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57th C o n g r e s s , ) H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S ./D o o . N o . 377,
1st Session.
)
I.
Part 3.
BULLETIN
OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
No. 40-M A Y , 1902.
ISSUED EVERY OTHER MONTH.
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1902.
EDITOR,
CARROLL D. W R IG H T,
COMMISSIONER.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS,
G. W . W . H AN GER,
CHAS. H . V E R R IL L , G. A . W EBER.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Present condition o f the hand-working and dom estic industries of Germ any,
b y H enry J. H arris, Ph. D ....................................................................................
W orkm en’ s com pensation acts of foreign countries, by Adna F. W eber, chief
statistician of the New Y ork State departm ent of la b or.................................
W orking of com pulsory conciliation and arbitration laws in New Zealand
and V icto ria .............................................................................................................
The com pulsory arbitration act o f New South W ales.......................................
Digest o f recent reports of State bureaus o f labor statistics:
N ebraska...............................................................................................................
New Jersey...........................................................................................................
New Y o rk .............................................................................................................
N orth Carolina.....................................................................................................
O h io .......................................................................................................................
P ennsylvania.......................................................................................................
R hode Isla n d .......................................................................................................
W a sh in gton .........................................................................................................
Digest o f recent foreign statistical p u b lica tion s...................................................
Decisions of courts affecting la b o r ..........................................................................
Laws of various States delating to labor enacted since January 1, 1896 ..........
hi
509-648
549-551
552-560
561-574
575,576
576-580
580-585
585-587
587-589
589-592
593594
595-603
604-642
643-662
BULLETIN
OP THE
D EPARTM EN T OF LABOR.
No. 40.
W A S H IN G T O N .
M a t , 1902.
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC
INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
BY HENRY J. HARRIS, PH. D.
The narrowing of the workingman’s sphere of activity, which the
growth of the factory system and the specialization of modern indus
trial life have brought about, has frequently led to the expression of
the desire for a return to the system of household or small shop pro
duction which was form erly the prevailing type in industrial life. In
Germany a similar movement has taken place and has aroused an active
interest in the welfare of this class of producers who still exist in much
larger numbers and occupy a more prominent position in economic
life than they do in the United States. This interest has taken the
form of measures to encourage and assist the organization and the
general and technical education of the class. In addition, it has led to
a series of investigations into the number and characteristics o f the
hand-working producers of the present time, so that we now have
more accurate information on this subject for Germany than for other
countries.
The following pages endeavor to present the salient fea
tures of the problem of the hand-working producer in Germany on the
basis of these investigations, and with special reference to those phases
of the problem which are of interest to Americans.
A study of the economic features of the States form ing the German
Empire may find a convenient starting point in the close o f the Napo
leonic period.
A t that time all the industrial production o f the country
was practically in the hands of the artisan or handicraft class, who
were organized in guilds of more or less strength and community o f
feeling.
Though there is evidence that a small number o f what m ight
be termed factories existed, yet the jealousy o f the guilds prevented
509
510
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
their competing to any extent in the well-defined fields of the various
handicrafts; it is also probable that they produced goods not included
in the category of articles controlled by the guild regulations. W e
may say, then, that the guilds existing at the beginning o f the nine
teenth century controlled practically all the industries which had grown
up since the middle ages.
A new epoch of industrial activity began
with the restoration o f peace at the close o f the Napoleonic wars. A s
the largest and most important of the States now form ing the German
Empire, Prussia alone will be considered in studying the development
o f the period in question. Though the change in policy toward the
guilds after the downfall of Napoleon did not endanger their existence,
it altered their character as purely urban institutions.
B y compelling
them to submit to the general regulations for the whole country, and
by making uniform the requirements for the city and the country
guilds, the demand for industrial freedom was, theoretically at least,
answered affirmatively.
Nevertheless, the experience of a few years
showed that practically it was impossible for the artisan of the country
to compete with the artisan of the town; the old rights as to the mar
kets, the 64ban m ile” (forbidding outside artisans to approach within
a mile o f the city), were upheld, while acquisition o f the mastership
by any but the sons or relatives of masters was contested bitterly.
However, in spite o f opposition from many sides, conditions, as far as
legislation was concerned, were slightly but steadily made easier and
freer. B y the end of the sixties complete industrial freedom was
granted in most of the German States. The transition was made suc
cessfully. Fears that the removal of the old restraints would lead
some without training to set up in business for themselves, and thus
lower the standard of work, proved groundless. The special investi
gation into the condition of the hand-working industries, made in the
summer o f 1895, showed that 97 per cent o f the independent persons
had received a reasonable training in their trades.
It is important to keep in mind the late date at which the old
restraints on trade and industry were removed.
W h ile England and
the United States have had industrial freedom in practically every
respect for the whole of the nineteenth century, the Germans have had
it for only a generation.
The evidence o f so recent a transition is seen
in the number of establishments in various trades still bearing a close
resemblance to
the older form of
industrial production.
To an
American it seems strange to regard soap making or rope making as
industries where hand production is a marked feature, but this condi
tion is due partially, at least, to the fact that only a few years have
elapsed since the traditions of the older methods held sway.
In
this brief period conditions have changed and opportunities hitherto
unknown have sprung up everywhere.
M ost prominent among the
factors changing the whole aspect o f Germany are the improved means
H AND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
511
o f communication. This has made concentration o f production pos
sible, and then has followed the series of problems developed by the
rise o f the so-called factory system.
O f these problems, that concerning the hand-working producer occu
pies a prominent place in the literature of to-day. It is simply a ques
tion as to the survival of the older form of production. The form
which a century ago almost monopolized industrial production is now
struggling with its younger competitor for the control of production.
Briefly stated, the problem is this: H ow far is production by hand
methods capable o f competing against other forms?
production does it still control?
W h at fields o f
Until recently there was a lack of authoritative material on the sub
ject, but since 1895 three valuable contributions have been made:
First, the Gewerbez&hlung, the German industrial census of June 14,
1895; second, the Erhebung fiber Yerhaltnisse im Handwerk taken in
the summer o f 1895, a collection o f statistical data on the conditions of
the hand worker; and third, the series of volumes issued in the years
1894 to 1901 by the Yerein ffir Socialpolitik, an association somewhat
similar to the American Economic Association. The first two o f these
are official publications of the imperial statistical office. The census
includes for the whole of Germany every person engaged in any indus
trial occupation. The collection of statistical data is an investigation
into the trades most closely related to the old occupations controlled
by the guilds. Though covering only certain selected districts, a fairly
successful effort has been made to have evenly represented the different
phases of the large and small towns, the country districts, and the vil
lages. The third and most interesting of the works, that of the Verein
ffir Socialpolitik, is an investigation by private persons into a series of
hand-working trades in various localities. That the general standard
of the work is so high is owing to the careful editing and supervision
by the head o f the movement, K arl Bficher, of Leipzig. The authors
of the studies were for the most part students of economics at the uni
versities of L eipzig, Berlin, Breslau, Jena, and other towns. Being
entirely voluntary, the work is uneven in many respects; the geo
graphical distribution of the industries in the large and small towns
and in the rural districts has not been considered so well as might be
wished, while several important industries are lacking.
The number
of contributions is 112; 99 of these treat of single industries in various
localities, the others treat of all the industries in a definite locality
or are o f special character.
M ost o f the studies seek to answer the
following questions: W h a t did the hand-working industry form erly
produce?
W h a t does it now produce?
W ith what degree of success
does it compete with other industrial form s? {a)
aSchriften des Vereins fur Socialpolitik.
Volum e 76, page 18.
512
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
In connection with the problem whether this industrial form can
compete with other form s, is the question whether the type of person
evolved by the different forms is higher in the one case or the other.
A n assumption at the basis of many arguments in favor of the hand
working producer is that he is mentally and morally superior to his
competitors. A s this assumption has never been proved the question
may be put aside as one not relevant to the present problem.
C O M P E T IT IO N O F IN D U S T R I A L F O R M S .
A t the present time the industrial forms competing with each other
may be divided into three classes: First, the factory; second, the
house-working or domestic system; third, the hand-working system or
system of shop production.
The lack of definite terms in English to describe accurately the
phenomena named above is significant as indicating both the looseness
o f thought on. the question and the lack of interest in it. Economic
literature on this subject in German has been enriched by the activities
of Roscher, Bucher, and Stieda. Bucher has paid special attention to
formulating clear definitions and an exact terminology in the industrial
field, and so successful have been his efforts that his terms have been
generally adopted. In the cyclopedias of Conrad (a) and of Elster (5)
his articles on 44Industry” ( Gewerie) contain a brief summary of the
views expressed at greater length in his other works.
B y the term 44hand-work production” is understood that type in
which the producer himself is the possessor of the means o f produc
tion, in which he produces for a definite market or known body o f con
sumers, and in which there is but slight use of machinery. Under this
form are included artisans, handicraftsmen, and shop producers. The
distinctive characteristic is the personal relation between producer
and consumer.
Opposed to the above is the 44 house-working” or 44 domestic” sys
tem.
Here an undertaker with capital carries on operations by em
ploying laborers to work in their houses.
The conditions vary; some
times the workman supplies raw materials, tools, and other requisites
and receives a specified price for his finished product; sometimes the
employer supplies everything needed and simply pays a stipulated
price for a certain amount of labor on the raw material.
The most
usual form is a combination of these, where the employer supplies the
most important part o f the raw materials and includes payment for
the others in the contract price of the finished product.
A knowledge
o f market conditions is essential to the factor or employer, who is
usually a merchant rather than one acquainted with the processes of
a H andw orterbuch der Staatswissenschaften, Zweite Auflage, Band IV .
b W orterbuch der Yolksw irtschaft, Band I.
Jena, 1898.
Jena, 1900.
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
513
manufacture. The technological features of this method are similar to
those of the hand-working system, and the capital required is invested
in fixed forms to a slight degree only. There is here no personal con
tact between producer and consumer, intermediaries of various kinds
being employed.
The 44factory system ” means production by an undertaker who
employs persons to carry on productive operations in his establish
ment and who must be possessed of both technological and commercial
knowledge. Both the domestic and factory systems are capitalistic
undertakings— the former, however, using capital not fixed, the latter
emphasizing fixed capital.
The former is mainly a commercial under
taking, the latter is mainly a series of technological operations which
may be termed productive. Combinations of the two forms are fre
quent; often parts of the operations of production are performed by
workmen in their own homes and parts in the rooms of the factory.
These are by no means the only forms of economic production.
Other forms which may be mentioned are: “ Home work,” production
in the home by members of the household for family needs; 44wage
w ork,” production in the house o f the consumer by a nonmember of
the household who is paid a wage for his labor on the goods provided
b y the consumer. These two are by no means unimportant, but they
do not figure so prominently in the economic life of the present.
P R E S E N T C O N D IT IO N S .
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INDUSTRIAL POPULATION.
A brief statement as to the distribution o f the industrial population
among the various industries is necessary to a clear understanding of
present industrial conditions in Germany.
The classification adopted by the industrial census o f 1895 includes:
Division “ A , ” those engaged in gardening and fishing; division 44B ,”
the industrial population proper, i. e ., those engaged in the mining
industries, the industries proper, and the building trades; division 44C ,”
those engaged in trade and transportation. The present study treats
o f division 44B ” only.
In this division in 1895 there were 2,146,972 establishments employ
ing 8,000,503 persons.
In comparison with the previous industrial
census o f 1882, there was a decrease o f 5.4 per cent in the number o f
establishments, and an increase in the number of persons of 34.8 per
cent.
The average number of persons per establishment was 3 .7
persons in 1895, as opposed to 2.6 persons in 1882.
According to the number o f persons employed in 1895, as shown in
the report of the census (a), the various industries may be arranged in
three classes: First, those industries employing over 900,000 persons;
aStatistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
Volum e 113, page 102.
514
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
second, those employing 500,000 or less than 900,000; and, third, those
with less than 500,000 persons.
They are as follows:,
NUMBER OP PERSONS EMPLOYED IN EACH GROUP OF INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS, 1895.
Groups.
Number of
persons
employed.
CLASS i.
1,390,604
1,045,516
1,021,490
993,257
Clothing and cleaning
Building trades.........
Foods and d rin k s___
Textile industries----CLASS II.
639,755
598,496
582,672
558,286
536,289
Metal-working......................
Wood and cut m aterials... .
Machinery, instruments, etc
Stones and earths.................
Mining and m etallurgy.......
CLASS III.
Leather..................
Paper......................
Printing.................
Chemical...............
Lighting materials
Artistic trades.......
160,343
152,909
127,867
115,231
57,909
19,879
There are only a few remarks to be made in summing up this table.
In the first class, which includes 55.6 per cent of the total industrial
population, the first three groups, which supply the localized wants of
food, clothing, and shelter, engage the activities o f 43.2 per cent of
the industrial population. W ith but two exceptions (sugar, and cloth
ing other than silk), none of the articles produced by these three
groups were exported in sufficient quantities to form 1 per cent of the
total exports (&), so that the groups may be said to be almost wholly
devoted to supplying home wants.
In the second place, the first four groups contain the greater part of
the former handicrafts or traditional hand-working trades, such as shoe
makers, tailors, carpenters, masons, bakers, brewers, weavers, spin
ners, etc.
These trades have been the scene of the changes which
have caused the rise of the problem of the hand-working producer.
The other two classes into which the industries of the Empire have
been divided may be roughly characterized as the heavy manufactures
and the light manufactures. The remaining portion of the industrial
population is distributed with some regularity among them and they
produce the majority of the articles which form the exports of the
country. F or the most part they are of recent growth.
These few suggestions as to the general features of the industrial
population will serve as an introduction to the special subject under
discussion.
In the above table comparison was made on the basis of
the number of persons employed in each industry.
Before making
a D ie Deutsche Y olksw irtschaft am Schlusse des 19 Jahrhunderts, bearbeitet im
K aiserlichen Statistischen Am t, B erlin, 1900, page 147.
HAND-WOBKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTBIES OF GEBMANY.
515
more detailed comparisons, it is necessary to explain the assumptions
involved in this method. Estimating the importance of an industry
or o f an establishment by the number of persons employed assumes
that by comparing the number of persons we can get some idea o f the
relative strength of the industry or of the establishment. A moment’ s
reflection will show how imperfect is such a comparison. The factors
which decide the rate of production are the number of persons
employed, the extent to which the division of labor is carried, and the
machinery or power used. A comparison of persons, of course, ignores
all but the first of these and renders such a comparison faulty to that
extent.
Unfortunately the German census found itself restricted to
giving the number of establishments, the number and description of
the employees, and the machinery and motive power used; no attempt
was made to give the wages paid, the capital invested, or the value of
the product. However, with the excellent classification of establish
ments according to the number o f persons and the use o f power, we
are able to form some conclusions in regard to the competition going
on between the hand-working or artisan producers and the capitalistic
forms of production.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRIAL POPULATION.
A distinction between the hand-working and domestic-working estab
lishments is not given in the general returns. A special series o f
questions was devoted to the domestic-working persons, and separate
tables were prepared showing the extent and character of the domestic
or house-working system. In the following pages the figures for the
hand-working persons or establishments are obtained by deducting the
number of domestic-working persons or establishments from the gen
eral returns for the industries in question. F or instance, when the
number o f hand-working persons employed in the 1 to 5 person estab
lishments is spoken of, the number is the total for all persons employed
in such establishments minus the number employed in the 1 to 5 per
son domestic-working establishments.
Though the census does not directly give the returns for the hand
working establishments, one class of producers is so clearly hand-pro
ducing that it may be considered without preliminary explanation.
The total number of establishments (if such a word may be used as
meaning an independent industrial unit of such small extent) em ploy
ing only one person and not using mechanical* motive power was
1,237,349 in 1895. {a)
Deducting from this 272,501 (5) the number
o f one-person domestic-working establishments not using mechanical
motive power, we have a remainder of 964,848, which represents the
total number of one-person hand-working establishments.
aStatistik des Deutschen Beichs, Neue Folge.
b Ibid. V olum e 119, page 196.
Excluding
Volum e 113, page 112.
516
BULLETIN OE THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
in the same manner the domestic-working establishments, we find a
total of 839,637 establishments employing more than one person or
using power. Thus, 53.5 per cent of the total independent industrial
establishments were one-person hand-working establishments.
As
regards the number of the industrial persons, we find that this type of
establishment employed 12.1 per cent of the industrial population.
Its real strength is much less than these figures would imply, however,
because the number of persons indicates almost the total productive
capacity of each establishment, while in the other establishments the
number of persons employed represents only a fraction of the produc
tive capacity.
The distribution of these establishments among the industrial groups
employing over 10 per cent of their personnel in one-person establish
ments is as follows:
NUMBER OF ONE-PERSON HAND-WORKING ESTABLISHMENTS IN INDUSTRIAL GROUPS
EMPLOYING OVER 10 PER CENT OF THEIR PERSONNEL IN SUCH ESTABLISHMENTS, 1895.
[From Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge. Volume 113, pages 112 and 352.]
Groups.
Clothing and cleaning............................................................................................
Wood and cut materials.........................................................................................
Leather.....................................................................................................................
Building trades........................................................................................................
Number of
one-person
hand
working
establish
ments.
Percent of
persons in
one-person
hand-work
ing estab
lishments of
total per
sons in each
group.
550,720
99,802
19,919
105,174
39.6
16.7
12.4
10.1
The one-person hand-working establishments in these four groups
contain over 60 per cent of the total number of persons employed in
all one-person establishments, and the first mentioned, clothing and
cleaning, employs three-fifths of the total for these four groups.
The total number of one-person hand-working establishments has fallen
since 1882 from 1,112,998 (a) to 964,848 in 1895, a decrease of 13.3 per
cent.
The decrease for all establishments was 5.4 per cent, so the
decrease
of
the small
establishments must not be considered as
unusually high.
O f greater interest, however, is the establishment which will be called
the small establishment, or small shop, in whose continued existence
greater hopes may be placed.
The small shop employing several
assistants must be regarded as still an earnest competitor of the factory,
W h ere to locate the line of separation between the factory and the
shop is a much disputed question, and one that is practically impossi
ble of exact solution.
The first industrial census, which was taken in
1875, divided establishments into two classes, those with six persons
or under (including the proprietor) and those with over six. I t is
a Statistik des D eutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
Volum e 119, pages 35 and 196.
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
517
evident that to class together all establishments with over six persons
brings elements too dissimilar into combination, and that the condi
tions of the present time call for a more detailed classification. A
classification of establishments with not more than 5 persons as shops;
those with from 6 to 50 persons as small factories; and those with
over 50 as large factories, while necessarily crude and arbitrary, yet
gives a working basis not far from the truth. Restricting the term
“ shop,” or handicraft establishment, to those concerns with not more
than five persons is probably erring on the side of conservatism, for in
many industries an establishment of 6 to 10 persons can employ little
machinery or mechanical motive power.
The bookbinder, the cabinet
maker, the garment maker, the shoemaker, the tinsmith, and other
occupations do not, as they are carried on in Germany, make use of
division of labor to any large extent, and the capital employed is
usually small.
But, on the other hand, the use of small motors and
the greater cheapness of machinery have increased the number of
industries in which a small number of employees may use these
requisites of the factory.
Before taking up the divisions of the
industrial population into these classes, it will be remembered that
the general figures include also the returns of the domestic-working
establishments. The question as to which class the latter belong then
arises. A s will be seen later, one of the chief characteristics of the
domestic-working establishments is that work is carried on in the
rooms of the dwelling. This at once excludes the possibility of an
establishment o f any size, a fact which is supported by the figures for
the domestic-working industries. A bout 80 per cent of the domestic
working establishments were of the single-person type and those
employing more than one person averaged but 8.3 persons per estab
lishment. (a)
F or these reasons all persons classed as domestic workers will be
assumed to be employed in establishments with not more than five
persons. This is a pure assumption necessitated by the form in which
the census presents the figures, but it is very close to the actual facts.
Therefore, to secure the number of shop or hand-working persons
and establishments, the number of domestic-working persons and
establishments are first deducted from the figures for the 1 to 5
person class.
A fte r making these deductions, the groups are found
to be as follows: The first (those employed in establishments with not
over 5 persons) contains 2,733,877 persons, or 34 per cent of the
industrial population; the second group (those employed in establish
ments with 6 to 50 persons) contains 1,902,049 persons, or 24 percent;
the third group (those employed in establishments with over 50 per
sons) contains 2,907,329 persons, or 36 per cent.(J)
aStatistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
b Ib id ., pages 16* and 206*.
V olum e 119, page 200.
518
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
A s compared with 1882, it is found that the handicraft class has
fallen from 47 per cent to 84 per cent of the industrial population;
the small factories have increased from 19 per cent to 24 per cent,
and the large factories have increased at a still greater rate, from 26
per cent to 36 per cent. The change in proportion is due to the fact
that the increase in the total industrial population since 1882 has gone
entirely to the small and large factories, while the handicraft pro
ducer has changed from only 2,794,329 persons in 1882 to 2,733,377
persons (a decrease of 2.2 per cent) in 1895. (a)
D IS T R IB U T IO N
OF
THE
H A N D -W O R K I N G
P O P U L A T IO N
A M O N G T H E V A R I O U S IN D U S T R IE S .
The industrial distribution o f the small producer can most readily
be learned by studying the industries in which he is most numerous
and those in which he is least numerous. A question closely allied to
these is, whether any industries exist in which the large or small fac
tory has not-made its appearance; that is, whether any industrial
fields exist where the factory can not compete with the hand worker.
The small producer is most numerous in the groups of industries
shown in the table below, each o f which has 40 per cent or more of
the total number of persons engaged in it occupied in establishments
o f 1 to 5 persons. The percentages o f persons employed in such
establishments of total persons in each group are calculated from the
figures shown in the census report (#), and are as follows:
PER CENT OF PERSONS IN ESTABLISHMENTS OF 1 TO 5 PERSONS OF TOTAL PERSONS IN
EACH GROUP, FOR 6 SELECTED GROUPS, 1895.
Per cent of persons in
establishments of—
Groups.
1 to 5 per 6 to 50 per
sons.
sons.
Clothing and cleaning..............................................................................................
Wood and cut materials..........................................................................................
Foods and drinks......................................................................................................
Artistic trades...........................................................................................................
Leather.......................................................................................................................
Metal-working...........................................................................................................
68.9
51.6
50.3
49.2
47.5
41.4
13.2
29.6
23.9
33.8
24.9
24.6
The strength of the hand producer is here shown to be in the group
clothing and cleaning industries.
In this group are placed many of
the industries and trades which provide for the localized wants of
consumers, such as tailoring, garment making of all kinds, shoemak
ing, barbers, and laundering.
In the group artistic trades are classed
painters and sculptors, engravers, stonecutters, and designers, all
occupations in which individual taste and skill are important factors.
The group foods and drinks is mainly composed o f butchers, bakers, and
a Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
Volum e 119, pages 16* and 206*.
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
519
confectioners, producers who supply local wants for commodities more
or less perishable and for the most part not capable of transportation.
In the other three groups, wood and cut materials, leather, and metal
industries, is a series of trades in which the small producer is now
carrying on a severe struggle for existence against the capitalistic
form of production represented by the factory.
In comparing these figures with those of the same groups for 1882,
a general decrease is found, and in all there is a shifting o f the center
o f gravity toward the larger establishment. The group wood and
cut materials changed so that 20 per cent less of the personnel was
employed in the 1 to 5 person establishments in 1895 than in 1882.
This was the greatest decrease. The decrease in the other groups
ranged between this and 9 per cent, which occurred in the foods and
drinks industries. A s was the case with the total number of persons
employed in the hand-producing establishments, these groups do not
show any heavy decrease in the absolute number o f persons, but the
growth has taken place in the larger establishments. The industries
in which the small producer is of least importance are shown in the
following table:
PEE CENT OF PERSONS IN ESTABLISHMENTS OF 1 TO 5 PERSONS OF TOTAL PERSONS IN
EACH GROUP, FOR 5 SELECTED GROUPS, 1895.
Per cent of persons in
establishments of—
Groups.
1 to 5 per
sons.
M ining and metallurgy............................................................................................
Stones and earths......................................................................................................
P r in tin g ............................................................................................................................................
Lighting materials, soaps, fats, oils, e t c ...............................................................
Chem ical...................................................................................................................
9.7
12.0
14.7
15.0
15.5
6 to 50 per
sons.
4.1
42.5
47.7
45.1
22.6
The marked changes since 1882 have taken place in the group stones
and earths, in which the proportion of persons employed in 1 to 5
person establishments has decreased from 24.8 per cent to 12 per cent,
a fall of over one-half.
In the group lighting materials, soaps, fats,
oils, etc., the decrease has been from 25.3 per cent to 15 per cent.
The decrease has been 0 .7 per cent in the mining group, 5 .4 per cent
in the printing group, and 5.8 per cent in the chemical group.
The last-mentioned series of industries may be characterized as those
in which monopolistic features are present and in which production
on a large scale permits unusual economies.
In the groups mining
and metallurgy, and stones and earths, the monopolies due to the pos
session o f mines and quarries are evident.
In the group lighting
materials, etc., gas works constitute the most numerous part of the
whole, and the character of the distributive apparatus of such a plant
puts it also into the category of monopolies.
In the chemical group
the manufacture of explosives and of many chemicals is protected by
520
BULLETIN OB’ THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
patent rights, which brings them under the same category. The appar
ently large personnel of small establishments in the chemical group
arises from the presence of the apothecaries’ shops, whose employees
form about two-thirds of the 15.5 per cent cited in the table above.
In the smelting of ores, the production of glass and porcelain, the
manufacture of soaps, the manufacture of matches, and in book print
ing, the economies of production on a large scale are well known.
The question as to what is the point of greatest possible development
o f an establishment in each industry here suggests itself.
I f a number
of industries exist in which no large establishment has thus far devel
oped, we may conclude that such industries offer a point of support
for the small industrial unit for some time to come.
The absence of the large establishment would show difficulties in
the way either of the introduction of machinery or of an extensive
division of the labor employed. The number of persons employed in
industries with no establishment employing over 10 persons was as
fo llo w s :( # )
Barbers............................................................................................................................. 43,866
8,823
Chim ney sw eepin g................................................................................................ .
Spinning o f unclassified m aterials.............................................................................
302
M anufacture of rubber to y s ........................................................................................
4
T h e n u m b e r o f p e r s o n s in in d u s tr ie s w ith n o e sta b lis h m e n t e m p lo y
in g m o r e th a n 2 0 p e r s o n s w a s as f o llo w s : (a)
V iolin m a k in g................................................................................................................
Cleaning of clothing, e tc..............................................................................................
Preparing crayons, c h a lk .....................................................................•......................
Preparing anatom ical and other specim ens.............................................................
W hetstone m a k in g........................................................................................................
M aking of lightning ro d s............................................................................................
1,782
829
276
211
143
109
T h o s e in in d u s tr ie s w ith n o e s ta b lis h m e n t e m p lo y in g o v e r 50 p e r s o n s
w e r e as fo llo w s : (a)
A pothecaries.................................................................................................................... 15,519
H airdressing and wig m ak in g.................................................................................... 14,693
Painters and sculptors (artists)................................................................................. 7,004
Vinegar m aking.............................................................................................................. 2,390
G unsm ithing.................................................................................................................... 2,232
Flaying............................................................................................................................. 1,522
Blubber rendering..........................................................................................................
813
W eaving o f unclassified m aterial.................................................................................
786
Preparing o f foods for anim als....................................................................................
397
E xtracting of resin and p itch ........ .............................................................................
318
Silk reelin g ......................................................................................................................
232
Few of the above are important in the sense o f affording employ
ment to a large number o f persons.
In the first group, the indus
a Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge. Volume 113, pages 112 to 129.
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
521
tries with no establishment employing more than 10 persons, those
classed as barbers number 43,866 persons, and the chimney sweeps
8,823 persons; the others are insignificant. The total number em
ployed by the industries in the list of those having no establishment
with more than 20 persons does not reach 4,000. In the third list, those
industries having no establishment with more than 50 persons, two of
the industries— apothecaries and hairdressers— exceed 10,000 persons;
the others are less, while the total does not reach 50,000. That is, the
industrial persons employed in the industries in which the large fac
tory has not yet made its appearance number little more than 100,000.
O f this number the apothecaries, barbers, and hairdressers form over
70 per cent.
The others form such small totals that they are of little
importance to the industrial welfare of the country. W e may then
conclude that, with the exception noted above, there is no industrial
occupation o f importance at the present time in which the competition
of the large factory is not felt in some form or other.
In this conclusion, naturally, much depends on the classification
used. It will have to be admitted, however, that the one used in the
industrial census is about as elaborate as is consistent with practical
purposes. A s far as the writer is aware, no criticism has been made
against the classification on the score o f its not being sufficiently
detailed.
In spite of the support which the above statement seems to give to
the theorem o f the social democracy, that all production on a small
scale is doomed to extinction, such a conclusion does not necessarily
follow. Because the conditions of the large city have evolved the
bakery conducted on the factory plan, the existence of the small bak
ery is not everywhere placed in jeopardy. Similarly with the black
smith and wheelwright, the carpenter, the butcher, and others.
The problem is more complicated; the competition varies from the
almost complete extermination of the small producer, as for instance
in watchmaking, and nail making, to the mere beginnings of the fac
tory system in a new field. The factory'm ay take a part or the whole
of the market for an article, or it may take anything from a part to
the whole of the production of an article; or it may combine any of
these.
The factory shoe has taken a part of the market for shoes and
also a part of the production of the hand-made shoe; e. g ., the last,
the uppers, the soles, and the “ findings” are more often bought from
the factory than made by the small producer himself.
Sinzheimer has
compared the struggle between the industrial forms to a contest
between two countries, the map of which shows that parts of the forces
o f each have advanced into the opposing territory, the two lines pre
senting a ragged and irregular front.
6451—No. 40—02----2
522
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
G E O G R A P H I C A L D IS T R IB U T IO N .
In regard to the possibility of the artisan or small producer avoid
ing the competition of the larger producer by withdrawing to the
rural districts, the statistical data collected in the summer of 1895
afford some information which the industrial census does not give.
The figures are the returns of selected districts, not for the whole
Empire, but they are fairly typical and are sufficient for the present
purpose. F or all Prussia the number of artisans (including journey
men and apprentices) per 1,000 of population was 38.8 in 1816, 42.1
in 1834, 52.0 in 1846,'* and 59.1 in 1861, while in 1895 for the typical
districts of the Em pire it was 56.9. (a) Before the introduction of
industrial freedom, in the second decade of this century, the artisan
population settled of necessity in the towns; after the Napoleonic wars
this condition changed rapidly, and in 1828 the country districts con
tained 40 per cent of the artisan population and over 50 per cent o f the
independent masters.
of the two districts:
B y 1858 the following was the relative position
NUMBER OF ARTISANS PER 1,000 POPULATION IN TOWN AND RURAL DISTRICTS, 1858.
Number of artisans.
Districts.
Total popu
lation.
Town............. j ...................................................................................... 5,340,000
RuraJ...................................................................................................... 12,490,000
Total.
564,845
477,668
Per 1,000
population.
107.6
38.2
Thus, in the towns the artisans were nearly three times as numer
ous per 1,000 of population as in the rural districts. In 1895 (b) the
town districts showed 66.8 artisans per 1,000 o f population, while the
rural districts had risen to 52.2 per 1,000. Even in the towns with
between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants, where the artisan shows great
vitality, the proportion was only 68.4 per 1,000. W orth y of mention
is the fact that the density of the artisan population was found to be
greatest in towns with from 20,000 to 100,000 population, where it
numbered 83.2 per 1,000.
The large city is as fatal to the presence
of the hand worker or artisan as the very thinly populated country
district, for in cities with over 100,000 the proportion was but 46.0
per 1,000.
The 1895 figures show also the variation in the country districts.
The following statement gives the number of artisans per 1,000 inhabi
tants in districts classified according to number of inhabitants per
square kilometer (0.3861 square mile), (b)
a P. V oigt, “ Die Neueste H andw erkerstatistik” in Jahrbuch fur Gesetzgebung,
Verwaltung und Volksw irtschaft (edited by Gustav S ch m olb r), 1897, page 1003.
b Erhebung iiber Verhaltnisse im H andwerk, 1895, page 36.
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
523
NUMBER OF ARTISANS PER 1,000 INHABITANTS IN DISTRICTS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING
TO NUMBER OF INHABITANTS, 1895.
Districts with specified number of inhabitants per square kilometer (0.3861 square m ile).
More than 200 inhabitants.
150 to 200 inhabitants........
100 to 150 inhabitants........
50 to 100 inhabitants..........
25 to 50 inhabitants............
Less than 25 inhabitants...
Artisans
j>er 1,000
inhabi
tants.
52.8
57.1
68.9
45.3
34.6
13.5
In these districts the proportion of the artisans increases with the
decrease of the population until a density of population equal to 100
to 150 persons per square kilometer (0.3861 square mile) is reached,
when the artisans equal 68.9 persons per 1,000 of population, after
which there is a decrease.
Although the movement of the artisan is toward the country and the
small towns, yet the greater number is still employed in the cities. Since
about 50 per cent of the population of Germany is urban, however,
this is a normal condition. The importance of the movement to the
country districts is brought out more clearly if we compare the num
ber of masters instead of masters and assistants (i. e., journeymen and
apprentices). The number of masters per 1,000 of population in the
towns was 48 in 1858 and 27.1 in 1895; in the rural districts the num
ber was 23 in 1858 and 26.4 in 1895. (a\ Taken together with the fact
that several very important artisan industries which were formerly so
strongly represented in the country, such as weaving, spinning, tan
ning, and milling, have almost wholly disappeared, the development
shows a marked movement away from the stronghold o f the factory—
the large towns.
On the other hand, the number of masters employing no assistants
is more numerous in the country than in the city. The number of
assistants per 100 masters in the towns was 115 in 1858 and 158 in 1895;
in the rural districts the number was 72 in 1858 and 72 in 1895.(5)
The city artisan is endeavoring to meet the competition of the larger
industrial form b y adopting its methods as far as possible; in fact, it is
difficult to distinguish in many cases whether some of the establish
ments are large hand-working establishments or small factories.
country artisan is adopting the opposite course.
The
The rural small
establishment shows fewer assistants than that of the city; in the latter
58.5 per cent of the masters employed assistants, in the country only
39.1 per cent did so.(e)
a Jahrbuch fur Gesetzgebung, Verwaltung und Volksw irtschaft, 1897, page 1010;
also Erhebung uber Verhaltnisse im Handwerk, 1895, page 36.
6 Jahrbuch fur Gesetzgebung, Verwaltung, und Volksw irtschaft, 1897, page 1009.
c Erhebung uber Verhaltnisse im H andw erk, 1895, page 38,
524
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
In summing up the facts on the preceding pages we find a decrease
of 13.3 per cent in the number of one-person hand-working estab
lishments in the thirteen years between the two census dates. But
this establishment is the weakest possible productive unit and is for
the most part not capable of competing with the capitalistic forms of
production. Better hopes may be entertained for the establishments
which have been classed together (which include the one-person estab
lishment, however), where the number of persons employed does not
exceed five.
The percentage of industrial persons employed in such
establishments has fallen from 47 per cent in 1882 to 34 per cent in
1895. This represents a distinct decrease in importance as an indus
trial producer. A s to absolute numbers the class shows a decrease
of only 2.2 per cent. Though of decreasing importance as a factor in
economic life, the hand producer still shows no signs of extinction.
The industries in which the hand worker is engaged show no tend
ency to change. H e remains most numerous in the clothing and
cleaning industries, where the domestic worker is also strongly
intrenched. The hand worker is practically absent from the field of
mining and has been driven from the group stones and earths to a
large extent. There is no field of importance which he can claim for
his own at present. The competition of the factory has penetrated
into practically every industry in which he is engaged.
In reference to his geographical distribution a tendency has been
shown to move from the larger to the smaller towns and from the
thinly populated districts to points of greater density of population.
The artisan who remains in th^ city and large towns is endeavoring to
meet the competition of the rival forms of production by using a
larger establishment.
Such are the unconscious efforts of the past to adapt itself to the new
conditions which recent economic changes have brought about.
This
unconscious evolution is naturally slow in operation, and to assist it
many propositions have been made which are of varying degrees of
merit.
A few of the suggested methods of solving the problem of the
class are discussed in the following pages.
S U G G E S T IO N S
FOR T H E
BETTERM ENT
OF
THE
HAND
W O R K IN G C LASSES.
USE OF SM ALL-POW ER MOTORS.
The use of motors of small capacity has so often been advocated as
a means o f making stronger the competition of the handicraft producer
that the subject deserves special attention.
First o f all, it must be
emphasized that the superiority o f the large establishment does not
rest on its use o f mechanical motive power derived from large motors.
In many factories there is a distinct tendency to avoid the use of one
HAND-WOBKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTBIES OF GEBMANY.
525
large motor and supplant former large motors with several smaller
ones. This has even gone so far that in one weaving mill near Chem
nitz each loom is supplied with a separate motor. The reasons for
this are apparent. W here power must be transmitted over a large area
or where interruptions in the use of it are frequent, greater economy
is often secured by the use of a small than by the use of a large motor.
W here an establishment is dependent on a single motor, either one of
equal capacity must be held in reserve for emergencies or the risk of
being compelled to cease operations must be taken. W hen the power
of an establishment is secured from several motors, this danger may
be eliminated. The motors which would be classed as small in the
factory would in general be greater than the hand producer could
profitably employ, but it is necessary to emphasize the fact that
economy in the use of motors is a small factor in the superiority of a
large producer. Engel (a) reports as the result of his investigations
that in the majority of steam-using establishments the capital invested
in the production of power (i. e., boiler and engine) formed a compara
tively unimportant part of the whole capital invested.
Nevertheless,
the use of power by the small producer would indicate the use of
machinery in greater or less degree and would give hopes for increased
competitive ability on his part.
In connection with the study of the use of motors the accessory
establishment has been eliminated, so that the figures given below refer
only to the principal establishments {Ilawptbetriebe). According to the
industrial census the largest number of establishments using motors was
in the group of industries classed as foods and drinks, where 60,432
establishments used motors. This number includes 47.3 per cent of
all industrial motor-using establishments. Following this group comes
that of wood and cut materials, in which sawmills are the most promi
nent establishments, and with much smaller totals are the groups
textile industries and metal-working industries. Together these four
groups comprise 75.2 per cent of the motor-using establishments. The
other groups show no large number of such establishments, (b)
A different picture is given when the percentage of motor-using
establishments in each group is taken.
In the following table, show
ing the five groups containing the largest proportion of motor-using
establishments, are given the per cents of such establishments of total
establishments in each group, for the years 1882 and 1895.
aZeitalter des Dampfes, page 124.
b Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
Volum e 113, page 396.
526
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
PER CENT OF MOTOR-USING ESTABLISHMENTS IN FIVE SELECTED GROUPS, 1882 AND 1895.
[The figures in this table for total and for motor-using establishments for 1882 are taken fromStatistik
des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge, volume 6, pages 1. 2 and 1. 6; those for 1895 from Statistik des
Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge, volume 113, pages 102,104, 396, and 404.]
1882.
1895.
cent of
Motor
Motor Per
Total
motor-us
Total
es ing
es
establish using
of
total establish using
tablish establish
tablish
ments.
ments.
ments.
ments.
ments.
Groups.
Mining and metallurgy......................
Lighting materials fats, o ils,e tc.......
Printing...............................................
Chem ical.............................................
Foods and drinks................................
5,289
7,162
9,612
9,191
245,286
2,124
2,243
1,403
1,686
62,696
40.2
31.3
14.6
18.3
25.6
4,164
6,191
14,193
10,385
269,971
Per cent of
motor-us
ing of total
establish
ments.
1,877
2,248
3,732
2,506
60,432
45.1
36.3
26.3
24.1
22.4
A s a rule, steam is the source of power in the large establishments;
steam and gas divide the field almost equally in the small factories,
while in the 1 to 5 person establishments the water motor is most com
mon. Steam and gas are, however, also largely used. The greatest
amount of power is naturally used in the large factories. The distri
bution of horsepower in industrial establishments is shown in the fo l
lowing table:
POWER EMPLOYED IN INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS, BY SIZE OF ESTABLISHMENT, 1895.
[From Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
Volume 119, page 137.]
Horsepower employed.
Size of establishment.
Total.
1 to 5 persons.........................................................................................
6 to 20 persons.......................................................................................
21 persons or over................................................................................
Per estab Per person.
lishment.
414,775
358,774
2,537,204
0.2
3.2
58.0
0.13
.33
.68
A consideration o f the above table shows that over three-quarters of
all the horsepower was employed in establishments of 21 persons or
over; these establishments employed 46.5 per cent of the industrial
population, and each person was assisted by about two-thirds (0.68) of
a horsepower.
In the 1 to 5 person establishments each person was
aided by but 0.13 horsepower.
The average for each establishment
with over 20 persons was 58 horsepower, while for each 1 to 5 person
establishment the average was two-tenths of a horsepower.
Considering further the 1 to 5 person establishments in the various
groups, it is found (a) that in the group lighting materials, oils, fats,
etc., 23.5 per cent of such establishments used motors.
the small oil mills play the most prominent part.
In this group
N ext in importance
was the group foods and drinks, with 20.6 per cent of motor-using
establishments, made up largely of small wheat-milling establishments.
In the chemical group, 12.4 per cent of the small establishments used
a Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
Volum e 119, page 186*.
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
527
motors. The most noticeable fact about the groups just mentioned is
that they do not contain the occupations in which the problem of the
hand producer is most serious. The following groups, which contain
the more important hand-working establishments, show how unimpor
tant is the application of power in the small establishments:
AMOUNT OF HORSEPOWER PER 100 PERSONS IN ESTABLISHMENTS OF EACH GROUP
CLASSIFIED BY SIZE, FOR SELECTED GROUPS, 1895.
[From Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge,
Volume 119, page 138.]
Horsepower per 100 persons in
establishments of—
Groups.
1 to 5 per 6 to 20 per Over 20 per
sons.
sons.
sons.
Metal-working.....................................................................................
T e x t i l e ........................................................................................
Leather..................................................................................................
Clothing and cleanin g.......................................................................
Building trades...................................................................................
4.0
3.2
5.6
.1
.5
18.9
41.1
18.9
2.1
2.1
43.2
71.7
42.2
10.9
7.4
The group clothing and cleaning includes some of the most numer
ously represented occupations, among them shoemaking and clothing
making of various kinds.
Although the progress in the manufacture of
small motors of high efficiency and reasonable cost in the last ten years
has been great, yet the industries for which it was claimed that such
motors would hinder the advance of the large establishment have as
yet made practically no use of them. Not one-tenth of 1 per cent of
the establishments of less than 5 persons in the classes of shoemaking,
sewing, tailoring, saddlery, basket makers, and masons, used motors;
not 1 per cent of the small establishments in the classes carpenters,
wheelwrights, gunsmiths, tinsmiths, butchers, blacksmiths, bakers,
watchmakers, bookbinders, coopering, and rope making used motors,
and less than 2 per cent of the small establishments employed motors in
the classes glaziers, brush makers, cabinetmakers, paper-box makers,
coppersmiths, potters, and so on. A few of the trades, such as locksmithing, exceeded 2 per cent, but the majority did not reach that
figure, (a)
This rather disappointing result is easy to understand.
Economy
from the use of mechanical motive power is only obtained when the
motor is made part of an organic whole of labor-saving tools or
machines; such machines are usually too expensive for the limited
capital of the small establishment, and even where the purchase of
some of the machines is feasible, the other portions of the outfit neces
sary to secure well-balanced production are out of the reach of those
possessing small means.
A shoemaker may succeed in securing his
sewing machine and a motor, but unless he can provide cutting and
soleing machines he gains little from the others.
a Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
Schneider describes
Volume* 119, page 186* et seq.
528
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
a typical modern shoe factory {a) in which the essential machines,
omitting all special and accessory apparatus, number over 30 differ
ent kinds. Even in industries where the large factory consists of a
duplication of similar units of machines, as in cotton spinning and
weaving, the various advantages described by Schulze-Gavernitz (5)
make the competition of the small producer exceedingly difficult. The
advocates of the small motor as a solution of the hand-worker problem
also failed to give proper weight to the economic as opposed to the
technological advantages of the large producer. Even if it were pos
sible for the small cotton spinner or weaver to secure the same effi
ciency of production as the larger as far as motors and machines are
concerned, there remain still the economic advantages to be overcome.
It must also not be overlooked that the process of differentiation is
taking place even among those who are in possession of mechanical
motive power and supplied with machines. In the past decade two
tendencies have shown themselves in connection with the large estab
lishments, which tendencies may be termed specialization and integra
tion. Specialization consists in limiting the production of an estab
lishment to a limited kind or quality of a commodit}r. The cotton
spinner restricts himself to the production of one or a small number of
sizes of yarns; the paper manufacturer produces only a few grades of
paper; the machine builder produces no longer all kinds of machinery,
but limits his product to textile machinery, certain grades of locomo
tives, and the like. A few words will explain the superiority of such
an establishment. W h ere the production is exactly the same the year
round, every technical improvement can be adopted; machinery does
not need changing or different sizes to be kept waiting for use; work
men acquire the maximum of skill in the use of the machinery; where
models, drawings, and the like are necessary, the changing of them is
avoided.
On the other hand, the tendency toward integration is a movement to
control production from the raw material to the finished product.
The
rolling mill at present strives to possess its own ore-reducing works,
its own mines for coal and ore.
The publishing house Deutsche
Verlagsanstalt in Stuttgart {c) possesses paper mills, a bindery, and
all the necessary plant for producing printed matter.
The wood
working establishment at Ludwigshafen receives its lumber in the
form of logs directly from the government forests, works it into win
dows and doors, of which the factory makes a specialty, places them
in position, and, if desired, finishes the insertion of the glass.
Such establishments as those described above do not compete with
the hand producer in all fields, but the problems which face the proaD ie m oderne Schuhfabrication, page 119.
6D er Grossbetrieb, 89-110, etc.
cL . Sinzheim er, U ber die Grenzen der W eiterbildung des Grossbetriebs, Stuttgart,
1893, page 106 et seq.
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES 0*F GERMANY.
529
ducer who possesses no mechanical motive power are such that much
hope can not be placed in the proposition that the solution of the diffi
culties in the way of the small producer lies in the securing of motive
power which shall be as cheap as that of the factoiy. The strength of
the large factoiy lies in other directions.
INDUSTRIAL ART.
The trades designated as “ artistic” trades have many times been
claimed as a field in which the hand producer is protected from the
competition of factory methods. Their productions are commodities
in which aesthetic features are prominent, such as metal work o f iron,
bronze, gold, silver; furniture of special designs; ceramic wares; tex
tile fabrics; stained glass, and printing of high grades. The awaken
ing as to the value of such work came after the London Exposition of
1851. (a) The assumption was that here lay a field in which production
of goods with a view solely to their utility and wearing qualities, as
was then assumed to be the characteristic of the factory, was impossi
ble, and even at the present time the motive for the efforts of the
advocates of industrial art education are based more or less on this
assumption.
The industrial census gives little or no assistance in seeking a reply
to the question as to the number of persons or establishments engaged
in producing what might be termed artistic goods. The group of
industries classed as artistic trades includes what might more properly
be classed as professions; that is, painters and sculptors, together with
engravers, stonecutters, chasers, designers, and miscellaneous. But
on this point we have the descriptive work of Hirschfeld, entitled
Wurttemberg’s Grossindustrie und Grosshandel, and of Kahn, entitled
Miinchens Grossindustrie und Grosshandel.
In these works are
described some large factories whose products must be regarded as of
the highest artistic quality. Prominent among such establishments
is the bronze-casting establishment of M uller, in Munich, where bronze
statuary is the specialty. The description suggests that many of the
modern works of this kind can be produced only by the use of fac
tory methods.
F or instance it required over 100 workmen to per
form successfully the operation of casting the statue “ Bavaria.”
The
factories of Bruckman, at Heilbronn, and of Hauber, at Schwabisch
Gmiind, produce articles of silver and make use of a great variety
of power machinery, as rollers, cutters, and stamping and pressing
machinery, as well as engines of some capacity.
That all the parts of
an article need not be made by hand for it to possess artistic qualities
is a point proved by the existence of the apparatus used in these
establishments.
One of the largest factories in W urttem berg is the
Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik, at Geislingen, which employs
a J. F. Ahrens, D ie Reform des Kunstgewerbes, 1886.
630
BULLETIN OE T U I UEPARfMENT OE LABOR.
oyer 1,700 persons, and here a large number of designers of excep
tional ability are employed. A person of considerable artistic creative
ability if engaged in a smaller establishment would find much less
opportunity for its exercise than is here given.
In the field of artistic furniture probably the most famous creations
of modern times are the articles in the castles of Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee, and Neuschwanstein. M ost of the pieces were made at the
factory of Possenbacher, in Munich, where an instance of integration
in factory development is shown.
The firm possesses its own saw
mills and practically controls its products from the log of the tree
trunk to the finished article.
In glass staining is an example of an industry in which no mechan
ical motive power is used. One of the most famous establishments of
this kind is that o f F . X . Zetter, in Munich. W h ile little machinery
is used, the extensive division of labor which is there carried out
stamps the product as that o f a factory. A competing establishment
is that o f M ayer, in the same city, where, in addition to glass staining,
ecclesiastical sculptural decorations are prepared. The latter firm
employs about three hundred workmen.
In artistic printing the size of the machinery and complexity of the
modern processes need only be mentioned to show the impossibility of
the small establishment ever competing with those possessing the
power presses and stereotyping and type-casting machinery.
In some of these trades the amount of capital required is also beyond
the possibility of attainment by the small producer. F or instance, the
manufacture of artistically formed bricks and of ceramic wares
requires modern appliances which are only within the reach of estab
lishments controlling large amounts of capital.
The possession o f artistic training would undoubtedly be of assist
ance to the artisan class in raising the standard of their product, but
that it would materially lessen the advantages now possessed by their
competitors, the large factory, is hardly to be hoped for.
It can not
be too often repeated that the advantages possessed by the establish
ment controlling capital in large amounts are of so varied a character
that no single improvement in the position of the small establishment
will offset them; a complex of conditions must be changed to effect
an improvement.
THE COMPULSORY GUILD OR TRADE ASSOCIATION.
A s is the custom everywhere in cases where problems affecting the
welfare of large classes arise, so also in Germany there has been a
demand for the intervention of the State in behalf of the hand-working
class.
This has taken the form of a demand for a return to certain
features of the former State regulation of industry.
The plan which
has found most advocates is the introduction of a compulsory guild or
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
531
trade organization {Zwangsinnung) for the hand workers, the charac
teristics of which would partake somewhat of the nature o f the guilds
which formerly controlled production. The object of such an associa
tion would be to organize the hand-working class to promote solidarity
o f feeling; to instruct apprentices in their various trades; to assist in
the preparation of laws on matters pertaining to the trades; to arrange
for systems of arbitration on matters relating to disagreements in the
trades; to control peddling; to arrange for tradesmen’s inns; and
similar matters, (a) There is a marked difference of opinion between
the workmen themselves on this subject, but the party advocating the
measure is numerous and well organized. In fact, they have already
secured concessions in the form of a law which partially answers their
demands.
The imperial law of July 26, 1897, has for its object the formation
of trade associations and of “ chambers of hand w ork ” (HandwerksJcammern), the regulation of the apprentice system, and the control
o f the title o f “ master.” The law states that upon the petition of a
number of hand workers the administrative officials shall proceed to
organize an association in that branch of industry in that district, to
which all persons carrying on that trade or industry must attach them
selves. According to the facts in each case the officials shall decide
whether the request is backed by a sufficient number of workers to
bring the matter to a vote of those engaged in that trade; if a majority
vote for the compulsory association, the officials shall then proceed to
organize it in accordance with the more detailed directions which the
law provides. But if, in the opinion of the officials, the number of
workers is not sufficient to form a vigorous and useful organization,
they may refuse to consider the petition. O r if they decide that an
existing organization already accomplishes the objects for which a
trade association is desired, the officials may also decline to consider
the petition.
