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55th C o n g r e s s , ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 5Doo. Ho. 207,
3d Session.
j
(
Part. 6.
BULLETIN
OF THE
No. 25—NOVEMBER, 1899.
ISSUED EVERY OTHER MONTH.
EDITED BY
CARROLL D. WRIGHT,
COMMISSIONER.
OREN W. WEAVER,
CHIEF CLERK.
W ASH IN G TO N :
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1899.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Statistics of cities—editorial note......................................................................
Foreign labor laws, by W. F. Willoughby, of the Department of Labor.......
Digest of recent reports of State bureaus of labor statistics:
Maryland........................................................................................................
Nebraska........................................................................................................
New Jersey.............................
Census of Rhode Island, 1895......................................
Digest of recent foreign statistical publications.............................................
Decisions of courts affecting la b o r ....................................................................
Laws of various States relating to labor enacted since January 1,1896.........
Recent Government contracts.............................................................................
in
765-767
768-856
857,858
858-860
860-863
864-866
867-873
874-911
912-925
926
BULLETIN
OF THE
D E P A R T M E N T OF L A B O R .
No. 25.
WASHINGTON.
N o ve m b er , 1899.
STATISTICS OF CITIES—EDITORIAL NOTE.
In attempting to carry out the act of Congress approved July 1,1898,
under which the Commissioner of Labor is authorized to compile and
publish annually, as a part of the Bulletin of the Department of Labor,
an abstract of the main features of the official statistics of the cities of
the United States having over 30,COO population, it was necessary in
the initial report to make some arbitrary distinctions in order to secure
fair uniformity of data from all the cities involved. The first annual
publication of these statistics was made in Bulletin No. 24, for Sep
tember last.
When the work of investigation was begun the officers of the
Department, recognizing the diversity of conditions under which these
cities had their origin and growth, realized that a line must be drawn
between functions everywhere recognized as purely municipal and
those operated by semipublic boards and commissions. For instance,
it was anticipated that hospitals, asylums, almshouses, schools, libra
ries, etc., would be found which were originally private, or substan
tially so, but which as the years went by had come more and more
into the receipt of aid and support from the municipalities in which
they existed.
Realizing this mixed condition, it was decided that in this first year
of gathering these statistics the line should be drawn with strictness,
and inclusion be made only of institutions recognized locally as sup
ported and controlled purely by the municipality. A reason for this
lay in the fact that it was felt that when the exact truth, in all its
length and breadth, should be known about each of these cases it would
be found that there was a steady shading off from absolute city owner
ship and control slowly, by degrees, down to private ownership pure
765
766
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
and simple, and the line not rigidly drawn at the former point could
not afterwards be drawn satisfactorily at any point. Directions, there
fore, to that effect were given to the field agents of the Department,
and city officials also were so informed whenever occasion arose. *
Under this decision a free library in one of our larger cities (Balti
more), spoken of locally as the city library and doubtless supposed by
the mass of citizens to be under city ownership and control, was
excluded. This placed one of our leading commercial cities before the
public as without the advantages of a great free library—a position, it
is manifest, it should not occupy. It is quite possible there are other
cases where institutions for the use and benefit of the public, and gener
ally supposed to be under its control, have been thus excluded, making
it appear that such necessities were entirely wanting. In view of these
facts, the officers of the Department are now satisfied that all these
classes of semipublic institutions, substantially filling a public want,
must hereafter be included in the annual presentation of these statistics,
and they will be so included unless sound reasons are brought against
it. By this is meant that, in addition to the before-mentioned institu
tions, whatever function, commonly performed by a city in its character
of a corporation, is found in a certain case to be administered by a
board or commission, existing by special statute or other proper legal
authorization, its operation will be considered a municipal function
and its statistics included under their proper headings. It may be
said, however, that in all these cases to which this note refers it is
likely that the facts will be presented as supplemental to the regular
tables or in such a way that the exact extent of city ownership and
control can be seen.
In regard to debt, it was thought best to include simply the bonded,
floating, and total debt of the cities as cities. It was at first considered
as the only safe method to pursue, yet there are other features of city
debts which probably ought to be included. As, for instance, in the
city of Chicago there might be included that city’s share of the indebt
edness on account of the sanitary district, of which the city is the chief
element. This was excluded in Bulletin No. 24, because the officers of
the Chicago city government could not give the Department the proper
proportion of that debt belonging to the city, and a note was made
that data relating to the sanitary district had been excluded. This
leads to the consideration of the question as to how far the debts of
cities should include in the statistics to be published their proportion
of the county and State debt. All these matters, which are practically
outside of the arbitrary rule necessarily adopted in the first report,
that nothing should be included except those things which absolutely
belong to the city, will receive full and careful consideration when the
data for the next annual statement are collected. In the meantime
city officers and others can do this work a great service by offering to
the Department not only their criticisms of the first annual statement,
EDITORIAL NOTE.
767
but their suggestions for subsequent years, for under the act of Con
gress this publication of municipal statistics will be annual, and it is
the desire of the officers of the Department of Labor to make it as
complete and as valuable as possible. It is very gratifying to know
that the city officials generally have taken a lively interest in this
work. Uniformity of municipal statistics, as uniformity in other depart
ments of statistics, is essential both to completeness and to the fullest
value. The city officials and others interested in this matter are, there
fore, earnestly requested to give their assistance to the Department.
E ds .
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
BY W. P. WILLOUGHBY.
INTRODUCTION.
The aim of the present article (a) is to show in as concrete a form as
is practicable the laws having for their purpose the regulation of labor in
the chief industrial countries of Europe. The chief difficulty encoun
tered in "making this study has been to determine the classes of laws
that should be included. It is almost impossible to make a classifica
tion of subjects properly coming under the designation of labor legisla
tion that would be generally accepted by lawyers and economists for
all purposes. No such attempt has therefore been made. The study
has been given a strictly definite and limited scope. The legislation
included may be grouped under the following six heads:
1. Protective labor laws, (b) or those relating to employment of women
and children, protection of the health and lives of employees, inspection
of factories, payment of wages, Sunday and night work, etc.
2. The labor contract as far as it is regulated by specific statutes.
3. Apprenticeship.
4. Right of association, under which term are included laws relating
to guilds, trade unions, temporary coalitions^ or strikes and lockouts,
blacklisting, etc.
5. Arbitration and conciliation of industrial disputes.
6. Organization of bureaus of statistics of labor.
In order that there may be no misunderstanding regarding the
ground covered it may be well to notice the classes of laws that are
not included. The most important omission is that of laws in relation
to employer’s liability. Their exclusion is due to the fact that they
have been so largely modified or replaced by laws relating to the insur
ance of workingmen that their consideration would have necessitated
an account of such insurance laws, a subject which, on account of its
complexity, could more properly be made the object of a special study.
Other classes of laws omitted are those relating to the special industries*6
a In the present Bulletin the labor laws of Great Britain and France are considered.
The labor legislation of other European countries will be given in a subsequent
Bulletin.
6 This is the term usually employed in Europe to designate the classes o f laws noted
in this division. The American term “ factory laws” is not sufficiently comprehensive.
768
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
769
of milling, transportation, agriculture, and the fisheries, to mechanics7
liens and exemption of wages or tools from attachment, and that large
class of social legislation relating to such subjects as workingmen’s
houses, cooperation, savings banks, and poor relief.
As regards the subjects that are included the treatment is intended
to be comprehensive. The effort has been made to mention every
important point contained in the laws considered. The single excep
tion to this is that the provisions of the laws relating to the methods
of legal procedure to be followed in prosecuting infractions of the acts,
the admissibility of evidence, etc., have been reproduced only in the
form of a summary.
In the case of Great Britain, the laws have been presented to a con
siderable extent in the language of the acts themselves; in the case of
the other countries but little effort has been made to follow the lan
guage of the acts except where brief acts relating to particular definite
subjects have been passed. Here it has sometimes been thought best
to reproduce the act in full. This difference in treatment was believed
to be desirable on account of the more immediate interest of the United
States in the legislation of Great Britain than in that of the continental
countries.
After some hesitation regarding the best method of presenting the
material, it was finally decided that it was preferable to treat the laws
by countries rather than by subject-matter. To have done otherwise
would have made it difficult to obtain a general idea of the whole
policy of each country regarding the regulation of labor and industry,
and the stage to which such legislation had advanced. Legislation in
regard to different points, moreover, is often so closely related that it
would be difficult to consider it in different places. The same scheme
of presentation has, however, been followed as far as possible in the
case of each country, so that but little difficulty will be experienced in
finding the law in force in each country regarding any point concerning
which information is sought.
In attempting a comparison of the labor laws as here given with
those of the LTnited States, it is important to notice the essential dif
ference between the theory of legislation as practiced in Europe and
our own. In Europe, in marked contrast with the American practice,
the laws in many cases but lay down general principles and leave to
the administrative authorities the determination of particular condi
tions. Accompanying many laws are, therefore, numerous decrees or
administrative orders containing provisions that in the United States
would be incorporated in the laws themselves. The authorities are
usually given large powers both in the matter of determining the char
acter of these provisions and in permitting exemptions from them
where the enforcement of the law would work a hardship. Where
such authority exists it has been accordingly noted; but, as these
decrees are subject to constant change, only in exceptional instances
have their provisions been reproduced.
770
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Originally it was intended not to make any attempt to trace the his
tory of labor legislation in each country. As the work developed,
however, it became evident that some reference to prior legislation
should be made if the existing laws are to be fully understood.. A
brief sketch of former conditions and the development of the existing
system for the regulation of labor have, therefore, been given wherever
such an account seemed to be necessary.
GREAT BRITAIN, (a)
The development of the present system of labor legislation in Great
Britain can best be traced by following separately its course in respect
to the two main groups into which legislation in relation to labor may
be divided.
The first group includes those laws having for their purpose the fixing
of the legal status of the workingman as such—that is, his rights and
duties toward his employer, the law relating to the making and break
ing of the labor contract, the settlement of labor disputes, and the
right of workingmen to form organizations for the purpose of obtaining
better conditions from their employers.
The second group comprehends that more clearly defined body of
labor laws known as protective labor legislation and embraces all
classes of factory acts and laws the purpose of which is to come to the
aid of workingmen when, on account of their economic dependence,
they are unable fully to protect themselves.
Though this twofold division may not be in every respect a scientific
one, it furnishes in the present case a useful purpose in facilitating the
comprehension of the essential features of British labor legislation and
the manner in which it has arisen.
The early legislation as regards the first group was so radically dif
ferent from that now in force that only brief mention need be made of
it. The character of this legislation can best be seen in the statute
of laborers of Edward III and the statute of apprentices of Elizabeth
(5 Eliz., c. 4). In the latter law the attempt was made to combine in
one act prior existing legislation. The theory of this legislation was
a In the summary of the laws in Great Britain here given use has in all eases been
made of copies of the laws themselves. In the analysis, and especially in the state
ment of prior existing legislation, use has, however, been made of other works,
among which the following should be mentioned:
Dictionary of Political Economy, edited by R. H. Inglis Palgrave. Parts I and II.
London, 1894-96.
The Law Relating to Factories and Workshops, by May E. Abraham. London,
1896.
A Handy-Book of the Labor Laws, by George Howell. Third edition. London,
1895.
Sixth Annual Report of the Massachusetts Bureau o f Statistics of Labor. Part
III. Boston, 1875.
The Conflicts of Capital and Labor, by George Howell. London, 1878.
The State in Relation to Labor (English citizen series), by W. Stanley Jevons.
London, 1887.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
771
the diametric opposite of that of recent years. Labor and industry,
instead of possessing the greatest possible freedom, were subjected to
rigid regulations. No person could be a master or carry on a handi
craft who had not served as an apprentice for at least seven years;
the number of apprentices to journeymen that tradesmen could have
was strictly limited; the rate of wages was to be fixed by the justices
of the peace; hours of labor were fixed at twelve per day in summer
and from daybreak to nightfall in winter, and numerous other regula
tions were decreed.
This law, though supplemented by other legislation, remained in force
without material modification until the present century. In 1809 the
regulations concerning apprentices were abolished in the woolen indus
try; in 1811 the clause requiring justices of the peace to fix wages,
which for many years had not heen observed, was repealed; and in
1814 the apprenticeship clause was abolished as regards all industries.
This date may be said to mark the definite setting aside of the old
industrial system, though certain minor features of the old Elizabethan
laws were not formally repealed until as late as 1875. By these various
acts industry was definitely freed. Persons could engage in such pur
suits as they chose and make their own contracts of employment.
The point has now been reached when an examination can be made
of the particular measures of labor legislation that were enacted during
the present century to take the place of theoldlaws that were repealed.
R IG H T OF A S S O C IA T IO N :
T R A D E U N IO N S .
In the preceding section the relation of workingmen as individuals
with their employers has been considered. It now remains to consider
the law relating to the right of workingmen to associate and form
organizations in order that they may collectively seek to secure
improved conditions of labor.
All legislation enacted prior to the present century was hostile to the
right of workingmen to form organizations. Such were the laws of
conspiracy, and most important of all the combination laws. In spite
of these laws workingmen formed secret organizations of various kinds
and often acted collectively to enforce their demands. In consequence
of this Parliament in 1800 passed a more comprehensive law against
labor organizations (39 and 40 Geo. Ill, c. 106) than had been hitherto
enacted. By this law all agreements between journeymen or other work
men for obtaining higher wages, a reduction of hours of labor, or any
other change in the conditions of employment were declared to be ille
gal, and persons entering into such agreements could be summarily
committed to prison by justices of the peace. The same penalty was
imposed upon persons attempting by persuasion, intimidation, or
otherwise to prevent any workingman from accepting or continuing
in employment.
Strangely enough this, the most radical measure directed against the
right of workingmen to combine, was the last of the long series of
772
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
repressive measures. Almost immediately after its adoption the cur
rent of public opinion began to set in the opposite direction, and in
1824 was passed an act (5 Geo. IV, c. 95) which completely reversed the
policy hitherto pursued. This act repealed all the combination laws as
far as .they related to workingmen. It also provided that persons join
ing combinations of workingmen for obtaining an advance in wages or
lessening hours of labor, or for any other specified purpose, should not
be liable to prosecution for conspiracy. Another section related to the
conduct of workingmen in attempting to accomplish their objects
through strikes or otherwise. It made the use of violence, threats,
intimidation, or similar conduct an offense punishable by imprisonment.
The law was a most liberal measure. Unfortunately, severe labor
troubles followed almost immediately its enactment, and their occur
rence was attributed to the new law. • In consequence, in the following
year, 1825, the law was repealed and replaced by the act of 6 Geo.
IV , c. 129.
This act followed the lines of the one repealed, but limited more
closely the right of workingmen to form organizations. The repeal of
all laws against combinations was maintained. The clause specifically
permitting the formation of labor organizations limited this right
merely to those for the two purposes of determining the wages or
hours of labor of the persons actually present at the meeting taking
action. All other combinations or agreements of workingmen to the
prejudice of third parties were still punishable as conspiracies under
the common law. The clause directed to the prohibition of the use of
threats, intimidations, and the like was also made more stringent. In
1859 this law was amended and explained by 22 Viet., c. 34; but, with
this exception, continued in force until finally repealed in 1875.
The first act passed in favor of trade unions as such was the tempo
rary act of 1869 (32 and 33 Viet., c. 61), the purpose of which was to
give a measure of protection to the funds of these organizations. The
position had now been reached where trade unions were formally
recognized by law. Attempts at their prohibition were henceforth
definitely abandoned. Subsequent legislation was directed rather to
their protection.
In 1871 was passed the trade union act (34 and 35 Viet., c. 31), which,
with its amendment (39 and 40 Viet., c. 22) enacted in 1876, constitutes
the fundamental law of the present time concerning these societies.
In the meantime Parliament, in 1875, as is shown in the section relat
ing to the labor contract, passed two acts, the employers and workmen
act (38 and 39 Viet., c. 90) and the conspiracy and protection of
property act (38 and 39 Viet., c. 86). The former of these two acts is
considered in the section referred to; the latter should be here consid
ered in connection with the trade union acts of 1871 and 1876.
In general the distinction between the acts is that the trade union
acts are devoted to defining the legal position of trade unions, and
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
773
especially to creating a scheme for their legal registration and the
fixing of the privileges and duties resulting from this action, while the
conspiracy and protection of property act concerns itself with a deter
mination of the way in which these organizations and other combina
tions of workingmen can act in attempting to forward their objects.
The latter act thus defines the law concerning conspiracy as applied to
labor disputes, and establishes the law regarding strikes, lockouts,
picketing, boycotts, etc. Each of these acts will be considered in turn.
Their importance is such that it is desirable in many places to repro
duce the provisions of the laws verbatim.
T H E T R A D E U N IO N A C T S , 1 8 7 1 A N D 1876 .
The definition of trade union as comprehended by the act of 1871
was a restricted one. Under it, in order for a society to be registered
as a trade union, it was necessary that it should have been an illegal
organization but for the act. The amendment of 1876 had as one of its
main purposes the enlargement of the scope of the principal act. It
repealed the section of the law of 1871 defining a trade union, and in
its place substituted the following definition:
The term “ trade union ” means any combination, whether temporary
or permanent, for regulating the relations between workmen and mas
ters, or between workmen and workmen, or between masters and
masters, or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any
trade or business, whether such combination would or would not, if the
principal act had not been passed, have been deemed to have been an
unlawful combination by reason of some one or more of its purposes
being in restraint of trade.
Under this definition are embraced not only trade unions proper,
but such labor bodies as labor councils, federations of unions, and
employers’ associations. To be registered under these acts, however,
the society must have as its purpose either the regulation of trade
relations or the imposing of restrictive conditions on the conduct of
trade. Mutual aid and other workingmen’s relief organizations must
be registered under the laws relating to friendly societies as “ specially
authorized societies.”
The legalization of trade unions, even though their purposes are in
restraint of trade, is provided for in the following sections: “ (l)T he
purposes of any trade union shall not, by reason merely that they are
in restraint of trade, be deemed to be unlawful, so as to render any
member of such trade union liable to criminal prosecution for con
spiracy, and otherwise. (2 ) The purposes of any trade union shall not,
by reason merely that they are in restraint of trade, be unlawful so as
to render void or voidable any agreement or trust.” In this connection
reference should also be made to the conspiracy and protection of prop
erty act, which provides that “ an agreement or combination by two or
more persons to do or procure to be done any act in contemplation or
furtherance of a trade dispute between employers and workmen shall
774
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
not be indictable as a conspiracy if such act committed by one person
would not be punishable- as a crime.77
In giving a legal standing to trade unions the law contains a rather
remarkable provision, the purpose of which is to compel these organi
zations to manage their internal affairs in their own way without
recourse to the courts in case of difficulties. The law thus provides:
Nothing in this act shall enable any court to entertain any legal pro
ceeding instituted with the object of directly enforcing or recovering
damages for the breach of any of the following agreements, namely:
1. Any agreement between members of a trade union as such, con
cerning the conditions on which any members for the time being of
such trade union shall or shall not sell their goods, transact business,
employ, or be employed;
2. Any agreement for the payment by any person of any subscrip
tion or penalty to a trade union;
3. Any agreement for the application of the funds of a tfade unior
(a) to provide benefits to members; or (b) to furnish contributions to
any employer or workman not a member of such trade union in con
sideration of such employer or workman acting in conformity with the
rules or resolutions of such trade union; or (c) to discharge any fine
imposed upon any person by sentence of a court of justice; or,
4. Any agreement made between one trade union and another; or,
5. Any bond to secure the performance of any of the above-mentioned
agreements.
But nothing in this section shall be deemed to constitute any of the
above-mentioned agreements unlawful.
The most essential feature of the system created by this act for the
legal regulation of trade unions is that providing for the registration
of these societies in the office of the registrar of friendly societies.
This registration is not obligatory. Such action, however, was deemed
to be desirable, and in consequence various rights and privileges are
conferred upon those unions which voluntarily subject themselves to
the measure of control which such action imposes upon them. In the
following paragraphs are reproduced those sections of the act which
first set forth the nature and conditions of registration, and secondly
determine the rights and privileges which such action confers upon
societies taking this step:
Any seven or more members of a trade union may, by subscribing
their names to the rules of the union and otherwise complying with the
provisions of this act with respect to registry, register such trade union
under this act, provided thaTb if any one of the purposes of such trade
union be unlawful such registration shall be void.
With respect to the registry of a trade union, under this act, and of
the rules thereof, the following provisions shall have effect :
1. An application to register the trade union and printed copies of
the rules, together with a list of the titles and names of the officers,
shall be sent to the registrar under this act.
2 . The registrar, upon being satisfied that the trade union has com
plied with the regulations respecting registry in force under this act,
shall register such trade union and such rules.
3. No trade union shall be registered under a name identical with that
by which any other existing trade union has been registered, or so nearly
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
775
resembling such name as to be likely to deceive the members or the
public.
4. When a trade union applying to be registered has been in opera
tion for more than a year before the date of such application there shall
be delivered to the registrar before the registry thereof a general state
ment of the receipts, funds, effects, and expenditure of such trade
union in the same form and showing the same particulars as if it were
the annual general statement required as hereinafter mentioned to be
transmitted annually to the registrar.
5. The registrar, upon registering such trade union, shall issue a cer
tificate of registry, which certificate, unless proved to have been with
drawn or canceled, shall be conclusive evidence that the regulations of
this act with respect to registry have been complied with.
6. One of Her Majesty’s principal secretaries of state may from time
to time make regulations respecting registry under this act, and respect
ing the seal (if any) to be used for the purpose of such registry, and
the inspection of documents kept by the registrar under this act, and
respecting the fees (if any) to be paid on registry not exceeding the
fees specified in the second schedule of this act, and generally for car
rying this act into effect.
With respect to the rules of a trade union registered under this act,
the following provisions shall have effect:
1 . The rules of every such trade union shall contain provisions in
respect of the several matters mentioned in the first schedule to this
act. (a)
2. A copy of the rules shall be delivered by the trade union to every
person on demand on payment of a sum not exceeding Is. [24 cents].
Every trade union registered under this act shall have a registered
office to which all communications and notices maybe addressed,- if
any trade union under this act is in operation for seven days without
having such an office, such trade union and every officer thereof shall
incur a penalty not exceeding £5 [$24.33] for every day during which
it is so in operation.
Kotice of the situation of such registered office, and of any change
therein, shall be given to the registrar and recorded by him. Until
such notice is given the trade union shall not be deemed to have com
plied with the provisions of this act.
A general statement of the receipts, funds, effects, and expenditure
of every trade union registered under this act shall be transmitted to
the registrar before the first day of June in every year, and shall show
fully the assets and liabilities at the date and the receipts and expendi
ture during the year preceding the date to which it is made out, of the
a Following is a copy o f the schedule here referred to:
Of matters to he provided for by the rules of trade unions registered under this
act—
1. The name of the trade union and place of meeting for the business of the
trade union.
2. The whole of the objects for which the trade union is to be established, the
purposes for which the funds thereof shall be applicable, and the conditions under
which any member may become entitled to any benefit assured thereby, and the
fines and forfeitures to be imposed on any member o f such trade union.
3. The manner o f making, altering, amending, and rescinding rules.
4. A provision for the appointment and removal o f a general committee of man
agement, of a trustee or trustees, treasurer, and other officers.
5. A provision for the investment of the funds, and for an annual or periodical
audit of accounts.
6. The inspection of the books and names of members of the trade union by every
person having an interest in the funds of the trade union.
776
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
trade union; and shall show separately the expenditure in respect of
the several objects of the trade union, and shall be prepared and made
out up to such date, in such form, and shall comprise such particulars,
as the registrar may from time to time require; and every member of,
and depositor in, any such trade union shall be entitled to receive, on
application to the treasurer or secretary of that trade union, a copy of
such general statement, without making any payment for the same.
Together with such general statement there shall be sent to the reg
istrar a copy of all alterations and rules and new rules and changes of
officers made by the trade union during the year preceding the date up
to which the general statement is made out, and a copy of the rules of
the trade union as they exist at that date.
Every trade union which fails to comply with or acts in contraven
tion of this section, and also every officer of the trade union so failing,
shall each be liable to a penalty not exceeding £5 [$24.33] for each
offense.
Every person who willfully makes or orders to be made any false entry
in or any omission from any such general statement, or in or from the
return of such copies of rules or alterations of rules, shall be liable to
a penalty not exceeding £50 [$243.33] for each offense.
The registrars o f the friendly societies in- England, Scotland, and
Ireland shall be the registrars under this act.
The registrars shall lay before Parliament annual reports with respect
to the matters transacted by such registrars in pursuance of this act.
I f any person with intent to mislead or defraud gives to any member
of a trade union registered under this act or to any person intending
or applying to become a member of such trade union a copy of any
rules or of any alterations or amendments of the same other than those
respectively which exist for the time being, on the pretense that the
same are the existing rules of such trade union or that there are no
other rules of such trade union, or if any person with the intent afore
said gives a copy o f any rules to any person on the pretense that such
rules are the rules of a trade union registered under this act which is
not so registered, every person so offending shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor.
The foregoing sections were contained in the act of 1871. They were
supplemented by the following sections of the act of 1876, which relate
chiefly to the conditions to be fulfilled by unions intending to do busi
ness in more than one country, to the cancellation o f the certificate of
registration, the change of name, and the dissolution of registered
unions:
Trade unions carrying on, or intending to carry on; business in more
than one country shall be registered in the country in which their
registered office is situate; but copies of the rules of such unions, and
of all amendments of the same, shall, when registered, be sent to the
registrar of each of the other countries, to be recorded by him, and
until such rules be so recorded the union shall not be entitled to any
of the privileges of this act or the principal act in the country in which
such rules have not been recorded, and until such amendments of rules
be recorded the same shall not take effect in such country. In this
section ucountry” means England, Scotland, or Ireland.
No certificate o f registration of a trade union shall be withdrawn or
canceled otherwise than by the chief registrar of friendly societies, or
in the case of trade unions registered and doing business exclusively
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
777
in Scotland or Ireland by the assistant registrar for Scotland or Ire
land, and in the following cases:
1 . At the request of the trade union to be evidenced in such manner
as such chief or assistant registrar shall from time to time direct.
2. On proof to his satisfaction that a certificate of registration has
been obtained by fraud or mistake, or that the registration of the trade
union has become void under section 6 of the trade union act (1871), or
that such trade union has willfully and after notice from a registrar
whom it may concern violated any of the provisions of the trade union
acts or has ceased to exist.
Not less than two months’ previous notice in writing, specifying
briefly the ground of any proposed withdrawal or canceling of certifi
cate (unless where the same is shown to have become void as aforesaid,
in which case it shall be the duty of the chief or assistant registrar to
cancel the same forthwith), shall be given by the chief or assistant reg
istrar to a trade union before the certificate of registration of the same
can be withdrawn or canceled, except at its request.
A trade union whose certificate of registration has been withdrawn
or canceled shall from the time of such withdrawal or canceling abso
lutely cease to enjoy as such the privileges of a registered trade union,
but without prejudice to any liability actually incurred by such trade
union which maybe enforced against the same as if such withdrawal or
canceling had not taken place.
A trade union may, with the approval in writing of the chief regis
trar of friendly societies, or in the case of trade unions registered and
doing business exclusively in Scotland or Ireland, of the assistant reg
istrar for Scotland or Ireland, respectively, change its name by the con
sent o f not less than two-thirds of the total number of members.
No change of name shall affect any right or obligation of the trade
union, or of any member thereof, and any pending legal jiroceedings
may be continued by or against the trustees of the trade union, or any
other officer who may sue or be sued on behalf of such trade union,
notwithstanding its new name.
Any two or more trade unions may, by the consent of not less than
two-tbirds of the members of each or every such trade union, become
amalgamated together as one trade union, with or without any dissolu
tion or division of the funds of such trade unions, or either or any of
them; but no amalgamation shall prejudice any right of a creditor of
either or any union party thereto.
Notice in writing of every change of name or amalgamation, signed
in the case of a change of name by seven members and countersigned
by the secretary of the trade union changing its name, and accompa
nied by a statutory declaration by such secretary that the provisions
of this act in respect of changes of name have been complied with, and
in the case of an amalgamation signed by seven members and counter
signed by the secretary of each of every union party thereto, and
accompanied by a statutory declaration by each or every such secretary
that the provisions of this act in respect of amalgamations have been
complied with, shall be sent to the central office established by the
friendly societies act, 1875, and registered there, and until such change
of name or amalgamation is so registered the same shall not take effect.
The rules of every trade union shall provide for the manner of dis
solving the same, and notice of every dissolution of a trade union, under
the hand of the secretary and seven members of the same, shall be
sent within fourteen days thereafter to the central office hereinbefore
mentioned; or, in the case of trade unions registered and doing busi64—No. 25----- 2
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
ness exclusively in Scotland or Ireland, to the assistant registrar for
Scotland or Ireland, respectively, and shall be registered by them:
Provided, That the rules of any trade union registered before the
passing of this act shall not be invalidated by the absence of a provision
for dissolution.
A trade union which fails to give any notice or send any docu
ment which it is required by this act to give or send, and every officer
or other person bound by the rules thereof to give or send the same, or,
if there be no such officers, then every member of the committee of
management of the union, unless proved to have been ignorant of or to
have attempted to prevent the omission to give or send the same, is
liable to a penalty of not less than £1 [$4.87] and not more than £5
[$24.33], recoverable at the suit of the chief or any assistant registrar
of friendly societies or of any person aggrieved, and to an additional
penalty of the like amount for each week during which the omission
continues.
From the provisions defining the obligations and duties imposed
upon trade unions desiring registration, attention is now turned to
those conferring power and privileges upon unions taking this action.
It shall be lawful for any trade union registered under this act to
purchase or take upon lease, in the names of the trustees for the time
being of such union, any land not exceeding one acre, and to sell,
exchange, mortgage, or let the same, and no purchaser, assignee, mort
gagee, or tenant shall be bound to inquire whether the trustees have
authority for any sale, exchange, mortgage, or letting, and the receipt
of the trustees shall be a discharge for the money arising therefrom,
and for the purpose of this section every branch of a trade union shall
be considered a distinct union.
A ll real and personal estate whatsoever belonging to any trade union
registered under this act shall be vested in the trustees, for the time
being, of the trade union, appointed as provided by this act, for the use
and benefit of such trade union and the members thereof, and the real
or personal estate of any branch of a trade union shall be vested in the
trustees of such branch, “ or of the trustees of the trade union, if the
rules of the trade union so provide,” (a) and be under the control of such
trustees, their respective executors or administrators, according to their
respective claims and interests, and upon the death or removal of any
such trustees the same shall vest in the succeeding trustees for the
same estate and interest as the former trustees had therein, and subject
to the same trusts, without any conveyance or assignment whatsoever,
* * # (b) and in all actions or suits or indictments or summary pro
ceedings before any court of summary jurisdiction, touching or con
cerning any such property, the same shall be stated to be the property
of the person or persons for the time being holding the said office of
a This clause was added by the amendment of 1876. It makes the important pro
vision that all the property of the branches o f a trade union can be held by the
trustees of the central union if the rules so provide.
&In the original act there was a clause excepting from the foregoing provision
stocks and securities in the public funds of Great Britain and Ireland, and requiring
them to be transferred into the names o f the new trustees. The inconvenience aris
ing from this requirement was remedied by the act of 1876, which provided that such
securities belonging to the union could be transferred, in case of absence, bank
ruptcy, etc., of the trustee, by the surviving trustee or trustees or the proper officer
of the Bank of England or Bank of Ireland.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
779
trustee, in their proper names, as trustees of such trade union, with
out any further description.
The trustees of any trade union registered under this act, or any
other officer of such trade union who maybe authorized so to do by the
rules thereof, are hereby empowered to bring or defend, or cause to be
brought or defended, any action, suit, prosecution, or complaint in any
court of law or equity, touching or concerning the property, right, or
claim to property of the trade union,* and shall and may, in all cases
concerning the real or personal property of such trade union, sue and
be sued, plead and be impleaded, in any court of law or equity, in their
proper names, without other description than the title of their office;
and no such action, suit, prosecution, or complaint shall be discon
tinued or shall abate by the death or removal from office of such per
sons, or any of them, but the same shall and may be proceeded in by
their successor or successors as if such death, resignation, or removal
had not taken place; and such successors shall pay or receive the like
costs as if the action, suit, prosecution, or complaint had been com
menced in their name for the benefit of or to be reimbursed from the
funds of such trade union, and the summons to be issued to such trus
tee or other officers may be served by leaving the same at the regis
tered office of the trade union.
