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Part 2.
BULLETIN
OJT TH E
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
NO. 33—MARCH, 1901.
ISSUED E V E R Y OTHER M ONTH.
W A SH IN G TO N :
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1901.
EDITOR,
CARROLL D. W RIG H T,
COMMISSIONER.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS,
G. W . W . HANGER,
CHAS. H. V E R R ILL, STEPHEN D. FESSENDEN.
CONTENTS.
Foreign labor laws, by W. F. W illoughby, of the Department of Labor___
The British Conspiracy and Protection of Property A ct and its operation, by
A. Maurice L ow .........................................................................................
Digest of recent reports of State bureaus of labor statistics:
Connecticut...........................................................................................................
North Carolina.....................................................................................................
Pennsylvania.......................................................................................................
West V irginia.......................................................................................................
State reports on building and loan associations:
California.................................. ...........................................................................
New Y o r k .............................................................................................................
Digest of recent foreign statisticalpublications......................................................
Decisions of courts affecting labor..........................................................................
Laws of various States relating to labor enacted since January 1, 1896 ........
hi
Page.
173-304
305-322
323,324
324-326
327-330
330,331
332,333
333,334
335-341
342-362
363-376
BULLETIN
OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
No. 33.
WASHINGTON.
M
arch,
1901.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS, (a)
BY W. F. WILLOUGHBY.
AUSTRALASIA.
The seven Colonies of Australasia are Queensland, New South Wales,
Western Australia, Victoria, and South Australia, in Australia proper,
the two islands of New Zealand, and the island of Tasmania. All but
Victoria, South Australia, and New Zealand were originally settled as
penal colonies in the forty or fifty years following 1787. The necessity
that this policy caused for a large measure of government control may
partly explain the active interference of the government of the different
Colonies in the industrial life of the people. Whatever be the cause,
however, governmental intervention, or state socialism, as it is some
times called, has proceeded further in the Australasian Colonies than
anywhere else.
This action on the part of the State is shown to a certain extent in
the following statement of the labor laws that are now in force there.
As the scope of these papers on foreign labor laws is strictly limited,
however, to certain well-defined classes of legislation, the most impor
tant of which are those concerning the employment of women and
children, night and Sunday work, labor in factories and workshops,
arbitration, etc., (5) a large proportion of the most radical and charac
teristic of the social laws of the Colonies will not be here considered.
In point of fact, it will be seen that with a few notable exceptions,
a In Bulletin Nos. 25, 26, 27, 28, and 30 more or less detailed accounts have been
given of the labor laws of Great Britain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany,
Austria, Russia, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. In the pres
ent Bulletin the series of articles on Foreign Labor Laws is concluded with a consid
eration of the labor laws of the Australasian Colonies and the Canadian Provinces.
b See Introduction, Bulletin No. 25, page 768.
173
174
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
such as that of the law of New Zealand providing for the compulsory
arbitration of labor disputes, the policy of European countries, and
especially Great Britain, has been closely followed.
In presenting these laws it is a matter of regret that sufficient mate
rial has not been available to permit of a historical account of prior
legislation in relation to labor, and the motives dictating the enactment
o f particular laws at the time they were passed. Little more, there
fore, will be done than to reproduce, either in extenso or in summary,
the laws now in force, with such comments as seem necessary in order
to call attention to their important features.
To have given the laws of all the Colonies in extenso would have
required more space than could be given to the subject, and resulted
in unnecessary duplication, as the laws of the different Colonies are in
many instances very similar to each other, and largely reproductions
of British legislation. It was deemed best, therefore, to give the leg
islation of one of the Colonies in considerable detail, and New Zealand
has been selected for this purpose. The legislation of the other Colo
nies is given in more summary form. In regard to the summaries it
should be distinctly understood that all essential parts of the acts are
reproduced, usually in the language of the acts themselves. The
omitted portions are those relating to temporary provisions, the deter
mination of boundaries of inspection districts, and such matters as can
not possibly be o f interest to other nations.
Finally, a word should be said in regard to the possible omission of
laws for some of the Colonies which properly fall within the scope of
this report. Every effort was made to secure copies of all labor laws
now in force, and the author is much indebted to various officials in
Australia for their efforts in his behalf. It is quite likely, however,
that some have been omitted, particularly in the field of legislation in
relation to the labor contract, right of association, apprenticeship,
and Sunday labor, as frequently provisions regarding these points are
found in general enactments declaring British laws to be in force in
the Colony, in the criminal code, etc. As regards the two most impor
tant branches of labor legislation, however—those relating to the regu
lation of work in factories, workshops, and stores, and the conciliation
and arbitration of industrial disputes—it is believed that the presenta
tion is complete, exception only being made for the Colony of Victoria,
the labor laws of which the Department did not succeed in securing.
NEW ZEALAND.
APPRENTICESHIP.
The subject of apprenticeship is regulated by the law of October 30,
1865, entitled The Master and Apprentice Act, 1865. This law may
be said to have three purposes, the extension of the laws of England
regarding apprentices to New Zealand as far as they were applicable,
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
175
the determination of the conditions under which orphans, deserted
children, etc., might be indentured as apprentices, and the making of
a few special provisions as called for by the special conditions in the
Colony. The first is accomplished by the following provision:
All masters of apprentices in New Zealand shall have such and the
like powers over every such apprentice as the master of every appren
tice has by the laws of England, and shall be amenable and responsible
for the due performance of the contract entered into between or on
the part of such apprentice and themselves respectively in such and the
like manner as the master of any apprentice would be by the laws of
England, so far as the same are applicable to New Zealand and are not
inconsistent with any of the provisions of this act.
The remaining sections of the law, dealing as they do chiefly with
the indenturing of orphan and deserted children, scarcely come within
the purpose of the present report. Briefly, they provide that the
directors of orphan schools may bind out their pupils to appren
ticeship, and that any 2 justices of the peace may do the same in
respect to deserted children. Generally the supervision of appren
tices is intrusted to the justices of the peace. The law contains a
drastic provision that if any apprentice absents himself from his mas
ter’s service before his term has expired, the master may cause the
apprentice to be arrested; and upon a hearing before 2 justices of the
peace, in a summary way the latter may determine what satisfaction
the apprentice shall make to his master, and in case the apprentice
can not give security to make such satisfaction he may be committed
to jail for a term of not exceeding 3 months, besides serving the period
of time for which he was absent.
THE BIGHT OF ASSOCIATION: TBADE UNIONS.
New Zealand has followed very closely English legislation in rela
tion to the right of workingmen to form organizations and the regula
tion of trade unions. The present law is contained in the act of
August 31, 1878, entitled “ An act for the regulation and management
of trade unions in New Zealand.” This act stands to-day as first
passed with the exception that an act passed October 12, 1896, made
14 years the minimum age at which persons could be members of a
registered trade union instead of 16 years as provided in the origi
nal act.
A trade union is defined to mean “ any combination, whether tem
porary or permanent, for regulating the relations between workmen
and masters, or between workmen and workmen, or between masters
and masters, or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of
any trade or business, whether such combination would or would not,
if this act had not been passed, have been deemed to have been an
unlawful combination by reason of some one or more of its purposes
being in restraint of trade.”
176
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The sections of the English act legalizing trade unions notwithstand
ing that they may be in restraint of trade have been adopted textually.
It is thus provided that “ the purposes of any trade union shall not,
by reason merely that they are in restraint of trade, be deemed to be
unlawful so as to render any member of such trade union liable to
criminal prosecution for conspiracy or otherwise,” and “ the purposes
of any trade union shall not by reason merely that they are in restraint
of trade be unlawful so as to render void or voidable any agreement
or truth.”
In like manner the British policy of requiring these organizations to
settle their own disputes without recourse to the courts has been fol
lowed. The courts are expressly prohibited from entertaining any
legal proceeding instituted with the object of directly enforcing or
recovering damages for the breach of any of the following agree
ments:
(1) Any agreement between members of a trade union as such con
cerning the conditions on which any members for the time being of
such trade union shall or shall not sell their goods, transact business,
employ, or be employed; (2) any agreement for the payment by any
person of any subscription or penalty to a trade union; (3) any agree
ment for the application of the funds of a trade union, (a) to provide
benefits to members; or (b) to furnish contributions to any employer
or workman not a member of such trade union, in consideration of such
employer or workman acting in conformity with the rules or resolutions
of such trade union; or (c) to discharge any fine imposed upon any person
by sentence of a court of justice; or (4) any agreement made between
one trade union and another; or (5) any bond to secure the perform
ance of any of the above-mentioned agreements: But nothing in this
section shall be deemed to constitute any of the above-mentioned
agreements unlawful.
As regards the regulation of trade unions, the most essential pro
vision is that whereby trade unions are encouraged to become registered.
Such registration is not compulsory, but unions which elect to do so
are given many privileges, such as the right to hold property in the
name of trustees, to hold their officers to account, etc. The obligations
of registry relate principally to the making of annual reports to the
government, the filing of copies of their rules, etc. As these pro
visions are practically identical with those contained in the British acts
already given they are not reproduced here.
In connection with this law legalizing the formation of permanent
associations of workingmen, even though they are in restraint of trade,
should be read the provisions of The Conspiracy Law Amendment Act,
1894, passed August 21, 1894. This law is almost the reproduction of
the British Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, 1875. {a) It
repeals the old conspiracy acts of 5 Eliz., c. 4; 12 Geo. I, c. 34, and 6
a See Bulletin No. 25, p. 782.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
177
Geo. IV, c. 129, which were in force in the Colony, and provides, as
does the English act, that:
An agreement or combination by 2 or more persons to do or procure
to be done any act in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute
between employers and workmen shall not be deemed to be unlawful
so as to render such persons liable to criminal prosecution for con
spiracy if such act committed by one person would not be unlawful.
Nothing in this section shall affect the law relating to riot, unlawful
assembly, breach of the peace, or sedition, or any crime against the
State or the Sovereign. “ A crime” for the purposes of this section
means an offense punishable on indictment, or an offense which is pun
ishable on summary conviction, and for the commission of which the
offender is liable to be imprisoned, either absolutely, or, at the discre
tion of the court, as an alternative for some other punishment.
Then follows the special provision that no person employed by a local
authority or contractor in connection with the furnishing of a supply
of gas, electric light, or water shall enter into an agreement to leave
the service without giving at least 14 days5 notice, under a penalty of
a fine of not more than £10 ($48.67) or imprisonment for not more
than 1 month.
REGULATION OF LABOR IN FACTORIES AN D WORKSHOPS.
The legal regulations concerning factory and workshop labor are
contained in The Factories Act, 1894, passed October 18,1894, and its
amendment of October 12, 1896. The first act was in the nature of a
consolidation of former legislation, while the latter relates to the regu
lation of the conditions that must be observed where work in connec
tion with the textile industry is given to persons to be performed
elsewhere than in the factory or workroom proper.
SCOPE OF ACT.
The word 66factory55 or “ workroom55 as used in the act is defined
to mean:
Any office, building, or place in which 2 or more persons are engaged,
directly or indirectly, in working for hire or reward in any handicraft,
or in preparing or manufacturing articles for trade or sale, including
all bakehouses; and any office, building, or place in which steam or
other mechanical power or appliance is used for the purpose of manu
facturing goods, or packing them for transit.
But where the operations of any manufacturer are carried on, for
safety or convenience, m several adjacent buildings grouped together
in one inclosure, these shall be classed and included as one factory for
the purposes of registration and the computation of registration fees.
Except as hereinafter specially provided, nothing in this act shall
apply to slaughterhouses and shearing sheds in bona fide use for
slaughtering and shearing, respectively.
It is scarcely necessary to call attention to the comprehensive scope
thus given to the act. It is made to apply to practically all places
178
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
where persons are employed for hire in making or preparing articles
for trade or sale, the only limitation put upon the number of persons
that must be employed in order to constitute the place a factory being
that there must be at least 2, including the occupier or employer
himself.
REGISTRATION OF FACTORIES AND WORKROOMS.
Every person occupying or intending to occupy a factory or work
room, as defined by the law, must serve on the inspector and on the
local board of health a written application to have his establishment
registered as a factory. # Accompanying this application must be sent
a notice “ in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed by
regulations, containing particulars of the name and a description of
his factory or workroom, the place where it is situated, the nature of
the work carried on or to be carried on therein, a description of the
motive power (if any) therein, and, in case of a copartnership or incor
porated company, the name of the firm or company under which the
business of the factory or workroom is carried on, together with such
further or other particulars as may be required by the regulations.”
Especial precautions are taken to insure that buildings newly erected
or transformed for factory purposes shall be suitable for such use.
The law thus provides that:
Every person who is in occupation of any building or place which is
about to become for the first time, or after a period of disuse is about
to again become, a factory or workroom, shall, before the same is used
as such, forward to the office of the inspector, together with his appli
cation for registration, and the particulars mentioned in the last pre
ceding section, a complete plan of such building or place to the satis
faction of such inspector, with particulars of the same, and an estimate
of the number of persons of each sex to be employed therein; and such
building or place shall not be registered as a factory or workroom until
such inspector has in writing approved of such building or place as
suitable for a factory or workroom, or has within 10 days after the
receipt of such plan and particulars omitted to notify to such person
any objection thereto.
The remaining provisions regarding registration are that a fee for
registration shall accompany each application, and that on the receipt
of this fee the inspector must register the factory if he believes all
the conditions of the act to have been complied with. If this is not
the case, he must notify the applicant wherein default exists and refuse
registry until the failure has been remedied.
PROTECTION OF HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES.
Following are the provisions in full regarding the protection of the
health of employees:
Every factory or workroom shall be kept in a cleanly state, free
from effluvia arising from any drain, privy, or other nuisance. When
members of both sexes are working in the same factory or workroom,
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
179
unless members of the same family, there shall be sufficient watercloset or privy accommodation for each sex, separated in such man
ner as to insure privacy, to the satisfaction of the inspector. Where
only members of one sex are employed in a factory or workroom, suf
ficient water-closet or privy accommodation shall be provided to the
satisfaction of the inspector.
A factory or workroom shall not be so overcrowded while work is
carried on therein as to be injurious to the health of the persons
employed therein, and shall be ventilated in such a manner as to ren
der harmless, as far as is practicable, all the gases, vapors, dust, or
other impurities generated in the course of the manufacturing proc
ess or handicraft carried on therein that may be injurious to health.
The owner or occupier of every factory or workroom shall provide a
supply of fresh drinking-water.
A factory or workroom in which, in the opinion of the inspector,
there is a contravention of this section, and which opinion is signified
in writing under the hand of the inspector, shall be deemed not to be
kept in conformity with this act.
The inspector may from time to time determine, as to each factory
or workroom, what space of cubic and superficial feet shall be reserved,
appropriated, and maintained for the use of each person working
therein, according to the nature of the work, but so that such space
shall not be less than that prescribed from time to time by regulations;
and shall, by notice in writing to the occupier, require such space to
be reserved and appropriated accordingly within a time to be fixed by
such inspector, ana shall in like manner require that every such space
is properly lighted and ventilated, and maintained and kept free from
any materials or goods or tools other than those in use or required by
the person for whom such space is so reserved and appropriated.
If the occupier of any factory or workroom thinks that the determi
nation or requirements of the inspector are in excess of what is neces
sary and reasonable, he may, in the manner prescribed by regulations,
appeal to the board, who shall decide the question, and may confirm,
alter, or vary the determination or requirements of the inspector in
such manner and in such particulars as it deems fit, and every such
decision of the board shall be final.
If the occupier of a factory, or workroom shall, after 14 days’ notice,
neglect to comply with the determination or requirements of the
inspector, or of the board in case of an appeal, or to observe and main
tain such determination or requirements, or otherwise to comply with
this section, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £1 [$4.87] for
every day during which such failure or want of compliance continues.
W here it appears to an inspector that any act, neglect, or default in
relation to any drain, water-closet, earth closet, privy, ash pit, water
supply, nuisance, or other matter in a factory or workroom is punish
able or remediable under any law relating to the public health or any
other law, but not under this act, such inspector shall give notice in
writing to the board or other local authority in whose district the fac
tory or workroom is situate ; and it shall be the duty of such board or
authority to make such inquiry into the subject of the notice, and take
such action thereon, as to such board or authority may seem proper
for the purpose of enforcing the law.
An inspector may, for the purposes of this act, or of any act or law
relating to public health or the powers of any local authority, take
with him into a factory or workroom an officer of health, inspector of
180
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
nuisances, surveyor, or other officer of the board or local authority,
and any such officer, inspector, or surveyor may at all reasonable times
enter and inspect any factory or workroom.
All the inside walls of the rooms of a factory or workroom, and all
the ceilings or tops of such rooms (whether such walls, ceilings, or
tops be plastered or not), and all the passages and staircases of a fac
tory or workroom, if they have not been painted with oil or varnished
once at least within 7 years, shall be lime-washed or washed with some
other wash, liquid, or material approved by the inspector, once at
least within every 14 months, to date from the period when last limewashed or washed; and, if they have been so painted or varnished,
shall be washed with hot water and soap once at least within every 14
months, to date from the period when last so washed.
The occupier of any factory or workroom shall furnish evidence, to
the satisfaction of the inspector, as to the dates of the last lime
washing, painting, or varnishing of each portion of such factory or
workroom, and also of the date at which the last washing of all painted
or varnished surfaces in such factory or workroom took place.
In workrooms the walls of which have been papered, the inspector
shall decide as to the time when they shall be repapered.
A factory or workroom in which there is a contravention of this
section shall be deemed not to be kept in conformity with this act.
Where it appears to the minister that in any class of factories or
workrooms, or parts thereof, the provisions of the last preceding
section are not required for the purpose of securing therein the observ
ance of the requirements of this act as to cleanliness, or are by reason
of special circumstances inapplicable, he may, if he thinks fit, make an
order granting to such class of factories or workrooms, or parts thereof,
a special exception that the regulations in the last preceding section
shall not apply thereto: Provided that the last preceding section shall,
without any such order as aforesaid, be deemed not to apply to black
smiths’ , agricultural implement makers’, and wheelwrights’ shops; or
to foundries, flour mills, sawmills, flax mills, freezing rooms, bore
mills, seed-cleaning mills, tanneries, ropewalks, smelting works, and
brick and tile works; or to hay and corn and chaff-cutting, corn-crushing,
wool-washing, and boiler-making establishments; or to shearing sheds,
malt houses, and breweries; or to dairy, cheese, and sugar-refining
factories.
If in a factory or workshop where charcoal or gas irons are used, or
where grinding, glazing, polishing on a wheel, or any other process is
carried on by which dust is generated, and charcoal fumes or dust
respectively are inhaled to an injurious extent by the workers, and it
appears to an inspector that such inhalation could be to a great extent
prevented, the inspector may direct such ventilation as he shall think
sufficient for the dissipation of the fumes, and a fan or other mechanical
means of a construction proper for the dispersal of the dust and pre
venting such inhalation, to be provided within a reasonable time; and
if the same is not provided, maintained, and used the factory or work
shop shall be deemed not to be kept in conformity with this act.
The governor in council may, from time to time, declare any manu
facturing process, handicraft, or employment to be noxious for the
purposes of this act, and, where any manufacturing process, handi
craft, or employment has been declared by the governor in council to
be noxious for the purposes of this act, no person employed in the fac
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
181
tory or workroom in which any such manufacturing process, handi
craft, or employment is carried on shall be permitted to take his or
her meals in any room therein in which such manufacturing process,
handicraft, or employment is then beiqg carried on, or in which per
sons employed in such factory or workroom are or have been in the
course of the day engaged in their employment.
PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS.
The occupier of every factory, including any or every Government
railway workshop, where machinery is used shall furnish, to the
approval o f the inspector, belt shifters or other safe mechanical con
trivances for the purpose of throwing on or off belts or pulleys, and,
wherever possible, machinery therein shall be provided with loose
pulleys. All vats, pans, saws, planers, cogs, gearing, belting, shaft
ing, set-screws, and machinery of every description in any factory or
workroom shall be properly guarded, and no person shall remove or
make ineffective any safeguard around or attached to any planer, saw,
belting, shafting or other machinery, or around any vat or pan, while
the same is in use, unless for the purpose of immediately making
repairs thereto, and all such safeguards shall be promptly replaced.
By attaching thereto a notice to that effect, the use of any machin
ery may be prohibited by the inspector, should such machinery be
considered by him as dangerous. Such notice shall be signed by the
inspector who issues it, and shall only be removed after the required
safeguards are provided; and the unsafe or dangerous machine shall
not be used in the meantime.
Any occupier not supplying such safeguards as are notified by the
inspector, or who removes such safeguards, or who continues to use
prohibited machinery, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding <£10
[$48.67], with a further penalty of £2 [$9.73] for each working day
during which such safeguards are not provided, or such prohibited
machinery used.
If any person is killed or suffers any bodily injury in consequence
of the occupier of a factory or workroom having neglected to fence
any machinery required by or in pursuance of The Inspection of
Machinery Act, 1882, to be securely fenced, or having neglected to
maintain such fencing, the occupier of the factory or workroom shall
be liable to a penalty not exceeding £100 [$486.65], the whole or any
part o f which may be applied for the benefit of the injured person or
his family, or otherwise as the minister directs; and the penalty hereby
imposed shall be in lieu of any other penalty imposed under The
Inspection of Machinery Act, 1882, for any such offense as herein
before mentioned.
But the occupier of a factory or workroom shall not be liable to a
penalty under this section if an information against him for not fen
cing the part of the machinery by which the death occurred or bodily
injury was inflicted has been heard and dismissed within 1 montn
previous to the time when the death occurred or the bodily injury
was inflicted.
This section shall not deprive the injured person, or his legal personal
representatives, of any right of action he or they may have to recover
damages in any court of competent jurisdiction.
182
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
NOTIFICATION AND INVESTIGATION OF ACCIDENTS.
Where there occurs in a factory or a workshop any accident which
either (a) causes loss of life to a person employed in the factory or in
the workshop, or (b) causes bodily injuries to a person employed, in the
factory or in the workshop, arid is produced either by machinery moved
by steam, water, or other mechanical power, or through a vat, pan, or
other structure filled with solid, liquid, or molten metal, or other sub
stance, or by explosion, or by escape of gas, steam, or metal, and is
of such a nature as to prevent or be likely to prevent the person
injured by it from returning to his work in the factory or workshop
within 48 hours of the occurrence of the accident, written notice of the
accident shall forthwith be sent to the inspector and to the medical
authority for the district, stating the residence of the person killed or
injured, or the place to which he may have been removed; and if any
such notice is not sent within 24 hours after the occurrence of such
accident the occupier of the factory or workshop shall be liable to a fine
not exceeding £10 [$48.67].
Where a medical authority receives, in pursuance of this act, notice
of an accident in a factory or a workshop, he shall, with the least pos
sible delay, proceed to the factory or workshop and make a full investi
gation as to the nature and cause of the death or injury caused by that
accident, and within the next 24 hours send to the inspector a report
thereof.
The medical authority for the purpose only of an investigation under
this section shall have the same powers as an inspector, and shall also
have power to enter any room in a building to which the person killed
or injured has been removed.
There shall be paid to the said medical authority for the investiga
tion such fee as the governor in council shall by regulations prescribe,
which fee shall be paid by the board as expenses incurred in the exe
cution of this act.
PRECAUTIONS IN CASE OF FIRE.
In all factories and workrooms situated on the third or fourth stories
of buildings, one or more fire escapes connected with each floor shall
be provided. These fire escapes shall be placed on the outside of such
establishment, well fastened and secured, having landings or balconies
not less than 6 feet in length and 3 feet in height, guarded by iron
railings not less than 3 feet in height, and embracing at least 2 win
dows m each story, and connecting with the interior by easily acces
sible and unobstructed openings, and the balconies and landings shall
be connected by iron stairs not less than 6 inches tread, placed at a
proper slant and protected by a well-secured hand rail on both sides,
with a 12-inch wide drop ladder from the lower platform reaching to
the ground. Any other equally efficient plan or style of fire escape
shall be sufficient if approved by the inspector.
I f the inspector does not approve of the fire escapes provided at any
factory or workroom he shall give a notice in writing that fire escapes
of a certain plan or style be made and located where required; ana if
within 20 days after such notice is served such fire escape be not pro
vided, the occupier shall be liable to a penalty of £2 [$9.73] for each
day he allows work to be carried on in such factory or workroom
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
183
All internal or external doors of a factory or workroom shall be hung
so as to open outward. All doors of rooms in which more than six {a)
persons are actually at work, or of passages leading to such rooms, or
serving as entrances and exits, shall neither be locked, bolted, nor
fastened during working hours. Stairways and steps shall be made
and provided with substantial hand rails, and shall have slats or por
tions of india rubber, leather, or similar material fastened upon them
if found necessary by the inspector.
If in the opinion of the inspector the stairs are too steep or winding,
or the passages too intricate for the safety of workers in case of fire
breaking out, the inspector may direct that proper means of egress
be provided.
Whilst work is going on in a factory or workroom an outer door
giving access to every building containing a factory or workroom,
which shall be that commonly used by the work people in entering the
building, and the door of every factory or workroom, shall be. at all
times kept unfastened, so as to afford ready means of ingress and
egress. Every occupier neglecting or omitting to keep such door
unfastened, so as to afford ready means of ingress and egress, shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding £10 [$48.67].
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
No child [a boy or girl under 14 years of age] shall be employed (5)
in ajiy factory or workroom except in small factories where not more
than 3 persons are employed, ana this only in special cases with the
sanction of the inspector.
A person under the age of 16 years shall not be employed in any
factory or workroom unless the inspector is satisfied that such person
has passed the fourth standard, as prescribed by or under the regula
tions for the time being in force under The Education Act, 1877, or any
equivalent examination: Provided that this section shall not apply to
any person who shall have arrived in the Colony after attaining the
age of 13 years, or who is at the commencement of this act employed
in any place which is a factory or workroom within the meaning of this
act: Provided that this section shall not apply to persons who have
lived more than 3 miles from a school, and by reason thereof have, in
the opinion of the inspector, had no adequate opportunity of complying
with the provisions of this section. #
A person under the age of 16 years shall not be employed in a fac
tory or workroom unless the occupier of the factory or workroom has
obtained a certificate in the prescribed form of the fitness of such per
son for employment in that factory or workroom. A certificate of
a The words “ more than six ” were inserted by The Factories A ct Amendment
Act, 1896.
b Following is the definition of the act as to what is meant b y employed:
A woman, or person under 18 years of age, who works in a factory or workroom,
whether for wages or not, either in a manufacturing process or handicraft, or in
cleaning any part of a factory or workroom used for any manufacturing purposes or
handicraft, or in cleaning or oiling any part of the machinery, or in any other kind
of work whatsoever incidental to or connected with any manufacturing process or
handicraft, or connected with the article made or otherwise the subject o f any manu
facturing process or handicraft, shall, save as is otherwise provided by this act, be
deemed to be employed within the meaning of this act. For the purposes of this act,
an apprentice shall be deemed to work for hire.
184
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
fitness for employment for the purposes of this act may be granted by
the inspector for the district, and snail be to the effect that he is satis
fied, by the production of a certificate of birth or other sufficient evi
dence, that the person named in the certificate of fitness is of the age
therein specified and fit for the employment.
All factories or workrooms in the same line of trade and in the dis
trict of the same inspector, or any of them, may be named in the
certificate of fitness for employment if the certifying inspector is of
opinion he can truly give the certificate for employment therein. The
certificate of birth which may be produced to such inspector shall
either be a certified copy of the entry in a register of births kept in
pursuance of The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1875, of the
birth o f the person, and such certificate of birth shall be given by the
registrar without fee, or a statutory declaration made by some compe
tent person as to the age of the person for whom it is desired to obtain
a certificate of fitness for employment.
The occupier shall, when required, produce to an inspector at the
factory or workroom at which a person under 16 years of age is
employed the certificate of fitness of such person for employment
which he is required to obtain under this act.
No girl under 15 years of age shall work as typesetter in any print
ing office: Provided that nothing in this clause contained shall apply
to the case of any girl at the time of the passing of this act engaged
in typesetting in any printing office.
In the case of a woman, or any person under 18 years of age, any
forfeiture on the ground of absence or leaving work shall notf be
deducted from or set against a claim for wages, or other sum due for
work done before such absence or leaving work, except to the amount
of the special damage (if any) which the occupier of the factory or
workroom may have sustained by reason of such absence or leaving
work.
No person shall to the extent mentioned in the third schedule (a) to
this act be employed in the factories or workrooms or parts thereof
mentioned in that schedule. Notice of the prohibition in this section
shall be affixed to all factories or workrooms to which it applies.
No person shall employ in any factory or workroom any boy under
the age of 16 years for more than 48 hours in any one week, nor at
any time between the hours of 6 o’clock in the afternoon and a quar
ter to 8 o’clock in the morning.
a Following is a copy of this schedule:
Factories or workrooms in which the employment o f persons is restricted.
1. In a part of a factory or workroom in which there is carried on (a) the pro
cess of silvering of mirrors by the mercurial process, or (b ) the process of making
white lead, a person under 18 years shall not be employed.
2. In the part of a factory in w hich the process of melting or annealing glass is
carried on, a male person under 14 years of age, and a female person under 18 years
of age, shall not be employed.
3. In a factory or workroom in which there is carried on (a) the making or
finishing of bricks or tiles, not being ornamental tiles, or (b ) the making or finishing
of salt, a girl under 16 years of age shall not be employed.
4. In a part of a factory or workroom in which there is carried on (a) any dry
grinding in the metal trades; (b) the dipping of lucifer matches, a person under 16
years of age shall not be employed.
5. In any grinding in the metal trades other than dry-grinding, or in friction cut
ting, a child shall not be employed.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
185
No person shall employ in any factory or workroom any woman or
girl for more than 48 hours in any one week, nor between the hours
of 6 o’clock in the afternoon and a quarter to 8 o’clock in the morning.
No person shall employ in any factory or workroom any woman
during the 4 weeks immediately after her confinement.
If any occupier offend against the provisions of the last preceding
section he shall, for each and every time in which he offends, be liable
to a penalty not exceeding <£10 [$48.67]: Provided that each person
employed in a factory or workroom may, with the written consent of
the inspector, work for a period not exceeding 3 hours in any day
beyond the working hours on not more than 28 days in a year.
No such person, however, may work overtime on more than 2 con
secutive days, and such overtime is to be paid for at the rate agreed on
above the ordinary rate of wage, but in no case for any person is to
be below sixpence [$0.12] per hour. Written notice of the desire to
work overtime shall be served by the occupier upon the inspector, and
sufficient time be given to the inspector to grant a written permission
to work such overtime, or to forbid such overtime, if he considers it to
be dangerous or hurtful to the health of the persons employed. Such
written permission shall, during the hours overtime is being worked,
be fastened by the occupier in a conspicuous place on the wall of the
factory or workroom in which such overtime is being worked. The
inspector shall not grant written permission to any factory or work
room to work overtime on half holidays for more than 5 such half
holidays in each year.
The inspector shall keep a list of the names of all those women or
young persons for whom permission to work overtime has been
granted, and shall note against the name of each the hours of overtime
worked by him or her, so that the full amount of overwork time be
not in any case exceeded. The inspector may grant permission to
women or young persons under the age of 16 to begin work in factories
or workshops at f o’clock in the morning during the summer months:
Provided, however, that if in any factory or workroom such permission
is granted by the inspector and acted on by the occupier, then in that
factory or workroom all women and young persons shall likewise
begin work at that hour, to the intent that all women and young per
sons may quit such factory or workroom at the one time.
A woman, or person under 18 years of age, shall not be employed
in any part of a factory or workroom in which wet spinning is
carried on unless sufficient means be employed and continued for
protecting the workers from being wetted, and (where hot water is
used) for preventing the escape of steam into the room occupied by
the workers. A factory or workroom in which there is a contraven
tion of the provisions of this section shall be deemed not to be kept
in conformity with this act.
No person under 18 years of age, and no woman, shall, except on
half holidays, be employed continuously in any factory or workroom
for more than 4i hours without an interval of at least half an hour
for a meal.
No woman or person under 16 years of age employed in a factory
or workroom shall be permitted to take his or her meals in any room
therein in which any manufacturing process or handicraft is then being
carried on, or in which persons employed in such factory or work
room are then engaged in their employment, or have been employed
10332—No. 33—01----- 2
186
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
working at their handicraft or manufacture during any portion of that
day, unless such factory or workroom is of open construction, and is
certified to by the inspector as being properly exempted from this
provision.
Subject to the last preceding section, the occupier of every factory
or workroom in which more than 6 women or persons under 16 years
of age are employed shall provide a fit and proper room, in or near to
such factory or workroom, in which such women or persons may take
their meals without the provisions of this act being contravened; but
in cases where, from the small number of persons employed, the size
of the factory or workroom, or the nature of the employment, the
inspector thinks that any room or place of shelter which is sufficiently
secure from the weather and from public view will suffice as a place in
which meals may be taken, he may, by writing under his hand, sanc
tion the use of such room or place of shelter as a place in which meals
may be taken. Every room or place of shelter to be used as places in
which meals may be taken shall be furnished, to the satisfaction of the
inspector, with sufficient seats and tables to enable the women or young
persons employed in the factory or workroom to sit at meals with
reasonable comfort and security. If an occupier fails or neglects to
provide such room or place of shelter he shall be deemed to act in
contravention of this act.
BAKERIES.
A ll the inside walls of the rooms of every bakehouse, and all the
ceilings or tops of such rooms (whether such walls, ceilings, or tops
be plastered or not), and all the passages and staircases of such bake
house, shall either be painted with oil, or varnished, or be washed
with lime or some other wash or liquid approved by an inspector, or
be partly painted or varnished and partly so washed; where painted
with oil or varnish, there shall be 3 coats of paint or varnish, and the
paint or varnish shall be renewed once at least in every 7 years, and
shall be washed with hot water and soap once at least in every 12
months, and when lime washed the lime washing shall be renewed
once at least in every 6 months. A bakehouse m which there is a
contravention of this section shall be deemed not to be kept in con
formity with this act.
A place on the same level with the bakehouse, and forming part of
the same building, shall not be used as a sleeping place, unless it is
constructed as follows, that is to say—unless such sleeping place is
effectually separated from the bakehouse by a partition extending
from the floor to the ceiling; and unless there be an external glazed
window of at least 9 superficial feet in area, of which at least 4 i super
ficial feet are made to open for ventilation.
Any person who occupies, or knowingly suffers to be occupied, any
place contrary to the provisions of the last-preceding section shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding for the first offense £1 [$4.87], and
for every subsequent offense £5 [$24.33].
It shall not be lawful to let, or suffer to be occupied as a bakehouse,
or to occupy as a bakehouse, any room or place, unless the following
regulations are complied with:
(1)
No water-closet, earth closet, privy, or ash pit shall be within
or communicate directly with the bakehouse;
FOEEIGN LABOE LAWS.
187
(2) Any cistern for supplying water to the bakehouse shall be sep
arate and distinct from any cistern for supplying water to a watercloset;
(3) No drain or pipe for carrying off fecal or sewage matter shall
have an opening within the bakehouse.
Any person who lets, or suffers to be occupied, or who occupies, any
room or place as a bakehouse in contravention of this section shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding £2 [$9.73], and to a further penalty
not exceeding 10s. [$2.43] for every day during which any room or
place is so occupied after a conviction under this section.
Where the court is satisfied on the prosecution of an inspector that any
room or place used as a bakehouse (whether the same was or was not so
used before the commencement of this act) is in such a state as to be
on sanitary grounds unfit for use or occupation as a bakehouse, the
occupier of the bakehouse shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding
£2 [$9.73], and on a second or any subsequent conviction to a penalty
not exceeding £5 [$24.33].
EEGULATION OF HOME WOBK: SWEATING SYSTEM.
Every occupier of a factory or workroom who has work done for
the purposes of his factory or workroom elsewhere than in such fac
tory or workroom shall keep a record, and the same shall be kept so
as to be a substantially correct record of the description and quantity
of the work done outside of such factory or workroom, and of the name
and address of the person by whom the same is done, together with
the remuneration given for such work, and in default thereof shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding £10 [$48.67]. Such record shall be
kept for the information of the inspector, who alone shall be entitled
to inspect the same, and who may, at all reasonable hours, examine
and inspect the same.
Every occupier of a factory or workroom who shall give out piece
work to be done in a private dwelling, or in any place not registered
as a factory, shall cause a printed label of the description shown in the
second schedule of this act to be affixed to every garment and every
article wholly or partially made in unregistered workshops or private
dwellings, except in cases previously sanctioned by the inspector.
Any person who sells or exposes for sale such garments or articles
without such labels shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £10 [$48.67];
and anyone who willfully removes such labels before sale shall be liable
to a penalty not exceeding £20 [$97.33].
Every merchant, wholesale dealer, shopkeeper, agent, or distributer
who shall issue textile or shoddy material for the purpose of being
made up by pieceworkers or home workers into articles for sale, shall
be deemed to be the occupier of a factory for the purposes and within
the meaning of this section.
These provisions regarding home work, or work done outside facto
ries proper, were very materially supplemented by The Factories Act
Amendment Act, 1896, enacted October 12,1896. This act made sev
eral minor changes in the principal act that have elsewhere been noted,
but its main purpose was the regulation of work let or given out in
connection with textile goods. These provisions, which are in many
188
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
respects similar to those of other countries for the regulation of the
sweating system, are as follows:
The following provisions shall apply in the case of occupiers of fac
tories or workrooms in which textile goods are manufactured or worked
upon, and also in the case of persons who issue textile or shoddy mate
rials, for the purpose specified in section 23 [the section relating to this
subject just reproduced above] of the principal act, and are thereby
deemed to be occupiers of factories for the purposes and within the
meaning of that section:
(1) In any case where any such occupier of a factory or workroom
lets or gives out work in connection with such goods or material to be
done by any person elsewhere than in such factory or workroom, or
issues such material for the purpose of being made up by the persons
referred to in the aforesaid section 23 it shall not be lawful for any
such person— (a) to in any way, directly or indirectly, sublet any such
work, whether by way of piecework or otherwise; nor (b) to in any way
do any such work except on his own premises, and by himself or by
his own work people to whom he himself pays wages therefor.
(2) If any such person as aforesaid in any way, directly or indirectly,
commits any breach of this section he is liable to a penalty not exceed
ing £10 [$48.67].
(3) If any such occupier as aforesaid knowingly permits or suffers
any such breach to be committed he is liable to a penalty not exceed
ing £50 [$243.33].
(4) In any proceedings under this section against any such occupier,
the knowledge of his servants or agents shall be deemed to be his
knowledge.
Nothing in the last-preceding section contained shall be construed to
render lawful anything that by the principal act is unlawful.
In order to check the risk of disease being spread by infection or
contagion the following provisions shall apply:
(1) It shall not be lawful to manufacture or work up goods or mate
rials, or to receive them for any such purpose, in any factory, work
room, or dwelling house (a) wherein resides to the knowledge of the
occupier any person suffering from any infectious or contagious dis
ease; or (b) wnerein any such person has so resided at any time during
the previous 14 days, unless and until the factory, workroom, room,
or dwelling house, and all such goods and materials therein, have been
disinfected to the satisfaction of the inspector.
(2) If any person commits or knowingly allows to be committed any
breach of this section he is liable to a penalty not exceeding £10
[$48.67].
(3) If any such goods or materials are found in any factory, work
room, or dwelling house in breach of this section the inspector may
cause them to be seized, removed, and disinfected at the expense in
all things of the owner.
If any person employed in a factory or workroom does any work for
such factory or workroom elsewhere than in the same the occupier
thereof is liable to a penalty not exceeding £10 [$48.67]; and the per
son who does such work is liable to a penalty not exceeding £5 [$24.33.]
SHEEP SHEARERS.
Special regulations in respect to sheep shearers are given in the act.
As they are only of local interest, they are not reproduced.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
189
HOLIDAYS FOR WOMEN AND YOUNG PERSONS.
The act provides that all occupiers of factories and workrooms must
allow to every woman and every person under 18 years of age in their
employ a holiday on Christmas day, New Year’s day, Good Friday,
Easter Monday, and the Sovereign’s birthday. They must also allow
them a holiday on every Saturday after 1 o’clock p. m. Provided,
however, that any city or town council may, by order, fix some other
day in the week, which need not be the same for all classes of work,
on which a half holiday shall be allowed instead of on Saturday. Those
shopkeepers, also, who are required to give their assistants a half hol
iday under The Shops and Shop-assistants Act, 1894, and who also
carry on a factory in connection with their shops, may give the half
holiday to the workers in the factory on the same day on which the
half holiday is given to the shop assistants.
Nothing in this act, however, shall be deemed:
(1) To prevent the employment of women or persons under the age
of 18 years in printing offices, for the purpose of printing evening
newspapers, on Saturdays or any other half holiday up to the hour of
half past four in the afternoon, nor the substitution of 2 other days
for Easter Monday and the Sovereign’s birthday in the case of women
typesetters; or
(2) To prevent the employment of any boy in the publishing or deliv
ering of newspapers after i o’clock on Saturday, or a holiday;
(3) To prevent any persons being employed in fish-preserving fac
tories or jam factories on Saturday or any other half holiday for 8
weeks during the preserving season.
Wages must be paid to the women and young persons for these holi
days and half holidays at the same rate as are paid on ordinary working
days, and the payment must be made on the first regular pay day suc
ceeding the holiday. This provision, however, applies only to those
who are paid by time wages and who have been employed on 20 days,
which need not be consecutive, preceding the holiday, or 5 days, which
need not be consecutive, preceding the half holiday.
KEEPING OF RECORDS, POSTING OF NOTICES, ETC.
In each factory or workroom the occupier shall keep or cause to be
kept: (a) A record of the names of all persons employed in such factory
or workroom, together with the ages of all persons who are under 20
years of age; (b) a record showing generally the kind of work of each
and every person employed in such factory or workroom; and (c) a
record of the earnings paid per week of each person employed in such
factory or workroom; and such record shall be produced for inspec
tion by the inspector when demanded.
The occupier of every such factory shall also cause to be affixed
and maintained in some conspicuous place at or near the entrance of
each factory or workroom, and in such other parts as an inspector
from time to time directs, and in such a position as to be easily read
by the persons employed in such factory or workroom, a notice con
190
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF » LABOR.
taining (a) the name and address o f the inspector for the district;
(b) the name and address of the medical authority for the district;
(c) the official address of the board; (d) the holidays and working
hours of the factory.
In the event of a contravention of the provisions of the last two
immediately preceding sections in any factory or workroom, the occu
pier thereof shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £2 [$9.73] for
every day which elapses after a period of 7 days from the registration
of such factory or workroom, and during which the said provisions
are not complied with.
THE INSPECTION OF FACTORIES.
For the enforcement of the act the governor is given the power to
appoint a chief inspector of factories and to divide the Colony into as
many inspection districts, each to be in charge of a local inspector,
as he may deem fit. These inspectors may be male or female and may
hold office in conjunction with any other office or employment which
the governor shall deem not incompatible with their duties as inspect
ors. A compilation of the labor laws of New Zealand, published in
1894, mentions that at that time provision had been made for 163 local
inspectors.
In like manner the governor is empowered to appoint legally quali
fied medical practitioners to be medical authorities for the purpose of
the act, and to fix the scale of fees to be charged by and paid to such
medical authorities. Wherever possible use is also made of the local
boards of health organized in virtue of The General Public Health
Act of 1876.
The powers of the inspectors and the duties of employers in respect
to them are thus stated by the act:
Every inspector shall have power to do all or any of the following
things, that is to say,—
(1) To enter, inspect, and examine at all reasonable hours, by day
and night, a factory or workroom, and every part thereof, when he
has reasonable cause to believe that any person is employed therein,
and to enter by day any place which he has reasonable cause to believe
to be a factory or workroom;
(2) To take with him in either case a constable into a factory or
workroom in the execution of his duty;
(3) To require the production of the certificate of registration held
by the occupier of any factory or workroom, or any other book,
notice, record, list, or document which such occupier is by this act
required to keep, and to inspect, examine, and copy the same, or any
notice or other document required to be kept or exhibited therein;
(4) To make such examination and inquiry as may be necessary to
ascertain whether the enactments relating to public health and of this
act are complied with, so far as respects the factory or workroom and
the persons employed therein;
(5) To examine, either alone or in the presence of any other person,
as he thinks fit, with respect to matters under this act, every person
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
191
whom he finds in a factory or workroom, or whom he has reasonable
cause to believe to be or to have been within the preceding 2 months
employed in a factory or workroom, and to require such person to be
so examined, and to make and sign a declaration, under The Justice
of the Peace Act, 1882, of the matters respecting which he is so
examined; and
(6)
To exercise such other powers and authorities as may be neces
sary for carrying this act into effect.
The occupier of every factory and workroom, his agents and ser
vants, shall at all times furnish the means required by an inspector, or
by an officer of the board, necessary for an entry, inspection, exami
nation, and inquiry, or the exercise of his powers under this act in
relation to such factory or workroom.
Every person who willfully delays an inspector in the exercise of
any power under this act, or who fails to comply with a requisition of
an inspector made under any such power as aforesaid, or to produce any
certificate of registration, book, record, certificate, notice, list, or
document which he is required by or in pursuance of this act to pro
duce, or who conceals or prevents any person from appearing before
and being examined by an inspector, or attempts so to conceal or pre
vent a person, shall be deemed to obstruct an inspector in the execu
tion of his dutes under this act: Provided that no person shall be
required under this or the last two preceding sections to answer any
question or give any evidence tending to criminate himself.
Where an inspector is obstructed in the execution of his duties under
this act, the person obstructing him shall be liable to a penalty not
exceeding £5 [$24.38]; and, where an inspector is so obstructed in or
about a factory or workroom, the occupier of that factory or work
room shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £5 [$24.33], or when
the offense is committed at night not exceeding £20 [$97.33].
Every inspector shall be furnished with a certificate of his appoint
ment, and on applying for admission to a factory or workroom shall,
if required, produce such certificate to the occupier.
Every person who forges or counterfeits any such certificate, or
makes use of any forged, counterfeited, or false certificate, or person
ates the inspector named in any such certificate, or falsely pretends to
be an inspector under this act, shall, on conviction thereof in a sum
mary manner under The Justice of the Peace Act, 1882, be liable to
imprisonment with hard labor for any term not exceeding 6 months.
Every inspector who divulges the contents of any record of persons
employed in or outside of any factory or workroom, or makes use of
his knowledge of the contents of such record, except for the purposes
o f this act or for enforcing the provisions thereof, shall be liable to a
penalty not exceeding £50 [$243.33], or to imprisonment with hard
labor for any term not exceeding 6 months.
Every inspector shall, at such times and in such manner as may be
prescribed by regulations, prepare reports upon the operation of this
act; and the minister shall, for the purpose of informing Parliament
of the course and condition of trade, prepare an annual report, which
shall be of a general and comprehensive character. Such report shall
not refer by name to any particular occupier of a factory or work
room, or be so framed as to readily admit of the identification of any
such occupier, and shall show as nearly as possible the whole number of
persons engaged in factories or workrooms in New Zealand subject to
192
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
this act, classifying them according to their sex, age, and average
weekly earnings, whether in wages or by piecework, or both in wages
and by piece-work, in each branch, their hours of labor, the percentage
of work done in the factories or workrooms, and the percentage of
work done outside thereof, together with the scale of pay for such work,
and such other particulars as he may think fit.
Every such annual report shall be so prepared as to be laid before
each house of the general assembly in each session within 30 days of
the commencement of such session; but if there shall be more than one
session of the general assembly in any year, then it shall be sufficient
to lay such report before the general assembly in one of such sessions.
It is interesting to note that provision is made in these last two para
graphs for the collection and publication of information concerning
wages, hours of labor, and other conditions of labor similar to that
which constitutes the work of bureaus of labor.
ENFORCEMENT OF LAW, PENALTIES, ETC.
Very careful provision has been made for the enforcement of the
law, not only by the creation of an adequate inspection service, but by
the imposition of penalties and the creation of means for their col
lection. In addition to the provisions regarding penalties for infrac
tions of specific portions of the law, the act contains the following
general provisions:
Subject to the right of appeal hereinafter contained, all proceedings
in respect of penalties, orders, or otherwise under this act shall be
heard and determined by a stipendiary magistrate alone.
If a factory or workroom is not kept in conformity with this act, or
if in any factory or workroom there is a contravention of any of the
provisions of this act, the occupier thereof shall, if no other penalty is
by this act provided, be liable to a penalty not exceeding £10 [$48.67],
and to a further penalty of not exceeding £1 [$4.87] for every day
during which sucn contravention continues after the delivery by the
inspector at such factory or workroom of a notice informing the
occupier that a breach of the provisions of this act is taking place, by
such factory or workroom not being kept in conformity with this act,
or by a contravention thereof otherwise occurring.
The court before which any penalty is sought to be recovered under
this act, in addition to or instead of inflicting any penalty, may order
certain means to be adopted by the occupier within the time named in
the order, for the purpose of bringing his factory or workroom into
conformity with this act, and may, upon application, enlarge the time
so named; but if after the expiration of the time as originally named,
or enlarged by subsequent order, the order of the court is not complied
with, the occupier shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £1 [$4.87]
for every day that such noncompliance continues.
Where a child or person is employed in a factory or workroom con
trary to the provisions of this act, the occupier of the factory or
workroom shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £3 [$14.60], or, if
the offense was committed during the night, to a penalty not exceeding
£5 [$24.33], for each child or person so employed.
A person who is not allowed time for meals and absence from work
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
193
as required by this act, or, during any part of the time allowed for
meals and absence from work, is allowed to work (a) in the factory or
workroom or, In the case of women or persons under 16 years of age,
are allowed to remain in any workroom, shall be deemed to be employed
contrary to the provisions of this act.
The parent of a child or person under 18 years of age shall, if such
child or person is employed in a factory or workroom contrary to the
provisions of this act, be liable to a penalty not exceeding £1 [$1.87]
for each offense, unless it appears to the court that such offense was
committed without the consent, connivance, or willful default of such
parent.
The remainder of the provisions relate to details of the administra
tion of the act and can be briefly summarized. The forging or coun
terfeiting of a certificate or the making of one containing what is
known to be false statements is punishable by a penalty of not more
than £50 [$213.33] or by imprisonment with hard labor for not more
than 6 months.
The making of any false entry in a register, notice, list, or other
document required by the act or the signing of any false declaration
is punishable by a fine of not more than £20 [$97.33] or by imprison
ment with hard labor for not more than 3 months.
Where the offense is committed by an agent, servant, or other per
son, such person shall be liable to the same penalty as if he were the
occupier or employer. When the employer thus is charged with an
offense he has the right to have the person whom he charges is the
real offender brought into court, and if it is shown that such person
was the real offender the punishment must be inflicted upon him. It
is furthermore the duty of the inspector to proceed against the person
he regards as the real offender.
The inspector and every other person who may be dissatisfied with
the judgment of the court on summary proceedings under the act may
appeal to the supreme court or to a district court in the manner pro
vided by The Justices of the Peace Act, 1882.
Wherever also an occupier is dissatisfied with the decision or order
of an inspector he may, in 11 days, appeal to the stipendiary magis
trate exercising jurisdiction under The Magistrate’s Court Act, 1893,
and the latter, after due hearing, may make such decision as he deems
best. He may confirm, reverse, or modify the order, or make such
other order as may be just and reasonable.
Persons found in a factory are presumed to be there employed.
Yards, grounds, etc., open to view, and rooms belonging to a factory
or workroom in which no machinery is used or manufacturing process
carried on, shall not be taken to be a part of the factory within the
meaning of the act.
a The words “ is allowed to work ” was substituted by the amendment act, 1896,
for the words “ is, in contravention of the provisions of this act, em ployed.”
194
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Any person making application to an inspector or minister to grant
any exemption from any provision of the act for a longer period than
3 months must notify his intention to do so by an advertisement in a
daily or weekly newspaper circulating in the district in which the fac
tory or workroom concerned is situated, or by written notice to the
inspector. Notice of the granting or refusal of such request must in
like manner be duly published.
Finally, the governor in council is given extensive powers to take
the necessary steps for the enforcement and putting into operation of
the act. These powers are enumerated by the act as follows:
The governor in council may from time to time make, alter, and
repeal regulations, not inconsistent with this act, prescribing—
(1) A scale of fees to be taken and received for the registration of
factories and workrooms under this act, and the persons to whom the
same shall be paid;
(2) A scale of fees to be taken by medical authorities for examina
tions and reports made by such authorities in pursuance of the pro
visions of this act, and for making provision generally with regard to
such examinations and reports;
(3) Form of notices to be given under this act, and the particulars
to be set forth therein;
(4) Forms of returns to be made by the occupiers of factories or
workrooms and by employers;
(5) The duties of inspectors, and the forms of tables to be kept and
returns made by them from time to time to the minister;
(6) The minimum space both of cubic and superficial feet to be
reserved for each person working in a factory or workshop, having
regard to the nature of the work, handicraft, or employment carried
on therein;
(7) The mode in which an appeal from the determination of an
inspector to a local board of health or to a stipendiary magistrate shall
be made and conducted;
(8) General regulations for carrying this act into effect, and pro
viding for the efficient operation thereof.
M ERCANTILE AN D ALLIED ESTABLISHMENTS.
What the factories acts are intended to do in relation to the regu
lation of labor in factories and workshops, The Shops and Shopassistants Act, 1894, and its two amendments of 1895 and 1896, do for
labor in mercantile and similar establishments. The main law, or
principal act as it is called, became a law October 18,1894. The dates
of the two amendments are, respectively, November 1, 1895, and
October 16, 1896.
The ground covered by these acts relates chiefly to the general sani
tation of shops, the requirement of an hour for dinner, the closing of
shops and offices for half a week day, the hours of labor of women
and children and their intervals of rest, and the provision of seats for
females. The provisions in regard to each of these matters follow:
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
195
HYGIENE OF SHOPS.
Every shop or business establishment shall be kept in a cleanly
state, and free from effluvia arising from any drain, privy, or other
nuisance, and shall be ventilated in a practical and efficient manner.
Where members of both sexes, not being members of the same fam
ily, are working in the same shop or business establishment there shall
be sufficient water-closet or privy accommodation for each sex, sepa
rated in such manner as to insure privacy, to the satisfaction of the
inspector. Where members of one sex only are employed in a shop
or business establishment, sufficient water-closet or privy accommo
dation shall be provided to the satisfaction of the inspector.
HALF HOLIDAYS.
All shops in a city, borough, or town district, except those wherein
is carried on exclusively one or more of the businesses of a chemist,
fishmonger, a fruiterer, a confectioner, a coffeehouse keeper, an eating
house keeper, or the keeper of a bookstall on a railway platform, shall
be closed in each week on the afternoon of one working-day at the
hour of one of the clock. Whenever a public holiday or half holiday
occurs in any week, it shall be a sufficient compliance with this act if a
shopkeeper closes his shop on such holiday or half holiday instead of
on the closing day under this act.
A shop is defined by the act to mean “ any building, or portion of
a building, or place in which goods are exposed or offered for sale by
retail.”
To this general provision the following exceptions are permitted:
Shops may continue open in the afternoon of the working-day next
preceding Christmas day, New Year’s day, Good Friday, and the
Sovereign’s birthday, and Easter Monday, although such working-day
may be the day determined upon for a half holiday; and “ any person
whose business it is to sell machinery for harvesting purposes, or fit
tings for such machinery, may, during the time of harvest and for
the sole purpose of selling such machinery or fittings, keep his shop
open on the day appointed for the closing of shops.”
If any shop-assistant or office employee be employed at any work in
connection with the business of any shop or office later than half an
hour after the prescribed time of closing, the employer shall be liable
to a penalty not exceeding £5 [$24.33] for each offense in respect of
each shop-assistant or office employee so employed.
Shop-assistants are entitled to one hour for dinner. “ Shop-assist
ant” is defined to mean “ any person or any member of the shop
keeper’s family who works in a shop for hire or maintenance, and
includes apprentices and improvers, messenger and persons employed
to deliver goods for closed shops, and the clerical staff.” The amend
ment of 1896 declared that the following should also be considered
shop-assistants: “ A ll persons in the shopkeeper’s employment who
sell or deliver his goods or canvass for orders for his goods, whether
196
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
such persons are at any time actually employed inside the shop or not.”
Bona fide commercial travelers are, however, not to be deemed shopassistants.
All shops in any city, borough, or town district, except as afore
said, shall be closed in accordance with this act; and if any shop
keeper shall fail or neglect to so close his shop he shall be liable to a
penalty not exceeding £5 [$21.33] for each occasion upon which he so
fails or neglects.
It shall not be deemed an offense against the provisions of this act
if a shopkeeper employs any person to keep open his shop at a port
after the prescribed time of closing merely for the purpose of supply
ing goods to any ship, steamer, or boat arriving at such port.
W henever any shop-assistant is employed partly in a shop and partly
in a workroom in connection therewith, and the inspector is of opinion
that the principal employment of such assistant is in connection with
such shop, then it shall be a sufficient compliance with the provisions
of the principal act or any other act relating to shops and workrooms
if such shop-assistant receives a half-holiday in accordance with the
provisions of the principal act or amendment thereof.
All shop-assistants in shops outside the limits of cities, boroughs,
and town districts, and all assistants employed in hotel bars within or
without such limits, shall have a half holiday from the hour of one of
the clock in the afternoon of some working-day in each week; and
notwithstanding anything contained in section 3, every shop-assistant
in excepted shops shall have a half-holiday from the hour of one of
the clock in the afternoon of some working day of each week. I f any
person shall offend against the provisions of this section by allowing
any shop-assistant or other assistant as aforesaid to continue at work
during such half-holiday he shall for every such offense be liable to a
penalty not exceeding £5 [$24.33].
With respect to shops the business of which is “ bona fide owned
and conducted by any person of New Zealand or European extraction,
whether solely or with the assistance of members of such person’s
family below the age of 18 years who reside on the premises,” the law
provides that they can close their shops for a half-holiday on some
other afternoon than the one appointed, provided they notify the
inspector of their desire to do so. This notice must be lodged with
the inspector during the month of January in each year, except when
the person commences business after that month, when the notice must
be made within one month from the time of beginning business. It is
furthermore the duty of the inspector to notify the small shopkeepers
of this provision during the first 14 days of January of each year.
With respect to hawkers or peddlers, and other persons who carry
on business by selling or offering goods for sale by retail otherwise
than in a shop, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)
Every such person shall be deemed to be a shopkeeper, and every
assistant employed by him in or about such business shall be deemed
to be a shop-assistant, within the meaning of the principal act.
FOREIGN LARGE LAWS.
197
(2)
Every such person shall be deemed to keep a shop open when
ever and wherever for the time being he is selling or offering goods
for sale as aforesaid.
The method of determining the day of the week which shall be
appointed for a half-holiday is both original and interesting. Follow
ing are the sections of the act relating to this point:
The day on which shops are to be closed in accordance with this act
shall be appointed by the local authority by special resolution in the
month of January next, and in the same month in every year, and the
day so appointed shall continue to be the day for closing until some
other day shall have been appointed.
Any 2 or more boroughs or town districts, any part of any one of
which is situate within a mile of any part of another, shall be deemed
to constitute a district for the purposes of this act; and in all boroughs
and town districts comprised in any such district the day appointed
for the closing of shops shall be the same, and such day shall be
appointed in the manner following:
(1) A conference of delegates appointed by all the local authorities
comprised in any such district shall be held in the month of January
next, and in the month of January in every year thereafter, for the
purpose of deciding on which day of the week shops shall be closed in
such district, in accordance with the provisions of this act.
(2) Each local authority comprised in any such district (not being a
city) shall appoint one delegate to each such conference, and any bor
ough being a city in such district shall appoint a number being one
more than the number of delegates appointed by all the other local
authorities in such district.
(3) All delegates shall be members of the local authority, and in the
case of a city the mayor shall be ex officio one of the delegates for such
city. The number of delegates which any such city is entitled to
appoint shall constitute a quorum of the conference.
(4) Such conference shall decide which day of the week shall be the
day on which all shops in the district shall be closed as provided by
this act; and the chairman shall forthwith notify in writing to the
minister of labor which day has been so decided upon, and the minister
shall by notice in the Gazette appoint that day to be the day for clos
ing accordingly; and the day so appointed shall continue to be the day
for closing until the minister shall have appointed some other day in
accordance with the decision of another conference; and the produc
tion of the Gazette notice shall be conclusive proof of the day named
therein being the day appointed for closing shops in the district.
In the event of any day other than Saturday being appointed under
any of the provisions of this act as closing-day under this act, then
any person shall be entitled to close his shop or office on Saturday in
lieu thereof, on giving notice to the inspector of his desire to do so.
Such notice shall be lodged with the inspector during the month of
January in each year, ana shall be taken as proof of the facts therein
stated. Provided that, in the case of a shopkeeper who commences
business after January, such notice may be lodged as aforesaid at any
time within one month after his shop is first opened for business.
In the event of any local authority failing so to appoint a day or of
any conference failing to meet or to decide upon a day on which shops
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
in the district are to be closed, then the governor may by order in
council appoint such day, and the day so appointed shall continue to be
the day on which shops are to be closed in the borough, town district,
or district respectively until some other day shall have been duly
appointed, and such order in council shall be conclusive proof of all
the facts stated therein. Provided that, in the event of Saturday
being the day so appointed, any other day of the week may be
appointed as the day on which butchers’ , hairdressers’ , and photogra
phers’ shops are to be closed in lieu of Saturday.