The membership may be confined to those hand workers only who
employ journeymen and assistants. Those who carry on their trades
on the factory system are naturally not included in the membership.
W h ere to draw the line of demarcation between the hand-working
establishment and the small factory is also left to the officials.
H ow
ever, if factory owners so desire, they may be admitted to mem
bership.
Provision is made for the proper representation of the
journeymen in all that concerns their interests.
Having been endowed with these privileges the associations are
expected to endeavor to accomplish the purposes which were stated
above as desired by the advocates of the system, viz, to cultivate a
a See articles “ Gewerbegesetzgebung,” “ Gewerbekam m ern,” “ H andw erk,”
and “ Innungen,” in Conrad’s H andworterbuch der Staatswissenschaften (Zw eite
A uflage).
532
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
feeling of community of interest; to promote the education of all
engaged in the trade; to suggest laws for the protection of trade
members; to regulate the settlement of disputes; to found funds for
sick and death benefits, and the like. But to protect the consumer,
the compulsory trade associations are forbidden to fix prices for goods
and services, or to engage in business as an association. In addition,
no initiation fee may be exacted of members. Since membership in
the association may be compulsory, the dues or contributions from
members to cover the expenses of the association must be regarded as
a variety of tax, and the rules applied to taxation must in some degree
correspond to the rules used here. Hence dues are to be based on the
ability to pay, and are not to be uniform for all members.
undoubtedly make the associations stronger financially.
This will
To increase the influence o f the organizations provision is made for
central committees of associations of various trades in each district.
These committees are to look after common interests, such as arbitrat
ing differences between the trades, establishing inns for the work
men, and publishing bulletins on labor opportunities. Furthermore,
the associations, the central committees, and other organizations are
allowed by law to form federations {Innungsverbdnde). These may
draw up and present statements to the officials (of the State) in regard
to labor conditions, make suggestions as to the enforcement of laws,
etc. They may also establish funds for benefits o f all kinds, since such
funds are often beyond the means of small organizations.
T o provide further for a centralized organ of the hand workers,
article 103 of the law arranges for the organization o f Ci chambers of
hand work,” whose functions are somewhat similar to those exercised
by chambers of commerce in the commercial field. On the one side
they are to represent the interests of the small industrial forces of the
country generally as distinguished from 'the representation which
the officials of the State, such as factory inspectors, give them; they are
to provide for the details of the regulations concerning apprentices;
to make yearly reports on matters pertaining to the small industrial
producer; to investigate and remedy complaints in regard to examina
tions of journeymen, and the like.
The members o f the chambers
shall be elected from the compulsory associations and other organiza
tions (trades unions, etc.) which represent the interests of the hand
workers.
A t least half of the members shall be persons who are
actually engaged in hand-working trades.
into force A p ril 1, 1900.
This part of the law went
It must be regarded as one of the best fea
tures o f the law and one which will probably accomplish most to
remedy the evils which beset the hand-working class.
Prussia has
33 chambers, Bavaria has 8, and so on.
Attached to the law are also provisions concerning the keeping of
apprentices and the use of the title of “ master.”
Only those are
allowed to have apprentices who are 24 years o f age* and have either
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
533
passed a journeyman’s examination or for five years have followed that
occupation or have filled a responsible position requiring a knowledge
o f the trade. The use of the title of 44master ” is limited to those who
have fulfilled the conditions necessary to the keeping of apprentices
and have passed the master’s examination.
That part of the law respecting the formation of compulsory asso
ciations was put into force in 1898, but as yet no reliable data as to the
effect it has had are obtainable. Stieda reports that even in Saxony,
where the trade-association idea is strongly rooted, the workers have
made but little use of the compulsory feature, and in some cases after
compulsory associations have been established they have soon decided
to disband, {a) In Berlin there has been a complaint that the officials
do not assist the workmen sufficiently in their efforts to form organ
izations.
W hen it is remembered that the previous laws, allowing, and in
some respects encouraging, the formation of voluntary trade associa
tions, have not been changed, it must be admitted that the present
legislation offers as comprehensive a system of organization as could
be secured without a return to the medieval system of State control.
That it does not satisfy the advocates of compulsory organizations was
to be expected. Their attitude is based on an entire misconception of
the causes which have brought about the decline in the position o f the
hand worker. It is not the withdrawal of State inspection of products,
nor is it the removal of State control of processes of production, o f
the regulation of the character o f those who may engage in trade and
industry, or of the many other features of the former strict control of
industrial life, which has caused the rise of other forms of production;
it is rather the changes in the technical methods of production, which
have necessitated the use of large amounts of capital, on the one hand,
and the changes in the wants o f consumers on the other. This almost
elementary proposition does not seem to have been comprehended by
the artisans and their leaders in the demand for increased State control,
and their exaggerated hopes of improvements from this source will be
proportionately disappointed.
But part o f the unpleasant position of the hand workers of the pres
ent is due to lack of education in general and of technical education
in particular.
The agitation now going on shows a healthful spirit, in
that it indicates an awakening from the former indifference, which has
been one of the characteristics of the class.
A s has been stated else
where, the days of the small producer are by no means numbered, and
if by organization they can produce a class of intelligent, thorough
workmen, and educate the coming generation into a more progressive
type o f producer, much will have been done to alleviate the evils
now existing.
In the 44chambers o f hand w ork” there will be a body
a Conrad’s H andworterbuch der Staatswissenschaften, Zweite Auflage.
IV , page 1110.
Volum e
534
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
of men who can create for themselves a place of influence in public
life, and by whose efforts all reasonable demands can secure proper
attention.
C O N C L U S IO N S
R E G A R D IN G T H E
PRODUCER.
H A N D -W O R K I N G
The study of the various phases of the question shows that in but
few cases is the hand-working producer entirely eliminated in the
struggle with the capitalistic forms of production. In cases where the
products are costly enough to allow repairs instead of purchasing new
articles, the old producer sinks to the level of a repairer; in other
cases, the former producer becomes the retail merchant for the goods
which he no longer produces. The watchmaker, the cutler, and the
shoemaker are examples of this change; the usual phenomenon is the
transition from producer to retailer, with repairing as an accessory
source of income.
M ore frequent than the complete elimination of hand production is
the appropriation of parts of the field by the factory taking over cer
tain articles produced formerly by the hand worker. The tinsmith no
longer produces the articles from which he receives his name; simi
larly with the locksmith. Or the factory appropriates certain parts of
the production of commodities, notably in the wood and metal working
industries, where the application of large power machines is especially
profitable, and we find the producer buying his raw material half pre
pared. The small shoemaker can buy uppers ready for use, the wood
worker receives his raw material in the form of boards, laths, or even
in a more advanced state o f production. The blacksmith does little to
the shoes he receives from the factory but fasten them on the foot of
the horse. But where the article must be adapted to the individual
needs of the consumer the possibility of the hand worker holding his
own is stronger than in the cases where this does not hold true.
New forms of raw material are also the frequent cause of the
decreased use of the former hand-produced goods of other material.
The cork producer now has to compete with the manufacturers of
stoppers of glass and metal, which have partially supplanted his wares.
The tinwares of former times have been replaced by various kinds of
enameled goods, which the tinsmith is unable to produce.
Closely
allied to this change is that arising from the change of wants of con
sumers.
Modern means of transportation have lessened the field for
saddlery; the turner finds that the spinning wheel, the making of
which was one of his principal means of support, has been relegated
to the attic.
On the other hand, the factory itself offers opportunity for employ
ment for the former hand worker in many directions, though it is at
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
535
the cost of his much-prized independence. Large establishments
usually find the presence of a carpenter or machinist necessary in their
buildings to prevent unnecessary delay in securing repairs. The
traction company using horses for motive power employs its own
blacksmith and harness maker; canning factories need tinsmiths, and
so on for a series of trades.
The conclusion that the hand producer will be exterminated in the
competition which is now going on is unfounded. New conditions
and new problems have come up which he was unable to solve; the
building of a locomotive or ocean steamer is entirely beyond the reach
of his ability; modern technology has made possible the cheaper pro
duction of certain articles, which has forced him from fields which he
formerly occupied, but he is by no means doomed to extinction on
that account. The investigations of the Verein fur Socialpolitik show
that in cases where the hand worker is engaged in the production of
goods which are delivered ready for use and which are capable of
being classified in certain types, there he must sooner or later give up
the contest and withdraw either to the field of retailing or repairing.
On the other hand, where the articles must be taken from limited
localities on account of the danger of decay or deterioration in quality,
or where individual wants must be conformed to, there the small pro
ducer may hope to compete more or less successfully with the capital
istic forms of industry, (a)
That the small producer is adapting himself with some success to
the changed conditions is shown by the statistical data concerning the
hand workers which were collected in the summer of 1895. The better,
or perhaps the more aggressive type of small producer in the cities is
increasing the number of his assistants and adopting the methods of
his capitalistic competitors as far as possible. In the small towns
and country districts the conditions have not changed to such an extent
as in the large cities, and here the lot of the hand worker is easier;
the change in consumption, which is the characteristic of this genera
tion, has not affected the rural district so strongly as the cities; the
personal contact of producer and consumer is here possible, and where
the possession of a small piece of land is connected with the carrying
on of a trade, a “ livable” income is and will be possible to a good
workman for many years to come.
The movement toward the rural
districts is a recognition of these facts and will lead to an improve
ment in the average condition o f the class.
On the whole, the number of hand producers is not decreasing, and
there may be good reasons for Bucher’s assertion that the hand
worker produces a greater quantity of goods to-day than he ever did
before. (V)
a Bucher, Entstehung der Yolkswirtschaft (1898), page 190.
5 Ibid., page 162.
536
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The position of the hand worker in the future will be less promi
nent than it was before the advent of the capitalistic forms of produc
tion, but hand work will not be entirely done away with any more
than “ wage w o rk ” has, but it will be given a place in the modern
economy where it is better adapted to satisfy certain wants than the
other forms o f industry. Just as the railway has not decreased the
extent of the work to be done in transportation, so it may be expected
that after a readjustment of the field has taken place, the position of
the hand producer will be an economically stronger one than at present,
when the tendencies of the movement are so difficult to understand.
G E N E R A L F E A T U R E S O F T H E D O M E S T IC S Y S T E M .
Formulating a definition of the house-working or domestic system
of industrial production has afforded much play to the scholastic abil
ity of the German writers; but however interesting the topic may be,
a simple if somewhat elastic definition, such as that given in a pre
ceding chapter, is sufficient for the purpose at hand.
It is, then, a system in which the production of certain goods is
directed by the class of industrial managers or undertakers whose
chief qualifications are the possession of capital and a knowledge of
market conditions. The aim of the producer using this method is to
shift, as much as possible, all risks on those who take contracts from
him; that is, on the laborers or subcontractors. In some industries
experience has shown that certain risks, such as the purchase of raw
materials, must be assumed by the undertaker himself in order to
secure certain grades of excellence, but wherever possible the under
taker seeks to be nothing more than an intermediary bringing com
modities within reach of the consumer.
In many industries, notably in the making of garments, the under
taker has so successfully shifted the burdens of production on the
laborer that the system is almost synonymous with overwork, under
pay, and the host of attendant evils which, in our language, are
summed up by the term “ sweating system .”
It is not difficult to
understand the means whereby the undertaker secures this almost
despotic control o f the field of production.
The primary factor is his
knowledge of market conditions, his ability to dispose of his wares at
the most advantageous times and places.
Equipped with such knowl
edge and with control o f a sufficient amount of capital, he is prepared
to undertake the making of commodities by offering the workman a
price for the expenditure of a certain amount of labor on raw mate
rials, which latter may be supplied by either party.
The workman
supplies the place for carrying on the operations and furnishes tools
and whatever machinery is needed; he provides heat and ligh t; and in
case State regulations require the fulfillment o f conditions in regard to
health and safety, or insurance against accident and sickness, such
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
537
burdens also fall on the worker. Theoretically it may not be impos
sible for the latter to shift the burden to the undertaker, but in the
great majority of cases it is practically so, as will be seen later.
Thus in connection with the technological features of production the
undertaker need invest no capital in fixed forms, such as machinery,
buildings, and ground, and need make no calculations in regard to
depreciation, the payment of interest, the making of repairs, etc. H is
capital is almost wholly circulating; he can stop his expenses at any
time by ceasing production. But in the case of factory production,
if the loss due to the disorganization of the labor force be disregarded,
it is more profitable for the undertaker to continue operations until
the loss on the goods produced equals the fixed charges of the plant.
In addition to the technological features just mentioned, under the
domestic system the undertaker usually has the advantage of dealing
with his laboring force individually. I f part of the labor is organized,
he can play off the union men against the nonunion men; but as it is
difficult for the workmen to come in contact with each other, trade
unions are the exceptions, and there are but few aids to the worker in
his efforts to force up wages. Unlike the factory producer, the under
taker incurs no danger of social censure for dismissing his laborers in
times of industrial or commercial stagnation. To offset these advan
tages to the undertaker there are but few compensating advantages to
the laborer. The domestic worker has more personal freedom than
his neighbor, the factory worker, but this freedom consists in little else
than the ability to work longer hours.
By working at home he can
assist in the care of the household and at the same time make use of
the labor of the women and children who are unable or unwilling to
work in the factory. Beyond this there is no compensation for the
many disadvantages he endures; his pay is small, and his hours of
labor are long and vary between spells of overwork and idleness. The
irregularity of employment is the most crushing feature of his posi
tion; the laborer who can not tell whether his wage on the morrow
will be something or nothing is in no position to make a bargain with
his employer— the possibility of a day without earnings to a man whose
income is of the smallest compels him to accept almost any terms.
From this general description of the methods employed in the sys
tem one can soon decide upon the kind of industries to which it is
applicable.
W o rk done in the dwelling of the laborer is necessarily
of such a type that division of labor and the application of machinery
afford little scope; the methods are largely the same as those employed
by the small shop producer or hand worker. The products must be
readily transportable, that they may be taken from the workman’s
dwelling to the factor’s storehouse as easily as possible.
woman’s labor is also of great importance.
6451—No, 40—02----- 3
The use of
In Stieda’s discussion of
538
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the characteristics of the system (a) he places it as the first considera
tion. In a few of the industries special skill is necessary, as in the case
of the cutlers of Solingen and the musical instrument makers of Sax
ony. A n irregular or seasonal type of industry is also characteristic
of the system.
This a priori discussion of the main features of the domestic system
of production brings up the questions of what industries are really
conducted on the system, of their relative importance to the rest of
the industrial field, and of how far this form of production has shown
itself able to compete with other industrial forms since 1882, and
finally, whether it may be concluded that this form will be able to
survive. Before considering these questions a few words are neces
sary to explain the scope and method of the investigation into the
domestic system undertaken by the German industrial census of 1895.
M E T H O D S E M P L O Y E D IN T H E
1895.
IN D U S T R I A L
CENSUS O F
The first thorough inquiry as to the extent and character of the
domestic industries of the German Empire was made by the industrial
census of 1882. In the census of 1895 the important questions pro
pounded were the same as in 1882, and as the methods of compiling
the data were practically identical, comparisons of the results obtained
for the two years are valid for all general considerations.
In the household'schedule, filled out by each family for the general
returns in regard to age, sex, etc., each independent industrial person
was asked whether he carried on in his dwelling a business for the
account of an outside party (frem des Geschaft).
This included all working at home for factory owners, factors, mer
chants, or stores of any kind; while to these must be added those work
ing partly on their own account and partly for any of the above named.
The phrase “ at hom e” or “ in his dw elling” has caused the exclusion of
a number of persons working in places other than their homes, but
which they rented or leased at their own expense.
The best known
instance of this class is that of the cutlers of Solingen, who do their
grinding and polishing in work places rented by themselves.
In addition to these returns, employers of labor of all kinds were
required to make returns both of the number of employees in their
establishments and of those working for them outside of their estab
lishments— that is, in work places provided by the workmen themselves.
The returns given in the figures of the industrial census are those
for the average for the year, those for the day on which the census
was taken having proved unreliable.
A s was expected, the totals collected from the two sources do not
agree.
The returns of the domestic workers themselves show 295,768
a Schriften
des Vereins fiir.Socialpolitik.
Volume 39, page 63.
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
539
independent domestic workers, 23,153 members of families who assisted
them, and 139,063 other assistants, a total of 457,981; while the returns
o f the employers show a total of 490,711. (a) The difference in the
point of view o f the two returns makes any agreement o f the figures
out o f the question. The employer or factor could give account only
of the persons whom he employed directly, while the latter in their
turn often employ other workmen who would be returned or not, just
as they happened to be employed at the time of the census taking.
One workman is also frequently in the employ of several factors at
the same time, so that one name may have been counted on several
schedules.
On the other hand, many workmen are prejudiced against being
classed as domestic workers, and many such have reported themselves
as independent workmen. Many of these domestic workers were fo r
merly masters, to whom the loss of their independence represents a
descent in the social scale, and their efforts to retain their standing can
be easily understood. This has led to a decrease in the number o f
names in the lists of domestic workers from the returns of the workmen.
There is also a number of industries located in the districts close to
the border, in which foreign workmen are employed, and of course
these make no returns. This may be partially offset by the fact that
German workmen are often employed by foreign factors, who likewise
make no reports as to their employees.
Material is not at hand to enable one to make an intelligent estimate
of the number of domestic workers missed through these and other
causes. Probably the greater number of workmen not reporting as
domestic workers would class themselves as hand workers, and since the
object in view is to gain some idea of the success of these two classes in
their competition with the factory, it does not interfere greatly with
the desired end. B y using the returns of the workers themselves, we
have a total of the number of houseworking persons of which it may
be claimed that the lists contain no duplications and that there is no
exaggeration of the importance of the class. These returns will be
used in the following pages. Only the industries in grand division B—
that is, industries proper and the building trades— are considered.
S T A T U S O F T H E D O M E S T IC S Y S T E M A C C O R D IN G T O T H E
C E N S U S O F 1895.
Attention has already been called to the character of the data respect
ing special industrial conditions collected by the census.
The most
important statements offered are those in regard to the number of
establishments and the number of persons employed in each group of
industries.
Establishment is here used in its wide sense as meaning
firms or business concerns of all degrees, from the seamstress accept
erStatistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
Volume 119, page 192.
540
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
ing orders from her neighbors to the few large firms employing
thousands of workmen. Establishments are classified as principal and
accessory, the first being those which the proprietor regards as his
principal or main occupation, the latter as his subsidiary or accessory
occupation. In order to avoid duplications, persons employed in gain
ful pursuits were credited only to those establishments in which they
reported themselves as having their principal occupation.
Therefore,
in connection with the number of persons employed, only the princi
pal establishments are considered, as the persons employed in the
accessory establishments have already been credited to the principal
establishments. The establishments are also arranged according to
the number of persons employed, and comprise, first, the one-person
establishment, meaning an establishment of one person not using
mechanical motive power; and, second, the assistant-using establish
ment, meaning an establishment employing helpers or using mechanical
motive power.
In 1882 the total number of establishments of all kinds working under
the domestic system was 386,411, while in 1895 it was 342,487 (a), a
decrease of 11.4 per cent. Classed according to the number of persons
engaged in them, the establishments were as follows:
NUMBER OF DOMESTIC-WORKING ESTABLISHMENTS, BY SIZE, 1882 AND 1895.
Size of establishment.
1882.
1895.
1 person......................................................................................................................
More than 1 person..................................................................................................
317,467
68,944
272,501
69,986
Total..................................................................................................................
386,411
342,487
According to this table, there was a decrease of 14.2 per cent in the
one-person concerns and an increase of 1.5 per cent in the number of
concerns where assistants were used.
But more interesting and showing more plainly the conditions of the
industries are the statements in regard to the number of persons em
ployed.
In 1895 the number of persons employed under the domestic
system was 457,748, or 5.7 per cent of the industrial population. (5)
F or 1882 the number was 476,075, or 8 per cent of the industrial popu
lation.
In other words, there was a decrease, in the thirteen years
between the census dates, of 2.3 per cent in the relative proportion of
domestic workers to the total industrial population.
The totals, how
ever, do not offer a basis for drawing conclusions as to tendencies in
the industries employing the domestic system.
In the following table
are shown the groups of industries classed as the textile, the clothing
and cleaning, the wood and cut materials, the metal-working, the foods
and drinks, and the machinery and instruments groups.
a Statistik
b Ibid.,
des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
page 206*.
These six
Volume 119, page 196,
541
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
groups employ over 95 per cent of the domestic-working population:
the remaining 5 per cent are scattered through eight groups and may
be omitted in considering the more general features of this part of the
population.
NUMBER OF PERSONS EMPLOYED AS DOMESTIC WORKERS, BY SELECTED GROUPS, 1882
AND 1895.
[From Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge. Volume 119, page 206*.]
Groups.
1882.
1895.
Total persons employed in domestic-working establishments...........................
476,075
457,748
Textile........................................................................................................................
Clothing and cleaning.............................................................................................
Wood and cut materials..........................................................................................
Metal-working..........................................................................................................
Foods and drinks.....................................................................................................
Machinery and instruments...................................................................................
285,102
131,861
19,111
16,930
8,346
4,489
195,780
159,360
37,140
20,105
15,918
9,093
It is seen at once how prominent are the textile industries in this
system of production, and furthermore, that of the groups cited,
the textile group alone shows a decline in the number of persons
employed. In 1882 the persons in the textile industries formed 59.9
per cent of the total, while in 1895 the number of persons engaged
in the textile industries composed 42.8 per cent of the total number
considered as domestic workers, showing the decreasing impor
tance of the textile group. In absolute numbers the decrease in the
textile group was 89,322, and the increase in the number of domestic
workers in all the industrial groups other than textile was 70,995.
Expressed in relative figures, there was an increase of 37,per cent in
the number of domestic workers in the groups outside of the textile.
A more definite picture is obtained by studying the proportion which
the number of establishments and of persons employed under the
domestic system bears to the number of establishments and of persons
employed under other systems of production. The following table,
condensed from the larger table given in the census reports (#), shows
the development in this respect since 1882:
PER CENT OF DOMESTIC-WORKING ESTABLISHMENTS AND OF DOMESTIC WORKERS OF
TOTAL ESTABLISHMENTS AND INDUSTRIAL WORKERS, RESPECTIVELY, BY SELECTED
GROUPS, 1882 AND 1895.
Groups.
Per cent of domestic
working establish
ments of total estab
lishments.
1882.
1895.
Per cent of domestic
workers of total in
dustrial workers.
1882.
1895.
All industries...................................................................
15.1
14.1
8.0
5.7
Textile..............................................................................
Clothing and cleaning....................................................
Wood and cut materials................................................
Metal w orking.................................................................
Foods and drinks............................................................
Machinery and instruments.........................................
57.9
11.6
5.4
5.6
2.2
2.7
65.3
13.1
8.9
6.2
3.2
5.6
31.3
10.5
4.1
3.7
1.1
1.3
19.7
11.5
6.2
3.1
1.6
1.6
a
Statistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
Volume 119, page 206*.
542
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
This and the preceding table show the important features of the
problems connected with the domestic-working system. Out of the
groups which include the domestic-working population of the Empire,
the six groups given are the only ones numbering over 9,000 persons
each in 1895. The concentration of the domestic-working persons has
already been touched upon; nearly one-half of the total number are
employed in the textile group, or, more exactly, 42.8 per cent of the
persons and 47.4 per cent of the establishments; ranking second in the
list is the clothing and cleaning group, with 34.8 per cent of the persons
and 35.1 per cent o f the establishments. This leaves but 22.4 per cent
o f the persons and 17.5 per cent of the establishments for all other
industries.
The decrease in absolute numbers and in relative importance within
the groups is practically confined to the textile group.
The metal
working group shows a decrease of 0.6 per cent in the proportion of
domestic-working persons as compared with the proportion employed
in those industries in 1882, but otherwise there is an increase through
out the list— that is, with the exception of the textile industries, the
number o f domestic-working persons employed in the above-mentioned
groups practically all increased proportionately at a rate slightly
greater than the rate of increase of the total persons in those groups.
F or example, the total number o f persons engaged in the clothing
group increased from 1,259,791 in 1882 to 1,390,604 in 1895, the
domestic workers comprising only 10.5 per cent o f the total for 1882,
as against 11.5 per cent o f the much larger total for 1895. On the
other hand, the number of establishments has increased at a rate
somewhat higher than that of the persons employed. This increase is
comparatively uniform throughout all of the groups cited and must
be regarded as an evidence of increased importance on the part of the
domestic system in those industries.
But in the textile groups the
fact that the proportion of house-working establishments has increased,
while the proportion of persons has decreased, can not be regarded as
a healthful sign; it is rather an evidence that the individual establish
ments are becoming weaker, and since the actual figures also show a
slight decrease in the average number o f persons for each establish
ment it may be expected that many of the textile domestic-working
establishments will cease to exist in the near future.
The groups not given in the tables above are also worthy o f note.
Confining our attention to grand division B (the industries proper), it
is found that, with the obvious exception of mining, domestic-working
establishments are present in all the industrial groups o f the Empire.
This rather surprising statement must be modified by saying that in
the following industries the proportion o f domestic-working persons
is less than 1 per cent, viz, the groups stones and earths, chemicals,
lighting materials, and the building trades.
On the whole, these are
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
543
industries not possessing the general characteristics already explained
as essential for the successful application of the methods of the domestic
system.
The four remaining groups not mentioned in the tables (since they
employed less than 6,000 persons each) are the groups paper, leather,
the printing trades, and the artistic trades. A ll o f these show an
increase in the proportion of domestic-working establishments and
persons in the thirteen years from 1882 to 1895. The growth in the
percentage of house-working persons in the artistic trades is especially
prominent, the proportion having advanced from 5.1 per cent in 1882
to 9.2 per cent in 1895.
It has already been stated that the number of domestic-working
establishments has decreased to the extent of 11.4 per cent in the
period between the two census dates. The decrease took place solely
in the one-person establishments, the other establishments showing an
increase of 1.5 per cent. But the number of persons gives a truer
indication of the state of the domestic industries. O f the 457,748
domestic-working persons 231,540, or about one-half, were employed in
single-person establishments in 1895, a decrease of 18.7 per cent since
1882; the increase in the number of persons working in establishments
where more than one person was employed amounted to 18.2 per cent.
Separating the textile industries from all others, we find that the
decreases have occurred in the textile group; increases both in the
number of establishments of all kinds and in the number of persons
have occurred in practically all the other industries. The increase in
the number of persons has for the greater part taken place in the
establishments with more than one person. In spite of this advance,
the number of persons in domestic-working establishments with more
than one person averaged but 3.3 persons, while in all establish
ments with more than one person the average was 7.4 persons per
establishment.
One other kind of domestic-working establishment was enumerated
by the census, namely, the family establishment or concern, in which
only members of the fam ily were employed to assist the head of the
concern.
In 1895 the number of such family concerns was 29,717 (a) or
42.9 per cent of the total number of domestic-working establishments
employing helpers.
The number of persons employed was 68,913 or
30.5 per cent of all domestic-working persons in establishments employ
ing helpers.
According to the statement in the introduction to the
last volume o f the census reports (i) the number of family concerns
was in reality much larger than this, but is not shown because of the
very incomplete returns made by industrial persons assisted by mem
bers of their families.
a Statistik
b Ibid.,
des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge.
page 201.
Volume 119, page 212*.
544
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
It has already been stated that the possibility of using female labor
is an important requisite to the existence of many domestic industries
and the figures show that female labor is extensively employed. O f
the 457,748 persons engaged in the domestic-working industries, 201,816 or 44.1 per cent were females and 255,932 or 55.9 per cent males.
O f the 8,000,503 persons comprising the whole industrial population,
1,558,339 or 19.5 were females, (a) The proportion of domestic-work
ing women shows practically no change since 1882. Over half of the
one-person establishments were conducted by women, while the women
in the establishments employing assistants numbered somewhat over
one-third o f the persons employed.
O f peculiar interest is the geographical distribution of the domestic
industries.
According to W eb er there is a chain of domestic indus
tries following the mountains so closely that there is no range in cen
tral Germany that does not possess its domestic industries. Beginning
at the eastern part of the country are the Eulengebirge and Riesengebirge with weaving; connected with this region are glass making,
weaving, and clock making in the hills of the Lusatia region. Then
come the Erzgebirge with toy making, fringe and lace making,
embroidery, clock making, and the manufacture of musical instruments.
Through the highlands of Thuringia are the hardware and other prod
ucts of metal, the toy, and the basket weaving industries. In the eastern
spur are hosiery making in Apolda, and the house weaving of Eichsfeld extending to the Harz region. In like manner in the remaining
mountain districts are wooden wares, basket wares, toy making, leather
goods, watch-case making, cotton and silk weaving, embroidering
with pearls, wood carving, cigar making, and shoemaking. In spite
of the fact that the mountains were the stronghold of the domestic
textile industries, the number of domestic-working persons has de
creased only 8,200 since 1882. (5)
W h ere the textile industry has been
driven out, in many cases other industries have been substituted, such
as cigar, clock, and shoe making.
In the other regions there has also been a clearly marked movement.
In the villages (communities with a population of 2,000 to 5,000) the
proportion of domestic-working persons to the total population has
decreased since 1882 from 29.1 to 20.0 per 1,000; in the small towns
(population 5,000 to 20,000), from 26.4 to 18.8 per 1,000; in the towns
(population 20,000 to 100,000), from 22.1 to 14.9 per 1,000.
On the
other hand, in the large cities there has been an increase from 21.0 to
21.9 per 1,000. (c)
W h en it is remembered that the number of large cities has increased
and that the growth of population in the large cities has been abnorStatistik des Deutschen Reichs, Neue Folge. Volume 119, page 30*.
des Vereins fur Socialpolitik. Volume 88, page 27.
c Ibid., page 28.
a
b Schriften
HAND*WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
545
mally large, the fact that the number of domestic-working persons
has more than kept pace with this increase means that there has been
a strong movement toward the large cities and away from the small
towns. In the mountain regions, however, there is a tendency to re
main. The regions which most attract the domestic system are, there
fore, the very thinly populated and the very densely populated
regions of the country. Such are the main features of the industries
using the domestic-working system as gathered from the tables pre
sented by the census reports.
A s sketched from the bare figures a
rough picture of these industries would be as follows:
In 1895 these industries were composed of over 340,000 establish
ments employing over 450,000 persons, or nearly 6 per cent of the
industrial population of the Empire. Since 1882 a decrease of over
11 per cent in the number of establishments and of nearly 4 per cent
in the number of persons has occurred. O f the house-working per
sons nearly 43 per cent were employed in the textile industries, in
which group practically all of the decreases just mentioned have taken
place. Fifty-three per cent of the population under discussion was
employed in the five groups classed as clothing and cleaning, wood and
cut materials, metal working, foods and drinks, machinery and instru
ments. These groups in nearly every case showed an increase both in
the number of domestic-working persons employed and in the propor
tion which those persons bore to the total persons employed in those
groups, and it may be concluded that, except in the case of the textile
industries, there was a tendencv to an increased use of the domestic
system.
In the total number of domestic-working establishments there is a
decrease, but as this decrease has come from the one-person establish
ments, we may say that, excluding the textile industries, there is a
tendency to the formation of economically stronger productive units.
There is also a movement toward the large towns.
To sum up, the thirteen years between the census dates have shown
that in nearly 43 per cent of the domestic-working population, those
engaged in the textile group of industries, there is a general decrease
in both absolute and relative importance, while in the five groups
mentioned, comprising the greater portion of the remaining domestic
working population, there is a clear increase in absolute and relative
importance.
But that the figures alone will give a trustworthy picture
of the system can not be maintained.
The figures themselves are
incomplete, both in regard to what they are supposed to present and
in that they give only a part of what must be known in order to form
an approximately clear picture of the domestic system of industry:
The census returns give us only the quantitative relations of the
domestic-working industries.
mation
in
W e must seek other sources for infor
regard to the character of the workmen, the quality
546
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
of work turned out, the conditions under which the work is per
formed, and similar questions which are beyond the scope o f a census
investigation.
The reports of the Verein fur Socialpolitik on these subjects do not
show a uniform state of affairs in all of the domestic industries. In
the majority o f the textile establishments, especially in weaving,
the persons engaged are on a lower plane than the factory employ
ees. In the garment-making industries the majority of the persons
employed have cheapness as their only recommendation; and natur
ally, the tendency to depress wages finds full scope. On the other
hand, workers possessing even a moderate amount of skill are in con
tinual demand (a) and secure incomes which compare favorably with
those earned by workers under the other forms of production. W ith
the state of affairs now existing in some of these industries, where anyone
after a half-hour’s practice can perform all the operations almost as well
as those engaged in the industry for years, only the worst of conditions
may be expected. From this lowest class of workers is found an
ascending scale rising up to what may be termed the 61ite of the domes
tic workers, such as the makers of musical instruments in various parts
o f Saxony or the cutlers of Solingen. The better situated workers
are by no means few in number, though it is impossible to make any
definite statements as to their numbers. They are found in certain
parts of the textile, the garment-making, and the cigar-making trades;
where a certain amount of skill or taste is required, these workers have
found themselves able to compete successfully with the stronger capi
talistic form of production.
Similarly with the question of the quality of the work turned out
by the domestic system, no general statement can be made, though
W eb er’s claim (b) that the quality of the goods produced under this sys
tem is inferior to the factory-produced goods has much in its favor;
he ignores, however, such classes as embroidering, lace making,
musical instruments, and cutlery, where long experience has shown
that the wares are of high quality.
In respect to the other conditions existing in the domestic industries,
the reports seem strikingly familiar; the evils connected with over
crowding in dwellings, excessively long hours of labor, unwarranted
deductions from wages already too low, employment of women and
children under unwholesome conditions, all read like the reports on
the sweating system in New Y o rk , Chicago, or other large cities in
other parts of the world.
W ith the recital of the facts has come the
demand that the whole system be abolished.
The Social Democratic
party has been especially energetic in demanding prohibitive legisla
tion against this form o f production, and in harmony with this view
a Schriften des Vereins fur Socialpolitik.
bIb id .,
page 24.
Volum e 88, page 69.
HAND-WORKING AND DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES OF GERMANY.
547
are many of the writers upon the subject, as, for example, W eber and
Brentano. On the other hand is the view represented by Philippo
vich, who recognizes the many evils existing in the domestic indus
tries, but who can not see the way clear to a prohibition of work in
the home* and seeks the amelioration of the evils through an extension
o f legislation similar to the factory legislation and the introduction of
a stringent sanitary inspection of dwellings. This more moderate
view is in harmony with the experience gained from the past history
of industrial regulation. There are certain industries where produc
tion on a large scale is not possible; where interruptions to production
are frequent; where machinery can not be extensively employed, and
where the product itself can never count upon .a large number of
consumers, (a) In such industries it will be hardly possible to avoid
using the domestic system, and where there is present a large population
which is in need of a subsidiary source of income, such as the small
farmers in the thinly populated districts and the vast number of women
in the large cities, there the conditions are present which make it prob
able that the system will continue to be used for many years to come.
G E N E R A L C O N C L U S IO N S .
In answer to the question as to how far the two weaker systems of
production, the hand-working and the domestic systems, have been able
to compete with the factory in Germany, we have arrived at the follow
ing result: The two weaker systems have succeeded in maintaining their
positions in great part; the hand-working system, on the whole, has
not decreased in numbers; the domestic system has decreased in the
textile industries, it has increased in the other industries where it is
represented, and it tends for the most part to an increased influence.
The tendency of both forms is toward the use of a larger establish
ment. The domestic form is moving to the very thinly populated dis
tricts and to the large cities, while the hand-working form is settling
in the regions between these two extremes.
Such conclusions, it must be remembered, are based wholly on the
number of persons employed, the only criterion afforded by the cen
sus by which we can compare the various forms.
It has been explained
how imperfect is this standard, and in view of the fact that the
increased number of persons in the factory system is accompanied by
a still greater increase in the mechanical aids to production, the con
clusions given above may not be taken at their face value.
But it is
nevertheless true that though the influence of these two forms of pro
duction on the total output is not so great as the figures might indi
cate, yet they are still earnest competitors in the field o f production,
and the time of their complete absorption by the factory is still far
distant, if it is ever to take place.
aW . Roscher, Ansichten der Yolkswirtschaft.
Volume 2, page 150.
548
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
The importance of the question of the small producer arises from
the influence which the technique of production exerts on the structure
o f society. The noncapitalistic forms of industry produced social
classes in which the “ captains of industry” were accompanied by but
small groups of workmen; the distance between the leader and his
dependents was not great and was continually being passed over. The
capitalistic forms have increased this gap, have caused the separation
of producers into large masses of dependents on the one hand and o f a
small group of leaders on the other, and have introduced an almost
military discipline into economic life. This is but a suggestion of the
many influences which events in the world of mechanics have had on
the structure o f society and which form one of the most important
chapters of economic history.
WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION ACTS OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES,
(a )
BY ADNA F. WEBER.
Modern industrialism rests on machinery; the use o f machinery
entails frequent injury upon the workman. These two statements
explain the prominence in all manufacturing communities of the
problem of industrial accidents. The question of providing for
injuries sustained by workingmen in the course of their employment
has in one form or another occupied the attention of legislatures of
all industrial States. In America discussion has heretofore turned
upon the enactment o f laws designed either to diminish the risk of
accident, like the factory laws requiring the guarding of machinery,
the automatic car-coupler law, etc., or to enforce the pecuniary
responsibility of employers for accidents resulting from the negligence
of themselves or their agents. Such employers’ liability laws, modi
fying the common-law rules or principles as to negligence, have been
enacted in 25 or more States (J); while Europe and Australia, finding
liability laws inadequate for the support of maimed laborers and their
families, have gone further than the United States and made the
employer responsible for all accidents to his employees, with the sin
gle exception of injuries caused by the willful misconduct of the victim
himself. W h ile the expense of supporting the crippled employees
a Sources.—Aside from the text of the statutes in official publications of the gov
ernments concerned, the best source is the adm irable series o f monographs by Dr.
Zacher, of the German im perial insurance bureau, Die Arbeiterverticherung im Auslande,
in w hich he has reproduced the acts in the original text and also in a German transla
tion. French versions o f the texts may be found in the quarterly bulletin issued by
the permanent com m ittee of the CongrSs International des Accidents du Travail et des
Assurances Sociales, in M. B ellom ’ s Lois d’ Assurance ouvribre & VEtranger, and w ith
the exception of tw o or three of the earlier statutes in the Annuaire de la Legislation du
Travail, begun in 1897 b y the Belgian Bureau of Labor. English translations o f these
acts must be sought in scattered publications; the original German law was translated
for John Graham Brooks’ s report in 1893 (Fourth Special Report of the Com missioner
of L a b or); all other laws, dow n to 1900, w ere translated in the Seventeenth Annual
R eport o f the Now Y ork Bureau of Labor Statistics (1899). The m ore recent laws
have nowhere been translated in their entirety; but a com prehensive summary o f the
D utch act o f 1901 was given in the Bulletin o f the Departm ent o f Labor, No. 34,
M ay, 1901, and summaries of the salient features of the other acts m ay be found in
the m onthly Labor Gazette, published b y the British Board of Trade.
b Present Status of Em ployers’ L iability in the U nited States, B ulletin No. 31,
N ovem ber, 1900.
549
550
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
devolves in the first instance upon the employer, it is ultimately borne
by the community in the shape of higher prices for the manufactured
products of the factories. In order that the employer may thus shift
to the consumer the expense of indemnifying his injured working
people, he must be able definitely to calculate that expense and reckon
it among his regular and usual expenses o f production, just as he does
the wear and tear of his inanimate machinery and the risks of loss by
fire, etc. Hence these foreign statutes prescribe the scale of compen
sation to be paid for varying degrees of disablement as well as for
death, and they are therefore called workmen’s compensation acts.
Some sixteen countries or States have thus far enacted such laws, but
three of them are omitted from the accompanying tabular summary on
account of their narrow scope. Thus the Roumanian act of 1895 applies
only to mines, the Grecian act of 1901 to mines and smelting works,
and the Russian act of the same year only to government mines. But
this legislation does not have universal application even in the thirteen
countries listed in the table. It is usually restricted to the more dan
gerous employment, like mines, quarries, railways and transportation
service by land or water, building construction and engineering work,
and factories using power machinery or employing more than a stated
number (say 5) of workmen. The German law, the pioneer act, is
probably the broadest of any, having been successively extended to all
callings except the small handicraftsmen, store clerks, and domestic
servants. I t was entirely revised and the scale of compensation broad
ened by the act of June 30, 1900, upon which the entries in the table
are based.
In some respects the Swiss acts of 1881 and 1887 might be deemed
worthy of inclusion here, for they provide for the indemnification of
as many accidents as do the acts of Finland and Spain; but they do
not establish any fixed scale of compensation for the different injuries,
and for that reason are omitted.
The establishment of a definite scale of compensation enables the
employer to insure himself against his liabilities with comparative
ease.
M any States assume that employers will for their own protec
tion insure their employees against accident and have not made insur
ance compulsory.
But other countries, fearing lest the voluntary
bankruptcy of the employer or a failure in business may deprive injured
workmen of their just compensation, have made such insurance obliga
tory upon all employers carrying on enterprises specified in the law.
Great Britain (a) and its colonies, France, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain
leave the employer free to take out insurance or not, although they
usually grant an injured employee a lien of some kind upon the pro
prietor’s property.
Am on g the countries that require insurance, one
a See The British W orkm en’ s Com pensation A ct and its Operation, Bulletin No. 31.
SUMMARY OF WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION ACTS OF THE PRINCIPAL FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
[From the Seventeenth Report of the New York Bureau of Tiabor Statistics, revised to the end of 1901 for the Bulletin of the United States Department of Labor by Adna F. Weber, chief statistician of the New York State department of labor.]
Method of insuring payment of compensation.
Country.
Germany.............
When
enacted.
When in
force.
July 6,1884 Oct., ^ ( r e Accidents caused by victim will
fully or while engaged in a
vised June
criminal offense.
30,1900).
Austria................. Dec. 28,1887
Nov.,
N orw ay............... July 23,1894
July 1,1895
Finland............... Dec. 5,1895
Jan. 1,1898
Great Britain....... Aug. 6,1897
(d)
Denmark.............
Scope: All bodily injuries sus
tained by employees as an inci
Insurance
dent of their work must be voluntary or Guarantor of compensation in event of
insolvency of employer liable.
compensated, except—
obligatory.
Jan. 7,1898
1889
Obligatory.. Mutual associations of employers organ
ized by industries (Berufsgenossenschaften): collective responsibility.
Substantially as above
.do
Accidents caused by victim will
fully {med Forsaet).
do
Territorial associations of employers and
employees
(VersicherungsanstcUten);
collective responsibility.
State insurance office. The State pays
all expenses of central office and onehalf of expenses of local branches;
also meets deficits.
State insurance office, or authorized pri
vate companies, or by deposit of securi
ties with State insurance office.
Compensation (includes also, as a rule, the expenses of medical treatment).
Costs paid by—
Payments
begin—
1,1898 Employer or insurance company
liable may proceed by criminal
action to secure reimbursement
from an injured workman who
has caused the accident by will
ful misconduct.
Obligatory.. National bank for insurance against ac
cidents or duly authorized insurance
companies; further—(1) Employers’
mutual associations of establishments
employing at least 4,000 men; (2) pri
vate insurance funds covering 500 em
ployees (deposit of securities with
Government required); (3) railways
maintaining pension and aid funds are
excepted.
F rance................. Apr. 9,1898 July 1,1899 Accidents caused by willful act Voluntary.. Injured employee has first claim upon
of victim. The court may re
employer’s assets for payment of allow
duce the amount of compensa
ance during temporary incapacity;
tion upon proof that the acci
and State guarantees payment of an
dent was due to the victim’s
nuities. (Guarantee fund accumulat
culpable negligence (faute in
ed by an increase in business tax upon
excusable).
establishments subject to the law.)
Spain.................... Jan. 30,1900
Accidents caused by vis major___
.do
New Zealand....... Oct. 18,1900
South Australia .. Dec. 5,1900
H olland............... Jan. 2,1901
Sweden................. Apr. 24,1901
Accidents “ proved to be directly
attributable to serious and will
ful misconduct of worker.”
Accidents “ attributable to seri
ous and willful misconduct of
victim .”
Accidents caused by willful act of
victim. If due to his intoxica
tion, he receives only one-half
usual allowance, and his heirs
or dependents nothing.
Accidents caused by willful act
or gross negligence of victim,
or by willful act of third person
not exercising authority.
.do
do
Fatal accidents.
Funeral benefits.
60 per cent
After
5
days.
Employers.
Individual
ployer.
em-
.do
Individual
ployer.
66$ percent.
At once.
.do
Cash
payment
equal to 2 years’
wages.
After
day.
em
Cash
payment
equal
to
6
years’ wages,
but not less
than $482.40 nor
over $1,286.40.
payment
50 per cent............ Cash
equal to 5 years’
wages, but not
less than $579.
.do
After
1
week.
Employers.
60 per cent, but
not less than
27 cents nor
more than 54
cents a day.
After
4
days.
After
2
weeks.
1
After 60
days.
.do —
60 per cent, be
ginning 120th
day after acci
dent, or ear
lier if medical
treatment has
ceased.
Weekly allowance not exceeding 50
# per cent of weekly wages, nor $4.87.
$80.40 a year.
Children under 15
years.
Each 10 per cent;
orphans 20 per
cent.
............ 40 per cent
If no dependents, Lump sum paid to persons wholly depend
ent on victim equivalent to 3 years’
not more than
earnings, but not less than $729.98.
$48.67.
$13.40.................... Lump sum equivalent to 4 years’ wages,
but not less than $321.60.
Not more than
$19.30
do
$16.08
Minimum (not ap
plying to minors)
$57.90, maximum
$138.96, a year.
$1,459.95 ..
(See maximum and
minimum
com
pensation.)
$857.60.... Minimum
$80.40,
maximum $643.20,
a year.
Lump sum equal to 5 years’ wages. In
default of heirs the indemnity is paid
into a special fund and used to pay in
demnities for insolvent employers, to
aid workmen’s provident societies, etc.
Weekly allowance not exceeding 50 If no dependents,
not exceeding
per cent of weekly wage, nor $9.73;
$146.
total liability not to exceed $1,459.95.
If
no dependents,
Weekly allowance not exceeding 50
not exceeding
per cent of weekly wage, but not
$243.33.
less than $1.83 nor more than $4.87,
and shall not in the aggregate ex
ceed $1,469.95.
30 times daily
70peroent.
70 percent.
wages.
27 cents a day
Widow.
20 per cent Each 20 per cen t.. 20 per cent 60 per cent $357 a year, the ex
of annu
cess being reck
al wage.
oned at | the ac
tual amount.
.d o ___ 50 per cent $487.20 a year maxiAccording to lo- .......d o ___ Each child 15 per
cent, orphans
cal custom, but
20 per cent.
not over $10.15.
.d o ...............d o ___ $321.60 a year maxi$13.40............................. d o . . . . Each 15 per cent;
orphans 20 per
cent.
4 60 per cent
Employers
90, After
workmen 10 per
weeks(6)
cent. (6)
4 60 per cent, but
Employers, ex After
cept as stated;
weeks (c)
not less than
13§ cents a day.
State perhaps
one-fourth, (c)
7 60 per cent, but
Employers,.......... After
days.
not more than
48 cents a day.
60 per cent, but
not less than
$40.20 a year.
For purposes of cal
culating
premi
ums and indemni
ties, wages are lim
Parents
ited to—
or grand Maximum.
parents.
Indemnities to family or dependents.
66| per cent 000 Js annual wages,
per cent in ex
but not less
ceptional cases) .
than $11.90.
Injured employee has first claim upon ....... do
amounts due his employer from acci
dent insurance companies.
----- d o .................................................................... do
Obligatory.. State insurance office, or authorized pri
vate companies, or employer, may ob
tain permission to make payments for
compensation by depositing adequate
securities.
Voluntary.. Before retiring from business employer
must furnish adequate security for pay
ment of pensions. State insurance
office established and maintained out
of public funds.
Pension for per
manent
(and
total) incapac
ity (per cent of
yearly
earn
ings).
Employers (a )___ After 13 66| per cent
weeks (a)
Accidents caused by willful act
.do
or gross negligence of victim,
willfully by another person
than the one intrusted with
superintendence of work, and
by superior force (vi major) or
not connected with circum
stances of work.
2
July 1,1898 Accidents “ attributable to the Voluntary.. Injured employee has prior claim upon Individual em After
amounts due his employer from acci
ployer.
. serious and willful misconduct
weeks.
(d)
of victim.”
dent insurance companies.
Jan. 15,1899 Accidents caused by willful act ___ d o .................. d o ........................................................... ----- d o ................... After 13
weeks.
or gross negligence of victim
{med Forsaet eUer grov Magtsomhed).
Italy...................... Mar. 17,1898 Oct.
Per cent of daily
wage allowed
during tempo
rary but total
incapacity.
$386 a year maxi-
20per cent Each single child 10 per cent 60 per cent Only one-fourth of
each, but
excess over $463.20
under 16,15 per
a year to be reck
cent; 2 children, not more
than 30
oned.
25 per cent, etc.
per cent
for all.
years’ Minimum, 29 cents a
6 months’ 2
earnings
earnings
day.
an
to 1; 10 or
annuity
months’
equal to
earnings
40
per
to 2 or
cent. \e)
more.
Lump sum paid to persons wholly de $1,946.60 ..
pendent equivalent to 3 years’ earnings,
but not less than $973.30.
Lump sum paid to persons wholly depend $1459.95 .. (See maximum and
minimum
com
ent upon victim, equal to 3 years’ earn
pensation.)
ings, but not less than $729.98.
1 year’s H years’ earnings
earnings.
to children un
der 16.
30 per cent
15 per cent.
$32.16
year.
$16.08 a year
30 per cent 60 per cent
Maximum, $1.61 a
day.
$80.40 a
year.
a During first 13 weeks sickness insurance funds (to which workmen make two-thirds of contributions and employers one-third) pay 50 per cent of daily wages from third to twenty-eighth day, to which is added 16f per cent by accident insurance associations from twenty-ninth to ninetieth day.
b The sickness insurance funds (supported in the proportion of two-thirds by workmen and one-third by employers) pay 60 per cent of daily wages from third to twenty-eighth day.
c If victim was not insured in a sickness insurance association, employer has to pay expenses of medical treatment and 50 per cent of wages during first 4 weeks.
dThe British act was extended to agriculture in 1900. eThe employer has the option of making these cash payments or paying annuities which are not to exceed 40 per cent of the victim’s annual earnings (20 per cent to widow, 10 percent to each ascendant, etc.).
6451— N o. 4 0 — 02.
(To face page 551.)
w o r k m e n ’ s c o m p e n s a t io n a c t s oe e o r e ig n c o u n t r ie s .
551
finds various schemes of insurance. Norway, for example, has estab
lished a government insurance office and given it a monopoly, while
Germany has simply provided for the formation, under government
supervision, of employers’ mutual insurance associations in the several
industries, and each of these associations or corporations is responsible
for the compensation of workmen injured in its particular industry.
M ost countries that make insurance obligatory also provide that
indemnities to workmen shall be paid in the form of a pension rather
than in a lump sum. Hence this pension is usually expressed as a
percentage of the victim’s average wages. Even those countries which
discard the pension system usually provide safeguards for the invest
ment of the indemnity. To reproduce in the table such provisions
and other details of this legislation is, of course, impracticable.
WORKING OF COMPULSORY CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION
LAWS IN NEW ZEALAND AND VICTORIA.