A trustee of any trade union registered under this act shall not be
liable to make good any deficiency which may arise or happen in the
funds of such trade union, but shall be liable only for the moneys which
shall be actually received by him on account of such trade union.
Every treasurer or other officer of a trade union registered under this
act, at such times as by the rules of such trade union he should render
such account hereinafter mentioned, or upon being required so to do,
shall render to the trustees of the trade union, or to the members of
such trade union at a meeting of the trade union, a just and true
account of all moneys received and paid by him since he last rendered
the like account, and of the balance then remaining in his hands, and
of all bonds or securities of such trade union, which account the said
trustees shall cause to be audited by some fit and proper person or
persons by them to be appointed; and such treasurer, if thereunto
required, upon the said account being audited shall forthwith hand
over to the said trustees the balance which on such audit appears to be
due from him, and shall also, if required, hand over to such trustees
all securities and effects, books, papers, and property of the said trade
union in his hands or custody; and if he fails to do so the trustees of
the said trade union may sue such treasurer in any competent court
for the balance appearing to be due from him upon the account last
rendered by him, and for all the moneys since received by him on
account of the said trade union, and for the securities and effects,
books, papers, and property in his hands or custody, leaving him to set
off in such action the sums, if any, which he may have since paid on
account of the said trade union; and in such action the said trustees
shall be entitled to recover their full costs of suit, to be taxed as
between attorney and client.
If any officer, member, or other person being, or representing himself
to be, a member of a trade union registered under this act, or the
nominee, executor, administrator, or assignee of a member thereof, or
any person whatsoever, by false representation or imposition obtain
possession of any moneys, securities, books, papers, or other effects of
such trade union, or, having the same in possession, willfully withhold
or fraudulently misapply the same, or willfully apply any part of the
780
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
same to purposes other than those expressed or directed in the rules of
such trade union, or any part thereof, the court of summary jurisdiction
for the place in which the registered office of the trade union is situate,
upon a complaint made by any person on behalf of such trade union,
or by the registrar, or in Scotland at the instance of the procurator
fiscal of the court to which such complaint is competently made, or by
the trade union, with his concurrence, may, by summary order, order
such officer, member, or other person to deliver up all such moneys,
securities, books, papers, or other effects to the trade union, or to repay
the amount of money applied improperly, and to pay, if the court think
fit, a further sum of money, not exceeding £20 [$97.33], together with
costs not exceeding 20s. [$4.87], and in default of such delivery of
effects, or repayment of such amount of money, or payment of such
penalty and costs aforesaid the said court may order the said person
so convicted to be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for any time
not exceeding three months: Provided, That nothing herein contained
shall prevent the said trade union, or in Scotland Her Majesty’s advo
cate, from proceeding by indictment against the said party: Provided,
also, That no person shall be proceeded against by indictment if a con
viction shall have been previously obtained for the same offense under
the provisions of this act.
To the foregoing provisions there should be added three sections of
the amending act relating to the insurance of children under 10 years
of age, membership of minors, and the right of members to nominate
persons to whom insurance should be made on their death. These
sections are as follows:
Notwithstanding anything contained in section 5 of the principal
act (a) a trade union, whether registered or unregistered, which insures
or pays money on the death of a child under 10 years of age, shall be
deemed to be within the provisions of section 28 of the friendly societies
act, 1875. (b)
A person under the age of 21, but above the age of 16, may be a
member of a trade union unless provision be made in the rules thereof
to the contrary, and may, subject to the rules of the trade union, enjoy
all the rights of a member, except as herein provided, and execute all
instruments, and give all acquittances necessary to be executed or given
under the rules, but shall not be a member of the committee of man
agement, trustee, or treasurer of the trade union.
A member of a trade union not being under the age of 16 years may,
by writing under his hand, delivered art or sent to the registered office
o f the trade union, nominate any person not being an officer or servant
of the trade union (unless such officer or servant is the husband, wife,
a Section 5 declares that the friendly societies acts, the industrial and provident
societies act, and the companies acts do not apply to trade unions, and that the reg
istration of any trade union under any o f them is void.
bMr. Howell summarizes the important provisions of this section as follow s:
(1) The limitation o f payments on the death o f a child under5 years to £6 [$29.20],
inclusive of payments by any other society; and of £10 [$48.67] for those under 10
years o f age. (2) The parent of the child, or the personal representative o f the
parent, may alone receive payments on the death of any child under 10 years of age.
(3) The particulars o f the amount claimed, and the name of the society, are to be
stated to the registrar o f deaths on application for a certificate; the sum to be
charged for such certificate is not to exceed Is. [24 cents]. (4) Registrars o f deaths
are not to give certificates nnless the cause of death has been previously entered in
the register of deaths, on the certificate o f a coroner, or o f the registered medical
practitioner who attended such deceased child during its last illness.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
781
father, mother, child, brother, sister, nephew, or niece of the nomina
tor), to whom any moneys payable on the death of such member, not
exceeding £50 [$243.33], (a) shall be paid at his decease, and may from
time to time revoke or vary such nomination by a writing under his
hand similarly delivered or sent, and on receiving satisfactory proof of
the death of a nominator the trade union shall pay to the nominee the
amount due to the deceased member not exceeding the sum aforesaid.
The foregoing provisions require but little comment. It will be
observed that the obligation imposed by registration upon trade unions
is little more than that of publicity, the filing of their constitutions
and rules and the making of annual financial reports. The unions are
left absolutely free to form such organizations as they desire, but the
rules must contain information concerning a number of matters, such
as the objects of the union, the making, altering, and rescinding of
rules, the investment of funds, etc. The advantages enjoyed by reg
istered trade unions are very substantial. The union can be repre
sented by trustees, and can hold property in their names. The mem
bers are protected against dishonest officers through the obligation
placed upon the latter to make reports and the facility afforded for
recovering by an action at law any money or property misappropriated
by them.
Leaving the consideration of these acts, there remains to be men
tioned but two or three other laws having reference to trade unions.
The most important of these is the trade union provident funds act,
1893 (56 Yict., c. 2 ), the purpose of which is to give to the funds of
trade unions devoted to the provision of provident benefits the same
exemption from the payment of the income tax as is enjoyed by the
friendly societies.
This exemption is limited to registered trade unions, and only to those
of this class whose rules provide that the amount assured to any
member shall not exceed £200 ($973.30), or an annuity not to exceed
£30 ($146). u Provident benefits77 are defined to include “ any pay
ment made to a member during sickness or incapacity, from personal
injury, or while out of work; or to an aged member by way of super
annuation ; or to a member who has met with an accident, or who has
lost his tools by fire or theft; or a payment in discharge or aid of
funeral expenses on the death of a member or wife of a member, or as
a provision for the children of the deceased member, when the payment
in respect whereof exemption is claimed is a payment expressly author
ized by the registered rules of the trade union claiming the exemption.77
Reference should also be made to the larceny and embezzlement act,
1868 (31 and 32 Yict., c. 116), and the falsification of accounts act, 1875
(38 and 39 Yict., c. 24), as in certain cases advantage can be taken of
their provisions, apart from the right of action given in the trade union
laws, to prosecute officers and members of trade unions guilty of lar
ceny, embezzlement, or the falsification of union accounts.
a Extended to £100 ($486.65) by the provident nominations and small intestacies
act, 1883.
782
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
T H E C O N S P I R A C Y A N D P R O T E C T IO N OF P R O P E R T Y A C T , 1 8 7 5 .
In the foregoing an account has been given of the laws having for
their purpose the regulation of trade unions as permanent organiza
tions. It is now necessary to consider the law setting forth the con
ditions under which, or the bounds within which, these organizations
or any combination of workingmen can take active steps, through
strikes or otherwise, to compel employers to accede to their demands.
This law is found in the conspiracy and protection of property act of
1875. As in the case of the trade union acts the provisions of thife
law can best be shown by reproducing its most important sections.
The omitted sections are chiefly those relating to the repeal of former
acts, the application of the law to Scotland and Ireland, and details of
judicial procedure to be followed in prosecuting persons under the act.
Following are the principal provisions of the act:
An agreement or combination by two or more persons to do, or pro
cure to be done, any act in contemplation or furtherance of a trade
dispute between employers and workmen shall not be indictable as a
conspiracy if such act committed by one person would not be punish
able as a crime, (a)
Nothing in this section shall exempt from punishment any persons
guilty of a conspiracy for which a punishment is awarded by any act of
Parliament.
Nothing in this section shall affect the law relating to riot, unlawful
assembly, breach of the peace or sedition, or any offense against the
State or the Sovereign.
A crime for the purposes of this section means an offense punishable
on indictment or an offense which is punishable on summary conviction
and for the commission of which the offender is liable, under the statute
making the offense punishable, to be imprisoned either absolutely or at
the discretion of the court as an alternative for some other punishment.
Where a person is convicted of any such agreement or combination
as aforesaid, to do or procure to be done an act which is punishable only
on summary conviction, and is sentenced to imprisonment, the imprison
ment shall not exceed three months, or such longer time, if any, as may
have been prescribed by the statute for the punishment of the said act
when committed by one person.
Where any person willfully and maliciously breaks a contract of serv
ice or of hiring, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the
probable consequences of his so doing, either alone or in combination
with others, will be to endanger human life or cause serious bodily
injury or to expose valuable property, whether real or personal, to
destruction or serious injury, he shall, on conviction thereof by a court
of summary jurisdiction or indictment, as hereinafter mentioned, be
liable either to pay a penalty not exceeding £20 [$97.33] or to be ima The following sections o f the trade union act, 1871, should he read in connection
with this provision o f the conspiracy a ct:
1. The purposes o f any trade union shall not, by reason merely that they are in
restraint o f trade, be deemed to be unlawful, so as to render any member of such
trade union liable to criminal prosecution for conspiracy or otherwise.
2. The purposes o f any trad^ union shall not, by reason merely that they are in
restraint of trade, be unlawful so as to render void or voidable any agreement or
trust.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
783
prisoned for a term not exceeding three months, with or without hard
labor.
Where a master, being legally liable to provide for his servant or
apprentice necessary food, clothing, medical aid, or lodging, willfully
and without lawful excuse refuses or neglects to provide the same,
whereby the health of the servant or apprentice is or is likely to be
seriously or permanently injured, he shall, on summary conviction,
be liable either to pay a penalty not exceeding £20 [$97.33] or to be
imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months, with or without hard
labor.
Every person who, with a view to compel any other person to abstain
from doing or to do any act which such other person has a legal right
to do or abstain from doing, wrongfully and without legal authority,
(1 ) uses violence to or intimidates such other person or his wife or
children, or injures his property; or (2 ) persistently follows such other
person about from place to place; or (3) hides any tools, clothes, or
other property owned or used by such other person, or deprives him of
or hinders him in the use thereof; or (4) watches or besets the house or
other place where such other person resides or works or carries on
business or happens to be, or the approach to such a house or place; or
(5) follows such other person with two or more other persons in a dis
orderly manner in or through any street or road, shall, on conviction
thereof by a court of summary jurisdiction, or on indictment as here
inafter mentioned, be liable either to pay a penalty not exceeding £20
[$97.33] or to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three months,
with or without hard labor.
Attending at or near the house or place where a person resides or
works or carries on business or happens to be, or the approach to such
house or place, in order merely to obtain or communicate information
shall not be deemed a watching or besetting within the meaning of
this section.
Where in any act relating to employers or workmen a pecuniary pen
alty is imposed in respect of any offense under such act, and no power
is given to reduce such penalty, the justices or court having jurisdic
tion in respect of such offense may, if they think it just so to do, impose
by way of penalty in respect of such offense any sum not less than
one fourth of the penalty imposed by such act.
Nothing in this act shall apply to seamen or. to apprentices to the
sea service.
In thus making more definite the statement of the acts that work
ingmen could and could not do in attempting to further their demands,
it was deemed necessary that especial safeguards should be taken to
prevent workingmen employed upon certain public works from break
ing their contract in such a way as to subject the public to danger or
inconvenience. The law thus contains the following sections in regard
to this special subject:
Where a person employed by a municipal authority or by any com
pany or contractor upon whom is imposed by act of Parliament the
duty, or who have otherwise assumed the duty of supplying any city,
borough, town, or place, or any part thereof, with gas or water, willfully
and maliciously breaks a contract of service with that authority or
company or contractor, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe,
that the probable consequences of his so doing, either alone or in com
bination with others, will be to deprive the inhabitants of the city,
784
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
borough, town, or place, or part, wholly, or to a great extent, of their
supply of gas or water, he shall, oil conviction thereof by a court of
summary jurisdiction or on indictment as hereinafter mentioned, be
liable either to pay a penalty not exceeding £20 [$97.33] or to be
imprisoned for a term not exceeding three months, with or without
hard labor.
Every such municipal authority, company, or contractor as is men
tioned in this section shall cause to be posted, at the gas works or
waterworks, as the case may be, belonging to such authority or com
pany or contractor a printed copy of this section in some conspicuous
place, where the same may be conveniently read by the persons
employed, and as often as such copy becomes defaced, obliterated, or
destroyed shall cause it to be renewed with all reasonable dispatch.
If any municipal authority or company or contractor make default in
complying with the provisions of this section in relation to such notice
as aforesaid, they or he shall incur on summary conviction a penalty
not exceeding £5 [$24.33] for every day during which such default con
tinues, and every person who unlawfully injures, defaces, or covers up
any notice so posted as aforesaid, in pursuance of this act, shall be
liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding 40s. [$9.73].
THE LABO R CONTRACT.
It was only after severe struggles extending over the first three
quarters of this century that the idea that the labor contract was one
that should be considered much the same as other contracts was
accepted. Prior to 1867 the breach of a labor contract by an employee
was held to be a criminal offense. In that year was passed the masters
and servants act, which practically repealed the laws until then regu
lating the labor contract, viz, 20 Geo. II, c. 19, passed in 1747; 6
Geo. Ill, c. 25, passed in 1766, and 4 Geo. IV, c. 34, passed in 1823.
The most important feature of this act, that making the breach of the
labor contract a civil instead of a criminal matter, has already been
mentioned.
The law of 1867, however, was but a very inadequate measure of
reform. After an elaborate inquiry by a royal commission, Sir Eichard
Gross, the home secretary, in 1875 secured its repeal, and in its place
had enacted two acts, which to day constitute the law regulating the
relations between employers and employees. These two acts deal
respectively with the criminal and civil aspects of the question. The
first relates to conspiracies and offenses against persons and property,
and is considered in the section relating to the right of association and
trade unions. It is with the second only of these two acts that we are
here concerned.
This act (38 and 39 Viet., c. 90) is entitled “ An act to enlarge the
powers of the county courts in respect of disputes between employers
and workmen, and to give other courts a limited civil jurisdiction in
respect of such disputes.” It is more usually known, however, as the
“ employers and workmen act, 18752- The change in the short title of
this act from that of those which it replaced, which were known as
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
785
u masters and servants acts,” is often referred to as indicating the
change of attitude that Parliament adopted in regard to this matter.
The labor contract was no longer considered as one between a master
and a servant, but as one between free and independent persons.
The character of this act is shown by its fall title, which has been
given. It is devoted chiefly to setting forth the manner in which dif
ferences arising out o f the labor contract shall be settled. In the fol
lowing paragraphs are reproduced the more important provisions of the
act, the omitted portions being chiefly those relating to the application
of the act to Scotland and Ireland, and details of procedure:
Jurisdiction—Jurisdiction of County Court.—In any proceeding before
a county court in relation to any dispute between an employer and a
workman arising out of or incidental to their relation as such (which
dispute is hereinafter referred to as a dispute under this act), the court
may, in addition to any jurisdiction it might have exercised if this act
had not passed, exercise all or any of the following powers; that is to
say—
1 . It may adjust- and set off the one against the other all such
claims on the part either of the employer or of the workman arising
out of or incidental to the relation between them, as the court may find
to be subsisting, whether such claims are liquidated or unliquidated,
and are for wages, damages, or otherwise; and,
2. If, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it thinks
it just to do so, it may rescind any contract between the employer and
the workman upon such terms as to the apportionment by wages or
other sums due thereunder, and as to the payment of wages or dam
ages, or other sums due, as it thinks just; and,
3. Where the court might otherwise award damages for any breach
of contract it may, if the defendant be willing to give security to the
satisfaction of the court for the performance by him of so much of his
contract as remains unperformed, with the consent of the plaintiff,
accept such security and order performance of the contract accordingly,
in place either of the whole of the damages which would otherwise
have been awarded, or some part of such damages.
The security shall be an undertaking by the defendant and one or
more surety or sureties that the defendant will perform his contract,
subject on nonperformance to the payment of a sum to be specified in
the undertaking.
Any sum paid by a surety on behalf of a defendant in respect of a
security under this act, together with all costs incurred by such surety
in respect of such security, shall be deemed to be a debt due to him
from the defendant; and where such security has been given in or
under the direction of a court of summary jurisdiction, that court may
order payment to the surety of the sum which has so become due to
him from the defendant.
Court o f Summary Jurisdiction.—A dispute under this act between
an employer and a workman may be heard and determined by a court
of summary jurisdiction, and such court, for the purposes of this act,
shall be deemed to be a court of civil jurisdiction, and in a proceeding
in relation to any such dispute the court may order payment of any
sum which it may find to be due as wages, or damages, or otherwise,
and may exercise all or any of the powers by this act conferred on a
county court: Provided, That in any proceeding in relation to any such
dispute the court of summary jurisdiction (1 ) shall not exercise any
786
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
jurisdiction where the amount claimed exceeds £10 [$48.67], and (2)
shall not make an order for the payment of any sum exceeding £ 10
[$48.67], exclusive of the costs incurred in the case, and (3) shall not
require security to an amount exceeding £10 [$48.67] from any defend
ant or his surety or sureties.
Any dispute between an apprentice to whom this act applies and his
master, arising out of or incidental to their relation as such (which dis
pute is hereinafter referred to as a dispute under this act), may be
heard and determined by a court of summary jurisdiction.
In a proceeding before a court of summary jurisdiction in relation to
a dispute under this act between a master and an apprentice, the court
shall have the same powers as if the dispute were between an employer
and a workman and the master were the employer and the apprentice
the workman and the instrument of apprenticeship a contract between
an employer and a workman, and shall also have the following powers:
(I) It may make an order directing the apprentice to perform his duties
under the apprenticeship; and (2 ) if it rescinds the instrument of
apprenticeship it may, if it thinks it just so to do, order the whole or
any part of the premium paid on the binding of the apprentice to be
repaid.
When an order is made directing an apprentice to perform his duties
under the appreticeship, the court may, from time to time, if satisfied
after the expiration of not less than one month from the date of the
order that the apprentice has failed to comply therewith, order him to
be imprisoned for a period not exceeding fourteen days.
In a proceeding before a court of summary jurisdiction in relation to
a dispute under this act between a master and an apprentice, if there
is any person liable, under the instrument of apprenticeship, for the
good conduct of the apprentice, that person may, if the court so direct,
be summoned in like manner as if he were the defendant in such pro
ceeding to attend on the hearing of the proceeding, and the court may,
in addition to or in substitution for any order which the court is
authorized to make against the apprentice, order the person so sum
moned to pay damages for any breach of the contract of apprenticeship
to an amount not exceeding the limit (if any) to which he is liable
under the instrument of apprenticeship.
The court may, if the person so summoned, or any other person, is
willing to give security to the satisfaction of the court for the perform
ance by the apprentice of his contract of apprenticeship, accept such
security instead of or in mitigation of any punishment which it is
authorized to inflict upon the apprentice.
Definitions and miscellaneous.—In this act the expression “ workman*7
does not include a domestic or menial servant, but, save as aforesaid,
means any person who, being a laborer, servant in husbandry, journey
man, artificer, handicraftsman, miner, or otherwise engaged in manual
labor, whether under the age of 21 years or above that age, has entered
into or works under a contract with an employer, whether the contract
be made before or after the passing of this act, be express or implied,
oral or in writing, and be a contract of service or a contract personally
to execute any work or labor. * * *
In the case of a child, young person, or woman subject to the provi
sions of the factory acts [1833 to 1874], (a) any forfeiture on the ground
of absence or leaving work shall not be deducted from or set-off against
a claim for wages or other sum due for work done before such absence
a Now factory and workshops act, 1878.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
787
or leaving work, except to the amount of the damage, if any, which
the employer may have sustained by reason of such absence or leaving
work.
Application,—This act, in so far as it relates to apprentices, shall
apply only to an apprentice to the business of a workman as defined
by this act upon whose binding either no premium is paid, or the pre
mium, if any, paid does not exceed £25 [$ 12 1 .66], and to an apprentice
bound under the provisions of the acts relating to the relief of the poor.
Saving clause.—Nothing in this act shall take away or abridge any
local or special jurisdiction touching apprentices, (a)
H I S T O R Y OF F A C T O R Y L E G IS L A T IO N .
Factory laws and allied acts, it will be remembered, constitute the
second of the two groups into which, for purposes of this study,
British labor legislation has been divided. In this field Great Britain
was the pioneer among nations, her first act (42 Geo. I ll, c. 73),
passed in 1802, and known as the elder Sir Bobert Peel’s act, being the
first factory act, properly speaking, enacted by any European nation.
This act was entitled “ An act for the preservation of the health and
morals of apprentices and others employed in cotton and other mills
and cotton and other factories,” and contained provisions regarding
the ventilation of factories, the whitewashing of walls, the clothing
and sleeping accommodations of apprentices, besides various other pro
visions. The hours of labor of apprentices were limited to 12 per day.
The next step for the protection of factory labor was not made until
1819. In that year was passed an act (59 Geo. Ill, c. 66), which,
though it applied only to cotton mills, for the first time limited the age
at which children might be permitted to work in factories. Such
employment was prohibited to children under 9 years of age, and the
hours of labor of those under 16 years of age were limited to 12 per
day, exclusive of time for meals.
Subsequent factory acts were passed in 1820, 1825, 1829, 1831, and
1833. The act passed in 1833 (3 and 4 Wm. IY, c. 103), known as
Lord Altliorp’s act, not only took the place of previous enactments,
but also introduced a number of important changes. In this act was
made, for the first time, the distinction between “ children” and “ young
persons,” which has since been maintained. The attendance of chil
dren at school was made obligatory, and effective measures for the
enforcement of this provision were made. The “ half time” principle
was introduced by the provision limiting the hours of labor of children
to 9 per day and requiring the children to spend at least 2 hours per
day in school. The most important provision of the act, however, was
that whereby the law was made to apply not merely to cotton and
woolen mills, as was the case with former acts, but to “ any cotton,
woolen, worsted, hemp, flax, tow, linen, or silk mill or factory wherein
a By 43 and 44 Viet., c. 16, the limitation as to seamen, etc., was repealed, so that
this section now applies to seamen and apprentices to the sea service.
788
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
steam or water or any other mechanical power is, or shall be, used to
propel or work the machinery.” Finally, provision was made for the
appointment of four factory inspectors to enforce the observance of
the act.
The first general factory act to follow that of 1833 was the consoli
dating act which Sir Robert Peel carried through in 1844 (7 and 8 Viet.,
c. 15). Of this act Mr. Cooke Taylor, the superintending inspector of
factories and workshops, says: uThese two statutes (1833 and 1844)
constitute together the foundation of the laws at present in force, not
alone for the special classes of factories to which they had then exclu
sive reference, but for all others. * * * With the enactment of this
statute (1844) the first stage in the progress of English factory legisla
tion may be said to have been accomplished,* that stage, namely, which
brought the textile industries under some sort of efficient control.”(a)
By this act the hours of labor of children of 8 (formerly 9) years of
age and up to 13 were reduced to 6£ per day, and 3 hours’ daily attend
ance at school were required for 5 days of each week. In some
cases alternate days of 10 hours’ labor and 5 hours’ schooling were per
mitted. Female operatives over 18 years of age (thereafter called
women) were for the first time put upon the same footing as u young
persons.” The system of factory inspection was made more efficient by
the creation of a department of factory inspection, with a central office
in London.
The two succeeding decades were not marked by legislation of general
importance. As Mr. Taylor expresses it, the energies of factory reform
ers were chiefly expended in securing the advantages already gained,
and in perfecting the system of inspection now fully introduced. A
number of acts, however, were passed bringing particular industries
under the operation of the factory laws, and introducing minor modifi
cations. The only act that need be specifically mentioned is the famous
10 hours act (10 and 11 Viet., c. 29), u An act to limit the hours of
labor of young persons and females in factories,” passed in 1847.
The year 1864 marks the beginning of a new period. The acts that
have been enumerated, and others relating to special industries, were
regarded more as affiliated with the factory acts than as constituting
an integral part of them. In 1864, however, was passed an act (27 and
28 Viet., c. 48), in which this principle was definitely abandoned, and
thenceforth practically all kinds of industrial work were considered as
subject to the principle of factory legislation. This act brought under
the factory act not only a large number of distinctly nontextile indus
tries but certain employments as well.
In 1867 a still further advance was made through the enactment of
two very important factory acts, the factory acts extension act (30 and
31 Viet., c. 103), and the workshop regulation act (30 and 31 Viet., c. 106).
The first act completed the extension of the principle of legal regulaa Article, Factory Acts, Palgrave’s Dictionary o f Political Economy.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
789
tion by defining the word u factory ” as regulated by the act, so as to
comprehend not only the specified industries, but any place where man
ufacturing was carried on and where 50 or more persons were employed.
The purpose o f the second act was to extend this legal regulation of
labor to smaller places or those where less than 50 persons were
employed. A workshop was defined to be any place, not a factory or
bakehouse, where any handicraft was carried on in which any child,
young person, or woman was employed, and to which or over which
the employer of the persons working therein had the right of access or
control. An important difference between the factory and workshop
acts was that the enforcement of the latter was intrusted to the local
authorities. As a result this act. was largely disregarded, and a few
years later, in 1871, its enforcement was transferred to the inspectors of
factories.
Following these two laws came a number of acts relating chiefly to
the regulation of work in particular industries. The final step in the
evolution of a factory code was taken in 1878, by the enactment of the
factory and workshop act (41 Viet., c. 16) of that year. This act not
only consolidated provisions scattered through a large number of laws,
but, as is shown by its title, brought together the two branches of fac
tory and workshop regulation which had hitherto been kept separate.
But comparatively few changes in existing legislation were made.
The purpose of the act was distinctly one of codification. This law
remains the foundation of the system of factory regulation as it exists
to-day. In the years that have elapsed since its enactment it has been
added to, but in its main provisions, and wholly as regards its prin
ciple, the law is unchanged. The subsequent legislation can be briefly
noted.
In 1881 the alkali works acts were consolidated and amended by
44 and 45 Viet., c. 37. In 1883 white-lead factories and bakehouses
were further dealt with (46 and 47 Viet., c. 53). In 1884 provision for
summary proceedings under the factory acts was made by 47 and 48
Viet., c. 43. In 1888 holidays in Scotland were regulated by 51 and
52 Viet., c. 22. In 1889 the condition of cotton mills as regards moist
ure and temperature were regulated by 52 and 53 Viet., c. 62.
In 1891 was passed a law (54 and 55 Viet., c. 75) which partakes
more of the nature of a general factory act, and as such introduced
important modifications in the system of factory regulation as estab
lished by the act of 1878. Among the changes made by it may be
mentioned the provisions concerning the sanitation of working places
and the authority of inspectors and local officials in this respect, pre
cautions to be taken against fire, regulations as to dangerous and
unhealthy features of employment, the hours of labor of women, holi
days, the employment of children, prevention of accidents, etc. In
1892 the employment of young persons in shops or stores was regulated
by 55 and 56 Viet., c. 62. This law was amended in the following year
790
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
by 56 and 57 Viet., c. 67. In 1895 another general factory and work
shop act (58 and 59 Viet., c. 37) was passed which made a number of
important changes in existing legislation. These related' to overcrowd
ing, precautions to be taken against accidents, the regulation of the
conditions under which wearing apparel could be made (the sweating
system), the reduction of overtime employment of women and young
persons, etc. The act also contained special regulations concerning labor
in laundries, on docks, and in tenement houses.
Of subsequent legislation the only acts that need be mentioned are
the cotton cloth factories act of 1897 (60 and 61 Viet., c. 58), giving
to the secretary of state the power to issue orders for the purpose of
giving effect to such of the recommendations of the committee ap
pointed to inquire into the working of the cotton cloth factories act,
1889, as he may deem necessary; and the act of 1897 (60 and 61 Viet.,
c. 60) for the prevention of accidents by chaff-cutting machines.
SCO PE A N D G E N E R A L C H A R A C T E R OF F A C T O R Y L A W S .
The result of nearly a century’s legislation in relation to industrial
employment has been the development of a body of laws specifying in
great detail the conditions that must be observed in the prosecution
of such employment. The laws as they now stand are exceedingly
complex, and it will be necessary to make a preliminary statement of
their general character and scope in order to make clear the specific
conditions and restrictions that will be subsequently enumerated.
Briefly, the laws apply only to factories and workshops, strictly speak
ing, or where the operations of manufacturing or altering articles, or
construction work is carried on. The only possible exceptions to this
are bakehouses, laundries, quarrying and pit work not coming under
the mining laws, and docks and building operations, the regulation of
which is provided for in these laws. Agriculture, mining, transporta
tion, and other special categories of industrial employment are therefore
not included.
For the purposes of regulation the factory acts make a primary
division of establishments coming under their provisions into factories
and workshops. Factories are again divided into the two classes of
textile and nontextile factories, and workshops are divided into ordi
nary workshops and the three special classes of domestic workshops,
workshops for adults only, and workshops for adult males only, which
for certain purposes are distinguished from ordinary workshops. Bake
houses, laundries, and other special industries are considered as falling
in one of the foregoing classes according to circumstances. It is quite
necessary that this division into classes be understood, as the regula
tions concerning employment and the conduct of work in each are
different.
The term u textile factory” is described to mean any premises
wherein or within the close or curtilage of which steam, water, or other
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
791
mechanical power is used to move or work any machinery employed in
preparing, manufacturing, or finishing, or in any process incident to
the manufacture of cotton, wool, hair, silk, flax, hemp, jute, tow, china
grass, coeoanut fiber, or other like material, either separately or mixed
together, or mixed with any other material, or any fabric made thereof 5
provided that print works, bleaching and dyeing works, lace ware
houses, paper mills, flax scutch mills, rope works, and hat works shall
not be deemed to be u textile factories.”
The term unontextile factory” means (1) any works, warehouses,
furnaces, mills, foundries, or places used as print works, bleaching and
dyeing works, earthenware works, lucifer-match works, percussion-cap
works, cartridge works, paper-staining works, fustian-cutting works,
blast furnaces, copper mills, iron mills, foundries, metal and india rubber
works, paper mills, glass works, tobacco factories, letterpress printing
works, bookbinding works, and flax scutch works, whether mechanical
power is used in them or not; (2 ) any places or premises used as hat
works, rope works, bakehouses, lace warehouses, shipbuilding yards,
quarries, and pit banks wherein or within the close or curtilage or pre
cincts of which steam, water, or other mechanical power is used in aid
of the manufacturing process carried on there, and (3) any premises
wherein or within the close or curtilage or precincts of which any man
ual labor is exercised by way of trade or for purposes of gain in or
incidental to the making of any article, or part of any article, or the
altering, repairing, ornamenting, or finishing of any article, or adapting
any article for sale, and wherein or within the close or curtilage or pre
cincts of which steam, water, or other mechanical power is used in aid of
the manufacturing process carried on there.
By the term “ workshop” is meant any premises or places mentioned
under (2 ) in the preceding paragraph, which are not factories as above
defined, and also any premises, room, or place, which is not a factory,
in or within the close or curtilage or precincts of which any manual
labor is exercised by way of trade or for purposes of gain in or inci
dental to the making of any article or of part of any article, or the
altering, repairing, ornamenting, or finishing of any article, and to
which or over which premises, room, or place the employer of the per
sons working therein has the right of access or control.