Additional paragraphs regulate the manner of the proceedings of
the conferences, where they shall be held, the notification of the local
authorities, etc. They are not, however, of sufficient general interest
to warrant their reproduction in full.
The amendment of 1895, however, made the following additions
which are worthy of mention:
The proceedings of a conference of delegates shall not be affected
by the fact that any local authority has neglected or omitted to appoint
the prescribed number of delegates.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the principal
act, it is hereby declared that at any time within one month after the
commencement of this act, and at any time before the 31st day of
March in each year,—
(1) It shall be lawful for any local authority under section 9 o f the
principal act to appoint, by special resolution, another closing-day in
substitution for the one which is for the time being in force;
(2) It shall be lawful for a conference of delegates, appointed in that
behalf by all the local authorities constituting a district under the
principal act, to decide on another closing day in substitution for the
one which is for the time being in force;
If the conference decides as aforesaid, and the chairman forthwith
notifies the minister of labor thereof, the minister shall, by notice in
the Gazette, appoint such day as the closing-day in substitution of the
one theretofore in force.
The closing-day so substituted as aforesaid by the local authority or
the minister shall for all purposes be the closing-day in the district of
such local authority, or (as the case may be) in the district constituted
under the principal act, until some other day is lawfully appointed.
The production of such Gazette notice shall be conclusive proof of the
day named therein being the closing-day in the district named therein.
Upon a requisition, signed by a three-fifths majority of the shop
keepers in any city or borough, desiring that all shops in the city or
borough shall be closed on the evening of Saturday in each week at
the hour of 9 or 10 of the clock, as expressed by the requisition, the
minister shall, by notice in the Gazette, intimate that from and after a
day therein mentioned all the shops in the city or borough shall be
closed in accordance with such requisition: Provided that no such
notice shall be gazetted by the minister until it has been certified to
by the city or borough council that the signatures to such requisition
represent a three-fifths majority of shopkeepers trading within the
city or borough limits. So long as such Gazette notice continues in
force, every snopkeeper who fails or neglects to close his shop in
accordance therewith is liable to a penalty not exceeding £5 [$24.33].
FOBEIGN LABOE LAWS.
199
Such Gazette notice may be revoked or altered by the minister upon a
similar requisition to that pursuant to which such notice was originally
gazetted.
As regards office, the following section provides not only for a
weekly half-holiday, but fixes the hour when they shall be closed on
other days. Office is defined to mean “ any building or floor used as
a banking office, insurance office, or for any other commercial pur
pose.”
The closing hour of all offices shall be not later than 5 o’clock in the
afternoon of each week-day except Saturday, when the closing-hour
shall be not later than 1 o’clock in the afternoon: Provided that excep
tion shall be made in respect of not exceeding 10 days in each calendar
month when employees may be required to continue at work, or to
return to work, for not exceeding 3 hours in any one day. It is
further provided that this section shall not apply to shipping, tram
way, and newspaper offices. Offices shall be excepted from the oper
ation of the last preceding section during two periods of 4 weeks each
in every year for the purposes of their half-yearly balances.
In the event of any day other than Saturday being appointed as the
closing day for shops in any district, the proprietor or any office in
such district shall be entitled to close his office on that day, in lieu of
Saturday, on giving notice to the inspector of his desire so to do.
Such notice shall be lodged with the inspector during the month of
January in each year, and shall be taken as proof of the facts therein
stated: Provided that if he commences business after January, such
notice may be lodged as aforesaid at any time within one month after
his office is first opened for business.
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND YOUNG PEBSONS.
Following are the provisions of the principal act, 1894, which have
remained unchanged by the amending acts, regarding the hours of
labor of women and minors employed in shops:
A woman, or a person under 18 years of age, shall not work for hire
or maintenance in or about any shop, nor at any work in connection
with the shop, for a longer period than 52 hours, excluding meal
times, in any one week, nor for a longer period than 9i hours, exclud
ing meal times,- in any one day, except on one day in each week, when
l l i hours’ work may be done: Provided that the persons employed
in a shop or workroom may, with the consent of the inspector, be
employed for a period not exceeding 3 hours in any one day beyond
the ordinary working hours on not more than 40 days in any one year
for the purposes of stock taking.
No woman, or person under 18 years of age, shall be employed more
than 5 consecutive hours without being granted an interval of not less
than half an hour for refreshments. A woman, or person under 18
years of age, shall not, to the knowledge of the shopkeeper, be em
ployed in any shop who has been previously on the same day employed
in a factory or workroom for the number of hours permitted by law,
or for a longer period than will complete such number of hours.
In every shop in which women, or persons under 18 years of age, are
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
employed a notice shall be kept exhibited by the shopkeeper in a con
spicuous place therein stating the number of hours in the week during
which women and persons as aforesaid may lawfully be employed
therein.
When any woman, or person under the age of 18 years, is employed
in or about any shop contrary to the provisions of this act, the shop
keeper shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £2 [$9.73] for each
person so employed.
SEATS FOR FEMALES.
Every shopkeeper is hereby required to provide proper sitting
accommodation for females employed in his shop, and if any shop
keeper fails to comply with the requirements of this section he shall
for every week during which' he so fails be liable to a penalty not
exceeding £5 [$24.33].
No shopkeeper shall—
(1) Directly or indirectly prohibit or prevent, or make any rule or
regulation prohibiting, any female employed in his shop from being
seated when not actually and immediately engaged in the course of
her employment;
(2) Require any such female to be so continuously employed in an
employment the course of which requires her to remain standing as
that reasonable intervals are not allowed to her in each day during
which she may use the sitting accommodation provided;
(3) Dismiss from his employment or reduce the wages of any female
on the ground that she has made use of such sitting accommodation,
unless it be proved that she has used it for an unreasonably long time
or an unreasonable number of times on any day.
Any shopkeeper who shall offend against any provision of this sec
tion shall for every such offense be liable to a penalty not exceeding
£10 [$48.67].
ENFORCEMENT OF ACT.
It shall be the duty of every [factory] inspector to see that the pro
visions of this act are properly carried out, and to prosecute all per
sons guilty of any breach thereof. For the purpose of carrying
out the provisions of this act, every inspector shall have the same
right of entry into and of inspection and examination of a shop or
office, subject to the provisions of this act, as he would have in respect
of a factory or workroom; and, in case any shopkeeper or office man
ager shall refuse to allow such entry or inspection and examination,
he shall be liable to the like penalty as the occupier of a factory or
workroom is liable to for refusing to allow or impeding any entry
into or examination of such factory or workroom.
Every person who commits any breach of any provision of the
principal act, for which no specific penalty is provided by that act, is
liable to a penalty not exceeding £5 [$24.33].
Where any person is charged with an offense against this act, such
charge shall be heard, and all penalties imposed by this act shall be
recovered in a summary way beiore a stipendiary magistrate.
An appeal from this decision may be taken to the supreme court or
to a district court.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
201
PAYM ENT OF W AG ES: TRUCK SYSTEM.
Legislation in relation to the character of wage payments and the
manner in which they shall be made is contained in three acts: The
Truck Act, 1891, passed August 29, 1891; The Workmen’s Wages
Act, 1893, passed October 6, 1893; and The Wages Protection Act,
1899, passed October 19, 1899. In addition to these there are two
special acts: The Employment of Boys or Girls Without Payment
Prevention Act, 1899, of date of October 21, 1899, and The Public
Contracts Act, 1900, of date of August 16, 1900, that should be men
tioned in any consideration of laws in relation to wages.
The Truck Act, as its name would indicate, has as its main purpose
to insure that wages will be paid in cash or orders upon a bank payable
to bearer on demand. The important provisions of the act are the
following:
In every contract hereafter to be made with any workman the wages
of such workman shall be made payable in money only, and not other
wise, and, if by agreement, custom, or otherwise a workman is entitled
to receive, in anticipation of the regular period of the payment of his
wages, an advance as part or on account thereof, it shall not be lawful
for the employer to withhold such advance or make any deduction in
respect of such advance on account of poundage, discount, or interest,
or any similar charge.
If in any such contract the whole or any part of such wages shall be
made payable in any manner other than in money, or shall provide
for any deduction or charge as aforesaid in respect of any advance of
the whole or a part of the wages of such workman, such contract shall
be and is hereby declared illegal and void so far as any promise or
consideration made or given by or arising out of the same relates to
the payment of such wages otherwise than in money, or as to making
any such deduction or charge as aforesaid; and such promise or con
sideration shall be deemed to be severable from the other part of the
contract, which shall otherwise be and remain in force.
No employer shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or his agent,
impose as a condition, express or implied, in or for the employment
of any workman any terms as to the place, or the manner in which, or
the person with whom any wages or portion of wages paid to the
workman are or is to be expended; and no employer shall, by himself
or his agent, dismiss any workman from his employment ror or on
account of the place at which, or the manner in which, or the person
with whom any wages or portion of wages paid by the employer to
such workman are or is expended or fail to be expended.
The entire amount of the wages earned by or payable to any work
man shall be actually paid to such workman in money, and not other
wise, at intervals of not more than one month if demanded; and every
payment made to any such workman by his employer of or in respect
of any such wages by the delivering to him of goods, or otherwise
than in money, except as hereinafter mentioned, shall be and is hereby
declared illegal and void; and every workman shall be entitled to
recover from his employer in any court of competent jurisdiction the
10332—No. 33—01----- 3
202
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
whole or so much of the wages earned by such workman as shall not
have been actually paid to him by his employer in money.
In any action to be hereafter brought or commenced by any work
man against his employer for the recovery of any sum of money due
to such workman as his wages,
(1) The defendant shall not be allowed to make any set-off or counter
claim, nor to claim any reduction of the plaintiff’s demand, by reason
or in respect of any goods had or received by the plaintiff as or on
account of his wages, or by reason or in respect of any goods sold,
delivered, or supplied at any shop, store, house, or premises kept by
or belonging to such employer, or in the profits of which such employer
shall have any share or interest.
(2) Nor shall the defendant be entitled to anjr set-off or counter
claim in respect of any goods supplied to the plaintiff by any person
under any order or direction of the plaintiff or his agent, or the defend
ant or his agent, {a)
No employer shall have or be entitled to maintain any action in any
court against any workman for or in respect of any goods sold, deliv
ered, or supplied to any such workman by any such employer whilst
in his employment as or on account of his wages, or for or in respect
of any goods sold, delivered, or supplied to such workman at any shop,
store, house, or premises kept by or belonging to such employer, or in
the profits of which such employer shall nave any share or interest.
Nor shall the employer of a workman, or any agent of such employer,
or any person supplying goods to the workman under any order or
direction of such employer or agent, be entitled to maintain any action
in any court for or in respect of any goods supplied by such employer
or agent, or under such order or direction, as the case may be: Pro
vided that nothing in this section shall apply to any exceptions
expressly provided for by this act.
No deduction shall be made from a workman’s wages for sharpening
or epairing tools, except by agreement.
Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent or render invalid any
contract for the payment, or any actual payment, to any workman of
the whole or any part of his wages in a check, draft, or order in writ
ing for the payment of money to the bearer on demand, drawn upon
any person, company, or association carrying on the business of a
banker in New Zealand, either generally or with any particular per
sons or class of persons only, if such workman shall freely consent to
receive such check, draft, or order; but all payments so made with
such consent shall, for the purposes of this act, be as valid as if made
in money: Provided that no such check shall be crossed: Provided,
further, that if wages shall be paid to any workman by a check, draft,
or order in writing as aforesaid, and the same shall be dishonored, such
workman shall be entitled to recover from his employer such reason
able damages as he may have sustained in consequence of the dishonor
o f such check, draft, or order in writing, and such damages shall be
recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction, and in addition to
any wages due or payable to such workman.
As in all acts of this character, it was found necessary to permit cer
tain exceptions to the above provisions in those cases where the condi
tions under which the industry is carried on make it desirable that the
a The final clause “ or the defendant or his agen t” was added by the act of O ctober
19, 1899.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
203
employees shall be wholly or partially compensated in some other way
than through payments in cash or checks. The law thus contains the
following section setting forth the exact circumstances under which
such exceptions shall be permitted:
This act shall not extend or apply in the following cases:
(1) Where an employer, or his agent, supplies or contracts to supply
to any workman any medicine or medical attendance, or any fuel,
materials, tools, appliances, or implements to be by such workman
employed in his trade, labor, or occupation;
(2) Where an employer or his agent supplies or contracts to supply
to any workman or workmen who have engaged with him to fell bush,
or to clear land of bush, with the necessary outfit and means of sup
port, and materials or tools requisite for commencing their engage
ment, to any amount not exceeding in any case the amount of 2 months’
wages to be earned by such workman or workmen in such engagement;
(3) Where such employer, or his agent, supplies or contracts to
supply to any workman any hay, corn, or other provender to be con
sumed by any horse or other beast of burden employed by any such
workman in his trade, labor, or occupation;
(4) Where such employer, or his agent, demises to any workman
the whole or any part of any tenement at any rent to be therein
reserved, or allows such workman the use of a tenement as part of his
wages or in addition to his wages, or any other allowance or privilege
in addition to money wages as a remuneration for his services;
(5) Where such employer supplies or contracts to supply to any such
workman any victuals dressed or prepared under the roof of such
employer, or any drink, not being of an intoxicating nature, and there
consumed by such workman;
(6) Nor to prevent such employer from making or contracting to
make any deduction or stoppage from the wages of any such workman
for or in respect of any such rent, medicine, medical attendance, fuel,
materials, tools, implements, hay, corn, provender, victuals, or drink
as aforesaid;
(7) Nor shall prevent any employer from advancing to any workman
any money to be by him contributed to any friendly society, lifeassurance company or association, savings-bank, or other society or
association whatever, or from advancing any money for the relief of
such workman or his wife or family in sickness, or from advancing any
money to any member of the workman’s family by his order, nor from
deducting or contracting to deduct any such sum or sums of money as
aforesaid from the wages of such workman;
(8) To seamen or to persons employed in agricultural or pastoral
pursuits: Provided that no deduction or stoppage shall exceed the real
and true value of any fuel, tools, implements, hay, corn, provender,
victuals, drink, or materials: Provided also that the exemptions in this
section shall not apply to any contractor or subcontractor for any work
executed under the general government of the Colony, or any local
authority, or to any contractor or subcontractor, for any railway or
road-making work, except in respect of money paid or advanced for
medicine or medical attendance.
Something over one-third of the act relates to definitions, penalties,
and the procedure for enforcing the latter or claims arising out of the
act. As these provisions are not of general interest, it will be sufficient
204
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
to state their purport. Contract is defined to mean any agreement,
whether oral or written, direct or indirect. Money means coin of the
realm or notes of any duly authorized joint-stock bank or association
carrying on the business of a banker in New Zealand. Contracts made
in contravention of the provisions of this act are not only void but
render the employer or agent liable to penalties not exceeding £10
($48.67) for the first, £25 ($121.66) for the second, and £50 ($248.33)
for the third or any subsequent offense. These penalties may be
recovered in a summary way in accordance with The Justices of the
Peace Act, 1882.
The Wages Protection Act, 1899, was passed for the purpose of pre
venting employers from making deductions from the wages of their
employees for the payment of premium on accident insurance policies.
The preamble to the act thus reads:
Whereas there has lately grown up amongst certain employers a
practice of taking out accident insurance policies, to insure their work
men against accident and themselves against liability under the Employ
ers’ Liability Acts, and of compelling or inducing their workmen to
contribute, as premium for such insurance, sums at a rate proportion
ate to their wages: And whereas such practice is oppressive, and it
is expedient to prevent the same: And whereas it is also expedient to
make other provisions for the protection of wages: Be it therefore
enacted, etc.
The law then provides that the act shall form a part of The Truck Act
and be read together with it, and contains the following provisions:
From and after the commencement of this act (1) it shall not be law
ful for any employer to directly or indirectly take or receive any money
from any worker in his employ, whether by way of deduction from
wages or otherwise howsoever, in respect of any policy of insurance
against injury by accident. (2) It shall not be lawful for any insur
ance company, oi; any person on its behalf, to directly or indirectly
take or receive from any worker any money in respect of any policy
of insurance which in any way, directly or indirectly, purports to
both indemnify the employer against any of his liability under the
Employers’ Liability Acts, and also to pay compensation in respect
of injury to the worker by accident.
Provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any
voluntary arrangement arrived at between an employer and his worker
for insurance against accidents happening to such worker outside the
time in which he is engaged working for such employer; provided,
further, that such arrangement is approved of by a stipendiary magis
trate after hearing evidence; but in no case shall the premium paya
ble by the worker exceed one-third of the total amount payable.
All money so taken or received as aforesaid from any worker may
by him be recovered back at any time not exceeding 6 months there
after, with full costs of suit, from the employer, company, or person
who took or received it.
In any proceedings or suit against any employer, company, or per
son (1) for the breach of any of the provisions of the principal act or
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
205
this act; or (2) for the recovery by the worker of money alleged to
have been taken or received from him in breach of any provisions of
the principal act or this act,—the fact that the worker consented
thereto shall not avail in any way as an answer or defense.
The slight amendment to the principal act has already been noted.
The Employment of Boys or Girls Without Payment Prevention
Act, 1899, is an interesting act, because as regards boys or girls under
18 years of age it not only provides that remuneration shall be given,
but adopts the principal of a legal minimum wage. The act, which is
a short one, is here given in full.
B e it enacted by the general assembly o f New Zealand in Parliament
assembled, and by the authority o f the same, as follow s:
1. The short title of this act is The Employment of Boys or Girls
Without Payment Prevention Act, 1899, and it shall form part of and
be read together with The Factories Act, 1894.
2. Every boy or girl under the age of 18 years who is employed in
any capacity to do any work in a factory or workroom shall be entitled
to receive from the employer paymept for the work at such rate as is
agreed on, being in no case less than 4s. [$0.97] per week for girls and
5s. [$1.22] per week for boys irrespective of overtime.
3. Such payment shall be made at weekly or such other intervals as
are agreed on, being in no case longer than fortnightly intervals.
4. If the employer makes default for 14 days in the full and punc
tual payment of any money payable by him as aforesaid, he shall be
liable to a penalty not exceeding 5s. [$1.22] for every day thereafter
during whicn sucli default continues.
5. All proceedings for the recovery of any such penalty shall be
taken by any inspector of factories within not more than 3 months
after the due date of the payment in respect whereof default has been
made, and shall be heard before a stipendiary magistrate.
6. Without affecting the other civil remedies for the recovery of
money payable under this act, civil proceedings for the recovery thereof
may be taken by any inspector of factories in the name and on behalf
of the boy or girl entitled to payment, in any case where the inspector
is satisfied that default in payment has been made.
7. No premium shall be paid by any such boy or girl to, or be accepted
by, any factory occupier for employment in any factory or workroom,
whether such premium is paid by the boy or girl employed or by some
other person; and if any factory occupier is guilty of any breach of
the provisions of this section he shall be liable to a penalty not exceed
ing £10 [$48.67].
In any case where any such premium has been paid as aforesaid, or
where the factory occupier has made any deduction from wages, or
received from the boy or girl, or from any person on behalf of the
boy or girl, any sum in respect of such premium or employment, then,
irrespective of any penalty to which he thereby becomes liable, the
amount so paid, deducted, or received may be recovered from the fac
tory occupier in civil proceedings instituted by any inspector of fac
tories in tne name and on behalf of the boy or girl concerned.
The full title of The Public Contracts Act, 1900, is “ An act to pro
vide for fair wages and working-hours on public contracts.” By it
206
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the principle of “ a fair wage” as regards public works is definitely
accepted. Following is a copy of this act:
B e it enacted by the general assembly o f New Zealand in Parliament
assembled, and by the authority o f the same, as follow s:
1. The short title of this act is The Public Contracts Act, 1900.
2. In this act the expression “ public contract” means every con
tract exceeding the value of £20 [|97.33] hereafter entered into pur
suant to public tender by or on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government
in New Zealand, any education board, harbor board, or any local
authority, as contractee, with any person, firm, or company, as con
tractor, for the construction, extension, or repair of any public or
other work, or the supply or performance of any service, involving
the employment of skilled or unskilled manual labor.
3. In the employment of every description of skilled or unskilled
manual labor for the purposes of any public contract, the contractor
shall at all times be deemed to have agreed with his workers to observe
such length for the working-day, and to pay such rates of wages or
other remuneration for working-days and for overtime respectively, as
are generally considered in the locality to be usual and fair for the
description of labor to which they relate, such length being at no time
greater nor such rates lower than those fixed for the same description
of labor by or under any award or order of the court of arbitration
existing at the time the contract was entered into, whether the con
tractor was or was not a party thereto or bound thereby: Provided
that nothing in this section or elsewhere in this act contained shall limit
or affect the rights of the worker under any agreement with the con
tractor for the observance of a shorter length or the payment of a
higher rate than those referred to in this section.
4. In every public contract the maximum length of the working-day
to be observed in the case of each description of skilled or unskilled
manual labor employed by the contractor in carrying out the contract
shall not exceed 8 hours exclusive of overtime.
5. The foregoing provisions of this act shall be deemed to be incor
porated in every public contract.
6. It shall not be competent to any worker to contract himself out
of the benefit of this act.
7. If the contractor commits any breach of the provisions of this
act, then, in addition to any other penaltv or liability he may thereby
incur under the contract or this act, he shall be liable to a penalty not
exceeding <£10 [$48.67] for each offense.
All penalties incurred under this act shall be recoverable in a sum
mary way under the provisions of The Justice of the Peace Act, 1882.
With the single exception of the clause which provides that the
wages of manual laborers shall, in the absence of any agreement in
writing to the contrary, be paid at intervals of not more than one
week, the consideration of The Workmen’s Wages Act, 1893, falls
without the scope of the present study of labor legislation. This act,
with the exception noted, relates to such matters as that wages shall
be a first charge on money due to or in the hands of a contractor; that
an assignment of such money shall have no effect until wages are
paid; that the contractor must keep an account of moneys received by
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
207
him and produce the same to the workmen when requested; that work
men whose wages are in arrears may attach moneys in hands of employer,
etc. This matter of protecting the payment of wages or of putting
wages in a preferential position as regards their collection or attach
ment it may be said is also covered by The Contractors’ and Workmen’s
Lien Act, 1892.
THE INDUSTRIAL CONCILIATION AN D ARBITRATION ACT.
The act of New Zealand relating to the compulsory arbitration of
labor disputes is undoubtedly the most characteristic piece of labor
legislation passed by any of the Australasian Colonies. The great
strike of 1890 which so disorganized industry in New Zealand gave
great prominence to all measures of labor reform. The subject of
the arbitration of labor disputes was naturally one of the first to be
taken up. Chiefly owing to the efforts of Mr. W. P. Reeves, the
minister of labor for the Colony, action took the form of the introduc
tion of the principle of compulsory arbitration. The consequence
was the passage of The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act,
1894, August 81, 1894. This act has since been three times amended
by the acts of October 18, 1895, October 17, 1896, and November 5,
1898, respectively.
A copy of the act as it now stands is given below. It was thought
preferable to reproduce the original act incorporating in it all changes
provided for by the amending acts, than to print all the four acts
separately and thus to leave to the reader the difficult task of deter
mining the present exact status of the provisions. Footnotes indicate
carefully all the provisions which are due to the amending acts.
A n A ct to facilitate the settlem ent of industrial disputes by conciliation and arbitra
tion [31st August, 1894]. (a)
B e it enacted by the general assembly o f New Zealand in Parliament
assembled, and by the authority o f the same, as follow s:
1. The short title of this act is “ The Industrial Conciliation and
Arbitration Act, 1894.” It shall come into force on the first day of
January, 1895.
2. In this act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“ Association” means an industrial association registered pursuant
to this act:
“ Board” means a board of conciliation for an industrial district
constituted under this act, and includes a special board of conciliation:
“ Court” means the court of arbitration constituted under this act:
“ Employer” includes persons, firms, companies, and corporations
employing workers: (b)
a The words “ to encourage the form ation of industrial unions and associations
an d” appearing im m ediately after the w ord “ act” in the principal act were sup
pressed by the am endm ent act o f 1898.
b The principal act uses the w ord “ w orkm en.” The amendment act of 1895 pro
vides that the w ord “ w orkers” shall be substituted for “ w orkm en” throughout the
act.
208
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
“ Industrial dispute” means any dispute arising between one or
more employers or industrial unions, trade unions, or associations of
employers and one or more industrial unions, trade unions, or associa
tions of workers in relation to industrial matters as herein defined:
“ Industrial matters ” means all matters or things affecting or relating
to work done or to be done, or the privileges, rights, or duties of
employers or workers in any industry, and not involving questions
which are or may be the subject of proceedings for an indictable
offense; and, without limiting the general nature of the above defini
tion, includes all or any matters relating to—
(a) The wages, allowances, or remuneration of any persons employed
in any industry, or the prices paid or to be paid therein in respect of
such employment;
(b) The hours of employment, sex, age, qualification or status of
workers, and the mode, terms, and conditions of employment;
(c) The employment of children or young persons, or of any person
or persons or class of persons in any industry, or the dismissal of or
refusal to employ any particular person or persons or class of persons
therein;
(d) Any established custom or usage of any industry, either gen
erally or in the particular district affected;
(e) Any claim arising under an industrial agreement:
“ Industrial union” means an industrial union registered and incor
porated under this act:
“ Industry” means any business, trade, manufacture, undertaking,
calling, or employment of an industrial character:
“ Officer” of a trade union, industrial union, or association of
workers, means only the president, vice president, secretary, or
treasurer of such body:
“ Prescribed manner” means the manner prescribed by regulations
made pursuant to this act:
“ Registrar” means the registrar of friendly societies:
“ Supreme court office” means the office of the supreme court in
the district constituted under The Supreme Court Act, 1882, wherein
any matter arises to which such expression relates; and, where there
are two such offices in any such district, it means that one of such
offices which is nearest to the place or locality wherein any such matter
arises:
“ Trade union” means any trade union registered under The Trade
Union Act, 1878.
Words in this act referring to any clerk, person, officer, office, place,
locality, union, association, or other matter or thing shall be construed
distributively as referring to each clerk, person, officer, office, place,
locality, union, association, or matter or thing to whom or to which
the provision is applicable.
P a r t I.
REGISTRATION OF INDUSTRIAL UNIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS.
(1) Industrial unions.
3.
A society consisting of any number of persons not being less
than five, (a) residing within the colony, lawrully associated for the
a Changed from seven in the principal act to five by the am endment act of 1895.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
209
purpose of protecting or furthering the interests of employers or
workers in or in connection with any industry in the colony, and
whether formed before or after the passing of this act, may be regis
tered as an industrial union pursuant to this act on compliance with
the following provisions:
(1) An application for registration, stating the name of the pro
posed industrial union, shall be made to the registrar, signed by two
or more officers of the society.
(2) Such application shall be accompanied by (a) a list of the mem
bers and officers of the society; (b) two copies of the rules of the
society; (c) a copy of a resolution passed by a majority of the members
present at a general meeting of tne society specially called in accord
ance with the rules for that purpose only, ana desiring registration as
an industrial union.
(3) Such rules shall specify the purposes for which the society is
formed, and shall provide for—
(a) The appointment of a committee of management, a chairman,
secretary, and any other necessary officers, or, if thought fit, of a
trustee or trustees; and for supplying any vacancy occurring through
any cause prescribed by the rules, or by death or resignation:
(b) The powers, duties, and removal of the committee, and of any
chairman, secretary, or other officer or trustee of the society, and the
control of the committee by general or special meetings:
(c) The manner of calling general or special meetings, the quorum
thereat, and the manner of voting thereat:
(d) The mode in which industrial agreements and any other instru
ments shall be made and by whom executed on behalf of the society,
and in what manner the society shall be represented in any proceed
ings before a board or the court:
(e) The custody and use of the seal, including power to alter or
renew the same:
(f) The control of the property of the society, and the investment
of the funds thereof; and for an annual or other periodical audit of
the accounts:
(g) The inspection of the books and the names of members of the
society by every person having an interest in the funds thereof:
(h) A register of members and the mode in which and the terms on
which persons shall become or cease to be members, and so that no
member shall discontinue his membership without giving at least 3
months’ previous written notice to the secretary of intention so to do,
nor until such member has paid all fees or other dues payable by him
to the union under its rules, and which fees or dues, in so far as they
are owing for any period of membership subsequent to the registration
of the society under this act, may be sued for and recovered in any
court of competent jurisdiction by any person or authority empowered
to do so by law or by such rules:
(i) The conduct of the business of the society at some convenient
address to be specified, and to be called the registered office of the
society.
4.
(1) The rules may also provide for any other matters not con
trary to law, and for their amendment, repeal, or alteration, but so
that the requisites of subsection three of the last preceding section
shall always be provided for.
210
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
(2) Copies of all amendments or alterations of any rules shall, after
being verified by the secretary or some other officer of the society, be
sent to the registrar, who shall record the same.
(3) A printed copy of the rules of the society shall be delivered by
the society to any person requiring the same on payment of a sum not
exceeding one shilling [24 cents].
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in section three
of the principal act, it is hereby enacted as follows: Where a copart
nership firm is a member of any such society, each individual partner
residing in New Zealand shall be deemed an individual member of the
society, and also of the industrial union when such society is regis
tered as a union; any incorporated or registered company may be reg
istered as an industrial union of employers, {a)
Each industrial union shall be deemed to be in the industrial district
wherein its registered office is situate, and shall exercise its right of
voting at the election o f the board of that district accordingly, or in
any industrial district in which such industrial union shall carry on its
business, or any branch or part of its business; and for such purpose
any such union may be also registered in any or every of such indus
trial district or districts, (b)
In the case of any incorporated or registered company the directors
shall sufficiently represent the members for the purpose of the appli
cation to register as an industrial union of employers, and the resolu
tion prescribed by subsection one of section three of the principal act
may accordingly be a resolution of the directors, (c)
5. On being satisfied that the provisions of section three in relation
to an application for registration have been complied with, the regis
trar shall register the society, without fee, as an industrial union pur
suant to the application, and shall issue a certificate of registry and
incorporation, which, unless proved to have been canceled, shall be
conclusive evidence of the fact of such registration and incorporation,
and of the validity thereof.
6. Upon receiving such certificate, every such industrial union shall
become a body corporate, by the registered name, having perpetual
succession until dissolved or the registration thereof is canceled as
hereinafter provided, and shall have a common seal. There shall be
inserted in the registered name of every industrial union the word
“ employers” or “ workers” according to whether such union shall be
a union of employers or workers, as thus: The Bootmakers5Industrial
Union of Workers.
7. Any industrial union may purchase or take on lease, in the name
of the union or of trustees for such union, any house or building, and
any land, and may sell, mortgage, exchange, or let the same, or any
part thereof; and no purchaser, assignee, mortgagee, or tenant shall
be bound to inquire whether the union or the trustees have authority
for such sale, mortgage, exchange, or letting; and the receipt of such
trustees shall be a discharge for the money arising therefrom.
a This paragraph was inserted b y the am endment act o f 1895. The clause making
five the minim um m em bership of an industrial union is not reproduced, as the
change has already been noted.
bThis paragraph was inserted by the am endment acts of 1895 and 1896, the latter
am ending the form er by adding the part beginning w ith “ or in any industrial
district,” etc.
cT h is paragraph was inserted by the am endment act of 1896.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
211
8. Any trade union registered under The Trade Union Act, 1878,
may be registered by the same name (with the insertion of such addi
tional words as aforesaid) under this act *by making application to the
registrar for the purpose; and the registrar shall register such trade
union as an industrial union accordingly, and issue a certificate of reg
istration and incorporation as hereinbefore provided.
For the purposes of this act every branch of a trade union shall be
considered as a distinct union, and may be separately registered as an
industrial union under this act; and the rules for the time being of any
trade union, with such addition or modification as may be necessary to
give effect to this act, shall be deemed to be the rules of the industrial
union when registered under this enactment: Provided that the regis
trar shall not .refuse to register a trade union the rules of which con
tain such addition or modification as aforesaid unless such rules are
distinctly contrary to some express provision of this act.
9. No industrial union shall be registered under a name identical
with that by which any other industrial union has been registered
under this act, or by which any other trade union has been registered
under The Trade union Act, 1878, or so near resembling any such
name as to be likely to deceive the members or the public.
10 The effect of registration shall be to render the industrial union,
and all persons who may be members of any society or trade union
registered as an industrial union at the time of registration, or who
after such registration may become members of any society or trade
union so registered, subject to the jurisdiction by this act given to a
board and the court respectively, and liable to all the provisions of
this act, and all such persons shall be bound by the rules of the indus
trial union during the continuance of the membership.
11 Any industrial union may at any time apply to the registrar in
the prescribed manner for a cancellation of the registration thereof,
and the registrar, after giving six weeks’ public notice of his intention
so to do, may cancel such registration; but no registration shall be
canceled during the progress of any conciliation or arbitration affect
ing such union until the board or court has given its decision or made
its award, nor in any case unless the registrar shall be satisfied that
the cancellation is desired by a majority of the members of the union;
and no cancellation of any registration shall relieve any industrial
union, or any member thereof, from the obligation of any industrial
agreement or award of the court.
.
.
(#) Industrial associations.
.
12 Any council or other body, however designated, representing
any number of industrial unions established within the colony may
be registered as an industrial association pursuant to this act.
All the provisions of this act hereinbefore contained in sections
three to eleven inclusive shall, mutatis mutandis, extend and apply
to an industrial association, and shall be read and construed accord
ingly, so far as applicable.
(3) General.
.
13 In the months of January and July in every year there shall be
forwarded to the registrar by every association a list of the unions
constituting such association; and in the same months in every year
212
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
there shall be forwarded to the registrar by every industrial union a
list of the members of such union. Each such list shall be verified
by the statutory declaration of the president or chairman of each
such association and union, and such statutory declaration shall be
prima fa cie evidence of the truth of the matters therein set forth.
Each such list shall specify the names of all the officers (including
trustees) of each such association or union, {a)
14. Every association or industrial union making default in for
warding to the registrar any list required to be forwarded by the lastpreceding section shall be guilty of an offense against this act, punish
able by a penalty not exceeding two pounds [$9.73] for every week
during which such default continues; and every member of the council
of any such association or committee of any such union who willfully
permits such default shall be guilty of a similar offense, punishable
by a penalty not exceeding five shillings [$1.22] for every week during
which he willfully permits such default.
15. Every association or industrial union may sue or be sued for the
purposes of this act by the name by which it is registered, and service
of any process, notice, or document of any kind may be effected by
delivering the same to the chairman or secretary of such union or
association, or by leaving the same at the registered office of such
union or association.
16. All deeds and instruments of any kind which the union or asso
ciation is required to execute for the purposes of this act, or any regu
lations in force thereunder, may be made and executed under the seal
of such union or association and signed by the chairman and secretary
thereof, or in such other manner as may be provided in the rules of
the union or association.
P a r t II.
INDUSTRIAL AGREEMENTS.
17. The parties to industrial agreements may be (1) trade unions,
(2) industrial unions, (3) industrial associations, (4) employers; and any
such agreement may provide for any matter or thing affecting any
industrial matter, or in relation thereto, or for the prevention or set
tlement of an industrial dispute.
18. Every industrial agreement may be varied, renewed, or canceled
by any subsequent industrial agreement made by and between the
parties thereto, or any additional parties, but so that no person shall
be deprived of the benefit of any industrial agreement to which he
is a party by any subsequent industrial agreement to which he is not
a party.
19. Every industrial agreement shall be for a term to be specified
therein, not exceeding three years from the date of the making thereof,
and shall commence as follows: u This agreement, made in pursuance
o f The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1894, th is--------day o f --------- , between--------- ,” and then set out the matters agreed
upon; and the date of the making of such agreement shall be the date
when such agreement shall be first signed or executed by any party
thereto; and such date, and the names of all industrial unions, trade
unions, associations, or employers parties to such agreement, shall be
truly stated therein.
a This paragraph was inserted by the am endment act of 1895.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
213
20. A duplicate of every industrial agreement shall be filed in the
supreme court office within thirty days of the making thereof, and a
fee of five shillings [$1.22] shall be paid in respect of every agreement
so filed.
21. Every industrial agreement duly made and executed shall be
binding on the parties thereto and on every person who at any time
during the term of such agreement is a member of any industrial
union, trade union, or association party thereto, and on every employer
who shall in the prescribed manner signify to the registrar of the
supreme court where such agreement is filed concurrence therein, and
every such employer shall be entitled to the benefit thereof, and be
deemed to be a party thereto.
22. (1) For the purpose of enforcing industrial agreements, whether
made before or after the coming into operation of this act, the pro
visions of the last-preceding section hereof [see sections 75-81] shall,
mutatis mutandis, apply in like manner in all respects as if an industrial
agreement were an award of the court, and the court shall accordingly
have full and exclusive jurisdiction to deal therewith, (a)
(2) Any industrial agreement may fix and determine what shall con
stitute a breach of an agreement within the meaning of this act.
(3) Nothing herein contained shall deprive any person who may be
damnified of his right of action for redress or compensation in respect
of any breach of an agreement.
23. [Repealed by the amendment act of 1898. See footnote to sec
tion 22.]
P a r t III.
CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION.
(1) Preliminary.
24. (1) The governor may from time to time divide New Zealand,
or any portion thereof , into such districts as he shall think fit, to be
called “ industrial districts,” and notice of the constitution of every
such district shall be given in the Gazette as occasion requires.
(2)
If any such district is constituted by reference to, or be included
within, the limits or boundaries of any other portion of the colony
defined or created under any act, then, in case of the alteration of the
boundaries of such portion of the colony, such alteration shall take
effect in respect of the district constituted under this section without
any further proceeding, unless the governor shall otherwise determine.
25. In ana for every industrial district the governor shall appoint a
clerk of awards (hereinafter referred to as u the clerk” ), who snail be
attached to the office of the registrar, and shall be subject to the con
trol and direction of that officer, and shall in the prescribed manner
report to the registrar all proceedings taken or done by or before him.
The office of clerk may be held either separately or in conjunction
with any other office in the public service, as the governor may deter
mine, and he shall be paid such salary or other remuneration as the
governor thinks fit.
a The provisions of this paragraph are in substitution of the provisions of sub
section (1 ) of section 22, and of section 23, of the principal act, according to the
am endment act of 1898.
214
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
26. It shall be the duty of the clerk—
(1) To receive, register, and deal with all applications within his
district lodged for reference of any industrial dispute to the board for
the district, or to the court;
(2) To convene the board or court for the purpose of dealing with
any such dispute;
(3) To keep a register in which shall be entered the particulars of
all references and settlements of industrial disputes made to and by
the board, and of all references and awards made to and by the court;
(4) To issue all summonses to witnesses to give evidence before the
board or court, and to issue all notices and perform all other acts in
connection with the sittings of the board or court in the prescribed
manner; and
(5) Generally to do all such things and to take all such proceedings as
may be required in the performance of his duties by this act or in the
prescribed manner, or, in the absence of regulations, with the direc
tions of the registrar.
27. Any board and the court, and, being authorized in writing by
the board or court, any member of such board or court respectively,
or any officer of such board or court, without any other warrant than
this act, at any time between sunrise and sunset—
(1) May enter upon any manufactory, building, workshop, factory,
mine, mine-workings, ship or vessel, shed, place, or premises of any
kind whatsoever, wherein or in respect of which any industry is car
ried on or any work is being or has been done or commenced, or any
matter or thing is taking or has taken place, which has been made the
subject of a reference to such board or court; .
(2) May inspect and view any work, material, machinery, appliances,
article, matter, or thing whatsoever being in such manufactory, build
ing, workshop, factory, mine, mine-workings, ship or vessel, shed,
place, or premises as aforesaid;
(3) May interrogate any person or persons who may be in or
upon any such manufactory, building, workshop, factory, mine, mineworkings, ship or vessel, shed, place, or premises, as aforesaid, in respect
of or in relation to any matter or thing hereinbefore mentioned.
And any person who shall hinder or obstruct the board or court, or
any member or officer thereof respectively, in the exercise of any
power conferred by this section, or who shall refuse to the board or
court, or any member or officer thereof respectively duly authorized
as aforesaid, entrance during any such time as aforesaid to any such
manufactory, building, workshop, factory, mine, mine-workings, ship
or vessel, shed, place, or premises, or shall refuse to answer any ques
tion put to him as aforesaid, shall for every such offense be liable to a
penalty not exceeding £60 [$243.33].
28. The following persons shall be disqualified from being appointed
or elected or from holding office as chairman or as a member o f any
board, or as president or a member of the court, and if so elected or
appointed shall be incapable of continuing to be such member, presi
dent, or chairman:
(1) A bankrupt who has not obtained his final order of discharge;
(2) Any person convicted of any crime for which the punishment is
death or imprisonment with hard labor for a term of 3 years or
upwards; or
(3) Any person of unsound mind.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
215
No person whilst holding a seat on one board shall hereafter be
eligible for nomination or election to a seat on any other board, and if
he is so elected his election shall be void, (a)
If any person allows himself to be nominated for election as member
of more boards than one, both nominations shall be void, {a)
In the event of any person’s election becoming void under this sec
tion the governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment, in the same
manner as if the prescribed number of members had not been elected,
anything in section 36 of the principal act to the contrary notwith
standing.^)
This section shall apply both to boards of conciliation and to special
boards of conciliators inter se, but shall not otherwise affect the opera
tion of section 41 of the principal act, nor shall it in any way affect
any election held before the coming into operation of this act. (a)
29. Whenever an industrial dispute shall be referred to a board or
court as hereinafter provided, no industrial union or association, trade
union, or society, whether of employers or workers, and no employer
who may be a party to the proceedings before the board or court shall,
on account of such industrial dispute, do any act or thing in the nature
of a strike or lockout, or suspend or discontinue employment or work
in any industry affected by such proceedings, but each party shall con
tinue to employ or be employed as the case may be until the board or
court shall have come to a final decision in accordance with this act.
But nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent any suspension or dis
continuance of any industry, or from working therein, for any other
good cause.
No industrial dispute shall be referred for settlement to a board by
an industrial association, industrial union, or trade union, and no
application shall be made to the court for the enforcement of any
award, except in pursuance of a resolution passed by a majority of
the members present at a meeting specially summoned by notice being
posted to each member, stating the nature of the proposal to be sub
mitted to the meeting, (b)
(2) Boards o f conciliation.
30. In and for every industrial district there shall be established a
board of conciliation, to have jurisdiction for the settlement of indus
trial disputes occurring in such district which may be referred to it by
one or more of the parties to an industrial dispute or by industrial
agreement.
31. .The governor may determine the number of persons who
(together with the chairman) shall compose the board of such district,
subject, however, to the express provisions of this act, and such num
ber shall be stated in the notice of the constitution of the district.
32. With respect to the first and subsequent elections of boards, the
following provisions shall have effect:
(1)
Every board shall consist of such equal number of persons as
the governor may determine, being not more than six nor less than
four persons, who shall be chosen by the industrial unions of employers
and of workers in the industrial district respectively, such unions vot
ing separately and electing an equal number of such members.
a This
paragraph was inserted by the amendment act of 1896.
b This paragraph was inserted by the amendment act of 1898.
216
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
(2) The chairman of such board shall be in addition to the number
of members before mentioned, and be elected as hereinafter provided.
(3) Every board shall be elected in the following manner:
(a) The clerk shall act as returning officer, and do the acts and things
hereinafter mentioned.
(b) First elections of a board shall be held within 30 days after the
constitution of the district, and the returning officer shall give 14 days’
notice in one or more newspapers circulating in the district of the
day and place of election, which shall be so arranged that the indus
trial unions of employers shall vote at one time and the industrial
unions of workers at another time on the day fixed: Provided that the
governor may from time to time extend the period within which any
elections shall be held for such time as he thinks fit.
(c) Persons shall be nominated for election in such manner as the
rules of the industrial union may prescribe, or, if there be no such
rule, nominations shall be made in writing by the chairman of the
union, and lodged with the returning officer at least 3 days before the
date of election. Each nomination shall be accompanied by the writ
ten consent of the person nominated, and forms of nomination shall
be provided by the returning officer on application to him for that
purpose.
(d) When all the nominations have been received the returning
officer shall give notice of the names of persons nominated by affixing
a list thereof on the door of his office at least one clear day before the
day of election.
(e) If it shall appear that no greater number of persons are nomi
nated than require to be elected, the returning officer shall at once
declare such persons elected.
If the number of persons so nominated exceeds the number required
to be elected, then votes shall be taken as hereinafter provided.
(f) The returning officer shall preside at the election by each division
of industrial unions entitled to vote, and the vote of each such union
shall be signified in writing in the prescribed manner, and on being
tendered by the chairman of the union, or by some person appointed
by the union for that purpose in accordance with its rules, the return
ing officer shall record the vote in such manner as he thinks fit.
(g) Each industrial union shall have as many votes as there are per
sons to be elected by its division, and the persons having the highest
aggregate number of votes in such division, not exceeding the number
to be elected, shall be deemed elected.
(h) If it shall happen that two or more candidates have an equal
number of votes the returning officer, in order to complete the elec
tion, shall give such votes to one or more of such candidates as he
thinks fit: ^Provided that any candidate may in any such case agree to
withdraw from the election.
(i) As soon as possible after the votes of each division of industrial
unions have been recorded the returning officer shall ascertain what
persons have been elected, as before provided, and shall state the
result in writing, and forthwith post the same in some public place at
the place of election.
(j) In case of any dispute touching the sufficiency of the nomina
tion, the mode of election, or the result thereof, or any matter inci
dentally arising in or in respect of such election, the same shall be
decided by the returning officer, whose decision shall be final.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
217
(k) In case any election is not completed for any cause on the day
appointed the returning officer may adjourn the election, or the com
pletion thereof, to the next or any subsequent day, and may then pro
ceed with the election.
(l) The whole of the voting papers shall be securely kept by the
returning officer during the election, and thereafter shall be put in a
packet and kept for 1 month, when he shall cause the whole of them to
be effectually destroyed.
(m) Neither the returning officer nor any person employed by him
shall (except in discharge of his duty) disclose for whom any vote has
been given or tendered, either before or after the election is completed,
or retain possession of or exhibit any voting paper used at the elec
tion, or give any information to any person as to all or any of the
matters herein mentioned; and if any person shall commit a breach of
this provision he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty
pounds [$97.33.]
But nothing herein contained shall be deemed to forbid the disclo
sure of any fact or the doing of any act hereby prohibited if the same
be required in obedience to the process of any court of law.
(4)
The clerk shall, after the completion of the election, appoint a
day for the first meeting of the members elected, and shall give at
least 3 days5 notice in writing to each member. At such meeting the
members shall elect some impartial person, not being one of their
number, and willing to act, to be chairman of the board.
33. As soon as may be after the election of the chairman the clerk
shall transmit to the governor a list of the names of the respective
persons elected as members and as chairman of the board, and the
governor shall cause notice thereof to be published in the Gazette,
and the date on which such notice is so published shall be deemed to
be the date of election, and such notice shall be final and conclusive
for all purposes.
34. The members of the board and the chairman shall hold office
for the period of 3 years from the date of the publication of such
notice in the Gazette, and until their successors are elected.
35. On the expiration of every third year after the first election of
members of a board or a chairman thereof a new election shall be held,
on such day as the governor may appoint, and new members and a
chairman shall be elected in the manner hereinbefore provided in
respect of first elections. Any retiring member or chairman shall be
eligible for reelection, and all proceedings in and about such new elec
tion may be had and taken accordingly.
36. If the chairman or any member of a board shall die, resign, or
be disqualified or incapable to act, his office shall be vacant, and the
vacancy shall be supplied in the same manner as the original election
was made, and the person so elected shall hold office in the board only
for the residue of the term of his predecessor therein. Members shall
resign office by letter addressed to the chairman, and the chairman by
letter to the board.
37. Upon any casual vacancy being reported to the clerk in the
office of a member of a board, he shall take all such proceedings as
may be necessary to have an election by the class of industrial union
entitled to vote in the election of such member, and the provisions as
to general elections shall apply accordingly as far as applicable. In
the case of a casual vacancy in the office of chairman, the board shall
10332—No. 33—01----- 1
218
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
meet on such day and time as they may appoint and elect a chairman
to supply such vacancy.
38. (1) The presence of the chairman and of not less than one-half
in number of the other members of a board shall be necessary to con
stitute a quorum.
(2) But in case of the illness or absence of a chairman the members
may elect one of their own number to be chairman during such illness
or absence.
(3) In all matters coming before any board the decision of the board
shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members pres
ent, exclusive o f the chairman, except in the case of an equality of
such votes, in which case only the chairman shall vote, and his vote
shall decide the question.
39. If at any time the industrial unions entitled to vote shall neg
lect or refuse to vote at the election of a member of the board,
whether in respect of a general election or a casual vacancy, or if the
members of a board shall neglect or refuse to elect a chairman, the
governor may in any such case appoint such fitting persons as mem
bers of the board or as chairman as may be necessary in any case to
give effect to this act.
If and as often as for any reason the prescribed number of members
of the board is not duly elected, or the prescribed number of mem
bers of the court is not duly recommended, as provided by the prin
cipal act, the governor shall, by notice in the Gazette, appoint as
many fit persons to be members of the board or court as may be nec
essary in order to make the prescribed number. The Gazette notice
of such appointment shall be conclusive evidence of the happening of
the events entitling the governor to make such appointment, (a)
Every person appointed by the governor to be member or chairman
of a board shall be deemed to be elected within the meaning and for
the purposes of section 33 of the principal act. (b)
This section shall take effect as from the date of the coming into
force of the principal act. (b)
40. (1) No act of a board shall be questioned on the ground of any
informality in the election of a member, nor on the ground that the
seat of any member is vacant, or that any supposed member thereof
is incapable of being a member.
(2) In the event of the period of office of any board expiring whilst
such board is engaged in the investigation of any industrial dispute,
the governor may, by notice in the Gazette, continue such board in
office for any time not exceeding one month, in order to enable its
members to take part in the settlement of such dispute, and on the
expiration of such month an election of a new board shall be held in
the manner hereinbefore provided.
41. (1) Notwithstanding the election of a board under the provi
sions hereinbefore contained, or where no district shall have been
constituted, a special board of conciliators may be appointed from
time to time to meet any case of emergency or any special case of
industrial dispute. Such board shall consist of an equal number of
persons not exceeding six, all or any of whom may be members of the
board of the district, and shall be chosen separately in equal numbers
a This paragraph was inserted by the amendment act of 1895.
b This paragraph was inserted by the amendment act of 1896.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
219
by employers and industrial unions of employers directly interested
in such dispute and by industrial unions of workers so interested.
(2)
The members of any such special board, together with a chair
man, to be elected as provided in section 32, shall, except in respect
of the duration of their office, be deemed to possess all the jurisdiction
and powers of a board elected for an industrial district.
42.
Any industrial dispute may be referred for settlement to a board
either by or pursuant to an industrial agreement, or in the manner
hereinafter provided:
(1) Any party to such a dispute may, in the prescribed manner,
lodge an application with the clerk requesting that such dispute be
referred for settlement to a board.
(2) The parties to such dispute may comprise—
(a) An individual employer, or several employers, and an industrial
union, trade union, or association of workers;
(b) An industrial union, trade union, or association of employers,
or an individual employer, or several employers, and an industrial
union, trade union, or association of workers, or several such unions
or associations:
But the mention of the various kinds of parties shall not be deemed
to interfere with any arrangement thereof that may be necessary to
insure an industrial dispute being brought in a complete shape before
the board; and a party or parties may be withdrawn or removed from
the proceedings and another or others substituted after the reference
to the board, and before any report is made, as the board shall allow
or think best adapted for the purpose of giving effect to this act, and
the board may make any recommendation or give any direction for
any such purpose accordingly.
(3) An employer, being a party to a reference, may appear in per
son, or by his agent duly appointed in writing for that purpose, or by
counsel or solicitor where allowed as hereinafter provided.
(4) An association, trade union, or industrial union, being party to
a reference, may appear by its chairman or secretary, or by any num
ber of persons (not exceeding three) appointed in writing by the chair
man o f the association or union for that purpose, or by counsel or
solicitor where allowed as hereinafter provided.
(5) Every party appearing by a representative or representatives
shall be bouna by his or their acts.
(6) The clerk, on receipt of any application for a reference to a
board, shall forthwith lay the same before the board mentioned in
such application at a meeting of such board to be convened by him
in the prescribed manner, and, subject to the provisions of this act,
shall carry out all directions of the board in order to effect a settle
ment of the industrial dispute referred to it.
(7) No counsel or solicitor shall be allowed to appear or be heard
before a board, or any committee thereof, unless all the parties to the
reference, or interested in the matter referred to a committee, shall
expressly consent thereto.
When any industrial dispute has been referred for settlement to a
board or the court, any employer, association, trade union, or indus
trial union may, on application, if the board or the court deem it equi
table, be joined as party thereto at any stage of the proceedings, and
on such terms as the board or the court deems equitable, (a)
a This paragraph was inserted by the am endment act of 1896.
220
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
43. Every board shall, in such manner as it shall think fit, carefully
and expeditiously inquire into and investigate any industrial dispute
of which it shall have cognizance, and all matters affecting the merits
of such dispute or the right settlement thereof, and, for the purposes of
any such inquiry, shall have all the powers of summoning witnesses,
and hearing and receiving evidence, and preserving order at any
inquiry, which are by this act conferred on the court of arbitration.
Whenever an industrial dispute involving technical questions is
referred to a board or the court for settlement, two experts may be
nominated, one by each party to the dispute; and such experts shall
sit as assessors with and be deemed to be members of the board or
court for the purposes of such dispute, (a)
I f there are more than two parties to any such dispute, one assessor
shall be nominated by the parties whose interests are with the em
ployers, and the other by the parties whose interests are with the
workers, (a)
The assessors shall be nominated in the urescribed manner and sub
ject to the prescribed conditions, (a)
Where an industrial dispute relates to employment or wages, the
jurisdiction of the board or court to deal therewith shall not be voided
or affected by the fact that the relationship of employer and employed
has ceased to exist, unless it so ceased at least 6 weeks before the
industrial dispute was first referred to the board or to the court, if
there has been no prior reference to the board, (a)
44. In the course of any such inquiry and investigation the board
shall make all such suggestions and do all such things as shall appear
to them as right and proper to be made or done for securing a fair and
amicable settlement of the industrial dispute between the parties, and
may adjourn the proceedings for any period the board thinks reason
able, to allow the parties to agree upon some terms of settlement; and,
if no such settlement shall be arrived at, shall decide the question
according to the merits and substantial justice of the case, and make
their report or recommendation in writing, under the hand of the
chairman of the board, which shall be delivered to and filed by the
clerk in his own office with all papers and proceedings relating to
the reference. Such report shall be delivered as aforesaid within. 2
months of the day on which the application was lodged with the clerk.
45. In particular, but without limiting the general power given to
a board by the last-preceding section, any board may—
(1) Refer the matters in dispute, upon such terms as the board
thinks fit, to a committee of their number, consisting of an equal num
ber of representatives of employers and workers, who shall endeavor
to reconcile the parties; or,
(2) Refer any matter before them to be settled by the court.
46. If the board shall report that they have been unable to bring
about any settlement of any dispute referred to them satisfactory to
the parties thereto, the clerk on the receipt of such report shall trans
mit a copy (certified by him) of such report to each party to the indus
trial dispute, whereupon any such party may, in the manner prescribed,
require the clerk to refer the said dispute to the court. The clerk shall
thereupon transmit all the papers and proceedings in the reference to
the court.
a This paragraph was inserted by the amendment act of 1895.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
221
(3) The court o f arbitration,
47. There shall be one court of arbitration for the whole colony for
the settlement of industrial disputes pursuant to this act. The court
shall have a seal which shall be judicially noticed, and impressions
thereof admitted in evidence in all courts of judicature, and for all
purposes.
48. (1) The court shall consist of three members to be appointed by
the governor, one to be so appointed on the recommendation of the
councils or a majority of the councils of the industrial associations of
workers in the colony, and one to be so appointed on the recommenda
tion of the councils or a majority of the councils of the industrial asso
ciations of employers of the colony: Provided that if there shall be no
industrial associations of employers, then, in their stead, such recom
mendation as aforesaid shall be made by the industrial unions of
employers.
No recommendation shall be made as to the third member, who shall
be a judge of the supreme court, and shall be appointed from time to
time by the governor, and shall be president of the court, and, in case
of the illness or unavoidable absence of such judge at any time, the
governor may appoint some fit person, being a supreme court judge,
to be and act as president, who shall hold office only during the illness
or unavoidable absence of such judge.
(2)
The procedure for the purpose of giving effect to this section
shall be as follows:—
(a) Each such council respectively shall, within 1 month after
being requested so to do by the governor, submit the name of one per
son to the governor, and from the names of the persons so recom
mended the governor shall select two members, one from each set
recommended, and appoint them to be members of the court.
In the event of a majority of the councils not having made recom
mendations as aforesaid, or in case such majority of recommendations
shall not be received by the governor within the period of 1 month
after each council has been requested to submit a name as aforesaid,
or in case any person so recommended shall decline to act as a member
of the court, the governor shall forthwith appoint such person as he
shall think fit to be a member of the court; and such member shall be
deemed to be appointed on the recommendation of the said councils,
as the case may be.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the expression “ council” means
the governing authority of the association or industrial union entitled
to vote, by whatever name such authority shall be designated.
(c) As soon as practicable after a full court shall have been appointed
by the governor, the names of the members of the court shall be noti
fied in the Gazette.
49. (1) Every member of the court shall hold office for 3 years
from the date of his appointment, and shall be eligible for reappoint
ment, and any casual vacancy occurring in the membership by death,
disqualification, resignation, or removal shall be supplied m the same
manner as the original appointment was made; but every person so
appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall hold office only for the period
tnat his predecessor would have held office.
(2)
The governor may remove any member of the court from office
who shall become bankrupt, who may be convicted of any crime the
222
BULLETIN OE THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
punishment of which is death or imprisonment with hard labor for a
term of 3 years or upward, who may become of unsound mind, or
who shall be absent from three consecutive sittings of the court.
50. Before proceeding to consider any case, the members, other
than the presiding judge, of the court and the officers thereof shall
respectively make a statutory declaration that any evidence produced
before them shall not be disclosed to any one except as provided bv
this act.
The statutory declaration prescribed by section 50 of the principal
act need be taken only once, and, in the case of each member by whom
it is or has been taken, it shall be deemed to apply to all evidence pro
duced before him during his term of office, (a)
51. The governor may also from time to time appoint and remove
such clerks and other officers of the court as shall be necessary, who
shall hold office during pleasure, and receive such salary or other
remuneration as the governor thinks fit.
52. The court shall have jurisdiction for the settlement and determi
nation of any industrial dispute referred to it by any board pursuant
to sections 45 or 46, or by reference under section 82, or by petition
under section 83, or by industrial agreement, or by either party to an
industrial dispute which has arisen in a district where no board has
been constituted, and for such purpose may summon any party to an
industrial dispute to appear before it.
53. Either party to the dispute may appear personally or by agent,
or, with the consent of all the parties, by counsel or solicitor, and may
produce before the court such witnesses, books, and documents as such
party may think proper; and the court shall have power to permit
any other, party who has or may appear to have a common interest in
the matter, and be willing to be joined in the proceedings, to be so
joined on such terms as it thinks fit.
The court shall have full and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and receive
evidence, on oath or otherwise, as may be allowed by law, and to hear
and determine the matters in dispute m such manner as it thinks fit,
and shall be at liberty to receive any such evidence as it may think
fit, whether it shall be strictly legal evidence or not, with full power to
adjourn the consideration of any matter, wholly or in part, for any
period, or without stating any period.
Formal matters which have been proved or admitted before a board
need not be again proved or admitted before the court.
54. The sittings of the court shall be held at such time and place as
are from time to time fixed by the president. The sittings may be
fixed either for a particular case or generally for all cases then before
the court and ripe for hearing, and it shall be the duty of the clerk to
give to each member of the court at least 48 hours’ previous notice of
the time and place of each sitting, (i)
55. The parties to the proceedings before the court shall be those
before the board, and the provisions hereinbefore contained as to the
appearance of parties before a board shall apply to proceedings before
the court.
A t least three days’ notice shall be given to each party to the pro
ceedings of the time and place appointed for the meeting of the court,
a This paragraph was inserted b y the amendment act of 1898.
b This paragraph was inserted b y the am endment act of 1898, in substitution for sec
tion 54 o f the principal act repealed.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
223
except where a party is added to the proceedings on his own applica
tion or with his own consent.
56. The clerk may, at the request of either party, issue a summons
in the prescribed manner to any person to appear and give evidence
in any manner before the court, and to produce any books, deeds,
papers, or writings relating to such matter, and in his possession or
under his control. Such books, deeds, papers, and writings may be
inspected by the members of the court for the purposes of this act;
but the information obtained therefrom shall not in any form be made
public. And any person upon whom any such summons shall have
been served, and to whom at the same time payment or a tender of
his traveling expenses on the scale hereinafter mentioned shall have
been made, and who shall neglect or refuse without sufficient cause
to appear or to produce any books, deeds, papers, or writings required
by such summons to be produced, shall be liable to a penalty not
exceeding twenty pounds [$97.33], or in default of payment to be
imprisoned for a term not exceeding one month; but the payment of
such fine or the undergoing of sucn imprisonment shall not exempt
any person from liability to an action for disobeying such summons.
57. Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that certain
parts of books or documents to be produced in evidence do not relate
to the matter before the court, the party producing the same shall be
allowed to seal up such parts.