Report o f Royal Commhsion o f Inquiry into the Working o f Compul
sory Conciliation and Arbitration Laws. 1901. 42 pp. Legislative
Assem bly, New South Wales.
This report presents the results of an investigation in 1901 into the
operations of the compulsory conciliation and arbitration laws in New
Zealand and the States of Australia, including also the minimum wage
provisions of the factories and shop acts of Victoria. A compulsory
arbitration law, similar to the New Zealand law, having been brought
before the New South W ales Parliament for enactment, M r. A lfred P .
Backhouse, one of the judges of the district court of New South
W ales, was appointed a commissioner to visit the States where such
laws were in force and make a personal investigation and report upon
their workings. New Zealand and Victoria were visited and many
persons were interviewed, especially in New Zealand, the aim being to
get the opinions o f representative men in all walks of life, who would
be at all likely, from their positions, to be able to give information.
The report o f the commissioner goes quite fu lly into the details of the
working of the laws, but it will be necessary here to give only the
conclusions upon the more important points. Following this report
the New South W ales Parliament enacted a law, which is printed in
full on pages 561 to 574 o f this Bulletin.
The New Zealand law
in effect at the time of the visit of the commissioner was the act of
1900, which came into force on October 20, 1900.
I t differs in some
details from the earlier acts which have been printed in Bulletin 33.
The report of the commissioner in regard to New Zealand is in part
as follows:
N EW ZEALAN D.
BOARDS OF CONCILIATION.
It is admitted on all hands that these boards have not realized the
hopes which were expressed by the author o f the act that they would
do the major portion o f the work. Out of 109 cases dealt with by the
boards up to the 30th June, 1 9 0 0 ,7 3 have gone on to the court. There
is no doubt that valuable time is lost by suitors before the conciliation
board when there is an expressed determination b y one party or the
other not to take notice or the board’s recommendation, whatever it
may be, but to proceed to the arbitration court for the sake of the
552
ARBITRATION IN NEW ZEALAND AND VICTORIA.
553
power to bind possessed by the court and not by the board. W ith
regard to certain members of some boards, charges are made of a
much graver character. It is said, with truth I have no doubt, that
there are members who are in the habit of fomenting disputes— dis
putes which they subsequently have to consider— between employers
and employees, and that the vicious system of payment by fees for
each sitting is partly responsible for the adoption of this course of
proceedings. To me it is clear that some members entirely fail to
properly appreciate their function and become partisans out and out,
rendering their boards boards of irritation, rather than conciliation.
The result of this is, that when a reference has to be made from these
boards to the court, the parties come to it more antagonistic than they
were when the dispute arose.
W h ile these complaints are made, justly, I believe, the boards, taken
as a whole, have done much good work, and in some cases they are held
in the highest repute. One of the causes of the failure o f tne boards
to realize M r. Reeves’s idea that they would settle 90 per cent o f the
disputes is, I believe, owing to the objection shown by employers to
the carrying out of the provisions of the act. They are ready enough
to complain of certain appointments; but they will not themselves take
the trouble to select their own representatives, and so to make some
of the appointments objected to unnecessary. A large number of
employers have not formed unions under the act, ana are therefore
incapable of taking part in an election. Another cause of the partial
want of success of the boards is the holding of the office of chairman
by men by neither temperament nor training fit for the position.
Another reason, to m y mind, of the failure to conciliate is the proce
dure which is frequently adopted. It is generally the same as that o f
the court. The party making the claim is asked to prove his case,
which the other side is then called on to answer. This method ap
pears to me by no means the best, and from its nature is likely to make
each side more aggressive. I f the matters in dispute were quietly
talked over in an orderly way— it is, of course, necessary that the
chairman should have all the powers of the court as to keeping order,
and should see that every one is treated with due courtesy, and gener
ally, that the proceedings are properly and decently conducted— the
points of difference would be got at, and on these the board could itself
call evidence.
W h ile these objections can be made to the boards as at present con
stituted, and the opinion of the majority of those who have really
considered the question is in favor o f their abolition, if their constitu
tion and method are not altered, 1 think a large number of those
interested would preserve the principle of conciliation before proceed
ing to compulsion.
THE COURT OF ARBITRATION.
Generally the greatest satisfaction is expressed with the constitution
o f this court, its proceedings, and its decisions. Some of its awards
in certain particulars are found fault with; but this is ascribed to in
sufficient information before it, and not in any way to the court’s fail
ing to appreciate or not endeavoring to solve the difficult questions
put to it. I t was suggested that the term of office of the two mem
bers, representing the one the employers and the other the employees,
6451— No. 40— 02------ 1
554
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
should be longer, so that they might be more independent. M any, in
a limitation of the term of office of any member of the court, see a
possibility of so making the appointments that the court may be in
accord with the ideas of the government for the time being. There
does not appear to be the same necessity for experts in the particular
industry to sit in the court as there is in the case of the boards. The
functions of the two tribunals are distinct. In the case of the boards
the fact that some of the members had special knowledge would facil
itate conciliation. The representative members of the court, it may
be assumed, will always be men with an all-round knowledge of the
different industries, and their experience will make them very soon
experts to some extent in all industries.
1 do not wish to convey in any way that the court does not attempt
to conciliate; it is always most zealous in doing so, and frequently
brings the parties to an agreement. F or this purpose it is not unusual
for the president at their request to meet the parties in conference
privately. There is one matter about which both sides are very
emphatic, viz, the necessity of having a supreme court judge as pres
ident o f the court. No one, not even one having the status of a judge,
no matter from what walk of life he came— no judge appointed merely
for the purpose o f the act— would be acceptable. The head o f the
court must be a judge of the supreme court actually taking part in the
work o f that court. W h ile, no doubt, the judges appreciate this
expression of confidence in them, most, if not all of them would like
to have nothing to do with the administration o f the act, thinking
that it involves them in matters in which it would be much better
they should not be concerned. The court has a wider jurisdiction and
reater powers than perhaps any court in the British dominions.
'rom it there is practically no appeal as the jurisdiction is so farreaching, and as long as it acts within its jurisdiction no court can
restrain it. It hears cases in any way which it prefers as it is not
bound by the ordinary rules o f evidence; and it interprets its own
awards and fixes the penalty for any breach. Great are its powers
and equally great are its responsibilities, for on it really depends the
successful working of the act. A s long as the court recognizes its
duties to both sides and wisely exercises its wide powers, it will satisfy
the people; but once it fails in doing either it will be looked on as
worse tnan useless. So far, under comparatively easy conditions, it
has succeeded in realizing the hopes of its founder.
f
AW A R D S AN D TH EIR ENFORCEMENT.
So far, with one exception, applications for enforcement have all
been against employers. U p to June, 1900, in all about a dozen had
been made, but in some cases there was held to be no jurisdiction;
some few were dismissed, and in the remainder penalties, in one case
amounting to £25 [$121.66], were imposed; in no case has there been
any wide-spread defiance o f the decision. I f it were necessary to
enforce the awards against the men, and it came to a question o f pay
ment by individuals, I have no reason to doubt that the members o f the
unions would be quite equal to paying the demands made upon them,
and if a deposit were a condition precedent to a right to a reference, that
there could be little difficulty in finding the deposit. I f a large num
ber of men on either side openly defied the court it is difficult to say
ARBITRATION IN NEW ZEALAND AND VICTORIA.
555
what would happen, and it might be impossible to deal with them.
The same might be said if any Targe body of individuals took excep
tion to any particular legislation and acted in concert to frustrate its
objects. It is sufficient for me to say that up to the present no such
case has arisen in New Zealand.
THE PRODUCTION OF BOOKS.
The boards have no power to call for books, but the court has.
This power was not made the subject of any serious objection by any
employer to whom I spoke. I t was recognized that they would be
asked for only when they were necessary, and that the power merely
extended the liability under which persons now are.
APPEARANCE OF THE PARTIES B Y ATTORNEY.
Unless all consent the parties can not appear by barrister or solici
tor before the boards or court. Rarely is the consent given, and it
may be said that they are not allowed. A s far as I saw, their interests
did not suffer. The cases which I heard were ably conducted by rep
resentatives o f both sides. ^A ll the points were clearly brought out,
and sufficient material provided for the court to come to an equitable
decision.
THE EFFECT UPON CAPITAL AN D INDUSTRY.
Generally, I should say that m y investigations showed that, with
possibly one exception, industries have not been hampered by the
provisions of the act. To attempt to decide whether capital under
other conditions would have been invested in particular industries is
to undertake a task which has merely to be mentioned to show its
impossibility.
No doubt general statements were made that this
abstention had been practiced, but I found it more than difficult to get
specific instances. A n y cases which were mentioned, on investigation
hardly bore out the view put forward.
It was stated to me that in some cases small industries had been
closed, the proprietors o f which paid lower than the market rates of
wages. Evasion o f the awards is still possible, but under the present
conditions o f the labor market there is I think very little. 1 was
unable to meet with any o f the people alluded to, but I have no doubt
that the act has affected them. In fact, it is claimed for it that this is
one o f the greatest benefits from it.
I found it impossible to trace the effect o f all the awards, the time
at m y disposal being too short, but in the principal industries affected
I made it m y business to see in what state they are. The building
trades are a very fair indicator o f the general prosperity of a com
munity, and in New Zealand they have been as much involved in dis
putes since the coming into force of the provisions of the act as any
other industry, if not more involved. Generally the effect of the
awards has been in favor o f the men, granting shorter hours, higher
wages, and other benefits. Certainly no one can say that up to the
present the contractors have suffered. Building appears to be going
on everywhere, and there seems to be more work than the men are
able to do.
[In the boot trade] there has not been the advance which one would
have expected from the general expansion in other industries. M y
556
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
conclusion is that the conditions under which the industry is worked
are such that, notwithstanding the protection given to it, it is not able
to hold its own with foreign competition. In the case o f this industry
it seems that awards have been made which its conditions do not justify.
EFFECT UPON THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
The effect of the working of the act has been undoubtedly to make
the public pay generally more for the products of an industry which
has been regulated by a board or the court, when the tariff is high
enough, or other conditions occur to prevent foreign competition. In
the boot trade, the conditions imposed are such that outside producers
are able to leap the tariff fence, and a member o f the House of Repre
sentatives said to m e: “ I f the present duties are done away with the
act may as well be repealed as far as raising wages in the manufactur
ing industries is concerned.” The coal-mine owners agreed upon an
advance in price when the cost of hewing was raised, and the flour
millers acted similarly. Building has become more expensive, and in
this trade the contractors at first made very little opposition to the
claims for advance in wages, secure as they considered themselves in
the ability to pass on the extra cost of construction to those who
required their services. Now, however, they are of opinion that the
tendency o f the awards is likely to narrow the scope of their business,
and they are making efforts to oppose more effectually the demands of
the men. Cost of living, particularly rent, is becoming dearer.
SUGGESTIONS AS TO AM ENDMENTS.
I t was suggested that before there could be a reference there should
be a ballot token of all the men— nonunionist as well as unionist— in
the trade. The court has power to award costs, but this is not looked
on as sufficient to prevent unnecessary references. The agitator is a
person bitterly complained of. I t is said, and there is truth in the
assertion, that he makes it his business to see that the boards have
plenty to do, and frequently appears where relations are satisfactory,
and takes care that advantage is taken of the provisions o f the act.
M r. Justice Edwards, who was at one time president o f the court,
is of opinion that it should have power to reconsider its decisions, and
that either party should have a right to apply ex parte for a rehearing,
and if sufficient ground is shown that the matter should be reopened,
all parties then being represented. In this way the possibility of
injustice being done would be minimized.
Provision is generally made in the awards that an advance*of wages
does not apply to existing contracts, but many, particularly builders,
complain that notwithstanding this they are placed in a difficulty, as if a
higher rate of wages is paid outside these contracts it is difficult to get
workmen for them, and they contend that there should be a lapse of a
reasonable interval before an award comes into force. A n important
demand made was that the Government should undertake the work of
seeing that the awards were faithfully carried out, and that the factory
inspectors should be given powers with that object. It is said with
truth that the men are loth to become informers, there being a natural
reluctance to take up the position; and that further those who do
make complaint are likely to be told their services are no longer
required.
ARBITRATION IN NEW ZEALAND AND VICTORIA.
557
H A V E DISPUTES INCREASED P
Undoubtedly differences have increased; and it stands to reason that
in the ordinary course o f things they would when means are provided
for dealing with disputes other than the extreme step o f “ striking ” or
“ locking out.” M any differences are made public, and the act is set
in motion to adiust them, which under the old state of things were not
of sufficient importance to justify the taking of either of the measures
referred to. M r. Macgregor is perfectly right when he says that the
act is being used for purposes other than those contemplated by its
framer. It goes far beyond settling disputes in which but for its pro
visions there would have been strikes. It is used as a means o f fixing
the wages and general conditions of labor in many industries, and,
without doubt, will eventually be so used in all. W h ile the legitimate
increase can be understood and justified, there have been many cases
which ought not to have arisen at all. There would certainty appear
to be a recognition that the act had been too freely used; but while
there has been this strife, I certainty saw none o f that bitterness which
is generally engendered by a strike even on a small scale. On the con
trary, one of the things which struck me was the excellent relations
which existed between employers and employees.
EFFECT UPON QUANTITY OF W ORK DONE.
Some general complaints were made to me that the effect o f union
ism— as unionism is encouraged by the act, this matter is pertinent to
m y inquiry— was to level down rather than up the work or individual
men, and two specific instances were given me, one where it was
admitted, and the other where it was probable that the quantity of
work done was purposely restricted.
STRIKES UNDER THE ACT.
Extravagance of expression is calculated to have the effect of rather
weakening than strengthening belief in the beneficent effect of the work
ing o f the act. New Zealand has not been free from strikes since 1894;
there have been several. None o f these have been of any great mag
nitude, although I understand one caused a loss to the company
[employer] of at least <£2,000 [$9,733]. A s long as labor is not asso
ciated there is nothing in the act to prevent strikes, and where labor is
associated, the provisions of the act providing a penalty against strik
ing or locking out only apply where an industrial dispute has been
referred to the board. A very large number of employees, notwith
standing the privileges given the unions, are not yet associated, and it
will be easily understood how what has happened has occurred. ^I t is
hardly necessary to point out that the act makes no attempt to insist
on an em ployers carrying on his business, or on a man’s working under
a condition which he objects to. A ll it says is that where a board or
the court has interfered, the business, if carried on at all, shall be car
ried on in the manner prescribed; if the workman works, he shall work
under the conditions laid down. There is nothing to prevent a strike
in detail; nothing which will preclude a man from asking for his time
and leaving.
558
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
SUM M ARY OF CONCLUSIONS.
Although I have gone fully into matters in which the act appears
to be defective, I wish it to be clearly and unmistakably known that
the result o f m y observations is that the act has so far, notwithstand
ing its faults, been productive of good. I have emphasized what were
pointed out to me as its weaknesses, in order that they may be avoided
should similar legislation be enacted here. The act has prevented
strikes of any magnitude, and has, on the whole, brought about a
better relation between employers and employees than would exist if
there were no act. I t has enabled the increase of wages and the other
conditions favorable to the workmen, which under the circumstances
o f the colony they are entitled to, to be settled without that friction
and bitterness o f feeling which otherwise might have existed; it has
enabled employers, for a time at least, to know with certainty the con
ditions of production, and therefore to make contracts with the knowl
edge that they would be able to fulfill them; and indirectly it has
tended to a more harmonious feeling among the people generally,
which must have worked for the weal of the colony. A very large
majority o f the employers of labor whom I interviewed were in favor
o f the principle of the act. One only did I meet who said out and
out, “ I would rather repeal it and have a straight stand-up fight,”
while another was doubtful whether the present condition was better
than the preexisting. The first, in a letter, has since considerably
modified his statement.
The awards generally have been in favor o f the workers, and it is
therefore easy to understand that the unionists to a man believe in
the act, and the nonunionists, as far as m y observation goes, find no
fault with it.
I found, on the part o f the men, none of that opposition to compul
sory arbitration which is such a marked feature m England and the
United States. This necessarily has relieved me of making more refer
ence to the workers’ side of the question than I have done.
But while the effects o f the act so far are good, the time has not yet
come when it can be said with any certainty that it is a measure which
will provide for the solution of all labor troubles. Since it came into
operation in New Zealand, everything has been in favor o f an increase
in the emoluments and of an amelioration of the conditions of
labor, and there can not be the slightest doubt that wages would
have risen if there had been no act. New Zealand, since the act has
been in force (the original act was passed in 1894, but the first case
under it did not arise until the middle of 1896), has been advancing on
an ever-increasing wave of prosperity, and that prosperity has been
largely due to a favorable market for its exports; and it must be borne
in mind that these exports are o f commodities which, up to the pres
ent, have been in no way affected directly by the act, such as wool,
frozen mutton, kauri-gum, etc. The market for most o f the manufac
tures is simply within the colony, and it is a market largely guarded
for the colonial producer. New Zealand has its unemployed difficulty,
for there are wastrels in every community, and misfortune comes on
some in the best o f times, and it deals with any surplus labor from
these or other causes b y employing it in cooperative works, giving not
only employment but facilities for settling on the land, but the supply
o f skilled labor does not appear to have been too great up to the pres
ARBITRATION IN NEW ZEALAND AND VICTORIA.
559
ent. M y hope is that depression may be far distant, but when lean
years come, as come they must, unless the world’s history leads us to
a wrong conclusion as to the future; when there will be curtailment
instead of expansion; when wages will be cut down instead of being
raised, by the awards, then, and not till then, can anyone speak with
authority as to whether the principle involved is workable or not. It
remains to be seen whether the men will loyally abide by the decision
of the court or will turn out only the work which they think the wage
justifies. I f the award is to be accepted only when in favor of one
class, if it is to be flouted when it is against that class, the act had
better at once be wiped out of the statute book.
T H E F A C T O R Y A N D S H O P A C T S O F V IC T O R IA .
In Bulletin 38 an abstract of the report for 1900 of the chief factory
inspector of Victoria contained a summary of the law and with some
detail a statement of its operation. A s the report of Judge Backhouse
in regard to the Victorian law consists largely of detail and little by
way of conclusion, it need be touched upon but briefly here.
The provisions of these acts, although to some extent aiming at the
same end as the New Zealand law, are quite distinct. The eradica
tion of the sweating evil was the chief object of the lawmakers, and
the method adopted was through fixing, by special boards appointed
for the purpose, minimum rates of wages, maximum hours of labor,
and the number o f apprentices and learners for each industry where
regulation seemed necessary.
The report of the commissioner in regard to the Victorian law is in
part as follows:
The end and object o f these boards was to put an end to the pay
ment o f wages which were considered insufficient, and to the doing of
work under conditions which were, to say the least, undesirable. That
the act has to a large extent put a stop to 46sweating” there can be
little doubt, but it is very questionable whether, as far at least as some
o f the workers are concerned, a state of things has not been brought
about which is quite as unsatisfactory. There being an excess of
labor in Victoria in most industries, one result of the determinations
[of the boards] has been that many of the less capable, who can not
earn the minimum wage, have gone out of employment altogether, or
are working, in contravention of the law, at a lower wage than that
fixed. In many occupations the outside worker is practically done
away with. In some cases the piecework rate has been fixed so high
that it alone prevents any work being given out, but if it were lower
it would not alter things much, as, with the employment o f machinery
and the division o f labor in a factory, it is impossible that the outside
worker, i. e ., one working outside a factory, can hope to compete
with the inside worker. In the factories the wage is paid, but a task
system, necessitating a certain output, is often in vogue. Victoria has
what New Zealand has not— an excess o f skilled labor— and the conse
quence is that the slow worker loses employment and suffers. F or
him there is no provision, while there is for the aged and infirm, to
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
which term very properly a wide meaning is given by the chief inspec
tor. But, except in the case of old servants, employers are chary of
employing men with a license. There is, first o f all, the dislike of both
masters and men to asking for the permit, and in the second place the
employers do not wish tne public to think they are paying wages
below the minimum, being afraid that it may imagine a wrong cause
for their so doing.
Strong exception is taken by some employers to the power given
by Parliament to the minister and the chief inspector. It is contended
that the actual working o f the act should be outside the possibility of
any political influence; that industries to be affected should be named
in it, and that licenses should be granted by some person in no way con
nected with the government of the day. To the New Zealand act the
same objections can not be made. M any employers are anxious as to
how interstate free trade will affect those industries for which there
are boards regulating wages, fearing that they will not be able to com
pete with employers under no restrictions. Even those who look with
complacency on the state of things as it exists at present show great
anxiety as to the future. W h ile objections are made, it should be
pointed out that many o f the new boards were asked for by employers.
THE COMPULSORY ARBITRATION ACT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
The following A c t relating to the establishment of courts of arbitra
tion for the hearing and determination of industrial disputes was
assented to December 10, 1901.
It was enacted after investigation of
the laws in force in New Zealand, Victoria, and the Australian colonies
generally:
A n act to provide for the registration and incorporation of industrial unions and the
making and enforcing of industrial agreements; to constitute a court of arbitration
for the hearing and determ ination o f industrial disputes, and matters referred to
it; to define the jurisdiction, powers, and procedure of such court; to provide for
the enforcem ent of its awards and orders; and for purposes consequent on or in ci
dental to those objects. [Assented to, 10th Decem ber, 1901.]
Be it enacted by the K in g’s M ost Excellent M ajesty, by and with
the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legislative
Assem bly of New South W ales in Parliament assembled, and by the
authority of the same, as follows:
Preliminary.
1. This act may be cited as the “ Industrial-Arbitration A ct, 1901. ^
In this A ct, unless the context otherwise shows—
“ Branch” means branch of a trade union which is registered or
has its principal office outside the State.
“ C ou rt” means court o f arbitration constituted by this act.
“ E m ployer” means person, firm, company, or corporation employ
ing persons working in any industry, and includes the railway com
missioners o f New South W ales, the Sydney harbor trust commissioners,
the metropolitan board of water supply and sewerage, and the Hunter
River and district board of water supply and sewerage.
“ Em ployee” means person employed in any industry.
“ Industrial dispute” means dispute in relation to industrial matters
arising between an employer or industrial union of employers on the
one part, and an industrial union of employees or trade union or
branch on the other part, and includes any dispute arising out of an
industrial agreement.
“ Industrial matters” means matters or things affecting or relating
to work done or to be done, or the privileges, rights, or duties of
employers or employees in anj industry, not involving questions
which are or may be the subject of proceedings for an indictable
offense; and, without limiting tne general nature of the above defini
tion, includes all or any matters relating to—
(a) the wages, allowances, or remuneration of any persons employed
or to be employed in any industry, or the prices paid or to be
paid therein in respect o f such employment;
(b) the hours o f employment, sex, age, qualification, or status of
employees, and the mode, terms, and conditions of employment;
2.
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562
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
(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 generally
or in any particular locality;
(e) the interpretation of an industrial agreement.
44Industrial union” means industrial union registered and incorpo
rated under this act.
44Industry ” means business, trade, manufacture, undertaking, call
ing, or employment in which persons o f either sex are employed, for
hire or reward, and includes the management and working of the
Government railways and tramways, the Sydney harbor trust, the
metropolitan board of water supply and sewerage, and the Hunter
River and district board of water supply and sewerage, but does not
include employment in domestic service.
44L ockout” means the closing of a place of employment or the sus
pension of work by an employer done with a view to compel his
employees or to aid another employer in compelling his employees to
accept a term or terms of employment.
64Prescribed” means prescribed by this act or any rules or regula
tions made thereunder.
44Registrar” means registrar appointed under this act.
64S trik e” shall meantne cessation of work by a body of employees
acting in combination done as a means of enforcing compliance with
demands made by them or other employees on employers.
44Trade union” means trade union registered under the Trade-Union
A ct, 1881.
The registrar.
3. The governor shall appoint a registrar who shall have the powers
and perform the duties prescribed and may appoint such officers as
may be required to administer this act.
Industrial unions.
4 . W h ere the registrar, or in case o f appeal, the court is satisfied
that the provisions of this act have been complied with, the registrar
shall, in the prescribed manner and form , register as an industrial
union—
(a) any person or association of persons or any incorporated company
or any association of incorporated companies, or of incorporated
companies and persons who or whicn has in the aggregate
throughout the six months next preceding the date of the appli
cation for registration employed on an average, taken per
month, not less than fifty employees;
(b) any trade union or association of trade unions;
(c) any branch;
and shall issue a certificate of incorporation, which shall be conclusive
evidence in all courts, until canceled, that the requirements of this
act in respect of incorporation have been complied with.
5 . A n application to register an industrial union shall be made in
writing in the prescribed form , and shall—
(a) if made by an incorporated company, be signed by a majority of
the directors, or, if there are no directors thereof resident in
the State, of the managers thereof so resident; and
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION ACT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
563
(b) if made by an association be signed by a majority o f the commit
tee of management thereof; and
(c) if made by a trade union or branch, be signed by a majority of
the general committee of management thereof.
A n d the registrar may require such proofs as he thinks necessary of
the authority of the said persons to make the said application.
But no industrial union shall be registered unless the registrar is
satisfied that the rules or articles of the company, association, trade
union, or branch applying to be registered include provisions as to the
matters set out in (Schedule One. And any application to register an
industrial union may be refused if another industrial union to which
the applicants might conveniently belong has already been registered.
A n d no branch shall be registered unless it is a bona fide branch of a
trade union and of sufficient importance to be registered separately.
The governor may from time to time, by regulations made under
this act, alter, repeal, or amend the said Schedule.
6. A n y company, association, trade union, or branch applying to be
registered as an industrial union m ay, on application to the governor,
upon the recommendation of the registrar, obtain leave to adopt, and
may thereupon adopt, any rules dealing with the matters mentioned
in Schedule One, or in any regulations made under the last preceding
section, as part of the rules of the company, association, union, or
branch; and upon such leave being obtained, the said rules, when
adopted in pursuance of this section, shall, notwithstanding any mem
orandum or articles of association or any rules of such company, asso
ciation, union, or branch, become binding on all members of the same.
7. (1) Upon the issue of a certificate of incorporation, the members
for the time being of the company, association, trade union, or branch
incorporated in the industrial union shall, until the registration and
incorporation of the union is canceled in pursuance of this act be for
the purposes of this act a body corporate by the name mentioned in
such certificate, and shall have for the purposes of this act perpetual
succession and a common seal.
(2) A n industrial union—
(a) may purchase, take on lease, hold, sell, lease, mortgage, exchange,
and otherwise own, possess, and deal with any real or personal
property: Provided that nothing in this act shall render an
industrial union liable to be sued, or the property of an indus
trial union, or of any member thereof, liable to be taken in
execution by any process in law other than in pursuance of this
act or in respect o f obligations incurred in the exercise of rights
and powers conferred by this act;
(b) shall forward to the registrar, subject to the prescribed penalties,
at the prescribed dates, and verified in the prescribed manner,
lists of its members and copies of its rules, and copies of indus
trial agreements to which it is a party.
8 . I f it appears to the registrar—
(a) that for any reasons wnich appear to him to be good the registra
tion o f an industrial union ought to be canceled; or
(b) that an industrial union has been registered erroneously or by
mistake; or
(c) that the provisions of the rules, articles, or regulations of the
union as to any of the matters mentioned in Schedule One as
amended under this act are inadequate, or have not bona fide
been observed; or
564
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
(d) that the proper authority of the union willfully neglects to pro
vide for the levying and collection of subscriptions, fees, or pen
alties from members of the union; or
(e) that the accounts of the union have not been audited in pursuance
of the rules, articles, or regulations, or that the accounts of the
union or of the auditor do not disclose the true financial posi
tion of the union;
( f ) that any industrial union has w illfully neglected to obey any order
of the court;
he shall make application to the court for the cancellation of the regis
tration of the union, giving notice thereof to the secretary of the
union.
The court shall hear the said application, and if it is of opinion that
the registration of the union should be canceled, it shall so order, and
thereupon the registration and incorporation of the union under this
act shall be void:
Provided that such cancellation shall not relieve the industrial union,
or any member thereof, from the obligation of any industrial agree
ment or award or order of the court, nor from any penalty or liability
incurred prior to such cancellation.
9 . During the pendency of any reference to the court no application
for the cancellation of the registration of an industrial union shall be
made or received, and no registration or discharge o f the membership
of any industrial union or of any company, association, trade union or
branch, constituting an industrial union, shall have effect.
10. Nothing in this act shall prevent a transfer of shares in any
registered company, or in any association which is, or is a member of,
an industrial union:
Provided that no such transfer shall relieve the transferer from any
liability incurred by him under this act up to the date o f such transfer.
11 . Industrial unions shall be classified by the registrar as industrial
unions of employers and industrial unions of employees, and the certi
ficate of incorporation shall state the class of the industrial union
mentioned therein.
12 . Every dispute between a member of an industrial union and
such union shall be decided in the manner directed by the rules of such
union; and the president of the court, on the application of the trus
tees or other officers authorized to sue on behalf of such union, may
order the payment by any member of any fine, penalty, or subscrip
tion payable in pursuance of the rules aforesaid, or any contribution
to a penalty incurred or money payable by the union under an award
or order of the court:
Provided that no such contribution shall exceed the sum of ten
pounds [$48.67].
Industrial agreements.
13. A n y industrial union may make an agreement in writing relat
ing to any industrial matter—
(a) with another industrial union; or
(b) with an employer;
which, if it is made for a specified term not exceeding three years from
the making of the agreement, and if a copy thereof is filed with the
registrar, shall be or become an industrial agreement within the mean
ing o f this act.
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION ACT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
565
14. (1) A n industrial agreement may be rescinded by agreement
made in writing by the parties thereto and filed with the registrar, or
may be varied by another industrial agreement so made and filed.
I f not so rescinded the agreement or varied agreement shall be in
force for the term specified in the agreement, and unless any party
thereto gives to the registrar, at least one month before the expiration
o f such term, a notice in writing of intention to terminate the agree
ment or Yaried agreement at such expiration, the agreement or varied
agreement shall continue in force until the expiration of one month
after notice in writing of intention to terminate it has been given to
the registrar by any party thereto.
(2) Every industrial agreement or varied agreement shall be
binding—
(a) on the parties thereto during the currency of the agreement or
varied agreement, and on such parties.in respect of anything
done or suffered under or by virtue of it during its currency;
(b) on every person during the currency of the agreement or varied
agreement while he is a member of any industrial union which
is a party thereto, and on every person in respect of anything
done or suffered under or by virtue of it during its currency
and while he is such member.
15. A n industrial agreement as between the parties bound by the
same shall have the same effect and may be enforced in the same way
as an award of the court of arbitration, and the court shall have full
and exclusive jurisdiction in respect thereof.
Constitution o f the court o f arbitration.
16. There shall be a court of arbitration for the hearing and deter
mination of industrial disputes and of references and applications
under this act. The court shall be a court of record and shall have a
seal, which shall be judicially noticed.
The court shall consist of a president and two members.
17. The president of the court shall be a judge of the supreme court
to be named by the governor. The governor may on the request of
the president appoint a judge of the supreme court as deputy presi
dent, to act in respect of any matter mentioned in his appointment;
and the said deputy shall, in respect of the said matter, nave all the
rights, powers, jurisdictions, and privileges of the president under this
act.
The two members of the court shall be appointed by the governor,
one from among the persons recommended in the manner and sub
ject to the conditions prescribed in Schedule Two by a body of dele
gates from industrial unions of employers, and the other from among
the persons recommended as aforesaid by a body of delegates from
industrial unions of employees; but, if any such body fails to make
such recommendation, the governor may appoint such person as he
thinks fit.
18. The president and members of the court shall be appointed as
soon as practicable after the commencement o f this act, and every three
years after such first appointment, and shall hold office until the time
o f the next triennial appointment to the office, but the members shall
be eligible for reappointment.
19. A n y vacancy in the office of member o f the court occasioned by
566
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
death, resignation, or removal from office shall be filled by appoint
ment on such recommendation as aforesaid, and the person so appointed
shall hold office until the time o f the next triennial appointment, but
shall be eligible for reappointment.
W h ere a member o f the court is absent from his office by reason of
illness or other cause, his office shall be filled by appointment as afore
said, and the person so appointed shall hold office during such absence.
20. During his term of office the president or a member of the court
shall, except where otherwise provided in this act, be liable to removal
from office in such manner and upon such grounds only as a supreme
court judge is by law liable to be removed from his office.
21. The members o f the court shall be paid a salary of seven hun
dred and fifty pounds [$3,649.88] per annum each, and such remunera
tion for expenses while traveling and while holding views and inspections
as may be prescribed.
22. The court may be constituted by the president or any member
for the purpose of being adjourned.
23. When an industrial dispute involving technical questions is
referred to it, the court may appoint two assessors for the purpose of
advising it on such questions.
One o f such assessors shall be a person nominated by such of the
parties to the dispute as, in the opinion of the court, have interests in
common with the employers, and the other shall be a person nominated
by such o f the parties to the dispute as, in the opinion of the court,
have interests in common with the employees.
I f default is made in nominating any of such assessors, or if the
parties consent, the court may appoint an assessor or assessors with
out any nomination.
Disqualifications fo r office.
24. The following persons shall be disqualified from being recom
mended or appointed, or holding office as a member of the court of
arbitration—
(a) a bankrupt who has not obtained his certificate of discharge;
(b) any person o f unsound mind;
(c) an alien.
25. The governor shall remove from office any member of the court
who becomes disqualified under the last preceding section, or is proved
to the satisfaction of the supreme court, or a judge thereof, to be
guilty of inciting any industrial union or employer to commit any
breach of an industrial agreement or award, or to be guilty of any
offense under sections twenty-six and twenty-seven o f this act.
Jurisdiction and procedure o f the court.
26. The court shall have jurisdiction and power—
(a) on reference in pursuance of this act to hear and determine,
according to equity and good conscience—
(i) any industrial dispute; or
(ii) any industrial matter referred to it b y an industrial union or
by the registrar;
(iii) any application under this act;
(b) to make any order or award or give any direction in pursuance of
such hearing or determination;
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION ACT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
(c)
567
subject to the approval of the governor to make rules regulating
the practice and procedure of the court, and more especially
but not so as to limit the generality of its powers in the prem
ises with reference to;
(i) the times and places of sitting;
(ii) the summoning of parties and witnesses;
(iii) the persons by whom and conditions upon which parties may
be represented;
(iv) the rules of evidence;
(v) the enforcement of its orders;
(vi) allowances to witnesses, costs, court fees;
(vii) generally regulating the procedure of the court;
appeals under this act;
the reference o f any matter;
to dismiss anv matter at any stage of the proceedings where it
thinks the dispute trivial;
(e) to dismiss any proceeding without giving a decision, where, in
the opinion o f the court, an amicable settlement can and should
be brought about;
(f) to order any party to pay to any other party such costs and
expenses (including expenses of witnesses) as may be specified
in the order, and at any time to vary such order; but no costs
shall be allowed for the attendance before the court of any
counsel, solicitor, or agent for any party;
(g) 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—
to direct parties to be joined or struck out;
to amend or waive any error or defect in the proceedings;
(iii) to extend the time within which anything is to be done by any
party, whether within or after the prescribed time; and
(iv) generally to give such directions as are deemed necessary or
expedient in the premises;
(h) to proceed and act m any proceedings in the absence of any
party who has been duly served with notice to appear therein
as fully as if such party had duly attended;
(i) to sit in any place for the hearing and determining o f any matter
lawfully before it; provided that, as far as practicable, the
court shall sit in the locality within which the subject-matter of
the proceeding before it rose;
(j) on its own motion, or at the request of any of the parties to the
dispute, to direct that the proceedings of the court be conducted
in private, and that all persons other than the parties, their
representatives, and any witnesses under examination shall with
draw from the court;
to adjourn any proceeding to any time and place;
to refer to an expert the taking of accounts, estimates o f quanti
ties, calculations of strains, and other technical matters, and to
accept the report of such experts as evidence;
(m ) to exercise in respect of the summoning, sending for, and exam
ination o f witnesses and documents, and in respect of persons
summoned or giving evidence before it, or on affidavit, the
same powers as are by section one hundred and forty o f the
Parliamentary electorates and elections act o f 1893 conferred
ft)
%
568
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
on the committee of elections and qualifications constituted by
that act; provided, that no party to an industrial dispute shall
be required to produce his books except by order o f the presi
dent, and that such books when produced shall not, except by
the consent o f the party producing them , be inspected by any
one except the president or members o f the court, who shall
not divulge the contents thereof under penalty o f dismissal
from office;
(n) to deal with all offenses and enforce all orders under this act;
(o) at any tim e to vary its own orders and reopen any reference;
(p) to admit and call fo r such evidence as in good conscience it thinks
to be the best available, whether strictly legal evidence or not;
provided, that any question as to the adm issibility o f evidence
shall be decided by the president alone.
27. The president and each member o f the court shall be sworn in
the manner and before the persons prescribed, before entering upon
the hearing o f any dispute, not to disclose to any person whatsoever
any matters or evidence relating to any trade secret or to the profits or
financial position o f any witness or party, and shall be liable to a pen
alty not exceeding five hundred pounds [$2,433.25] and dismissal from
office fo r a violation o f such oath, and shall at the request o f any party
or witness hear such evidence in camera.
28. N o m atter within the jurisdiction o f the court m ay be referred
to the court, nor m ay any application to the court be made except by
an industrial union or by any person affected or aggrieved by an order
o f the court.
B ut no industrial dispute shall be referred to the court for deter
m ination, and no application shall be made to the court fo r the enforce
m ent o f any award o f the court by an industrial union, except in
pursuance o f—
(a) a resolution passed by the m ajority o f the members present at a
m eeting or such union specially summoned by notice sent by
post to each member or given in the manner prescribed by
rules o f the union, and stating the nature o f the proposal to
be subm itted to the m eeting; or
(b) where in the opinion o f the registrar it is impracticable to sum
mon a m eeting o f all the members o f the union, a resolution
passed, in accordance with rules made by the court in that
behalf, by a m ajority o f the officers o f the union specified in
such rules.
Notwithstanding anything in this section, the registrar may—
(1) Inform the court of any breach of this act or of any order or
award o f the court.
(2) Refer to the court an industrial dispute when the parties thereto
or some or one o f them are or is not an industrial union.
A n y union or person entitled to refer an industrial dispute, or
any m atter, to the court, m ay make application to the registrar in the
prescribed form .
29.
30 . (1) Any party to a reference may at any time take out a sum
mons, in the form prescribed by the rules of the court, returnable
before the president of the court sitting in chambers.
At the hearing of the summons, the president may make such order
as may be just with respect to all the interlocutory proceedings to be
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION ACT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
569
taken before the hearing by the court o f the dispute, and as to the
costs thereof, and with respect to the issues to be submitted to the
court, the persons to be served with notice o f the proceedings o f the
court, particulars o f the claims o f the parties, admissions, discovery,
interrogatories, inspection of documents, inspection o f real or personal
property, commissions, examination o f witnesses, and the place and
mode o f hearing. The court m ay at the hearing o f any reference
revoke or amend anjr such order or the president, and may make any
order which the president may make under this section.
(2) In addition to the powers conferred by this section, the
president of the court sitting in chambers for the purpose o f adminis
tering this act shall have all the powers o f a judge o f the supreme
court sitting in chambers for the purpose o f any matter before that
court.
31. The court and, on being authorized in writing by the court, any
member or officer o f the court or any other person m ay at any tim e
enter any building, m ine, m ine-workings, ship, vessel, place, or prem
ises o f any kind whatsoever, wherein or in respect o f which any indus
try is carried on or any work is being or has been done or commenced,
or any matter or thing is taking or nas taken place, which has been
made the subject o f a reference to the court, and inspect and view any
w ork, material, m achinery, appliances, or article therein.
And any person who hinders or obstructs the court, or any such
m em ber, officer, or person as aforesaid, in the exercise o f any power
conferred by this section, shall fo r every such offense be liable to a
penalty not exceeding five pounds [$24.33], and every officer o f the
court or such other person so authorized as aforesaid shall be required
to take the like oath as is prescribed in section 27 in the manner and
before the persons prescribed, and shall be liable to a like penalty fo r
the violation thereof.
32. Proceedings in the court shall not be removable to any other
court by certiorari or otherw ise; and no award, order, or proceeding
o f the court shall be vitiated by reason only o f any inform ality or
want o f form or be liable to be challenged, appealed against, review ed,
quashed, or called in question by any court o f judicature on any
account whatsoever.
3 3 . N o proceedings in the court shall abate by reason o f the death
o f any party, but such proceedings m ay, by order o f the court, be
continued on such terms as the court thinks fit by or against the legal
representative o f such party.
34. W hoever—
(a) before a reasonable tim e has elapsed fo r a reference to the court
o f the matter in dispute; or
(b) during the pendency o f any proceedings in the court in relation to
an industrial dispute,
(1) does any act or thing in the nature o f a lockout or strike; or
suspends or discontinues em ploym ent or work in any indus
tr y ; or
(2) instigates to or aids in any o f the above-mentioned acts, shall be
gu ilty o f a misdemeanor, and upon conviction be liable to a fine not
exceeding one thousand pounas [$4,866.50], or imprisonment not
exceeding tw o m onths;
Provided that nothing in this section shall prohibit the suspension or
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570
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
discontinuance of an}" industry or the w orking o f any persons therein
fo r any other good cause.
A nd provided that no prosecution under this section shall be begun
except by leave o f the court.
3 5 . I f an em ployer dismisses from his em ploym ent any em ployee by
reason m erely o f the fact that the em ployee is a member o f an indus
trial union, or is entitled to the benefit o f an award, order, or agree
m ent, such em ployer shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding tw enty
pounds [$97.33] for each em ployee so dismissed.
In every case it shall lie on the em ployer to satisfy the court that
such em ployee was so dismissed by reason o f some facts other than
those above mentioned in this section: Provided that no proceedings
shall be begun under this section except by leave o f the court.
36. The court in its award or by order made on the application o f
any party to the proceedings before it, at any time in the period during
which the award is binding, m ay—
(a) prescribe a minimum rate o f wages or other remuneration, with
rovision fo r the fixing in such manner and subject to such conitions as m ay be specified in the award or order, by some tri
bunal specified in the award or order, o f a lower rate, in the
case o f em ployees who are unable to earn the prescribed m ini
m um ; and
(b) direct that as between members of an industrial union o f employees
and other persons, offering their labor at the same tim e, such
members shall be em ployed in preference to such other persons,
other things being equal, and appoint a tribunal to finally decide
in what cases an em ployer to whom any such direction applies
may em ploy a person who is not a member o f any such union
or branch.
37.
In any proceeding before it the court may do all or any o f the
follow ing things with a view to the enforcem ent o f its award, order,
or direction—
(1) declare that any practice, regulation, rule, custom , term o f agree
m ent, condition o f em ploym ent, or dealing whatsoever in rela
tion to an industrial m atter, shall be a common rule o f an indus
try affected by the proceeding;
(2) direct within what lim its o f area and subject to what conditions
and exceptions such common rule shall be binding upon per
sons engaged in the said industry, whether as em ployer or as
em ployee, and whether members o f an industrial union or not;
(3) fix penalties fo r any breach or nonobservance o f such common
rule so declared as aforesaid, and specify to whom the same
shall be paid;
(4) grant an injunction to restrain any person from breaking or non
observing any order, award, or direction o f the court;
(5) order the cancellation o f the registration o f an industrial union;
(6) order that any member o f an industrial union shall cease to be a
member thereof from a date and fo r a period to be named in
the said order;
(7) fix penalties fo r a breach or nonobservance o f any term o f an
award, order, or direction not exceeding five hundred pounds
[$2,433.25] in the case o f an industrial union, or five pounds
[$24.33] in the case o f any individual member o f the said union,
and specify the persons to whom such penalty shall be paid;
S
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION ACT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
571
(8)
impose a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds [$2,433.25] for
any breach or nonobservance o f an award, order, or direction
by a person bound by such award, order, or direction who is
not a member o f an industrial union;
and all fines and penalties for any breach o f an award, order, or direc
tion o f the court m ay be sued fo r and recovered either—
(a) in the court by the persons entitled to receive the sam e; or
(b) before a stipendiary or police m agistrate, sitting alone as a court
o f petty sessions, under the Small D ebts Recovery A c t, 1899,
notwithstanding any lim itation as to amount contained in that
act, by an inspector appointed under the Factories and Shops
A c t o f 1896, or any act amending the same:
Provided that any appeal from an order o f a court o f petty ses
sions under this section shall lie to the court on the term s and in the
manner prescribed by the rules o f the said court.
38 . A n y person or industrial union who is affected by any order,
award, or direction o f the court m ay, whether such person or union
was or was not a party to the proceedings in which the order, award,
or direction complained o f was made, apply at any tim e to the court
to be relieved from any obligation imposed by such order, award, or
direction. A n d the court in entertaining and dealing with such appli
cation shall have all the powers conferred upon it by this act.
39. The prothonotary, master in equity, sheriff, bailiffs, and other
officers o f the Supreme Court and the bailiffs o f the district courts
and courts o f petty sessions shall be deemed to be also officers o f the
court, and shall exercise the powers and perform the duties prescribed
by any rules o f court made under this act; and fo r the purpose o f
carrying out the provisions o f this act, and in relation to any proceed
ings before the court or the president o f the court and in relation to
the m aking, carrying out, and enforcing o f any award, order, or direc
tion o f the said court or president, shall, except where provided in any
rules made as aforesaid, exercise the same powers and perform the
same duties as they may exercise and perform in relation to any judg
m ent, order, direction, or conviction o f the Supreme Court or any
district court or court o f petty sessions.
40. W here the award or order o f the court, or an industrial agree
m ent, binds specifically a corporation, person, industrial union, trade
union, or branch, any property held by such corporation, person, union,
or branch, or by any trustee on his or its behalf, shall be available to
answer such award, order, or agreem ent, and any process fo r enforcing
the sam e; and in the case o f any such union or branch, if the property so
held is insufficient to fu lly satisfy the said award, order, agreem ent, or
process, the members o f such union or branch shall be liable fo r such
deficiency: Provided that no member shall be so liable fo r m ore than
ten pounds [$48.67].
41. A n y person or union aggrieved b y a decision o f the registrar m ay
appeal therefrom in the prescribed manner to the president o f the court.
The president may direct the issue to the registrar o f a w rit o f man
damus or o f prohibition.
/Supplemental.
42 . N o stamp duty shall be payable on or in respect o f any registra
tion, certificate, agreem ent, order, statutory declaration, or instrument
affected, issued, or made under this act.
572
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
4 3 . Evidence o f any order o f the court may be given by the produc
tion o f a copy thereof certified under the hand o f the registrar.
4 4 . Evidence o f any proclam ation, notification, rule, or regulation
required b y this act to be proclaim ed, notified, or published in the
Gazette m ay be given by the production o f a copy o f the Gazette con
taining or purporting to contain such proclam ation, notification, rule,
or regulation.
4 5 . T he governor m ay, subject to the provisions o f this act, make
regulations—
(a) prescribing the powers and duties o f the registrar and of persons
acting in the execution o f this act;
(b) prescribing the persons by whom and the manner in which applica
tions fo r the registration o f industrial unions may be made;
(c) regulating the conditions on which branches m ay be registered;
(d) prescribing the matters to be contained in the rules or any indus
trial unions, and regulating the names under which industrial
unions may be registered;
(e) regulating the keeping o f the register, and the granting o f certifi
cates o f incorporation o f industrial unions;
(f) prescribing the persons by whom and the manner in which applica
tions for the cancellation o f the registration and incorporation
o f industrial unions m ay be made, ‘m d the evidence to be fu r
nished and the conditions to be perform ed prior to such cancella
tion , and prescribing the manner o f such cancellation;
(g) prescribing the sending to the registrar o f copies o f rules and lists
o f members o f industrial unions;
(h) prescribing the conditions under which and the manner in which
persons may be recommended by industrial unions fo r appoint
ment to the court;
(i) regulating the nomination and remuneration of assessors to the
court;
(j) generally fo r carrying the provisions o f this act into effect;
and m ay in those regulations fix any penalty not exceeding tw enty
pounds [$97.33] fo r any breach o f the same, to be recovered m a sum
m ary way in a court o f petty sessions.
46 . A ll rules and regulations made in pursuance o f this act shall be
ublished in the G azette, and shall be laid before both houses o f Parament within fourteen days after such publication fo r approval or
amendment, if Parliam ent be then sitting, but if not, then within four
teen days after the next m eeting o f Parliam ent; and in that case such
rules and regulations shall in the meantime be applied tem porarily after
ublication in the G azette, until Parliam ent m eets, ancl thereafter shall
ave the force o f law until Parliam ent otherwise decide.
47 .
This act shall continue in force until the thirtieth day o f June,
one thousand nine hundred and eight, and no longer.
S
E
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION ACT OP NEW SOUTH WALES.
573
SCH ED U LES.
SCHEDULE ONE.
Matters to be contained in the rules, articles, and regulations of a company, aMoeiation,
trade union, or branch applying to be registered as an industrial union.
1. The appointm ent and rem oval o f a com m ittee o f management, a chairm an or
president, a secretary, and, except in the case of an incorporated com pany, a trustee
or trustees, and the filling of any vacancies in such offices.
2. The pow ers and duties o f such com m ittee and officers, and the control to be
exercised by special or general meetings over the com m ittee.
3. The manner of calling such meetings, the quorum, and the manner of voting
thereat.
4. The m ode in w hich industrial agreements and other instruments shall be made
by or on behalf of the com pany, association, trade union, or branch.
5. The manner in w hich the com pany, association, trade union, or branch m ay be
represented in any proceeding before the court.
6. The custody and use of the seal.
7. The control o f the property and the investm ent of the funds, and the periodical
audit of the accounts o f the com pany, association, trade union, or branch; audit to
be made once a year.
8. Provision for keeping a register of members.
9. The terms on w hich persons may becom e or cease to be members o f the com
pany, association, trade union, or branch, including provision for the paym ent and
recovery of subscriptions b y members, and in the case of a trade union or branch
provision that a person shall not cease to be a m em ber unless he has given at least
three m onths’ w ritten notice to the secretary, and has paid all fees and dues ow ing
b y him to the trade union or branch, and provision that reasonable facilities shall
be given to becom e mem bers of the union.
10. The description o f the registered officer of the com pany, association, trade union,
or branch.
SCHEDULE TW O.
1. Each industrial union o f em ployers m ay choose a delegate or delegates for the
purpose of recom m ending persons for the office of m em ber of the court.
The delegates shall be chosen, so far as practicable, under the rules o f the union
applicable for that purpose.
The num ber of delegates shall be in accordance w ith the follow ing scale: W here
the com pany or persons constituting the union em ploy on the average of the next
preceding m onth not less than fifty nor m ore than tw o hundred and fifty em ployees,
the union m ay choose one delegate; where such em ployees num ber m ore than tw o
hundred and fifty, but not m ore than five hundred, tw o delegates; where m ore than
five hundred, three delegates.
2. Each industrial union of em ployees m ay choose a delegate or delegates for the
purpose of recom m ending persons for the office of m em ber of the court o f arbitration.
The delegates shall be chosen, so far as practicable, under the rules of the union
applicable for that purpose.
The num ber o f delegates shall be in accordance w ith the follow ing scale: W here
the financial mem bers o f the union num ber, on the average of the n ext preceding
m onth, n ot m ore than tw o hundred and fifty, the union m ay choose one delegate;
w here such num ber is m ore than tw o hundred and fifty, but not m ore than five
574
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
hundred, tw o delegates; w here m ore than five hundred, three delegates; where
m ore than one thousand, four delegates; where m ore than one thousand five hundred,
five delegates.
3. A n y dispute occurring at any tim e respecting the num ber of delegates w hich
m ay be chosen b y any union shall be determ ined by the registrar, w ho may, if he
determ ines that the num ber already chosen is greater than the num ber w hich any
union is entitled to choose, decide w ho of the mem bers chosen shall be the delegate
or delegates to represent the union. The determ ination or decision of the registrar
shall be final.
