ................................................
13,000 ................................................
14,000 ................................................
15,000 ................................................

3
2
3
6
2

14
6
7
3
6

24
15
23
12
8

21
13
12
12
10

27
20
12
14
5

28
18
18
9
8

15,000 or under
16,000 or under
17,000 or under
18,000 or under
19,000 or under

16,000 ................................................
17,000 ................................................
18,000 ............... ................................
19,000 ................................................
20,000 ................................................

5
3
1
4
2

2
7
1
5
5

4
4
6
7
7

11
6
3
9
3

7
13
6
7
4

7
12
14
5
6

20,000 or under
25,000 or under
30,000 or under
35,000 or under
40,000 or under

25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000

7
4
4
8
7

15
7
6
6
6

25
8
7
6
8

17
7
14
3
8

18
9
12
6
9

15
10
7
4
5

45,000 or under 50,000
50,000 or under 100,000
100,000 or under 200,000
200,000 or under 300,000
300,000 or under 400,000

2
10
28
21
16

5
18
21
12
7

2
20
14
13
9

1
18
17
13
11

5
24
15
7
9

6
23
9
7
5

400,000 or under 500,000 ................................................
500,000 or o v e r ........................................ ......................

9
35

4
44

9
45

11
35

9
33

12
30

Total persons holding land w ith area reported.
Persons holding land with area not reported............

616
1,312

2,154
71

3,960
42

4,505
61

6,441
79

7,279
84

Total persons holding la n d ................................

1,928

2,225

4,002

4,566

6,520

7,363

125

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

NUMBER OF PERSONS HOLDING LAND IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, BY CLASSIFIED
AREAS OF HOLDINGS, 1855 TO 1900-Continued.

W A R D 8.
Areas (square feet).

1855.

Under 500.......................................................................
500 or under 1,000 ................................................
1,000 or under 1,500 ................................................
1,500 or under 2^000 ............................................. . .
2j000 or under 2^500 ................................................

1865.

1875.

1895.

1885.

1900.

8
36
73
40
64

45
205
301
277
218

70
275
361
302
260

60
256
376
325
277

47
234
349
321
293

49
238
360
331
299

2,500 or under
3^000 or under
3,500 or under
4,000 or under
4*500 or under

3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
5j000

29
20
23
21
24

144
91
81
51
67

142
136
76
70
54

154
121
80
64
57

161
114
80
71
49

184
109
67
65
58

5,000 or under
5*500 or under
6*000 or under
6^500 or under
7^000 or under

5,500 ................................................
6^000 ................................................
6^500 ................................................
7,000 ................................................
7^500 ................................................

15
7
6
4
8

46
44
34
13
20

56
53
26
22
13

54
45
34
16
14

44
43
37
25
12

50
33
29
20
15

................................................
.................................................
................................................
................................................
................................................

11
9
5
1
7

20
20
7
9
7

21
12
7
10
8

15
14
5
7
6

12
13
6
7
4

17
11
8
5
5

9
6
1
2
2

21
13
5
10
8

23
10
8
6
8

18
H
7
9
5

23
10
10
6
4

21
8
12
5
4

4
6
3
4
6

6
5
2
6

2
6
4
1
1

4
6
3
4
1

5
1
5
3

8
6
2
4
4

11
5
2
1
2

8
6
5
3

7
8
4
4

8
8
4
4
2

2
5

2
5,

7,500 or under 8,000
8,000 or under 8,500
8,500. or under 9,000
9,000 or under 9,500
9,500 or under 10,000
10,000 or under
11,000 or under
12,000 or under
13,000 or under
14,000 or under

11,000
12,000
13,000
14,000
15,000

15,000 or under
16,000 or under
17,000 or under
18,000 or under
19,000 or under

16,000
17,000
18,000
19,000
20,000

.................................................
................................................
................................................
.................................................
................................................

20,000 or under
25,000 or under
30,000 or under
35,000 or under
40,000 or under

25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000

................................................
............................................. ^.
.................................................
.................................................
.......... *...................................

6
6
1

45,000 or under 50,000 .................................................
50,000 or under 100,000 .................................................
100,000 or under 200,000 .................................................
200,000 or under 300,000 .................................................
300,000 or under 400,000 ................................................

1
3

1
1

400,000 or under 500,000 .................................................
500,000 or o v e r ................................................................
Total persons holding land w ith areas reported.
Persons holding land w ith areas not reported..........

453
1,166

1,807
47

2,072
21

*
2,073
25

2,023
8

2,049
15

Total persons holding lan d................................

1,619

1,854

2,093

2,098

2,031

2,064

12
269
320
359

14
379
575
452

30
879
1,914
1,210
617

i?4

•324

W A R D S 2 4 AND 3 4 .
Under 500......................
500 or under 1,000
1.000 or under 1,500
1,600 or under 2,000
2.000 or under 2,500
2.500 or under
3.000 or under
3.500 or under
4.000 or under
4.500 or under

3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
5,000

5.000 or under
5.500 or under
6.000 or under
6.500 or under
7.000 or under

5,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500

550—No. 50—04----- 9

1
12
15

22
53
91
• •*105
•**4

19
15
4

70
53
49
86

65
29
' *f2» f 3 2 :
•• 36: . . i 6i
29 j
11

;

''I k

/• If.

143
138
135

129 .. 80
Z i f f 1 : «5i
• 881 : •'53;A
38

• *44
31

^8/<*
81

126

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

NUMBER OF PERSONS HOLDING LAND IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, BY CLASSIFIED
AREAS OF HOLDINGS, 1855 TO 1900—Concluded.
WARDS 2 4 AND 3 4 —Concluded.
Areas (square feet).

1855.

1865.

1875.

1885.

1895.

1900.

7,500 or under 8,000 .................................................
8,000 or under 8,500 ................................................
8,500 or under 9,000 ................................................
9,000 or under 9,500 ................................................
9,500 or under 10,000 ................................................

7
5
9
11
4

29
41
14
37
11

70
57
58
70
47

38
35
31
35
17

75
57
49
79
40

90
64
57
73
51

10,000 or under
11,000 or under
12,000 or under
13,000 or under
14,000 or under

20
14
7
3
5

69
25
26
16
14

71
72
45
46
29

30
11
23
27
22

73
69
60
47
32

84
73
72
35
50

15,000 or under
16,000 or under
17,000 or under
18,000 or under
19,000 or under

13
7
9
2
1

21
18
10
20
7

26
28
17
29
18

19
21
13
14
8

30
22
22
27
26

55
29
23
33
27

20,000 or under
25,000 or under
30,000 or under
35,000 or under
40,000 or under

25,000
30,000
85,000
40,000
45,000

................................................
.................................................
................................................
................................................
................................................

24
18
19
12
14

54
29
32
9
17

88
47
44
16
-22

30
27
15
6
12

100
54
36
29
27

125
63
44
33
23

45,000 or under 50,000 ................................................
50,000 or under 100,000 ................................................
100,000 or under 200,000 .................................................
200,000 or under 300,000 ................................................
300,000 or under 400,000 ................................................

6
51
31
20
27

9
36
44
23
17

13
74
56
19
13

6
31
12
4
2

22
87
43
25
17

23
81
53
20
10

400,000 or under 500,000 ................................................
500,000 or o v e r ...............................................................

15
179

6
72

8
72

9
57

11
42

Total persons holding land with areas reported.
Persons holding land with areas not reported..........

725
957

1,487
430

3,708
64

3,230
15

8,042
57

9,507
151

Total persons holding la n d ................................

1,682

1,917

3,772

3,245

8,099

9,658

NUMBER OF LOTS IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, BY CLASSIFIED AREAS, 1855 TO 1900.
WARDS 1 AND 39.
Areas (square feet).

1855.

1865.

1875.

1885.

1895.

1900.

Under 500..........
500 or under
1,000 or under
1,500 or under
2,000 or under

1,000..................................... ............
1,500..................................................
2,000..................................................
2,500..................................................

5
186
351
245
68

41
1,559
517
334
89

191
5,723
2,281
438
119

168
6,468
2,212
404
119

180
10,873
2,964
419
111

178
11,907
3,244
440
128

2,500 or under
3,000 or under
3,500 or under
4,000 or under
4,500 or under

3,000..................................................
3,500..................................................
4,000..................................................
4,500..................................... ............
5,000..................................................

28
36
17
18
16

41
61
41
35
10

33
66
46
25
20

42
73
59
38
23

57
72
48
34
16

69
71
43
32
16

10
9
13
6
6

16
15
19
6
15

12
15
19
10
16

20
19
28
12
11

17
15
27
11
11

16
15
23
7
10

11
13

11
11
5
7

12
8
5
8
5

3
14
5
7
2

2
12
2
4
2

13
6
11
8
4

8
7
11
7
2

10
6
10
5
2

10
5
1
9
1

4
5
3
4
2

5,000 or under
5,500 or under
6,000 or under
6,500 or under
7,000 or under

5,500..................................................
6,000..................................................
6,500..................................................
7,000..................................................
7,500..................................................
**•*-»« .
7,500 or under. .8,o j o . . . . . ; . . : . ..........vr.%
8,000 or under
8,500 Qr*und&r good. .*.? .*.*. .1 .........
9,QQ0*or\mdex'k«9,tf)0................................................ ! *•
.£,«§0»o rjftid e r 10,000..................................................
* J0«000 or under 11,000..................................................
11,000 or under 12.000..................................................
12,000 fiTr-diJdejr. 13,600. A*. I -C ..-* .. * *
;
13,006ior*U»d<sr
*
14,00tfor.tnfa£]* i s m .
u
%
15,000 or under
16,000 or under
17,000 or under
18,000 or under
19,000 or under

16,000 .................................................
17,000 .................................................
18,000 ................................................
19,000 ................................................
20,000 ................................................

5
3 .

! w 5

A6 • • . 5.

1
• 7 -v *
•" n
*19.
7 /
5
3} .•*
5
S• 5*
5
1

5
5

6
5
3
4
1

4
5
1
7
2

3
4
8
1

5
2
2

127

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

NUMBER OF LOTS IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, BY CLASSIFIED AREAS, 1855 TO
1900—Continued.
WARDS 1 AND 3 9 —Concluded.
1855.

Areas (square feet).
20,000 or under
25,000 or under
30,000 or under
35,000 or under
40,000 or under

25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000

8
10

.................................................
.................................................
.................................................
................................................
................................................

7
7
23

1865.
15

6
10
7
8

1875.
17

7
24
7

8
11
3
7

1
22

100,000or under 200,000 ................................................

200,000 or under 300,000 ................................................
300,000 or under 400,000 ................................................

5
27
56
28
27

26
13

19
19
17
15

27
19
16

400,000 or under 500,000 ................................................
500,000 or over.................................................................

16
41

7
43

9
45

Total number of lots with areas reported.........
Number of lots w ith areas not reported......................

1,342
2,253

3*073
74

Total number of lots............................................

3,595

45,000 or under 50,000 .................................................
50,000 or under 100,000 .................................................

1885.

1895.

12
8
9
4
7

1900.

10
4
8
3
6
3

23
16
14
15

13
13
13

9
42

9,277
47

9,990
72

15,110
90

16,411
95

3,147

9,324

10,062

15,200

16,506

13
71
133
70
105

79
464
524
425
302

193
701
683
428
357

203
701
682
489
371

216
690
686
489
381

200
666
688
503
386

W AR D 8.
Under 500........................................................................
500 or under 1,000 ................................................
1,000 or under 1,500 ................................................
1,500 or under 2,000 ................................................
2,000 or under 2,500 ................................................
2,500 or under
3,000 or under
3,500 or under
4,000 or under
4,500 or under

3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
5,000

................................................
................................................
.................... , ..........................
................................................
................................................

50
48
38
39
33

192
112
95
61
78

173
135
68
65
49

200
142
70
65
54

195
136
71
62
55

191
132
68
58
55

5,000 or under
5,500 or under
6,000 or under
6,500 or under
7,000 or under

5,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500

19
8
12
5
9

38
44
26
15
18

41
51
24
19
9

45
46
24
17
9

32
46
24
19
14

33
41
22
17
14

7,500 or under 8,000
8,000 or under 8,500
8,500 or under 9,000
9,000 or under 9,500
9,500 or under 10,000

14
9
2
2
4

14
18
6
6
3

16
9
3
5
2

14
11
4
5
2

10
5
4
4
2

12
6
6
4
2

10,000 or under
11,000 or under
12,000 or under
13,000 or under
14,000 or under

11,000
12,000
13,000
14,000
15,000

.................................................
................................................
................................................
................................................
................................................

14
9
2
1
5

15
6
6
6
7

13
5
5
3
6

8
6
3
4
5

11
5
5
3
4

10
5
3
2
6

15,000 or under
16,000 or under
17,000 or under
18,000 or under
19,000 or under

2
1
1
2
2

4
1
2
2
2

2
1
1
1

2
4
2
1

2
3
2
1

20,000 or under
25,000 or under
30,000 or under
35,000 or under
40,000 or under

25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45 000

................................................
............*...................................
................................................
................................................
............... ............................

6
7
2
1

5
2
1
1
2

7
2
1
1
1

2
2
3
2

3
3
1
2

3
6
1
3

45,000 or under 50,000
...........................................
50,000 or under 100,000 ................................................
100,000 or under 200,000 ................................................
200 000or nndor 300 000
.................__...........
300,000 or under 400,000 ................................................

1
2

1
4

1
2

1
1

Total number o f lots with areas reported.........
Number o f lots with areas not reported......................

742
1,583

2,587
50

3,084
33

3,196
34

3,189
15

3,151
18

Total number o f lots...........................................

2,325

2,637

3,117

3,230

3,204

3,169

2
1

400 000 or under 500 000
...........................................
500 000 or over.................................................................

128

BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR.

NUMBER OF LOTS IN EACH WARD AT EACH PERIOD, BY CLASSIFIED AREAS, 1856 TO
1900—Concluded.
WARDS 24 AND 34.
Areas (square feet).
Under 500......................................................................
500 or under 1,000 .................................................
1,000 or under 1,500 .................................................
1,500 or under 2,000 .................................................
2,000 or under 2,500................................................

1855.

1865.

1875.

1885.

1895.

1900.

3
18
24
36

1
31
85
139
177

84
1,175
1,041
935
648

63
1,771
1,830
1,047
504

135
4,225
5,111
2,740
1,087

115
5,842
7,315
4,030
1,324

2,500 or under
3,000 or under
3,500 or under
4,000 or under
4,500 or under

3,000 .................................................
3,500 .................................................
4,000.................................................
4,500 ................................................
5,000 ................................................

29
16
23
23
8

111
107
63
115
226

504
349
237
185
183

453
212
110
100
78

849
466
255
194
197

1,015
556
285
204
216

5,000 or under
5,500 or under
6,000 or under
6,500 or under
7,000 or under

5,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500

.................................................
.................................................
................................................
.................................................
...................... ..........................

41
19
22
8
19

120
59
59
45
52

176
100
125
75
55

71
45
36
40
25

152
113
110
88
42

176
131
137
110
41

7,500 or under 8,000 .................................................
8,000 or under 8,500.................................................
8,500 or under 9,000 ................................................
9,000 or under 9,500 ................................................
9,500 or under 10,000 .................................................

16
10
15
17
4

46
57
19
60
28

87
70
43
73
40

36
24
11
25
18

74
39
36
58
40

90
58
37
60
40

10,000 or under
11,000 or under
12,000 or under
13,000 or under
14,000 or under

11,000 .................................................
12,000 .................................................
13,000.................................................
14,000 .................................................
15,000 ................................................

41
22
10
2
10

95
38
38
36
14

73
80
57
42
25

21
14
18
13
13

60
73
40
41
31

86
73
55
37
38

15,000 or under
16,000 or under
17,000 or under
18,000 or under
19,000 or under

22
8
12
6
6

29
22
7
32
9

35
38
15
34
28

9
16
8
10
8

35
21
16
18
30

46
40
23
20
23

20,000 or under
25,000 or under
30,000 or under
35,000 or under
40,000 or under

25,000 ...............................................
30,000 .................................................
35,000 .................................................
40,000 .................................................
45,000 .................................................

39
22
41
14
20

62
32
44
10
20

91
61
53
16
30

28
35
13
8
8

103
51
49
27
31

102
46
58
32
31

6
63
55
26
31

10
60
63
28
19

10
119
69
32
17

3
28
6
3
1

16
90
74
24
22

19
84
59
31
22

400,000 or under 500,000 .................................................
500,000 or over..............................................................

20
223

16
91

10
70

12
60

11
47

Total number o f lots with areas reported.........
Number of lots with areas not reported......................

1,050
1,005

2,375
503

7,190
82

6,764
20

16,935
74

22,765
179

Total number o f lots............................................

2,055

2,878

7,272

6,784

17,009

22,944

These tables show strikingly the progress of subdivision o f land.
The number o f small lots has increased— in some cases a hundred
fold or more. A t the same time, the increase in the number o f
holders, especially o f lots o f small area, shows a wide distribution o f
these small lots among owners o f modest means.
In the residence wards the progress o f subdivision has been prac
tically in parallel lines, though in W est Philadelphia the quantities are
in larger terms, as befits the better-to-do population. In Wards 1 and
39, in 1900, 88 per cent o f holders held areas under 4,000 square feet.
Heavy emphasis is laid on the very small lot, about 15 by 50 to 70 feet.
The typical Philadelphia lot, above the level o f the workingman’s
home, is one from 20 to 25 feet frontage and from 75 to 150 feet

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

129

depth. This standard o f size leads in Wards 8, 24, and 34. In Wards
1, 39, 24, and 34 there are still large areas undivided. InW ards 1 and
39, in 1855, 81 holders held plots o f 5 acres (a) or over. In 1900 this
was true o f 54 holders, but the number o f those holding the largest
areas had lessened but slightly, the holders o f plots o f 12 acres or over
being but 35 in 1855 and 30 in 1900.
The areas not reported and discrepancies which are apparent in com
parisons o f the figures o f the two tables show that the assessors are by
no means overaccurate in their work.
In the development o f a city from farming land we have seen, in
the case o f Philadelphia, certain phenomena which we may regard as
typical and anticipate in any investigation o f urban growth.
First. In the general rise o f values the per cent o f increase in the
average value o f property held by each owner is less than the per cent
o f increase in the total value o f property. It is also noticed that the
higher values o f the series move upward more slowly than the lower.
In W ard 8 the starting point o f value chosen for 1855 was “ under
$500.” In 1855 W ard 8 had 49 holders o f values under $500. In
twenty years 45 o f these holders had disappeared. In the following
ten years 3 more had vanished. F or the last fifteen years o f the total
period observed, 1 such holder has persisted. The number o f tiny
lots has increased fifteen fold, but their owners must now be classed as
among the “ over $500” holders. Again, in W ard 8, at the beginning
o f our period, the greatest concentration o f holders was found at values
ranging from $500 to $1,500. A t the end o f the period the concentra
tion had shifted to values o f from $20,000 to $25,000.
Second. In the differentiation in values in business and residence
real estate the transition from farm to residence use brings tremendous
change in values, but the values placed on land as the standing ground
for modern commercial activities are written in figures so large that
for the ordinary mind they have no intelligible concrete quality. This
phenomenon is far more marked within the last two decades than
previously, and as an economic fact belongs with the concentration o f
capital which has meant the development o f huge corporate business
organizations. To gain full knowledge on this point a close study o f
limited areas must be undertaken and the assessors’ valuations must
be supplemented by records o f transfer, statements o f lease value,
and so on. It would not be easy to reach all the facts necessary for
completing such a study.
Third. In the relation o f value to population the distinction o f use
is significant. In residence use the population and value move upward
together, but the rate o f increase in value far outstrips the rate o f
increase in population. In business use, however, population and
value take different directions, the latter advancing by leaps and
« T h e tables give all areas in square feet. T h e corresponding value in acres is
given approxim ately on ly , as a m ore fam iliar form for large areas.

130

BtTLLETltf OF THE BUREAU

labor.

bounds, while the form er decreases. It is true that a consideration
o f a large area, as a whole city, equalizing the distribution o f the
population, tends to lessen the apparent force o f this distinction o f
use as affecting value, and to m agnify the effect o f population as the
most important factor in the increase o f value. In the large this is a
correct position, but in the more detailed and local sense business use
segregates an area o f its own within which a study o f values presents
facts which do not emerge in residence sections, even under conditions
o f overcrowding as acute as the world has yet known.
Some other points may be observed in which it would seem proba
ble that Philadelphia’s development might not be repeated in other
cities. In the residence wards, for example, the rate o f increase in
the number o f owners is far higher than the rate o f increase o f the
population, but not so high as the rate o f increase in the subdivision
o f area. It is probable that relatively to other cities a large propor
tion o f the citizens are landholders. Naturally no large proportion
o f holders can be classed as “ land rich,” since, in the residence wards,
where the number o f owners is on the rapid increase, 72 per cent
(Wards 24 and 34) and 86 per cent (Wards 1 and 39) are below the
$5,000 value level.
The most interesting question involved at the present time in an
investigation such as this is the question as to tendencies toward con
centration or the contrary, o f the land wealth o f the community. In
a sense it seems a disappointment to be unable to reach a final dictum
on this point. Both tendencies are evident. In the residence wards
the tendency to concentration is hardly distinguishable among the ten
largest holders. Indeed, within this arbitrarily limited area the con
trary tendency prevails in well-to-do W est Philadelphia. Making the
top section include 1 per cent o f owners, however, we arrive at remark
ably similar results, as previously noted, 1 per cent o f owners holding
approximately one-quarter o f the land values in all the wards examined.
In business values the movement toward concentration is evident within
the narrower section, 10 owners now holding 14.30 per cent o f the val
ues o f W ard 8, as against 8.09 per cent in 1855 and 9.44 per cent in
1885. This is a large gain, especially when it is remembered that just
at this point allowance must be made, at least more than in other parts
o f the city, for undervaluation. M ore than one careful observer
believes that the last fifteen years have brought an unusual amount o f
investment in real estate in the business section o f this city by men o f
great wealth, who have thus evidenced their belief in the stability and
security o f real estate as a permanent investment. This would account
reasonably fo r the heavy recent percentages o f increase just mentioned,
which otherwise seem rather out o f proportion to the general condi
tions. On the other hand, dropping from the levels o f great wealth
to those o f moderate and small means, the tendency to a widening dis

LAND VALUES AND OWNERSHIP IN PHILADELPHIA.

131

tribution seems marked. Investment o f large sums o f money in resi
dence property is not so attractive as in the case o f business properties.
The liking fo r the ownership o f his own home is characteristic of the
Philadelphian, and the number o f owners, throughout our whole
period, has increased at a far more rapid rate than has the population.
It may be that there lies, somewhere between the mass o f small holders
and the 1 per cent o f holders having largest holdings, a line o f division
of tendency. A bove that line wealth seeks to secure itself an assured
existence and finds the form for this condition in large holdings o f land;
below that line a desire for a like security and stability o f domestic life
leads to a general investment o f small amounts in real estate, thus insur
ing a constantly widening distribution and ownership within this area
o f limited incomes. It may be surmised that, at least in the city under
observation, some such line o f demarcation divides the higher table
lands o f opulence from the lower valleys o f moderate com fort and o f
struggling thrift. I f so, the data o f this study are not adequate to
determine its location and nature.

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYEES.
[I t is th e purpose of th is Bureau to publish from tim e to tim e im portant agree
m ents m ade betw een large bodies of em ployers and em ployees w ith regard to w ages,
hours of labor, etc. T h e Bureau w ould be pleased to receive copies of such agree
m ents w henever m a d e.]

A R B IT R A T IO N A G R E E M E N T B E T W E E N A M E R IC A N N E W S
P A P E R P U B LISH E R S5 ASSO C IA TIO N AN D IN TE R N A
T IO N A L T Y P O G R A P H IC A L UNION.
S e c t i o n 1. On and after May 1, 1 9 0 2 , and until May 1, 1 9 0 7 , any
publisher who is a member o f the American Newspaper Publishers5
Association, employing union labor in any department or departments
o f his office under a contract or contracts, written or verbal, with a
local union or unions affiliated with the International Typographical
Union where such contracts have been approved by the president o f
the latter organization, as well as under all contracts in force on May
1 , 1 9 0 1 , shall have the follow ing guarantees:
a. He shall be protected under such contract or contracts by the
International Typographical Union against walk-outs, strikes, boycotts,
or any other form o f concerted interference with the peaceful opera
tion o f the department or departments o f labor so contracted for, by
any union or unions with which he has contractual relations; provided
such publisher shall enter into an agreement with the International
Typographical Union to arbitrate all differences that may arise under
said verbal or written contracts between said publisher and the local
union affecting union employees in said department or departments, if
such said differences can not be settled by conciliation.
b. A ll disputes arising over scale provisions relating to wages and
hours in renewing or extending contracts shall likewise be subject to
arbitration under the provisions o f this agreement, if such disputes
can not be adjusted through conciliation.
It is expressly understood that contracts hereafter entered into by
publishers with allied trades councils shall not be recognized as coming
under the terms o f this agreement.
S e c . 2 . The International Typographical Union further agrees to
arbitrate any and all differences that may arise in the mechanical depart
ments o f any newspaper, member o f the American Newspaper Pub
lishers5 Association, which shall enter into an agreement to that effect;
provided all departments o f said newspaper under the jurisdiction o f
the International Typographical Union are strictly union departments
and are so recognized.
S e c . 3 . The question whether a department shall be union or non
union shall not be classed as a “ difference55 to be arbitrated.
S e c . 4. I f conciliation between the publisher and a local union fails,
then provision must be made fo r local arbitration. I f local arbitration

132

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES.

133

or arbitrators can not be agreed upon, all differences shall be referred,
upon application o f either party, to the National Board o f Arbitration.
In case a local board o f arbitration is formed, and a decision rendered
which is unsatisfactory to either side, then review by the National
Board o f Arbitration may be asked for by the dissatisfied party, pro
vided notice to the other party to that effect is given within fifteen days
thereafter. It shall be optional with the board to grant or deny such
review as the facts in the case may warrant.
S e c . 5 . In case a review is granted, as provided in section 4 , the
National Board o f Arbitration shall not take evidence except by a major
ity vote o f the board, but both parties to the controversy may be required
to submit records and briefs, and to make oral or written arguments
(at the option o f the board), in support o f their several contentions.
They may submit an agreed statement o f facts, or a transcript o f testi
mony properly certified to, before a notary public by the stenographer
taking the original evidence or depositions.
S e c . 6. Pending final decision, work shall be continued in the office
o f the publisher, party to the case, and the award o f the National Board
o f Arbitration shall, m all cases, include a determination o f the issues
involved, covering the period between the raising of the issues and
their final settlement; and any change or changes m the wage scale o f
employees may, at the discretion o f the board, be made effective from
the date the issues were first made.
S e c . 7. Union departments shall be understood to mean such as are
made up wholly o f union employees, in which union rules prevail, and
in which the union has been formally recognized by the employer.
S e c . 8. This agreement shall apply to individual members o f the
American Newspaper Publishers’ Association or local associations o f
publishers accepting it and the rules drafted hereunder, at least sixty
(60) days before a dispute shall arise.
S e c . 9. The National Board o f Arbitration shall consist o f the presi
dent o f the International Typographical Union and the commissioner
o f the American Newspaper Publishers’ Association, or their proxies,
and in the event o f a failure to reach an agreement, these two shall
select a third member in each dispute, the member so selected to act as
chairman o f the board. The finding o f the majority o f the board shall
be final, and shall be accepted as such by the parties to the dispute
under consideration.
S e c . 10. In the event o f either party to the dispute refusing to accept
and comply with the decision o f the National Board o f Arbitration, all
aid and support to the firm or employer, or local union refusing accept
ance and compliance, shall be withdrawn by both parties to this agree
ment. The acts o f such recalcitrant employer or union shall be publicly
disavowed, and the aggrieved party to this agreement shall be furnished
by the other with an official document to that end.
S e c . 11. The said National Board o f Arbitration must act, when its
services are desired by either party to a dispute as above, and shall
proceed with all possible dispatch in rendering such services.
S e c . 12. A ll expenses attendant upon the settlement o f any dispute,
except the personal expenses o f the commissioner o f the American
Newspaper Publishers’ Association and the president o f the Interna
tional Typographical Union, shall be borne equally by the parties to
the dispute.

134

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OE LABOR.

S e c . 13. The conditions obtaining before the initiation o f the dis
pute shall remain in effect pending the finding o f the local or o f the
National Board o f Arbitration.
S e c . 14. The follow ing rules shall govern the National Board o f
Arbitration in adjusting differences between parties to this agreement:
1. It may demand duplicate typewritten statements o f grievances.
2. It may examine all parties involved in any differences referred to
it for adjudication.
3. It may empldy such stenographers, etc., as may be necessary to
facilitate business.
4. It may require affidavit on all disputed points.
5. It shall have free access to all books and records bearing on points
at issue.
6. Equal opportunities shall be allowed fo r presentation o f evidence
and argument.
7. Investigations shall be conducted in the presence o f the repre
sentatives o f both parties.
8. The deliberations shall be conducted in executive session, and the
findings, whether unanimous or not, shall be signed by all members o f
the board in each instance.
9. In the event o f either party to the dispute refusing to appear or
present its case after due notice, it may be adjudicated in default, and
findings rendered against such party.
, 10. A ll evidence communicated to the board in confidence shall be
preserved inviolate, and no record o f such evidence shall be kept.
S e c . 15. The form o f contract to be entered into by the publisher
and the International Typographical Union shall be as follows:
CON TRACT.

It is agreed betw een----------publisher and proprietor o f t h e -----------,
a n d --------- , duly authorized to act in its behalf, party o f the first part,
and the International Typographical Union, by its president, duly
authorized to act in its behalf and also in behalf o f --------- Union o f
----------, as follows:
That any and all disputes that may arise—
1. Under any contract, verbal or written, in force May 1, 1901.
2. Under any contract, verbal or written, approved by the president
o f the International Typographical Union.
3. A ll disputes arising over scale provisions relating to wages and
hours in renewing and extending contracts between--------- publisher(s)
or proprietor(s) and t h e ------ union(s), or any member thereof, now
operating in th e----------department(s) o f th e---------- shall first be settled
by conciliation between the publisher and the authorities o f the local
union, if possible. I f not, the matter shall be referred to arbitration,
each party to the controversy to select one arbitrator, and the two
thus chosen to select a third, the decision o f a majority o f such board
o f arbitration to be final and binding upon both parties, except as
hereinafter provided for.
I f local arbitration or arbitrators can not be agreed upon, all differ
ences shall be referred, upon application o f either party, to the
National Board o f Arbitration, consisting o f the president o f the Inter
national Typographical Union and the commissioner o f the American
Newspaper Publishers’ Association, or their proxies; and if the board
thus constituted can not agree, it shall be authorized to select an addi

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN .EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES.

135

tional member, and the decision o f a majority o f this board, thus con
stituted, shall be final and binding upon both parties.
Pending arbitration and decision thereunder work shall be continued
as usual in the office o f the publisher(s) part— to this agreement, and
the award o f the arbitrators shall, in all cases, include a determination
o f the issues involved covering the period between the raising o f the
issues and the final settlement, and any change or changes in the wage
scale o f employees, or other ruling, may, at the discretion o f the
arbitrators, be made effective from the date the issues were first made.
In case a local board o f arbitration is formed, and a decision ren
dered which is unsatisfactory to either side, then a review may be
asked o f the National Board o f Arbitration by the dissatisfied party.
Pending decision under such review from a local board o f arbitration,
work shall be continued as usual in the office o f the publisher (s), part—
to the case, and the award o f the National Board o f Arbitration shall, in
all cases, include a determination o f the issues involved, covering the
period between the raising o f the issues and their final settlement; and
any change or changes in the wage scale o f employees, may, at the
discretion o f the board, be made effective from the date the issues
were first made.
In consideration o f the agreement by the said publisher^) or pro
prietor^) to arbitrate all differences as provided tor herein with the
---------- union(s), the International Typographical Union agrees to
underwrite the said contract and guarantee----------fulfillment on the
part o f ----------union(s).
It is expressly understood and agreed that the sections numbered
from one to sixteen inclusive, o f the agreement between the American
Newspaper Publishers’ Association and the International Typographical
Union hereunto attached shall be considered an integral part o f this
contract, and shall have the same force and effect as though set forth
in the contract itself.
This contract shall be in full force and effect fr o m ----------, 1902, to the
first day o f M ay, 1907, unless amended sooner by mutual consent.
In witness whereof, the undersigned publisher(s) or proprietor^)
o f the said newspaper and the president o f the International T y p o
graphical Union have hereunto affixed their respective signatures, in
triplicate t h is ------ day o f ---------- , 190— .
Publisher(s) or P r o p r ie to r ^ --------------------President International Typographical Union.
Witness, as to publisher,
Witness, as to president,
S e c . 16. This covenant between the International Typographical
Union and the American Newspaper Publishers’ Association shall
remain in effect from the 1st day o f May, 1902, to the 1st day o f May,
1907, but amendments may be proposed to this agreement by either
party thereto at least ninety days before the 1st day o f May in any
year, and on acceptance .by the other party to the agreement, shall
become a part thereof.