58. Every person who shall be summoned and shall appear as a
witness shall be entitled to an allowance or compensation for expenses
and loss of time according to the scale for the time being in force and
allowed to witnesses in civil suits under The Magistrates’ Courts
Act, 1893.
59. Any member of the court, or the clerk, shall have power to
administer oaths or affirmations to all witnesses who shall appear
before the court, and all willful false swearing or false affirmation in
any proceedings in the court under this act shall be deemed and held
to be willful perjury, and shall be indictable and punishable as such;
and on any indictment it shall be sufficient to prove that the oath or
affirmation was administered by such member or clerk aforesaid.
60. For the purpose of obtaining the evidence of witnesses at a dis
tance, the court shall be deemed to have and may exercise all the
powers and duties of a stipendiary magistrate under The Magis
trates’ Courts Act, 1893; and the provisions of the said act, mutatis
mutandis, shall be applicable to all proceedings in the court under
this act to the same extent as if the court were a magistrate’s court;
and every stipendiary magistrate, and every magistrate’s court, and
every clerk of such court shall for the purposes aforesaid have and
may exercise all such duties and powers in respect of any matter or
thing arising under this act as such stipendiary magistrate, or mag
istrate’s court, or clerk respectively could do or be required to do
under The Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1893.
61. The court may sit and conduct its proceedings in open court,
and a majority of the members present may decide and finally deter
mine any matters referred to them in such manner as they shall find
to stand with equity and good conscience.
62. If either of the members other than the president shall neglect
or fail to attend a sitting of the court without good cause shown to
the satisfaction of the president, the other member present and the
224
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
president may nevertheless act as fully as if all the members were
present.
63. The court may be adjourned from time to time and from place
to place in manner following, that is to say: (1) by the court or the
president at any sitting thereof, or, if the president is absent from
such sitting, then by any other member present, or, if no member is
present, then by the clerk; and (2) by the president at any time before
the time fixed for the sitting, and in such case the clerk shall notify
the members of the court and all parties concerned, (a)
The powers by the last preceding section [sections 54 and 63] hereof
conferred upon the president in the case of the court shall, in the case
of the board, be exercisable by the chairman thereof. (b)
The board or the court, at any stage of the proceedings before it,
and either of its own motion or at the request of any of the parties,
may direct that the proceedings be conducted in private, and in such
case all persons other than the parties, their representatives, and any
witness under examination shall withdraw, (b)
64. If any person shall willfully insult any member of the court or
the clerk during the sitting of the court, or shall willfully interrupt the
proceedings of the court, or be guilty in any other manner of any
willful contempt in the face of the court, it shall be lawful for any
officer of the court, with or without the assistance of any other person,
to take such offender into custody and remove him from the court, to
be detained in custody until the rising of the court, and the person
so offending shall be liable to a penahy not exceeding ten pounds
[$48.67] for such offense, to be recovered in a summary way as herein
after provided.
65. If any party to proceedings before the court shall, after notice
given to such party, fail to attend or be represented before the court,
without good cause shown to such court, the court may proceed and
act as fully in the matter before it as if such party had duly attended
or been represented. Any person who is a party to any such pro
ceedings may be required to give evidence before the court in the
manner hereinbefore provided with respect to a witness.
66. The court may refer any matters referred to it from time to
time to a board for investigation and report, where it shall think such
board may arrive more easily at a settlement thereof, and the award
of the court shall be based on the report of such board.
67. The court may at any time dismiss any matter referred to it
which it shall think frivolous or trivial, and any award in such case
may be limited to an order upon the party bringing the matter before
the court for payment of all costs of bringing the same.
In order to enable 'the court the more effectually to dispose of any
matter before it according to the substantial merits and equities of
the case, it may, at any stage of the proceedings, of its own motion or
on the application of any of the parties, and upon such terms as it
thinks fit, by order: (1) direct parties to be joined or struck out; (2)
amend or waive any error or defect in the proceedings; (3) extend the
time within which anything is to be done by any party; and (4) gen
erally give such directions as are deemed necessary or expedient in
the premises, (b)
a This paragraph was inserted by the am endment act of 1898, in substitution for
section 63 of the principal act repealed.
b This paragraph was inserted by the amendment act o f 1898.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
225
The powers by the last-preceding section [paragraph] hereof con
ferred upon the court may, when the court is not sitting, be exercised
by the president, (a)
68.
The award of the court shall be made within one month after
the court shall have begun to sit for the hearing of any reference, and
shall be signed by the president of the court, and have the seal of the
court attached thereto, and shall be deposited in the office of the clerk
of the district wherein the reference arose, and be open to inspection
without charge by all persons interested therein during office hours.
The court in its award, or by order made on the application of any
of the parties at any time during the currency of the award, may fix
and determine what shall constitute a breach of the award, and what
sum, not exceeding five hundred pounds [$2,433.25], shall be the maxi
mum penalty payable by any party or person in respect of any breach:
Provided, however, that the aggregate amount of penalties payable
under or in respect of any award shall not exceed five hundred pounds
[$2,433.25]. (a)
It shall not be lawful for the court by any award to fix any age for
the commencement or termination of apprenticeship, (a)
The court in its award, or by order made on the application of any
of the parties at any time during the currency of the award, may pre
scribe a minimum rate of wages or other remuneration, with special
provision for a lower rate being fixed in the case of any worker who
is unable to earn the prescribed minimum: Provided, that such lower
rate shall in every case be fixed by such tribunal, in such manner, and
subject to such provisions as are specified in that behalf in the award
or order.
69. (1) lie court in its award may order any party to pay to the
other party costs and expenses (including expenses of witnesses) as it
may deem reasonable, ana may apportion such cost between the par
ties or any of them as it thinks fit, and may at any time vary or alter
any such order in such manner as it thinks reasonable; and such costs
or any other costs ordered by the court to be paid may be recovered in
any court of competent jurisdiction by the party entitled thereto under
the award or order of the court as a debt due from the party liable
therefor; but no costs shall in any case whatever be allowed on account
of any agents, counsel, or solicitor appearing for any party.
(2) The court may also order that the whole or any portion of any
such cost as aforesaid shall be taxed by the proper officer of the
supreme court, and such officer shall have in, about, and in relation
to such taxation all such power, duty, and authority as he would have
in any case within the ordinary jurisdiction of the supreme court in
respect of taxation of costs.
In every case where the court in its award or other order directs
the payment of costs or expenses it shall fix the amount thereof, and
specify the same in the award or order. Section 69 of the principal
act is hereby modified in so far as it is in conflict with this section, but
not further or otherwise, (a)
70. The award shall be framed in such manner as shall best express
the decision of the court, avoiding all technicality where possible, but
shall state in clear terms what is or is not to be done or performed by
each party or person affected by the decision, and may provide for an
a
This paragraph was inserted by the amendment act of 1898.
226
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
alternative course to be taken by any party to the proceedings, or by
any person affected thereby; but no award shall be void or vitiated
in any way because of any informality or want of form, or any noncompliance with the provisions of this act. .
71. In all legal and other proceedings it shall be sufficient to pro
duce the award with the seal of the court thereto, and it shall not be
necessary to prove any conditions precedent entitling the court to make
such award.
72. Proceedings in the court shall not be impeached or held bad for
want o f form, nor shall the same be removable to any court by certiorari
or otherwise; and no award or proceeding of the court shall be liable
to be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed, or called in
question by any court of judicature on any account whatsoever.
73. No proceedings in the court shall abate by reason of the death
of any member of the court or of any party to such proceedings, but
the same may be continued and disposed of by the successor in office
of such member or legal personal representative of the party so dying.
(4) Enforcement o f awards.
74. Every award of the court shall specify each industrial union,
trade union, association, person, or persons on which or on whom it is
intended that it shall be binding, and the period, not exceeding 2
years from the making thereof, during which its provisions may be
enforced; and during the period within which the provisions of such
award may be enforced such award shall be binding upon every indus
trial union, trade union, association, or person upon which it shall be
thereby declared such award shall be binding: Provided that, if the
members of any industrial union or trade union are mentioned gener
ally in any such award, all persons who are members at the date
thereof of such award, or may thereafter become so during its sub
sistence, shall be included in the direction given or made by the award.
75-81. {a) For the purpose of enforcing any award or order of the
court, whether made before or after the coming into operation of this
act, the following provisions shall apply, anything in the principal act
to the contrary notwithstanding:
(1) In so far as the award itself directs the payment of money, it
shall be deemed to be an order of the court, and payment shall be
enforceable accordingly under the subsequent provisions of this sec
tion relating to orders of the court.
(2) If any party or person on whom the award is binding commits
any breach thereof by act or default, then, subject to the provisions of
the last-preceding subsection hereof, any party to the award may by
application in the prescribed form apply to the court for the enforce
ment of the award.
(3) On the hearing of such application the court may by order either
dismiss the application or impose such penalty for the breach of the
award as it deems just, and in either case with or without costs.
(4) If the order imposes a penalty or costs it shall specify the parties
or persons liable to pay the same, and the parties or persons to whom
the same are payable:
aT h e follow ing provisions were substituted b y the am endment act o f 1898, in the
place o f sections 75 to 81 of the principal act repealed.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
227
Provided that the amount payable by any party or person shall not
exceed five hundred pounds [$2,433]:
Provided also that the aggregate amount of penalties and costs pay
able under any award shall not exceed five hundred pounds [$2,433].
(5) For the purpose of enforcing payment of the amount payable
under any order of the court (not being an order under section 10
hereof), a certificate in the prescribed form, under the hand of the
clerk and the seal of the court, specifying the amount payable and the
respective persons by and to whom the same is payable, may be filed
in any court having jurisdiction to the extent of such amount, and
shall thereupon, according to its tenor, operate and be enforceable in
all respects as a final judgment of such court in its civil jurisdiction:
Provided that, for the purpose of enforcing satisfaction of such
judgment where there are two or more judgment creditors thereunder,
process may be issued separately by each judgment creditor against
the property of his judgment debtor in like manner as in the case of a
separate and distinct judgment.
(6) All property belonging to the j udgment debtor (including therein,
in the case o f an industrial union or trade union, all property held by
trustees for the judgment debtor) shall be available in or towards sat
isfaction of the judgment debt, and if the judgment debtor is an indus
trial union, an industrial association, or a trade union, and its property
is insufficient to fully satisfy the judgment debt, its members shall be
liable for the deficiency:
Provided that no member shall be liable for more than ten pounds
[$48.67] under this subsection.
(7) For the purpose of giving full effect to the last-preceding sub
section hereof the court or the president thereof may, on the applica
tion of the judgment creditor, make such order or give such directions
as are deemed necessary, and the trustees, the judgment debtor, and
all other persons concerned shall obey the same.
(8) The foregoing provisions of this section are in substitution of
those contained in sections 75 to 81 of the principal act, and those sec
tions are hereby accordingly repealed.
(9) Nothing in this section contained shall affect the validity of any
proceedings which at the coming into operation of this act are pending
for the enforcement of any award or order of the court in so far as
the same relates to the payment of money, and all such proceedings
may either be continued under the principal act, or be abandoned and
be instituted afresh under this act; but all proceedings pending for
enforcement of any award by attachment are hereby stayed, and in lieu
thereof proceedings may be instituted afresh for enforcement by
penalty under this section:
Provided that the court when disposing of such fresh proceedings
shall make such order as to costs as it deems just, having regard to the
costs of the proceedings abandoned or stayed as aforesaid.
P art
IV .
GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS.
82.
The management of Government railways under The Govern
ment Railways Act, 1887, shall be deemed to be an industry within
the meaning of this act; and notwithstanding anything contained in
228
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the first-mentioned act, the railway commissioners appointed there
under may make an industrial agreement with the society now regis
tered under The Trade Union Act, 1878, and called The Amalgamated
Society of Railway Servants, and either the said commissioners or the
society may refer any industrial dispute between them to the court
established under this act; and the commissioners may give effect to
any terms of an award made by such court.
The society may be registered as an industrial union under this act;
and the commissioners shall be deemed to be employers within the
meaning and for the purposes of this act.
The foregoing provisions shall apply to any reconstruction of such
society in case of its dissolution, and shall extend to any similar society
taking the place of such first-mentioned society and registered under
this act.
83. In case the commissioners shall neglect or refuse to agree with
the said society to refer any industrial dispute to the court, the
society may, by petition lodged with the clerk, refer such dispute to
the court to hear and determine the same; and the court, upon such
petition, and if it shall consider the dispute sufficiently grave to require
it, may require the commissioners to appear before the court, and to
submit the matters in dispute to its decision, and for that purpose the
court shall have all such jurisdiction and authority and may do all such
acts and things as may be necessary for such purpose, in accordance
with the preceding provisions of this act.
84. Notwithstanding anything in this act contained, no board consti
tuted under this act shall have any jurisdiction in any matter of dispute
between the commissioners and the said society.
P art
V.
MISCELLANEOUS.
85. Any notification made or purporting to be made in the Gazette
by or under the authority of this act may be given in evidence in all
courts of justice, in all legal proceedings, and for any of the purposes
of this act, by the production of a copy of the Gazette, printed by the
government printer for the time being.
86. Every instrument or document, copy or extract of an instrument
or document, bearing the seal of the court shall be received in evidence
without further proof, and the signature of the president of the court,
or the chairman of any board, or of the registrar, or of the clerk of
awards, shall be judicially noticed in or before any court or person or
officer acting judicially or under any power or authority contained in
this act: Provided such signature be attached to some award, order,
certificate, or other official document made or purporting to be made
under this act.
No proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of
any person acting in pursuance of this section.
87. The governor from time to time may make, alter, or revoke
such regulations not inconsistent with this act as may be necessary or
desirable to carry out all or any of the following purposes:
(1) Prescribing the forms of certificates or other instruments to be
issued by the registrar, and of any certificate or other proceeding of
any board or any officer thereof;
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
229
(2) Prescribing the duties of clerks of awards, and of all other officers
and persons acting in the execution of this act;
(3) Providing for anything necessary to carry out the first or any
subsequent election of members of boards, or on any vacancy therein,
or in the office of chairman of any board, including the forms of any
notice, proceeding, or instrument of any kind to be used in or in
respect of any such election;
(4) Providing for the mode in which recommendations of members
of the court shall be made and authenticated;
(5) Prescribing any act or thing necessary to supplement or render
more effectual the provisions of this act as to the conduct of proceedings
before a board or the court, or the transfer of such proceedings from
one of such bodies to the other;
(6) Providing generally for any other matter or thing necessary to
give effect to this act, or to meet any particular case;
(7) Prescribing what fees shall be paid in respect of any proceedings
before a board, or in the court, and the party by whom such fees shall
be paid; and what fees shall be paid to the president or members of
the court, or the chairman or members of the board; (a)
(8) For any other purpose for which it is by this act provided regu
lations may be prescribed.
Nothing in any such regulations shall supersede any fees for the time
being in force in the supreme court, or any other court, in relation to
any proceedings therein, otherwise than as is herein expressly provided.
All such regulations shall be published in the Gazette, and within
14 days after the making thereof shall be laid before both houses of
the general assembly if it shall be then sitting, and, if not then sitting,
then within 14 days after the beginning of the next session of such
assembly, and shall have the force of law from the date of such publi
cation.
88. All charges and expenses connected with the administration of
this act, exclusive of expenses incurred by industrial unions, trade
unions, or associations under Parts I or II of this act, or of the parties
and witnesses concerned in any industrial dispute referred to a board
or the court, shall be defrayed out of such annual appropriations as
shall from time to time be made for that purpose by the general
assembly.
89. The court shall have full and exclusive jurisdiction to deal with
all offenses against the principal act, and for the purpose of this section
the following provisions shall apply:
(1)
Proceedings to recover the penalty by the principal act imposed
in respect of any such offense shall be taken in the court in a summary
way under the summary provisions of The Justices of the Peace Act,
1882, and these provisions shall, mutatis mutandis, apply in like manner
as if the court were a court of justices exercising summary jurisdiction
under that act:
Provided that in the case of an offense under section 64 of the principal
act (relating to contempt of court) the court, if it thinks fit so to do,
may deal with it forthwith without the necessity of an information
being taken or a summons being issued.
a The clause “ or the chairman or members of the board ” was added by the
amendment act of 1896.
230
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
(2) For the purpose of enforcing any order of the court made under
this section a duplicate thereof shall, by the clerk of awards, be filed
in the nearest office of the magistrate’s court, and shall thereupon,
according to its tenor, operate and be enforced in all respects as a final
judgment, conviction, or order duly made by a stipendiary magistrate
under the summary provisions of The Justices of the Peace Act, 1882.
(3) The provisions of section 73 of the principal act shall apply to all
proceedings under this section.
(4) All penalties recovered under this section shall be paid into the
public account and form j>art of the consolidated fund.
(5) The foregoing provisions of this section are in substitution of
those contained in section 89 of the principal act, and that section is
hereby accordingly repealed.
(6) Nothing in this section contained shall apply to the breach of
any award or order of the court, or to the penalty in respect of such
breach, (a)
90. No stamp duty shall be payable upon or in respect of any regis
tration, certificate, agreement, award, or instrument effected, issued,
or made under this act. But nothing herein shall apply to the fees of
any court payable by means of stamps.
91. Nothing in this act shall apply to Her Majesty the Queen, or any
department o f her Government in New Zealand, except as herein is
otherwise expressly provided.
As the act is somewhat lengthy, the following brief statement of
the most important provisions is given as an aid to its interpretation:
A prime feature of the law is shown by the title first given to the
principal act. It was called 66An act to encourage the formation of
industrial unions and associations and to facilitate the settlement
of industrial disputes by conciliation and arbitration.” Though the
first clause, relating to the encouragement of the formation of indus
trial unions and associations, was subsequently eliminated by the
amendment of 1898, the principle remained unchanged. The diffi
culty of applying the principle of compulsion to individual and irre
sponsible workingmen was seen. The law thus first of all provides
for the organization of industrial workers into associations or unions,
and then says that the principle of compulsory arbitration can be
invoked by any such organization. Workingmen who fail to organize
themselves in such unions can in no way invoke the benefit of the law.
As a condition precedent the law therefore contemplates the organ
ization of both employers and employees. In order to encourage
them voluntarily to do this special privileges are granted them, the
most important of which is this right to demand an arbitration of
differences. More specifically, the provisions of the act regarding
this point are that any number of persons not less than 5 residing
within the C olony,44lawfully associated for the purpose of protecting
or furthering the interests of employers or workers in or in connec
tion with any industry in the Colony, and whether formed before or
a This section was inserted by the amendment act of 1898.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
231
after the passing of this act, may be registered as an industrial union
pursuant to this act on compliance with the following provisions.”
These provisions relate to making known the name of the society, the
names of its officers, the character of the organization, the more
important of its regulations, etc. The rules or regulations must pro
vide for certain things, such as an annual or other periodical audit of
the accounts, the free inspection of books by every person having an
interest in the funds, etc. Any trade union registered under The
Trade Union Act, 1878, may also register as an industrial union under
this act.
Upon being registered each union becomes a body corporate and
has the power to purchase or lease lands. The fact of registration
subjects such bodies to the provisions of this law regarding arbitra
tion. A body representing a number of industrial unions may be
registered as an industrial association. Twice yearly the associations
must send to the registrar a list of unions composing them, and the
unions must send a list of all their members. Default is punishable
by a fine. These unions and associations can sue and be sued in their
own name. It is not necessary that employers should form associa
tions in order that they shall be subject to the act.
The second step in the organization of the system was the provision
that industrial agreements providing “ for any matter or thing affect
ing any industrial matter, or in relation thereto, or for the prevention
or settlement of an industrial dispute,” might be made between such
industrial unions or associations and employers; that copies of such
agreements shall be filed in the supreme court office, and that any
such agreement may be enforced the same as if it were an award of a
court of arbitration, as hereafter described.
Turning now to the conciliation or arbitration feature proper of the
acts, the law provides for two bodies—conciliation boards and a court
of arbitration. The idea of this division is that every facility should
be offered parties to a dispute to settle their differences amicably, and
that resort to arbitration should only be had as a last resort.
The governor is thus empowered to divide the Colony into as many
66industrial districts ” as he thinks proper. For each such district there
must be established a board of conciliation, to have jurisdiction for the
settlement of industrial disputes occurring in the district, that may be
referred to it by one or more of the parties to an industrial dispute or
by industrial agreement. Such board must consist of an equal number
of persons as the governor may determine, but not more than 6 nor
less than 4 persons, chosen by the industrial unions of employers and
of workmen voting separately and electing an equal number of mem
bers. The methods of election are given in detail by the act. Upon
organization each board must elect “ some impartial person,” not being
one of their number and willing to act, to be chairman of the board.
232
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Special boards may be created to meet c^ses of emergency or any
special case of industrial dispute.
The governor is further directed to appoint for each such industrial
district a clerk of awards, who shall be attached to the registrar and
subject to the authority of that officer. The duties of this officer are
to receive all applications for the intervention of the boards of con
ciliation or the court of arbitration, and generally to perform the
work of clerk of the court to these bodies.
An industrial dispute may be referred to such a board for settlement
either pursuant to an industrial agreement, as above described, or by
any party such as an employer or industrial union or association hav
ing a standing under the law. Immediately on this being done the
law provides that “ no industrial union or association, trade union, or
society, whether of employers or workers, and no employer who may
be a party to the proceedings before the board or court shall, on account
o f such industrial dispute, do any act or thing in the nature of a strike
or lockout, or suspend or discontinue employment or work in any
industry affected by such proceedings, but each party shall continue to
employ or be employed, as the case may be, until the board or cpurt
shall have come to a final decision in accordance with this act. But
nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent any suspension or discon
tinuance of any industry, or from working therein for any other good
cause.”
It is the duty of the board of conciliation to examine the matters
referred to it and seek in every way to bring about an adjustment of
the difficulties. It is given large powers of visiting industrial estab
lishments, examining witnesses under oath, etc. If the board is unable
to bring about an agreement in any way it must decide the matter
according to the facts and merits of the case as it finds them. If this
decision is not satisfactory to either of the parties the dispute can then
be carried to the court of arbitration.
Every effort is made in determining the methods of work of these
boards to avoid expense and technicalities of procedure. The appear
ance of counsel or solicitor is prohibited except where it is agreed to
by all parties.
The court of arbitration consists of a single body for the whole
colony. It is composed of 3 members appointed by the governor, one
of whom must be selected on the recommendation of the industrial
councils or associations of workingmen, and one on the similar recom
mendation of employers5associations. The third member, who will
act as president of the court, must be a judge of the supreme court.
The term of office, as with the boards of conciliation, is 3 years, and
members are reeligible.
In the hearing of disputes brought before it, this court acts in most
respects as an ordinary court of law, and has most if not all the powers
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
233
of such bodies. The procedure, however, is simplified as far as possi
ble, and the law expressly provides that the award must not be framed
in a technical manner, and that proceedings shall not be impeached for
want of form.
Much the most important feature of the act relates to the manner in
which the principle of compulsion is to be enforced. This principle,
it will be observed, finds expression in two ways—the obligation to
submit the matter to conciliation and arbitration and the obligation to
abide by the decision. The first applies only when the employees are
duly organized in accordance with the provisions of this act. Such an
organization can at any time compel even an individual employer to
submit any differences relating to their mutual labor contract to arbi
tration, and in the same way the employer can compel any of his
employees so organized to submit to the same process. If a party
duly summoned fails to appear, the court can proceed to a trial and
judgment as if he were present. The court can also compel his attend
ance in the same way as it can witnesses.
Regarding the judgment, every award of a court must clearly specify
the associations, firms, or persons upon which it is to be binding, and
the period, which can not exceed 2 years, during which it can be
enforced. If the members of any industrial union or trade union are
mentioned generally, all persons who are members at the date of the
award, or who may thereafter become members of such an organiza
tion, are included in the awards. The law then provides that the
award shall be enforced through the ordinary law courts as are the
judgments of those bodies. The most important feature of the system
is that the awards must be in the form of money payment or be reduced
to that form by providing penalties for any infraction of the award
in order that they may be enforced. The amount of an award, more
over, is limited to a sum not exceeding £500 ($2,433.25). The act of
1898, however, added the following important provision granting to
the court the right to fix wages:
The court in its award, or by order made on the application of any
of the parties at any time during the currency of the award, may pre
scribe a minimum rate of wages or other remuneration, with special
provision for a lower rate being fixed in the case of any worker who
is unable to earn the prescribed minimum: Provided that such lower
rate shall in every case be fixed by such tribunal, in such manner, and
subject to such provisions as are specified in that behalf in the award
or order.
It is probable that the court had already exercised this power under
its general powers to fix conditions of labor before it was expressly
granted as above. Even here it will be noted that the award can only
be enforced by imposing a money penalty for noncompliance.
For the satisfaction of an award all the property of employers or of
industrial unions, including even that held by trustees, is liable, and
10332—No. 33—01----- 5
234
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the members of industrial unions are furthermore individually liable
to the extent of not more than £10 ($48.67).
It is evident that the effectiveness of this system in actual practice
is almost entirely dependent upon the extent to which the working
men themselves voluntarily subject themselves to its provisions by
organizing themselves into industrial unions or trade unions and reg
istering under the provisions of the act. It would seem also that
those employers who refrained from employing any persons who were
members of such associations or unions would succeed in keeping
their establishments beyond the jurisdiction of the act.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The organization of the administration of the Colony embraces as
one of the departments, the heads of which constitute a responsible
ministry, a department of labor. This department, however, is in no
sense a bureau of labor as that term is employed in the United States.
In June, 1891, however, there was created under this branch of the
Government a bureau of industries a part of whose duties are similar
to those of a bureau of labor statistics. The department publishes an
annual report, and beginning with March, 1893, a monthly journal
giving an account of the work of the bureau and statistics of wages.
Important features of the reports are the results of the working of the
arbitration act, the operations of the State employment agencies, and
the reports of the factory inspectors.
NEW SOUTH W ALES.
THE LABOR CONTRACT.
The labor contract in New South Wales is regulated by the Masters
and Servants Act of March 11, 1857. This law makes very rigid pro
visions concerning the compulsion of the parties to a labor contract to
fulfill their engagements. If a servant, by which is meant practi
cally any person undertaking to perform service, fails to keep the
contract for the performance of work which he has undertaken, or is
guilty of any misconduct in its execution, he can be compelled by the
courts to pay such sum of money, not exceeding £10 ($48.67), and in
default of its payment his goods can be levied upon. Should an
insufficient sum be realized in this way he may be imprisoned for any
period not exceeding 14 days, or in lieu thereof, at the discretion
of the magistrate, may forfeit the whole or such part of the wages
then due, as the magistrate may deem fit. The fraudulent securing
of an advance of money or goods by a servant on account of future
wages to be earned can be punished by imprisonment for any term
not exceeding 3 months. The willful spoiling or losing of goods
of an employer can be punished by a like imprisonment. The master
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
235
can also obtain compensation for loss resulting from negligent inju
ries in the same way as compensation in case of a violation of the con
tract, and where such compensation can not be secured the servant may
be imprisoned for not more than 14 days.
Wages not exceeding £50 ($243.33), which are due and payable, may
be sued for and recovered in a summary way. If on levy the amount
due can not be realized, the master at fault may be committed to jail
for a period not exceeding 14 days. The unlawful detention of the
wearing apparel or other property of a servant is punished by a fine
of not exceeding £5 ($24.33).
Differences between masters and servants are to be settled in a
summary way.
None of the foregoing provisions regarding imprisonment apply to
females.
APPRENTICESHIP.
The subject of apprenticeship is now regulated by the law of June
1, 1894, entitled “ An act to consolidate and amend the law relating to
apprentices. ” There are certain other acts relating to the apprenticing
of inmates of orphan and industrial schools, but with these the present
report is not concerned.
The act of 1894 provides that no child shall be bound as an appren
tice unless it is at least 14 years of age, and that the term of apprentice
ship can not be for a longer period than 7 years. When these condi
tions are fulfilled a child may be bound by the parents or guardian, or
by the managers of an orphan or other eleemosynary institution.
Where the action is taken by other than the parents or guardian, the
binding must be done by a magistrate or 2 justices of the peace.
Government services carrying on industrial work and companies
as well as individual masters may receive apprentices.
Before an apprentice is bound or admitted as an apprentice he may
be received on probation on such terms as may be agreed upon for a
period of 3 months, and it is lawful for either the master or the
person acting for the child to terminate the engagement at the end of
that period, but if that is not done, a formal indenture of apprentice
ship in writing or print must be executed. This contract must specify
the particular trade, art, or occupation in which the apprentice is to
be instructed, the period for which he is to serve, and it must conform
as far as possible to a form of indenture attached to the act as a sched
ule. . This form sets forth that the apprentice agrees to serve his master
faithfully, that the master agrees to instruct the apprentice in his
trade, to pay him a certain remuneration, etc. Notwithstanding any
provision to the contrary, an apprenticeship contract is terminated by
the apprentice reaching the age of 21 years, or marrying with the con
sent of the person or persons appointed to give consent to the marriage
236
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
of minors, under the provisions of any act for that purpose then in
force.
No apprentice, with the exception of those bound to farming occu
pations, or to other servants in husbandry, or to domestic service, is
bound to serve his master for more than 48 hours during any 1 week.
Disputes regarding apprenticeship contracts are to be settled by the
court of petty sessions of the district. Fines not exceeding in value
<£10 ($48.67) may be imposed upon a master or apprentice as a penalty
for misconduct, or the contract of apprenticeship may be canceled.
If an apprentice absents himself for more than 1 week without leave
he may, whenever he is found, be apprehended and compelled to serve
his master for so long a time as he may have absented himself unless
he makes other reasonable satisfaction to his master for the loss sus
tained. If necessary, the apprentice may be committed to a jail or
house of correction for any time not exceeding 1 month, in addition
to serving for the time during which he absented himself. If a master
discharges an apprentice without the latter’s consent before the termi
nation of the apprenticeship he is liable to a fine of £10 ($48.67).
Persons enticing away or harboring any fugitive apprentice are liable
to a fine of not exceeding £10 ($48.67).
RIGHT OF ASSOCIATION: TRADE UNIONS.
As regards the right of association, the organization and registration
of trade’unions, etc., the Colony of New South Wales has adopted the
legislation of Great Britain almost verbatim. This was done by an
act entitled “ An act to amend the law relating to trade unions,”
passed December 16, 1881. The provisions of this law being to all
intents and purposes but a reproduction of the British provisions, it
will be unnecessary to reproduce them. The British Conspiracy and
Protection of Property Act, 1875, relating to intimidation, picketing,
etc., has, however, apparently not been adopted, and the law regard
ing this point is that contained in the British act of 6 George IV ,
chapter 129, passed in 1825. The general character of this act is given
in the chapter relating to the labor laws of Great Britain, (a)
REGULATION OF LABOR IN FACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS.
The Colony of New South Wales possesses an exceptionally com
plete factory act. It was enacted November 16, 1896, and has as its
full title “ An act to make provision for the supervision and regulation
of factories, bakehouses, laundries, dye works, and shops; for the
limitation in certain cases of the hours of working therein; to extend
the liability of employers for injuries suffered by employees in certain
cases, and for other purposes.” As the provisions of this act follow
a Bulletin No. 25, p. 772.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
237
to a great extent those of the New Zealand law, which has been given
at length, it would result in unnecessary duplication to reproduce them
textually. The following summary, however, will give the main
features of the act, with an indication of the respects in which the
provisions of the New Zealand law have been departed from.
SCOPE OF ACT.
The term “ factory,” as used in this act, is given a wide connotation.
It includes “ any office, building, or place in which four or more per
sons are engaged directly or indirectly in working at any handicraft
or in preparing or manufacturing articles for trade or sale; and includes
bakehouses, laundries, and dye works in which four or more persons
are engaged, but does not include any building or place in which the
persons engaged in working are shown to the satisfaction of the minister
to be all members of one family, and in which steam or other mechanical
power is not used.” It also includes “ any office, building, or place in
which Chinese are so engaged; and any place or building where steam
or other mechanical power or appliance is used in manufacturing
goods or packing them for transit; but does not include any building
used for the manufacture of dairy produce, nor any wool shed used for
shearing sheep, or building used for dumping wool, or any ship.”
The term “ shop” means “ any building or place, or portion of a
building or place, in which goods are exposed or offered for sale by
retail.”
It is important to note from the foregoing that the law comprehends
the regulation of labor in both industrial and commercial .establish
ments, though the provisions concerning each are different. The New
Zealand law defines as a factory any place in which two or more per
sons are employed, while here the minimum is four persons. It should
be added, also, that the governor is given ’ the power to exempt any
class of factories or shops either wholly or in part from the provisions
of this law.
REGISTRATION OF FACTORIES.
As in New Zealand, all factories as defined by the act are required
to register with the proper authorities, and the application for registry
must furnish such information as may be required by the factory
inspector.
PROTECTION OF HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES.
The provisions that must be taken for the protection of the health
of employees are set forth in considerable detail, and are supple
mented by regulations issued by the governor in virtue of the law.
They cover such points as the ventilation of work places, the minimum
air space that must be allowed for each person, the keeping of estab
238
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
lishments free from effluvia, the provision of adequate water-closet
facilities; the painting, whitewashing, or washing of interiors at
stated intervals of time, though in respect to the latter provision cer
tain places, such as blacksmith shops, are exempted. In those estab
lishments in which grinding, glazing, or polishing on a wheel or other
process is carried on generating dust injurious when inhaled, a fan or
some other mechanical device must be used to remove the dust; and
in the same way special preventive or remedial means must be adopted
to protect employees where atmospheric humidity is produced by
steam or otherwise. A special penalty is imposed upon occupiers
allowing clothing to be manufactured or repaired in any place where
an inmate is suffering from any infectious disease.
The minister is further empowered, if he deems proper, to prohibit
the taking of meals by employees in any establishment while work is
in progress, and also to require that the employer shall provide a suit
able special dining or eating room for his employees.
All these provisions regarding the protection of the health of
employees relate to both factories and shops.
PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS.
The act not only specifies generally that all dangerous machinery
shall be fenced and other precautions taken against accidents, but speci
fies in unusual detail the more important cases in which such action
must be taken. The minister, on complaint of an inspector, may pro
hibit the use of any machine the operation of which is believed to be
dangerous. There is an interesting provision whereby disputes
between an inspector and employer regarding the question as to
whether a particular machine should be fenced or not may be settled
by a board of arbitration. The employer and the inspector or min
ister, as the case may be, each appoint an arbitrator, and these two in
turn select an umpire. Their decision is final.
In respect to injuries caused by the explosion of a boiler the law
provides that in any suit brought by the injured employee or his
representative for damages against the employer upon the ground
that the person in charge of the boiler was incompetent, the fact
of injury shall be prima facie evidence that the person so placed in
charge was incompetent, that the defendant was guilty of negligence
in employing him, and that the plaintiff was injured through that per
son’s incompetence.
Finally, it is provided that the care or management of an elevator
or hoist shall not be intrusted to any boy under 16 years of age or any
female; and that no male under 18 years of age or any female shall be
allowed to clean such part of the machinery in a factory as is mill
gearing while it is in motion for the purpose of propelling any part of
FOREIGN LA BOB LAWS.
239
the manufacturing machinery, or to work between the fixed and
traversing parts of any self-acting machine while the machine is in
motion by the action of any mechanical power.
NOTIFICATION AND INVESTIGATION OF ACCIDENTS.
The provisions regarding the reporting and investigation of acci
dents are much less comprehensive than those usually found in a factory
code. The law merely provides that when an accident, causing the
death of an employee or his injury to such an extent that he is unable
to return to work in 48 hours, was due to machinery moved by steam
or other power, or through a vat filled with hot or molten liquid
or other substance, or by explosion, or by escape of gas, steam, or
metal, that it shall be reported in writing to the inspector. Accidents
due to other causes need not be reported. Upon the receipt of this
notice the minister may, if he thinks best, order a legally qualified
medical practitioner or other competent person to make an investiga
tion and report upon the cause of the death or the nature and extent
of the injury.
PRECAUTIONS IN CASE OF FIRE.
The precautions that must be taken in case of fire are those usually
found. In factories in which 10 or more persons are employed the
main inside and outside doors must open outward, and all doors of
every room in which persons are actually at work, or of passages lead
ing to such rooms or serving as entrances and exits, must not be locked
or barred. Every factory 3 or more stories in height must be pro
vided with a fire escape, and every factory shall also have such means
of extinguishing fire as the inspector may require. Disputes regard
ing structural changes required in order to carry out these provisions
may be settled by arbitration as above described.
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
The restrictions upon the employment of women and children are
different in the cases of factories and shops. For the former estab
lishments they are as follows:
No child [i. e. person under 14 years of age] shall, unless by special
permission of the minister, be employed in any factory; and no such
special permission shall be given to a child under the age of 13 years.
No male under 18 years of age and no female shall be employed con
tinuously in a factory for more than 5 hours without an interval of at
least half an hour for a meal.
No male under 16 years of age and no female shall be employed in
a factory for more than 48 hours in any one week: Provided that any
such person may be employed overtime in a factory for a period not
exceeding 3 hours in any day beyond the ordinary working hours on
240
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
not more than 30 days in a year, or by the written permission of the
minister, where he is satisfied that an extension of overtime is required
to meet the exigencies of trade, for not more in all than 60 days in a
year. No such person, however, may be employed overtime on more
than 3"consecutive days, and such overtime shall be paid for at the
rate of time and a half. The occupier shall keep a record of all such
overtime, and shall note against the name of each person so employed
the hours of overtime worked by him or her, and shall furnish a copy
of such record to the inspector when called upon to do so.
No occupier shall employ a male under 16 years of age or a female
under 18 years of age (a) in any factory, (b) in the business of but
outside any factory, between the hours of 7 o’clock in the evening and
6 o’clock in the morning, unless in the case of overtime, and subject
to the restrictions contained in section 37 [the section just given
above]: Provided, that when it is proved to the satisfaction of the
minister that the custom or exigencies of the trade carried on in any
class of factories or parts thereof, either generally or situate in any
particular locality, or other reasons, require or make it desirable that
such trade should be exempted from the operation of this section, he
may by order grant to such class of factories or parts thereof a special
exemption and for such time as he may think fit.
No female shall be employed during the 4 weeks immediately after
her confinement.
In addition to the foregoing general provisions, the law still further
restricts the employment of women and children in certain industries
where the conditions of labor are especially unhealthy. Thus (1) no
person under 18 years of age shall be employed in a part of a factory
where the process of silvering mirrors by the mercurial process or
the making of white lead are carried on; (2) no male under 16 years
of age and no female under 18 years of age shall be employed where
the melting or annealing of glass is carried on; (3) no female under
18 years of age shall be employed in a place for the making or finish
ing of bricks or tiles not ornamental, or in the making or finishing of
salt; (4) no person under 16 years of age shall be employed in a part
of a factory where dry grinding in the metal trades is done, or the
dipping of lucifer matches carried on; and (5) no person under 16
years of age shall be employed at or in connection with any manu
facturing process or machine where continuous casting from molten
lead or any, combination of lead is carried on in a printing establish
ment. As a supplement to this, the minister is further given the power
to designate other classes of establishments in which no person under
16 years of age shall be employed unless he obtains a certificate in
prescribed form from a physician that he or she is not incapacitated
by disease or bodily infirmity from working daily for the time allowed
by law in the factory named in the certificate.
Finally, where an inspector is of the opinion that a person under 16
years of age working in a factory of any description is incapacitated
by disease or bodily infirmity for working daily for the time allowed
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
241
by law, he may require the employer to discontinue his employment
unless a certificate from a legally qualified physician is secured stating
that the person is fit to perform the work.
Following are the provisions regarding the employment of women
and young persons in shops:
Except as hereinafter provided, {a) a male under 16 years of age or a
female under 18 years of age shall not work in or in connection with
any shop for a longer time than 52 hours in any one week, or for a
longer time than
hours in any one day, except on one day in each
week, when 11^ hours’ work may be done, but such shall not apply to
the occupier of a shop or any member of the occupier’s family
employed in such shop.
Any such person may, however, be employed in a shop for a period
not exceeding 3 hours on any day beyona the ordinary working hours,
provided that the total number of days in any one year on which any
shop or at any work in connection with a shop any such male or female
is so employed shall not exceed 52.
No male under 18 years of age and no female shall be employed con
tinuously in a shop for more than 5 hours without an interval of at
least half an hour for a meal.
No male under 16 years of age and no female under 18 years of age
shall be employed during any day in any shop, or at any work in con
nection with a shop, if he or she has been previously employed the
same day in a factory for 8 hours, or in any case for a longer period
than will together with the time during which he or she has been so
previously employed complete the number of 8 hours.
The penalty for the infraction of any of the foregoing provisions is
£2 ($9.73) for the first offense and for every subsequent offense not
less than <£2 ($9.73) nor more than £5 ($24.33). The foregoing provi
sions do not apply to chemists’ shops, coffeehouses, confectioners,
eating houses, fish and oyster shops, fruit and vegetable shops, restau
rants, booksellers’ and news-agents’ shops, tobacconists’ shops, and
hotels. The governor, however, is given the power, subject to the
provisions of this act, to make regulations under which males under 16
years of age and females under 18 years of age may be employed in
these shops.
BAKERIES.
Bakehouses, as has been shown, are included in the definition of
factories and are therefore subject to all the provisions of the law con
cerning such establishments. In order to meet the peculiar conditions
surrounding work in bakeries, however, the following special regula
tions are made:
Where a bakehouse having employed therein one or more persons
is situated in any district under this act—(1) No place on the same level
with the bakehouse and forming part of the same building shall be
a Reference is here made to the classes of shops w hich are excepted from the act
as subsequently noted.
242
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
used as a sleeping place unless such sleeping place is effectually sepa
rated from communication with the bakehouse by a partition extending
from the floor to the ceiling, and there is an external glazed window
in such sleeping place of at least 9 superficial feet in area, of which at
least 4£ superficial feet are made so as to open for ventilation; (2) no
earth or water closet, cesspit, urinal, or ash pit shall be within or com
municate with the bakehouse; (3) any cistern for supplying water to
the bakehouse shall be separate and distinct from any cistern supplying
water to a water-closet; (4) no drainpipe for carrying off fecal or
sewage matter shall have an opening within the bakehouse.
SEATS FOR FEMALES.
Every occupier of a factory or shop must provide suitable seating
accommodations for his female employees and shall permit them to
make use of such seats whenever the proper performance of their
duties is not thereby interfered with. There must be not less than
one seat for every three females and they must be so located that they
can conveniently be used.
KEEPING OF RECORDS, POSTING OF NOTICES, ETC.
The regulations concerning the keeping of records, posting of
notices, etc., are very similar to those found in the New Zealand and
other factory laws. The occupier of any factory or shop must keep a
record of the names of all employees and the ages of those under 18
years of age, together with such other information as may be pre
scribed. He must post and maintain in some conspicuous place at or
near the entrance of his establishment a copy of the present act and
regulations issued in virtue of it, the name and address of the inspector
of the district, and the usual working hours of the factory.
The occupier of a factory is further required to keep for the infor
mation of the inspector a record showing the names of all persons
employed by him in the business of a factory outside such factory, the
places where they are employed, and the rate of wages paid in each
instance. The purpose of this provision is evidently to permit the
inspectors to maintain a supervision over home work or labor carried
on under the sweating system. The following section thus defines
who shall be considered as an occupier for the purpose of keeping
such a record:
Every person who, whether as principal, contractor, subcontractor,
or otherwise, directly or indirectly issues or gives out, or authorizes or
permits to be issued or given out, any material whatsoever for the pur
pose of being wholly or partly prepared or manufactured outside a
factory as articles of clothing or wearing apparel (including boots and
shoes) for trade or sale, shall be deemed to be the occupier of a fac
tory for the purposes of the last preceding section; and the person to
whom such material is issued or given out shall, for the purposes of
the said section, be deemed to be employed by the occupier in the
business of the factory outside such factory.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
243
INSPECTION OF FACTORIES.
Provision is made for the organization of an inspection force by the
power given to the governor to appoint as many inspectors of factories
and shops as may be deemed necessary for carrying into effect the
provisions of this act. The inspectors are given the usual powers o f
entry into places coming under the law, to require the production of
records, lists, etc., required by the act, and to exercise any other pow
ers that may be necessary for the adequate performance of their duties.
Attempts to 6bstruct an inspector in the performance of his duties are
punishable by fines not to exceed £20 ($97.33). Each inspector is
required to make an annual report to the minister for submission to
Parliament on the operation of the act.
ENFORCEMENT OF LAW , PENALTIES, ETC.
Penalties for infractions of any of the provisions of the law are
fully provided for, as well as the methods by which they are enforced.
The only point worthy of special mention is that the parent or guardian
having control of a male person under 16 years of age or a female
person under 18 years of age shall be liable to a penalty of not more
than 20s. ($4.87) if such person is employed in a factory or shop con
trary to the provisions of this act, unless it appears that the offense
was committed without their consent, connivance, or willful default.
THE E A R L Y CLOSING OF SHOPS ACT, 1899.
The regulations concerning shops or commercial establishments con
tained in the factory act have received an important addition by the
passage of a law, December 22, 1899, fixing the hours at which shops
must be closed in the evenings.
For purposes of the act a shop is defined to be any “ building, stall,
tent, vehicle, or boat, or pack in which goods are offered or exposed
for sale or in which the business of a hairdresser, pawnbroker, or
undertaker is carried on, or portion of a building separated from the
rest of the building by a substantial partition, and in which goods are
offered or exposed as aforesaid, or in which any such business as
aforesaid is carried on.” This definition includes both wholesale and
retail shops. In subjecting these shops to regulations regarding hours
of closing a distinction is made, first, between shops generally and those
mentioned in a schedule (a) attached to the act; and secondly, between
a Follow ing is the schedule of shops referred to:
Part I. Hairdressers’ shops.
Part II. Chemists’ shops, druggists’ shops, private dispensaries, public dispensaries,
flow er shops.
Part III. Fruit shops, vegetable shops, tobacconists’ shops, confectioners’ shops,
newspaper and news agents’ shops, public houses, hotels, and wine shops, and
undertakers’ shops.
Part JF . Restaurants, refreshm ent shops, eating houses, fish shops, oyster shops,
cooked-provision shops.
244
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
those in the metropolitan and Newcastle shopping districts and those
in country districts.
In the shopping districts all but the shops mentioned in the schedule
must close ordinarily at 6 o’clock in the evening. On either Wednes
day or Saturday, however, the shopkeeper must give his employees a
half holiday. If he chooses Wednesday, then he must close from 1
o’clock of that day, and by so doing he becomes entitled to keep his
premises open till 10 o’clock on Saturday evening. If, on the other
hand, he prefers to close at 1 o’clock on Saturday, then^he may keep
open till 10 o’clock not of the Wednesdaj^ but of the Friday evening
immediately preceding. Having made his election as to which day he
will observe as a half holiday, he can not make another choice until
after the expiration of 3 months from the day when the former
choice was made. Notice of the choice must be sent to the minister of
labor and be posted in a conspicuous place in the shop. Until this is
done, the shopkeeper is presumed to have chosen Wednesday as his half
holiday. The foregoing provisions do not apply in so far as they fix
the closing time before 10 o’clock to the day immediately preceding
Christmas or New Year’s Day, or, where Christmas or New Year’s Day
is a Monday, to the next preceding Saturday.
Every municipality outside the metropolitan and Newcastle shop
ping districts is considered a country shopping district, though the
governor is empowered to constitute any other area such a district.
In these districts all shops except those mentioned in the schedule must
close at 6 p. m. on 4 week days, at 1 p. m. on 1 week day, and at 10
p. m. on 1 week day. The early and late closing days for each
district are determined in the first instance by proclamation of the
governor. When the act has been in force in any district, however,
for not less than 12 months, any 10 shopkeepers of shops not men
tioned in the schedule may petition the minister that the question be
submitted to vote as to whether any of the days appointed for early or
late closing shall be changed to other days mentioned in the peti
tion. Where the poll has been taken as provided by the act, no new
poll shall be taken for a period of 2 years. The same exception in the
case of Christmas and New Year’s Day is made in the case of country
districts as in that of the metropolitan and Newcastle dii.Jxts.
The closing hours for shops mentioned in the schedule are as follows:
For those mentioned in Part I, 7.30 p. m. on all days of the week
except Friday or Saturday, as the shopkeeper may elect, when the shop
may remain open until 10 p. m. Half an hour’s grace is allowed to
attend to customers in the shop at the closing time.
For shops in Part II, 9 p. m. on all days of the week except Satur
day, and on that day 11 p. m.
For shops in Part III, 11 p. m. on all week days.
For shops in Part IY , 12 p. m. on all week days.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
245
The foregoing provisions do not apply to refreshment rooms and
book stalls actually on railway platforms, nor to public houses and
hotels. These places, however, are subject to the provisions of the
law relating to the hours of labor of employees and half holidays.
An exception is also made in the case of chemists5and druggists5
shops. The special provision is made that no registered pharmacist
within the meaning of the pharmacy act, 1897, shall be deemed guilty
of the offense of not being closed and kept closed for the remainder of
the day after the time fixed by reason of the fact that he has, on
request, supplied any drug or articles for medicinal purposes after
closing time. It is important to note, however, that these shops must
close the same as other shops in Part II of the schedule and may reopen
only on request. They can not remain open in expectation of requests.
In addition to fixing the hours at which shops shall close, the act
also contains certain provisions regarding the hours of labor that may
be permitted to shop assistants. In the case of shops generally no
restriction is placed on the number of hours worked by any shop
assistant. He may start work at any hour, but his day’s labor in any
shop ends with its closing at the appointed hours, with the exception
that he may be kept for not more than half an hour after closing time.
The shopkeeper also may employ any shop assistant on any 12 week
days in any half year (not being days on which the shop closes at 1 or
10 o’clock or any public or bank holiday) for a period of not exceeding
3 hours (exclusive of an hour which must be allowed for refreshment)
after the closing hour. A record of this overtime work must be kept.
In the case of schedule shops the rule is different, since no closing
hour being fixed the danger of employment for an excessive number
of hours is greatly increased. In these shops the total number of hours
worked, exclusive of the half holiday and the hours allowed for
refreshment, must not exceed 60, and each assistant must receive a
weekly half holiday. The hours of chemists’ (drug store) assistants
are not limited to 60 per week, but they must receive a weekly half
holiday.
Carters generally are exempted from the provisions of the act, but
an exception is made in the following cases: (1) Butchers’ and milk
vendors’ carters must be permitted by their employers to “ have and
take a half holiday from the hours of 1 o’clock in the afternoon on
some week day in each week.” (2) Bakers’ carters must be permitted
by their employers “ to have and take a holiday on one week day in
each month.” The employer fixes the day in regard to each of his
employees.
The minister of labor is empowered to appoint members of the
police force or other persons to be inspectors for the purpose of
enforcing the provisions of this act. Such persons will have all the
usual powers given to inspectors. Penalties for infraction of the law
are specified and the means for their imposition and collection.
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
ARBITRATION TRIBUNALS.
New South Wales has had several arbitration or conciliation acts.
The first was passed in 1867, but relates to arbitration of disputes gen
erally rather than industrial disputes specially. The Trade Disputes
Conciliation and Arbitration Act of March 31,1892, however, related to
industrial disputes only. This act provided for the creation by the
governor of councils of conciliation, to which parties to a dispute might
voluntarily resort for the settlement of their differences, and of a
council of arbitration for the adjustment of disputes which could not
be settled by conciliation. This act is practically identical with the
Ontario act concerning arbitration elsewhere given, the wordings of
the two acts differing only in slight particulars. It will be unneces
sary, therefore, to repeat the description of the system created.
This act, which has now been in operation 8 years, was supplemented
by another act, passed April 22, 1899, and entitled “ An act to make
provision for the prevention and settlement of trade disputes.” This
latter act leaves untouched the act of 1892, with the exception that it
is provided that that act shall not apply to the settlement by arbitra
tion of any difference or dispute to which the act of 1899 applies.
This latter act, as it is an important one, is reproduced below in full.
It will be seen that its main purpose is to confer power upon the Gov
ernment through the minister to intervene where industrial disputes
are threatened or have broken out in the way of attempting to adjust
them and of investigating the circumstances surrounding the trouble.
A n A ct to m ake provision for the prevention and settlement of trade disputes.
[Assented to 22d A pril, 1899.]
B e it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the
advice and consent o f the legislative council arid legislative assembly o f
New South Wales in Parliament assembled, and by the authority o f the
same, asfollow s:
1. This act shall come into force on the first day of May, one thou-^
sand eight hundred and ninety-nine, and may be cited as The Concilia
tion and Arbitration Act of 1899.
2. Where a difference exists or is apprehended between an employer
or any class of employers and his or their employees, or between dif
ferent classes of employees, the minister may, if he think fit, exercise
all or any of the following powers, namely:
(a) Direct inquiry into the causes and circumstances of the difference.
(b) Take such steps as to him may seem expedient for the purpose
of enabling the parties to the difference to meet together, by them
selves or tneir representatives, under the presidency of a chairman
mutually agreed upon, or, in the event of their failing to agree, nomi
nated by the minister, with a view to the amicable settlement of the
difference.
(c) Failing such amicable settlement, direct a public inquiry into the
causes and circumstances of the difference on the application of either
party. All such public inquiries shall be conducted by a judge of the
supreme or district courts, or the president of the land court.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
247
(d) On the application of either the employers, the employees, or
both, and after taking into consideration the circumstances of the case,
appoint a person or persons to act as conciliator or as a board of
conciliation.
(e) On the application of both parties to the difference appoint an
arbitrator.
3. Every application shall be signed by the employer or employers
or by a majority of his or their employees in the department of the
business in which the controversy or difference exists, or their duly
authorized agent, or by both parties, and shall contain a concise state
ment of the grievances complained of.
4. If any person or persons be appointed to act as a conciliator or
as a board o f conciliation, he or they shall inquire into the causes and
circumstances of the difference by communication with the parties,
and otherwise shall endeavor to bring about a settlement of the differ
ence, and shall report his or their proceedings to the minister.
5. If a settlement of the difference is effected either by conciliation
or by arbitration, a memorandum of the terms thereof shall be drawn
up and signed by the parties or their representatives, and a copy
thereof shall be delivered to and kept by the minister.
6. The Arbitration Act, 1892 shall not apply to the settlement by
arbitration of any difference or dispute to which this act applies, but
any such arbitration proceeding shall be conducted in accordance with
such of the provisions of the said act or such of the regulations made
by the governor under the powers contained in the tenth section of
this act, or under such other rules or regulations as may be mutually
agreed upon by the parties to the difference or dispute.
7. (1) Any arbitrator or person authorized by the minister to con
duct a public inquiry at his own instance or at the request in writing
of either party may summon any witness or witnesses to appear and give
evidence on oath or affirmation; and if any person so summoned shall
not appear at the time and place specified in such summons, or give
some reasonable excuse for the default, or, appearing according to
such summons, shall not submit to be examined as a witness and give
evidence touching the matter of the difference, provided reasonable
traveling expenses have been tendered to such witness by the party or
parties at whose instance the summons is issued, then any police or
stipendiary magistrate (proof on oath, in the case of any person not
appearing according to such summons, having been first made before
such magistrate of the due service of such summons on every such
person by delivering the same to him or by leaving the same at the
usual place of abode of such person) may by warrant under his hand
commit any such person so making default in appearing, or appearing
and refusing to give evidence, to some prison or place of detention for
any time not exceeding one calendar month, or until such person shall
submit himself to be examined and give his evidence before such arbi
trator or person authorized as aforesaid: Provided always that in case
such inquiry shall be concluded before such offender shall submit to be
examined and give evidence as aforesaid, then such offender may be
imprisoned for the full term of such commitment, and any witness
appearing before any such arbitrator or person authorized shall have
the same protection and be subject to the same liabilities as a witness
giving evidence in any case tried in the supreme court.
(2) Any arbitrator, or person authorized by writing under his hand, or
any person authorized as aforesaid by the minister to conduct a public
248
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
inquiry, may at any time enter upon any manufactory, building, work
shop, factory, mine, mine-workings, shed, or premises of any kind
whatsoever, wherein or in respect of which any work is being, or has
been done or commenced, or any matter or thing is taking or has
taken place, which has been made the subject of a reference to such
arbitrator or person authorized by the minister; and inspect and view
any work, material, machinery, appliances, matter, or thing whatsoever
otner than books or statements of account being in such manufactory,
building, workshop, factory, mine, mine-workings, shed, or premises.
And any person who shall hinder or obstruct any such arbitrator or
person authorized as aforesaid in the exercise of any power conferred
on such persons by this section, or who shall refuse to such persons
entrance during any such time as aforesaid to any such manufactory,
building, workshop, factory, mine, mine-workings, shed, or premises,
shall for every such offense incur a penalty not exceeding £50 [$243.33],
to be recovered in a summary way before any stipendiary or police
magistrate.
8. Any person attending on summons otherwise than at the request
of either party shall be paid reasonable traveling expenses, and a
notice to that effect shall be served upon him, and any person sum
moned as a witness who has received such notice and fails to attend'
shall be liable under section 7, although no expenses have been tendered
to him. In addition to such expenses the ministry may make any
person attending on summons whether at the request of either party or
not any allowance whether for loss of time or otherwise to which the
arbitrator or person authorized by the minister to conduct a public
inquiry may consider him justly entitled.
9. A ll expenses connected with the administration of this act, not
expressly provided for, including the reasonable expenses of and
allowances to persons attending on summons otherwise than at the
instance o f a party or both parties, and the remuneration of any per
sons appointed to carry out the provisions of this act shall be paid
out o f such annual appropriations as Parliament shall make for that
purpose.
10. The governor may make regulations for the purpose of giving
effect to any of the provisions or requirements of this act; and all
such regulations, not being inconsistent with this act, shall have the
full effect of law on publication in the Gazette.
LABOR BUREAU.
A government labor bureau was organized in New South Wales in
February, 1892. In 1895 a department of labor and industry was con
stituted by the minister of public instruction, taking these additional
titles and the duties they necessitated. The labor bureau was made a
service under this department. The labor bureau is not a statistical
office, but confines its work chiefly to the assisting of the unemployed.
In addition to this work the labor department has charge of the
administration of the laws for the inspection of factories and of the
State labor farm.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
249
SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
REGULATION OF LABOR IN FACTORIES.
The regulation of labor in factories in the Province of South
Australia is now provided for by the act of December 21, 1894, and
certain regulations issued in pursuance of its provisions. This act is
very general in nature, entering but little into details of regulations.
Its essential provisions are those creating a system of factory inspec
tion and defining the powers and duties of inspectors, those relating
to the employment of women and children, and those empowering the
governor to issue regulations in relation to the hygiene of factories.
Following is a brief statement of the provisions of this act and the
regulations in relation to it:
SCOPE OF ACT.
The act applies only within the limits of municipalities and of
manufacturing districts, or such other districts as are fixed by the
governor after a majority of the ratepayers of the district have
determined by ballot that the act shall apply. By factory is meant
64any manufactory, workshop, or workroom in which six or more
persons are employed.”
PROTECTION OF HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES.
In respect to the hygiene of factories, the act itself merely provides
that factories shall be kept clean, well ventilated, and not overcrowded.
Regulations issued February 7,1900, however, provide that every fac
tory shall have ventilation outlets and inlets in the proportion of not
less than 12 square inches for each person employed; that every heating
appliance shall be provided with a flue sufficient to carry off products
of combustion; that a hood shall be provided when necessary; that
there shall not be less than 400 cubic feet of air space per employee;
that walls and ceilings must be whitewashed, painted, varnished, or
washed at least once every 14 months; that floors, woodwork, etc.,
must be washed with hot water and soap at least every 3 months; that
floors and seats of closets must be washed weekly; that urinals must
be cleaned with water daily, and that suitable dressing rooms must be
provided for female employees. Separate water-closets must be pro
vided for the two sexes.
PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS.
The act contains no provisions in regard to precautions to be taken
against accidents, except that empowering inspectors 44to inspect and
examine machinery in any factory, and to give such directions as he
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250
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
may consider necessary or proper for the safeguarding of dangerous
machinery and for protecting the life and health of persons engaged
in the working thereof.”
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
Following are the conditions of employment of women and children:
No child shall be employed in a factory who is under 13 years of
age unless it was employed on July 1,1894, or unless it has passed the
compulsory educational standard and is believed by the inspector to
be fit to be employed.
No young person between the ages of 13 and 16 years, no child, and
no woman shall be employed for more than 48 hours in any one week,
except that on notice to an inspector in manner prescribed a woman
or young person may be employed for not more than 60 hours in any
one week, provided that the aggregate number of hours of employ
ment of such woman or young person above 48 hours per week shall
not exceed 100 hours in any one year. The foregoing provision regard
ing young persons and women does not apply to factories for preserv
ing fruit or other perishable articles during the months of December,
January, February, March, and April.
A woman or young person shall not be employed for more than 5
hours without an interval of at least an hour for a meal.
A woman or young person shall not, during any part of the time
allowed for meals, be employed in the factory.
An inspector may at any time require any young person employed
in a factory to procure satisfactory proof of age or a certificate from
a legally qualified medical practitioner as to the fitness of such young
person for such employment. Notice of such requisition must be given
to the employer, and in such case it shall be a breach of the act to
employ such person until the certificate has been obtained.
REGISTRATION OF FACTORIES.
To facilitate the enforcement of the act each occupier of a factory
must serve on the inspector of his district a written notice giving the
name of his establishment and such information as may be required.