4. The delegates chosen respectively by the unions of em ployers and unions of
em ployees shall respectively m eet in separate places and at the respective times fixed
b y the registrar, and shall respectively recom m end a fit person or fit persons for
the office o f a m em ber o f the court. The voting shall be by ballot, and each delegate
shall have one vote.
5. A ny recom m endation of any such delegates shall not be vitiated b y any inform al
ity in the choosing of any delegates or from the fact that any unions have om itted to
choose delegates, or b y any inform ality in the proceedings o f the delegates in making
the recom m endation.
RECENT REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR STATISTICS.
N EBR ASK A.
Seventh B iennial R eport o f the Bureau o f Labor and Industrial Sta
tistics o f Nebraska fo r the years 1899 and 1900. Sidney J . K en t,
D eputy Commissioner.
639 pp.
The follow ing subjects are treated in this report: Social statistics,
22 pages; m ortgage indebtedness, 33 pages; labor organizations, 17
pages; surplus products, 80 pages; crop statistics, 1 8 9 8 ,1 8 9 9, and 1900,
75 pages; manufactures, 164 pages; labor laws, 25 pages; fire escapes
and factory inspection, 4 pages; free em ploym ent department, 3 pages;
British trade-union congress, 7 pages; cooperation in Great Britain, 9
pages; New Zealand industrial conciliation and arbitration law , 40
pages; proceedings of the national association o f officials o f bureaus o f
labor statistics, 137 pages.
Social Statistics.— These include statistics o f marriages and divorces,
suicides, and crimes in Nebraska.
M ortgage I ndebtedness.— Statistics are given showing, for each
county, the number of farm and town and city real-estate and chat
tel m ortgages filed, the number satisfied, and the amounts involved,
during each o f the four half-year periods from July 1, 1898, to July
1, 1900. The aggregate amount o f real-estate m ortgages filed during
the tw o-year period was $ 49,614,731.81, and the amount o f those
released was $61,820,376.33. The amount o f the chattel m ortgages
filed was $83,120,060.80, and o f those released $48,456,323.82.
L abor O rganizations.— Reports from 64 unions are tabulated.
The tables show, by localities, the names o f labor organizations, dates
o f organization, wage rates and hours o f labor o f m em bers, dues,
strikes participated in by m embers, and other inform ation supplied by
the unions.
T h e. membership o f labor organizations is not given.
The average wages o f members were $ 2 .3 6 i per day.
W ith regard to
changes in wage rates during the past 5 years, 31 unions reported an
increase, 6 reported a reduction, and 27 reported no change.
M ost o f
the organizations pay either sick, death, or out-of-w ork benefits.
The unions report 18 strikes during the past 2 years, o f which 16 suc
ceeded and 2 failed.
In 9 cases arbitration was appealed to.
575
576
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
S urplus P roducts. —Tables are given showing, for each county and
for the State, the surplus products marketed during the year 1898,
and their estimated value.
Crop Statistics.—This chapter consists of a compilation of reports
of county clerks based on statistics gathered by local assessors. The
data relate to the acreage of the various crops sown or planted, the
amount of products raised, poultry, live stock, dairy products, etc.
M anufacturers’ R eturns. —Tables are given showing, for the
establishments reporting, which are grouped according to industries,
the value of products, cost of material used, days in operation, wages
paid, etc., for the years 1898 and 1899. The industries considered are
brick and tile making, brewing and distilling, creameries, flour and
feed, gas and electric lighting, ironwork, meat packing, and the
manufacture of brooms, cigars, harness, and wagons and buggies.
These tables are followed by a list of the names and addresses of
manufacturing establishments in the State.
F ree E mployment D epartment. —An account is given of the work
of the employment bureau created by law in 1897. During the years
1899 and 1900, 653 applications for positions and 159 applications
for help were received, and 181 persons secured employment through
the bureau.
C ooperation in G reat B ritain .—A brief history is given of the
development of cooperation in Great Britain.
NEW JERSEY.
Twenty-second Annual R eport o f the Bureau o f Statistics o f Labor and
Industries o f New Jersey fo r the year ending October SI, 1899.
William Stainsby, Chief, xi, 354 pp.
In this report the following subjects are presented: Statistics of
manufactures, 108 pages; an account of the silk industry, 13 pages;
railroad transportation, 13 pages; company stores, 32 pages; strikes
and lockouts, 33 pages; cost of living, 13 pages; a study of tradeunionism, 29 pages; benefit features of trade unions, 31 pages; benefits
to workingmen of labor statutes, 20 pages; laws and court decisions
affecting labor, 50 pages.
M anufactures. —The statistics are for the year 1898, and are much
more complete than any the bureau has been able to present hereto
fore, the law of March 23, 1899, making it obligatory upon all manu
facturers to furnish to the bureau the information desired. An indi
cation of the effect of this law is found in the fact that the preceding
report showed only 25 industries whose annual product was $1,000,000
or over, while the present one reports 29 industries each with an out
put exceeding $2,000,000 in value.
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR— NEW JERSEY.
577
Statistics are presented for 1,464 establishments representing 84
classified industries and a few that are not classified. O f these estab
lishm ents but 1,228 are complete in all details shown.
Nine tables are given, as follow s: Num ber o f firms and corporations,
partners and stockholders, by industries; capital invested and value o f
materials and products; three tables showing sm allest, greatest, and
average number o f em ployees, by industries, and aggregates by
m onths; wages paid and average yearly earnings; classified w eekly
w ages; days in operation and proportion o f business done, and a sum
mary o f the preceding facts for 9 principal industries.
A ll
establishments
report capital
invested,
the amount being
$196,798,843; the value o f material used is $131,480,197, and o f goods
made, $264,274,214.
The 29 industries whose products amount to $2,000,000 or m ore
represent 62 per cent o f the capital and 78.1 per cent o f the products
as stated above. The follow ing tables give the principal data fo r these
industries:
FIRMS AND CORPORATIONS, AVERAGE EMPLOYEES AND WORKING TIME, AND PER CENT
OF BUSINESS DONE, FOR 29 LEADING INDUSTRIES, 1898.
Per cent
Part
o f busi
ners Average Average ness
and em ploy days in done o f
stock
opera m axi
ees.
hold
tion.
mum
ers.
capac
ity.
Estab
lish
ments Firms.
report
ing.
Cor
pora
tions.
P a p er..........................................................
Pottery.........................................................
Rubber g o o d s.............................................
Shoes............................................................
Silk dyeing................. *................................
Silk w eaving...............................................
Sm elting and refining................................
Steel ana iron, forgings.............................
Steel and iron, stru ctu ral.........................
Watches, cases and m aterials...................
W oolen and worsted goods........................
26
56
38
27
17
10
10
29
13
23
40
60
7
43
81
39
6
9
35
26
27
45
21
112
5
10
18
8
25
7
31
11
18
8
2
6
18
5
6
29
48
1
21
43
14
1
3
12
12
3
24
10
59
2
5
8
2
11
19
25
22
9
9
8
4
11
8
17
11
12
6
22
38
25
5
6
23
14
24
21
11
53
3
5
10
6
14
180
894
199
99
81
385
50
225
113
117
134
159
553
190
564
403
37
144
187
527
222
206
67
500
27
159
71
230
239
T o ta l..................................................
861
420
441
6,462
Industries.
Brewing.......................................................
Brick and terra cotta..................................
Chem ical products.....................................
Cotton g oods...............................................
Cotton goods, finishing and d yein g.........
Fertilizers....................................................
Food products.............................................
Foundries, ir o n ..........................................
Furnaces, ranges, and heaters.................
G lass............................................................
Hats, fe lt......................................................
Jew elry.......................................................
Lamps...........................................................
L eather.......................................................
M achinery..................................................
Metal g ood s................................................
O ilcloth ......................... , ............................
a Forty-seven establishments reporting.
1,443
312.84
4,360 a 253.19
2,256
309.06
3,044
287.93
3,395
289.35
911
302.60
635 298.60
3,205
294.28
1,415
277.38
4,644
247.22
4,680
265.75
2,189
291.07
1,525
289.96
3,278
295.91
9,275
298.21
3,125
295.03
659 310.50
2,400
315.66
1,550
288.00
2,799
295.69
3,238
279.44
4,737
270.93
293.62
3,381
21,209
279.47
1,567
351.20
1,780
296.10
4,313
294.11
1,610
291.00
5,402
275.52
104,025
74.23
o72.45
88.48
90.19
60.40
85.00
86.00
81.90
78.46
44.35
-75.87
80.25
86.43
88.95
87.33
94.95
86.33
80.00
92.71
87.50
89.63
83.20
76.90
85.27
90.00
88.50
87.77
90.62
82.00
578
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
CAPITAL INVESTED, VALUE OF MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS, WAGES PAID, AND AVER
AGE YEARLY EARNINGS, FOR 29 LEADING INDUSTRIES, 1898.
Industries.
Brewing................................
Brick and terra c o tta .........
Chemical products..............
Cotton g ood s........................
Cotton goods, finishing and
d y e in g ..............................
F ertilizers.............................
Food products......................
Foundries, ir o n ...................
Furnaces, ranges, and
heaters..............................
G lass.....................................
Hats, fe lt ..............................
Jew elry................................
Lamps...................................
L eath er................................
M achinery...........................
Metal g ood s.........................
O ilcloth ................................
Oils........................................
P ap er...................................
P ottery..................................
Rubber g ood s......................
Shoes.....................................
Silk dyein g...........................
Silk w eavin g........................
Sm elting and refining.........
Steel and iron, forgin gs___
Steel and iron, stru ctu ral..
W atches, cases and m ate
rials ...................................
W oolen and worsted goods.
T o ta l...........................
Estab
lish
ments
Capital
report
ing
invested.
capital
and
values.
Value o f
m aterial
used.
Estab
lish
ments
report
Value of
ing
products. wages
and
earn
ings.
26 810,722,417
45 4,752,438
22 4,073,688
14 1,642,500
82,975,507
1,082,026
5,428,800
1,146,818
89,990,845
3,566,941
7,266,638
2,062,493
4,449,400
3,857,300
1,510,500
1,903,623
4,500,367
2,325,774
3,109,617
1,793,436
6,640,930
3,781,101
3,569,892
3,810,689
13 2,184,437
16 2,654,440
1,814,272
36
57 2,651,107
7 1,553,969
36
2,994,653
65 8,790,070
3,191,794
31
6 1,975,000
9 13,969,270
30 2,255,200
22 4,598,026
3,359,794
21
40 2,230,131
21 1,692,773
106 18,663,609
2
2,500,000
6 2,180,900
15 1,786,500
2,014,359
1,008,706
2,979,132
2,402,138
1,177,278
5,079,876
4,008,642
2,960,971
1,771,462
25,214,834
1,969,279
653,247
4,265,341
3,749,095
2,177,814
18,754,917
652,400
1,146,235
1,614,521
2,276,000
5,764,066
1,150,928
4,609,376
Wages
paid.
Average
yearly
earn
ings.
26 31,161,671
45 1,424,281
840,463
28
749,480
27
$805.04
361.22
472.96
246.22
17
10
9
26
1,414,100
422,537
202,566
1,312,395
416.52
463.82
356.63
430.29
3,493,282
3,255,205
6,130,543
4,587,405
2,325,615
8,249,889
10,431,775
4,398,335
2,574,426
27,071,024
3,627,503
2,393,681
6,057,748
6,216,895
4,279,859
37,042,215
18,958,000
2,314,801
3,256,964
13
18
39
59
7
36
68
32
6
9
30
22
21
40
21
106
5
6
18
860,343
1,745,502
2,131,750
1,130,165
552,501
1,293,080
4,610,013
1,001,450
328,923
1,385,034
626,802
1,275,659
944,433
1,639,590
1,327,593
8,853,831
873,729
766,386
1,793,930
608.02
495.32
467.49
528.17
362.30
527.14
573.67
340.28
499.12
577.10
452.56
561.47
434.22
353.21
392.66
422.94
557.58
544.70
415.94
.2,242,360
6,818,752
8
22
674,017
1,576,931
418.64
298.55
733 121,997,877 111,722,896 206,415,806
774
42,919,155
14
10
9
24
8
22
T he S ilk I ndustry .— This purports to be a presentation o f the
beginning, grow th, and present proportions o f this industry in the
State, but is m ainly taken up with the last phase o f the subject.
Statistics are presented fo r the three branches o f throw ing, dyeing,
and weaving, and fo r the m anufacture o f reeds and harness.
Com
parison o f the U nited States census statistics for silk manufacture fo r
the years 1880 and 1890 with the Bureau’s report fo r 1898 shows the
number o f establishments to have been 106 and 132. fo r the two census
years and 151 fo r the year 1898.
The average number o f employees
fo r the same dates was 12,549, 17,917, and 2 6,045, respectively.
The follow ing table presents certain totals and ratios for the years
named:
WAGES PAID AND VALUE OF MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS FOR THE SILK INDUSTRY,
1880, 1890, 1898.
Materials used.
Year.
Value
of
product.
1880......................................................... $12,851,045
1890......................................................... 25,405,982
1898......................................................... 42,670,690
Value.
$7,176,136
12,703,382
21,378,671
Wages paid.
Per cent
of m inor
expenses
P ercent
P ercent
and
of
of
value o f Amount. value of profits of
value
of
product.
product.
product.
55.8
50.0
50.2
$4.1/7,745
7,176,180
10,650,789
32.5
28.2
25.0
11.7
21.8
24.8
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR— NEW JERSEY.
579
Compared with the value o f products, a relative decrease o f 5 .6 per
cent in the cost o f raw material is apparent and o f 7.5 per cent in the
amount o f wages paid, in the period covered by this table, while the
ratio o f profits has more than doubled.
The follow ing table shows, by sex, the number o f em ployees receiv
ing specified rates o f wages:
EMPLOYEES IN THE SILK INDUSTRY RECEIVING CLASSIFIED RATES OF WAGES, BY
SEX, 1898.
Throwing.
W eekly wages.
Under « 5 ........................
$5 or under $6...............
$6 or under $7...............
$7 or under $ 8 ...............
88 or under 8 9 ...............
89 or under 810..............
810 or under 812............
812 or under 815............
815 or under 820............
820 or over......................
T ota l...................
Dyeing.
W eaving.
Total.
Grand
total.
Males.
Fe
males.
Males.
Fe
males.
Males.
Fe
males.
Males.
Fe
males.
320
75
121
40
36
19
33
20
19
7
244
446
157
20
3
8
13
80
41
61
150
299
1,116
609
281
139
117
72
41
19
9
12
4
3
1
1,481
613
592
605
648
771
1,740
1,470
1,734
696
2,523
1,341
1,310
1,394
648
701
1,249
806
342
48
1,881
729
774
795
983
1,906
2,382
1,771
1,892
820
2,839
1,828
1,486
1,423
663
713
1,265
807
342
48
4,720
2,557
2,260
2,218
1,646
2,619
3,647
2,578
2,234
868
690
891
2,893
161
10,350
10,362
13,933
11,414
25,347
The median wage fo r all m ales, above and below which equal num
bers o f employees are found, is a little less than ten dollars, while fo r
fem ales it is somewhat below seven dollars, the number o f fem ales who
receive ten dollars or more being but 21.6 per cent o f the total fem ales.
The number o f males whose wages do not exceed the median wage fo r
fem ales is but 24.3 per cent o f the whole number o f males em ployed.
S team R ailroad T ransportation .— This chapter includes a brief
discussion o f accidents to em ployees, based on the report o f the In ter
state Commerce Com m ission, and statistical tables fo r 7 roads report
ing to the Bureau. The tables show the number o f em ployees in the
State, total and average number o f days em ployed, total wages paid,
and average daily and yearly earnings fo r each class o f em ployees.
Company S tores.— This is a report o f an investigation o f 15 com
pany stores preceded by a brief discussion o f the general subject.
Tables are given showing comparative prices o f more than 50 arti
cles o f general use at company stores and at private stores in the same
localities.
The conclusion is reached that the average cost o f one
dollar’s worth o f goods purchased at private stores would be $ 1.13 if
purchased at company stores.
S trikes and L ockouts. — F irst is given a narrative account o f the
strike o f the nonunion bottle blowers o f southern New Jersey in
1899; then a tabular presentation o f 34 strikes and lockouts, from
January 1 ,1 8 9 8 , to A u gust 3 1 ,1 8 9 9 , showing causes, duration, persons
involved, loss o f tim e and w ages, and results.
B rief accounts are
also given o f m inor labor troubles in 1899.
.
C ost of L ivin g in N ew J ersey . — Tables presenting the retail prices
o f 51 articles o f household use in leading localities in all the counties
580
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
o f the State fo r the month of June, 1899, with summaries, and a com
parison o f average retail prices fo r 1898 and 1899, make up this por
tion o f the report.
A Study of T rade -unionism .— There are here given tables show
ing the daily wages, yearly earnings, hours o f labor, and days idle o f
union and nonunion workmen in 9 trades. The amount o f benefits
and assessments are also reported fo r union workmen. The compari
sons in each table are between equal numbers o f each class, and actual
benefits received and assessments paid are taken into account in m aking
up the reported annual earnings o f the union men.
The follow ing table presents a summary comparison:
HOURS
or LABOR,
d a y s id l e , d a il y w a g e s , a n d a n n u a l e a r n in g s
or UNION AND
NONUNION WORKMEN.
Average
idle dur Average daily wages.
w eekly hours Days
ing year.
o f labor.
Trades.
Average yearly
earnings.
Num
Per
ber
Per
report
cent of
cent of
ing in
excess
excess
Non
Non
each
Non
Non
of
of
Union. union.
union
class. Union union. Union union. Union union. union
over
over
non
non
union.
union.
B akers...............
Bricklayers.........
Carpenters.........
Cigarm akers___
G lassblow ers___
Horseshoers.......
Painters..............
Plum bers............
Polishers
and
buffers..............
16
20
80
80
35
20
20
30
70.5
51.5
53.0
47.1
49.5
53.4
48.0
52.2
96.4
67.4
58.0
53.8
53.5
69.6
57.0
57.9
33.5
78.1
66.0
32.8
103.9
39.8
78.6
30.7
43.4
104.3
111.0
12.8
137.5
25.6
108.6
23.8
$2.05
3.80
2.53
2.27
5.62
2.96
2.50
3.00
$1.79
2.17
2.13
1.65
3.52
2.65
1.81
2.46
20
59.5
59.5
21.1
21.0
2.25
1.58
14.5 $572.15
75.1 858.68
18.8 613.73
37.6 604.47
59.7 1,096.57
11.7 796.61
38.1 559.50
22.0 •825.57
42.4
635.27
$470.40
431.68
432.82
483.78
593.12
751.16
357.71
695.00
21.6
98.9
41.8
24.9
84.9
6.1
56.4
18.8
450.30
41.1
B enefit F eatures of A merican T rade ' U nions.— U nder this head
are given extracts from an article having
the same title which
appeared in Bulletin N o. 22 o f the U nited States Departm ent o f
Labor.
B enefits D erived by W orkingmen from the L abor Statutes.—
The section is made up o f returns o f workingm en in various trades on
the above point, together with a list o f the laws referred to in such
returns.
NEW YORK.
Eighteenth Annual R eport o f the Bureau o f Labor Statistics o f the
State o f New York, fo r the year 1900. Transm itted to the legis
lature January 21, 1901.
John M cM ackin, Com m issioner,
x iv ,
1,072 pages.
The subjects presented in this report are five in num ber, as follow s:
Part I , The eight-hour m ovem ent, 243 pages; Part I I , Social settle
m ents, 185 pages; Part I I I , The economic condition o f organized labor,
REPORTS OE STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- NEW YORK.
581
557 pages; Part I V , Report o f the State free em ploym ent bureau, 21
pages; Part V , Labor laws o f the State enacted in 1900, 9 pages.
T he E ight -hour M ovement.— The consideration o f this subject is
quite extended, involving the presentation o f numerous statistical
tables showing the general movement toward a shorter workday in the
U nited States since 1830, the hours o f labor in European countries and
Australasia, the hours o f labor in the factories o f the State from 1891
to 1899, and the hours o f labor o f members o f labor unions in 1900.
There are also chapters on the practicability o f the eight-hour day and
the methods o f establishing the same, and a conspectus o f the legisla
tion o f the States and Territories regulating the hours o f labor.
The follow ing table shows the number and pier cent o f em ployees in
the State working the specified number o f hours per week as reported
by about 5,000 establishm ents:
HOURS OF LABOR OF EMPLOYEES IN 5,000 ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE STATE OF NEW
YORK, 1891 TO 1899.
Employees whose w eekly hours o f labor were—
Year.
Total
em
ploy- .
Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per ees.
ct. ber.
ber.
ct. ber.
ct. ber.
ct. ber.
ct. ber.
ct. ber.
ct.
Under 48.
48 to 51.
52 to 57.
58 to 63.
1.67 14,077 7.57 31,010 16.67 134,260 72.18
1891.. 3,112
.
1.44 15,250 7.55 33,398 16.54 146,413 72.48
1892.. 2,913
.
2.50 18,207 8.22 39,958 18.04 153,267 69.18
1893.. 5.551
.
1894.. 10,299
.
4.90 19,924 9.49 37,388 17.81 136,738 65.12
3.96 19,004 7.90 42,955 17.86 163,395 67.95
1895.. 9,513
.
2.20 20,379 7.18 57,681 20.32 189,120 66.61
1896.. 6,249
.
2.19 22,365 7.48 62,474 20.90 195,888 65.53
1897.. 6.552
.
1.82 21,419 6.38 74,396 22.16 220,896 65.79
1898.. 6,111
.
1899.. 7,440
.
1.83 25,609 6.29 89,763 22.04 269,314 66.13
64 to 69.
70 to 72.
963
1,234
1,165
1,596
1,213
3,363
3,351
3,485
5,442
1,719
1,903
2,459
3,141
3.343
5.343
6,108
7,155
7,112
0.62
.61
.53
.76
.51
1.18
1.12
1.04
1.33
0.93
.94
1.11
1.50
1.39
1.88
2.04
2.13
1.75
Oyer 72.
862 0.46 186,003
894 .44 202,005
934 .42 221,541
892 .42 209,978
1,038 .43 240,461
1,799 .63 283,934
2,202 .74 298,930
2,302 .68 335,764
2,555 .63 407,235
From this table it appears that what m ight be specifically termed
the eight-hour m ovement made its chief advances in the years 1893 to
1895, since which tim e it has receded. O f greater significance are the
more permanent changes indicated in the columns headed u 52 to 5 7 ”
and “ 58 to 6 3 ,” showing a steady gain o f what may be designated the
nine-hour day over the ten-hour day. A few seven-day occupations
and some establishments that run the entire 24 hours daily with two
shifts o f men keep up the sm all percentages o f those employees whose
hours per week exceed 64 in num ber; there is, m oreover, a larger
representation o f certain industries o f these classes in the later than in
the earlier years, notably street-railw ay transportation, and baking,
brewing, and sugar refining.
582
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
It is possible to make a division o f the above data for the years
1896 to 1899, showing separately the hours o f labor in New Y o rk City
and those in the State outside.
The follow ing table is the result:
HOURS OF LABOR OF EMPLOYEES IN 5,000 ESTABLISHMENTS IN NEW YORK CITY AND
IN THE STATE OUTSIDE, 1896 TO 1899.
Employees whose weekly hours of labor .were—
Year.
Under 48.
48 to 51.
58 to 63.
52 to 57.
64 to 69.
Oyer 72.
70 to 72.
Total
em
ploy-
Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per
ber. ct. ber. ct. ber. ct. ber. ct.
ber. ct. ber. ct. ber. ct.
CITY.
1896..............
1897..............
1898..............
1899..............
2,698
3,272
3,443
5,652
2.16 13,045 10.44 39,719 31.79
2.45 14,880 11.15 42,577 31.91
2.29 14,958 9.98 50,960 34.00
3.09 18,286 9.98 66,579 36.35
66,349 53.11
843 0.68 1,877 1.50
398 0.32 124,929
68,520 51.35 1,326 .99 2,022 1.52
836 .63 133,433
988 .66 2,694 1.80 1,021 .68 149,892
75,828 50.59
87,815 47.94 1,660 .91 2,176 1.19
993 .54 183,161
STATE.
1896..............
1897..............
1898..............
1899..............
3,551 2.23 7,334 4.61 17,962 11.30 122,771 77.21
3,280 1.98 7,475 4.52 19,897 12.02 127,368 76.96
2,668 1.43 6,461 3.48 23,436 12.61 145,068 78.05
1,788 .80 7,323 3.27 23,184 10.34 181,499 81.00
2,520
2,025
2,497
3,782
1.59
1.22
1.34
1.69
3,466
4,086
4,461
4,936
Certain interesting contrasts are here apparent.
2.18
2.47
2.40
2.20
1,401
1,366
1,281
1,562
.88 159,005
.83 165,497
.69 185,872
.70 224,074
F or instance, in
the class “ Under 4 8 ” the movement is pretty uniform in opposite
directions for the city and fo r the State outside.
The ten-hour day
is the standard fo r the State at large, while in the city 9 hours is
increasingly accepted as such. The latter is the measure o f service
fo r about one-third and the form er fo r about one-half the working
people o f the city , while outside the city the fractions relating to the
same workdays are roughly one-tenth and three-fourths, the longer
hour classes being sm aller in each instance in the city than outside.
These differences are largely attributed to the influence o f labor
organizations, which not only include a larger proportion o f the trades
in the city than in the State at large, but also, by their success in cer
tain lines o f industry, influence the hours o f labor in unorganized
trades.
The follow ing table shows by industries the hours o f labor o f
members o f labor organizations in the entire State:
HOURS OF LABOR OF MEMBERS OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS IN NEW YORK STATE, BY
GROUPS OF INDUSTRIES, SEPTEMBER, 1900.
Employees whose w eekly hours of labor were—
Industries.
Under 48 to 51 52 to 57 58 to 63 64 to 72
48
Building, stone w orking................... 38,134 30,320
Clothing and textiles........................
147
386
Metals, m achinery, sh ip b u ild in g ...
168 1,061
Transportation............... ...................
P rin tin g.............................................
414
458
T obacco............................................... 2,628
8,691
Food and liq u ors..............................
636
317
Theaters and m usic...........................
582
W oodworking, fu rn itu re.................
835
250
Restaurants and retail trade....... .
Public em ploym ent...........................
4,293
195
195
M iscellaneous...................................
T otal.......................................... 43,768
Percentages of group totals of
22.1
total number reporting.......
Over
72
Total.
Un
known.
2,082
1,461
9,017
12,012
7,032
47,847
2,610
7,100
6,341 18,196
4,828 14,987
86 7,031
8,812
401
636
394
4,259
367
52
201
906 4,792
691
270
164
291
481 1,382
90
1,509
565
4,837
2,261
295
672
78.254
27,405
22.254
18,113
10,085
12,349
7,226
1,191
74
753
7,115
276
3,748
1,400
6,443
864 3,789
11,435 197,534
773
109
45,942
29,950
55,328
11,111
23.3
15.2
28.0
5.6
826
645
6,159
5.8
100.0
2,204
8,945
1,597
1,748
705
1,044
583
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- NEW YORK.
Irregularity o f hours affected the report in certain occupations, as
o f theatrical perform ers and musicians. In the printing trades a num
ber o f the reports gave eight and nine hours as the length o f the work
day o f machine and hand com positors, respectively, without designat
ing the number o f each, so that tabulation o f these returns was im pos
sible. It is, how ever, one of the better-organized industries, like the
building trades and the tobacco industry, which have secured for
themselves an established workday o f eight or nine hours.
S ocial S ettlements.— This article begins with a historical sketch
and a discussion o f purposes and methods and of the relations of settle
ments to other agencies for social im provem ent. Then follow detailed
accounts of 30 settlement houses in Greater New Y ork and 2 in B u f
falo, describing neighborhood characteristics, particular lines o f
activity, results, e tc., m aking a fu ll presentation o f this subject.
Other
social agencies receive brief mention.
T he E conomic C ondition of O rganized L abor .— This report is
based on quarterly returns from the labor organizations o f the State,
relating to membership, hours of labor, rates o f wages, working time
and earnings, and number o f unemployed members during each quar
ter. This system o f reports was begun in 1897.
summarizes certain data fo r the entire period:
The follow ing table
STATISTICS OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS FOR EACH QUARTER FROM JANUARY, 1897, TO
SEPTEMBER, 1900.
Quarter ending—
Average
unem days of em
Membership on last day of Members Members
ployed
on
last
ploym
ent
Organi
quarter.
reporting day of quarter.
during
zations
as to
quarter.
report
em ploying.
m ent.
Per Men. Wo
Men.
Women.
Total.
Number. cent.
men.
March 31,1897...............
June 30,1897...................
September 30,1897.........
December 31,1897..........
M arch 31,1898...............
June 30,1898...................
September 30,1898.........
December 31,1898..........
March 31,1899...............
June 30,1899...................
September 30,1899.........
December 31,1899..........
M arch 31,1900...............
June 30,1900...................
September 30,1900.........
927
976
1,009
1,029
1,048
1,079
1,087
1,143
1,156
1,210
1,320
1,390
1,452
1,602
1,635
4,321
4,101
5,764
6,712
6,606
7,538
7,505
7,480
7,511
7,699
8,088
8,239
9,464
10,782
11,828
138,249
147,105
162,690
167,250
173,349
164,802
163,562
167,271
166,005
180,756
200,932
216,142
223,069
236,770
233,553
142,570
151,206
168,454
173,962
179,955
172,340
171,067
174,751
173,516
188,455
209,020
224,381
232,533
247,552
245,381
142,570
151,206
168,454
173,962
179,955
172,340
171,067
174,751
173,516
183,795
201,904
214,644
221,717
239,841
237,166
43,654
27,378
23,230
39,353
37,857
35,643
22,485
46,603
31,751
20,141
9,590
41,698
44,336
49,399
31,460
30.6
18.1
13.8
22.6
21.0
20.7
13.1
26.7
18.3
11.0
4.7
19.4
20.0
20.6
13.3
58
69
67
65
62
61
65
63
64
70
71
68
66
(a)
67
63
57
66
56
61
58
64
65
68
72
71
69
65
(a)
65
a Not reported.
The increase in the number o f organizations is continuous but
irregular, being between four and five times as great in the second as
in the third quarter o f 1900.
D uring the latter quarter also there
was a decrease in the total number o f members, although the number
o f women members increased steadily throughout the year.
The percentage o f unemployment for the last quarter o f 1899 is
noticeably smaller than for the corresponding quarter o f previous
584
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
years, but the opening o f the spring o f 1900 failed to bring about the
favorable results as to em ploym ent that were so apparent in the sum
m er quarters of 1899.
A n examination o f the reported average earnings fo r each quarter
indicates such stability o f wage rates as to make the number o f days
worked the controlling factor in the amount of earnings. Thus the
earnings o f men were $184 for the last quarter o f 1899 as against $169
fo r the corresponding term o f 1898, while the shortened w orking tim e
fo r the third quarter o f 1900 as compared with the third quarter o f
1899 gives $182 earnings fo r the later period as against $197 for the
earlier.
On Septem ber 30, 1900, New Y o rk C ity contained 30.7 per cent o f
the labor organizations o f the State and 63.0 per cent o f the member
ship. O f organized w orking women, at the same date, the m etropolis
had 68.2 per cent o f the total number in the State, and o f the men,
62.7 per cent.
The follow ing table show s, by industries, the number and m ember
ship o f organizations fo r each quarter from Decem ber 31, 1899, to
Septem ber 30, 1900, and the per cent o f fem ale members at the latter
date:
ORGANIZATIONS AND MEMBERSHIP, BY INDUSTRIES, FROM DECEMBER, 1899, TO SEP
TEMBER, 1900.
Per
cent of
fem ale
mem
Dec. 81, Mar. 31, June 30, Sept. 30, Dec. 31, Mar. 31, June30, Sept. 30, bers,
1900.
1899.
1899.
1900.
1900.
1900.
1900.
1900. Sept. 30,
1900.
Membership on—
Organizations on—
Industries.
Building, stone w ork in g. . .
Clothing and te x tile s .........
Metals, m achinery, etc.......
Transportation....................
Printing................................
T obacco................................
Food and liqu ors.................
Theaters and m u sic............
W oodw orking......................
Restaurants and retail trade
Public em ploym ent............
M iscellaneous......................
396
105
247
190
78
55
89
31
49
41
51
58
418
109
257
191
80
55
91
33
50
47
52
69
456
121
291
202
88
56
99
34
59
58
56
82
T ota l...........................
1,390
1,452
1,602
472
124
292
205
91
55
103
32
65
56
58
82
73,427
33,666
27,992
25,211
16,040
8,978
8,757
9,494
7,913
3,781
5,847
3,275
74,388
32,037
31,135
27,429
16,534
9,723
8,678
9,627
8,468
4,206
6,423
3,885
77,344
31,374
33,051
81,178
16,983
11,850
9,706
9,536
9,117
5,712
6,508
5,193
80,336
28,866
31,271
30,125
17,117
12,349
9,430
9,698
8,712
6,496
7,148
4,833
1,635 224,381 232,533 247,552 245,381
21.8
.02
4.4
31.6
4.9
7.0
.1
.3
4.8
Percentages of unemployment for the year covered by the report
are presented by industries in the following table, and a comparison
afforded of each quarter with the corresponding quarter of the year
previous; also separate totals for New York City and for the State
outside.
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- NEW YORK.
585
PER CENT OF MEMBERS OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS UNEMPLOYED AT END OF EACH
QUARTER, DECEMBER, 1898, TO SEPTEMBER, 1900.
Per cent o f members o f labor organizations unemployed on—
Industries.
December 31.
1898.
1899.
B uilding, stone w orking...................
Clothing and textiles........................
Metals, m achinery, e t c ....................
Transportation..................................
P rin tin g.............................................
Tobacco ..........................................
Food and liquors................................
Theaters ana m usic...........................
W oodw orking...................................
Restaurant and retail trade..............
Public em ploym ent...........................
M iscellaneous.....................................
41.1
56.8
7.7
• 8.6
9.1
17.3
6.6
8.1
11.5
14.4
.3
5.5
Total..........................................
26.7
19.4
Total, New York City........................
Total, State outside c it y ...................
31.3
15.3
20.6
17.1
28.8
31.9
9.0
15.0
8.5
8.8
7.6
9.9
11.8
12.8
3.1
5.9
March 31.
1899.
35.1
8.0
7.2
10.8
8.1
13.2
9.4
14.9
14.1
18.2
11.0
2.6
1900.
June 30.
1899.
1900.
September 30.
1899.
1900.
33.7
22.2
7.023.1
7.5
12.3
10.2
8.2
11.3
7.0
1.9
6.3
9.9
19.6
3.4
3.7
6.8
5.2
10.0
49.9
19.3
12.0
5.1
9.6
18.3
20.0
11.0
20.6
4.7
13.3
19.5
15.5
21.0
18.1
13.3
5.6
25.5
12.6
5.5
3.3
16.7
7.5
24.0
44.7
10.5
12.0
8.0
28.4
12.2
26.4
21.0
4.7
2.0
10.1
6.1
.8
3.3
3.0
8.6
2.6
8.7
6.8
6.0
9.6
.1
5.4
14.9
29.1
6.2
8.5
11.1
17.4
14.6
8.4
7.2
8.4
2.0
4.2
State F ree E mployment B ureau .—There were 5,732 applicants for
situations registered by the bureau during the year 1900, of whom
2,157 were males and 3,575 were females. Of these 191 males and
2,778 females secured employment. There were 201 applications for
male help and 3,325 for female help, a total of 3,526. The number of
male applicants was slightly less than for the previous year, while
the demand and the number of positions secured were nearly doubled.
The main work of the bureau continues to be the placing of women
in various positions of domestic service.
NORTH CAROLINA.
Fourteenth Annual R eport o f the Bureau o f Labor and P rinting o f
the Stale o f N orth Carolina, fo r the year 1900. B. R. Lacy, Com
missioner.
viii, 376 pp.
This report treats of the following subjects: Agricultural statistics,
48 pages; condition of trades, 82 pages; miscellaneous factories, 44
pages; cotton and woolen mills, 31 pages; railway employees, 5 pages;
newspapers, 27 pages; compulsory education, 122 pages; mine inspec
tion, 13 pages.
A gricultural Statistics. —This chapter contains the tabulated
returns from 369 leading farmers representing every county in the
State. The returns relate to the value and fertility of farm lands, the
condition of farm labor, wages paid, cost of production and market price
of crops, and the economic, educational, and moral condition of farm
laborers. Letters from farmers are also published showing the needs
and condition of farm labor, etc. The returns show an increase in the
value of land in 39 counties, a decrease in 8 counties, and no change in
6451—No. 40—02-----6
586
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
55 counties. Returns from 87 counties report N egro labor unreliable,
7 reliable, and 2 report no Negro labor. In 47 counties increased
wages are reported, and in 50 counties no change.
The cost o f pro
duction o f the principal crops was as follow s: Cotton, per bale o f 500
pounds, $ 2 6 .1 9 ; wheat, per bushel, $ 0 .6 1 ; corn, per bushel, $ 0 .4 1 ;
oats, per bushel, $ 0 .2 8 ; tobacco, per hundred pounds, $6.50. The
m arket prices were as follow s: Cotton, per pound, $ 0 .0 9 £ ; wheat, per
bushel, $ 0 .8 5 ; corn, per bushel, $ 0 .6 6 ; oats, per bushel, $ 0 .4 2 ; tobacco,
per hundred pounds, $7.92. The returns upon which these figures are
based were received by the bureau from June 15 to October 1, 1900.
T rades. — Blanks were sent to representative skilled workmen
throughout the State, making inquiries regarding membership in labor
unions, wages received, effects o f machinery upon labor, system s o f
wage paym ent, tim e worked, fines, cost of living, education, appren
ticeship, etc.
Returns were received from over 300 persons.
Of
these 34 per cent reported an increase in wages, 11 per cent a decrease,
53 per cent no change, the remaining 2 per cent not reporting.
Letters from wage-earners are also published.
M iscellaneous F actories.— This chapter contains a list of fac
tories in the State, their capital stock, character o f m otive pow er,
number of days in operation, hours o f labor, system s o f wage pay
m ent, persons em ployed, wages paid, accidents to workm en, and in
form ation concerning the social condition o f em ployees.
Letters
from manufacturers are also reproduced.
Returns were received
from over 200 m anufacturers. O f these, 50 per cent reported that
wages o f em ployees had been increased, 40 per cent that there had
been no increase, and 10 per cent failed to report.
C otton and W oolen M ills . — This chapter contains a list o f the
cotton and woolen m ills in the State, their locations, capital stock,
number o f loom s and spindles in use, character of m otive pow er, and
tables givin g by counties the character o f goods made, average wages
paid, number o f em ployees, children under 14 years o f age, hours o f
labor, total horsepower, etc.
facturers are also reproduced.
Letters from cotton and woolen manu
O f the m ills reported in the State on
June 30, 1900, 186 produced cotton goods, 11 woolen goods, and 31
knit goods, carpets, rope, net, tw ine, ju te, and silk goods.
The m ills
em ployed 38,637 persons, o f whom 14,999 were m en, 16,040 women,
and 3,589 boys and 4,009 girls under 14 years o f age.
O f the adults,
82 per cent, and o f the children, 68 per cent, were able to read and
w rite.
The hours o f labor varied from 10 to 1 2 i per day.
R ailroad E mployees.— A table is given showing fo r each road, by
occupations, the number o f employees and their wages.
12,755 railroad em ployees reported in the State.
and wages were as follow s:
There were
Their occupations
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR— NORTH CAROLINA.
587
OCCUPATIONS AND AVERAGE DAILY WAGES OF RAILROAD EMPLOYEES IN 1900.
Occupations.
Station agents.........................
Other station m en...................
E nginem en.............................
Firem en...................................
Conductors..............................
Other trainm en......................
M achinists..............................
Number.
654
1,529
539
557
369
1,017
294
Average
daily
wages.
*1.14
.81
2.701
1.09|
2.19
.891
2.40
Occupations.
Number.
Carpenters.............................
Other shopm en......................
Section forem en....................
Other trackm en....................
Switch-flag watchm en..........
Telegraph operators..............
Other em ployees..................
796
1,093
550
3,198
502
366
1,291
Average
daily
wages.
$1.37
1.264
1.334
.75
.944
1.20
1.04
OHIO.
Tw enty-fourth Annual R eport o f the Bureau o f Labor Statistics o f
the State o f Ohio, fo r the year 1900. M . D . Ratchford, Commis
sioner.
461 pp.
The contents o f the present report are as follow s: Labor laws, judi
cial decisions, and reports o f the U nited States Industrial Commission,
58 pages; manufactures, 223 pages; labor organizations, 79 pages; roll
ing m ills and tin-plate works, 33 pages; blast furnaces, 14 pages; sweat
shops, 9 pages; free employm ent offices and chronology of labor bureaus,
24 pages.
M anufactures.— The statistics o f manufactures in 1899 are pre
sented in the same form as in preceding reports. Detailed tables are
given show ing, by occupations and for cities and villages, the number
o f males and fem ales em ployed in various industries, their average
daily and yearly earnings and hours of labor in 1899, and the average
number o f days em ployed in 1898 and 1899; the number o f males and
fem ales em ployed each month in 1898 and 1899; the total wages paid
in 1898 and 1899; the number and salaries o f office em ployees, capital
invested, value o f product, and value o f material used in 1899.
Follow ing is a brief summary o f some o f the figures presented: In
1899, 2,362 establishments reported a total invested capital of
$256,453,091. The total value o f goods made was $305,258,061.85,
and the value o f material used was $163,078,190.49.
The aggregate
wages paid amounted to $66,093,033.85 in 1899, which was an increase
o f $ 1 0 ,877,200.44 over the wages paid in the same establishments dur
ing 1898.
In 2 ,3 6 2 establishments an average o f 124,286 males and
25,102 fem ales was em ployed during the year 1899.
L abor O rganizations.— Statistics are given showing the number
o f unions reporting, their m embership, dues, benefits paid, funds on
hand, strikes participated in, the hours o f labor o f m em bers, etc.
588
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The following table shows the number and membership of labor
organizations, classified according to occupations:
MEMBERSHIP OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS JUNE 80,1900.
Occupations.
B akers.....................................
Barbers.....................................
B icycle workers......................
B oiler m akers................. .•___
B ookbinders...........................
■Rnnt. and shoe mfllrprs.
Brewery workers....................
Bricklayers..............................
B rickm akers...........................
Broom m akers.........................
Carriage and wagon makers .
Carpenters...............................
Cigar makers...........................
Clerks, reta il...........................
Coopers.....................................
E lectrical w orkers.................
Engineers, locom otiv e..........
Engineers, stationary............
Engineers, steam ....................
Federal labor...........................
Firem en, locom otive..............
Fishermen, g ill-n e t...............
Freight h andlers....................
Garment w ork ers...................
Glass bottle w ork ers..............
Glass (flin t) w orkers..............
Glass (w indow ) cu tters.........
Granite cutters........................
Hod carriers.............................
H orseshoers.............................
Iron m olders...........................
Iron, steel, and tin w orkers..
Laundry workers....................
Leather w orkers....................
Letter carriers.........................
Longshorem en........................
M achinists..............................
Metal chippers........................
Organiza Member
tions re
ship.
porting.
7
17
10
10
4
4
21
6
3
3
5
29
20
28
6
6
31
2
2
15
32
2
2
6
3
16
4
3
4
6
27
41
4
3
12
35
' 18
2
464
866
521
464
214
98
1,413
536
188
79
923
2,840
1,755
1,739
248
457
1,986
129
242
1,640
2,103
171
93
518
293
1,138
50
51
338
174
4,351
3,424
563
133
687
5,851
2,488
45
Occupations.
Organiza Member
tions re
ship.
porting.
Metal polishers......................
Mine w orkers........................
M usicians..............................
Oil and gas w ell workers___
Painters, decorators, and
paper hangers....................
Pattern m akers....................
Plasterers..............................
P otters...................................
Printing pressmen’s assist
ants .....................................
Railway conductors..............
Railway em ployees, street..
Railway trackm en...............
Railway train m en ...............
Sheet-metal w orkers............
Steam and hot-water workers
Stereotypers...........................
Stonecutters...........................
S ton em asons........................
Stoneware potters.................
Stove m ounters......................
Suspender w orkers...............
T ailors...................................
Team drivers.........................
Telegraph operators..............
Theatrical stage em ployees.
Tin-plate w orkers.................
Tobacco w orkers...................
Typographical w orkers.......
W aiters...................................
W ood ca rv ers........................
W ood, wire, and m etal
la th ers................................
W ood workers........................
M iscellaneous........................
11
187
10
9
1,054
18,135
1,429
530
18
4
2
18
1,397
224
123
1,765
15
22
8
2
27
2
3
2
2
4
3
4
2
15
10
7
8
5
5
18
2
2
818
1,460
484
59
2,187
115
63
86
127
217
262
100
25
686
983
403
265
603
610
1,442
323
128
6
4
53
219
357
3,929
T ota l.............................
939
79,881
On June 30,1900, 956 trade unions were reported in the State. Of
these, 939 reported a total membership of 79,881. Of 876 unions
reporting, 40 were organized prior to 1880, 126 from 1880 to 1890,
and 710 from 1890 to 1900. During the year ending June 30,1900,
300 unions were organized, and 25 disbanded. The returns published
were somewhat incomplete. As far as reported, the average hours of
labor of members were 9.5, the average wages $2.37 per day, the
average number of days employed during the year, 272; the average
ratio of apprentices to journeymen was 1 to 7, and the average dura
tion of the term of apprenticeship was 3 years. Members of trade
unions were engaged in 96 strikes during the year. Trade agreements
were reported by 495 unions.
R olling M ills and T in -P late W orks. —Statistics are given
showing the capacity and production of the rolling mills and tin-plate
works making returns, the capital invested, wages paid, persons
employed, hours of labor, days in operatioft, etc., for the year ending
June 30,1900. A comparison is made between the returns of rolling
mills for 1900 and for the years 1896 and 1898. The comparative
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- OHIO.
589
figures given show a decided improvement in the year 1900 over the
previous years.
B last F urnaces.— Statistics are given covering the same item s as
those for rolling m ills and tin-plate works. A comparison is made
between the returns for 1900 and those fo r 1896 and 1898.
S w eat S hops.— This chapter contains the results o f an inquiry
made by the bureau through special agents who visited 186 shops in
Cleveland and Cincinnati where clothing was manufactured. Statis
tics are given showing the number o f garments manufactured per
week, the contract price paid per garm ent, number o f men, wom en, and
children em ployed, and their average wages and hours o f labor.
Of
the 186 shops visited, 176 consisted o f one room , 7 o f two room s, and
3 o f three rooms each. In many cases the fam ilies lived and worked
in the same apartment. O f 146 establishments, 27 were reported in
good sanitary condition, 69 were fair, and 50 poor.
E mployment O ffices. — D uring the year ending Decem ber 31,
1900, the free em ploym ent offices at Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colum bus,
Toledo, and Dayton received applications from em ployers fo r 6,608
males and 15,829 fem ales.
Applications for situations were made by
11,079 males and 9,776 fem ales.
Positions were secured fo r 4,714
males and 8,630 fem ales.
P E N N S Y L V A N IA .
Annual R eport o f the Secretary o f Internal A ffairs o f the Common
wealth o f Pennsylvania. V o l. X X V I I I , 1900. Part I I I , Industrial
Statistics. James M . Clark, Chief o f Bureau.
m ent, 196 pp.
562 p p .; supple
In this report are found a historical and descriptive article on the
Am erican glass industry, 27 pages; statistics o f m anufactures, 520
pages; analysis, 12 pages; supplement (bound separately), “ The legal
relations between the em ployed and their em ployers in Pennsylvania,
compared with the relations existing between them in other States,”
196 pages.
Statistics of M anufactures. — These are m ainly presented in two
series o f tables, the first givin g data fo r 354 identical establishments
representing 44 industries, fo r a period o f 9 years, and the other, 830
identical establishments in 89 industries, for a period o f 5 years.
The
first series shows the average days in operation, persons em ployed,
aggregate wages paid, average yearly earnings and daily wages, and
value o f product, total and per em ployee.
590
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
The follow ing table presents a summary o f the more im portant data:
PERSONS EMPLOYED, WAGES PAID, AND VALUE OF PRODUCTS FOR 854 MANUFACTURING
ESTABLISHMENTS, 1892 TO 1900.
Average number
o f persons em
ployed.
Year.
Num
ber.
1892.............................
1893............................
1894............................
1895............................
1896.............................
1897.............................
1898.............................
1899.............................
1900.............................
136,882
122,278
109,383
127,361
118,092
121,281
137,985
154,422
136,814
Aggregate wages
paid.
P ercent
Amount.
o f in
crease.
a i o .6 7
a 10.55
16.44
a 7.28
2.70
13.77
11.91
a 11.40
367,331,876
56,818,289
45,229,667
56,704,511
52,102,365
52,138,941
62,676,615
78,179,333
69,697,485
Average yearly
earnings.
Value o f product.
P ercent
Percent
o f in Am ount of in
crease.
crease.
Amount.
3491.90
464.66
413.50
445.78
441.29
429.90
454.52
506.27
509.43
3269,452,465
226,017,762
185,626,971
222,730,930
211,252,732
222,995,654
266,044,530
377,934,411
418,790,239
a 15.61
a 20.40
25.37
a 8.12
.07
20.21
24.73
a 10.85
a 5.54
a 11.01
7.81
a 1.01
a2.58
5.73
11.38
.62
Per cent
o f in
crease.
a 16.12
a 17.87
19.99
a 5.15
5.56
19.30
42.00
10.81
a Decrease.
The average number o f em ployees and aggregate wages paid fo r the
year 1900 present a decrease from the same item s fo r the preceding
year in nearly the same ratio, the slight difference indicating a gain o f
0 .6 2 per cent in the average yearly earnings per em ployee. The total
value o f products shows a considerable increase over that o f the year
1899, which in turn surpassed all preceding years in the series in each
point shown in this table.
The very close approxim ation o f the number o f em ployees in 1900
to that shown fo r the year 1892 renders comparison of the two years
interesting. The number o f em ployees in 1900 was 0.05 per cent less,
the aggregate wages paid 3.51 per cent greater, and the average
annual earnings 3.56 per cent greater than in 1892, while the increase
in the value o f product was 55.42 per cent.
The second series not only includes a wider range o f industries, but
is m ore detailed, as appears from , the follow ing table, which is a sum
m ary statement fo r the years covered:
STATISTICS OF 830 MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, 1896 TO 1900.
Year.
P ercent of
Capital in
value o f Average
vested in
Value of
Market value basic mate days in
basic
plants and
o
f
product.
rial of
opera
fixed work m aterial, (a)
value of
tion.
ing capital.
product.
3204,094,520 6394,939,421
206,230,067 6104,427,266
211,681,880 6118,072,708
243,365,826
167,567,839
260,611,930
186,203,673
1896.
1897.
1898.
1899.
1900.
Year.
1897.
1898.
1899.
1900.
3192,473,762
209,663,393
245,693,223
329,248,235
359,925,487
C49.3
C49.8
C48.1
50.9
51.7
270
286
286
287
288
Number
of Per cent
Average Value
o f per Aggregate Average
product o f wages
yearly
daily
sons em wages paid. earnings.
per em of value of
earnings.
ployed.
ployee. product.
134,790 351,293,561
140,661 53,749,916
156,943 62,757,811
179,779 77,937,500
190,024 82,913,073
3380.54
382.12
399.88
433.52
436.33
31.41 31,427.95
1.34 1,490.56
1.40 1,565.49
1.51 1,831.41
1.52 1,894.11
26.6
25.6
25.5
23.7
23.0
a By basic material is meant only the material out of w hich the product was m ade, and does not
include any o f the material used in its developm ent.