136

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Now, therefore, it is mutually agreed as follows:
First. This agreement shall be published simultaneously by the two
bodies at such time as may hereafter be decided upon.
Second. The agreement shall be submitted for ratification to the
American Newspaper Publishers5 Association at its annual meeting in
February, 1902, and immediately thereafter to the executive council
o f the International Typographical Union. I f formally ratified as a
whole by both bodies, it shall become effective on May 1, 1902, and
remain in full force and effect fo r five years thereafter, unless mutually
amended sooner as therein provided for.
In witness whereof, we have hereunto affixed our signatures this 3d
day o f January, 1902.
(Signed)
A . A . M c C o r m i c k , Chairman,
M. J. L o w e n s t e i n ,
F or the special standing committee o f the Am erican
Newspaper Publishers* Association.
F r e d e r ic k D

r is c o l l ,

Commissioner.
Jam es

,
H aw kes,
H u g o M il l e r ,
J. W . B r a m w o o d ,
ynch

C. E.

F or the International Typographical Union.
The attached agreement was unanimously approved o f by the Am er
ican Newspaper Publishers5 Association at its annual convention on
February 19, 1902, and subsequently the same was approved by
the executive council o f the International Typographical Union,
acting under authority from the International Typographical Union
convention.
W . C. B r y a n t , Secretary.
A R B IT R A T IO N A G R E E M E N T B E T W E E N A M E R IC A N N E W S
PAPER
P U B L ISH E R S5 ASSO CIATIO N A N D
IN TE R N A
T IO N A L
P R IN TIN G
PRESSM EN’S AN D ASSISTAN TS5
UNION.
S e c t i o n . 1. On and after May 1, 1902, and until May 1, 1907, any
publisher who is a member o f the American Newspaper Publishers5
Association employing union labor in the pressroom o f his office, under
an existing contract, either written or verbal, with a local pressmen’s
union chartered by the International Printing Pressmen’s and Assist
ants’ Union, shall be protected under such contract by the Interna
tional Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union against walk-outs,
strikes, boycotts, or any other form o f concerted interferences with
the peaceful operation o f labor in his press rooms so contracted fo r by
said local pressmen’s union. Likewise in case o f the termination o f
said contracts, labor in said press rooms shall be continued b y said
union, and if differences arise in the framing o f a new contract as to
wages, hours, etc., they shall be settled first by conciliation, if pos
sible, and if not, then b y arbitration, as provided in this agreement.
Provided, The said publisher shall enter into an agreement with the
International Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union to arbitrate
all differences that may arise between the said publisher and the mem

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES.

137

bers o f the Pressmen’s Union in his employment, in case said differ
ences can not first be settled by conciliation and mutual agreement.
S e c . 2 . I f conciliation between the publisher and the local union
fails, then provision must be made fo r local arbitration. I f local arbi
tration or arbitrators can not be agreed upon, all differences shall be
referred, upon application o f either party, to the International Board
o f Arbitration. In case a local board o f arbitration is formed, and a
decision rendered which is unsatisfactory to either side, then an appeal
may be taken to the International Boara o f Arbitration by the dissat
isfied party.
S e c . 3 . In cases o f appeal from a local board o f arbitration, the
International Board o f Arbitration shall not take evidence, except by
a majority vote ‘o f the board; but the appellant and the appellee may
be required to submit records and briefs, and to make oral* or written
arguments (at the option o f the board) in support o f their respective
contentions. The parties to the controversy may submit an agreed
statement o f facts, or a transcript o f testimony properly certified to,
before a notary public, by the stenographer taking the original evi
dence or depositions.
S e c . 4. Pending decision under such appeal, work shall be continued
in the press room o f the publisher, party to the case, and the award
o f the International Board o f Arbitration shall, in all cases, include a
determination o f the issues involved, covering the period between the
raising o f the issues and the final settlement; and any change or
changes in the wage scale o f employees, may, at the discretion o f the
board, be made effective from the date the issues were first made.
S e c . 5. I f in case any number o f newspaper publishers o f any city
forming a local publishers’ association enter into contract verbal or
written with the Pressmen’s Union o f said city under the jurisdiction
o f the International Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union, then,
and in that case, such association shall enjoy all the rights and be
subjected to all the obligations hereby applying to any individual
publisher as noted above.
S e c . 6. Employers whose press rooms are operated by members o f
the Pressmen’s Union under the jurisdiction o f the International Print
ing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union, and in which press rooms
disputes or differences arise which can not be settled locally, shall
have the right to demand the services o f the International Board o f
Arbitration.
S e c . 7. In like manner local unions o f the International Printing
Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union, becoming involved in disputes with
a publisher concerning the operating o f the press rooms heretofore
described, and which can not be settled locally, shall have the right to
demand the services o f the International Board o f Arbitration.
S e c . 8. The words “ union press room s” as herein employed shall
be construed to refer only to such press rooms as are operated wholly
by union employees, in which union rules prevail, and in which the
union has been formally recognized by the employer.
S e c . 9 . It is understood that this agreement shall apply to individ
ual members o f the American Newspaper Publishers’ Association, or
publishers connected with its labor bureau, or local associations o f
publishers accepting it and the rules drafted hereunder, at least thirty
days before a dispute shall arise.

138

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

S e c . 10. The International Board o f Arbitration shall consist o f the
resident o f the International Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’
fnion and the commissioner o f the American Newspaper Publishers’
Association, or their proxies, and in the event of failure to reach an
agreement, these two shall select a third member in each dispute, the
member so selected to act as chairman o f the board. The finding of
a majority o f the board shall be final, and shall be accepted as such by
the parties to the dispute under consideration.
S e c . 11. In the event o f either party to the dispute refusing to accept
and comply with the decision o f the International Board of Arbitra
tion, all aid and support to the firm or employer or local union refus
ing acceptance and compliance, shall be withdrawn by both parties to
this agreement. The acts o f such recalcitrant employer or union shall
be publicly disavowed, and the aggrieved party to this agreement
shall be furnished by the other with an official document to that effect.
S e c . 12. The said International Board o f Arbitration must act, when
its services are desired by either party to a dispute as above, and shall
proceed with all possible dispatch in rendering such service.
S e c . 13. A ll expense attendant upon the settlement o f any dispute,
except the personal expenses o f the president o f the International
Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union and o f the commissioner
o f the American Newspaper Publishers’ Association, shall be borne
equally by the parties to the dispute.
S e c . 14. The conditions obtaining before the initiation o f the dispute
shall remain in effect pending the finding o f the local or International
Board o f Arbitration.
S e c . 15. The follow ing rules shall govern the International Board
o f Arbitration in adjusting differences between parties to this
agreement:
1. It may demand duplicate typewritten statements of grievances.
2.
It may examine all parties involved in any differences referred to
it for adjudication.
3.
It may employ such stenographers, etc., as may be necessary to
facilitate business.
4. It may require affidavit on all disputed points.
5.
It shall have free access to all books and records bearing on points
at issue.
6.
Equal opportunity shall be allowed fo r presentation of evidence
and argument.
7.
Investigation shall be conducted in the presence o f representatives
o f both parties.
8.
The deliberations of the board shall be conducted in executive
session, and the findings, whether unanimous or not, shall be signed
by all members o f the board in each instance.
9.
In the event o f either party to the dispute refusing or failing to
appear or present its case after due notice, it may be adjudged in
default and findings rendered against such party.
10.
A ll evidence communicated to the board in confidence shall be
preserved inviolate and no record o f such evidence shall be kept.
S e c . 16. The form o f contract to be entered into by the publishers
and the International Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union shall
be as follows:

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES.

139

FO R M OF CO N TRACT.

It is agreed betw een---------------------, publisher(s) or proprietor(s) o f
t h e --------- o f ---------- , b y --------------------- , duly authorized to act in its
behalf, party of the first part, and the International Printing Press
men’s and Assistants’ Union, party o f the second part, by its president,
duly authorized to act in its behalf, and also in behalf o f t h e ---------Pressmen’s Union, No. — »-----, o f ---------- , as follows:
That any and all disputes or differences that may arise between---------publisher(s) or proprietor^) and Pressmen’s Union N o .------ , or any
member thereof employed in the press room department o f th e ----------,
shall first be settled by conciliation between the publisher and the
authorities o f the local union if possible. I f not, the matter shall be
referred to arbitration, each party to the controversy to select one
arbitrator, and the two thus chosen to select a third, the decision o f a
majority o f such board o f arbitration to be final and binding upon both
parties, except as hereinafter provided for.
I f local arbitration or arbitrators can not be agreed upon, all differ
ences shall be referred, upon application o f either party, to the Inter
national Board o f Arbitration, consisting o f the president o f the Inter
national Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union and the commis
sioner o f the American Newspaper Publishers’ Association, or their
proxies; and if the board thus constituted, can not agree, it is hereby
authorized to select an additional member, and a decision o f the
majority o f this board, thus constituted, shall be final and binding
upon both parties.
Pending arbitration and decision thereunder, work shall be continued
as usual in the press room o f the publisher party to this agreement,
and the award o f the arbitrators shall, in all cases, include a determi
nation o f the issues involved, covering the period between the raising
of the issues and the final settlement, and any change or changes in
the wage scale o f the employees, or other ruling, may, at the discretion
of the arbitrators, be made effective from the date the issues were first
made.
In case a local board o f arbitration is formed and a decision ren
dered which is unsatisfactory to either side, then an appeal may be
taken to the above-described International Board o f Arbitration by the
dissatisfied party. Pending decision under such appeal from a local
board o f arbitration, work shall be continued as usual in the press
room o f the publisher, pa ily to the case, and the award o f the Inter
national Board o f Arbitration shall in all cases include a determination
o f the issues involved, covering the period between the raising o f the
issues and their final settlement, and any change or changes in the
wage scale o f the employees may, at the discretion o f the board, be
made effective from the date the issues were first made.
In consideration o f the agreement by the said publisher(s) or pro
prietor^) to arbitrate all differences arising under existing verbal or
written contracts, or during the period intervening between the ter
mination o f the latter and the execution o f new contracts, with the
Pressmen’s Union N o .------ o f --------—, the International Printing Press
men’s and Assistants’ Union hereby agrees to underwrite the said
existing contract, and guarantees its fulfillment, together with the
peaceful adjustment on terms above stated, o f all difficulties otherwise
arising on the part o f the said Pressmen’s Union N o .------ o f -----------.

140

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

It is expressly understood and agreed that sections numbered from
one to seventeen, inclusive o f the agreement between the American
Newspaper Publishers5 Association and the International Printing
Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union, hereunto attached, shall be consid
ered an integral part o f this contract, and shall have the same force
and effect as though set forth in the contract itself.
This contract shall be in full force and effect fr o m ----------day o f
----------, 1902, to 190— , unless terminated sooner by mutual consent,
and thereafter upon ninety days’ written notice from either party to
this agreement.
In witness whereof, the undersigned publisher(s) or proprietor(s) o f
the said newspaper, and the president o f the International Printing
Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union, have hereunto affixed their respec
tive signatures t h is ------ day o f -----------, 1902.
S e c . 17. This covenant between the International Printing Press
men’s and Assistants’ Union and the American Newspaper Publishers’
Association shall remain in effect from the first day o f May, 1902, to
the first day o f May, 1907, but amendments may be proposed to this
agreement by either party thereto, at least ninety days before the
first o f May in any year, and on acceptance b y the other party to the
agreement, shall become a part thereof.
Now, therefore, it is mutually agreed as follows:
First. This agreement shall be published simultaneously by the two
bodies at such time as may hereafter be decided upon.
Second. The agreement shall be submitted fo r ratification to the
American Newspaper Publishers’ Association at its annual meeting in
February, 1902, and immediately thereafter to the referendum o f the
International Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Union. I f formally
ratified as a whole b y both bodies, it shall become effective on May 1,
1902, and remain in full force and effect fo r five years thereafter unless
mutually amended sooner as therein provided for.
In witness whereof, we have hereunto affixed our signatures this
twentieth day o f January, 1902.
A . A . M c C o r m i c k , Chairman.
M . J. L

o w e n s t e in ,

F or the special standing committee o f the Am erican
Newspaper Publishers* Association.
F r e d e r ic k D

r is c o l l ,

Commissioner.
M a r t i n P. H i g g i n s ,
E d w in A . B a u l s ir ,
D . J . M cD o n a l d ,
W . H . B u r k l in ,
W . J. W ebb,

F or the board o f directors o f the International P rin tin g
Pressmen's and Assistants' Union.
The attached agreement was unanimously approved o f by the Am er
ican Newspaper Publishers’ Association at its annual convention on
February 19,1902, and subsequently the same was approved by the
referendum o f the International Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’
Union by a large majority.
W . C . B r y a n t , Secretary.

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS ANO EMPLOYEES.

141

AG R E E M E N T B E T W E E N U NITED TYPOTHET2E O F A M E R
IC A A N D IN TE R N A T IO N A L PRIN TIN G PRESSM EN AN D
ASSISTAN TS5 UNION.
This agreement, made and entered into this twenty-fifth day o f March,
1903, by and between the United Typothetse o f America and the Inter
national Printing Pressmen and Assistants5 Union, for the purpose o f
establishing between the employing printers o f the United States and
their pressmen and feeders uniform shop practices and fair scales o f
wages, settlement o f all questions arising between them, and the aboli
tion o f strikes, sympathetic or otherwise, lockouts and boycotts,
Witnesseth, that any question arising between a local Typothetse or
affiliated association o f employers and their pressmen or feeders in
regard to wages or shop practices shall be referred to the local con
ference committee, made up equally o f representatives from the local
Typothetse and the local union. Should this committee be unable to
agree, or should one o f the parties consider itself aggrieved by said
committee’s findings, either party to the conference may refer the
question at issue to the national conference committee, which national
conference committee shall act as hereinafter set forth.
Both local and national conference committees, in settling questions
o f shop practice, shall aim at the establishment o f uniforn shop prac
tice throughout the United States and Canada. Unless special con
tracts to the contrary exist, any finding o f the national committee in
regard to shop practice shall be binding upon local organizations.
A ruling upon a question o f shop practice shall be made within three
months after the presentation o f such question to the conference com
mittee o f either side, and such ruling when once established by said
committee shall not be reconsidered within two years.
A ny change in the scale o f wages shall be settled by conference or
arbitration within four months after the first request for considera
tion, but shall not go into effect until one year after the first request
for consideration; and no scale o f wages shall be changed oftener than
once in three years; provided, however, that all such scales o f wages
shall terminate with the expiration o f this contract unless specifically
agreed to the contrary.
A ll present contracts between the local Typothetse or affiliated organ
izations o f employers and their pressmen and feeders shall continue in
force until their natural expiration.
A contract accepting a particular scale o f wages does not include
the acceptance o f any rules in the union in regard to shop practice not
specially mentioned in said contract.
The International Printing Pressmen and Assistants5 Union shall
not engage in any strike, sympathetic or otherwise, or boycott, unless
the employer fails to live up to this contract, it being understood that
the employer fulfills all the terms o f this contract by paying the scale
o f wages and living up to the shop practices as settled by the commit
tee, regardless o f his employees5 union affiliations; no employer shall
engage in any lockout unless the union or members thereof fail to live
up to this contract; the conference or arbitration committee to be the
final judge o f what constitutes a failure to live up to this contract.
Pending investigation or arbitration, the men shall remain at work.
The conference committee shall fix the time when any decision shall
take effect, except the question o f wages, which is heretofore provided
for.

550—No. 50—04----- 10

142

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

In the event o f either party to the dispute refusing to accept and
com ply with the decision o f tne National Board o f Arbitration, all aid
and support to the firm or employer or local union so refusing accep
tance and compliance shall be withdrawn by both parties to this
agreement. The acts o f such recalcitrant employer or union shall be
publicly disavowed, and the aggrieved party to this agreement shall
be furnished by the other with an official document to that effect.
In the event o f a strike in a non-Typothetse office, if it is proven to
the local conference committee that such office is not complying with
the shop rules and practices and scale o f wages in accordance with the
terms o f this contract, no assistance shall be given to such office by
Typothetse members.
This agreement shall continue in full force and effect until May 1,
1907. It is expressly agreed that during the life o f this contract fiftyfour hours shall constitute a week’s work. Notice of any desired
changes in the contract must be given by either party to the contract
at least three months prior to the expiration thereof.
Manner o f arbitration: Each party to this contract shall appoint
two o f its members who shall be known as its members of the National
Board o f Conference and Arbitration. These members may be changed
at the will o f the respective parties except during the negotiation o f
any particular question, during which time the membership o f such
board shall continue the same. In case o f the death o f any member o f
such board during the consideration o f a question, the place of such
deceased member shall be filled by his party, and the entire proceed
ing shall thereupon begin again. This board shall meet upon a request
o f the president or presiding officer o f either party at some point to
be mutually agreed upon, within one month o f such request, and shall
take such evidence as it may consider bears upon the subject in hand.
A majority o f votes cast upon any question shall be binding upon both
parties to this agreement. Should the vote upon any question result
in a tie, this board shall select a fifth person to act as arbitrator, who
shall fo r this particular question act as a member of such board, and
the decision o f such constituted board shall be binding upon the parties
hereto.
Signed in duplicate.
U
[ s e a l .]

n it e d

T y p o t h e t e o f A m e r ic a ,
B y E d w a r d S t e r n , President.
E d w i n F r e e g a r d , Secretary.

I n t e r n a t i o n a l P r i n t i n g P r e s s m e n a n d A s s is t a n t s ’ U n i o n ,
B y M a r t i n P. H i g g i n s , President.
W m . J. W e b b , Secretary.

A G R E E M E N T B E TW E E N M A ST E R B R IC K L A Y E R S ’ B. A N D P.
ASSO C IA TIO N
A N D IN TE R N A T IO N A L
JO U RN EYM EN
B R IC K L A Y E R S ’ UNIONS, NOS. 1, 2, AN D 3, O F M ISSOU RI.
It is hereby agreed to by and between the Master Bricklayers’
B. and P. Association and the International Journeymen Bricklayers’
Unions Nos. 1, 2 and 3, o f Missouri, fo r a period of one year, from
A pril 1, 1 9 0 3 F i r s t . That the minimum wages o f bricklayers from A pril 1, 1903,
shall be sixty-five cents (65 cents) per hour, and that eight hours shall
constitute a day’s work (excepting Saturday), from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m.,
fo r the months beginning March 1, and ending October 31, inclusive,

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES.

143

and from 8 a. m. to 4:30 p. m. fo r the months beginning November 1
and ending March 1, inclusive; Saturdays from 8 a. m. to 12 m .; one
hour to be taken for dinner during the form er months and one-half
hour during the latter, not more than four hours to be worked during
the forenoon or afternoon; Sunday work, night work and work done
after the regular hours for quitting shall be considered overtime and
shall be charged fo r at a double rate o f wages. No work shall be done
on Saturdays from 12 m. to 5 p. m. except where life or property is in
danger, or in case o f emergency. No work shall be performed on the
follow ing holidays: Fourth o f July, Labor Day, and Christmas Day.
S e c o n d . That the unions as a whole or single union shall not order
any strikes against the members o f the Master Bricklayers5 B. and P.
Association, collectively or individually; nor shall any member [num
ber] o f union men leave the work o f a member o f the Master Brick
layers5B. and P. Association. A ll disputes arising between the parties
to this agreement must be brought at once before the joint board o f
arbitration fo r settlement.
T h i r d . That no member o f the union shall be discharged for inquir
ing after the cards o f the men working upon any job o f a member o f
the Master Bricklayers5B. andP. Association^ nor will the walking dele
gate be interfered with when visiting any building under construction.
F o u r t h . Each contractor shall pay his men every Saturday before
12 m., in the lawful money o f the United States. Should he fail to do
so he shall be charged waiting time, the limit to be two days, ending
the following Monday at the regular quitting time. W hen bricklayers
are laid off fo r any cause they shall, upon their request, be paid in cash
within two (2) hours after the lay-off. No member o f the bricklayers5
unions shall work fo r anyone not complying with all the rules and
regulations herein agreed to.
F i f t h . Each contractor shall be allowed one apprentice to serve four
years. A fter said apprentice has completed his third year o f appren
ticeship the master bricklayer will be permitted to employ another
apprentice.
S i x t h . I f a building shall be abandoned fo r any cause on which the
wages o f union bricklayers are unpaid, no member o f the Master
Bricklayers5 B. and P. Association shall contract to complete the same
until this debt is paid by the original or subsequent owner, or provided
fo r in the contract. I f a member o f the Master Bricklayers5B. and P.
Association is prevented from carrying out his contract on a building
through insolvency o f the owner or any other cause, no union brick
layer shall work on said building until the master bricklayers5contract
has been equitably adjusted. Notice in writing stating amounts due
in dispute must be filed with the secretary o f the Master Bricklayers5
B. ana P. Association within two weeks o f the stoppage o f the work,
giving full particulars, the secretary to give proper notice to unions
and their representatives at the beginning and ending of the questions
in dispute.
S e v e n t h . That not more than one member o f any firm will be per
mitted to work on the wall and lay brick.
E i g h t h . N o w ork shall be done which will destroy the true principle
o f the trade, such as laying brick dry without mortar, building hollow
walls in violation o f city ordinances, filling interior o f walls with lum
ber or rubbish, neglecting to throw up cross-joints when work is
exposed to view unless otherwise specified, or any act which will jeop
ardize the true interests o f the trade. F or an infraction o f this rule

144

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

it shall become the duty o f the parties to this agreement to report the
same to the city authorities.
N i n t h . That the arbitration board meet the 1st and 3d Mondays o f
each month at 8 p. m ., at such place as may hereafter be designated.
T e n t h . W hen journeymen bricklayers are employed by others than
contractors legitimately engaged in the brick contracting business they
shall demand and receive ten cents (10 cents) per hour over and above
the regular scale o f wages. Journeymen bricklayers may, however,
work fo r manufacturers who employ bricklayers continuously at their
plants at the regular scale o f wages (“ such firms to be registered with
the several organizations” ).
M a s t e r B r ic k l a y e r s ’ B . a n d
J as. P e t t y .
W m . M cM a h o n .
E ugene Brunk.
John K ennedy.
L ee Redmond.
H. W . K i e l .
G. T. B a r r y .
H. C . G i l l i c k .
G eorge W arner.
J o s . E. D o y l e .
T h o s . E t h in g t o n .
Joh n Schm oll.
H e n r y H a r t m a n , Jr.
B . B r in k m a n .
W m . E ngel.
H e n r y G au sch .
J o h n P u d ig .
J o s . L. K o l l y , Chairman.

s s o c ia t io n .

A G R E E M E N T B E TW E E N M A STE R B R IC K L A Y E R S ’ B. A N D
P. A SSO C IA TIO N A N D B U IL D IN G L A B O R E R S’ IN TE R N A
T IO N A L P R O TE C TIV E UNION O F A M E R IC A , NO. 3, O F
ST. L O U IS, MO.
It is hereby agreed to by and between the Master B rickkyers’ B. and
P. Association and the Building Laborers’ International Protective
Union o f America, No. 3, o f the city o f St. Louis, M o., fo r a period
beginning with the signing o f this agreement and ending June 29,1905:
F i r s t . That the wages from June 29, 1903, to June 29, 1905, will
be as follows:
F or brick carriers, forty-tw o and one-half cents (42£ cents) per hour;
for men working in mortar, forty-five cents (45 cents) per hour; that dou
ble time be allowed laborers fo r overtime while attending bricklayers,
making mortar or working on holidays; that time ana one-half be
allowed laborers fo r overtime while making scaffolding or doing other
work than attending bricklayers or making mortar.
S e c o n d . W hen laborers are laid off fo r a longer period than one
day, they shall upon their request be paid in full within four (4) hours
after said request. When laborers are discharged, they shall be paid
immediately.
T h i r d . Each contractor shall pay his men every Saturday before
12 m. in the lawful money o f the United States. Should he fail to do
so, he shall be charged waiting time, the limit o f waiting time to be
two (2) days ending the follow ing Monday at the regular quitting time.

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES.

145

F o u r t h . That eight (8) hours shall constitute a day’s work (except
ing Saturday), from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m. fo r the months from March 1
to October -31, and from 8 a. m. to 4.30 p. m. for the months from
October 31 to March 1. One (1) hour to be taken for dinner during the
former months and one-half (£) hour during the latter. Not more
than four (4) hours to be worked during the forenoon or afternoon,
excepting in the case o f starting up the work, when mortar men shall
start not exceeding half-hour before the regular time, and in case o f
brick carriers stocking a new scaffold not more than ten (10) minutes
to be given fo r that purpose. A ll work performed during the hours
not mentioned in this section shall be considered overtime, and shall
be paid for as provided in section 1 o f this agreement.
No work shall be performed on the following holidays: Fourth of
Jiffy, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
F i f t h . That an arbitration board o f equal representation, not exceed
ing three (3) members from each party hereto, shall be appointed by
their respective organizations, parties to this agreement, to whom all
matters in dispute o f any and every description arising between the
parties hereto, shall be referred, and their decision shall be absolutely
final and binding on all parties hereto.
In the event that said arbitration board are unable to agree upon a set
tlement o f any difficulty which may arise, they shall have the power to
select as an umpire some disinterested party, not in anyway connected
with the building business, and his decision shall be accepted as final
and binding on all parties hereto.
Pending the settlement o f any difficulty the hod carriers shall not,
individually or collectively, quit the work o f a member o f the Master
Bricklayers’ B. and P. Association, but shall immediately submit the
matter m dispute in writing to the chairman o f this board.
The arbitration board shall meet within two (2) weeks after the sign
ing o f this agreement and effect a permanent organization; meetings
may thereafter be held at the call o f the chairman after twenty-four
(24) hours’ notice has been given to each member o f said board. The
mailing o f notices to the last-known address o f each member shall be
considered sufficient notice.
S i x t h . The hod carriers shall not w ork for anyone not complying
with, all o f the conditions o f this agreement.
S e v e n t h . W hen taking material off o f machines, brick carriers may
take off mortar and mortar men take off brick without any change in
their respective wages. No brick carrier to work in mortar before
starting time, such as tempering up and stocking o f boards. It being
understood that a fair proportion o f mortar men will be at all times
en
. No changes o f any kind shall be made to this agreement
except b y a majority vote o f the board o f arbitration.
In witness wnereof the parties hereto have caused this agreement to
be signed by their respective presidents and secretaries on this 17th
day o f June, 1903.
M

B u il d in g L

aster

B r ic k l a y e r s ’ B .

abor ers’

P . A s s o c ia t io n ,
G e o . T. B a r r y , President.
H. W . K i e l , Secretary.

and

I n t . P r o t e c t iv e U n io n o f A m e r ic a , N o . 3 ,
E d w . A . J o n e s , President.
W i l l i a m G a r r e t t , Secretary.

146

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

A R B IT R A T IO N
PLAN
B E TW E E N
B U ILD IN G
TRADES
E M P L O Y E R S5 ASSO CIATIO N A N D L A B O R UNIONS IN
NEW
YORK
C IT Y , A D O P T E D
J U L Y 3, 1903, A N D
E X P L A N A T O R Y C LAU SES A D O P T E D J U L Y 9, 1903.
1. In general the employers and employees o f each trade are organ
ized. This applies particularly to the mechanics o f the trade and those
helpers5 organizations from which the mechanics o f that trade are
largely derived.
2. W here an agreement exists between employers and employees all
disputes in relation thereto shall be settled by a board o f arbitration
with an umpire, if necessary. The decision o f said board or umpire
shall be final. Should either side to the dispute fail to select an
umpire, or fail to abide by the decision o f the umpire, the dispute in
question shall be referred to the general board o f arbitration within
twenty-four hours after such failure or refusal. The question o f
sympathetic strikes, or lockouts, and all questions as to the jurisdiction
o f trades must be referred to the general board o f arbitration, it being
agreed and understood that such kinds o f work as have been heretofore
recognized as being in the possession o f a trade are not subjects for
arbitration.
3. Each association represented in the Building Trades Employers5
Association o f the city o f New Y ork shall elect two arbitrators who
shall serve fo r not less than six months.
4. Each union, the employers o f which are represented in the Build
ing Trades Employers5 Association, shall elect two arbitrators who
shall serve fo r not less than six months, and who shall be actively
engaged in their trades for an employer in Greater New Y ork at the
time o f their election.
5. The arbitrators from the unions shall not be business agents.
6. From this body o f general arbitrators not less than four, two
from the employers5 association and two from the employees5 unions,
shall constitute a special arbitration board, They shall meet within
twenty-four hours when notified so to do by the general secretary.
7. Those arbitrators from the unions who may be in the employment
o f members o f this association are guaranteed reemployment by their
firm or corporation when the special case on which they have served
has been disposed of.
8. The unions as a whole or as a single union shall not order any
strike against a member o f the Building Trades Employers’ Associa
tion collectively or individually, nor shall any number o f union men
leave the works o f a member o f the Building Trades Employers5Asso
ciation, nor shall any member o f the Building Trades Employers5
Association lock out his employees before the matter in dispute has
been brought before the general arbitration board and settled.
9. Complaints shall be first addressed to the general secretary o f the
arbitration board, who shall be a paid employee, and by him be referred
to the executive committee o f the general arbitration board composed
of an equal number o f employers and employees, and it shall be their
duty at once to organize a special arbitration board to decide the point
at issue.
10. It shall be the privilege o f any union or member o f the employ
ers5association to select from all the general arbitrators the individuals
they desire to act fo r them, but no general arbitrator can act when the
dispute is occurring in the trade which he represents.

AGREEMENTS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES*

147

11. The general arbitrators must be given power by the interest they
are acting for.
12. Arbitration papers are to be drawn up stating specifically the
matter in dispute, and that both sides agree to abide by the vote o f
the majority o f the board or the decision o f an umpire. The umpire
must be selected before the case is opened.
13. These papers must be properly signed and sealed by the mem
bers o f the board, each side receiving its copy. Then after a careful
hearing o f the case stenographically reported, Jthe verdict obtained by
a majority vote or decision o f the umpire, shall be final and binding.
14. A fter a few trials, precedents will be established, which can be
used to strengthen the position o f either side in subsequent trials, and
can be quoted as in our courts o f law.
15. The members o f this association agree to employ members o f
the trade unions only, directly or indirectly, when parties to this
agreement. It is understood, however, that in any case where a trade
union is unable to provide sufficient workmen, the employer or
employers in that trade may hire workmen, not members, who shall
become members o f the union, if competent. That after the date o f
the signing o f this agreement, no union shall become a party to this
agreement without the consent o f the executive committee.
16. R esolved that the wages now paid in the unskilled trades #shall
not be reduced nor the hours increased fo r one year from the date o f
the general acceptance o f this agreement. In any difficulty arising in
the unskilled trades, they may, through the mechanics o f that par
ticular trade, have representation in the general arbitration board.
E X P L A N A T O R Y C L A U S E S A D O P T E D J U L Y 9, 1903.

B e it resolved that article 15 shall be interpreted as follows:
That the matter o f supplying sufficient workmen shall be left to the
arbitration board o f the individual trade to be governed by its trade
conditions, but that in case o f continued failure on the part o f the
unions to supply sufficient workmen, any member o f the Building
Trades Employers’ Association may refer the matter to the general
arbitration board fo r settlement.
B e it resolved that it is understood and agreed to by this conference
that the first clause o f article 16 applies to skilled as well as unskilled
trades.
It is understood and agreed that all existing trade agreements remain
in full force, except in so far as they may conflict with the above
arbitration plan.

RECENT REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR STATISTICS.
M ARYLAND.
E leventh Annual R eport o f the Bureau o f Statistics amd Inform ation
o f M aryland, 1902. Thomas A . Smith, Chief, viii, 372 pp.
The subjects presented in this report are the following: Cost o f liv
ing and wages, 21 pages; strikes, 26 pages; organized labor, 5 pages;
sweat shops, 83 pages; free employment agency, 8 pages; oyster indus
try, 17 pages; canning industry, 15 pages; agriculture, 11 pages; coal
output for 1902, 4 pages; making o f good roads, 6 pages; Maryland
in the Twelfth Census, 94 pages; new incorporations, 19 pages; new
legislation, 20 pages; taxation, 19 pages.
C o s t o f L i v i n g a n d W a g e s . — Statistics are presented showing the
retail prices o f coal, coal oil, and a number of food products in 1892,
1895, 1901, and 1902. The wages paid and hours o f labor are shown
fo r selected occupations in the building trades, railroad shops, and iron
works fo r the years 1890 to 1902. The income and expenditures o f 40
families are also given. A number o f interviews with the families o f
workingmen close the discussion.
S t r i k e s . — During 1902 there occurred in the State 29 strikes, 16 o f
which were in the city o f Baltimore. The question o f wages entered
into about 70 per cent o f the 29 strikes, 15 o f which were ordered by
labor organizations and 14 undertaken by unorganized working people.
O f the 15 strikes ordered by labor organizations 12 were successful, 2
unsuccessful, and 1 was still pending at the close o f the inquiry. O f
the 14 strikes not ordered by labor organizations 6 were successful and
8 unsuccessful. Nine o f the strikes which were successful resulted in
increased pay fo r the employees o f 10 per cent or upward, and 11 o f
the total number o f strikes were settled by voluntary arbitration or
agreement. The number o f strikers was 2,511, throwing 3,047 per
sons out o f employment. The wage loss is reported at $62,520, or
$20.52 per employee. The loss to employers is estimated at $25,850.
O r g a n i z e d L a b o r . — The State labor bureau secured returns from
72 local labor organizations, including a list o f their secretaries, date
o f organization, rates o f wages, etc. O f the 72 unions, 1 (Baltimore
Typographical Union, No. 12) was organized as far back as 1831, 11
were organized in 1900, and 15 in 1902; 17 unions reported that they
148

REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR— MARYLAND.