Of the three special classes of workshops the last two are sufficiently
described by their titles. The first, domestic workshops, means private
houses, places, or rooms where no power is used, and in which the only
persons employed are members of the same family dwelling there. All
three of these special classes of workshops, as will be seen later, are
exempt from many of the provisions of the factory acts regulating
labor in ordinary workshops. The third class, workshops employing
only adult males, it should be said are expressly excluded from the
operation of the acts except so far as they refer incidentally to their
sanitary condition. In this respect they are subject to the same con
792
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
ditions as ordinary workshops, since the public health acts make no
distinction between the various classes of workshops. A part of a
factory or workshop may be taken to be a separate factory or work
shop; and a room used solely for sleeping purposes is not deemed to
form a part of the factory or workshop.
To recapitulate, the distinction between factories and workshops is,
generally, that in the former machinery operated by steam, water, or
other mechanical power is used, while in the latter it is not, though
there is a list of 19 classes of works which are defined as factories
whether mechanical power is used in them or not. The chief distinc
tion between textile and nontextile factories relates to the hours of
labor of children, young persons, and women, which are slightly shorter
in the first class, to overtime work, etc. Workshops, generally, are
subject to the same regulations as nontextile factories, with regard to
hours of labor. In regard to their sanitary condition, however, the
important distinction is made that they are subject to the control of
the local authorities, while factories are under the supervision of the
factory inspectors.
Turning now to the character of the regulations provided, the pro
visions of the acts may be divided into two distinct groups: (1) Those
which relate to conditions of employment aud affect only children,
young persons, and women; and (2) those which relate to the sanitary
conditions of factories and workshops and the safety of the work peo
ple, such as sanitation, ventilation, and temperature, the guarding of
dangerous machinery, the provision for means of egress in case of fire,
etc., which affect all employees. Finally, there are provisions creating
an inspection department, with an adequate corps of inspectors, whose
duties are to inspect factories and workshops and see that the laws are
enforced, and provisions specifying the penalties for infractions of the
law, and the manner of their imposition and enforcement.
P R O T E C T IO N O F H E A L T H O F E M P L O Y E E S .
As has been pointed out, the act of 1891 made an important distinc
tion between factories and workshops in regard to the manner of enforc
ing the provisions concerning their sanitation. While factories for this
purpose remained under the authority of the factory inspectors, work
shops were placed under the public health acts, so that the controlling
authority in their case is now the sanitary officers. For this reason it
is necessary to consider separately the provisions concerning factories
and workshops.
The sanitary regulations regarding factories fall under four principal
heads, viz, cleanliness, overcrowding, ventilation, and temperature.
The regulations regarding cleanliness provide that a factory must be
kept in a cleanly state aud free from effluvia arising from any drain,
water-closet, earth closet, privy, urinal, or other nuisance. For the pur
pose o f securing cleanliness, all inside walls and the ceilings or tops of
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
793
the rooms of a factory, and all passages and staircases of a factory, if
they have not been painted with oil or varnish once at least within
7 years, shall be lime washed once at least every 14 months; and
if they have been so oiled or varnished, shall be washed with hot
water and soap once at least every 14 months. Where these provisions
regarding lime washing and painting appear to be unnecessary or inap
plicable the secretary of state may grant exemptions to such classes of
factories by special order.
Whenever it appears to an inspector of factories that there is neglect
or default in relation to any drain, water-closet, earth closet, privy, ash
pit, water supply, nuisance, or other matter in a factory, and is punish
able under the law relating to public health but is not under the fac
tory acts, it is his duty to notify in writing the sanitary authority of
the district, and it is thep the duty of that officer to take steps to
enforce the law. It is also the duty of the sanitary authority to inform
the inspector of factories of what action he may have taken in the mat
ter. If the former neglects for a month to take action, the inspector
may take such proceedings as the sanitary authority might have taken,
and recover all the expense of a successful proceeding, that are not
recovered from any other person, from the sanitary authority.
In every place where suitable sanitary conveniences do not already
exist in virtue of the public health acts amendment act, 1890, every
factory or workshop shall be provided with sufficient and suitable
accommodations in the way of sanitary conveniences, having regard
to the number of persons employed in or in attendance at the factory
or workshop, and also where persons of both sexes are employed, with
proper separate accommodations for each sex.
In every factory or workshop where lead, arsenic, or any other poi
sonous substance is used, suitable washing conveniences shall be pro
vided for the use of persons employed in the departments where such
substances are used.
In respect to overcrowding, it is provided that a factory must not be
so overcrowded while work is carried on therein as to be dangerous or
injurious to the health of the persons employed therein. A factory is
deemed to be overcrowded if the number of cubic feet of space in any
room bears to the number of persons employed therein a proportion
less than 250 or during any period of overtime 400 cubic feet of space
to every person. The secretary of state may modify this proportion
for any period during which artificial light, other than electric light, is
employed for illuminating purposes, and may, as regards any particu
lar manufacturing process or handicraft, substitute for the above fig
ures any higher figures. The employer must affix in the entrance, and
in any other place required by the inspector, a notice showing the
number of persons who may be employed in each room by virtue of
these acts.
The regulations in regard to ventilation provide that a factory must
64—No. 25-----3
794
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
be ventilated in such a manner as to render harmless so far as prac
ticable all the gases, vapors, dust, or other impurities generated in the
course of the manufacturing process or handicraft carried on therein
that may be injurious to health. Wherever it is necessary the inspector
can order the provision of a fan or other mechanical device to protect
workingmen against noxious gases, vapors, or other impurities gener
ated during the process of manufacture.
Begarding temperature, the acts provide that in every factory and
workshop adequate measures shall be taken for securing and maintain
ing a reasonable temperature in each room in which any person is
employed. The cotton cloth factories act, 1889, regulates with great
care the degree of temperature and humidity that shall be maintained
in cotton cloth factories. The provisions of this act were afterwards
extended by the factory act of 1895 to all textile factories in which
atmospheric humidity is artificially produced by steaming or other
mechanical appliances and not otherwise regulated by special rules
according to the act of 1891..
By the factory act, 1891, workshops were excluded from the opera
tion of the provisions of the factory acts regarding sanitation and sub
jected to those contained in the public health acts. The latter, however,
are supplemented by the following provisions of the factory act of 1891:
(1) Every workshop or work place shall be kept free from effluvia arising
from drains, water-closets, earth closets, privies, urinals, or other nui
sances, and unless so kept shall be deemed to be a nuisance, liable to
be dealt with under the law relating to public health. (2) When, on
the certificate of a medical officer of health or inspector of nuisances, it
appears to any sanitary authority that lime washing, cleaning, or purify
ing of any such workshop, or of any part thereof, is necessary for the
health of the persons employed therein, the sanitary authority shall
give notice in writing to the owner or occupiers of the workshop to
lime wash, cleanse, or purify the same. (3) Failure to comply with
these orders may make the occupier liable to a fine of 10s. ($2.43) for
each day during the continuance of the default, and the sanitary
authorities may have the work done and recover from the occupier.
The foregoing provisions, together with the public health acts, make
the regulations regarding workshops practically the same as those
regarding factories, except that mechanical means of ventilation are
never required in a workshop, and that the regulations regarding paint
ing and lime washing are different. It will be noted that the enforce
ment of these sanitary regulations is in general intrusted to the public
health authorities. If, however, the secretary of state is satisfied that
the law relating to cleanliness, ventilation, overcrowding, lime washing,
etc., is not observed in any workshop or laundry, he can order an
inspector of factories to take such steps as are necessary to secure its
enforcement. An inspector thus authorized then has the same powers
with respect to workshops or laundries as he has with respect to facto
ries, and can take the same steps for compelling compliance with his
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
795
orders as might be taken by the sanitary authority of the district.
He is also entitled to recover from the sanitary authority all the expenses
incurred by him in a successful proceeding which he does not recover
from any other person.
The duty imposed upon inspectors of factories to notify the sanitary
authorities when there has been an infraction of the law regarding the
sanitation of factories which is punishable under the public health acts,
but not under the factory acts, as described above (page 793), also
applies to workshops conducted on the system of not employing chil
dren, young persons, or women, and to laundries.
P R E V E N T IO N O F A C C ID E N T S .
The provisions of the factory acts having for their purpose the pre
vention of accidents may be considered under the following five heads,
viz, the fencing of machinery, the cleaning of machinery while in motion,
the use of self-acting machines, the provision of fire escapes, and spe
cial rules regarding dangerous buildings or machinery. In addition to
these, those occupations which present especial danger of accidents to
employees are subjected to special regulations, which will be considered
in another section.
Following are the provisions of the factory acts regarding the fencing
of machinery:
1. Every hoist or teagle, and every fly wheel directly connected with
steam, water, or other mechanical power, whether in the engine house
or not, and every part of any water wheel or engine worked by such
power shall be securely fenced.
2. Every wheel race not otherwise secured shall be securely fenced
close to the edge of the wheel race.
3. All dangerous parts of the machinery and every part of the mill
gearing must be either securely fenced or be in such position or of such
construction as to be equally safe to every person at work in the factory
as if it were securely fenced.
4. All fencing must be constantly maintained in an efficient state
while the parts required to be fenced are in motion or in use, except
when under repair or are necessarily exposed for the purpose of clean
ing or lubricating.
The regulations regarding the cleaning of machinery while in motion
are:
1. A child shall not be allowed to clean any part of the machinery
in a factory while the same is in motion by the aid of steam, water, or
other mechanical power.
This provision also applies to young persons, so far as the dangerous
parts of machinery are concerned. It is presumed, until the contrary
is proved, that those parts of machinery are dangerous that are so noti
fied by the inspector to the occupier.
2. A young person or woman shall not be allowed to clean such part
796
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
of the machinery of a factory as is mill gearing (that is, the means by
which power is transmitted as distinguished from the manufacturing
operations) while the same is in motion for the purpose of propelling
any part of the manufacturing machinery.
In the use of self-acting machines the provisions are:
1. A child, young person, or woman shall not be allowed to work
between the fixed and traversing part of any self-acting machine while
the machine is in motion by the action of steam, water, or other
mechanical power.
2. No person employed in a factory shall be allowed to be in the
space between the fixed and the traversing portions of a self-acting
machine unless the machine is stopped with the traversing portion on
the outward run, but for the purpose of this provision the space in front
of a self-acting machine shall not be included in the space aforesaid.
3. In a factory erected after the commencement of the act of July 6,
1895, the traversing carriage of any self-acting machine shall not be
allowed to run out within a distance of 18 inches from any fixed struc
ture not being part of the machine, if the space over which it so runs
out is a space over which any person is liable to pass, whether in the
course of his employment or otherwise.
In the provisions of the factory acts requiring precautions to be taken
against fire in factories and workshops, and the provision of means of
escape, a distinction is made between old and new buildings. Follow
ing are the provisions:
1. Every factory erected since January 1,1892, and every workshop
ejected since January 1, 1896, in which more than 40 persons are
employed, must be furnished with a certificate from the sanitary
authority of the district in which the factory or workshop is situate,
or in London from the county council, that the building is provided on
the stories above the ground floor with such means of escape in case
of fire for the persons employed therein as can reasonably be required
under the circumstances of each case; and it shall be the duty of the
sanitary authority, or in London the county council, to examine every
such factory and workshop, and, on being satisfied that the building is
so provided, to give such a certificate.
2. With respect to every factory erected prior to 1892 and every
workshop erected prior to 1896, and in which more than 40 persons are
employed, it shall be the duty of the sanitary authority of every dis
trict, or of the county council in London, to ascertain whether all such
factories and workshops within their district are provided with means
of escape in case of fire as above described, and, in case of any factory
or workshop which is not so provided, to serve on the owner a notice
in writing specifying the measures necessary for providing such means
of escape, and directing him to carry out the same before a specified
date; and thereupon such owner shall, notwithstanding any agreement
with the occupier, have power to take such steps as are necessary for
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
797
complying* with the requirements, and unless they are complied with
the owner shall be liable to a line not exceeding* £1 ($4.87) for every
day that such noncompliance continues. In case of a difference of
opinion between the owner of a factory and the sanitary authority, the
difference shall, on the application of either party, be referred to arbi
tration, this arbitration to be had in conforhiity with the scheme of
arbitration provided in the first schedule of the factory act of 1891,
with the exception that the parties to the arbitration are the sani
tary authority on the one hand and the owner on the other, and
that the award, which will be either to discharge, amend, or confirm
the notice, will be binding on the parties. If the owner alleges that
the occupier ought to bear or contribute to the expenses of complying
with the requirement, he may apply to the county court having juris
diction where the factory is situated, and thereupon the county court,
after hearing the occupier, may make such order as appears to it to be
just and equitable.
If the sanitary authority, or county council in London, fail to perform
their duty with regard to requiring proper means of escape from fire
the factory inspector may give notice to tllem, and in case they fail to
take the proper steps within a month the inspector may take the pro
ceedings which they might have taken and recover the expense from
them. The sanitary authority, or county council in London, are required
to inform the inspector of any proceedings taken by them in pursuance
of the inspector’s notice.
3. A court of summary jurisdiction may, on complaintof an inspector,
and on being satisfied that the provision of movable fire escapes is
necessary for the safety of any of the persons employed in a factory or
workshop, by order require the occupier to provide and maintain such
movable fire escapes in sufficient number for that purpose.
4. While any person employed ip a factory or workshop is within
the factory or workshop for the purpose of employment or meals, the
doors of the factory or workshop and of any room therein in which
any such person is shall not be locked or bolted or fastened in such-a
manner that they can not be easily and immediately opened from the
inside.
5. In every factory or workshop, the construction of which was com
menced after January 1, 1896, the doors of each room in which more
than 10 persons are employed shall, except in the case of sliding doors,
be constructed so as to open outward.
The regulations concerning the use of dangerous buildings or machin
ery provide that whenever an inspector believes that anyplace used as
a factory or workshop is in such a condition that any manufacturing
process or handicraft carried on therein can not be so carried on with
out danger to health or to life or limb, or that any machine used in a
factory or workshop is in such a condition that it can not be used with
out danger to life or limb, he can make complaint to a court of summary
798
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
jurisdiction, and this court can, upon being satisfied of the justness of
the complaint, prohibit the use of the place or machine until such
works have been executed as, in the opinion of the court, are necessary
to remove the danger. A fine of not exceeding 40s. ($9.73) a day may
be imposed for failure to comply with this order.
When a complaint has been made as above, the court or a justice
may, on application ex parte by the inspector, and on receiving evi
dence that the use of any machine involves imminent danger to life,
make an interim order prohibiting, either absolutely or subject to con
ditions, the use o f the machine until the earliest opportunity for hear
ing and determining the complaint.
D A N G E R O U S O C C U P A T IO N S .
In industrial work there are certain occupations, the pursuit of
which is accompanied by such unusual dangers to life or health, that
the general regulations of the factory and workshop acts are not suffi
cient to protect the employees from injury. In these cases, therefore,
additional rules and regulations have been provided.
The secretary of state thus has the general power to certify to the
chief inspector of factories any case where it is his opinion that any
machinery or process or particular description of manual labor used
in a factory or workshop (other than a domestic workshop, but includ
ing workshops conducted on the system of not employing any child,
young person, or woman) is dangerous to life or limb, either generally
or in the case of women, children, or any other class of persons, or that
the provisions for the admission of fresh air are not sufficient, or that
the quantity of dust generated or inhaled is dangerous or injurious to
health. Upon receipt of such certification the chief inspector must
serve on the occupier of the factory or workshop a notice in writing,
either proposing such special ruleg or requiring the adoption of such
special measures as appear to the chief inspector to be reasonably
practicable and to meet the necessities of the case. Rules and require
ments may also be made prohibiting the employment of, or limiting
the hours of labor for, all or any class of persons engaged in danger
ous occupations the same way as in the case of dangerous machinery
or processes of manufacture. I f such rules or requirements, however,
relate to adult workers, they must be laid on the table of both Houses
of Parliament for 40 days before going into operation.
Unless the occupier, within 21 days after the receipt of such a notice,
serves on the chief inspector a notice in writing that he objects to the
rules or requirements they shall be considered as established and must
be observed. I f the notice of objection suggests any modification of
the rules or requirements the secretary of state shall consider them
and may assent thereto, in which case they shall enter into force as
modified. In case the secretary does not assent to such suggested
modification, the matter must be referred to arbitration, as provided by
the factory act of 1891, and the decision obtained in this way is final.
FOREIGN LABOR, LAWS.
799
In the arbitration proceedings the workmen, or any class of them, may
be represented, and their representative may appear in person, or by
counsel, solicitor, or agent. When the workmen avail themselves of
this privilege they may be required to furnish security for the extra
cost that this participation may entail, and their representative will be
liable for costs as if he were a party to the arbitration.
Where special rules have been established for any factory or work
shop, as above described, any person failing to comply with any obli
gation placed upon him by these rules is liable on summary conviction
to a line not exceeding £2 ($9.73); and the occupier when at fault shall
be liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than £10 ($48.67),
unless he can prove that he had taken all reasonable means for pre
venting the contravention of the rules. When special rules have been
established for any factory or workshop their amendment or replace
ment by other rules can be proposed by either the secretary of state or
the occupier, in which case the provisions of the law apply im such new
or amended rules the same as to the original rules.
Printed copies, in legible characters, of all special rules in force must
be kept conspicuously posted in the factories and workshops, where
they can be conveniently read by the persons employed, and a printed
copy must be given by the occupier to any person affected by them
upon his application. Noncompliance with this provision renders the
occupier liable to a fine not exceeding £10 ($48.67). A fine of £5
($24.33) is provided for any person tearing down or defacing any copies
of special rules when posted.
In accordance with the foregoing provisions, the secretary of state
has established special regulations for a considerable number of manu
facturing industries, among which may be mentioned the manufacture
of white lead, paints and colors, lucifer matches, explosives, lead smelt
ing, chemical works, the extraction of arsenic, etc.
The conditions surrounding the manufacture of white lead are so
unusually dangerous to health, that it was deemed necessary to enact
special regulations applicable to this industry. The act of 1883, there
fore, declared that no place wherein white lead was manufactured could
be operated after December 31,1883, unless it was provided with a cer
tificate from an inspector of factories that it had complied with all the
conditions set forth in the act. It is unnecessary to specify these con
ditions, as they were afterwards included in and supplemented by rules
issued by the secretary of state in accordance with the power given to
him by the act of 1891 to make rules for the regulation of any class of
dangerous occupations. The certificate can not be granted by an
inspector until he has made an examination of the factory, and it can
be revoked at any time if the inspector finds that the factory is not
kept in conformity with the rules promulgated or the provisions of law.
The penalty for operating a white lead factory in contravention of the
law is a fine not exceeding £2 ($9.73) for each day during such infraction.
800
BULLETIN OF TH g DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
EM PLOYM ENT
OP W O M E N , Y O U N G
PER SONS, A N D
C H IL D R E N .
The most important feature of the theory upon which the factory acts
are framed is that, as regards the conditions of employment, adult
male labor is subjected to no regulations except in the case of dangerous
occupations, for which special rules can be made under the act of 1891.
This class, it is held, is competent to look after its own welfare. With
women, young persons, and children, however, the conditions are quite
different. Their economic dependence and natural weakness is such
that the intervention of the state on their behalf is held to be fully
justified. It is important, therefore, to bear in mind that the numerous
regulations concerning hours of labor and times of employment as given
in the sections following in no case relate to adult male labor, but only
to women and minors.
Throughout the laws relating to factories and workshops the division
of the protected class into children, young persons, and women is
always maintained, and the conditions of the employment of each are
usually different. A “ child?? is a person under the age of 14 years.
As the employment of children under 11 years of age in a factory or
workshop is prohibited, u child?? as used in the acts refers to a person
11 years of age but under 14 years of age. A u young person?? is one
14 years of age and under 18 years, and a u woman’7is a female 18
years of age or over.
As regards these three classes the factory acts specify in great detail
the conditions of their employment, their hours of labor, intervals of
rest or meal hours, their employment at night and on Sundays and holi
days, overtime work, education, etc. These conditions vary more or
less for each of the different classes of persons and also for each of the
different categories of factories and workshops. In the paragraphs
following the attempt is made to show in a methodical way these
conditions, the exact language of the acts being followed wherever
practicable.
R e s t r i c t i o n s o n E m p l o y m e n t (a ).— No child under 11 years of
age shall be employed in a factory or workshop. In a factory no child
or young person under the age of 16 years shall be employed for more
than 7, or if the certifying surgeon resides more than 3 miles from the
factory 13, workdays, unless the occupier of the factory has obtained a
certificate that the child is fit for employment. This certificate must
a In addition to the restrictions given, the prevention of cruelty to, and protec
tion of, children act, 1889 (52 and 53 Viet., c. 44), makes it an offense punishable
by a fine o f not more than £25 ($121.66) or imprisonment for not more than three
months for any person to cause or procure u any child under the age o f 10 years to
be at any time in any street, or in any premises licensed for the sale o f intoxicating
liquors, or in premises licensed according to law for public entertainments, or in
any circus or other'place o f public amusement to which the public are admitted by
payment, for the purpose of singing, playing, or performing for profit or offering
anything for sale.” Exemption from this provision, however, can be granted in
cases where the authorities are satisfied that the child will suffer no harm.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
801
be furnished by the certifying surgeon of the district, the appointment
of whom is provided for by the act, and must show that the surgeon is
satisfied, by the production of a certificate of birth or other sufficient
evidence, that the person named in the certificate is of the age specified
therein and has been personally examined by him and found not to be
incapacitated by disease or bodily infirmity for working daily for the
time allowed by law in the factory named in the certificate. Where an
inspector is of the opinion that a child or young person under the age
of 16 years is by disease or bodily infirmity incapacitated for working
daily for the time allowed by the law in the factory or workshop in
which the person is employed, he may serve a written notice thereof on
the employer, requiring the discontinuance of the employment of such
person within from 1 to 7 days after the service of the notice, and the
person can not thereafter be employed until another certificate from
the certifying surgeon of the district has been obtained, showing that
the person is fit for work.
It will be noticed that a certificate of fitness is required as a condition
precedent to employment only in the case of factories. The power of
inspectors to require the employment of such young persons under the
age of 16 years as appear to be unfit to work to be discontinued until
they can secure a certificate of fitness from the certifying surgeon,
applies, however, to both factories and workshops. The law, therefore,
permits occupiers of the latter voluntarily to obtain certificates of fitness
from all his employees under 16 years of age, the same as if his estab
lishment were a factory. Furthermore, the law authorizes the 'secre
tary of state, whenever he deems it expedient for protecting the health
of employees under 16 years of age, to make it obligatory upon occupiers
of those workshops to obtain certificates the same as is required in the
case of factories.
If in any certificate it is shown that the proof of the age of the child
or young person is other than a certificate of birth, and the inspector
has cause to believe that the real age is less than appears in the cer
tificate, he can annul the surgeon’s certificate. All certificates must
be shown to the inspector whenever required. When a child reaches
the age of 14 years, and thereby becomes a young person, a fresh cer
tificate must be obtained of his fitness for employment under the new
conditions.
In addition to the requirements concerning age and certificates of
physical fitness, the employment of children is still further restricted
by requirements concerning the education of the candidates for em
ployment. These requirements are contained partly in the elementary
education acts and partly in the factory acts.
According to the education acts a child under 13 years of age shall
not be employed in a factory, workshop, or elsewhere before he has
reached the standard of education fixed by the local by-laws for total
or partial exemption from attending school. A child under 13 years
of age who has fulfilled these conditions, and a child between 13 and
802
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
14 years of age who has not received a certificate of proficiency at at
certified efficient school, as described in the succeeding paragraph,
and is employed in a factory or workshop under the factory acts,
must continue to attend a school of recognized efficiency as follows:
(1) If employed according to the morning or afternoon set system, one
attendance each workday; (2) if employed on the alternate-day system,
on each workday preceding day of employment, two attendances;
(3) the attendance must be between the hours of 8 a. m. and 6 p. m.,
and be such as is defined as an attendance by the secretary of state
with the consent of the education department; (4) on Saturdays, holi
days, and half holidays attendance at school is not required; (5) unless
a child is absent on account of illness, properly certified, or the school
is temporarily closed for holidays or other reasons, any deficiency in
attendance must be made up in the next succeeding week before the
child may be employed.
A child between 13 and 14 years of age may be exempt from the
requirement of school attendance as above described if he has obtained
a certificate of proficiency or of previous attendance at a u certified
efficient school.” The standard of proficiency must be in reading,
writing, and arithmetic as fixed by the secretary of state with the con
sent of the education department. The standard of previous attend
ance is 250 attendances a year for 5 years in not more than two schools
in each year, after the scholar has reached the age of 5 years. The
regulations for Scotland and Ireland are somewhat, but not materially,
different. A child who has received a certificate as above described is
deemed to be a “ young person” for all purposes of the factory acts.
The obligation of seeing that children employed in factories and
workshox)S attend school, as required by the factory acts, primarily
falls upon the parents or guardians, and they are liable to punishment
in case of its nonobservance. It is also the duty of the occupier of the
factory or workshop in which the children are employed to see that the
requirements of the law have been complied with. He must thus on
Monday in every week, or on some other day appointed by the inspect
or, obtain from the teachers of the schools attended by the children
certificates respecting the attendance of the children in accordance
with the factory acts, and no child shall be employed without a certifi
cate in due form. Further, the school board or other authority who
manage the schools attended by the children may apply to the occu
pier of the factory or workshop for a weekly payment of not over 3d.
(6 cents) per child and not over one-twelfth of the child’s weekly wages,
which sum may be deducted from the wages as a school fee.
The employment of children and young persons is prohibited in any
part of a factory or workshop in which there is carried on the process
of silvering mirrors by the mercurial process, or the making of white
lead. A child or female young person shall not be employed in any
part of a factory in which the process of melting or annealing glass is
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
803
carried on. A girl under the age of 16 years shall not be employed in
a factory or workshop where the making or finishing of brick or tiles,
other than ornamental tiles, or the making or finishing of salt is car
ried on. A child shall not be employed in the part of a factory or work
shop in which any dry grinding in the metal trade or the dipping of
lucifer matches is carried on. A child, young person, or woman shall
not be employed in any part of a factory in which wet-spinning is car
ried on unless sufficient means be employed and continued for protect
ing the workers from being wetted, and where hot water is qsed for
preventing the escape of steam into the room occupied by the workers.
An occupier of a factory or workshop shall not knowingly allow a
woman to be employed therein within four weeks after she has given
birth to a child.
No child shall be employed inside and outside a factory or workshop
on the same day in the business of the factory or workshop except
during the recognized period of employment. No young person or
woman shall be employed outside a factory or workshop except during
the recognized period of employment on any day during which the
young person or woman is employed in the factory or workshop both
before and after the dinner hour.
For the purposes of the above section a person is deemed to be
employed outside the factory or workshop on the day on which work
is given to him and taken out by him to be done outside. If a young
person or woman is employed by the same employer on the same day
both in a factory or workshop and in a store, the whole period of employ
ment of that person shall not exceed the number of hours permitted
by the factory acts for his or her employment in the factory or workshop.
The secretary of state can, when it is proved to his satisfaction that
the customs or exigencies of the trade carried on in any class of fac
tories or workshops, or parks thereof, either generally or situate in any
particular locality, require that such trade should be exempted from
the operation of these provisions relating to inside and outside employ
ment, grant by order such special exemption as may be necessary.
H o u r s o f L a b o r o f C h i l d r e n in T e x t i l e F a c t o r i e s (a ).— With
respect to the hours of employment of children in textile factories the
following regulations are provided:
1. Children must be employed either upon the half-day system—that
is, in morning or afternoon sets—or on alternate days.
2. The period of employment for a child in a morning set shall, except
on Saturday, begin at 6 a. m. or 7 a. m. and end at 1 o’clock in the after
noon, or, if the dinner time begins before 1 o’clock, at the beginning of
the dinner time.
a For the purpose of fixing the hours of labor and times allowed for meals for chil
dren, young persons, and women, print works and bleaching and dyeing works are
considered as if they were textile factories, save that nothing in this provision shall
prevent the continuous employment of such persons, without an interval of half an
hour for a meal, for the period allowed by the law in the case of nontextile factories.
804
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
3. In an afternoon set work shall, except on Saturday, begin at 1 p. m.,
or at the end of the dinner hour if after 1 p. m. If, however, the din
ner hour does not begin before 2 p. m. the afternoon set may begin at
noon, in which case the morning set must end at noon. The afternoon
set must end at 6 p. m. or 7 p. m., according to whether work in the
morning set began at 6 a. m. or 7 a. m.
4. On Saturday work must begin either (1) at 6 a. m. and end at 12.30
p. m. in the case of manufacturing processes and 1 p. m. for other pur
poses, or, if not less than one hour is allowed for meals, at 1 p. m. in
manufacturing processes and at 1.30 p. m. for other purposes; or (2) it
may begin at 7 a. m., in which case it must end at 1.30 p. m. in manu
facturing processes and at 2 p. m. for other purposes, with at least onehalf an hour for meals.
5. In no case shall a child be employed in two successive periods of
7 days in a morning set, nor in two successive periods of 7 days in an
afternoon set, nor on two successive Saturdays, nor on Saturday in any
week if on any other day in the same week the period of employment
has exceeded 5J hours.
6. When a child is employed on the alternate-day system the period
of employment for such child and the time allowed for meals must be
the same as if the child were a young person, but the child shall not be
employed on two successive days, and must not be employed on the
same day of the week in two successive weeks. Under either system a
child must not be employed continuously for any longer period than he
could be if he were a young person, without an interval of at least half
an hour for a meal.
H o u r s o f L a b o r o f C h i l d r e n in N o n t e x t i l e F a c t o r i e s a n d
W o r k s h o p s .—In nontextile factories and workshops the following
regulations are provided with respect to the hours of labor of children:
1. Children must be employed according to the system of morning
and afternoon sets, except in the case of a factory or workshop in which
not less than two hours are allowed for meals on every day except
Saturday, where the system of employment on alternate days may be
followed.
2. The morning set must begin at 6, 7, or 8 a. m. and end at 1 p. m.,
or, if the dinner time begins before 1 o’clock, at the beginning of the
dinner time.
3. The afternoon set must begin at 1 p. m. or at the end of the dinner
time if after 12.30 p. m. If the dinner hour does not begin before 2
p. m., the afternoon set may begin at noon, in which case the morning
set must end at noon. The afternoon set* must end at 6, 7, or 8 p. m.,
according as work began in the morning at 6, 7, or 8 o’clock.
4. On Saturday the period for a morning or an afternoon set is the
same as on other days, except that the afternoon set must end at 2
p. m., or if the period on other days ends at 8 p. m., then at 4 p. m.
5. A child must not be employed in two successive periods of 7 days
in a morning set, nor in two successive periods of 7 days in an after
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
805
noon set, nor on Saturday in any week in the same set in which he has
been employed on any other day of the same week.
6. When a child is employed on the alternate-day system, work must
begin at 6, 7, or 8 a. m. and end at 6, 7, or 8 p. in., except on Saturday,
when work shall end at 2 p. m., or at 4 p. m. when work begins at 8
a. m. During this work period not less than 2 hours must be allowed
the child for meals except on Saturday, when half an hour will suffice.
In no case shall the child be employed on two successive days nor on
the same day in two successive weeks.
7. Under either system a child must not be employed for more than
5 hours without an interval of at least half an hour for a meal.
H ours of L a b o r
of
Ch il d r e n
in
D o m e s t ic W o r k s h o p s .—
The foregoing provisions apply only to ordinary workshops. In domes
tic workshops the following regulations prevail as to the hours of labor
of children:
1. Children must work according to the morning and afternoon sets
system, the alternate-day system not being permitted. The work period
in this case is from 6 a. m. to 1 p. m., or from 1 p. m. to 8 p. m., or on
Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4 o’clock.
2. A child must not be employed before the hour of 1 p. m. in two
successive periods of 7 days, nor after that hour in two successive
periods of 7 days, nor can a child be employed on Saturday before that
hour if on any other day in the same week he has been employed before
that hour, nor after that hour if on any other day of the same week he
has been employed after that hour.
3. A child shall not be employed continuously for more than 5 hours
without an interval of at least half an hour for a meal.