6 Figures for 827 establishments, 3 not reporting.
cBased on value of basic m aterial for 827, and value of product for 830 establishments.
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- PENNSYLVANIA.
591
There is apparent a general increase in the amount o f manufacturing
business done in the period covered by this table, as indicated by each
item considered. This increase is not equally distributed, however,
as is shown by the encroachment o f the cost of basic material upon the
value o f the product and by the decreasing ratio o f wages, compared
with the same item.
I ron , Steel , and T in P late . — In the pig-iron industry, with a
capital o f $72,188,784 and 15,785 employees in 1900, there was a pro
duction o f 6,371,688 gross tons, o f a realized average value o f $16.55
per ton, m aking a total value o f $105,449,923. This was a decrease o f
2 .6 per cent from the production o f the year 1899; but as the value
per ton was 10.3 per cent greater, the total value o f product showed an
increase o f 7 .4 per cent. The aggregate cost of basic m aterial was
31.5 per cent greater than in 1899, while the cost per ton was greater
by 35.0 per cent. In the items affected by wage rates are found the
follow ing increases as compared with the previous year: In aggregate
wages paid, 11.9 per cent; in average yearly earnings, 8 .7 per cent; in
average daily wages, 10.6 per cent; and in labor cost per ton, 14.7 per
cent. In each o f these items there was a considerable advance over
the corresponding item for any year shown in the report (1896 to 1900).
F or steel production in 1900 the amounts were, in gross tons, Besse
m er, 3 ,4 8 8 ,5 6 9 ; open hearth, 2,70 2 ,9 6 8 ; crucible, 64,500; by other proc
esses, 738. The total of 6,256,775 gross tons presented a decrease o f
2 .9 per cent as compared with the year 1899. The detailed figures
indicate a tendency of the open-hearth process to supersede all others.
The production o f iron and steel rolled into finished form amounted
in 1900 to 6,649,475 net tons o f a value o f $249,736,207. This includes
bars, rods, strip steel, skelp, shapes, rolled axles, structural iron, plates
and sheets, including black plate fo r tinning, cut nails, cut spikes, rails,
etc., but does not include billets or muck bar. The value o f basic
material was $154,203,643. In this line o f industry 73,579 w orking
people received $42,476,589, or an average o f $577.29 per em ployee
fo r the year’s earnings. The average daily wages were $2.17. These
figures are not comparable with the statistics for this branch o f produc
tion for previous years, as a wider range o f products is included in this
report.
Rejecting the matter reported on for this year only, and com
paring the remainder with the corresponding data fo r the year 1899,
there appears an increase o f 4 .5 per cent in the value o f product and a
decrease o f 4 .4 per cent in the number o f tons produced.
The average
value per ton was 16.3 per cent greater, while the value o f the basic
material used showed a total increase o f 7 .9 per cent, or o f 20.1 per
cent per ton.
The aggregate amount paid out in wages was 0 .3 per cent
less, but as the average number o f em ployees was 2 .9 per cent less,
the average earnings for the year and the average daily wages were
592
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
increased 2 .7 per cent and 8 .2 per cent, respectively. The number
o f days in operation was 272 as against 287 fo r the previous year.
Seventeen black-plate works produced 312,002,000 pounds of tin
plate in the* year 1900, o f which 264,306,000 pounds were tinned, the
value o f the same being $10,936,510. The remainder, 47,696,000
pounds, was disposed o f in the untinned state, its value being $1,654,387.
There were 7,394 w orking people employed for an average term o f 199
days. The total wages were $3,5 2 6 ,9 3 4 , being an average o f $477 for
each employee fo r the year, or $ 2.40 per day. A s compared with the
year 1899, the production fe ll off 1 5.4 per cent in quantity, though its
value is 3.6 per cent greater. There was a decrease o f 3 .7 per cent in
the number o f w orking people, 13 per cent in the aggregate wages
paid, and 9.6 per cent in the average yearly earnings.
A s the num
ber o f days in operation was 10.8 per cent less than in 1899, there
was still shown an increase o f 1 .7 per cent in the average daily wages.
S ix tin dipping w orks, buying all their black plate, produced
33,548,000 pounds of tin and terne, o f a value o f $ 2,107,987. These
works em ployed 363 working people fo r 252 days, paying an aggregate
o f $134,700 in w ages, the average yearly earnings per em ployee being
$371.07. A comparison with 1899 shows a decrease o f 10 per cent in
the production and an increase of 7 .2 per cent in the total value, and
o f 1 9 .3 per cent in the value per 100 pounds.
G lass P roduction .— One hundred and twenty-seven establishments,
with a capital o f $ 2 2 ,162,429, were in operation 235 days during the
year ending June 30, 1900, producing goods o f a m arket value of
$21,186,246. The labor cost was 49.79 per cent o f the m arket value.
Statistics o f em ployees by classes are as follow s:
NUMBER AND WAGES OP EMPLOYEES IN GLASS INDUSTRY, YEAR ENDING JUNE 30,1900.
Class.
Average
Number. Aggregate Average
daily
wages.
earnings. wages.
Skilled w orkm en............... .....................................................
U nskilled w orkm en.................................................................
Females........................................................................ ..............
C hildren.....................................................................................
9,806
9,464
1,633
2,130
$6,982,521
2,945,901
322,169
297,666
$712.07
311.27
197.29
139.75
$3.03
1.32
.84
.59
Totals and averages.......................................................
23,033
10,548,257
457.96
1.95
Com paring the above statistics with those fo r 1890, compiled by
the U nited States Census, the follow ing percentages o f
increase
appear: In capital, 6 8 .3 ; in number o f em ployees, 2 4 .4 ; in aggregate
wages, 2 0 .8 ; and in value o f product, 2 3.3.
Tables showing the range o f daily wages in the glass industry by
occupations, and the average daily wages in 90 different industries,
com plete the statistical presentations o f this report.
593
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR— RHODE ISLAND.
R H O D E IS L A N D .
Fourteenth Annual R eport o f the Commissioner o f Industrial Statistics,
made to the General Assembly at its Jamtary session, 1901. H enry
E . Tiepke, Commissioner,
v iii, 187 pp.
This report presents the follow ing subjects: Statistics o f textile
m anufactures, 53 pages; strikes, lockouts, and shutdowns, 22 pages;
free public em ploym ent offices, 74 pages; public labor bureaus in
England, 22 pages; population of Rhode Island, 4 pages.
T extile M anufactures. — Comparative statistics are given fo r the
years 1898 and 1899 fo r 175 identical establishments, o f which 84 were
engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods, 10 in the manufacture o f
hosiery and knit goods, 18 were bleacheries and dye and print works,
5 manufactured silk goods and 58 woolen goods.
statistics given follow s:
A summary o f the
STATISTICS OF 175 TEXTILE MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, 1898 AND 1899.
Increase.
Items.
1898.
Single proprietors...................... ........................................
Firm s..............; ...................................................................
Corporations........................................................................
Proprietors, partners, and stockholders...........................
Va?ue o f m aterial u sed.....................................................
Value o f goods m ade and work done..............................
Aggregate wages p a id .......................................................
Average days In operation................................................
Employees:
Average num ber..........................................................
Greatest num ber..........................................................
Smallest n u m ber.........................................................
Average yearly earnings.............................................
35
38
102
1,813
$59,028,379
$31,328,608
$54,413,050
$13,082,887
282.76
39,675
42,780
34,782
$329.75
1899.
Amount.
Per cent.
33
CL2
0,7
31
111
9
2,809
996
$71,930,155 $12,901,776
$40,367,667 $9,039,059
$68,746,795 $14,333,745
$14,564,158 $1,481,271
288.83
6.07
a 5.71
a 18.42
8.82
54.94
21.86
28.85
26.34
11.32
2.16
41,963
44,750
37,310
$347.07
2,288
1,970
2,528
$17.32
5.77
4.60
7.27
5.25
a Decrease.
Strikes , L ockouts, and S hutdowns in 1900.— This is a chrono
logical record o f various labor troubles within the State, derived from
reports given in the newspapers. No statistics are presented.
F ree P ublic E mployment O ffices .— Under this caption is found
a general consideration o f the subject, with extracts o f reports o f vari
ous State officials; statistics o f the State offices o f Ohio and Illin ois,
and some account o f certain other agencies o f sim ilar nature but not
under State control.
P ublic L abor B ureaus in E ngland . — In this chapter is given an
account o f various labor bureaus or registries which are free but not
supported by the Governm ent, with a statistical summary o f the oper
ations o f selected registries for the years 1 8 9 7 ,1 8 9 8 , and 1899.
594
BULLETIN OE THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
W A S H IN G T O N .
Second B iennial R eport o f the Labor Commissioner o f the State o f
Washington, 1899-1900. W . P . C. A dam s, Commissioner. 93 pp.
The present report consists of a large num ber*of short chapters,
m ostly o f one or two pages, relating to a great variety of subjects.
O f those containing inform ation relating to labor conditions the fo l
low ing are the m ost im portant: Condition o f labor in the State, 4
pages; free em ploym ent offices, 9 pages; m etal m ining, 6 pages;
agricultural products, 4 pages; flour m illing, 3 pages; coal m ining, 2
pages; wage scale for the State, 1 page.
C ondition of L abor . — A general statement, based upon letters
received from 43 labor organizations in the State, is given regarding
the cost of living o f working people, stability o f em ploym ent, changes
in wages and prices, etc.
E mployment O ffices . — A n account is given o f the municipal
em ploym ent offices at Seattle, prepared by the municipal labor com
m issioner.
This bureau found em ploym ent for 24,183 persons in
1898 and fo r 22,752 persons in 1899.
The total expense o f this service
was $ 1,377.13 in 1898 and $1,332.61 in 1899.
M etal M ining . — Inform ation is given regarding the cost* o f m aking
pack trails, mine roads, tunnels and shafts, the wages o f m iners, and
the percentage o f m etal in the gold, silver, copper, and lead ore
mined. The wages o f miners were reported from $3 to $3.50 per day
fo r ten hours’ w ork, and the wages o f laborers, $2.50 to $3 per day.
A gricultural P roducts. — Statistics are given o f the acreage and
the yield o f certain crops in the State and o f the wages paid for farm
labor. On the east side o f the Cascades regular farm laborers received
$1 per day, and engineers and separator tenders $2.50 to $5 per day.
On the west side o f the Cascades regular farm laborers received from
$1 to $1.50 per day, and engineers and separator tenders from $2.50 to
$4 per day.
F lour M illin g .— Statistics are given fo r 21 flour m ills in the State
fo r the years 1898 and. 1899.
These 21 m ills ground 4,332,196 bushels
o f wheat in 1899 and 5,264,001 in 1900, producing 859,961 barrels o f
flour in 1899 and 1 ,0 62,884 in 1900, and 94,967 tons o f bran in 1899
and 96,267 in 1900. The wages of m illers varied from $65 to $135 per
m onth, and those o f laborers from $48 to $70 per month.
C oal M ining . — Statistics are given showing the coal, output in
1900, by counties, and the wages paid fo r different classes o f mine
labor.
M iners em ployed by the day received from $2.25 to $3, and
those on contract work earned from $ 2.50 to $4 per day.
W age Scale for the S tate .— A list o f occupations o f m illm en,
loggers, and other skilled and unskilled workers is given, and the
m axim um and minimum wages paid in each occupation.
RECENT FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS.
B E L G IU M .
Statistique des Salaires dam les M ines de H ouille ( Octobre 1896-M ai
1900). Office du Travail, M inistere de l’lndustrie et du Travail.
1901.
104 pp.
The object o f this report was to present a comparative study o f the
wages o f coal-mine workers at the time o f the industrial census o f
October, 1896, and in M ay, 1900. The year 1896 may be regarded as
a year of average activity in the coal-m ining industry in Belgium ,
while the year 1900 was one o f exceptional prosperity. The present
report, therefore, enables one to study the effect o f such prosperity
upon the wages paid in the industry.
W h ile the census statistics cover all coal-m ining enterprises in B el
gium , the present comparative work covers returns from 63 out o f a
total o f 110 enterprises, or 57 per cent, em ploying in 1896, 89,512
out o f a total o f 116,274 mine workers, or 77 per cent. Some o f the
63 enterprises reporting in 1900 did not send wage returns o f all
their m ines, and the wage data for such mines were, therefore, omitted
from the comparative figures taken from the census returns. In this
way the actual number o f mine workers considered in the em ploy o f
the 63 m ining enterprises was reduced to 88,287 in 1896. The same
mines employed 100,138 mine workers in 1900.
These figures con
stitute the basis fo r the statistics shown in the present report.
The
returns were made by the mine owners and not by the em ployees.
The detailed tables given in the report show for each coal-m ining
enterprise, and fo r each mining district in Belgium , and for the country
as a whole, the total number o f persons employed in the various classes
o f underground and surface work, grouped according to wage cate
gories. Separate tables are given for male adults, fem ale adults, boys
under 16 years o f age, and girls under 16 years o f age. A second
series o f tables shows fo r each o f the 10 principal occupations the
proportion com ing under each o f the wage categories.
595
596
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Follow ing is a summary o f the inform ation given for the 63 m ining
enterprises considered:
EMPLOYEES OF 63 COAL-MINING ENTERPRISES IN 1896 AND 1900, ACCORDING TO WAGE
GROUPS.
Wages per day.
Underground
workers.
Surface workers.
A ll m ine workers.
1900.
1896.
1900.
Under 1.50 francs ($0.29).........................
1.50 to 1.99 francs ($0.29 to $0.384)..........
2.00 to 2.49 francs ($0.886 to $0.481).........
2.50 to 2.99 francs ($0.483 to $0.577).........
3.00 to 3.49 francs ($0.579 to $0.674).........
3.50 to 3.99 francs ($0.676 to $0.770)........
4.00 to 4.49 francs ($0.772 to $0.867).........
4.50 to 4.99 francs ($0.869 to $0.963).........
5.00 to 5.49 francs ($0.965 to $1.060).........
5.50 to 5.99 francs ($1.062 to $1.156).........
6.00 to 6.49 francs ($1.158 to $1.253).........
6.50 to 6.99 francs ($1.255 to $1.349).........
7.00 to 7.49 francs ($1.351 to $1.446).........
7.50 to 7.99 francs ($1.448 to $1.542).........
8.00 to 8.49 francs (§1.544 to $1. 639).........
8.50 to 8.99 francs ($1.641 to $1.735).........
9.00 to 9.49 francs ($1.737 to $1.832).........
9.50 to 9.99 francs (§1.834 to $1.928).........
10.00 francs ($1.930) or o v e r ....................
155
861
2,860
7,660
16,456
13,444
11,235
5,058
1,888
785
439
190
263
8
119
642
1,492
3,084
5,706
12,077
11,850
7,716
6,495
6,061
5,865
5,047
2,612
1,318
771
461
240
391
374677
2,341
5,449
3,466
1,376
801
341
222
44
38
10
13
T otal..................................................
61,300
71,955
16,152
16,775
76,452
88,730
41
232
392
43
i
19
4
39
99
28
9
139
2,330
1,092
59
7
1
33
859
2,502
430
93
15
12
139
2,371
1,324
451
50
1
33
860
2,521
434
132
114
40
9
708
199
3,628
3,944
4,336
4,143
Under 0.50 franc (#0.097).........................
0.50 to 0.99 franc ($0.097 to $0.191)..........
1.00 to 1.49 francs ($0.193 to $0.288).........
1.50 francs ($0.290) or oyer........................
s
67
1,521
2,307
4
368
3,543
7
614
929
255
158
822
524
10
681
2,450
2,562
162
1,190
4,067
T otal..................................................
3,898
3,915
1,805
1,504
5,703
5,419
3
1
3
769
1,031
1
259
1,585
3
759
1,034
1
259
1,686
1896.
1896.
1900.
MALE ADULTS.
2
4
135
503
942
2,410
4,684
4,082
2,064
952
584
191
133
58
16
11
6
1
1
3
529
1,638
5,201
13,109
19,922
14,820
12,036
5,399
2,110
829
477
200
276
2
4
143
622
1,584
3,902
7,768
9,788
14,141
12,802
8,300
6,686
6,194
5,923
5,062
2,623
1,324
772
461
241
394
FEMALE ADULTS.
Under 1.00 franc ($0.193).........................
1.00 to 1.49 francs ($0.193 to $0.288).........
1.50 to 1.99 francs (#0.290 to $0.384).........
2.00 to 2.49 francs ($0.386 to $0.4 8 l).........
2.50 to 2.99 francs ($0.483 to $0.577).........
3.00 to 3.49 francs ($0.579 to $0.674).........
3.50 to 3.99 francs ($0.676 to $0.770).........
4.00 francs ($0.772) or over........................
T otal..................................................
MALES UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE.
FEMALES UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE.
Under 0.50 franc ($0.097).........................
0.50 to 0.99 franc ($0.097 to $0.191)..........
1.00 franc ($0.193) or over................. .
T otal..................................................
3
1
1,793
1,845
1,796
1,846
Total em ployees..............................
65,909
76,070
22,378
24,068
88,287
100,138
Taking the m ost numerous class o f mine w orkers, the male adults
engaged in underground w ork, it is found that while in 1896 over
three-fourths earned from 3 francs ($0.58) to 5 francs ($0.97), in 1900
less than one-half came within that class.
W a ges under 2 francs ($0.39)
per day have alm ost disappeared, only 127 underground mine workers
com ing under that class in 1900, as compared with 1,016 in 1896.
On
the other hand, the returns for 1896 showed that no underground
mine
workers earned over 9.49 francs ($1.83), while in 1900, 631
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— BELGIUM.
597
came within that class. From the comparative figures obtained for
male adults engaged in underground w ork, it is estimated that those
earning less than 3 francs ($0.58) per day in 1896 had their wages
increased about 1 franc ($0.19) per day, and those earning from 3
francs ($0.58) to 4 .5 0 francs ($0.87), or about tw o-thirds o f the entire
number, have enjoyed an increase o f from 1.50 francs ($0.29) to 3
francs ($0.58) per day.
The increase o f wages for male adult surface
workers was about 1 franc ($0.19); for fem ale adults w orking under
ground the increase varied from 1 franc ($0.19) to 1.50 francs ($ 0 .2 9 );
fo r fem ale adults doing surface work it was about 0 .50 franc ($0.10);
and fo r boys w orking underground, 0 .50 franc ($0.10).
The wages
o f boys doing surface work and o f girls showed no considerable change.
W h ile the number o f men and boys engaged in underground mine
work showed a considerable increase, the number o f women and girls so
em ployed decreased from 711 in 1896 to 200 in 1900.
W ith regard to
surface work, how ever, the number o f men, women, and girls showed
an increase and the number o f boys a decrease from 1896 to 1900.
On the whole, there was an increase in the number o f men and girls,
and a decrease in the number o f women and boys employed in the 63
m ining establishments considered.
FRANCE.
Poisons Industriels.
Office du Travail, M inistere du Commerce, de
l’lndustrie, des Postes et des Tel^graphes.
1901.
449 pp.
The first part o f this report consists o f a collection o f practical su g
gestions with regard to industrial hygiene in establishments where
poisonous substances are handled or noxious gases are generated.
Each o f the follow ing substances are discussed: Lead, copper, zinc,
m ercury, arsenic, phosphorus, benzine, nitro-benzine, aniline, petro
leum , tar, turpentine, vanilla, perfum e essences, hem p, tea, picric
acid, wood alcohol, tobacco, sulphureted hydrogen, carbonic oxide,
carbonic acid, bisulphide o f carbon, and anthrax virus. In each case
a description is given o f the nature o f the poisonous substance, the
manner in which the poisons are absorbed in the system or carried by
the w orking people, the means to be adopted to guard against their *
dangerous effects, the sym ptom s o f poisoning and methods o f treat
m ent, and the industries in which em ployees are exposed to poisonous
substances.
The second part o f the work is devoted to the reproduction o f the
laws and regulations o f various European countries relating to dan
gerous occupations.
598
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Legislation ouvriere et sociale en Australie et Nowvelle-Zelande. M ission
de M . A lb ert M etin. Office du Travail, M inistere du Commerce,
de PIndustrie, des Postes et des T&egraphes. 1901. v ii, 200 pp.
This report represents the results o f a study o f labor and social leg
islation in Australia and New Zealand, by M r. A lb ert M 6tin, who was
commissioned by the Bureau o f Labor o f France to make a “ study o f
the labor laws and in general the r61e o f the States and the municipali
ties in the labor legislation in A ustralia and New Zealand.”
The study
is based on a visit from A p ril to O ctober, 1899, to the colonies o f
South A ustralia, V ictoria, Tasmania, New South W ales, Queensland,
and New Zealand.
The author does not confine him self to the study o f labor laws
exclusively, but has made an investigation also o f general measures
by which the w orking class benefits to a large extent. Hence at the
beginning o f his report he has placed a chapter upon the general con
ditions o f the countries studied and another chapter upon the land
question, with special reference to the measures that have been taken
in the interest o f the sm all farm ers.
O ther chapters deal with the
labor question, including a history o f labor organizations and the
developm ent out o f their activities o f the labor party in politics; the
eight-hour day and the protection o f w orkers; the minimum wage
legislation o f V ictoria fo r the suppression o f the sweating system ;
conciliation and arbitration, both the early efforts at voluntary con
ciliation, and the later com pulsory measures in New Zealand; the
question o f the unemployed and the measures taken in dealing with
the problem by labor colonies and grants of land to w orkers; pension
funds, e tc .; and the material and m oral condition o f the w orking
people in Australasia.
W h ile the report presents the results of an apparently careful
study o f the various subjects mentioned above, only those chapters
relating to the Victorian and New Zealand minimum wage and com
pulsory arbitration laws w ill be referred to here.
The author finds the origin o f these laws, as o f practically all the
radical labor laws in A ustralasia, in the appearance o f a labor party
in politics after the defeat o f labor in the great m aritim e strike o f
1890.
In New Zealand, to be sure, the labor party has never been in
actual control, but the reason is said to be the fact that the party in
power has yielded to all the demands o f the labor element and thus
obtained and continued to hold their support.
The Victorian laws have already been sufficiently explained in Bulle
tin 38, page 152 et seq., and again on pages 559, 560, preceding. The
author notes two difficulties which have arisen in putting into effect
the minimum wage rates, nam ely, the crowding out o f the slow and
unskillful workers and the problem o f how to fix the wage fo r piece
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- FRANCE.
599
work. W ith the w orking day reduced by law and with the minimum
wage fixed for the day and for the hour, the em ployer can not be pre
vented from exacting more rapid and intense labor, even beyond the
capacity o f the slow and the unskillful. The application o f the law
has already indicated this danger, which w ill become greater as more
and more machinery is employed.
A n examination o f official conciliation and arbitration in New South
W ales, South Australia, and New Zealand leads the author to the con
clusion—
(1) That conciliation and arbitration by the state has no efficacy
except when com pulsory; (2) that the em ployers are every where hostile
to official conciliation, although many o f them admit private concilia
tion ; (3) that the workmen are favorable to official conciliation only in
New Zealand. One may even say that throughout the world generally
the labor organizations are opposed to conciliation by the state. Offi
cial conciliation and arbitration were proposed in 1899 at the congress
o f English trade unions and the proposal was rejected by a large
m ajority. That vote was in accord with the sentiment o f the labor
organization leaders in the United States.
A.11 have declared to me
that they would never give their approval fo r the state to impose upon
them a settlem ent, because the state represents the interests o f the
em ployers. W h ile recognizing that the governm ent o f New Zealand
is favorable to the labor organizations, they considered them very
imprudent in having accepted an intervention which m ight be turned
against them if public opinion should take the side o f the em ployers
and pronounce in favor o f a reduction o f w ages; then the court, decid
ing according to equity, the workmen would be obliged to subm it
without a struggle. Although such a case be little probable, it appears
certain that the workmen o f New Zealand, in accepting the law with
so much favor, had intended chiefly to encourage industrial unions.
W h at they had in view in the law was less com pulsory conciliation
and arbitration than the means o f rendering practically com pulsory:
1. The union workman.
2. The collective contract between em ployer and labor organization
in place o f the individual contract between em ployer and isolated
workman.
3. The introduction fo r one or two years in the contract of- the cus
tom o f the industry; that is to say, o f the advantages demanded with
persistence by the labor organizations and sometimes granted by the
em ployers under exceptional and tem porary circumstances.
4. The minimum wages and the suppression o f the sweating system .
A part o f these wishes have been realized at M elbourne. In spite
o f the difference in the aim s, the m ixed boards o f M elbourne and the
conciliation boards o f New Zealand ought to be compared. T hey are
institutions o f a different kind, but their spirit is the sam e; they tend
toward ends which the m ost o f European governments do not believe
ought to be follow ed, and they are the two m ost original features in
the labor legislation o f Australasia.
600
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
G R E A T B R IT A IN .
Coal Tables, 1883 to 1899.
1901.
64 pp.
(Published by the B rit
ish Board o f T rade.)
This report not only presents tables relating to coal, but also certain
data as to lign ite production and petroleum .
In the first part are found tables covering, for the period from 1883
to 1899, the principal European countries, Japan, the U nited States,
and certain British colonies and possessions.
The data include quan
tity and value, total and per ton, o f coal produced; consumption, total
and per capita; and the proportion o f coal of hom e, B ritish, and other
foreign production consumed in the various countries.
Tables show
ing exports o f certain countries, amount o f coal consumed for loco
m otive purposes, and amount brought to London are also given.
The total known coal production o f the world is given at about
650,000,000 tons per annum.
The follow ing table gives the production for the years 1898, 1899,
and 1900 o f the principal coal-producing countries o f the w orld:
PRODUCTION OF COAL, IN TONS OF 2,240 POUNDS, FOR FIVE PRINCIPAL COAL-PRODUCING
COUNTRIES, 1898,1899, and 1900.
United
States.
United
Kingdom .
Germany.
France.
196.406.000
226.554.000
a 245,422,000
202.055.000
220.095.000
225.181.000
94,762,200
100,006,500
107,469,600
31,314,500
31,737,600
a32,063,300
Belgium .
21,733,000
21,717,300
a22,976,700
a Provisional, subject to revision.
The amount o f coal produced in 1898 in each country here shown,
except the U nited K ingdom , where the production fo r 1897 was
sligh tly greater than that fo r 1898, exceeds the production fo r any
previous year appearing on the original table, which begins with the
year 1883.
The U nited States in 1899 surpassed, fo r the first tim e,
the U nited K ingdom in the amount o f coal m ined, though in exporta
tion and in per capita consumption the U nited K ingdom is still in the
lead.
F or 1899 the amounts are, fo r exports from the U nited K in g
dom , 55,810,000 tons; from the U nited States, 5 ,275,000 tons.
In the
same year the im ports fo r the tw o countries were 2,000 tons and 1 ,3 1 1 ,000 tons, respectively.
Germ any is far ahead o f the U nited States as
an export country, the quantity fo r the same year being 16,483,000
tons, and the im ports, 6,777,000 tons.
Belgium also exported a greater
number o f tons than the U nited States, but im ports reduced the net
amount exported to a quantity below that o f this country.
The con
sumption per capita in the U nited K ingdom was 4 .05 tons in 1899, the
U nited States ranking next with a consumption o f 3 tons.
The gross
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS-— GREAT BRITAIN.
601
consumption o f the two countries in 1899 was for the United K in g
dom 164,287,000 tons and for the U nited States, 222,590,000 tons.
The number o f persons finding em ploym ent in this industry is greater
in the U nited Kingdom than in any other country, being for those
engaged both above and below ground, 686,700 fo r that country in 1898,
as against 401,221 in the United States for the same year.
ranked next in order, with 357,695 em ployees.
Germ any
L ignite is o f considerable commercial importance in G erm any,
France, Spain, Ita ly , and A ustria-H ungary.
The statistics given
relate m ainly to production, value, and number o f em ployees.
Tables showing the production o f petroleum in the United States,
Russia, and Japan, in the first two countries for a period o f 20 years,
and in Japan from 1894 to 1898; also amounts im ported, exported,
and retained fo r home consumption in the United States and Russia,
make up this part o f the report.
In the follow ing table is given the production, in gallons, fo r each
country for the years indicated:
GALLONS OF CRUDE PETROLEUM PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN, AND
OF RAW NAPHTHA IN RUSSIA, 1894 TO 1898.
Year.
United States.
1894..................................................................................
1895..................................................................................
1896..................................................................................
1897..................................................................................
1898..................................................................................
2.072.470.000
2.221.476.000
2.560.335.000
2.539.972.000
2.325.298.000
Russia.
1,569,431,200
2.131.888.800
2.146.858.800
2,366,016,000
a 2,446,852,800
Japan.
7,240,800
7,122,000
9,927,600
11,014,800
13,383,600
a For the Baku district only.
Statistics Relating to Coal M ining , 1886 to 1900. 1901. 8 pp. (Pub
lished by the British Board o f Trade.)
This report consists o f seven tables,
Kingdom and the principal coal-m ining
value o f coal produced, and the number
miners in each year, 1886 to 1900, together
44showing fo r the United
districts the quantity and
and average wages o f coal
with the estimated amounts
expended on miners’ wages and remaining fo r other expenses and
coal owners’ profits in the United Kingdom in each year, with explana
tory m emorandum .”
The follow ing table presents data showing the number o f em ployees,
average w eekly wages, amount and value o f product, and amount per
m illion tons o f product expended on wages and rem aining fo r othei
6451—No. 40—02-----7
602
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
expenses and owner’s profits in the coal industry, for the year 1900,
together with the annual average for the ten years 1890 to 1899:
EMPLOYEES, RATES OF WAGES, AND AMOUNT AND VALUE OF PRODUCT IN THE COAL
INDUSTRY FOR 1900, AND AVERAGE FOR 1890 TO 1899.
Product.
Average
Employees. weekly
wages.
Date.
Average, 1890 to 1899..........
1900.......................................
670.900
759.900
$6.65
8.25
Amount
(tons).
Value.
191.073.000
225.170.000
$318,969,876
592,004,859
Amount per m illion
tons produced—
Rem aining
for
Expended expenses
on wages. other than
wages and
for profits.
$1,167,960
1,391,819
$501,250
1,236,091
The proportion expended on wages and the proportion remaining fo r
other expenses and owners’ profits in the coal-m ining industry o f the
United K ingdom for each year in the period reported are given here
w ith, expressed in per cents:
PER CENT EXPENDED ON WAGES AND PER CENT REMAINING FOR OTHER EXPENSES
AND OWNERS’ PROFITS IN COAL MINING, 1886 TO 1900.
Items.
1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. 1893. 1894. 1895. 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900.
W ages......................... 69.0 68.5 68.8 65.1 60.3 65.0 70.0 83.8 72.7 75.7 74.1 71.9 73.0 61.5 53.0
Other expenses and
p rofits...................... 31.0 31.5 31.2 34.9 39.7 35.0 30.0 16.2 27.3 24.3 25.9 28.1 27.0 38.5 47.0
O N T A R IO .
Nineteenth Annual Report o f the Bureau o f Industries fo r the
Province o f Ontario, 1900. 47 pp. (Published by the Ontario
Departm ent o f A gricu ltu re.)
This report consists o f two parts: Part I , relating to agriculture;
and Part I I , relating to chattel m ortgages.
A griculture .— U nder this head are presented statistics o f the
weather, crops, live stock, and p ou ltry, the dairy and the apiary, labor
and wages, values o f farm property, m arket prices o f products, etc.
F or the year 1900 the value o f land is reported at $574,727,610; of
buildings, $219,4 8 8 ,3 7 0 ; o f im plem ents, $5 7 ,3 2 4 ,1 3 0 ; and o f livestock ,
$123,274,821, each item showing an increase over the preceding year.
The total is $974,814,931, a gain o f $27,301,571 over the year 1899.
The average annual wages o f farm laborers fo r 1900 were $155 with
board, and $248 w ithout board.
M onthly wages during the working
season averaged $16.57 with board and$25.73 w ithout board.
tic servants received an average o f $6.65 per m onth.
there is som ething o f an advance over the year previous.
Dom es
In each instance
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— ONTARIO.
603
Chattel M ortgages.— There has been a steady decrease in the num
ber o f chattel m ortgages since 1895. Their amount also decreased fo r
the fou r years 1896 to 1899, but the year 1900 reports an increase o f
above $600,000. The number on record on Decem ber 31, 1900, was
17,321, their amount being $11,669,806. O f these 8,440, amounting
to $3,1 1 0 ,5 4 3 , were against farm ers.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
[T his subject, begun in Bulletin No. 2, has been continued in successive issues.
A ll m aterial parts of the decisions are reproduced in the w ords of the courts, indi
cated w hen short by quotation marks, and w hen long by being printed solid. In
order to save space, matter needed sim ply by way o f explanation is given in the
w ords of the editorial reviser.]
D E C IS IO N S U N D E R S T A T U T O R Y L A W .
E ight -H our L aw — M unicipal Corporations—P aying Streets-
State v. Atkin , Supreme Court o f Kansas, 67 Pacific Reported', page
519.— W . W . A tkin was convicted in the district court of W yandotte
County o f a violation o f what is known as the u eight-hour law ” of
Kansas, and appealed. This law provides “ That eight hours shall
constitute a day’s work for all laborers, workm en, mechanics or other
persons now em ployed, or who may hereafter be employed by or on
behalf o f the State o f Kansas, or by or on behalf o f any county, city,
township, or other m unicipality o f said State, * *
Contracts
made “ by or on behalf o f the State o f Kansas, or by or on behalf o f
any county, city, township, or other m unicipality o f said State,” come
under the same rule o f law.
A tkin had a contract fo r the paving o f a public street of Kansas
C ity , K a n s., a city o f the first class, and had perm itted a common
laborer engaged in this work to work more than eight hours per day.
The constitutionality o f this law had been determined in the case, in re
D alton, 61 K a n s., 257, 59 P ac., 336, 47 L . R . A ., 380 (see Bulletin o f
the Departm ent o f L abor, N o. 28, p. 610). The only question, there
fore, was whether the city is such an agency o f the State in doing the
work contracted fo r as to bring the case within the principle o f the
case above mentioned.
In the course o f his rem arks, in which he sus
tained the decision o f the court below , Judge Sm ith, who delivered the
opinion o f the court, said:
The law which appellant [A tk in] violated m ust have its application
in the light o f the fact that municipal corporations are the creatures
o f the State. The legislature gives them being. T hey let contracts
for the im provem ent o f streets under express authorization o f the
legislature, and could not do so in the absence o f such authority. It
*is and always has been the duty o f the State to lay out and im prove
highways or travel. The city m contracting to pave Quindaro boule
vard, exercised delegated authority, and acted as an agent fo r the State.
I f the State had been doing this w ork, it can not be denied that it m ight,
at its pleasure, have given the current rate o f per diem wages in the
city for eight hours’ w ork. This is the principle o f the Dalton case.
The judgm ent o f the court below w ill be affirmed.
604
DECISIONS OE COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
605
E ight -H our L aw —P ayment of D eputy Sheriffs — C onstruc
Statute — Christian County v. Merrigan, Supreme Court o f
tion of
Illinois, 61 Northeastern Reporter, page lfl9 .— Suit was brought by
Lawrence M errigan against the county o f Christian o f the State o f
Illinois to recover compensation fo r services, etc., while he was acting
as a special deputy sheriff during the progress o f a strike at Pana, in
said county, in 1898. The first count of his declaration alleged the
time o f his service to have been one hundred and tw enty-four days
and the second count one hundred and fifty days o f eight hours each.
Each count alleged that he was entitled under a statute o f the State to
compensation at the rate o f $2 per day. In the trial court a judgment
was rendered in his favor under the first count, and upon appeal to the
appellate court o f the third district o f Illinois this judgm ent was
affirmed. The county then appealed the case to the supreme court o f
Illin ois, which rendered its decision October 2 4 ,1 9 0 1 , and affirmed the
judgm ents o f the low er courts. M errigan him self appealed on the
ground that the judgm ent in his favor should have been rendered
under the second count o f his declaration, which claimed compensation
fo r one hundred and fifty days o f eight hours each. From the stand
point o f labor this is the only interesting point in the case and the
grounds o f the plaintiff’s appeal, as well as the reasons for the decision
o f the supreme court denying it, are set forth in the opinion o f the
court, delivered by Judge Carter, who used the follow ing language:
Appellee [M errigan] has assigned cross errors, and contends that
the act making eight hours a legal day’s work (H urd’s R ev. St. 1899,
p. 840) applies, and that he should have been permitted to recover,
under the second count, for one hundred and fifty days o f eight hours
each; that is, that the plaintiff should have been perm itted to divide
the days into periods o f eight hours when he was engaged in his
duties as deputy, and thus perm itted to recover, under the statute, for
as many days "as there were periods o f eight hours’ actual service.
This point was also correctly decided below . W e agree with the
appellate court in its holding that the statute has no application to
cases o f this kind (Phillips v. Christian County, 87 111. A p p . 481),
but that it is confined to mechanical trades, arts, and em ploym ents,
and other cases o f labor and services o f like character, and aoes not
embrace services o f an official character. M oreover, if the eighthour statute applied, appellee perform ed the services required o f him
each day without any agreement (even if there could be such agreement
in such a case) that he should be paid fo r extra tim e. In the absence
o f such an agreement or contract no recovery could be had for extra
tim e em ployed over eight hours during the same day. W e are o f
the opinion that the per diem required b y the statute to be paid for
the tim e actually em ployed was only fo r one day in each tw enty-four
hours.
E mployers’ L iability — E mployment of C hildren — N egligence —
D amages— Ornamental Iron and Wire Co. v. Green, Supreme Court
o f Tennessee, 66 Southwestern Reporter, page 399•— Luther G reen, a
606
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
m inor, sued by his next friend to recover damages for an injury
received while in the service o f the above-named company. A t the
time o f the inju ry, which resulted in the amputation o f a leg , Green
was under 12 years o f age. Green claimed to have received the injury
while going to a yard belonging to the company on an errand for his
superior, and that while passing certain heavy panels o f fence placed
there by the company he stumbled against the panels so that they fell
on him , causing the hurt complained o f.
On the other hand, the company maintained that he was in the yard
without orders, and while carelessly playing with the panels o f fence
pulled them over upon him self and was thus injured. Damages were
awarded in the circuit court o f Ham ilton County to the amount o f
$3,000. The defendant thereupon appealed to the supreme court,
which affirmed the judgm ent o f the low er court.
The follow ing is quoted from the remarks o f Judge Beard, who
delivered the opinion o f the court:
B y section 1, C. 159, acts 1893 (Shannon's Code, sec. 4434), it is pro
vided that it shall be unlaw ful for any proprietor, forem an, owner, or
other person to em ploy any child, less than 12 years o f age, in any work
shop, m ill, factory, or mine in this State; while section 3 o f the act
(Shannon’s Code, sec. 4436) provides that any proprietor, forem an, or
owner “ em ploying a child less than twelve years o f age
*
*
*
shall be g u ilty o f a misdemeanor.” A n act sim ilar to this was consid
ered in Queen v. Iron C o ., 95 Tenn. 458, 32 S. W . 460, 30 L . R . A . 82,
49 A m . St. R ep. 935. In that case it was held that the em ploym ent
o f an infant under 12 years o f age, in violation o f a statute forbidding
such em ploym ent, and declaring it a misdemeanor, constitutes per se
such negligence as makes the em ployer liable fo r all injuries sustained
by the infant in the course o f his em ploym ent. This holding was made
after a careful examination o f the authorities, and we see no reason to
depart from it.
The very em ploym ent is a violation o f the statute, and every injury
that results therefrom is actionable. In the case presented by the
plaintiff below , as w ell as in that adduced by the defendant com pany, the
connection between the em ploym ent and the injury is that o f cause and
effect, and brings the complaint within the operation o f the statute.
It is further insisted that the verdict is excessive. W e are unable
to say that a verdict against the wrongdoer o f $ 3,000, in favor o f a
boy who, before he reaches the age o f 12 years, loses a leg, is the result
o f caprice, prejudice, or corruption on the part o f the ju ry. This
being so, we are not authorized to disturb it.
E mployers’ L iability — N egligence — A ssumption of R isk by
E mployee — Moon-Anchor Consolidated Gold Mines, Lim ited , v. Hop
kins, United States Circuit Court o f Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 111
Lederal Reporter, page 298.— In this case the plaintiff, M ary A . H op
kins, brought suit to recover damages, under the statute o f Colorado,
fo r the death o f her son, Phineas H opkins.
The above-named company,
DECISIONS OP COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
607
in whose em ploy Hopkins was at the time o f his death, had been
engaged in excavating a chamber in its mine, and, after the proper
size had been excavated except as to height, the only support that had
been left fo r the roof was blown out on the 18th o f M arch. Rock then
fe ll in large quantities and continued to fall from tim e to tim e. W o rk
men were set about the placing o f tim bers to support the roof, rem ov
ing the fallen rock as they advanced. Hopkins was 20 years o f age,
not an experienced m iner, and was engaged in operating a car fo r the
removal o f the loose rock. The workmen were directed not to go
beyond the protection o f the tim bers, and were furnished with lon ghandled hooks with which to pull out the rock without exposing them
selves. W h ile thus engaged Hopkins was instantly killed by a piece
o f rock which fell from above outside the tim bers, and, striking on a
pile o f rock, was deflected under the tim bers to where he was standing.
It was brought out at the trial court that the progress in excavation
without the provision o f tim bering and the blowing out o f the sup
porting pillar before supporting structures were put in had been done
in spite of warnings by the head timberman and a shift boss.
The
court held, however, that the method o f m aking the original excava
tion was not the proxim ate or actuating cause o f the death o f the plain
tiff’s son; and that if the evidence showed reasonable care and diligence
in its later proceedings for clearing and tim bering the room , and that
H opkins knew or m ight reasonably have known the nature o f the
undertaking, then he must be held to have assumed the increased haz
ards incident to putting the room in a reasonably safe condition. The
ju ry, however, brought in a verdict o f damages for the plaintiff, and
the company appealed.
Judges Sanborn and Adam s concurred in
reversing the judgm ent and remanded the cause with directions to
grant a new trial, Judge Thayer dissenting.
In announcing the m ajority opinion, Judge Adam s said, in part:
The measure o f duty and obligation o f a master to his servant, when
the work voluntarily undertaken by the servant consists in m aking a
dangerous place safe, is m aterially changed from that prevailing under
the general rule. It may be that negligence in m aking the original
excavation occasioned the new risks and hazards to which plaintiff’s
son voluntarily subjected him self, but it can not, in out* opinion, be
true that the first-mentioned negligence, remote not only in tim e but
in connection with the injury, was the actuating cause, when it appears
that the deceased o f his own free w ill determined to cope with these
risks and hazards, and for a price satisfactory to him assumed the
liability incident to them. In this, his own voluntary conduct, is found
the intervening proxim ate and responsible cause or his injury. The
deceased, by voluntarily engaging in the work o f making a dangerous
lace safe, assumed all the risks attending it which were known to
im , or which by the exercise o f ordinary care and foresight m ight
have been known to him.
E
608
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
A s showing the views o f Judge Thayer, the follow ing extracts are
given:
I am unable to concur in the foregoing opinion o f the m ajority.
The principal proposition which is enunciated in the m ajority opin
ion is that the negligence o f the defendant company, conceding it to
have been negligent, was not the proxim ate cause o f the injury.
This proposition im plies, o f course, that, after having rendered the
excavation needlessly unsafe by failing to shore up the roof with tim
bers as the work o f excavation progressed, the defendant could then
call upon its em ployees to make it safe, and, if they were hurt while
so doing, assert that it was not its fault. I have not been able to
conclude that this is either a sound or a just doctrine. The cases
cited in its support are cases where the place was rendered unsafe
w ithout the m aster’s fau lt, as where in doing some necessary work in
a proper manner the place where the servant worked was rendered
tem porarily insecure. In the case in hand the place was needlessly
made unsafe by the master’s negligence. In the ligh t o f these facts
the only charge, as it would seem, that ought to be brought against
the deceased, is that he was guilty o f contributory negligence in con
senting to w ork in such a place, rather than that his consenting to do
the w ork which he was ordered to do was the sole efficient cause o f
his death. H e was a young man (not yet 21 years old) and inex
perienced in m ining; and he was in company with experienced m iners,
whose presence ana example would naturally have much influence on
the conduct o f a young man o f his age. Under these circumstances
no court ought to say, as a matter o f law , that he was gu ilty o f con
tributory negligence in being where he was at the tim e o f nis death.
W h ether he was thus guilty was, in m y opinion, a question fo r the
ju ry ; and that question was decided by the ju ry in his favor, and, as I
think, correctly decided. The judgm ent below ought to be affirmed.
E mployees’ L iability — R ailroad C ompanies— N egligence — B al
timore and Ohio Railroad Co. v. Burris, United States Circuit Court
o f Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 111 Federal Reporter, page 88%.— In this
case Burris, who was the conductor o f a freigh t train in the service
o f receivers o f the railroad com pany, sued by way o f an interven
ing petition to recover damages fo r an injury received in consequence,
as he alleged, o f the negligence o f the receivers, and judgm ent in
the sum o f $5,000 was awarded.
The company objected that lia
b ility, if any, rested upon the receivers and not upon the com
pany; but inasmuch as the company had resumed control o f the road
on condition that it should pay off and satisfy all debts and obligations
incurred by the receivers, which m ight be adjudged by the court to be
valid charges against the receivers, this objection was overruled.
It
was testified during the trial that as the train o f which B urris was
conductor was leaving the yard at the station, an em ployee o f the
company called out to those on board sign ifyin g that som ething was
w rong, but did not make him self clearly understood.
A brakeman
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
609
who heard him and spoke o f the m atter to the conductor, who was read
ing his w aybills in the caboose, was directed to go forward and see if
he could discover any cause for the warning. It was found that a
brake beam upon a car at about the middle o f the train was down and
one end dragging upon the track. A s soon as the conductor was
inform ed o f this, he went forward and tried to signal the engineer to
stop the train. B efore he succeeded in doing this, the car reached a
bridge and the dragging beam threw it from the track, breaking the
trestle, and the conductor fell with it into the ravine and was badly
hurt. The defense o f the company rested on two principal grounds:
F irst, that the rules required the conductor to see that his train was
in proper running order before starting, and that he must have neg
lected this duty and was therefore not entitled to recover; second, that
he was guilty o f negligence in sending forward a brakeman instead o f
going him self to discover the occasion o f the warning.
On these points Judge Severens, who delivered the opinion of the
court, said:
Respecting the contention that the conductor was to be held
clusively negligent in not discovering by inspection o f his train
the brake beam was down, it is to be observed, in the first place,
by a statute in O hio, where the injury happened, a prima facie
sumption is raised that any such defect as this existed and
continued by the negligence o f the company.
con
that
that
pre
was
A fte r citing the statute (Bates5 Rev. S t., sec. 3 365-21), and stating
that by this statute the burden o f proof o f want o f knowledge o f an
existing defect and o f due diligence in ascertaining it is cast upon the
com pany, he cited the rule o f the company requiring freigh t conduct
ors to see that trains are ready before starting, and continued:
It is contended that if Burris had perform ed the duty enjoined by
this rule, he would have seen that the brake beam was out o f place,
and saved him self from suffering the injury. But it is obvious that
it is not intended by this rule that the conductor should critically
examine the several cars in his train, and the attachments thereto,
with that degree o f particularity which measures the duty o f the com
pany itself. O ther em ployees (the car inspectors) are charged with
that special duty, and, besides, the tim e prescribed [forty minutes]
fo r his preparations for leaving would frequently, if not ordinarily,
be insufficient for him to make such thorough examination in addition
to the other duties imposed upon him fo r execution within the tim e
mentioned. From the evidence the ju ry m ight have not unreasonably
concluded that the brake beam had not fallen down when the train
started; fo r, if it had, the indication would have been so m anifest that
the conductor could hardly have failed to notice it. A nd yet the ju ry
m ight have been satisfied that its hangings were weak or insecure, and
that, if thorough inspection had been given, the fact would have been
discovered, but that the defect was not so apparent that the plaintiff
ought to be charged with fault in not seeing it.
610
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
A s to the second point mentioned above, the court said:
It was a question for the jury to determine whether the probability
o f danger in what the brakeman told him he had heard was such that
the conductor was gu ilty o f negligence in sending the brakeman to
find out what the m atter was instead o f going him self. W e can not
hold that the court was w rong in refusing to say that the only reason
able conclusion was that the conductor was at fault. No error being
found in the record, the judgm ent m ust be affirmed, with costs.
E mployers’ L iability — R ailroad Companies— N egligence — A s
R isk — Southern Railway Co. v. Johnson, Supreme Court
sumption of
o f Georgia, Ifi Southeastern Reporter, page 235.— Putnam Johnson
sued in the superior court o f Haralson County to recover damages fo r
an injury received while in the service o f the above-named company.
Johnson was struck by a piece o f slag which had been im properly
placed as ballast and was thrown against him by a m oving train. H e
was in his proper place o f service, and the slag had been so placed by
other em ployees o f the defendant company. Damages were awarded,
and from this judgm ent the company appealed. The supreme court
affirmed the judgm ent o f the court below , Judge L ittle delivering the
opinion. A fte r quoting from the civil code, section 2323, which pro
vides that if a person injured by a railroad company is him self an
em ployee o f that company, and the damage was caused by another
em ployee and without fau lt on the part o f the person injured, his
em ploym ent shall be no bar to recovery, he then said:
I t is contended that the injury to the defendant in error, occasioned
as it was, creates no liability on the part o f the railroad com pany; that
the defendant in error, by his em ploym ent, assumed the risk o f such
injuries. W e think not. The petition alleged and the proof showed
that the defendant in error at the tim e the injuries were sustained was
not at fault. The defective w ork which was the cause o f the injury
was not his, but was done by others at practically another place. The
risks which an em ployee o f a railroad company necessarily assumes as
incident to his occupation are not those which are occasioned by the
incompetence or negligence o f other em ployees. On the contrary, as
is seen above, the company is liable to an em ployee who without fault
is injured by the careless or negligent act o f another em ployee.
E mployers’ L iability — R ailroad C ompanies— W antonness or
I ntentional W rong — C ontributory Negligence — D uty of
E mployers to P rovide R ules for Signals— Louisville and Nash
ville Railroad Co. v. York , Supreme Court o f Alabama, 30 Southern
Reporter, page 676.— This was an action brought by M ary E . Y ork ,
adm inistratrix, against the above-named company to recover damages
fo r the death o f her deceased husband.
circuit court o f Jefferson County.
Dam ages were awarded in the
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
611
The third count o f the complaint was based on the company’s neglect
to provide a proper system o f rules for signaling to engineers in its
switch yards; the fourth charged w illful wrong on the part o f the
engineer by whose action the death was caused; the sixth count averred
that the deceased, while righ tfu lly in the discharge o f his duties, was
crushed and killed between two cars by reason o f the carelessness o f
the engineer in charge o f one o f the defendant’s engines. Each o f
these counts was demurred to, and on the refusal o f the court to grant
a new trial, the case was carried on appeal to the supreme court o f
Alabam a, by which the judgm ent o f the lower court was affirmed.
Chief Justice M cClellan used the follow ing language in delivering
the opinion o f the court:
The position taken by counsel for appellant that there can be no
recovery fo r wantonness, w illfulness, or intentional w rong under said
[the em ployers’ liability] act, now section 1749 o f the Code, has been
adjudged untenable in the recent case o f Railway Co. v. M oore (A la .)
29 South. 659.
The portion o f the act referred to that is here applicable, reads as
follow s:
Section 1749. W h en a personal injury is received by a servant or
em ployee in the service or business o f the master or em ployer, the
master or em ployer is liable to answer in damages to such servant or
em ployee, as if he were a stranger, and not engaged in such service or
em ploym ent, in the cases follow ing:
5. W hen such injury is caused by reason o f the negligence o f any
erson in the service or em ploym ent o f the master or em ployer, who
as the charge or control o f any signal, points, locom otive, engine,
switch, car, or train upon a railway or o f any part o f the track o f a
railw ay.