The nature of the information thus required is set forth in regulations
issued March 27,1895. A great many details are called for regarding
the construction of the building, means of escape in case of fire, num
ber o f closets for males and females, dimensions of the workrooms,
motive power, and total number of persons of both sexes employed
and o f young persons and children. Upon compliance with these
provisions a factory will be duly registered.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
251
POSTING OF NOTICES.
The occupier of every factory in which any woman or young person
is employed must post a notice in a conspicuous place specifying the
hours of labor. A copy of this notice must also be sent to the inspector.
INSPECTION OF FACTORIES.
For the enforcement of the act the governor is given the power to
appoint such male or female inspectors as may be necessary. These
officers are given the usual powers of factory inspectors and also con
siderable discretionary power regarding the determination of precau
tions to be taken for the protection of the health and lives of employees.
ENFORCEMENT OF LAW, PENALTIES, ETC.
The penalty for infractions of the act is a fine not exceeding £5
($24.33). All infractions are prosecuted in a summary way before
any special magistrate or any 2 or more justices of the peace. An
appeal lies to the local courts.
BAKERIES.
The law relating to the operation of bakeries is found in the regu
lations issued in virtue of The Health Act, 1898. These regulations
reproduce very closely the provisions usually contained in factory acts.
They thus prohibit any place on the same level with a bakehouse and
forming a part of the same building from being used as a sleeping
place, unless it is effectually separated from the bakehouse by a parti
tion extending from the floor to the ceiling, and unless there be an
external glazed window of at least 9 superficial feet in area, of which
at least 4£ superficial feet are made to open for ventilation. No watercloset, ash pit, etc., shall communicate directly with the bakehouse.
No drain or pipe for fecal or sewage matter shall open within the
bakehouse. All inside walls and ceilings of a bakehouse must be
whitewashed, or if painted or varnished, washed with hot water and
soap at certain intervals of time. The enforcement of the regulations
is intrusted to the health authorities.
PAYM ENT OF W AGES.
The only legal regulations relating directly to the time and manner
of the payment of wages in the Colony is a clause in The Workmen’s
Liens Act, 1893, which reads: “ Whenever any contract shall hereafter
provide for payment of wages to. any workman at longer intervals
than from month to month, the wages of such workmen shall, not
withstanding such provision, be deemed to be payable monthly,
computing from the date of the commencement of the work.”
252
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
ARBITRATION TRIBUNALS.
Provision for the conciliation and arbitration of industrial disputes
in the Colony of South Australia was made by the act of December
21, 1894, entitled “ An act to facilitate the settlement of industrial
disputes.”
This act, though differing in details, follows in many respects the
system of adjusting trade disputes created by the compulsory arbitra
tion act of New Zealand.
The governor is directed to appoint some member of the executive
council to be minister of industry and some other person to be indus
trial registrar. To these officers, and especially to the latter, is given
the duty of looking after the steps necessary to be taken for the appli
cation of the law. As in New Zealand, the application of the law is
restricted to such persons as voluntarily become members of an indus
trial union and register as such with the industrial registrar. The
clause regarding this point reads: “ No award under this act shall
affect any person who has not submitted to the jurisdiction of the
board of conciliation making the same, either by being a member of
any organization or by registration as a voter of a local board of con
ciliation, or by the execution of an industrial agreement.”
Any number of persons lawfully associated for the purpose of pro
tecting or furthering the interests of employers or employees in or in
connection with any industry may register their society as an indus
trial union pursuant to the act, by complying with certain requisites.
These requisites are that the application shall be signed by at least 2
officers of the society, and be accompanied by a statement giving the
proposed name of the union and copies of the constitution or rules.
This latter document must cover certain points, such as the govern
ment of the union, the manner in which persons become or cease to be
members, the manner of conducting business, etc. In the name of
every union must appear the word employers or employees, according
to whether the union is one of employers or employees. On compli
ance with these requisites the registrar must give public notice of the
receipt of the application, and if within 2 months after the giving of such
notice he is satisfied that a ballot has been taken, and that it is the
desire o f at least two-thirds of the members of the society that the
registration should proceed, he must register the union; but if he is
not so satisfied he must take no further steps in the matter. The effect
of the registration is to render the union, and all persons then or there
after becoming members, subject to the jurisdiction given by the act
to boards of conciliation, and to all the provisions of this act, and also
to be bound by the rules of the union and all industrial agreements
and industrial awards made by or affecting the union at any time dur
ing the membership. The act further provides that “ if any person,
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
253
whilst bound by the rules of any union, shall in any particular make
default in compliance therewith, he shall for every such default be
guilty of an offense against this act, punishable by a fine not exceeding
£5 [$24.33], or such lesser sum as shall be fixed by the rules of the
union.”
Provision is made whereby a registered union can have its registra
tion canceled, provided obligations already incurred are not violated.
Any number of unions may register themselves as an industrial
association, and such association can then act much the same as a
single union. The conditions and formalities of registration are prac
tically the same as those for individual unions. The penalty clause,
however, provides that “ if any union or person, while bound by the
rules of any association, shall in any particular make default in com
pliance therewith, such union or person shall, for every such default,
be guiltjr of an offense against this act, punishable by a fine, in the
case of a union, not exceeding £100 [$486.65], and in the case of an
individual not exceeding £5 [$24.33], or in either case such lesser
sum as shall be fixed by the rules of the association.”
As in the New Zealand system, these unions and associations are
then empowered to enter into formal contracts with other parties and
to be parties to conciliation proceedings, as hereafter described.
“ Industrial agreements may be made between organizations, or
between organizations and any other persons, or between any persons
whomsoever, regulating or in relation to industrial matters, or for
the prevention or settlement of disputes and differences in any wise
relating thereto.” Each such agreement must be for a specified dura
tion of time, not exceeding 3 years. A duplicate of every agreement
must be filed with the registrar and with every organization affected
by it. Every industrial agreement duly made is binding on every
member of any organization that is a party to it and on every person
who in the manner prescribed signifies to the registrar his concur
rence therein. Any infraction of such an agreement is deemed a
violation of this act and punishable by a fine, as provided in the
agreement, or, if no amount is so fixed, by a sum not exceeding £500
($2,433.25) in case of an organization, and £50 ($243.33) in case of an
individual.
The foregoing provisions regarding the formation and registration
of industrial unions and associations and the making of industrial
agreements differ little from the New Zealand system. Quite different
provisions, however, are made in respect to the settlement of disputes.
For the purposes of the act provision is made for 2 classes of con
ciliation boards: (1) Private boards of conciliation and (2) public
boards of conciliation, the latter of which embrace local boards and a
State board.
254
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Private boards are created by industrial agreements, and, in general,
have such jurisdiction as is confided to them. Unless otherwise agreed
upon, they have the same powers and discretions as public boards.
Local boards are boards created for particular localities and for
particular industries, and have jurisdiction for the settlement of indus
trial disputes occurring in such localities, and industries, or referred to
them by way of compulsory conciliation, as hereafter described, or by
industrial agreement. A local board can only be constituted after
certain requisites have been complied with. The most important of
these are that the boundaries of the jurisdiction of the board must be
the limits of one or more municipalities or district councils; that the
board is constituted in pursuance of a petition in due form to the
minister, which petition is not granted unless it is shown to the satis
faction of the registrar that it is supported by at least one-half, respec
tively, of the employers and employees to be affected, and that at least
6 weeks’ public notice of the petition has been given. The licensecreating the board fixes the number of members of which it is to
be composed. These members, except the chairman, are elected annu
ally in equal numbers by the employers and employees voting sepa
rately. The persons so elected elect some other person as chairman,
who holds office for 2 years and is reeligible. Electoral rolls contain
ing the names and addresses of the persons entitled to vote are kept
by the registrar. To be entitled to vote the person must have fol
lowed his trade in the district for at least 2 months immediately pre
ceding the time of entry on the rolls.
The State board consists of 7 members appointed by the governor,
of whom 3 may be recommended by organizations representative of
employers and 3 by organizations representative of employees. The
other member not so recommended is president of the board. The
president is entitled to hold office for 5 years and is reeligible. He can
not be removed except on addresses to the governor from both houses of
Parliament during one session. The other members hold office for 2
years and are reeligible. When special knowledge is required, the
governor may, on receiving information to that effect from the presi
dent, appoint other persons to be members of the State board in addi
tion to or substitution for the ordinary members for a special inquiry.
The equal representation of employers and employees must, however,
be always maintained.
It is the duty of every public board, whether local or State, in such
manner as it shall think fit, to carefully and expeditiously inquire into
and investigate any industrial dispute of which it has cognizance. “ In
the course of such inquiry and investigation the board shall make all
such suggestions and do all such things as shall appear to them as right
and proper to be made or done for securing a fair and amicable settle
ment o f the matters in dispute by agreement between the parties, and
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
255
if no such settlement shall be arrived at shall, by an award, decide the
question according to the merits and substantial justice of the case.”
In particular it is lawful for the board to refer the matter to a com
mittee of their number consisting of an equal number of representa
tives of employers and employees, who shall endeavor to reconcile the
parties. Every board of conciliation, public or private, has full powers
for compelling the attendance and examination of witnesses.
The most interesting features of the act are those relating to com
pulsory conciliation, enforcement of awards and agreements, and pen
alties on certain lockouts and strikes. Following are the provisions of
the act relating to compulsory conciliation:
If any industrial dispute shall hereafter arise between any organiza
tions it shall be lawful for the president to inquire into the nature and
extent of such dispute, in such manner as he shall think fit, for the
purpose of ascertaining whether or not it should be settled by com
pulsory conciliation.
If after such inquiry the president shall certify to the governor that
the dispute is one which should be settled by means of compulsory con
ciliation, it shall be lawful for the governor, by proclamation published
in the Government Gazette, to declare that all matters in dispute between
the organizations, to be mentioned in such proclamation, or any of such
matters, to be specified in such proclamation, shall be referred to the
State board of conciliation to be mentioned in such proclamation for
settlement, and the same shall stand referred accordingly.
If at any time it shall be made to appear to the president that any
industrial dispute which would otherwise come before or be settled by
any local board of conciliation is likely to be more satisfactorily dis
posed of by the State board of conciliation, it shall be lawful for the
president, by any writing under his hand, at the request of the local
board, to refer such dispute to the State board for settlement, and the
same shall stand referred accordingly.
It will be observed that the foregoing provisions do not introduce a
general system of compulsory conciliation in the sense that either
party to a dispute can compel the other party to have recourse to con
ciliation by a board. It merely provides that the governor can, upon
the recommendation of the; president of the conciliation board, require
the submission of a dispute to the State board of conciliation or the
transfer of a dispute from a local to the State board. This is compul
sory conciliation, but not in the same sense as under the New Zealand
law.
In addition to this power possessed by the governor to compel the
settlement of industrial disputes in certain cases by the State board of
conciliation, he has also the power to order the board to investigate
any industrial dispute and to report upon the facts as it finds them.
This report is not in the nature of an award. The provisions of the
law in regard to this point; follow:
If any industrial dispute shall hereafter arise, it shall be lawful for
the president to inquire into the nature and extent of such dispute for
256
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the purpose of ascertaining whether or not it should be investigated
and reported upon by the State board of conciliation.
If after such inquiry the president shall certify that the dispute is
one which should be investigated and reported upon by the State board
of conciliation, it shall be lawful for the governor, by proclamation
jublished in the Government Gazette, and twice in a newspaper circuating in the district interested, to declare that all matters in dispute
specified in such proclamation shall be referred to the State board of
conciliation to be mentioned in such proclamation for investigation
and report, and the same shall stand referred accordingly.
The State board of conciliation to whom any matters may be referred,
pursuant to the preceding section, shall have and exercise all the powers
and functions of the State board of conciliation sitting for the settle
ment of an industrial dispute, except that they shall have no power to
make an award, but they shall decide the question according to the
merits and substantial justice of the case by a report which shall not
be enforceable, but shall be filed in the office of the registrar.
In any case in which it shall appear to a board of conciliation having
authority to make an award for the settlement of an industrial dispute
that such a course is preferable, it shall be lawful for such board to
refrain from making an award, and to decide the question according
to the merits and substantial justice of the case by a report which shall
not be enforceable, but shall be published as directed by the board or
in manner prescribed.
Though a general system of compulsory conciliation or arbitration
is not provided, the law makes every possible provision for the enforce
ment of agreements voluntarily made or awards of conciliation courts
when the parties have resorted to that method of adjusting their
disputes. The act even goes so far as making a willful default in com
pliance with any award an offense that can be punished by imprison
ment. The sections relating to this subject are of such importance
that they are here reproduced in extenso:
Every award shall specify the organizations and persons on which
it is intended that it shall be binding, and the period not exceeding 2
years from the making thereof, during which its provisions may be
enforced.
Unless otherwise expressed therein, the award of every local board
of conciliation and of the State board of conciliation in the matter of
any dispute referred to the State board from a local board by the
president, pursuant to section 51, shall be binding during the period
thereof on all employers and employees in the particular locality and
industry for which the local board is constituted, and whose names are
entered as voters on the electoral roll of the local board at the time of
the making of the award.
A duplicate of every award shall be filed in the office of the regis
trar, and of every organization affected, and thereafter during the
period during which its provisions may be enforced it shall be binding
upon all organizations and persons upon which it shall be declared
that it shall be binding and upon all members o f such organizations.
The registrar, at the instance o f any organization or person inter
ested, shall do all things necessary for enforcing any award against
any organization or person bound thereby.
f
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
257
Every court of the Province and every officer thereof shall act in
aid of the registrar in enforcing compliance of the award as fully and
effectually, and to all intents and purposes as if such award were a
decree, order, or judgment of every such court duly made and given,
and such award shall be deemed to be a decree, order, or judgment of
every such court, and the process of every such court as shall be
required by the registrar shall be issued and executed for enforcing
such compliance in like mariner as upon the decree, order, or judgment
of such court.
Unless otherwise ordered by the award, no process shall be issued
for the enforcement of any award by a payment from any organiza
tion or person of a greater sum than .£1,000 [$4,866.50J, or from any
individual, on account of Lis membership of an organization, of any
greater sum than £10 [$48.67].
For the purpose of enforcing compliance with any award process
may be issued and executed against the property of any organization,
or in which any organization shall have any beneficial interest, and
whether vested in trustees or howsoever otherwise the same may be
held, in the same manner as if such organization was an incorporated
company and the absolute owner of such property or interest.
No fees of court shall be charged for the issue or execution of any
process for compelling compliance with any award.
All moneys which shall be received by virtue of any process for
enforcing compliance with any award shall be applied in such manner
as the award may direct, and, in default of or subject to any such
direction, in such manner as the registrar may decide, for the benefit
of those interested in the performance of the award.
Any person willfully making default in compliance with any award,
unless such award shall otherwise direct, shall be guilty of an offense
against this act, punishable on summary conviction by a fine not
exceeding £20 [$97.33], or by imprisonment,with or without hard labor,
for any term not exceeding 3 calendar months.
All provisions hereinbef ore in this part of this act contained with
reference to the enforcement of awards shall apply to the enforcement
of industrial agreements (unless therein negatived or limited) in like
manner as if agreements had been mentioned in such provisions when
ever awards are referred to.
In order still further to strengthen the powers of the boards of con
ciliation, the law contains the following provisions regarding persons
resorting to a strike or lockout when the matter in dispute is within
the jurisdiction of a board of conciliation:
If any organization of employers or any member thereof shall coun
sel, take part in, support, or assist directly or indirectly any lockout
on account of any industrial dispute for the settlement of which any
board of conciliation shall have jurisdiction, such organization or mem
ber shall be guilty of an offense against this act, punishable by a fine
in the case of an organization not exceeding £500 [$2,433.25], or in the
case of an individual not exceeding £20 [$97.33].
I f any organization of employees or any member thereof shall coun
sel, take part in, support, or assist directly or indirectly any strike on
account of any industrial dispute for the settlement of which any
board of conciliation shall have jurisdiction, such organization or mem
ber shall be guilty of an offense against this act, punishable as mentioned
in the preceding section.
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QUEENSLAND.
THE LABOR CONTRACT.
The legal regulations in relation to the labor contract in Queensland
are now contained in the act of August 6, 1861. The significant fea
tures of this act are that in enforcing the labor contract, if the pecun
iary compensation or indemnity awarded can not be recovered, the
defendant may be imprisoned for not more than 3 months; that serv
ants are liable for willfully spoiling or losing property; that unpaid
wages are recoverable in a summary way, and that differences between
employers and their employees may be settled by 2 or more justices
of the peace in a summary way. The act, however, does not permit
the imprisonment of females.
RIGHT OF ASSOCIATION: TRADE UNIONS.
By The Trade Unions Act, 1886, Queensland adopted all the essential
provisions of the British legislation regarding the right of working
men to form associations, the registration of trade unions, etc. The
important provisions of the law as regards the right of association are,
of course, the clauses declaring that u the purposes of any trade union
shall not, by reason merely that they are in restraint of trade, be
deemed to be unlawful so as to render any member of such trade
union liable to a criminal prosecution for conspiracy or otherwise,”
and “ the purposes of any trade union shall not, by reason merely that
they are in restraint of trade, be unlawful so as to render void or void
able any agreement or trust.”
REGULATION OF LABOR IN FACTORIES AN D SHOPS.
The whole subject of the regulation of the conditions of labor in
stores as well as factories is covered in an exceptionally complete man
ner by The Factories and Shops Act of December 21, 1896.
SCOPE OF ACT.
By factory is meant any building or place in which 4 or more per
sons are engaged directly or indirectly at any handicraft or in prepar
ing or manufacturing articles for trade or sale; bakehouses; laundries
other than those in connection with a reformatory, charitable, or other
similar institution; any place in which Chinese or other Asiatics are
employed, and any place where steam or other mechanical power is
used in manufacturing goods or packing them for transit. Excepted,
however, are certain places such as dairies, agricultural works, mines,
and places where members of the same family are working at home
and no use is made of a mechanical power.
Shop means any place where goods are exposed or offered for sale.
The act, it should be said, applies only to such localities as are declared
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259
by the governor in council to be districts for the purposes of the act.
The governor may also by proclamation in due form exempt, either
wholly or in part, any factory or class of factories or shops or class
of shops in any district or part of a district from the operation of
the act.
REGISTRATION OF FACTORIES.
The registration of factories is obligatory. Each occupier must for
ward to the inspector a notice giving such particulars concerning his
establishment as may be demanded, and upon the receipt of this notice
he will be given a certificate of registration.
PROTECTION OF HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES AND PREVENTION OF
ACCIDENTS.
The provisions of the lav regarding the prevention of accidents and
the protection of the health of employees are so similar to those of the
factory laws of the other Colonies that have been given that they
need not be reproduced. It will only be said that they relate, among
other things, to (1) the prohibition of traversing carriages of self
acting machinery running out in passages through which persons are
likely to pass; (2) the fencing of all dangerous parts of machinery;
(3) the protection of hoists, elevators, or well holes; (4) the use of safe
elevators or lifts; (5) the restriction upon .the employment of boys
under 16 years of age or women as operators of elevators and hoists,
and of boys under 17 years and women in the cleaning of machinery
while in motion; (6) the provision of fire escapes, of means for extin
guishing fires and the swinging of main inside and outside doors so
that they shall open outward, and the keeping of doors unlocked in
factories where 10 or more persons are employed; (7) the requirement
that every factory and shop shall be kept in a cleanly state and free
from all effluvia arising from any drain, urinal, or other nuisance; (8)
the provision of a sufficient number of water or other closets, which
shall be separate for the two sexes; (9) the giving of not less than 400
cubic feet of air space per employee; (10) the proper ventilation of
factories; (11) the painting, varnishing, or washing of the interior
of factories at regular intervals of time (certain classes of factories, to
which the minister may make additions, being exempted from this
requirement); (12) the use of a fan or other mechanical means of venti
lation when grinding, glazing, or polishing on a wheel, or other process
generating dust injurious to the employees, is carried on; and (13) the
adoption of means of preventing excessive humidity in factories in
which atmospheric humidity is artificially produced.
REPORTING OF ACCIDENTS.
Whenever an accident in a factory, resulting in loss of life or bodily
injury to an employee such as to prevent him from returning to work
within 48 hours, has been caused by “ machinery moved by steam,
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
water, or other power, or through a vat, pan, or other structure filled
with hot liquid or molten metal, or other substance, or by explosion,
or by escape of gas, steam, or metal,” it must be reported to the
inspector, together with particulars as to the cause of the accident, its
nature, etc. The minister may if he thinks best obtain a report from
a legally qualified medical practitioner or other competent person
upon the nature, extent, and cause of the death or injury.
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
Following are the provisions regarding the employment of women
and children:
A child [i. e., person under 14 years of age] shall not be employed
in any factory.
No male under 16 years of age and no female shall be employed con
tinuously in a factory for more than 5 hours without an interval of at
least half an hour for a meal, nor for more than 48 hours in any one
week: Provided, that any such person may be employed overtime in
a factory for a period not exceeding 3 hours in any day beyond the
ordinary working hours on not more than 52 days in a year. The
occupier shall keep a record of all such overtime, and shall note against
the name of each person so employed the hours of overtime worked
by him or her, and shall furnish a copy of such record to the inspector
when called upon to do so.
No occupier shall employ a male under 16 years of age or a female
under 18 years of age (a) in any factory; (b) in the business of but
outside any factory, between the hours of 7 o’clock in the evening and
6 o’clock in the morning: Provided, that where it is proved to the
satisfaction of the minister that the customs or exigencies of the trade
carried on in any class of factories or parts thereof, either generally
or situate in any particular locality, or other reasons, require or make
it desirable that such trade should be exempted from the operation of
this section, he may by order grant to such class of factories or parts
thereof a special exemption, and for such time as he may think fit.
A person under the age of 16 years shall not be employed in such
classes of factories as may from time to time be determined by regu
lation unless the occupier of the factory has obtained a certificate in
the prescribed form of the fitness of such person for employment in
that factory. A certificate of fitness for the purposes of this act may
be granted by any legally qualified medical practitioner, and shall be
to the effect that he is satisfied by the production of a certificate of
birth or other sufficient evidence that the person named in the certifi
cate of fitness is of the age therein specified, and that such person has
been personally examined by him, and is not incapacitated by disease
or bodily infirmity from working daily for the time allowed by law in
the factory named in the certificate.
Where an inspector is of opinion that a person under the age of 16
years is, by disease or bodily infirmity, incapacitated for working daily
for the time allowed by law in a factory, he may serve written notice
thereof on the occupier, requiring that the employment of such person
be discontinued from the period named therein, not being less than
1 nor more than 7 days after the service of such notice; and the occu
pier shall not continue after the period named in such notice to employ
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261
such person (notwithstanding a certificate of fitness has been previously
obtained for such person) unless a legally qualified medical practi
tioner has, after the service* of the notice, personally examined such
person and has certified that such person is not so incapacitated as
aforesaid.
PROVISION OF PLACES FOR THE EATING OF MEALS.
The minister may, by notice in writing, forbid the occupier of a
factory to permit any employees therein to take their meals in any
room while work is being carried on therein, and may direct an occu
pier to erect or provide a suitable room or place in the factory or in
connection therewith for the purpose of a dining or eating room for
employees in such factory.
SEATS FOR FEMALES.
Every occupier of a factory or shop shall cause to be provided suit
able sitting accommodation for all females employed in his factory or
shop in the proportion of one seat to every three females employed,
and such sitting accommodations shall be conveniently situated for the
use of the persons for whom the same is provided. The occupier of
any factory or shop shall allow every female employed therein to make
use of such sitting accommodation at all reasonable times during the
day when such use would not necessarily interfere with the proper
discharge by such female of her duties.
BAKERIES.
In addition to the general regulations regarding factories, which
apply equally to bakeries, the latter establishments are subject to the
following special provisions:
Where a bakehouse having employed therein one or more persons
is situated in any district under this act (1) no place on the same level with
the bakehouse and forming part of the same building shall be used as
a sleeping place unless such sleeping place is effectually separated from
communication with the bakehouse by a partition extending from the
floor to the ceiling, and there is an external glazed Window in such
sleeping place of at least 9 superficial feet in area, of which at least 4£
superficial feet are made so as to open for ventilation; (2) no earth or
water closet, cesspit, urinal, or ash pit shall be within or communicate
with the bakehouse; (3) any cistern for supplying water to the bake
house shall be separate and distinct from any cistern supplying water
to a water-closet; (4) no drain pipe for carrying off fecal or sewage
matter shall have an opening within the bakehouse.
REGULATION OF HOME WORK: SWEATING SYSTEM.
For the regulation of work carried on outside of the factory proper,
or what is sometimes called the sweating system, the law provides as
follows:
The occupier of a factory shall, for the information of the inspectors,
who alone shall be entitled to demand such information, keep a record
262
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
in the prescribed form and with the prescribed particulars, showing:
(a) The name of every person employed by him in the business of a
factory outside such factory; (b) the places where those persons are
employed; (c) the rate of payment in each instance.
The occupier must forward this record to the inspector for his
information whenever demanded by him. For the purpose of the fore
going provisions, every person is considered an occupier “ who, whether
as principal, contractor, subcontractor, or otherwise, directly or indi
rectly issues or gives out, or authorizes or permits to be issued or given
out, any material whatsoever for the purpose of being wholly or partly
prepared or manufactured outside a factory as articles of clothing or
wearing apparel (including boots and shoes) for trade or sale.”
It is furthermore provided that if any occupier as above defined
64causes or allows wearing apparel to be made, cleaned, or repaired
in any building, any inmate of which is suffering from smallpox,
Asiatic cholera, scarlet fever, diphtheria, membranous croup, or such
other disease as may be declared to be an infectious disease under the
provisions of the laws in force in Queensland, he. shall be liable to a
penalty not exceeding <£20 [$97.33] unless he proves that he was not
aware of the existence of the illness in the building, and could not
reasonably have been expected to become aware of it.”
KEEPING OF RECORDS, POSTING OF NOTICES, ETC.
The occupier of every factory is required to keep careful records of
matters to which the act relates. He must keep a list of the names
of all employees in the factory, together with the ages of all employees
under 18 years of age, and such other particulars as may from time to
time be required. He must post in a conspicuous place near the
entrance of his establishment, and in other parts as the inspector may
order, a copy of this act and the regulations made in virtue of it, and
a notice containing the name and address of the inspector for the
district, the usual working hours of the factory, and the number of
persons who may be employed in each room of the factory. The fol
lowing provision is of peculiar interest as going further in this direc
tion than do the acts of the other Colonies. It reads: 64The occupier
of a factory shall, if so required by the minister, furnish to him a scale
of the wages paid to the employees therein, and also the rates of pay
ment made for piecework to the persons working in and in connection
with such factory.”
INSPECTION OF FACTORIES.
A very thorough system for the administration and enforcement of
the act is provided. The governor is empowered to appoint a chief
inspector and as many inspectors of factories and shops as may be
necessary. These inspectors are given all the usual powers of entry
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263
and investigation. Especially do they have the power of ordering
the taking of precautions, where such action seems necessary, for the
protection of the health and lives of the employees.
LABOR IN STORES.
A good many of the provisions regarding factories apply equally to
shops or stores. Such, for example, are the provisions regarding the
keeping of records, showing the names and ages of employees, the
posting of copies of the act and other notices, the requirements
regarding sanitation, the amount of cubic air space to be furnished,
the provisions of sitting accommodations for females, protection of
hoistway and other openings, and the restriction of the employment
of males under 16 years of age and females as managers of elevators
or lifts.
Following are the provisions relating specially to shops. They
relate, it will be seen, exclusively to the limitation of the hours of
labor of employees:
Except as hereinafter provided, a male under 16 years of age or a
female shall not work in or in connection with any shop for a longer
time than 52 hours in any 1 week, exclusive of such time as may be
allowed for meals, or for a longer time than 9£ hours in any 1 day,
exclusive of such time as may be allowed for meals, except on 1 day
in each week, when H i hours’ work may be done.
Any such person may, however, be employed in a shop for a period
not exceeding 3 hours on any day beyond the ordinary working hours,
provided that the total number of days in any 1 year on which in any
shop or at any work in connection with a shop any such male or female
is so employed, shall not exceed 52.
No male under 16 years of age and no female shall be employed con
tinuously in a shop for mere than 5 hours without an interval of at
least half an hour for a meal.
No person under 18 years of age shall be employed during any day
in any shop, or at any work in connection with a shop, if he or she
has been previously employed the same day in a factory for 8 hours, or
for a longer time than will when added to the time worked by him or
her in any factory exceed 8 hours in the whole, or in any case for a
longer period than will tog ether with the time during which he or she
has been so previously employed complete the number of 8 hours.
The foregoing provisions do not apply to the following classes of
shops, which are mentioned in a schedule: Chemists’ shops, coffee
houses, confectioners, eating houses, fish and oyster shops, fruit and
vegetable shops, restaurants, news agents’ shops, tobacconists’ shops,
hotels, hairdressers, and butchers’ shops. Regarding these shops the
governor may, subject to the provisions of this act, make regulations
under which males under 16 years of age and females under 18 years
of age may be employed. The minister may, after due inquiry, and
subject to such conditions as seems requisite, suspend the provisions
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
which relate to shops in any building or place in which a public exhi
bition of works of industry and art, or bazaar, or fair for benevolent
or charitable purposes is being held.
The provision regarding the fixing of penalties for infractions of the
act and of the method of their imposition are not here reproduced, as
they present few features of general interest. The system is practically identical with that found in the other Colonies.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
THE LABOR CONTRACT.
The Masters and Servants Act passed March 18, 1892, contains the
law now in force regarding the labor contract. This act, which repeals
the prior legislation of 1868 and 1886, provides that whenever an
employer or employee refuses or neglects to carry out any contract of
service, or whenever any dispute regarding the rights or liabilities of
either party arises, the party who feels himself aggrieved can appeal
to a justice of the peace. Upon being thus appealed to this officer
must summon the other party, and by a hearing determine the steps
that should be taken to secure justice. If it appears that the party
complained against is about to abscond, the justice can order his appre
hension, and if he fails to give security for his appearance, detain
him in safe custody until the hearing of the complaint.
Upon the hearing of the complaint the justice can, according as jus
tice demands, annul the contract, order the abatement of the whole or
any part of the remuneration due; or, where no amount of compen
sation or damage can be assessed, or where pecuniary compensation
will not meet the circumstances of the case, impose a fine not exceed
ing in amount £20 ($97.33), or shall assess and determine the amount
of compensation or damage, together with the costs, to be made to the
party complaining and order the same to be paid.
If the order directs the fulfillment of the contract and directs the
party complained against to find sufficient security that he will do so,
and such security is not given, the justice may commit such party to
any jail to be confined until he doeis find security. Such commitment
or series of commitments can not be for a longer total period than 3
months.
The jurisdiction of the justice of the peace, as above described, does
not extend to cases where the amount claimed exceeds £50 ($243.33),
nor can he make an order for the payment of any sum exceeding that
amount.
Where, on the hearing of an information or complaint, it appears
to the justices that an injury inflicted on the person or property of the
party complaining or the misconduct or ill treatment complained of
has been of an aggravated character, and that such injury, misconduct,
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
265
or ill treatment has not arisen or been committed in the bona fide exer
cise of a legal right existing or bona fide and reasonably supposed to
exist, and, further, that any pecuniary compensation or other remedy
by this act provided will not meet the circumstances of the case, then
the justices may order the party complained against to be imprisoned,
with or without hard labor, for any term not exceeding 3 months.
A clause provides that “ nothing in this act shall prevent employer
or employed from enforcing their respective civil rights and remedies
for any breach or nonperformance of the contract of service by any
action or suit in the ordinary courts of law or equity in any case where
proceedings are not instituted under this act.”
“ Nothing in this act contained shall authorize the imprisonment of
any woman or girl.”
APPRENTICESHIP.
The problem of the regulation of apprenticeship has been largely
influenced by the peculiar conditions of the Colony. The practice
early developed of young persons entering the Colony as immigrants
for the purpose of being apprenticed. To protect the interests of
these persons there was passed the act of September 10, 1842, after
wards slightly amended by the act of May 21, 1844. The important
feature of this legislation was the provision made for the appointment
by the governor of an officer to be known as guardian of government
juvenile immigrants, the duties of whom were to look after appren
ticing of young persons sent out by the British Government and to
see that the conditions as regards their treatment as prescribed by the
act were observed.
May 9, 1849, another act was passed extending the acts of 1842 and
1844 to the apprenticing of poor children sent out by charitable insti
tutions and other societies, as well as those sent out by the Govern
ment.
These acts, it will be observed, applied only to particular classes of
apprentices, and not to apprentices generally. The regulation of
apprenticeship generally was first definitely accomplished by the act
of July 24, 1873. This act, after reciting in the preamble that
“ whereas doubts have arisen as to whether there is any law in force
in this Colony under which persons under age can bind themselves as
apprentices to master workmen; and whereas it is expedient and
desirable to remove such doubts,” declares that all the laws in force in
England regarding apprenticeship on January 1, 1873, should apply
to the Colony of Western Australia.
The only legislation subsequent to that date is the section contained
in The Masters and Servants Act, 1892, which provides that “ no
apprenticeship indenture or agreement shall be annulled except upon
proof of ill treatment of the apprentice by the master, or incompe
tency on the part of the master to teach such apprentice, or willful
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266
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
neglect so to teach such apprentice, or incorrigible misconduct on the
part of the apprentice: Provided, also, that the justices, if they rescind
or annul any agreement or indenture of apprenticeship, may, if they
think fit, order the whole or any part of the premium paid on the bind
ing of the apprentice to be repaid to the person or persons paying the
same.”
MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS.
The regulation of the hours of business in shops or stores was
accomplished by the act of October 28, 1898. This act is very simi
lar in character and general provisions to the New South Wales shop
act of 1899, the provisions of which have been given. As in the case
of that act, a number of “ shop districts” are created and power is
given to the governor to create other districts. The act itself creates
9 districts. A distinction is made between shops mentioned in a
schedule (chemists’ and druggists’ shops, tea and coffee houses or stalls,
fish and oyster shops, confectioners’ shops, tobacconists, restaurants,
news agents stationers, and booksellers’ shops, undertakers’ shops,
florists’ shops, butchers’ shops, and shops or premises licensed as hotels
or publicans’ general wayside houses) and other shops. By shop is
meant any place where goods are offered for sale by retail.
Shops other than those mentioned in the schedule in a shop district
must be closed on week days from 6 p. m. to 8 a. m., and all such shops
in districts subsequently created by the governor must be opened and
closed at the hours fixed by the governor. Any shopkeeper, however,
may keep his shop open on the evening either of Wednesday or Sat
urday until 10 p. m., provided the day is not the same as that upon
which his shop is closed for a half holiday.
Every shop not a schedule shop must be closed for a half holiday
on at least one week day in every week in which a public holiday does
not occur. The minister must by proclamation fix 2 week days on
one of which each shop must give a half holiday, as above provided.
On the week days preceding Christmas day, New Year’s day, Good
Friday, and a public holiday which falls on a Saturday all non
schedule shops may be kept open until 10 p. m.
A penalty of not exceeding £5 ($24.33) is imposed upon any
employer in a nonschedule shop allowing a shop assistant to remain
longer than three-quarters of an hour after closing time or after 1.45
p. m. on half holidays, or earlier than 8 a. m., with the exception that
shop assistants engaged in or about dairies and butchers’, greengrocers’,
fruiterers’, and bakers’ shops may be employed before that hour.
As an exception to this provision, however, it is provided that shop
assistants in any such shop may be employed after closing hours for a
period not exceeding 3 hours in any day not a half holiday on not
more than 24 days in any one year, but the shop must be closed during
that time.
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267
The following provisions regarding the hours of labor of shop assist
ants apply to all shops, whether mentioned in the schedule or not:
No woman or any person under 16 years of age must be employed in
or about a shop for more than 48 hours in any one week, exclusive of
time allowed for meals.
All shop assistants and clerks in shops and hotels mentioned in the
schedule, and in all wholesale and commission agents’ places of business,
and all assistants in the trade or business of barber or hairdresser
must be given a half holiday from 1.45 p. m. on some week day in every
week in which a public holiday does not occur. As regards barbers’
and hairdressers’ shops the special provision is made that no employee
shall be allowed to remain in the shop later than 7.30 p. m. on week
days other than Saturdays, and 10 o’clock on Saturdays and the week
days immediately preceding Christmas day, New Year’s day, Good
Friday, and a public holiday which falls on a Saturday.
For the enforcement of the act the minister is directed to appoint as
many inspectors as may be necessary. These inspectors are given all
the necessary powers of entry and examination for the execution of
their duties. Each shopkeeper must keep a record showing his trading
name, the hours during which his shop is kept open, the hours during
which his employees are kept at work, the extra hours worked in accord
ance with the provisions given above, and the day or days on which
employees are entitled to a half holiday. These records must always
be open to the inspection of the inspectors.
Other provisions of the law relate to the imposition of penalties and
the method of making prosecutions under the act.
The act has a tentative character, as its provisions are declared to be
in force only for a period of 3 years from November 1,1898.
The foregoing act, as far as regards the conditions of labor of female
shop employees, received an important amendment by the act of
December 16, 1899, which provides that “ in all rooms of a shop [as
defined by the former act] where female assistants are employed, the
shopkeeper shall provide, for the use of such assistants, seats behind
the counter, or in such other position as may be suitable for the pur
pose; and such seats shall be in the proportion of not less than one seat
to every three female assistants employed in each room.” The penalty
for failure to comply with this provision is a fine not exceeding £3
($14.60) for the first offense and not less than £1 ($4.87) nor more than
£5 ($24.33) for each subsequent offense.
PAYM ENT OF W AG ES: TRUCE SYSTEM.
The subject of the protection of the wages of workingmen, their
payment, and the regulation of the truck system is covered by The
Workmen’s Wages Act of October 28, 1898, and The Truck Act of
October 9, 1899. The first of these two acts relates chiefly to making
wages a preferred claim, a branch of labor legislation not covered by
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the present report. The only section of the act that should here be
mentioned is the one declaring that “ in the absence of an agreement
in writing to the contrary, the entire amount of wages earned by or
payable to any workman engaged or employed in manual labor shall
be paid to such workman at intervals of not more than 1 week.”
The Truck Act, as its name implies, relates to the prohibition of the
payment of wages in goods or otherwise than in money. This act
provides that in every contract, by which is meant any understanding
or agreement, written or verbal, in relation to the employment of a
workman the wages agreed upon must, with the exceptions mentioned
below, be paid in money or order on a banking institution in the Col
ony, payable to bearer on demand. And furthermore, “ if, by agree
ment, custom, or otherwise, a workman is entitled to receive, in antici
pation of the regular period of the payment of his wages, an advance
as part or on account thereof, it shall not be lawful for the employer
to withhold such advance or make any deduction in respect of such
advance on account of poundage, discount, or interest, or any similar
charge.”
Any provision in a contract in contravention of the foregoing is
illegal and void.
The employer is prohibited from, directly or indirectly, making it a
condition of employment in any way that wages shall be spent in a
particular place or in a particular manner.
The entire amount of wages, with the exceptions to be noted, must
be paid in money, and in any action brought by a workman for the
recovery of any sum due as wages the employer can not allege as a
set-off the furnishing of any goods by himself or his agent, or any
concerning the profits of which he has an interest. No employer also
can sue for the value of goods furnished under these circumstances.
No deduction shall be made from a workman’s wages for sharpening
or repairing tools, except by agreement not forming part of the con
dition of hiring.
Following are the exceptions above referred to in which the act does
not apply: (1) Where according to written agreement necessaries to be
paid for by deduction from wages are furnished during not more than
the first 6 weeks o f service of a workman; (2) where it is agreed that
the employer shall furnish medical attendance or supplies or any fuel,
materials, tools, appliances, or implements to be used by the workman
in his labor; (3) where it is agreed that the necessary outfit and sup
port not to exceed the amount of 2 months’ wages shall be supplied to
a workman engaged to fell bush or timber or clear land; (4) where it
is agreed that the employer shall furnish the workman with hay, corn,
or other provender for any horse or other beast of burden used by
him in his work; (5) where the employer agrees to furnish a tenement
in which he can reside as a part remuneration for his labor; (6) where
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
269
the employer agrees to supply the workman with food or nonintoxi
cating drink dressed or prepared under the former’s roof and there
consumed by the employee; (7) the making of deductions from wages
to repay advances made to a workman to enable him to pay his dues
to a friendly society, insurance company, savings bank, or other asso
ciation, or for the relief of the employee or his family in case of
sickness; and (8) to seamen or to persons employed in agricultural,
fruit-growing, or pastoral pursuits, or engaged on sheep or cattle
stations.
In all cases the deduction made in the case of these exceptions
must not exceed the real and true value of the materials furnished.
Other sections of the act, which need not be here reproduced, relate
to the imposition of fines for infractions of the law and the method of
imposing or collecting these penalties.
CANADA.
As in the United States, the great body of labor legislation is to be
found in the enactments of the individual States, or Provinces, as
they are called. All legislation in reference to labor by the Dominion
Government must fall under the heading of legislation in reference to
(a) regulation of trade and commerce, (b) census and statistics, (c)
naturalization and aliens, (d) criminal law, or (e) matters not assigned
exclusively to the Provinces. These divisions are somewhat broad in
scope, and, consequently, the Dominion Government has the power to
legislate regarding a number of matters which in the United States
would fall within the province of the States. Thus, legislation in
regard to trade unions, picketing, intimidation, conspiracy, etc., in so
far as it comes within the scope of the criminal law, is a matter for
the Dominion Government. Legislation in regard to these matters
has been enacted as follows:
1. An act respecting threats, intimidation, and other offenses
embodied in the Criminal Code, 55 and 56 Viet., cap. 29, Statutes of
Canada, 1892.
2. An act in regard to trade unions, passed June 14, 1872, and cited
as The Trade Unions Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 48 Viet., cap. 131.
In 1889 an act was passed for the suppression and prevention of
combinations formed in restraint of trade. In 1900, however, an
amendment was made to the Criminal Code, in which is contained a
clause specially exempting combinations of workmen from the pro
visions of this act.
No attempt is here made to reproduce the provisions of the fore
going acts that have been cited, as they are to so large an extent but a
reproduction of British legislation upon the same subjects. This is
particularly true of The Trade Unions Act, which follows the British
act almost literally. For the same reason, in considering the legisla
270
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
tion of the Provinces, no effort is made to reproduce their laws con
cerning masters and servants.
Within the past year (1900) the Dominion Government, however,
has entered the distinct field of labor legislation through the enactment,
July 18 of that year, of a comprehensive law in relation to the settle
ment of industrial disputes and the creation of a department of labor
for the collection and publication of information in relation to labor.
This law will, of course, be fully reproduced.
As regards the Provinces, but two, Ontario and Quebec, have enacted
any considerable body of labor legislation, though Manitoba, by act of
July 5, 1900, has followed their example in so far as the passage of a
factory act is concerned.
The following account of the labor legislation of Canada will there
fore be confined to a statement of the Dominion law regarding the set
tlement of industrial disputes and a department of labor, and the factory
and allied legislation of Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba.
THE DOMINION.
As has already been noted in the introductory paragraphs, the
Dominion Government, on July 18, 1900, passed a law in relation to
the settlement of industrial disputes and the creation of a department
of labor. This law, though constituting a single act, consists of two
distinct parts, relating, respectively, to the two subjects just mentioned.
Sections 1 to 9, inclusive, relate to industrial disputes, and sections 10
to 12, inclusive, to the creation and duties of the department of labor.
For purposes of consideration, it is preferable, therefore, to reproduce
these sections separately under their appropriate heads.
ARBITRATION TRIBUNALS.
Following is a copy of the sections of the law of July 18,1900, which
relate to the conciliation and arbitration of industrial disputes:
A n A ct to aid in th e prevention and settlem ent of trade disputes, and to provide for
the publication of statistical industrial inform ation.
[Assented to July 18,1900.]
Her M ajesty, by and w ith the advice and consent o f the Senate and
House o f Commons o f Canada, enacts as follow s:
1. This act may be cited as The Conciliation Act, 1900.
2. In this act, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression
“ minister” means the member of Her Majesty’s privy council for
Canada to whom, for the time being, the governor in council may
assign the carrying out of the provisions of this act.
3. Any board established either before or after the passing of this
act, which is constituted for the purpose of settling disputes between
employers and workmen by conciliation or arbitration, or any associa
tion or body authorized by an agreement in writing made between
employers and workmen to deal with such disputes (in this act referred
to as a conciliation board) may apply to the minister for registration
under this act.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
271
2. The application must be accompanied by copies of the constitu
tion, by-laws, and regulations of the conciliation board, with such other
information as the minister may reasonably require.
3. The minister shall keep a register of conciliation boards, and enter
therein with respect to each registered board its name and principal
office, and such other particulars as he thinks expedient; and any regis
tered conciliation board shall be entitled to have its name removed
from the register on sending to the minister a written application to
that effect.
4. Every registered conciliation board shall furnish such returns,
reports of its proceedings, and other documents as the minister may
reasonably require.
5. The minister may, on being satisfied that a registered concilia
tion board has ceased to exist or to act, remove its name from the
register.
4. Where a difference exists or is apprehended between an employer
or any class o f employers and workmen, or between different classes of
workmen, the minister may, if he thinks fit, exercise all or any of the
following powers, namely: (a) Inquire into the causes and circum
stances of the difference; (b) take such steps as to him seem expedient
for the purpose of enabling the parties to the difference to meet
together, by themselves or their representatives, under the presidency
of a chairman mutually agreed upon or nominated by him or by some
other person or body, with a view to the amicable settlement of the
difference; (c) on the application of employers or workmen interested,
and after taking into consideration the existence and adequacy of
means available for conciliation in the district or trade and the cir
cumstances of the case, appoint a person or persons to act as conciliator
or as a board o f conciliation; (d) on the application of both parties to
the difference, appoint an arbitrator or arbitrators.
2. If any person is so appointed to act as conciliator, he shall inquire
into the causes and circumstances of the difference by communication
with the parties, and otherwise shall endeavor to bring about a settle
ment of the difference, and shall report his proceedings to the minister.
3. I f a settlement of the difference is effected either by conciliation
or by arbitration, a memorandum of the terms thereof shall be drawn
up and signed by the parties or their representatives, and a copy thereof
shall be delivered to and kept by the minister.
5. It shall be the duty of the conciliator to promote conditions favor
able to a settlement by endeavoring t6 allay distrust, to remove causes
of friction, to promote good feeling, to restore confidence, and to
encourage the parties to come together and themselves effect a settle
ment, and also to promote agreements between employers and employees
with a view to the submission of differences to conciliation or arbitra
tion before resorting to st rikes or lockouts.
6. The conciliator or conciliation board may, when deemed advisable,
invite others to assist them in the work of conciliation.
7. If, before a settlement is effected, and while the difference is
under the consideration of a conciliator or conciliation board, such con
ciliator or conciliation board is of opinion that some misunderstanding
or disagreement appears to exist between the parties as to the causes
or circumstances of the difference, and, with a view to the removal of
such misunderstanding or disagreement, desires an inquiry under oath
into such causes and circumstances, and, in writing signed by such
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
conciliator or the members of the conciliation board, as the case may
be, communicates to the minister such desire for inquiry, and if the
parties to the difference or their representatives in writing consent
thereto, then, on his recommendation, the governor in council may
appoint such conciliator or members of the conciliation board, or some
other person or persons, a commissioner or commissioners, as the case
may be,-under the provisions of the act respecting inquiries concerning
public matters, to conduct such inquiry, and, for that purpose, may
confer upon him or them the powers which under the said act may be
conferred upon commissioners.
8. Proceedings before any conciliation or arbitration board shall be
conducted in accordance with the regulations of such conciliation or
arbitration board, as the case may be, or as is agreed upon by the
parties to the difference or dispute.
9 I f it appears to the minister that in any district or trade adequate
means do not exist for having disputes submitted to a conciliation
board for the district or trade, he may appoint any person or persons
to inquire into the conditions of the district or trade, and to confer
with the employers and employed, and, if he thinks fit, with any local
authority or body, as to the expediency of establishing a conciliation
board for such district or trade.
.
BUREAU OF LABOR.
In 1890 the Canadian Parliament passed an act providing for the
creation of a bureau of labor statistics under the department of agri
culture. The duties of the commissioner were declared to be “ to
collect, classify, and arrange, and present in quarterly bulletins and in
yearly reports to Parliament statistics relating to all kinds of labor in
Canada, and such statistics may be classified in the manner set forth
in the schedule to this act.” No information, however, was ever pub
lished by this bureau except such as was secured through the census
schedules.
The act of July 18, 1900, however, makes definite provision for a
department of labor with the duties usually falling to such services.
Following are the sections of the act in relation to this subject:
10 With a view to the dissemination of accurate statistical and
other information relating to tne conditions of labor, the minister
shall establish and have charge of a department of labor, which shall
collect, digest, and publish in suitable form statistical and other infor
mation relating to the conditions of labor, shall institute and conduct
inquiries into important industrial questions upon which adequate
information may not at present be available, and issue at least once in
every month a publication to be known as the Labor Gazette, which
shall contain information regarding conditions of the labor market
and kindred subjects, and shall be distributed or procurable in accord
ance with terms and conditions in that behalf prescribed by the
minister.
11 The expenses incurred in the carrying out of this act shall be
defrayed out of the money provided for the purpose by Parliament.
12 An annual report with respect to the matters transacted by him
under this act shall be made by the minister to the governor-general
.
.
.
FOKEIGN LABOR LAWS.
273
and shall be laid before Parliament within the first 15 days of each
session thereof.
In pursuance of these provisions a department of labor has been
formally constituted, and the publication of a monthly bulletin under
the title of Labor Gazette was begun September, 1900.
ONTARIO.
THE LABOR CONTRACT.
In the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1897, chapter 157, this subject is
treated under the title of “ Master and Servant.” The law provides, in
general, that no voluntary contract of service or indentures entered
into by any parties shall be binding on them or either of them for a
longer time than a term of 9 years from the date of the contract.
All agreements or bargains, verbal or written, between masters and
journeymen, or skilled laborers, in any trade, calling, or craft, or be
tween masters and servants or laborers, for the performance of any
duties or service of whatsoever nature, shall, whether the perform
ance has been entered upon or not, be binding on each party for the
due fulfillment thereof; but a verbal agreement shall not exceed the
term of 1 year.
Agreements made with persons not residing in Canada for service in
Ontario are void as against such persons, if made previous to their
coming to Canada. This provision is not to be construed so as to pre
vent persons from engaging under contract or agreement skilled work
men not resident in Canada to labor in a new industry in Ontario, or
if the skilled labor can not be otherwise obtained; nor do the provi
sions apply to teachers, actors, artists, lecturers, or singers.
The following provisions; are made regarding profit sharing:
It shall be lawful in any trade, calling, business, or employment for
an agreement to be entered into between the workman, servant or
other person employed, and the master or employer, by which agree
ment a defined share in the annual or other net profits or proceeds of
the trade or business carried on by such master or employer, may be
allotted and paid to such workman, servant or other person employed,
in lieu of or in addition to his salary, wages, or other remuneration;
and such agreement shall not create any relation in the nature of
partnership,1or any rights or liabilities of copartners, any rule of law
to the contrary notwithstanding; and any person in whose favor such
agreement is made, shall have no right to examine into the accounts,
or interfere in any way in the managements or concerns of the trade,
calling or business in which he is employed under the said agreement
or otherwise; and any periodical or other statement or return by the
employer of the net profits or proceeds of the said trade, calling, busi
ness, or employment, on which he declares and appropriates the share
of profits payable under the said agreement, shall be final and conclu
sive between the parties thereto and all persons claiming under them
respectively, and shall not be impeachable upon any ground whatever.
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Every agreement of the nature mentioned in the last preceding section shall be deemed to be within the provisions of this act, unless it
purports to be excepted therefrom, or this may otherwise be inferred.
The act provides that any agreement or bargain entered into by any
employee whereby it is agreed that this act shall not apply, or that the
remedies provided shall not be available for the benefit of any person
entering into such an agreement, is null and void and of no effect as
against any such employee.
The act deals extensively with the subject of summary proceedings
before justices in cases of complaints arising out of the relations of
masters and servants as regulated by the act. Such complaints are
made before justices of the peace or police magistrates, and appeals
may be taken to the division court. The act determines the duties of
justices of the peace on receiving such complaints, limits the time
within which actions may be brought, defines the proceedings before
justices o f the peace and police magistrates, etc., the manner of issuing
summonses, mode of appeals, proceedings in cases of appeals, etc. In
cases of complaints by servants for nonpayment of wages the justice
or justices before whom action was brought may discharge the servant
from the service of the master and may direct the payment of the
wages due, not exceeding $40, together with costs, and in case of non
payment may issue warrants of distress.
APPRENTICESHIP.
A general law (R. S. O., 1897, cap. 161) regarding the status, rights,
and liabilities of minors contains, among other provisions, the follow
ing with regard to apprentices:
A parent, guardian, or other person having the care or charge of a
minor, or any charitable society being authorized by the lieutenantgovernor in council to exercise the powers conferred by this act, and
having the care or charge of a minor, the minor being a male and not
under the age of 14 years, may, with the consent o f the minor, put
and bind him as an apprentice by indenture to any respectable and
trustworthy master-mechanic, farmer, or other person carrying on a
trade or calling, for a term not to extend beyond the minority of the
apprentice; or in case of a female not under the age of 12 years, may,
with her consent, bind the minor to any respectable and trustworthy
person carrying on any trade or calling, or to domestic service with
any respectable and trustworthy person for any term not to extend
beyond the age of 18 years.
The act also gives the mother power to bind a child as an appren
tice when the father abandons his infant children. When a child is an
orphan, has been abandoned, has become a public charge, or when its
parent or guardian has been committed to jail, the mayor of a town,
police magistrate, or judge of a county court may bind the child as an
apprentice.
EOEEIGN LABOB LAWS.
275
Every master shall provide his apprentice, during the term of his
apprenticeship with suitable board, lodging and clothing, or such
equivalent therefor as is mentioned in the indenture, and shall also
properly teach and instruct him, or cause him to be taught and
instructed in his trade or calling.
If the master of the apprentice dies, the apprentice if a male, shall
by act of law, be transferred to the person (if any) who continues the
establishment o f the deceased; and such person shall hold the appren
tice upon the same terms as the deceased, if alive, would have done.
A master may transfer his apprentice, with his consent to any per
son who is competent to receive or take an apprentice and who carries
on the same kind of business.
Every apprentice shall during the term of his apprenticeship faith
fully serve his master, shall obey all his lawful and reasonable com
mands, and shall not absent himself from his service, day or night,
without his consent.
In case an apprentice absents himself from his master’s service or
employment before the time of his apprenticeship expires, he may at
any time thereafter, if found in Ontario, be compelled to serve his
master for so long a time as he so absents himself, unless he makes
satisfaction to his master for the loss sustained by such absence.
The act provides that if an apprentice refuses to serve or refuses or
neglects to perform his duty as required by law, complaint may be
made by the master to a justice of the peace or police magistrate, who
will determine what satisfaction shall be made by the apprentice to
the master. If the apprentice does not give or make such satisfaction
immediately, or give security for such satisfaction if it does not per
mit of immediate performance, he may be committed to the jail or
house of correction for a time not exceeding 3 months, but such impris
onment does not relieve him from the obligation to make up the lost
time to his master.
Any person who knowingly harbors or employs an absconding appren
tice, shall pay to the master of the apprentice the full value of the
apprentice’s labor; and such value shall be what the master would have
received from the labor and service of the apprentice if he had con
tinued faithfully in his master’s service; and the master may recover
the same in any court having jurisdiction where the apprentice has
been employed, or where the master resides.
With regard to the cancellation of an apprenticeship, the act pro
vides that a judge of a county court, or in certain cases a police magis
trate, may on the application of either the parent or the child cancel
the indenture of apprenticeship if satisfied that the same was inju
diciously or improperly entered into.
A judge of a county court or a police magistrate, on the complaint
of either party, may on proof of gross misconduct or neglect of duty
annul the indenture of apprenticeship or of service, and may under
penalty o f imprisonment compel the person in whose possession or
control the indenture is to produce it in court for cancellation.
276
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
With regard to wages of apprentices, the act provides that u all
wages reserved by any indenture or otherwise to be paid for the service
of any minor, shall, if not payable to the parent, be either payable to
the minor or to some person for the benefit of the minor.” A judge
of a county court or a police magistrate may upon complaint of
either party alter the mode of payment of wages by directing pay
ment to the apprentice, or some other person, in lieu of the manner set
out in the indenture.
Other clauses of the act relate to court jurisdiction and appeals in
cases concerning minors and apprentices.
REGULATION OF LABOR IN FACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS.
The first factory act in the Dominion of Canada was passed by the
Ontario legislature March 23, 1884. All the laws relating to this sub
ject in Ontario are now consolidated in The Ontario Factories Act
(R. S. O., 1897, cap. 256).
SCOPE OF ACT.
The term factory as defined in the act comprises (1) any prem
ises, building, workshop, etc., described in a list of 188 industries
specified in the act, which list may be added to or subtracted from by
the lieutenant-governor from time to time as he may deem necessary
or proper; (2) any premises, building, workshop, etc., where steam,
water, or other mechanical power is used to move or work any
machinery employed in preparing, manufacturing, or finishing any
article, substance, material, fabric, or compound, or is used to aid the
manufacturing process carried on there; (3) any premises, building,
workshop, etc., wherein the employer of the persons working there
has the right of access or control, and where any manual labor is
exercised by way of trade or for purposes of gain in or incidental to
the making of any article or part of any article, the altering, repair
ing, ornamenting, or finishing of any article, or adapting an article
for sale.
The Factories Act does not apply to places employing 5 or less than 5
persons, nor to dwellings where children or women, who are mem
bers of the family, are employed at home, and where neither steam,
water, nor other mechanical power is used in aid of the manufacturing
process carried on there. The fact that places or premises are in the
open air does not exclude them from the definition of a factory.
With regard to the mode of estimating the number of persons
employed the act provides:
Where any owner, occupier or tenant of any premises, building,
workshop, structure, room or place who has the right of access
thereto, and control thereof, lets or hires out or contracts for work or
labor to be done therein by any other person, and such other person
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
277
engages or employs therein any workman, child, young girl, or woman
in or for the carrying out or performing of such work or labor, or
any part thereof, every such workman, child, young girl or woman
shall, for all the purposes of this act, be considered and taken as being
in the service and employment of said owner, tenant or occupier, and
in computing the number of persons employed in any place in order
to ascertain if such place comes within the definition of a factory
according to the meaning and intent of this act, every such workman,
child, young girl, or woman shall be taken into account.
PROTECTION OF HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES.
The act in general provides that it shall not be lawful to keep a
factory so that the health of any person employed therein is likely to
be permanently injured. It further specifies:
(1)
Every factory shall be kept in a cleanly state and free from
effluvia arising from any drain, privy or any other nuisance. (2) A fac
tory shall not be so overcrowded while work is carried on therein as
to be injurious to the health of the persons employed therein. (3) Every
factory shall be ventilated in such a manner as to render harmless, so
far as is reasonably practicable, all the gases, vapors, dust or other
impurities generated in the course of the manufacturing process or
handicraft carried on therein that may be injurious to health. (4) In
every factory there shall be kept provided a sufficient number and
description of privies, earth or water closets, and urinals for the
employees of such factory; such closets and urinals shall at all times
be kept clean and well ventilated, and separate sets thereof shall be
provided for the use of male and female employees, and shall have
respectively separate approaches.
These provisions apply also to places where 2 or more persons
employ 6 or more persons in the aggregate and use the same room or
premises for carrying on any work or business within the meaning of
the act, even though neither of them employs more than 5 persons.
In such cases the employers are regarded as partners for the purposes
of this act.
In order that these provisions may be enforced the law gives to the
inspectors the power (1) to prescribe what measures shall be taken to
rectify any neglect or default in relation to ventilation, sanitation,
etc., whereby the health of employees is endangered; and (2) “ in
every factory where any process is carried on by which dust is gener
ated or inhaled by the workers to an injurious extent, if such inhala
tion can by mechanical means be prevented or partially prevented,
the inspector may, subject to such regulations, if any, as may be made
in that behalf, direct that such means shall be provided within a rea
sonable time by the employer, who in such cases shall be bound so to
provide them.”
The inspector may, for the purpose of these provisions, take with him
into any factory a physician, health officer, or other officer of the local
sanitary authority.
278
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The penalties provided for contraventions of these provisions are
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 12 months or a fine
of not more than $500, with costs of prosecution.
The above provisions regarding the sanitary condition of factories
do not apply where persons are employed at home; that is, to a private
house, room, or place which, though used as a dwelling, might, by rea
son o f the work carried on there, be a factory within the meaning
of this act, and in which neither steam, water, nor other mechanical
power is used, and in which the only persons employed are members
of the family dwelling the^e.
PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS.
As in the case of the provisions regarding the protection of the
health of employees, the law first lays down the general principle that
it shall not be lawful to keep a factory so that the safety of any per
son employed therein is endangered. Then follows the specification
of a number of special precautions that must be taken, which are as
follows:
A ll dangerous parts of mill gearing, machinery, vats, pans, caldrons,
reservoirs, wheel-races, flumes, water channels, doors, openings in the
floors or walls, bridges, and all other like dangerous structures or
places shall be as far as practicable securely guarded.
No machinery other than steam engines shall be cleaned while in
motion if the inspector so directs by written notice.
The openings of every hoistway, hatchway, elevator or well-hole
shall be at each floor provided with and protected by good and suffi
cient trapdoors or self-closing hatches, and safety-catches, or by such
other safeguards as the inspector directs, and such trapdoors shall be
kept closed at all times except when in actual use by persons author
ized by the employer to use the same.