149

were incorporated under State laws; 33 unions worked full time during
the year 1902; 14 unions reported that they have a work day o f 8
hours, and 35 a work day o f 9 hours, a few o f the latter haying 8 hours
on Saturday; 33 unions reported haying received an increase o f wages
during 1902, running from 5 per cent up to as much as $1 per day, and
3 reported a decrease o f wages.
S w e a t S h o p s . — In order to further correct the sweat-shop evil, at
the January session o f 1902 the State legislature passed an amendment
to the existing factory-inspection laws providing fo r the appointment,
under the jurisdiction o f the chief o f the bureau o f industrial statistics,
o f two inspectors; and, further, that after the shops and places o f
manufacture had been inspected a permit should be granted by the
said chief specifying the number o f hands that could work in the rooms
where the manufacturing was done. In carrying out the provisions o f
the amendment the work o f inspection commenced in the city o f Balti
more, on July 1,1902. There were 1,423 buildings inspected, in which
1,831 rooms were inspected and 1,480 closets inspected and reported.
The number o f permits issued was 1,309. In rooms for which permits
were issued 11,849 persons were employed. Living in the houses
inspected were 1,593 families, consisting o f 7,335 persons. O f 9,172
persons working in these rooms, 2,273 were members o f the occupying
families, and 6,899 were persons not members o f these families. O f
the total, 5,292 were males and 3,880 were females. There were
employed under 16 years o f age 367 persons, 147 males and 220
females; under 12 years o f age 26 were employed, 7 males and 19
females. In 213 cases the law was being violated by overcrowding.
A case brought to test the constitutionality o f the law has been carried
to the State court o f appeals, the decision o f which is not yet published.
F r e e E m p l o y m e n t A g e n c y . —By an amendment to the law creat
ing the bureau o f labor, the- legislature at the session o f 1902 provided
for a free State employment agency to be organized and operated by
the chief o f the bureau. The agency was organized and went into
operation on July 1, 1902. A summary o f the work accomplished by
the agency during the first six months o f its existence is as follows:
There were filed 634 applications for positions, 507 by males and 127
by females; fo r help, 696 applications were filed, 305 being for males
and 391 fo r females. Positions were secured, so far as the agency
was subsequently notified, b y 115 males and 90 females. It is believed,
however, that many secured positions who afterwards failed to notify
the agency.
T h e O y s t e r I n d u s t r y . — Under this caption is presented a sum
mary o f the oyster tax and license laws and statistics o f the industry,
including persons and vessels employed, capital invested, total catch,
etc. Returns from 40 oyster packers, fo r the season, May, 1901, to
May, 1902, show that the firms handled 1,768,536 bushels o f oysters,

150

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OE LABOR.

o f which they shucked 1,765,734 bushels. They packed raw 1,350,734
bushels and packed steamed 323,421 bushels. Employment was given
to 3,702 people, o f which 2,292 were men, 1,150 women, and 260 chil
dren. To these working people were paid during the year $368,984
in wages.
T h e C a n n i n g I n d u s t r y . — Statistics are given o f the pack o f certain
fruits and vegetables fo r the season 1902. Returns received from 312
establishments give $2,057,550 as the estimated value o f plants,
$2,118,704 as the amount paid fo r raw materials, and $5,161,988 as the
amount expended fo r other materials and general expenses. A total
o f $1,065,539 in wages was paid to 4,471 men, 12,876 women, and 7,189
children. The total pack o f fruit and vegetables amounted to 6,564,061
cases. The canning industry is the third largest industry in the State.
M a r y l a n d i n t h e T w e l f t h C e n s u s . — In this part o f the report
are reproduced statistics o f population, manufactures, and agriculture
from the reports o f the Twelfth Census. F or purposes o f comparison,
in addition to the data fo r the State, facts fo r the United States as a
whole are given.
N e w L e g i s l a t i o n . — Under this head is found a reprint o f the laws
relating to labor passed at the 1902 session o f the legislature.
M IC H IG A N .
Twentieth A nnual R eport o f the Bureau o f Labor and Industrial
Statistics, including the Tenth A nnual R eport o f the Inspection o f
Factories. 1903. Scott Griswold, Commissioner, xxiii, 531 pp.
In addition to factory, store, hotel, and tenement-house inspection,
and the woman inspector’s work, 319 pages, the following subjects
are presented in this report: Cost o f living and wages, 9 pages; organ
ized labor, 27 pages; important manufacturing industries, 21 pages;
the milling industry, 61 pages; the peppermint industry, 10 pages;
special industries, 30 pages; penal and reformatory institutions, 14
pages; coal mines, 16 pages; strikes, 6 pages; miscellaneous, 19 pages.
C o s t o f L i v i n g a n d W a g e s . — This consists o f a contributed article
in which the author makes a comparison between the present increased
cost o f living and the increased wages. The discussion is based upon
statistics published b y the Federal census, the Massachusetts labor
bureau, and the market reports published in the daily papers, etc.
O r g a n i z e d L a b o r . — A canvass by the bureau secured returns from
336 unions, whose membership on July 1, 1902, aggregated 26,890.
The membership o f these same unions one year previous was 18,891.
The average hours constituting a day’s work in all the unions was 9.4;
the average number o f months worked per year, 10.6. In all unions
on July 1, 1902, the average daily wage was $2.28; on July 1, 1901,
the average was $2.14. O f the 336 unions, 159 reported hours of labor
shortened, 177 reported hours o f labor not shortened; 218 reported

REPORTS OP STATE BUREAUS OP LABOR— MICHIGAN.

151

differences settled by arbitration, 118 reported differences settled oth
erwise; 205 reported haying agreements with employers, 131 reported
haying no agreements; 274 reported having no strikes during the year,
62 reported having strikes, o f which 40 reported results favorable to
unions, 10 results not favorable, 6 reported strikes compromised, and
6 strikes still pending. There was paid in strike benefits during the
year the sum o f $26,333.60. By the 113 unions having sick benefit
funds, there was paid out during the year $19,508.54 for such benefits.
Summaries o f suggestions o f the unions as to needed legislation are
presented.
I m p o r t a n t M a n u f a c t u r i n g I n d u s t r i e s . — Short descriptions, show
ing size and value o f plant, capital stock, number o f employees,
amount o f pay roll, output, etc., are given o f a number o f individual
establishments, representing some o f the prominent industries o f the
State.
T h e M i l l i n g I n d u s t r y . — Returns from a canvass of the milling
industry o f the State show a total o f 717 mills, o f which 509 were for
flour and 208 fo r feed, representing an invested capital o f $6,190,630.
O f the whole number o f mills, 382 were operated by individuals, 280
by firms, and 55 by corporations. The mills gave employment to 129
superintendents, with wages averaging $2.45 per day; to 145 foremen,
with wages averaging $2.13 per day; to 181 office employees, with
wages averaging $1.85 per day, and to 1,821 other employees, with
wages averaging $1.53 per day, or to a total o f 2,276 employees,
with wages averaging $1.61 per day.
T h e P e p p e r m i n t I n d u s t r y . — The growth o f peppermint and the
manufacture o f oil therefrom is now a prominent industry o f the State.
In no other section o f the United States is there so much o f pep
permint grown as in six counties o f southwestern Michigan. The
number o f growers o f the plant canvassed was 299. In 1902 they
had 6,411 acres devoted to its cultivation, and from the product of
this acreage 82,420 pounds o f oil were distilled. The growth o f
wormwood, tansy, and spearmint and the distillation o f oil therefrom
are being experimented upon.
S p e c i a l I n d u s t r i e s . — This chapter is devoted to accounts o f some
o f the special industries o f the State, among which may be enumerated
the grow ing o f sugar beets and the manufacture o f beet sugar, the
manufacture o f Portland cement, the growth and manufacture o f flax,
the growth and manufacture o f chicory, and the manufacture o f silk,
featherbone, railway cars, pig iron, w ood alcohol, grape juice, and
chemicals by selected individual establishments.
The 16 beet-sugar factories o f the State represent in cost o f con
struction an original outlay o f $7,467,000. These 16 factories in the
campaign o f 1902-3 employed 1,037 skilled laborers at average daily
wages o f $2.63 each, and 2,506 common laborers at average daily wages
o f $1.81 each, or a total o f 3,543 employees at average daily wages o f

152

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

$2.05 each. An average campaign fo r a sugar factory is one hundred
and five days. The estimated output of sugar for the 16 factories was
96,800,000 pounds. During the growing season many o f the factory
workers find employment with the beet growers.
In 1902 the 14 Portland cement factories in the State gave employ
ment to 1,648 persons at average daily wages o f $2.15 each. The
average output was nearly 14,000 barrels per day. The original cost
o f the plants was an average o f over $600,000 each.
The 6 chicory factories o f the State in 1902 employed an aggregate
o f 128 persons at average wages o f $1.66 per day each. The 6 flax
mills manufactured 1,950 tons and gave employment to 185 persons.
The 2 silk mills gave employment to 650 and 225 persons, respectively,
and the featherbone industry gave employment to 225 persons whose
monthly pay roll aggregated about $7,000.
C o a l M i n e s . — During 1902 the number o f coal mines in operation
each month averaged 21, which employed an average of 1,415 persons
per day. The average number o f hours worked per day was 7.7, and
o f days per month 21.3. The average daily earnings o f employees
amounted to $2.75, the range being from $1.54 to $2.96. The amount
o f coal mined was 869,228 tons, at an average cost fo r mining o f $1.44
per ton. Accounts are given o f 23 accidents that were reported to the
mine inspector within the year.
S t r i k e s . — Accounts are given o f the various labor troubles that
occurred in the State during 1902, the greatest of which was in the
coal-mining industry, the mines being practically at a standstill fo r
over three months. No summaries o f strikes are given.
M i s c e l l a n e o u s . — In this chapter appears a reproduction o f the laws
creating the Michigan bureau o f labor and the several labor laws g ov
erning factory inspection, etc.; also a brief synopsis of the child-labor
laws o f various States.
N ORTH C A R O LIN A .
Sixteenth Annual R eport o f the Bureau o f Labor and P rin tin g o f the
State o f N orth Carolina, f o r the year 1902. H. B. Varner, Com
missioner. viii, 365 pp.
The eight chapters constituting this report treat of the following
subjects: Agricultural statistics, 94 pages; miscellaneous factories, 46
pages; cotton and woolen mills, 42 pages; furniture factories, 14
pages; newspapers, 44 pages; trades, 72 pages; railroad employees,
7 pages; manufacturing enterprises, 38 pages. In connection with a
number o f these subjects letters are published expressing the views o f
the correspondents o f the bureau on matters o f interest to labor,
including compulsory education, child labor, a shorter working day,
etc. The report concludes with a directory o f the bureaus o f labor in
the United States.

REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- NORTH CAROLINA.

153

A g r i c u l t u r a l S t a t i s t i c s . — Returns were secured by correspond
ence with representative farmers in every county o f the State. The
follow ing summary indicates the scope o f the inquiry: Value o f land
has increased in 65 counties, decreased in 2, and in 30 there has been
no change; 69 counties report tendency to smaller farms, 9 to larger,
and 19 no change. In 72* counties labor is reported scarce, in 22
plenty, and in 3 abundant; 93 counties report negro labor unreliable,
2 reliable, and 2 no negro labor; 56 counties report employment as
being regular and 41 as being irregular. Increased cost o f living is
reported in 95 counties and in 2 no increase; 57 counties report
increase o f wages and 40 no increase. Monthly wages o f farm labor
ers are, fo r men, from $9.72 to $15.49; for women, $6.61 to $10.08; for
children, an average o f $5.57. Average cost o f producing cotton is
$27.57 per 500-pound bale in 68 counties; 75 counties produce wheat,
at an average cost o f $0.68 per bushel; 96 corn, at $0.46 per bushel; 92
oats, at $0.33 per bushel, and 58 tobacco, at $6.44 per 100. pounds.
The market price o f cotton averages $43.45 per 500-pound bale; o f
wheat, $0.91 per bushel; o f corn, $0.88 per bushel; o f oats, $0.55 per
bushel, and o f tobacco, $12.42 per 100 pounds. Eighty per cent o f
the farmers reporting favor a compulsory education law.
M i s c e l l a n e o u s F a c t o r i e s . — Tables are presented showing condi
tions in 268 factories, exclusive o f furniture and tobacco factories and
textile mills. Capital stock, horsepower, time in operation, hours o f
labor, wages, number o f employees, etc., are shown for the various
establishments, and inquiry is also made as to child labor and compul
sory education. The number o f employees reported is 9,630, o f whom
917 are under 14 years o f age. The average length o f a day’s work is
10£ hours, and $1.95 the highest and $0.70 the lowest average daily
wages reported. Wages are paid weekly in 63 per cent o f the estab
lishments; 60 per cent report an increase o f wages; 86 per cent oppose
the employment o f children under 14 years o f age, and 14 per cent
favor such employment. Compulsory education is favored by 86 per
cent and opposed by 14 per cent. O f adult employees, 80 per cent
read and write, and o f children, 96 per cent.
C o t t o n a n d W o o l e n M i l l s . — This report ends with June 30,1902,
and covers 276 mills, operating 1,743,431 spindles, 38,501 looms, and
3,281 machines, using in all 73,825 horsepower. O f these mills, 220
are devoted to cotton manufacture. The number o f employees is
46,569, o f whom 23,011 are males, 22,629 females, and 929 children
under 12 years o f age. There are 109,781 persons dependent on the
mills fo r a livelihood. O f the adult operatives, 84 per cent can read
and write; o f the children, 71 per cent. Hours o f labor range from
10 to 12 per day. The highest average wages per day fo r operatives
are $1.90 fo r men and $0.94 fo r women. The lowest average wages
per day are $0.58 for men and $0.45 fo r women. The wages o f children
average $0.35 per day.

154

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

The growth o f cotton manufacturing in North Carolina since 1840
is shown in the statement follow ing:
GROWTH OF COTTON MANUFACTURING, 1840 TO 1902.
Year.

M ills.

1840....................................................................................
1860....................................................................................
1860...................................................................................
1870....................................................................................
1880...................................................................................
1890....................................................................................
1900....................................................................................
1902....................................................................................

25
28
39
33
49
91
186
220

Spindles.

Looms.

47.900
40,000
41.900
39,900
92,400
337,000
1,297,771
1,743,431

Operatives.

700
800
800
600
1,800
7,300
29,689
38,501

1,200
1,600
1,800
1,500
3,300
8,700
38,637
46,569

F u r n i t u r e F a c t o r i e s . —The furniture industry of the State has
grown so rapidly during the past few years that a separate chapter
is devoted to it in this report. Returns were received from 106 fac
tories with 4,095 employees. The highest average daily pay for adults
is $2.02;' the lowest, $0.66; the pay o f children, $0.36. O f factories
reporting, 20 per cent pay weekly, 67 per cent biweekly, and 13 per
cent monthly; 86 per cent report increase o f wages, and 14 per cent
no change. O f employees, 86 per cent read and write. Relative to
employment o f children under 14 years o f age, 80 per cent o f the
manufacturers oppose such employment, while 20 per cent favor it;
92 per cent favor compulsory education, and 8 per cent oppose it.
T r a d e s . — The facts presented in this chapter were secured from
representative men in the different trades and give the conditions
existing throughout the State. O f the wage-earners making returns,
23 per cent report an increase o f wages, 12 per cent a decrease, and
65 per cent no change; 65 per cent make full time, 32 per cent part
time, and 3 per cent make no report; 93 per cent report cost o f living
increased, and 7 per cent no increase; 50 per cent favor a 10-hour day,
87 per cent an 8-hour day, 11 per cent a 9-hour day, and 2 per cent an
11-hour day; 93 per cent favor compulsory education, and 7 per cent
oppose it.
R a i l r o a d E m p l o y e e s . — The number o f railroad employees in the
State is reported at 11,157, exclusive o f officers and office employees.
The table follow ing gives number and average wages for the various
occupations:
OCCUPATIONS AND AVERAGE DAILY WAGES OF RAILROAD EMPLOYEES, 1902.

Occupations.

Station agents.........................
Other station m en...................
E ngineers................................
Firem en..............................
C onductors..............................
Other trainm en........................
M achinists..............................

Number.

Average
dailywages.

609
1,306
448
691
301
770
286

$0.88
1.06
2.75
1.17
2.19
.97
2.21

Occupations.

Carpenters..............................
Other shopm en........................
Section forem en....................
Other trackm en......................
Switch, flag, and watch m en.
Telegraph operators...............
Other em ployees....................

Number.

458
1,044
502
3,123
368
252
1,099

Average
daily
wages.
$1.59
1.15
1.37
.76
1.02
1.27
.99

REPORTS OE STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- NORTH CAROLINA.

155

During the year 29 employees were killed and 414 injured, result
ing from the movement o f trains; and 4 killed and 448 injured from
other causes than the movement o f trains.
M a n u f a c t u r i n g E n t e r p r i s e s . — This is a directory by counties o f
the manufacturing enterprises o f the State, showing the town where
located and the product turned out.
OHIO.
Twenty-sixth A nnual R eport o f the Bureau o f Labor Statistics o f the
State o f Ohio, f o r the year 1902, M. D. Ratchford, Commissioner.
808 pp.
The report presents the follow ing subjects: Laws governing the
labor bureau, and recent Ohio laws and court decisions relating to
labor, 66 pages; manufactures, 363 pages; working women, 324 pages;
free public employment offices, 19 pages; list o f bureaus o f labor in
the United States, 2 pages.
M a n u f a c t u r e s . — Statistics fo r 1901 are given showing, by indus
tries, number o f establishments reported, value o f goods manufactured
and sold, value o f materials used, value o f manufactured goods and
materials on hand January 1, 1902, with capital invested; amount paid
in wages during 1901, and number employed and salaries o f office
help; number o f males and females employed each month, and monthly
averages o f males and females for 1901; also, by occupations, the num
ber employed, and the average days worked, average daily wages,
average yearly earnings, and average hours o f daily labor fo r 1901.
These statistics are shown fo r each o f the five principal cities, fo r
the towns and villages, and by totals fo r the State. Comparisons
between 1900 and 1901 are also made.
The summary follow ing presents, fo r 1901, the principal data fo r ten
o f the leading industries and fo r all industries:
STATISTICS OP MANUFACTURES, 1901.

Industries.

Agricultural implements
Boots and shoes..............
Carriages and w agons. . .
C igars..............................
Clothing...........................
Flouring-m ill products..
Foundry and m achineshop products, and
m ach in ery...................
F urniture........................
Printing and binding . . .
Steel, iron, and t in .........
A ll industries.........

Estab
lish
ments.

Capital
invested.

Stock
used.

Value o f
product.

Wa^es
paid.

Em ploy Average
annual
ees.
earnings.

42* $9,799,050 $5,467,232 $11,675,845
68 6,477,079 11,584,158 19,350,045
240 8,006,515
8,186,712 16,653,862
328 2,812,046 .3,209,052
8,228,595
222 9,538,767 13,196,574 22,855,724
168
8,536,858 20,717,881 24,325,941

$2,723,913
4,201,289
3,861,544
2,086,675
4,838,191
1,070,261

5,280
13,023
7,371
6,800
11,180
2,459

$515.89
322.60
523.88
306.86
432.75
435.24

75,839,292
8,654,975
11,014,036
83,649,999

21,996,060
2,403,207
3,664,336
19,681,963

42,871
6,264
8,129
30,940

513.08
383.65
450.77
636.13

5,329 458,461,670 280,817,032 598,332,713 134,662,008

284,023

474.12

456 60,266,448
134 7,291,757
371 14,238,116
72 34,437,525

31,605,450
3,658,454
4,351,424
22,963,096

O f the 10 industries considered in the above table the steel, iron,
and tin industry shows the highest average annual earnings, the amount

156

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

being $636.13, while the cigar industry shows the lowest, namely,
$306.86. The average for 5,329 establishments in the State was
$174.12. During 1901 there were 46,286 persons who received an
average advance in wages o f 8.4 per cent, or an aggregate o f $1,843,402,
while 1,251 persons suffered an average reduction of 6.2 per cent, or
an aggregate o f $26,774.
W o r k i n g W o m e n . — The information presented under this head is a
continuation o f an investigation reported upon in the previous annual
report. The prior inquiry related to the cities o f Cleveland, Cincin
nati, and Columbus, while the present canvass covers sixteen o f the
larger cities o f the State. Returns are published showing, for 7,825
working women in 1901, occupations, nativity, age, weeks of employ
ment, weeks o f idleness b y causes, weekly wages and income, living
expenses, number o f dependents, and average weekly savings. O f the
7,825 women interviewed, 7,558 were o f American nativity, the next
largest number being 171 o f German nativity. The average age was
22 years, 1,982 being under 18 years o f age, 4,241 between 18 and 25,
and 1,602 over 25 years old. The average number of weeks o f employ
ment at present occupation was 40.5, and at other occupations 5.4.
W eekly hours o f labor averaged 57.6, and wages $4.94. Expenses per
week averaged $2.55 fo r board and lodging, $0.03 for rent, light, and
heat, $1.41 fo r clothing, and $1.23 fo r other necessaries. Their aver
age weekly savings were $0.12.(a) The total number o f dependents
was 930. Brief text reports are also given relative to the conditions
in the industries employing women.
F r e e P u b l i c E m p l o y m e n t O f f i c e s . — Brief text reports from the
superintendents o f the five offices, tables showing the work done by
each office from the date o f its organization, and reports of the opera
tions o f each office for each month o f the year 1902, with totals fo r the
year, are found under this head.
The follow ing table shows the operations o f the five free public
employment offices o f the State for the year 1902:
OPERATIONS OF FREE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT OFFICES, 1902.
Situations wanted.
City.

Males.

Females.

Help wanted.
Males.

Females.

Positions secured.
Males.

Females.

C levelan d ..................................................
Columbus....................................................
C incinnati..................................................

3,411
1,616
3,204
3,931
3,995

2,390
1,443
2,115
2,491
2,372

4,586'
2,439
2,564
4,472
3,913

2,819
2,855
2,845
7,194
2,926

2,606
1,447
2,410
3,147
2,704

1,933
1,417
1,767
2,080
1,917

Total..................................................

16,157

10,811

17,974

18,639

12,314

9,114

«F o r livin g expenses th e averages were based upon th e num ber of persons on ly
w ho reported under th at head, w hile the averages for wages were based upon the
w hole num ber of persons canvassed, hence th e discrepancy betw een expenses and
w ages.

REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- OHIO.

157

During 1902 there were 3,522 more males who applied for situations
than in 1901, and 123 more females; the applications in 1902 for male
help wanted exceeded those in 1901 by 6,247, and those for female
help wanted by 2,092; the positions secured in 1902 for males exceeded
those secured in 1901 b y 4,159, and those secured for females by 432.
Since the organization in 1890 o f the five free public employment
offices there has been a total o f 343,865 applications for situations
wanted, 274,511 applications fo r help wanted, and 187,279 positions
secured. O f applications fo r situations 54.5 per cent were filled, and
o f applications fo r help wanted 68.2 per cent were filled.
550— No. 50— 04----- 11

REPORTS OF STATE BOABDS OF ARBITRATION.
CO LO RAD O .
Sixth Annual R eport o f the State B oard o f A rbitration.
15, 1902. John F. Harley, Secretary. 55 pp.

November

The work o f the board daring the year covered by the report was
seriously hampered by the opinion, o f the attorney-general of the State,
handed down October 28, 1901, to the effect that the board had “ no
power to enforce obedience to its subpoenas, or to punish a refusal to
testify; and furthermore, had no power to enforce its decisions.”
The act o f 1897, creating the State board o f arbitration is reproduced,
together with certain amendments suggested by the board to the legis
lature, which are designed to remedy the above defects in the law.
During the year only four cases were brought before the board.
ILLIN O IS.
Seventh Annual R eport o f the State B oard o f Arbitration.
1902. J. McCan Davis, Secretary. 275 pp.

July 1,

During the year covered by this report 30 disputes m various form s
occupied the attention o f the board, 28 o f which were strikes, 1 a
lockout, and 1 a jurisdictional dispute between labor unions. The
adjustments brought about through the good offices o f the board are
reported to have affected from 15,000 to 20,000 working people, and
to have saved to employers, employees, and the general public, a sum
amounting in the aggregate to several millions o f dollars. The most
effective and satisfactory work o f the board was done as a board o f
conciliation rather than as one o f arbitration.
In an appendix are extracts from the report o f the United States
Industrial Commission relating to collective bargaining, conciliation,
and arbitration, a digest o f State and national laws, establishing State
boards o f arbitration and providing for local boards o f arbitration,
with a summary o f the working o f such boards, and a circular o f
information prepared by the board relative to its powers and duties.
158

REPORTS OF STATE BOARDS OF ARBITRATION.

159

IN D IA N A .
Second and Third B iennial R eports o f the Labor Commission, f o r the
years 1899-1900 and 1901-2. L. P.. McCormack and B. Frank
Schmid, Commissioners. 150 p p .; 127 pp.
The above reports consist o f a resume o f the experience and work
o f the commission, a detailed statement o f each o f the investigations
and settlements made, and a reproduction o f the law creating the labor
commission.
During the biennial period 1899-1900 the commission made 46 inves
tigations and settlements, and during the biennial period 1901-2
it made 38 investigations and settlements. The work o f the commis
sion has been generally satisfactory to both employers and employees.
M ASSACH USETTS.
Seventeenth Annual R eport o f the State B oard o f Conciliation and
A rbitration, f o r the year ending December 31, 1902. B. F. Supple,
Secretary. 331 pp.
In this report a review o f the year’s work o f the board is followed
by a detailed account o f its proceedings in each o f 193 controversies
that came to its notice. In general the work o f the board may be
classified under three heads, which relate (1) to the formation o f trade
agreements or collective bargaining; (2) to arbitration cases, where
points in dispute are left to the decision o f the board; and (3) to con
ciliation cases, in which, by mediation between the parties to a contro
versy threatened or existing, the board endeavors to bring them
together on some common ground. A s the public becomes more
familiar with its work there is a constantly increasing demand fo r the
services o f the board.
NEW YORK.
F ifteen th Annual R eport o f the B oard o f M ediation and A rbitration.
1901. John McMackin, Commissioner. 424 pp.
This report contains an account of the labor disputes within the
State fo r the nine months ending September 30, 1901, together with
full particulars o f the more important disputes within the period, the
text o f agreements and awards terminating disputes, and a reprint o f
the arbitration laws o f various States and foreign countries. There
are also, reproduced from the Sixteenth Annual Report o f the United
States Commissioner o f Labor, statistics o f strikes and lockouts in
New Y ork State for the twenty-year period 1881 to 1900, and the
report o f the New South Wales commission o f inquiry into the w ork
ing o f the New Zealand compulsory conciliation and arbitration law.

160

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

'During the nine months covered by the report there were within
the State 126 labor disputes, involving 649 establishments and 44,943
employees, or 71.9 per cent of the 62,536 employed before the dis
putes. Nearly one-half o f the employees involved, or 22,097, were
active participants in the strikes and lockouts, while the remaining
22,846 were thrown out o f employment as a result o f the disputes. O f
the 649 establishments affected, 504 suspended work entirely for a
longer or shorter period. The aggregate working days lost by
employees was 815,097, o f which 497,596 days were lost by those
directly affected and 317,501 days by those indirectly affected.
Considering industries, the greatest number of disputes was in
metals, machinery, etc., it being 40, followed by 28 disputes in the
building trades and 18 in the clothing industry. Increase o f wages
was the cause o f 45 disputes, hours o f labor 31, and trade unionism 27.
O f results o f disputes, 48 were in favor o f employees, 53 in favor o f
employers, and 25 were compromised.
The mode o f settlement o f the disputes reported was as follows:
MODE OF SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDING SEPTEMBER 30,
1901.
Mode of settlement.

Number of Employees
disputes. involved.

Direct negotiations..................................................................................................
Return to work on em ployers’ term s....................................................................
Replacem ent o f w orkers........................................................................................
Closing o f w ork s......................................................................................................
M ediation and con ciliation ...................................................................................
A rbitration................................................................................................................
O therw ise.................................................................................................................

72
24

22
1
4
2
1

17,042
12,004
1,180
119
1,482
12,670
446

T ota l................................................................................................................

126

44,943

It is seen from the above that direct negotiation of the parties was
the most frequent method o f settlement, 72 disputes, embracing 38
per cent o f the workers, being terminated in that way. The other two
forms o f negotiation (mediation or conciliation and arbitration) were
the means o f settlement in but 6 cases. The number involved, how
ever, in these 6 cases is large, owing to the fact that the bricklayers
and masons’ strike in New Y ork City, which involved 12,500 men, was
arbitrated. In 24 disputes, involving 12,004 workers, the employees
gave up the fight and returned to w ork on the employers’ terms, while
in 22 disputes, involving 1,180 workers, the employees were replaced
by others.
OHIO.
E ighth and N inth A nnual R eports o f the >State B oard o f A rbitration
f o r the years endinq December 31, 1900 and 1901. Joseph Bishop,
Secretary. 131 pp; 103 pp.
These reports contain detailed accounts o f 13 cases o f dispute which
were brought to the attention o f the board during the year 1900 and

REPORTS OF STATE BOARDS OF ARBITRATION.

161

19 cases during the year 1901. The greater portion o f these disputes
were strikes or lockouts, while the others were settled before reach
ing that stage, either through the efforts o f the board or otherwise.
In the eighth annual report are reproduced the arbitration laws o f the
various States and a proposed bill fo r the amendment and revision o f
the Ohio law.
WISCONSIN.
B iennial R eport o f the State B oard o f A rbitration and Conciliation
f o r the years 1899 and 1900. G. E. W illott, Secretary. 112 pp.
This report contains a review o f the work o f the board during the
years 1899 and 1900, a detailed account o f each case considered, and
reproductions o f the conciliation and arbitration laws o f Wisconsin and
other States.
The 28 controversies o f which the board took cognizance during the
two years included in this report involved more or less directly em
ployees whose yearly earnings were estimated at $3,000,000. The
aggregate earnings under ordinary conditions o f the establishments
involved were estimated at about $10,000,000. The total expenses
incurred by the board during the two years amounted to $1,746.98.

RECENT FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS.

G R E A T B R ITA IN .
Statistics o f proceedings under the Workmen's Compensation A ct, 1897,
and the Em ployers' L iability A c t, 1880, during the year 1900. 39 pp.
(Published by the Home Office.)
This report contains such statistical information as the Home Office
could collect with reference to the workings o f the workmen’s com
pensation act, 1897, and the employers’ liability act, 1880, during the
year 1900. It shows for each o f the countries, England and Wales,
Scotland, and Ireland, statistics regarding the cases o f arbitration under
the workmen’s compensation act in the county and sheriff courts and
memoranda registered in the same, the number and results of actions
in county and sheriff courts under the employers’ liability act, statis
tics o f the proceedings o f each court, appeals to higher courts under
each act, and a list o f appeals under the workmen’s compensation act.
A s these statistics cover only cases which have come before the courts,
they leave untouched the great body o f cases in which compensation
was settled by agreement and by informal arbitration.
In England and W ales, during the year 1900, under the workmen’s
compensation act, 1,145 cases were dealt with by county court judges
and county court arbitrators, as compared with 999 in the previous year.
The number decided by judges increased from 828 to 1,046, while the
number o f cases in which it was necessary to appoint a special arbi
trator had fallen from 98 to 29, and 70 cases were settled by acceptance
o f money paid into court. In addition to these there were 407 cases
which were either withdrawn, settled out o f court, or otherwise dis
posed of.
O f the claims fo r compensation cases finally settled within the courts
867 cases were in favor o f the plaintiff and 194 in favor o f the defend
ant. The award in 331 cases was a lump sum, and in 536 cases a weekly
payment. Compensation in 248 cases was awarded on account o f death.
Omitting 3 cases in which the deceased left no dependents, there
remains 245 cases in which compensation amounting to <£40,042 13s.
l id . ($194,867.78) was awarded to the dependents, or an average in
each case o f £163 8s. 9d. ($795.37). W ith regard to the awards o f
compensation for the 619 cases o f injury, in 83 cases the compensation
162

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS-----GREAT BRITAIN.

163

was m a lump sum, averaging £39 3s. lid . ($190.75) per case, and in
536 cases a weekly sum was assigned, 300 being cases o f total and
236 cases o f partial disability. The average weekly allowance in the
form er was 11s. 6d. ($2.80), and in the latter 10s. 9d. ($2.62).
The cases in which memoranda were registered in county courts
numbered 1,253, o f which 1,188 were settled by agreement, 40 by com
mittee, and 25 by agreed arbitrator. There were 116 cases o f death,
605 o f total disability, and 532 o f partial disability. The average
award to dependents in case o f death was £171 14s. 2d. ($835.62), the
average weekly payment in case o f total disability 14s. 3d. ($3.47),
and in case o f partial disability 13s. Id. ($3.18).
During the year 1900 the cases under the employers’ liability act in
county courts numbered 511, o f which 158 resulted in favor of the plain
tiff, 74 in favor o f the defendant, 2 were removed to a higher court, and
277 were otherwise disposed of. The damages awarded amounted to
£11,196 13s. 6d. ($54,488.62), the average in case of death being £158
16s. 7d. ($772.94).
The number o f cases under the workmen’s compensation act carried
to the court o f appeal was 90, o f which 31 were appeals by workmen
and 59 by employers. ^There were 7 appeals to the House o f Lords,
6 by workmen and 1 by employers. Under the employers’ liability
act there were 15 appeals to the high court o f justice, 6 by workmen
and 9 by employers.
U p to December 31, 1900, 49 compensation schemes had been certi
fied by the registrar o f friendly societies, affecting 132,009 workmen.
These were distributed among the follow ing industries: Railways, 2
schemes, affecting 41,174 workmen; factories, 18 schemes, affecting
16,494 workmen; mines, 28 schemes, affecting 73,871 workmen; quar
ries, 1 scheme, affecting 470 workmen.
In 1900 there were 2,314 deaths by accident in railways, factories,
mines, and quarries. O f claims for compensation 327 cases, or 14 per
cent o f all deaths, were brought before the county courts, 308 being
under the workmen’s compensation act and 19 under the employers’
liability act. A s regards claims for injury, it is believed that the num
ber o f litigated cases was less than 1 per cent o f the total number o f
cases in which compensation was payable. Therefore, the cases which
come before the courts represent but a small proportion o f those in
which compensation is paid under the acts; the great majority are
settled b y agreement, and only a small percentage are carried to formal
arbitration.
In Scotland, o f th.e 307 cases under the workmen’s compensation
act during 1900 coming before the sheriff courts, 191 were decided by
award o f the judge and 116 were withdrawn or otherwise settled out
o f court. O f the 191 cases settled in court, 136 were in favor o f the

164

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

plaintiff, 53 in favor o f the defendant, and 2 were cases at avizandum.
The amount o f compensation awarded in the 136 cases in favor o f
plaintiff was a lump sum o f £5,669 18s. lid . ($27,592.79) for 47 cases,
and a total weekly payment o f £47 5s. 8fd. ($230.12) for 89 cases.
There were 73 cases in which memoranda were registered in the sheriff
courts; o f these 70 were settled by agreement and 3 by agreed arbi
trator. Lump sums aggregating £3,975 2s. lOd. ($19,345.03) were
awarded in 28 cases, and in 45 cases the awards were for a total weekly
sum o f £27 7s. 8d. ($133.26).
O f the 139 cases under the employers’ liability act coming before
the sheriff courts during 1900, 6 were decided in favor o f the plaintiff,
20 in favor o f the defendant, 13 were removed to a higher court, and
100 were otherwise disposed of. Damages aggregating £322 ($1,567)
were awarded in the 6 cases in favor o f plaintiff.
There were 32 cases o f appeal to the court o f session under the work
men’s compensation act, 12 by workmen and 20 by employers, and 50
cases under the employers’ liability act, 47 by workmen and 3 by
employers.
In Ireland, o f the 83 cases under the workmen’s compensation act
during 1900 coming before the county courts, 74 were decided by
award o f the judge, 1 by the acceptance o f money paid into court,
and 8 were otherwise disposed of. O f the 75 cases settled in court,
47 were for the plaintiff and 28 fo r the defendant. The amount o f
compensation awarded in the 47 cases in favor of plaintiff was a lump
sum o f £1,790 4s. 8d. ($8,712.17) fo r 23 cases and a total weekly pay
ment o f £10 l id . ($48.89) fo r 24 cases. There were 23 cases in which
memoranda were registered, all o f which were settled by agreement.
Lump sums aggregating £500 ($2,433.25) were awarded in 9 cases, and
in 14 the awards were fo r a total weekly sum o f £7 6s. l id . ($35.75).
O f the 19 cases under the employers’ liability act coming before
the county courts during 1900, 13 were decided in favor o f the
plaintiff, 3 in favor of the defendant, and 3 were otherwise disposed
of. Damages aggregating £471 ($2,292.12) were awarded in the 13
cases in favor o f plaintiff.
There were 6 cases o f appeal to the court of appeal under the
workmen’s compensation act, 5 by workmen and 1 by employers, and
6 cases to the high court of justice under the employers’ liability act,
all being by workmen.
The follow ing table shows the number o f cases in the United K ing
dom coming before the county and sheriff courts under the workmen’s
compensation act, 1897, and the employers’ liability act, 1880, during
1900, classified according to the nature o f the employment o f the
persons concerned:

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS-----GREAT BRITAIN.