E
The court continued:
The further contention for , appellant that, even granting that a
recovery in this class o f cases m ay be vested upon wanton, w illfu l, or
intentional misconduct, yet inasmuch as such recovery is a punishment
o f the em ployer fo r the w illfu l wrong o f one em ployee, causing the
death o f another em ployee, it should never be allowed when the injured
party’s own negligence contributes to the result, proceeds on the m is
taken idea that such recovery is punitive, which it is not, but purely
com pensatory; and the theory is that the em ployer should make
compensation fo r injuries purposely inflicted, notwithstanding neglience on the part o f the injured party, because the injury is in no
egree ascribed to such negligence, but is the result solely o f the
effectuation o f the evil purpose o f the wrongdoing em ployee. The
position, to our minds, takes no account o f the consideration that
negligence on the part o f the injured em ployee can only coalesce and
combine with the same quality o f act on the part o f the em ployee
inflicting the injury— with his negligence, and not with his intentional
w rong— to the relief from liability o f the common em ployer; and it is
in the teeth o f numerous decisions o f this court. U pon the foregoing
considerations we rest our conclusion that the fourth count states a
cause o f action, and that the intestate’s negligence is no defense to it.
f
612
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The third count also states a cause o f action, in our opinion. It is
not drawn under the em ployers5 liability act, but counts upon the duty
which the defendant directly owed its em ployees, and neglected to
perform , to establish and prom ulgate rules and regulations fo r sig
naling to engineers o f switch engines, in a yard where there were many
tracks, and where tw o or m ore engines are em ployed near each other
at night, so that the engineers would be able to distinguish the signals
intended fo r them respectively, it being averred in the count that the
signals used were the same fo r all the engineers, and that plaintiff’s
intestate was killed in consequence o f the engineer o f the engine with
which the intestate was working m istaking a signal intended for
another engineer, and m oving his engine accordingly.
The sixth count shows with sufficient clearness and certainty that
intestate was righ tfu lly between two cars, and that the engineer so
negligently and carelessly operated his engine as to cause said cars to
come together, thereby crusning and killing intestate. The demurrer
to this count was properly overruled.
E mployment A gencies— L icenses— C onstitutionality of Stat
ute —P rice
v. People, Supreme Court o f Illinois, 61 Northeastern
Reporter, page 844*— In this case G eorge W . Price was convicted
in the criminal court o f Cook County o f maintaining a private em
ploym ent agency in the city o f Chicago without having obtained a
license. Section 10 o f a law approved A p ril 1 1 ,1 8 9 9 , in force J uly 1,
1899 (H urd’s S t., 1899, p. 848), provides that, “ N o person, firm ,
or corporation in the cities designated in section 1 o f this act [cities o f
not less than fifty thousand population] shall open, operate, or main
tain a private em ploym ent agency fo r hire, or where a fee is charged
to either applicants fo r em ploym ent or fo r help, without first
having obtained a license from the secretary o f state, which
license shall be $200 per annum, and who shall be required to give a
bond to the people o f the State o f Illin ois, in the penal sum o f $1,000
fo r the faith fu l perform ance o f the duties o f private em ploym ent
agent. ”
T rial by ju ry was waived and certain propositions o f law were
subm itted to the court to the effect that the indictm ent did not charge
the commission o f any offense known to the law o f Illin ois; that the
section o f law under which the indictm ent was drawn was void for
unconstitutionality, and that it was unreasonable, oppressive, and
prohibitive, and not regulative.
On the refusal o f the court to assent
to these propositions and the entering o f judgm ent, the defendant
appealed.
Judge B oggs affirmed the sentence o f the court below , using in
part the follow ing language in announcing the finding o f the supreme
court:
I t is an attribute o f sovereign power to enact laws fo r the exercise
o f such restraint and control over the citizen and his occupation as
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
613
m ay be necessary to prom ote the health, safety, and w elfare o f society.
This power is known as the “ police pow er.” In its exercise the gen
eral assem bly m ay provide that any occupation which is the proper
subject o f the power may not be pursued by the citizen, except author
ized by a license issued by public authority so to do. Such enactment
m ay require the payment o f a fee, and the execution o f a bond with
security, conditioned in view o f the objects and purpose o f the act, as
a prerequisite to the issuance o f such license. W h at occupations are
the proper subjects o f this power is a judicial question. (Town o f
Lake V iew v. Rose H ill Cem etery C o ., 70 111. 191, 22 A m . Rep. 7 1 ;
Ritchie v. People, 155 111. 98, 40 N . E . 454, 20 L . R . A . 79, 46 A m .
S fR e p . 315; Booth v. People, 186 111. 43, 57 N . E . 798, 50 L . R . A .
762.) That the public w elfare demands legislation prescribing regula
tions and restrictions to protect against the evils o f im position and
extortion which have manifested themselves in the conduct o f private
em ploym ent agencies is not contradicted by counsel fo r plaintiff in
error, but such counsel contend that the license fee imposed by said
section 10 o f the act is enacted fo r the prim ary purpose o f raising rev
enue, and not as a means o f enforcing any police regulation. The
argum ent is that the license fee o f $200 has no relation to the cost o f
enforcing this regulation, but is an oppressive, arbitrary exaction on
the occupation, and is in contravention o f the guaranties o f both the
Federal and State constitutions that “ no person shall be deprived
o f life , liberty or property without due process o f law .” (Const.
U . S ., Am end. 5 ; Const. 111., art. 2 , sec. 2 .) The position o f the
attorney-general is that the general assembly is vested with the abso
lute and unrestricted power to determine what the license fee shall be,
and that the judgm ent and discretion o f the legislature, as expressed
in the act, are conclusive as to the reasonableness thereof.
W h at
amount the applicant for a license shall be required to pay as a license
fee is plainly committed to the general assembly fo r determination,
and the action o f that department o f the State governm ent is conclu
sive, except, beyond serious doubt, it is m anifest that the amount
o f the fee has been in any particular instance established not with
regard to the purpose o f regulation o f the occupation, with the view
o f protecting the public w elfare, but with the real purpose to raise
revenue under the guise o f the police pow er, or to subvert the proper
exercise o f that power to the prohibition, by means o f oppressive
license fees, o f the right o f the citizen to exercise a law ful calling, in
violation o f the constitutional guaranties against the destruction o f
the liberty and property right o f a citizen. This court would not as
sume to enter upon the consideration o f the question, pure and sim ple,
whether the legislative mind and judgm ent were at fau lt in determ in
ing the amount to be required as a license fee fo r the purpose o f reguatm g an occupation in the interest o f the w elfare o f the public. I f
errors or defects o f this character exist in an enactment, the remedy
is by way o f an application to the general assem bly, when again con
vened, fo r the repeal or modification o f the ill-advised provision.
E nticing Servant — E vidence —Broughton v. State, Supreme Court
o f Georgia, 39 Southeastern Reporter, page 866.— In the city court o f
L exington, M oses Broughton was convicted o f the statutory offense
614
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
o f enticing away a servant.
On w rit of error the case was taken by
defendant to the supreme court, where the judgm ent was reversed.
The follow ing portion o f the syllabus prepared by the court pre
sents the main point in the case:
1.
A n essential element o f the offense defined in section 122 o f the
penal code is enticing, persuading, or decoying the servant o f another
to leave his em ployer during his term o f service; and proof o f such
facts as establish that the accused did one o f these things is essential
to sustain a conviction o f the offense therein defined. Hence a convic
tion under this section can not law fully stand where the evidence in
this regard shows no m ore than that the servant le ft the place o f his
em ploym ent in company with the accused.
F actory I nspector—F ir e E scapes— C onstitutionality of Stat
ute —Arms
v. A yer , Supreme Court o f Illinois, 61 Northeastern R e
porter , page 851.— In this case A u ra C. A rm s sued in the superior
court o f Cook County to recover damages fo r the death o f her intestate,
who had lost his life while in the em ploym ent o f A y e r, by the burning
o f the defendant’s factory.
The cause o f action was based on the
alleged violation o f the fire-escape act, approved M ay 27, 1897 (Laws
1897, p. 222), which requires fire escapes on buildings four or more
stories in height, except such as are used fo r private residences exclu
sively, and on buildings more than two stories in height used fo r manu
facturing purposes. The law further provides that perm its fo r the
erection o f fire escapes shall be obtained from the factory inspector,
who shall state, in granting the perm its, the number, location, mate
rial, and kind and manner o f construction o f such fire escapes.
Deceased was em ployed on the upper floor o f a seven-story building,
and his death was alleged to be due to the lack o f a proper compliance
with the requirements o f the law. A y er was held not responsible fo r
his em ployee’s death and the plaintiff appealed, obtaining a reversal
o f judgm ent and a mandate fo r a new trial.
Chief Justice W ilk in delivered the opinion o f the court, a portion
o f which is quoted herewith.
R eferring to the attack on the constitu
tionality and validity o f the law in question, he said:
The first objection made to the statute by counsel fo r appellees is
that it imposes legislative power upon the inspector o f factories, in
that it authorizes him to determine how m any, and in what position,
fire escapes shall be placed, etc. It is im possible fo r the legislature to
describe in detail how many fire escapes shall be provided, how they
shall be constructed, and where they shall be located, in order to serve
the purpose o f protecting the lives o f occupants, in view o f the varied
location, construction, and surroundings o f the buildings; and hence,
so far as we have been able to ascertain, acts sim ilar to the first sec
tion o f this statute have been sustained in other States, though, per
haps the question here raised has never been directly presented. The
general rule is that a statute must be complete when it leaves the leg
islature,— as to what the law is,— leaving its execution to be vested in
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
615
third parties. Thus it was said in D ow ling v. Insurance C o ., 92 W is.
63, 65 N . W . 738, 31 L . R . A . 112: “ The result o f all the cases on
this subject is that a law must be complete in all its terms and pro
visions when it leaves the legislative branch o f the governm ent and
nothing must be le ft to the judgm ent o f the electors, or other appointee
or delegate o f the legislature, so that in form and substance it is a law
in all its details in praesenti, but which may be le ft to take effect
in futuro, if necessary, upon the ascertainment of any prescribed fact
or event.” A n d it is said in Suth. St. Const, sec. 68: “ The true dis
tinction is between a delegation o f power to make the law , which
involves a discretion as to what the law shall be, and conferring an
authority or discretion as to its execution, to be exercised under and
in pursuance o f the law. The first can not be done. T o the latter no
objection can be m ade.” In this act the law is complete in all its
details, requiring the fire escapes to be put in certain buildings. In
the execution o f the law the inspector o f factories is given a discretion
as to the number, location, m aterial, and construction o f such escapes
in each and every building. W e are unable to see in what w ay the
act, thus understood and construed, delegates to the inspector or fac
tories legislative powers.
O f still less force is the objection that the act confers judicial power
upon the inspector o f factories. The inspector is given no power to
judicially determine any question, but acts m inisterially in the super
vision o f the building o f fire escapes.
A further objection, that the statute is local or special, is, we think,
without force. 64Law s are general and uniform , not because they oper
ate upon every person in the State, for they do not, but because every
person who is brought within the relations and circumstances pro
vided fo r is affected by the laws. They are general and uniform in
their operation upon all persons in the like situation and the fact o f
their being general and uniform is not affected by the number o f those
within the scope o f their operation.” (People v. W rig h t, 70 111. 388.)
This act applies to all buildings “ four or m ore stories in height, except
ing such as are used fo r private residences exclu sively,” with a pro
viso “ that all buildings more than two stories in height, used for
manufacturing purposes,” etc., shall have fire escapes. Tne act can
not be held to be local, nor is it special in its enactment; nor can we
see in what sense it does not operate uniform ly.
64L abor L a w ” — P ublic C ontracts— C onstitutionality
ute — I nterstate
of Stat
C ommerce—People ex rel. Treat v. Coler, Court o f
Appeals o f New York, 59 Northeastern Reporter, page 776.— Ralph J .
Treat contracted with the State o f New Y o rk to construct a certain
sewer under the provisions as to inspection and acceptance usual in
such cases, which being complied with, he filed a proper certificate
in the office o f the com ptroller, asking fo r a warrant on the chamberlain fo r the sum due.
This was refused on the ground o f a violation
o f section 14 o f the labor law (chapter 415, laws o f 1897), which pro
vides that 44all stone o f any description, except paving blocks and
crushed stone, used in State or municipal works in this State, or which
616
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
is to be w orked, dressed, or carved for such use, shall be so worked,
dressed, or carved within the boundaries o f the State.” A clause was
inserted in the contract with T reat, reciting the above provision, vio
lation o f which would, under the statute, discharge the city from any
liability under the contract.
In doing the work contracted fo r, Treat purchased and set a sewer
basin o f granite, cut, dressed, and carved in the State o f New Jersey,
and fo r this reason the com ptroller withheld the warrant.
Suing fo r
a mandamus to compel the issue o f the warrant, the com ptroller being
upheld, Treat appealed to the appellate division o f the supreme court.
H ere the order denying the writ was reversed, and Coler, the comp
troller, appealed in turn to the court o f appeals o f the State, where
the claim was confirmed and the provision o f law above cited was held
to be unconstitutional, Chief-Justice Parker dissenting.
Justice O ’ Brien in delivering the opinion o f the court said:
It is not necessary to examine the questions involved in the defend
ants’ answer to the application for the w rit, since they have ju st been
examined and passed upon in another case. (People ex rel. Rodgers v.
C oler, 166 N . I . 1 , 59 N . E . 716 [see B ulletin N o. 35, U . S. Depart
m ent o f L abor, page 805].) This case, how ever, presents a new and
additional question, which was not involved in the R odgers case.
It w ill be seen by the provisions o f the statute, that the city and
the contractor have, in effect, been forbidden to purchase a granite
sewer basin that had been dressed or carved in any other State. The
stone used in such work must be dressed or carved within the jurisdic
tion o f this State, and, if the contractor ignores the statute and pro
cures dressed or carved stone in another State, the city is directed to
revoke his contract, and thereupon it shall be discharged from all
liability to pay him fo r the work. W e think that this statute is void,
not only fo r the reasons stated in our decision in the case cited, but for
the further reason that it is in conflict with the commerce clause o f the
Federal Constitution. It is a regulation o f commerce between the
States which the legislature had no power to make. The citizens o f this
State have the right to enter the markets o f every other State to sell
their products, or to buy whatever they need, and all interference with
the freedom o f interstate commerce by State legislation is void. The
provision o f the contract whereby the contractor agreed to do what
the statue required is only a part o f the legislative scheme to compel
m unicipalities and contractors to use only such stone as was cut, carved,
or dressed within this State in the construction o f public w orks, and
consequently is subject to the same objection as the statute itself. The
contractor’s agreem ent rests upon the statute, and must fa ll with it.
The order should be affirmed, with costs.
L oggers’ L ien — W ho are L aborers— C onstruction of Stat
ute —Mecrnds
v. Park et al., Supreme Judicial Court o f Maine, 50
Atlantic Reporter, page 706.— In this case Nathan L . M eands undertook
to enforce a lien under the statute, chapter 91, sec. 38, R ev. S t., as
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
617
amended by chapter 183, laws o f 1889, which provides that “ whoever
labors at cutting, hauling, rafting or driving logs or lum ber, * * *
has a lien on the logs or lumber for the amount due for his personal
services.” The case was submitted to the supreme judicial court o f
Franklin County on an agreed statement o f facts, in which it was stated
“ that the plaintiff perform ed no personal manual labor on the logs
attached, but was for three days o f the tim e a scaler at $2.50 per day, and
the balance o f tim e, to wit, sixty days, at $ 2.50 per day, was foreman
or superintendent o f the entire logging operation, having charge o f the
men, etc. ” On this statement the plaintiff was nonsuited and appealed.
The supreme court o f the State affirmed the conclusion o f the court
below. The follow ing syllabus, marked “ official” presents in brief
the finding o f the court and the reasons therefor:
1. The statute givin g a lien to those who “ labor” at cutting or
hauling logs was obviously designed to afford protection to common
laborers who gain their livelihood by manual to il, and who m ay be
im perfectly qualified to protect them selves. The word “ lab or” was
undoubtedly employed by the legislature in its lim ited and popular
sense, to designate this class o f workmen who labor with physical
force in the service and under the direction o f another fo r fixed wages,
and such is the prim ary or specific lexical meaning uniform ly assigned
to the word “ laborer.”
2. W h ere the plaintiff “ was foreman or superintendent o f the entire
logging operation, having charge o f the men engaged in cutting and
hauling the lo g s” but “ perform ed no personal manual labor on the
logs attached,” held, that ne did not “ lab or” in cutting or hauling the
logs within the meaning o f the statute.
3. N or did he labor at cutting and hauling logs while acting as
scaler.
M echanics’ L iens— L imitations— C ompletion of W ork — Gen
eral F ire Extinguisher Co. v. Schwartz Bros . Commission Co. et al.,
Supreme Court o f Missouri, 65 Southwestern Reporter, page 318.— The
commission company above named had contracted to build an addition
to an elevator in the city o f St. Louis and to equip the same with a
“ complete sprinkling system fo r putting out fire, *
*
*
such
system to be satisfactory to the St. Louis board o f underw riters.”
The contract fo r the installation o f such an apparatus was sublet to
the General Fire Extinguisher C o ., plaintiff in this suit to establish
a mechanic’s lien.
The point at issue was whether or not the lien was
filed within fou r months after the indebtedness accrued, as prescribed
by the mechanics’ lien law.
D uring the trial it appeared that the work
done by the plaintiff company had been examined on July 2 3 ,1 8 9 6 ,
by the inspector fo r the board o f underwriters and pronounced satis
factory, with the exception o f the covering o f certain steam coils.
On
the promise o f the company to attend to this matter later, the inspector
6451—No. 40—02-----8
618
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
pronounced the w ork com plete and the system was im m ediately put
into operation. A b ou t Novem ber 1 another inspector visited the
elevator and found the apparatus not satisfactory in its workings.
The elevator company investigated the matter and found that certain
air gauges called fo r in the contract had not been put in and a demand
was made on the subcontractors that these be supplied. Gauges were
accordingly put in on Novem ber 7. On the 9th it was reported that a
glass tube in one was broken and m ust be replaced, and on the 12th a
defective valve was removed and a perfect one provided.
Notes given
to secure paym ent fo r the work done by the fire extinguisher company
were not paid when due, and on M arch 12 follow ing the company filed
a mechanic’s lien and on suit it secured judgm ents in the S t. L ouis
circuit court awarding the amount claimed and establishing the lien.
From the judgm ent establishing the lien the owners o f the property
appealed, raising the point that the tim e fo r filing the lien had expired.
Judge Y allian t delivered the opinion o f the supreme court, affirm
ing the judgm ent o f the court below.
From his remarks the follow
in g is quoted:
Under the term s o f section 4207, R ev. St. 1899, the lien o f the sub
contractor m ust be filed within fou r months “ after the indebtedness
shall have accrued.”
T his, as the learned counsel for appellants
righ tly maintain, means within four months after the work is finished,
and does not refer to the date at which the debt is due. The counsel
are also correct in their position that when the building is substantially
com pleted, and the contractor tenders it as com plete, and it is accepted
as such b y the owner, the contractor can not afterw ards, at his own
instance, and against the w ill o f the owner, perform some part that
was called fo r in the contract, but which had been om itted in the con
struction, and thereby extend the period for filing his lien. A nd it is
also a correct interpretation o f the law that where the building is sub
stantially com pleted, and so treated by all the parties, and delivered
as such by the contractor to the owner, with only a few trifling partic
ulars rem aining to be done, and as to those the owner accepts the
prom ise o f the contractor to do them afterwards, the promise to do
being accepted in lieu o f the actual deed, the tim e fo r filing the lien
begins to run from the date o f such delivery o f the building to the
owner. On the other hand, it is equally clear that the lim itation does
not begin to run until the last item called for b y the contract is fu r
nished, or the last w orkunder it is done. Under the evidence in this case
the air gauges constituted no unim portant part o f the apparatus; they
were essential to the operation o f the system o f fire extinguishers;
and w hile, because there was an air gauge in the engine room , the sys
tem was in condition to be, and was actually, put into operation, yet that
air gauge was not what was called fo r by the contract, and was found
on test to be insufficient to do the work. Then a demand was made on
the plaintiff’s superintendent— not as a matter o f favor, but because
the contract required it— to put air gauges on the four tanks at the
top o f the building, and it was done. The board o f underwriters ap
proved the w ork Ju ly 23d, and upon that approval the plaintiff put
the machine into operation, and supposed it was finished. But there
619
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
was no approval or acceptance by the elevator company, and nothing
done by them to preclude them from demanding further work o f con
struction called fo r in the contract, unless the mere fact o f using the
machine can be so construed.
The court then took up the contention that, in any case, the last
work done under the contract was on Novem ber 7, and that what was
done after that date was in the nature o f repairs. There was evidence
tending to show that the parties to the suit had conferred and had
agreed on Novem ber 12 as the day when the four months’ lim itation
should begin.
On these points the court said:
W e attach little importance to that incident. A s counsel fo r appellant
say, if the tim e fo r filing the lien expired before M arch 12th, any agree
m ent, if there was any, made between the parties on Novem ber 12th to
extend it, would have no effect. A mechanic’s lien is a creature o f stat
ute, and not o f contract. The lien in this case depends fo r its validity,
so far as the point now under discussion is concerned, on the fact that the
plaintiff’s work under the contract was not completed until Novem ber
12th. W h ilst the combination gauges were put in on the 7th, yet as soon
as put to test they were found to have defects, and were not rendered
efficient until the 12th. Correcting defects thus discovered was not in
the nature o f m aking repairs, but o f rendering the original perfect.
P ayment of W ages—R edemption of S tore O rders in M oney—
C onstitutionality of Statute — I nterference w ith R ight of
C ontract—Knoxville Iron Co. v. Harbison, United States Supreme
Court, %% Supreme Court Reporter, page 1.— Com plaint was brought
by Samuel Harbison in the chancery court o f K n ox County, T en n .,
to secure a decree fo r the redemption by the K noxville Iron Company
o f certain orders for coal, under the provisions o f chapter 11, acts o f
1899. This law requires all companies using store orders or other
evidences o f indebtedness to pay laborers and em ployees, to redeem
the same at face value in good and law ful money o f the United States
in the hands o f their em ployees, laborers, or a bona fide holder, on
demand not less than thirty days from the issuance thereof.
Orders fo r coal had been drawn by certain em ployees, and after
acceptance by the company had been purchased by the complainant,
H arbison, who was a licensed dealer in securities.
The company
denied that the complainant was a bona fide holder o f the orders in
question.
The decree was granted, how ever, and was afterwards
affirmed by the court o f chancery appeals o f Tennessee.
Appeal was
then taken to the’ supreme court o f the State, which sustained the
courts below , but allowed a w rit o f error by which it was brought to
the Supreme Court o f the United States on the question o f the validity,
under the Federal Constitution, o f the law above referred to.
620
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
In delivering the opinion o f the court, M r. Justice Shiras used in
part the follow ing language:
The views o f the supreme court o f Tennessee, sustaining the validity
o f the enactment in question, sufficiently appear in the follow ing
extracts from its opinion, a copy o f which is round in the record:
“ Confessedly, the enactment now called in question is in all respects
a valid statute and free from objection as such, except that it is chal
lenged as an arbitrary interference with "he right o f contract, on
account o f which it is said that it is unconstitutional, and not the 4law
o f the land’ or 4due process o f law .’ ”
“ The act does, undoubtedly, abridge or qualify the right o f contract
in that it requires that certain obligations payablo in the first instance
in merchandise shall in certain contingencies be paid.in m oney; yet it is
as certainly general in its term s, embracing equally every em ployer
and em ployee who is or may be in like situation and circumstances,
and it is enforceable in the usual modes established in the administra
tion o f governm ent with respect to kindred m atters.
6‘ Under the act the present defendant may issue w eekly orders for
coal, as form erly, and m ay pay them in that commodity when desired
by the holder, but instead o f being able, as form erly, to com pel the
holder to accept paym ent o f such orders in coal, the holder m ay, under
the act, compel defendant to pay them in m oney. In this way and to
this extent the defendant’s right o f contract is affected.
“ Its tendency, though slight it may be, is to place the em ployer and
the em ployee upon equal ground in the m atter o f wages, and, so far
as calculated to accomplish that end, it deserves commendation. Being
general in its operation and enforceable by ordinary suit, and being
unimpeached and unimpeachable upon other constitutional grounds,
the act is entitled to fu ll recognition as the ‘ law o f the land’ and ‘ due
process o f la w ’ as to the matters embraced. * * *
“ The act before us is neither prohibitory nor penal; not special,
but general; tending toward equality between em ployer and em ployee
in the m atter o f w ages; intended and w ell calculated to prom ote peace
and good order, and to prevent strife, violence, and bloodshed. Such
being the character, purpose, and tendency o f the act, we have no
hesitation in holding that it is valid, both as general legislation, with
out reference to the State’s reserved police pow er, and also as a whole
some regulation adopted in the proper exercise o f that pow er.”
The supreme court o f Tennessee justified its concltisions by so fu ll
and satisfactory a reference to the decisions o f this court as to render
it unnecessary for us to travel over the same ground.
The judgm ent o f the supreme court o f Tennessee is affirmed.
P ayment of W ages—R edemption of Store O rders in M oney—
C onstitutionality of Statute — State C ontrol of F oreign C or
porations— Dayton Coal and Iron Co. v. Barton , United States
Supreme Court, %% Supreme Court Reporter, page 5.— This case arose
under chapter 11, acts o f 1899, o f the laws o f the State o f Tennessee,
and is sim ilar in many points to the case reported ju st above, under
the same statute.
The D ayton Coal and Iron Company (Lim ited) is a
corporation organized under the laws o f Great B ritain, doing business
DECISIONS OE COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
621
in the State o f Tennessee. T . A . Barton brought suit in the circuit
court o f Rhea County as a bona fide holder o f certain store orders,
issued by said com pany, to recover the value o f the same, the company
denying the validity o f the act above mentioned. The plaintiff, Bar
ton, obtained judgm ent in the circuit court, which judgm ent was
affirmed by the supreme court o f the State.
On writ o f error allowed by the chief justice o f the State supreme
court the case came to the Supreme Court o f the U nited States, the
opinion being delivered by M r. Justice Shiras.
H aving referred to the case o f K n oxville Iron Co. v. H arbison,
reported above, he continued:
The only difference in the cases is that in the form er the plaintiff in
error was a dom estic corporation o f the State o f Tennessee, while in
the present the plaintiff in error is a foreign corporation. I f that fact
can be considered as a ground for a different conclusion, it would not
help the present plaintiff in error, whose righ t, as a foreign corpora
tion, to carry on business in the State o f Tennessee, m ight be deemed
subject to the condition o f obeying the regulations prescribed in the
legislation o f the State. A s was said in Orient Ins. Co. v. D aggs, 172
U . S. 557, 43 L . E d. 552, 19 Sup. C t. Rep. 281, that “ which a State
m ay do with corporations o f its own creation it may do with foreign
corporations adm itted into the State. The power o f a State to impose
conditions upon foreign corporations is certainly as extensive as the
power over domestic corporations.”
The judgm ent o f the supreme court o f Tennessee is affirmed.
R ailroad C ompanies— P ayment of W ages to D ischarged
E mployee — Statutory P enalty — Louisiana, and Northwestern R ail
way Co.
Phelps, Supreme Court o f Arkansas, 65 Southwestern
Reporter, page 709.— In this case M . V . Phelps brought an action
under the laws o f Arkansas to recover on a claim for wages and pen
alty. H e was an engineer on the above-named road, about half his run
being in Arkansas and the remainder in Louisiana. H e was em ployed
at Shreveport and discharged at Gibbsland, both places being in the
latter State.
The circuit court o f Columbia County, A r k ., awarded
both wages and penalty, and the company appealed.
Judge Riddick announced the reversal o f this judgm ent, using in
part the follow ing language:
Although he [Phelps] perform ed a portion o f the services fo r which
he sues in this State, still we think it is very clear that the right o f
action accruing to him by virtue o f his contract and his discharge from
the service o f the company depends upon the laws o f Louisiana, and
not upon those o f Arkansas. Under these circumstances, he has no
right to claim a penalty under the statutes o f this State providing that,
when a corporation engaged in operating a railroad shall discharge any
em ployee, the unpaid wages o f such em ployee shall become due, and,
if the same be not paid on the day o f his discharge, “ then as a penalty
fo r such nonpayment the wages o f such servant or em ployee shall con
tinue at the same rate until paid.” (Sand. & H . D ig ., Sec. 6243.)
622
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
That statute certainly does not protect an em ployee who was neither
employed nor discharged in this State, and wnose only claim for the
penalty imposed is that he perform ed a portion o f the services sued
fo r in this S tate.
Judgm ent must be reversed, and a new trial granted.
R emoval of Causes— J oinder of N egligent Servant with
M aster — Winston?s Administrator v. Illinois Central Railroad Co.
et al., Court o f Appeals o f Kentucky, 65 Southwestern Reporter, page
IS.— Suit was brought in the circuit court o f McCracken County by
the adm inistrator o f A le x . W inston to recover damages from the
above-named railway company and from two o f its em ployees fo r
the death o f said W in ston . I t was alleged that W inston’s death had
been occasioned by an engineer and fireman in the em ploy o f the com
pany negligently operating a train, running it at an unusually high
rate o f speed in the city o f Paducah-, and by reason o f such negligence
driving the train o f cars against him.
Chapter 1, section 6, Statutes o f K entucky, provides that, when the
death o f a person shall result from an injury inflicted by negligence or
w rongful act, u damages may be recovered for such death from the
person or persons, company or companies, corporation or corporations,
their agents or servants, causing the sam e.” Sheppard, engineer, and
W h ite , fireman, were residents o f M cCracken County. The railroad,
being a nonresident corporation, petitioned to have the cause removed
to the Federal court, which the court allowed, from which judgm ent the
plaintiff appealed.
Chief Justice Paynter delivered the opinion o f the court, reversing
the court below :
It was averred in the petition for removal that the plaintiff made
Sheppard and W h ite defendants fo r the purpose o f preventing a
rem oval o f the case to the Federal court. It is immaterial what may
have been the purpose o f the plaintiff in m aking them defendants
with the railroad com pany, if the petition states a joint cause of action
against them. I f the cause o f action is joint, sim ply because the plain
tiff m ight have elected to proceed against the defendant corporation
alone he does not lose his right to prosecute his action in the State
court. U nder section 6, K y . S t., the plaintiff has a right to proceed
severally or jointly against those who are liable fo r the injury inflicted
resulting in death. The court below erred in allow ing the petition to
be filed and in accepting the bond, as the appellee railroad company
was not entitled to have the case removed.
S eamen — S ettlement— R elease —Pettersson et al. v. Empire Trans
portation Co., United States Circuit Court o f Appeals, Ninth Circuit,
111 Federal Reporter, page 931.— Pettersson and others undertook to
establish a claim fo r wages due by the abov~-nam ed com pany, and
from an adverse decision in the district court o f the United States fo r
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
623
the northern district o f California they appealed. These men had
signed fo r service on the Pennsylvania, a vessel em ployed as a G ov
ernment transport, for a voyage to M anila and such other ports as the
master m ight direct, and return to the Pacific Coast fo r discharge, the
voyage not to exceed six months. A t the expiration of the six months
the vessel was at M anila, and the men demanded their paym ent and
discharge. Under the orders o f the m ilitary governor their demand
was refused, and on their refusal to serve any longer they were arrested
and confined by the m ilitary authorities, and subsequently returned to
San Francisco by another vessel. In the meantime the Pennsylvania
had arrived and departed on another voyage. The master had le ft
with a shipping commissioner the amount o f wages due the men for
their six months’ service, together with a release executed by him.
On the men’s arrival they demanded payment o f wages to date— about
three months additional.
They were w ithout money and finally
accepted the amounts le ft fo r them , but not without considerable
objection. They declared at the tim e that they would sue fo r the
additional three months’ pay, but before receiving the money le ft for
them they were required by the commissioner to sign a mutual release,
which the master o f the transport bad signed and left with the com
m issioner. The signing was not done under form al protest, and the
commissioner testified that, while he told them that he would not pay
them unless they signed the release, he did not look upon what they
said as a protest. Sections 4549 and 4552 of the U nited States Revised
Statutes require seamen to be discharged and paid their wages before
a duly authorized shipping commissioner, in whose presence a mutual
release shall be signed and attested by him , and provide that such
release “ shall operate as a mutual discharge and settlement o f all
demands fo r wages between the parties thereto, on account of wages,
in respect of the past voyage or engagem ent.”
Touching the validity o f the release, signed by Pettersson and his
companions, Judge Ross, who delivered the opinion of the court, said:
It is insisted on behalf o f the appellants that the release in question
is invalid because the master o f the Pennsylvania was not present with
them before the shipping commissioner. The statute does not so
require. In such cases as the present, both the master and the seamen
are required to appear before the shipping commissioner, and, in the
event o f agreem ent, to assent to such settlem ent, and to m anifest such
assent by signing a mutual release in the presence o f the com m issioner,
who is required to sign and attest it, ana retain the same in a book to
be kept by him fo r that purpose. There is nothing in the statute
expressly or by implication requiring the master and the seamen to
appear before the snipping commissioner at the same tim e. N o good
reason is perceived why a proposition o f settlem ent may not be left
with the commissioner by the party making it, to be accepted or
rejected by the other party when he appears before that officer. W e
agree with the court oelow that the execution o f the release is con
clusive against the appellants.
624
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
W eighing C oal B efore Screening— C onstitutionality of Stat
Woodson v. State, Supreme Court o f Arkansas, 65 Southwestern
Reporter, page Jf65.— In the circuit court o f Sebastian County, C. C.
ute —
W oodson, agent and manager o f the Central Coal and Coke Company,
was indicted fo r failing to weigh coal before it was screened, and to
pay for the m ining o f the same according to the weight so ascertained.
The statute under which indictment was found makes it “ the duty o f
any corporation, com pany, or person engaged in the business o f m in
ing and selling coal by w eight or measure, and em ploying tw enty or
more persons, to procure and constantly keep on hand at the proper
place the necessary scales and measures, and whatever else may be
necessary to correctly weigh and measure the coal mined by such cor
poration, com pany, or person.” The second section provides that
“ all coal mined and paid for by w eight shall be weighed before it is
screened, and shall be paid fo r according to the weight so ascertained,
at such price per ton or bushel as m ay be agreed on by such owner or
operator and the miners who mined the sam e.”
From a judgm ent assessing a fine, W oodson appealed on the ground
o f the unconstitutionality o f the statute. The supreme court affirmed
the judgm ent o f the court below , Chief Justice'Bunn dissenting. Jus
tice Riddick, in delivering the opinion o f the m ajority o f the court,
used in part the follow ing language:
It is said by counsel fo r appellant that this [the law cited above] is
class legislation; that it is an arbitrary and unreasonable attem pt on
the part o f the legislature to divide the operators o f coal mines into
tw o classes; that it perm its such an operator em ploying less than
tw enty men to pay fo r digging his coal according to the w eight o f
screened coal produced, while the operator em ploying tw enty men must
w eigh his coal before screening it, and pay according to the weight
thus ascertained. B ut we do not so understand the statute. The first
section, it is true, requires only those operators o f coal mines that
em ploy twenty or more persons to keep on hand certain weights and
m easures; but the second section, fo r a violation o f which the defend
ant is being prosecuted, applies, it seems to us, to all operators o f coal
m ines. It includes the sm all as w ell as the large operator, though by
the first section the operator em ploying less than tw enty men is not
required to procure and keep on hand the weights and measures
mentioned. H e can, if convenient, use the scales or measures belong
ing to others; but if there are none such convenient, he must neces
sarily keep them , or he can not pay fo r his coal by w eight. A s
to the second section (the one involved here), there is no distinction
made. A ll operators are by it treated alike, and required to weigh
before screening all coal mined and paid fo r b y w eight. It therefore
seems to us that the contention that this statute is an example o f arbi
trary and unreasonable class legislation can not be sustained.
I t is next said that the act violates the constitution o f the State
and o f the U nited States, “ by restricting the right to contract, by
taking property without due process o f law , and b y denying to cer
tain operators and workers in coal mines the right o f civil liberty and
DECISIONS OP COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
625
the pursuit o f happiness.” I f we concede the contention o f counsel
that “ the right to contract in a law ful private business on term s sat
isfactory to the parties is a part o f the natural liberty o f the citizen,
which the legislature can not take aw ay,” it does not follow that a
corporation is equally exem pt from legislative control in that respect.
The citizen does not derive his power to contract from the legislature.
The corporation does, and it possesses only such powers as m ay be con
ferred upon it by the legislative w ill, and these, under our constitu
tion, are liable to be altered, revoked, or annulled by the power that
granted them. The only limitation on this power o f the legislature
contained in our constitution is that the alteration, revocation, or
annulment o f the corporate powers must be made “ in such a manner
that no injustice shall be done to the corporators.” * * * W hether
injustice has been done the incorporators depends upon the facts o f
each case in which an alteration or revocation o f corporate powers has
been attem pted. W e do not see that the statute under consideration
here is open to any such objection. It was made to take effect ninety
days after its passage, and was prospective in its operation. I t did
not interfere with vested rights or existing contracts, or deprive such
corporations o f any property possessed by them. Being satisfied that
this control o f these corporations engaged in the business o f m ining
coal in this State is authorized by the power reserved in the constitu
tion to “ alter, revoke or annul their charters,” we must hold this
statute to be valid.
D E C IS IO N S U N D E R C O M M O N L A W .
C onspiracy— I llegal C ombinations—R ules of A ssociation—
D amages— Gatzow v. Burning et al., Supreme Court o f Wisconsin, 81
Northwestern Reporter, page 1008.— In this case John Gatzow brought
suit in the superior court o f M ilwaukee County to recover damages
for injuries caused by an alleged unlaw ful conspiracy and acts done
pursuant thereto. One o f the defendants, Buening, was secretary o f
an association known as the “ Liverym en’s Association o f M ilw au
k ee,” while the other, Schubert, was a member o f the same. D uring
the trial it appeared by the complaint and by evidence that Gatzow
had em ployed and paid Schubert fo r the services o f a hearse and car
riage fo r use at the funeral o f the form er’s child.
The vehicles came
as agreed and were in w aiting until near the time they would be
needed fo r the journey to the cem etery, when the defendants, pursu
ant to an agreement between them selves, caused the drivers o f the
hearse and carriage to take the vehicles away.
I t was claimed that
this conduct was the result o f a malicious design to humiliate and
injure the plaintiff, and fo r his humiliation and distress, as w ell as for
the loss o f the amount paid for the vehicles, he asked damages. The
undertaker in charge was one Nieman, a liverym an and undertaker
not a member o f the liverym en’s association, and it was a violation o f
the rules o f this association to allow carriages owned by its members to
be hired under such circumstances.
It appeared that Schubert did not
626
BULLETIN OE THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
know that the hearse and carriage were to be used by Nieman, but he
had given instructions that they should be brought back to the barn if
a nonunion man was in charge. Buening learned o f the circumstances
o f the hiring and proceeded to the home o f Gatzow and created disturb
ance and confusion, declaring his intention to “ break up this funeral.”
It was at his immediate instance that the vehicles went away, though
his conduct was fu lly ratified by Schubert, the owner of the vehicles.
Am ong the instructions which the defendants’ counsel asked the court
to give the ju ry were the follow ing:
9. I f Schubert, in depriving plaintiff o f the use o f the hearse and car
riage, had no other m otive than to protect him self from incurring a pen
alty fo r violating the rules o f the liverym en’s association, he can not be
made to pay damages to plaintiff by way o f punishment even if his con
duct towards plaintiff were illegal.
10. I f Buening acted solely m performance o f his duty as secretary
o f the liverym en’ s association, he is not liable to plaintiff.
These were refused, and the result o f the trial was a verdict fo r the
plaintiff. On exceptions taken and a refusal to grant a new trial, the
case came before the supreme court. Judgm ent was reversed and the
case remanded for a new trial because o f errors in instructions which
need not be noted here.
The position o f the trial court as to the illegal
ity o f the combination and the effect o f association rules was sustained,
as appears from the follow ing citations from the opinion o f the court,
delivered by Judge M arshall:
It is urged that the cause o f action stated in the complaint is for
breach o f contract, hence that instructions to the ju ry, perm itting an
assessment o f damages as in a tort action, were erroneous. The trial
court righ tly decided that the purpose o f the action, as stated in the
com plaint, was to recover compensation fo r damages suffered through
tortious conduct o f the defendants. The com plaint sets forth a con
spiracy to com m it a w rong and acts pursuant thereto, to the special
injury o f the plaintiff. There is no room for serious controversy on
that point.
Several errors are assigned on the theory that the combination o f
liverym en, known as the “ Liverym en’s Association o f M ilw aukee,” to
lim it their services to persons patronizing them exclusively, and to
m onopolize the livery business in M ilw aukee, including such service for
the burial o f the dead, and to carry prices to and maintain them at such
a level as the combination m ight see fit to adopt, and acts done in pur
suit o f the purposes o f such combination to the prejudice o f, and
regardless o i their effect upon, plaintiff, were not unlaw ful. The trial
court decided to the contrary .
A ll combinations in restraint o f trade are contrary to public policy
and illegal, unless they are for the reasonable protection, by reason
able and law ful means, o f persons dealing legally with some subjectm atter o f contract. A combination that w ill resort to such means as
the ruthless breaking in upon the solem nities o f a funeral cerem ony,
or that aims to entirely m onopolize such an essential to the burial o f
the dead according to the customs o f the country as is usually fu r
nished in cities by liverym en, and to stifle com petition and hamper
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
627
individual, independent industry in regard to such business as to par
alyze individual effort and compel every person, in order to obtain
proper facilities fo r a funeral, to submit to the dictates o f the com
bine, w ill n ot stand the test above indicated. Such was the livery
men’s union under consideration, by the uncontroverted evidence.
Such a combination is clearly unlaw ful as against public policy, and
the means resorted to to effect its purposes m this case were likewise
unlawful. I f an unlawful combination exists, it is none the less
unlaw ful because existing under a self-im posed constitution and gov
erned by by-law s, and because it conducts its operations in a public or
sem ipublic w ay, asserting the right, in pursuit o f its purposes, to
interfere with individual liberty and with the public interests. In a
proceeding for damages fo r wrongdoing by such a combination to the
special injury o f an individual, the constitution and by-law s o f the
association, and protests o f its members o f innocence o f bad intent,
and o f adherence to the obligations o f the association, however inno
cent m ay be its name, to prevent incurring its penalties, w ill consti
tute no protection whatever, as regards compensatory dam ages, to a
person specially injured by overt acts o f its members in pursuit o f the
purposes o f the conspiracy.
E mployers’ L iability — D uty of E mployer — A ssumption of
R isk — I nstructions— Smith v, G ulf, West Texas and Pacific R ail
way Co., Court o f Civil Appeals o f Texas, 65 Southwestern Reporter,
page 83.— Sm ith sued in the district court o f Bee County to recover
damages fo r injuries received while in the employ o f the above-named
company. Judgm ent was entered fo r the com pany, and, on excep
tions to the instructions o f the judge to the ju ry, an appeal was taken.
The facts appear with sufficient fullness in the part o f the court’s opin
ion quoted herewith.
Justice N eill delivered the opinion o f the court, reversing the judg
ment o f the court below :
W ith ou t discussing the testim ony, we believe the evidence reason
ably tends to show (1) that appellant when he entered appellee’s serv
ice had no experience in doing bridge w ork, and that he inform ed
the appellee^ wiien he was em ployed, or his inexperience in such w ork;
(2) that his inexperience continued from the date o f his em ploym ent
to the tim e o f his alleged in ju ry; (3) that a chisel bar is not the proper
and safe implement for use in lining rails on railroad bridges; (4) tnat
appellee, which knew, or by the exercise o f reasonable care could have
known, that it was not a proper and safe instrument with which to do
such w ork, but that a pinch bar was, furnished the appellant with such
unsafe and im proper instrum ent, and ordered him to take such
im proper and unsare instrument and go upon the bridge and assist in
lining the rails o f the track; (5) that appellant, by reason o f his inex
perience, did not know that such instrument was im proper and unsafe
with which to do the w ork; (6) that in obedience to such order he took
the chisel bar, went on the bridge, inserted the end o f the bar between
the stringer and the rail, and used it as a lever fo r lining the rail with
the track, and the bar, by reason o f its being an im proper instrument
with which to do the w ork, slipped, whereby he was thrown or caused
to fall from the bridge about ten feet, to the ground, which caused him
628
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the injuries complained o f. Upon the evidence tending to show these
facts, the case should have been submitted on a proper charge.
The rule that the master is not liable for injuries personally suffered
by his servant through the ordinary risks incident to his em ploym ent
is predicated upon the assumption that the master has perform ed such
duties as personally rests upon him , to the servant. Am ong these
duties devolving upon the master is the one to use ordinary care and
diligence to provide fo r his servant’s use such reasonably safe im ple
ments as may be reasonably sufficient to insure the servant safety while
doing his w ork. A n d it is not enough that the im plem ent furnished
should be good under ordinary conditions, but it must be reasonably safe
and suitable fo r the work which the servant is to perform . I f the master
knows, or would have known if he had used ordinary care to ascertain
the fact, that the tools which he provides for the use o f his servant are
unsafe, and his servant, without contributory fau lt, suffers injury
thereby, the master is liable therefor. (Shear. & R . N eg. sec. 194;
Geloneck v. Pum p C o ., M a ss., 43 N . E . 8 5; C ooley, T orts, 2d. E d ., 657.)
The servant has a right to assume, in the absence o f knowledge to the
contrary, that when his master furnishes him an im plem ent, and directs
him to use it in doing a specific piece o f w ork, such im plem ent is
reasonably safe, suitable, and adapted to the labor directed to be per
form ed (Railway Co. v. H annig, 91 T ex. 347, 43 S. W . 508); and if in
using such im plem ent he is ignorant o f its unfitness or inadaptability
to the w ork, and he is injured, while using the im plem ent with reason
able care, by reason o f its being unsafe and not adapted to do the work
fo r which it was furnished him , the master is responsible fo r the con
sequences o f such injury.
E mployers’ L iability — D uty of E mployer — C ontributory N eg
M iller v. Inman, Poulsen and Co., Supreme Court o f
Oregon, 66 Pacific Reporter , page 713.— Action was brought in the
ligence —
circuit court o f M ultnom ah County by M arie M iller as adm inistratrix
o f Frederick J . M iller, to recover damages fo r his death. M iller, who
lost his life from an injury received while in the em ploy o f the defend
ant com pany, was required among other duties to remove sawdust and
trim m ings from a space between a saw in a m ill and a w all 4 or 5 feet
distant.
O ver this space revolved a shaft
the rate o f 500 revolutions per minute.
2k
inches in diam eter, at
On this shaft, less than 4
feet from the saw, was a flange coupling 9 inches in diameter, held
together by bolts and nuts.
These bolts ran parallel with the shaft
and one o f them projected about lk inches beyond the nut.
M iller’s
work frequently obliged him to stoop or reach under this shaft and
coupling, and while so engaged he was caught and whirled about the
shaft, receiving such injuries that he died in a few minutes.
Damages
were awarded and the defendant appealed.
C hief Justice Bean announced the opinion o f the supreme court,
affirming the judgm ent o f the court below , and from his remarks the
follow ing is quoted:
I t needs no argum ent or authority to show that the defendant was
negligent in leaving the bolt in the condition indicated by the evidence.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
629
It is contended, however, that it could not reasonably have been antici
pated that anyone would be injured thereby, and that the increased risk
occasioned by the projecting bolt was open and visible, and within the
knowledge o f the servant. B ut we do not think either o f these posi
tions sound. The defendant required its employees to work near, and
often under, the revolving shaft and coupling, and m ust be held to
have known that they were liable to accidentally come in contact there
with. It was therefore bound to exercise reasonable care to see that
the danger naturally incident to the service was not increased. That
the work m ight have been done without coming in contact with the
bolt, or that no one had ever before been injured by it, although it
had been in the same condition fo r several years, is no justification for
defendant’s negligence, and no defense to this action. The question
is not what m ight or could have been done, but whether the danger to
the servant was increased by the projecting bolt. In regard to the
other point, there is no evidence that M iller knew o f the condition of
the bolt, nor was it such an open risk as to charge him with know l
edge thereof. It was not visible when the shaft was in m otion, owing
to the rapidity o f its revolutions; and there is no evidence that M iller
ever saw the shaft at rest, and, if he did, it was not his duty to look
fo r defects o f that kind. H e had a right to assume that the machinery
was in a reasonably safe condition, and that the danger or hazard
incident to his em ploym ent had not been increased by the negligent
act o f the defendant.
It is argued that there is no evidence that the projecting bolt was
the proxim ate cause o f M iller’s death. T rue, no one saw him come in
contact with it, but he was seen a moment later, being whirled around
the sh aft; and his clothes, which had been torn from his body, were
found wrapped around the coupling. This was sufficient to authorize
the ju ry to find that he was caught by the projecting bolt.
E mployers’ L iability — D uty of E mployer — N egligence— Welsh
v. Cornell, Court o f Appeals o f New York, 61 Northeastern Reporter,
page 891.— James W elsh sued John M . Cornell for damages on account
o f an injury received while in his em ploy. The trial court awarded
no damages, but on appeal to the appellate division o f the supreme
court a new trial was ordered.
From this order Cornell appealed to
the court o f appeals and obtained a reversal o f the last order with
affirmation o f the decision o f the trial court.
The facts appear in the
portion o f the opinion o f the court quoted below :
This was an action to recover for personal injuries sustained by the
plaintiff, and alleged to have been caused by the negligence o f the
defendant. The plaintiff, his servant, was injured while in the defend
ant’s em ploy by the breaking and falling o f a portion o f a clamp to
which was attached the guy rope o f a derrick owned by the defendant
and in use upon his premises when the accident occurred. The plain
tiff was at work under this gu y rope, and im m ediately in fron t o f a
>ost to which it was attached by the clamp which gave w ay. A s negigence is not to be presumed, but m ust be proved to entitle the plain
tiff to recover, it was necessary for him to show that the accident was
{
630
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the result of the defendant’s negligence. I t was the duty o f the defend
ant to exercise reasonable and ordinary care to provide fo r the safety
o f his servants, and to furnish appliances that were reasonably safe
and suitable for the purpose fo r which they were em ployed. Unless
there is proof in this case showing the absence o f ordinary care upon
the part o f the master in furnishing or maintaining the appliance which
was broken, the plaintiff can not recover. Practically, the only facts
established by any tangible or substantial proof were the plaintiff’ s
in ju ry, and that it was caused by the falling o f a piece o f the broken
clamp. W h a t occasioned the break was not shown, although there
was some speculation or conjecture as to the cause. There was no
proper proof, direct or inferential, that the clamp was made o f defec
tive iron, or that it was defectively made, or that it was not properly
maintained, except such as m ight be inferred from the fact that it
gave way. The only proof which even tended to show any defect in
the clamp was that one witness testified that he glanced at the broken
piece, that it looked like freshly broken iron, and that on the corner
there was a little bit o f ru st; but he finally refused to swear it was
rust, and testified that it m ight have been paint instead. The main
portion o f the plaintiff’s evidence was that o f experts, by whom he, at
m ost, proved that the clamp would not have broken unless in some
way defective, and that the defect which occasioned the break m ight
have arisen from one o f several causes, no one o f which was proven to
have existed. N or was it proved that the defendant knew, or with
reasonable diligence m ight have ascertained, the supposed defect.