H o u r s o f L a b o r o f W o m e n a n d Y o u n g P e r s o n s in T e x t i l e
F a c t o r i e s .—In textile factories the work period for women and young
persons, except on Saturday, shall be from 6 a. m. to Gp. m., or 7 a. m. to
7 p. m., with not less than 2 hours, of which at least one must be before
3 p. m., for meals. On Saturday the work period must either (1) begin
at 6 a. m. and end at 12.30 p. m. for manufacturing processes or 1 p. m.
for other purposes, or if not less than one hour is allowed for meals,
1 p. m. for manufacturing processes and 1.30 p. m. for other purposes}
or (2) begin at 7 a. m. and end at 1.30 p. m. for manufacturing pro
cesses and 2 p. m. for other purposes. In either case not less than half
an hour must be allowed for meals. In no case shall a woman or young
person be employed continuously for more than 4J hours without an
interval of half an hour for a meal, (a)
H ours
t e x t il e
o f L a b o r o f W o m e n , a n d Y o u n g P e r s o n s in N o n ^
F a c t o r i e s a n d W o r k s h o p s .— In nontextile factories and
workshops where women and young persons are employed the work
aln certain classes of textile factories specified by the act, the list of which can
be extended by the secretary of state, children, young persons, and women can be
employed continuously for 5 hours without an interval of at least half an hour for a
meal, the same as if the factories were nontextile factories.
806
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
period, except on Saturday, must be from 6 a. m. to 6 p. m., or 7 a. m. to
7 p. m., or 8 a. m. to 8 p. m., with at least one and one-half hours, of
which one hour must be before 3 p. m., for meals. On Saturday the
work period must be from 6 a. m. to 2 p. m., or 7 a. m. to 3 p. m., or 8 a. m.
to 4 p. m., with at least half an hour for meals. The work period on
Saturday may, however, be from 6 a. m. to 4 p. m., provided not less than
2 hours are allowed for meals, and the women and young persons so
employed are not employed for more than 8 hours on any day in the
week, and notice of such nonemployment has been affixed in the factory
or workshop and served on the inspector. In no case shall a young
person or woman be employed in a nontextile factory or workshop for
more than 5 hours continuously without an interval of at least half an
hour for a meal.
H o u r s o f L ^ b o r o f W o m e n in W o r k s h o p s w h e r e C h i l d r e n
Y o u n g P e r s o n s a r e n o t E m p l o y e d .— In a workshop which is
and
conducted on the system of not employing children or young persons,
and the occupier has notified an inspector of his intention to conduct
his shop on that system, the period of employment for a woman shall,
except on Saturday, be a specified period of 12 hours between 6 a. m.
and 10 p. m., with a specified interval of not less than one and one-half
hours for meals and absence from work. On Saturday the specified
period must be for not more than 8 hours between 6 a. m. and 4 p. m.,
with a specified period, of not less than half an hour for meals and
absence. (a)
H o u r s o f L a b o r o f W o m e n a n d Y o u n g P e r s o n s in D o m e s t ic
W o r k s h o p s .— In domestic workshops there are no restrictions with
regard to the employment of women. The period of employment for
young persons therein must, with the exception of Saturday, be between
the hours of 6 a. m. and 9 p. m., with not less than 4£ hours for meals,
and on Saturday be between 6 a. m. and 4 p. m., with not less than
2£ hours for meals.
E x c e p t io n s to
G e n e r a l E e g u l a t i o n s C o n c e r n in g E m p l o y
m e n t .—In
the foregoing sections there have been stated the general
regulations limiting the hours of labor of women, young persons, and
children, and requiring the allowance of certain intervals for meals
and rest. To these regulations the’law allows certain exceptions, per
taining to overtime and alteration of hours of labor, which will now be
noted.
The most important exceptions to the regulations restricting the
hours of labor of women, young persons, and children are those per
mitting overtime work in certain cases. Children are not permitted to
work overtime except in the case that in certain nontextile factories
and workshops—the list of which the secretary of state has the power
a The regulations of the factory acts with respect to the employment o f women do
not apply to flax scutch mills which are conducted on the system o f not employing
either children or young persons, and which are worked intermittently and for periods
only which do not exceed in the aggregate 6 months in any year.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
807
to extend—when it is necessary to complete an incomplete process a
child may be allowed to work an extra half hour at the end of the day,
provided that this extra time added to the total number of hours of
the periods of employment of the child in that week does not raise
that total above the number of hours allowed under the law.
Overtime employment of young persons is allowed in three cases
only: (1) In the case above noted, when children can be employed an
extra half hour, the conditions of which apply to young persons also.
(2) When it appears to the secretary of state that factories driven by
water power are liable to be stopped by drought or flood, he may grant
to them a special permission allowing the employment of young per
sons from 6 a. m. to 7 p. m. He can attach to this permission such
conditions as he deems proper, but no person shall be deprived of the
meal hours allowed by the act nor be so employed on Saturday. When
drought is apprehended the special exception shall not be for more
than 96 days and in the case of foods shall not be for more than 48
days in any year. In no case shall this overtime be for a longer period
than was lost during the preceding 12 months. (3) When there is
danger of damage from spontaneous combustion in the process of
Turkey-red dyeing, or from any extraordinary atmospheric influence in
open-air bleaching, a young person may be employed overtime to pre
vent the damage.
The overtime employment of women is permitted in all three cases in
which young persons may be so employed, and under the same condi
tions and, in addition, in the following cases: (1) In certain specified
nontextile factories, workshops, and warehouses—the list of which the
secretary of state has the power to extend—when either the materials
are liable to be spoiled by the weather, or there is a press of work at
certain seasons, or there is a sudden press of orders from unforeseen
causes. In these cases women may be employed either from 6 a. m. to
8 p. m., or 7 a. m. to 9 p. m., or 8 a. m. to 10 p. m., provided 2 hours, of
which half an hour must be after 5 p. m., are allowed for meals. In no
case, however, can a woman be employed overtime under this provision
for more than 3 days in a week or more than 30 days in a year. This
exception can only be availed of after permission has been obtained
from the secretary of state. (2) In certain specified non textile facto
ries and workshops—the list of which the secretary of state has the
power to extend—in which the articles or materials dealt with are of a
perishable nature, women may be employed from 6 a. m to 8 p. m., or
from 7 a. m. to 9 p. m., provided 2 hours, of which half an hour must
be after 5 p. m., are allowed for meals. In these cases a woman can
not be employed overtime more than 5 days in any one week nor for
more than 60 days in a year. Permission for such overtime work must
be obtained from the secretary of state as in the preceding case.
Overtime work on Saturday is in no case permitted for either women,
young persons, or children.
The law, as has been shown, not only fixes the duration of labor of
808
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
women, young persons, and children, but the hours between which
such labor must be performed. As in many cases hardships and incon
veniences would result if these regulations were inflexibly adhered to,
provision is made whereby these hours can in certain cases be changed.
It is important to note that these alterations in working hours are
always made under such conditions that the total length of the period
wbrked is in no case increased. The changes permitted are different
for each of the three protected classes.
The secretary of state can, where he deems the exigencies of the case
warrant it, and where the health of the children will not be endangered
thereby, grant permission by special order to any class of nontextile
factories and workshops in any particular locality for the period of
employment for young persons and women to begin at 9 a. m. and end
at 9 p. m. on any day except Saturday, and in such case the period of
employment for a child in a morning set shall begin at 9 a. m., and for
an afternoon set shall end at 8 p. m.
The cases in which a change of hours of young persons may be per
mitted are three, as follows: (1) The case noted in the preceding para
graph when, in the nontextile factories and workshops mentioned in
the order of the secretary of state, the work period may be from 9
a. m. to 9 p. m. (2) In the process of Turkey-red dyeing Saturday
employment may be till 4.30 p. m., if the additional hours have already
been deducted on some day or days in the same week. (3) Male young
persons over 16 years of age may be employed in that part of a textile
factory in which a machine for the manufacture of lace is moved by
steam, water, or other mechanical power between the hours of 4 a. m.
and 10 p. m., provided that during this period they are allowed not less
than 9 hours for absence from work and meals, and are not employed
both before and after the ordinary work period on the same day, nor
after the ordinary period on one day and before it on the next. In
addition to the above, changes in the periods for night work are per
mitted. These, however, will be considered in connection with the
regulations concerning night work.
Changes in the work period for women are the same, and under the
same conditions, as the first two cases mentioned under young persons.
In all cases of exceptional employment of any child, young person,
or woman, either for a longer period than is otherwise allowed by law,
or at night, where it appears to the secretary of state that special means
or provisions should be made for the cleanliness or ventilation of the
factory or workshop in order to protect the health of those classes, he
can make the adoption of these special means or provisions a condition
precedent to such exceptional employment.
When a child, young person, or woman is employed in a factory or
workshop contrary to the provisions of the factory acts, the occupier is
liable to a fine not exceeding £3 ($14.60), or if the offense was com
mitted during the night, £5 ($24.33), for each child, young person, or
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
809
woman so employed. In the ease of domestic workshops the fine is not
exceeding £1 ($4.87), or if the offense was committed during the night,
£2 ($9.73), for each person so employed. Where a child or young person
is so employed contrary to the provisions of the factory acts, the parent
is liable to a fine not exceeding £1 ($4.87) for each offense, unless it
appears to the court that such offense was committed without the con
sent, connivance, or willful default of the parent. The parent is also
liable to a similar fine when he neglects to cause such child to attend
school in accordance with the provisions of the factory acts.
SUNDAY
AND
H O L ID A Y LABO R.
The factory acts contain no provision regulating the work of male
adults on Sunday. Their provisions on this subject relate only to chil
dren, young persons, and women, in which all Sunday work is prohib
ited in factories and workshops except in certain* cases of night work,
(which will be considered when that subject is treated) and when both
employers and employees are of the Jewish religion. The conditions
of the latter exception are as follows:
Where the occupier of a factory or workshop is a person of the Jewish
religion he may (1) employ young persons and women on Saturday from
after sunset until 9 p. m., if he keeps his establishment closed on that
day until sunset; or (2) employ young persons and women an hour on
every day in the week except Saturday and Sunday in addition to the
hours allowed by the act, if he keeps his establishment closed on Sat
urday both before and after sunset, but this additional hour must not
be before 6 a. m. nor after 9 p. m.; or (3) when he does not avail himself of
either of the two preceding exceptions, and his establishment is closed
on Saturday and not open for traffic on Sunday, he may employ young
persons and women of the Jewish religion on Sunday. When the
occupier avails himself of this third exception, the factory acts apply
to his establishment the same as if the word Saturday were substitu
ted for Sunday in the provisions respecting Sunday, and the word Sun
day or Friday, as the occupier may elect, were substituted for Saturday
in the provisions respecting Saturday.
The factory acts make the following provisions concerning the
granting of holidays to children, young persons, and women employed
in factories and workshops: In addition to Sunday and Saturday
afternoons, all children, young persons, and women employed in a
factory or workshop (save as specially excepted in the act and other
than a domestic workshop) must be allowed at least 6 additional
holidays. For England and Wales these holidays are Christmas, Good
Friday, and the four bank holidays; but for any of these holidays
except Christmas day another holiday or two half holidays maybe sub
stituted, if notice of the substitution is posted in the premises during
the first week in January and a copy sent to the inspector. If such a
change has been made a further change may be made on 14 days’
64—No. 25-----4
810
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
similar notice. A t least half of the holidays must be between March
15 and October 1 of each year. In Scotland and Ireland the regula
tions are somewhat different.
A Jewish occupier may also, if all the children, young persons, and
women in his employment are of the Jewish religion, substitute two
bank holidays for Christmas day and Good Friday; but if he does so, he
must not keep his factory or workshop open for traffic on Christmas day
or Good Friday.
Except in a small number of classes of factories and workshops in
which the secretary of state can authorize the giving of different holi
days to different persons or classes of persons, all children, young per
sons, and women in the same establishment must have the same
holidays. The secretary of state can also, where he deems the exi
gencies of the trade carried on in any class of nontextile factories or
workshops necessitate it, require some other day in the week to be
substituted for Saturday as regards the hour at which the period of
employment for children, young persons, and women shall terminate.
N IG H T W O R K .
As in the case of Sunday work, no restrictions are placed upon the
labor of male adults at night. The employment of women and chil
dren at night, except in the cases of overtime work elsewhere men
tioned, is absolutely prohibited. The same is true of female young
persons. Male young persons, however, may be employed at night in
the following cases:
1. In any process incidental to the business of blast furnaces, iron
mills, letterpress printing works, and paper mills, male young persons
of 14 years of age or upward maybe employed at night between the
hours of 9 p. m. and 6 a. m., provided (1) that the period of employment
shall not exceed 12 consecutive hours, which shall be specified in a
notice, and the meal hours must be similar to those required for day
workers; (2) that anyone employed during any part of the night shall
not be employed during any part of the 12 hours preceding or succeed
ing the period of employment; (3) that the same person shall not be
employed on more than 6 nights, or in the case of blast furnaces or
paper mills 7 nights, in any two weeks. Young persons to whom this
section applies may, however, be employed in three shifts of 8 hours
each, provided that there is an interval of two unemployed shifts be
tween each two shifts of employment. Also,the provisions of the factory
acts with respect to the period of employment on Saturday, and the
allowance to young persons of 8 half holidays in every year or of whole
holidays in lieu of them, do not apply to male young persons of 14
years of age or over employed in day and night turns in pursuance of
this section.
2. Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the secretary of state
that in any class of nontextile factories or workshops it is necessary,
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
811
by reason of the nature of the business requiring the process to be car
ried on throughout the night, to employ male young persons of 16 years
of age or upward at night, and that such employment will not injure
thehealth of the young persons, he may by order extend this exception
to such factories or workshops so far as regards young persons 16 years
of age or upward. In pursuance of this power, the secretary of state
has extended the exception to a number of industries.
3. In a factory or workshop in which the process of printing news
papers is carried on not more than 2 nights in a week, a male young
person, 16 years of age or upward, may be employed at night as if he
were an adult, but he can not be employed more than 12 hours con
secutively.
4. In glass works male young persons of 14 years of age or upward
may work according to the accustomed hours of the works, on the fol
lowing conditions, namely: (1) That the total number of hours of the
periods of employment do not exceed 60 in any one week; (2) that the
periods of employment of such young persons shall not exceed 14 hours
in 4 separate turns per week, or 12 hours in 5 separate turns per week,
or 10 hours in 6 separate turns per week, or any less number of hours in
the accustomed number of separate turns per week, so that such number
of turns do not exceed 9 per week; (3) that such young persons shall
not work in any turn without an interval of time not less than one full
turn; and (4) that such young persons shall not be employed continu
ously for more than 5 hours without an interval of at least half an hour
for a meal.
M E A L HOURS.
The general requirements concerning the intervals of rest to be
allowed children, young persons, and women for meals have been given
in connection with those specifying their periods of employment. There
are, however, a number of other requirements concerning this subject
that should be enumerated. With the exception of certain cases speci
fied in the act of 1878, all children, young persons, and women employed
in factories and workshops must have the time allowed for meals at
the same hour of the day, and none of these three classes shall be
employed or be allowed to remain in a room in which a manufacturing
process is being carried on during any part of the time allowed for
meals.
The exceptions above alluded to are—in the case of mealtimes
being at the same hour for all classes—blast furnaces, iron mills, paper
mills, glass works, letterpress printing works, and, in the case of male
young persons, that part of any print works or bleaching and dyeing
works in which the process of dyeing or open-air bleaching is carried
on. The exceptions to the prohibition of any of the protected classes
being in a room where a manufacturing process or handicraft is being
carried on during the meal hours are iron mills, paper mills, glass works
in some cases, letterpress printing works, and in the case of male young
812
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
persons, that part of any print works or bleaching and dyeing works
in which the process of dyeing or open-air bleaching is carried on to a
certain extent.
The above provisions do not apply to places where persons are
employed at home, but which by reason of the work there carried on
are factories or workshops within the meaning of the law, and in which
neither steam, water, nor other mechanical power is used, and in which
the only persons employed are members of the family dwelling there.
The secretary of state has the right to add to the list of excepted
industries those factories or workshops where it is proved to his satis
faction that by reason of the continuous nature of the process or other
special circumstances such action should be taken, and that such excep
tion can be made without injury to the health of the children, young
persons, or women. In pursuance of this power the secretary of state
has authorized a number of exceptions. The law also enumerates a
number of places the list of which can and has been added to by the
secretary of state, in which children, young persons, and women shall
not be allowed to take their meals, whether a manufacturing operation
is in progress or not. These places are in general those where dust,
injurious chemicals, gases, etc., are used or generated.
BAKEH OUSES.
A bakehouse is defined to be “ any place in which are baked bread,
biscuits, or confectionery, from the baking or selling of which a profit
is derived.” A bakehouse as thus defined is ranked as a nontextile
factory if mechanical power is employed, and if not, it ranks as a
workshop. It is thus subject to the general regulations concerning
factories and workshops as heretofore given.
The factory acts also apply to bakeries, which are workshops even
when they do not employ children, young persons, or women, although
workshops generally which do not employ any of these classes do not
come under the provisions of the factory acts.
Chiefly on the ground of protecting the public health the factory acts
contain regulations relating specially to bakeries. A statement of
these special conditions follows:
No place under ground shall be used as a bakehouse unless it was so
used at the commencement of the act of 1895.
No room or place shall be used as a bakehouse unless the following
conditions are complied with: (1) No water closet, earth closet, privy,
or ash pit shall be within or communicate directly with the bakehouse;
(2) any cistern for supplying water to the bakehouse shall be separate
and distinct from any cistern for supplying water to a water-closet;
(3) no drain or pipe for carrying off fecal or sewage matter shall have
an opening within the bakehouse. A fine not exceeding 40s. ($9.73) is
provided for any contravention of these regulations, and a further fine
of 5s. ($1.22) per day during continuance of such illegal act.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
813
In all bakehouses the inside walls of the rooms and the ceilings or
tops of such rooms and all passages and staircases must be either
painted with oil or varnish or be lime washed. When painted with
oil or varnish there must be three coats of oil or varnish, which must
be renewed at least once in every 7 years and washed with hot water
and soap once at least in every 6 months. When lime wTashed, the
lime washing must be renewed once at least every C months. A place
on the same level with a bakehouse and forming part of the same
building must not be used as a sleeping room unless it is effectually
separated from the bakehouse by a partition extending from the floor
to the ceiling, and there is in the room an external glazed window of
at least 9 superficial feet area, of which at least 4^ superficial feet are
made to open for ventilation.
When a court of summary jurisdiction is satisfied that a place used
as a bakehouse is unfit on sanitary grounds to be so used, the occupier
is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £2 ($9.73).
Instead of or in addition to imposing a fine the court may order the
occupier to remove the ground of complaint under penalty of a fine
not exceeding £1 ($4.87) per day during noncompliance.
In respect to retail bakehouses, that is, such as are not factory
bakehouses, and in which the bread, biscuits, or confectionery baked
is not sold at wholesale, but at retail in some shop or place occupied
together with such bakehouse, the regulations regarding cleanliness,
ventilation, overcrowding, and other sanitary conditions are enforced
by the local sanitary authorities instead of by the inspectors of
factories.
To the general regulations regarding the employment of children,
young persons, and women in factories and workshops, which, as has
been stated, apply equally to bakehouses, the following three excep
tions are permitted: (1) A male young person above the age of 16 years
can be employed in the part of a bakehouse in which the process of
bread baking is carried on between 5 a. m. and 9 p. m., provided (a)
where he is employed before the beginning or after the end of the
ordinary period of employment allowed for young persons under 16
years of age, there is allowed him between the above-mentioned hours
for meals and absence from work not less than 7 hours, and (b) that, if
employed before the beginning of the ordinary period of employment,
he shall not be employed after the end of that period on the same day,
and if employed after the end of the ordinary period of employment,
he shall not be employed next morning before the beginning of the
ordinary period of employment. (2) Women may be employed overtime
in biscuit making under the same conditions where overtime is per
mitted in factories or workshops on account of the danger that materials
may be spoiled by the weather or an unusual press of orders at certain
seasons or from unseen causes. (3) Children, young persons, and
women may be employed an extra half hour at the end of the day
814
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
for the purpose of completing a process that is unfinished at the end
of the day, as described above (page 806), in the section relating to
overtime work of children in factories.
Those provisions of the factory acts which require that children,
young persons, and women shall have their mealtimes at the same
hour and not be employed or allowed to remain in rooms in which work
is being done during such mealtimes, do not apply to bakeries which
are factories and in which bread or biscuits are made by means of
traveling ovens.
L A U N D R IE S .
Laundries were first brought under the provisions of the factory acts
in 1895 through the factory act of that year. Contrary to the policy
pursued in the case of bakeries, instead of extending the provisions of
the factory acts to laundries a special code for their regulation was incor
porated in the act. The most important difference made by this change
is that the special regulations of the acts in respect to hours of labor and
times for meals do not apply to laundries, their place being taken by
special provisions.
Laundries, as regulated by this act, are only those which are carried
on by way of trade or for the purpose of gain. The provisions of the
act thus do not apply to laundries in which the only persons employed
are inmates of any prison, reformatory, or industrial school, or other
institution for the time being subject to inspection under any act other
than the factory acts; or inmates of any institution conducted in good
faith for religious or charitable purposes; or members of the same family
dwelling therein, or in which not more than two persons dwelling else
where are employed. For all other laundries the following conditions
are imposed by the law: (1) The period of employment, exclusive of
mealtimes and absence from work, shall not exceed 10 hours for chil
dren, 12 hours for young persons, and 14 hours for women in any con
secutive 24 hours; nor a total of 30 hours for children and 60 hours for
young persons and women in any one week, in addition to such over
time work as is permitted in the case of women in virtue of provisions
of the law given below. (2) A child, young person, or woman shall not
be employed continuously for more than 5 hours without an interval of
at least half an hour for a meal. They shall have allowed to them the
same holidays as are provided in the factory acts. (3) No child under
11 years of age, nor any woman within 4 weeks after she has given
birth to a child shall be employed in a laundry.
Women employed in laundries may work overtime under the follow
ing conditions: They must not work more than 14 hours per day nor
more than 2 hours overtime per day. Overtime work shall not be
allowed on more than 3 days in any week, nor on more than 30 days in
any year. Notice of the intention to work overtime must be served on
the inspector and affixed in the laundry in advance, and the prescribed
particulars of overtime worked must be entered in a register, reported
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
815
to the inspector, and affixed in the laundry, as in the case of factories
and workshops.
The provisions of the factory acts relating to sanitary conditions,
accidents, safety, the affixing of notices and abstracts and the matter
specified in such notices (so far as they apply to laundries), notice of
occupation, powers of inspectors, fines, and legal proceedings for any
failure to comply with the provisions, and education of children have
effect as if every laundry in which steam, water, or other mechanical
power is used were a factory, and every other laundry were a workshop.
In the case of laundries worked by steam, water, or other mechan
ical power, a fan or other means of a proper construction must be
provided, maintained, and used for regulating the temperature in every
ironing room, and for carrying away the steam in every washhouse in
the laundry. All stoves for heating irons must be sufficiently sepa
rated from any ironing room, and gas irons emitting any noxious fumes
shall not be employed. Floors must be kept in good condition, and
drained in such a manner as will allow the water to flow off freely.
The notices required to be affixed in each laundry must specify the
period of employment and the times for meals, but the period and times
so specified may be varied on any day before the beginning of work.
DOCKS AN D
B U IL D IN G O P E R A T IO N S .
The act of 1895 made certain limited portions of the factory acts
applicable to the following two classes of places in which industrial
operations are carried on: (1) Every dock, wharf, quay, and warehouse,
and, so far as relates to the process of loading or unloading therefrom
or thereto, all machinery and plant used in that processj and (2) any
premises on which machinery worked by steam, water, or other mechan
ical power is temporarily used for the purpose of the construction of
a building or any structural work in connection with a building. In
respect to these sections these two classes of premises are considered
as if they were included in the word factory and as if the purposes for
which the machinery is used were a manufacturing process.
The provisions of the factory acts referred to as applicable are those
(1) providing for penal compensation for persons killed or injured as
the result of their employers neglecting to take such precautions to
avoid accidents as are required by the acts, (2) specifying the powers
of factory inspectors, (3) providing special rules for the regulation of
dangerous occupations, and (4) relating to the power to make special
orders as to the use of dangerous machines. The provisions of the acts
which relate to notices and formal investigation of accidents also apply
in the same manner to (1) any building which exceeds 30 feet in height
and which is being constructed or repaired by means of scaffolding,
and (2) any building which exceeds 30 feet in height and in which more
than 20 persons, not being domestic servants, are employed for wages.
In the first case the person liable is the employer and in the second
the occupier of the building.
816
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
T E N E M E N T F A C T O R IE S .
Where mechanical power is supplied to different parts of the same
building (by which is meant all buildings situate within the same close
or curtilage) occupied by different persons for the purpose of any manu
facturing process or handicraft, in such a manner that those parts con
stitute in law separate factories, it was found necessary to make a change
in a number o f respects in the way in which the factory laws apply to
the conditions o f work there carried on.
Places of this description are designated “ tenement factories,” and
in their use the owner (u), except in the case of any occupier paying a
rent in excess of £200 ($973.30) a year, in which case the provisions do
not apply, is liable, instead of the occupier, for the observance and
punishable for the nonobservance of those provisions of the factory
acts which relate to (1) the keeping of factories in a sanitary condition,
their proper ventilation, and the avoidance of overcrowding; (2) the
fencing of machinery, except so far as concerns those parts as are sup
plied by the occupier; (3) the affixing of notices specifying the periods
of employment and meal hours, and the mode of employment of chil
dren, except that when different industries are carried on in the same
tenement factory, when this obligation falls upon the occupiers; (4) the
lime washing and washing of the interior so far as it relates to any
engine room, passage, or staircase, or to any room which is let to more
than one tenant; (5) the supplying of pipes or other contrivances nec
essary for working the fan or means used for removing dust, except in
textile factories; and (6) the affixing of an abstract of the factory acts
and notices.
In the making of special orders for the regulation of dangerous
employments, the secretary of state may substitute the owner of the
tenement factory for the occupier. The provisions of the acts with
respect to the power to make orders in the case of dangerous premises
apply in the case of a tenement factory as if the owner were substituted
for the occupier.
Where grinding is carried on in a tenement factory, the owner of the
factory is responsible for the observance of various special regulations
contained in the act of 1895 concerning the fencing of shafting and
pulleys with boards known as drum boards, the fixing of hand rails
over drums, the provision of belt guards known as Scotchmen, the con
struction of floors, the position of grindstones in factories built after the
commencement of the act of 1895, and various other provisions. In
every such tenement factory it is also the duty of the owner and of
the occupier, respectively, to see that such parts of the horsing chains
and of the hooks to which the chains are attached as are supplied by
them respectively are kept in efficient condition. Further, in every
a The owner is defined to be the person who receives the rack rent, or who would
receive it i f the building were let at a rack rent.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
817
tenement factory where grinding or cutlery is carried on, the owner of
the factory shall provide that there shall at all times be instantane
ous communication between each of the rooms in which the work is
carried on and both the engine room and the boiler house. The fore
going regulations do not apply to textile factories.
A certificate o f the fitness of any young person or child for employ
ment in a tenement factory is valid for his similar employment in any
part of the same tenement factory.
S W E A T IN G SY S T E M .
The first attempt to regulate the conditions of labor of persons em
ployed outside of factories and workshops, as defined bylaw, was made
by the factory act of 1891. The purpose of this legislation was to
remove the evils that had grown up in connection with the giving out
by factories and workshops of work to be performed outside of their
limits. It was therefore directed against what is known as the sweat
ing system.
The provision of the law relating to this question reads, in substance,
that the secretary of state can, by order, require the occupier of any
factory or workshop, including any workshop conducted on the system
of not employing any child, young person, or woman, and every con
tractor employed by any such occupier in the business of the same
to keep in a prescribed form and with the prescribed particulars, lists
showing the names of all persons directly employed by him, either as
workman or contractor, in the business of the factory or workshop, out
side the factory or workshop, and the places where they are employed;
and every such list must be open to inspection by any inspector under
the factory acts or by any officer of a sanitary authority. The failure to
comply with any of the provisions of this section renders the occupier
or contractor liable to a fine of £2 ($9.73). In pursuance of the power
given to him in the foregoing pro^vision, the secretary of state has ordered
the keeping of such lists by all occupiers and contractors engaged in
the manufacture of wearing apparel, electroplate, and files, and in cabi
net and furniture making and upholstery work.
This attempt to regulate the sweating system was further strength
ened by various provisions of the factory act of 1895. Sections of this
law provided (1) that the list of persons to whom work was given, as
provided by the act of 1891, should also be sent to the inspector of the
district in which the factory or workshop is situated on or before March
1 and September 1 in each year; (2) that anyplace from which any
work of making wearing apparel for sale is given out is, for the pur
poses of the above requirements, to be deemed to be a workshop; (3)
that if an occupier of a workshop or laundry, or of any place from
which any work is given out, or any contractor employed by any such
occupier, causes or allows wearing apparel to be made, cleaned, or
repaired in any dwelling house or building connected therewith while
818
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
any inmate of the dwelling house is suffering from scarlet fever or
smallpox, then, unless he proves that he was not aware of the exist
ence of the illness in the dwelling house, and could not reasonably
have been expected to become aware of it, he shall be liable to a fine
not exceeding £10 ($48.67); and (4) that if an inspector gives notice
in writing to the occupier of a factory or workshop, or to any con
tractor employed by any such occupier, that any place in which work
is carried on for the purpose of or in connection with the business of
the factory or workshop is injurious or dangerous to the health of the
persons employed therein, then, if the occupier or contractor after the
expiration of one month from the receipt of the notice gives out work
to be done in that place, and the place is found by the court having
cognizance of the case to be so injurious or dangerous, he shall be liable
on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £10 ($48.67).
This latter provision applies in the case of the occupier of any place
from which work is given out as if that place were a workshop. It is,
however, limited to those persons employed in the classes of work and
employed within such areas as may from time to time be specified by the
secretary of state; and no such order can be made by him except with
respect to an area where, by reason of the number and distribution of
the population or the conditions under which work is carried on, there
are special risks of injury or danger to the health of the persons
employed and of the district.
It will be observed that the provisions of the act of 1895 are of much
greater importance than those of 1891. The latter merely provided for
the keeping of lists of places where outside work was performed. The
former gives the secretary of state the power to designate classes of
work and areas within which the inspectors of factories can, as above
described, indicate to employers places dangerous to the health of the
employees and where in consequence work shall not be performed. The
inspectors of factories thus, under the law of 1895, have the power of
actively intervening and prohibiting outside work in improper places.
K E E P IN G R E G IS T E R S , P O S T IN G R E G U L A T IO N S , E T C .
In order to facilitate the enforcementof the laws, and for other reasons,
the factory acts impose upon occupiers of factories and workshops the
keeping of certain records, the posting of regulations in their establish
ments, and the notification of inspectors when certain lines of action
are contemplated.
The following are the records, or registers and lists, that must be
kept by occupiers: (1) A register in prescribed form and with the pre
scribed particulars must be kept by the occupier, showing the children
and young persons employed in every factory in which a child or young
person under the age of 16 years is for the time being prohibited from
being employed without a certificate of fitness, or in which women may
be employed overtime. The secretary of state has also the power of
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
819
requiring such registers to be kept in factories and workshops other
than those as defined above, where a large number of children or young
persons are employed. (2) A register must be kept by every occupier
of a factory or workshop of the accidents occurring therein of which
notice is required by the factory acts, that is, of those causing death
or serious bodily injury. (3) A list of outworkers and their places of
employment, as described in the section relating to the sweating
system. (4) A register must be kept by every occupier of a factory or
workshop of the prescribed particulars concerning every case where a
child, young person, or woman is worked in pursuance of an exception,
as of overtime.
The following are the obligations imposed upon occupiers regarding
the posting of regulations and notices:
1. There shall be affixed at the entrance of every factory and work
shop, and in such other parts thereof as an inspector for the time being
directs, and be constantly kept so affixed in the prescribed form and
in such position as to be easily read by the persons employed in the
factory or workshop (1) the prescribed abstract of the factory acts;
(2) the name and address of the prescribed inspector; (3) the name
and address of the prescribed certifying surgeon for the district; (4) a
designation of the clock, if any, by which the period of employment and
the times for meals in the factory or workshop are regulated; (5) the
number of persons who may be employed in each room; (6) the period
of employment and mealtimes, and the mode of employment of children.