All elevator cabs or cars, whether used for freight or passengers,
shall be provided with some suitable mechanical device to be approved
by the inspector, whereby the cab or car will be securely held in the
event of accident to the shipper, rope or hoisting machinery, or from
any similar cause.
Any other particulars which any inspector from time to time con
siders dangerous, and in regard to which he gives notice to that effect
to the employer, shall likewise as far as practicable be secured or
securely guarded.
With regard to the cleaning of machinery in motion, the act makes
the following provisions:
A child shall not be allowed to clean any part of the machinery in a
factory while the same is in motion by the aid of steam, water or other
mechanical power.
A young girl or woman shall not be allowed to clean such part of
the machinery in a factory as is mill-gearing, while the same is in
motion for the purpose of propelling any part of the manufacturing
machinery.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
279
A child or young girl shall not be allowed to work between the fixed
and traversing part of any self-acting machine while the machine is in
motion by the action of steam, water, or other mechanical power.
A child, young girl, or woman, allowed by an employer to clean or
to work in contravention of this section, shall be deemed to be employed
by him contrary to the provisions of this act, and to have contravened
said provisions.
The provisions requiring precautions to be taken against fire in fac
tories and the means of escape, are:
There shall be such means of extinguishing fire as the inspector,
acting under the regulations made in that behalf, directs in writing;
the main inside and outside doors shall open outwardly, and any door
leading to or being the principal or main entrance to the factory or to
any tower stairways, or fire- escapes therein or belonging thereto, shall
not be bolted, barred, or locked at any time during the ordinary and
usual working hours in the factory.
With regard to fire escapes the act provides:
In the case of factories over 2 stories in height, there shall be pro
vided in every room which is above the ground floor, or in so many of
the rooms above the ground floor as the inspector in writing certifies
to be in his judgment sufficient, a wire or other rope for every window
in the room, or for as many windows in the room as the inspector
certifies in writing to be sufficient.
The act then prescribes the thickness, length, fastenings, etc., of the
rope.
Every factory 3 or more stories in height, in which persons are
employed above the second story, unless supplied with a sufficient
number of tower stairways with iron doors, shall be provided with a
sufficient number of fire escapes; such fire escapes shall consist of an
iron stairway with a suitable railing, and shall be connected with the
interior of the building by Iron doors or windows, with iron shutters,
and shall have suitable landings at every story above the first, includ
ing the attic if the attic is occupied as a workroom, and such fire escapes
shall be kept in good repair and free from obstruction or incumbrance
of any kina; but any or the requirements of this subsection may be
dispensed with in any factory if the inspector so directs.
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
The employment of adult male labor is subjected to no regulation
other than the general provisions regarding the health and security of
employees in factories. The hours of labor and generally the condi
tions of employment of women and children are carefully specified in
the act. For purposes of this regulation a distinction is made between
children, young girls, and women. A “ child” is a person under the
age of 14 years, a u young girl” is a female of the age of 14 years and
under the age of 18 years, and a 6"woman” is a female 18 years of age
or over.
The direct restrictions upon the employment of these three classes are
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
as follows: No child shall be employed in any factory except “ during
the months of July, August, September, and October of any year in
such gathering in and other preparation of fruits or vegetables for
canning or desiccating purposes as may be required to be done prior
to the operation of cooking or other process of that nature requisite
in connection with the canning or desiccating of fruits or vegetables.
The place, room, or apartment in which such boys or girls may be so
employed shall be separate from any other wherein the cooking or
other process aforesaid, or the canning or desiccating of said fruits
or vegetables is carried on.”
With regard to girls under 18 years of age and boys under 16 years
of age the act gives the lieutenant-governor discretion to prohibit their
employment in factories whenever he considers the work done to be
dangerous or unwholesome.
The act provides, in general, that it shall be unlawful to employ in
a factory any child, young girl, or woman so that his or her health is
likely to be permanently injured, and imposes a penalty of imprison
ment in the county jail for not more than 6 months or a fine of not
more than $100 for violation of this provision.
Careful provision is made that all children, young persons, or women
working in a factory, or cleaning up or oiling machinery, or doing like
work, or who are found in the factory, except at meal times, when all
the machinery is stopped, shall be considered as employed for the
purposes of this act.
Following are the special provisions regarding the hours of labor
and intermissions for meals in the case of children, young girls, and
women:
To employ m a factory any child or any young girl or woman shall
be deemed to be not lawful, and so that the health of such child, young
’rl or woman is likely to be permanently injured, if in that factory
ere is any contravention of the following provisions of this section,
that is to say:
T. It shall not be lawful for a child, young girl or woman to be
employed for more than 10 hours in one day, nor more than for 60
hours in any one week, unless a different apportionment of the hours
o f labor per day has been made for the sole purpose of giving a shorter
day’s work on Saturday.
2. In every factory the employer shall allow every child and every
young girl and woman therein employed not less than 1 hour at noon
of each day for meals, but such hour shall not be counted as part of
the time herein limited as respects the employment of children, young
girls and women.
3. I f the inspector so directs in writing, the employer shall not allow
any child, young girl or woman to take meals in any room wherein any
manufacturing process is then being carried on. And if the inspector
so directs in writing the employer shall, at his own expense, provide
a suitable room or place in the factory or in connection therewith, for
the purposes of a dining and eating room for persons employed in the
factory.
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FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
281
The following exception is made with regard to the canning and
desiccating industry:
Notwithstanding anything contained in this act, women may, during
the months of July, August, September, and October in any year, be
employed to a later hour than 9 o’clock in the afternoon of any day in
any factory wherein the only work or operations carried on relate to
and are exclusively such as may be necessary for the canning or desic
cating of fruits or vegetables, and the preparation thereof for being
so canned or desiccated; but no woman shall be so employed during
the said months to a later hour than 9 o’clock in the afternoon of any
day for more than 20 days in the whole, and in reckoning such period
of 20 days, every day on which any woman has been so employed to
a later hour than 9 o’clock in the afternoon shall be taken into account.
Whenever under this provision any woman is employed later than
7 o’clock in the afternoon, she must be allowed, in addition to the hour
for the noonday meal, not less than 45 minutes for an evening meal
between 5 and 8 o’clock in the afternoon.
Special exemptions are provided for as follows:
(1) Subject to any regulations which may be made in that behalf by
the lieutenant-governor in council, it shall be lawful for the inspector
(a) where any accident which prevents the working of any factory
happens to the motive power of any machinery; or (b) where from any
other occurrence beyond the control of the employer the machinery,
or any part of the machinery, of any factory can not be regularly
worked; or (c) where the customs or exigencies of certain trades
require that the children, young girls or women working in a factory,
or in certain processes in a factory, shall be employed for a longer
period than as hereinabove provided, on due proof to his satisfaction
of such accident, occurrence,, custom or exigency of trade, to give per
mission for such exemption from the observance of the foregoing pro
visions of the act as will, in his judgment, fairly and equitably to the
proprietors of, and to the women, young girls and children in, such
factory, make up for any loss of labor from such accident or occur
rence, or meet the requirements of such custom or exigency of trade:
(2) In the case of the inspector permitting such exemption, (a) no
woman, young girl or child shall be employed before the hour of 6
o’clock in the morning nor after the hour of 9 o’clock in the evening;
and (b) the hours of labor for women, young girls and children shall
not be more than 12^ in any one day, nor more than 72£ in any one
week, and (c) such exemption shall not comprise more than 36 days,
in the whole, in any 12 mouths; and in reckoning such period of 36
days, every day on which any child, young girl, or woman has been
employed overtime shall be taken into account; and (d) during the
continuance of such exemption there shall, in addition to the hour for
the noon-day meal provided for by section 9 of this act, be allowed to
every woman, young girl, or child so employed in the factory on any
day to an hour later than 7 of the clock in the afternoon, not less than
45 minutes for another or evening meal between 5 and 8 of the clock
in the afternoon.
Whenever such exemptions are permitted the act requires that a
notice shall be affixed in the factory specifying the extent and par10332—No. 33—01----- 8
282
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
ticulars of such exemption. In all cases where exemptions allow a
child, young person, or woman to work for a longer period than is
allowed by this act the duration of such employment must be daily
recorded by the employer, in a form to be prescribed by the lieutenantgovernor.
A notice of the hours between which children, young girls, and
women are to be employed must be prepared in a form to be prescribed
by the lieutenant-governor, signed by the inspector and the employer
and hung up during the period affected by such notice in such con
spicuous place or places in the factory as the inspector may require.
The provisions of this act which relate “ to children, young girls,
and women being during any part of the times allowed for meals in a
factory, employed in a factory, or being allowed to remain in any
room,” and “ to the affixing of any notice or abstract in a factory or
specifying any matter in the notice so affixed, save and except where
such notice is a notice of the name and address of the inspector,” do
not apply “ where persons are employed at home, that is to say, to a
private house, room, or place which, though used as a dwelling, might
by reason of the work carried on there be a factory within the mean
ing o f this act, and in which neither steam, water, nor other mechanical
power is used, and in which the only persons employed are members of
the same family dwelling there,” nor do they apply “ to a factory
which is conducted on the system of not employing children or young
girls therein, and the occupier of which has served on the inspector
notice of his intention to conduct his factory upon that system.”
The act defines an employer as “ any person who in his own behalf,
or as the manager, superintendent, overseer, or agent for any person,
firm, company, or corporation, has charge of any factory and employs
persons therein.” With regard to the employment of protected per
sons it further provides:
Where in a factory the owner or hirer of a machine or implement
moved by steam, water, or other mechanical power, in or about or in
connection with which machine or implement, children, young girls,
or women are employed, is some person other than the employer as
defined by this act, and such children, young girls, or women are in
the employment and pay of the owner or hirer of such machine or
implement, in any sucn case such owner or hirer shall, so far as respects
any offense against this act, which may be committed in relation to
such children, young girls or women, be deemed to be the employer.
With regard to the liability of parents, the act provides:
The parent of any child or young girl employed in a factory in con
travention of this act shall, unless such employment is without the
consent, connivance or willful default of such parent, be guilty of an
offense in contravention of this act, and shall for each offense on sum
mary conviction thereof incur and pay a fine of not more than $50 and
costs o f prosecution, and in default of immediate payment of such fine
and costs shall be imprisoned in the common jail of the county wherein
which the offense was committed, for a period not exceeding 3 months.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
283
KEEPING OF REGISTERS, POSTING OF REGULATIONS, ETC.
In order to facilitate .tiro enforcement of The Factories Act, the
following provisions are made with regard to reporting factories,
keeping registers, and posting notices:
Every person shall, within 1 month after he begins to occupy a
factory, serve on the inspector a written notice containing the name
of the factory, the place where it is situated, the address to which he
desires his letters to be addressed, the nature of the work, the nature
and amount of the moving power therein, and the name of the firm
under which the business of the factory is to be carried on, and in
default shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $30.
In every factory the employer shall keep, in the form and with the
particulars prescribed bv any regulation made by the lieutenantgovernor in council in that behalf, a register of the women, young
girls and children employed, in that factory and of their employment,
and of other matters under this act, and shall send to the inspector
such extracts from any register kept in pursuance of this act as the
inspector from time to time requires for the execution of his duties
under this act, and in default thereof such employer shall be liable to
a fine not exceeding $30.
There shall be affixed at the entrance of a factory and in such other
parts thereof as the inspector directs, and be constantly kept so affixed
in the form directed by the inspector and in such position as to be
easily read by the persons employed in the factory (1) such notices of
the provisions of this act, and of any regulations made thereunder as
the inspector deems necessary to enable the persons employed in the
factory to become acquainted with their rights, liabilities and duties
under this act; (2) a notice of the name and address of the inspector;
(3) a notice of the clock (if any) by which the period of employment
and times for meals in the factory are regulated; (4) every other notice
and document (if any) required by this act to be affixed in the factory.
A fine not exceeding $20 is provided for contraventions of these
provisions.
The act contains detailed provisions regarding the service of notices,
which are not of sufficient general interest to warrant their reproduc
tion. The willful making of any false entry in any register, notice, or
other document required by the act or the willful making use of any
such false document or declaration is punished by imprisonment for
not more than 6 months or a fine not exceeding $100, with costs.
The act specifies by means of appended schedules, the exact form
in which the various registers, notices, etc., required by law are to
be prepared.
REPORTING OF ACCIDENTS.
In case of a fire or accident in any factory occasioning any bodily
injury to any person employed therein, whereby he is prevented from
working for more than 6 days next after the fire or accident, a notice
shall be sent to the inspector in writing by the employer forthwith
after the expiration of the said 6 days, and if such notice is not so
sent the employer shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $30.
284
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
In case of an explosion occurring in a factory, whether any person
is injured thereby or not, the fact of such explosion haying occurred
shall be reported to the inspector in writing by the employer within
24 hours next after the explosion takes place. And if such notice is
not so sent, the employer shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $30.
Where in a factory any person is killed from any cause, or is injured
from any cause, in a manner likely to prove fatal, written notice of
the accident shall be sent to the inspector within 24 hours after the
occurrence thereof, and if such notice is not so sent, the employer
shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $30.
INSPECTION OF FACTORIES.
The general charge of the enforcement of The Factories Act is
intrusted to the lieutenant-governor, and, as .has already been shown
in the foregoing provisions, he is given wide discretionary powers in
relation to the issuing of orders, regulations, etc., concerning condi
tions of labor. For the actual work of supervision he is directed to
appoint an inspector of factories, and from time to time, as may be
necessary, a female inspector. The salaries of the inspectors are fixed
by the legislature.
Following are the powers and duties of inspectors as provided by
the act:
(1)
The inspector shall for the purposes of the execution of this
act, and for enforcing the regulations made under the authority thereof,
have power to do all or any of the following things, namely,
(a) To enter, inspect and examine at all reasonable times by day or
night any factory and any part thereof, when he has reasonable cause
to believe that any person is employed therein, and to enter by day
any place which he has reasonable cause to believe to be a factory;
(b) To require the production of any register, certificate, notice or
document required by this act to be kept, and to inspect, examine, and
copy the same;
(c) To take with him in either case a constable into a factory in
which he has reasonable cause to apprehend any serious obstruction in
the execution of his duty;
(d) To make such examination and inquiry as may be necessary to
ascertain whether the provisions of this act are complied with, so far
as respects the factory and the persons employed therein;
(e) To examine, either alone or in the presence of any other person,
as he thinks fit, with respect to matters under this act, every person
whom he finds in a factory, or whom he has reasonable cause to believe
to be, or to have been, within the two preceding months, employed in
a factory, and to require such person to be so examined, and to sign a
declaration of the truth of the matters respecting which he is so
examined.
(f) For the purposes of any investigation, inquiry or examination
made by him under the authority of this act, to administer an oath to
and to summon any person to give evidence;
(g) To exercise such other powers as may be necessary for carrying
this act into effect.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
285
(2) The employer and his agents and servants shall furnish the means
required by the inspector as necessary for an entry, inspection, exami
nation, inquiry or the exercise of his powers under this act in relation
to such factory.
(3) Every person who willfully delays the inspector in the exercise
of any power under this section, or who fails to comply with a requisi
tion or summons of the inspector in pursuance of this section, or to
produce any certificate or document which he is required by or in pur
suance of this act to produce, or who conceals or prevents a child,
young girl or woman from appearing before or being examined by
the inspector, or attempts so to conceal or prevent a child, young girl
or woman, shall be deemed to obstruct an inspector in the execution of
his duties under this act; but no one shall be required under this section
to answer any question, or to give any evidence, tending to criminate
himself.
(4) Where the inspector is obstructed in the execution of his duties
under this act, the person obstructing him shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding $30; and where an inspector is so obstructed in a factory,
the employer shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $30, or where the
offense is committed at night, $100.
Where it is made to appear to the satisfaction of the inspector at the
time of discovering the offense that the employer had used all due dili
gence to enforce the execution of this act, and also by what person
such offense was committed and also that it was committed without
the knowledge, consent or connivance of the employer and in contra
vention of his orders, then the inspector shall proceed against the
person whom he believes to be the actual offender in the first instance,
without first proceeding against the employer.
Where an offense for which an employer is liable under this act to a
fine has in fact been committed by some agent, servant, workman or
other person, such agent, servant, workman or other person shall be
liable to the same fine, penalty or punishment for such offense as if he
were the employer.
The act makes special provisions with regard to the entry by inspec
tors of dwellings used as factories. These are:
(1) The inspector, before entering, in pursuance of the powers con
ferred by this act, without the consent of the occupier, any room or
place actually used as a dwelling, as well as for a factory, shall, on an
affidavit or statutory declaration of facts and reasons, obtain written
authority to do so from the lieutenant-governor in council, or such
warrant as is hereinafter mentioned, from a justice of the peace or
police magistrate.
(2) The affidavit or statutory declaration above mentioned may be
inspected or produced in evidence, in all respects the same as an infor
mation on oath before a justice.
(3) A justice of the peace or police magistrate, if satisfied, by infor
mation on oath, that there is reasonable cause to suppose that any
enactment of this act is contravened in any such room or place as
aforesaid, may, in his discretion, grant a warrant under his hand,
authorizing the inspector named therein, at any time within the period
named therein, but not exceeding 1 month from the date thereof, to
enter in pursuance of this act, the room or place named in the war
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
rant, and exercise therein the powers of inspection and examination
conferred by this act; and the fines and provisions of this act, with
respect to obstruction of the inspector, shall apply accordingly.
The act requires that every inspector shall be furnished with a
formal certificate of appointment, and that on applying for admission
to a factory he must produce it if required by the employer.
The annual and other reports of the inspector required by the lieutenant-governor must be laid before the legislative assembly.
All prosecutions under this act must be brought and heard before
any two justices of the peace in and for the county where the offense was
committed, and in cities and towns where there is a police magistrate,
before such an officer. The procedure is governed by The Ontario
Summary Convictions Act.
A ll fines or money penalties must be paid by the justice or magis
trate to the inspector,, who must forthwith pay the same over to the
treasurer of the Province.
Other provisions are made in the act with respect to summary pro
ceedings, limitation of prosecutions, evidence, power of the court in
addition to inflicting fines, etc.
BAKERIES.
Special provisions are made in The Shops Regulation Act, which
appears as chapter 257 of the Revised Statutes of 1897, concerning
bake shops. A “ bake shop” is defined as “ any building, premises,
workshop, structure, room or place wherein is carried on the manu
facture or sale of confectionery, or of bread, biscuits, cakes or any
other food product made from flour, or from meal, or from both, in
whole or in part, and the said bake shop shall include also any room
or rooms used for storing the confectionery, bread, cakes, biscuits
and other food products.” The word “ employer” in this case means
“ any person who in his own behalf, or as manager, superintendent,
overseer or agent for any person, firm, company or corporation, has
charge of any bake shop, or employs any person or persons therein.”
Following are the special regulations which apply to bake shops:
All bake shops to which this act applies shall be constructed as to
lighting, heating, ventilating and draining in such a manner as not
to be detrimental or injurious to the health of any person working
therein, and shall also be kept, at all times, in a clean and sanitary
condition, so as to secure the production and preservation o f all the
food products therein in a good and wholesome condition.
Every bake shop shall be provided with a proper wash room, closet,
and other conveniences necessary for the healtn and comfort of the
persons employed therein, the wash room, closets and other conven
iences to be separate from the bake shop, and such wash room, closets
and other conveniences shall be kept clean and in a sanitary condition.
The sleeping place or places o f the employees of every bake shop
shall be entirely separate from the bake shop, and no person shall be
allowed to sleep in such shop.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
287
Every bake shop shall be provided with proper means and facilities
of escape in case of fire, such means or facilities to be to the satisfac
tion of the inspector.
No employer shall require, permit or suffer any employee in any
bake shop to work on Sunday, nor more than 12 hours on any one day,
or more than 60 hours in any one week, except by permission of the
inspector given in writing to the employer, and a copy of which per
mission shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the bake shop.
No employer shall knowingly require, permit or suffer any person
to work in his bakeshop who is affected with consumption of the lungs,
or with scrofula, or with any venereal disease, or with any communi
cable skin disease, and every employer is hereby required to maintain
himself and his employees in a clean and healthy condition while
engaged in the manufacture, handling or sale of such food products.
The penalties provided for violations of the provisions regardingbake
shops or for noncompliance with the lawful requirements of inspectors
regarding the same are from $20 to $50 for the first offense, not exceed
ing $100 for the second offense, and imprisonment in jail for from 6
months to 1 year for the third and subsequent offenses. In default of
payment of fine in the case of the first or second offense, imprisonment
for from 30 days to 6 months may be substituted.
THE SWEATING SYSTEM.
An amendment to The Ontario Shops Regulation Act, adopted in
1900, makes the following provisions regarding sweat shops and sweat
shop products:
1. Every person contracting for the manufacture of coats, vests,
trousers, overalls, cloaks, caps, drawers, blouses, waists, waist bands,
underwear, neckwear, shirts, or any parts thereof, or any other gar
ment or article of clothing, or giving out for improvement, manufac
ture or alteration, incomplete material from which the said articles,
or any of them, are to be made, or to be wholly or partially altered or
improved, shall keep a written register of the names and addresses,
serially numbered, of all persons to whom such work or material is
given to be made, altered or improved, or with whom he may have
contracted to do the same; and such register shall at all times be kept
prominently posted up in the office of the person so giving out such
articles for manufacture, alteration or improvement.
2. Every article so made, altered, or improved, as aforesaid, shall
bear upon a label attached thereto the register number, or the name
and address of the person to whom the same was given for manufac
ture, alteration, or improvement, and any false statement upon such
label shall render the person making the same liable to the penalties
provided by this act for making a false ehtry in any register, notice,
certificate, or document.
3. No person shall knowingly sell or expose for sale any of the arti
cles mentioned in this section and made in any dwelling house, tenement
house, or building forming part of or in the rear of a tenement or
dwelling house, without a permit from the inspector, stating that the
place of manufacture is thoroughly clean and otherwise in good sani
tary condition. Such permit shall state the maximum number of per
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
sons allowed to be employed upon the said premises and shall not be
granted until an inspection of the premises is made by the inspector.
The permit may be revoked by the inspector at any time if, in his
opinion, the protection of the health of the community, or of those so
employed upon the said premises, render such revocation desirable.
4. When any article mentioned in this section is found by the
inspector to be made under unclean or unhealthy conditions, or upon
any unregistered premises, he shall seize and impound the same and
affix thereto a label bearing the word “ unsanitary” printed on a tag
not less than 4 inches in length; and shall immediately notify the local
board of health, whose duty it shall be to disinfect the said article,
and thereupon remove such label. The owner of any such article shall
after it has been disinfected be entitled to have the same returned to
him upon first paying the costs of such seizure and disinfection.
5. If the inspector finds evidence of unclean or unhealthy conditions,
or infectious or contagious disease present in any workshop, or in any
tenement or dwelling where any of the articles hereinbefore mentioned
is made, altered or improved, or in any goods manufactured or in proc
ess of manufacture on such premises, he shall forthwith report the
same to the local board of health, and the said local board of health
shall forthwith issue such order as the public health may require, or
may condemn and destroy all such infectious and contagious articles,
or any articles made, altered or improved, or in process or manufacture
under unclean or unsanitary conditions as aforesaid.
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS.
The legal regulations concerning conditions of labor in commercial
establishments are contained in The Shops Regulation Act (Revised
Statutes, 1897, cap. 257). “ Shop ” is defined as “ any building or por
tion of a building, booth, stall or place where goods are handled, or
exposed or offered for sale, and any such building, portion of a build
ing, booth, stall or place where goods are manufactured and to which
The Ontario Factories Act does not apply, and laundries wherein
neither steam, water power, nor electric power is used in aid of the
work carried on; but shall not include any place where the only trade
or business carried on is that of a tobacconist, news agent, hotel, inn,
tavern or any premises wherein, under license, spirituous or fermented
liquor is sold by retail for consumption on the premises. A part of a
shop may for the purposes of this act be taken to be a separate shop.”
The act does not apply to a shop where the only persons employed
are at home, that is, members of the same family, or to members of
the employer’s family dwelling in a house to which the shop is
attached.
The word 44week” means 44the period between midnight on Sunday
night and midnight on the succeeding Saturday night.”
It may be said that as regards the general scheme of regulation
the provisions of The Factories Act, where applicable, are followed
closely or even textually. Such, for instance, are the provisions regard
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
289
ing water closets, nuisances, etc., and the obligation of employers to
conform to the directions of inspectors with regard to sanitary arrange
ments. The act also contains the general provision that “ every shop
shall be kept sufficiently ventilated and in a cleanly state, and free
from effluvia arising from any drain, privy, or any other nuisance,
and shall not be so overcrowded by employees while work is carried
on therein as to be injurious to the health of the persons employed
therein. ”
As regards conveniences for eating meals the law contains the inter
esting provision that:
If the inspector so directs in writing, the employer shall, at his own
expense, provide a suitable room or place in the shop, or in connection
therewith, for the purposes of a dining or eating room for persons
employed in the shop, and no part of such expense shall be payable by
or chargeable to the wages of any employee.
The only provisions of this act which relate to the security of
employees are such as relate to ropes and fire escapes for the preven
tion of accidents in case of fire, and these provisions are similar to
those made in The Factories Act.
The most important provisions are naturally those relating to the
employment of women and children.
The same distinction is here made with regard to the classification
and definition of the protected classes as is found in The Factories Act.
The Shops Regulation Act provides in general that no person under
10 years of age shall be employed in any shop.
With regard to the hours of employment of protected persons, it
provides that:
No child, young girl or woman shall be employed in or about a shop
on any day of the week, other than Saturday or the day next before a
statutory holiday,before the hour of 7 o’clock in the morning, or after
the hour of 6 o’clock in the evening.
No child, young girl or woman shall be employed in or about a shop
on Saturday or on the day next before any statutory holiday before
the hour of 7 o’clock in the morning or after the hour of 10 o’clock
in the evening.
There shall be allowed to every child, young girl or woman so
employed not less than one hour for the noonday meal on each day,
and when so employed after 6 o’clock in the evening not less than 45
minutes for another or evening meal.
Provided that a child, young girl or woman may be employed in a
shop upon 1 day other than Saturday, and the day before a statutory
holiday, in any week until the hour of 10 o’clock in the evening, but
in that case such child, young girl or woman shall not be so employed
on Saturday in such week after the hour of 6 o’clock in the evening.
The above restrictions regarding hours of labor and meal time do
not apply in any shop from December 14 to December 24, inclusive, in
each year.
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The act further provides that:
A child, young girl or woman who has been previously on any day
employed in any factory as defined by The Ontario Factories Act, for
the number of hours permitted by the said act, shall not, to the knowl
edge of the employer, be employed on the same day in a shop, or
shall not be employed therein for a longer period than will complete
such number o f hours.
When any child, young girl or woman is employed in or about a
shop contrary to the provisions of Part I of this act, the employer
shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to a fine of not less than $10
nor more than $25 for each person so employed, with costs of the
prosecution, and in default of immediate payment of such fine and
costs, to be imprisoned in the common jail of the county within which
the offense was committed for a period of not less than 1 month nor
more than 3 months.
The providing of seats for females and the granting of permission .
to use them when their work will not be seriously interfered with is
made compulsory upon employers. Following are the provisions of
the law regarding this matter:
In any shop in which females are employed the employer shall at
all times provide and keep therein a sufficient and suitable seat or chair
for the use of every such female, and shall permit her to use such
chair or seat when not necessarily engaged in the work or duty for
which she is employed in such shop; nor shall the employer by any
open or covert threat, rule, or other intimation, expressed or implied,
or by any contrivance, prevent any such female employee using such
seat or cnair as aforesaid.
Any person offending against any of the provisions of this section
shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to a fine of not less than $10,
nor more than $25, with costs of prosecution, and, in default of imme
diate payment of such fines and costs, to be imprisoned in the common
jail of the county within which the offense was committed for a period
of not less than 1 month nor more than 3 months.
The act makes the following provisions for the keeping of registers
in shops:
In every shop in which any child, young girl or woman is employed,
there shall be provided and kept a correct register of the name, age
and place of residence of every such child, young girl or woman
employed, and such register shall at all times, on demand, be open to
the free inspection of the inspector.
As in the case of The Factories Act, this act requires the posting of
the name and address of the inspector and such notices and regulations
as the inspector may deem necessary to acquaint the employees with
their rights, duties, and liabilities under this act, a fine not exceeding
$20 being provided for violations of this provision.
The act requires that notices must be served in writing- by deliver
ing the same to or at the residence of the person or, where he is an
employer, by delivering a copy to his agent or some other person in
the shop where he is an employer.
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291
This act makes the same provisions as The Factories Act with regard
to *the penalty for falsifying registers, certificates, etc., except that
in case of fine the amount in this case is not more than $50 nor less
than $20.
For the enforcement of this act the lieutenant-governor is given
practically the same powers and duties as are conferred upon him by
The Factories Act. He can appoint both male and female inspectors,
and these officials have practically the same duties and powers as the
factory inspectors. Interference with the inspectors is punished by a
fine of not more than $20 and costs, and, in default, imprisonment not
exceeding 30 days. Prosecutions are conducted before the same courts
and by means of the same proceedings as in the case of The Factories
Act.
SUNDAY LABOR.
The only provisions regarding Sunday labor are those contained in
chapter 246 of the Revised Statutes of 1897, being a general act relat
ing to the observance of the Lord’s Day. The important section of
this act as regards labor is the following:
It is not lawful for any merchant, tradesman, farmer, artificer,
mechanic, workman, laborer, or other person whatsoever on the Lord’s
Day, to sell or publicly show forth, or expose, or offer for sale, or to
purchase, any goods, chattels, or other personal property, or any real
estate whatsoever, or to do or exercise any worldly labor, business, or
work of his ordinary calling (conveying travelers or Her Majesty’s
mail, by land or by water, selling drugs and medicines, and other
works of necessity and works of charity only excepted).
ARBITRATION TRIBUNALS.
Legislation in Ontario having as its purpose the encouragement of
the settlement of industrial disputes by conciliation or arbitration was
enacted over 25 years ago. In 1873 was passed “ an act respecting
councils of conciliation and of arbitration for settling industrial dis
putes.” This act proved entirely ineffective on account, as reported
by the Royal Commission on Labor, 1889, of the provision that
“ nothing in this act contained shall authorize the said board to estab
lish a rate of wages, or price of labor, or workmanship, at which the
workmen shall be paid.” This provision was accordingly changed by
an amendment in 1890 permitting the parties to a dispute to agree that
the board shall have such power.
As no information is available concerning whether the act has been
availed of even in its amended form, and particularly as a general con
ciliation and arbitration act for the whole of Canada has just been
passed, it will be sufficient to give the main character of the Ontario
act without entering into details.
The law as it now stands (R. S. ()., 1897, cap. 158) is essentially
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
different from the original act of 1873. It provides that the lieutenantgovernor shall appoint a suitable person to act as registrar of councils
of conciliation and arbitration for the settlement of industrial disputes.
The duties of such registrar are to receive, register, and deal with all
applications by employers or employees for the reference of any
dispute or claim within the meaning of the act to a council of concil
iation or council of arbitration. He has authority to issue all sum
monses to witnesses to attend to give evidence, to issue all notices, and
generally to perform all necessary acts in connection with the sittings
of the councils.
The act mentions 8 classes of claims or disputes to which its provi
sions apply. These are:
1. The price to be paid for work done, or in the course of being
done, whether such disagreement shall have arisen with respect to
wages, or to the hours or times of working;
2. Damage alleged to have been done to work, delay in finishing the
same, not finishing the same in a good and workmanlike manner or
according to agreement; or a dispute respecting materials supplied to
employees and alleged to be bad, or unfit, or unsuitable;
3. The price to be paid for mining any mineral or substance mined,
or obtained by mining, hewing, quarrying or other process; or the
allowances, if any, to be made for bands, refuse, faults, or other causes
whereby the mining of the mineral substance is impeded;
4. The performance or nonperformance of any stipulation or matter
alleged to have been in an agreement, whether in writing or not;
5. Insufficient or unwholesome food supplied to e m p k ^ e e s where
there is an agreement to victual them, or to supply them with provi
sions or stores of any kind;
6. Ill-ventilated or dangerous workings or places in mines, or un
wholesome or insanitary rooms or other places of accommodation, in
which work is being performed, or want of necessary conveniences in
connection with such rooms or places;
7. The dismissal or employment under agreement of any employee
or number of employees;
8. The dismissal of an employee or employees for their connection
with any trade or labor organization.
No claim or dispute can be the subject of conciliation or arbitration
under this act unless the employees affected number at least 10.
Councils of conciliation consist of 4 members, 2 nominated by each
party. They are created where the parties mutually agree to the
constitution of such a body, and so inform the registrar, informing
him at the same time of the persons whom it is desired shall act as
conciliators. The registrar then attends to the summoning of the
council and its subsequent proceedings. I f possible the parties should
agree to a joint written statement of their case. The council must
make a written report to the registrar. I f an agreement is not reached
the parties can then refer the matter to the proper council of arbitration.
Provision is made for 2 councils of arbitration, which shall be per
manent bodies. The one has jurisdiction over disputes affecting steam
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
293
and street railway companies and their employees, and the other to
disputes affecting other than the railway companies and their employ
ees. Each council consists of 3 members, 2 appointed by the lieuten
ant-governor on the recommendation of the employers and of the
employees, respectively, and the third by these 2. In case a third
member can not be agreed upon the lieutenant-governor must appoint
an impartial person. The term of office of each member is 2 years.
The third member is president of the council, and the same person can
be president of both councils. Members are reeligible.
Careful provision is made for the cases where members are disquali
fied from serving, as, for instance, when they have been convicted of
a criminal offense, the filling of vacancies, etc. When a dispute has
been referred to a council, the members of the council of conciliation
may, if the parties both so agree, sit as assessors.
Following is the method of ascertaining the recommendation of
employers and employees as to the persons to be appointed on their
recommendation as members of the councils of arbitration:
For the persons to be recommended by the employers each employer
having at least 10 men in his employment, every organization, whether
incorporated or unincorporated, representing the interests of employ
ers, each member of which has at least 10 persons in his service, and
each board of trade legally constituted, has 1 vote.
For the person to be recommended by the employees as a member
of the council in matters not belonging to railways, every trade and
labor council, every district assembly of the Knights of Labor, every
federated council of building trades, every lawfully incorporated trade
union, every organization of wage-earners of an industrial calling
primarily constituted for and actually and bona fide operated for the
regulation of wages and hours of labor as between employers and
employed, shall be entitled to 1 vote, but this does not include coop
erative societies. For choosing the member of the council on railway
matters every organization in the Province, whether incorporated or
not, exclusively representing the interests of railway employees, is
entitled to 1 vote.
Notice of an election is given by the registrar by publication in the
Ontario Gazette, calling on all organizations entitled to a vote to com
municate with him. He then makes up a list of voters as complete as
possible and mails to each a blank ballot, which must be returned by
mail to him with the indication of the person voted for. In case either
employers or employees, or both, fail to recommend any person to
represent them on the councils the lieutenant-governor may appoint
to the vacancy.
Disputes may be referred directly to the council of arbitration with
out the first appeal to a council of conciliation, or after an ineffectual
reference to the latter body has been made. The following provisions
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
regarding the procedure for arbitration are important and are there
fore reproduced in full:
I f in case of a claim or dispute within the meaning of this act, one
party has lodged an application with the registrar requesting that the
dispute or claim be referred to a council of conciliation, and appoint
ing 2 conciliators for the purpose, and notice of the application and of
the appointment of conciliators has been duly given to the other party,
and such other party has not within a reasonable period appointed
conciliators, and the party lodging the application has not proceeded
to a strike or lockout, as the case may be, the council of arbitration,
if it thinks fit, may proceed as in case of an abortive reference to a
council of conciliation, and such council may report their decision, as
to the proper settlement of the dispute in question and also in case the
council thinks proper, a concise statement as to the origin of the dis
pute, and the causes inducing the same, and what parties, if any, are
m the opinion o f the council mainly responsible for the same.
The mayor o f any city or town upon being notified that a strike or
lockout is threatened, or has actually occurred within the municipality,
shall at once notify the registrar thereof by writing, stating the name
o f the employer, the nature of the dispute, and number of employees
involved, as far as his information will enable him so to do.
It shall be the duty of each of the councils of arbitration appointed
under the said act upon being notified, or on being otherwise made
aware, that a strike or a lockout has occurred or is threatened, to place
itself, as soon as practicable, in communication with the parties con
cerned and to endeavor by mediation to effect an amicable settlement,
and if in the judgment of the council it is deemed best to inquire into
the cause or causes of the controversy it shall proceed as provided in
this act in the case of a reference.
The council can require either of the parties to name not more than
three persons to represent them. 66The council of arbitration shall
sit and conduct its proceedings as in open court, and in making its
decisions shall be governed by the principles of equity and good con
science.” The president is given all the powers of a judge save that
of committing for contempt. The report or award must be made
within 1 month after the hearing.
Following is the provision regarding the enforcement of awards:
Either party to a reference to either council of arbitration at any
time, before award made, may by writing under the hands of such
party agree to be bound by the award of the council upon the reference,
m the same manner as parties are bound upon an award made pursuant
to an ordinary submission in writing to arbitration under the arbitra
tion act. Every agreement so to be bound made by one party shall be
communicated to the other party by the registrar, and if such other
party also agrees in like manner to be bound by the award, then the
award may, on the application of either party, be enforced in the same
manner as an award on an ordinary submission in writing to arbitra
tion may be enforced under the said act.
The councils are given large powers to visit the localities of strikes
being investigated, to enforce the attendance of witnesses, to admin
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
295
ister oaths, etc. No party to any proceeding either before a council
of conciliation or a council of arbitration shall be represented by coun
sel or attorney or by any paid agent other than one or more of the
persons between whom the dispute or claim has arisen. No fees of
any kind are to be paid. The expenses of the councils, witness fees,
etc., are paid by the State. Members of a council of conciliation are
paid at the rate of $3 for preliminary meetings, $4 for whole day, and
$2 for half-day sittings. The compensation of members of the councils
of arbitration is fixed by the lieutenant-governor subject to legislative
provision being made therefor.
Annexed to the act are copies of the various forms to be used in
respect to the application of the act.
BUREAU OF LABOR.
Provision for the creation of a bureau somewhat analogous to the
modern bureau of labor statistics was first made in 1882. By the act
of March 10, of that year, it was provided that a bureau of industries
should be created under the department of agriculture. The duties of
this bureau, however, related almost wholly to agriculture. The first
direct effort of the bureau to collect statistics of labor was in 1884, and
in the years immediately following a certain amount of statistics of labor
was published. In the later reports, however, no information was
published dealing specially with the question of labor statistics outside
of that gathered in regard to farm labor.
Finally, in 1900, an act was passed creating a bureau of labor with
the sole function of publishing statistics of labor. A copy of this act
follows:
1. There shall be attached to the department of the commissioner of
public works a bureau, to be styled the bureau of labor;
2. The lieutenant-governor may appoint a secretary of the said
bureau, and may also appoint such other officers as may be necessary
for the proper conduct of the bureau.
3. It shall be the object of the bureau to collect, assort and systema
tize and publish information and statistics relating to employment,
wages and hours of labor throughout the Province,—cooperation,
strikes, or other labor difficulties, trade unions, labor organizations,
the relations between labor and capital, and other subjects of interest
to workingmen, with such information relating to the commercial,
industrial and sanitary condition of workingmen, and the permanent
prosperity of the industries of the Province, as the bureau may be able
to gather.
QUEBEC.
No other Province of Canada has a system of labor laws in any way
as comprehensive as that of Ontario, which has just been described. It
would be of little value, therefore, to attempt their consideration.
Two of the other Provinces, however, Quebec and Manitoba, have
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
enacted factories acts and exceptions should be made in their cases.
A statement of the chief provisions of these acts is therefore given in
the following pages.
REGULATION OF LABOR IN FACTORIES AN D WORKSHOPS.
A factories act was first passed in Quebec in 1885. It was subse
quently amended from time to time. In their present form the acts
regarding factory work were passed January 8, 1894, and are entitled
respectively, “ An act respecting industrial estabishments ” and “ An
act to amend the law respecting the board of health of the Province of
Quebec.” Both of these acts provide for the issuing of regulations
concerning industrial work by the lieutenant-governor which shall have
all the force of law. In pursuance of this provision each act has been
supplemented by regulations which specify in great detail the precau
tions that must be taken against fire and accident and for the protec
tion of the health of employees. The first regulation issued was that
concerning the hygiene of establishments, dated June 6,1895. It was
followed October 81, 1895, by regulations concerning the prevention
of accidents, precautions to be taken in case of fire, etc.
Following is an account of the provisions of these acts and regula
tions.
SCOPE OF ACTS.
The acts apply to ail manufactories, works, workshops, work yards,
and mills of every kind and description and their dependencies irre
spective of the number of persons employed. Mines are excluded,
however, as they are regulated by a special law. Domestic workshops,
by which is meant “ every establishment in which only the members
of the family are employed, either under the authority of the father
or mother, or of the tutor or guardian, provided such establishment
be not classed as dangerous, unhealthy, or inconvenient, or that the
work be not done by a steam boiler or other motor ” are also excepted
unless a strange workman is there employed. The lieutenant-governor
in the regulations to be issued by him may also except other premises.
No such exceptions, however, have been made.
PROTECTION OF HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES.
The act in relation to industrial establishments contains only the fol
lowing general provision regarding the protection of the health of
employees:
They [the industrial establishments] must also be kept in the cleanest
possible manner; be sufficiently lighted and have a sufficient quantity
of air for the number of persons employed; be provided with effective
means for expelling the dust produced "during the course of the work,
and also the gases and vapors which escape and the refuse which results
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
297
from it; in a word, fulfill all sanitary conditions necessary for the
health of the persons employed, as required by and in conformity
with the regulations made by the board of health of the Province of
Quebec, with the approval of the lieutenant-governor in council.
This section was supplemented by the act of the same date in rela
tion to the board of health, which provided that:
The board of health of the Province may, with the approval of the
lieutenant-governor in council, make and amend the regulations which
it deems necessary for securing health in the industrial establishments,
prescribed for by the fourth section of chapter second and title seventh
of these statutes and relating to: (a) The supply of drinking water;
(b) lighting; (c) cubic space; (d) aeration and ventilation; (e) cleanli
ness and cleaning; (f) tne expulsion and manner of disposing of dust,
gas, vapor and waste produced in the course of work; (g) the system
of drainage, including sinks, lavatories, urinals, closets, and the method
of disposing of liquids used in industry; (h) the temperature of the
premises.
The regulations that have been issued in pursuance of this power, as
above referred to, cover all of these points very fully. They regulate
carefully the measures that must be taken for the supply of a good
quality of drinking water, prohibit the location of wells from which
this supply is drawn too near drains, cemeteries, closets, or other
nuisance. When the natural light is not sufficient employers can be
required to use artificial illumination. From October 1 to May 1
there must be at least 400 cubic feet of air space per employee. Dur
ing the intervals of rest the workroom must be thoroughly ventilated
and the air must be entirely renewed before beginning or after ending
each day’s work. When necessary the sanitary physician can order
the use of mechanical devices for securing at least 1,000 cubic feet of
air per employee per hour. The establishments must be kept clean
and neat. Where necessary the ground must be rendered impermea
ble and the walls glazed or otherwise prepared. Walls and ceilings
must be whitewashed at least once a year unless they are painted, in
which case they must be washed with soap and water at least once a
year. Every precaution must be taken against injury to employees
by vapors, gases, dust, chips, etc. Draft chimneys, hoods, and other
devices must be provided where necessary. The pulverization of or
other operations in connection with irritating substances must be done
in closed vessels. When necessary operations giving rise to injurious
vapors or dust must be performed in special rooms. The location,
maintenance, and care of drains, urinals, water-closets, etc., are sub
jected to rigid regulations.
A general provision declares that no industrial establishment can be
established without the consent of the municipal council being obtained,
but the municipal councils can not make regulations in conflict with
those just given.
10332—No. 33—01----- 9
298
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Workmen must not take their meals in the workshops nor in any
place where work is carried on if the inspector forbids it, and the
employers must provide places where the employees can warm their
food and take their meals sheltered from cold, rain, or snow.
PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS.
Most of the provisions regarding the precautions to be taken against
accidents are contained in the regulations issued by the lieutenantgovernor, the act itself doing little more than providing that all neces
sary precautions shall be taken, and that the lieutenant-governor shall
specify what these shall be. A biief summary of the more important
provisions will show the general scope of these regulations.
In the erection or alteration of buildings care must be taken to avoid
at the, outset all defects in respect to their safety and salubrity which
it would be difficult to remedy later on. For that purpose the archi
tect’s plans should be first submitted to the inspector. Establishments
already in existence should be made to conform to proper require
ments as soon as possible. As regards arrangements outside of build
ings, passageways used by workmen must not be slippery, and must
be kept clear of all articles not required for the work; platforms and
elevated passageways must be provided with guards or railings; trans
missions cf power by means of belting, cables, or shafts, in a place
through which workmen must pass, must be closed in to a height of 6
feet above the ground. Excavations, vats, etc., must be covered or
well guarded; placards and life-saving apparatus must be placed in
dangerous places; hoists outside of buildings must have a close fence
5 feet high on the level of their lowest loading platform. Cranes and
derricks worked by hand must be provided with pawls; if the load is
to descend by its own weight they must be provided with a brake
and a cover for the gearing.
Turning now to the interior of buildings the provisions may be
divided into those relating to (1) lighting; (2) hoists, elevators, etc.;
(3) wells, vats, and other dangerous places; (4) machinery and gearing;
(5) means of egress, stairways, and corridors; (6) precautions against
fire, and (7) steam boilers. The regulations regarding each of these
subjects are as follows:
The workrooms, staircases, passages, elevators, exits, and all places
where the apparatus for signalling to stop machinery or set it in
motion are placed, must be properly lighted.
Hoists, elevators and lifts shall be so guided and disposed that the
shaft in which the cage of the hoist and the counterweights run, shall
be closed in; that the doors of the shaft shall be self-closing, and that
nothing can fall from the cage of the hoist into the shaft.
Pits for fly wheels and other movable pieces of machinery, openings
in floors, walls, wells, traps, vats, basins, tanks of corrosive or heated
liquids and other dangerous spots or objects must be fenced in.
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299
The provisions regarding the safeguarding of machinery are espe
cially important and mention in great detail the precautions that must
be taken. The main driving gear of any transmission must be pro
vided with a system of disconnecting gear. When the same motor
drives several transmissions in different places each transmission must
be provided either with a disconnecting apparatus or with a signal for
stopping the machinery or for putting it in motion. The putting in
motion or stoppage of the machinery must always be preceded by a
signal agreed upon. Mechanics in charge of machinery and foremen
must always have within reach the apparatus for stopping the motive
power and the transmissions. When the machinery is at a dead stop
it must, as far as possible, be set in motion by means of a mechanical
contrivance; but if it be effected by hand, the steam supply valve must
be shut off during the whole operation. In any case, the special oper
atives having charge of such work must be adult males.
Transmissions of power by belting, shafting, gearing, etc., in a
place through which workingmen pass must be inclosed in boxes or in
cases at least 6 feet above the ground. Vertical shafting, belting,
or cables running from one story to another must be inclosed in a box
fastened to the ground to a height of 5 feet from the ground. Pro
jections, such as bolts, nuts, etc., which form a part of a coupling must
be avoided as far as possible, and when used must be covered with a
cap. Belting over 2 inches wide and cables whose speed exceeds 1,600
feet a minute must, if fitted up above places occupied by operatives,
be separated from them by boards, ladders, or bent iron bars, to pre
vent their striking the operatives in the event of their breaking.
When the belting is over 1$ inches wide it is expressly forbidden to
place it by hand on pulleys in motion or to remove it by hand. These
operations must be effected by means of a fork or a similar con
trivance, and be confided to special workmen. This provision does
not apply to stepped pulleys on machine tools. Fly wheels, cranks,
connecting rods, etc., must be provided with protective apparatus.
There are special regulations regarding machine tools. When driven
by transmitting shafts they must be provided with fixed and loose
pulleys and with a contrivance for separating the belting from the
pulley which can be easily worked from the place occupied by the
operative, and so arranged that the belt can not slip back on the pulley
by itself. All movable parts of machine tools must be covered or
surrounded by safety appliances, cogwheels must be incased, fly
wheels whose lowest point is less than 6 feet from the ground must be
incased, projecting boltheads, etc., must be beveled down or capped,
and oscillating parts be inclosed. Where sharp tools are driven with
rapidity they must be so arranged that the workmen can not touch
them, and the workmen must be protected against flying chips, etc.
Further additional precautions, which are specified, must be taken in
300
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the case of machine tools for working metal. In the case of wood
working machinery, circular saws must be provided with caps; beneath
the table they, as well as band saws, must have a protecting case, and
it is strictly forbidden to run more than one piece of wood at a time
through a planer unless such machine is made to take in several pieces
at once.
There must be an effective system of signals between the machine
and the boiler when they are at a distance from each other, so that the
machinery can be promptly stopped.
The oiling, examining, cleaning, and repairing of machinery while
in motion is prohibited. Parts of machinery in motion must be pro
vided with automatic lubricators, and when this can not be done the
oiling must be done only when the machine is not in motion. The
cleaning of shafts, pulleys, etc., when the machinery is in motion must
be done only while standing on the floor of the workroom or on a solid
platform. In either case brooms, brushes, hooks, etc., with handles
of a proper length, should be used. It is expressly forbidden to wear
gloves or mittens or to clean machinery in motion, by hand with tow
or waste.
The clothes of workmen near machinery in motion must be buttoned
and close fitting. Workmen in foundries or forges and machinists
must wear close-fitting shoes or boots. It is forbidden to wear gloves
while handling saws. Workmen employed at machinery emitting
sparks or splinters must wear spectacles; masks and screens may be
used for the same object. Workmen employed in workshops where
dangerous gasses are generated or where dust flies about must be
provided with respirators.
Adequate means of egress must be provided; the main doors used
as exits must open outwards, be left free during the entire working
time, and be closed by means of weights or springs, but not by latches.
The width of these doors must not be less than 18 inches and their
height not less than 7 feet. Doors serving as means of egress for cor
ridors, passages, etc., must not be of less width than such passages.
The width of main passages must be at least 48 inches and that of side
passages at least 24 inches, and must at all times be kept clear of
obstructions. The main staircases must not be less than 12 feet between
the landing places, and there must be a sufficient number of such stair
cases to allow of the building being immediately and easily cleared.
The depth of the steps must be 12 inches and the height 8 inches.
The staircases must be kept in good order and be provided with rail
ings and balusters.
The precautions against or in case of fire that must be taken are
given at length. They relate to the use of lighting fluids, gas, and
electric light, to the precautions to be taken against explosions, the
handling of inflammable materials, smoking in and entering rooms
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
301
containing such materials, and the provision of fire escapes and other
appliances.
The measures that must betaken in respect to stationary boilers, the
inspection of steam boilers, the qualifications that must be possessed
by stokers and engineers, etc., are all fully covered by the regulations.
These provisions are not reproduced, as the consideration of Jaws
regarding the inspection of steam boilers and the qualification of the
persons in charge of them do not come within the scope of this report.
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
As the subject of the employment of women and children is one of
the most important points covered by the act, the provisions regarding
it are given in full:
In establishments classified by the lieutenant-governor in council as
dangerous, unwholesome or inconvenient, the age of the employees
shall not be under 16 years for boys and 18 years for girls or women.
In all establishments other than those indicated in the preceding
paragraph, the age of the employees shall not be less than 12 years
for boys and 14 years for girls.
The employer of the child or young girl shall, if required, exhibit
to the inspector a certificate of age signed by the parents, tutors or
other persons having the lawful custody or control over such child or
young girl, or the written opinion of a physician on the subject.
A new examination of the children or girls, already allowed to work
in a factory, may, at the request of the inspector, be made, by one of
the sanitary physicians, or by any other physician, and upon the advice
of such physician, the employee examined may be discharged for being
under age or physically unfit.
Except in the case mentioned in article 3026 [the one immediately
following], no boy, under 18 years of a^e, and no child, girl or woman
shall be employed in any of the establishments mentioned in article
3020 [see Scope of act] for more than 10 hours in 1 day or for
more than 60 hours in any 1 week. Any employer may apportion the
hours of labor per day for the sole purpose of giving a shorter day’s
work on Saturday. One hour shall be allowed at noon each day for
meals, if the inspector so direct, but such hour shall not be counted as
part of the time herein limited as respects their employment. The
day of 10 hours mentioned in this article shall not commence before 6
o’clock in the morning nor end after 9 o’clock at night.
The inspector, for sufficient reasons given to him, and in order to
make up lost time or to satisfy the exigencies of trade, may, for a
eriod not exceeding 6 weeks, extend the time of employment of chilren, girls and women to 12 hours in a day, or 72 nours in a week,
provided that the day shall not commence before 6 o’clock in the
morning nor end after 9 o’clock in the evening, in the following cases:
(a) When any accident, which prevents the working of any industrial
establishment, happens to the motive power or machinery; or (b) when,
from any occurrence beyond the control of the employer, the machinery
or any part of the machinery of any industrial establishment can not
be regularly worked; or (c) when any stoppage occurs from any cause
whatsoever.
S
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
KEEPING OF REGISTERS, POSTING OF REGULATIONS, ETC.
To facilitate the enforcement of the law it is required of each
employer or head of an industrial establishment to forward to the
inspector a written notice giving his name and address, the name of
the factory and its location, the nature of the work, and the nature
and amount of the motive power employed. He must also keep a
register giving the names and ages of all women and children employed,
the duration of their labor, and the hours at which they begin and end
work. He must furnish the inspector with a certificate from a health
officer that his establishment fulfills the conditions as to salubrity and
hygiene required by the act and the regulations of the board of health.
Finally, he must keep posted in the most conspicuous places in the
establishment the notices and provisions of the law and regulations
supplied to him by the inspector, and keep them entire and legible.
REPORTING OF ACCIDENTS.
Every head of an industrial establishment must send within 48 hours
of the accident a written notice to the inspector informing him of any
accident whereby any of the workmen has been killed or has suffered
serious bodily injury whereby he has been prevented from working.
Such notice must state the place of residence of the person injured or
killed, or the place to which he has been removed, so as to enable the
inspector to hold the inquiry required by law.
INSPECTION OF FACTORIES.
For the carrying out and enforcement of the act the lieutenantgovernor is directed to appoint such number of inspectors as are
necessary, one of whom shall be chief inspector. The supervision of
the sanitary conditions of industrial establishments, however, is
intrusted more particularly to the board of health of the Province.
The lieutenant-governor on the recommendation of this body may
appoint one or more sanitary physicians with special authority to
supervise, under the direction of the board, the sanitary conditions of
industrial establishments, as well as the execution of the sanitary reg
ulations made by the board of health. The salaries of the inspectors
and sanitary physicians and their powers and duties, in so far as they
are not fixed by this act, are determined by the lieutenant-governor.
Both classes of these officers are under the general control of the com
missioner of public works.
The powers and duties of these officers are stated at length in the
act. They require but little comment, however, as they are such as
are usually given to inspection officers. They can enter establishments
at all reasonable times, require the production of registers, certificates,
etc., be accompanied by a constable if necessary, summon witnesses,
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
303
administer oaths, etc. Every person willfully delaying or obstructing
them in the performance of their duties, or failing to comply with a
summons, or concealing a child, or making a false entry or statement,
or generally violating the law, is liable to punishment by fine or
imprisonment.
All prosecutions under the act are instituted by the inspector and
may be made before the judge of the sessions or the police magistrate
in the cities of Montreal and Quebec, or before the district magistrate,
or before any justice of the peace of the place where the offense was
committed.
MANITOBA.
The regulation of factories was first provided for by the recent act
of July 5,1900, which is known as The Manitoba Factories Act. The
fact that this act is modeled after and is very similar to the Ontario act
makes it unnecessary to give more than a brief account of its provisions.
The definition of a factory under the Manitoba law is quite similar
to that given by the Ontario act. The schedule of factories, however,
contains the names of but 95 different establishments, but these are
establishments of more usual occurrence, and the lieutenant-governor
in council has, as in Ontario, the power to add to or take away from
this list. Any establishment in this list in which two or more persons
are employed comes within the scope of the act. In defining the cases
of exemption, the Manitoba act places a maximum limit of 4
employees where the Ontario act specifies 5. Otherwise the applica
tion of the act in the two Provinces is the same.
Regarding the provisions in relation to the protection of the health
and lives of employees, the Ontario act is closely followed. The Mani
toba act, however, adds to the provisions that factories shall not be
overcrowded so as to be injurious to the health of employees the clause
that “ a notice shall be posted in such room specifying the number of
employees who shall be allowed to work in such room.”
In the provisions regarding the employment of women and children,
the most marked difference between the Manitoba and Ontario acts
that should be noted is the different definition of what is a “ child”
and what a a young girl.” In the Ontario act a u child” is a person
under 14 years of age; in the Manitoba act, a person under 16 years
of age. In the Ontario act a “ young girl” is a girl of the age of 14
years and under the age of 18 years; in the Manitoba act, a girl of
the age of 16 years and under the age of 18 years.
In Manitoba the general rule is laid down that no child shall be
employed. As in the case of the Ontario act, the lieutenant-governor
in council may prohibit the employment of girls under 18 years and
boys under 16 years in factories which are deemed by the lieutenantgovernor in council to be dangerous and unwholesome. No child,
304
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
young girl, or woman shall be employed in a factory where permanent
injury to their health is likely.
No young girl shall be allowed to clean any part of the machinery in
a factory when in motion by the aid of steam, water, or other mechanical
power. No young girl or woman is to clean any part of the machinery
as is mill gearing when in motion for the purpose of propelling any
part of the manufacturing machinery. No young girl shall be allowed
to work between the fixed and traversing parts of any self-acting
machine while in motion by action of such power.
In general, the provisions regarding the duration of labor are more
rigid in Manitoba than in either Ontario or Quebec. It is provided
that no young girl nor woman shall be employed for more than 8 hours
in any 1 day, nor more than 48 hours in any 1 week. The noon hour is
secured, as in the case of the Ontario act. The circumstances under
which exemptions may be granted are exactly as in Ontario. The
limitations where the exemption is granted are also the same, except
that the total number of hours in 1 day is limited, as in Quebec, to 10
hours and to 60 hours in 1 week, and must not commence before 6
o’clock in the morning nor end after 9 o’clock at night.
The Manitoba act follows the Ontario act also in the provision that
if the inspector so directs in writing the employer shall not allow any
young girl or woman to take meals in any room wherein any manufac
turing process is then being carried on; and if the inspector so directs
in writing the employer shall at his own expense provide a suitable
room or place in the factory or in connection therewith for the pur
pose of a dining and eating room for persons employed in the factory.
In the Manitoba act special provision is made for registration in case
work is sublet or allowed to be done outside the factory. It is pro
vided that:
Every employer carrying on business within the meaning of this act
who shall sublet any contract or give out any materials to be made,
altered, repaired or finished at any other place than at the factory
registered under this act, shall keep a register of all such work given
out and the location of the premises where the work is to be per
formed. Such register is subject to the inspection of the inspector at
all times, and he shall as far as possible see that such work is performed
under sanitary conditions.
Special provision is also made that a factory shall not be kept open
or employ any person in or upon the premises on a legal or statutory
holiday nor on Labor Day without the permission of the inspector.
The enforcement of the act is intrusted to inspectors having the usual
powers and duties.
THE
BRITISH
CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION
ACT AND ITS OPERATION.
OF PROPERTY
BY A. MAURICE LOW.
In the November, 1899, Bulletin of the Department of Labor a lucid
presentation was made, by Mr. Willoughby, of the Trade Union Act
(Great Britain) of 1871 and its amendment of 1876, and the Conspiracy
and Protection of Property Act of 1875. The aim of the present arti
cle is to show the effect of the last-named act and what its influence,
if any, has been on the relations between capital and labor.
Mr. Willoughby gave a succinct account of the history of labor leg
islation in the United Kingdom since the beginning of the century.
It is not necessary, therefore, in the present article to go into that
subject at any length, but merely to trace the causes which brought
about the passage of the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act,
1875 (38 and 39 Viet., c. 86), and in no better way can this be done
than to quote from the report made by Mr. John Burnett (<a), of the
Board of Trade. Mr. Burnett says:
Within the last 20 years the laws relating to strikes have been
much modified and a considerable amount of pains has been taken to
define accurately the things which men on strike may do and those
they may not do. Stated simply as an abstract proposition that work
men may now go on strike and have full liberty to do what they please
as long as they do not encroach upon the liberty of others, working
men, as a rule, would perfectly agree with it and admit its justice. To
draw the line is, however, by no means so easy, and the difficulty is to
decide exactly how far a man may go without crossing the line which
separates his right from that of another. The practical question really
to be decided is, How far may a workman on strike go in his efforts to
keep another man from taking his place in the situation he has vacated.
Perhaps the most common of all features in strikes is that when the
workmen are out the employers endeavor to obtain other men to fill
their places. If efficient men in sufficient numbers can be obtained to
replace the strikers it is obvious that the dispute must come to a speedy
termination in favor of the employers. It is, therefore, the object of
those on strike to prevent other workmen taking their places. How
far may they go in this direction has been the much-debated question
of recent years, and as yet there has been fixed no absolutely clear and
unmistakable limit, and conflicting decisions are sometimes given under
the existing law. To make plain the existing situation on this point,
a Report on the Strikes and Lockouts of 1888, b y the labor correspondent of the
Board of Trade
305
306
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
it may be as well to give a brief summary of the course that legislation
has taken on the subject.