W e think the trial judge was right, and that the reversal by the appel
late division was not justified.
E mployers’ L ia b ility — D uty of E m ployer —N egligence — Vir
ginia Iron, Coal and Coke Co. v. Hamilton, Supreme Court o f Tennessee,
65 Southwestern Reporter,page ifOl.— M arcus H am ilton obtained judg
ment in the W ashington County circuit court for an injury received
b y him while in the em ploy o f the above-named company.
Evidence
showed that he was em ployed as a section hand about a furnace oper
ated by the com pany, engaged in keeping the railway tracks in repair.
On the day o f the accident occasioning his in ju ry, how ever, Ham ilton
had been instructed to shovel ore from the mouth, o f an ore crusher
and was placed at w ork under an elevated railway track about 16 feet
above him , and while in that position a piece o f ore w eighing five or
six pounds fe ll from a car which was on this track and struck him on
the head. The ore in question had in some way become lodged on the
brake beam at the end o f the car and was jarred off when the car was
being coupled.
P roof tended to show that such an accident had never
happened before.
The defendant company demurred to the evidence,
holding that nothing had been adduced to warrant a verdict.
The
judge overruled the dem urrer, and on exception to this ruling the
case came before the supreme court.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
631
Judge M cA lister, m delivering the opinion o f the court, spoke in
part as follow s:
I t is insisted in this case that the loading and unloading o f the car in
question was the duty o f the fellow -servants o f the plaintiff; hence, if
the car was negligently unloaded, leaving a piece o f ore on the brakebeam, that negligence was the act o f a fellow -servant. It is insisted,
how ever, on behalf o f plaintiff, that it is the duty o f the master or
em ployer to keep his premises used in the prosecution o f his business in
a reasonably safe condition, and, if he fails to do so, he is liable to the
servant fo r all injuries resulting from such defects. (Iron Co. v. Pace,
101 Tenn. 484, 48 S. W -, 232.) It is claimed that it was the duty o f
the company to have protected its employees working at the crusher
beneath the elevated track against falling stone or ore by the erection
o f a suitable platform or other barrier. The im portant inquiry, then,
in this case is whether the injury to plaintiff was the result or defec
tive prem ises, or was it caused by the negligent use o f the com pany’s
appliances by the fellow -servants o f the plaintiff? W h ile the defend
ant company is not liable fo r the negligence o f the fellow -servant, yet,
if the company has itself been guilty o f any negligence concurring in
producing the inju ry, there is liability. The question whether or not
the company had provided a reasonably safe place for the plaintiff to
work was subm itted to the court by the demurrer to the evidence, and
his action in overruling the demurrer was a resolution o f that contention
against the company. In looking to the evidence on this subject, we
can not say there was no evidence which would have warranted a ]ury
in finding that these premises were not reasonably safe.
The judgm ent m ust therefore be affirmed.
E mployers’
sumption of
L ia b il it y — I ncompetent F ellow -S ervants — A s
R isk — Gray v. R ed Lake Falls Lumber Co., Supreme
Court o f Minnesota, 88 Northwestern Reporter, page
— G ray was
awarded damages in the district court o f Polk County for injuries
received while in the em ploym ent o f the lumber company, caused, as
was claimed, by the incompetence o f a fellow -servant. G ray’s work
was that o f piling the logs as they came from the woods, his place o f
duty being on the top o f the pile where he adjusted the logs as they were
rolled up by the aid o f a team o f horses. H is helper, Cook, was inex
perienced and G ray had complained o f him and was promised a com
petent man if he would continue in the lumber company’s service.
H e returned to duty and two days afterward was injured because o f
Cook’s im proper and careless adjustment o f the chain on a log that was
being rolled upon the pile.
On an appeal the case came before the supreme court o f the State
and the judgm ent o f the court below was affirmed.
The follow ing
syllabus by the court states the principles o f law on which its findings
rest.
1. A master is required by law to provide his servants competent
fellow -servants, with whom they are associated in the performance o f
the work o f their em ploym ent. I f a servant complains to and notifies
the master that a fellow -servant with whom he is so associated is
632
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
incompetent and unfit for the work in which they are jointly engaged,
and the master promises to replace the incompetent with a competent
workman, in consequence of which he is induced to remain in the mas
ter’s service, the complaining servant may continue in such service for
a reasonable time, to enable the master to fulfill his agreement, during
which time he does not assume the risks incident to or arising from
such incompetency, unless they are so obvious and imminent that a
person o f ordinary care and prudence would not incur them; but it
does not necessarily follow that because he does not, as a matter of
law, assume such risks, he may not be chargeable with contributory
negligence with respect to his own conduct.
2. In actions, founded in this principle o f the law, to recover
damages for injury to the complaining servant, the question whether
the risks are so obvious and imminent that a person of ordinary care
and prudence would not incur them by continuing in the work asso
ciated with the incompetent servant, and whether the complaining
servant is chargeable with contributory negligence, are ordinarily
questions of fact for a jury to determine.
3. Evidence examined, and held to present issues for the determina
tion of a jury with respect to both those questions, and that it sustains
their verdict.
E mployers’ L iability — N egligence — E vidence — Consolidated
Kansas City Smelting and Refining Co. v. Allen , Supreme Court o f
Kansas, 67 Pacific Reporter, page 136.— In this case C. S. Allen sued
in the district court o f W yandotte County to recover damages on
account of an injury received while in the employ o f the above-named
company. The injury was caused by a pig of lead falling from a pile
and striking his foot. The only evidence Allen offered as to negligence
on the part o f the company was the fact that this pig fe ll; as to the
remainder o f the stack, he admitted that there was nothing to indicate
that it was not safe or was improperly built. It was shown by other
witnesses that there were various causes other than improper piling
that sometimes made the pigs fall from the stack.
The company
demurred to the evidence offered by Allen, which demurrer was over
ruled, and the trial resulted in a judgment for the plaintiff.
The com
pany appealed and obtained a reversal of the judgment, the conclusion
o f the court being given in the following official syllabus:
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by
the falling o f a bar of lead, where the only negligence relied upon is
that the stack out of which the bar fell was carelessly or negligently
built, a demurrer to the evidence should be sustained where there is
no evidence tending to show that the stack was carelessly or negli
gently built, or that it fell because improperly built.
E mployers ’
L ia b ility — N egligence — F ellow -S ervants — N o
Weeks v. Sckarer, United States Circuit Cowrt o f Appeals,
Eighth Circuit, 111 Federal Reporter, page 330.— Charles F . Scharer
tice —
and Albert M urcrey were employees of H . T . W e ek s, working together
for him in his mine in Colorado, when M urcrey carelessly dropped
DECISION’S OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
633
a jackscrew down the shaft, breaking Scharer’s leg. Scharer sued
W e e k s, claiming that the injury was caused by the defendant’s failure
to adopt reasonable rules for the operation of the mine, and by his
failure to employ and retain competent workmen. During the trial it
was shown that W eeks was owner of the mine; that his superintendent
was authorized to hire and discharge employees; that among these
employees were two shift bosses who supervised and directed the work
of the men under the orders of the superintendent; that the superin
tendent was generally at the mine overseeing the work, and that
Scharer and Murcrey had worked together for about six weeks before
the accident.
Murcrey was considered a very careless workman and had been the
cause of an injury to a fellow-workman, Medaris, some time before the
accident complained of. Medaris had asked the shift boss to be put
where he would not be compelled to be with M urcrey, on the ground
of the latter’s carelessness; but no change had been made. No evidence
was presented showing any authority on the part of the shift boss to
employ or discharge workmen. In the trial court the judge had
instructed the jury that notice to the shift boss of M urcrey’s incompe
tence was notice to the defendant, and a verdict was rendered in
Scharer’s favor.
The defendant, W eeks, appealed on the ground that it was error to
charge the jury that proper notice had been given. The opinion of
the circuit court of appeals was delivered by Judge Sanborn, who,
after referring to a number of cases cited by Scharer’s counsel, said:
There is nothing in any of these opinions to the effect that notice of
the incompetence or of the habitual negligence of a servant to one
charged with the duty of directing and supervising him and his work,
but who is without authority to hire, discharge, or suspend such work
man, is notice to the master, or to the effect that such a superior or
supervising employee is discharging the positive duty of the master
in this regard.
The duties of co-workmen engaged in a common undertaking are
necessarily diverse, and their grades of service different. On some is
imposed the duty of superintending the work, and directing their
associates when, where, and how to do it, while it falls to the lot of
others to obey the directions o f their superiors and to perform the
labor. But this difference of duties and o f grades of service neither
abrogates nor affects the relation of fellow-servants. In th^ case in
hand the shift boss and the members of the shift to which the plaintiff
belonged, who knew of the acts of negligence of M urcrey, were fellowservants o f the plaintiff. I f those acts were of such a character that
it was their duty to report them to the superintendent, the risk of
their negligence in failing to report was necessarily assumed by the
plaintiff. Notice of these acts to the shift boss was notice to a fellowservant, and not to the master, and the charge o f the court to the con
trary was fatal to this verdict.
The judgment below is reversed, and the case is remanded to the
court below for another trial.
6451—No.
40—02-----9
634
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
E mployers5 L iability — R ailroad Companies — C ontributory
N egligence—Brownes Administratrix v. Louisville, Henderson and
St. Louis Raihvay Co., Court o f Appeals o f Kentucky, 65 South
western Reporter, page 588.— Richard Brown, a switchman in the
employment of the above-named company, was killed while coupling
two caboose cars. There were boards across the ends of these cars,
with edge to the car and projecting outward the width of the boards.
Testimony showed that these boards came so close together as to
endanger the safety of the switchman.
The administratrix sued in the circuit court of Jefferson County to
recover damages for the death of Brown, and judgment was for the
defendant company. On appeal to the State court of appeals the
judgment was affirmed, Judge W h ite delivering the opinion of the
court.
H e said in part:
Appellant’s intestate undertook to make the coupling on a curve in
the track and from the inside of the curve, so that the boards came
closer together than if on a straight line. The proof showed that,
when the signal was given to back the engine and cars, Brown was on
the outside of the curve, and as the cars began to move back he crossed
the track between the two cars he intended to couple, and stood on the
inside o f the curve, by the side of the standing car, and, when the
cars came together, stepped in to make the coupling, and was caught
and killed. Decedent had been in the employ of the appellee for
some time, and was an experienced switchman. It was shown that if
decedent had remained on the outside of the curve, he could have made
the coupling with safety, but that he went to the inside of the curve
in order to better signal the engineer from that side, and control the
movements of the train. I t was shown that decedent’ s attention had
been called to the fact that the boards on the cars came closer together
on the inside than on the outside of the curve, and was instructed to
make the coupling from the outside of the curve; and appellant’s wit
nesses all say that they knew that it was extremely dangerous to make
the coupling from the inside of the curve. The proof shows that
decedent was guilty of such contributory negligence as precludes a
recovery.
E mployers ’ L iability — R ailroad
C ompanies— Contributory
N egligence — O bedience to O rder — Galveston, Harrisburg and San
Antonio Railway Co. v. Sanchez, Court o f Civil Appeals o f Texas,
65 Southwestern Reporter, page 893.— In this case the railroad com
pany appealed from a judgment in favor of Alejandro Sanchez ren
dered by the district court of Bexar County.
Sanchez was a section
hand in the employment of the above-named company, engaged, at
the time of the injury for which he sued, in loading rails upon flat
cars.
The crew o f which he was a member was riding on a flat car to
the pile of rails to be loaded, and on approaching it either the foreman
or the roadmaster ordered the crew to get off.
The train was in
DECISIONS OP COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
635
motion and Sanchez made no attempt to get off. A second peremp
tory command was given and the crew all jumped, alighting safely
with the exception of Sanchez, who fell and was permanently injured
by the shattering of the bones of his left knee. It was in evidence
that the train was moving from five to seven miles per hour when the
orders were given. The plaintiff had seen the foreman jump from a
car moving even more rapidly than was the one from which he jumped,
and saw the men with him jump in safety at the time of his accident;
he himself had never tried to jump from a train in motion, and had
never before been ordered to do so.
On the question of contributory negligence, Chief Justice James,
speaking for the court, said:
Certainly, where it was possible with proper care to make the
descent in safety, as appears here, and where plaintiff had often seen
the foreman jump from cars going faster than this one, and never
having had experience himself in jumping from moving trains, a
reasonably prudent man, in his circumstances, may have been justified
in presuming that he might proceed with safety to obey the command.
The question of whether or not such was the case, and whether or not
in so doing plaintiff exercised that degree of care which he should
have exercised under the circumstances, were questions for the jury.
Counsel for the railroad company argued that plaintiff and defend
ant had equal opportunity to observe and know the danger, and there
fore the defendant company ought not to be charged with liability,
and that it was error for the court below to submit any such issue as
that of the plaintiff’s inexperience or ignorance of danger. On this
point the court quoted from the case of Steel Co. v. Schymanowski
(111.), 44 N . E ., 879, as follows:
A master is liable to a servant when he orders the latter to per
form a dangerous work, unless the danger is so imminent that no man
of ordinary prudence would incur it. Even if the servant has some
knowledge of attendant danger, his right of recovery will not be
defeated if by obeying the order he acts with the degree of prudence
which an ordinarily prudent man would exercise under the circum
stances. W h en the master orders the servant to perform his work,
the latter has a right to assume that the former, with his superior
knowledge of the facts, would not expose him to unnecessary perils.
The servant has a right to rest upon the assurance that there is no
danger which is implied by such an order.
Continuing, the court said:
W e regard the real issue here as not one of equal opportunity, nor
one of experienced employee. W h ere the employee acts suddenly, as
may be said in this case, upon an imperative order enjoining instant
obedience, if the danger or injury from obeying the order is not cer
tain, and can be incurred without injury by exercising care, the issues
o f negligence, contributory negligence, assumed risk, etc., are for the
jury and not for the court to determine. A n d in such a case this is
none the less so if the servant has experience.
Affirmed.
636
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
E mployers’ L iability — W orking during D inner H our — I njury
R eceived while outside L ine of D uty —I nstructions to Subor
dinate to O bey O thers — Mitchell-Tranter Company v. Ehmett, Court
o f Appeals o f Kentucky, 65 Southwestern Reporter,page 835.— This case
came before the court of appeals on appeal from the circuit court of
Kenton County, which had rendered a judgment for damages against
the above-named company. The facts appear in the portion of the
opinion of the court, as delivered by Justice W h ite, quoted herewith:
Appellee [Ehmett] was employed to assist a bricklayer named
Weatherwax. H is duties were to help the bricklayer to do anything
the bricklayer required.
He helped build furnaces, repair furnaces, ana
repair or adjust the guyropes or wires that held the smokestacks. A ll
this work required appellee to be frequently on the mill roof. On the day
o f the injury a damper on the stack fell through the roof, and at about
half-past twelve, at the noon hour, and while Weatherwax was at home
for dinner, appellee, who was eating his meal at the mill, was requested
by Chas. Minish, a puddler employed by appellant, to go upon the roof
and remove a crossbeam broken by the fall of the damper, and hang
ing in the roof so as to be dangerous. In going over the roof of the
mill to remove this dangerous crossbeam, the roof gave way, and appellee
fell to the floor below and was seriously injured. * * * The ques
tion of contributory negligence was, under proper instruction, sub
mitted to the ju ry ; and their verdict was, in effect, that there was no
negligence in appellee when he went upon the roof and was injured, so
that the case m ay be treated here as if appellee, without negligence
himself, was injured when obeying the direction of the puddler to
remove the dangerous beam, which direction he had been ordered by
his superior, W eatherwax, to obey, and that this occurred at the noon
hour, during the recess of the work for that meal. Under these cir
cumstances, the question is whether appellee was at the time of the in j ury
in the employ of appellant, and was within the scope of the em ploy
ment for which he was en
W e shall first consider 1
ne of the injury. In the case of Brod
erick v. Depot C o., 56 M ich. 261, 22 N . W . 802, 56 A m . Rep. 382, it
was held: “ It does not follow that, because plaintiff was given an inter
mission from work of an hour and a half for dinner, he ceased during
that time to be servant o f defendant. I f during that time he had in
his care or custody, any of his master’s property, requiring his atten
tion and oversight, or if called upon to perform work by the master,
or by one having authority to command his service, the relation would
still exist.”
W e conclude, therefore, that, so far as the time of the
injury is concerned (that it was at the noon hour), appellee was in the
employ of appellant.
The material inquiry, however, is, W a s the injury received while
appellee was acting within the scope of his employment, or was he, as
to this work he was engaged in when injured, a volunteer, to whom
appellant owed no duty as to place in which to perform the service?
There is no proof in the record that W eatherwax had authority to
place appellee under any other employee of appellant, or that b y reason
o f this order by W eatherwax, appellee was bound to do what was
required of him by a puddler. There is an absence of power shown
in W eatherwax to give the order. The order of W eatherwax, if given,
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
637
could only mean that appellee was to repair anything necessary that
was in the line of his duties. B y his long service at the mill, appellee
must have known that there was a carpenter, whose duty it was to
repair the roof and framework. Appellee knew at least that this was
not his duty. Being a volunteer as to that work, appellant owed him
no duty to have or keep the roof in safe condition, and a failure to do
so was, as to appellee, not actionable negligence.
The judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded for a new trial.
I n junction- C onspiract- C ontempt- J urisdiction of the C ourt
P ersons not P arties to O riginal B ill — W. B . Conkey
over
Company v. Russell et al., In re Bessette, United States Circuit
Court fo r the D istrict o f Indiana, 111 Federal Reporter, page 1^17.—
In this case the W . B. Conkey Company, doing business in the city of
Hammond, submits information against one Bessette, claiming that he
has conspired with the defendants, Russell et al., to evade and violate
the orders of the court as laid down in an injunction granted for the
relief of the said Conkey Company, and that he has aided and abetted
the parties so enjoined in the commission of acts of violence and wrong,
on which grounds it is asked that Bessette and his confederates be
punished as in contempt. Bessette Was not a party to the original
suit, having been sent to Hammond from Chicago only after the
issuance of the injunction against certain strikers who were interfering
with the business of the complaining company. It was established that
his presence at Hammond was connected with acts of force and violence
directed against the employees and those seeking employment with the
company and that he was properly chargeable with knowledge of the
existence of the injunction against such acts.
Judge Baker delivered the opinion of the court, and after disposing
of a point raised on the original bill, he quoted from the opinion of
Justice Brown in the case of In re Lennon, 166 U . S ., 548, 17 Sup.
C t., 658, 41 L . E d ., 1110, as follows:
“ The facts that petitioner was not a party to sucb*suit, nor served
with process of subpoena, nor had notice of the application made by
the complainant for the mandatory injunction, nor was served by the
officers of the court with such injunction, are immaterial, so long as it
was made to appear that he had notice of the issuing of an injunction
by the court. To render a person amenable to an injunction, it is
neither necessary that he should have been a party to the suit in which
the injunction was issued, nor that he should have been actually served
with a copy of it, so long as he appears to have.had actual notice.”
That I understand to be the law. Nor do I understand that this
application for the punishment of M r. Bessette and the other parties
against whom a rule was issued by the court to show cause why they
should not be punished for the matters and things set out in the peti
tion and information against them asks for any relief in the way o f
damages or otherwise in favor of the Conkey Company. It is pun
ishment that is asked for— that they may be punished. Now, I have
638
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
said enough to indicate that 1 think, under the law, the court has
jurisdiction to do that thing, if the proofs sustain the charges, not on
the ground that M r. Bessette and the other conspirators who are
named, but are not parties to the original bill, are directly restrained,
but because they have made themselves amenable to the process for con
tempt by combining and confederating with those who were enjoined,
and by aiding and assisting them in the violation of the injunction of
the court. A n d the court, if it should assess a punishment against
M r. Bessette, would assess it on the theory— and such would be the
finding that the court would make in passing its judgment— that, with
fu ll knowledge of the scope and effect of the restraining order, he
did wrongfully and unlawfully unite, combine, and confederate with
the defendants named in the bill, and who were by name restrained,
for the purpose of thwarting and defeating che effect of the writ of
injunction issued by the court, and that he did, in pursuance of such
conspiracy, aid, abet, and assist them in acts o f violence in violation
of the injunction. That I understand to be the scope and character
of the charge, or charges, rather, that are made against M r. Bessette,
with others. A n d such I understand to be the law applicable to those
charges.
The judgment of the court is that the defendant be fined, for the
contempt charged, in the sum o f $250 and the costs o f prosecution,
and that he stand committed to the jail of Marion County, In d., until
the fine and costs are paid, or until he is discharged by aue course of
law.
R ailroad C ompanies— B reach of C ontract for M edical A t ie n for E mployees —D amages— M ental Suffering — Galveston,
tion
Harrisburg and San Antonio Railvmy Co. v. Rubio, Court o f Civil
Appeals o f Texas, 65 Southwestern Reporter, page 1126.— This was
an appeal from a judgment in favor of Ramon Rubio in the county
court of E l Paso County. The action of the court below was reversed
on the ground that the court had admitted an allegation of damages too
remote, and the case was remanded for a new trial.
The facts appear in the statement of the opinion o f the court of
appeals as given by Chief Justice James, quoted herewith:
Appellee [Rubio] sued alleging that in E l Paso County he was
employed by appellant to work as a laborer on its line of railway,
agreeing to pay him $1.25 per day, and, in event of plaintiff becoming
sick, to furnish him with all necessary hospital and medical attention
and medicines, and to send plaintiff to a hospital for such purposes,
and to defray the expense thereof the sum of 50 cents monthly was to
be deducted by defendant from plaintiff’s wages. The petition alleged
that defendant set him to work at Schulenburg, a malarial locality,
which fact was known to defendant, and unknown to plaintiff; that he
began work about September 12, 1900, and about September 22 plain
tiff contracted malarial fever, commonly known as “ chills and fever,”
o f a violent nature; that he repeatedly applied for the necessary med
ical, hospital, and other attention provided for in the contract, which
was refused him, although the 50 cents therefor was deducted from
his pay; that plaintiff had no money and no friends nearer than E l Paso
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
639
County, T ex ., and no means of providing food, shelter, or medical
attention, all o f which was well known to the defendant at the time it
so refused; that the weather was bad; that by reason of the defendant’s
refusal aforesaid the malady of plaintiff was greatly aggravated, and
he was left sick and helpless among strangers 700 miles from home;
that having no money nor any means of procuring any money, or a
ticket, he was compelled to make his way back to his home in Socorro
on foot, and suffered great bodily and mental pain and anguish, and
was permanently injured in his bodily constitution and health, and was
totally incapacitated from labor from that time to the filing of his peti
tion, and his capacity to labor and earn a living has been permanently
impaired, all to plaintiff’s damage in the sum of $950. The jury gave
plaintiff a verdict for $200.
Except in respect to the matter for which the judgment is reversed,
we see no error in the record. According to plaintiff’s testimony and
that of other witnesses, defendant violated its contract in regard to
furnishing plaintiff with necessary medical and hospital assistance.
F or such breach of contract plaintiff would be entitled to recover to
the extent of the damages he may have sustained, which m ight be
expected as naturally resulting from such breach. The act of plaintiff
in making his way back to his home in Socorro on foot was his volun
tary and independent act. It had no connection with defendant’s
refusal, as a natural result thereof, nor was it an act to be reasonably
expected therefrom. A s a matter of damages, it was too remote, and
was calculated to affect the verdict. Loss of time, and decreased
capacity to earn a living, could not be regarded as too remote.
Appellant attacks the charge which informed the jury that they
might consider (among other things) plaintiff’s mental and physical
suffering, if any, suffered by him bv reason of, or as the immediate
result of, such breach of contract; the objection being to this charge
embracing mental suffering. It is the rule where there is serious
physical injury occasioned by the act of another, mental suffering, if
any, may also be considered as an element o f damages, and, without
discussing the evidence, we are of opinion that the rule has application
in this case.
Strikes —P icketing— U nlawful I nterference with E mployer ’ s
B usiness— I njunction— Otis Steel Co., Lim ited , v. Local Union No .
218, o f Cleveland, Ohio, o f Iron M olderi Union o f North America
et al., United States Circuit Court fo r the Northern D istrict o f Ohio,
Eastern Division , 110 Federal Reporter, page 698.— A bill in equity
asking for the issuance of an injunction to prevent certain acts of
strikers and their sympathizers was filed by the Otis Steel Company
in the above-named court and after a hearing the petition of the bill
was granted by the court in its decision rendered July 9, 1901, and
the injunction was issued.
The report o f the case contains no further statement of the facts
therein than that contained in the opinion of the court, delivered by
District Judge W in g , which reads as follow s:
It will be unnecessary, at this time, to go over all of the recitals
and allegations of the bill. It contains charges that the defendants,
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Local Union No. 218 of the Iron Molders’ Union o f North America,
and certain individuals named as defendants, who are said to be mem
bers of that union, and others whose names are not known, have
attempted by various means, including the establishment and main
tenance o f “ pickets,” to interfere with the operation o f the complain
ant’s m ill, and with its employment of men disapproved by the
defendants, and it is also alleged that violence and riotous acts have
accompanied these attempts. The answer denies that any violence
has been committed by the defendants, and sets up as a defense, at
considerable length, a history of what is called the “ old strike,”
which commenced in July, 1900, and alleges that some agreement of
settlement o f that strike was made, and that such agreement o f settle
ment was broken by the complainant, and that a new strike was insti
tuted about A p ril 1st of this .year.
W hatever the truth may be
upon the disputed question as to whether actual violence was indulged
in by the defendants, or some o f them, it appears from affidavits tiled
by the defendants, and it is practically an agreed fact in this case,
that “ picketing,” so called, has been employed, as a means of carry
ing out its purposes, by the defendant association, during all of the
first strike, or what is called the “ old strike,” as also during the second
strike, which has been in existence since A p ril 1st; ana that such
picketing was suspended for some weeks, during the time when it
was supposed an agreement had been arrived at between the striking
molders and their employer.
Counsel for the defendants have gone into a somewhat lengthy his
tory of the writ of injunction, with a view of impressing upon the
court the great care that should be exercised by the courts in the use
o f the writ as a remedy. It is peculiarly appropriate, in the analysis
of these strike cases, to consider the great power which the jurisdic
tion to issue this writ confers, and the strict boundaries which should
confine its use, because the beginning o f all this trouble was the attempt
of the Iron Molders’ Union, No. 218, without the assistance of a court,
to enjoin the complainant from operating its plant. That injunction
was attempted to be enforced, not only against the complainant, but
against all nonunion molders; and. its terms, as addressed to the com
plainant, were, in substance, “ Y o u must not proceed with your busi
ness and the operation of your plant unless you comply with the
conditions which we have im posed;” and, as to the nonunion molders,
“ Y ou shall not work for the Otis Steel Company.” It would not
be claimed for a moment that there has ever existed any authority
in the defendant to so issue its edicts against either the complainant
or the nonunion molders. The assumed right to thus dictate to others
may be referred to an unfounded notion on the part of this molders’
union that it and its members are the exponents of some higher law
than that which may be administered by courts. It would not be urged
for a moment that this molders’ union, or its members, could have
rightfully obtained from any court the injunction against the Otis
Steel Company and the nonunion molders, which, in the course of this
strike, has been attempted to be enforced. I f, from the history of the
writ of injunction, it can be gathered that courts should exercise great
care in its use, it follows with more force that a self-constituted body
c f men, deriving no authority from recognized law, should not be per
mitted to originate edicts for the government of others, and attempt
to enforce them by any means whatsoever.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
641
Now, what are the means, in analogy to contempt proceedings, by
which this self-constituted court has attempted to enforce its injunc
tion ? The one admitted thing is the establishment and maintenance of
a system of picketing. W hether this picketing has been accompanied
with violence or not we need not consider. It certainly was one of the
means used by this defendant organization to enforce its mandate.
W h ile picketing may not be an occasion of war, it certainly is an evi
dence that war exists, and the term is appropriately borrowed from
the nomenclature of actual warfare. This system, constantly kept up,
in its nature leads to disturbance, and has a tendency to intimidate.
That it is used by the defendants as a means of enforcing their unau
thorized mandate, and that it accompanies the utterance of it, is an
admission by the defendants that it will prove effective in enforcing
such mandate. It is therefore a violation of the rights o f this com
plainant, and of all nonunion men, or of any and all men who choose
to work in disobedience to the orders of this defendant union. Behind
all law there is necessarily force. The orders and judgments of courts
would otherwise be futile. Behind the order made by this union is the
tacit threat o f enforcement by appropriate means. One of the actual
means used, and admitted, has been the constant and regular attendance
o f pickets about the plant of the complainant, with short intermission,
for a period of a year. It has been said in decided cases a sufficient num
ber of times to dispense with this repetition, and it is known to every
one, whether he belongs to a union or not, or who has had under con
sideration any of these contests between employer and employee, and
their effect upon social life, that it lies at the bottom of every idea of
just government that each man has a right to use his life and his
ability to labor undisturbed by any interference whatsoever, so long
as he does not, in the exercise of that right, disturb the right of any
other man to do the same thing. There are at the foundation of all
labor organizations, as there are at the foundation of religious organ
izations, and all the innumerable other forms of social organizations,
certain ideas peculiar to each; and there is an undoubted right in the
members o f such organizations to promulgate their theories by rea
son, logic, argument, and the persuasive influence of those peaceful
weapons, to the end that other men may be brought to think as they do.
W h en that persuasion has been accomplished, the men persuaded
may evidence such fact by joining the organization whose principles
and theories they have come to believe. These unions' have a perfect
right, whether they are sound in their beliefs or not, to believe^ as
they do; and the members thereof would be the last to admit th at any
other body of men had a right to command and coerce them into the
observance o f other beliefs. They have, as I have stated, a perfect right
to entertain these beliefs, and to promulgate them; but they must not
attempt to force them upon any one else by physical demonstrations.
It is certainly true that this system of picketing, although it may not
have been accompanied by violence on the part of those who have
served as pickets, has [done] and will do injury.
It appears from affidavits filed that the complainant employs 500 or
600 men, 50 or 60 of whom are molders; that it pays to these molders
extraordinary wages in the way o f bonuses, these bonuses varying
from three to five dollars per day; that it has hired men to accompany
the few molders who have left the works while going to and from their
homes; and that opportunities to sleep within the works have also been
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
furnished, so that the men engaged as molders, with few exceptions,
have stayed within the works, day and night, for a period of at least
six months.
A ll the employees of the complainant, other than
molders, have gone to and from their homes in the usual way, appar
ently uninfluenced by any fear of injury. I can not imagine a com
pany resorting to these extraordinary expenses and pains without
there was some cause; nor can I imagine the individual molders sub
mitting to be thus confined unless intimidation of some sort had influ
enced them. This state of things is evidence of a higher character, in
deciding the issue as to whether or not picketing tends to intimidate
those against whom it is directed, than the statements in affidavits filed
by the individual defendants to the effect that no means of intimida
tion have been used.
It is admitted that this system of picketing has existed at the
instance of the defendants. It is, in a way, admitted that picketing is
a means of enforcing the edicts of the defendant union, because it has
been used in connection therewith. It goes without saying that this
means would not have been used unless it were thought to be effect
ive in some way. The only way in which it could be effective
would be to produce in the minds o f the nonunion men who have been
employed against the wishes and orders of the union a feeling of fear
that the menacing eye of this numerous organized body of men com
posing the union was upon them for some purpose not friendly; that
watch was being kept to learn not only who came out, but when they
m ight come out; that such espionage meant that the pickets were pres
ent for the purpose of waiting until some one should come out. The
absence of violence may be explained by the fact that the nonunion
molders did not come out of these works except at rare intervals, and
then usually in considerable numbers. In this case there is proof of
injury and interruption to the business of the complainant by the acts
o f the defendants, and it is not a departure from the line of decided
cases to grant the injunction prayed for. No harm can result to the
defendants by the granting o f the injunction, except that they will be
deprived of what they apparently conceive to be their right to enforce
the unauthorized injunction which they themselves have issued. It
has been said in an eloquent and learned decision that it can not too
soon be learned, and learned thoroughly, that, under this Government
at least, freedom of action, so long as a man does not interfere with
the rights o f others, will be protected and maintained; and that it is
unlawful for any man to dictate to another what his conduct shall be,
and to attempt to enforce such dictation by any form o f undue pres
sure. Nor must intimidation be disguised in the assumed character of
persuasion. Persuasion, too emphatic or too long and persistently
continued, may itself become a nuisance, and its use a form of unlawful
coercion. The injunction will be allowed, substantially as prayed for.
I am asked by counsel for the defendants just what is meant by
‘ ‘picketing.” I think these defendants know what ‘ ‘ picketing ” means,
as they have inaugurated it. It is the establishment and maintenance
of an organized espionage upon the works, and upon those going to
and from them.
LAW S OF VARIOUS STATES RELATING TO LABOR ENACTED SINCE
JANUARY 1, 1896.
[The Second Special Report o f the Department contains all laws o f the various States and Terri
tories and o f the United States relating to labor in force January 1, 1896. Later enactm ents are
reproduced in successive issues of the Bulletin from time to tim e as published.]
D ELAW AR E.
ACTS OF 1901.
Chapter 137.— Examination, licensing, etc., of barbers.
Section 1. A board of examiners, to consist of three reputable barbers, is hereby
created, whose duty it shall be to carry out the purposes and enforce the provisions
of this act. The members of said board shall be appointed by the governor, w ho
shall select them from the barbers residing in the city of Wilmington, Delaware.
The term for which the members of said board shall hold their office shall be for
three years (except that two members of the board first to be appointed under this
act, shall be designated by the governor to hold their office for the term of one and
two years respectively), unless sooner removed by the governor, and until their suc
cessors shall be duly appointed in case of vacancy occurring in said board, such
vacancy shall be filled in like manner by the governor. Each member of said board
shall enter into a bond to the State of Delaware with one or more sureties to be ap
proved by any judge of any court of this State, in the penal sum of five hundred
dollars ($500), conditioned for the faithful performance of his official duties; said
bond shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state, and before entering upon
his duties each member shall be duly sworn or affirmed to faithfully and impartially
perform the duties of his office.
Sec. 2. The said board shall choose one of its members president, one secretary
and one treasurer thereof. It shall fix the time and place of meeting or meetings.
A majority of said board shall at all times constitute a quorum and the proceedings
thereof shall at all reasonable times be open to a reasonable inspection. The board
shall also make an annual report of its proceedings to the governor. It shall have
power to adopt reasonable rules and regulations, prescribing the sanitary require
ments of a barber shop subject to the approval of the board of health of the city
of Wilmington, and to cause the rules and regulations so approved to be printed
in suitable form and to transmit a copy thereof to the proprietor of each barber shop
in the said city of Wilmington.
It shall be the duty of every proprietor
or person operating a barber shop in said city to keep posted in a conspicuous
place in his shop, so as to be easily read by his customers, a copy of such rules and
regulations. A failure of any such proprietor to keep such rules so posted or to
observe the requirements thereof, shall be sufficient ground for the revocation of his
license, but no license shall be revoked without a reasonable opportunity being
offered to such proprietor to be heard in his defense. Any member of said board
shall have power to enter and make any reasonable examination of any barber shop
in said city during business hours, for the purpose of ascertaining the sanitary condi
tions thereof. Any barber shop in which tools, appliances and furnishings in use
therein are kept in an unclean and unsanitary condition so as to endanger health is
hereby declared to be a public nuisance, and the proprietor thereof shall be subject
to prosecution and punishment therefor.
Sec. 3. Said board shall meet at least three times in each year in tne said city of
Wilmington to conduct an examination of persons desiring to follow the business or
occupation of barbers, and shall give at least ten days previous notice of the time and
place of such meeting in at least two of the daily newspapers of the said city of
W ilmington.
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect from the date of its passage and within sixty days
thereafter it shall be the duty of every person who at the time of the passage of this
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
act shall have been engaged for the period of two years or more, either as journey
man or proprietor, in the business or occupation of a barber in said city of Wilming
ton, to cause his or her name and residence or place of business to be registered with
said board of examiners. The statement of every such person so registering shall be
verified under oath before a notary public of this State, and shall set forth his or her
name and residence or place of business and the length of time he or she has acted
or served as a barber. Every person who shall be so registered with said board as a
barber, shall pay to the treasurer of said board the sum of two dollars and shall be
entitled to receive from said board a certificate as a barber, and shall pay annually
the sum of one dollar for a renewal of said certificate.
Sec. 5. Any person not within the provisions of section 4, or not registering there
under, desiring to obtain a certificate of registration under this act shall make appli
cation to said board thereof, and shall pay to the treasurer of said board an examina
tion fee of five (5) dollars, and shall present himself at the next regular meeting of the
board for the examination of applicants, whereupon said board shall proceed to exam
ine such person, and being satisfied that he is above the age of nineteen years, of
good moral character, free from contagious diseases, that he has either studied the
trade for at least three years as an apprentice under a qualified and practicing barber;
or has practiced the trade in another State for at least two years, and is possessed of
the requisite skill in said trade to properly perform all the duties thereof, including
his ability in the preparation of tools, shaving, hair cutting, and all the duties and
services incident thereto, his name shall be entered by the board in the register here
inafter provided for, and a certificate of registration shall be issued to him author
izing him to practice said trade in said city of Wilmington, which said certificate shall
be good for one year. All persons who shall have passed a successful examination
before said board shall be entitled to receive from said board a certificate thereafter
annually upon the payment of a fee of one dollar.
Sec. 6. Each member of said board shall receive a compensation of five dollars per
day for actual services, which compensation shall be paid out of the moneys in the
hands of the treasurer of said board: Provided, That said compensation shall in no
event be paid out of the State treasury.
Sec. 7. Nothing in this act shall prohibit any person from serving as an apprentice
tewsaid trade under a barber authorized to practice the same under this act: Provided,
That in no barber shop in said city of Wilmington shall there be more than one ap
prentice to one barber authorized under this act to practice said occupation.
An apprentice within the meaning of this act is anyone who has entered into the
employment of a qualified barber for a fixed term in order to learn the trade or art
of barbering. Every apprentice in the said city of Wilmington in order to avail him
self of the provisions of this act must file with the secretary of said board a statement
in writing showing the name and place of business of his employer, the date of the
commencement of employment with him, and his full name and age, and shall pay
into the treasury of said board a fee of fifty (50) cents.
Sec. 8. Said board shall furnish to each person to whom a certificate of registration
is issued a card or insignia good for the year for which the same is issued, bearing
the signatures of its president and secretary, certifying that the holder thereof is
entitled to practice the occupation of barber in said city, and the year for which it is
issued printed in large figures; and it shall be the duty of the holder of such card or
insignia to post the same and any renewal thereof in a conspicuous place in front of
his working chair, where it may be readily seen by all persons whom he may serve.
Sec. 9. Said board shall keep a register m which shall be entered the names of all
persons to whom certificates are issued under this act and said register shall be at
all times open to public inspection.
Sec. 10. To shave or trim the beard or cut the hair of any person for hire or reward
received by the person performing such service or any other person shall be con
strued as practicing the occupation of barber within the meaning of this act.
Sec. 11. It shall be unlawful for any person to follow the occupation of a barber
without the certificate of said board of examiners. Provided further. That all persons
making application (f) or examination under the provisions of this act shall be allowed
to practice the occupation of barbering until the next regular meeting of said board.
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Sec. 13. A ny person violating the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misde
meanor and upon conviction thereof before any justice of the peace residing in the
said city of Wilmington or by the municipal court of the city of Wilmington shall be
fined not less than five nor more than fifty dollars, and any convicted person who shall
refuse or neglect to pay such fine may be imprisoned in the county jail until such
fine is paid, not exceeding, however, twenty days.
Approved March 9,1901.
LABOR LAWS— DELAWARE---- ACTS OF 1901.
645
Chapter 166.—Legal holidays— Lincoln9s Birthday,
Section 1. From and after the passage of this act, the twelfth day of February in
each year, known as “ Lincoln’ s Birthday,” is declared and hereby made a legal
holiday, and all laws, or parts of laws, of the State of Delaware applicable to, or
haying reference in any way to legal holidays are hereby extended, and are in all cases
to be deemed and taken as applicable to the aforesaid twelfth day of February.
Approved March 7, 1901.
C hapter 209.—Attachment o f wages.
Section 1. From and after the passage of this act ten per centum of the amount
of the wages for labor or services of any person residing within New Castle County
shall be subject to and liable to mesne attachment process and execution attachment
process under the laws of this State, for or on account of any debt created and
incurred subsequent to the passage of this act, thereby amending section 1, chapter
542, volume 16, laws of Delaware, as amended b y chapter 222, volume 18, laws of
Delaware, and making the same to read “ That on and after the passage of this act,
ninety per centum of the amount of the wages for labor or service of any person
residing within New Castle County, shall be exempt from mesne attachment process,
and execution attachment process, under the laws of this State. (Except wnere the
said execution attachment process is for board or lodging or both, as the case may
be, and for an amount not exceeding fifty dollars exclusive of costs.)
Sec. 2. The provisions of this act as to the liability to attachment process of ten
per centum of wages for any debt, shall apply solely to debts incurred for or on
account of the purchase of food, provisions and articles used in the home, commonly
designated as the necessaries of life.
Sec. 3. On any amount of wages due for a stated and regular period (not exceed
ing one month) for the payment of such wages, only one attachment may be made,
and any creditor causing such attachment to be made shall have the benefit of his
priority, and further provided that the garnishee in any attachment made under the
provisions of this act shall be paid the sum of fifteen cents, and that the total
liability of the debtor for costs under any attachment laid in accordance with the
provisions of this act shall not exceed the sum of ninety cents: Provided, however,
That said costs incurred in the laying of any attachment under this act shall be paid
out of the whole amount of said wages attached notwithstanding the provisions of
section 1 of this act exempting ninety per centum of wages.
Approved February 19, 1901.
FLORIDA.
ACTS OF 1901.
Chapter 4961.—Protection of seamen— Repeal,
Section 1. Chapter 4170, acts of 1893, entitled “ An Act to protect seamen from
imposition, and to provide for the appointment of shipping agents,” is hereby
repealed.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect from and after its approval b y the governor.
Approved May 31, 1901.
Chapter 4974.— Trade-marks of trade unions.
Section 1. Whenever any person or any association or union of workingmen has
heretofore adopted or used, or shall hereafter adopt or use, and has filed as herein
after provided, any label, trade-mark, term, wording, design, device, color 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 asso
ciation 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,
wording, design, device, color or form of advertisement, or knowingly to use, sell,
offer for sale, or in any other way utter or circulate any counterfeit or imitation of
any such label, trade-mark, term, wording, design, device, color or form of adver
tisement.
Sec. 2. W hoever counterfeits or imitates any such label, trade-mark, term, word
ing, design, device, color or form of advertisement, or knowingly sells, offers for
sale, or in any way utters or circulates any counterfeit or imitation of any such
646
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
label, trade-mark, term, wording, design, device, color or form of advertisement; or
knowingly purchases and keeps or has in his possession, with intent that the same
shall be sola or disposed of, any goods, wares, merchandise or other product of labor
to which or on w hich any such counterfeit or imitation is printed, painted, stamped
or impressed; or knowingly purchases with intent to sell or dispose 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 imitation is attached, affixed,
printed, painted, stamped or impressed; or having knowingly purchased, 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 w hich or on w hich any such counterfeit or imitation is attached, affixed, printed,
painted, stamped or impressed, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five
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, wording, design,
device, color or form of advertisement as provided in section 1 of this act, may file
the same for record in the office of the secretary of state b y 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, wording, design, device* color 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, wording, design, device,
color 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 use
either in the identical form or in any such near resemblance thereto as may be cal
culated to deceive, and that the facsimile or counterparts filed therewith are true and
correct.
There shall be paid for such filing and recording a fee of two dollars. Said secre
tary shall deliver to such person, association or union so filing or causing to be filed
any such label, trade-mark, term, wording, design, device, color or form of adver
tisement so many duly attested certificates of the recording of the same as such per
son, association or union may apply for, for each of which the secretary shall receive
a fee of one dollar. Any such certificate of record shall, in all suits ana prosecutions
under this act, be sufficient proof of the adoption of - such label, trade-mark, term,
wording, design, device, color or form of advertisement. Said secretary of state
shall not record for any person, union or association any label, trade-mark, term,
wording, design, device, color or form of advertisement that would probably be mis
taken for any label, trade-mark, term, wording, design, device, color or form of adver
tisement heretofore filed by or on behalf of any other person, union or association.
Sec. 4. A n y 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, wording, design,
device, color 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
declaration, verbally or in writing, or by any fraudulent means, shall be liable to pay
any damages sustained in consequence of such filing, to be recovered by or on behalf
of the party injured thereby, in any court having jurisdiction, and shall be punished
b y a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding
three months.
Sec. 5. Every such person, association or union adopting or using a label, trade
mark, term, wording, design, device, color or form of advertisement as aforesaid,
may proceed b y suit to enjoin the manufacture, use, display or sale of any counter
feits or imitations thereof, and all courts of competent jurisdiction shall grant
injunctions to restrain such manufacture, use, display or sale, and may award the
complainant in any such suit damages resulting from any such manufacture, use, sale
or display, as may be by the said court deemed just and reasonable, and shall require
the defendants to pay such person, association or union all profits derived from such
wrongful manufacture, use, display or sale; and such court shall also order that all
such counterfeits or imitations in the possession or under the control of any defend
ant in such cause be delivered to an officer of the court, or to the complainants, to
be destroyed.
Sec. 6 Every person who shall use or display the genuine label, trade-mark, term,
wording, design, device, color or form of advertisement of any such person, associa
tion or union in any manner, not being authorized so to do by such person, union or
association, shall tie deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by
imprisonment for not more than three months or b y a fine of not more than five
hundred dollars.
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LABOR LAWS---- FLORIDA---- ACTS OF 1901.
647
In all cases where such association or union is not incorporated, suits under this
act may be commenced and prosecuted by an officer or member of such association
or union on behalf of and for the use of such association or union.
Sec. 7. A n y 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 so use the same, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and shall be punishable by imprisonment for not more than three months, or b y a
fine of not more than one hundred dollars.
Sec. 8 A ny person using the trade-mark so adopted and filed by any other person,
or any imitation of such trade-mark, or any counterfeit thereof; or who shall in any
manner mutilate, deface, destroy or remove such trade-mark from any goods, wares,
merchandise, article or articles, or from any package or packages containing the
same, or from any empty or second-hand package, wnich has contained the same or
been used therefor, with the intention of using such empty or second-hand package,
or of the same being used to contain goods, wares, merchandise, article or articles of
the same general character as those for which they were first used; and any person
w ho shall use any such empty or second-hand package for the purpose aforesaid,
without the consent in writing of the person whose trade-mark was first applied
thereto or placed thereon, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in any sum not
less than five hundred dollars, or b y imprisonment for not more than three months,
and the goods, wares, merchandise, article or articles contained in any such second
hand package or packages shall be forfeited to the original user of such package or
packages whose trade-mark was first applied thereto or placed thereon. The viola
tion of any of the above provisions as to each particular articles or packages shall be
held to be a separate offense.
Sec. 9. The word “ person” in this act shall be construed to include a person,
copartnership, corporation, association or union of workingmen.
Sec. 10. This act shall take effect immediately upon its passage and approval by
the governor.
Approved May 29, 1901.
.
Chapter 5015.— Protection of employees in trading or refusing to trade with any particular
person or persons.
Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm, joint stock company,
association or corporation, organized, chartered or incorporated by and under the laws
of this State, either as owner or lessee, having persons in their service as employees,
to discharge any employee or employees in their service for trading or dealing, or for
not trading or dealing as a customer or patron with any particular merchant or other
person or class of persons in any business calling, or to notify any employee or
employees either by general or special notice, directly or indirectly, secretly or
openly given, not to trade or deal as a customer or patron with any particular mer
chant, or person or class of persons in any business or calling, under penalty of
being discharged from the service of such firm, joint stock company, corporation or
association, doing business in this State as aforesaid.
Sec. 2. A ny person or persons, firm, joint stock company, association, or corpora
tion, organized, chartered or incorporated under the laws of this State, or operated
in this State, violating any of the provisions of the foregoing section, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall pay a fine of not more than one thousand
dollars for each offense for which convicted.
Sec. 3. A ny person acting as an officer or agent of any firm, joint stock companies,
associations or corporations of the kind and character hereinbefore described, or for
any one of them who makes or executes any notice, order or threat of the kind
hereinbefore forbidden, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall
pay a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, and be imprisoned in the county
jail not more than six (6) months, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Sec. 4. A ll laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved May 22, 1901.
Chapter 5016.— Protection of employees as voters.
Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm, joint stock com
pany, association or corporation, organized, chartered or incorporated by and under
the laws of this State either as owner or lessee, having persons in their service as
employees, to discharge any employee or employees, or to threaten to discharge any
employee or employees in their service for voting or for not voting in any election,
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
State, county, or municipal, for any person as candidate or measure submitted to a
vote of the people.
Sec. 2. A n y person or persons, firm, joint stock company, association or corpora
tion, organized, chartered or incorporated under the laws of this State, or operated
in this State violating any of the provisions of the foregoing section, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, and on convicti[o]n shall pay a fine of not more than one thou
sand dollars for eacn offense for which convicted.
Sec. 3. A ny person acting as an officer or agent of any firm, joint stock companies,
association^ or corporations of the kind and character hereinbefore described, or any
one of them w ho makes or executes any notice, order, or threat of the kind herein
before forbidden shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall pay a fine
of not more than five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned in the county jail not more
than six (6) months.
Sec. 4. A ll fines hereinbefore described shall be for the benefit of the public
schools in the county or counties where such offenses are committed.
Sec. 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved May 22, 1901.
Chapter 5069.— Examination, licensing, etc., of stationary engineers—Inspection of steam
boilers.
Section 1. A ll cities [of] over five thousand inhabitants are hereby granted express
powers to pass and enforce all ordinances that will compel each and every stationary
steam engineer to take out a license to carry on their said vocation, in such sums as
the said cities may impose: Provided, The said sum shall not exceed the limits speci
fied in the general revenue laws of the State of Florida.
Sec. 2. The provisions of section 1, regarding the amount of license, shall not apply
to cities w hich operate under a special charter, when said charter grants the power
to impose licenses without respect to the general revenue statute.
Sec. 3. Cities of over five thousand inhabitants may provide b y ordinance for an
inspection of boilers and an examiner of stationary steam engineers, to inspect steam
boilers, except marine and locomotive boilers used on regular lines of railway, and
shall regulate by ordinance the qualifications of the said inspector and examiner,
their terms of office, salary or fees, and all other matters and things connected with
their said duties.
Sec. 4. The office of inspector and examiner of stationary steam engineers may be
combined in one person by ordinance.
Sec. 5. The said examiner of stationary steam engineers shall be empowered to
require such qualifications of all stationary steam engineers aforesaid as would be
reasonable in conserving public safety, and said examination shall be held at such
times and places as may be required b y ordinance.
Sec. 6. Licenses granted to stationary steam engineers shall be exposed in any
public manner as required by ordinance.
Sec. 7. Any employer, employing other than a licensed stationary steam engineer,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of
not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not e x ce llin g one year in the
county jail, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Sec. 8. Any employer, or his manager or servant, w ho shall refuse the inspector of
steam boilers aforesaid an opportunity to inspect the boiler or boilers in their charge
or control, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and in such case the employer shall be
equally guilty with his manager or servant when refusal is made by the said manager
or servant, and upon conviction each shall be punished b y a fine of not exceeding one
thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year in the county jail, or both
such fine and imprisonment.
Sec. 9. A n y stationary steam engineer w ho shall accept employment without hav
ing .first passed the said examination and taken out a license thereunder, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more
than one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeeding one year in the county
jail, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Approved May 30,1901.
LABOR LAWS---- ILLINOIS---- ACTS OF 1901.
649
ILLINOIS.
ACTS OF 1901.