165

CASES DURING 1900 COMING BEFORE THE COUNTY AND SHERIFF COURTS UNDER THE
WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION ACT, 1897, AND THE EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY ACT, 1880.
Cases under workm en’s compensa
tion act, 1897.
Nature o f employm ent.

England
and
Wales.

Scot
land.

Ireland.

Cases under em ployers’ liability
act, 1880.

United England
K ing
and
dom.
Wales.
205
934
336
47
218

9
260

45
40

6
6
2
7
11

202

41
129
63

307

1,942

511

R ailw a y ................................
F actory.................................
M ine......................................
Quarry...................................
Engineering w ork ...............
B uilding................................
O ther.....................................

157
764
271
43
166
151

42
119
59

T otal............................

1,552

8
1

Scot
land.

Ireland.

United
King
dom.

13
29
16

2
1
11
4
1

17
326
15
4
65
162
80

139

669

64
7

Since 1898 there has been a falling off in the number o f cases under
the employers’ liability act as a result o f the new rights given by the
workmen’s compensation act.
N inth and Tenth Annual R eports on Changes in Rates o f Wages and
Hours o f Labor in the United Kingdom , 1901 and 190*2. lxxxv,
77 p p .; lxxxiv, 54 pp. (Published by the Labor Department o f the
British Board o f Trade.)
These are the ninth and tenth o f a series o f annual reports dealing
with the changes in the market rates o f wages and recognized hours
o f labor o f working people in the United Kingdom for a full week’s
work, exclusive o f overtime. The changes o f this character are shown
in detailed tables and in summaries presenting the facts with regard
to each trade and group o f trades, classified in various ways. The
reports also contain piece-price lists and sliding wage scales agreed
upon in 1901 and 1902 and the principal amendments to those which
were in operation before the beginning o f each year. The changes
recorded in the present reports are based upon returns from employees’
and employers’ associations-, trade unions, local correspondents o f the
department, and official sources.
In 1901, the first time since 1895, a decline in wages was recorded.
In 1896 an upward movement began which culminated in 1900, when
the general level o f wages stood higher than in any other year for
which statistics exist. The decline in 1901 is accounted for mainly by
the fall in miners’ wages, the rise in which was the predominant fea
ture o f the statistics fo r the years 1898 to 1900. The fall in wages in
this industry accounted fo r over 80 per cent o f the total weekly decrease
in 1901. A considerable decline also occurred in the metal trades, but
in the remaining industries the net result for the year was a slight
increase. The principal feature o f the changes during 1902 was the
fall in wages in the coal mining industry. The reductions in this indus
try accounted fo r 95 per cent o f the total decrease recorded. Reduc

166

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOB.

tions also took place in the shipbuilding trades. In the other groups
o f trades dealt with no important changes occurred during 1902, but
the tendency o f such as did take place was, on the whole, upward.
The tables follow ing summarize the principal data contained in the
returns fo r the years 1893 to 1902:
CHANGES IN BATES OF WAGES, AND EMPLOYEES AFFECTED, 1893 TO 1902.
Separate individuals affected by—
Changes
Changes
leaving
in rates o f Increases Decreases wages
same
wages.
in rates of in rates o f
at
end as
wages.
wages.
at beginning
o f year.

Year.

1883...................................
1894...................................
1895...................................
1896...................................
1897...................................
1898...................................
1899...................................
1900............ - .....................
1901...................................
1902...................................

706
779
805
1,607
1,518
1,406
1,593
1,418
969
471

142,364
175,615
80,107
382,225
560,707
1,003,290
1,174,444
1,112,684
429,715
91,812

256,473
488,357
351,895
167,357
13,855
11,865
1,132
23,010
492,618
793,041

151,140
6,414
4,956
58,072
22,882
14
92
9,893
5,503

Total indi
viduals
affected by
changes
in rates of
wages.

Average
w eekly in
crease in
rates of
wages.

549,977
670,386
436,958
607,654
697,444
1,015,169
1,175,576
1,135,786
932,126
890,356

$0,112
<*.330
0.314
.213
.259
.385
.375
.897
0.406
0.395

a Decrease.
CHANGES IN HOURS OF LABOR, AND EMPLOYEES AFFECTED, 1893 TO 1902.

Year.

1893.......... .................................................
1894............................................................
1895............................................................
1896............................................................
1897............................................................
1898............................................................
1899............................................................
1900............................................................
1901............................................................
1902............................................................

Separate individuals
Total indi
affected by—
viduals
Changes
affected
by
in hours of Increases Decreases
changes
labor.
in hours o f in hours of in hours of
labor.
labor.
labor.
155

221

141
245
254

202
209
158
117
92

1,530
128
1,287
73,616
1,060
1,277
2,600
869
586
5,524

33,119
77,030
21,448
34,655
69,572
37,772
33,349
56,857
28,690
1,051,983

34,649
77,158
22,735
108,271
70,632
39,049
35,949
57,726
29,276
1,057,507

Average
weekly re
duction in
hours of
labor.
1.99
4.04
1.94
.73
4.03

2.10
3.54
4.12

2.01
.97

The data shown in the above tables, as well as in those immediately
following, do not include returns relating to agricultural laborers,
seamen, and railroad employees, which are separately treated in the
report.
C h a n g e s i n R a t e s o f W a g e s . — The 969 changes in rates o f wages
during 1901 affected a total o f 932,126 working people, the net result
being a reduction in the weekly wages bill amounting to £77,343
($376,390), or an average per head o f Is. 8d. ($0,406). During 1902
the 471 changes in rates o f wages affected 890,356 working people,
the net effect o f all the changes being a decrease in weekly wages of
£72,701 ($353,799), or an average per head o f Is. 7id. ($0,395).

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN.

167

The follow ing table shows, by industries, the number o f changes in
the rates o f wages in 1901 and 1902, and the number o f employees
affected:
CHANGES IN RATES OF WAGES AND EMPLOYEES AFFECTED, BY INDUSTRIES, 1901 AND 1902.
1901.
Separate individuals affected
by—

Total indi
Average
Changes
viduals
eekly in
Changes affected
in rates
by wcrease
De
leaving
in
of
Increases creases wages same changes in
rates o f
wages. in rates o f in rates at end as at rates of
wages.
wages.
of
wages.
wages. beginning
o f year.

Industries.

"Building................................................

M ining and quarrying......................
Metal, engineering, and shipbuilding
T ex tile.................................................
Clothing...............................................
M iscellaneous.....................................
Employees o f public authorities.......

158
153
264
32
39
136
187

29,598 10,089
325,249 392,023
14,467 87,469
2,911
187
5,265
9
24,610
2,728
27,615
13

T ota l..........................................

969

429,715 492,518

39,687
725,750
103,216
3,098
5,409
27,338
27,628

80.238
a .421
a.994
.456
.624
.294
.324

9,893

932,126

o . 406

15,575
749,378
101,672
2,107
3,112
10,641
7,871

80.289
o.476
o.076
.330
.456
.091
.370

890,356

0.395

8,478
1,280
135

1902.
B u ild in g .............................................
M ining and quarrying......................
Metal, engineering,and shipbuilding
T ex tile.................................................
Clothing................................ ..............
M iscellaneous.....................................
Employees o f public authorities.......

72
96
139
23
47
72

3,089
12,401
12,388 736,990
46,529 49,725
2,086
21
2,612
500
.7,925
2,716
7,871

T ota l..........................................

471

91,812 793,041

5,418

5,503

o Decrease.

The net results o f these changes in rates o f wages during a period
o f ten years are shown, by industries, in the following table:
AVERAGE INCREASE IN RATES OF WAGES, BY INDUSTRIES, 1893 TO 1902.
Average increase per em ployee per week.
industries.
1893.
B u ild in g ..................................
M ining and quarrying..........
Metal, engineering, and ship
building................................
T ex tile.....................................
Clothing...................................
M iscellaneous.........................
Employees of public authori
ties ........................................
T o ta l..............................

1894.

1895.

1896.

1897.

1898.

1899.

1900.

1901.

1902.

80.360 80.345 80.411 80.502 80.517 80.502 80.487 80.411 80.238 80.289
.132
.395 1.161 a.421 o.476
.228 o.421 o.461 o.l27
.416
o.218
o.086
.385
o.020

0.157

.112

.335
0.076

.005
.046
.471
o.l27

.370
;. 020
.314
.416

.269
.041
.476
.507

.279
o.086
.091
.390

.274
.390

.831
.233
.527
.456

.634

.122

0.994
.456
.624
.294

0.076
.330
.456
.091

.380

.360

.390

.294

.350

.345

.284

.395

.324

.370

.112

o.330

o.314

.213

.259

.385

.375

.897

o.406

a.395

a Decrease.

The groups o f building trades, clothing, and employees o f public
authorities are the only ones that show an unbroken succession o f net
increases in rates o f wages fo r each year o f the period. The groups
showing the greatest number o f decreases during, the period are

168

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

mining and quarrying and metal, engineering, and shipbuilding.
Considering the net results for all the industries, four years out o f
the period show an average decrease in wages per employee per
week, namely, 1894 and 1895, and 1901 and 1902.
The groups o f agricultural laborers, railway employees, and seamen
have been separately considered in the reports, owing to the difficulty
in obtaining returns o f the precise number o f persons, affected by
changes in wage rates in these industries.
Information regarding the wages o f agricultural laborers in England
and Wales was obtained mainly from the chairmen of rural district
councils. In the reports the current rates o f weekly cash wages in
January and June o f 1901 and 1902 are compared with those returned
for corresponding dates in each year preceding. The returns received
were exclusive o f piecework earnings and extra payments and allow
ances o f any kind. Figures presented for a series of years show that
the net result has been an improvement in the rates o f wages o f agri
cultural laborers for each year since 1896. The number o f laborers
in districts in which wages were reported to have changed in 1901 was
172,542, as compared with 281,262 in 1900. O f the 172,542 laborers
affected in 1901, the wages in districts containing 159,456 were
increased, and in the case o f 13,086, wages were reduced. In 1900 no
reductions were reported. The number o f laborers in districts in
which wages were reported to have changed in 1902 was 120,069. O f
this total, the wages in districts containing 66,601 were increased, and
in the case o f 53,468, wages were reduced. The net result o f these
changes was an increase o f £3,952 ($19,232) per week in 1901 and o f
£400 ($1,947) in 1902. The returns for Scotland were based on
information obtained from hiring fairs, and also from a number o f
representative employers. A t the hiring fairs held in 1901 the
increased rates o f wages obtained the previous year were"generally
well maintained, and fo r 1902 the reports show that wages remained
practically stationary. Reports from Ireland show that, although
there had been no general movement in the wages o f farm laborers
during 1901 and 1902, a few districts showed a slight upward tendency.
The rates o f wages o f seamen were based upon returns furnished by
superintendents o f the mercantile marine in the various ports o f the
Kingdom. The average monthly wages on steamships o f able seamen
were, in 1901, 82s. 6d. ($20.07), and in 1902, 81s. 2d. ($19.75), a
decrease per month o f Is. 4d. ($0.32); the average monthly wages o f
firemen and trimmers were, in 1901, 87s. 2d. ($21.21), and in 1902,
85s. lOd. ($20.89), a decrease per month o f Is 4d. ($0.32). The aver
age monthly wages o f able seamen on sailing vessels were, in 1901,
60s. 5d. ($14.70), and in 1902, 60s. Id. ($14.62), a decrease per month
of 4d. ($0.08). Food is given in addition to these wages.

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN.

169

In determining the wages o f railway employees a different method
has been followed from that adopted for other groups o f trades, the
actual earnings being considered instead o f the wage rates, because in
the British railway service the remuneration is usually regulated by
graduated scales o f pay rather than by fixed wage rates. It is intended
to indicate the total effect o f all changes in the earnings o f railway
employees, whether arising out o f real changes in the scale o f pay,
ordinary advances under existing scales, or overtime or short time.
Returns are published from 27 companies, employing together over
90 per cent o f the railway employees in the United Kingdom. The
returns summarized in the following table cover the number o f
employees and the average earnings for the first week in December
o f each year from 1896 to 1902 in the passenger, freight, locomotive,
and machinery construction departments:
AVERAGE EARNINGS OF RAILW AY EMPLOYEES IN 27 COMPANIES, FIRST WEEK IN
DECEMBER, 1896 TO 1902.
Year.
1896.....................................................................................................
1897.....................................................................................................
1898.......... ..........................................................................................
1899.....................................................................................................
1900.....................................................................................................
1901.....................................................................................................
1902.....................................................................................................

Total em
ployees.
880,114
398,108
412,304
431,858
440,347
440,557
448,429

Average
Total wages. earnings.
$2,220,973.27
2,362,539.76
2,471,753.75
2,653,556.46
2,686,025.74
2,681,996.28
2,721,244.60

$5.84
5.94

6.00
6.10
6.14

6.09
6.07

Comparing averages the table shows that in the first week o f Decem
ber for the last three years the average earnings o f the railway
employees included in the returns were practically the same. Cau
tion, however, is necessary in drawing inferences from these compari
sons as regards general changes in the average weekly rates o f pay,
since the returns are a statement o f earnings, not of rates o f wages,
and would be affected by changes (in the amount o f overtime worked,
for example) independently o f any variation in weekly rates.
C h a n g e s i n H o u r s o f L a b o r . — The changes in hours o f labor
recorded in 1901 and in 1902 resulted, as in previous years, in a net
reduction.
The number o f working people whose weekly hours o f labor were
shortened during 1902 was 1,057,507, by far the greatest recorded since
these statistics were first collected in 1893. This is due to the change
in the weekly hours o f those employed in textile factories and in print
ing, bleaching, and dyeing works. In these industries the maximum
number o f hours during which women, young persons, and children
may be employed is now regulated by act o f Parliament, and at the
beginning o f 1902 the working time on Saturdays was reduced by 1
hour, making the maximum weekly hours 55£. The hours o f men
employed in these industries are not regulated by the act, but in the

170

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

majority of cases they were reduced at the same time. In all, over
1,000,000 working people in the textile trades had their weekly hours
o f labor reduced, either directly or indirectly, by the act.
The following table shows, by industries, the number o f changes in
the hours o f labor and the number o f employees affected during the
year 1902:
CHANGES IN HOURS OF LABOR AND EMPLOYEES AFFECTED, BY INDUSTRIES, 1902.
Separate individuals
affected by—
Changes
in
hours o f Increases Decreases
labor.
in hours in hours
o f labor. o f labor.

Industries.

B u ild in g .................................................................
M ining and qu arryin g..........................................
M etal, engineering, and shipbuilding.................
T ex tile.....................................................................
C loth in g.................................................................
M iscellaneous.........................................................
Employees o f public au th orities.........................

45
4
7

5,500

T ota l..............................................................

a 92

6,524

2
2
27
6

Total in
dividuals
affectedby
changes
in hours
o f labor.

Average
w eekly
reduc
tion in
hours o f
labor.

• 9,140
566
472
1,037,000
755
3,701
349

14,640
566
496
1,037,000
755
3,701
349

0.20

1,051,983

1,057,507

.97

8.90
5.87
.96
2.17
3.30
7.51

a The sum of the items does not agree with this total. The figures, however, are reproduced as
they appear in the original.
M e t h o d s o f A r r a n g e m e n t o f C h a n g e s . — The changes in the rates
o f wages and hours o f labor reported in 1901 and 1902 were arranged
by mutual agreement o f the parties concerned or otherwise, by con
ciliation or mediation, by arbitration, and (in the case o f wage changes
only) by the sliding wage scales.
The following table shows the number o f persons affected by changes
in wages and hours o f labor during each year from 1896 to 1902, clas
sified according to the agencies by which the changes were arranged:
METHOD BY WHICH CHANGES IN WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR WERE ARRANGED,
1896 TO 1902.
Separate individuals affected by changes
arranged without strikes.
Year.

By mu
By con
tual ar
Under ciliation
By
arbi
range
sliding or me tration. ment
or
scale. diation.
other
wise.

Separate individuals affected by
changes arranged after strikes.

By mu
tual ar
By con
By
arbi
ciliation
Total. or me tration. mrange
ent or
diation.
other
wise.

Total.

CHANGES IN WAGES.

1896.........................
1897.........................
1898.........................
1899.........................
1900.........................
1901.........................
1902.........................

136,288
135,618
169,003
178,018
183,889
191,205
172,988

360,075 544,884
405,492 553,213
764,622 963,134
587,033 1,141,303
421,590 1,080,826
212,860 917,573
165,010 877,557

11,559
1,460
1,015
1,581
1,030
180
136

85,474
87,274
62,404
64,316
26,693
34,590
1,100 28,534 29,699
626 52,574
54,640
26,505
13,195
12,860
1,051,624 1,054,954

2,758
46
450

43,601
11,796
25,659
364,616
469,520
502,000
536,959

4,920
307
3,850
11,636
5,827
11,508
2,600

300

1,500
712
3,570

174
1,959
2,050
1,452
3,780
667
1,457

51,037
40,812
48,970
31,240
50,150
13,706
11,206

62,770
44,231
52,035
34,273
54,960
• 14,553
12,799

36
2,050
34
285
53
860

18,239
6,234
1,959
6,116
2,801
2,709
1,563

20,997
6,316
4,459
6,250
3,086
2,771
2,553

CHANGES IN HOURS.

1,200
4,427
65
1,440
450
3,330

100
9
130

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN.

171

The number o f separate individuals affected by changes o f wages m
1902 which were preceded by strikes causing stoppage o f work was
even lower than in 1901, hitherto the lowest recorded. On the other
hand, changes affecting 80 per cent o f the working people were
arranged by conciliation, arbitration, wages boards, sliding scales, or
other conciliatory agencies. This large percentage is due to the fact
that the changes in the coal and iron industries, in which the most
widespread changes o f wages occurred in 1902, are now usually
arranged by such methods.
W ith regard to changes in hours o f labor in 1902 the statistics are
entirely dominated by the figures relating to the large number o f
operatives employed in the textile industries, in which the working
hours on Saturdays were reduced in consequence o f an act o f Parlia
ment which came into operation at the beginning o f the year.

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
[Th is subject, begun in Bulletin No. 2, has been continued in successive issues.
A ll material parts of the decisions are reproduced in the words of the courts, indi
cated w hen short b y quotation marks, and when long b y being printed solid.

order to save space, matter needed simply b y w ay of explanation is given in the
words of the editorial reviser.]

DECISIONS U N D ER STA T U T O R Y L A W .
A l ie n

C ontract

S ta tu te .—

L a b o r — P r o m is e

E m plo ym en t— C onstruc

United States v. B a ltic M ills Company, United
States Circuit Court o f Appeals, Secm d Circuit, 121^ Federal R eporter,
page 38.— In this case the Government sought to recover a penalty
from the Baltic Mills Company fo r violation o f what is known as the
alien contract labor law o f 1885, the principal clause relied on being
an amendatory act passed March 3, 1891, which provides that it shall
be deemed a violation o f said act to assist or encourage the importa
tion or immigration of any alien by promise o f employment through
advertisements printed or published in any foreign country.
An
exception is made as to States and immigration bureaus thereof adver
tising the inducements they offer fo r migration to such States. The
Baltic Mills Company is a Connecticut corporation and had published
in the Cotton Factory Times, a newspaper o f the city o f Manchester,
England, the follow ing advertisement:
“ Wanted— First-class weavers on fine comb work, in one o f the
most beautiful villages in Connecticut, U. S. A. First-class weavers
can earn per week 35s. to £2. Families preferred. Reasonable rents
in six-room cottages on line o f railroad and electric cars. This is a
new mill starting up. None but first-class weavers and respectable
people need apply. Baltic Mills Company, H. Lawton, Manager,
Baltic, Conn., U. S. A .”
It is alleged that one Hargrave, a resident o f the vicinity of Man
chester, read this advertisement and in consequence thereof came to
the United States and entered the service o f the advertising company.
The case was first heard in the United States district court for the dis
trict o f Connecticut, at which hearing it was demurred to the complaint
that it did not appear that the advertisement contained any promise
o f employment or was in violation o f the provisions o f said act. This
demurrer was sustained by the court, and the case ordered dismissed.
A n appeal was taken to the circuit court o f appeals and the opinion of
t io n

172

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

173

the district court was reversed, Judge Coxe dissenting. From the
opinion o f Judge Wallace, who delivered the judgment o f the court,
the following is quoted:
In legal definition a promise is a declaration, verbal or written, made
by one person to another, for a good or valuable consideration, by
which the promisor binds himself to do or forbear some act, and gives
to the promisee a legal right to demand and enforce fulfillment. (New
comb v. Clark, I Denio, 226-228.) In a general sense, it is a declara
tion “ which binds the person who makes it, either in honor, conscience,
or law, to do or forbear a certain act specified.” One definition,
according to W orcester, is “ assurance o f a benefit.” The meaning o f
the term as used in the statute is not necessarily its meaning in legal
definition. The rule that penal statutes are to be strictly construed is
not violated by allowing their words to have full meaning, or even the
more extended o f two meanings, where such construction best harmon
izes with the context.
The advertisement in question was an assurance to first-class weavers
that they could find employment at their trade with the defendant
which would yield a stated return varying between specified rates;
but it was not equivalent to a contract to employ such as might apply,
or to employ them fo r any definite period. A proposal addressed to
some person in particular becomes a contract, if its terms are accepted
by the promisee before it is withdrawn; but one addressed to the
world at large does not become a contract until some one o f those to
whom it is addressed has performed its conditions. The employee
whose services have been accepted by the employer pursuant to such
a proposal may rely upon the terms o f the proposal as to wages and
other conditions expressed; but the promisee has no right o f action
for breach o f the contract, express or implied, from the refusal o f the
promisor to employ him. The newspapers teem with advertisements
fo r employees o f all kinds, many o f which specify the wages and other
conditions o f the service expected; but it has never been supposed
that the person who offers himself for the employment, by the induce
ment o f the advertisement, and is refused, can maintain suit fo r a
breach o f contract. The privilege o f the advertiser to exercise his
personal judgment as to the character and habits, and other qualifica
tions generally, o f the applicant, is an implied condition o f his pro
posal, and no contract arises consequently until the applicant has been
accepted.
It was the obvious purpose o f the amendatory act to remedy the
defects in the preexisting statute in two particulars. Under the pre
existing statute the penalty did not accrue unless (1) the alien had
previous to his migration entered into a contract to perform labor or
service in this country, and (2) had actually migrated here, and (3) the
defendant had, by prepayment o f transportation or otherwise, encour
aged or assisted his migration, knowing that such a contract had been
entered into.
The amendment was intended to dispense with the necessity o f prov
ing that there had been a contract with the alien ‘ 4made previous to
the importation or migration,” or that there had been any other assist
ance or encouragement to his migration than a promise o f employment.
It adds to the acts penalized by the form er statute another, and makes
it penal to “ assist or encourage” the migration “ by promise o f
550— No. 50— 04------12

174

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

employment through advertisement.” The word “ prom ise” is used in
the sense in which advertisements commonly promise employment to
applicants. Under the form er statute there could be no antecedent
contract by an advertisement, however explicit the terms o f the prom
ise might be, because the promise could not, until the alien entered
upon its performance, become a contract. Under the present no ante
cedent contract is necessary, and it would seem to suffice if there is a
promise of employment sufficiently explicit to induce those to whom
it is addressed to apply to some particular employer in the expectation
o f receiving employment o f a specified kind at specified compensation.
The proviso indicates that Congress did not use the word “ prom ise”
in its strict legal meaning, but rather in the sense o f an assurance or
inducement to encourage aliens to migrate. The proviso withdraws
from the operation o f the section the “ inducements advertised by States
and immigration bureaus o f States offered for immigration to such
States.” These advertisements do not ordinarily contain promises o f
employment in the nature o f specific proposals, but contain assurances
o f opportunity fo r employment and o f the remuneration that may be
expected. The office o f a proviso is to carve an exemption out o f the
enacting clause, to except something which would otherwise have been
within it (Wayman v. Southard, 10 Wheat. 30, 6 L. Ed. 253; Minis v.
United States, 15 Pet. 423, 10 L. Ed. 791); and this proviso denotes
the intention o f Congress to exempt States and their immigration
bureaus from a liability which might otherwise be incurred by the
advertisement o f their inducements to immigrants. W e are o f opinion
that any assurance o f probable employment, definite as to the kind, the
place, and the rate o f wages, is a promise o f employment within the
meaning o f the statute. I f this conclusion is correct, the advertise
ment published by the defendant was within the interdicted class.
Obviously both the defendant and the alien regarded the advertisement
as holding out a promise o f employment specific enough to induce the
alien to migrate and accomplish the purpose intended by the defendant.
The question which was presented by the demurrer is not altogether
free from doubt, especially in view o f the very strict construction
which the courts have placed upon the alien contract labor law; but
we are constrained to the conclusion that the complaint was sufficient.
The judgment is reversed, with instructions to the court below to
order judgment fo r the plaintiff, but without prejudice to an applica
tion by the defendant fo r leave to answer.
Judge Coxe, dissenting, spoke in part as follows:
Two propositions are, in m y judgment, established beyond contro
versy: First, in order to bring the defendant in error within the stat
ute, there must be proof that it assisted or encouraged the migration
of Hargrave “ by promise o f employment,” and, second, the adver
tisement in question contains no such promise.
There is no ambiguity in the statute. Its meaning is plain. There
is, therefore, no necessity for resorting to extrinsic considerations or
contemporaneous debate to arrive at its proper construction. The
plaintiff in error seeks an interpretation which eliminates the words
“ by promise o f em ploym ent” altogether, or he seeks to accomplish
the same result by making the word “ prom ise” synonymous with
“ expectation” or “ hope.” The word has never been so construed
when used in legal documents or statutes. It means an “ engagement,”

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

175

“ undertaking,” “ assurance,” “ obligation” or “ agreement.” I f not
actually a contract it implies a declaration which becomes such when
accepted by the person to whom it is addressed. Had the advertise
ment in question contained such a promise the migration o f Hargrave
pursuant thereto would probably be deemed an acceptance. The
advertisement contains no promise o f any kind. It is hardly more
than a statement o f facts and conditions existing at the Baltic Mills.
The newspaper press teems with similar “ want” advertisements. It
can not be seriously contended that one who advertises for a coachman
or a cook has made a “ promise o f employment.” On the contrary,
he is at liberty to reject, arbitrarily, all applicants.
It was admitted at the argument by the learned district attorney that
the Baltic Mills Company was under no legal obligation to employ emi
grants coming here from Manchester. They could have turned all
alien applicants from their mills without a word o f explanation, and
there would have been no redress.

C o n t r a c t s o f E m p l o y m e n t — E n f o r c e m e n t — P e o n a g e — C o n s t it u
o f S t a t u t e — Peonage Cases, United States D istrict Court
fw %the M iddle D istrict o f Alabama, 123 Federal R eporter, page 671.—
This opinion was delivered by District Judge Jones in response to
questions propounded by the grand jury relative to peonage and
involuntary servitude in the State o f Alabama. The discussion is
quite lengthy and involves a consideration o f the historical reasons as
well as the legal principles on which the Federal statute prohibiting
peonage (Rev. Stat., sec. 5526, U. S. compiled Stat., 1901, p. 3715)
is based. The discussion also involves a consideration o f the consti
tutionality o f the Alabama law regulating labor contracts, passed
March 1, 1901, act No. 483, acts o f 1900-1901.
From Judge Jones’s summary the following is quoted as being o f
general interest:
t io n a l it y

1.
A person who hires another, and induces him to sign a contract by
which he agrees during the term to be imprisoned or kept under guard,
and under cover o f such agreement afterwards holds the party to
the performance o f the contract by threats or punishment, or undue
influence, subduing his free will, when he desires to abandon the service,
is guilty o f holding such a person to “ a condition o f peonage.”
5. I f a defendant, convicted o f a misdemeanor, signs in open court
a written contract, approved in writing by the judge, in consideration
o f another becoming his surety on confession o f judgment for the fine
and costs, and is thereupon released, the law o f the State treats him as
a convict who has resigned himself to the custody o f his surety to
escape that o f the State, and the surety may restrain him o f his liberty,
and invoke the aid o f the State law to compel the service. This pro
vision applies only to cases in which there has been a lawful conviction,
and a written contract, signed in open court, approved in writing by
the judge. The contract can not extend beyond securing the fine and
costs while they are being worked out. It can not be made, as has
been repeatedly declared by the supreme court o f this State, the basis

176

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

o f a contract fo r additional service on payment o f advances, and the
convicted person can not be held in involuntary servitude for their
payment.
6.
Although one may have confessed judgment for another on his
conviction, tne surety is not entitled on that account to detain him in
custody against his will, as his bail would be before trial, unless the
surety has complied with the statutes o f the State, and made written
contract in open court, approved by the judge in writing. This is a
safeguard which the State exacts "to prevent abuse ana oppression
when the surety intends to hold his principal to involuntary service to
reimburse him for the payment o f the fine and costs. A s such an
agreement involves personal trust and confidence on the part o f the
convict in the selection o f a keeper, his surety has no authority, with
out his consent, to transfer the contract and custody o f the convict to
some other person, who repays to the surety the fine and costs, and
enforces the performance o f the service. I f there is no written con
tract approved by the court, or if it is transferred without the consent
o f the convict, the convict can not be held against his will to perform
service to repay his fine and costs. I f one holds another convicted o f
a misdemeanor, against his will, because he has confessed judgment
fo r the fine and costs, without obtaining a written contract in open
court, approved in writing by the judge, or holds him against his will,
after the fine and costs nave been worked out, for advances upon a
further term o f service, or prevents his leaving by force or threats as
above defined, such person is guilty o f holding the person in a con
dition o f peonage.
9. The act o f the legislature o f Alabama, approved March 1, 1901
(acts 1900-1901, p. 1208, sec. 1), about which you inquire, makes it a
penal offense, where a person, who has “ contracted in writing to labor
fo r or serve another fo r any given time, or any person who has by
written contract leased or rented land from another fo r any specified
time, or any person who has contracted in writing with the party fu r
nishing lands, or the lands and teams to cultivate it, either to furnish
the labor, or the labor and teams, to cultivate the lands,” afterwards,
without the consent o f the other party, and without sufficient excuse,
to be adjudged by the court, “ shall leave such other party or abandon
said contract, or leave or abandon the leased premises or land as afore
said,” and take employment o f a similar nature from another person,
without first giving him notice o f the prior contract.
Under the statute, the laborer or renter has done no criminal act in
leaving or in abandoning the contract or premises. The act does not
make the leaving an offense. A ll that amounts to, under this statute,
is a breach o f a civil contract. That creates only the relation o f debtor
and creditor. The statute, on the foundation, fo r the reason, that the
relation o f creditor and debtor results from the breach o f the contract,
commands the debtor, on peril o f hard labor, not to work at his accus
tomed vocation for anyone else, during the term o f the contract, with
out the permission o f the creditor, unless he informs his new employer
o f the first contract. Another statute, providing for this very con
tingency, declares, if the laborer or renter does inform the person o f
whom he seeks employment, the latter shall incur heavy pains and
penalties if he employs him without the first employer’s permission.
W hat is this but declaring, if a man breaks his contract with his
creditor without just excuse, he shall not work at his accustomed voca

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

177

tion fo r others without permission o f the creditor? W hat is this but
a coercive weapon placed by the law in the hands o f the employer to
compel the debtor to pay a debt, to perform the contract? Under the
constitution o f Alabama there can be no imprisonment fo r debt, nor
can it be treated, directly or indirectly, as a crime. The only consti
tutional method o f enforcing a contract fo r personal service is to get
judgment and execution, and have compensation for the broken con
tract by seizure and sale o f the defendant’s property.
The whole scheme and purpose and the inevitable effect of these
statutes are to coerce the laborer or renter to pay a debt, return to a
personal service, by stress o f penal enactments leveled at his person
in the one instance, and against his right to work in the other. No man
can be lawfully compelled to disclose differences with form er employ
ers, or breaches o f contract with others, as a condition precedent to
the right lawfully to engage in the service o f another, in order to
coerce him to pay a debt or perform a contract of personal service.
The debtor can not be compelled to put himself upon the blacklist that
he may be prevented from getting work without an employer’s consent,
in order to coerce him to the performance o f a contract o f personal
service or the payment o f a debt. A ll such legislation is plainly vio
lative o f our State constitution.
Certain counties o f the State are exempt from any application of
this law, and the court held that the act was repugnant to the consti
tution of the State as creating both local and class distinctions. The
concluding paragraph refers to its relation to the Constitution o f the
United States, as follows:
A person convicted and put to hard labor for violating the provisions
o f this statute, because he did not give notice o f the first employment
before entering upon the second, is restrained o f his liberty in violation
o f the Constitution o f the United States, and is entitled to discharge
on habeas corpus, notwithstanding he is held under a final judgment
o f a State court which remains unappealed and unreversed. (E x parte
Royall, 117 U. S., 241; 6 Sup. Ct., 734; 29 L. Ed., 868.) The act is
plainly violative o f the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution, and
the statute passed, in pursuance thereof, against peonage. It estab
lishes a system o f peonage, and uses the arm o f the law to keep per
sons in “ a condition o f peonage,” whenever they 44abandon the leased
premises,” by coercing performance o f the 44obligation” o f contracts
o f 44labor or service” by involuntary service.