Previous to 1824 strikes of any magnitude or duration were almost
impossible, as all attempts at organization for such a purpose were
prevented as far as ever possible by the law against combination then
in force. The great labor disputes which took place previous to that
time, and indeed for many years after, were rather outbreaks of actual
industrial revolt against grievances become intolerable than deliberately
arranged and skillfully organized movements for bringing about
changes in existing conditions.
There were then very few disputes during which the leaders of the
men were not sent to prison, and in which there were not committed
some acts of violence against property or persons.
The combination laws in operation from 1799 to the time of their
repeal in 1825 were very stringent in their character, and a brief sum
mary of a few of their provisions and penalties will show how work
men on strike might be dealt with. The preamble of the act of 1799
(39 Geo. I ll, c. 8) strikes the keynote of the industrial legislation of
that period. It says: “ Whereas great numbers of journeymen manu
facturers and workmen in various parts of this Kingdom have by
unlawful meetings and combinations endeavored to obtain advance of
their wages and to effectuate other illegal purposes; and the laws at
present in force against such unlawful conduct have been found to be
inadequate to the suppression thereof, whereby it is become necessary
that more effectual provision should be made against such unlawful
combinations, and for preventing such unlawful practices in the future
and for bringing such offenders to more speedy and exemplary justice.”
The act then goes on to declare null and void all agreements
“ between journeymen manufacturers or workmen” for obtaining an
advance of wages or for lessening or altering their hours of labor, and
for various other stated purposes. Workmen entering into any such
agreement were, upon conviction before a magistrate, to be committed
to jail for 3 months or to the house of correction for 2 months with
hard labor. The same punishment was also to be awarded to any
journeymen or workmen who entered into any combination to “ obtain
an advance of wages, lessen or alter the hours of work, decrease
the quantity of work, or who by giving money or by persuasion,
solicitation, or intimidation endeavor to prevent any unhired or unem
ployed journeyman or other person wanting employment from hiring
himself to any manufacturer or tradesman; or who should, for any
purpose contrary to the provisions of the act, directly or indirectly,
decoy, persuade, solicit, intimidate, influence, or prevail, or attempt
to prevail on any journeyman hired or to be hired to quit or leave his
work, service, or employment, or who should hinder or prevent, or
attempt to hinder or prevent, any employer from hiring such work
man as he might think proper, or who (being hired or employed)
should refuse to work with any other journeymen employed therein.”
Like penalties were enacted for those who attended meetings held for
making agreements rendered unlawful by the act, or who snould pay
money in support of such a meeting, or collect money from other per
sons, or by any means induce other persons to attend such a meeting.
Nor might anyone contribute to the support of persons who had
quitted work. Any sums so collected were forfeit one-half to the King
and one-half to the informer.
BRITISH CONSPIRACY AND PROJECTION OF PROPERTY ACT.
307
A subsequent act (40 Geo. I ll, c. 60) somewhat qualified these
stringent provisions, but only by inserting such words as 66 falsely and
maliciously ” before the various prohibited acts. It will thus be seen
that the work of attempting in any way to better his condition was
rendered extremely hazardous to the workman. It was even an
offense to assist in maintaining men on strike. Stringent as was this
legislation, however, it failed in its object; secret societies began to
multiply, and trade disputes took place in spite of the law, if not,
indeed, by reason of it.
THE ACTS OF 1824 AND 1825.
In 1824 an act was passed 44to repeal the laws relative to combina
tions of workmen,” which repealed many acts and parts of acts dating
back as far as the reign of Edward I. The passage of this act was
marked by numerous strikes and labor disputes, and in the following
year Parliament appointed a committee to inquire further into the
subject. As a result of this investigation the act of 1825 was passed, one
of its most important provisions being that it should not be held unlaw
ful for persons to meet 44for the purpose of consulting upon and deter
mining the rate of wages or prices which the persons present at such
meeting should demand for their work.” But the interpretation of
the law was left to the courts, and the judges soon declared labor com
binations to be unlawful at common law on the ground that they were
in restraint of trade. This led to further agitation and the passage in
1859 (22 Viet., c. 34) of a law which enacted that workmen were not
to be held guilty of 44molestation ” or 44obstruction,” under the act of
1825, simply for entering into agreements to fix the rate of wages or
the hours of labor, or to endeavor peaceably to persuade others to
cease or abstain from work to produce the same results. Here again
the decisions of the courts gave the law an effect which was unsatis
factory to its creators, and in 1867 a commission was appointed to
inquire and report on the subject. The result of this investigation
brought forth two acts in 1871—the Trade Union Act and the Crimi
nal Law Amendment Act, the latter repealing the acts of 1825 and
1859. This new act made stringent provisions, both as against mas
ters and men, to prevent coercion, violence, threats, following, moles
tation, and obstruction, but there was no prohibition against doing or
conspiring to do any act on the ground that it was in restraint of trade,
unless it came within the scope of the enumerated prohibitions.
FURTHER LEGISLATION DEMANDED.
The foregoing has given a concise account of labor legislation down
to the year 1871. An event which happened in the following year
showed that a further change in the laws was necessary to suit modern
conditions. To again quote Mr. Burnett’s report:
It was now thought that strikes as ordinarily conducted were legal
and safe, provided the limits here set forth were not exceeded, and it
308
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
was certainly assumed that men on strike were not now liable to prose
cution for criminal conspiracy. In the following year, however, this
opinion was disturbed by a decision given by Justice Brett at the Old
Bailey. The gas stokers at the Beckton gas works came out on strike
under circumstances which rendered them liable for breach of con
tract, for which they might under the statute have been sentenced to
3 months’ imprisonment.
The sudden stoppage of work had caused a large part of London to
be kept in darkness for some nights. The men were indicted for con
spiracy, and the judge held that there had been such a conspiracy, and
that a threat of simultaneous breach of contract by the men was con
duct which the jury ought to regard as a conspiracy to prevent the
gas company carrying on its business. The defendants were sentenced
to 12 months’ imprisonment. The severity of the sentence, however,
caused a great deal of agitation in the country, a special fund was
raised to support the wives and families of the men convicted, and
eventually a remission of 8 months of their punishment was obtained.
The feeling thus raised resulted in the appointment of another com
mission, which reported in favor of further alterations in the law.
In 1875 Mr. K. A. Cross, the home secretary, introduced his con
spiracy and protection of property act, which received the royal assent
on the 13th of August of that year. While general in its scope and
intended to further liberalize the rights of workmen, the animating
cause of the act was the decision in the case of the stokers of the
Beckton gas works and the desire to substitute for the drastic penal
ties of conspiracy a milder punishment. In the course of his speech
on the first reading of the bill Mr. Cross said:
There is another exposition of the law which was given by a right
honorable and learned gentleman for whom we all have the highest
respect. I mean the recorder of London (Mr. Kussell Gurney), and
there can not, in my opinion, be any clearer exposition of the law of
1871 than he laid down to the grand jury in the case of five men who
were sent to prison. The right honorable and learned gentleman said:
“ Among the acts forbidden by that act was this: The molesting or
obstructing any person by watching or besetting any place, or the
approach to such place where his business was carried on, with the view
to coerce such person to alter his mode of carrying on his business.
That, then, was the question the jury would have to consider—whether
the evidence laid before them was sufficient to establish a prim a fa cie
case that the defendants did conspire to molest or obstruct the prose
cutors by watching or besetting their place of business, in order to
coerce them to alter their mode of carrying on their business. And
there the grand jury must observe a distinction. The question was
not whether they had endeavored to cause them to alter their mode by
themselves refusing to work, or by persuading others not to work.
That they had a right to do, but the question was whether they agreed
to effect their object in the way forbidden by the act. That they did
watch the place of business there would probably be no doubt, but
there were some purposes for which they had a perfect right to watch.
When a contest of that sort was goingon it was not unusual, he believed,
to watch in order to see that none of the men who received what was
BRITISH CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OF PROPERTY ACT.
309
called strike pay were also receiving wages from the employers; but
the more important object that the watchers had in view was to inform
all comers, who, for instance, might have been brought by advertise
ment, of the existence of the strike, and to endeavor to persuade them
to join in it. All that was lawful sodong as it was done peaceably, and
without any interference with the perfect exercise of free will by
those who otherwise would have been willing to work on the terms
proposed by the prosecutors. The sort of questions which the grand
jury would have to ask themselves was, whether the evidence showed
that the defendants were guilty of obstructing and rendering difficult
the access to the prosecutors’ place of business, or whether there was
anything in their conduct calculated to deter or intimidate those who
were passing to and fro, or whether there was an exhibition of force
calculated to produce fear in the minds of ordinary men, and whether
the defendants or any of them combined for that purpose? If they
thought that was proved, it would be their duty to find a true bill, but
if they thought their conduct might be accounted for by the desire to
ascertain who were the persons working there, and peaceably to per
suade them or any others who were proposing to work there to join their
fellow-workmen who were contending for what, rightly or wrongly,
they thought was for the interests of the general body, then they would
ignore the bill.”
COMBINATIONS MADE LEGAL.
Emphasis must be laid on the important addition made by the act of
1875 to that of 1871, which was not repealed by later legislation, but
became amplified. Practically the picketing clauses of the act of 1871
were retained in the new law, but the important addition made by
Mr. Cross was contained in the first paragraph of section 3, reading
as follows:
An agreement or combination of two or more persons to do, or to
procure to be done, any act in contemplation or furtherance of a trade
dispute between employers and workmen shall not be punishable as a
conspiracy if such act as aforesaid, when committed by one person,
would not be punishable as a crime.
Had this law been in operation in 1872 the Beckton gas stokers could
not have been convicted of conspiracy, and had they been convicted
under the new law, instead of being sentenced to 12 months’ imprison
ment the maximum punishment would have been 3 months, as pro
vided for by section 1, as follows:
Where a person employed by a municipal authority or by any com
pany or contractor upon whom is imposed by act of Parliament the
duty, or who have otherwise assumed the duty of supplying any city,
borough, town, or place, or any part thereof, with gas or water, will
fully and maliciously breaks a contract of service with that authority
or company or contractor, knowing, or having reasonable cause to
believe, that the probable consequences of his so doing, either alone or
in combination with others, will be to deprive the inhabitants of the
city, borough, town, or place, or part, wholly, or to a great extent, of
810
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
their supply of gas or water, he shall, on conviction thereof by a court
of summary jurisdiction or on indictment as hereinafter mentioned,
be liable either to pay a penalty not exceeding £20 [$97.33] or to be
imprisoned for a term not exceeding 3 months, with or without hard
labor.
One other citation must be made from Mr. Burnett’s report before
dismissing this branch of the subject. He says:
In a striking passage, summarizing his general history of all the
changes in the laws affecting labor disputes, Sir James Stephen says:
46It is one of the most characteristic and interesting passages in the
whole history of the criminal law. First, there is no law at all, either
written or unwritten. Then a long series of statutes aim at regulating
the wages of labor, and ends in general provisions preventing and pun
ishing as far as possible all combinations to raise wages. During the
latter part of this period an opinion grows up that to combine for the
purpose of raising wages is an indictable conspiracy at common law.
In 1825 the statute law is put upon an entirely new basis, and all the
old statutes are repealed, but in such a way as to countenance the doc
trine about conspiracies in restraint of trade at common law. From
1825 to 1871 a series of cases are decided which give form to the doc
trine of conspiracy in restraint of trade at common law, and carry it
so far as to say that any agreement between two people to compel any
one to do anything he does not like is an indictable conspiracy inde
pendently of statute. In 1871 the old doctrine as to agreements in
restraint of trade being criminal conspiracies is repealed by statute.
But the common law expands as the statute law is narrowed, and the
doctrine of a conspiracy to coerce or injure is so interpreted as to
diminish greatly the protection supposed to be afforded by the act of
1871. Thereupon the act of 1875 specifically protects all combinations
in contemplation or furtherance of trade disputes, and, with respect to
such questions at least, provides positively that no agreement shall be
treated as an indictable conspiracy unless the act agreed upon would
be criminal if done by a single person. * * * In a legal point of
view no part of the whole story is so remarkable as the part played by
the judges in defining, and, indeed, in a sense creating, the offense of
conspiracy. They defined it, I think, too widely; but that their defini
tion was substantially right is proved by the fact that the act of 1875
has made provision for punishing practically all the acts which they
declared to be offenses at common law.”
EFFECT OF THE ACT OF 1875.
The passage of the act of 1875 was hailed by the workmen with
great satisfaction. It was regarded by them as conceding all for
which they had so long contended—the right to enter into a legal com
bination to thwart or restrict the efforts of their employers; to more
narrowly define their rights, and to lighten the punishment which they
might incur in case of any violation of the law. The employers did
not regard the law without apprehension.
How far these hopes on the one side and fears on the other have
been realized is a striking commentary on the effect of judicial inter
BRITISH CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OP PROPERTY ACT.
811
pretation of statute law. Dealing for the time being with the law as
viewed from the standpoint of the employer, the fact stands forth in
bold relief that the law which the employers dreaded twenty-five years
ago they would not to-day repeal had they the power. This is not the
opinion of a single employer.
It is the composite opinion of what
may fairly be termed the representative employers of labor in the
United Kingdom, men speaking for the basic industries on which
must rest all commercial prosperity. The reason given by employers
why they are satisfied with the existing law is that it is easier now to
prosecute and convict men endeavoring to interfere with their business
or their employees than it was prior to the passage of the act, and
that the rights of both parties being more narrowly defined, both
know precisely what they may or may not be permitted to do, and
generally endeavor to keep within those limitations.
The right of workmen to do in combination that which they might
do legally as individuals, feared by the employers at the time of the
passage of the act and hailed by the workmen as placing a powerful
weapon in their hands, has in practice not been either so dangerous or
as beneficial as was imagined at the time. That men can strike, either
as individuals or in combination, and do other things in combination
which would have been illegal under previous laws, does not appar
ently cause the employers much concern.
So long as men go on
strike and do not by intimidation or violence prevent other men from
taking their places, employers, feel able to cope with the situation. It
is in dealing with this question that employers believe they have been
distinct gainers by the passage of the Conspiracy and Protection of
Property Act.
PENALTY FOR INTIMIDATION.
The penalty for intimidation, annoyance, and violence is set forth
in section 7 in these words:
Every person who, with a view to compel any other person to
abstain from doing or to do any act which such other person has a
legal right to do or abstain from doing, wrongfully and without legal
authority— (1) uses violence to or intimidates such other person or nis
wife or children, or injures his property; or (2) persistently follows
such other person about from place to place; or (3) hides any tools,
clothes, or other property owned or used by such other person, or
deprives him of or hinders him in the use thereof; or (4) watches or
besets the house or other place where such other person resides, or
works, or carries on business, or happens to be, or the approach to
such house or place; or (5) follows such other person with two or
more other persons in a disorderly manner in or through any street or
road, shall, on conviction thereof by a court of summary jurisdiction,
or on indictment as hereinafter mentioned, be liable either to pay a
penalty not exceeding £20 [$97.33] or to be imprisoned for a term
not exceeding 3 months, with or without hard labor.
312
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
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 house or place, in order merely to obtain or communicate infor
mation, shall not be deemed a watching or besetting within the mean
ing of this section.
JU DICIAL INTERPRETATION.
Under the above section many prosecutions have been brought.
What constitutes “ intimidation” or 66violence,” how far a person may
“ communicate information” and yet not be deemed guilty of “ watch
ing or besetting,” are questions which have provided much material
for the lawyers and given rise to numerous judicial decisions, gener
ally more satisfactory to the employer than to the employee.
As a general thing it may be said that the courts have given a broad
construction to the act and have been inclined to protect workmen
against “ intimidation,” even when that method of coercion has not
been attended by violence. A few decisions of recent years are quoted
to show the trend of judicial opinion. In all cases, except where
otherwise stated, these decisions have been abridged from the Labor
Gazette, the official publication of the labor department of the Board
o f Trade, and therefore are to be regarded as official. The prosecu
tions were brought under the act of 1875.
In July, 1896, a carpenter was sentenced by the Portsmouth quarter
sessions to 21 days’ imprisonment with hard labor for having a unlaw
fully, wrongfully, and without legal authority followed another car
penter with a view to compel him to abstain from doing a certain act.”
During a carpenters’ strike the defendant collected a crowd of persons
on three different occasions and followed the defendant about from
place to place. There was no violence offered, but the evidence
showed that the conduct of the crowd was disorderly and calculated to
result in a breach of the peace.
The court of queen’s bench devoted 3 days to the hearing of a
case in July, 1896, in which a pianoforte maker and his foreman sued
three trade societies and six other defendants for damages and an
injunction to restrain the defendants from watching or besetting the
house where the plaintiffs resided or carried on their business, and
from illegally interfering with the business of the plaintiffs, whether
by intimidation, the publication of a blacklist, or otherwise. The
facts showed that a foreman had been dismissed arid another man
engaged in his place. In consequence plaintiffs’ premises were pick
eted. The name of the foreman had been blacklisted. The defense
claimed that they were acting within their legal rights. In summing
up the judge said that what the defendants had done was illegal unless
merely*for the purpose of obtaining or imparting information. He
further added: “ If the persuasion be used for the indirect purpose
BRITISH CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OF PROPERTY ACT.
313
of injuring the plaintiffs, it is a malicious act, which is in law and
in fact a wrong act, and therefore a wrongful act, and therefore an
actionable act, if injury ensues from it.” A verdict was rendered for
the plaintiffs. Damages were awarded to the pianoforte maker in the
sum of £300 ($1,460); to the foreman in the sum of £20 ($97.33). An
injunction was also granted.
In the sheriff’s summary court, Edinburgh, November 1, 1897, two
engineers were sentenced to 14 days’ imprisonment for having with a
large crowd of other persons followed three iron turners with a view
to compel them to abstain from working for a certain firm.
CASE OF ALLEN v. FLOOD.
Attention must now be called to one of the most important decisions
in English jurisprudence. It is quoted by every employer and every
representative laboring man; it is constantly referred to by lawyers;
it has governed all subsequent decisions, and, curiously enough, like
other things connected with this law, regarded at the time as a great
victory for labor, it has since then been relied upon by employers to
support their contentions. The case was deemed of so much impor
tance that when it came up on appeal before the House of Lords, the
court consisting of Lord Chancellor Halsbury and Lords Watson,
Ashbourne, Herschell, Macnaghten, Morris, Shand, Davey, and James
of Hereford, their lordships did a thing done once in a generation, viz,
requested the attendance of eight of the most eminent judges—Hawk
ins, Mathew, Cave, North, Wills, Grantham, Lawrance, and Wright—
to give their opinion on questions of law, and Parliament ordered these
opinions to be printed as a parliamentary paper. The case is officially
known as 4‘Allen v. Flood and Another.” The abstract following is
briefed from the parliamentary paper referred to, the Law Journal
Reports (Vol. L X V II, Feb., 1898), and the Law Times (Vol. CIV,
No. 2863, Feb. 12, 1898). The case was originally heard in the
court of queen’s bench, appealed to the court of appeal, and thence
appealed to the House of Lords, the court of last resort. The sub
stantial facts of the case are as follows:
Flood and Taylor were shipwrights working for the Glengall Iron
Company. They were employed by the day, but the particular job on
which they were then engaged was expected to last about a fortnight,
and there was every reason to suppose that they would be retained until
its completion. These two men had previously served an apprentice
ship with the Glengall Iron Company. They had been taught to work
both in wood and iron, but at the time were employed on woodwork
only. They were men of excellent character, had always behaved
themselves, and had done their work properly and satisfactorily.
There had been no collision between these men and the other men
10332— N o. 33— 01------ 10
314
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
working for the company. The Independent Society of Boiler Makers
and Iron and Steel Shipbuilders, a powerful trade union consisting of
about 40,000 members, objected to the employment of shipwrights who
were both iron and wood workers. Members of this union employed
by the Glengall Iron Company demanded the discharge of Flood and
Taylor on this ground. Allen, the London delegate of the union, at
the request of its members, had an interview with Mr. Halkett, the
managing director of the company, and demanded the discharge of
the two obnoxious men, threatening that unless his demand was granted
all of the boiler makers then in the employ of the company would leave
work that day. Halkett protested against this interference, but Allen
was firm. He frankly admitted that his union had no ill feeling against
their employe’s or against any men in particular, but that the union
had determined to prevent the employment of shipwrights who had
done ironwork; that wherever they were employed the boiler makers
would cease work, and that the employers had no option in the matter,
as the decision of the union would be enforced in every case. Referring
specifically to Flood and Taylor, he said the men were known, and
wherever they were employed the same action would be taken. The
result of the interview was that Halkett gave instructions to his
manager to discharge the two men, and that same day they were
discharged.
The men brought suit against Allen, the case being heard before
Mr. Justice Kennedy and a jury in the queen’s bench. Verdict was
rendered for the plaintiffs, who were each awarded damages of £20
($97.33). From this decision Allen appealed to the court of appeal.
The decision of the court below was affirmed. Allen took a further
appeal to the House of Lords. The case was argued before the Lords
on December 10, 12, 16, and 17, 1895. •Their lordships required fur
ther argument and on March 25, 26, 29, 30, and April 1 and 2, 1897,
the case was reheard, when the judges were called in. The case was
argued at great length and with signal ability, eminent counsel being
retained on both sides. A t the conclusion of the arguments the law
lords propounded the following question to the judges: “ Assuming
the evidence given by the plaintiffs’ witnesses to be correct, was there
any evidence of a cause of action fit to be left to the jury?”
The judges asked for time to consider the question. On June 3,
1897, they delivered their opinions, the majority of them of consider
able length. Of the eight judges, six of them agreed with the two
lower courts, Justices Mathew and Wright answering their lordships’
question in the negative. The opinions of the judges, however, were
simply to assist the law lords, and was not the action of the court. On
December 14, 1897, the decision was rendered, the judgment of the
court below being reversed (the lord chancellor and Lords Ashbourne
and Morris dissenting) and the appellant granted the costs of prose
cuting the appeal, in the court below, including the costs of the trial.
BRITISH CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OE PROPERTY ACT.
315
M EANING OE THE DECISION.
Put in its concisest form the judgment of the highest court of the
British Empire is: Where an act is lawful in itself the motive with
which it is done is immaterial. To induce a master to discharge a
servant, if the discharge does not involve a breach of contract, or to
induce a person not to employ a servant, though done maliciously, and
resulting in injury to the servant, does not give him any cause of
action.
The vast and far-reaching importance of this decision can be swiftly
appreciated. Not only did it break down many of the restraints of the
law both civil and criminal, but, as Lord Morris said, it overturned
the overwhelming judicial opinion of England. During the course of
argument by counsel, and in the delivery of the opinion of the judges,
frequent reference was made to two celebrated cases which it was sup
posed had settled the law relating to malicious discharge. These two
cases were Lumley v. Gye and Temperton v. Kussell.
Sir Henry Hawkins, one of the judges who answered their lordships’ question in the affirmative, but whose opinion was disregarded
by the majority vote of the law lords, in the course 6f his opinion
said:
I look upon the case of Lumley v. Gye (2 E. and B ., 216) as a bind
ing authority, that if any person, with knowledge of the existence of
a contract of service between two other persons, the one to employ
the other to render service, willfully causes and induces the employed
to break his contract, and an injury to the employer is the result of
that breach, an action on the case will lie against him, .at the suit of the
employer. I see no reason to doubt that a corresponding right of
action exists in law at the suit of the employed against a person who
wrongfully induces the employer to break his contract, to the injury
of the employed. This principle is, in my opinion, sound and in accord
ance with good sense. * * * Wrongfully to induce an employer
to break his contract and discharge his workman, is wrongfully to
inj ure that workman by disabling him from earning his wages. Wrongfully to coerce an employer to terminate an existing contract before
its appointed time, brings upon the employed precisely the same
character of injury.
Justice North, one of the majority judges, in delivering his opinion,
quoted approvingly the decision of the court of appeals in Bowen v.
Hall:
Merely to persuade a person to break his contract may not be wrong
ful. But if the persuasion is used for the indirect purpose of injuring
the plaintiff, or of benefiting the defendant at the expense of the plain
tiff, it is a malicious act, which is in law and in fact a wrong act, and,
therefore, a wrongful act, and, therefore, an actionable act if injury
ensues from it.
316
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
In closing his opinion the lord chancellor said:
I regret that I am compelled to differ so widely with some of your
lordships, but my difference is founded on the belief that in denying
these plaintiffs a remedy we are departing from the principles which
have hitherto guided our courts in the preservation of individual liberty
to all. I am encouraged, however, by the consideration that the
adverse views appear to me to overrule the views of most distinguished
judges, going back now for certainly 200 years, and that up to the
period when this case reached your lordships’ house there was an unani
mous consensus of opinion; and that of eight judges who have given
us the benefit of their opinions, six have concurred in the judgments
which your lordships are now asked to overrule.
Lord Ashbourne in his dissenting opinion said:
I need not go in detail through the celebrated case of Lumley v. Gye,
which for nearly half a century has passed into the regular current of
legal authority, and which was followed by Lord Selborne and Lord
Esher in Bowen v. Hall. * * * To intimidate an employer into
breaking a contract with a particular workman, and to coerce or
maliciously induce an otherwise willing employer not to give him
future employment, alike does that workman serious damage in his
trade and prevents him from earning his wages. The object of the
wrongdoer is-the same in each case.
And, again, Lord Morris in his dissenting opinion said:
In my opinion, it is actionable to disturb a man in his business by
procuring the determination of a contract at will, or by even prevent
ing the formation of a contract, when the motive is malicious and
damage ensues. * * * A t common law a workman had a right to
work for any person who was willing to employ him. Both had a right
to trade in labor as in any other commodity, and as they thought fit.
This was part of the personal liberty enjoyed by every man, and, like
personal liberty, was the subject of peculiar safeguards; notably, it
was a right which, like that of personal liberty, could not be bartered
away—a contract restraining one’s right to trade, with certain excep
tions not material here, was like a contract to become a slave, null and
void—the one right as well as the other was inalienable. The existence
of this right to trade was established at least as far back as the reign
of Queen Anne.
EFFECT OF THE DECISION UPON CAPITAL AN D LABOR.
This case of Allen v. Flood has been quoted at considerable length
because of its far-reaching importance. When the decision was first
rendered by the House of Lords it was regarded by the workmen as a
sweeping victory won by them. They considered that their position
had been immensely strengthened and that by being legally permitted
to hold over an employer the threat of a strike, unless men obnoxious
to them were discharged, they had a powerful weapon in their hands
which could not fail to be effective. But the employers were not slow
to perceive that the decision also put a weapon into their hands, which
as used by them might become equally effective. If the law permitted
officials or members of trade unions to threaten nonunionists or others
BRITISH CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OF PROPERTY ACT.
317
with loss of employment, or to threaten employers with suspension of
work unless they discharged objectionable men, so also employers
could legally refuse to employ members of a trade union in case of
molestation of nonunionists by their fellow-workmen. In other
words, both threats to strike and threats to lock out had been legal
ized, and the threat might be converted into an act without subjecting
the doer of the act to a civil or criminal prosecution.
The effect of this decision has been to make it impossible to secure
a conviction for maliciously causing the dismissal of a workman by his
employer, or causing persons not to enter into contracts with him.
Swift upon entering judgment by the Lords in Allen v. Flood, the
court of queen’s bench decided a case on all fours to that of Allen v.
Flood, but in the lower court judgment was deferred until the decision
of the highest tribunal was known. The action brought in the court
of queen’s bench was that of a cabman against three other cabmen
who, being then on strike, informed their employer that the strikers
would never return to work unless this man was discharged, which
was done. In rendering judgment for the defendants the judge stated
that the judgment of the House of Lords in Allen v. Flood established
that nothing proved to have been done by the defendants in the. present
case amounted to an actionable wrong, and the fact of their having
conspired to do those things did not give plaintiff a right of action.
MORE JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION.
What constitutes intimidation and to what lengths men may go in
picketing and yet not contravene the seventh section of the act are
questions which have frequently occupied the attention of the courts.
Of recent years strikers have used picketing as their chief weapon,
finding it to be more efficacious than other methods in preventing
their places being filled, and the employers, naturally, have endeav
ored to prove that picketing was of itself an illegal act. The trend of
the decisions is clearly to countenance picketing when the purpose of
the pickets is to acquire legitimate information, but to hold it to be
illegal when persuasion or intimidation is employed.
On July 5, 1876, Baron Huddleston, in pronouncing judgment upon
a picketing case (Regina v. Bauld), involving charges of intimidation
arising out of an engineers’ strike, after pointing out that the seventh
section of the conspiracy act excludes from criminal restraint action
for the purpose of obtaining legitimate information, said:
It is so dangerous a thing to do at all that it is difficult to guard
against the abuse of the practice, and, therefore, if you assert a right
to u picket” you are almost certain to get into difficulty, for whatever
you may intend by it, others will go beyond it. Most certainly watch
ing and besetting, unless it is only for information, is illegal. If, then,
you do not wish to go beyond the law, it is better to avoid such acts
altogether, as it is illegal to follow anyone about in the streets.
318
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
He further stated in pronouncing judgment:
The intention of the legislature, in inserting this clause in the sec
tion, was for the purpose of enabling workmen on strike to find out
whether any of their fellow-workmen, who, as members of their trade
union, might be drawing strike allowances, were 66traitors” to their
union, and were going back to work and so getting money from both
sides.
The case of Bailey v. Pye attracted considerable attention at the
time. It was tried before Baron Pollock and a special jury in January,
1897. The plaintiffs, J. and W . O. Bailey, glass merchants, silverers,
and bevelers, claimed damages for injury to their business by the acts
o f the defendants, the members of the National Plate Glass Bevelers’
Trade Union, o f which Pye was secretary, and they also demanded a
perpetual injunction to restrain the defendants from a repetition of
their unlawful and malicious conduct. Until this dispute the plain
tiffs had had no labor troubles, as they had not objected to employing
trade-unionists and had paid rates which accorded with trade-union
demands. In September, 1895, however, the firm arranged with an
apprentice, on the expiration of his indentures, to employ him as
underforeman, and to pay him by the hour instead of by the piece.
He accepted the terms offered; but the union ordered that he should
be paid piece rates or dismissed. The firm declined to cancel the agree
ment with their employee. The union thereupon compelled a strike.
The following day the firm received a deputation of strikers, who,
on matters being explained to them, expressed a desire to return to
work. Messrs. Bailey agreed to take them all back, with the excep
tion of one man who had assaulted one of the old hands for continu
ing to work. The union, however, determined that all must be taken
back or none. Messrs. Bailey refused, and within half an hour their
premises were u picketed ” by their own men and strangers. Messrs.
Bailey were awarded damages, and the injunction prayed for was
granted.
In order to obtain the opinion of an eminent authority on the inter
pretation of section 7, the Labor Commission procured from Sir
Frederick Pollock this expression:
There is no doubt that the intention of this section was to draw the
line between legitimate and illegitimate picketing. The enactment is
sufficiently clear, with one exception; and subject to that exception,
the difficulties that occur in its application are such difficulties in
obtaining sufficient evidence against ascertained persons as can not be
established by the wisdom of any legislation or the skill of any legis
lator. The exception lies in the word “ intimidates.” Must intimida
tion be a threat of something which, if executed, would be a criminal
offense against persons or tangible property? Or does it include the
threat of doing that which would be civilly, though not criminally,
wrongful? Or, lastly, can it include the announcement of an intent
to do, or cause to be done, something which, without being in itself
BRITISH CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OF PROPERTY ACT.
319
wrongful, is capable of putting moral compulsion on the person
threatened ? A specially constituted court of the queen’s bench divi
sion, proceeding on the intention of Parliament, as shown in the
Trade Union Act of 1871, as well as in the act of 1875, has pronounced
the first of these interpretations to be the correct one. * * * It
is to be regretted that (notwithstanding express warning uttered by
members of Parliament learned in the law when the bill was in commitee) the language of the act of 1875 was left uncertain.
It is only necessary in this connection to call attention to one other
case to show that the judicial interpretation of the section depends,
and probably will continue to depend, very largely upon the personal
view of the interpreter. In January, 1891, the recorder of Plymouth
(Mr. Bompas, Q. C.) delivered a decision which caused the widest
comment. Treleaven, an employer, had a dispute with his union men,
whose leaders issued this notice: “ Inasmuch as Mr. Treleaven still
insists on employing nonunion men, we, your officials, call upon all
union men to leave their work. Use no violence, use no immoderate
language, but quietly cease to work, and go home.” The question
before the recorder was whether this was intimidation within the
meaning of the act. The recorder held that it was intimidation, on
the ground that it was a strike not to benefit the workmen, but to
injure the master. He held that a strike to benefit workmen was a
legal combination, but that a strike to injure an employer was an
illegal combination. The case was carried to the court of appeal and
there reversed, the judges holding that “ intimidation ” must be con
fined to the use of violence to the person or to actual damage done to
property; a contingent injury to the business of an employer did not,
in their opinion, come within the scope of intimidation.
There are two other cases second only to that of Allen v. Flood
which may be briefly noticed. A t the Belfast summer assizes, July,
1896, Leathern, a Lisburn merchant, brought suit (Leathern v. Craig)
against certain members of the Journeymen Butchers’ and Assistants’
Association to recover damages for maliciously and wrongfully entic
ing and procuring persons, workmen in the employment of the plaintiff,
to break contracts into which they had entered, and not to enter into
other contracts with him, with intent to injure the plaintiff, and intim
idating and coercing certain persons to break contracts with the
plaintiff. The defense was a traverse of the acts complained of, ar.d
that they were not unlawful. The trial was before Lord Justice Fitzgibbon and a special jury, which found for the plaintiff and awarded
damages against the defendants. Judgment, however, was reserved
until after the lords’ decision in Allen v. Flood, when it was entered
in favor of the plaintiff. An appeal was taken to the Irish queen’s
bench division and upheld by a divided court, the lord chief baron
alone expressing the opinion that Allen v. Flood had decided the prin
ciple otherwise. As a matter of fact, the latter case did not determine
320
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
whether to persuade a person to break his contract is wrongful in law.
In Leathern v. Craig the question was whether a conspiracy had been
entered into. The lord chief baron held that, following the dictum
in Allen v. Flood, the conspiracy was not criminal, but the court held
that “ the action complained of was a wreaking of vengeance on the
plaintiff,” and, as such, not in the same category as Allen v. Flood.
In Leathern v. Craig the question was whether there was a conspiracy
against the employer. From the decision of the queen’s bench an
appeal was taken to the court of appeal, the appeal being argued
before the lord chancellor, the master of the rolls, and Lord Justices
Walker and Holmes. The verdicts of the courts below were upheld.
The other case referred to is that of Lyons v. Wilkins, also regarded
as of very great importance. The plaintiffs having become involved
in a dispute with their workmen their premises were picketed in the
usual manner. They applied for an interlocutory injunction to restrain
the defendants from watching or besetting except for the purpose of
obtaining or communicating information. This injunction was granted
by Mr. Justice North and made perpetual by Mr. Justice Byrne in
the chancery division of th$ high court of justice. An appeal was
taken to the court of appeal and came on for hearing before the
master of the rolls and Lord Justices Chitty and Vaughan Williams.
Judgment was given upholding the original decision. In the course
of his judgment the master of the rolls said:
The truth was that to watch or beset a man’s house with a view to
compel him to do or not to do what it was lawful for him to do
was wrongful and without lawful authority, unless some reasonable
justification for it was consistent with the evidence. Such conduct
interfered with the ordinary comfort of human existence and the
ordinary enjoyment of the house beset, and would support an action
for nuisance at common law; and proof that the nuisance was for the
purpose of peacefully persuading other people would afford no defense
to such action. Persons might be peacefully persuaded, provided that
the method employed to persuade was not a nuisance to other people.
* * * It was all very well to talk about peaceable persuasion, and
to draw fine lines between persuasion and giving information. The
line might be fine; but in this case there was no difficulty whatever in
coming to the conclusion that what was done was watching and beset
ting, as distinguished from attending in order merely to obtain or
communicate information.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.
What effect the passage of the law of 1875 has had in improving
the relations between capital and labor is a question so difficult of
exact determination, or of mathematical demonstration, that it can
only be answered in the most cautious manner and by inference rather
than by direct statement. Despite the frequent reference which has
been made in this article to litigation—which, perhaps, is always the
BRITISH CONSPIRACY AND PROTECTION OF PROPERTY ACT.
321
natural corollary of any legislative action or a complete change from
the old established order—and the admitted discontent with some of
the phases of the law, that these relations have been improved must
be conceded, and the acknowledgment is frankly made by the repre
sentatives of both capital and labor. One of the chief causes for
this improvement is the power given to the workmen to do in com
bination that which they were before permitted to do as individuals
only. That permission has removed one source of friction; it has
with exactness limited the rights of the men, and there has been no
attempt on the part of employers to interfere with this legal right.
On the other hand, section 7, as judicially interpreted, enables the
employers to prevent intimidation, or coercion, or interference with
the carrying on of their business in their own way, and when an
attempt is made to interfere with them a ready means is provided for
obtaining relief. Perhaps the answer to the question as to the effect
of the law on the relations between capital and labor can be best given
in the words of two men, one entitled to speak as the representative
of federated capital, the other as the representative of federated labor.
The representative of capital said:
W e are satisfied with the law. W e would not change it if we could,
except to make clearer the definition of intimidation and coercion.
Before the law came into effect we were harassed by picketing and
besetting, and it was extremely difficult to secure a conviction. Now,
we are far less troubled by these forms of violence, and when it becomes
necessary to appeal to the protection of the law it is quickly given us and
where the case is a just one we can rely on securing a conviction. But
there is another reason why we think the law is a good thing and why it
is mutually advantageous, both to capital and labor. Prior to 1875 the
relations between masters and •men were »vague, indefinite, barbaric,
archaic. The men were denied the right to improve their condition,
to obtain an increase of wages, to reduce their hours of labor; I mean
they were denied the right to attempt to do these things by peaceful
means, a right which certainly belonged to them. These restrictions
have been removed. W e are often, 1 admit, dictated to by trade
unions, often severe and burdensome restrictions are imposed upon us
in the conduct of our business; still, 1 concede that the men have a
right to try and obtain an amelioration of their condition provided
they do not resort to illegal methods. Nor can it be denied that what
we now recognize as legitimate was in the old days regarded as illegal;
prosecutions were frequently instituted on frivolous grounds. The
law has removed this cause of complaint. It has brought the relations
between capital and labor into greater harmony. These relations are
not yet perfect; but they are better than they were.
From the standpoint of the representative of labor the following:
Speaking broadly, I have no hesitation in saying that the relations
between capital and labor are better to-day than they were 25 years
ago. I do not attribute all of this improvement to the passage of the
law of 1875. 1 attribute part of that improvement to the law of that
year, part to the better understanding which now exists between
322
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
employer and employed, to the recognition that both have equal rights,
to the recognition that both are mutually dependent on each other, that
nothing can be to the advantage of the one without being to the advan
tage of the other, and, conversely, if one side is dissatisfied the other is
sure to be, with the results that the consequences are injurious to both.
Referring more directly to the law of 1875, its advantages to labor have
been these: It has permitted us to do in combination what we were
permitted to do as individuals, but which we were prohibited from
doing in association before that law came into effect; it has more par
ticularly established our rights; it has given us certain privileges and
restrictions, and at the same time has laid equal privileges and restric
tions upon employers; it has made us feel tnat we are not in a class by
ourselves but stand equal in the eye of the law with other men, which
has had the effect of removing much of the bitterness, much of the
feeling of injustice and inequality which formerly existed between cap
ital and labor. The law is not to be regarded as perfect. It has not
quite fulfilled all of our expectations. The courts., in the opinion of
labor, have been too prone to construe the law in favor of capital.
Some of the convictions under section 7 we regard as unwarranted by
the law and the facts. The decision in Allen v. Mood was a great
victory for us, but the limitation of the power to picket, the restric
tions which are imposed upon us, the restraint under which we are
held, the fact that’we can only do certain negative things, and have no
power to act affirmatively, have weakened instead of strengthened us
when we are engaged in a conflict with capital. We should like to see
the law amended; its amendment has often been discussed by us, but I
am frank to say I do not see any prospect of the law being modified to
make it more acceptable to the workmen. Still if the question were
put to a vote, if we were asked whether we would have the law repealed
or let it stand as it now is, faulty although we know it to be, I have no
hesitation in saying that a majority of the intelligent workmen of Great
Britain would vote in favor of the law being retained on the statute
books.
RECENT REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR STATISTICS.
CONNECTICUT.
Fifteenth Annual Report o f the Bureem o f Labor Statistics o f the State
o f Connecticut, fo r the year ending September 30, 1899. Harry E.
Back, Commissioner. 266 pp.
The following are the contents of this report: Introduction, 8 pages;
private and municipal ownership of electric light and power plants,
gasworks, and waterworks, 74 pages; condition of manufactures, 46
pages; free employment offices, 36 pages; Connecticut labor organi
zations, 35 pages; labor laws of Connecticut, 56 pages.
E lectric L ight and P ower P lants , G asworks, and W ater
works . —This
chapter contains that portion of the report of the United
States Department of Labor which relates to private and municipal
ownership of the gas, water, and electric-light plants in the State.
C ondition of M anufactures.—Statistics are given showing by
industries, for each of 668 identical establishments, the number of
persons employed on July 1 of each of the years 1896,1897,1898, and
1899; the amount of wages paid during each of the years ending July
1,1896, to 1899, inclusive, and the percentage of increase or decrease in
the number employed and in the amount of wages paid during this
period. The following tables give a summary of the data:
PERSONS EMPLOYED IN MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, BY INDUSTRIES, 1896 TO 1899.
Persons employed July 1—
Industry.
Estab
lish
ments.
1896.
1897.
1898.
1899.
P ercent
of in
crease,
1896 to
1899.
Brass and brass goods...................., .............
Carriages and carriage p a r ts .......................
C orsets..............................................................
Cotton goods and cotton m ills ....................
Cutlery, tools, an d general hardw are.........
Hats an d caps..................................................
Hosiery an d Knit g o o d s................................
Iron an d iron fo u n d ries................................
L eather goods.................................................
Machine sh o p s................................................
Musical instrum ents and parts...................
Paper and paper goods..................................
Rubber goods...................................................
Shoes............................................................ “ .
Silk goods.........................................................
Silver and plated w are..................................
Stone cutting an d quarrying.......................
Wire an d wire g o o d s.....................................
W oodworking..................................................
Woolens an d woolen m ills ...........................
M iscellaneous.................................................
64
15
10
51
60
24
18
38
13
72
9
43
11
7
16
25
10
16
37
37
92
13,864
613
4,425
12,790
8,658
2,475
2,890
3,762
479
9,121
590
2,404
3,222
366
3,807
3,684
745
879
1,765
5,152
3,704
13,773
601
4,632
13,018
7,775
2,442
2,678
3,529
487
8,553
702
2,259
3,739
394
3,980
3,575
873
882
1,889
5,303
3,762
15,900
643
4,738
13,472
8,224
2,483
2,815
3,997
509
8,492
754
2,303
3,760
325
4,613
3,780
986
958
1,919
5,303
3,677
17,528
699
4,840
13,582
9,912
2,619
3,121
4,910
551
9,898
918
2,326
3,859
332
5,097
4,319
706
1,161
2,129
5,279
4,136
26.4
14.0
9.4
6.2
14.5
5.8
8.0
30.5
15.0
8.5
55.6
a 3.2
19.8
a 9.3
33.9
17.2
a 5 .2
32.1
20.6
2.5
11.7
T o ta l.......................................................
668
85,395
84,846
89,651
97,922
14.7
q, Decrease.
333
324
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
WAGES PAID IN MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, BY INDUSTRIES, 1896 TO 1899.
Estab
lish
ments.
Industry.
Brass an d brass goods.............................
Carriages and carriage p a r ts ................
C orsets.......................................................
Cotton goods an d cotton m ills .............
Cutlery, tools, and general h a rd w a re .
H ats an d cap s...........................................
Hosiery and k n it goods...........................
Iro n an d iron foundries.........................
L eather goods...........................................
M achine sh o p s.........................................
Musical instrum ents and p a rts .............
Paper an d paper goods...........................
Rubber g o o d s...........................................
Shoes..........................................................
Silk g o ods..................................................
Silver an d plated w a re ...........................
Stone cutting and q u arry in g ................
Wire and wire goods..............................
W oodworking...........................................
Woolens an d woolen m ills....................
M iscellaneous...........................................
T o ta l................................................
64
15
10
51
60
24
18
38
13
72
9
43
11
7
16
25
10
16
37
* 37
92
Wages paid, year ending July 1—
1896.
1897.
1898.
1899.
Per cent
of in
crease,
1896 to
1899.
$7,075,745 $6,487,883 $7,651,366 $8,304,562
413,944
386,197
396,889
420,680
1,450,626 1,409,196 1,551,851 1,571,879
4,177,470 3,887,922 4,326,674 4,242,126
4,135,846 4,355,692 3,662,662 4,211,450
1,134,494 1,037,255 1,077,447 1,158,196
1,086,885
873,695
907,698 1,038,698
1,837,545 1,528,493 1,758,682 2,113,870
228,084
262,370
256,992
233,508
5,485,537 4,909,498 5,456,913 5,517,961
423,341
388,818
365,530
415,051
931,956
908,127
923,882
814,299
1,596,864 1,446,789 1,899,173 1,858,883
144,846
169,454
124,092
121,487
1,421,079 1,358,054 1,541,529 1,822,492
1,804,555 1,700,085 1,924,461 2,065,794
357,320
288,483
419,140
298,287
427,883
357,501
456,515
396,566
912,624
860,994
979,924
973,271
1,816,164 1,640,941 1,817,163 1,675,726
1,714,929 1,637,098 1,754,804 1,817,858
17.4
1.6
8.4
1.5
1.8
2.1
a 4 .4
15.0
2.4
.6
a 2 .0
a 12.6
16.4
a 16.1
28.2
14.5
a 16.5
6.7
6.6
a 7 .7
6.0
668 38,577,737 35,794,545 39,193,438 41,132,593
6.6
a Decrease.
The number of employees on the pay rolls of the 668 identical estab
lishments on July 1, 1896, was 85,395, and on July 1, 1899, 97,922, an
increase of 14.7 per cent. The increase in the number of employees
from July 1, 1898, to July 1, 1899, was 9.2 per cent. The amount
paid in wages by these establishments increased from $38,577,737 dur
ing the year ending July 1, 1896, to $41,132,593 during the year end
ing July 1* 1899, or 6.6 per cent. During the last-mentioned year
the amount increased 4.9 per cent over the preceding.
F ree E mployment O ffices . —An account is given of the operation
and results of the free public employment offices in Illinois, Missouri,
New York, and Ohio, and a suggestion is made for the establishment
of similar offices in Connecticut.
L abor O rganizations.—This chapter contains a list of labor organ
izations in the State, classified by towns and by trades, and the names
and addresses of their officers.
NORTH CAROLINA.
Thirteenth Annual Report o f the Bureau o f Labor and Printing o f
the State o f North Carolina, fo r the year 1899. B. R. Lacy, Com
missioner. xvi, 392 pp.
This report treats of the following subjects: Agricultural statistics,
76 pages; trades, 117 pages; organized labor, 15 pages; cotton and
woolen mills, 43 pages; miscellaneous factories, 33 pages; tobacco fac
tories, 14 pages; mines and mining, 13 pages; water power, 15 pages;
railway employees, 5 pages; newspapers, 28 pages; fisheries, 16 pages.
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- NORTH CAROLINA.
325
A gricultural Statistics.—Blanks were sent to representative farm
ers in every county of the State, making inquiries regarding the finan
cial, social, educational, and moral condition of farmers, wages paid for
farm labor, cost of production, and selling price of farm products, etc.
Returns were received from 379 farmers and tabulated by counties.
The average monthly wages paid for farm labor were: Men, $8.91;
women, $5.27; children, $3.58. In addition to wages, rations to the
value of $3.82, and house, pasture, garden, etc., to the value of $2.63
were provided, bringing the average monthly earnings of men to
$15.36. The cost of production of the principal crops was as follows:
Bale of cotton (500 pounds), $24.56; wheat, per bushel, $0.61; corn,
per bushel, $0.41; oats, per bushel, $0.29; tobacco, per 100 pounds,
$6.91. The selling prices were as follows: Cotton, per pound, $0.05f;
wheat, per bushel, $0.78; corn, per bushel, $0.54; oats, per bushel,
$0.39; tobacco, per 100 pounds, $7.71. The returns upon which the
above figures are based were received by the bureau from June 15 to
September 15, 1899.
T rades.—An inquiry similar to the one just mentioned was made
among skilled workmen throughout the State. Returns were received
from 364 persons and tabulated in detail. They relate to the character
of wage payments, the wage rate per day, course of wages during
year, stability of employment, fines, effects of machinery upon labor,
hours of labor, apprenticeship, cost of living, etc. No summary is
given. Of the returns received, 22 per cent report an increase, 19 per
cent a decrease, and 51 per cent no change in wages, the remaining
8 per cent not reporting.
O rganized L abor .—Returns from 20 labor unions in the State are
published. They show the name and number of each organization,
membership, wages, benefit features, hours of labor, etc. Following
is a list of organizations reporting, together with their membership:
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS IN NORTH CAROLINA, 1899.
Number Member
of local
ship.
unions.
Name of organization.
Bookbinders’ UnioD..............................................................................................................
Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers.................................................................................
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers............................................................................
Carpenters’ and Joiners’ U nion..........................................................................................
Federation of Labor.............................................................................................................
Order of Railway Conductors............................................................................................
Tobacco Workers’ U n io n ....................................................................................................
Typographical U nion............................................................................................................
a One
local union not reporting.
b Membership
1
1
9
1
1
2
1
4
11
11
a 308
125
(*>)
71
55
a 115
not reported.
Eighteen of the 20 local unions replied to the various inquiries in
the schedules. Of these, 6 had sick benefit, 7 had death benefit, and
11 had insurance features; 4 reported increased wages and 14.reported
no change in wages during the year. None of them were engaged in
326
BULLETIN OE THE DEPARTMENT OE LABOR.
strikes during the year. A list is also given of the national and inter
national labor organizations in the United States, their membership,
date of organization, etc.
C otton and W oolen M ills .—This chapter contains a list of all the
cotton and woolen mills in the State, their location, capital stock, num
ber of looms and spindles, character of goods made and of motive
power used, and a table giving, by counties, the total horsepower,
average wages, number of employees, etc. On June 1,1899, there were
215 mills in the State, of which 3 produced cotton and woolen goods,
2 cotton and knit goods, 178 cotton goods, 7 woolen goods, and 25
hosiery, knit goods,, rope, net, twine, and silk goods. The aggregate
capital stock of these mills was approximately $20,500,000. The mills
gave employment to 33,764 persons, of whom 14,642 were men, 15,814
women, 1,694 boys, and 1,614 girls under 14 years of age. The aver
age daily wages were as follows: Engineers, $1.43; firemen, $0.85;
skilled men, $1.10i; unskilled men, $0.65f; skilled women, $0.67;
unskilled women, $0.46i; children, $0.32. O f the adults 82.8 per cent
and of the children 69.4 per cent could read and write. The hours
of labor ranged from 10 to 12 per day.
T obacco and M iscellaneous F actories.—Returns regarding the
condition of employees in factories, similar to the above-mentioned,
were received for 64 tobacco factories and 176 miscellaneous factories.
The returns are published in detail, no summaries or analyses being
given.
M ines and M ining .—This chapter consists of a contributed article
on the mining industry in North Carolina, giving an account of the
mining resources and mine products of the State.
R ailroad E mployees .—A table is given showing for each road, by
occupations, the number of employees and their wages. There were
10,987 railway employees in the State. Their occupations and wages
were as follows:
RAILWAY EMPLOYEES IN 1899.
Occupation.
Station agents.......
Other station men.
E nginem en............
F irem en..................
Conductors............
Other trainm en ...
M ach in ists........... .
Num
ber.
Aver
age
daily
wages.
559
1,157
449
480
315
772
268
$1.29$
.89
2.68$
1.04$
2.07$
.87$
2.23
Occupation.
Num
ber.
C arpenters.....................................
Other shopm en..............................
Section forem en.............................
Other track m en .............................
Switch-flag w a tch m en ................
Telegraph operators.....................
O ther em ployees...........................
414
1,014
484
2,822
373
270
1,610
Aver
age
dailywages.
$1.61$
1.17
1.35$
.76
.97$
1.47$
1 .0 8 |
F isheries .—This chapter was compiled from statistics published by
the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, and shows the
extent of the fishing industry of the State, the number of persons
employed, the value of product, etc.
REPORTS OE STATE BUREAUS OP LABOR^PEN N SYL VANIA.
827
PENNSYLVANIA.
Annual Report o f the Secretary o f Internal Affairs o f the Commonwealth
o f Pennsylvania. Vol. X X V II, 1899. Part III, Industrial Statis
tics. James M. Clark, Chief of Bureau. 579 pp.
The present report deals with the following subjects: An article on
the relation of the law to economics, 12 pages; articles on the cotton
and woolen goods industries of Pennsylvania, 98 pages; statistics of
manufactures, 399 pages; production of iron, steel, and tin plate, 20
pages; cotton and wool manufacture, 19 pages; analysis, 23 pages.
Statistics of M anufactures. —Two series of tables are presented
under this head, the one showing data for 8 and the other for 4 years.
The first series consists of comparative statistics for 354 identical
establishments, representing 44 industries, for the yqars 1892 to 1899.
The data comprise average days in operation, persons employed, aggre
gate wages paid, average daily and yearly wages per employee, value
of product, and value per employee of the average annual product.
The following table gives a summary of the more important data:
PERSONS EMPLOYED, WAGES PAID, AND VALUE OF PRODUCT FOR 354 MANUFACTURING
ESTABLISHMENTS, 1892 TO 1899.
Average persons
employed.
Year.
1892..................
1893..................
1894..................
1895..................
1896..................
1897..................
1898..................
1899..................
Number.
Per cent
of in
crease.
136,882
122,278
109,383
127,361
118,092
121,281
137,985
154,422
a 10.67
a 10.55
16.44
a 7.28
2.70
13.77
11.91
Aggregate wages
paid.
Amount. *
$67,331,876
56,818,289
45,229,667
56,704,511
52,102,365
52,138,941
62,676,615
78,179,333
Average yearly
earnings.
Value of product.
Per cent
Per cent
of in Amount. of in
crease.
crease.
Amount.
$491.90
464.66
413.50
445.78
441.29
429.90
454.52
506.27
$269,452,465
226,017,762
185,626,971
222,730,930
211,252,732
222,995,654
266,044,530
377,934,411
a 15.61
a 20.40
25.37
a 8.12
.07
20.21
24.73
a 5.54
a l l . 01
7.81
a 1.01
a 2.58
5.73
11.38
Per cent
of in
crease.
a 16.12
a 17.87
19.99
a 5.15
5.56
19.30
42.06
a Decrease.
The year 1899 greatly exceeded any other year of the period in
manufacturing operations, the number of persons employed, the
aggregate and average wages paid, and the total value of the manufac
tured products being much greater than at any other time. Compared
with the year of greatest depression, 1894, the figures for 1899 show
an increase of 41.2 per cent in the number of employees, 72.85 per
cent in the aggregate wages paid, 22.4 per cent in the wages per
employee, and 103.6 per cent in the value of the product.
The second series of tables comprises returns for the years 1896 to
1899 from 855 identical establishments representing 93 industries.
The tables show the capital invested, value of basic material, average
days in operation, persons employed, wages paid, market value of the
product, and value of product per employee. As these returns cover
328
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
more ground than the preceding they enable a better comparison for
the 4 years considered. Following is a summary of the returns from
the 855 establishments:
STATISTICS OF 855 MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, 1896 TO 1899.
Year.
1896..................................................
1897.................................................
1898..................................................
1899..................................................
Year.
1896................................................
1897................................................
1898................................................
1899................................................
Capital in
vested in plants Value of basic Market value
and fixed work m aterial, (a )
of product.
ing capital.
$205,383,913
208,612,073
214,015,012
245,877,826
6 $96,459,277
5106,263,226
5119,120,802
169,586,637
$195,205,164
213,083,519
248,932,544
332,808,934
Per cent of Average
value of
basic m ate in days
opera
rial of value tion.
of product.
C49.4
c49.9
c47.9
50.9
268
276
286
288
Per
Average
Value of
cent of
Persons
Aggregate Average
yearly
daily
product
per
wages
of
employed. wages paid. earnings. earnings. employee. value of
product.
126,578 . $51,873,543
142,046
54,395,315
63,396,675
159,010
78,680,725
181,936
$409.81
382.94
398.69
432.46
$1.53
1.39
1.39
1.50
$1,542.17
1,500.10
1,565.51
1,829.26
26.6
25.5
25.5
23.6
' a By basic m aterial is m eant only the m aterial out of w hich the product was made, and does not
include any of the m aterial used in its development.
6 Figures for 852 establishments. 8 n ot reporting.
c Based on value of basic m aterial for 852 and value of product for 855 establishments.
The amount of capital invested, value of basic material, value of
product, number of persons employed, aggregate wages paid, and
yearly earnings of employees were greater in 1899 than during any
other year of the period, and in no case was the annual increase as
great as from 1898 to 1899.
I ron , Steel , and T in -P late P roduction .—During the year 1899
the pig-iron production of the State amounted to 6,542,998 gross tons,
valued at $98,203,803, or $15.01 per ton. The cost of basic materials,
that is, iron-producing materials only such as ore and scrap or cinder,
was $38,861,664. Employment was given to 15,347 persons, who
received an aggregate of $7,599,533 in wages, or $495.18 per employee.
A comparison of the figures for 1899 with those for 1898 shows an
increase of 21.9 per cent in the gross production of pig iron, 84.1 per
cent in the realized value of the product, 32.3 per cent in the aggre
gate cost of basic material, 51 per cent in the realized value per ton,
28.8 per cent in the number of persons employed, and 11.9 per cent in
the average yearly earnings of employees.
The total steel production in 1899 amounted to 6,446,159 gross tons,
an increase of 22.2 per cent over 1898. O f this, 3,971,835 tons were
Bessemer, 2,398,210 tons were open hearth, and 75,356 tons were
crucible steel, the remaining 758 tons being produced by other
processes.
The production of iron and steel in finished form amounted to
6,929,046 net tons. This comprises bar, rods, strip steel, skelp,
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- PENNSYLVANIA.
329
shapes, rolled axles, structural iron, plates, sheets, cut nails and
spikes, rails, etc., but does not include billets or muck bar. The total
product was valued at $225,155,176, or $32.49 per ton. The value of
the basic material used in the production was $136,984,908. Employ
ment was given to 69,982 persons, who received a total of $39,120,129
in wages, or $559 per employee. The establishments were in opera
tion an average of 287 days. The above figures do not include the
production of 164,439 tons of black plate which are separately con
sidered. A comparison of the above figures with those for the pre
ceding year shows an increase of 25.1 per cent in the net production,
64.6 per cent in the value of the product, 31.5 per cent in the average
value per ton, 71.4 per cent in the value of the basic material used,
24.5 per cent in the average number of persons employed, and 12.7
per cent in the average yearly earnings of employees.
In 1899 black plate was produced in 21 establishments, 18 of which
turned out a tinned production. The total production of black plate
was 368,600,734 pounds, of which 292,164,734 pounds were tinned in
the establishments. The value of the tinned product was $10,249,841,
and of the untinned black plate $1,902,691, making a total value of
$12,152,532. The establishments were in operation an average of 223
days, employed 7,682 persons, and paid an aggregate of $4,054,395 in
wages, or $527.78 per employee. A comparison of the data for 1899
with those for 1898 shows an increase of 7.1 per cent in the production
of black plate, 30.1 per cent in the value of the product, and 52.5 per
cent in the average number of persons employed. In the aggregate
amount of wages paid there was an increase of 37.7 per cent, and in
the average daily wages an increase of 12.4 per cent, but there was a
decrease of 9.7 per cent in the average yearly earnings of employees,
and of 19.8 per cent in the average number of days worked during the
year.
Seven tin-plate dipping works, which bought all their black plate,
produced in 1899 38,918,000 pounds of tin and terne, valued at
$1,916,038, a decrease in the production but an increase in the total
value over the preceding year. The works were in operation an aver
age of 257 days, employed an average of 326 persons, and paid $127,564
in wages. The total production of tin and terne plate by the 18 black
plate and 7 dipping works was, therefore, 331,082,734 pounds, having
a total value of $12,165,879. Compared with the year 1898 there was
in 1899 an increase of 25.9 per cent in the total production, and of 44.1
per cent in the total value of the tin and terne plate.
C otton and W ool M anufacture .—This investigation was intended
to include all cotton and woolen establishments in active operation in
the State during the year 1899. Returns from 813 establishments
showed an aggregate capital of $57,493,103, a total cotton production
10332—No. 33—01----- 11
330
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
of 180,441,351 pounds, and a total woolen production of 172,795,284
pounds. The aggregate value of the product was $116,850,782. Theestablishments employed 78,660. persons, whose aggregate wages dur
ing the year amounted to $25,266,144. Of the employees, 30,050 were
men, 39,035 were women, and 9,575 were children between the ages
of 13 and 16 years. The average yearly earnings of the men were
$450.43; of the women, $263.01; and of the children, $152.91.
WEST VIRGINIA.
Report o f the Bureau o f Labor Statistics o f West Virginia. 1899-1900.