Board of arbitration
[Page 90.]
1. An act entitled, ‘ ‘An act to create a State board of arbitration ”
* * *
[shall] be amended by inserting therein a new section to read as follows:
Sec. 6b. Whenever there shsdl exist a strike or a lockout, wherein, in the judg
ment of a majority of said board, the general public shall appear likely to suffer
injury or inconvenience with respect to food, fuel or light, or the means of communi
cation or transportation, or in any other respect, and neither party to such strike or
lockout shall consent to submit the matter or matters in controversy to the State
board of arbitration, in conformity with this act, then the said board, after first hav
ing made due effort to effect a settlement thereof by conciliatory means, and such
effort having failed, may proceed of its own motion to make an investigation of all
facts bearing upon such strike or lockout and make public its findings, with such
recommendations to the parties involved as in its judgment will contribute to a fair
and equitable settlement of the differences which constitute the cause of the strike or
lockout; and in the prosecution of such inquiry the board shall have power to issue
subpoenas and compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses as in other cases.
Approved May 11, 1901.
S ection
Exemption of wages from garnishment
[Page 214.]
S ection 1. Section fourteen (14) of an act entitled, “ An act in regard to garnish
ment,” is hereby amended so as to read as follows:
S ec . 14. The wages for services of a wage-earner who is the head of a family and
residing with the same to the amount of fifteen (15) dollars per week shall be exempt
from garnishment. All above the sum of fifteen (15) dollars per week shall be liable
to garnishment.
Every employer shall pay to such wage-earner such exempt wages not to exceed
the sum of fifteen (15) dollars per week of each week’ s wages earned by him, when
due, upon such wage-earner making and delivering to his employer his affidavit that
he is such head of a family and residing with the same, notwithstanding the service
of any writ of garnishment upon such employer, and the surplus only above such
exempt wages shall be held by such employer to abide the event of the garnishment
suit. If the amount of wages subject to garnishment shall not equal the costs of the
garnishment, whatever remains of costs shall be paid by the person bringing the
garnishment proceedings, and judgment shall be entered therefor against him, and
no judgment for any such deficiency of costs shall go against the wage-earner or the
defendant. No employer so served with garnishment shall in any case be liable to
answer for any amount not earned by the wage-earner at the time of the service of
the writ o f garnishment. Before bringing suit a demand in writing shall first be
made upon the wage-earner and the employer for the excess above the amount herein
exempted, and a copy of such demand shall be left with him and with the employer,
having endorsed thereon the time of service, at least twenty-four hours previous to
bringing such suit. Such notice shall be filed with the justice, or clerk of the court,
with the manner and time of the service of the same endorsed thereon, and the
return duly sworn to before some officer authorized to administer oaths, before it
shall be lawful to issue a summons in such case, or to require an employer to answer
in any garnishee proceedings. Any judgment rendered without said demand being
served upon the wage-earner, and so proven and filed as aforesaid, shall be void.
The excess of wages shall be held by the employer, subject to garnishment by the
creditor serving demand, for five (5) days after such service of demand.
S ec . 2. All acts or parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
Approved May 11, 1901.
6451—No. 40—02---- 10
650
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Employment of women and children—Factory inspection.
[Page 231.]
S ection 1. Section[s] four (4) and nine (9) of an act entitled, “ An act to regulate
the employment of children in the State of Illinois,” [are] hereby amended so as to
read as follows:
Sec. 4. N o person under the age of sixteen years shall be employed or suffered to
work for wages at any gainful occupation more than sixty hours m any one week,
nor more than ten hours in any one day. A ll establishments subject to factory
inspection, where girls and women are employed, shall provide suitable seats for the
use o f the girls and women, and they shall be permitted the use of such seats when
not necessarily engaged in their active duties.
Sec. 9. Any person, firm or corporation, agent or manager, superintendent or
foreman, of any firm or corporation, who, whether for himself or for such firm or
corporation, or by himself or through sub-agents or foreman, superintendent or
manager, shall violate or fail to comply with any of the provisions of this act, or
shall refuse admittance to premises or otherwise obstruct the factory inspector or
deputy factory inspectors in the performance of their duties, as prescribed b y this
act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be
fined not less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, or imprisonment
in the county jail not less than ten days nor more than thirty days, for each offense,
or both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court, and shall stand com
mitted until such fine and costs are paid.
Approved May 10, 1901.
Soldiers and sailors granted peddlers9 license without fee.
[Page 236.]
S ection 1. On and after the passage of this act all ex-union soldiers and sailors,
honorably discharged from the military or marine service of the United States, shall
be permitted to vend, hawk and peddle goods, wares, fruits or merchandise not pro
hibited by law, in any county, town, village, incorporated city or municipality
within this State without a license: Provided, Said soldier or sailor is engaged m the
vending, hawking and peddling of said goods, wares, fruits or merchandise for him
self only.
Sec. 2. Upon the presentation of his certificate of discharge to the clerk of any
county, town, village, incorporated city or municipality in this State, and showing
proofs of his identity as the person named in his certificate of honorable discharge,
the clerk shall issue to said ex-union soldier or sailor a license, but such license shall
be free, and said clerk shall not collect or demand for the county, town, village,
incorporated city or municipality any fee therefor. A ny clerk of any county, town,
village, incorporated city or municipality in this State w ho shall violate any of the
foregoing provisions of this act, by failing or refusing to com ply with such provi
sions, as herein directed, shall be fined in a sum not less than ten dollars ($10) nor
more than fifty dollars ($50), to which may be added imprisonment in the county
jail not exceeding ten (10) days.
Approved May 11, 1901.
Mine regulations— Inspection, etc., of oil.
[Page 247.]
S ection 1. Section one of “ An act to prohibit the use of certain oils in coal
mines,” is hereby amended so as to read as follows: That only a pure animal or
vegetable oil, or other oil as free from smoke as a pure animal or vegetable oil, and
not the product or by-product of resin, and which has been inspected and complies
with the following test, shall be used for illuminating purposes in the mines of this
State. A ll such oils must be tested at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The specific gravity
of the oil must not exceed 24 degrees Tagliabue. The test of the oil must be made
in a glass jar one and five-tenths inches in diameter by seven inches in depth. If
the oil to be tested is below 45 degrees Fahrenheit in temperature, it must be heated
until it reaches about 80 degrees Fahrenheit; and should the oil be above 45 degrees
and below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, it must be raised to a temperature of about 70
degrees Fahrenheit, when, after being well shaken, it should [shall] be allowed to
cool gradually to a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit, before finally being tested.
LABOR LAWS---- ILLINOIS---- ACTS OF 1901.
651
In testing the gravity of the oil, the Tagliabue hydrometer must be, when possible,
read from below, and the last line which appears under the surface of the oil shall
be regarded as the true reading. In case the oil under test should be opaque, or
turbid, one-half of the capillary attraction shall be deemed and taken as the true
reading. Where the oil is tested under difficult circumstances, an allowance of
one-half degree may be made for possible error in parallax before condemning the
oil for use in the mine. It shall be the duty of the State inspectors of mines, in the
several districts of this State,- to make the inspection provided for in this section
before any such oil is sold for use in any mine in this State. A ll oil sold to be used
for illuminating purposes in the mines of this State shall be contained in barrels or
packages branded conspicuously with the name of the dealer, the specific gravity of
the oil, the date of shipment, the date and place of inspection, and the name of the
State inspector of mines making the said inspection. It is provided, however, that
any material that is as free from smoke and bad odor and of equal merit as an illuminant as a pure animal or vegetable oil may be used at the pleasure of mine operators
and miners.
Approved May 11, 1901.
M AIN E.
ACTS OF 1901.
C h apter 234.—Manual
training schools.
.
S ection 1 Cities and towns may raise and appropriate money for the support of
manual training schools in addition to the sum they raise for the support of public
schools.
S ec . 2. Said manual training schools shall admit such persons between the age of
six and twenty-one years, and shall give such courses of instruction as the local
school board may determine.
Sec. 3. Said manual training school shall be under the control, direction and
supervision of local school boards.
S ec . 4. Pupils in such schools shall be subject to the same conditions, rules and
regulations as are provided for public schools.
S ec . 5. Cities and towns may receive gifts and bequests for the use, maintenance
and support of manual training schools.
S ec . 6. This act shall take effect when approved.
Approved March 21, 1901.
C h apter 237.—Industrial school far
girls—Indenture of inmates.
S ection 1. Section twenty of chapter one hundred and forty-two of the revised
statutes is hereby amended, so that said section, as amended, shall read as follows:
S ec . 20. The board of trustees of said school shall have all the powers as to the
person, property, earnings and education of every girl committed to the charge of said
trustees, during the term of her commitment, which a guardian has as to his ward,
and all powers which parents have over their children. At the discretion of said
board, any such girl, during her commitment may be kept at said school, or intrusted
to the care of any suitable person and may be required to work for such person, or
may be bound by deed of indenture to service or apprenticeship for a period not
exceeding the term of her commitment, on such conditions as said board may deem
reasonable and proper. Such indenture shall specify the conditions, and shall require
the person to whom such girl is bound, to report to said board as often as once in
three months the conduct and behavior of such girl, and whether she remains under
such master or mistress, and if not, where she is. Said trustees shall take care that
the terms of such indenture are fulfilled, and the girl well treated, and if they believe
that b y reason of her misconduct, vicious inclinations or surroundings, she is in dan
ger of falling into habits of vice or immorality, or that her welfare is in any way
imperiled, they may cancel such indenture and resume charge of such girl with the
same powers as before the indenture was made. The powers of saia board with
respect to any girl intrusted, as herein provided, to the care of a suitable person are
not affected thereby, nor b y her being bound to service or apprenticeship, except as
expressed in the bond of indenture. Said trustees, master or mistress and apprentice,
shall have all the rights and be subject to all the duties and penalties provided in
case of children apprenticed b y overseers of the poor. A ny member o f said board
may execute such indenture deed in behalf of the board if authorized by a vote of
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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
said board. Said board may, by vote in any case, or b y a general by-law, authorize
a member or committee of said board, or the principal of said school to intrust said
girls to the care and service of a suitable person or persons without indenture, to see
to their welfare during such service, and to require their return to said school at dis
cretion.
Approved March 21, 1901.
C h apter 244.— Exemption
of wages from garnishment.
S ection 1. Clause six of section fifty-five of chapter eighty-six of the revised stat
utes is hereby amended so that said clause shall read as follows:
Y I. By reason of any amount due from him to the principal defendant, as wages
for his personal labor, or that of his wife or minor children, for a time not exceeding
one month next preceding the service of the process, and not exceeding twenty dol
lars of the amount due to him as wages for his personal labor; and this is not exempt
in any suit for taxes or for necessaries furnished him or his family; moreover, wages
of minor children and of women, are not, in any case, subject to trustee process on
account of any debt of parent or husband.
S ec . 2. This act shall take effect when approved.
Approved March 21, 1901.
C h apter 277.— Peddlers
and hawkers—Soldiers and sailors granted license without fee.
S ection 1. No person shall go about from town to town, or from place to place in
same town, exposing for sale or selling, any goods or chattels other than fruit grown
in the United States, fruit trees, provisions, live animals, brooms, pianos, organs,
wagons, sleighs, agricultural implements, fuel, newspapers, agricultural products of
the United States, the product of his own labor or the labor of his family, any map
made by him and copyrighted in his name, any patent of his own invention, or in
which he has become interested by being a member of any firm, or stockholder in
any corporation which has purchased the patent, until he shall have procured a
license so to do as hereinafter provided.
S ec . 6. Any soldier or sailor disabled in the military or naval service of the United
States, or b y sickness or disability contracted therein or since his discharge from
service, and any person who is blind shall be exempt from paying the license fees
required by this chapter.
S ec. 14. The provisions of this chapter are not applicable to commercial agents,
selling goods b y sample to dealers only.
S ec . 15. A ll acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith, are repealed.
S ec . 16. This act shall not take effect until May fifteen, nineteen hundred and one.
Approved March 22, 1901.
MISSOURI.
ACTS OF 1901.
Examination, licensing, etc., of barbers.
[Page 50.]
S ection 1. Section 5034 of Revised Statutes, 1899, is hereby amended b y striking
out in the last line of said section the figures 50,000, and in place thereof in sertin g]
the figures 5,000, so that said section will read as follows:
Sec. 5034. It shall be unlawful for any person to follow the occupation of a barber
in this State, unless he shall have first obtained a certificate of registration, as pro
vided in this chapter: Provided, however, That nothing in this chapter contained shall
apply to or affect any person who is now actually engaged in such occupation, except
as hereinafter provided: Provided, That the provisions of this law shall not apply to
barbers in any city, town or village, containing less than 5,000 inhabitants.
Approved March 22, 1901.
Board of mediation and arbitration.
[Page 195.]
S ection 1. W ithin thirty days after the passage of this act, the governor of the
State, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint three compe
tent persons to serve as a State board of mediation and arbitration; one of whom
LABOR LAWS---- MISSOURI---- ACTS OF 1901.
653
shall be an employer of labor, or selected from some association representing em ploy
ers of labor, and one who shall be an employee holding membership in some bona
fide trade or labor union; the third shall be some person who is neither an employee
nor an employer of labor. One member of said board shall be appointed for one
year, one for two years, and one for three years, and all appointments thereafter
shall be for three years or until their respective successors are appointed in the man
ner herein provided. If a vacancy occurs in said board by death or otherwise, at
any time, the governor shall appoint some competent person to fill the unexpired
term.
Sec. 2. The board shall appoint a secretary, who shall hold office during the pleas
ure of said board, and whose duty it shall be to keep a full and faithful record of
the proceedings of the board, and shall also have possession of all books and docu
ments, and shall perform such other duties as the board may prescribe. H e shall,
under the direction of the board, issue subpoenas and administer oaths in all cases
before the board and shall call for and examine books, papers and documents of any
parties to the controversy.
Sec. 3. The compensation of the members of the board of mediation and arbitra
tion and the clerk thereof shall be as follows: Each shall receive five dollars per day
and three cents per mile, both ways, between their homes and the place of meeting,
b y the nearest comfortable routes of travel, and such other necessary traveling expenses
as may be incurred in the discharge of their duties, to be paid out of the State treas
ury upon a warrant signed by the president of said board and approved by the gov
ernor: Provided, That neither said board nor the clerk thereof shall receive any
compensation except for time actually engaged in the discharge of their duties as set
forth in this act and in going to and from the place of meeting.
Sec. 4. Each member of said board shall, before entering upon the duties of his
office, be sworn to support the Constitution and faithfully demean himself in office.
They shall organize at once by the choice of one of their number as chairman and
the board shall, as soon as possible after its organization, establish suitable rules of
procedure. Said board may hold meetings at any time or place in the State, when
ever the same shall become necessary, and two members of the board shall consti
tute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Sec. 5. Whenever it shall come to the knowledge of the board that a strike or
lockout is about to occur, or is seriously threatened, involving ten or more persons,
in any part of the State, it shall be the duty of said board to proceed as soon as pos
sible to the locality of such dispute, strike or lockout and place itself in communi
cation with the parties to the controversy, and endeavor by mediation to effect a
settlement. Should all efforts at conciliation fail, it shall be the duty of the board
to inquire into the cause or causes of said grievance or dispute, and to this end, it is
hereby authorized to subpoena and examine witnesses, compel their attendance and
send for books and papers with the same authority possessed by courts of record, or
the judges thereof in this State. Subpoenas may be signed and oaths administered
by any member of the board. Said board is further authorized to subpoena as w it
nesses anyone connected with the department of business affected, or other persons
whom they may suspect of having knowledge of the matters in controversy or dis
pute, and anyone who keeps the records of the wages earned in such department, and
examine them under oath touching such matters and require the production of books
and papers containing the record of wages earned or paid. All process issued by said
board may be delivered or sent to any sheriff, constable or police officer, who shall
forthwith serve or post the same as may be required, and make due return thereof,
according to directions, and for such service he shall receive the fees allowed by law
in similar cases, payable from the treasury of the county or city wherein the contro
versy to be arbitrated exists, upon a warrant signed by the president of the board of
mediation and arbitration. Witnesses shall receive the same compensation a» wit
nesses in courts of record w hich shall be paid in the same manner as sheriffs, consta
bles and police officers above mentioned. And the board shall have the same power
and authority to maintain and enforce order at its hearings and obedience to its proc
ess, as by law is now conferred upon circuit courts.
Sec. 6. In all cases when any grievance or dispute shall arise between any employer
and his employees, said dispute involving ten or more employees, it shall be the duty
of the parties to said controversy to submit the same to said board for investigation.
W ithin ten days after the completion of said examination or investigation, authorized
b y this article, the board or a majority thereof, shall render a decision stating such
details as w ill clearly show the nature of such controversy, and points in dispute dis
posed of by them and make a written report of their findings and recommendations,
and shall furnish the governor and each party to th e .controversy a true and com
654
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
plete copy of the same, and shall have a copy thereof published in some local
newspaper.
Sec. 7. In all cases where the application for arbitration is mutual, or both parties
agree to submit to the decision of the board, said decision shall be final and bind
ing upon the parties concerned in said controversy and dispute. In all cases where
either party to a dispute refuses to agree to arbitration the decision of the board shall
be final and binding upon the parties thereto, unless exceptions be filed with the
clerk of said board, within five days after said decision is rendered and announced.
Sec. 8. Any employer, employer’ s agent, employee or authorized committee of
employees, w ho shall violate the conditions of the decision of said board, as pro
vided tor in section seven of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and
upon conviction thereof, in any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be punished
b y a fine of not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars, or by imprison
ment in jail not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Sec. 9. Said board shall make biennial reports to the governor of the State, and
shall include therein such statements, facts, and explanations as will disclose the
actual workings of the board, and such suggestions as to legislation as may seem to
the members of the board conducive to a speedy and satisfactory adjustment of dis
putes between employers and employees.
Sec. 10. Articled of chapter 121 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1899, is hereby
repealed.
Sec. 11. There being no adequate law in Missouri for the settling of disputes
between employers and employees, creates an emergency within the meaning of the
constitution; therefore, this act shall take effect and be in force frorii and after its
passage.
Approved March 7, 1901.
Inspection of factories.
[Page 197.]
Section 1. W ithin thirty days after the passage of this act the governor of the
State, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint a competent person to
serve as factory inspector who shall hold office for four years from the date of his
appointment or until his successor is appointed and qualified. The factory inspector
may appoint from time to time assistants, not more than seven in number, who may
be removed by him at any time for just cause. Before entering upon his official
duties the inspector shall make oath to support the constitution and faithfully
demean himself in office; he shall also execute a bond to the State of Missouri, in
such sum as the governor may prescribe, with two or more solvent sureties, to be
approved by the governor, conditioned upon his faithful performance of the duties
imposed upon him by this act.
S ec . 2. The factory inspector may divide the State into districts, assign one or more
assistant inspectors to each district, and may in his discretion transfer them from one
district to another. It shall be the duty of all inspectors provided for b y this act to
make at least two inspections during each year, the last to be completed on or before
the first day of October, of all factories and enforce all laws relating to factory inspec
tion and prosecute all persons violating the same. Any lawful municipal ordinance
or regulation relating to factories or their inspection and not in conflict with State
laws shall be observed and enforced by the factory inspector. The factory inspector
and all assistant inspectors and clerks may administer oaths and take affidavits in
matters relating to the enforcement of the various factory inspection laws.
Sec. 3. The inspectors provided for in this act shall be entitled to demand and
receive from the owner, superintendent, manager or other person in charge of every
establishment inspected as provided for by law the sum of one dollar for each inspec
tion made in accordance with the provisions of this act, and his receipt given therefor
shall certify to the result of such inspection, with the orders, if any are given, noted
thereon; and any owner, superintendent, manager or other person in charge of such
establishment w ho shall refuse or attempt to prevent, the admission upon or within
his or their premises or buildings, at any reasonable business hour, of any inspector
authorized by this act, or shall m any manner interfere with the performance of the
official duties of such inspector, or shall neglect or refuse to pay the inspection fee upon
the completion of such inspection, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more
than fifty dollars for each offense: Provided, That the owner or manager of any estab
lishment subject to inspection shall not be required to pay for more than two such
LABOR LAWS— MISSOURI---- ACTS OF 1901.
655
inspections within one year except where additional inspections are made necessary
through failure of such owner or manager to comply with the written orders of the
inspector.
S ec . 4. A ll fees received by the inspector under the provisions of this act shall be
paid into the State treasury on or before the last day of each month to be placed to
the credit of the “ factory inspection fund.” The factory inspector shall receive an
annual salary of one thousand five hundred dollars and actual necessary expenses;
the assistant factory inspectors shall receive one hundred dollars per month and
necessary expenses for the time actually employed, to be paid monthly out of said
factory inspection fund upon the warrant of the State auditor, issued on vouchers
therefor. The factory inspector may establish and maintain an office in the city of
St. Louis if in his opinion necessary for the enforcement of the provisions of this act:
Provided, That no salary or expense shall be paid for the factory inspector or
assistant inspectors in excess of the receipts from the fees paid into the factory
inspection fund; And provided further, That the salary of the factory inspector and
his assistants and all expenses for traveling, office rent, printing, stationery and
postage, shall be limited for the biennial term of two years to an amount not exceed
ing twenty-five thousand dollars, and all money remaining in said factory inspection
fund at the close of each biennial term, after the payment of the salaries and expenses
herein provided for, shall be transferred to the general revenue fund.
S ec . 5. There is hereby appropriated out of the 1‘ Factory inspection fu nd” the
sum of $25,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying
out the provisions of this act.
S ec . 6. The necessity for the immediate enforcement of the provisions of this act
creates an emergency within the meaning of the constitution; therefore, this act
shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
Approved April 17, 1901.
Payment of wages.
[Page 199.]
S ection 1. The employees of the operators of all manufactories, including plate-
glass manufactories, operated within this State shall be regularly paid in full of all
wages due them at least once in every fifteen days, and at no pay-day shall there be
withheld from the earnings of any employee any sum to exceed the amount due him
for his labor for five days next preceding any such pay-day. A ny such operator who
fails to pay his employees, their agents or assigns or anyone duly authorized to col
lect such wages, as in this section provided, shall become immediately liable to any
such employee, his agents or assigns for an amount double the sum due such employee
at the time of such failure to pay the wages due, to be recovered by civil action in
any court of competent jurisdiction within this State, and no employee, within the
meaning of this section shall be deemed to have waived any right accruing to him
under this section by any contract he may make contrary to the provisions hereof.
Approved March 20, 1901.
Mine regulations—Hours of labor.
[Page 211.]
S ection 1. Sections 8793 and 8794 of chapter 133 of article 2 of the Revised Statutes
of Missouri, 1899, are hereby repealed and the following new sections enacted in lieu
thereof:
S ec . 8793. It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation engaged in mining
for minerals, coal or any valuable substance, or making excavations beneath the sur
face of the earth while searching for minerals, coal or any valuable substance, to
work their hands or employees at such labor or industry longer than eight hours in
a day of twenty-four hours, and it is hereby declared that eight hours shall constitute
a day for all laborers or employees engaged in the kind of labor or industry aforesaid.
S ec . 8794. Any person or persons or corporation who shall violate any of the pro
visions of the preceding section shall on conviction, be fined in a sum not less than
twenty-five nor more than five hundred dollars.
Approved March 23, 1901.
656
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Mine regulations— Signals— Hoisting—Employment o f children.
[Page 211.]
S ection 1. Section 8811 of article 2 of chapter 133 of the Revised Statutes of Mis
souri of 1899, is hereby repealed and a new section, to be known as section 8811, is
enacted in lieu of the same, as follows, to wit:
S ec. 8811. The owner, agent or operator o f every mine operated b y shaft shall use
the following code for signaling between the bottom and top thereof, to wit:
1 whistle or bell—Stop when in motion, hoist when not in motion.
2 whistles or bells— Lower.
3 whistles or bells—Hoist mineral.
4 whistles or bells—Men on cage.
5 whistles or bells—Turn on air.
5 whistles or bells—Turn off air.
6 whistles or bells—Turn on steam.
6 whistles or bells—Turn off steam.
7 whistles or bells—Mules on.
Said owner, agent or operator shall also provide safe means of hoisting and lower
ing persons in a cage covered with boiler iron, so as to keep safe as far as possible,
persons descending into and ascending out of said shaft; and such cage shall be fur
nished with guides to conduct it on slides through such shaft, w ith a sufficient break
on every drum to prevent accident in case of the giving out or breaking of machin
ery; and such cage shall be furnished with spring catches, intended and provided,
as far as possible, to prevent the consequences of cable breaking or the loosening or
disconnecting of the machinery; no props or rails shall be lowered in a cage while
the men are descending into or ascending out of said mine: Provided, That the pro
visions of this section m relation to covering cages with boiler iron shall not apply
to coal mines less than one hundred feet in depth, where the coal is raised by horse
power. No male person under the age of twelve years, or female of any age, shall
be permitted to enter any mine to work therein, nor shall any boy under the age of
fourteen years, unless he can read and write, be allowed to work in any mine. Any
party or person neglecting or refusing to perform the duties required to be performed
by the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and pun
ished by a fine in the discretion of the court trying the same, subject, however, to
the limitations as provided b y section 8815 of this article.
Approved March 22, 1901.
Mine regulations—Inspection of mines.
[Page 212.]
S ection 1. Section 8818 of article 2 of chapter 133 of the Revised Statutes of Mis
souri of 1899, is hereby repealed and a new section, to be known as section 8818, is
enacted in lieu of the same as follows, to wit:
S ec . 8818. The inspectors provided for in this article shall see that every necessary
precaution is taken to secure the health and safety of the workmen employed in any
of the mines in the State, that the provisions and requirements provided for in this
article be faithfully observed and obeyed, and the penalties o f the law enforced.
They shall also collect and tabulate in their report, to be made to the governor on
the 15th day of April of each year, the extent of the workable mining lands in the
State b y counties; also, the manner of mining, whether by shaft, slope, drift or other
wise, the number of mines in operation, the number of men employed therein, the
amount of capital invested and the amount and value of all mine products. And in
order that the provisions of this section may be faithfully enforced, it shall be the
duty of every mine owner, operator or lessee doing business of a mining nature, embrac
ing lead, zinc, coal, copper, iron or other minerals within this State, to report to the
inspectors within 20 days following the 1st day of January of each year, the name of
the person, firm, corporation or company doing a mining business, where the mines
are located, the number of acres owned or leased of minable lands, the capital invested
in lands and plant, the number of shafts, drifts, slopes or open cuts operated, the
number of men employed in and about the mines, average wages paid employees, the
amount of mineral produced, the average price received for said products and all
such other information pertaining to mining as may be required b y the inspectors;
coal mine operators reporting to the coal mine inspector and the operators of all other
mines to the inspector of lead, zinc and other mines upon blanks w hich the inspec
tors are hereby authorized to furnish for such purpose; it shall also be the duty of
LABOB LAWS— MISSOUBI— ACTS OF 1901.
657
every mine owner or operator doing a mining business in this State, who sells or dis
poses of such mining property to another person, firm, company or corporation, to
furnish to the purchaser or purchasers thereof, a certified statement of the amount
and value of all mine products, the average number of men employed and the average
wages paid, for that portion of the calendar year that such mining property has been
operated; and such purchaser or purchasers shall preserve and incorporate the same
in the annual report/required under this act; it shall also be the duty of all operators
to require of their sublessees a monthly statement of the average number of men
employed each month and the average wages paid them, that correct accounting
may be made of the same in the annual report required; it shall also be the duty of
all persons, companies or corporations' opening up new mines or mining property to
promptly report the same to the inspector.
Sec. 2. W hen any owner, operator or lessee of any mine within this State shall
fail or refuse to com ply with the provisions of section 1 of this article, such offender
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined
in a sum not less than one hundred dollars nor more than three hundred dollars for
each offense, and the State mine inspector is hereby authorized to certify such failure
or refusal to the county prosecuting attorney, in which county the offense was com
mitted, whose duty it shall be to prosecute such offender or offenders.
Approved March 27, 1901.
Mine regulations— Explosives.
[Page 214.]
S ection 1. Sections 8826 and 8827, article 2 of chapter 133 of the Bevised Statutes
of 1899, entitled “ Safety and inspection of mines, ’ ’ are hereby repealed, and the fol
lowing new sections enacted in lieu thereof, which said sections shall read as follows:
S ec . 8826. A ll owners, agents or operators of coal, lead, zinc, iron and copper mines,
and of granite, stone and other quarries, shall require all miners or other persons
employed in and about said mines or quarries, using gun and blasting powder, giant
powder, dynamite or other explosives, to have and keep a strong b ox in w h im all
surplus explosives for use in said mines or quarries shall be kept, except so much
thereof as is necessary for immediate use. These boxes shall be kept locked and not
opened unless it be to put in or take out said explosives or some part thereof; nor
shall these strong boxes be kept nearer than one hundred feet to the place of blasting.
And in all said mines and quarries shot firers or blasters shall be employed to fire all
shots after the employees and other persons have retired to a safe distance from the
vicinity of said blast or blasts; and after said blasts have been fired, said shot firer
or blaster shall make a thorough examination of all holes charged, and ascertain
whether the same have been discharged or missed, and shall designate in some wTay
the holes missed or undischarged and report the same to all employees working in
the vicinity of such blast or blasts.
S ec . 8826a. A ny person, corporation or association engaged in the sinking of a well
or a shaft, whether as owner, agent or employee, in which it is necessary to use blast
ing powder, dynamite or other explosives, and where hoisting apparatus of any kind
is used, shall provide and use, or cause to be used, an electric battery and fuses for
firing all shots of explosive in the shaft, and said shots shall be fired by the battery
while placed above ground and connected to the shots by means of copper wire or
other suitable conductor; and no owner, agent or employee engaged in sinking a -well
or a shaft or operating any mine shall use caps and fuse or any other method of
exploding shots than that above specified: Provided, however, That the provisions of
this and the preceding section shall not apply to lead and zinc mines in which are
employed less than ten men under ground on any shift, nor to any one engaged in
private enterprises other than mining.
S ec . 8827. Penalty.—A ny agent, owner or operator of any coal, lead, zinc, iron or
copper mines, and of granite, stone and other quarries in this State violating the pro?
visions of the two preceding sections shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and
for each offense upon conviction, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than two
hundred dollars.
Approved March 27,1901.
658
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Mine regulations—Qualifications of miners.
[Page 215.]
Section 1. Section 8828, chapter 133, article 2 of the Revised Statutes of the State
of Missouri of 1899 is hereby repealed and the following new section enacted in lieu
thereof:
Sec. 8828. A ny person desiring to perform the work of a coal miner and for him
self to conduct room, entry or other underground mining in coal mines of this State,
shall, before being permitted to engage in such work, produce evidence of a satisfac
tory nature that he has for one (successive) year(s) worked in coal mines with or as
a practical miner; such applicant to furnish evidence of his experience and qualifica
tions to the coal mine inspector, or to the person designated by said inspector to pass
upon the competency of such applicant, and until said applicant shall have fully
satisfied the coal mine inspector or the party designated by the said inspector at the
mine, wherein such employment is sought of his fitness to perform the duties as above
mentioned, he shall not be permitted to mine coal unless associated with a practical
miner for such length of time as will qualify said applicant to safely for himself and
others perform underground work, and any owner, agent or operator of any coal mine
in this State who shall knowingly violate any of the provisions of this section shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punished b y a fine of
not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars for each and every
offense, or b y imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not less than thirty
days nor more than sixty days or by both such fine and imprisonment. Proceedings
to be instituted in any courts having competent jurisdiction.
Approved March 12, 1901.
Fire escapes on factories, etc.
[Page 219.]
Section 1. It shall be the duty of the owner, proprietor, lessee, or keeper of every
hotel, boarding and lodging house, school house, opera house, theatre, music hall,
factory, office building in the State of Missouri, and every building therein where
people congregate or which is used as a business place, or for public or private assem
blage which has a height of three or more stories to provide said structure with fire
escapes attached to the exterior of the building and by staircases located in the inte
rior of the building. The fire escapes shall commence at the sill of the second story
window and run three feet above the upper window sill of the upper story with an
iron ladder from the upper story to the roof, and when stopped off at tne second
story they shall be provided with an automatic drop stair from the second story to
the ground, to be held up by a weight and wire cable when not in use. School build
ings, opera houses, theatres and church buildings, also hospitals, blind and lunatic
asylums and seminaries shall each have a fire escape built solid to the ground and at
the bottom enclosed with heavy wire or elevator enclosure up to eight feet in height,
with a wire or iron door with knobs on the inside so that it can not be opened from
the outside. In no case shall a fire escape run past a window where it is practicable
to avoid it. A ll fire escapes required by this act must be of the kind known as sta
tionary fire escapes. All buildings heretofore erected shall be made to conform to
the provisions oi this act.
Sec. 2. No ladder fire escape shall hereafter be used, and the fire escapes herein
provided for shall be a stair fire escape, built on an angle of not more than fifty-five
degrees, with proper risers and treads and shall be constructed so as to be placed on
a blank wall, where practicable, with balconies to reach the opening doors or win
dows, as the case may be, and with one or more landings in each story and enclosed
on the sides with wire bank rail running three feet on the same angle as the stairs.
Sec. 3. All buildings three or more stories in height, used for manufacturing pur
poses, hotels, dormitories, schools, seminaries, hospitals, or asylums, shall have at
least one fire escape for every twenty to fifty persons for whom working, sleeping or
living accommodations are provided above the second story, and all public halls
which provide seating room above the first or ground story shall have such a number
of fire escapes as shall constitute one fire escape for every hundred persons, calculated
on the seating capacity of the hall.
Sec. 4. A ll buildings hereafter erected in this State which shall come within the
provisions of this law, shall, upon or before their completion, be provided with fire
escapes of the kind and number and in the manner set forth in this law, and any
violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor on the part of the owner of
such building, punishable as provided in section five.
LABOR LAWS---- MISSOURI---- ACTS OF 1901.
659
Sec. 5. The owner, proprietor, lessee or manager of a building which, under the
terms of this act, is required to have one or more fire escapes, who shall neglect or
refuge for the period of sixty days after this law takes effect to com ply with its pro
visions, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction, shall be fined
not less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the
county or city jail not more than three months, or by both fine and imprisonment,
and each day shall be deemed a separate offense.
Sec. 6. All acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. It is
made the duty of all prosecuting attorneys in this State to institute and prosecute
infractions of this law. W henever it shall come to the knowledge of the chief of the
fire department or commissioner of public buildings in any city or the sheriff in any
county that any violation of this act has occurred, it shall be his duty to report the
fact to the prosecuting attorney.
Approved March 27, 1901.
Hours of labor on public roads.
[Page 243.]
S ection 9696v . It shall be the duty o f the road overseer to require of each laborer
a faithful performance of duty and to require him to do eight hours actual service
each day.
Sec. 9696z . This act shall take effect from and after its passage.
Approved March 26, 1901.
NEBRASKA.
ACTS OF 1901.
C hapter 21.— Examination, licensing, etc., of plumbers.
Section 1. In all cities in the State of Nebraska, having a population of more than
fifty thousand (50,000) inhabitants, there shall be a board for the examination of
plumbers, of four (4) members, consisting of one member to be known as the chief
health officer of the city, and one member to be known as the plumbing inspector of
the city, one (1) journeymen plumbers, and one master plumber, all of whom shall
be appointed by the mayor of said city, by and with the consent of the city council,
the health officer and plumbing inspector to hold their office during the term of office
of the mayor, and all of whom shall be residents of the city, and the inspector,
journeymen, and master plumber, shall be licensed plumbers. All vacancies m said
board may be filled by the mayor and council as above. The chief health officer and
plumbing inspector, if such office exist in such cities, shall serve without additional
compensation; and any of said board may be removed from office for cause, by the
district court of the county in which such city is situated, and each of the board shall
give bond in the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000), conditioned according to law.
The term of office of the journeymen and master plumber shall be for one (1) and two
(2) years respectively, to be determined by the mayor at the time of appointing them.
Sec 2. The persons who compose the first plumbing board under this act, shall,
within the 10 days after their appointments, meet in their respective city building or
place designated by the city council, and organized by the selection of one of their
number as chairman, and the plumbing inspector shall be the secretary of said board.
It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep full, true and correct minutes and records
of all licenses issued by it, together with their kinds and dates, and the names of the
persons to whom issued, in books to be provided by such city, for that purpose, w hich
books and records shall be, in all business hours, open for free inspection by all persons.
Sec. 3. The said board shall have power, and [it] shall be its duty, to adopt rules
and regulations, not inconsistent with the laws of the State or the ordinances of the
city, for the sanitary construction, alteration and inspection of plumbing and sewage
connections and drains placed in, or in connection with, any and every building in
such city, in which it will prescribe the kind and size of materials to be used in such
plumbing, and the manner in which such work shall be done, which rules and regu
lations, except such as are adopted for its own convenience only, shall be approved
by ordinance by the mayor and council of such city, and the said board shall have
the power to amend or repeal its said rules and regulations, subject, except as relate
to its own convenience only, to the approval of the mayor and council of such city.
The said board shall have power to compel the owner or contractor to first submit the
plans and specifications for plumbing that is to be placed in any building or adjoining
660
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
premises to be first submitted to and approved b y said board before they shall be
installed in such building or premises.
Sec. 4. The board shall fix stated times and places of meeting, w hich times shall
not be less than once in every two weeks, and may be held oftener upon written call
of the chairman of the board, and the board shall adopt rules for the examination,
at such times and places, of all persons who desire a license to work at the construc
tion or repairing of plumbing, within the said city.
Sec. 5. Any person, not already licensed as herein provided, desiring to do any
plumbing, or to work at the business of plumbing, m any such city, shall make
written application to the said board for examination for a license, which examina
tion shall be made at the next meeting of the board, or at an adjourned meeting, and
said board shall examine said applicant as to his practical knowledge of plumbing,
house drainage, ventilation, and sanitation, which examination shall be practical as
well as theoretical, and if the applicant has shown himself competent, the plumbing
board shall cause its chairman and secretary to execute and deliver to the applicant
a license authorizing him to do plumbing in such city.
Sec. 6. All original licenses may be renewed, and all renewal licenses may be
renewed, by the board, at the dates of their expiration. Such renewal licenses shall
be granted, without a reexamination, upon the written application of the licensee
filed with the board and showing that his purposes and condition remain unchanged,
unless it is made to appear by affidavit before the board that the applicant is no longer
competent, or entitled to such renewal license, in which event the renewal license
shall not be granted until the applicant has undergone the examination hereinbefore
required.
Sec. 7. All original and renewal licenses shall be good for one year from their
dates, provided that any license may be revoked b y the board at any time upon a
hearing upon sufficient written, sworn charges filed with the board showing the holder
of the license to be then incompetent or guilty of a willful breach of the rules, regu
lations, or requirements of the board, or of tne laws or ordinances relating thereto,
or of other causes sufficient for the revoking of his license, of w hich charges and hear
ing the holder of such license shall have written notice.
Sec. 8. It shall be unlawful for any person to do any plumbing in any such city of
this State, unless he holds a proper license.
Sec. 9. The fee for the original license of a journeyman plumber shall be $1. All
renewal fees shall be fifty cents. A ll license fees shall be paid, prior to the execution
and delivery of the license, to the treasurer of the school district within the city, for
which the license was issued, to be used exclusively for the support of the common
schools therein.
Sec. 10. The city plumbing inspector shall inspect all plumbing work in process of
construction, alteration or repair, within his respective jurisdiction, and for which a
permit either has or has not been granted, and shall report to said board all violations
of any law, or ordinance, or rule, or regulation of the board, in connection with the
plumbing work being done, and also shall perform such other appropriate duties as
may be required of him by said board. If necessary, the mayor of the respective
cities, by the consent of the council, shall employ one or more assistant inspectors to
assist in the performance of the duties of the inspector, who shall be practical licensed
plumbers.
Sec. 11. The inspector shall be required to stop any defective plumbing work, not
being done in accordance with the requirements of the rules and regulations therefor
of the board, and the plumbing board shall have the power to cause such defective
or insufficient plumbing to be torn out and removed, if, after notice to the owner or
plumber doing the work, the board shall find the work or any part thereof, to be
really defective and insufficient.
Sec. 12. The appointment of the board shall be within thirty (30) days from the
taking effect of this act, and shall be made annually, at the first meeting of the city
council, in August of each year; except as provided in section one (1) of this act.
And where such city has a chief health officer and plumbing inspector, they shall
act as member of such board ex-officio, and shall receive no extra compensation; and
where there are no such officers in such city, then on being appointed, they shall
receive a salary of fifteen hundred (1,500) dollars each, for ch ief health officer and
plumbing inspector.
Sec. 13. The assistant inspectors shall receive a salary of twelve hundred (1,200)
dollars each. The members of the board, not ex-officio members, shall be paid five
(5) dollars for each full days service, actually employed. No meeting* of the said
board shall at any time be held, except on call of the chief health officer, and no
member of the board shall be paid to exceed the sum of two hundred ($200). All
salaries to be paid out of the general fund of the city, where the board is located,
LABOR LAWS---- NEBRASKA---- ACTS OP 1901.
661
the same as other city offices are paid, and vouchers for the same shall be duly cer
tified by the chairman and secretary of such board, to the city council.
Sec. 14. A ny person violating any provisions of this act, or of any lawful ordi
nances, or rules and regulations, authorized by this act, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor, and shall be fined not exceeding $50 nor less than $5 for each and
every violation thereof; and if such persons hold a plumber’ s license he shall forfeit
the same and it shall be void, and he shall not be entitled to another plumber’ s
license for the space of one year after such forfeiture is declared against him by
the board.
Sec. 15. A ll laws and acts and parts of acts of this State, in so far as any of their
provisions are in conflict with the provisions of this act, be and the same hereby are
repealed.
Sec. 16. Whereas, an emergency exists, this act shall take effect and be in force from
and after its passage.
Approved March 29, 1901.
C hapter 48.— Examination, licensing, etc., of barbers.
Section 1. Chapter 53 of the Session Laws of the State of Nebraska of 1899, being
“ An act to establish a State barbers examining board, to regulate the practice of barbering in the State of Nebraska, and providing penalties for violations of the provi
sions of this act,” be and the same is hereby repealed.
Approved March 30, 1901.
Chapter 51.— Industrial School.
Section 1. Chapter 75 of the Compiled Statutes of Nebraska shall be amended to
read as follows: That the “ State industrial school” for juvenile offerders, now located
near Kearney, in the County of Buffalo, is hereby recognized and continued as a
school for the retention, education, discipline, industrial training, and reformation
of male juvenile offenders.
Sec. 3. (Instruction.) The boys committed to the school shall be instructed in the
principles of morality and in such useful branches of knowledge as are taught in
the public schools of the State. They shall also be instructed m the principles of
the mechanical arts and such practical trades as are best suited to their age, strength,
and capacity, and best adapted to secure them a livelihood after leaving the school.
A rticle II.
Section 1. The girl’ s industrial school for juvenile delinquents, now located near
Geneva, in the county of Fillmore, is hereby recognized and continued as a school for
the retention, education, discipline, industrial training, and reformation of female
juvenile delinquents.
Sec. 2. (Instruction.) The girls committed to the school shall be instructed in the
principles of morality, self-government, domestic duties and such other branches of
knowledge as are taught in the public schools of the State. The board may further
provide for instruction in such light, practical industries as may be best suited for
their age, sex and capacity.
Approved March 29, 1901.
N E W JERSEY.
ACTS OF 1901.
Chapter 74.— Attachments—Exemption from execution.
Section 36. Household goods and furniture not exceeding in value two hundred
dollars of a debtor having a family residing in this State, and against whom an attach
ment has issued, are reserved ana exempted for the use of the family and shall not
be attached, except for a debt incurred in the purchase of the same.
Approved March 20, 1901.
662
BULLETIN OE THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
NORTH CAROLINA.
ACTS OF 1901.
Chapter 25.— Legal holiday—Labor day.
Section 1. Chapter 410 of the Public Laws of 1899 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 2. Section 3784 of the code [is] amended by inserting at the end of line four
of said section the following words: “ And the first Monday in September.”
Sec. 3. This act shall be in force from and after its ratification.
Ratified this 23d day of January, A. D. 1901.
Chapter 682.— Employment of labor—Previous contract.
Section 1. Any person, firm or corporation w ho shall knowingly hire, employ,
harbor or detain in his own service any servant, employee, or wage hand of any other
person, firm or corporation, who shall have contracted in writing, or orally, for a
fixed period of time to serve his employer, and who shall have left the service of his
employer, in violation of his contract, the person, firm or corporation so offending
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and fined or imprisoned, or both, at the discretion
of the court, and shall be civilly liable in damages to the party so aggrieved.
Sec. 2. This act shall apply to the following counties: Beaufort, Edgecombe, Per
son and Pitt, Washington ana Warren, Vance, Pender, Halifax, Guilford, Granville,
Hertford and Caswell.
Sec. 3. This act shall be in force from and after its ratification.
Ratified this the 14th day of March, A. D. 1901.
Chapter 743.— Protection of street railway employees— Vestibule fronts.
Section 1. All city and street passenger railway companies be and they are hereby
required to use vestibule fronts, of frontage not less than four feet, on all passenger
cars run, manipulated or transported by them on their lines during the latter half of
the month of November and during the months of December, January, February and
March of each year: Provided, That said companies shall not be required to close the
sides of said vestibules: And provided further, That said companies may use cars with
out vestibule fronts in cases of temporary emergency in suitable weather, not to
exceed four days in any one month within the period herein prescribed for use of
vestibule fronts. Any city and street railway company refusing or failing to comply
with the requirements of this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than ten
dollars or more than one hundred dollars for each day. The North Carolina corpo
ration commission is hereby authorized to make exemptions from the provisions of
this section in such cases as in their judgment the enforcement of this section is
unnecessary.
Sec. 3. This act shall be in force from and after the first day of April, 1901.
Ratified this the 15th day of March, A. D. 1901.
LEADING ARTICLES IN PAST NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN.
No. 1. Private and public debt in the United States, b y George K. Holmes.
Em ployer and employee under the common law, by V. H. Olmsted and S. D.
Fessenden.
No. 2. The poor colonies of Holland, b y J. Howard Gore, Ph. D.
The industrial revolution in Japan, b y William Eleroy Curtis.
Notes concerning the money of the U. S. and other countries, b y W . C. Hunt.
The wealth and receipts and expenses of the U. S., b y W . M. Steuart.
No. 3. Industrial communities: Coal Mining Co. of Anzin, by W . F. W illoughby.
No. 4. Industrial communities: Coal Mining Co. of Blanzy, by W . F. W illoughby.
The sweating system, by Henry White.
No. 5. Convict labor.
Industrial communities: Krupp Iron and Steel Works, by W . F. W illoughby.
No. 6. Industrial communities: Familistere Society of Guise, by W . F. Willoughby.
Cooperative distribution, by Edward W . Bemis, Ph. D.
No. 7. Industrial communities: Various communities, b y W . F. Willoughby.
Rates of wages paid under public and private contract, b y Ethelbert Stewart.
No. 8. Conciliation and arbitration in the boot and shoe industry, by T. A. Carroll.
Railway relief departments, by Emory R. Johnson, Ph. D.
No. 9. The padrone system and padrone banks, by John Koren.
The Dutch Society for General Welfare, by J. Howard Gore, Ph. D.
No. 10. Condition of the Negro in various cities.
Building and loan associations;
No. 11. Workers at gainful occupations at censusesof 1870,1880,and 1890,by W .C.Hunt.
Public baths in Europe, by Edward Mussey Hartwell, Ph. D ., M. D.
No. 12. The inspection of factories and workshops in the U. S., by W . F. W illoughby.
Mutual rights and duties of parents and children, guardianship, etc., under
the law, by F. J. Stimson.
The municipal or cooperative restaurant of Grenoble, France, by C. O. Ward.
No. 13. The anthracite mine laborers, by G. 0 . Virtue, Ph. D.
No. 14. The Negroes of Farmville, V a .: A social study, b y W . E. B. Du Bois, Ph. D.
Incomes, wages, and rents in Montreal, by Herbert Brown Ames, B. A.
No. 15. Boarding homes and clubs for working women, by Mary S. Fergusson.
The trade-union label, by John Graham Brooks.
No. 16. Alaskan gold fields and opportunities for capital and labor, by S. C. Dunham.
No. 17. Brotherhood relief and insurance of railway employees, by E. R. Johnson,Ph.D.
The nations of Antwerp, by J. Howard Gore, Ph. D.
No. 18. Wages in the United States and Europe, 1870 to 1898.
No. 19. Alaskan gold fields and opportunities for capital and labor, by S. C. Dunham.
Mutual relief and benefit associations in the printing trade, by W . S. W audby.
No. 20. Condition of railway labor in Europe, by Walter E. W eyl, Ph. D.
No. 21. Pawnbroking in Europe and the United States, by W . R. Patterson, Ph. D.
No. 22. Benefit features of American trade unions, by Edward W . Bemis, Ph. D.
The Negro in the black belt: Some social sketches, by W . E. B. Du Bois, Ph. D.
Wages in Lyons, France, 1870 to 1896.
No. 23. Attitude of women’ s clubs, etc., toward social economics, by Ellen M. Henrotin.
The production of paper and pulp in the U. S. from Jan. 1 to June 30,1898.
No. 24. Statistics of cities.
No. 25. Foreign labor laws: Great Britain and France, by W . F. Willoughby.
No. 26. Protection of workmen in their employment, by Stephen D. Fessenden.
Foreign labor laws: Belgium and Switzerland, b y W . F. W illoughby.
No. 27. Wholesale prices: 1890 to 1899, b y Roland P. Falkner, Ph. D.
Foreign labor laws: Germany, b y W. F. W illoughby.
No. 28. Voluntary conciliation and arbitration in Great Britain, b y J. B. McPherson.
System of adjusting wages, etc., in certain rolling mills, by J. H. Nutt.
Foreign labor laws: Austria, by W . F. W illoughby.
No. 29. Trusts and industrial combinations, by J. W . Jenks, Ph. D.
The Y ukon and Nome gold regions, by S. C. Dunham.
Labor Day, by Miss M. 0 . de Graffenried.
No. 30. Trend of wages from 1891 to 1900.
Statistics of cities.
Foreign labor laws: Various European countries, by W . F. W illoughby.
No. 31. Betterment of industrial conditions, by Y . H. Olmsted.
Present status of employers’ liability in the U. S., b y S. D. Fessenden.
Condition of railway labor in Italy, by Dr. Luigi Einaudi.
No. 32. Accidents to labor as regulated by law in the U. S., by W . F. W illoughby.
Prices of commodities and rates of wages in Manila.
The Negroes of Sandy Spring, M d .: A social study, by W . T. Thom, Ph. D.
The British W orkmen’ s Compensation A ct and its operation, b y A. M. Low.
No. 33. Foreign labor laws: Australasia and Canada, by W. F. Willoughby.
The British Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act and its operation, b y
A. M. Low.
No. 34. Labor conditions in Porto Rico, by Azel Ames, M. D.
Sopial economics at the Paris Exposition, by Prof. N. P. Gilman.
The workmen’ s compensation act of Holland.
No. 35. Cooperative communities in the United States, by Rev. Alexander Kent.
The Negro landholder of Georgia, by W . E. B. Du Bois, Ph. D.
No. 36. Statistics of cities.
Statistics of Honolulu, H. I.
No. 37. Railway employees in the United States, by Samuel McCune Lindsay, Ph. D.
The Negroes of Litwalton, Va.: A social study of the “ Oyster Negro,” by
William Taylor Thom, Ph. D.
No. 38. Labor conditions in M exico, by Walter E. Weyl, Ph. D.
The Negroes of Cinclare Central Factory and Calumet Plantation, La., by
J. Bradford Laws.
No. 39. Course of wholesale prices, 1890 to 1901.
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