The penalty for the contravention of any of these provisions is a fine
not exceeding £2 ($9.73). The foregoing requirements do not apply to
domestic workshops.
2. In certain factories and workshops, where the work is subjected to
special regulation, other regulations must be posted as follows: (1) In
those factories and workshops where the employment of children or
young persons is prohibited, notice of such prohibition; (2) where the
taking of meals by children, young persons, or women in certain parts
of factories or workshops is prohibited, notice of such prohibition; (3)
copies of all sj)ecial rules for the time being in force; (4) in cotton cloth
and humid textile factories, a table of the limits of humidity and read
ings of the thermometer.
3. When an occupier of a factory or workshop intends to take ad
vantage of certain special exceptions he must affix notices showing
(1) his intention to take advantage of the exception, which notice must
be posted 7 days in advance; (2) the substitution of other holidays for
those fixed by law, which must be exhibited the first week in January;
(3) the further substitution of holidays, which must be exhibited 14 days
before the proposed day; (4) when it is desired to employ young per
sons or women in a nontextile factory or workshop for 8 hours on Sat
urday, notice that such persons have not been employed more than 8
hours on any day in the week.
820
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The following are the various classes of notices and returns that must
be made by occupiers of factories and workshops to the inspectors of
the district in which their establishments are located: (1) A notice to
be delivered within one month after the factory or workshop is occu
pied, giving the name of the factory or workshop, the place where it is
situated, the nature of the work, the nature and amount of the power
employed, and the name of the firm under which the business of the
establishment is to be carried on; (2) a return on or before March 1 of
every year, showing for the preceding year ending December 31, the
number of persons employed, with such particulars as to age and sex
as the secretary of state may direct; (3) a notice of any accident caus
ing death or serious bodily injury to be sent immediately (the subject
of reporting accidents is more fully considered in the special section
devoted to that subject); (4) notice of every case of lead, phosphorous,
or arsenical poisoning, or anthrax, occurring in a factory or workshop,
must be immediately sent to the inspector and to the certifying sur
geon of the district, and this obligation may, by order of the secretary
of state, be extended so as to include any other disease; (5) monthly
notices of the readings of thermometers in cotton cloth factories; (6) a
list of outworkers and their places of employment, as described in the
section relating to the sweating system; (7) a report of overtime em
ployment to be sent not later than 8 p. m. on the day of employment.
In all cases when the occupier of a factory or workshop intends to
avail himself of certain special provisions of the acts, or of special
exemptions, he must notify the inspector of his intention and include
in the notice such particulars as are necessary to show the change
contemplated. He must thus notify the inspector of his intention to
conduct a workshop on the principle of not employing children or
young i>ersons, or, if working on that system, to alter it; of his inten
tion to conduct a flax scutch mill, on the system of not employing
children or young persons; of his intention to change the period of
employment or mealtimes or the mode of employment of children; the
substitution of holidays, night work, overtime work, etc.
R E P O R T IN G A N D I N V E S T I G A T I O N OP A C C ID E N T S .
The British law makes careful provision for the investigation of all
serious accidents and their recording, with a view o f determining the
responsibility and cause of their occurrence. Where there occurs in
any factory or workshop, including workshops conducted on the system
of not employing any child, young person, or woman, any accident
which either causes loss of life to a person employed in the factory or
workshop, or causes to any person therein employed such bodily injury
as to prevent him on any one of the three working days next after the
occurrence of the accident from being employed for 5 hours on his ordi
nary work, written notice must be immediately sent to the inspector
of the district.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
821
The occupier of every factory or workshop must also keep a register
of all such accidents, in which he must enter the occurrence of every
such accident within one week after its occurrence, and this register
must at all times be open to the inspection of the inspector or the cer
tifying surgeon of the district. The penalty for noncompliance with
this provision is a line not exceeding £10 ($48.67).
If the accident causes loss of life, or is produced either by machinery
moved by steam, water, or other mechanical power, or through a vat,
pan, or other structure filled with hot liquid or molten metal or other
substance, or by explosion or escape of gas, steam, or metal, then, unless
notice thereof is required by the explosives act of 1875 to be sent to a
government inspector, notice must immediately be sent to the certifying
surgeon of the district. The notice must state the residence of the
person killed or injured, aud the place to which he has been removed.
If notice as above required is not sent, the occupier of the factory is
liable to a fine not exceeding £5 ($24.33). If the accident occurs to a
person employed in an iron mill or blast furnace, or other factory or
workshop, where the occupier is not the actual employer of the person
killed or injured, the actual employer must immediately report the same
to the occupier, and in default shall be liable to a fine not exceeding
£5 ($24.33).
When a certifying surgeon, as before mentioned, receives notice of
an accident, he shall, with the least possible delay, proceed to the factory
or workshop, and make a full examination as to the nature and cause of
the death or injury caused by the accident, and make a report thereof
to the inspector within the next 24 hours. In making this investiga
tion he has the same powers as an inspector and can enter any room in
a building to which the person killed or injured has been removed.
For making the investigation he is allowed a fee of from 3s. to 10s.
($0.73 to $2.43).
Where a death has been caused by accident, the coroner must imme
diately advise the district inspector of the time and place of holding
the inquest, and at such inquest any relative of any person whose death
may have been caused by the accident, and any inspector, and the occu
pier of the factory or workshop in which the accident occurred, and any
persdn appointed by the order in writing of the majority of the work
people employed in the factory or workshop shall be at liberty to
attend and examine any witness, either in person or by counsel, solic
itor, or agent, subject to the order of the coroner. Unless an inspector
or some person on behalf of the secretary of state is present to watch
the proceedings, the coroner must adjourn the inquest, and must in
writing give the inspector at least 4 days’ notice of the time and
place of holding the adjourned inquest. If the accident has not occa
sioned the death of more than one person, and the coroner has sent to
the inspector notice of the time and place of holding the inquest at
such time as to reach the inspector not less than 24 hours before the
822
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
time of holding the same, it shall not be imperative on him to adjourn
the inquest, if the majority of the jury think it unnecessary to do so.
The secretary of state can, when he deems it expedient, order the
formal investigation of the causes and circumstances of an accident.
When this is done the mode of procedure laid down in the coal mines
regulation act o f 1887 will be followed. This provision extends to
workshops conducted on the system of not employing any child, young
person, or woman therein.
If any person is killed or suffers any bodily injury or injury to
health in consequence of the occupier of a factory or workshop having
neglected to observe any of the provisions of the factory acts or any
special rules or requirements, the occupier is liable to a fine not
exceeding £100 ($486.65), and the whole or any part of that sum may
be applied for the benefit of the injured person or his family or other
wise, as the secretary of state may direct. In case of injury to health,
it must be proved that the injury was caused directly by the neglect.
The occupier, however, is not liable to a fine under the foregoing pro
vision if an information against him for not fencing the part of the
machinery, etc., by which death or bodily injury was inflicted had
been heard and dismissed previous to the time when the accident
occurred, (a)
N O T IC E O F C A S E S O F P O IS O N IN G .
The occupier of any factory or workshop must immediately send a
written notice to the inspector and the certifying surgeon of the district
of every case of lead, phosphorous, or arsenical poisoning, or anthrax,
occurring in his establishment. Every medical practitioner, also,
attending or called in to visit a patient whom he believes to be suffer
ing from poisoning, as above mentioned, or anthrax, contracted in a
factory or workshop, must immediately send to the chief inspector of
factories a notice stating the name and full postal address of the patient
and the disease from which, in the opinion of the medical practitioner,
the patient is suffering. A fee of 2s. 6d. ($0.61) is allowed for such
service. Failure to comply with this requirement renders the physician
liable to a fine not exceeding £2 ($9.73). Upon the receipt of this
notice information is immediately sent to the inspector and the certify
ing surgeon for the district, whereupon the same action must be taken
as in the case of an accident causing death or serious bodily injury.
The secretary of state may, by order, add to the list of diseases above
enumerated concerning which this special action must be taken.
a In addition to the above requirements concerning the reporting o f accidents
which are contained in the factory acts, a special “ Notice o f accidents act” (57 and
58 Viet., c. 28) was passed in 1894 and a “ Fatal accident inquiry (Scotland) act”
(58 and 59 Yict., c. 36) in 1895, which relate more particularly to accidents occurring
in industries not comprehended under the factory acts.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
823
S P E C IA L O R D E R S.
In most if not in all cases where the secretary of state has power to
make a special order under the factory acts the order must be laid as
soon as possible before both houses of Parliament, and either of these
houses has the power within the next 40 days to order the annulment
of such order. In making special orders the secretary of state can, if
he deems best, consider that different branches or departments of work
carried on in the same factory or workshop are different factories or
workshops.
IN S P E C T IO N OF F A C T O R IE S .
The administration of the factory laws and the enforcement of their
multifarious provisions are intrusted to the secretary of state for the
home department. The law, instead of creating an inspection service
and specifying the number of officials, leaves to this officer the deter
mination of the number of inspectors that may be required, their
salaries, official designation, etc. The law reads that the secretary of
state from time to time, with the approval of the treasury as to num
bers and salaries, may appoint such inspectors under whatever title he
may from time to time fix, and such clerks and servants as he may
think necessary for the execution of this act, and may assign to them
their duties and award them their salaries, and may constitute a prin
cipal inspector with an office in London, and may regulate the cases
and manner in which the inspectors, or any of them, are to execute and
perform the powers and duties of inspectors under this act, and may
remove such inspectors, clerks, and servants.
The law disqualifies the following persons from acting as inspectors,
viz: Any occupier of a factory or workshop or person who is directly or
indirectly interested in any process or business carried on therein, or
any patent connected therewith, or person who is employed in or about
a factory or workshop. Notice of the appointment of an inspector
must be published in the London Gazette. An inspector is relieved
from liability to serve in any parochial or municipal office. There shall
be laid before the House of Parliament such annual reports of the pro
ceedings of inspectors as the secretary of state may direct.
In pursuance of these powers given to the secretary of state, that
officer has organized an inspection force, which, according to the annual
report of the chief inspector for 1897, consisted at that date of 1 chief
inspector, 6 superintending inspectors, 44 inspectors, 27 junior inspect
ors, 4 assistant examiners, 23 inspectors7 assistants, 1 lady superin
tending inspector, 1 principal lady inspector, and 4 lady inspectors, or
a total of 111 persons.
For the purpose of executing the acts any inspector has the power
(1) to enter, inspect, and examine, at all reasonable times by day and
night, a factory and a workshop and every part thereof when he has
reasonable cause to believe that any person is employed therein, and to
824
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
enter by day any place which he has reasonable cause to believe to be
a factory or workshop; for this purpose day means the period from 6
a. m. to 9 p. m., and night the period from 9 p. m. to 6 a.m.; (2) to take
with him in either case a constable into a factory or workshop in which
he has reasonable cause to apprehend any serious obstruction in the
execution of his duty; (3) to require the production of the registers,
certificates, notices, and documents kept in pursuance of the factory
acts, and to inspect, examine, and copy the same; (4) to make such
examination and inquiry as may be necessary to ascertain whether the
enactments for the time being in force relating to the public health and
the enactments of the factory acts are complied with, so far as respects
the factory or workshop and the persons employed therein; (5) to enter
any school in which he has reasonable cause to believe that the chil
dren employed in a factory or workshop are for the time being edu
cated; (6) to examine either alone or in the presence of any other per
son, as he thinks fit, with respect to matters under the factory acts,
every person whom he finds in a factory or workshop, or such a school
as aforesaid, or whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be or to have
been within the preceding two months employed in a factory or work
shop, and to require such person to be so examined and to sign a declara
tion of the truth of the matters respecting which he is so examined;
and (7) to exercise such other powers as may be necessary for carrying
the factory acts into effect.
The occupier of every factory and workshop, his agents and servants,
must furnish the means required by an inspector as necessary for an
entry, inspection, examination, inquiry, or the exercise of his pow
ers in relation to such factory or workshop. When an inspector is
obstructed in the execution of his duties, the person obstructing is
liable to a fine not exceeding £5 ($24.33), and when an inspector is so
obstructed in a factory or workshop the occupier of that factory or
workshop shall be liable to a fine of not exceeding £5 ($24.33), or when
the offense is committed at night, £20 ($97.33). In the case of a
domestic workshop the fine to which the occupier is liable is not
exceeding £1 ($4.87), or if the offense is committed at night, £5 ($24.33).
Inspectors must be provided with certificates of appointment, and, if
required, must produce the same in applying for admission to a factory
or workshop. The forging or using of a counterfeit certificate subjects
the guilty person to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three
months. An inspector may, if authorized in writing by the secretary
of state, prosecute, conduct, or defend before a court of summary juris
diction or justice any information, complaint, or other proceeding aris
ing under the factory acts, or in the discharge of his duty as inspector.
Besides the foregoing enumerated general powers and duties, the
inspectors have others of importance which are mentioned in connec
tion with the statement of the special provisions of the acts. Such, for
example, are those of taking action when the sanitary authorities are
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
825
in default; of taking part in proceedings at inquests; of enforcing the
truck acts, etc. For the enforcement of the provisions of the acts relat
ing to the sanitary condition of workshops, it will be remembered that
the position of the inspectors is generally taken by the sanitary author
ities, who for this purpose have all the powers of a factory inspector.
C E R T IF Y IN G S U R G E O N S .
In the preceding account of the factory acts frequent reference has
been made to certifying surgeons. These officers play a part second
only in importance to the inspectors themselves in the scheme of
administration of the laws. The principal duties of these officers have
been already indicated. Following is the method of their appointment
and the conditions that they must observe in performing their duties.
Certifying surgeons are appointed by the chief inspector of factories,
subject to such regulations as may be made by the secretary of state,
in such numbers as are deemed necessary. Only duly registered med
ical practitioners are eligible for appointment. A surgeon who is the
occupier of a factory or workshop or is directly or indirectly interested
therein or in a patent connected therewith can not be appointed a cer
tifying surgeon. Where there is no certifying surgeon resident within
three miles of a factory or workshop, the poor law medical officer shall
for the time being be the certifying surgeon for such factory or work
shop. Certifying surgeons are paid for their services through fees,
which vary according to circumstances. In general the fees for exam
ining children and young persons and granting certificates of fitness
for employment are paid by the occupiers of the factories or workshops
in which the children or young persons are to be employed. The sec
retary of state can order the reexamination of a child or young person,
in which case the fee is paid by him from the treasury.
P R O S E C U T IO N S .
All offenses under the factory acts are prosecuted and all fines
recorded before a court of summary jurisdiction in the manner pro
vided by the summary jurisdiction acts. The attempt to reproduce the
provisions of the acts regarding the methods of procedure, admissi
bility of evidence, etc., would necessitate the statement of details to a
greater extent than is warranted by the scope of this paper.
M E R C A N T IL E A N D A L L IE D E S T A B L IS H M E N T S .
The conditions o f labor in stores and similar establishments are regu
lated by the two acts of 55 and 56 Viet,,, c. 62, passed in 1892, and 56
and 57 Viet., c. 67, passed in 1893. These two acts, though similar in
purpose to the factory acts, are not considered as constituting a part
of those acts. Their enforcement, therefore, does not constitute a part
of the duties of the factory inspectors.
64—'No. 25----- 5
826
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
These laws provide that no young person, by which is meant a per
son under the age of 18 years, shall be employed in or about a “ shop”
for a longer period than seventy-four hours, including meal times, in
any one week. Shop is defined by the act to mean retail and whole
sale shops (stores), markets, stalls, and warehouses in which assistants
are employed for hire, and includes licensed public houses and refresh
ment houses of any kind. Shops where the only persons employed are
members of the same family, dwelling in the building of which the
shop forms a part or to which the shop is attached, and members of
the employer’s family so dwelling, or any person wholly employed as
a domestic servant, are expressly excluded from the provisions of
these acts.
No young person shall to the knowledge of his employer be employed
in or about a shop having been previously on the same day employed in
any factory or workshop for the number of hours permitted by the
factory and workshop acts, or for a longer period than will together
with the time during which he has been so previously employed com
plete such number of hours. The penalty for contravention of any of
these provisions is a fine not exceeding £1 (|4.87) for each person so
employed.
The enforcement of the acts is left to the local authorities. The
council of any county or borough, or in the city of London the common
council, may appoint such inspectors as they may think necessary for
this purpose, and when so appointed these inspectors have much the
same powers as inspectors under the factory acts.
P A Y M E N T OP W A G E S : T R U C K S Y S T E M .
Acts in relation to the payment of wages in kind, the forerunners of
the modern truck acts, date from at least as early as the year 1464. (a)
In the nearly four centuries following this date numerous laws were
passed bearing upon this subject. All of them, however, were sub
stantially repealed in 1831 by the act of 1 and 2 W m .IY ,c . 36. In
their place was enacted a general truck act (1 and 2 Wm. IY , c. 37),
the full title of which is “ An act to prohibit the payment, in certain
trades, of wages in goods, or otherwise than in the current coin of the
realm.” This act, as will be noted, related only to certain trades, which
were specifically enumerated. In 1887 an amending act (50 and 51
Yict., c. 46) was passed, which, in addition to introducing a few minor
changes, repealed the section giving the enumeration of trades, and in
its place substituted the provision that the two acts should apply to
all workingmen, as defined by the employers and workmen act of 1875.
According to this definition the acts apply to practically all working
men except domestic and menial servants. These two acts were sup
plemented by a third act (59 and 60 Yict., c. 44), enacted August 14,1896,
the purpose of which was the regulation of the conditions under which
a Howell, Handy-Book of tlie Labor Laws, p. 187.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
827
employers could make deductions from wages for faulty work, the use
or supply of materials or tools, or in the way of fines. The three acts
are collectively known as the “ Truck acts, 1831 to 1896.” Though not
considered as a part of the factory acts, the enforcement of their pro
visions is a part of the duties of the factory inspectors, or, in the case
of mines, of the inspectors of mines.
In the following summary of the provisions of the truck acts, it will
be seen that they relate to the four subjects of payment of wages in
cash, prohibition of the coercion of employees to trade at particular
places, advances to employees, and deductions from wages in the way
of fines or otherwise:
1. Workingmen must be paid the full amount of their wages in the
current coin of the realm, except that, if they so agree, payment can be
made in bank notes or checks payable on demand. Any contract pro
viding for the payment of wages otherwise than as above provided will
be treated as null and void. I f payment, in whole or in part, has been
made in kind, the employee can, nevertheless, sue for the payment
of his full wages in money, and the employer can not bring forward
as a set-off any goods supplied by himself or any store in which he is
interested. Neither can the employer maintain an action against an
employee to recover the value of goods furnished as a part of wages.
To this general provision the following exceptions are, however, per
mitted: When the employee so consents, and a written agreement to
that effect has been made, the employer can furnish, as a part of the
former’s wages, medical supplies and attendance, fuel, materials, tools,
and implements to persons engaged in mining; hay, corn, or other prov
ender for horses or other beasts of burden used by employees in their
trade; a house for dwelling purposes, and food prepared and eaten in
the house of the employer. In no case shall the deduction made on
account of such advantages furnished be in excess of their true and
real value. In agriculture the laborer can be furnished with food, non
intoxicating drinks, a cottage, and other allowances or privileges, in
addition to money wages.
2. All contracts between employers and employees imposing condi
tions regarding the place where, or manner in which, wages shall be
expended are illegal and void. To this provision, which was contained
in the law of 1831, the act of 1887 added that “ No employer shall, by
himself or his agent, dismiss any workman from his employment for or
on account of the place at which, or the manner in which, or the person
with whom, any wages or portion of wages paid by the employer to such
workman are or is expended or fail to be expended.”
3. An employer can advance to his employees money to be used in
making payments to a friendly society or savings bank duly established
according to law, or for their relief in cases of sickness, or for the edu
cation of their children, and a contract can be made providing for regu
lar deductions to be made from wages for this latter purpose. When
828
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
deductions are made from tlie wages of employees for the education of
their children, or in respect of medicine, medical attendance, or tools,
the employer or his agent must, at least once in each year, make out a
correct account of the receipts and expenditures in respect of such
deductions and submit the same to be audited by two auditors appointed
by the employees, and shall produce to the auditors all such books,
vouchers, and documents, and give them all other facilities as are
required for such audit. When it has been the custom for employers
to make advances on wages, such advances must be made without
interest or other charges.
4.
No deduction shall be made from the wages of employees for sharp
ening or repairing tools, except by agreement not forming a part of the
conditions of hiring.
No deduction from wages shall be made for or in respect of any fine
unless the deduction is made in accordance with a contract to that
effect, and particulars in writing showing the acts or omissions in
respect of which the fine is imposed and the amount of the fine are sup
plied to the employee on each occasion such deduction is made. Further
more, the employer can not make any contract providing for fines to
be met by deductions from wages unless (1 ) the terms of the contract
are contained in a notice kept constantly affixed at such place or places
open to the workmen, and in such a position that it may be easily seen,
read, and copied by any person whom it affects, or the contract is in
writing signed by the workman; (2) the contract specifies the acts or
omissions in respect of which the fine may be imposed, and the amount
of the fine or the particulars from which that amount may be ascer
tained; (3) the fine imposed under the contract is in respect of some
act or omission which causes or is likely to cause damage or loss to the
employer or interruption or hindrance to his business, and (4) the
amount of the fine is fair and reasonable, having regard to all the cir
cumstances of the case.
No deductions shall be made for or in respect of bad or negligent
work or injury to the materials or other property of the employer unless
the deduction is made in accordance with a contract to that effect, and
particulars in writing showing the acts or omissions in respect of which
the deduction is made and the amount of the deduction is supplied to
the workman on each occasion when a deduction is made. No contract
providing for such deductions shall be made unless (L) the terms of the
contract are posted or reduced to writing, as provided in the case of
fines; (2 ) the deduction provided for by the contract does not exceed
the actual or estimated damage or loss occasioned to the employer, and
(3) the amount of the deduction is fair and reasonable, having due
regard to all the circumstances of the case.
Finally, no deduction shall be made for or in respect of the use or
supply of materials, tools or machines, standing room, light, heat, or
for or in respect of any other thing to be done or provided by the
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
829
employer in relation to tlie work or labor of the workman unless the
deduction is made in pursuance of a contract to that effect, and particu
lars in writing showing the things in respect of which the deduction is
made and the amount of the deduction is supplied to the workman on
each occasion when a deduction is made. No contract shall be made
providing for such deductions unless (1 ) its terms are posted or reduced
to writing, as above provided in the case of fines; (2 ) the sum to be
deducted does not exceed, in the case of materials or tools supplied to
the workman, the actual or estimated cost thereof to the employer, or
in the case of the use of machinery, light, heat, or any other thing, a
fair and reasonable rent or charge, having regard to all the circum
stances of the case.
Any workman or shop assistant may recover any sum deducted by
his employer contrary to the provisions of the truck acts, provided
that proceedings are commenced within six months from the date of the
deduction, and that where he has consented to or acquiesced in the
deduction, he shall only recover the excess that has been deducted
over the amount, if any, which the court may find to have been fair
and reasonable.
Every employer who has made a contract as provided by these acts
shall, on demand in writing by an inspector of factories and mines,
produce tlie contract, or a true copy of it, at any convenient time and
place named by the inspector, and the inspector shall have the right to
make a copy of it or such parts as he may desire. In all cases the
workmen or shop assistants who are parties to the contract must be
furnished with a copy of the contract or of the notice containing its
terms. The employer must also keep a register, in which shall be
entered the amount and cause for which imposed, of all fines. Such
register must be open at all times to the inspection of the inspectors of
factories or mines.
The secretary of state has the power to exempt any trade or business,
or any branch or department of any trade or business, from the fore
going provisions regarding deductions in the way of fines for imperfect
work or for material, tools, fire, etc., furnished by the employer, where
he is satisfied that such provisions are unnecessary for the protection of
the employees in that trade or business. The exemption can relate to
a particular area or to the whole country. Every order granting such
exemptions must be immediately laid before both houses of Parliament,
and either of these bodies can within the next 40 days annul such order.
By a special section in the act of 1887 the truck acts are made to apply
to articles under £5 ($24.33) in value, and which are made of wool, cot
ton, leather, and certain other materials by persons working in their
own homes without other assistance than that of their families. This
section, however, can, where it is believed to be for the advantage of
the employees, be wholly or partially suspended in any district.
The penalty for the violation of the provisions regarding the produc
830
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
tion of contracts in relation to fines, etc., the furnishing of copies of
them to the parties interested, and the keeping of a register of fines
imposed is a fine not exceeding £ 2 ($9.73). Other violations of the
truck acts subject-the guilty party to a fine of not exceeding £10 ($48.67)
for the first offense, not less than £ 10 ($48.67) nor more than £20
($97.33) for the second offense, and in case of a third offense the
employer shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon convic
tion shall be punished by a fine at the discretion of the court, so that
the fine shall not in any case exceed £100 ($486.65).
Distinct from the truck acts, but of the same general character, is
the hosiery act of 1874 (37 and 38 Viet., c. 48), the full title of which is,
uAn act to provide for the payment of wages without stoppages in the
hosiery manufacture.” This act provides that in the hosiery manu
facture no stoppages o f wages shall be made for any reason except bad
workmanship; that the renting or charging for the use of frames is
prohibited$ and that workingmen shall be subject to a penalty of 10 s.
($2.43) per day for using a frame or machine of their employer for the
manufacture of goods for any other person without the written consent
of the owner of the frame or machine.
In addition to the acts enumerated a number of other laws have been
passed having for their purpose the regulation of certain other matters
in relation to wages. The most important of these relate to particulars
of work and wages.
Acts to insure that, where workingmen are paid by the amount of
work performed, an honest measure of the work done shall be made by
the employer were among the earliest acts in relation to labor. Most
of these acts were repealed in 1824 by 5 Geo. IV, c. 95, and others were
repealed in the same year by 5 Geo. IV, c. 96. This act related primarily
to the arbitration of disputes between employers and employees, and
as such provided for the settlement of disagreements regarding prices
agreed upon, deductions for imperfect work, etc. Of special interest
from the present standpoint, however, was the provision that, when
the parties so agreed, the employer should furnish a note or ticket of
particulars showing the nature of the work and the agreement in
regard to its execution that should be evidence regarding all matters
to which it related. In 1845 this act was amended by the act of 8 and
9 Viet., c. 77, in the important particulars that the giving of the ticket
containing the particulars of the agreement was made obligatory when
piecework was given out to be done in certain textile industries. In
the same year the act of 8 and 9 Viet., c. 128, made somewhat similar
provisions concerning the silk weaving industry.
The most important provisions regarding particulars of wages, how
ever, are to be found in the factory acts. The factory and workshop
act o f 1891 contained a section imposing upon occupiers the obligation
of supplying particulars of work in certain lines of employment which
was performed according to the piece system. This section was repealed
by the act of 1895, and in its place was enacted a section making much
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
831
more elaborate provisions concerning this subject. This section pro
vides that in every textile factory the occupier shall, for the purpose of
enabling each worker who is paid by the piece to compute the total
amount of wages payable to him in respect of his work, cause to be
published particulars of the rate of wages applicable to the work to
be done, and also particulars of the work to which that rate is to be
applied, as follows:
1 . The particulars of the rate of wages applicable to the work to be
done by each weaver in the worsted and woolen, other than the hosiery,
trades shall be furnished to him in writing at the time when the work
is given out to him, and shall also be exhibited on a placard not con
taining other matter and posted in a position where it can be easily
read.
2. The particulars of the rate of wages applicable to the work to be
done by each worker, other than such a weaver as aforesaid, shall be
furnished to him in writing at the time when the work is given out to
him; provided, that if the same particulars are applicable to the work
to be done by each of the workers in one room, it shall be sufficient to
exhibit them in that room on a placard not containing any other matter,
and posted in a position where it can be easily read.
3. Such particulars of the work to be done by each worker as affect
the amount of wages payable to him shall, except so far as they are
ascertainable by an automatic indicator, be furnished to him in writing
at the time the work is given out to him.
4. The particulars, either as to rate of wages or as to work, shall not
be expressed by means of symbols.
5. Where an automatic indicator is used for ascertaining work, such
indicator shall have marked upon its case the number of teeth in each
wheel, and the diameter of the driving roller, except that in the case
of spinning machines with traversing carriages, the number of spindles,
and the length of the stretch in such machines, shall be so marked in
substitution for the diameter of the driving roller.
6. Where such particulars of the work to be done by each worker as
affect the amount of wages payable to him are ascertained by an auto
matic indicator, and a placard containing the particulars as to the rate
of wages is exhibited in each room, in pursuance of an agreement
between employers and workmen and in conformity with the require
ments of this section, its exhibition shall be a sufficient compliance
with the law.
If the occupier fails to comply with the above requirements, or fraudu
lently uses a false indicator for ascertaining the particulars or amount
of any work paid for by the piece, or if any workman fraudulently
alters an automatic indicator, the occupier or workman, as the case
may be, shall be liable for each offense to a fine of not more than £ 10
($48.67), and in case of a second or subsequent conviction within two
years from the last conviction for that offense, not less than £1 ($4.87).
If anyone engaged as a worker in any factory or workshop, having
832
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
received such particulars, whether they are furnished directly to him
or to a fellow-workman, discloses the particulars for the purpose of
divulging a trade secret, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £ 10
($48.67). If anyone for the purpose of obtaining knowledge of or
divulging a trade secret solicits or procures a person so engaged in
any factory to disclose such particulars, or with that object pays or
rewards any such person, or causes any such person to be paid or
rewarded for so disclosing such particulars, he shall be liable to a fine
not exceeding £10 ($48.67).
The secretary of state can, on being satisfied by the report of an
inspector that the above provisions are applicable to any class of non
textile factories, or to any class of workshops, order such provisions to
apply to such class, subject to such modifications as in his opinion are
necessary to adapt them to the circumstances of the case.
In still another direction legislation for the protection of workingmen
in respect to the receipt of their wages has been found necessary. The
payment of wages in a saloon, or where intoxicating liquors were sold,
was prohibited in the coal and metal mining industry in 1872. In 1883
this prohibition was extended to all workingmen by the act of 46 and
47 Yict., c. 31. This act applies to “ any person who is a laborer, servant
in husbandry, journeyman, artificer, handicraftsman, or who is other
wise engaged in manual labor,” but does not relate to miners in regard
to whom special legislation exists, nor to domestic or menial servants.
It provides that “ no wages shall be paid to any workman at or within
any public house, beer shop, or place for the sale of any spirits, wine,
cider, or other spirituous or fermented liquors, or any office, garden, or
place belonging thereto, or occupied therewith, save and except such
wages as are paid by the resident owner or occupier of such public
house, beer shop, or place to any workman bona fide employed by him.”
The penalty for infraction of this law is a fine not exceeding £ 10
($48.67) for each offense.
A R B I T R A T I O N T R IB U N A L S .
The first act in favor of arbitration as a mode of settling disputes
was passed in 1603. (a) The first act, however, having reference spe
cially to the arbitration of labor disputes, is given as that of 1 Anne,
St. II, c. 22, passed in 1701, and provided for the reference of certain
matters in certain textile and metal trades to two justices of the peace
as arbitrators. Numerous other acts followed. In 1824 all of these
acts were repealed and replaced by the general act of 5 Geo. IY, c. 96,
entitled “ An act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the
arbitration of disputes between masters and workmen.” This very
important law made provision for a general scheme o f arbitration
applicable to all branches of industry. Arbitrators were to be sug
gested by the justice of the peace, one-half of whom were to be
a Howell, Handy-Book o f the Labor Laws, p. 229.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
833
employers and the other half workingmen. From this body each party
to the dispute was to select a referee, with full powers of hearing and
determining the matter at issue. In case of failure to agree the justice
of the peace could, in the last resort, decide the matter.
But little use was made of the provisions of the foregoing law. The
next important act along these lines was that of 35 and 36 Viet., c. 46,
passed in 1872, and intended as an amendment to the act of 1824. Its
purpose was to make the law more comprehensive, provide for simpler
machinery, and to introduce the principle of conciliation. In the mean
time, efforts to provide a workable system for the adjustment of labor
disputes had been made in another direction. In 1867 was passed the
Lord St. Leonards’ act, 30 and 31 Viet., c. 105, the purpose of which
was to foster the growth in Great Britain of councils of conciliation,
something after the pattern of the French councils of prudhommes.