E i g h t -h o u r L a w — M u n ic ip a l C o r p o r a t io n s — C o n s t it u t io n a l it y
S t a t u t e — A tkin v. State, United States Supreme Court, N o. SO,
October Term,, 1903.— This was an appeal by W . W . Atkin from a
judgment by the supreme court o f Kansas (see Bulletin o f the Depart
ment o f Labor, No. 40, p. 604), declaring the application to this case
o f what is known as the 44 Eight-hour law ” o f Kansas, and affirming
the judgment o f the district court o f W yandotte County, assessing a
penalty on Atkin fo r a violation o f said law.
of

178

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

This act was passed in 1891, and its first two sections read as
follow s:
S e c t i o n 1. Eight hours shall constitute a day’s work for all laborers,
workmen, mechanics, or other persons now employed, or who may
hereafter be employed by or on behalf o f the State o f Kansas, or by
or on behalf o f any county, city, township or other municipality of
said State, except in cases o f extraordinary emergency which may
arise in time o f war or in cases where it may be necessary to work
more than eight hours per calendar day for the protection o f property
or human life: Provided, That in all such cases the laborers, workmen,
mechanics or other persons so employed and working to exceed eight
hours per calendar day shall be paid on the basis o f eight hours con
stituting a day’s work: Provided fu rth er, That not less than the current
rate o f per diem wages in the locality where the work is performed
shall be paid to laborers, workmen, mechanics and other persons so
employed by or on behalf o f the State o f Kansas, or any county, city,
townsnip or other municipality o f said State; and laborers, workmen,
mechanics, and other persons employed by contractors or subcontractors
in the execution o f any contract or contracts within the State o f Kansas,
or within any county, city, township or other municipality thereof
shall be deemed to be employed by or on behalf o f the State o f Kansas
or o f such county, city, township or other municipality thereof.
S e c . 2 . A ll contracts hereafter made by or on behalf o f the State o f
Kansas, or b y or on behalf o f any county, city, township or other
municipality o f said State, with any corporation, person or persons,
fo r the performance o f any work or the furnishing o f any material
manufactured within the State o f Kansas, shall be deemed and con
sidered as made upon the basis o f eight hours constituting a day’s work;
and it shall be unlawful for any such corporation, person or persons to
require or permit any laborer, workman, mechanic or other person
to work more than eight hours per calendar day in doing such work or
in furnishing or manufacturing such material, except in the cases and
upon the conditions provided in section 1 o f this act.

The third section makes any officer o f Kansas, or o f any county, city,
township, or municipality o f that State, or any person acting under
or fo r such officer, or any contractor with the State, or any county,
city, township, or other municipality thereof, or other person violat
ing any o f the provisions o f this act, liable fo r each offense, and sub
ject to be punished by a fine o f not less than $50 nor more than $1,000,
or by imprisonment not more than six months, or by both fine and
imprisonment, in the discretion o f the court.
The constitutionality o f this law had been affirmed by the supreme
court o f Kansas in the case In re Dalton, 59 Pac., 336 (see Bulletin o f
the Department o f Labor, No. 28, p. 610), and this phase o f the ques
tion was not considered by that court in its discussion o f this case.
The appeal was based, however, on the claim that the law was uncon
stitutional in that it deprived the appellant, Atkin, o f his liberty and
property without due process o f law, and denied him the equal pro
tection o f the laws.

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

179

The follow ing facts appear in an agreed statement: That Atkin had
contracted with the municipal corporation o f Kansas City, Kans., to
do the labor and furnish the materials for paving Quindaro boule
vard, a public street o f that city; that he employed, among others,
one George Reese to perform labor in that connection; that he
permitted Reese to labor more than eight hours on each calendar day
although there was no emergency or necessity requiring the same;
that the agreement with Reese was that he should receive 15 cents per
hour and no more, the current rate o f wages for such work in that
locality being $1.50 for ten hours’ labor per day; that Atkin required
o f Reese that he work ten hours per day in order to be entitled to the
current rate o f wages o f $1.50; that Reese was neither compelled nor
requested to work more than eight hours per day, but did so voluntarily
and was permitted and allowed to work ten hours in each calendar day
in order to earn $1.50 in such day; that the labor in which Reese
was engaged was neither hazardous nor unhealthful and could be per
formed fo r a period o f ten hours each working day without injury,
and was in aH respects the same, whether done for a municipality, or
fo r a private person, or corporation; that Reese had solicited employ
ment, and that neither he nor Atkin intended or expected that the
former should receive the same compensation for eight hours’ work
as was paid customarily fo r ten hours’ work; that the employment
was without the knowledge or consent o f the city, Reese being the
servant o f Atkin and not o f the city; and that the contract between
Atkin and the city did not contain any provision as to the number o f
hours laborers should work nor as to their compensation.
The constitutionality o f the law was affirmed, Chief Justice Fuller
and Justices Brewer and Peckham dissenting. From the remarks of
Justice Harlan, who delivered the opinion o f the court, the following
is quoted:
The case has been stated quite fully, in order that there may be no
dispute as to what is involved and what not involved in its determina
tion. * * * Assuming that the statute has application only to
labor or work perform ed by or on behalf o f the State, or by or on
behalf o f a municipal corporation, the defendant [Atkin] contends that
it is in conflict with the fourteenth amendment. He insists that the
amendment guarantees to him the right to pursue any lawful calling,
and to enter into all contracts that are proper, necessary or essential
to the prosecution o f such calling; and that the statute o f Kansas
unreasonably interferes with the exercise o f that right, thereby deny
ing to him the equal protection o f the laws.
‘ ‘ I f a statute,” counsel [for defendant] observes, “ such as the one
under consideration is justifiable, should it not apply to all persons
and to all vocations whatsoever? W hy should such a law be limited
to contractors with the State and its municipalities? W hy should the
law allow a contractor to agree with a laborer to shovel dirt for ten
hours a day in performance o f a private contract, and make exactly
the same act under similar conditions a misdemeanor when done in the

180

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

performance o f a contract for the construction o f a public improve
ment? W h y is the liberty with reference to contracting restricted in
the one case and not in the other? ”
These questions— indeed, the entire argument of defendant’s coun
sel— seem to attach too little consequence to the relation existing
between a State and its municipal corporations. Such corporations are
the creatures, mere political subdivisions, o f the State for the purpose
o f exercising a part o f its powers. They may exert only such powers
as are expressly granted to them, or such as may be necessarily implied
from those granted. What they lawfully do o f a public character is
done under the sanction o f the State. They are, in every essential
sense, only auxiliaries o f the State for the purposes o f local govern
ment. They may be created, or, having been created, their powers
may be restricted or enlarged, or altogether withdrawn at the will o f
the legislature; the authority o f the legislature, when restricting or
withdrawing such powers, being subject only to the fundamental con
dition that the collective and individual rights o f the people o f the
municipality shall not thereby be destroyed. [Cases cited.] In the
case last cited [Williams v. Eggleston, 170 U. S. 301, 310] we said that
“ a municipal corporation is, so far as its purely municipal relations are
concerned, simply an agency o f the State for conducting the affairs of
government, and as such it is subject to the control o f the legisla
ture.” * * *
The improvement o f the boulevard in question was a work o f which
the State, if it had deemed it proper to do so, could have taken imme
diate charge by its own agents; for, it is one of the functions o f g ov
ernment to provide public highways for the convenience and com fort
o f the people. Instead o f undertaking that work directly, the State
invested one o f its governmental agencies with power to care fo r it.
W hether done by the State directly or by one o f its instrumentalities,
the work was o f a public, not private, character.
If, then, the work upon which the defendant employed Reese was o f a
public character, it necessarily follows that the statute in question, in
its application to those undertaking work for or on behalf o f a municipal
corporation o f the State, does not infringe the personal liberty o f any
one. * * * Whatever may have been the motives controlling the
enactment o f the statute in question, we can imagine no possible ground
to dispute the power o f the State to declare that no one undertaking
work jot it or jot one o f its municipal agencies, should permit or require
an employee on such work to labor in excess o f eight hours each day,
and to inflict punishment upon those who are embraced by such regu
lations and yet disregard them. It can not be deemed a part o f the
liberty o f any contractor that lie be allowed to do public work in any
mode he may choose to adopt, without regard to the wishes o f the
State. On the contrary, it belongs to the State, as the guardian and
trustee fo r its people, and having control o f its affairs, to prescribe the
conditions upon which it will permit public work to be done on its
behalf, or on behalf o f its municipalities. No court has authority to
review its action in that respect. Regulations on this subject suggest
only considerations o f public policy. And with such considerations
the courts have no concern.
I f it be contended to be the right o f everyone to dispose o f his
labor upon such terms as he deems best— as undoubtedly it is— and
that to make it a criminal offense fo r a contractor for public work to

DECISIONS OE COUBTS AFFECTING LABOR.

181

permit or require his employee to perform labor upon that work in
excess o f eight hours each day, is in derogation o f the liberty both of
employees and employer, it is sufficient to answer that no employee is
entitled, of absolute right and as a part o f his liberty, to perform
labor for the State; and no contractor for public work can excuse a
violation o f his agreement with the *State by doing that which the
statute under which he proceeds distinctly and lawfully forbids him
to do.
So, also, if it be said that a statute like the one before us is mis
chievous in its tendencies, the answer is that the responsibility there
for rests upon legislators, not upon the courts. No evils arising from
such legislation could be more far-reaching than those that might
come to our system o f government if the judiciary, abandoning the
sphere assigned to it by the fundamental law, should enter the domain
o f legislation, and upon grounds merely o f justice or reason or wisdom
annul statutes that had received the sanction o f the people’s represent
atives. W e are reminded by counsel that it is the solemn duty o f the
courts in cases before them to guard the constitutional rights o f
the citizen against merely arbitrary power. That is unquestionably
true.
But it is equally true—indeed, the public interests impera
tively demand—that legislative enactments should be recognized and
enforced by the courts as embodying the will o f the people, unless
they are plainly and palpably, beyond all question, in violation o f the
fundamental law o f tne Constitution. It can not be affirmed o f the
statute o f Kansas that it is plainly inconsistent with that instrument;
indeed its constitutionality is beyond all question.
Equally without any foundation upon which to rest is the proposi
tion that the Kansas statute denied to the defendant or to his employee
the equal protection o f the laws. The rule o f conduct prescribed by it
applies alike to all who contract to do work on behalf either o f the
State or o f its municipal subdivisions, and alike to all employed to
perform labor on such work.
Some stress is laid on the fact, stipulated by the parties fo r the pur
poses o f this case, that the work performed by defendant’s employee
is not dangerous to life, limb or health, and that daily labor on it for
ten hours would not be injurious to him in any way. In the view we
take o f this case, such considerations are not controlling. W e rest our
decision upon the broad ground that the work being of a public char
acter, absolutely under the control o f the State and its municipal
agents acting by its authority, it is for the State to prescribe the con
ditions under which it will permit work o f that kina to be done. Its
action touching such a matter is final so long as it does not, by its
regulations, infringe the personal rights o f others; and that has not
been done.
E ig h t -h o u r L a w — P o l ic e

P o w e r — C o n s t it u t io n a l it y o f S t a t

— People v. Orange County R oad Construction Company, Court o f
Appeals o f New Yorlc, 67 Northeastern R eporter, page 129.— This case
came before the court o f appeals on appeal from the appellate division
o f the supreme court. The case was originally heard in the county
court for Orange Count}^. The Orange County ftoad Construction
Company was indicted for a violation o f the eight-hour law, it being

ute

182

BULLETIN* OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOB.

at the time a contractor with the county o f Orange for the improve
ment o f a public highway. It was charged that certain of its employees
had been required to work more than eight hours for a day’s labor.
The company demurred to the indictment, claiming that no crime was
charged because the section o f the code quoted was unconstitutional
and void. The county court sustained the demurrer, whereupon the
case was taken to the appellate division, which reversed the judgment
o f the court below and held the indictment good. The company then
made this appeal, with the result that the law was declared unconsti
tutional by a divided bench. Judge Cullen, with whom three mem bers
o f the court concurred, said in part:
It seems to me to be entirely clear that the statute can not be upheld
as an exercise o f the police power vested in the legislature. I should
think the proposition too plain fo r debate. But if this assertion be
considered dogmatic, then I say that the question is settled by the
decision both o f this court and the Supreme Court o f the United
States. While the field fo r the exercise o f the police power, subject
to which all property is possessed by the citizen, and all his callings
or vocations must be pursued, is very broad— so broad that no court
has sought to define accurately its extent— still it is subject to recog
nized limitations. In the interest o f public health, o f public morals,
and o f public order, a State may restrain and forbid what would other
wise be the right o f a private citizen. It may enact laws to regulate
the extent o f the labor which women and children or persons o f imma
ture years shall be allowed to perform, and prohibit altogether their
employment in dangerous occupations. (Commonwealth v. Hamilton
Manufacturing Co., 120 Mass., 383; Tiedeman’s Police Power, sec. 85.)
It may limit the hours o f employment o f adults in unhealthy work
(Holden v. Hardy, 169 U. S., 366; 18 Sup. Ct., 383; 42 L. Ed., 780),
and it may be that it could prohibit the performance o f excessive
physical labor in all callings. But while it is generally fo r the legis
lature to determine what laws and regulations are needed to protect
the public health and serve the public com fort and safety, such meas
ures must have some relation to these ends. The statute now before
us does not deal with the character o f the work, the age, sex, or con
dition o f the employees, nor even the personality o f the employer, but
applies only to the case o f a contract with the State or a municipality.
Wnat possible bearing on the health or security o f the employees or
on public health has the fact that the employer is executing a contract
fo r the construction or performance o f a State or municipal work?
The defendant might be constructing in the next town a road fo r a
turnpike company or fo r its own use. In this work it could require
labor fo r as many hours a day as it saw fit, and could get workmen to
perform. Y et the same action, involving exactly the same character
o f work, when done in performance o f a contract with the public, is
by this statute made criminal. I f we assume that a general statute
forbidding in all cases the performance o f physical Tabor for more
than eight hours out o f the twenty-four would be constitutional, that
concession would not sustain the validity o f the act before us. The
vice o f the statute is the arbitrary distinction drawn between persons
contracting with the State and other employers.

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

183

It is urged that the work is a State work, and that the legislature
may prescribe rules for the manner in which it is to be performed.
A s a general proposition, this is doubtless true. The State may pre
scribe regulations fo r the conduct o f its employees. Those employees
must comply with the mandate o f the legislature. If, in the case o f a
private person, his foreman or manager should, in intentional viola
tion o f the master’s command, exact more than eight hours’ work a
day from the men working under him, the master might discharge
him, even though his contract o f employment was for a definite term.
In the case o f the State, the employer being not only master, but sov
ereign, it may be that it could go further, and make the violation of
its mandates criminal. This statute, however, does not deal with em
ployees— at least not exclusively with them. The section reads: “ A ny
person or corporation who, contracting with the State or a municipal
corporation, shall require more than eight hours’ work, for a day’s
labor * * * is guilty o f a misdemeanor.” The statute does not
define the meaning o f “ contracting with the State or a municipal cor
poration.” Doubtless a person who is a mere employee o f the State
or of a municipal corporation contracts for the performance o f his
service. I suppose, however, the statute was intended to apply to
the case o f what is known in law as an “ independent contractor;”
that is to say, one who contracts to perform the work at his own risk
and cost, — the workmen being his servants, and he (not the State or
corporation with whom he contracts) being liable for their misconduct.
I f it does not apply exclusively to such contractors, it includes them.
I f not, that is the end o f this case, fo r it does not appear in the indict
ment that the defendant was not an independent contractor. Now,
while, as I have said, if the State itself prosecutes a work, it may dic
tate every detail o f the service required in its performance—prescribe
the wages o f workmen, their hours o f labor, and the particular indi
viduals who may be employed; — no such right exists where it has let
out the performance o f the work to a contractor, unless it is reserved
by the contract. The State in this respect stands the same as its citi
zens. Its rights are just as great as those o f private citizens, but no
greater.
A s the law can not be upheld either as a valid exercise o f the police
power or because the work was being done for the State, to sustain
it some other ground must be found on which it may rest. Only one
is suggested. It is contended that the legislature may punish crimi
nally a violation by the contractor o f his obligations assumed under
the provisions o f this law. This presents the question o f whether the
legislature can make the breach o f a civil contract, solely as such, a
criminal offense. I am not now prepared either to assert or deny the
correctness o f the proposition. Granting, however, the claim that
the legislature can provide for the punishment criminally o f a willful
violation by the contractor o f the contract provisions alluded to, it
is sufficient to say that the statute before us does not purport to
do anything o f that kind. I f it had provided that any person who,
having contracted with the State or a municipality not to require or
suffer his employees or workmen to labor more than eight nours a
day, should violate that agreement, then the question discussed would
be presented. Prior to and at the time o f the enactment o f the sec
tion o f the Penal Code no law had ever required municipal or State
contracts to contain any stipulation as to the time the contractors’

184

BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

workingmen should be suffered or required to labor. The labor law,
as originally passed, on the same day authorized, in express terms,
overwork for extra compensation in the performance o f State and
municipal contracts. The penal statute draws no distinction between
contractors whose contracts had been made prior to its enactment and
those who might contract subsequently. To fall within its provisions,
it was sufficient that on the day after its enactment a contractor
should require more than eight hours’ work a day, though he was
engaged in the performance o f a contract years old, and containing no
agreement relating to the hours o f labor. The statute does not assume
to punish an offender against its provisions because he has violated any
contract, but solely because he has done the prohibited act, i. e., required
more than eight tou rs’ labor, regardless o f the terms and conditions
o f his contract. The statute should therefore be condemned in its
entirety, and can not be upheld as to the limited class o f cases in
which it may be the legislature had the power to act, but has not acted.
The order should be reversed, the demurrer sustained, and the
defendant discharged.

E m p l o y e r s ’ L ia b il it y — R a il r o a d C o m p a n ie s — C o n t r o l o f L o c o
C o n s t r u c t i o n of S t a t u t e — Louisville and N ashville R a il
road Company v. Goss, Supreme Court o f Alabama, 31+ Southern
R eporter, page 1007.— Peter F. Goss sued the above-named railroad
company to recover damages for injuries received while acting as a
locomotive engineer in its employment. The injuries for which Goss
sued were received while he was under the locomotive engaged in
packing a hot box. W hile in that situation he ordered the fireman to
move the reverse lever backward three feet.
By a misunderstanding
the fireman moved the locomotive, in consequence of which the
injuries sued for were inflicted. The plaintiff’s right of action was
based on subdivision 5 o f section 1749 o f the Code of 1896, known as
the Employers’ Liability Statute, and the principal question for con
sideration was whether the fireman was at that time a person in charge
or control o f a locomotive within the contemplated meaning o f the
statute. Judgment was granted Goss in the circuit court of Jefferson
County, from which an appeal was taken resulting in a reversal of the
judgment o f the court below.
The opinion o f the court was delivered by Judge Dowdell, from
whose remarks the follow ing is quoted:
m o t iv e —

The facts without conflict show that the fireman was in the engine
cab in obedience to the command o f the plaintiff, and there to carry
out the orders o f the latter while he was under the engine fo r the pur
pose o f packing the hot box. The fact that the engineer was under
the engine while the fireman was in the cab did not change their rela
tions, one to the other, as to authority and control. In point of
superiority, the engineer was as much present and in charge and
control o f the locomotive as if he had been on his seat in the cab
directing the fireman in the performance o f some act. It is not in the
power o f the engineer, as long as he is present, by any act of his, to

185

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

change the relationship between himself and the fireman, as to
superior authority in the management and control of a locomotive, so
as to fix a liability on the master for the negligent conduct of the
fireman.
The statement o f the engineer that the fireman was in
charge o f the locomotive at the time o f the accident can be regarded
as nothing but the opinion o f the witness, and the statement o f an
erroneous conclusion on the undisputed facts in the case.

E m p l o y e r s ’ L ia b il it y — R a il r o a d

C o m p a n ie s — E f f e c t

Stat

v. Pennsylvania R ailroad Company,
Supreme Court o f PemisyVvania, 55 A tlantic R eporter, page 778.—
This was an action by Minerva B. Snyder to recover damages for the
death o f her husband. Snyder was a fireman in the employment of
the defendant company and was killed as a result o f the derailing o f
the locomotive, caused by running over cattle on the railway track
in Center County, Pa. Two statutory provisions were relied upon
as giving grounds for recovery o f the damages sought. First, that
the railroad company had not, although engaged in interstate com
merce, equipped its cars with automatic car brakes as prescribed by
the act o f Congress o f March 2, 1893. Second, that it had neglected
to maintain fences along the line o f the road where the accident occurred,
as provided by a special act o f the legislature applying only to Center
County. The court o f common pleas o f Center County had denied the
right o f the plaintiff to recover, which judgment was affirmed by the
supreme court. The language o f the court as to the points named is
in part as follows:
utory

P r o v i s i o n s — Snydet*

It is argued that, if defendant had complied with the requirements
o f the act o f Congress as to air brakes, the train could have been
stopped after the cattle were seen; or, if it had complied with the
special act requiring the fencing o f the track they would not have been
upon it. The learned trial judge was o f the opinion that the accident
was caused by the negligence o f the locomotive engineer on whose
engine Snyder was serving as fireman: * * * that on the undisputed
facts the equipment o f the cars with the air brake could not have pre
vented the accident, or, rather, that the absence of such equipment in
no way contributed to it, and therefore that negligence in that partic
ular can not be imputed to defendant so as to fix a liability in this case.
W e decline at this time to pass any opinion on the effect o f the act
o f Congress requiring air brakes upon cars o f railroads engaged in
interstate commerce, because such opinion is not necessary. Whether
the Constitution o f the United States authorizing Congress to regulate
interstate commerce extends so far as to compel the adoption o f an air
brake on traffic wholly within the State carried on in obedience to its
charter and strictly within State laws, may become a question where
the cause o f the accident is attributable to a neglect o f the provisions
of the act o f Congress. But that is not this case. Under the facts
here, the absence o f the automatic air brake was in no sense the cause
o f the accident, and consequently has no part in the decision o f the
cause.

186

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

A s to the special act requiring fencing^ there is no doubt, on the
authorities cited, that in those States haying general laws requiring
all railroads to fence their right o f way, a very different degree o f
responsibility would be imposed, because there the fencing is required
fo r the protection o f the general public from injury; but here the
special act is to provide fo r the payment to the owner o f cattle his
loss from neglect to fence. A s was aptly said in Carper v. Receivers
o f N orfolk and Western Railroad Company, 78 Fed. 94, 23 C. C. A .
669, 35 L. R. A . 135, as to a Virginia statute: “ So far as the owner
o f stock is concerned, the remedy is plain and adequate. Had the
legislature intended to provide an additional liability on railroad com
panies fo r injuries to persons brought about by tne failure o f such
companies to construct fences at the places designated in the statute,
it would certainly, concerning a matter o f such universal importance,
have used apt and unequivocal language.”
The judgment is affirmed.

E m p l o y e r s ’ L ia b il it y — R ig h t

A c t io n

Statute—

for

I n j u r ie s

C a u s in g

Utah Savings and Trust
Company v. Diam ond Coal and Coke Company, Supreme Court o f
Utah, 73 P acific Reporter^ page 5&4.— This was an action brought by
the trust company, as administrator o f the estate o f John Tasanen, to
recover damages from the coal and coke company for the death of the
deceased while engaged as a miner in its employment in its mines in
the State o f W yom ing. W hile Tasanen was engaged in the proper
place o f his employment a fire broke out, supposedly in the shack or
room in one o f the entries in which combustible material had accumu
lated, which fire cut off his usual mode o f exit from the mines. W hen
the fire was discovered, instructions were given as to how egress
might be obtained, but none o f the men in the portion of the mine in
which Tasanen was at work escaped except the drivers. The district
court o f *Weber County gave judgment in favor o f the plaintiff, from
which the coal company appealed. The supreme court affirmed the
judgment o f the court below. Section 3448, Revised Statutes of 1899,
provides for a recovery for the death o f a person caused by wrongful
act, neglect, or default, where if death had not ensued -the party
injured could have maintained an action to recover damages in respect
thereof. The next section limits such damages to the sum of $5,000,
and provides that every such action shall be brought by and in the
name o f the personal representative o f such deceased person. Subse
quently to the enactment o f this statute a provision o f the constitution
authorized recovery in the case o f injury or death resulting from the
failure o f any mining company to comply with mine regulations that
might be enacted by the State legislature, and another section o f the
constitution prohibited the enactment o f a law limiting the amount of
damages to be recovered fo r causing the injury or death o f any per
son. The mining company based its appeal on the points presented
D e a t h — C o n s t it u t io n a l it y

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

187

in these provisions o f law, which were disposed o f by Judge McCarty,
who delivered the opinion o f the court, in the following manner:
Appellant insists that section 3449 is in conflict with the provisions
o f the constitution, because it attempts to limit the amount o f damages
in this class o f cases to $5,000, and therefore was not continueain
force by section 3, article 21, o f the constitution. It is elementary
that where a part o f a statute is in conflict with the constitution, but
the remainder is in harmony with it, if it can be done the parts will
be separated, and that which is constitutional will be upheld. Black
(Int. Law, p. 96), thus states the rule: “ It frequently happens that
some parts, features, or provisions o f a statute are invalid by reason of
repugnancy to the constitution, while the remainder o f the act is not
open to the same objections. In such cases it is the duty o f the courts
not to pronounce the whole statute unconstitutional, but, rejecting the
invalid portions, to give effect and operation to the valid portions.”
Judge Cooley, in his work on Constitutional Limitations (6th ed. p.
211) in part says: u I f when the unconstitutional part is stricken out,
that which remains is complete in itself, and capable of being executed
in accordance with the apparent legislative intent, wholly independent
o f that which is rejected, it must be sustained.” This doctrine has
been repeatedly declared and followed by this court. (State v. Beddo,
22 Utah, 432, 63 Pac. 96; Ritchie v. Richards, 14 Utah, 345, 47 Pac.
670; Eureka^. W ilson, 15 Utah, 65, 48 Pac. 150, 62 Am. St. Rep. 904;
Ex parte Duncan, 1 Utah, 81.) That portion o f the W yom ing statute
limiting the amount o f recovery in this class o f cases to $5,000, while
it is repugnant to the provisions o f the constitution o f that State, is
susceptible o f being separated from the remainder o f the act, which
is not open to the same objection; and when so severed the part o f the
act not m conflict with the constitution is complete in itself, and capable
o f being enforced in conform ity with the general purpose o f the act.
(Dunn v. City o f Great Falls, 13 Mont. 58, 31 Pac. 1017.)
The next contention o f appellant is that the trust created by the
statute o f W yom ing can only be enforced by a trustee appointed in
that jurisdiction. W hile there are a few decisions to the contrary, the
great weight o f authority holds that a legal liability once created,
either by the rules o f the common law or by statute, can be enforced,
and a right o f action maintained, in any court having jurisdiction o f
such matters, provided jurisdiction o f the parties can be obtained, and
the action itself is not opposed to good morals or the policy o f the
State where it is brought. In the case o f W hite v. Railway Co. (25
Utah, 346, 71 Pac. 593), Mr. Chief Justice Baskin, in discussing this
question, says: “ W hile there is some conflict o f decision on the sub
ject, it is generally held that a right given by the statute o f one State
will be recognized and enforced in the courts o f another State.”
Continuing the court said:
A t the close o f the testimony for respondent, appellant moved the
court fo r a nonsuit on the ground that no damages had been proved,
and the action o f the court overruling the motion is now alleged as
error. The record shows that deceased at the time of his death was a
stout, healthy man, 42 years o f age, and that his son, who was 20 years
o f age, was living with him. Under these circumstances, the question
o f damages was one fo r the jury to determine; and the trial court
having properly submitted this question to it, under the constitution

188

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

and a long list o f decisions o f this court on this question, we are pow
erless to interfere, even though we might differ with the jury as to
what would, under the facts disclosed, be a fair and just verdict.
The contention that the evidence shows contributory negligence on
the part o f the deceased is entirely unsupported by the evidence.
There is not a word o f testimony that tends to show that the deceased
knew, or that it was his place to know, what the conditions were in
and around the shack; and he bad a right to assume that the company
would do its duty, and exercise ordinary care and caution to prevent
fires and other casualties in the mine where he was at work.
W e find no reversible error in the record. The judgment is affirmed,
with costs.
F r e e P u b l ic E m p l o y m e n t O f f ic e s — E m p l o y e r s H a v in g E m p l o y
e e s o n S t r i k e — C o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y o f S t a t u t e — Mathews v. P eo
p le , Supreme Court o f Illin o is, 67 Northeastern R eporter, page 28.—
Murray Mathews was convicted in the criminal court for Cook County
o f operating a private employment agency fo r hire without a license
and without having given bond. He appealed on the ground that the
law on which the action was based was unconstitutional. There was
no controversy as to the facts, and the section having special applica
tion to his case was not in itself unconstitutional, but the law contained
a provision for the establishment o f free public employment offices,
one clause o f which forbade the furnishing o f lists o f applicants fo r
positions to employers whose employees were on strike or locked out.
(For full text o f the law see Bulletin o f the Department o f Labor, No.
22, page 491.) The supreme court held that this discriminating pro
vision was unconstitutional and that it so permeated the whole law that
no part o f it could be enforced. Judge M cGruder announced the
decision o f the court in an elaborate opinion, from which the following
is quoted:

A ll the way through the act, the employer seeking men to work for him,
and the employee seeking work to do, are placed upon the same footing,
arid are equally entitled to the benefits o f the act in q uestion. Employers,
however, are arbitrarily divided into two classes— one class where a
strike or lockout may exist, and another class where no strike or lockout
exists. There is no rational basis in law or justice for this distinction,
where the language is so broad as to include as well those who have
caused the strike or lockout fo r good reasons as those who have caused
such strike or lockout without any good reason. The prohibition con
tained in section 8 not only affects the class o f employers there named,
but it also affects the persons seeking employment,- with whom such
employers might otherwise come in contact; that is to say, not only the
employers whose men are on a strike or are locked out are affected by
the prohibition, but laborers or employees who might desire to fill the
places o f the employees who are on a strike or are locked out are also
affected by it. The applicants for employment are deprived of the
privilege o f working fo r the class o f employers named in section 8.
That section, therefore, strikes at the interests o f applicants for work
and o f employers seeking work or labor.