I. V. Barton, Commissioner, v, 291 pp.
The contents of the present report may be grouped as follows: Con
dition of manufactures, and increased avenues of employment, 69
pages; benefit features of American trade unions, 44 pages; the Chi
cago conference on trusts, 17 pages; strike of street-railway employees,
25 pages; arbitration and mediation in the United States, 51 pages;
industrial conditions and labor legislation, 33 pages; recommendations,
5 pages.
C ondition of M anufactures , etc .—Returns from 500 establish
ments are tabulated, showing, by industries, the number of employees
on January 1, 1897, 1899, and 1900, with the per cent of increase or
decrease during the period; the changes in wage rates from January
1, 1897, to January 1, 1900, and the number of weeks the establish
ments were in operation during 1899. A directory of the principal
manufactures in the State is also given.
The 500 establishments reported 28,334 employees on the pay rolls
on January 1, 1897, 34,889 employees on January 1, 1899, and 40,221
employees on January 1, 1900—an increase of 42 per cent during the
period. The establishments were in operation an average of 46£ weeks.
Of the 500 establishments, 305 reported an advance in wages affecting
22,553 employees, and 3 reported a decrease in wages affecting 24
employees, during the period from January 1,1897, to January 1,1900.
Under the head of increased avenues of employment are given the
names and locations of 298 mercantile, mining, and manufacturing
establishments in the State, together with the number of employees,
capital invested, and amount of wages paid monthly in each; also a
list of nearly 700 new establishments created during the period from
March 1, 1897, to January 1, 1900.
B enefit F eatures of A merican T rade U nions.—This is a repro
duction of an article published in Bulletin No. 22 of the United States
Department of Labor.
C hicago C onference on T rusts.—Extracts are given from the
report of this conference.
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- WEST VIRGINIA.
331
Strike of Street -R ailway E mployees .—A detailed account is
given of a strike of street-railway employees in Wheeling and suburban
points in 1899.
A rbitration and M ediation . —This chapter contains a brief review
of legislation regarding arbitration and conciliation in the United
States, and reproductions of laws relating thereto enacted by the
various States.
I ndustrial C onditions and L abor L egislation . —A statement is
given of labor conditions in the State as found by a special investiga
tion and embodied in the governor’s message; also copies of labor laws
passed in recent years.
STATE REPOETS ON BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS.
CALIFORNIA.
Seventh Annual Report on the Building and Loan Associations o f the
State o f California. October 1, 1900. By the Board of Commis
sioners of the Building and Loan Associations. 181 pp.
This report contains compilations made from the annual reports of
118 associations in active operation on May 31, 1900, which had then
been transacting business for more than 1 year. Each association
reported for its own fiscal year, and as these dates occurred at various
times during the year, a summary of operations for any one period
could not be presented.
The following statement gives miscellaneous statistics for 118 asso
ciations whose fiscal years ended some time between May 31,1899, and
May 31, 1900:
A ssociations....................................................................................................
148
M em bers..........................................................................................................
37,456
Borrow ers......................................................................................................
12,369
2,697
Mortgage loans during the y e a r ................ ................................................
Stock loans during the year.........................................................................
1,750
Houses built since organization.................................................................
13,965
Shares in force at time of last report.........................................................
405,933$
Shares issued since last report.....................................................................
131,659|
Shares withdrawn and matured since last report...................................
123,293|
414,299$
Shares in force................................................................................................
Shares pledged for loans..............................................................................
I l l , 057
Net profit during the y e a r ...........................................................................$1,070,972.83
In the following tables are shown the assets and liabilities and the
receipts and expenditures of the 148 associations for the last fiscal year
covered by the report:
ASSETS AND LIABILITIES OF 148 ASSOCIATIONS.
Assets.
Liabilities.
L o a n s.................................................. $15,404,961.03
405,865.70
A rrearag es.........................................
Cash on h a n d ....................................
624,393.11
2,144,226.42
Beal e sta te .........................................
356,437.50
Other assets.......................................
Installm ent s to c k .........................
Paid-up and prepaid stock.........
E arnings apportioned..................
A dvance paym ents.......................
Overdrafts an d bills payable__
Reserve an d undivided profits..
U nearned prem ium s....................
Other lia b ilitie s.............................
$11,712,202.14
1,861,903.58
3,530,248.78
79,383.48
752,272.75
421,385.42
122,430.66
456,056.95
18,935,883.76
T o ta l.....................................
18,935,883.76
T o ta l.........................................
332
833
BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS---- CALIFORNIA.
RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF 148 ASSOCIATIONS.
Expenditures.
Receipts.
Balance, last report...........................
In sta llm e n t, stock .............................
Paid-up and prepaid sto c k .............
In te re s t..............................................
Prem ium .............................................
F in es...................................................
Fees.....................................................
Loans re p a id .....................................
Overdrafts an d bills payable.........
Other receipts....................................
$627,386.46
3,253,291.42
781,243.61
1,164,405.39
317,414.33
22,945.81
5,933.17
4,718,274.36
853,414.10
800,658.44
Overdrafts and bills payable__
L o a n s..............................................
In te re s t...........................................
Dues repaid (installm ent stock).
Profits repaid..................................
Paid-up and prepaid sto c k .........
Salaries............................................
T a x e s ..............................................
Other expenses..............................
All other p ay m en ts......................
Balance on h a n d ...........................
$870,047.65
3,613,237.95
86,956.78
4,024,916.11
1,284,065.63
517,481.05
197,130.60
213,327.63
153,125.40
960,285.18
624,393.11
T o ta l.........................................
12,544,967.09
T o ta l.....................................
12,544,967.09
NEW YORK.
Annual Report o f the Superintendent o f Banks Relative to Building
and Loan and Cooperative Savings and Loan Associations, fo r the
year ending December 31, 1899. Frederick D. Kilburn, Superin
tendent of Banks. 715 pp.
This report consists of a list of the building and loan and cooperative
savings and loan associations that have been organized or authorized
under the banking law from 1875 to 1900; a detailed statement of the
condition of each association on January 1, 1900; a comparative state
ment of the assets, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, etc., of associa
tions for the year 1899; a detailed statement of the condition of each
building lot association, and copies of the principal laws governing
the organization and supervision of building and loan and cooperative
savings and loan associations.
The following table shows for the year 1899 miscellaneous statistics
regarding shares, borrowers, female shareholders, mortgages, etc.,
for 317 national and local associations in the State:
MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS OF 347 ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE YEAR 1899.
Items.
Shares in force Jan u ary 1,1899 ............................
Shares issued during th e year..............................
Shares w ithdraw n during the year.....................
Shares in force December 31,1899.......................
Borrowing mem bers................................................
Shares held by borrowing mem bers....................
Nonborrowing m em b ers.......................................
Shares held by nonborrowing m em bers.............
Female shareholders ( a ) .......................................
Shares held by females ( a ) ....................................
Foreclosures in 1899................................................
Amount of mortgages on property in the State
Operating expenses for th e y e a r .........................
a Not
National.
Local.
Total.
818,554
292,642
253,544
857,652
10,587
183,253
59,926
674,399
10,235
129,960
302
$12,535,083
$830,744
703,067
184,351
176,670
710,748
19,177
190,779
70,242
519,969
27,921
186,473
189
$28,093,647
$286,594
1,521,621
476,993
430,214
1,568,400
29,764
374,032
130,168
1,194,368
38,156
316,433
491
$40,628,730
$1,117,338
including 32 associations not reporting.
While there was a decrease in the number of associations in the
State, and in most of the items shown in the above table, as compared
with the preceding year, there was an apparent increase in the total
assets and a larger number of shares held in the 847 associations at the
334
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
close than at the beginning of the year. If, however, we refer to the
table of liabilities we find a large increase in mortgages assumed, which
causes a considerable decrease in actual assets. The following tables
give the total assets and liabilities and receipts and disbursements for
347 associations reported in 1899:
ASSETS AND LIABILITIES OF 347 ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE YEAR 1899.
National.
Local.
Total.
Loans on bond and m o rtgage.........................................................
Loans on sh a res.................................................................................
Stocks an d b o n d s ..............................................................................
Contracts for th e sale of real e s ta te ..............................................
Real esta te ..........................................................................................
C«feh on h and and in b a n k ..............................................................
F urn itu re an d fixtures.....................................................................
Installm ents due an d u n p a id .........................................................
Interest, premium, fees, and fines due and u n p a id ..................
Other a ssets........................................................................................
$19,216,957
593,082
971
462,295
7,122,984
527,713
55,273
84,091
269,395
448,303
$30,445,792
1,020,347
32,968
508,934
2,981,026
1,725,861
39,368
106,418
161,031
231,980
$49,662,749
1,613,429
33,939
971,229
10,104,010
2,253,574
94,641
190,509
430,426
680,283
T o ta l....... ........ ...................._.......... .......................................
28,781,064
37,253,725
66,034,789
Due shareholders, stock paym ents cred ited ................................
Dividends credited...........................................................................
Due shareholders, m atured shares..................................................
Balance to be paid borrowers on mortgage lo an s......................
Mortgages assu m ed ..........................................................................
Borrowed m oney...............................................................................
Earnings undivided..........................................................................
Other liab ilities.................................................................................
14,868,131
1,403,540
9,403
390,215
9,197,515
296,273
1,780,057
835,930
29,123,024
4,634,193
348,460
259,899
240,645
396,833
1,818,246
432,425
43,991,155
6,037,733
357,863
650,114
9,438,160
693,106
3,598,303
1,268,355
T o ta l..........................................................................................
28,781,064
37,253,725
66,034,789
Items.
ASSETS.
LIABILITIES.
RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS OF 347 ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE YEAR 1899.
Items.
National.
Local.
Total.
RECEIPTS.
Cash on h an d January 1,1898................................
Stock paym ents credited to m em bers..................
Deductions credited to expense or sim ilar fund
Money borrow ed.......................................................
Mortgages redeemed, foreclosed, or transferred.
Other loans redeem ed..............................................
Real estate s o ld .........................................................
Fees received by associations an d a g e n ts ...........
Fines received............................................................
In terest receiv ed .......................................................
Prem ium re c e iv e d ..................................................
R ent receiv ed ............................................................
Other receip ts............................................................
$485,385
3,907,506
256,820
946,331
5,415,188
583,294
2,707,248
116,566
41,220
1,015,246
642,850
200,359
4,318,139
$1,856,041
7,920,374
1,157
996,815
5,563,123
876,104
381,448
28,311
35,956
1,624,961
331,687
125,731
329,089
$2,341,426
11,827,880
257,977
1,943,146
10,978,311
1,459,398
3,088,696
144,877
77,176
2,640,207
974,537
326,090
4,647,228
T o ta l.................................................................
20,636,152
20,070,797
40,706,949
Loaned on m ortgage........................................................................
Loaned on other securities.............................................................
Paid shares w ithdraw n and cash dividends................................
Paid m atured sh a res........................................................................
Paid borrowed m oney and prior mortgages, principal and
in terest.............................................................................................
Paid for real estate.......................................................................... .
Paid salaries an d clerk h ire ............................................................
Paid agents........................................................................................ .
P aid advertising, printing, an d postage..................................... .
Paid re n t.............................................................................................
Paid repairs to real estate................................................................
Paid taxes, insurance, etc.............................................................. .
Other disbursem ents........................................................................
Cash on h an d December 31,1899................................................... .
7,168,740
520,211
4,704,170
96,436
5,383,745
915,004
7,977,094
1,678,121
12,552,485
1,435,215
12,681,264
1,774,557
1,727,469
3,195,641
370,078
210,783
68,438
49,919
164,009
108,854
1,723,691
527,713
1,023,588
564,225
188,899
1,317
25,092
33,447
54,012
85,503
414,889
1,725,861
2,751,057
3,759,866
558 977
212,100
93,530
83,366
218,021
194,357
2,138,580
2,253,574
T o ta l.........................................................................................
20,636,152
20,070,797
40,706,949
DISBURSEMENTS.
RECENT FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS.
BELGIUM.
Rapport sur les Trrnaux de la Commission des Pensions Ouvrieres.
Office du Travail, Ministere de PIndustrie et du Travail. 1900.
vii, 273 pp.
This report contains the results of the work undertaken by a special
commission appointed by the Belgian Government for the purpose of
examining the subject of old-age and invalidity pensions and of recom
mending such legislation as would tend to generalize this form of
insurance among the working people in Belgium.
The report contains an account of the nature and workings of the
various old-age pension systems in Belgium, the effects of legislation
upon the same, and the causes which have retarded the development of
this kind of voluntary insurance among the working people in Belgium.
A review is also given of foreign legislation and proposed legislation
with regard to this form of insurance.
The commission reported in favor of retaining the voluntary system
of old-age and invalidity insurance, believing that State intervention
can be sufficiently efficacious when it is limited to measures having for
their object the facilitating, encouraging, developing, and assisting of
individual effort. As a result o f the commission’s work a law was
enacted May 10,1900, placing the system of State aid for old-age and
invalidity insurance hpon a new footing and providing for liberal
State subsidies to be granted persons availing themselves of the law.
FRANCE.
Annuaire des Syndicats Professionals Industriels, Commeroiaux et
Agricoles constitues conformement a la loi du 21 Mars 188h cn
France et cmx Colonies. Office du Travail, Ministere du Commerce,
de PIndustrie, des Postes et des Telegraphes. 10e annee, 1898-99.
liv, 614 pp.
This is the ninth annual report on trade, commercial, and agricul
tural associations organized in conformity with the provisions of the
law of March 21, 1884 (a), in France and her colonies. Under this
head are included trade unions, employers’ associations, organizations
a For the more important provisions of this law see Bulletin No. 25, pp. 838,839.
335
336
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
composed of employers and employees, and farmers’ associations.
The report mainly consists of a directory of these organizations. It
also contains short summary tables, a reproduction of the law of
March 21, 1884, and the Government decrees enforcing the same, and
a review of the orders, instructions, and decisions relating to such
organizations. The first of the two tables following shows the num
ber of these organizations on July 1 of each year from 1884 to 1896,
and on December 31, 1897 and 1898, and the second table shows their
membership each year from 1890 to 1898.
INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS IN EXISTENCE ON
JULY 1 OF EACH YEAR FROM 1884 TO 1896, AND ON DECEMBER 81, 1897 AND 1898.
Industrial and commercial asso
Agricul
ciations.
tural
Employ Working Mixed. associa
tions.
ers’.
m en’s.
Date.
Ju ly 1,1884..............................................
Ju ly 1,1885..............................................
Ju ly 1,1886..............................................
Ju ly 1,1887.............................................
Ju ly 1,1888..............................................
Ju ly 1,1889..............................................
Ju ly 1,1890..............................................
Ju ly 1,1891..............................................
Ju ly 1,1892..............................................
Ju ly 1,1893..............................................
Ju ly 1,1894..............................................
Ju ly 1,1895..............................................
Ju ly 1,1896..............................................
December 31,1897..................................
December 31,1898..................................
101
285
359
598
859
877
1,004
1,127
1,212
1,397
1,518
1,622
1,731
1,894
1,965
1
4
8
45
78
69
97
126
147
173
177
173
170
184
176
68
221
280
501
725
821
1,006
1,250
1,589
1,926
2,178
2,163
2,243
2,324
2,361
5
39
93
214
461
557
648
750
863
952
1,092
1,188
1,275
1,499
1,824
Total.
175
549
740
1,358
2,123
2,324
2,755
3,253
3,811
4,448
4,965
5,146
5,419
5,901
6,326
Increase
since pre
ceding
year.
374
191
618
765
201
431
498
558
637
517
181
273
482
425
MEMBERSHIP OF INDUSTRIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS ON
JULY 1 OF EACH YEAR FROM 1890 TO 1896, AND ON DECEMBER 31,1897 AND 1898.
Membership of associations.
Date.
Ju ly 1,1890.......................................
Ju ly 1,1891.......................................
Ju ly 1,1892.......................................
Ju ly 1,1893.......................................
Ju ly 1,1894.......................................
Ju ly 1,1895.......................................
Ju ly 1,1896.......................................
December 31,1897...........................
December 31,1898...........................
Employ
ers’.
93,411
106,157
102,549
114,176
121,914
131,031
141,877
189,514
151,624
Working Mixed.
m en’s.
139,692
205,152
288,770
402,125
403,440
419,781
422,777
437,793
419,761
14,096
15,773
18,561
30,052
29,124
31,126
30,333
33,963
34,236
Agricul
tural.
Total.
234,234
269,298
313,800
353,883
378,750
403,261
423,492
448,395
491,692
481,433
596,380
723,680
900,236
933,228
985,199
1,018,479
1,109,665
1,097,313
Increase
since pre
ceding
year.
114,947
127,300
176,556
32,992
51,971
33,280
91,186
a 12,352
a Decrease.
Saisie-Arret sur les Salaires. Office du Travail, Minister© du Com
merce, de l’Industrie, des Postes et des T&egraphes. 1899. xxiii,
138 pp.
The present report is the result of an inquiry conducted by the
bureau of labor of the French ministry of commerce in response to
a request from a senatorial committee charged with the examination
of a proposed change in the law regarding the attachment of the
wages o f working people, clerks, etc. The report contains the text
of the existing law relating to the attachment of wages enacted Jan
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- FRANCE.
337
uary 12, 1895, the proposed amendment to this law, which passed the
French Chamber of Deputies on April 18, 1898, and the results of
the inquiry.
The law of January 12, 1895, provides that the wages of working
people can not be attached or assigned beyond one-tenth, regardless
of the amount of the wages. The same exemption applies to the sal
aries of clerks and functionaries whose earnings do not exceed 2,000
francs ($386) per annum. Certain exceptions are provided for, which,
however, have no bearing upon the object of the present report. The
greater part of the text of the law relates to the procedure for the
enforcement of attachments of wages, and this procedure is so cum
bersome that by the time an attachment can be legally enforced the
expenses are frequently greatly in excess of the amount of the debt,
thus increasing the burden upon the debtor without conferring any
special advantage upon the creditor or employer of the debtor.
While the amendment proposed by the Chamber of Deputies does
not contemplate any change in the proportion of the wages that may
be attached, it provides for a complete alteration of that part of the
law which relates to procedure, with the view of its simplification and
the consequent reduction of legal expenses.
When the proposed amendment reached the Senate, after its passage
by the Chamber of Deputies, it was referred to a senatorial committee
for examination. This committee requested the minister of commerce
to institute an inquiry among the larger industrial and commercial
establishments and other corporations with the view of ascertaining
their opinions as to the advisability of maintaining the principle of
attaching a portion of the wages of employees or of adopting the
principle of total exemption already in force in England, Germany,
Norway, Hungary, Spain, and Brazil. For this purpose 2,000 cir
culars of inquiry were sent out, of which 817 were answered. These
answers were then compiled and analyzed for publication by the
French bureau of labor.
Of the 817 responses 412 were in favor of total exemption, 368
favored some form of attachment, while 37 were indefinite. Only 69
responses favored the retention of the law of 1895 in its present form,
172 favored the retention of the law with a reform reducing the legal
expenses, 60 favored this reform, together with certain other altera
tions, and 57 favored the retention of the existing law, with certain
alterations other than a reform of the legal expenses. Of the 817
returns 742 were received from industrial and commercial establish
ments, 709 of which employed 545,597 working people. The remain
ing 75 responses came from chambers of commerce, employers’ and
employees’ associations, and similar organizations. The report con
tains a detailed analysis of the returns received, classified according
to the nature of the responses, of which the following is a digest.
338
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
L egal E xpenses .—In many cases these have been in inverse pro
portion to the amount of the debt, sometimes reaching 1,000 per cent.
The mode of procedure is such that hardly has the workman incurred
a debt, no matter how small, in many cases less than 5 francs (96i
cents), than he is immediately pursued by his creditor, who generally
disregards the expenses, since they are at the charge of the debtor.
These expenses are also largely increased by the formalities observed
in the distribution among several creditors of the amount retained
from the workman’s wages.
A large steel company in one of the eastern departments of France
furnished the following statistics of 27 cases of attachment under the
law:
PER CENT OF LEGAL EXPENSES OF AMOUNT OF DEBT.
Num ber of attachm ents.
1............................................................
2 ............................................................
3 ............................................................
1............................................................
2 ............................................................
4 ............................................................
8............................................................
6............................................................
Per cent of expenses
of am ount of debt.
Over 1,000.
Between 800 and
Between 700 and
Between 600 an d
Between 500 and
Between 400 and
Between 300 and
Between 200 and
700.
600.
500.
400.
300.
200.
100.
A director of a tobacco factory furnished the following examples of
cases coming within his knowledge.
PER CENT OF LEGAL EXPENSES OF AMOUNT OF DEBT.
Debt.
$3.3775
17.3700 !
19.3000 '
5.4330
8.6850 •
62.5899
5.0180
Per cent of
Expenses. ofexpenses
am ount
of debt.
$9.6500
38.6000
19.3000
9.6500
19.3000
57.9000
9.6500
285.71
222.22
100.00
177.62
222.22
92.51
192.31
I ncrease in N umber of S eizures .—Since the application of this
law the number of seizures has greatly increased, and the merchants
resort to it to recover the most insignificant sums. A mining company
in the Pas de Calais registered 5,182 attachments, as follows:
ATTACHMENTS AND AMOUNT OF DEBT.
Num ber of attachm ents.
Am ount of debt.
263............................................................ $1.93 or under.
1,722 .........................................................
2.12* to
$9.65
1,445.........................................................
9.84* to
19.30
1,035......................................................... 19.49* to
38.60
559............................................................. 38.79* to
96.50
105............................................................ 96.69* to 193.00
53.............................................................. 193.19* to 1,698.40
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- FRANCE.
339
L ong D uration of A ttachments.—One result of the exaggerated
expenses and the increase in the number of seizures is that the period
during which the workman has to yield a part of his wages is greatly
prolonged. A paper manufacturer reported that out of 180 workmen
whose wages had been attached 100 had not been released during
5 years. Other statements show that at the mo thly rate of payment
provided by the court it would take, in some cases, 12,11, 16, 26, 10,
and 161 years to pay the debts and added expenses.
D eparture of the W orkmen .—As a result of the above condi
tions, the workman who is seized does not always resign himself to
accept the retaining of the tenth of his wages. After a certain number
of pay days, and sometimes after the first, he leaves the country or goes
into another factory. If his creditor succeeds in finding him, he dis
appears again. Over 80 answers to the ministerial circular spoke of
the sudden disappearance of workmen seized as of common occur
rence, and many directors complained of the inconvenience caused to
the establishments by the instability of the personnel as a result of
the law.
D ismissal of W orkmen . —Another factor that renders the law so
ineffectual in its application is the dismissal of the workman by his
employer as soon as the attachment of his wages is made. The noti
fication of a seizure on a workman frequently creates an unfavorable
impression on the mind of his employer, who sees the beginning of a
responsibility which he generally does not care to assume. Under
this law the employer is obliged to assume a position which produces
bad feeling between him and his workmen. It is a source of inter
minable discussion, renewed every pay day, and finally ends by the
employer losing his authority over his men. To avoid the incon
veniences arising the employer frequently dismisses the workman.
M aterial and M oral Consequences of Seizure .—A workman
who once quits his employer, either voluntarily or by dismissal, the
first time a portion of his wages is retained, falls into the habit of
shirking payment; he buys and does not pay, and when his credit is
exhausted he leaves for other regions. He becomes a rover, working
a few months here and a few months there, living a life of disorder,
and often finally provokes a break-up in his family. Not only do the
men suffer from this law, but also the women and children. Wages of
women and children are frequently seized to pay the drinking debts
of husbands and fathers, and frequently the wages of children are
seized to pay debts of parents who have abandoned them.
N ature of D ebts G iving R ise to S eizure . —The butcher, the
baker, and the grocer are the last to have recourse to the law. The
principal use of the law is by saloon keepers, and keepers of certain
stores which do business on the long-credit system. The law tends
to increase the habit of drinking, owing to the facility with which a
340
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
workman can get credit for drink. One manufacturer says, “ The
law regarding the attachment of wages is partly responsible for the
ravages of alcoholism, and if this curse continues to make frightful
progress in industrial centers * * * it is because of the facility
with which the workman can find a permanent credit with the saloon
keeper always out of proportion to his resources, and consequently
hurtful and immoral.” In one case, out of 70 seizures in 1899, 33
came from drinking saloons; and in another case, out of 10 seizures,
8 came from saloons. The most numerous and the severest criticisms
are addressed against the effect of the law in encouraging those houses
which sell on the long-credit system. This system, it is said, is fatal
to Ihe purse of the workman.
R eforms Suggested .—Among the reforms suggested are (1) the
total abrogation of the law, (2) its retention with reform in the matter
of legal expenses, and (3) its reform so that the attachments should be
possible only for “ obligatory debts;” that is, for those debts contracted
for what are called necessaries of life, excluding debts of the saloon
and those of establishments practicing the long-credit system.
NEW ZEALAND.
N inth Annual Report o f the Department o f Labor o f New Zealand,
fo r the year ending March 31, 1900. xxiv, 128 pp.
This report consists of an introduction, 24 pages; statistics of per
sons assisted by the department of labor, 8 pages; an account of acci
dents, disputes under the industrial conciliation and arbitration act,
1894, and legal decisions under the factories and other acts, 54 pages;
statistics of permits granted for child labor and a statement of accom
modations provided for sheep shearers, 2 pages; statistics of hours of
overtime in factories and of the number and wages of employees in
factories and railway workshops, 64 pages.
I ntroduction.—This part of the report consists of a review of
labor conditions in New Zealand, an analysis of the statistics presented
in the report, remarks upon the workings of various labor laws, and
the reports of local factory inspectors and agents of the department.
P ersons A ssisted.—Detailed tables are given showing, by occupa
tions and localities, the number of persons who obtained employment
through the agency of the department. The statistics are presented
by occupations, localities, and months, and show the conjugal condi
tion of persons assisted, the number of their dependents, the number
of months unemployed, and the causes of failure to obtain work.
During the fiscal year ending March 31, 1900, the department
assisted in this way 2,147 persons, of whom 1,115 were married and
1,032 were single. These persons had 4,471 dependents, of whom
1,115 were wives, 3,032 were children, and 324 were parents or
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- NEW ZEALAND.
341
others. Thirty-seven wives and 40 children were sent to workmen.
O f the persons assisted, 486 were sent to private employment and
1,661 to Government works. The cause given for failure to obtain
employment was slackness of trade in 2,129 cases and sickness in 18
cases.
In addition to the above cases, 256 women and girls secured employ
ment through the women’s branch of the department. These, together
with the 2,147 persons assisted by the men’s branch, make a total of
2,403 persons who secured employment through the department.
E mployees in F actories .—This presentation covers all employees
who came under the provisions of the factories act during the fiscal
year ending March 31,1900. The tables show, by localities and indus
tries, the number and average weekly wages of all factory employees,
arranged according to sex and age groups. During the year there
were 48,938 persons employed in 6,438 factories. This was an increase
of 3,633 employees and of 152 factories over the preceding year.
E mployees in R ailway W orkshops. —The statistics of employees
in railway workshops show the number of men and apprentices
employed and their average wages, by localities and occupations.
During the year ending March 31,1900,1,303 men and 161 apprentices
were employed in railway workshops in New Zealand.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
[This 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 when short by quotation marks and when long b y being printed solid. In
order to save space, immaterial matter, needed simply by way of explanation, is
given in the words of the editorial reviser.]
DECISIONS UNDER STATUTORY LAW .
C onstitutionality of Statute — E xemption of W ages from
G arnishment, etc . —Kirhman v. B ird, 61 Pacific Reporter, page
338. —Suit was brought by John M. Kirkman against William Bird, jr.,
to recover for a debt due for goods and merchandise. May 13, 1896,
the plaintiff recovered a judgment in an inferior court of the State o f
Utah for $285.47, and costs amounting to $11.25. On December 12,
1899, an execution was issued on said judgment, and the Rio Grande
Western Railway Company was garnisheed. On December 28, 1899,
the railway company answered that it was indebted to the defendant,
Bird, in the sum of $77.50 for services rendered from November 1 to
December 12, 1899, but that said amount was exempt from execution.
The defendant also filed an answer, alleging the same facts as set up
by the railroad company. The attorney for the plaintiff filed an affi
davit admitting the facts alleged in the foregoing answers, except the
conclusion that said earnings were exempt from execution, and alleg
ing that at the time the goods and merchandise were sold and the judg
ment rendered the said Bird had no property except his monthly earn
ings for personal services, and that one-half of said earnings at the
last-named dates were, and ever since have been, subject to the ex
ecution of said judgment. The district court of Salt Lake County,
Utah, before which a hearing was had, held that the earnings of the
defendant in the possession of the railway company were exempt from
execution, and rendered a judgment accordingly in favor of the
defendant. The plaintiff, Kirkman, then appealed the case to the
supreme court o f the State, which rendered its decision May 14, 1900,
and affirmed the judgment of the district court.
The opinion of the court, delivered by Judge Baskin, shows the fur
ther facts in the case, the legal points in dispute, and the reasons for
the decision. It contains the following language:
The respondents claim exemption under an act of the legislature
approved March 9, 1899 (Laws 1899, p. 99, sec. 7), which exempts
from execution “ the earnings of the judgment debtor for personal
342
decisions of courts affectino labor.
343
services rendered within 60 days next preceding the ievy of the exe
cution, by garnishment or otherwise, if the judgment debtor be a mar
ried man, or with a family dependent upon him for support*” The
appellant contends that the legislature did not intend that said provi
sion should have any retroactive effect, and that the judgment m this
case giving it such effect is in violation of section 10, article 1, of the
Constitution of the United States, and impairs the obligation of the
implied contract between the parties which arose upon sale of the said
goods and merchandise previous to the passage of said act.
A t the date of the implied contract and the rendition of said judg
ment [May 13, 1896], under the attachment law then in force, garnish
ment of one-half only of the defendant’s earnings for his personal
services rendered within 60 days preceding service on the garnishee
was permissible* (2 Comp. Laws 1888, p. 307, subd. 7; Laws 1896,
p. 214, sec. 7.) Section 7 of the act of 1899 did not abolish the remedy
by garnishment, but simply amended the former act so as to exclude
the whole of such earnings for services rendered during such period
from the operation of that process, when the judgment debtor is a
married man or has a family dependent upon him for support. So
that the alleged injury complained of in this case is said limitation of
the remedy by garnishment. Therefore, the only question presented
is whether this limitation impairs the obligation of the contract.
In the case of Bronson v. Kinzie,^ 1 How., 315; 11 L. Ed., 144,
Chief Justice Taney in the opinion said: “ Undoubtedly a State may
regulate at pleasure the modes of proceeding in its courts in relation
to past contracts as well as future. It may, if it thinks proper, direct
that the necessary implements of agriculture, or the tools of the
mechanic, or articles of necessity in household furniture, shall, like
wearing apparel, not be liable to execution on judgments. Regula
tions of this description have always been considered, in every civi
lized community, as properly belonging to the remedy, to be exercised
or not by every sovereignty, according to its own views of policy and
humanity. It must reside in every State to enable it to secure its
citizens from unjust and harassing litigation, and to protect them in
those pursuits which are necessary to the existence and well-being of
every community. And, although a new remedy may be deemed less
convenient than the old one, and may in some degree render the
recovery of debts more tardy and difficult, yet it will not follow that
the law is unconstitutional. Whatever belongs merely to the remedy
may be altered according to the will of the State, provided the alter
ation does not impair the obligation of the contract. But, if that
effect is produced, it is immaterial whether it is done by acting on the
remedy or directly on the contract itself. In either case, it is prohib
ited by the Constitution.”
Creditors as well as debtors are presumed to know that the legisla
ture has an inherent power to enlarge, limit, alter, or repeal remedial
statutes, provided that contracts are not directly impaired, and a rem
edy be left, though less convenient and less prompt and speedy, than
the one so changed or repealed. Also to enact such laws as, u accord
ing to its own views of policy and humanity, it may deem necessary
to protect the citizens of the State from unjust, merciless, and oppres
sive litigation and other evils detrimental to the common weal, and
protect them in those pursuits of industry, and secure to them those
privilege^ and rights, which experience has already shown, or in the
344
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
future may be shown, to be necessary to the prosperity and strength
of the State, although such necessary laws may in some way or other
affect contracts previously entered into.” Among such necessary laws
are police regulations, exemptions from forced sales on execution of
necessary implements of agriculture, the tools of mechanics, necessary
household furniture for the use of the family and their wearing apparel,
exemption of a portion of the wages of laborers, etc. Parties making
contracts, I think, should be charged with notice that the legislature
has a right to make such necessary changes in the laws, and that it
should be presumed that they intended their contracts to be subject to
such reasonable and necessary changes.
Certainly, any change or limitation of the remedy which does not
materially abridge the right does not impair the obligation of the con
tract. As stated in Yan Hoffman v. City of -Quincy, 4 Wall., 554;
18 L. Ed., 403, “ every case must be determined upon its own circum
stances.” In the case at bar it is conceded that the defendant has a
family dependent upon him for support, and that his only means of
doing so is his wages. It is a matter of common knowledge that, at
the time and previous to the passage of the act limiting the remedy
by garnishment, many other citizens of the State were in the same
situation as the defendant, and that, owing to the financial crisis which
prevailed, it was a difficult task for the laborer to earn sufficient to
properly support his family. In view of these facts, the limitation
of the remedy of garnishment was reasonable and necessary, and is
not such a change as impairs the obligation of the contract. It is
ordered that the judgment of the court below be affirmed, and that
the appellant pay the costs.
C onstitutionality of Statute — F orbidding the I nstitution in
F oreign State by a R esident of O ne State of an A ction
against the W ages of a R esident of the Same State —In re
a
Flukes, 57 Southwestern Reporter, page 5^5.-—An application was
made in the supreme court of Missouri, division No. 2, by one Helen
Flukes for a writ of habeas corpus to procure her discharge from an
indictment charging her with suing a resident wage-earner in a foreign
State. The court rendered its decision in the April term, 1900, and
discharged the prisoner, declaring the statute under which she had
been indicted to be unconstitutional and void.
The opinion of the court reverses the statute and gives the facts in
the case and the reasons for the decision. It was delivered by Judge
Sherwood, and reads in part as follows:
This is an original proceeding instituted in the court, the object of
which is to test the constitutionality of an act passed by the fortieth
general assembly of this State, which act is tne following: “ Every
person or persons, company, corporation or firm, and every agent of
any person or persons, company, corporation or firm, who shall take
or send, or cause to be taken or sent, out of this State any note, bond,
account or chose in action for the purpose of instituting or causing to
be instituted any suit thereon in a foreign jurisdiction against a resi
dent of this State, for the purpose of having execution, attachment,
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
345
garnishment, or other process issued in such suit, or upon a judgment
rendered in any such suit, against the wages of a resident of this State,
and haying such process served upon any person who is, or firm, com
pany or corporation which is subject to the processes of the courts of
this State, who is indebted or may become indebted to a resident of
this State for wages, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on
conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one
hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and by imprison
ment in the county jail for a period of not less than thirty days nor
more than ninety days.” (Section 2356, Rev. Stat., 1899.) If the act
just quoted be unconstitutional, the petitioner’s right to be discharged
can be no longer questioned in this court, because we now treat (just
as it ought always to have been treated) an unconstitutional law as no
law at all.
When put in more condensed form, the section on which the prose
cution of the petitioner is based gives forth these results: It subjects
any person, etc., to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500,
and imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 30 nor more than
90 days, who sends out of this State, etc., any note, etc., account, etc.,
for the purpose of 44instituting * * * any suit thereon in a foreign
jurisdiction against a resident of this State, for the purpose of having
execution, attachment, garnishment,” etc., 44issued in such suit, or
upon a judgment rendered in such suit, against the wages of a resident
of this State, and having such process served upon any * * * cor
poration * * * subject to the processes of the courts of this State,
which is indebted * * * to a* resident of this State for wages.”
Under the provisions of section 3435, Rev. Stat., 1899, no person can
be 44charged as garnishee, on account of wages due from him to a
defendant in his employ for the last thirty days’ service: Provided,
Such employee is the head of a family and a resident of this State.”
It will thus be seen that under the laws of this State the wages of a
single person, an employee and a resident of this State, are not exempt
from the process of garnishment here, while under the terms of section
2356 such wages are expressly exempted from the process of garnish
ment in another State, unless the creditor who attempts to garnish
them over there is willing to incur the punishment of both fine and
imprisonment for such a course. This, in effect gives to single and
unmarried persons who are residents of and employees in this State an
exemption m Illinois and other States that they are not allowed in this
the State of their residence. This results in exempting all those single
men, residents, etc., whose wages are attempted to be seized under
process of a foreign court, while it leaves unexempted those whose
wages are garnished under process of our own courts. Besides, those
wage-earners, residents of tnis State, who are married, can only claim
in this State an exemption of wages due for the last 30 days’ service,
while they, and all single wage-earners, by the law in question, so far
as concerns suits in foreign jurisdictions, are exempt, without any limit
to their exemption.
The effects of the section are more widespread than already related,
as will presently appear. The creditor of any other than a wage-earner
may freely send over to Illinois or elsewhere, without fear of arrest or
of fine or imprisonment 44any note, bond, account or chose in action,”
and institute such suit as he may please, and obtain any such process
as he may desire, and levy and seize on any personal or real or mixed
10332—No. 33—01------ 12
346
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
property or debts or wages, and may collect his claim in due and usual
course of law, without let or hindrance. W hy should such discrimina
tion be made among creditors merely because the debtors in one case
receive their remuneration for their labor in wages, and in the other
case in cash payments day by day, or in a cow, horse, produce, or a
tract of land?
Again, the creditor, though resident of this State, while he may not
institute suit in a foreign jurisdiction, in the manner contemplated in
section 2356, on a “ note, bond, account or chose in action,” yet, so
soon as he converts his note, etc., into a judgment against his wage
earning debtor, he immediately becomes “ lawproof,” so far as concerns
the section under discussion, and, securinga copy of his judgment, may
do with it as he will, so far as foreign courts and processes are con
cerned, even against his co-resident and wage-earning debtor, and can
not be punished for so doing. This instance affords fresh illustration
of the discriminations which the questioned law makes in f avoi ot some
creditors and against others—those who live side by side in the same
town.
Furthermore, the controverted law does more still. Not content
with its rigorous restrictions and severe punishments on creditors resi
dent of this State, it levels its denunciations against all mankind. It
comprehends within its forbidding and globe-encircling enactment all
creditors having a note, bond, account, or chose in action within the
confines of this State who dare to send or cause to be sent such note,
etc., to another State, to institute a suit on it as contemplated in the
section under review. Is not such a far-reaching, world-embracing
law beyond the power of the legislature to make valid? But the act
does not stop even there. It separates wage-earners in a way different
from any yet suggested. Only those wage-earners who are in the
employ of “ any person who is, or firm, company or corporation which
is subject to the processes of the courts of this State,” are under the
protection of the statute. If the person, firm, company, or corpora
tion is not subject to such processes, then there is no prohibition
against the creditor sending his note, etc., into a foreign jurisdiction
for collection.
By the provisions of the litigated statute the act of sending a note
out of this State for the purpose, etc., is made a crime. Under the
prohibition of section 1, article 14, of the amendments to the Constitu
tion of the United States, “ no State shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States, nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty
or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Our own constitu
tion contains a provision which declares “ that no person shall be
deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law (sec
tion 30, art. 2), and also a provision forbidding the legislature to grant
“ to any corporation, association or individual any special or exclusive
right, privilege or immunity” (section 53, art. 4). And section 2, art.
4, of the Constitution of the United States prescribes that “ the citizens
of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citi
zens in the several States.”
As is said by an eminent judge: “ The rights thus guaranteed are
something more than the mere privileges of locomotion. The guar
anty is the negation of arbitrary power in every form which results in
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
347
the deprivation of a right. These terms, 6life,’ ‘ liberty,’ and 6prop
erty,’ are representative terms, and cover every right to which a mem
ber of the body politic is entitled under the law. Within their com
prehensive scope are embraced the right of self-defense, freedom of
speech, religious and political freedom, exemption from arbitrary
arrests, the right to buy and sell as others may—all our liberties, per
sonal, civil, and political; in short, all that makes life worth living;
and of none of these liberties can any one be deprived, except by due
process of law.” (2 Story, Const. (5th ed.) sec. 1950; State v. Julow,
129 Mo., 163; 31 S. W ., 781; 29 L. R. A ., 257.)
Now, as elsewhere stated, each of the rights heretofore mentioned
carries with it, as its natural and necessary coincident, all that effectu
ates and renders complete and full, unrestrained enjoyment of that
right. And it has been determined by this court and other courts that
no one can be deprived of a vested right of action without infringing
on that provision of our constitution and that of the United States
respecting the deprivation of life, liberty, and property without due
process of law. And this court has also determined that it does not
lie in the power of the legislature to make that act a crime which consists
in the bare exercise of a simple constitutional right. (State v. Julow,
supra.) The right to bring a suit to enforce a contract is part and
parcel of that contract; and one of the essential attributes of property,
of which the owner can not be deprived if the organic law of both
State and nation be obeyed.
The act under discussion also deprives any creditor, as therein men
tioned, of the equal protection of the laws, and abridges the privileges
and immunities of citizens of the United States, and denies to such
creditors those rights which section 2, art. 4, of the Constitution of
the United States grants to them, by declaring that “ the citizens of
each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citi
zens in the several States.” A citizen of New York or of California
could bring just such a suit as the petitioner has brought, and be held
wholly blameless.' The act is also obnoxious to the charge that it
grants special and exclusive privileges to certain persons or associa
tions of persons, and denies the same to others in the same or similar
situations.
Finally, section 2356 undertakes to arbitrarily separate natural
classes of people, and to provide different rules of action for each of
the dissevered fractions, thus unwarrantably formed into a class of its
own. (State v. Julow, supra.) The premises considered, we declare
the law unconstitutional, on the various grounds hereinbefore set forth,
and hence discharge the prisoner. All concur.
E mployers’ L iability — C ontributory N egligence— Construc
Statute —Hoadley v. International Paper Co., Ifl Atlantic
tion of
Reporter, page 169.—Action was brought by Justus R. Hoadley,
administrator of the estate of Michael Kennedy, deceased, against
the above-named company to recover damages for the death of the
decedent, who, while at work in the company’s mill upon repairs to a
pulp digester received injuries which caused his death within 2 or 3
days thereafter. A judgment was rendered in favor of the plaintiff
348
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
in the county court of Rutland County, Vt., where the case was heard,
and the defendant carried it upon exceptions to the supreme court
of the State, which rendered its decision December 4, 1899, and
affirmed the judgment of the lower court.
The opinion of the court, delivered by Judge Thompson, contains
one point of interest, and in this connection the following was said
therein:
The defendant excepted to the refusal of the county court to direct
a verdict for it on the ground that the alleged negligence causing the
death of the decedent occurred while he was at work Sunday on the
defendant’s pulp digester in its paper mill at Bellows Falls, Vt. The
defendant also excepted to the charge to the jury on this subject. The
instruction was, in substance, that the plaintiff was entitled to recover,
if his case was made out in other respects, notwithstanding that the
decedent at the time of the accident was working for the defendant on
Sunday, if the jury found that defendant’s negligence was the prox
imate cause of his death, and his working Sunday the remote cause.
It is now contended by the defendant that the decedent was working
in violation of V. S., sec. 5140, which prohibits the exercise of any
business or employment, except works of necessity or charity, between
12 o’clock Saturday night ana 12 o’clock the following Sunday night,
under a penalty of not more than $2, and that consequently the plain
tiff is precluded from recovery. The jury found that the negligence
of the defendant was the proximate cause of the death of the decedent,
and that he was not guilty of contributory negligence.
There is a conflict o f authorities on this subject, but the view
adopted by the weight of authority is against the contention of the
defendant. This view accords with reason and the general principles
of the law applicable to torts. The fact that the decedent was work
ing for the defendant on Sunday can not be said to be, either in law
or in fact, contributory negligence concurring to produce the injury,
nor the proximate cause of it. The motion for a verdict on this
ground was properly denied. The charge on this subject was more
favorable to the defendant than it was entitled to have given, and the
exception thereto can not be sustained.
E mployers’ L iability — R ailroad C ompanies— C onstruction of
S tatute —F ellow -S ervants—Long v. Chicago, Rock Island and
Texas B y. Co., 57 Southwestern Reporter, page 802.—This was a suit
for damages brought by G. J. Long on account of injuries incurred
by him while in the employ of the above-named railroad company.
The case was tried before an inferior court in the State of Texas,
without a jury, and the judge thereof gave judgment for the defend
ant. His conclusions of fact and law, filed as legally required, showed,
among others, the following facts: That the plaintiff was a section
man employed by said railroad and was at work on the day of the
accident with a gang of about 20 others; that it was their custom to
return to the tool house at the close of each day’s work and place the
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
349
tools therein; that on the day of the accident the plaintiff and others
of the gang, at the hour to quit work, started north toward the tool
house carrying the tools with which they had worked; that before
reaching a bridge they had to cross they met a hand car, used on the
section, going south to get some tools to carry back to the tool house;
that this car was operated by some of the same gang of section men;
that this car, upon returning, on its way to the tool house, overtook
the plaintiff and two others while they were on the bridge; that said
car was running at a speed of about 8 miles an hour, and struck the
plaintiff, knocked him down, ran over and injured him. In this same
statement the judge said: “ I find that the men operating the hand car
were negligent in running upon plaintiff, and that plaintiff did not
contribute to his injury by any negligence upon his part. * * *
Yet I render judgment for defendant because I conclude that the
plaintiff and the section men operating said hand car were fellowservants, and I further find that plaintiff was not engaged in operating
the trains, cars, or locomotives of defendant.” From the judgment
of the trial judge the plaintiff appealed the case to the court of civil
appeals for the second division of the State, which court, after a hear
ing, affirmed the judgment of the trial court. The plaintiff then car
ried the case upon a writ of error before the supreme court of Texas,
which rendered its decision June 25,1900, and reversed the judgments
of the lower courts.
Chief Justice Gaines delivered the opinion, and, in the course of the
same, he said:
The trial court’s conclusion that the servants upon the hand car,
whose negligence caused the injury, were the fellow-servants of the
plaintiff, was assigned as error in the court of civil appeals, and is
assigned in this court. That, according to the rulings of this court,
these employees would have been fellow-servants at common law, there
can be no question. But the common law in regard to fellow-servants
has been changed by statute in this State. The legislature has passed
three acts upon the subject, each of which has had the effect of placing
restrictions upon the rule.
The judge at this point mentions and comments upon the first two
acts and then continues:
The act of June 18,1897, makes more sweeping changes. The first
section excludes all persons “ engaged in the work of operating the
cars, locomotives or trains ” of a railroad company from the rule of
fellow-servants. Section 3 is a substitute for section 2 of the previous
act, and is as follows: “ All persons who are engaged in the common
service of such person, receiver, or corporation, controlling or operat
ing a railroad or street railway, and who while so employed, are in
the same grade of employment and are doing the same character of
work or service and are working together at the same time and place
and at the same piece of work and to a common purpose, are fellowservants with each other. Employees who do not come within the
provisions of this section shall not be considered fellow-servants*”
350
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The additional limitations placed upon the rule by the language just
quoted are two: First, the employees must be doing the same character
of work; and, second, they must be working at the same piece of
work. In determining this case we may concede, for the sake of the
argument, that the men who were engaged in carrying in the tools at
the time the accident occurred were working together at the same
time and place, and to a common purpose. They were clearly of the
same grade of employment. The questions, then, to be determined,
are: Were the men who were operating the hand car and the plaintiff
.engaged in the same character of work? and were they engaged in the
same piece of work, within the meaning of the statute? Neither the
meaning of the terms “ character of w ork55 nor that of the words
46same piece of work55 is at all clear. When applied to the compli
cated constructions and repairs incident to the business of railroads,
terms more indefinite could hardly have been found. W e must, there
fore, forbear the attempt to lay down any general rule to be followed
in their construction and application, and content ourselves with the
endeavor to apply them to the particular facts of this case.
The work immediately at hand when the injury was inflicted was
the carrying of the tools to a place of safety. For the accomplish
ment of this purpose, some of the employees (including those through
whose negligence the injury was inflicted) were using a hand car, while
others, including the plaintiff, were merely carrying them in by hand.
The means employed by the former was so distinctly different from
those in use by the latter that we are of opinion that they were
engaged in a different character of work within the meaning of the
statute.. Nor do we think that it can be said that at the very time
of the accident the plaintiff and those operating the hand car were
doing the same piece of work. If the injury had been inflicted by one
of the employees working the hand car upon another who was then
engaged in operating the same car, it should be held that they were
engaged upon the same piece of work. But it would seem that each
employee who was carrying one or more tools without the aid of
another was engaged in a different piece of work from that which was
being done by any one of his coemployees. Our conclusion is that
the court erred in holding that the servants upon the hand car were
fellow-servants with the plaintiff, and therefore the judgment must be
reversed. *
E mployers 5L iability — R ailroad C ompanies— Contributory N eg
E mployee , etc .— Quirouet v. Alabama Great Southern
ligence of the
Railroad Go., 36 Southeastern Reporter,page 599.—Action was brought
against the above-named railroad company by A. J. Quirouet to recover
damages for injuries incurred by him while in its employ and due, as he
alleged, to its negligence. The evidence showed that he was employed
as a flagman on one of the company’s freight trains; that he sought
to mount the fourth car from the caboose while the train was in motion
in order to release the brakes, which he himself had “ put on,55 as the
set brakes were causing the wheels to slide and smoke, rendering the
wheels liable to burst; that when he tried to mount the car he took
hold o f a standard which was on the car for the purpose of preventing
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
351
the pipes, with which the car was loaded, from rolling off; that the
standard was so large that he could not grasp it, but was required to
throw his hands and wrist around it; that as he did so, and placed his
foot upon the journal box, and threw his weight on the standard, it
turned with him, threw him down, and threw his foot off the journal
box and under the wheel of the car, which passed oyer his ankle, foot,
and leg, and caused him to sustain serious and painful injuries; that
the socket in which the standard worked was square, and the standard
was round and not properly fitted to it; and that the rules of the road
in force when the plaintiff was injured declared that employees must not
attempt to get on or off of trains when in motion, and that, if they did
so, it would be at their own peril and risk.
The plaintiff claimed that the following, making part of section 2590
of the code of Alabama of 1886, was applicable in his case: a When
a personal injury is received by a servant or employee in the service or
business of the master or employer, the master or employer is liable
to answer in damages to such servant or employee, as if he were a
stranger, and not engaged in such service or employment, in the cases
following: (1) When the injury is caused by reason of any defect in
the condition of the ways, works, machinery, or plant connected with,
or used in, the business of the master or employer. * * * (5) When
such injury is caused by reason of the negligence of any person in the
service or employment of the master or employer, who has the charge
or control of any signal, points, locomotive, engine, switch, car, or
train upon a railway, or of any part of the track of a railway.”
The case was heard in the city court of Atlanta, Ga., and the court
directed the jury to render a verdict for the defendant company. The
plaintiff then carried the case before the supreme court of the State
upon a writ of error, which court rendered its decision July 12, 1900,
and affirmed the action of the lower court.
The opinion of .the supreme court was delivered by Judge Cobb, and
the syllabus of the same, prepared by the court, reads as follows:
1. An employee of a railroad company, who was injured in under
taking to mount a rapidly moving flat car by placing his foot upon the
lid of the journal box, and seizing a standard which had been inserted
in an opening in the side of a car in order to prevent the freight thereon
from falling off, was not, either under the general rules of law or any
Alabama statute, entitled to a recovery on the ground that the standard
slipped in the socket and caused him to fall, when there was no testi
mony tending to show that the standard was placed on the car as a
means of mounting the same, but, on the contrary, positive testimony
that it was not placed there or intended to be used for that purpose.
2. When an employee has his choice of two ways in which to per
form a duty, the one safe, though inconvenient, and the other dangerous,
he is bound to select the safe method; and if, instead of so doing, he
elects to pursue the dangerous way, and is, in consequence, injured,
he is guilty of such negligence as will bar an action for damages against
352
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the master. The principle here announced is recognized law in the
State of Alabama.
3. If there was, in the present case, any evidence tending to show
that the plaintiff acted in an emergency, it was one of his own making,
and the defendant company could not be held responsible on the theory
that it had by its negligence placed him in such a position as to relieve
him of the duty of exercising ordinary care for his own safety.
4. The evidence demanded a verdict for the defendant, and there was
no error in directing the jury to find accordingly.
Seamen — Suit for W ages— C redit for P rohibited P ayments—
The Alexander M. Lawrence, 101 Federal R epw ter, page 1S5.—This
was a suit in admiralty brought by a seaman to recover wages in the
United States district court for the southern district of Alabama.
The court rendered its decision March 3, 1900, and gave a decree in
the seaman’s favor. There is no statement of the facts in the case
other than the references thereto made in the opinion of the court
delivered by District Judge Toulmin, and which reads as follow s:
The statutes of the United States forbid the payment of a seaman’s
wages in advance, and provide that in no case, except as therein pro
vided, shall such payment absolve the vessel, or the master or owner
thereof, from full payment of wages after the same shall have been
actually earned, and shall be no defense to a libel for the recovery of
such wages. (30 Stat., 763.) The statutes also provide that all sea
men discharged from merchant vessels, etc., shall be discharged and
receive their wages in the presence of a duly-authorized shipping com
missioner, except when some court otherwise directs; and any master
or owner of any such vessel, who discharges any such seamen belong
ing thereto, or pays their wages within the United States in any other
manner, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $50 (Rev. St.,
sec. 4549); and further provides that, in all cases in which discharge
and settlement before a shipping commissioner are required, no pay
ment, receipt, settlement, or discharge, otherwise made, shall operate
as evidence of the release or satisfaction of any claim (id., sec. 4552).
It is an elementary principle of law that one who has himself par
ticipated in a violation of the law can not be permitted to assert in a
court of justice any right founded upon or growing out of the illegal
transaction. The authorities, both State and Federal, hold that no
rights can spring from or be rested upon an act in the performance of
which a criminal penalty is incurred. The penalty implies a prohibi
tion, and the act relating to it is void—as absolutely void as if the law
had declared that it should* be so.
Hence I am bound to hold that the advance of $10 made by the
master to the libelant on his wages not then earned can be no defense
to this libel for the recovery of wages, the proof showing that wages
were earned; and, in view of the fact that tbe payment of the $12.36
to the libelant at Mobile on the termination of the voyage was in vio
lation of section 4549, Rev. St., and of the law as declared in the
authorities cited, however unjust it may appear, or however harsh
such rulings might sometimes be, I am constrained to hold that the
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
353
claimant can not be permitted to assert his right to have such payment
deducted from or charged against any wages actually earned by the
libelant. The claimant can rest no right upon the act of payment, it
being done subject to a penalty. Furthermore, the statute expressly
says that no such payment shall operate as evidence of the release or
satisfaction of the libelant’s claim. If the payment can not operate as
evidence, is it admissible as evidence? My opinion is that the libelant
is entitled to no wages from the time he was imprisoned down to the
time he reshipped on the voyage to Mobile, as I find he was himself
the cause of the imprisonment. A decree will be entered for the
libelant for $22.36, with a division of the costs.
Seamen— V alidity of Shipping A rticles— R ight to L eave V es
sel— The
Occidental, 101 Federal Reporter, page 997.—This suit was
heard in the United States district court for the district of Washing
ton, northern division, by seamen to collect wages. The decision in
the case was rendered May 12,1900, and the facts and the legal points
settled therein are shown in the opinion of the court, delivered by Dis
trict Judge Hanford, which reads as follows:
This is a suit to collect seamen’s wages which the libelants claim to
have earned by services on the ship Occidental, on a run from San
Francisco to Seattle. The owner of the ship appears as claimant, and
has filed an answer in which he resists the demand of the libelants on
the ground that they became bound, by signing articles for a definite
period of time, to continue in the service of the vessel to the end of
the specified period, and until the return of the vessel to San Fran
cisco, the port of discharge, and that, being so bound to service, they
were guilty of continued willful disobedience of lawful commands of
the captain, and by such disobedience they have forfeited the entire
amount of their wages. I find from the evidence that during the run
from San Francisco to Seattle the libelants faithfully performed their
duties as seamen in doing the work required of them, which was neces
sary to be done in navigating the vessel, but on two occasions they
refused to do seamen’s work which was not strictly necessary in
maneuvering the vessel or for her preservation, and while at sea they
made known their intentions to leave the vessel on arrival at Seattle.
After coming to anchor in the harbor, they did repeatedly refuse to
work in discharging ballast, and in justification of their refusal to do
work other than what was necessary in the navigation of the vessel
they charge that the shipping articles for the voyage are unlawful and
voici, and that the captain imposed upon them by leaving San Fran
cisco without having on board a full complement of men.
I find from the evidence that the captain made a bona fide attempt
to employ 10 seamen for the voyage, and that 10 men signed the
shipping articles in the presence or the deputy United States shipping
commissioner, bub 3 of those who signed failed to report for duty.
When the ship was ready to cast off her moorings, the captain was
informed by the mate that there was a full crew on board, and then,
without taking the trouble to muster the crew on deck, the vessel pro
ceeded on her way, although there were then on board only 7 of the
354
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
crew who had signed the shipping articles, and, in place of the absen
tees, the ship agent who had undertaken to supply the crew sent the
libelants Knowles and Anderson on board, but these two men did not
sign the shipping articles until the vessel was at sea. In view of these
facts, the claimant contends that the shipping articles are valid, and
that the ship did not leave port without a sufficient crew. As to the
libelants Knowles and Anderson, it is clear that, although they went
on board the vessel voluntarily, they were not bound to continue in
the service of the vessel during the voyage, nor for any definite time.
The captain could require them to do work necessary to be done in
the proper navigation of the vessel while she was at sea, but they were
free to leave the vessel at any place, and, having served as mariners,
they are entitled to receive compensation therefor. (Rev. St. U. S.,
sec. 4521.)
N ote .—This section provides that if seamen who have not made and
signed a contract or agreement, in manner and form as provided by
law, are carried out on a voyage by any master of a vessel, he shall
pay them wages for the time they continue to do duty on said vessel.
By another section it is provided that such contract or agreement to
be valid must be signed before a shipping commissioner. In the case
of the libelants Knowles and Anderson, this was not done, as stated
in the opinion above, as they did not sign the contract until the vessel
was at sea.
I will consider only one of the various grounds assigned for impeach
ing the validity of the shipping articles. The voyage for which the
libelants were hired is described as follows: u From the port of San
Francisco to Honolulu, H. I ., and such other foreign ports as the master
may direct, via British Columbia or Puget Sound, thence to return to
San Francisco for final discharge via British Columbia or Puget Sound.
I f the vessel does not go to Honolulu, H. I., or other foreign port, she
will return direct to San Francisco, Cal., from British Columbia or
Puget Sound for final discharge, as directed by the master. ” It is clear
that the shipping articles provide for a voyage to one or more foreign
ports, or for a coasting voyage, at the option of the master, and I con
sider the objection to be fatal to the contract. Rev. St. U. S., sec. 4511,
in terms Which are mandatory, requires that shipping articles shall state
the nature of the voyage. At the time of engaging themselves in the
service of the vessel, seamen have a right to know whether they are
engaging for a foreign voyage or merely to serve in domestic trade.
A captain may lawfully hire a crew to proceed in a vessel from one
port of the United States to another, and then to a foreign port and
return to the port of discharge via a number of intermediate ports,
but the law does not permit such duplicity in shipping contracts as we
have in this instance, where by the specified terms of the shipping
articles, the master is given full control to take the vessel and her
crew on a long voyage to one or more foreign ports, or make a short
run to a near-by domestic port and return to the port of discharge. It
is the intention of the law to prohibit the shipment of seamen without
their consent, and, to make it appear that the seamen have consented
to enter the service of the vessel for a voyage or for a specified term,
it is essential, and the law requires, that the shipping articles specify
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
355
clearly the nature of the intended voyage. As already intimated, I
hold the shipping articles in this case to be void, and consequently the
disobedience of the libelants can not be regarded as an offense punish
able by forfeiture of their wages.
The libelants went on board the vessel voluntarily, without having
any valid contract entitling them to be returned to the port of San
Francisco, and therefore they have no just claim for expenses of
returning to San Francisco, nor for any compensation, except wages
while they were doing the work required of them. A decree will be
entered awarding to each of the libelants wages at the rate of $35 per
month for 12 days’ time, and costs.
DECISIONS UNDER COMMON L A W .
E mployers’ L iability — A ssumption of R isk by E mployee — D an
M achinery —Rohrabacher v. Woodward, 82 Northwestern
gerous
Reporter, page 797.—This action was brought by Edward Rohrabacher
against Lyman E. Woodward, his employer, to recover damages for
injuries received by him while operating a surface wood-planing
machine. In the circuit court of Shiawassee County, Mich., where a
trial of the case was had, a judgment was rendered in favor of the
defendant, Woodward, and the plaintiff, Rohrabacher, carried the case
upon a writ of error before the supreme court of the State, which
rendered its decision May 15, 1900, and affirmed the judgment of the
lower court, holding that an experienced servant of mature years can
not continue to operate a machine, which he knows is dangerous, with
out assuming the risk, simply because the employer has assured him
that it is safe, when the servant has just as much knowledge of the
danger arising from its operation as the employer. The evidence
showed that the plaintiff, a man 45 years of age, after working for the
defendant for eighteen or nineteen months operating a surface woodplaning machine, was put to work upon a new machine of a different
plan; that after working a few days upon this machine he perceived that
it was dangerous; that he called the attention of the defendant to this
fact, but was assured by him that it was not dangerous; that relying
upon this assurance he continued to work upon the machine unti]
finally the board he was planing kicked and his hand was thrown into
the throat of the machine and he was severely injured.