Though more or less was accomplished under these laws they can not
be said to have proven effective measures. In 1896 Parliament, there
fore, repealed all those acts and in their place substituted the concilia
tion act of August 7, 1896, 59 and 60 Viet., c. 30, which is now in force.
As this act is brief it is here reproduced in full :
A n A ct
to make better provision for the prevention and settlement o f trade disputes
[7th August, 1896].
Be it enacted by * * # Parliament assembled, and by the author
ity of the same, as follows:
Any board established either before or after the passing of this act,
which is constituted for the purpose of settling disputes between employ
ers and workmen by conciliation or arbitration, or any association or
body authorized by an agreement in writing made between employers
and workmen to deal with such disputes (in this act referred to as a
conciliation board), may apply to the board of trade for registration
under this act.
The application must be accompanied by copies of the constitution,
by-laws, and regulations of the conciliation board, with such other
information as the board of trade may reasonably require.
The board of trade shall keep a register of conciliation boards and
enter therein, with respect to each registered board, its name and prin
cipal office and such other particulars as the board of trade may think
expedient, and any registered conciliation board shall be entitled to
have its name removed from the register on sending to the board of
trade a written application to that effect.
Every registered conciliation board shall furnish such returns, reports
of its proceedings, and other documents as the board of trade may
reasonably require.
The board of trade may, on being satisfied that a registered concilia
tion board has ceased to exist or to act, remove its name from the
register.
Subject to any agreement to the contrary, proceedings for concilia
tion before a registered conciliation board shall be conducted in accord
ance with the regulations of the board in that behalf.
Where a difference exists or is apprehended between an employer, or
any class of employers and workmen, or between different classes of
834
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
workmen, tlie board of trade may, if they think fit, exercise all or any
of the following i>owers, namely:
1 . Inquire into the causes and circumstances of the difference;
2 . Take such steps as to the board may seem expedient for the pur
pose of enabling the parties to the difference to meet together, by them
selves or their representatives, under the presidency of a chairman
mutually agreed upon or nominated by the board of trade, or by some
other person or body, with a view to the amicable settlement of the
difference;
3. On the application of employers or workmen interested, and after
taking into consideration the existence and adequacy of means availa
ble for conciliation in the district or trade and the circumstances of the
case, appoint a person or persons to act as conciliator or as a board of
conciliators;
4. On the application of both parties to the difference, appoint an
arbitrator.
If any person is so appointed to act as conciliator, he shall inquire
into the causes and circumstances of the difference by communication
with the parties and otherwise shall endeavor to bring about a settle
ment of the difference, and shall report his proceedings to the board of
trade.
If a settlement of the difference is effected either by conciliation or
by arbitration, a memorandum of the terms thereof shall be drawn up
and signed by the parties or their representatives, and a copy thereof
shall be delivered to and kept by the board of trade.
The arbitration act, 1889, (a) shall not apply to the settlement by
arbitration of any difference or dispute to which this act applies; but
any such arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in accordance wit!i
such of the provisions of the said act, or such of the regulations of any
conciliation board, or under such other rules or regulations as may be
mutually agreed upon by the parties to the difference or dispute.
If it appears to the board of trade that in any district or trade ade
quate means do not exist for having disputes submitted to a conciliation
board for the district or trade, they may appoint any person or persons
to inquire into the conditions of the district or trade and to confer with
the employers and employed, and, if the board of trade think fit, with
any local authority or body as to the expediency of establishing a con
ciliation board for the district or trade.
The board of trade shall from time to time present to Parliament a
report of their proceedings under this act.
The expenses incurred by the board of trade in the execution of this
act shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.
The masters and workmen arbitration act, 1824, and the councils of
conciliation act, 1867, and the arbitration (masters and workmen) act,
1872, are hereby repealed.
This act may be cited as the conciliation act, 1896.
The significant features of the foregoing law, it will be noticed, are
the official standing given to voluntary boards of arbitration and con
ciliation through registration, the keeping of records, etc., and the
power given to the board of trade to create such boards where they do
not exist, and itself actively to intervene where it deems such action
advisable to determine the causes and circumstances of the dispute
and to take steps for its adjustment. It should be noted that, in addi
ct A law relating to tlie arbitration o f disputes generally.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
835
tion to the above general law, there are provisions in other special acts
by which disputes arising in connection with matters to which the acts
relate can be settled by arbitration. There are such provisions in the
friendly societies, the trade unions, and other acts. The recent work
men’s compensation act, 1897, contains elaborate provisions by which
matters arising under it can be settled by arbitration. They in no
case, however, relate to the arbitration of labor disputes, or strikes,
technically speaking.
D E P A R T M E N T O F L A B O R , B O A R D OF T R A D E .
The first definite action looking to the creation of a special service
for the collection of statistics of labor was taken in 1886. In March of
that year the House of Commons resolved that “ in the opinion of this
House steps should be taken to insure in this country the full and
accurate collection and publication of labor statistics.” In pursuance
of this resolution a special service for that purpose was organized by
the board of trade, under the direction of an officer styled “ labor cor
respondent.” In 1893 a separate service entitled “ labor department”
was created under the board of trade to continue and extend the work
hitherto carried on by the labor correspondent. The labor department
as now organized is under the direction of a “ commissioner for labor,”
and its duties are similar to the labor departments of other countries.
FRANCE. (a)
In giving an account of the labor legislation of France, it is rarely
necessary to refer to laws enacted prior to the present century. Ino
inconsiderable part of existing legislation has been enacted since the
establishment of the present Republic.
France definitely broke with the pa^t as regards the policy of the
State toward industry in 1789, when the Constituent Assembly on
August 4 of that year declared the suppression of all privileges and
monopolies. The purpose and effect of this action was the abolition
a In the summary here given of the laws in France, use has in all cases been made
o f copies o f the laws themselves. These can he easily consulted in—
Lois sociales: Recueil des textes de la legislation sociale de la France, par Joseph
Chailley-Bert et Arthur Fontaine. Paris, 1895.
Bulletins de l’Office du Travail.
In addition to these two sources special use has been made of the following works:
Le code ouvrier: Expose pratique de la legislation et de la jurisprudence reglant le
travail et les interets des ouvriers et apprentis, par Louis Andre et Leon Guibourg,
2e edition. Paris, 1898.
Traite eiementaire de legislation industrielle, par Paul Pic. Paris, 1894.
La legislation du travail en France, par Paul Pic. A report made to the Congres
International de Legislation du Travail, a Bruxelles, 1897.
Enquete sur les legislations relatives au droit dissociation. Circulaires Nos. 21
and 22. Sfrie A. Musee Social, Paris, 1898.
Various publications of the French Labor Bureau, notably the reports, Concilia
tion et arbitrage en France et a l’etranger, 1893, and Hygiene et securite des travailleurs dans les ateliers industriels, 1895.
836
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
of the old guild system. The principle of industrial liberty was still
more emphatically stated by the decree of March 2-17, 1791, which
provides that every person shall be free to engage in such an enterprise
or exercise such profession, art, or trade as he may desire.(a)
TH E LA B O R CONTRACT.
There is but little positive legislation in relation to the labor contract.
The civil code contains a few general provisions which are chiefly in
the nature of definitions. Slavery is prohibited by a clause which
forbids a person from engaging his services for life. There are a num
ber of laws regarding the labor contract in special industries, as rail
way transportation, which fall without the scope of the present report.
The only law that needs to be specially mentioned is that of July 2,
1890, abolishing the obligation of all workingmen to be provided with
pass books. The last two articles of this law provide: ( 1 ) That the
labor contract is subject to the ordinary rules of common law concern
ing contracts, and can be made in such a form as the parties desire;
and (2 ) that any person who hires out his services can, at the expira
tion of the contract, require his employer to furnish him with a certifi
cate showing exclusively the date of his entrance into his service, the
date of his departure, and the nature of the work at which he was
employed.
R IG H T O F A S S O C I A T I O N : T R A D E U N IO N S .
The general law regulating the right of association is contained in
articles 291 and 292 of the penal code of 1810 and the law supplement
ing them passed April 10, 1834. These laws prohibit the formation of
any organization of more than 20 members unless the consent of the
Government has been obtained, and the latter has the power arbi
trarily to grant or refuse application, impose conditions, or revoke a
permission when granted, as it deems fit.
These provisions as regards particular categories of associations have
been modified by special laws. Such are the laws of June 21,1865,
and December 22, 1888, regarding associations of proprietors for per
forming work of mutual interest; the law of July 12 , 1875, concerning
associations for higher education, and certain laws in respect to organ
izations of employers and employees. It is of the latter alone that
account need here be taken.
Trade organizations have always during the present century been
put upon a special footing by the French law. The suppression of the
guilds in 1791 was almost immediately followed by the development of
voluntary organizations of employers and workingmen. The Constitu
ent Assembly, which had in the same year decreed liberty to work, saw
a This liberty is restricted by laws relating to the practice o f medicine and certain
other professions, and by the law o f August 8, 1893, which requires all foreigners to
register at the mayor’s office before engaging in any industrial or commercial work.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
837
only danger in these organizations. Tt, therefore, passed the law of
June 14-17,1791, which absolutely prohibited persons, whether employ
ers or employees, connected with the professions, arts, or trades, from
holding deliberations “ or from making agreements among themselves
unitedly to refuse or to accord only for certain prices the assistance of
their industry and their work.” Under this law both the temporary
coalition and the formation of permanent organizations by employers
or workingmen were forbidden.
The prohibition of the formation of organizations continued, with the
exception of a brief period following the revolution of 1848, until 1884.
It should be said, however, that the Government was very tolerant in
the enforcement of this law, and many organizations developed, espe
cially after 1860.
As regards temporary coalitions, or strikes and lockouts, the penal
code punished such actions on the part of employees much more
severely than if committed by employers, who, in fact, were only pun
ishable if unjust or abusive. A law passed November 27,1849, removed
this discrimination and declared that the formation of a coalition,
whether by workingmen or employers, was a crime subjecting every
person participating in it to imprisonment for from 6 days to 3 months
and to a fine of from 16 to 10,000 francs ($5.09 to $1,930) and the leaders
to imprisonment for from 2 to 5 years.
Protests against this law led finally to the enactment of the law of
May 25,1864, which repealed the laws against coalitions and in their
place substituted provisions granting the right to employers and
employees to form combinations for the purpose of improving their
conditions, but making it an offense punishable by fine and imprison
ment to use threats or violence in carrying out their purpose. Action,
indeed, was restricted to such an extent as almost to render nugatory
the permission to form coalitions that had been granted.
This law was amended by the law of March 2 1 , 1884, which had as
its purpose the granting of greater freedom in respect to the formation
both of coalitions and of permanent organizations. The unrepealed
part of the act of 1864 and the act of 1884 constitute the law now in
force regarding .these two subjects. A statement of their important
provisions follows.
Articles 414, 415, and 416 of the penal code (prohibiting coalitions)
are repealed by the law of May 25, 1864, and in their place are substi
tuted the following provisions:
Whoever by threats, violence, or fraudulent maneuvers has brought
about or maintained or has attempted to bring about or maintain a
concerted cessation of labor with the object of compelling an increase
or diminution of wages, or an infringement of the free exercise of
industry or labor, shall be punished by an imprisonment of from 6
days to 3 years, or a fine of from 16 to 3,000 francs [$3.09 to $579], or
both. If the offense above described is committed in consequence of a
concerted plan, the guilty parties can be placed, by order or judgment
(iarret on jugement), under the surveillance of the police during not less
than 2 nor more than 5 years.
838
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Following are the more important provisions of the law of March 2 1 ,
1884:
Tfade unions or industrial associations (syndicats ou associations professionnels), including those having more than 20 members of the same,
similar, or allied trades, may be freely organized without obtaining
governmental authorization.
These industrial associations must have for their exclusive object the
study and protection of the economic, industrial, commercial, and agri
cultural interests.
The founders of any industrial association must deposit with the
mayor of the loealit}T, or in Paris with the prefect of the Seine, a copy
of the constitutions and the names of all who, under any title whatever,
are charged with its administration or direction. This deposit must be
renewed whenever a change is made in the administration or in the
constitutions.
These constitutions must be communicated by the mayor or the pre
feet of the Seine to the attorney (procureur) of the Pepublic.
All members of industrial associations who are charged with the
administration or direction of the latter must be Frenchmen, and must
be in the enjoyment of civil rights.
Industrial associations regularly constituted in accordance with the
present law may freely form federations for the study and protection of
their economic, industrial, commercial, and agricultural interests. These
federations must report, as above specified, the names of the associa
tions composing them. They can not possess real estate, nor have they
any status in court.
Industrial associations of employers or of workingmen have a status
in court. They may make use of funds derived from dues or assessments,
but can not acquire real estate other than what may be necessary for
their meetings, libraries, or for technical instruction.
They may institute among their members, without authorization,
special funds for mutual aid or old-age pensions, provided it is in con
formity with other provisions of law.
They are free to create and carry on employment bureaus. They may
be consulted in case of disputes and any question^ relating to their
special line.
In case of disputes, their advice may be placed at the disposition of
all parties, who may take note thereof and make copies.
Any member of an industrial association may withdraw at any time,
notwithstanding any clause to the contrary, but without prejudice to
the right of the association to recover the dues for the current year.
Any person who resigns his membership in an association retains his
right to continue as a member of any mutual-aid or old-age pension
societies toward which he has contributed either in the form of dues or
of other payments.
When property has been acquired in contravention of law the nullity
of the purchase or gift may be claimed by the attorney of the Repub
lic or by the parties interested. In case of purchase burdened with
certain conditions, the real property must be sold and the proceeds
deposited in the association’s treasury. In the case of gifts, they are
returned to the donors, or their heirs, or administrators.
Directors or officers may be held liable for infractions of the law
regarding industrial associations, the penalty being a fine of from 16 to
200 francs [$3.09 to $38.60]. The court may also, at the instance of the
attorney of the Republic, order the association dissolved, and may
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
839
cancel tlie purchase of any property contrary to this act. The fines
may be increased to 300 francs [$96.50] in cases of false declarations
regarding the constitution or the names or qualities of the officers or
directors.
By a decree of June 4, 1888, the Government fixed the conditions
under which associations of workingmen might in their collective
capacity bid upon, and, if successful, perform, contracts for the per
formance of work or furnishing of supplies for the central government.
On July 29, 1893, a law was passed giving to the associations of work
ingmen the same privilege as regards the public work of the communes.
In addition to the above legislation a law was passed March 14,1872,
directed specially against the International Workingmen’s Association.
This law, which is still in force, declares that uevery international
association, which, under any title, and especially that of the Interna
tional Workingmen’s Association, has as its object the suspension of
labor or an attack upon the right of property, the family, the country,
religion, or the free exercise of religious beliefs, shall by the mere fact
of its existence and of its ramifications upon French territory be an
offense against the public peace.” Affiliation with such an organization
is punishable by imprisonment of from 3 months to 2 years, a fine of
from 50 to 1,000 francs ($9,65 to $193), and suspension from civil and
certain other rights for from 5 to 10 years. This penalty can be increased
in the case of persons convicted of holding any office, or actively assist
ing in any function in the development of such an organization or in
the propagation of its doctrines. Connivance in its work in any way,
such as by renting a room in which meetings of the association or its
branches are to be held, is also a punishable offense.
A P P R E N T IC E S H IP .
As one of the consequences of the abolition of the guild system in
1791, the apprenticeship contract was made one to be settled by the
parties themselves. This liberty was soon abused, and it became
necessary to enact legislation to take the place of the old regulations
which had been abolished. The first law of this character was that of
22 Germinal, An XI, having for its purpose the protection of appren
tices against certain abuses of power on the part of their masters.
This law was replaced by the much more elaborate enactment of Feb
ruary 22, 1851. The latter in turn was modified in certain points of
detail by the law of May 19, 1874, concerning the employment of chil
dren, and again more materially by the law of November 2,1892, which
repealed the law of 1874.
The two fundamental laws relating to apprentices now in force are,
therefore, the laws of 1851 and 1892. The former contains provisions
concerning the apprenticeship contract generally and those regulating
the conditions of apprenticeship in commercial establishments, stores,
offices, etc. The latter merely supersedes the former in regard to the
age at which apprentices can be employed, their hours of labor, etc., in
840
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
industrial or manufacturing concerns. Following are the principal
features of the apprenticeship law.
The apprenticeship contract is defined by the law to be one by which
a manufacturer, the head of an industrial establishment, or a working
man obligates himself to instruct another person in the practice of his
trade, who in turn binds himself to work for the former for the period
and under the conditions agreed upon.
The contract can be made either in writing by public act or under
private signature, or orally. In case the sum in dispute as the result
of any infraction of the contract, however, is more than 150 francs
($28.95), the contract must be proved by a written document. The
written contract should be signed by the master and the representative
of the apprentice, and should contain the name, age, and residence of
the apprentice; the name, age, residence, and occupation of the master
and of the parents or guardian of the apprentice, or a person author
ized by the parents, or in the absence of any such person, by the justice
of the peace; the date and duration of the contract, and the conditions
regarding lodging, food, and any other stipulations entered into by
the parties.
In general, any adult person exercising a trade in which apprentice
ship is practicable has the right to have apprentices, subject only to
the exceptions that will be given. A workingman, as well as an
employer, can have apprentices, provided he works for himself and
fulfills the conditions required by the law concerning his ability to give
proper instruction, and exercises the proper oversight. A minor
engaged in a commercial pursuit can have an adult but not a minor
apprentice. The following persons are debarred from having appren
tices, viz, those who have been convicted of a crime or of an attempt
against good morals, or who have been condemned to more than 3
months7imprisonment for certain misdemeanors. This incapacity can
be removed, on the recommendation of the mayor, by the prefect, or, in
Paris, by the prefect of police, if the convicted person has resided in
the same commune for 3 years after the expiration of his term of
imprisonment.
An unmarried man or widower can not permit minor females as
apprentices to lodge at his house.
The duties of a master toward his apprentice are to conduct himself
as a good father toward the latter, to watch over his conduct and hab
its, either at home or outside, and to instruct him in the art or trade
which was the object of the contract. He must inform his parents or
guardian of any grave offenses that the apprentice may commit, or of
any vicious tendencies that he may manifest, or in case he is ill, absents
himself, or commits any act requiring their intervention. Unless other
wise agreed upon, an apprentice must not be employed upon work that
does not pertain to his trade, nor shall he be given work injurious to
his health or beyond his strength.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
841
The duration of actual labor must not exceed 10 hours per day lor
apprentices under 14 years of age, nor 12 hours for those from 14 to 16
years of age. No work at night, or from 9 p. m. to 5 a. m., can be
required of apprentices under 16 years of age. No modifications of
these provisions can be made except by the prefect, upon the recom
mendation of the mayor. No work can be required of apprentices on
Sundays and legal holidays, except where by virtue of special stipula
tions in the contract or general usage they can be employed on those
days in putting the shop in order, in which case such work must not
continue after 10 a. m.
If an apprentice under 16 years of age can not read, write, or figure,
or if he has not completed his first religious education, his master must
give him liberty and time, which need not exceed 2 hours daily, in which
to complete his education in these particulars.
At the end of the term of apprenticeship the master must give the
apprentice a release or a certificate setting forth the execution of the
contract.
The duties of the apprentice toward his master are those of fidelity,
obedience, respect, and the performance of his work according to his
full aptitude and strength. At the end of his apprenticeship he must
make up for any time lost on account of sickness or absence, if of over
15 days7duration.
The apprenticeship contract can be terminated at any time by the
agreement of both parties, or at the will of either party during the first
two months of the contract, which are considered as a probationary
period. The contract is terminated by the death of either party, or if
the master or apprentice is summoned for military service, or if the
master is convicted of any of the crimes disqualifying him from having
apprentices, or, in the case of a female minor lodging at the house of
her master, on the death of the master’s wife or any other female head
of the family who directed the household at the time of the contract.
Finally, the contract can be annulled through judicial procedure by
either party: If the stipulations of the contract are broken; if the provi
sions of the apprenticeship law are seriously and habitually violated;
if the apprentice habitually misconducts himself; if the master removes
to another commune, in which case, however, the contract is not voidable
until 3 months after the date of the removal; if either party is convicted
of an offense involving imprisonment for more than a month; and if the
apprentice marries. If the duration of the term of apprenticeship
agreed upon exceeds that sanctioned by the local customs, it can be
reduced or the contract can be annulled.
Any manufacturer, superintendent, or workman convicted of persuad
ing an apprentice unlawfully to break his contract, in order that he
may employ him as apprentice or workman, can be held liable for all
or part of the indemnity that may be obtained by the master who has
been abandoned.
6
64—No. 25
842
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The adjudication of disputes arising in relation to apprenticeship
contracts is made by the council of prudhommes, or, where there is no
such body, by the justice of the peace of the canton. Violations of the
provisions of the law regarding the disabilities of masters to have
apprentices, the limitation of the working time of apprentices, or the
giving to them of time for study are prosecuted before the police tri
bunal, and conviction involves a fine of from 5 to 15 francs ($0.97 to
$2.90). Upon a repetition of the offense, the penalty can be augmented
by imprisonment for 5 days, and where the second or subsequent viola
tion is in reference to the law regarding the disability of masters to have
apprentices consequent upon their having been convicted of a crime or
of violating public morals, as above described, the master can be prose
cuted before the bureau of correction and punished by imprisonment
for from 15 days to 3 months and the payment of a fine of from 50 to
300 francs ($9.65 to $57.90).
The foregoing provisions apply to apprentices in both commercial
and manufacturing establishments, with the exception that the hours
of labor, the age at which they can be employed, etc., of apprentices in
the latter class of works are regulated by the factory act of 1892, the
provisions of which are given elsewhere.
H I S T O R Y OF F A C T O R Y L E G IS L A T IO N .
If exception be made of certain decrees and ordinances concerning
dangerous and unhealthy establishments, made in the interest of the
public health, the first act passed by France in relation to the condi
tions of labor in factories was that of March 22, 1841. This law, enti
tled uAn act in relation to the employment of children in factories,
mills, and workshops,” was an advanced measure for that period. In
it were embraced, at least in principle, most of the features contained
in modern factory legislation. It, however, was never enforced except
in the feeblest manner. With the exception of one or two departments,
its provisions were almost wholly disregarded.
The Republic of 1848 was marked by renewed activity in the enact
ment of social legislation. Its most important action in the direction
of the regulation of industrial work was the decree of March 2,1848,
by which the radical step was taken of limiting the hours of labor of
adult males. By it the maximum duration of a day’s labor was fixed
at 10 hours for Paris and 11 hours elsewhere in France. This decree
was succeeded by the law of September 9, 1848, which is still in force.
By it, though the principle of the regulation of adult labor was left
untouched, its application was limited to factories and workshops,
as regulated by the factory act of 1841. The maximum hours of labor
that could be worked by employees in these establishments was changed
to 12 for all France. This law, like that of 1841, remained practically a
dead letter for want of officials to supervise its execution until 1883,
when a law, passed February 16 of that year, made its enforcement a
part of the duties of the factory inspectors.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
843
In the meantime the factory act of 1841 remained unchanged, and
was seldom enforced during a period of over 30 years. The Third
Kepublic, however, as one of its first measures of labor legislation,
enacted the law of May 19, 1874, by which the system of factory legis
lation was thoroughly reorganized, and means, though inadequate,
provided for its enforcement.
Although tliis law constituted a great advance over the one it
replaced, it presented defects and omissions that became more prominent as production upon a large scale developed. The constantly grow
ing demand for the further restriction of the employment of women and
children, the maintenance of better hygienic conditions in factories,
and the provision of more effective means for preventing accidents, led
finally to its repeal and the enactment in its place of the law of Novem
ber 2, 1892, which is now in force. This law was supplemented in the
following year by the act of June 12,1893, in relation to the hygiene
and security of workers in industrial establishments. Together these
two acts give to France a code of laws for the regulation of factory
and workshop labor comparable with those of other European nations.
In the following paragraphs are given (1 ) a statement of the lav/ of
t 1848 regarding the hours of labor of adult males, and (2) a summary
of the provisions of the acts of 1892 and 1893. It is to be understood
that all three of the acts are completed and much amplified by official
decrees and orders issued in virtue of their provisions.
H O U R S OF L A B O R OF M A L E A D U L T S .
The act of September 9, 1848, in relation to the hours of labor of
male adults is a very brief one, and makes the following provisions:
(1 ) The hours of effective labor of employees in factories and work
shops (a) shall not exceed 12 per day ; (2 ) the Government shall have
the power to designate by order those industries which by reason of
the nature of the industry, or causes beyond control, should be exempt
from the provisions of this act; and (3) the penalty for violating the
act shall be a fine of from 5 to 100 francs ($0.97 to $19.30). By virtue
of the power given to it, as above described, the Government has,
by decrees dated May 17, 1851, January 31, I860, and April 3,1889,
enumerated a number of industries and kinds of work which are
exempt from the provisions of this law. The enforcement of the law is
made by the act of 1892 a part of the duties of the ordinary factory
inspectors.
E M P L O Y M E N T OF W O M E N A N D C H IL D R E N .
The act of 1892 applies to u all labor of children, female minors, and
women in workshops, factories, mines, quarries, yards, or premises
belonging to the same, of whatever nature, whether public or private,
a An official circular dated November 25, 1885, defines the expression mines et
manufactures, as here used, to include all establishments making use of a mechanical
power or continuous fire, and every industrial establishment employing more than
20 persons in the same place,
844
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Jay or ecclesiastical, or whether the establishment is industrial or phil
anthropic in character.” The only exception is labor performed in
establishments where none but members of the family are employed,
under the direction of the father, mother, or guardian, and no steam
or other mechanical motive power is used, and which are not classed
as dangerous or unhealthy.
No child under 12 years of age can be employed or admitted in any
establishment embraced under the provisions of the act. No child
under 13 years of age can be employed unless provided with a cer
tificate of primary education in accordance with the education law
of March 28, 1882, and a certificate of physical fitness from a duly
authorized examining physician.
A factory inspector may also at any time require any child under 16
years of age to be examined for the purpose of ascertaining whether
the work given to it to perform is too great for its strength, and in case
he finds such to be the case he can order such employment to be dis
continued.
In orphan asylums and philanthropic institutions where primary
instruction is given, no child under 13 years of age, except children 12
years of age who are provided with certificates of primary instruction,
can be occupied more than 3 hours per day in receiving manual and
technical training.
No child under 16 years of age can be employed at actual labor for
more than 10 hours per day; and no child from 16 to 18 years o f age
can be employed at actual labor for more than 1 1 hours per day or 60
hours per week. In all cases the labor period must be broken by one
or more intermissions for rest, the total duration of which must be not
less than 1 hour.
In order to facilitate the execution of the law the act provides that
each child under 18 years of age, as a condition to employment, must
be provided with a pass book (livret) showing his or her name, age,
place of birth, and present address. If the child is under 13 years of
age it must also show that the owner has received a certificate of pri
mary education. This book must be furnished gratuitously by the
mayors to the parents or guardian of the child. Upon the child
accepting employment the book must be given into the hands of the
employer, who must enter in it the dates at which the child enters
and leaves his service.
A special clause of the act provides that no child under 13 years of
age can be employed as an actor, supernumerary, etc., at public exhibi
tions given in theaters or music halls. The minister of public instruc
tion and fine arts at Paris and the prefects in the departments can,
however, grant special permission for such employment in exceptional
cases. The employment o f children under 16 years of age as profes
sional beggars, acrobats, and the like in strolling theatrical companies
is prohibited by the special law of December 7,1874.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
845
No woman over 18 years of age can be employed at actual labor for
more than 1 1 hours per day, broken by one or more intervals of rest
of a total duration «of at least 1 hour.
Women and children can not be employed in unhealthy or dangerous
establishments where the laborer is exposed to operations or emana
tions detrimental to health, except under special conditions, as deter
mined by regulations of the Government. The Government is also
given the power to forbid absolutely, by order, the employment of
women and children in work involving danger, a too great expenditure
of strength, or influences prejudicial to morality.
N IG H T W O R K .
The general rule regarding night work, or labor between the hours
of 9 p. m. and 5 a. m., is that no person under 18 years of age, and no
woman, can be so employed. To this general rule the law provides for
the following exceptions:
1 . Work is permitted between the hours of 4 a. m. and 10 p. m,. when
it is performed by means of two shifts, neither of which exceeds 9 hours
broken by a rest of at least 1 hour’s duration.
2 . The Government can designate by order certain industries in
which women over 18 years of age can be employed, according to the
conditions set forth in the order, until 1 1 o’clock at night at certain
times during the year. This permission can not be for more than 60
days during the year, and in no case can a woman be permitted to
work more than 12 hours per day. This exemption has chiefly in view
seasonal work.
3. The Government has also the power to designate by order those
industries which shall be permanently exempt from the restrictions
regarding night work, but the work can in no case exceed 7 hours in
the 24.
4. The Government can in the same way grant a temporary exemp
tion to specified industries.
5. Finally, any inspector can grant to particular establishments tem
porary exemptions for a definite period of time when work has been
interrupted by an accident or causes beyond control.
S U N D A Y A N D H O L ID A Y LABO R.
Children under 18 years of age and women can not be employed for
more than 6 days per week, nor on holidays recognized by law. A
notice must be posted by the employer showing the day adopted as the
weekly day of rest. The law of 1874 made obligatory the selection of
Sunday as this day. Under the present law any day agreed upon by
the employer and his employees can be selected. It is not even neces
sary that all the employees should have the same day. The legal holi
days are Christmas, New Year’s, Ascension Day, Assumption Day, All
Saints Day, Easter Monday, Pentecost Monday, and the national holi
day of July 14.
846
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
To the above regulation there are permitted the following exceptions:
1. In establishments where continuous fires must be maintained,
adult women and male children may be employed at night during every
day of the week at labor which is indispensable, on condition that each
one has at least 1 day of rest per week. The work permitted and
the length of time during which it can be executed must be fixed by
order of the Government.
2. In those industries designated by the order of the Government,
the division inspector of factories can grant a temporary exemption
similar to that mentioned above.
K E E P IN G - R E G IS T E R S , P O S T IN G R E G U L A T IO N S , ETC .
A ll employers of children under 18 years of age must keep a register
in which is entered the information contained in the children’s pass
books.
Employers of labor or renters of motive power are required to keep
posted in their shops copies of the provisions of this act, of the orders
of the Government for its administration, and of the regulations that
particularly concern their industries, and a list of the names and
addresses of the inspectors of their districts.
A notice must also be posted showing the hours of beginning and
ending work and the duration of the intervals of rest. One duplicate
of this notice must be sent to the inspector of the district, and another
be deposited at the mayor’s office.
In all places of work, orphan asylums, and charitable or benevolent
workshops belonging to religious or lay establishments there must
be posted a permanent and legible bulletin, countersigned by the
inspector, showing the provisions of the law regarding child labor, the
hours o f labor, intervals of rest, and hours for study and meals. A
list must also be furnished quarterly to the inspector, certified by the
principals, of all children who are inmates of the above-named estab
lishments, showing their full names and dates and places of birth.
R E P O R T IN G A N D IN V E S T I G A T I O N O F A C C ID E N T S .
Every accident occurring in an establishment subject to the law of
1892 which results in an injury (a) to one or more workingmen must be
reported by the employer within the next 48 hours to the mayor of the
commune. This notice must contain the names and addresses of the
witnesses to the accident, and have attached to it a certificate of a
physician, to be procured by the employer, showing the nature and
probable effects of the injury and the time when it will be possible to
know the definite results.
Upon the receipt of this notice the mayor must make an investiga
tion of the accident in a manner to be determined by an order of the
a A decree issued November 20, 1893, defines accidents that should be reported as
those causing the victim to be unable to work for 3 or more days.
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
847
Government. The mayor must also acknowledge the receipt of the
notice, and likewise inform the divisional or departmental inspector of
the occurrence of the accident.
IN S P E C T IO N O F F A C T O R IE S .