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

189

An employer whose workmen have left him and gone upon a strike,
particularly when they have done so without any justifiable cause, is
entitled to contract with other laborers or workmen to fill the places
o f those who have left him. Any workman seeking work has a right
to make a contract with such an employer to work fo r him in the place
o f any one o f the men who have left him to go out upon a strike.
Therefore, the prohibition contained in section 8 strikes at the right o f
contract, both on the part o f the laborer and o f the employer. It is
now well settled that the privilege o f contracting is both a liberty and
a property right. Liberty includes the right to make and enforce
contracts, because the right to make and enforce contracts is included
in the right to acquire property. Labor is property. To deprive the
laborer and the employer o f this right to contract with one another is
to violate section 2 o f article 2 o f the constitution o f Illinois, which
provides th a t44no person shall be deprived o f life, liberty or property
without due process o f law.” It is equally a violation o f the fifth and
fourteenth amendments o f the Constitution o f the United States, which
provide that no person shall be deprived o f life, liberty, or property
without due process o f law, and that no State shall deprive any person
o f life, liberty, or property without due process o f law, “ nor deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection o f the laws.”
[Cases cited.]
Section 8 draws an unwarrantable distinction between workmen who
apply for situations to employers where there is no strike or lockout
and workmen who do not so apply, and it also draws an unwarrantable
distinction between employers who may have the misfortune to be the
victims o f a strike or lockout and employers who do not have such mis
fortune; that is to say, section 8 does not relate to persons and things
as a class, or to all employers, but only to those who have not been the
victims o f strikes or lockouts. “ W here a statute does this— where it
does not relate to persons or things as a class, but to particular persons
or things o f a class— it is a special, as distinguished from a general, law. ”
The conclusion is inevitable that this section 8 is a provision “ in aid
of strikes and strikers, whether right or wrong, and regardless o f the
justice [or] o f the propriety o f the strike or lockout.”
By the terms o f this law, the statute creates free employment agen
cies, and provides for the payment o f those who operate them out of
the money o f the people o f the State; and yet it singles out a particu
lar class o f citizens, and, without cause, deprives them o f the benefits
of the provisions o f the act, while it grants such benefits to another
class o f persons, who have no greater right to the same than the per
sons subjected to the deprivation.
The fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States
provides, that “ no State shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities o f citizens of the United States,
nor shall any State deprive any person o f life, liberty or property
without due process o f law, nor deny to any person within its juris
diction the equal protection o f the laws.” In interpreting this pro
vision o f the Federal Constitution, the Federal and State courts hold
an act like the one here under consideration, which is unduly discrim
inating and partial in its character, to be unconstitutional. In other
words, legislation o f this kind is condemned by the courts. The legis
lature has no power to deny to the employer whose men are out upon
a strike or are locked out the right to obtain workmen from these freq

550—No, 50—04—- 1 3

190

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

employment agencies, and at the same time to grant such right to other
employers not similarly situated.
It is claimed, however, by the attorney-general, that section 8 can
be eliminated from the employment act without invalidating the rest
o f the act.
In the case at bar, if section 8 be eliminated from the employment
act, the other sections, without it, would cause results not contemplated
or desired by the legislature. This is so because, without the obnoxious
clause or section, all employers, including those whose workmen are out
upon a strike or are locked out, as well as all others, would be entitled
to the benefits o f the act. But clearly it was the intention o f the
legislature, by inserting section 8 in the act, to deprive the class o f
employers therein named o f the benefits o f the act. Consequently, the
elimination o f that section would not be in accordance with the mani
fest intention o f the legislature. An elimination o f section 8 would
make the act apply to all classes o f employers, and thereby cause a
result evidently not contemplated or desired by the legislature. If all
the sections o f the act be construed together, it is evident that the
legislature would not have created the free employment agencies in
question, unless the class o f employers mentioned in section 8 were
excluded from the operation o f the act. It follows that the employ
ment act o f A pril 11,1899, must be regarded as unconstitutional as an
entirety.

G a r n is h m e n t — J u d g m e n t o f S i s t e r S t a t e — D o m e s t ic J u d g m e n t —
S e n d i n g C l a i m o u t o f S t a t e — Baltim ore

and Ohio Southwestern R a il
road Company v. Adams, Supreme Court o f Indiana, 66 Northeastern
R eporter, page
— This was an action by Charles Adams against the
railroad company above named to recover a sum claimed to be due as
wages. The company had been garnisheed in Kentucky by a creditor
o f Adams and had been required to pay to this creditor the sum claimed
by Adams in this action. The circuit court o f Jackson County ren
dered judgment against the railroad company and denied a new trial,
whereupon the company appealed, basing their claim on the ground
that the decision o f the circuit court was contrary to law in that it
failed to give full faith and credit to the records and judicial proceed
ings o f the State o f Kentucky. Prior to the rendering of the decision
in Kentucky a judgment had been given Adams for the amount due,
though the action had been commenced in Kentucky before the begin
ning o f the suit in Indiana. There was also a claim that the Kentucky
judgment was invalid because the original creditor had violated the
provisions o f sections 2283 and 2284, Burns’s Revised Statutes, 1901,
which prohibited the sending o f a claim outside the State for the pur
pose of garnisheeing money due a debtor. The decision o f the supreme
court reversed the judgment o f the court below and ordered it to allow
the appellant company a new trial on the grounds which appear in the
following quotations from the remarks o f Judge Gillett, who announced
the opinion o f the court:

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR*

191

It is not necessary to set out the proceedings o f said Kentucky court
in detail, further than to state that appellee [Adams] had personal notice
o f said suit* No question is raised as to the jurisdiction o f the Ken
tucky court over the res, or as to its jurisdiction over the parties
litigant in this action. I f the judgment is valid, there has been a
sequestration o f the original debt; and, if it can be said that the appel
lant has been compelled to pay the same to a third person, it should
now be credited with the payment.
The governing principle o f the garnishee’s exemption from a second
liability is the injustice o f compelling him to pay, at the suit o f his
creditor, that which a court having authority so to do has compelled
him to pay to another. It is obvious, therefore, that he must act fairly
and without collusion. W here the principal debtor is not actually in
court, and there is reason to suppose that he is not advised of the suit,
the garnishee ought at least to answer all facts within his knowledge,
that, if the court were advised of, would presumably lead it to refuse
to subject the fund to sequestration. In this case appellant caused
appellee to be personally notified o f the pendency o f the suit in Ken
tucky (aside from the judicial notice that he received), and disclosed to
the court the nature o f the demand, and sought to claim the exemption
o f appellee under the laws o f Indiana. The burden was on appellee,
the judgment being shown to be valid on its face, to show facts that
would render it equitable and just to require appellant to pay again.
The evidence in this case tends to show that the original creditor
violated our statutes, in sending the claim without the State for the
purpose o f garnishment (sections 2283, 2284, Burns’s Rev. Stat. 1901);
but it does not appear that appellant failed to disclose any defense
within its knowledge. A wrong has been done the appellee, but its
consequences ought not to be visited upon the appellant, in the absence
o f any showing mat it was a party to or responsible for such wrong.
Counsel for appellee wholly misapprehend the effect o f the fact that
appellee obtained a judgment on his claim in this State before judg
ment was rendered in the Kentucky court. It is to be remembered
that the action in Kentucky was commenced, and service was there
had upon appellant, before the institution o f this suit. The fact that
a judgment was obtained in this State was in no wise inconsistent with,
but was based on, the fact that the appellant owed the appellee, and
that was the basis o f the garnishment in Kentucky. The effect o f the
pendency o f said suit merely conferred a privilege upon the appellant
to seek a stay o f proceedings in this action. [Cases cited.]
We think it clear that the court below did not give the judgment o f
the Kentucky court, duly certified as it was, the full faith and credit
that it was entitled to under the Federal Constitution. (Railroad Co.
v. Sturm, 174 U. S. 710, 19 Sup. Ct. 797, 43 L. Edr 1144.)
A motion has been made to dismiss the appeal in this case, but, in
view o f the question involved, the motion is overruled.
Judgment reversed, with an instruction to the circuit court to grant
appellant’s motion for a new trial.

L a b o r e r s ’ L i e n — W h o E n t i t l e d — P r i v i t y o f C o n t r a c t — K lon
dike Lumber Company v. Williams Brothers, Supreme Court o f A rkan
sas, 75 Southwestern R eporter, page 8 5 —In the circuit court o f Little

192

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

River County, W illiams Brothers had obtained a judgment against the
L ong Pine Lumber Company fo r a sum o f money due on-a contract
for cutting and delivering logs at their mills. Williams Brothers had
done part o f the labor themselves and had employed a number o f per
sons to assist in the labor. From this judgment the Klondike Lumber
Company, as intervener makes an appeal, it having purchased the lum
ber manufactured by the Long Pine Lumber Company at the time
when the latter quit business. The original action was brought under
the provisions o f section 4766, Sand. & H. D ig., which gives to labor
ers a lien on the product o f their labor fo r the amount due them.
The appellants claim that this statute does not apply here, but the
court ruled to the contrary, affirming the judgment o f the court below.
Judge Riddick, after stating the facts, announced the decision o f the
court. From his remarks the follow ing is taken:
The question presented by this appeal is whether certain contractors
and laborers had a lien on lumber manufactured by the L ong Pine
Lumber Company and sold by them to the appellant Klondike Lumber
Company. Our statute gives laborers who perform work and labor a
lien on the production o f their labor fo r the amount due them for such
work and labor. (Sand. & H. D ig., sec. 4766; acts 1895, p. 39.) The
statute, as it now stands in the acts o f 1895, is silent as to whether the
labor snail be done under a contract or not, but o f course it was not
intended that a mere trespasser should have a lien. The labor must
be done either under a contract with the owner or under circumstances
showing that the owner consented thereto, though a majority o f us are
o f the opinion that it is unnecessary that the laborer should perform
the work under a contract in direct privity with the owner o f the prop
erty. I f it is done under a contractor who has a contract with the
owner fo r the performance o f the work, then it sufficiently shows the
consent o f the owner, though in such a case the lien could not exceed
the amount agreed to be paid by the owner to the contractor for the
performance o f the work. It might even be limited to the amount due
the contractor at the time the action to enforce the lien is commenced,
but under the facts o f this case that question need not be considered.
All that we need say here is that the laborers who cut and hauled the
timber to the mill are not debarred from claiming a lien by the mere
fact that they were not directly employed by the owner o f the timber.
It is sufficient that they worked under one who had a contract with the
owner to do the work, and that the owner has paid neither the con
tractor nor the laborer.
On the question as to whether these men who cut the timber into
logs and hauled and placed them on the skidway at the mill o f the
owner are entitled to a lien on the lumber made from the logs there
may be more reason to doubt. But their labor was part o f the work
necessary to change the timber into lumber. It contributed directly
towards the production o f the lumber, and we are o f the opinion that
they have a lien, though the aggregate amount o f these liens can not
exceed the sum which the owner agreed to pay the contractors for per
form ing the work.
As to the contractors, we have several times held that a contractor
is not a laborer within the meaning o f the statute giving persons liens
who perform w ork and labor, the statute being intended to protect

DECISIONS OF COUNTS AFFECTING LABOK.

193

the actual laborer, and does not apply to contractors, or those who
only superintend the labor o f others. The mere fact, therefore, that
Williams Bros, contracted to do this work, and hired persons to do it,
gives them no lifen; but they also themselves performed work and
labor under their contract, and to the extent o f the value o f their own
labor they have liens as other laborers have. This lien, we think,
should include the value o f the use o f their wagon and team when
actually driven and used by them in perform ing the work; fo r in such
a case the labor o f one who uses a wagon and team or other instru
mentality furnished by himself in the performance o f his work includes
both the work o f himself and that o f the instrumentality by which he
performs it, and he has a lien fo r the value o f all his labor.

P r o t e c t io n o f W a g e s — C o n t r a c t o r s ’ B o n d s — C o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y
S t a t u t e — Gibbs v. Tally, Supreme Court o f California, 65 Pacific
R eporter, page 970.— In this case -William H. Gibbs sued Mary A .
Tally and another to recover damages fo r failure to comply with sec
tion 1203, Code o f Civil Procedure, relating to the filing o f bonds by
contractors fo r the security o f payments to laborers and material men.
Gibbs had been awarded judgment in the superior court o f Los
Angeles County, which judgment had been affirmed in department two
o f the supreme court. On rehearing in bank this judgment was
reversed and Mrs. Tally declared to be free from liability on the
ground that the statute on which the action was based was unconstitu
tional. (For full text o f the law see Bulletin o f the Department o f
Labor, No. 36, page 1001.) Judge Temple in delivering the opinion
o f the court used in part the follow ing language:
of

The statute directs that every contract required to be filed by the
provisions o f the chapter relating to liens o f mechanics and others
shall be accompanied by a good and sufficient bond, and that any
laborer or material man shall have an action to recover upon the bond
for the value o f labor and materials, not exceeding the amount o f the
bond; and such action shall not affect his lien. A failure to comply
with the provisions o f the section rendered “ the owner and contractor
jointly and severally liable in damages to any and all material men,
laborers, and subcontractors entitled to liens upon property affected
by said contract.” The statute does not say who shall cause this bond
to be executed, nor to whom it shall in form be made payable. It
does not undertake that the contractor shall faithfully perform his
contract. In short, there is in it nothing which can be o f advantage
to the owner in any possible event. On the other hand, no possible
loss will accrue to the contractor by a failure to provide the bond.
The declaration that he shall be severally and jointly liable with the
owner is useless verbiage. The contractor is already liable fo r all
labor or materials furnished to him or by his authority. The only
person, therefore, upon whom a penalty is put for the failure is the
owner. He, therefore, and he only, is required to furnish the bond;
and, in effect, the bond is conditioned only that the contractor will
pay 6"such” persons the value o f labor and materials so furnished to

194

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

him; and the action by a lienor does not affect his lien, or an action
commenced for the foreclosure o f it. The section assumes a valid
contract, under which, if the contract is performed* the lienors can
have the entire contract price distributed to them. But after that has
been done, or even before it, a suit can be brought upon the bond, or,
if it has not been filed, against the owner, to recover an additional 25
per cent upon the contract price, and that is this precise case. The
material men and laborers could have demanded security from the con
tractor before furnishing materials or labor. The statute attempts to
compel the owner to furnish security for them in a matter to which he
is not a party, and in which he is not concerned. The cost may exceed
the contract price, because material men combine to charge exorbitant
prices, or through bad management o f the contractor, or because prices
have increased since the contract was let, or from other causes. I f
this can be required from the owner it lessens materially the value of
his contract. In fact, so far as price is concerned, it deprives him o f
it. He has no assurance that his house will be built for the stipulated
price. There is no more reason for requiring the owner to give this
security than there would be in requiring it from any other person in
the community. That the owner may be required to pay more than
the contract price is not the only injustice which may result from this
most unreasonable statute. The owner, or the sureties he is required
to furnish, would be responsible in case the contractor failed to per
form his contract. Suppose the structure failed to comply with the
contract—was in fact so defective as to be useless— and the owner
should refuse to pay for it? The very fact that he was injured by the
failure o f the contractor would create the liability on his part or
upon his sureties. Whether the owner is not the principal on the
bond, or the party for whom the sureties undertake, I will not discuss.
The undertaking, in effect, certainly is that the contractor will pay
certain debts if he incurs them; but he is not specially required to
furnish the bond, and, as I have stated, incurs no penalty for not doing
so, while the owner does:
It is perfectly manifest that this section, if valid, places an unreason
able restraint upon the owner o f property in regard to the use thereof.
It compels him to become responsible for liabilities he has not incurred,
and which were not created for his benefit. It practically forbids him
from im proving his property by letting a contract unless he becomes
liable, or furnishes sureties who will be so liable, for 25 per cent above
the contract price, and fo r the same amount in case the contractor so
far fails in keeping his contract that the labor and materials are with
out value to him, and the contractor has no valid claim against him on
account thereof. To impose this burden upon an owner is to some
extent to deprive him o f his property, fo r the value o f property con
sists in the right to use it. It was said by Judge Comstock, in W ynehamer v. People, 13 N. Y. 378: “ W hen a law annihilates the value
o f property, and strips it o f its attributes by which alone it is distin
guished as property, the owner is deprived o f it according to the
plainest interpretation, and certainly within the constitutional pro
vision, intended expressly to shield personal rights from the exercise
o f arbitrary pow er.” It is also an unreasonable and unnecessary
restriction upon the pow er to make contracts. It clearly contravenes
the provisions o f section 1, art. 1, o f the constitution of the State,
and the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution o f the United
States.

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
Seam en— P aym ent

W ages

195

A d v a n c e — C o n s t it u t io n a l it y

et al. v.
The Eudora, Supreme Court o f the United States, 23 Supreme Court
Repm'ter, page 821.— B. M. Patterson and others libeled the British
bark Eudora to recover certain wages paid in advance in violation o f
the act o f Congress o f December 21, 1898. A review o f the facts in
the case and o f the preliminary proceedings appears in the follow ing
statement made by Mr. Justice Brewer:
of

S t a t u t e — A p p l ic a t io n

F o r e ig n V e s s e l s — Patterson

On December 21, 1898 (30 Stat. at L. 755, 763, chap. 28, U. S.
Comp. Stat. 1901, pp. 3071, 3080), Congress passed an act entitled
a An A ct to Amend the Laws Relating to American Seamen, fo r the
Protection o f Such Seamen, and to Promote Commerce.55 The material
portion thereof is found in Sec. 24, which amends Sec. 10 o f chapter
121 o f the Laws o f 1884, so as to read:
“ Sec. 10. (a) That it shall be, and is hereby, made unlawful in any
case to pay any seaman wages in advance or the time when he has
actually earned the same, or to pay such advance wages to any other
person. Any person paying such advance wages shall be deemed
guilty o f a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be punished by
a fine not less than four times the amount o f the wages so advanced,
and may also be imprisoned fo r a period not exceeding six months, at
the discretion o f the court. The payment o f such advance wages shall
in no case, excepting as herein provided, absolve the vessel or the mas
ter or owner thereof from full payment o f wages after the same shall
have been actually earned, and shall be no defense to a libel, suit, or
action fo r the recovery o f such wages. I f any person shall demand or
receive, either directly or indirectly, from any seaman or other person
seeking employment as seaman, or from any person on his behalf, any
remuneration whatever for providing him with employment, he shall,
for every such offense, be liable to a penalty o f not more than one
hundred dollars.”
“ (f) That this section shall apply as well to foreign vessels as to
vessels o f the United States; and any master, owner, consignee, or
agent o f any foreign vessel who has violated its provisions shall be
liable to the same penalty that the master, owner, or agent o f a vessel
o f the United States would be fo r a similar violation: Provided, That
treaties in force between the United States and foreign nations do not
conflict.”
The appellants were seamen on board the British bark Eudora, and
filed this libel fo r wages in the district court o f the United States for
the eastern district o f Pennsylvania. By an agreed statement o f facts
it appears that on January 22, 1900, they shipped on board such bark
to serve as seamen for and during a voyage from Portland, M e., to
Rio and other points, not to exceed twelve months, the fin*4 port o f
discharge to be in the United States or Canada, with pay at the rate o f
one shilling fo r forty-five days and twenty dollars per month there
after. A t the time or shipment twenty dollars was paid on account o f
each o f them, and with their consent, to the shipping agent through
whom they were employed. On the completion o f the voyage, they,
having performed their duties as seamen, demanded wages for the full
term o f service, ignoring the payment made, at their instance, to the
shipping agent. The advanced payment and contract o f shipment
were not contrary to, or prohibited by, the laws of Great Britain. It

196

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

was contended, however, that they were prohibited by the act o f Con
gress, above quoted, and that such act was applicable. The district
court entered a decree dismissing the libel. (110 F ed., 430.) [See Bul
letin o f the Department o f Labor, No. 38, p. 171.] On appeal to the
circuit court o f appeals fo r the third circuit, that court certified the
follow ing questions to this court:
“ First. Is the act o f Congress o f December 21, 1898, properly
applicable to the contract in this case?
u Second. Under the agreed statement o f facts above set forth, upon
a libel filed b y said seamen, after the completion o f the voyage, against
the British vessel, to recover wages which were not due to them under
the terms o f their contract or under the law o f Great Britain, were
the libellants entitled to a decree against the vessel?”
These questions were both answered in the affirmative by the Supreme
Court. From the opinion o f the court, as delivered by Mr. Justice
Brewer, the follow ing is quoted:
A pplying the ordinary rules o f construction it does not seem to us
doubtful that the act o f Congress, if within its power, is applicable in
this case.
When, as here, the statute declares, in plain words, its intent in refer
ence to a prepayment o f seamen’s wages, and follows that declaration
with a further statement that the rule thus announced shall apply to fo r
eign vessels as well as to vessels o f the United States, it would do vio
lence to language to say that it was not applicable to a foreign vessel.
But the main contention is that the statute is beyond the power of
Congress to enact, especially as applicable to foreign vessels.
W e are unable to yield our assent to this contention. That there is,
generally speaking, a liberty o f contract which is protected by the
14th amendment, may be conceded; yet such liberty does not extend
to all contracts.
And that the contract o f a sailor fo r his services is subject to some
restrictions was settled in Robertson v. Baldwin, 165 U. S. 275, 41 L.
ed. 715, 17 Sup. Ct. Rep. 326 [See Bulletin o f the Department o f
Labor, No. 11, p. 509], in which sections 4598 and 4599, Rev. Stat.
(U. S. Comp. Stat., 1901, pp. 3115, 3116), in so far as they require
seamen to carry out the contracts contained in their shipping articles,
were held not to be in conflict with the 13th amendment, and in which
a deprivation o f personal liberty not warranted in respect to other
employees was sustained as to sailors. W e quote the following from
the opinion (p. 282, L . ed. p. 718, Sup. Ct. Rep. p. 329):
‘ ‘ From the earliest historical period, the contract o f the sailor has
been treated as an exceptional one, and involving, to a certain extent,
the surrender o f his personal liberty during the life o f the contract.
Indeed, the business o f navigation could scarcely be carried on without
some guaranty, beyond the ordinary civil remedies upon contract, that
the sailor will not desert the ship at a critical moment, or leave her at
some place where seamen are impossible to be obtained— as M olloy
forcibly expresses it— 4to rot in her neglected brine.’ Such desertion
might involve a long delay o f the vessel while the master is seeking
another crew, an abandonment o f the voyage, and, in some cases, the
safety o f the ship itself. Hence, the laws o f nearly all maritime nations
have made provision fo r securing the personal attendance o f the crew
on board, and fo r their criminal punishment fo r desertion or absence
without leave during the life o f the shipping articles.”

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

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I f the necessities o f the public justify the enforcement o f a sailor’s
contract by exceptional means, justice requires that the rights o f the
sailor be in like manner protected.
Neither do we think there is in it any trespass on the rights of the
States. Contracts with sailors for their services are, as we have seen,
exceptional in their character, and may be subjected to special restric
tions fo r the purpose o f securing the full and safe carrying on o f com
merce on the water. Being so subject, whenever the contract is fo r
employment in commerce, not wholly within the State, legislation
enforcing such restrictions comes within the domain o f Congress,
which is charged with the duty o f protecting foreign and interstate
commerce.
Finally, while it has often been stated that the law o f the place o f
performance determines the validity o f a contract, yet that doctrine
does not control this case. It is undoubtedly true that, for some pur
poses, a foreign ship is to be treated as foreign territory. As said by
Mr. Justice Blackburn in Queen v. Anderson, L. R. 1 C. C. 161, “ A
ship which bears a nation’s flag is to be treated as a part o f the territory
o f that nation. A ship is a kind o f floating island.” Y et when a fo r
eign merchant vessel comes into our ports, like a foreign citizen coming
into our territory, it subjects itself to the jurisdiction o f this country.
In The Exchange v. M ’Fadden, 7 Cranch, 116, 136, 146, 3 L. ed., 28T,
293, 297, this court held that a public armed vessel in the service o f a
sovereign at peace with the United States is not within the ordinary
jurisdiction o f our tribunals while within a port o f the United States.
In the opinion, by Chief Justice Marshall, it was said that “ the juris
diction o f the nation within its own territory is necessarily exclusive
and absolute. It is susceptible o f no limitation not imposed by itself.
A ny restriction upon it deriving validity from an external source would
imply a diminution o f its sovereignty to the extent o f the restriction,
ana an investment o f that sovereignty to the same extent in that power
which could impose such restriction.”
Again, in Wildenhus’s case, 120 U. S. 1, sub nom. Mali v. Hudson
County Common Jail Keeper, 30 L. ed. 565, 7 Sup. Ct. Rep. 385, in
which the jurisdiction o f a State court over one charged with murder,
committed on board a foreign merchant vessel in a harbor o f the State,
was sustained, it was said by Mr. Chief Justice Waite (pp. 11, 12, L .
ed. p. 567, Sup. Ct. Rep., p. 387):
“ It is part o f the law o f civilized nations that when a merchant ves
sel o f one country enters the ports o f another fo r the purposes o f trade,
it subjects itself to the law o f the place to which it goes, unless, by
treaty or otherwise, the two countries have come to some different
understanding or agreement.”
It follows from these decisions that it is within the power o f Con
gress to prescribe the penal provisions o f section 10, and no one within
the jurisdiction o f the United States can escape liability fo r a violation
o f those provisions on the plea that he is a foreign citizen or an officer
o f a foreign merchant vessel. It also follows that it is a duty o f the
courts o f the United States to give full force and effect to such pro
visions. It is not pretended mat this Government can control the
action o f foreign tribunals. In any case presented to them, they will
be guided by their own views o f the law and its scope and effect; but
the courts o f the United States are bound to accept this legislation,
and enforce it whenever its provisions are violated.

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198

DECISION S UNDER COMMON L A W .
C o m p e t e n t E m p l o y e e s — E m p l o y m e n t o f M in o r s — L i a b i l i t y

E m ployer—

Orisman et al. v. Shreveport B elt R ailw ay Company et al.,
Supreme Court o f Louisiana, 3If, Southern R eporter, page 718.— This
was an action b y Mattie Crisman and others against the above-named
railway company to recover damages fo r the death o f James T. Cris
man as a result o f being run over by one o f their cars. One point o f
interest was the claim o f the plaintiffs that the motorman was incom
petent by reason o f youth and inexperience. The following extracts
from the syllabus prepared by the court present its conclusions as to
this subject:
1. It is negligence, on the part o f an electric railway company whose
line traverses a city, to have one o f its cars in the charge o f a young
man only 18 years old, whose experience in the handling o f an electric
car dates only twenty days back.
2. F or the shortcomings o f such a motorman, in a case where the
death o f a human being has ensued, the car company will be held to
the strictest accountability; and doubt as to whether the life o f the
deceased might not have been spared had the car been in the hands o f
a more experienced and more competent motorman will be construed
against the car company.
E m plo yer s’

L i a b i l i t y — R a il r o a d

R e l ie f

D epartm ent— F u r

v. St.
Louis, Keohuk and Northwestern R ailroad Company, Court o f
A ppeals at St. Louis, 74 Southwestern R eporter, page 4&6-— John
Haggerty had sued in the circuit court o f Lewis County, Missouri,
and recovered a judgment fo r damages against the above-named com
pany fo r an injury received while in its employment. The injury
was a fracture o f the right leg a few inches above the ankle joint.
Immediately after the accident H aggerty had been taken to his home
and a Dr. Smith called in to give treatment. He dressed the leg,
and left H aggerty with a remark to the effect that that would
answer until the railroad doctor came. On the following day the
doctor referred to, one Bourne, came and examined the limb at the
request o f Dr. Smith, who was not present when Bourne arrived, but
was invited to come in at his (Bourne’s) request. It appears that the
above-named railroad company was one o f a number o f companies
whose relief departments were united under the name o f the Burling
ton Voluntary Relief Department. This department was supported
by sums deducted from the wages o f the employees o f the companies
in proportion to their earnings, the resulting fund being used to pay
the members’ benefits when disabled by sickness or accident and, in
case o f their death, to pay benefits to their families, the railroad com
panies contributing when the members’ fees were inadequate to the
demands. Haggerty was a member o f this association. Am ong the
n is h in g

S u r g ic a l

A t t e n d a n c e — M a l p r a c t i c e —H aggerty

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

199

rules o f the relief department were provisions that benefits received
from its fund should operate as a release and satisfaction o f all claims
for damages against the employing company fo r injuries or death, and
that if any member or his legal representatives should bring suit on
account o f such injuries or death and the action should proceed to
judgment or a compromise, all claims upon the relief fund should
be precluded. Dr. Bourne, named above, was known as a medical
examiner for the relief department. Am ong his duties were those o f
reporting the condition o f sick and injured members, when members
were unfit for duty, and when they were able to work, the prepar
ing o f claims for benefits, certifying bills for surgical treatment, and
the performance o f such other duties as might be required by the medi
cal director. The relief association provided for the payments o f such
bills for surgical attendance as were approved by the medical director
o f the relief department. Haggerty received the treatment above
referred to and undertook to go to work some months after the injury,
but found himself unable to continue in the service o f the company.
He was again treated for a long time and was practically disabled for
work most o f the time fo r more than a year on account o f his leg. It
was alleged in H aggerty’s claim that by a negligent setting o f the bones
the leg was crooked and shorter than the other one and that he was per
manently crippled. The evidence tended to prove that the bones were
not properly set nor was efficient and skillful surgery displayed in tak
ing care o f the fracture until it healed. Am ong the instructions given
in behalf o f the plaintiff H aggerty was one stating “ that the defendant
is liable fo r all negligent acts o f its agents, within the general scope o f
their employment, while engaged in the business of said railroad com
pany, and with the view to the furtherance o f the railroad company’s
business. I f the physician or surgeon who treated plaintiff’s broken
leg did so in furtherance o f defendant’s interests and directions, and
it was the defendant’s physician and surgeon who undertook to set and
treat and doctor plaintiff’s broken leg, the defendant is liable fo r negli
gence, if any, of such physician, whether he was sent without pay from
plaintiff to defendant, or was sent under and in pursuance o f the obli
gations o f a contract between plaintiff and defendant.” And further,
“ that the defendant is liable for the negligent acts o f its agents, is
liable in all matters done in the course o f the agent’s employment, even
though the defendant did not authorize the specific act done. I f the
physician who treated and operated upon plaintiff’s broken leg did so
in the course o f his or their usual employment with the defendant,
then the act done was as the agent o f the defendant.” The defendant
company asked the court to instruct the jury that “ even though you
find from the evidence that Dr. B. H. Smith was employed by Dr. J. J.
Bourne professionally to treat plaintiff for the fracture of his right
leg, being the fracture spoken o f in the evidence, and even if you find
that Dr. Smith did in fact, pursuant to such employment, treat plain

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

tiff fo r such fracture, and find that he, Dr. Smith, treated plaintiff in
an unskillful and careless manner, yet defendant would not be liable
fo r such carelessness and unskillful treatment, unless you further find
that Dr. Bourne was careless and negligent in the employment o f
Dr. Smith.” From the judgment in favor o f plaintiff the company
appealed, the appeal resulting in a reversal o f the judgment o f the
court below.
Judge Goode, speaking fo r the court, having stated the above facts,
discussed one or two questions o f secondary importance and then
said:
Bourne’s right to employ Smith is still more earnestly questioned,
but we think that issue was for the jury under the evidence. The
passage o f the answer recited in the statement o f fact alleges that the
relief department had the option to furnish members surgical atten
tion when injured, or refrain from doing so, but that the practice was
to allow the injured member to select his own surgeon'. Dr. Bourne
testified that, while it was customary in certain cases to pay bills fo r
treatment, it paid them only when the member was disabled by an
accident. Further, he said, in effect, that, if he was satisfied the sur
gery a member was receiving was unskillful^ he would make a report o f
it; that the relief department could advise as to the surgeon, but could
not change one against the patient’s will. M oreover, the regulations
o f the department directly empowered medical examiners to certify
bills fo r surgical treatment; ana those facts, while they do not conclu
sively prove Dr. Bourne was authorized to employ Dr. Smith, war
rant the inference that he might do so without exceeding his duty;
and, in fact, his authority was practically admitted when the answer
said the relief department might, if it deemed best, employ surgeons
fo r disabled members. There is evidence to show this right was exer
cised in this instance, whether it ever was in any other or not, and, as
the pleadings and evidence stand now, a case was made for the jury as
to whether the defendant was remiss in perform ing its duty. W hat
its duty was, we will now inquire.
Granting that the plaintiff was negligently and unskillfully treated
by physicians employed by the defendant company, the question arises
whether the company’s responsibility is to be determined by the doc
trine o f respondeat superior; in other words, whether the defendant
is liable for their malpractice if it was reasonably careful in selecting
them, or is only liable if it was not careful in that respect.
W e are referred to a line o f decisions holding that hospitals, and
other bodies politic intended for charitable purposes or to assist in the
performance o f some function o f government without expectation o f
profit, are not responsible fo r the negligence o f servants and employ
ees unless they are remiss in choosing them.
In our judgment the relief department organized by the defendant
company, in view o f the regulations provided for its government, can
not be classed as a charity without doing violence to every significance
that word bears, either in popular or legal usage. It is not a charity
within the [common] definition * * * because the fund adminis
tered is not a g ift by the employees, who make contributions; much
less by the railroad company, which does not make any unless a deficit
occurs. The fund is made up from sums contributed by the members
for their mutual benefit, and to be enjoyed by them if they suffer from

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

201

sickness or accident. It is, in effect, a provision made by the employees
to insure a stipend fo r them to live on if they are disabled, and a ben
efit to their families if they die. In addition to this, if disabled by
accident, their medical attendance is paid out o f the fund. This strikes
us as a purely business arrangement on the part o f the employees o f the
railroad company. But to call the enterprise a charity on the part o f
the company itself is extravagant, when we note that one o f its pur
poses, as carved in high relief on the face o f the regulations, is to
prevent damage suits.
The petition charges that the defendant bound and obligated itself
to furnish the plaintiff, as a member o f the relief department, competent
and skillful surgeons to wait on him, and, if such contract was in
fact made, defendant is o f course answerable if it failed to perform ;
that is to say, if it furnished a surgeon whose lack o f skill resulted in
injuring the plaintiff. But no evidence was adduced to show that any
such contract or obligation was ever created by express words, and,
if one existed, it arose by implication from the regulations of the relief
department. Those regulations imposed no duty on the railroad com
pany or its relief department to furnish surgeons, skilled or otherwise,
io r sick and disabled members. A ll that is said bearing on that mat
ter is that the medical examiners may certify bills for surgical attend
ance, and that members accidentally hurt are entitled to payment o f
such bills, if approved by the medical examiner.
But we have neld there was evidence tending to prove that in this
instance the railroad company did hire surgeons to treat the plaintiff,
though there was none to show he did not willingly accept them or pre
ferred any one else. Unquestionably, if it undertook to supply plain
tiff with surgical attendance, or deprived him o f a choice in the matter,
it was bound to employ reasonable care to get men o f average skill.
But did its obligation end there? A s we have seen, to be exempted
from the rule o f respondeat superior, the exemption can not be granted
on the principle that it was operating a charity, and some other ground
o f immunity must be found.
Modern conditions make it imperative to hold many employers
responsible fo r the torts o f their servants, as a means o f enforcing care
in the prosecution o f dangerous enterprises and the handling o f danger
ous implements and machinery. Railroad companies must see that
their servants are cautious in operating trains, make all needful regu
lations, select their employees with that end in view, and discharge
them when they are careless and unskillful. The application o f
the rule in question is especially called fo r when the misfeasance
o f the employee happens while he is engaged about the main business
o f his employer. In cases like this the surgeon is not regarded as
sustaining in full measure the relation o f servant to the railway com
pany. That relation carries the right o f direction and control o f the
servant by the master as to the mode in which the former shall do his
work; ana when an employer, instead o f reserving in terms or by impli
cation the right o f direction, contracts fo r the exercise o f independent
judgment and skill on the part o f the person employed, the latter is
often regarded as a separate contractor, and alone responsible for his
torts. [Cases cited.]
The defendant company was not primarily engaged in ministering
to sick and disabled persons fo r profit, but, when it gave such minis
trations, did so as an incident to its regular business. There is little

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BULLETIN OF THE BUEEAU OF LABOE.

likelihood o f railway companies or other employers becoming careless
in the selection o f physicians to wait on employees; and, as their busi
ness managers and superintendents are not selected for their expert
knowledge o f medical and surgical matters, they are unfit to supervise
the work o f physicians, and therefore the doctrine o f respondeat
superior can not well be applied to such matters. W e think these are
the real reasons why the courts have refused to extend the rule to them;
and we need not be troubled because this course is inconsistent with
the general doctrine that masters are answerable fo r the torts o f serv
ants, since the law aims at practical rather than theoretical ends, and
regulates acts with reference to their consequences instead o f their
logical connection. The precedents, without exception, hold that,
unless the evidence shows want o f care in the selection o f the surgeon,
the servant injured by malpractice has no recourse against his employer.
[Cases cited.]
It follow s from the above considerations and authorities that the
circuit court erred in refusing the instruction requested by defendant
which is set out in the statement, and in giving several instructions
asked by the plaintiff. The case should have been tried on the theory
pointed out, to wit, that the liability o f the defendant depends on
whether it exercised due care in selecting physicians to wait on the
plaintiff, if it furnished him with physicians. Instead o f that theory
being followed, the effect o f the instructions to the jury was to leave
it entirely out o f view, and to hold the company liable fo r the surgeons’
incompetency, however cautiously they may have been chosen.
The judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded.