The opinion of the supreme court was delivered by Judge Moon,
who, in the course of the same, made use of the following language:
The position of counsel [for plaintiff], as stated in their brief, is: 4‘ If
the plaintiff complained to defendant of what he thought was danger
ous, and was commanded by defendant to go on with his work, and
gave him the assurance that it was safe, he [the defendant] will not be
heard to say afterwards, and when an injury has resulted from the
very defect complained of: 4You assumed the risk. You were guilty
of contributory negligence in doing what I commanded you to do.’ ”
W e do not think the above statement of counsel is a proper state
ment of the law, and the cases cited do not so indicate. One can not
356
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
continue to operate a machine which he knows is dangerous simply
upon the assurance of his employer that it is not, if ne has just as
much knowledge of the danger arising from the operation of the
machine as his principal has. Taking plaintiff’s own version of the
situation, speaking for myself, I think the court would have been jus
tified in directing a verdict for the defendant. The plaintiff was a
man of mature years, acquainted, by actual operation, with machinery.
He was put at work upon a new machine of simple construction. He
had as much knowledge of its operation within a few days after he
began work, and of its dangers, as any one. He says he learned of
the danger of planing short pieces with the machine within a day or
two after he commenced to work with it, and, after obtaining that
knowledge, without any promise of any change in the machine or its
conditions, he continued to work upon it for the period of eleven
months, when he was hurt. If, under such circumstances, the employer
is liable, it is difficult to conceive of a case where an accident occurred
that liability would not attach.
E mployers ’ L iability — D uties of the E mployer —N egligence —
A ssumption of R isk by E mployee —Frye v. Bath Gas and E lectric
Co., Jffi Atlantic Reporter, page 801^.—Action was brought by Arthur
J. Frye, a minor, by his next friend, against the above-named com
pany to recover damages for injuries incurred by him while in the
employ of said company. The evidence showed that in the fire room,
where the plaintiff was employed, the defendant company had caused
four holes to be dug, of varying depths, in which to place stone foun
dations for the support of iron pillars of a massive machine, known as
an “ economizer,” and required for the business of the power house;
that one of these holes, about 2 feet deep, was directly opposite the
door at furnace No. 3, being some 11 feet distant; that the plaintiff
had known of the existence of the hole for three days; that on March
10,1898, while “ slicing” the fire in furnace No. 8, the plaintiff stepped
backward, and either fell into the hole or across and upon a plank lying
across the hole, from which fall he received the injuries complained of.
The case was heard in the supreme judicial court sitting in Sagadahoc
County, Me., and a verdict was rendered for the plaintiff. The defend
ant company moved for a new trial and the motion was heard by the
full bench of said court which rendered its decision February 12,1900,
and overruled the motion. The opinion of the court was delivered by
Judge Strout, and the syllabus of the same, marked “ official” by the
court, reads as follows:
1. It is the duty of the master to provide a reasonably suitable and
safe place where his servant can perform his work. The neglect of
that duty by the master’s employees is the neglect of the master
himself.
2. The plaintiff was a fireman employed in the boiler room of the
defendant, and while thus at work fell into a hole that had been dug
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
357
and left open, or in a dangerous state, in front of the boiler, by the
defendant’s employees who were making a foundation there for an
46economizer.” Held, that leaving the hole uncovered, or the excava
tion in an unsafe condition, was negligence of the master, and that the
doctrine as to negligence of a fellow-servant does not apply.
3. While it is settled law that a servant assumes the ordinary and
apparent risks of his employment, he does not assume the risks from
defects in the plant itself, which the master is bound to make and keep
reasonably safe.
4. The fact that a person takes voluntarily some risk is not conclu
sive evidence, under all circumstances, that he is not using due care.
Nor is knowledge of a danger not fully appreciated conclusive that the
risk is his.
5. While the defendant may well be chargeable with negligence in
not sufficiently covering the hole, considering its proximity to the
boiler, where the plaintiff was at work, and also the method and exi
gencies of that work, held, that it is peculiarly for the jury to decide
whether he acted recklessly, regardless of his safety, or whether he
exercised that degree of care to be reasonably expected in that situa
tion, and under all the circumstances.
6. The verdict of a jury is entitled to respect, and should not be
disturbed unless it is so clearly wrong as to compel the conclusion
that it is the result of prejudice or failure to comprehend the facts
and the legitimate inferences therefrom, or is antagonized by some
controlling rule of law.
E mployers’ L iability — D uties of the E mployer — N egligence
I ndependent C ontractor— Toledo Brewing and Malting Co. v.
of
Bosch, 101 Federal Reporter, page 530.—This action was brought in
the State court of common pleas of Lucas County, Ohio, by one Bosch
against the above-named company, to recover damages for a personal
injury sustained by him while in the employ of the same. Upon
application of the defendant company the case was removed into the
United States circuit court for the western division of the northern
district of Ohio. The evidence showed that Bosch was the engineer
of an ice machine operated by the defendant company; that it was a
part of his duty to aid occasionally in hoisting barrels of salt from
the ground to the second floor of the brewery building, and that he
was engaged in the discharge of this duty when he was injured; that
the company had employed the Schillinger Brothers, a firm engaged
in the general roofing business, to repair the roof of the brewery; that
said firm in the course of their work found it necessary to remove the
weights from a beam which formed a part of the hoisting apparatus
by which the barrels of salt were raised; that neither the foreman of
the brewery, the plaintiff, nor any other brewery employee had any
knowledge that these weights had been removed; that some of said
employees with the plaintiff undertook to hoist a barrel of salt when
the beam upset and fell, one end coming down into the window where
358
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the plaintiff was stationed, striking him on the head, shoulders, and
ankle, breaking his ankle and causing serious injury. The right to
recover damages was grounded on the alleged omission of the duty by
the master to take reasonable precautions for the safety of the servant,
and the defendant company denied this right upon the ground that the
acts complained of as negligent were those of an independent con
tractor, for which the defendant, as employer, was not responsible.
The circuit court instructed the jury, in substance, that the defendant
was under a positive duty to take reasonable care and precautions for
the safety of the servant in providing a safe place in which to work, and
safe machinery and apparatus with which to do the work, and that it
was not relieved of this duty in consequence of the contract with Schillinger Brothers, and that its responsibility in that respect was the same,
under the given facts in this case, as if the work had been done by the
defendant company itself. To the charge of the court exception was
duly taken and error assigned. The jury returned a verdict in favor
of the plaintiff, assessing his damages at $5,000, upon which judgment
was pronounced. The defendant company then carried the case, upon
a writ of error, to the United States circuit court of appeals for the
sixth circuit, which rendered its decision May 8, 1900, and affirmed
the judgment of the lower court.
In the opinion of the court of appeals, delivered by District Judge
Clark, the following language was used:
The controlling question, then, is whether, in view of the contract
between plaintiff in error [the brewing and malting company] and
Schillinger Bros., the doctrine in relation to employer and independent
contractor is applicable to the facts in the case. The general rule is
well settled, and not controverted, that an employer is not liable for
an injury resulting from the negligence of an independent contractor,
or his servants, such as negligence in the mode of doing a work in
itself lawful. One exception to the general rule of exemption from
liability in such cases is where the law imposes on the employer the
duty to keep the subject of the work in a safe condition. A munici
pal corporation, for example, being under a duty imposed bv law to
keep the streets in a safe condition for passage, is liable for injuries in
consequence of an obstruction or dangerous excavation caused in the
performance of a work, and left exposed, although the work is done
by an independent contractor.
Here the court cites numerous cases in support of the above propo
sition and then continues as follows:
These and other like cases proceed upon the principle that a positive
personal duty can not be delegated to an agent or contractor, and that
the obligation in such cases is to do the thing required, and not merely
to employ another to do it, and, to bring a case within the rule, it is
sufficient if the duty is one to the public or a third person, and imposed
by law or by statute.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
359
A t this point the court quotes from a number of cases and then
goes on in its opinion as follows:
In the last case cited [Burnes v. Railroad Co., 129 Mo., 41, 56; 31
S. W ., 350], the supreme court of Missouri, speaking in relation to
the duty of the master, said: “ The duty of keeping its road, track,
and yards in a reasonably safe condition is a personal duty which the
master owes the servant, and it can not delegate this duty to any serv
ant, high or low, nor can it avoid liability by letting out a part of its
duties as a common carrier to independent contractors. While, for
many purposes, this relation of independent contractor will be recog
nized, it can not be sustained to shield the master from those positive
)ersonal obligations cast upon him by his relation to his servant.
Schaub v. Railroad Co., 106 Mo., 74; 16 S. W ., 924; Lewis v, Rail
road Co., 59 Mo., 495; Siela v. Railroad Co., 82 Mo., 435.)”
In view of these cases, it must be regarded as established by the
weight of authority, supported by reason, that the master is not
relieved from the positive personal duty which he is under to the
servant by letting work to a contractor, and that he does not avoid
liability in case the work is negligently done, and the servant thereby
injured in consequence of exposure to a dangerous place or defect
against which, in the discharge of the master’s duty, he should have
been protected. It follows, therefore, that the learned circuit judge
rightly ruled the question on which the case turns, and in regard
thereto correctly instructed the jury. Judgment affirmed.
!
E mployers ’ L iability — E ffect of R elease of Claim for D am
ages—Pioneer
Cooperage Co, v, Romanowicz, 57 Northeastern Reporter,
page 86j, —Anton Romanowicz brought suit against the above-named
company in an inferior court of the State of Illinois to recover dam
ages for injuries incurred by him while in its employ, and recovered a
judgment. The case was appealed by the company to the appellate
court, first district, which affirmed the judgment of the lower court in
favor of Romanowicz. The company then appealed the case to the
supreme court of the State, which rendered its decision June 21, 1900,
and affirmed the judgments of the lower courts. The plaintiff upon
the trial proved the fact of injury and that it was due to the negli
gence of the company, etc., and the only defense offered by the com
pany was the fact that 17 days after the accident occurred the plaintiff
signed a paper, in the presence of the foreman of the companjr and
one Frank Domanske, who was a friend of the plaintiff, reciting that
the injury was received through his own carelessness and through no
fault of the company, and containing the following language: “ In
consideration that the company pay my doctor’s bill, I relinquish all
further claim upon said company.” In reply to this the plaintiff fur
nished evidence to the effect that neither he nor his friend, who was
with him and who witnessed the signatures to the release, could read
English; and that the foreman represented to them that it was only
an agreement or authority for the defendant to furnish a physician,
of whose attendance the plaintiff was in urgent need.
360
BULLETIN OB' THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The opinion of the supreme court was delivered by Judge Phillips
and contains the following:
The effect of this release, under the circumstances under which it
was executed, was a question of fact to be determined by the jury
under proper instructions.
Appellant complains of the giving of the two following instructions
for the plaintiff: “ The jury are instructed that if you believe from the
evidence that the release in this case was procured from the plaintiff
by the defendant, or by any one for it, and that at the time the plain
tiff signed the said paper he believed from what was told him before
signing it that it was for the purpose of securing the services of a
physician, and that the parties who induced him to sign said paper led
the plaintiff to believe that he was only signing a paper for the pur
pose of securing the services of a physician, and that the plaintiff did
so believe, you are instructed that a release so procured would not be
binding upon the plaintiff, and should not be considered by you in
arriving at your verdict.”
“ You are instructed that it is for the jury to determine, from all
the evidence and circumstances in the case, whether the plaintiff under
stood the contents of the release at the time he signed it, and whether
he intended to release, and understood that he was releasing, his claim
and right of action against the defendant in consideration of the
defendant furnishing him with a doctor; and, unless you so find, you
are instructed that it would not release the defendant from liability, if
you further find from the evidence that the defendant is liable, and
such release should be disregarded by you in arriving at your verdict.”
These two instructions, taken together, are supported by the evi
dence, And, while they might have been given in better form, are
within the rule announced in Syrup Co. v. Carlson, 47 111. App., 178,
which, case is reported in this court in 155 HI., 210; 40 N. E., 492. In
that case the appellate court said that a release may be regarded as not
fairiy obtained, and hence as inoperative, where it is taken from one
unable to read the language, and is not read over to him, and he is
made to believe that it is a paper for some other purpose.
W e find no sufficient ground for a reversal of the judgment, and the
judgment of the appellate court for the first district is affirmed.
E mployers ’ L iability — M unicipal C orporations—Rhobidas v.
City o f Concord, Ifl Atlantic Reporter, page 8%.—In the supreme court
of the State of New Hampshire action was brought by Edward Rhobidas against the city of Concord for damages for personal injuries
alleged to have been caused by the defendant’s negligence while the
plaintiff was employed as a servant in the waterworks department of
said city. The .defendant entered a special plea, the details of which
it is not necessary to mention, to the effect that being a municipal cor
poration it was not liable under the law in a suit of this nature. The
plaintiff then filed a demurrer to this plea and, after a hearing, the
supreme court rendered its decision March 16,1900, and sustained the
demurrer, holding that a servant in a city waterworks department who
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
361
has received personal injuries by reason of the negligence of the city’s
officers or agents, may recover therefor against the city, notwithstand
ing the city was in the performance of a public duty.
From the opinion of the court, delivered by Judge Peaslee, the fol
lowing is quoted:
The plaintiff’s demurrer raises the question whether there is in this
State any common-law liability of a municipal corporation, and, if there
is, whether it exists in the class to which the present case belongs.
While it is the law of this jurisdiction that towns are to a certain
extent a part of the State, and therefore not suable at common law, no
case has gone so far as to hold that this rule applies to all cases. The
mere fact that a town is engaged in the performance of a public duty
is not enough to free it from all common-law liability for its acts, if
the word “ public” is to be taken in the broad sense of including every
enterprise which may be supported by taxation. There is no case
laying down such a doctrine in this State.
Taking the law as it has been declared in this State, a town is liable
for the negligence of its agents which affects the private property
right of others. Is it any less liable when the right involved is per
sonal instead of proprietary? The basis of the cause of action is the
infringement of a private right—a violation of those rules of conduct
which from being custom became law, and which now govern the con
duct of all in their relations to others, be those relations either per
sonal or proprietary. A private right is infringed when a person’s
health is injured by emptying a sewer wrongfully in the vicinity of
his residence, the same as when water is wrongfully turned upon his
land.
The rule which governs this case is clearly stated by Perley, C. J.,
in Eastman v. Town of Meredith, 36 N. H., 281, 295, where it is said:
“ The plaintiff in cases of this character does not recover on the ground
that he has been denied any public right which the corporation owed
to him as a citizen of the town, or because he has suffered an injury
in the exercise of a public right, from neglect of the town to perform
a public duty. The corporation being authorized by law to execute
the work, if in their manner of doing it they cause a private injury
they are answerable in the same way and on the same principle as an
individual who injures another by the wrongful manner in which he
performs an act lawful in itself. It has been sometimes made a question
whether in the particular case the corporation were liable as principals
for the conduct of those who performed the work on their account; but,
where a work is once conceded to be done by the corporation, it would
seem to be clear, on authority and general principles, that a corpora
tion, public or private, must be held liable, like an individual, for
injuries caused by negligence in the process of executing the work.”
For more than 40 years this decision has been acted upon as correctly
stating the law applicable to this class of cases. It states the law, not
only of this jurisdiction, but of every jurisdiction where the common
law prevails.
“ It is * * * universally considered, even in the absence of a
statute giving the action, that” municipal corporations “ are liable for
acts of misfeasance positively injurious to individuals, done by their
authorized agents or officers in the course of the performance of cor10332—No. 33—01----- 13
362
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
porate powers constitutionally conferred, or in the execution of cor
porate duties.” (2 Dill. Munn. Corp., sec. 966.)
The case at bar falls within the rules laid down by these authorities.
The complaint is of wrongful acts injurious to an individual.
Except as to those guarantied by the constitution, private rights
may be modified or enlarged by legislative action: but until this is
done they remain as they were at common law. So in this case the
contract of the parties created a situation which gave the plaintiff the
common-law right to be furnished a reasonably safe place in which to
work. The existence of the right can not be doubted. It was a
“ particular right” concerning the individual only, and not one which
‘ 4affected the whole community.” It was in every sense such a right
that a negligent violation of it would be a civil injury or private wrong.
It in no way depended upon the performance or nonperformance by
the defendants of any public duty. Demurrer sustained.
LAWS OF VARIOUS STATES RELATING TO LABOR ENACTED SINCE
JANUARY 1, 1896.
[The Second Special Report of the Departm ent contains all laws of the various States and Terri
tories and of th e United States relating to labor in force January 1, 1896. Later enactm ents are
reproduced in successive issues of the Bulletin from tim e to tim e as published.]
GEORGIA.
ACTS OF 1899.
A ct N o . 311.— Forgery, etc., o f cards and receipts fo r dues given by associations o f rail
road employees and o f employers9 letters or certificates of recommendation.
(Page 79.)
S ec t io n 1. From and after the passage of this act, any person who shall make, alter,
forge or counterfeit any card or receipt of dues purporting to be given or issued by
any association of railway employees, or b y any of its officers, to its members, with
intent to injure, deceive or defraud, shall be punished as hereinafter provided.
S e c . 2. A ny person who shall falsely make, alter, forge or counterfeit any letter or
certificate purporting to be given by any corporation or person, or officer or agent of
such corporation or person to an employee of such corporation or person at the time
of such employee’ s leaving the service of such corporation or person, showing the
capacity or capacities in which such employee was employed by such corporation or
person, the date of leaving the service or the reason or cause of such leaving, with
the intent to injure, deceive or defraud, shall be punished as hereinafter provided.
S e c . 3. A n y person who shall willfully and knowingly utter, publish, pass or ten
der as true, or w ho shall have in his possession with intent to utter, publish, pass or
tender as true, any false, altered, forged or counterfeited letter, certificate, card or
receipt, the foilin g , altering or counterfeiting whereof is prohibited by either of the
preceding sections of this act, with intent to injure, deceive or defraud, knowing the
same to be forged, shall be punished as hereinafter provided; provided that nothing
in this act shall be construed to repeal, change or modify any of the existing laws in
this State against the crime of forgery.
Sec. 4. A n y person violating any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as provided in section
1039, Vol. I l l , of the Penal Code of 1895.
Sec. 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act be, and the same are,
hereby repealed.
Approved December 20, 1899.
IOWA;
ACTS OF 1900.
C h a p t e r 79.— Compensation o f mine inspectors.
S e c t io n 1. Section twenty-four hundred and eighty-three (2483) of the code [shall]
be amended, as follows: Strike out the words ‘ ‘ twelve hundred” in the ninth line
and insert in lieu thereof the following ‘ 4fifteen hundred.” Also by striking out the
words “ five hundred” in the tenth line, and inserting in lieu thereof the words
“ seven hundred and fifty.”
Approved April 7, 1900.
363
364
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
C h a p t e r 80.— Mine regulations—Payment to be made fo r slack mined.
S e c t io n 1. Section two thousand four hundred and ninety (2490) of the code be
and the same is hereby amended b y striking out the word “ slack” in the twentyeighth line of said section.
Approved March 23, 1900.
C h a p t e r 81.— Payment o f wages o f coal miners.
S e c t io n 1. Section two thousand four hundred and ninety (2490) of the code [shall]
be amended b y striking out the period at the end of the word “ sem i-monthly” in
line thirty-seven and inserting in lieu thereof a comma, and by adding after said
word “ sem i-monthly” in said line thirty-seven the following, to wit: “ B y paying
for those earned during the first fifteen days of each month not later than the first
Saturday after the twentieth of said month, and for those earned after the fifteenth
of each month not later than the first Saturday after the fifth of the succeeding month. ’ *
Approved March 29,1900.
C h a p t e r 82.— Examination, etc., o f mine foremen, pit bosses, and hoisting engineers.
S e c t io n 1. From and after January 1st, 1901, it shall be unlawful for any person to
discharge, or attempt to discharge, any of the duties of mine foreman, pit boss, or
hoisting engineer at any coal mine, whose daily output is in excess of twenty-five
tons, unless he shall hold a certificate of competency for such position as provided in
this act. But in case of the discharge, resignation, or disability of any person law
fully performing such duties the owner, agent, operator, or managing officer of said
mine shall have a reasonable time within which to secure the services of a certificated
person to take the place of the one so discharged, resigned, or disabled; and during
such time a competent and capable person, whether certificated as provided in this
act or not, may be temporarily employed to perform such services.
Sec. 2. A ny person may secure the certificate of competency herein provided for
b y appearing before the board created by section twenty-four hundred and seventynine (2479) of the code for the examination of State mine inspectors, and submitting
to such examination as to his qualifications, or producing such evidence of service,
as required by this act.
Sec . 3. The board of examiners referred to in the last preceding section shall meet
at such times and places, shall adopt such rules, conditions, and regulations, and
shall prescribe and conduct such examinations as shall be most efficient to give effect
to the spirit and intent of this act. The members of said board shall each receive
the sum of five dollars per day for every day actually employed in the discharge of
the duties imposed herein, together with their actual expenses incurred in the per
formance of such duties, w hich expenses shall be itemized and verified as provided
b y section 2480 of the code, but they shall not be allowed compensation for more
than seventy days in any one year.
S ec . 4. The certificate of competency herein provided shall be issued (1) to any
person w ho shall satisfactorily pass such examination, written or oral, as may be
prescribed b y said board; (2) to any person who shall produce satisfactory evidence
that he has, for a period of four years immediately preceding the examination, con
tinuously and capably performed the duties of mine foreman, pit boss, or hoisting
engineer as the case may be.
S ec . 5. Every person applying for a certificate under this act shall pay to said exam
ining board a fee of tw o dollars, and every successful applicant shall pay to said
board an additional fee of tw o dollars; all of said fees to be accounted for and covered
into the State treasury. Each certificate issued under this act shall be recorded in
the office of the examining board, and shall show the name, age, residence, and years
of experience of the person to whom it was issued.
S ec . 6. No owner, agent, operator, or managing officer of any coal mine to w hich
this act applies shall em ploy any mine foreman, pit boss, or hoisting engineer who
does not hold the certificate herein contemplated. And any person violating any of
the provisions of this act shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred
dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or b y both
fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Approved March 23,1900.
C h a p t e r 138.— Convict labor—State penitentiaries.
S e c t io n 1. It shall not be lawful except to complete existing contracts made b y the
board of control to manufacture for sale any pearl buttons or butter tubs in the peni
tentiaries of this State, and it shall be the duty of the board of control and wardens
LABOR LAWS— IOWA— ACTS OF 1900.
365
of said penitentiaries to enforce the provisions of this act, and to prohibit the manu
facture of pearl buttons or butter tubs, in whole or in part, by the inmates confined
in said penitentiaries.
Sec. 2. This act shall not alter or impair the conditions of any contract actually
made and entered into by and between any contractor and the board of control,
which shall have been made prior to the passage of this act.
Sec. 3. This act, being deemed of immediate importance, shall take effect and be
in force on and after its publication in the Iowa State Register and Des Moines
Leader, newspapers published at Des Moines, Iowa.
Approved April 7, 1900.
KENTUCKY.
ACTS OF 1900.
Chapter 12.— Protectim o f employees as voters.
Section 3. Any corporation chartered under the laws of this State, or authorized
to do business therein, which shall, through any officer, attorney, agent or employee,
or otherwise, directly or indirectly, influence or attempt to influence by bribe, favor,
promise, inducement, threat or otherwise, the vote or suffrage of any employee or
servant of such corporation against or in favor of any candidate, platform or princi
ples or issue in any election held under the laws of the Commonwealth, shall be
uilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than five
undred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars for each offense, and its char
ter, or authority to do business in this State, shall, upon such conviction, be repealed,
revoked, annulled and held for naught.
Approved March 17, 1900.
g
LOUISIANA.
ACTS OF 1900.
A ct N o. 55.—Seats fo r female employees, time fo r lunch, etc.
Section 1. Hereafter it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation doing
business in the State of Louisiana, where female labor or female clerks are employed,
not to maintain seats, chairs or benches which shall be so placed as to be accessible
to said employees, for their use during the times when said employees are not actu
ally engaged in the attention to their duties as employees of such firm, person or
corporation.
Sec. 2. Hereafter all persons, firms or corporations doing business at retail in the
State of Louisiana where female labor or female clerks are employed, shall be required
to give every employee each day, between the hours of ten (10) a. m. and three (3)
p. m. not less than thirty (30) minutes for lunch or recreation.
Sec. 3. W hoever shall be found guilty of evading or disobeying any of the pro
visions of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon arrest and
conviction therefor shall be fined in a sum of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25)
nor more than one hundred dollars ($100), and in default of the payment thereof
shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period not less than five (5) days nor more
than six (6) months.
Sec. 4. A ll acts or parts of acts contrary to or in conflict herewith shall be and the
same are hereby repealed.
Approved July 5, 1900.
A ct N o. 66.—Sunday labor—Barber shops.
Section 1. The municipal authorities of any incorporated city or town in this State
having a population not exceeding fifty thousand shall have power and authority to
regulate or prohibit the opening and closing of barber shops within their corporate
limits on Sunday.
Sec. 2. Said cities and towns shall have authority to punish by penal ordinance
violations of their ordinances passed in pursuance of this act.
Sec. 3. A ll laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved July 6, 1900.
A ct N o. 70.— Convict labor.
Section 1. All persons sentenced to the penitentiary shall be confined in the State
penitentiary, at Baton Rouge, on State farms, on quarter boats or other suitable
quarters.
366
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
S ec . 2. The control and management of the penitentiary and convicts shall be
vested in a board, styled “ The Board of Control of the State Penitentiary.,, * * *
S e c . 4. * * * It [the board] shall, at all times, have general charge of all con
victs and employees of the penitentiary farms, manufactories, quarter boats and other
places where convicts are kept. * * *
S ec . 10. The board of control, on its organization, may with the approval of the
governor, purchase or lease a tract or tracts of land on such terms ana conditions as
the governor may approve, and after due advertisement, * * * for the establish
ment of one or more State convict farms, to be cultivated by the State, or for the
establishment of manufactories. * * *
S e c . 11. The buildings to be erected b y the board of control, or quarter boats or
other quarters shall be of the most m odem and sanitary kind on plans approved by
the governor, and shall be constructed, as far as possible, with convict labor. * * *
S e c . 14. The board of control is hereby authorized to contract for building b y theconvicts, of public levees, public roads or other public works, or for stopping crevasses
within the State of Louisiana, and to bid for the construction of the same or for work
in connection therewith, the same as a private contractor; and when such w ork is to
be paid for by the parishes, the cities, towns, villages, or the levee boards of the
State the' board of control shall be exempt from giving bond, and State board engineers,
so far as practicable, shall on any levee work whether for construction or repair of
levees employ the State convicts, by contract and agreement, with the board of con
trol of the penitentiary, and the price of said labor, shall be paid to the board of
control out of the general engineer fund.
S e c . 19. This act shall take effect on promulgation, * * * and all laws or
parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved July 6,1900.
A ct N o . 79.—Bureau o f labor statistics.
S ec t io n 1. The governor shall, by and with the advice and consent of the senate,
appoint some suitable person who shall be designated “ Commissioner of Statistics
of Labor,” with headquarters at the capital at Baton Rouge, and who shall hold his
office for the term of four (4) years.
S ec . 2. The duties of such commissioner shall be to collect, assort, systematize and
present in annual reports to the governor and to be b y him biennially transmitted
to the legislature within 10 days after the convening thereof every 2 years statistical
details relating to all departments of labor in the State; especially in relation to the
commercial, industrial, social and sanitary condition of workingmen and to the pro
ductive industries of the State.
Sec. 3. Said commissioner shall also have power to send for persons and papers, to
examine witnesses under oath, to take depositions, to cause them to be taken by
others b y law authorized to take depositions; and said commissioner, may depute
any uninterested person to serve subpoenas upon witnesses who shall be summoned
in the same manner, and paid the same fees as allowed by district courts, but for
this purpose persons are not required to leave the parish in which they reside nor to
answer questions respecting their private affairs.
Sec. 4. The commissioner shall receive a salary of fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500)
per annum, shall employ a clerk at a salary of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per
annum, and shall be allowed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for all necessary expenses
attendant upon the proper exercise of the duties of his office, all of which amounts
shall be payable monthly out of a general fund upon the warrant of the said com
missioner.
Sec. 5. A ll laws or parts of laws in conflict herewith are repealed.
Approved July 9, 1900.
A ct N o . 89.— Civil service law—Laborers, etc., exempt—New Orleans.
S e c t io n 1. There shall be a board of civil service commissioners for the city of
New Orleans; * * *
Sec. 3. Said commissioners shall, as soon after their appointment as possible, clas
sify, with reference to the examinations hereinafter provided for, all offices and
places of employment in said city, except only such offices and places to w hich
appointment or election is otherwise expressly provided for by law, and except such
offices and places as are exempted from the provisions and operations of this act.
LABOR LAWS— LOUISIANA— ACTS OF 1900.
367
Sec. 29. The following persons shall be entirely exempt from the provisions and
operations of this act:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Fourth. Street laborers, street bridge carpenters, drivers, watchmen, porters and
janitors, except as to physical ability to perform the duties of the position to which
they seek appointment.
Approved July 10, 1900.
MASSACHUSETTS.
ACTS OF 1900.
C hapter 171.—Boston—Establishment o f industrial or trade school.
Section 1. The city of Boston is hereby authorized to establish and maintain, or to
contribute to the establishment and maintenance of, an institution for giving prac
tical instruction in industrial occupations and in the arts and sciences allied therewith.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved March 23, 1900.
Chapter 191.— Exemption from attachment— Wages— Trustee process.
Section 1. Section thirty of chapter one hundred and eighty-three of the Public
Statutes is hereby amended * * * so as to read as follows: Section 30. W hen
wages for the personal labor and services of a defendant are attached for a debt or
demand other than for necessaries furnished to him or to his family, there shall be
reserved in the hands of the trustee a sum not exceeding twenty dollars, which shall
be exempt from such attachment; and when such wages are attached on a demand
for such necessaries, there shall be so reserved a sum not exceeding ten dollars, pro
vided the writ contains a statement showing the demand to be for such necessaries;
otherwise in such cases there shall be so reserved a sum not exceeding twenty dollars.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect on the first day of July in the year nineteen
hundred.
Approved April 3, 1900.
Chapter 201.—Examination, licensing, etc., o f stationery engineers and firemen.
Section 1. Section four of chapter three hundred and sixty-eight of the acts of
the year eighteen hundred and ninety-nine is hereby amended by striking out all
after the word “ other,’ ’ in the seventeenth line, and inserting in the place thereof
the follow in g :— but no person shall be examined for a special license for a particular
plant unless a written request for such examination, signed by the owner or user of
said plant, is filed with the application— * * *
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved April 4, 1900.
Chapter 223.—Safety appliances on railroads—Platform gates on cars.
Section 1. On and after the first day of January in the year nineteen hundred and
one every drawing-room or sleeping car, passenger, baggage, mail and express car,
owned or regularly used on any railroad in this Commonwealth, shall be provided at
each end thereof with platform gates of a pattern approved by the board of railroad
commissioners.
Sec. 2. A ny railroad corporation running, hauling or permitting to be hauled or
used on its road any car in violation of the provisions of this act snail be liable to a
penalty of one hundred dollars for each offense, to be recovered in an action of tort,
to the use of the Commonwealth, by the attorney-general or the district attorney for
the district in which such violation occurred.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect on the first day of January in the year nineteen
hundred and one.
Approved April 12, 1900.
Chapter 269.— Convict labor.
Section 1. The public institutions named in chapter three hundred and thirty-four
of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, being “ An act to provide
for the employment of prisoners in making goods for the use of the prisons and other
368
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
public institutions,” shall include every institution of the Commonwealth or of any
county which is established, maintained, or supported w holly or in part by the appro
priation of public moneys.
Sec. 2. The provisions of said chapter three hundred and thirty-four are hereby
extended and applied to the public institutions of any city having a population of
forty thousand inhabitants according to the census of the year eighteen hundred and
ninety-five; and the principal officer of any institution supported by the appropria
tion of public moneys in any city included under the terms of this act shall make
requisition for any articles that can be furnished by the labor of prisoners, in the same
manner in which principal officers of State and county institutions are now required
to make requisition under said chapter.
Approved April 26,1900.
C h a p t e r 282.—Bonds not to be required o f employees by certain corporations.
S ec t io n 1. No corporation engaged in carrying passengers or in transporting freight
for hire shall require or receive from any person employed or about to be em ployed
by it any bond or other security, either with or without surety or sureties, for the
purpose of indemnifying such corporation against loss or damage to persons or prop
erty resulting from any act or neglect of any employee or person about to become an
employee of such corporation; but this act shall not apply to bonds for the proper
accounting of money or other property belonging to any such corporation.
Sec. 2. A ny violation of the provisions of this act by any such corporation or by
any person in its behalf shall be punished by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars for
the first offense, and not exceeding one hundred dollars for a second offense.
Approved May 2,1900.
C h a p t e r 298.— Workingmen1s trains.
S ec t io n 1. Upon the filing with the board of railroad commissioners of a petition
for workingmen’ s trains to be run by any specified railroad company whose line ter
minates in the city of Boston such trains shall be furnished b y the company in such
number, not less than two each way, as the said board may order. Such trains shall
arrive at Boston between six and half past seven in the morning and between six
and half past seven in the evening, every week day, and shall depart between the
same hours. For such trains the company, for distances not exceeding fifteen
miles, shall furnish season tickets at a rate not exceeding three dollars per mile per
year, and quarterly and weekly tickets at a rate not exceeding one dollar per mile per
quarter. A ll such tickets shall be good once a day, each way, for six days in the
week. For such trains the company may provide special cars"
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect on the first day of July in the year nineteen
hundred.
Approved May 4, 1900.
C h a p t e r 335.— Fire escapes on factories, etc.
-
S ec t io n 1. Section twenty-four of chapter four hundred and eighty-one of the acts
of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-four is hereby amended by inserting after
the word ‘ 1stairways,” in the twenty-third line, the words:—or by such other way or
device as the owner shall elect, provided the same shall be approved in writing by
said inspector, * * *
Sec. 2. Section eighty-two of chapter four hundred and nineteen of the acts of the
year eighteen hundred and ninety-two, as set out in section one of chapter three
hundred and ten of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, is hereby
amended b y striking out the words “ a flight of stairs,” in the twenty-ninth anil
thirtieth lines, * * *
Approved May 23, 1900.
C h a p t e r 357.— Hours o f labor fo r workmen, etc., employed by cities or towns.
Section three of chapter three hundred and forty-four of the acts of the year
eighteen hundred and ninety-nine is hereby amended by striking out the whole of
said section and inserting in place thereof tne following:—Section 8. This act [eighthour law] shall take effect in any city or town upon its acceptance b y a majority of
the voters present and voting thereon b y ballot at any annual election thereof, and
it shall be submitted for such acceptance upon the petition of one hundred or more
registered voters of any city, or of twenty-five or more registered voters of any town,
filed with the city or town clerk thirty days or more before any annual election.
Approved May 31, 1900.
LABOR LAWS---- MASSACHUSETTS---- ACTS OF 1900.
369
Chapter 378.— Hours o f labor o f women and children in mercantile establishments.
Section 1. Section ten of chapter five hundred and eight of the acts of the year
eighteen hundred and ninety-four is hereby amended * * * so as to read as fol
lows:—Section 10. No minor under eighteen years of age, and no woman, shall be
employed in laboring in any mercantile establishment more than fifty-eight hours
in any one week: provided, that the restrictions imposed by this section shall not
apply during the month of December in each year to persons employed in shops for
the sale of goods at retail.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect on the first day of July in the year nineteen
hundred.
Approved June 13, 1900.
Chapter 414.— Protection o f street-railway employees—Inclosed platforms.
Section 1. All street cars hereafter purchased, built or rebuilt by any street railway
company and used for the transportation of passengers during the months of January,
February, March and December, and all cars in use for the transportation of passen
gers during said months after the first day of November in the year nineteen hundred
and two, except as otherwise provided in section two, shall have their platforms
inclosed in such manner as to protect the motormen, conductors or other employees
operating the cars from exposure to wind and weather, and in such manner as the
board of railroad commissioners shall approve.
Sec. 2. A ny street railway company operating cars in a city of more than one hundred
and fifty thousand inhabitants may, on or before the first day of October in the year
nineteen hundred, petition the board of railroad commissioners to be exempted from
the provisions of this act so far as relates to such lines or routes owned or controlled
by said company, where said company claims cars can not be operated with safety;
and if after hearing and investigation said board decides that m its opinion street
cars with the platform inclosed, as required by section one of this act, can not be
operated with safety in such city, upon any or all of its lines or routes, this act shall
not be applicable to said company, its officers or cars, so far as relates to such lines
or routes so decided to be unsafe for such operation. Said board shall render its
decision on all petitions brought under this section, with the reasons for such decision,
on or before the first day of January in the year nineteen hundred and one, but said
decision shall at any time be subject to revision by said board. If however said
board shall decide adversely to the claim of said company in regard to any lines or
routes included in said petition, then said petitioning railway company shall inclose
the platforms of its cars operated on such lines or routes, in the manner provided in
section one, within such time as said board shall deem reasonably requisite, not
however exceeding four years from the date of the decision of the said board.
Sec. 3. The term “ car,” as used herein, includes all street cars operated b y steam,
cable or electricity which require while in motion the constant care or service of an
employee upon the platforms or upon one of the platforms of the car. The term
“ company,” as used herein, includes any corporation, partnership or person owning
or operating a street railway.
Sec. 4. A ny street-railway company which fails or neglects to comply with the pro
visions of this act shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for
each day during which such failure or neglect continues.
Sec. 5. The superintendent or manager of any street railway, and any other officer
or agent thereof, w ho causes or permits any violation of this act, shall be jointly and
severally liable with the company employing him to the fine hereinbefore designated,
and in default of payment may be committed to jail until his fine is paid: Prodded,
That he shall not so be committed for a period longer than 3 months.
Sec. 6. So much of chapter four hundred and fifty-two of the acts of the year
eighteen hundred and ninety-seven as is inconsistent herewith is hereby repealed.
Approved June 27, 1900.
Chapter 425.— Hours o f labor o f employees o f county jails, etc.
The hours of labor for employees of county jails and houses of correction shall not
exceed 60 hours in a week. A ny county officer who violates this act by inducing or
compelling any employee to work more than 60 hours a week shall be punished by a
fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than fifty dollars for each offense.
Approved June 29, 1900.
370
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
C h a p t e r 446.— Employers’ liability— Extension o f time fo r giving notice under act.
Section three of chapter two hundred and seventy of the acts of the year eighteen
hundred and eighty-seven, as amended by * * * is hereby further amended by
striking out the word “ thirty,” in the sixteenth and twenty-seventh lines, ana
inserting in each instance in place thereof the word:—sixty,— * * *
Approved July 10, 1900.
C h a p t e r 469.— Protection o f employees on public works.
S ec t io n 1. No person or corporation, and no agent or employee of any person or
corporation, under contract with the Commonwealth or any municipal corporation or
any county therein, or with any board, commission or officer acting on behalf of the
Commonwealth or any county or municipal corporation therein, for the doing of
public work, shall, either directly or indirectly, make it a condition of the employ
ment of any person that he shall lodge, board or trade at any particular place or
with any particular person; but every employee in such work shall have full liberty
to lodge, Board and trade wheresoever and with whomsoever he may choose.
S ec. 2. It shall be the duty of every board, commission or officer contracting as
aforesaid, to make the provisions of this act a part of the contract.
S ec . 3. A ny person who violates the provisions of this act shall be punished by
fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for each offense.
Approved July 17, 1900.
C h a p t e r 470.— Payment o f wages to employees o f the State.
The provisions of section fifty-one of chapter five hundred and eight of the acts of
the year eighteen hundred and ninety-four, relative to the payment of weekly wages,
so far as applicable to the cities of the Commonwealth, shall apply to the Common
wealth, and its officers, boards and commissions, when acting as employers of
mechanics, workmen and laborers.
Approved July 17, 1900.
R e so lves— C h a p t e r
72.—In favor o f the New Bedford textile school.
Resolved, That there be allowed and paid Out of the treasury of the Commonwealth
to the trustees of the New Bedford textile school the sum of eighteen thousand dol
lars, for the use of said school: provided, however, that no part of this sum shall be
paid until satisfactory evidence is furnished to the auditor of accounts of the Com
monwealth that an additional sum of seven thousand dollars has been paid to the
said trustees for the use of said school b y the city of New Bedford, or received by
them from other sources; and provided, further, that the yearly tuition at said institution
for day pupils who are nonresidents of the Commonwealth shall be not less than one
hundred and fifty dollars. The city of New Bedford is hereby authorized to raise b y
taxation and pay to said trustees such sum of money, not exceeding seven thousand
dollars, as may be necessary to secure the amount provided for by this resolve.
Approved May 18, 1900.
R esolves — C h a p t e r 73.— In favor o f the Lowell textile school.
Resolved, That there be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth
to the trustees of the Lowell textile school a sum not exceeding thirty-five thousand
dollars, to be expended under the direction of said trustees in erecting a building or
buildings for the use of said school: provided, however, that no part of this sum shall
be paid until satisfactory evidence is furnished to the auditor of accounts of the Com
monwealth that a lot of land suitable and ample for such building or buildings has
been contributed and conyeyed in fee to said trustees, free from all incumbrances;
and provided, further, that no part of said sum shall be paid to said trustees in excess
of the combined fair market value of the land so conveyed to them and of machinery
hereafter given absolutely to them for the use of the school, together with the
amount of contributions of m oney made to the trustees for the general purposes of
the school or for the erection of said building or buildings, exclusive however of any
contribution of m oney for the use of said school provided for in any other act or
resolve of the present year.
Approved May 18,1900.
LABOR LAWS---- MASSACHUSETTS---- ACTS OF 1900.
371
R esolves—Chapter 76.—In favor o f the Lowell textile school.
Resolved, That there be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth
to the trustees of the Lowell textile school the sum of sixteen thousand dollars, to
be applied to the purposes of the school: provided, that no part of this sum shall be
paid until satisfactory evidence is furnished to the auditor of accounts of the Com
monwealth that an additional sum of six thousand dollars has been paid to said
trustees by the city of Lowell or received b y them from other sources. The city of
Lowell is hereby authorized to raise by taxation and pay to said trustees such sum
of money, not exceeding six thousand dollars, as may be necessary together with
that received from other sources to secure the amount provided for by this resolve.
Approved May 28, 1900.
N E W YORK.
ACTS OF 1900.
Chapter 298.— Hours o f labor.
Section 1. Section three of chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of eight
een hundred and ninety-seven, entitled “ An act in relation to labor, constituting
chapter thirty-two of the general laws,” as amended by chapter five hundred ana
sixty-seven of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, is hereby amended to
read as follows:
§ 3. Eight hours shall constitute a legal day’ s work for all classes of employees in
this State except those engaged in farm and domestic service unless otherwise pro
vided by law. This section does not prevent an agreement for overwork at an
increased compensation, except upon work by or for the State or a municipal cororation or by contractors or subcontractors therewith. Each contract to w hich the
tate or a municipal corporation is a party which may involve the employment of
laborers, workmen or mechanics shall contain a stipulation that no laborer, work
man or mechanic in the employ of the contractor, subcontractor or other person
doing or contracting to do the whole or a part of the work contemplated by the con
tract shall be permitted or required to work more than 8 hours in any one calendar
day except in cases of extraordinary emergencies caused by fire, flood or danger to
life or property. The wages to be paid for a legal day’ s work as hereinbefore defined
to all classes of such laborers, workmen or mechanics upon all such public works or
upon any material to be used upon or in connection therewith shall not be less than
the prevailing rate fo ra day’ s work in the same trade or occupation in the locality
within the State where such public work on, about or in connection with such labor
is performed in its final or completed form is to be situated, erected or used. Each
such contract hereafter made shall contain a stipulation that each such laborer, workm anor mechanic, employed by such contractor, subcontractor or other person on, about
or upon such public work shall receive such wages herein provided for. Each contract
for such public work hereafter made shall contain a provision that the same shall be
void and of no effect unless the person or corporation making or performing the same
shall comply with the provisions of this section; and no such person or corporation
shall be entitled to receive any sum, nor shall any officer, agent or employee of the
State or of a municipal corporation pay the same or authorize its payment from the
funds under his charge or control to any such person or corporation for work done
upon any contract which in its form or manner of performance violates the provi
sions of this section, but nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to persons
regularly employed in State institutions, or to engineers, electricians and elevator
men in the department of public buildings during the annual session of the legislature.
S ec . 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, April 6, 1900, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
g
Chapter 327—A rticle 3.— Examination, licensing, etc., o f plumbers.
§ 40. The existing boards for the examination of plumbers in cities of this State are
continued and each shall hereafter be known as the examining board of plumbers.
Such board in each city shall continue to consist of five persons to be appointed b y the
mayor, of whom two shall be employing or master plumbers of not less than 10 years’
experience in the business of plumbing, and one shall be a journeyman plumber of
like experience, and the other members of such board shall be the chief inspector of
plumbing and drainage of the board of health of such city, or officer performing the
872
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
duties of such inspector, and the chief engineer having charge of sewers in such city,
hut in the event of there being no such officers in such city, then any two other officers
having charge or supervision of the plumbing, drainage or sewerage, whom the mayor
shall designate or appoint, or two members of the board of health of such city having
like duties or acting in like capacities.
§ 41. The term of office of each member of such board shall be 3 years, from the
first day of January following his appointment. Vacancies occurring b y expiration
of a term shall be filled by the mayor for a full term. Vacancies by death, removal,
inability to act, resignation or removal from the city of any member shall be filled by
him for the unexpired term. The chief inspector of plumbing and drainage and the
engineer in charge of sewers or the officers holding equivalent positions or acting in
like capacities designated or appointed b y the mayor as herein provided, shall be ex
officio members of such examining board, and when they shall cease to hold their
offices b y reason or on account of which they were so designated or appointed, their
successors shall act on the examining board in their stead.
§ 42. The master and journeymen plumbers serving as members of such board shall
severally be paid the rate of five dollars per day for each day’ s service when actually
engaged in the performance of the duties pertaining to the office; but such compensa
tion shall not exceed five dollars per mouth in a city of the third class, nor the sum
of ten dollars per month in a city of the second class, nor the sum of twenty dollars
per month in a city of the first class. It shall be the duty of such ex officio members
of the board of examiners to discharge their duties as members of such board without
compensation therefor.
§ 43. All members of such board shall be citizens and actual residents of the cities
in which they are appointed.
§ 44. The several examining boards of plumbers shall have power and it shall be
their duty:
1. To meet at stated intervals in their respective cities; they shall also meet when
ever the board of health of such city or the mayor thereof shall in writing request
them so to do.
2. To have jurisdiction over and to examine all persons desiring or intending to
engage in the trade, business or calling of plumbing as employing plumbers in the
city in which such board shall be appointed with the power of examining persons
applying for certificates of competency as such employing or master plumbers or as
inspectors of plumbing, to determine their fitness and qualifications for conducting
the business of master plumbers or to act as inspector of plumbing, and to issue cer
tificates of competency to all such persons who shall have passed a satisfactory exam
ination before such board and shall be by it determined to be qualified for conducting
the business as employing or master plumbers or competent to act as inspectors of
plumbing.
3. To formulate in conjunction with the local board of health of the city or an
officer, board or body performing the duties of a board of health a code of rules regu
lating the work of plumbing and drainage in such city, including the materials,
workmanship and manner of executing such work and from time to time to add to,
amend or alter the same.
4. To charge and collect from each person applying for examination the sum of
five dollars for each examination made by such board, and all moneys so collected
shall be paid over b y the board monthly to the chamberlain or treasurer of such city
in which such board shall be appointed.
§ 45. A person desiring or intending to conduct the trade, business or calling of
a plumber or of plumbing in a city of this State as employing or master plumber,
shall be required to submit to an examination before such examining board of
plumbers as to his experience and qualifications for such trade, business or calling,
and it shall not be lawful in any city of this State for a person to conduct such trade,
business or calling, unless he shall have first obtained a certificate of competency
from such board of the city in which he conducts or proposes to conduct sucn
business.
§ 46. Every employing or master plumber carrying on his trade, business or call
ing in any city of this State shall register his name and address at the office of the
board of health of the city in which he shall conduct such business, under such
rules as the respective boards of health of each of the cities shall prescribe, and there
upon he shall be entitled to receive a certificate of such registration, provided, how
ever, that such employing or master plumber shall at the time of applying for such
registration hold a certificate of competency from an examining board of plumbers.
§ 47. Such registration may be canceled by such board of health for a violation
of the rules and regulations for the plumbing and drainage of such city duly adopted
and enforced therein, after a hearing had before such board of health and upon a prior
LABOR LAWS— NEW YORK— ACTS OF 1900.
373
notice of not less than ten days stating the ground of complaint and served on the
person charged with the violation, but such revocation shall not be operative unless
concurred in by the local board of examiners. It shall not be lawful for any person
to engage in or carry on the trade, business or calling of an employing or master
plumber in any of the cities of this State, unless his name and address shall have
been registered in the city in which he carries on or conducts such business.
§ 50. All certificates of registration issued under the provisions of the preceding
sections * * * shall expire on the thirty-first day of December of the year in
which they shall be issued, and may be renewed within thirty days preceding such
expiration. Such renewals to be for one year from the first day of January in each
year.
§ 54. Each of such examining boards of plumbers shall have power to procure
suitable quarters for the transaction of business, to provide the necessary books and
stationery and to employ a clerk to keep such books and record the transactions of
such board. The board of estimate and apportionment or the common council of a
city as the case may be shall annually insert in their tax levy a sufficient sum to meet
all the expenditures incurred under the provisions of this article. The expenses
incurred by the several examining boards of plumbers in the execution and perform
ance of the duties imposed b y this article shall be a charge on the respective cities
and shall be audited, levied, collected and paid in the same manner as other city
charges are audited, levied, collected and paid.
§ 55. A ny person violating any of the provisions of this article, or any rules or
regulations of the board of health or of the examining board of plumbers in any
city regulating the plumbing and drainage of buildings in such city, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, and on conviction if a master plumber, shall in addition, forfeit
any certificate of competency or registration, which he may hold under the provi
sions thereof.
§ 57. Nothing in this article shall affect or supersede any provision of chapter eight
hundred and three of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-six, relating to
plumbing in the city of New York.
Became a law, April 6, 1900, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
C h a p t e r 378.— Convict labor—State reformatory.
S ec t io n 1. The State reformatory at Elmira is continued and shall be known as the
Elmira reformatory.
§18. * * * The prisoners therein may be employed in agricultural or mechan
ical labor as a means of securing their support and reformation.
Became a law, April 11, 1900, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
C h a p t e r 533.— Seats fo r female employees.
S ec t io n 1. Section seventeen of chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of
eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, entitled “ An act in relation to labor, constitut
ing chapter thirty-two of the general laws,” is hereby amended to read as follows:
§ 17. Every person employing females in a factory or as waitresses in a hotel or
restaurant shall provide and maintain suitable seats for the use of such female
employees, and permit the use thereof by such employees to such an extent as may
be reasonable for the preservation of their health.
S ec . 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, April 19, 1900, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
C h a p t e r 549.— Railroads— Use o f u coal jim m ies” prohibited—A ir brakes to be furnished.
S e c t io n 1. Section two of chapter five hundred and forty-three of the laws of
eighteen hundred and ninety-three, entitled “ An act to promote the safety of rail
way employees by compelling the equipment of freight cars with continuous power
or air brakes, and locomotives with driving wheel brakes,” as amended by chapter
four hundred and eighty-six of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-six, is
hereby amended to read as follows:
§ 2. That on and after the first day of January, eighteen hundred and ninetyeight, the use of cars known and designated as “ coal jimmies ” in any form shall be
unlawful within the State, except upon any railroad whose main line is less than
fifteen miles in length and whose average grade exceeds two hundred feet to the
mile, under a penalty of one hundred dollars for each offense, said penalty to be
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BULLETIN' OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
recovered in an action to be brought by the attorney-general in the name of the peo
ple and in the judicial district where the principal office of the company within the
State is located. This section shall not be construed to authorize the interchange of
such 4‘ coal jim m ies’ ’ with, and the use thereof upon, railroads of more than fifteen
miles in length or whose average grade is less than two hundred feet to the mile.
Sec. 2. Section three of said chapter is hereby amended so as to read as follows:
§ 3. That on and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and one, it
shall be unlawful for any railroad or other company to haul or permit to be hauled
or used on its line or lines within this State any freight train that has not a sufficient
number of cars in it so equipped with continuous power or air brakes that the engineer
on the locomotive drawing such train can control its speed without requiring brakemen to use the common hand brake for that purpose.
Sec. 3. Section five of said chapter is hereby amended so as to read as follows:
§ 5. That on and after January first, nineteen hundred and one any railroad or
other company hauling or permitting to be hauled on its line or lines any freight train
in violation of any of the provisions of this act, shall be liable to a penalty of one
hundred dollars for each and every violation, to be recovered in any action to be
brought b y the attorney-general in the name of the people and in the judicial district
wherein the principal office of the company within the State is located, and it shall
be the duty of the board of railroad commissioners of the State to notify the attorneygeneral of all such violations coming to its notice.
Sec. 4. Section six of the said chapter is amended so as to read as follows:
§ 6. That the board of railroad commissioners may, from time to time, after full
hearing given and for good cause shown, extend the time within which any company
shall com ply with the requirement of this act, not exceeding, however, four years
from the first day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight.
Sec. 5. A ll acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are
hereby repealed.
Sec. 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, April 20, 1900, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
C hapter 709.—Inspection o f steam boilers and licenses o f stationary engineers—New
Y ork C ity.
Section 1. Section three hundred and twelve of chapter four hundred and ten of
the laws of eighteen hundred and eighty-two, entitled “ An act to consolidate into
one act and to declare the special and local laws affecting public interests in the city
of New Y o r k ” as amended b y chapter six hundred and thirty-five of the laws of
eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, is hereby amended by adding at the end of sub
division three thereof a new paragraph E, to read as follows:
E. A ny person or persons violating any provision of this section or of any of its
subdivisions shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Accepted b y the city. Became a law, May 1, 1900, with the approval of the gov
ernor. Passed, three-fifths being present.
Chapter 762.— Conditional sales—Sale o f property retaken by vendor.
Section 1. Section one hundred and sixteen of chapter four hundred and eighteen
of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, entitled “ A n act in relation to
liens, constituting chapter forty-nine of the general laws,” is hereby amended to read
as follows:
§ 116. W henever articles are sold upon the condition that the title thereto shall
remain in the vendor, or in some other person than the vendee, until the payment
of the purchase price, or until the occurrence of a future event or contingency, and
the same are retaken b y the vendor, or his successor in interest, they shall be retained
for a period of thirty days from the time of such retaking, and during such period
the vendee or his successor in interest, may com ply with the terms of such contract,
and thereupon receive such property. After the expiration of such period, if such
terms are not complied with, the vendor, or his successor in interest, may cause such
articles to be sold at public auction. Unless such articles are so sold within thirty
days after the expiration of such period, the vendee or his successor in interest may
recover of the vendor the amount paid on such articles by such vendee or his suc
cessor in interest under the contract for the conditional sale thereof.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, May 4,1900, with the approval of the governor. Passed, three-fifths
being present.
LABOB LAWS— RHODE ISLAND---- ACTS OF 1900.
875
RHODE ISLAND.
ACTS OF 1900.
Chapter
735.— Trade-marks, etc., o f trade unions.
S ec t io n 1. W henever any person, or any association or union of workingmen,
has heretofore adopted or used, or shall hereafter adopt or use, any label, trade
mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement for the purpose of designating,
making known, or distinguishing any goods, wares, merchandise, or other product
of labor as having been made, manufactured, produced, prepared, packed, or put on
sale by such person, or association or union of workingmen, or by a member, or
members, of such association or union, it shall be unlawful to counterfeit or imitate
such label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement, or to use,
sell, offer for sale, or in any way utter or circulate any counterfeit or imitation of
any such label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement.
S ec . 2. W hoever knowingly counterfeits or imitates any such label, trade-mark,
term, design, device, or form of advertisement which has been filed and recorded in
the office of the secretary of state as hereinafter provided; or knowingly sells, offers
for sale, or in any way utters or circulates any counterfeit or imitation of any such
label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement, or knowingly keeps
or has in his possession, with intent that the same shall be sold or disposed of, any
goods, wares, merchandise, or other product of labor to which or on which any such
counterfeit or imitation is printed, painted, stamped, or impressed; or knowingly sells
or disposes of any goods, wares, merchandise, or other product of labor contained in
any box, case, can, or package to which or on which any such counterfeit or imita
tion is attached, affixed, printed, painted, stamped, or impressed; or knowingly
keeps or has in his possession, with intent that the same shall be sold or disposed of,
any goods, wares, merchandise, or other product of labor in any box, case, can, or
package to which or on which any such counterfeit or imitation is attached, affixed,
printed, painted, stamped, or impressed, shall be punished by a fine of not more
than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than three months.
Sec. 3. Every such person, association, or union that has heretofore adopted or
used, or shall hereafter adopt or use, a label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or
form of advertisement as provided in section 1 of this act, shall file the same for
record in the office of the secretary of state by leaving two copies, counterparts, or
facsimiles thereof, with said secretary, and by filing therewith a sworn application
specifying the name or names of the person, association, or union on whose behalf
such label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement shall be filed;
the class of merchandise, and a description of the goods to which it has been or
is intended to be appropriated, stating that the party so filing, or on whose behalf
such label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement shall be filed,
has the right to the use of the same, that no other person, firm, association, union, or
corporation has the right to such use, either in the identical form or in any such near
resemblance thereto as may be calculated to deceive, and that the facsimile or coun
terparts filed therewith are true and correct, before there shall be any liability to
any suit or proceeding for any violation of this act. There shall be paid for such filing
ana recording a fee of one dollar. Said secretary of state shail cause a description of
such label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement to be published
once a week for 3 successive .weeks, at the expense of the applicant, in some news
paper published in the city of Providence. After such publication said secretary
shall deliver to such person, association, or union so filing or causing to be filed any
such label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement so many duly
attested certificates of the recording of the same as such person, association, or union
may apply for, for each of which certificates said secretary shall receive a fee of one
dollar. A ny such certificate of record shall in all suits and prosecutions under this act
be sufficient proof of the adoption of such label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or
form of advertisement. Said secretary of state shall not record for any person, union,
or association any label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement
that would probably be mistaken for any label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or
form of advertisement theretofore filed by or on behalf of any other person, union,
or association.
Sec. 4. A ny person who shall, for himself or on behalf of any other person, asso
ciation, or union, procure the filing of any label, trade-mark, term, design, or form
of advertisement in the office of the secretary of state under the provisions of this act
by making any false or fraudulent representations or declarations, verbally or in
writing, or by any fraudulent means, shall be liable to pay any damages sustained in
376
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
consequence of any such filing, to be recovered by or on behalf of the party injured
thereby in any court having jurisdiction, and shall be punished by a fine not exceed
ing one hundred dollars or by imprisonment not exceeding 3 months. In any suit
or prosecution under the provisions of this act, the defendant may show that he or
it was the owner of such label, trade-mark, term, design, device, or form of adver
tisement prior to its being filed under the provisions of this act, and that it has been
filed wrongfully or without right by some other person, association, or union.
Sec. 5. Every such person, association, or union adopting or using a label, trade
mark, term, design, device, or form of advertisement, as aforesaid, may proceed by
suit to enjoin the manufacture, use, display, or sale of any counterfeits, or imitations
thereof, and all courts of competent jurisdiction may grant injunctions to restrain
such manufacture, use, display, or sale, and may award the complainant in any such
suit damages resulting from such manufacture, use, sale, or display, as may be by the
said court deemed just and reasonable, and may require the defendants to pay to
such person, association, or union all profits derived from such wrongful manufac
ture, use, display, or sale; and such court may also order that all such counterfeits
or imitations in the possession or under the control of any defendant in such cause
to be delivered to an officer of the court, or to the complainant, to be destroyed.
In all cases where such association or union is not incorporated, suits under this
act may be commenced and prosecuted b y an officer or member of such association or
union, on behalf of and for the use of such association or union.
S e c . 6. A ny person or persons who shall in any way use the name or seal of any
such person, association, or union, or officer thereof, in and about the sale of goods
or otherwise, not being authorized to use the same, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 3 months or b y a fine of
not'm ore than one hundred dollars.
S e c . 7. The provisions of this act shall not abridge any rights to any trade-marks
existing at the time of the passage of this act, whether the same shall be recorded or
not, nor any remedies or rights of action otherwise or theretofore existing in favor of
owners of trade-marks.
S e c . 8. The district courts of the several judicial districts shall have jurisdiction of
all complaints for violations of this act.
S e c . 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the first day of June,
A. D. 1900, and all acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
Passed April 12, 1900.
Chapter
751.— Exemption from attachment, etc.— Wages.
S e c t io n 1. Clause 12 of section 5 of chapter 255 of the General Laws is hereby
amended so as to read as follows:
12. The salary or wages due or payable to any debtor, not exceeding the sum of
ten dollars.
S e c . 2. This act shall take effect immediately, and all acts and parts of acts incon
sistent herewith are hereby repealed.
Passed May 4, 1900.
@FedFRASER