Undoubtedly one of the most important features of the act of 1892
was that whereby provision was made for the first time for an effective
system of factory and workshop inspection. Under the law of 1874
the division inspectors were appointed by the central government, the
selection of the departmental inspectors being left to the departments,
which might or might not make such provision as they deemed desir
able. This defective system was radically changed by the law of 1892.
Provision is there made for a corps of factory inspectors, wholly depend
ent upon the central government, consisting of division and depart
mental inspectors appointed by the minister of commerce and industry.
Their number, salaries, and districts are determined by decrees issued
upon the recommendation of the committee of arts and manufactures
and the superior council of labor—a body created by this act.
The departmental inspectors are under the authority of the division
inspectors and can be either male or female. All inspectors must make
oath that they will not reveal any secrets of manufacture or, in general,
any operations that may come to their notice in the exercise of their
functions.
No person can be appointed an inspector until he has successfully
passed the competitive examination held for that purpose by the
superior council of labor. Definite appointment is not made until
after a probationary period of one year has been served.
The inspectors are specifically given the duty of enforcing not only
the act of 1892, providing for their appointment, but also the act of
September 9, 1848, in relation to the hours of labor of adults, and the
act of December 7, 1874, in relation to the employment of children in
traveling shows. When the act of June 12 , 1893, was passed in rela
tion to the hygiene and security of workingmen, its enforcement was
likewise intrusted to these officials. In all matters, however, that con
cern mines and quarries the execution of the laws is intrusted exclu
sively to the corps of mining engineers, who for this service are placed
under the authority of the minister of commerce and industry.
In the performance of stheir duties inspectors have the right to enter
all establishments coming under the provisions of the law of 1892 and
to inspect the different registers, shop regulations, and employee’s pass
books and certificates of physical fitness. All contraventions of the
law reported by the inspectors shall be considered as proved until the
contrary is shown. These reports of infractions of the law must be
made in duplicate, one copy being sent to the prefect of the depart
ment and the other filed in the office of the public prosecutor. The
above provisions do not modify in any way the common law regarding
accusations and prosecutions for violations of the law.
848
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The inspectors are also given the duty of preparing statistics show
ing the condition of industrial labor in their districts. A general report
giving a summary of the reports of inspectors must be published annu
ally under the direction of the minister of commerce and industry.
A D V IS O R Y
C O M M IS S IO N S .
As an additional means of securing not only the proper enforcement
of the provisions of the law, but also information concerning modifica
tions that experience might show to be desirable, provision is made in
the act for the constitution of three advisory commissions or councils.
The first of these bodies, which is designated as the superior com
mission of labor, consists of 9 persons—2 senators and 2 deputies, elected
by their colleagues, and 5 members appointed by the President of the
Republic. This body, which serves without pay, was established to
assist the minister of commerce and industry, and is specially charged
with the following duties: (1 ) To see that the law is uniformly and prop
erly enforced 5 (2 ) to advise in regard to the making of regulations and
orders, and generally in regard to questions having to do with the pro
tection of the working people; and (3) to prescribe the requirements
of candidates for the position of inspector and prepare the programme
for the competitive examinations by means of which they are selected.
This commission receives the detailed reports of the inspectors, and
from them prepares an annual report to the President concerning the
results of inspections.
Secondly, the general councils of the departments are required to
create one or more departmental commissions with the duty of preparing
reports on the execution of the acts in their districts and the improve
ments that may be made in the law. These commissions must include
in their membership the president and vice-president of the council of
prudhommes of the chief town or industrial center of the department
and the mining engineers of the district, where there are such.
Finally, the law directs the formation in each district of committees
o f patronage, having for their object the protection of apprentices and
children employed in industrial establishments and their development
and industrial education. The number and jurisdiction of these com
mittees are determined by the general councils of the departments, and
their constitutions must be approved by the prefects, or in the depart
ment of the Seine by the minister of commerce and industry. Members
are appointed for 3 years, but are eligible for reappointment. The
committees are administered by a commission of 7 members, 4 of whom
are named by the general council and 3 by the prefect. Members serve
without pay.
Violations of the act are prosecuted in a police court (tribunal de sim
ple police). Fines of from 5 to 15 francs ($0.97 to $2.90) can be imposed
for each person employed in violation of the law. In case of the repe
tition of an offense the offender is prosecuted in a court of correction
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
849
(tribunal correctionnel), and can be punished by a line of from 16 to 100
francs ($3.09 to $19.30). The court may furthermore order the judgment
to be posted up or even inserted in one or more newspapers of the
department at the expense of the offender.
Any person who places an obstacle in the way of or hinders an
inspector in the performance of his duty can be punished by a fine
of from 100 to 500 francs ($19.30 to $96.50), and upon repetition of the
offense by a fine of from 500 to 1,000 francs ($96.50 to $193).
Begulations issued by the Government concerning the application of
the law must be prepared upon the advice of the superior commission
of labor and the consulting committee of arts and manufactures.
P R E V E N T IO N OF A C C ID E N T S A N D P R O T E C T IO N OF H E A L T H OF
EM PLO YEES.
The act of 1892, though directed primarily to the regulation of the
labor of women and children, contained two articles, the purpose of
which was to impose certain general obligations upon employers to take
precautions for the safeguarding of the health and lives of employees.
As these provisions are reproduced in the act of June 12 , 1893, their
character can best be shown in the summary of that law to which atten
tion is now directed.
The scope of this law is broader than that of the act of 1892. It
applies to mills, factories, and workshops of all kinds and their depend
encies, with the single exception of establishments where only members
of the same family work under the direction of father, mother, or tutor
(■tuteur). If, however, any such domestic workshop makes use of a steam
engine or mechanical motor, or the work there carried on is classed
among the list of dangerous and unhealthy industries, the inspectors
of factories can prescribe the measures of health and security that must
be observed in conformity with the provisions of this act.
A statement of the main provisions of the act follows. All estab
lishments comprehended under the act must be maintained in a con
stant state of cleanliness, be properly lighted and ventilated, and pre
sent all ther conditions of safety and salubrity necessary for the health
of the employees.
In all establishments containing mechanical apparatus the wheels,
belts, gearing, or other machinery that may be a source of danger must
be guarded in such a manner that access to them by the employees
shall be impossible except for the needs of the service. Shafts, trap
doors, and openings must be railed in. Machines, engines, tools, and
means for transmitting power must be installed and maintained in such
a way as to afford every possible protection against accidents. All
of these foregoing provisions are applicable to theaters, warehouses,
and other similar establishments where use is made of mechanical
apparatus.
The Government shall, upon the advice of the consulting committee
850
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
of arts and manufactures, determine by special orders (1) within 3
months from the promulgation of the law, the general measures of
hygiene and protection that must be taken by all establishments, and
notably in regard to lighting, ventilation, drinking water, privies,
removal of dust and vapors, precautions against lire, etc.$ (2 ) as
necessary, special provisions regarding certain industries or certain
methods of work.
The consulting committee of public hygiene must be called upon for
its advice in regard to all orders respecting industrial establishments
generally.
The inspectors of factories are given the same powTer for enforcing this
act as they have in regard to the act of 1892. In all cases, however,
where they find that the provisions -of the law or government orders
are not complied with, they must first notify the proprietor of this nonobservance of law by entering the fact upon the register of the estab
lishment, make such order as is required, and fix the time, not less than
one month, within which it must be complied with. The proprietor can
appeal against this order to the minister of commerce during the next
15 days after the receipt of the notice. If the change necessitates
important modifications, the latter can, after having taken the advice
of the committee of arts and manufactures, permit a delay in making
the change, which, however, can in no case exceed 18 months. When
this is done the inspector must be duly notified.
The method of enforcing this law is much the same as that of the law
of 1892. Infractions of the law are prosecuted before the police court
and are punished by fines of from 5 to 15 francs ($0.97 to $2.90). The
judgment must also indicate the time within which its order must be
complied with. In case the judgment is not obeyed, the correctional
tribunal can order the closing of the establishments. For a second
offense fines of from 50 to 500 francs ($9.65 to $96.50) can be imposed
for each infraction of the law, or a total of 2,000 francs ($386).
The inspectors are required to make detailed annual reports con
cerning the application of the law in their districts. The reports must
make mention of all accidents to workingmen and their causes, and
contain recommendations for such new regulations as they deem to be
desirable. The minister of commerce and industry is directed to make
an annual general report, giving a summary of their contents.
The provisions of the act of 1892 regarding the reporting of accidents
are repeated in the present law.
P A R T IC U L A R S OF W O R K A N D W A G E S .
When the obligation for adult employees to be provided with pass
books was removed in 1890, special exception was made of the law of
March 7, 1850, in relation to books showing particulars of work and
wages in the industry of weaving and winding, and the provisions of
the law of March 18,1806, concerning a system of pass books in opera
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
851
tion at Lyons. The latter measure, relating as it does to a particular
locality only, need not liere be considered.
The law of 1850 is similar in its general features to the English law,
requiring particulars of work and wages to be furnished piece workers.
It requires employers, or their agents, in giving out thread or yarn to
be wound or woven, to inscribe in a book belonging to the employee
certain particulars describing the work to be done and the price to be
paid, in order that the workingman can determine the exact nature of
the contract he is entering into and the remuneration he will receive for
his services. The Government is also given the power to extend these
requirements to allied branches of the textile trade.
A R B IT R A T IO N T R I B U N A L S : C O U N C IL S OF P R U D H O M M E S .
In France the distinction between individual and collective labor
disputes is clearly made. It has been only within recent years that
any important legislation for the settlement of disputes of the second
class, or strikes, has been attempted. For the adjustment of indi
vidual disputes, however, France has long had, in her conseils de
prudthommes, a special system of labor courts that constitutes one of
her most distinctive social institutions.
These councils have been defined as “ special tribunals composed of
employers and workingmen, created for the purpose of adjusting, by
conciliation if possible, or judicially if conciliation fails, disputes between
employers and workingmen, or between employers or superintendents
and apprentices. They have also, in addition to their judicial func
tions, certain attributes of an' administrative character, notably in
respect to the registering of factory designs. In respect to their juris
diction they are hierarehally below the tribunals of commerce, to
which an appeal from their decisions, involving over a certain sum,
can be made.77(a)
The first council of prudhommes was created by the law of March
18, 1806, for the city of Lyons, at the solicitation of the silk merchants
of that city, who desired an institution to take the place of their com
mon tribunal, which they had had before the abolition of the guild
system. Although this law related to but a single city, it was so
framed that similar councils might be organized by decree in other
cities. This privilege was quickly availed of by other important
industrial centers.
The general conditions to be followed in the creation of the councils
were set forth in a decree issued June 11,1809. Various other decrees
introducing greater or less changes followed. The first general law on
the subject was that passed June 1,1853, which in turn has been mod
ified by subsequent legislation. The laws now in force regarding coun
cils of prudhommes are the whole or parts of the acts of March 18,
a Trait<5 diementaire de legislation industrielle, par Paul Pic, p. 508.
852
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
1806, August 7, 1850, June 1, 1853, June 4, 1864, February 7, 1880,
February 23, 1881, November 24, 1883, and December 10, 1884.
Councils of prudhommes are created for particular localities and
industries by decrees of the central government, upon the recommenda
tion o f the chambers of commerce, the consultative chambers of arts
and manufactures, and the municipal councils of the districts for which
the councils are proposed. The decrees determine, in each case, the
geographical boundary of the jurisdiction of the council, which may
be a city, one or more communes or cantons, or an entire arrondissement;
the number of members of the council, which must be not less than 6,
exclusive of the president and vice-president; and also the particular
industries for which the council is created.
The members of the council are elected by the following two electoral
classes: (1) Employers 25 years of age and having had a patent or per
mission to carry on their trade for at least 5 years, the last 3 of which
have been in the district, or those associated under a collective name,
whether having a patent or not, and having exercised for 5 years a
trade subject to a patent, and domiciled in the district during the last
3 years; and (2) superintendents, foremen, and workingmen who have
exercised their trades for at least 5 years and who have resided in
the district of the council for the last 3 years.
Only electors 30 years of age or over, and who can read and write, are
eligible for election as members of the councils.
Foreigners and persons who have been deprived by law of the right
of suffrage are ineligible either as electors or members of the councils.
The formalities of elections are as follows: In each commune of the
district covered by a council, the mayor, assisted by two assessors
selected by him, one from among the employer electors and one from
the workingman electors, compiles a list of electors, which he sends to
the prefect. From these lists the prefect prepares and publishes a list
of the electors. In case of dissatisfaction, recourse may be had to
the council of the prefecture or to the civil tribunals, according to the
provisions of the law in relation to municipal elections. Upon the
appointed day the employer electors and the superintendent, fore
man, and workingman electors meet in separate assemblies and elect
their representatives to the council.
An equal number of members is elected by each class. The president
and vice-president are elected by the council itself from among its mem
bers in full assembly. When the president is a representative of the
employers, the vice-president must be a representative of the employees,
and vice versa. In case, however, either class collectively abstain from
voting at an election for the councils, or cast their votes for a person
notoriously ineligible, or the persons elected refuse to serve or system
atically abstain from attending meetings, a new election must be held
within the following fortnight. I f the same obstacles are again met
with, the persons duly elected, if they are equal to one-half the total
number of members of the council, can organize and act, no matter
FOREIGN LAEOli LA AVS.
853
whether all of them represent one class or not. In this case both the
president and vice-president can be either employers or employees, as
the case may be.
The term of service of members is 6 years, one-half the members retir
ing every 3 years. Members are eligible for reelection. The prefect
convokes the electors whenever, occasion arises for electing new mem
bers. The president and vice-president hold office for one year, but can
be reelected. Bach council elects a secretary by a majority vote, who
is generally a permanent officer, as he can remain indefinitely in office
unless dismissed by a two-thirds vote.
Members of the council in general serve without pay, though the law
of 1880 permits the communes to fix and pay a remuneration to them if
they wish to do so. In case a person elected as a member of a council
refuses to perform his duties, he can be considered as having resigned,
and in cases of grave dereliction he can be called before the council to
give an explanation, and if this is not satisfactory he can be either
censured, suspended, or dismissed.
In order that the councils may exercise their dual functions as com
mittees of conciliation and labor courts, each one is divided into two
sections, called, respectively, the general bureau and the special bureau.
The special bureau consists of 2 members—an employer and an employee.
It must hold meetings at least once a week, at which the 2 members
preside alternately. The function of this bureau is to terminate, by way
of conciliation, the minor disputes which daily arise between employers
and employees. In case it is unsuccessful it turns over the matter to
the general bureau, or bureau of judgment as it is sometimes called.
Members of the council can, in certain cases, upon the request of the
parties, visit employers, superintendents, or workingmen in order to
inform themselves by personal examination whether laws and regula
tions are properly complied with. In such cases they must be accom
panied by a public officer.
The general bureau, which sits as a court, is composed of the presi
dent and vice-president of the council, and an equal number, not less
than 2 , of employer and workingman members. It must .meet at least
twice a month, at which not less than two-thirds of the members must
be present.
The procedure followed before both the special and general bureaus is
as simple and inexpensive as possible. The parties can present them
selves voluntarily, or the defendant can be summoned by a simple
letter, or, if necessary, by a formal citation. Representation by counsel
is prohibited. Decisions are given by a majority vote of the members
present.
Turning now to the powers of the councils, it will be remembered
that they have both judicial and administrative functions. Both are
strictly limited. As a court the council of prudhommes is simply a
body for adjusting differences between employers and employees, and
can not take action in any other matters. Disputes between employers
854
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
or between employees do not fall within its jurisdiction. The subject
in dispute must arise in one of the industries for which the council is
created, and must relate to matters arising out of the labor contract or
apprenticeship. The most important class of questions coming before
these bodies are, therefore, those relating to wages, hours of labor, pen
alties for defective work, and the observance of the conditions set forth
in apprenticeship agreements.
When the amount involved in a dispute does not exceed 200 francs
($38.60) the judgment of the council is final. If the amount is over
that sum an appeal can be made to the tribunal of commerce. Even
though an appeal is taken, however, the council can order the execution
of its judgment up to 200 francs ($38.60), and more than that sum if a
proper indemnity bond is given.
The councils also have to some extent criminal or punitive powers.
They can thus examine acts of workingmen in the industries coming
under their jurisdiction tending to disturb order or discipline and all
grave faults of masters toward their apprentices, and impose penalties
of imprisonment not to exceed 3 days. But little use is made of this
power, as the justices of the peace have concurrent jurisdiction.
The administrative duties of the councils consist (1 ) in serving as
the depositaries of designs for work of which employers wish to retain
the exclusive use; (2 ) in keeping and forwarding to the central govern
ment a record of the number of existing trades and the number of
employees in each establishment under their jurisdiction; and (3) in
serving as a consultative body. In order to perform the second duty
they can enter factories after giving a 2 days’ notice of their intention
to do so. The councils are frequently summoned by the administrative
authorities to give their advice on measures relating to labor that are
under consideration.
The services of the councils are gratuitous, with the exception that
certain small fees are required for the execution of the different official
papers. These must, in general, be borne by the party found at fault.
A council can at any time be dissolved by decree.
In cities not included in the jurisdiction of any council, disputes
between employers and their employees are settled by justices of the
peace, subject to appeal to the civil courts in the more important cases.
A R B IT R A T IO N T R I B U N A L S : C O L L E C T IV E D IS P U T E S .
hTothing in the general law of France prevents parties to a dispute
from referring the matter to another party for settlement. The first
and only law having for its purpose the encouragement of such refer
ence and making provision for the means by which it can be done was
passed December 27,1892. This law being a brief and compact act, its
provisions can well be shown by a translation of the law. The act reads:
Whenever disputes of a collective character arise between employ
ers and employees regarding the conditions of employment, they may
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS.
855
submit the questions at issue to a board of conciliation, or, in default of
an agreement being arrived at by this board, to a council of arbitration,
which shall be constituted in the following manner:
The employers or employees may, either together or separately, in
person or by proxy, address a declaration in writing to the justice of
the peace of the canton or of one of the cantons in which the dispute
lias arisen, setting forth: (1) The names, titles, and domiciles of the
applicants or their proxies; (2 ) the matter in dispute, with a succinct
account of the motives alleged by the parties; (3) the names, titles,
and domiciles of the persons to be notified of the proposal of concilia
tion or arbitration; (4) the names, titles, and domiciles of the delegates
chosen by the applicants from among the persons concerned to assist
or to represent them, the number not to exceed 5.
Within 24 hours the justice of the peace must deliver a notice of the
receipt of this declaration, specifying the date and hour of its deposit,
to the opposing parties or their representatives, either by letter or, if
necessary, by notices posted on the doors of the office of the justice of
the peace of the canton or the mayor of the commune in which the dis
pute has arisen.
Upon receipt of this notification, or within 3 days thereafter, those
concerned must send their response to the justice of the peace. After
this delay their silence is regarded as a refusal.
If they accept, they must designate in their response the names, titles,
and domiciles of the delegates chosen to assist or to represent them,
the latter not to exceed 5 persons.
If the departure or absence of the persons notified of the proposal,
or if the necessity for consulting attorneys, partners, or an adminis
trative council, prevents a response within 3 days, the representatives
of the said persons must within 3 days declare what delay is necessary
in order to make a reply. This declaration must be transmitted to the
applicants within 24 hours by the justice of the peace.
If the proposal is accepted the justice of the peace must urgently
invite the parties or their delegates to organize a committee of concilia
tion. The meetings must take place in the presence of the justice of
the peace who may be appointed by committee to preside over the
discussions.
If an agreement is reached, as to the conditions of the conciliation,
these conditions are set down in a report prepared by the justice of
the peace and signed by the parties or their delegates.
If an agreement can not be reached the justice of the peace invites
the parties to appoint either one or more arbitrators each, or to select
a common arbitrator.
If the arbitrators do not agree as to the solution of the dispute, they
may choose a new arbitrator to act as umpire.
If the arbitrators can neither decide upon the solution of the dispute
nor agree as to the umpire, they shall declare the fact in the report of
proceedings, and the umpire will then be named by the president of
the civil tribunal after examining the report of proceedings, which must
immediately be sent to the latter by the justice of the peace.
The decision of the point at issue, when reached, is sent to the jus
tice of the peace, revised and signed by the arbitrators.
When a strike occurs in default of initiative on the part of those
interested, the justice of the peace, by the means already indicated,
must invite the employers and employees, or their representatives, to
make known to him within 3 days: (1) The matter in dispute, with a suc
cinct account of the motives alleged; (2 ) the acceptance or refusal of
856
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
recourse to conciliation and arbitration; (3) if accepted, the names,
titles, and domiciles of the delegates chosen by the parties, the persons
chosen not to exceed 5 in number for each side.
The delay of 3 days may be increased for reasons stated in the case
of private initiative, and if the proposal is accepted the matter pro
ceeds in the same manner as already indicated.
The reports and decisions above mentioned must be preserved in the
minutes at the office of the justice of the peace, who must send a copy
free of charge to each of the parties and address one copy to the min
ister of commerce and industry through the prefect.
The request for conciliation and arbitration, the refusal or failure to
respond on the part of the other party, the decision of the committee
o f conciliation or of the arbitrators, which are transmitted by the
justice of the peace to the mayor of each commune over which, the
dispute extends, must be made public by each of these mayors, who
must post the notices in the place reserved for official publications.
The posting of these decisions may also be done by the parties
interested, and the notices in this case are exempt from stamp duty.
The premises needed for the meetings of the committees of concilia
tion or councils of arbitration must be provided, heated, and lighted by
the communes in which the meetings take place.
The expenses resulting therefrom must be included in the obligatory
expenditures o f the commune.
The expenses of the boards of conciliation and arbitration must be
fixed by an order of the prefect of the department and must be carried
on the departmental budget as obligatory expenditures.
All acts executed in carrying out the provisions of the present law
are exempt from stamp duty and are registered gratis.
The arbitrators and delegates named under the present act must be
citizens of France.
In trades or industries where women are employed they may be
chosen as delegates on condition that they are of French nationality.
This law also applies to the colonies of Guadeloupe, Martinique, and
Reunion.
B U R E A U OF LA B O R .
France was the first European country to follow the example of the
United States and create a bureau for the collection of statistics and
information concerning labor. The law creating this office is dated
July 20, 1891. It simply provides that a bureau of labor shall be
created under the ministry of commerce and industry for the purpose
of u collecting, coordinating, and publishing information concerning
statistics of labor. v The organization and detailed duties of the
bureau were fixed by subsequent decrees. As originally constituted
its work was limited strictly to the collection of statistics in relation
to labor. From time to time, however, other statistical work has been
turned over to it, so that at the present time it publishes not only
special reports on labor conditions, and a monthly bulletin, but the
annual statistical abstract, the annual returns of births, deaths, mar
riages, etc., the annual report on trade associations, and the results of
the periodical censuses. It has, in fact, become the central or general
statistical bureau of France.
RECENT REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR STATISTICS.
MARYLAND.
Seventh Annual Report o f the Bureau of Industrial Statistics o f Maryland. 1898. Jefferson D. Wade, Chief of Bureau, xvi, 257 pp.
The following information is contained in the present report: Descrip
tion of the counties of Maryland, 71 pages; statistics of industries, 70
pages; list of corporations, 61 pages; the coal industry, 38 pages; the
oyster, tobacco, and tomato and corn packing industries, 4 pages; labor
laws passed in 1898,10 pages.
D e s c r i p t i o n o f C o u n t i e s .—This chapter contains an account of
each county of the State, in which is given its history, population, area,
topography, character of soil, resources, etc.
S t a t i s t i c s o f I n d u s t r i e s .—Tables are given showing for each
county and for the State the name, character, and location of each
industry enumerated, the average number of employees, average weeks
in operation, daily hours of labor, system of wage payments, and total
wages paid in 1898, and the condition of business in 1898 as compared
with 1897. The data were obtained by personal canvass, and relate to
the entire State, except Baltimore and its immediate vicinity. The
following table summarizes the data shown for the various industries:
EM PLOYEES AND W A G E S P A ID IN 1898, AN D CONDITION OF BUSINESS AS COMPARED
W IT H 1897, IN THE VAR IOUS INDUSTR IES OF M A R Y L A N D , EXCLU SIVE OF THE
CITY OF BALTIM ORE.
- Industriss.
Establishments reporting as
to business.
Estab
Em
lish
Wages paid.
ployees.
1
No
ments.
Increase. Decrease.
change.
New
estab
lish
ments.
1
Canneries.......................................
Coal miners and shippers.........
Cotton-goods manufactories___
Flour and feed manufactories..
Lumber manufactories...............
Oyster packers............................
Paper manufactories...................
Railroad repair shops.................
Shirt manufactories...................
Steel and tin-plate manufac
tories ..........................................
Other industries..........................
100
12
6
170
147
43
15
4
17
9,322
3, 867
978
757
2,139
2, 662
1,172
594
1,250
$680, 285.44
2,277, 633. 74
261, 400. 64
254,962. 50
691,183.60
375, 317. 00
557,810. 70
287,510.40
250, 977. 30
41
5
3
49
57
11
10
2
9
1
429
350
8,501
267,243. 60
2, 844,114.12
1
205
52
153
19
T otal...................................
944
31,592
8, 748,439. 04
393
124
393
34
64—No. 25-----7
9
26
28
9
47
6
2
93
62
21
5
2
2
857
3
1
1
2
2
6
858
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
C o r p o r a t i o n s .—A list is given of the corporations in the State,
except the city of Baltimore, arranged by counties, and showing in each
case the name, location, date of incorporation, and amount of capital
stock. A summary showing the number of corporations and the total
capital stock, by industries, is given for each county and for the State
as a whole. There were 887 corporations reported, with an aggregate
capital stock of $134,163,735, the city of Baltimore not being included.
C o a l M in in g s —The chapter on coal mining gives the history and
development of this industry in the State, the area, location, and extent
of the coal beds, cost and methods of production, etc., and statistical
tables showing the coal shipments over the various coal routes for a
series of years. The total coal shipment in 1898 amounted to 5,533,635
tons.
NEBRASKA.
Sixth Biennial Report o f the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics
o f Nebraska, fo r the years 1897 and 1898. Sidney J. Kent, Deputy
Commissioner. 1,188 pp.
The present report contains a large amount of material relating to
the State of Nebraska, its agricultural, manufacturing, transportation,
and other interests. Following are some of the more important sub
jects treated: Population and description of counties, 140 pages ; wages,
48 pages; manufacturers’ returns, 117 pages; wages of city employees,
5 pages; farmers’ returns, 12 pages; mortgage indebtedness, 16 pages;
water works, electric light and power plants, and gas works, 80 pages;
street railways, 3 pages; railroad employees, 16 pages; industrial and
agricultural training, 126 pages; labor unions, 136 pages; building
trades, 15 pages; free employment bureau, 6 pages. Other chapters
relate to farm products, bonded indebtedness by counties, statistics of
crimes, prisons, almshouses, churches, schools, and newspapers, a list
of manufacturing establishments and creameries, labor laws, etc.
P o p u l a t i o n a n d D e s c r i p t i o n o f C o u n t i e s .—This chapter con
tains a brief account of each county, giving the population, railways,
railway mileage, acres of improved and unimproved land, principal
industries, irrigation, and the surplus products marketed in 1897.
W a g e s .—Tables are given showing, by industries and occupations,
for each county, the number of employees, highest, lowest, and average
wages, days worked, yearly earnings, and hours of labor per day. The
average daily wages and average yearly earnings, and the average days
worked per year and the average hours worked per day, for each of the
various industries, are shown by counties and for the State. The infor
mation was compiled from reports of county clerks, based on data gath
ered by precinct assessors. Following is a presentation of the data for
the State.
859
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR— NEBRASKA.
A V E R A G E TIM E AND EARNINGS, B Y INDUSTRIES.
Average Average Average
Average day .
yearly
daily
daily
wort A
earn hours of
wages. pery ir. ings.
labor.
Industries.
Building trades..........................................................................................
W oodworking............................................................................................
Printing and bookbinding ...................................................................
Ironwork....................................................................................................
Railway labor ............................................................................................
Office w ork............................................................................................ .
Farm labor..................................................................................................
Miscellaneous labor...................................................................................
$1.95
2.00
1. 90
2.15
2.20
2.07
.94
1. 71
175
188
‘ 531
Total..................................................................................................
1.61
805
26ft
162
227
$339.07
375. 50
438.90
509. 55
671.00
538.20
152.28
388.17
10
104
10
12
10
209
336.49
10*
9§
10
n
M a n u f a c t u r e r s 7 R e t u r n s .—Tables are given showing, for the
establishments reporting, which are grouped according to industries,
the value of products, capital invested, cost of material used, days in
operation, wages paid, etc. Some of the data are for 1896 and other
data for 1897. Comparisons are also made, in several cases, with figures
for 1895.
W a g e s o f C i t y E m p l o y e e s .—The highest, lowest, and average
daily and monthly wages are given, by occupations, for each city and
town reporting.
F a r m e r s 7 R e t u r n s .—These returns relate to the value of improved
and unimproved land; average cost and yield per acre of corn, wheat,
rye, and oats; the daily and monthly wages of farm laborers; and the
proportion of farmers owning their farms in 1897 as compared with the
proportion owning their farms 10 years previous. The information
was obtained by correspondence with representative farmers, and is
presented by counties. The returns from 49 counties show the follow
ing averages: Yield per acre—corn, 32 bushels; wheat, 45 bushels; rye,
16 bushels; oats, 30 bushels. The average monthly wages paid for
farm labor, including board, was $16.48 for males and $8.48 for females.
The returns show that while 10 years before about 80 per cent of the
farmers owned their farms, this proportion had been reduced to about
60 per cent at the time the returns were made.
M o r t g a g e I n d e b t e d n e s s .—Tables are given showing, for each
county, the number of farm, town and city, and chattel mortgages filed,
the number satisfied, and the amounts involved during each of the
three half-year periods from January 1,1897, to June 30,1898. A sum
mary for the State shows the totals for the 7 years from July 1 , 1891,
to June 30, 1898.
P r iv a t e
and
M u n ic ip a l O w n e r s h ip
of
W
aterw orks,
E lec
data
presented in this chapter were mostly collected by the United States
Department of Labor, and constitute a part of the results of an inves
tigation undertaken for the entire country by that Department.
S t r e e t R a i l w a y s .—Statistics of mileage, cost of operation, num
ber and wages of employees, etc., are given for each of two electric
railway companies operating in the State.
t r ic
L ig h t
and
P ow er
Plants,
and
G as
W
o r k s .—The
860
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
R a i l r o a d E m p l o y e e s .—Returns from 7 railroads in the State are
given, showing for each road, by occupations, the number of employees ;
highest, lowest, and average wages, and hours of labor per day; also,
wage rates aiM earnings of employees paid by the mile.
In d u s t r ia l
and
A g r ic u l t u r a l
T r a i n i n g .—An illustrated,
account is given of the technical schools connected with the State
University; also extracts from a report of the United States Com
missioner of Education regarding industrial education in other States
and countries.
L a b o r O r g a n i z a t i o n s .—Brief sketches are given of national and
international unions in the United States, and extracts from reports
and articles on labor subjects.
B u i l d i n g T r a d e s . —Tables are presented showing the prices paid
for building materials, and the wages paid and hours of labor required
by a number o f contractors in the State.
E r e e E m p l o y m e n t B u r e a u .—An account is given of the organiza
tion and work of the new employment bureau created by law in 1897,
From the organization of the bureau, on May 1, 1897, to December 31,
1898,1,040 applications for positions and 249 applications for help were
received and 218 persons secured employment through the bureau.
NEW JERSEY.
Twenty-first Annual Report o f the Bureau o f Statistics o f Labor and
Industries o f New Jersey, for the year ending October 31,1898. W il
liam Stainsby, Chief, xi, 335 pp.
The following subjects are treated in this report: Statistics of manu
factures, 64 pages; current classified weekly wages, 35 pages; cost of
living, 16 pages; steam railroad transportation, 10 pages; municipal
and county indebtedness, 7 pages; a brief study in trades unionism, 10
pages; occupations and earnings of men, women, and children, 78
pages; strikes and lockouts, 19 pages; labor legislation, 91 pages.