I n j u n c t io n — D is c h a r g e

E m p l o y e e s B e c a u s e o f M e m b e e s h ip

et al. v. Western Union Tele
graph Company, United States Circuit Court f o r the Eastern D istrict
o f M issouri, Eastern D ivision , 121^ Federal R eporter, page 21^6.—This
is a bill brought by Boyer and others to procure an injunction against
the Western Union Telegraph Company, prohibiting the discharge o f
employees on account o f membership in the Commercial Telegraphers’
Union, and also prohibiting the maintenance by said company o f a
blacklist. The bill also alleged that the company had conspired to
destroy the Telegraphers’ Union. The injunction was denied. The
points involved were discussed in the follow ing manner by Judge
Rogers, who delivered the opinion o f the court:
in

L a b o r U n i o n — B l a c k l i s t — B oyer

The first cause o f complaint is that plaintiffs have been discharged
without notice from the service o f the defendant for no other cause
than that they joined that union. But the answer to that complaint is
that in a free country like ours every employee, in the absence o f con
tractual relations binding him to work fo r his employer a given length
o f time, has the legal right to quit the service o f his employer without
notice, and either with or without cause, at any time; and in the absence
o f such contractual relations any employer may legally discharge his
employee, with or without notice, at any time. The second ground
for complaint is that defendant, its officers and agents, have unlawfully
combined and confederated together to destroy the said union, and

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

203

intend discharging all the members o f said union from the service o f
the defendant, and by threats, intimidation and coercion, and other
wise, are interfering with tne plaintiffs and with others o f their
employees fo r uniting with the union, and are seeking to prevent those
discharged from obtaining employment. I need not take time to mul
tiply authorities to show that there is no such thing in law as a con
spiracy to do a lawful thing. I f the last allegation means anything, it
is that the defendant, its officers and agents, have conspired to destroy
the union by discharging all its members in its employ, and refusing
to employ others, solely fo r the reason that they were members o f the
union. But it is not unlawful, in the absence o f contractual relations
to the contrary, to discharge them for that or for any other reason, or
for no reason at all. Hence there is no such thing in law as a con
spiracy to do that, and it matters not whether you call such an agree
ment a conspiracy, a combination, or a confederation.
True, it is alleged that defendant, its officers and agents, unlawfully
combined and confederated to destroy the union. But what is unlaw
ful is a question o f law; whether a thing done is unlawful depends on
what is done or threatened to be done. But what the defendant com
pany, its officers and agents, combined or confederated to do in order
to destroy the union, is the precise thing the complaint fails to show.
The court must always be able to look at the facts and say that if these
facts are true they are illegal; otherwise there is no ground for invoking
its protective agency.
But it is said that defendant maintains a blacklist containing a list
o f names o f such persons as may have incurred its displeasure and
have been discharged from its service, and that, by methods not
known to them, it prevents such discharged persons from getting
employment as telegraph operators; that they have blacklisted people
solely because they belong to the union, and that they intend to black
list others fo r the same thing, etc. W e have seen it is not unlawful to
discharge plaintiffs because they belong to the union. Is it unlawful
for defendant to keep a book showing that they were discharged because
they belonged to the union? The union presumably, and especially in
view o f the allegations in the bill, is an honorable, reputable, and use
ful organization, intended to better the conditions and elevate the
character o f its members. Is it illegal fo r defendant to keep a book
showing that it had discharged members o f such a union solely because
they belong to it? That seems to be the real essence o f the bill. Is
it illegal to notify others that it keeps such a book and that they can
inspect it, or to inform others what such a book shows? That seems
to be the ground o f complaint. There can be no question about it;
the positive, direct, and unequivocal allegation is that defendant keeps
such a book; that plaintiffs are placed on it solely because they belong to
the union, and have been discharged solely because they did belong
to the union. Can a court o f equity grant relief to a man who says
for his cause o f action that he belongs to a reputable organization, and
that he has been discharged solely because he did belong to it; that
his employer who discharged him keeps a book on which is placed his
name, and has set opposite thereto the fact that he discharged him
solely because he belonged to such organization; and that he gives that
information to other persons, who refuse to employ him on that
account? Suppose a man should file a bill alleging that he belonged to
the Honorable and Ancient Order o f Freemasons, or to the Presbyterian
Church, or to the Grand A rm y o f the Republic; that his employer had

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

discharged him solely on that account; that he had discharged others
o f his employees, and intended to discharge all o f them, fo r the same
reason; that he kept a book which contained all the names o f such dis
charged persons, and set opposite the name o f each discharged person
the fact that he had been discharged solely on the ground that he
belonged to such organization; and that he had given such informa
tion to others, who refused to employ such persons on that account.
Is it possible a court o f equity could grant relief? I f so, pray, on
what ground? And yet that is a perfectly parallel case to this as made
by the bill.
I n j u n c t io n — S t r i k e s — L a b o r U n io n s — G u lf B ag Company v.
Suttner et al., United States Circuit Court f o r the N orthern D istrict
o f C alifornia, 1 2 Federal R eporter, page lfi7.— This was a suit for
the continuance o f a restraining order issued at the instance o f the
G ulf Bag Company to restrain Suttner and others from intimidating
the employees o f the company. The facts sufficiently appear in the
remarks o f Judge Beatty in granting the continuance prayed:

The complaint alleges the existence o f the San Francisco Labor
Council o f Federated Trades, o f which defendants Benham and Zant are
respectively president and secretary; that its objects are to compel
the employers o f labor to employ only union laborers; that the Cotton
Bag W orkers’ Union, No. 10648, is a union association o f-w h ich
defendants Hanback and Tiedemann are respectively president and
secretary, and some o f whose members worked for complainant, and quit
complainant’s service on June 8, 1903; that all o f defendants have con
spired and combined to injure complainant’s business, unless it shall
employ only the members o f such union; that on and after the 8th day
o f June, 1903, defendants assembled in large numbers about com
plainant’ s premises, and by unlawful threats, intimidations, and other
unlawful means so intimidated complainant’s employees as to prevent
them from working. There are numerous affidavits attached to the
complaint showing various unlawful acts by defendants, consisting o f
the application to complainant’s employees o f vile epithets and language,
o f threats against them, and, in a few instances, o f actual personal
assaults. Upon such showing a restraining order was issued, and the
question now is whether it shall be continued until the case can be
heard upon its merits.
By their affidavits the defendants specifically deny every unlawful
act, the use o f every threat, o f every vile epithet or language charged
to have been done or used by them, and they allege, as is the rule in
such cases, “ that the principal object o f their union is, by mutual
arrangements with the employers o f its members, to secure satisfac
tory rates o f wages, and to improve the efficiency o f its members, and
that it does not approve or tolerate violence fo r any purpose.” There
is no doubt that all the written stated objects in their records o f organ
ization are worthy and commendable, but the question is not as to the
objects o f their organization, stated or otherwise; it is what they do.
The law does give the right o f peaceable persuasion. It is the
abuse o f this right which leads to all the trouble. In their desire to
succeed they too often go in great numbers. Am ong them are
generally some who are lawless and reckless o f rights or consequences.

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

205

They do that which the conservative and better classes do not approve
of, and the general result is that the conscious power o f great numbers
leads along from one act to another, to the usual end that violence and
abuse are resorted to when advice and persuasion fail. But it must
be understood that when any assemble in numbers for some object
they must be held responsible for what their associates do, whether
they approve o f or advise it or not.
It is not in doubt that disagreement existed between complainant
and its employees, and that the latter quit w ork; that some o f such
employees and some o f their friends, after the strike, collected in the
vicinity o f complainant’s works, and at least interviewed other
employees, and that this occurred during several successive days;
that one man at least— Jensen— was violently assaulted with a bludgeon
and knocked down in that vicinity b y somebody; that there is fair
evidence of other assaults, there and at other places, upon the
employees who continued to work; that it had grown so dangerous
that the police officers found their presence necessary to preserve the
peace. Objection was made to the use o f a certified copy of a police
officer’s official report to his chief. It bears upon the issues, and
bears the evidence o f truth. The truth is what we want, and it will
not be excluded for merely technical reasons, but it may be added
that the result reached does not at all depend upon this report.
All laboring people fully understand that whenever they please, and
for any cause, they have the right to quit work, whether as individuals
or as organizations. They must also understand that all men, whether
associated with them or not, have equal rights with them in the labor
ing world. The right to labor, or to cease it, must be as free to all as
it is to water to seek its level. This Government is one o f liberty
under the law, and its people are free men; neither will tolerate the
attempt o f any to enforce assumed rights by crushing the inalienable
rights o f others. Until all recognize and obey that law the contest
must and will g o on.
I think, in the interest o f peace and law, this restraining order
should be continued. It is complained that it is too comprehensive in
that it includes the members o f both associations hereinbefore named.
There is no question that the Cotton Bag W orkers’ Union is interested,
for the striking employees o f complainant were members thereof, and
defendant Han back, who is president o f this union, says in his affidavit
that the president and secretary o f the other associations interceded in
this matter to procure better wages for these employees. As these
organizations w ork largely through their officers, it is not extravagant
to conclude that both organizations took more or less interest in this
contest.
Moreover, this restraining order does not deprive anyone o f any
right, nor require o f him any wrong. It only requires that no wrong
shall be committed, that no right shall be infringed. The order can
do no harm, even if not clearly and absolutely justified, but I think
the facts justify it, and, as it was made, so it is continued.

I n j u n c t io n — S t r i k e s —

P ic k e t in g —

I n terstate

C om m erce —

Knudsen et al. v. B enn et al. , United States Circuit Court f o r the D is
trict o f M innesota, F ifth D ivision, 123 Federal R eporter, page 636.—

550—No. 50—04----- 14

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

Knudsen and others who were engaged in the handling o f freight at
the docks o f the Northern Pacific Railway Company at Duluth, Minn.,
petitioned the court for an injunction against certain men, members
o f an association o f longshoremen, which should restrain them from
interfering with the conduct o f the complainants5 business. These
men, Benn and others, had form erly been in the employment o f the
freight handling company, but had struck, and it is against any inter
ference with the employees procured to take their places that the com
pany asks this injunction. An injunction was granted commanding
the persons named and all associated with them to desist and refrain
from in any manner interfering with, hindering, obstructing, or delay
ing the complainants5 work “ by trespassing in and upon the railroad
yards and docks o f the Northern Pacific Railway Company at Duluth,
Minn., for the purpose o f compelling or inducing, by threats, force,
intimidation, violence, violent or abusive language, or persuasion, any
employees o f complainants to refuse or fail to perform their duties as
such employees; also from compelling or inducing, or attempting to
compel or induce, by threats, intimidation, force, violence, or abusive
or violent language or persuasion, any o f the employees o f said com
plainants to leave their service; also from compelling or attempting
to compel, by threats, intimidation, force, violent and abusive lan
guage, any person desiring to seek employment with them; also from
establishing and maintaining spies and pickets at the place of work o f
complainants5employees, in, about, or adjacent to the yards and docks
o f said Northern Pacific Railway Company, or in or upon the streets
and avenues o f the city o f Duluth, near by and leading to and from
said yards and docks, for the purpose o f inducing or compelling, by
threats, intimidation, violence, violent or abusive language or persua
sion, any employee o f complainants to fail or refuse to perform his
duties as such, or for the purpose o f interviewing employees of com
plainants, and inducing them not to remain in the complainants5
employment.55
The grounds on which the injunction was granted are stated by
Judge Lochren in the following language:
The principles that govern this case are pretty well settled. O f
course, there are some differences in the language used by different
judges in such cases, arising more from the varying circumstances than
from any real difference in the apprehension o f what the law is g ov
erning cases o f this kind.
The acts here charged constitute an interference with interstate com
merce, and I suppose some matters are stated mainly to show that it is
a case over which a Federal court has jurisdiction. As Congress has
exclusive jurisdiction over commerce among the States and with foreign
countries, it is therefore the duty o f the Federal courts to safeguard
the exercise o f interstate commerce, and to see that it has protection
under the law.
Now, there is no question but that an employee may leave the serv
ice o f his employer without incurring liability to be required by a

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

207

court o f equity to continue in the service, even if he has contracted
to serve fo r a stated length o f time. A breach o f such contract may
give a right o f action at law, but performance will not be enforced in
equity. A party may leave the service o f his employer, and in the same
way an employer may discharge a servant for cause or without cause.
W hen a servant leaves, or an employer discharges a servant, the con
nection o f the servant with the service ceases, and this is especially so
when the employee leaves o f his own accord. He has the right to do
so if he demands higher wages, and the demands are not complied with
by the employer. He may leave, but if he does he has no right to
insist upon reemployment, or to take means to compel the employer
to take him back at higher wages; he has no further interest in the
service. Whomsoever the employer may engage afterwards to per
form the service is a matter o f no concern to the former servant, and
he has no right to interfere in the matter any longer. He has left the
service, and the only way he can return to it is by making a new contract
with the employer, who may receive him back or not, as he sees fit.
He has no right to do unlawful acts, or to interfere with the business
or property o f the employer, to coerce or compel the employer to
reinstate him or to accord him higher wages.
The right o f laborers to consult together and form unions, if they
please, for the purpose o f their own advancement and fo r the obtain
ing o f higher wages, is conceded; and, I suppose, employers have the
same right to form unions fo r the purpose o f depressing wages, if
they shall see fit to do so. It is a voluntary matter on the one side as
well as on the other. The employee has no more right to coerce the
employer to give him employment at a rate which he snail name than an
employer has to coerce a servant to work at such a rate as he shall
determine and dictate.
A s this case stands, these individual defendants are not in the em
ployment o f the complainants. They have no interest in the complain
ants’ business, and they have no rignt to interfere with that business
in any way. The testimony shows that they are interfering; they
admit it themselves. They admit it to the extent that they have been
placing “ pickets,” as they call them, to observe who is employed, and
for the purpose o f inducing such employees to leave the employment
o f the complainants.
Fellow-workmen may agree together to leave at once the service o f
their employer; but having done so, and being no longer interested in
that matter, then, notwithstanding certain dicta in cases that have
been read from , it does not seem clear to me that they are acting law
fully when they are persuading the servants o f their form er employer
to break their contracts and leave the service. It is a matter that does
not concern them any longer. It is a matter that is apparently injuri
ous to their former employer. It seems to me that such an interfer
ence in a matter with which they have no rightful concern and which
is injurious to another is not lawful.
But, whether it be so or not, it appears in this case, without any dis
pute, that there have been some unlawful acts, respecting which some
o f these defendants pleaded guilty to an indictment charging them
with such unlawful acts in matters complained o f here. The affidavits
o f police officers and others also show that there have been assaults and
threats made by defendants who have been employed by the complain
ants in this w ork against new employees, and that these matters have

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

been continued, and there have been some such occurrences since the
issuing o f this injunctional order.
It seems to me that this injunction must be allowed, and I think
that it may fairly extend to any interference, not only with the
employees o f the complainants, while they are at work and in places
where they are perform ing service, but also to interference with them
by pickets, and m other ways o f waylaying and meddling with them
while going to and returning from their work, and especially restrain
ing assaults o f any kind by force or violence, or intimidation by
threats o f force or violence.

I n j u n c t io n — T r a d e S e c r e t s — D is c l o s u r e b y E m p l o y e e — Stone
et al. v. Goss et al., Court o f E rrors and Appeals o f New Jersey, 55
A tlan tic R eporter, page 736.—This is a bill fo r an injunction to restrain
John Goss from divulging a secret process o f the complainants, his
form er employers, for the manufacture o f compounds used to remove
hair or wool from skins and hides, and also to restrain the Grasselli
Chemical Company from using or divulging any information derived
from Goss with reference to such secret process. Goss had been in
the employment o f the complainants for several years, during which
time they had manufactured and put upon the market what was called
“ Stone’s X X X D e p ila t o r y ” and “ Stone’s X X X X D e p ila t o r y .” The
Grasselli Chemical Company were rivals in the business o f such manu
factures and had induced Goss to leave his position with Stone and
enter their service. Goss informed his new employers of the com
plainants’ method o f manufacture and described their apparatus so
that they were.able to reproduce the same and put a similar depilatory
on the market. They were proceeding with preparations to do this
when an injunction was secured in the court o f chancery stopping such
an undertaking. An appeal was taken to the court of errors and
appeals, in which the decree of the court o f chancery was affirmed.
Stone alleged that Goss was under contract not to reveal the secrets o f
the manufacture, which contract Goss denied. The weight of the evi
dence, however, was held to establish the existence o f the contract.
The conclusions o f law are presented in the following syllabus by
the court:

1. One who is under an express contract, or a contract implied from
a confidential relation, not to disclose a trade secret, will be enjoined
from disclosing the same.
2. Others who induce him to disclose the secret, knowing o f his
contract not to disclose it, or knowing that his disclosure is m viola
tion o f the confidence reposed in him, will be enjoined from making
any use o f the information so obtained, although they might have
reached the same result independently by their own experiments or
efforts.
3. The disclosure necessarily made to the court does not deprive the
complainants o f their right to an injunction.

LAWS OF VARIOUS STATES RELATING TO LABOR ENACTED SINCE
JANUARY 1, 1896.
[The Second Special Report of this Bureau contains all laws of the various States and Territories
and of the United States relating to labor in force January 1,1896. Later enactments are reproduced
in successive issues of the Bulletin from time to time as published.]

CONNECTICUT.
A C T S O F 1903.
C h a p t e r 33.— F ree p u blic em ploym ent offices.
T h e com m issioner of the bureau of labor statistics m ay establish and conduct branch
public em ploym ent bureaus under th e direction and control of the five established
bureaus. Such branches m ay be established and conducted in any city w ithin the
State and shall be m anaged b y th e nearest bureau: P rovid ed , That in no case sh all
such a branch be established unless it can be conducted b y the bureau taking charge
thereof upon the appropriation m ade for such bureau.
A pproved, A p ril 14, 1903.
C h a p t e r 9 5 .— E xem ption o f w ages, etc., fro m execution.
S ection 1. So m uch of any debt w hich has accrued b y reason of the personal services
of the defendant as shall not exceed tw en ty-five dollars, including wages due for th e
personal services of any m inor ch ild , shall be exem pted and not liable to be taken
by foreign attachm ent or execu tion ; but there sh all be no exem ption of an y debt
accrued by reason of the personal services of the defendant against a claim for th e
defendant’ s personal board. A ll benefits allow ed b y any association of persons in
th is State tow ards th e support of any of its m em bers incapacitated b y sickness or
infirm ity from attending to his usual business sh all also be exem pted and n ot liable
to be taken b y foreign attachm ent or execution; and all m oneys due the debtor from
any insurance com pany upon policies issued for insurance upon property, either real
or personal, w hich is exem p t from attachm ent and execution, shall in lik e m anner
be exem pted to th e sam e exten t as the property so insured.
A pproved, M ay 15, 1903.
C h a p t e r 9 7.— In sp ector o f factories, etc.
S ection 1. T h e governor sh all, w ith the consent of th e senate, on or before the
fifteenth day of M ay, A . D . 1903, and before th e first day of M ay quadrennially
thereafter, appoint a factory inspector, w ho sh all hold office for four years and until
his successor is appointed and qualified. T he governor m ay rem ove the inspector
for cause. Said factory inspector shall receive an annual salary of tw en ty-five hun
dred dollars and necessary expenses.
S ec . 2. T he inspector sh all exam ine a ll elevators, w hether in factories, m ercan
tile establishm ents, storehouses, w orkhouses, dw ellings, or other buildings, and m ay
order hoistw ays, hatchw ays, elevator w ells, and w ell holes to be protected b y trap
doors, self-closing hatches, safety catches, or other safeguards as w ill insure th e
safety of all persons therein. Due diligence shall be used to keep such trapdoors
closed at all tim es, except w hen in actual use b y an occupant of th e building having
th e use and control of th e sam e. A ll elevator cabs or cars, w hether used for freight
or passengers, sh all be provided w ith som e suitable m echanical device, if considered
necessary b y said inspector, w hereby th e cab or car w ill be securely h eld in the
event of accident to the shipper rope or hoisting m achinery, or from an y sim ilar
cause, and said m echanical device shall at all tim es be kept in good w orking order.

209

210

BULLETIN OF THE BtfBEAU OF LABOB.

S ec . 3. T h e inspector m ay from tim e to tim e appoint deputies to assist him in th e
perform ance of his duties. Such deputies shall have th e sam e pow er and authority
as th e inspector, subject to h is approval. E ach of said deputies sh all receive a com
pensation of five dollars per day for actual services, and his necessary expenses in ci
dent to th e perform ance of th e duties of h is office. T h e total am ount expended
under th is section sh all n ot exceed in any one year seven thousand d ollars, w hich
sh all be paid upon proper vouchers b y the deputies, signed b y th e inspector.
A pproved, M ay 12, 1903.
C h a p t e r 149.— R igh t o f action fo r personal injuries — L im itation,
Section 1119 of th e general statutes is hereby am ended to read as follow s: N o action
to recover dam ages for in ju ry to th e person, or for an in ju ry to personal property
caused b y negligence, sh all be brought bu t w ithin one year from th e date of the
in ju ry or neglect com plained of.
A pproved, June 9, 1903.
C h a p t e r 193.— R igh t o f action fo r injuries causing death,
S ection 1 . N o cause or righ t of action sh all be lost or destroyed b y th e death of
any person, bu t sh all survive in favor of or against th e executor or adm inistrator of
such deceased person.
S e c . 4. In a ll actions surviving to or brought b y an executor or adm inistrator for
injuries resulting in death, w hether instantaneous or otherw ise, such executor or
adm inistrator m ay recover from th e party legally in fau lt for such injuries ju st dam
ages n ot exceedin g five thousand dollars: P rovid ed , T h at no action sh all be brought
upon th is statute bu t w ithin one year from th e neglect com plained of.
S ec . 5. A ll dam ages recovered under th is act sh all be distributed as directed in
section 399 of th e general statutes.
A pproved, June 18, 1903.

DELAW AR E.
A C T S O F 1903.
C h a p t e r 410.— H o u rs o f labor on p u blic works— C ity o f W ilm ington,
S ection 1. E igh t hours sh all constitute a legal d ay’ s w ork for all classes of
em ployees em ployed b y th e m unicipal corporation of th e city of W ilm in gton .
S ec . 2. E ach contract to w hich the m unicipal corporation*of th e city of W ilm in g
ton is a party w hich m ay in volve th e em ploym ent of laborers, w orkm en or m echanics
shall contain a stipulation that no laborer, w orkm an or m echanic in th e em ploy of
th e m unicipal corporation of the city of W ilm in gton , contractor, subcontractor, or
other person doing or contracting to do th e w hole or a part of th e w ork contem plated
b y th e contract shall be required to w ork m ore than eight hours in any one calendar
day, except in cases of extraordinary em ergency caused b y fire, flood or danger to
life or property.
S ec . 3. T h e w ages to be paid for a legal d ay’ s w ork as hereinbefore defined to all
classes of such laborers, w orkm en or m echanics, upon all such public w ork or upon
an y m aterial to be used upon or in connection therew ith sh all not be less than th e
prevailing rate for a d ay’ s w ork in th e sam e trade or occupation in th e locality in
th e State w here such public w ork, on, about or in connection w ith w hich such
labor is perform ed in its final or com pleted form is to be situated, erected or used.
E ach such contract hereafter m ade sh all contain a stipulation that each such laborer,
w orkm an or m echanic em ployed b y such contractor, subcontractor or other person
on, about or upon such p ublic w ork shall receive such wages as hereinbefore provided.
E ach contract for such public w ork hereafter m ade sh all contain a provision th at th e
sam e sh all be void and of no effect unless th e person or corporation m aking or per
form ing th e sam e shall com ply w ith the provisions of this act; and no such person
or corporation sh all be entitled to receive any sum nor sh all any officer, agent or
em ployee of th e m unicipal corporation of the city of W ilm in gton pay th e sam e or
authorize its paym ent from the funds under his charge or control to any such person
or corporation for w ork done upon any contract w hich in its form or m anner of per
form ance violates th e provisions of th is act.
S ec . 4. A n y officer, agent or em ployee of the m unicipal corporation, of th e city of
W ilm in gton , having a duty to act in the prem ises, w ho violates, evades, or know in gly perm its th e violation of [o r] evasion of any of th e provisions of th is act, shall

LABOR LAWS— DELAWARE— ACTS OF 1903.

211

be gu ilty of m alfeasance in office and shall be suspended or rem oved b y th e authority
having th e pow er to appoint or rem ove such officer, agent or em ployee, otherw ise
by th e governor. A n y citizen of this State m ay m aintain proceedings for th e suspen
sion or rem oval of such officer, agent or em ployee or m ay m aintain an action for the
purpose of securing th e cancellation or avoidance of any public contract w hich b y
its term s or m anner of perform ance violates th is act or for the purpose of preventing
any officer, agent or em ployee of such m unicipal corporation from paying or author
izing the paym ent of any public m oney for w ork done thereupon.
Sec. 5. T h is act sh all not apply to the policem en, park guards, w atchm en, or special
officers of any kind.
A pproved, A p ril 7, A . D . 1903.

IN D IA N A .
A C T S O F 1903.
C h a p t e r 16 .— Convict labor.

Section 1. Section four (4 ) of an act entitled “ A n act concerning th e em ploym ent
of th e convicts of th e State prison ,” [e tc .] * * * approved February 10, 1899,
* * * is hereby am ended to read as follow s: Section 4. N o contract for th e labor
o f the convicts of said prison sh all be m ade for a longer period than up to October
1st, 1910. Such contracts, w hether m ade for the labor of said convicts, or on the
piece price system , sh all be aw arded to th e highest and best bidder for th e sam e.
T h e regular hours for th e d ay’ s w ork in said prison shall n ot exceed eigh t hours,
subject to tem porary changes under necessity, or to fit special cases, to be sanctioned
b y th e board of control.
A pproved, February 14, 1903.
C h a p t e r 21 .— Inspection o f steam boats.
S ectio n 1. A fter th e passage and taking effect of th is act it sh all be th e duty of
every and all ow ners of any steam boat, naphtha or gas engine launch that is used for
carrying passengers, freight, baggage or m erchandise of any kind for h ire, upon any
of th e inland lakes, ponds or rivers of this State, to have the boiler, engine and
m achinery belonging to th e m otive pow er of such steam boat or launch carefully
inspected once each year b y som e com petent inspector and engineer w ho sh all hold
a certificate of com petency from som e reputable technical school or institute of the
U nited States, th is inspection to be not later than th e 16th day of M a y : P rovid ed ,
T h at if th e services of an inspector of th e class above m entioned can n ot be reasonably
obtained to m ake such inspection, th e ow ner or person engaged in running such
steam boat or launch required b y th is act to be inspected, m ay have such inspection
m ade b y any reputable engineer or m achinist qualified to m ake th e sam e, n ot of kin
to nor in th e em ploym ent of such ow ner or person running such boat: P rovid ed , fu r
ther, T h at before an y person sh all m ake such inspection he sh all have a certificate of
authority from th e State factory inspector authorizing such inspection, and sh all send
a copy of his report of each inspection m ade b y him to th e State factory inspector,
w hich report shall be filed and carefully preserved by the State factory inspector in
his office.

Sec. 2. Upon making inspection of any boat or launch required by this act to be
inspected, the inspector shall, if he finds the boiler, engine and machinery connected
with the motive power safe and in good order, issue to the owner or person using the
same, a certificate and commission substantially in the following form: “ I, (name)
hereby certify th at 1 did on t h e -----------day o f ------------ , 19— , carefully m ake personal
inspection of th e boiler, engine and th e other m achinery connected w ith th e m otive
pow er of th e steam boat (or launch) (n am e) ow ned b y (n am e) and operated by
(n am e), and I find th at such boiler, engine and m achinery are safe, sound and in
good condition, and said (nam e) is hereby com m issioned to use and run such boat
(n am e) for th e purpose of carrying passengers, freight, baggage and m erchandise for
hire until t h e -----------day of A ugust, 19— , (or u n til th e close of th e present season of
the last in sp ection ). Signed, (inspector’ s fu ll n a m e).”
T h e ow ner or operator of
such boat or launch sh all post such certificate and com m ission in a conspicuous place
upon his boat or launch and keep th e sam e so posted at all tim es th e boat or launch
is being run and used for hire.
Sec. 3. I f upon such inspection the boiler, engine or m achinery of any boat or
launch, or any part thereof, is found to be unsafe, unfit or dangerous for use, the
inspector shall not issue such certificate, bu t he sh all state in w riting w herein such
engine, boiler or m achinery is defective and unsafe, and he sh all- post such w riting

212

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

in som e conspicuous place on th e boat or launch, w hich shall be k ept so posted until
th e defective part or parts are repaired and m ade safe for use and a certificate and
com m ission to run and use th e boat or launch is d u ly issued b y th e inspector. A n y
person w ho sh all rem ove, m utilate or destroy an y certificate of inspection th at any
such engine, boiler or m achinery is defective, posted b y any inspector upon any such
steam boat, naphtha or gas engine launch, sh all be deem ed gu ilty of a m isdem eanor,
and upon conviction thereof sh all be fined in any sum not less than tw en ty-five ($25)
dollars nor m ore than fifty ($5 0 ) dollars.
S ec . 4. Such inspector m ay charge and collect from th e ow ner or person using and
running such steam boats and launches for h ire, th e sum of $10 for each inspection of
an y steam boat of six horse pow er or over, and $5 for each inspection of any naphtha
or gas engine launch of three horse pow er or over, and th e charge sh all be a lien
upon th e boat or launch so inspected, w hich lien m ay be enforced and collected in
the sam e m anner as m echanics, liens, in any court of com petent jurisdiction, to be
collected w ithout relief from valuation or appraisem ent law s, and a reasonable attor
ney fee m ay be recovered in such case in favor of th e plain tiff.

Sec. 5. Any inspector w ho shall knowingly issue a certificate of safety and com
mission to run, for any steamboat or launch inspected by him, when the boiler,
engine and machinery thereof are not safe and in good condition, shall be deemed
guilty of a grave misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum
not less than $50, and not more than $500, and upon a second conviction for such
offense, imprisonment not exceeding six months in the county jail may be added in
the discretion of the court or jury trying the case.
S ec . 6. A n y person ow ning, using, operating or running any steam boat, naphtha
or gas engine launch for th e carriage o f passengers, freight, baggage or m erchandise
of an y kind for h ire, after th e passage and taking effect of th is act, w ithout having
had th e boiler, engine and m achinery of steam boat or launch inspected as provided
in th e first section of th is act, sh all be deem ed gu ilty of a m isdem eanor, and upon
conviction therefor sh all be fined in any sum not less than tw enty nor m ore than
one hundred dollars therefor, and upon a second conviction for such an offense,
im prisonm ent in th e county ja il n ot exceeding six m onths m ay be added in th e dis
cretion of the court or ju ry tryin g th e case, and th e several justices’ courts of this
State shall have jurisdiction to in flict im prisonm ent in th e cases tried in such courts.
A pproved, February 21, 1903.

C h apter 46. — H ou rs o f labor o f em ployees on railroads.
Section 1. I t sh all be unlaw ful for any superintendent, train dispatcher, yardm aster, forem an or other railw ay official to perm it, exact, dem and or require any engi
neer, firem an, conductor, brakem an, sw itchm an or other em ployee, engaged in th e
m ovem ent of passenger or freight trains, or in sw itching service in yards or railw ay
stations, to rem ain on duty m ore than sixteen (16) consecutive hours, unless in case
of accident, w reck or other unavoidable cause, w ithout at least eigh t hours’ rest and
relief from all duty w hatever.

Sec. 2. For any violation of or failure to comply with any of the provisions of this
act, such company shall be liable to all persons and employees injured by reason
thereof; and no employee shall in any case be held to have assumed the risk incurred
by reason of such violation or failure.
S ec . 3. A n y superintendent, train dispatcher, train-m aster, forem an or other offi
cial of any railw ay in th e State of Indiana, violating any of the provisions of th is
act, shall upon conviction thereof be fined n ot less than tw enty ($20) dollars and n ot
m ore than tw o hundred ($200) dollars for each offense.
A pproved, February 28, 1903.

C hapter 78.— P rotection o f em ployees on buildings.
Section 1. I t shall be unlaw ful for any person, firm or corporation engaged in the
erection of any building, three stories in h eigh t or m ore, to begin in th e erecting of
th e th ird story, or an y story above th e third story, u n til a floor or protection has been
put dow n on th e second story, and a floor or protection sh all likew ise be put dow n
for th e th ird story before th e fourth story is com m enced, and so on successively. A
floor or protection sh all be put dow n on th e last story erected before beginning
w ork on th e w alls or m aterials for th e n ext story above. Such floor or floors sh all be
m ade of m aterial fitted together sufficiently close to p revent persons, m aterials or sub
stances of any k in d , fallin g from above, from going through th e sam e, and such floor
or floors shall be sufficiently secure as to prevent th eir tipping up or giving aw ay
under a person or persons w alking over sam e. T h e floors above referred to shall be
em bodied in the specifications ana fu lly described b y the architect or owner.

LABOR LAWS— INDIANA— ACTS OF 1903.

213

Sec. 2. I f any firm , person or corporation use or cause to be used an y elevating
m achines or hoisting apparatus in th e construction or building of any building or
other structure for the purpose of liftin g or elevating m aterials to be used in such
construction, such firm , person or corporation engaged in constructing such building,
sh all cause th e shafts or openings in each floor to be enclosed or fenced in on a ll sides
b y a barrier of suitable m aterial at least four feet h igh .
Sec. 3. Any person or corporation violating any of the provisions of this act shall
be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars.
Sec. 4 . T h e bureau of factory inspection is hereby required to enforce th e provi
sions of th is law .
A pproved, M arch 3, 1903.
C h a p t e r 120. — S a fety appliances on railroads .
S ection 1. From and after the first day of January, 1904, it shall be unlaw ful for
any person, firm , com pany or corporation engaged in com m erce b y railroad from one
p om t to another in th is State to use on its lin e any locom otive engine from one p oin t in
th e State to another poin t in th e State unless such locom otive is equipped w ith proper
driving w heel brake and appliances for operating th e train brake system , or using any
train in such traffic after said date th at has n ot a sufficient num ber of cars in it so
equipped w ith pow er or train brakes th at th e engineer on th e locom otive draw ing
such train can n ot control its speed w ithout requiring trainm en to use th e com m on
hand brake for th at purpose.
Sec. 2. On and after the first day of January, 1904, it sh all be unlaw ful for an y
such person, firm , com pany, or corporation to haul or perm it to be hau led, or used
on its lin e, an y car used in m oving traffic from one poin t w ithin th is State to another
poin t w ithin th is State, not equipped w ith couplers, coupling autom atically, b y
im pact, and w hich can be uncoupled w ithout th e necessity of m en going betw een th e
ends of th e cars.
Sec. 3. W h en any person, firm , com pany or corporation engaged in com m erce
w ithin this State b y railroad shall have equipped a sufficient num ber of its cars so as
to com ply w ith th e provisions of section one of th is act it m ay law fu lly refuse to
receive from an y connecting lines of road or shippers any cars n ot equipped suffi
ciently in accordance w ith th e first section of th is act, w ith such pow er or train
brakes as w ill w ork and readily interchange w ith th e brakes in use on its ow n cars,
as required b y th is act.
Sec. 4. From and after th e first day of January, 1904, it shall be unlaw ful for an y
person, firm , com pany or corporation operating any railroad, to use an y car in any
commence w h olly w ithin this State, th at is n ot provided w ith secure grab irons or
hand holds on each side of th e coupler at both ends of the car, and on each side of
the car at each end of such car.
Sec. 5. A n y such person, firm , com pany or corporation using any locom otive engine,
running any train, or hauling or perm itting to be hauled or used on its lin e, an y car
in violation of an y of the provisions of th is act, shall be liable to a pen alty of $10
for each and every such violation, to be recovered in a suit to be brought b y th e
prosecuting attorney in any court in this State having jurisdiction in th e locality
w here such violation sh all nave been com m itted; and it shall be th e duty of such
prosecuting attorney to bring such suits upon du ly verified inform ation of such
violation having occurred: P ro d d ed , T h at nothing in this act contained sh all apply
to trains com posed of four w heel cars.
Sec. 6. A n y em ployee of an y such person, firm , com pany or corporation so engaged
in operating a railroad w ithin th is State, w ho m ay be injured b y any locom otive, car
or train in use contrary to th e provisions of th is act, shall not be deem ed to have
assum ed th e risk occasioned th ereby, although continuing in the em ploym ent of such
person, firm , com pany or corporation after th e unlaw ful use of such locom otive, car
or train has been brought to his know ledge.
A pproved, M arch 9, 1903.
C h a p t e r 171 .— P aym ent o f wages in scrip .
S ection 1. W h en ever any person, firm , com pany or corporation or association
sh all take from any em ployee, laborer or other person rendering services for h ire in
th e State, an assignm ent of such em ployee’ s, laborer’ s or other person’ s w ages, earned
or unearned, due or to becom e due, or shall take from such em ployee, laborer or
other person rendering service for hire, any order on his em ployer for an y such w ages,
and sh all issue to give to any such em ployee, laborer or other person rendering serv
ice for hire, in consideration of or in paym ent for an y such assignm ent or transfer or
order, any check or any ticket, token or device payable or redeem able or purporting

214

BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR.

to be payable or redeem able or agreed to be payable or redeem able in goods, w a re[s],
m erchandise or an y other com m odity or anything other than law ful m oney of th e
U n ited States, such checks, tickets, tokens or device sh all at once becom e due and
payable in law ful m oney of th e U nited States, for and to th e exten t of th e fu ll am ount
of th e w ages assigned or relinquished for it, and th e em ployee, laborer or other per
son to w hom such check, ticket, token or device for such assignm ent or relinquish
m ent of w ages, sh all, after dem and, have th e righ t to collect sam e w ith reasonable
attorn ey's fees, b y suit in any court of com petent ju risdiction. N othing in th is act
sh all be construed to prevent any firm , person, com pany, corporation or association
from paying such em ployee, laborer or other person rendering service for hire by
bank check on an y solvent ban k: P rovid ed , Such bank check is payable upon dem and
at its face value.
A pproved, M arch 9 ,1 9 0 3 .
C h a p t e r 222. — F ire escapes on factories, etc.
S ection 1. * * * E very building in w hich persons are em ployed above th e sec
ond story in a factory, w orkshop or m ercantile or other establishm ent, * * * and
every factory, w orkshop, m ercantile or other establishm ent of m ore th an tw o stories
in h eigh t sh all be provided w ith proper w ays of egress or m eans of escape from fire,
sufficient for th e use of a ll persons accom m odated, assem bled, em ployed, lodged or
residing in such bu ild in g, and such w ays of egress and m eans of escape sh all be kept
free from obstruction, in good repair and ready for use at a ll tim es, and a ll room s
above th e second story in such building shall be provided w ith m ore than one w ay
of egress or escape from fire, placed as near as practicable at opposite ends of th e
room and leading to fire escapes on th e outside of such buildings or to stairw ays on
th e inside, provided w ith proper railings. A ll external doors subject to th e provi
sions of th is section sh all open outw ard, and all w indow s open outward or upw ard.
* * * T h e certificate of th e chief inspector of th e departm ent of inspection of th e
State sh all be prim a facie evidence of a com pliance w ith such requirem ents.
S ec . 2. In addition to th e foregoing m eans of escape from fire, a ll such buildings
as are enum erated in section 1 o f th is act, as are m ore than tw o stories in h eight,
shall have one or m ore fire escapes on th e outside of said buildings, as m ay be directed
b y the chief inspector aforesaid, except in such cases as th e said chief inspector
m ay deem such fire escapes to be unnecessary in consequence of adequate provision
having been already m ade for safety in event of fire, and in such cases of exem ption
th e said chief inspector sh all give th e ow ner, lessee or occupant of said bu ildin g a
w ritten certificate to th at effect and his reason therefor, and such fire escapes as are
provided for in th is section sh all be constructed according to specifications issued or
approved b y th e departm ent of inspection and sh all be connected w ith each floor
above th e first, w ell fastened and secured, and of sufficient stren gth; each of w hich
fire escapes sh all have landings or balconies guarded b y iron railings n ot less than
three feet in h eight, and em bracing one or m ore w indow s at each story, and con
necting w ith th e interior b y easily accessible and unobstructed openings; and th e
balconies or landings sh all be connected by iron stair3, placed at a slant of n ot m ore
th an forty-five degrees, protected b y a w ell secured handrail on both sides, w ith a
tw elve-inch w ide drop ladder from the low er platform , reaching to th e ground,
except in cases of school buildings, iron stairs sh all extend to a ground landing, and
no telegraph, telephone, electric ligh t poles or w ires, signs or other obstructions sh all
interfere w ith th e construction and use of any fire escape.
S ec . 3. A n y other plan or style of fire escape sh all be sufficient if approved b y the
chief inspector, but if n ot so approved th e chief inspector m ay n otify th e ow ner,
proprietor or lessee of such establishm ent or of th e bu ild in g.in w hich such establish
m ent is conducted, or th e agent or superintendent, or school officer, or eith er of
th em , in w riting, th at any such plan or style of fire escape is n ot sufficient, and m ay,
b y an order in w riting, served in lik e m anner, require one or m ore fire escapes, as
he sh all deem necessary and sufficient, to be provided for such establishm ent a t such
location and [o f] such plan and style as sh all be specified in such w ritten order.
W ith in tw enty days after th e service o f such order th e num ber of fire escapes required
in such order for such establishm ent sh all be provided therefor, each of w hich sh all
be of th e plan and style in accordance w ith th e specifications in said order required.
T h e w indow s or doors to each fire escape shall be of sufficient size and be located, as
far as possible, consistent w ith accessibility from th e stairw ays and elevator hatch
w ays or openings, and th e ladder thereof shall exten d to th e roof. Stationary stairs
or ladders sh all be provided on th e inside of such establishm ent from th e upper story
to th e roof, as a m eans of escape m case of fire.
S ec . 6. T h e ow ner or ow ners of an y building designated in this act, w hether indi
vidual, firm or corporation, or th e lessee or occupant thereof, or any school officer

LABOB LAWS— INDIANA— ACTS OF 1903.

215

having charge of public property, w ho neglects or refuses to com ply w ith an y of th e
provisions of this act, sh all be fined n ot exceeding tw o hundred, dollars, and be
deem ed gu ilty of a m isdem eanor punishable by im prisonm ent for n ot less than one
m onth nor m ore than tw o m on th s; and in case of fire occurring in said building or
buildings in th e absence of such fire escape or escapes, th e said person or persons, or
corporation or public officials sh all be liable in an action for dam ages w ith a penalty
of five thousand dollars for th e life of each person k illed , in case of death, or for
dam ages for personal injuries sustained in consequence of such fire breaking out in
said building, and shall also be deem ed gu ilty of a m isdem eanor punishable b y
im prisonm ent for n ot less than six m onths nor m ore than tw elve m onths in th e
county ja il; and such action for damages m ay be m aintained b y an y person now
authorized b y law to sue as in other cases of sim ilar injuries: P rovid ed , T h at n oth
ing in th is act shall interfere w ith fire escapes now in use approved b y th e chief
inspector.
S ec . 7. T h e chief inspector of th e departm ent of inspection of th e State is h ereby
charged w ith th e enforcem ent of th is act, and sh all see th at its provisions are
observed and enforced, and for this purpose he or h is deputies shall have free access
at all reasonable hours to all buildings em braced herein, and th e prosecuting attor
n ey in each county of th e State shall render all necessary legal assistance as m ay be
required b y said ch ief inspector in enforcing this act.
A pproved, M arch 1 0,1 9 0 3 .
C h a p t e r 246 .— Inspection o f steam boilers.
S ection 1. I t sh all be th e du ty of every person, firm or corporation ow ning or using
or causing to be used any steam boiler for generating steam to be applied to m achin
ery in all industrial institutions subject to inspection b y th e departm ent of inspec
tion , sh all [sic] provide th em w ith a fu ll com plem ent of gauge-cocks, som e visible
m eans of indicating th e water level, one steam gauge, one fusible plug properly
inserted, one safety valve, all to be kept in good w orking order (th e area of saia
valve, if know n as a p op-valve, sh all be in th e ratio of one square in ch of area to
three square feet of grate surface), a lever and ball safety valve in th e ratio of one
square inch of area to tw o square feet of grate surface: P rovid ed , T h at fusible plugs
shall be required on ly in boilers having crown sheets.

Sec. 2. The owner, agent, manager, or lessee of any boiler or boilers described in
section 1 of this act, of 10 or more horse power, shall cause such boiler or boilers to
be inspected, internally, once in six months by a practical boilermaker of not less
than five years’ experience; or a practical steam engineer who has had not less than
ten years’ experience with steam boilers carrying not less than seventy (7 0 ) pounds
pressure per square inch; or by a boiler inspector of any company doing business
under the laws of the State, who shall furnish to the owner, agent, or lessee of such
boiler a certificate of inspection stating the kind and showing the condition of said
boiler, the connections, and maximum pressure to be carried by said boiler; such
certificate to be retained in the office of said establishment and to be shown to the
chief inspector of the department of inspection or his deputy when required.
S ec . 3. E very boiler house in w hich a boiler, or nest, or battery of boilers is placed
shall be provided w ith a steam gauge or gauges, properly connected w ith th e boilers,
and w here th e engine is in a separate room , or m ore than forty feet distant from th e
gauge or nearest boiler, sh all have another gauge attached to th e steam pipe, so th e
engineer can readily ascertain th e pressure carried.
T he safety valves of steam
boilers subject to inspection under th is act sh all be loaded to sustain on ly th e m ax
im um pressure allow ed b y said certificate of inspection.
S ec . 4. T h e prosecuting attorney of any county of th is State is hereby required
upon request of th e chief inspector of the departm ent of inspection, h is deputy Or
any oth er person of fu ll age, to com m ence and prosecute to a term ination before any
court of com petent jurisdiction, in th e nam e of th e State, actions or proceedings
against an y person, firm or corporation reported to him to have violated th e provi
sions o f th is act.
S ec . 5 . I t sh all be unlaw ful for any person, firm or corporation to know ingly oper
ate an y aforesaid boilers except as provided for in th is act, and for th e violation of
section 1 or 3 a fine of n ot less than ten dollars ($10) nor m ore than tw en ty-five
dollars ($2 5 ) sh all be assessed for each offense. E ach day such violation or viola
tions continue sh all constitute a separate offense. A n y person, firm or corporation
k now ingly failin g to com ply w ith section 2 of th is act, or an y order issued b y th e
departm ent of inspection in accordance therew ith, sh all be fined n ot less than tw en tyfive dollars ($2 5 ) nor m ore than one hundred dollars ($100).
A pproved, M arch 1 2 ,1 9 0 3 .

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR

M AIN E.
A C T S O F 1903.
C h a p t e r 114.— E m p loym en t offices.
S ection 1. Section six of chapter three of th e public law s of eighteen hundred
nin ety-n in e is hereby am ended * * * so th at said section sh all read as follow s:
Section 6. T h e m unicipal officers of any tow n m ay on paym ent of th e sum of five
dollars each into th e tow n treasury grant licenses to suitable persons for one year,
unless sooner revoked after notice and for cause, to keep offices for th e purposes of
obtaining em ploym ent for dom estics, servants, or other laborers, excep t seam en, or
of giving inform ation relating thereto, or of doing th e usual business of intelligence
offices; w hoever keeps such an office, w ithout a license, forfeits n ot exceeding fifty
dollars for every day th at it is so kept. T h e keeper of an intelligence office sh all n ot
retain anv sum of m oney received from any person seeking em ploym ent through th e
agency o f such intelligence office, unless em ploym ent of th e kind sought for is actu
ally furnished.
N o license sh all be granted to a person w ho is d irectly or in directly engaged in or
interested in th e sale of intoxicating liquors. T h e keeper of a licensed intelligence
office sh all cause tw o copies of th is act, printed in type of sufficient size to be legible
and easily read, to be conspicuously posted in each room used or occupied for th e
purposes of such intelligence office. W h oever violates th e provisions of th is act
sh all have th e license revoked, and sh all be punished b y fine n ot exceedin g tw enty
dollars for each offense.
A pproved, M arch 1 9 ,1 9 0 3 .

MASSACHUSETTS.
A C T S O F 1903.
C h a p t e r 275.— R egistration o f badges, etc., o f labor organizations.
S ection 1. T h e registration of th e insignia, distinctive ribbons, or m em bership
rosette or button of a labor union indicated in chapter four hundred and th irty of
th e acts of th e year nineteen hundred and tw o shall be m ade in th e office o f th e sec
retary of th e C om m onw ealth in accordance w ith th e provisions of sections seven and
eigh t of chapter seventy-tw o of th e R evised Law s.
Sec. 2. A n y such insignia, distinctive ribbons, or m em bership rosettes or buttons
heretofore registered under th e provisions of said chapter four hundred and th irty of
th e acts of th e year nineteen Hundred and tw o sh all be deem ed to have been fu lly
registered w ithin the m eaning of said act if such registration has been in accordance
w ith th e requirem ents of sections seven and eight of said chapter seventy-tw o of th e
R evised Law s.
A pproved, A p ril 29, 1903.
C h a p t e r 320.— A ppointm ent, discharge, etc., o f em ployees o f p u blic service corporations.
S ection 1. N o railroad, street railw ay, electric ligh t, gas, telegraph, telephone,
w ater or steam boat com pany sh all appoint, prom ote, reinstate, suspend or discharge
any person em ployed or seeking em ploym ent b y any such com pany at th e request of
th e governor, lieutenant governor, or any m em ber or m em ber elect of th e council or
of th e general court, or candidate therefor, justice of th e suprem e judicial court, jus
tice of th e superior court, judge of probate, justice of a p olice, district or m unicipal
court, district attorney, m em ber or m em ber elect of a board of county com m issioners,
or candidate for county com m issioner, m em ber or m em ber elect of a board of aiderm en, or selectm en, or city council, or any executive, adm inistrative or judicial offi
cer, clerk or em ployee of any branch of the governm ent o f th e Com m onw ealth or of
any county, city or tow n ; n or sh all any such public officer or b ody, or any m em ber
or m em ber elect thereof or candidate therefor, directly or indirectly advocate, oppose,
or otherw ise interfere in , or m ake any request, recom m endation, endorsem ent,
requirem ent or certificate relative to, and th e sam e, if m ade, sh all n ot be required as
a condition precedent to, or be in any w ay regarded or perm itted to influence or con
trol, th e appointm ent, prom otion, reinstatem ent or retention of any person em ployed
or seeking em ploym ent b y any such corporation, and no such person sh all solicit,
obtain, exh ib it, or otherw ise m ake use of any such official request, recom m endation,
certificate or endorsem ent in connection w ith any existin g or desired em ploym ent b y
a public service corporation.
Sec. 2. T h e offices of probation officer, notary public and justice of the peace shall
not be considered pu blic offices w ith in the m eaning of th is act.

LABOR LAWS— MASSACHUSETTS— ACTS OF 1903.

217

Sec. 3. Any person or corporation violating the provisions of this act shall be pun
ished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for
each offense.
A pproved, M ay 5 ,1 9 0 3 .
C h a p t e r 4 37 .— L ia bility o f stockholders o f corporations fo r w age debts.
S ection 33. * * * T h e stockholders of a corporation sh all also be liable for all
m oney due to operatives for services rendered w ithin six m onths before dem and
m ade upon th e corporation and its neglect or refusal to m ake such paym ent. A
stockholder w ho pays on a judgm ent or otherw ise m ore than his proportion of any
such debt sh all have a claim for contribution against th e other stockholders.
A pproved, June 17, 1903.
C h a p t e r 475.— Inspection o f factories— B low ers fo r em ery wheels, etc.
S ection 1. A n y person, firm or corporation operating a factory or w orkshop in
w hich em ery w neels or belts or buffing w heels or belts injurious to th e h ealth of
em ployees are used sh all, w ithin three m onths after th is act takes effect, provide
such w heels and belts w ith a hood or hopper connected w ith suction pipes, and w ith
fans or blow ers, in accordance w ith th e provisions hereinafter contained, w hich appa
ratus sh all be placed and operated in such a m anner as to protect any person or per
sons using an y such w heel or belt from the particles or dust produced b y th e operation
thereof, and to convey th e said particles or dust either outside of the building or to
som e receptacle so placed as to receive and confine th e said particles or dust.
Sec. 2. E very such w heel sh all be fitted w ith a sheet iron or cast iron hood or h op
per of such form and so placed th at th e particles or dust produced b y th e operation
of th e wTheel or o f an y b elt connected therew ith sh all fall or w ill be throw n in to such
hood or hopper b y centrifugal force; and th e fans or blow ers aforesaid sh all be of
such size an d sh all be run at such speed as w ill produce a volum e and velocity of air
in th e suction and discharge pipes sufficient effectually to convey all particles or dust
from th e hood or hopper through the suction pipes and so outside of the bu ildin g or
to a receptacle as aforesaid.
Sec. 3. T h e suction pipes and connections sh all be suitable and efficacious, and
such as sh all be approved b y th e district police.
Sec. 4. T h is act sh all n ot ap p ly to grinding m achines upon wThich w ater is used at
the poin t of grinding contact, nor to solid em ery w heels used in saw m ills or in plan
ing m ills or in other w ood w orkin g establishm ents, nor to any em ery w heel six
inches and under in diam eter used in establishm ents w here the principal business is
n ot em ery w heel grinding.
Sec. 5. I t sh all be th e duty of th e district police and of factory inspectors, upon
receiving notice in w riting, signed b y any person having know ledge of th e facte, that
any factory or w orkshop as aforesaid is not provided w ith th e apparatus herein
prescribed, to visit such factory or w orkshop and inspect the sam e, and for th at pur
pose th ey are hereby authorized to enter any such factory or w orkshop during w ork
ing hours; and if th ey ascertain, in th e foregoing or in any other m anner, th at th e
ow ner, proprietor or m anager of an y such factory or w orkshop has failed to com ply
w ith th e provisions of this act, th ey sh all m ake com plaint o f th e sam e in w riting,
before a court or judge having jurisdiction, and cause such ow ner, proprietor or
m anager to be proceeded against for violation of th is act; and it is m ade th e duty of
the district attorney to prosecute a ll cases arising under th is act.

Sec. 6. A ny person failing to com ply with any provision of this act shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of
not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars, and in case of a second
offense he shall be punished by the aforesaid fine, or by imprisonment in the county
jail for a term not exceeding sixty days, or b y both such fine and imprisonment.
A pproved, June 26, 1903.

NORTH CAROLINA.
A C T S O F 1903.
C h a p t e r 247.— E m igran t agents.
S ectio n 26. T axes in this schedule [Schedule B ] shall be im posed as license tax
for the privilege o f carrying on the business or doing the act nam ed, * * * . T h e
license issued under th is schedule sh all be for tw elve m onths, and sh all expire on
th e th irty-first day of M ay of each year.

218

BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOB.

Sec. 74. On every em igrant agent or person engaged in procuring laborers for
em ploym ent out of th is State, an annual license ta x of one hundred dollars for the
State and one hundred dollars for th e county for each county in w hich such agent or
person does business, th e sam e to be collected b y th e sheriff. A n y one engaging in
th is business w ithout first paying said ta x sh all be gu ilty of a m isdem eanor an a fined
n ot less th an tw o hundred dollars or im prisoned, in the discretion of th e court.
B atified th is 9th day of M arch, A . D . 1903.
Chapter 473.— E m ploym en t

o f children— A g e lim it— H o u rs o f labor.

Section 1. N o ch ild under tw elve years of age sh all be em ployed or w ork in any
factory or m anufacturing establishm ent w ithin this State: P rovid ed , T h is act shall not
apply to oyster canning and packing m anufactories in th is State, w here said canning
and packing m anufactories pay for opening or shucking oysters b y th e gallon or
bushel.
Sec. 2. Not exceeding sixty-six hours shall constitute a week’ s work in all facto
ries and manufacturing establishments of this State, and no person under 18 years of
age shall be required to work in such factories or establishments a longer period than
sixty-six hours in one week: P ro v id ed ,,That this section shall not apply to engineers,
firemen, machinists, superintendents, overseers, section and yard hands, office men,
watchmen or repairers of break-downs.
Sec. 3. A ll parents, or persons standing in relation of parent, upon hiring th eir
children to any factory or m anufacturing establishm ent, sh all furnish such establish
m ent a w ritten statem ent of th e age of such ch ild or children being so hired, and any
such parent, or person standing in th e relation of parent to such ch ild or children,
w ho sh all in such w ritten statem ent m isstate th e age of such ch ild or children being
so em ployed, sh all be gu ilty of a m isdem eanor, and upon conviction shall be pun
ished at th e discretion of th e court. A n y m ill ow ner, superintendent or other person
acting in beh alf of a factory or m anufacturing establishm ent w ho sh all know ingly or
w illfu lly violate th e provisions o f this act sh all be gu ilty of a m isdem eanor, and upon
conviction sh all be punished at th e discretion of th e court.
Sec. 4. T h is act sn ail be in force from and after January 1st, 1904.
B atified th is 6th of M arch, A . D . 1903.

C hapter 516.— L icensing

o f em ployees on oyster boats.

Section 6. I t sh all be unlaw ful for any person to .catch oysters from the public
grounds of th e State w ithout first obtaining a license so-to d o, and no person sh all be
licensed for th is purpose w ho is n ot a bona fide resident of th is State and w ho has
n ot continuously resided therein for tw o years n e x t preceding th e date of his applica
tion for license, and it sh all be unlaw ful for an y .person, licensed under th e p rovisions
of this act to em ploy as agent, or assistant an y person not so licensed, or to act as
th e agent or assistant of any person unlicensed.
B atified th is 6th day of M arch, 1903.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
L A W S O F U . S. P H IL IP P IN E C O M M ISSIO N — 1902.

A ct N o. 296.— B u reau

o f pu blic printing— Skilled w orkm en to be em ployed .

Section 2. There sh all be a chief of th e bureau of public printing, * * * w ho shall
be know n as th e public printer.
T h e duties of th e public printer sh all b e:
4. T o em ploy w orkm en w ho are thoroughly sk illed in th eir respective branches
of industry as show n b y trial of th eir sk ill under his direction, in accordance w ith
th e provisions of th e C ivil Service A ct.

LEADING ARTICLES IN PAST NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN.
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1. Private and public debt in th e U nited States, b y George K . H olm es.
E m ployer and em ployee under the com m on law , b y V . H . O lm sted and S. D .
Fessenden.
2. T h e poor colonies of H ollan d , b y J. H ow ard G ore, P h. D .
T h e industrial revolution in Japan, b y W illia m E leroy Curtis.
Notes concerning th e m oney of th e U . S. and other countries, b y W . C. H u n t.
T he w ealth and receipts and expenses of th e U . S ., b y W . M . Steuart.
3. Indu strial com m unities: Coal M ining Co. of A n zin , b y W . F . W illo u gh b y .
4. Industrial com m unities: Coal M ining Co. of B lan zy, b y W . F . W illo u gh b y .
T he sw eating system , b y H en ry W h ite.
5. C onvict labor.
Industrial com m unities: K rupp Iron and Steel W ork s, b y W . F . W illo u gh b y .
6. Indu strial com m unities: Fam ilistere Society of G uise, b y W . F . W illo u gh b y .
Cooperative distribution, b y Edw ard W . B em is, P h. D .
7. Indu strial com m unities: V arious com m unities, b y W . F . W illo u gh b y .
R ates of w ages paid under public and private contract, b y E th elb ert Stew art.
8. C onciliation and arbitration in th e boot and shoe industry, b y T . A . Carroll.
R ailw ay relief departm ents, by E m ory R . Johnson, P h. I).
9. T h e padrone system and padrone banks, b y John K oren .
T h e D utch Society for General W elfare, b y J. H ow ard G ore, P h . D .
10. C ondition of th e N egro in various cities.
B uilding and loan associations.
11. W ork ers at gainful occupations at censuses of 1870, 1880, and 1890, b y W . C.
H u n t.
P ublic baths in Europe, b y Edw ard M ussey H artw ell, P h. D ., M . D .
12. T h e inspection of factories and w orkshops in th e U . S ., by W . F . W illo u gh b y .
M utual rights a n d duties of parents and children, guardianship, e tc., under
th e law , by F . J . Stim son.
T he m unicipal or cooperative restaurant of G renoble, France, b y C. O . W ard .
13. The anthracite m ine laborers, b y G . O . V irtu e, P h . D .
14. T he Negroes of F arm ville, V a .: A social study, b y W . E . B . D u B ois, P h . D .
Incom es, w ages, and rents in M ontreal, b y H erbert Brow n A m es, B . A .
15. Boarding hom es and clubs for w orking w om en, b y M ary S. Fergusson.
T h e trade-union label, b y John Graham B rooks.
16. A laskan gold fields and opportunities for capital and labor, b y S. C. D unham .
17. Brotherhood relief and insurance of railw ay em ployees, b y E . R . Johnson,
Ph. D .
T h e nations of A ntw erp, b y J. H ow ard G ore, P h. D .
18. W ages in th e U n ited States and E urope, 1870 to 1898.
19. A laskan gold fields and opportunities for capital and labor, b y S. C. D unham .
M utual relief and benefit associations in th e printing trade, b y W . S. W au d by.
20. C ondition of railw ay labor in E urope, b y W alter E . W e y l, P h. D .
21. P aw nbroking in Europe and the U nited States, b y W . R . Patterson, P h . D .
22. B enefit features o f A m erican trade unions, by Edw ard W . B em is, P h . D .
T h e N egro in th e black b e lt: Som e social sketches, by W . E . B . D u B ois, P h . D .
W ages m L yon , France, 1870 to 1896.
23. A ttitu d e of w om en’ s clubs, etc., tow ard social econom ics, by E llen M . H en rotin.
T h e production of paper and pulp in th e U . S. from Jan. 1 to June 30, 1898.
24. Statistics o f cities.
25. Foreign labor law s: G reat Britain and France, by W . F . W illo u gh b y .
26. P rotection of w orkm en in th eir em ploym ent, b y Stephen D . Fessenden.
Foreign labor law s: B elgium and Sw itzerland, b y W . F . W illou gh b y.
27. W h olesale prices: 1890 to 1899, b y R oland P . F alkner, P h. D .
Foreign labor law s: G erm any, b y W . F . W illo u gh b y .

N o. 28. V olu n tary conciliation and arbitration in G reat B ritain, b y J . B . M cPherson.
System of adjusting w ages, e tc., in certain rollin g m ills, b y J . H . N u tt.
Foreign labor law s: A ustria, by W . F . W illo u gh b y .
N o. 29. Trusts and industrial com binations, b y J . W . Jenks, P h. D .
T h e Y u k on and N om e gold regions, b y S. 0 . D unham .
Labor D ay, b y M iss M . C. de G raffenried.
N o. 30. Trend of w ages from 1891 to 1900.
Statistics of cities.
Foreign labor law s: V arious European countries, b y W . F . W illo u g h b y .
N o. 31. B etterm ent of industrial conditions, b y V . H . O lm sted.
Present status of em ployers’ lia b ility in th e U . S ., by S. D . Fessenden.
Condition of railw ay labor in Ita ly , b y D r. L uigi E inaudi.
N o. 32. A ccidents to labor as regulated b y law in th e XT. S ., b y W . F . W illo u gh b y .
Prices of com m odities and rates of wages in M anila.
T h e Negroes of Sandy Spring, M d .: A social study, b y W . T . T h om , P h. D .
T h e B ritish w orkm en’ s com pensation act and its operation, b y A . M . L ow .
N o. 33. Foreign labor law s: A ustralasia and Canada, b y W . F . W illo u g h b y .
T h e B ritish conspiracy and protection of property act and its operation, b y
A . M . L ow .
N o. 34. Labor conditions in P orto R ico, b y A zel A m es, M . D .
Social econom ics at th e Paris E xp osition , b y P rof. N . P . G ilm an.
T h e w orkm en’ s com pensation act of H ollan d .
N o. 35. Cooperative com m unities in th e U nited States, b y R ev. A lexan d er K en t.
T h e Negro landhblder of Georgia, b y W . E . B . D u B ois, P h. D .
N o. 36. Statistics of cities.
Statistics of H on olu lu , H . I .
N o. 37. R ailw ay em ployees in th e U nited States, b y Sam uel M cCune L indsay, P h . D .
T h e Negroes of L itw alton, V a .: A social study of the “ O yster N egro,” b y
W illia m T aylor T h om , P h . D .
N o. 38. L abor conditions in M exico, b y W a lter E . W e y l, P h . D .
T h e Negroes of Cinclare Central Factory and Calum et P lantation, L a ., b y
J . Bradford Law s.
N o. 39. Course of w holesale prices, 1890 to 1901.
N o. 40. Present condition of th e hand-w orking and dom estic industries of G erm any,
b y H en ry J . H arris, P h . D .
W ork m en ’ s com pensation acts of foreign countries, b y A dn a F . W eber.
N o. 41. Labor conditions in Cuba, b y V ictor S. C lark, P h . D .
B eef prices, b y Fred C. C roxton.
N o. 42. Statistics of cities.
L abor conditions in Cuba.
N o. 43. R eport to th e President on anthracite coal strike, b y C arroll D . W rig h t.
N o. 44. Factory sanitation and labor protection, by C. F . W . D oehring, P h . D .
N o. 45. Course of w holesale prices, 1890 to 1902.
N o. 46. R eport of A nth racite Coal Strike Com m ission.
N o.
V r/vrt of th e Com m issioner of Labor on H aw aii.
N'
u m colonies of th e Salvation A rm y , b y Com m ander B ooth Tucker.
The Negroes of X e n ia , O hio, b y R ichard R . W rig h t, jr ., B . D
. C ost of livin g.
Labor conditions in N ew Zealand, b y V icto r S. Clark, P h . D .

Full text of Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, Nos. 1 - 100 : January 1904 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 50, Volume IX

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