M a n u f a c t u r e s .—The collection and publication of statistics of
manufactures in New Jersey, which was begun in 1896, was made a
part of the regular duty of the bureau of statistics by a legislative act
passed in 1898. As the giving of information by manufacturers is not
compulsory, the returns do not cover all the establishments in the
State. A sufficient number, however, have reported to show the general
condition of the industries of the State. Returns were made by 503
establishments, representing 43 general industries. Of the establish
ments, 275 were managed by private firms and 228 by corporations.
The number of partners included in the private firms was 585, and that
of stockholders of corporations was 3,045. O f the aggregate capital
invested in all the establishments considered, amounting to $77,173,644,
the corporations controlled $59,962,371, or 77.70 per cent, and the private
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR— NEW JERSEY.
861
firms $17,211,273, or 22.30 per cent. The average investment per part
ner in a private firm was $29,420.98, while that per stockholder was
$19,692.08.
Of the 43 industries enumerated, 25, representing 396 establishments,
each produced goods to the value of over $ 1 ,000,000. The returns for
these are summarized, by industries, in the two following tables:
C A P IT A L INVESTED, V A L U E OE M A T E R IA L USED AND OF PRODUCTS, PER CENT OF
BUSINESS DONE, A N D A V E R A G E EM PLOYEES, FOR 25 LEAD IN G INDUSTRIES, 1897.
Industries.
Cor Total
estab Capital
Firms. pora lish
invested.
tions.
ments
Value
Value of
of material products.
used.
1
i
Bar steel and iron.................
Brewing, lager beer, ale, and
porter...................................
Brick and terra cotta...........
Corsets. ................................
Cotton goods..........................
Cotton goods, dyeing and
finishing................................
Chemical products.................
Electrical appliances...........
Foundry, iron..........................
Glass, window and bottle. . .
Heaters, furnaces and boil
ers...........................................
Hats, men’s ..............................
Jewelry...................................
Leather and leather goods..
Machinery................................
Metal goods............................
Paint and varnish.................
Rubber goods........................
Silk goods, broad and ribbon
Silk throwing........................
Silk dveing..............................
Shirts.......................................
Shoes.........................................
Structural steel and iron___
Worsted and woolen goods .
T otal..............................
Per
cent of
busi
Aver
ness
done of age em
maxi ployees.
mum
capac
ity.
1
6
7
$3,236, 000
$2,007, 398
$3,751,049
59.14
2,210
2
8
2
3
17
16
3
4
19
24
5
7
6,462,079
4,462, 843
490, 000
1, 461, 000
1,857,753
1, 048,481
517, 779
626, 405
4,992, 527
3,112, 368
1, 229, 718
1, 042, 505
70.41
70. 22
83.75
82. 50
1,104
2,960
1, 441
683
1
2
10
4
2
6
3
6
9
3
8
3
16
13
770, 000
3, 043, 700
2, 895, 450
4,157, 653
1, 813, 000
1,984,386
2, 234, 374
742,546
774,009
549,800
2,154, 329
3, 426, 832
1, 476, 375
1,430,212
1,613,805
77. 86
68.12
69. 00
68. 50
70. 00
637
1, 049
1,057
2,127
4, 069
1
18
27
16
19
10
3
1
26
12
6
5
13
3
7
5
5
6
15
13
12
6
7
22
1
8
3
8
5
8
6
729, 500
876, 676
23
33
2, 250, 257
2, 285, 063
31
4, 390, 693
32
1, 274, 594
22
2,833, 000
9
8
1, 803, 500
48 10, 468, 595
13
537,095
14
1, 538, 500
754, 550
8
21
967, 864
8 1 1,650, 000
15
4,976,684
534,553
1, 067, 432
1, 371, 685
2, 570, 592
1,205, 342
493, 897
706, 990
1, 347, 877
10, 284, 375
402, 547
1,138, 553
588, 476
1, 644, 679
896,757
3,759,022
1,108,113
2,159, 296
2, 545, 576
4, 302,132
2,830, 922
1, 433, 507
1, 516, 330
2, 094, 930
18, 450,991
1,030, 059
2, 282, 304
1,028,553
2,954, 941
1, 772, 983
6, 203, 230
68. 00
63. 74
69. 89
68.31
54. 81
62. 50
66. 75
73.71
80.44
91.30
71. 79
80. 57
63.86
59.12
80. 00
737
1,603
1,292
2,171
1, 537
1,219
238
987
10, 557
1,136
2,134
1,512
2,130
1, 333
4,527
200
196
396 a65,128,296 640,354, 718
75, 943, 587
50,450
1
a
b
Figures here apparently should be $66,128,296; those given are, however, according to the original.
Figures here apparently should he $40,855,708; those given are, however, according to the original.
862
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
TOTAL AND AVERAGE WAGES PAID AND AVERAGE DAYS IN OPERATION FOR 25
LEADING INDUSTRIES, 1897.
[Dividing the wages paid as giver, in this table by the average employees given in the preceding
table does not produce m every case the average yearly earnings shown. The method used to obtain
the average earnings is not known.]
Estab
lish
ments.
Industries.
Bar steel and iron...............................................................................
Brewing, lager beer, ale, and p o r te r .,.......................................
Brick and terra cotta............. L .......................................................
Corsets......................... .............................................................. . .
Cotton goods.........................................................................................
Cotton goods, dyeing and finishing_______ _____________ _ _
Chemical products.............................................................................
Electrical appliances..........................................................................
F oundry, iron......... ............ . . ..... .......................................................
Glass, window and bottle................................................................
Heaters, furnaces, and boilers.......................................................
Hats, men’s ..................- .....................................................................
Jewelry. . .............................................................................................
Leather and leather goods...............................................................
Machinery ____. . . . . . . . . . . ....................................... ...... . . _______
Metal goods......................................................................................
Paint and varnish . . . .................... ........................................... ..
Rubber goods.......................................................................................
Silk goods, broad and ribbon.........................................................
Silk throwing................................. .....................................................
Silk dyeing.......................... ..............................................................
7
19
24
5
7
3
Wages
paid.
Shoes....... ............................................................................................
Structural steel and iron..................................................................
Worsted and woolen goods.............................................................
3
16
13
6
23
33
31
32
22
9
g
48
13
14
8
21
8
15
$1,102,567
910, 587
947, 711
372, 780
212,499
237 749
452* 835
448,158
422 012
1,476, 222
402, 816
827,404
173,264
827,424
884,144
540, 644
307, 660
414,449
4, 550, 558
263,920
910,062
398,830
850,257
543,539
1,422,700
T o ta l..........................................................................................
396
19, 900, 791
_ _ _ __ __ ____ .. . __ ____
_ __ .
Average Average
yearly
days in
earnings. operation.
$498.89
864.24
320.17
258.70
311.12
373.21
431. 70
424.00
495. 31
461.05
546.56
510.13
598.51
381.12
549. 21
443. 51
672.50
419.80
431. 04
232.32 •
426. 42
263.77
399.18
407. 76
314.27
253.43
314.16
242.09
292.25
291.50
281. 00
309.62
278. 00
265.00
249.64
277.16
264.26
268.00
282.17
286.59
290.00
298.50
226.25
293.31
298.00
276.71
233.50
264.81
273. 50
256.80
The four leading industries in the State, from the standpoint of the
value of products, were silk goods (broad and ribbon), worsted and
woolen goods, brewing (lager beer, ale, and porter), and leather and
leather goods, each of which produced goods to the value of over
$4,000,000 during the year.
The capital invested by all of the 503 establishments reporting was
$77,173,644; the cost of the stock or material used was $43,442,300; the
value of the goods made and work done was $82,069,367; $22,172,205
was paid in wages, and there were 57,918 employees on an average
during the year. The establishments were in operation during an aver
age of 271.13 days in the year, and the business done was 68.48 per cent
o f the total capacity of the 503 establishments reporting.
C u r r e n t C l a s s i f i e d W e e k l y W a g e s . —The tables presented
under this head show the actual wages paid to a specified number of
employees in each of 163 establishments, classified according to the
different rates, and in many cases by occupations. The presentation
shows only actual individual wage rates and does not deal with aver
ages.
C o s t o f L i v i n g .—The statistics presented under this head show the
prevailing retail prices of 51 articles of household supplies in 71 local
ities in the State during the month of June, 1898.
S t e a m R a i l r o a d T r a n s p o r t a t i o n .—This chapter contains a clas
sification of employees of steam railroads in the State, showing their
number, average daily and monthly wages and annual earnings, and
the number of days employed during the year. The following statement
REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- NEW JERSEY.
863
shows the number and average earnings of employees, arranged accord
ing to the class of work at which they were employed:
NU M BER A N D A V E R A G E Y E A R L Y EAR N IN G S OF EM PLOYEES OF R AILRO AD S A N D
PER CENT OF TOTAL W A G E S P A ID , B Y CLASSES OF W O R K .
[This table is compiled from reports for the year ending June 30,1898, for all roads in the State
except the Pennsylvania, which reported for the calendar year 1897.]
Per cent
Employ Average of total
yearly
wages
ees.
earnings.
paid.
Class of work.
Transportation......................
Maintenance of equipment
Maintenance of way...........
F loating.......................... ......
18,067
6, 933
4,904
959
$599.40
589.20
395. 79
567.17
62.3
23.5
11.1
3.1
Total............................ .
30,863
564.08
100.0
T r a d e U n i o n i s m . —This is a comparative statement of daily and
yearly earnings, hours of labor, and days idle, in representative union
and nonunion establishments in the glassware, cigar, and hat industries.
The figures are for 64 glass workers, 22 cigar makers, and 24 hat-fac
tory employees; one-half in eaph case being union and the other half
nonunion employees. The occupations in the respective industries
were about the same for the two classes of employees compared. The
following table is a summary of the figures shown:
HOURS OF LABOR A N D W A G E S PER D A Y , Y E A R L Y EARNINGS, A N D D A Y S ID LE
OF UNION A N D NONUNION EM PLOYEES IN THREE LE A D IN G INDUSTRIES, 1898.
Hours of labor
per day.
Wages per
day.
Average yearly
earnings.
Industry.
Non Union. Non
Union. union.
union.
Glassware................................................
Cigars.............. .......................................
H ats............... ..........................................
9
8
9
9
10
$5. 95
2.25
2. 01
$3.86
.99
1.81
Union.
$1, 386.15
597. 78
500.10
Days idle,
year ending
June 30,1898.
Non
Non
union. Union. union.
$666.85
251.74
435. 88
72£
32|
57
130
51
53|
The above summary shows a decided advantage of union over non
union employees, especially in the case of average yearly earnings,
where the difference in favor of union employees amounts to $719.30,
or 107.87 per cent, in the glassware industry, $346.04, or 137.46 per cent,
in the cigar industry, and $64.22, or 14.73 per cent, in the hat industry.
O c c u p a t io n s
and
E a r n in g s
of
Men, W
om en, and
C h i l d r e n .—
The tables presented under this subject were based on data collected
by the United States Department of Labor and published in its Eleventh
Annual Report.
S t r i k e s a n d L o c k o u t s .—Figures shown here were likewise based
on material collected by the United States Department of Labor and
published in its Tenth Annual Report.
L a b o r L e g i s l a t i o n .—The chapter on labor legislation contains,
besides copies of the laws enacted in Rew Jersey during 1898, an
article on the law of master and servant in TSew Jersey, and copies of
the workmen’s compensation acts of England and of France.
CENSUS OF RHODE ISLAND FOR 1895.
Census o f Rhode Island, 1895. Henry E. Tiepke, Superintendent. xiv,
1,019 pp.
This report of the fourth decennial State census of Rhode Island,
which is complete in one volume, relates to population and social
statistics, manufactures, agriculture, fisheries, and commerce. The mat
ter is presented in the form of carefully arranged tables of statistics
and analyses, and is confined to such information as was actually col
lected in the taking of the census. The data are presented for the State
and for each county, city, and township.
P o p u l a t i o n a n d S o c i a l S t a t i s t i c s .— The present census returns
are preceded by comparative statements showing the population in each
of the twenty-two census enumerations taken in the State by the colony,
State, and National Government from 1708 to 1895.
The population statistics of the present census are classified in vari
ous combinations according to sex, age, nativity, parent nativity, race,
conjugal and political condition, and occupations. The population and
social statistics also include the number and size of families, relation
to head of family, number and size of dwellings, school attendance,
occupations of minors, number of illiterates, soldiers and sailors, pau
pers and defective persons, etc., town and city valuation and rate of
taxation, and statistics of savings banks, schools, libraries, and postoffices. Following is a summary of the population and social statistics
of the State for 1895:
Total population June 1,1895..............................................................................
Population per square mile..................................................................................
Native born............................................................................................................
Foreign born..........................................................................................................
Males......................................................................................................................
Females.................................................................................................................
Number of families................................................................................................
Average size o f family (including abnormals)...................................................
Number of dwelling houses..................................................................................
School attendance (7 to 15 years o f a g e )...........................................................
Number o f illiterates (10 years o f age or o v e r).................................................
Color and race:
W h ite..............................................................................................................
Black and mixed.............................................................................................
Chinese............................................................................................................
Indian..............................................................................................................
Japanese.........................................................................................................
384, 758
354.61
261,983
122,775
187,590
197,168
84, 880
a 4.53
62,766
50,948
29,752
376,524
7,922
135
168
9
«The term abnormals includes families, hotels, boarding houses, and all public and
private institutions containing more than 12 persons. The average family, not
including abnormals, contained 4.39 persons in 1895.
864
865
CENSUS OF RHODE ISLAND FOR 1895.
Conjugal condition:
Single................
Married............
W idowed..........
D ivorced..........
214,780
144,588
24,208
1,182
There was a gain of 26.45 per cent in the population since the State
census of 1885. The increase of the native-born population during the
decade was 19.78 per cent, while that of the foreign born was 43.49 per
cent. With regard to sex, there was a diminution in the excess of
females over males, the relative number having decreased from 1,078
females per 1,000 males in 1885 to 1,051 females per 1,000 males in 1895.
A very slight change is noticed in regard to conjugal condition. In
1885 the single persons constituted 55.57 per cent of the total popula
tion, and in 1895, 55.82 per cent 5 the married constituted 37.68 per cent
in 1885, and 37.58 per cent in 1895; 6.37 per cent were widowed and
0.38 per cent were divorced in 1885, and 6.29 per cent were widowed and
0.31 per cent were divorced in 1895. This shows a slight proportional
gain in the single at the expense of a small decrease in the married,
widowed, and divorced.
There has been scarcely any change in the average size of the family
or the number of persons to a dwelling during the decade. The former
was 4.57 in 1885 and 4.53 in 1895, while the latter was 6.56 in 1885 and
6.57 in 1895. The increase in school attendance of children between
the ages of 7 and 14 years, inclusive, was 19.22 per cent during the
decade, a favorable showing when compared with the increase of 17.26
per cent in the total population of that age period. The proportion of
illiterates to the total population also decreased during the decade.
The following table shows the number and percentage of the pro
ductive population in each general group of occupations in 1895 :
N UM BER A N D PER CENT OF PRODUCTIVE POPULATION IN EACH GROUP OF OCCU
PATIONS, 1895.
Males.
Females.
Total.
Groups of occupations.
Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.
Government............. ....................
pTwffusion n l ___________________ _____ _
Domestic ..................................... ......................
Personal service................................................
Trade..............................„....................................
Transportation .............................................. ..
Agriculture.......................................................
Fisheries............... ...........................................
Manufactures and mechanics........................
Laborers and apprentices...............................
Occupations not classified ..................
4,504
2, 753
2, 746
1, 841
18,054
10,186
11,868
755
61, 916
6, 599
2, 430
3.64
2.23
2.22
1.49
14.60
8.24
9.60
.61
50. 07
5. 34
1.96
1,714
1,006
94,629
1,024
3,545
41
125
1.32
.77
72. 89
.79
2.73
.03
.10
27,582
87
80
T o ta l.........................................................
123,652
100.00
129, 833
21.24
.07
.06
6,218
3,759
97,375
2,865
21,599
10, 227
11,993
755
89, 498
6,686
2, 510
2.45
1.48
38.41
1.13
8. 52
4.04
4. 73
.30
35.31
2.64
.99
100.00
253,485
100.00
The preceding table shows a total productive population of 253,485,
composed o f123,652 males and 129,833 females. Of the remaining popu
lation, 3,298, comprising 2,049 males and 1,249 females, were classed as
nonproductive; 112,678, comprising 56,062 males and 56,616 females, were
866
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
pupils, students, and children at home; 3,736, of whom 3,625 were
males and 111 females, were classed as retired, and 11,561, comprising
2,202 males and 9,359 females, were classed as unemployed over 16
years of age.
M a n u f a c t u r e s .—The census returns presented under this head
show by cities, counties, and for the State, according to specified indus
tries, the number of firms and firm members and salaried officers, the
invested capital, number of wage-earners, annual wages, value of
Material used, value of products, expenditures for rent, power, heat,
taxes, insurance, etc., number of buildings used and materials of con
struction, tenements owned, kind of power and light used, etc. Most
of the above items are given in considerable detail. The following
table gives a summary of the most important facts for each of six of
the leading industries in the State:
C A P IT A L INVESTED, W A G E S P AID , A N D V A L U E OF M A T E R IA L USED A N D OF
PRODUCTS IN S IX L E A D IN G INDUSTR IES, 1895.
Industries.
T extiles....................................................
Metals and machinery..........................
Jewelry and silverware........................
Rubber goods..........................................
Stone and marble w ork........................
W oodw ork..............................................
Firms.
Capital
invested.
204 $73,536,762
161 18, 056,872
266 12,175 , 444
4,049,485
5
66
818, 658
1, 322, 346
78
Wageearners.
Wages
paid.
Value of
material
used.
48,892 $16,660,084 $33, 286, 834
10,701
5, 384, 604
5, 570, 597
6,883
3, 653,834
5, 552, 671
3, 211
1,050, 426
2,245, 583
719, 316
1,441
221, 803
1,120
1,069, 095
603,472
Value of
product.
$65,656,007
14,515, 860
14, 203,309
4, 578, 056
1, 286, 783
2, 300,094
The above-named industries employed over nine-tenths of all persons
engaged in manufactures in the State.
A g r i c u l t u r e .—The census returns regarding agriculture relate to
the number, size, value, and production of farms, capital invested in
farm property and value of products, and to the poultry raising and
bee keeping industries. There were 6,441 farms enumerated, repre
senting an investe’d capital of $30,759,698. The aggregate value of
products in 1895 was $6,476,248.87. Dairying, fodder, and vegetable
products constituted the most important industries.
F i s h e r i e s .—The data relating to the fisheries industry comprise
capital invested, vessels used, persons employed, and nature, quantity,
and value of products. A total capital of $921,429 was invested in the
fisheries industry; 33 steamers, 404 sailing vessels, and 1,480 rowboats
were used, and 1,463 persons were employed. The value of products
amounted to $1,000,595.
C o m m e r c e .— The statistics of commerce show imports and exports of
merchandise; American and foreign vessels entering and cleared from
customs districts; registered, enrolled, and licensed vessels docu
mented; number and tonnage of vessels, canal boats, and barges in
use, and vessels built in the customs districts. The figures relating to
imports and exports are for the years 1886 to 1895, and those relating
to vessels engaged in traffic in Ehode Island waters are for 1885,1890,
and 1895.
RECENT FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Report o'n the Strikes and Lockouts o f 1897 in Great Britain and Ireland.
1898. c, 171 pp. (Published by the Labor Department of the British
Board of Trade.)
This is the tenth annual report on strikes and lockouts in the United
Kingdom, prepared by the chief labor correspondent of the Labor
Department of the Board of Trade. The greater part of the volume
is devoted to tables showing for each dispute the occupations and the
number of working people and establishments affected, the cause or
object of the dispute, and the duration and result. These tables are
preceded by an analysis of the statistics of strikes and lockouts, sum
mary tables, and a comparison of strikes and lockouts in recent years.
The general plan of this report is very nearly the same as in the reports
for previous years, except that in this instance disputes involving less
than 10 persons, or less than one day’s stoppage of work, were not con
sidered unless the aggregate duration of the dispute exceeded 100
working days.
The year 1897 compares unfavorably with the preceding year with
regard to the magnitude (persons affected and working days lost) of
strikes and lockouts, although there was a smaller number of disputes.
This is shown in the following table:
STATISTICS OF STRIKES A N D LOCKOUTS, 1893 TO 1897.
[Persons affected means persons thrown ont of work.]
Tear.
1893...........................................................................................................................
1894...........................................................................................................................
1895...........................................................................................................................
189(5...........................................................................................................................
1897...........................................................................................................................
Strikes
Persons Aggregate
and lock affected.
working
outs.
days lost.
783
1,061
876
1,021
864
636,386
324, 245
263, 758
198, 687
230, 267
31,205,062
9,322, 096
5, 542,652
3,748,525
10,345,523
There were, in 1897, 864 disputes affecting 230,267 persons, resulting
in an aggregate loss of 10,345,523 working days. While the number of
strikes and lockouts was the smallest since 1893, the aggregate of work
ing days lost was greater than during any year since 1893. The num
ber of persons affected was greater than in 1896, but smaller than in
any of the three preceding years.
Of the 230,267 persons affected by disputes in 1897, 24,412, or 10.6
per cent, were women, and 16,092, or 7 per cent, were young persons of
either sex. Nearly all the women affected were employed in the textile
trades.
867
868
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The following table shows, by causes or objects of strikes and lock
outs, the number of persons affected during each of the years 1893 to
1897:
PERSONS A FFEC TED B Y STRIKES A N D LOCKOUTS, B Y CAUSES, 1893 TO 1897.
[Persons affected means persons thrown out of work.]
Cause or object.
W ages.......................................
Hours of labor.......................
Employment of particular
classes of persons.............
Working
arrangements,
rules, and discipline...........
Questions of trade unionism.
Other causes............................
1893.
1894.
Num Per
ber.
cent.
Num Per
ber.
cent.
567,460
1,191
89.2 234,903
.2
6,105
1895.
Num
ber.
72.4 143,198
1.9
2, 858
1896.
Per
cent.
Num
ber.
54.3 115,817
1.1
3, 658
1897.
Per
cent.
Num Per
ber. cent.
58.3 106,293
1.8 52,769
46.2
22.9
7, 310
1.2
3, 699
1.1
4,467
1.7
7,478
3.8
19, 529
8.5
25,667
19,298
15, 460
4.0
3.0
2.4
37, 763
15,519
26, 256
11.7
4.8
8.1
84, 393
6, 614
22, 228
32.0
2.5
8.4
33,121
12, 031
26, 582
16.7
6.0
13.4
38,311
8, C18
5,347
16.6
3.5
^2.3
T otal.............................. 636, 386 100.0 324.245 100.0 263, 758 100.0 198,687 100.0 230,267
1
1
100.0
While the most prevalent causes of strikes and lockouts were those
relating to wages, the number of persons affected by such strikes and
lockouts has steadily declined since 1893. In 1897 106,293 persons out
of a total of 230,267 were involved in disputes regarding wages. This
represents a percentage of 46.2, as compared with a percentage of 58.3
in 1896, 54.3 in 1895, 72.4 in 1894, and 89.2 in 1893. Thus 1897, a year
of rising wages, has been freer from wage disputes than any year during
the five-year period, most of the advances in wages having been
obtained without stoppage of work. The large number of persons
affected by disputes regarding hours of labor in 1897—namely, 52,769,
or 22.9 per cent of the total—was due to the general strike in the engi
neering trade.
The causes or objects of strikes and lockouts in 1897, the number of
persons affected classified according to results, and the aggregate num
ber of working days lost are shown in the following table:
PERSONS A F FEC TED B Y STRIKES A N D LOCKOUTS, B Y CAUSES A N D RESULTS, A N D
W O R K IN G D A Y S LOST, 1897.
[Persons affected means persons thrown out of work.]
Cause or object.
Persons affected by strikes and
lockouts, the results of which
were—
Strikes
Total Aggregate
and
working
lock In favor
Indefi persons days lost.
In favor Com
affected.
nite
outs. of em of em
pro
ployees. ployers. mised. or un
settled.
32,480
47,877
106,293
52, 769
3,034,465
5, 822,445
W ages.............................................. ..........
Hours of labor...........................................
Employment of particular classes of
persons....................................................
Working arrangements, rules, and
discipline........, ......................................
Questions of trade unionism.................
Sympathetic d isputes............................
Miscellaneous...........................................
532
20
28,918
3,304
121
2,543
7,372
9,614
19,529
240,125
119
49
20
3
6,548
6, 584
1, 891
11,499
865
1,749
640
19,801
560
1, 043
24
463
9
38, 311
8,018
4,683
664
452,857
658, 984
133,019
3, 628
T o ta l................................................
864
49,788
102,482
75,265
2,732
230,267
10, 345,523
42,678
1,545
2,217
43
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— GREAT BRITAIN.
869
In 1897 the advantage in tlie settlement of disputes was on the side
of the employers, 102,482, or 44.5 per cent, of the working people hav
ing been involved in disputes settled entirely in favor of the employers,
and only 49,788, or 21.6 per cent, in disputes settled wholly in favor of
employees. This general result was mainly due to the settlement of the
dispute in the engineering trade, which affected a large number of per
sons. Disputes affecting 75,265 persons, or 32.7 per cent, were com
promised. In the remaining cases the settlement of the dispute was
indefinite or unsettled at the close of the year.
The number o f strikes and lockouts, the number of persons affected
classified according to results, and the aggregate working days lost
are shown by industries in the following table:
PERSONS A FFEC TED B Y STRIKES A N D LOCKOUTS, B Y INDUSTRIES A N D RESULTS,
A N D W O R K ING D A Y S LOST, 1897.
[Persons affected means persons thrown out of work.]
Industries.
Persons affected by strikes and
lockouts, the results of which
Strikes
were—
Total
Aggregate
and
working
lock
Indefi persons
In
favor
In
favor
Com
affected.
days lost.
outs.
nite
pro
of em of em
or un
ployees. ployers. mised. settled.
Building....................................................
Mining and quarrying............................
Metal, engineering, and shipbuilding.
T extile.......................................................
Clothing......................................................
Transportation.........................................
Miscellaneous...........................................
Employees of local authorities.............
193
127
229
108
56
48
95
8
11,101
18,114
8, 656
2,903
4,172
1, 294
3,484
64
1,949
16,124
57,339
17,833
2,151
2, 090
4,883
113
1,997
13,137
30, 664
16,110
693
9,109
3,367
188
T otal................................................
864
49,788
102,482
75,265
2,017
530
155
30
2, 732
15,047
49, 392
97,189
37,001
7, 016
12,523
11,734
365
353,348
1,445, 843
7,141,289
677,615
301, 082
76,497
348, 459
1,390
230, 267
10, 345,523
The greatest number of strikes and lockouts, persons affected, and
working days lost in any one group of industries, in 1897, occurred in
that of metal, engineering, and shipbuilding. Next in importance with
regard to the number of persons affected and aggregate working days
lost were disputes in the groups of mining and quarrying, textiles, and
building trades, respectively.
870
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
In the following table the strikes and lockouts, which began in 1897,
are arranged in groups according to the number of persons involved:
PERSONS AFFEC TED B Y STRIKES AN D LOCKOUTS, A N D W O RK IN G D A Y S LOST, B Y
GROUPS, 1897.
[Persons affected means persons thrown out of work.]
Strikes Persons affected. Working days lost.
and
Per
lock
Per
Number.
Number.
outs.
cent.
cent.
Groups.
5,000 persons and upward....................................................
2,500 and under 5,000...............................................................
1,000 and under 2,500...............................................................
500 and under 1,000 ................................. ..............................
250 and under 500....................................................................
100 and under 250....................................................................
50 and under 100................................... : ................................
25 and under 5 0 ........................................................................
Under 25 (a)..............................................................................
4
5
26
49
81
150
156
164
229
72,665
14,400
38.030
33, 320
28,107
23, 797
10,830
5,573
3,545
Total................................................................................
864
230, 267
31.6
6.3
16.5
14.5
12.2
10.3
4.7
2.4
1.5
7,486,000
257,700
779,312
1, 021, 440
655, 583
517,102
194, 260
163, 748
67, 607
67.2
2.3
7.0
9.2
5.9
4.6
1.7
1.5
.6
100.0 611,142,752
100.0
Disputes involving less than 10 persons and those which lasted less than 1 day have been omitted,
except when the aggregate duration exceeded 100 working days.
6 These figures difier somewhat from those given in preceding tables as the aggregate days lost dur
ing 1897, sine# they exclude the days lost in 1897 through disputes in progress at the beginning of the
year and include those lost in 1898 through disputes which began in 1897.
a
It appears from the above table that, as in preceding years, a com
paratively small number of disputes accounted for a very large pro
portion of the persons involved and of the total working days lost.
Thus there were 4 disputes in 1897, which affected 72,665 employees,
or 31.6 per cent of the entire number of persons directly or indirectly
engaged in strikes and lockouts. On the other hand, 549, or nearly
64 per cent of the disputes accounted for only 19,948 persons, or 8.6
per cent of the total number of persons affected by disputes.
A significant fact brought out by an examination of the strike sta
tistics for recent years is the great magnitude of a few disputes. Thus,
in 1893, one strike of coal-mine employees affected 300,000 persons, and
another miners’ strike 90,000 persons; in 1894 a miners’ strike affected
70.000 persons; in 1895 a strike in the boot and shoe trade affected
46.000 persons; and in 1897 a strike in the engineering trade affected
47.000 working people.
In the following table the number of disputes beginning in 1895,
1896, and 1897, and the number of working people affected, are classi
fied according to the various methods of settlement:
PERSONS AFFEC TED B Y STRIKES A N D LOCKOUTS BEGINN IN G IN 1895,1896, A N D 1897,
B Y METHODS OF SETTLEM ENT.
[Persons affected means persons thrown out of work.]
1895.
Method of settlement.
Arbitration.....................................................................
Conciliation and mediation.......................................
Direct negotiation or arrangement between the
parties..........................................................................
Submission of working people.................................
Replacement of working people..............................
Closing of works or establishments........................
Indefinite or unsettled................................................
T o ta l....................................................................
1896.
1897.
Strikes
Strikes
Strikes
and
Persons
and
Persons
and
Persons
lock affected. lock affected. lock affected.
outs.
outs.
outs.
25
35
13,251
65,700
20
27
10,280
9,941
14
27
9,756
9,544
498
125
160
16
17
119, 582
56, 719
4, 352
2, 397
1,757
647
154
149
20
4
120, 936
46,780
7,450
3,161
139
624
76
105
7
11
187, 048
15, 207
4, 307
1,673
2, 732
876
263,758
1,021
198, 687
864
230,267
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN.
871
The most prevalent method for settling trade disputes beginning in
1897 was, as usual, by direct arrangement or negotiation between the
parties concerned, 624 disputes, affecting 187,048 persons, or over’ 81
per cent of the total number involved in disputes, being settled in this
way. Forty-one disputes, affecting 19,300 persons, were settled by arbi
tration and conciliation and mediation, and 188 strikes, involving 21,187
persons, resulted in the submission of the working people, replacement
of the working people, or the closing of the establishments.
The report closes with an appendix giving detailed accounts of cases
of conciliation and arbitration, the text of certain agreements termi
nating trade disputes, specimen forms of inquiry, and a list of the
principal board of trade publications on labor questions.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
Fifth and Sixth Annual Reports of the Government Labor Rureau of
New South Wales fo r the years ending June 30, 1897, and June 30, 1898.
1897, 28 pp .5 1898, 30 pp.
The functions of the labor bureau of the New South Wales depart
ment of labor and industry are those of an employment office. The
statistics presented in these two reports therefore relate mainly to the
subject of employment in New South Wales. Information is given
regarding the general condition of labor and industry, and the oper
ations of the bureau in securing work and providing relief for the
unemployed during the fiscal years. Tables show, by occupations,
the number of registrations and of persons assisted and sent to work,
their wages, and a comparison of these figures with those for previous
years.
Following is a statement of the number of persons registered, and
the number assisted and sent to work during each fiscal year since the
bureau was organized:
PERSONS REGISTERED A N D ASSISTED, 1893 TO 1898.
Fiscal year ending—
February 17,1893..............................................................................................................
February 17,1894.......................................................................................................................
February 17,1895.......................................................................................................................
June 30,1896 ( a ) .........................................- ..........................................................
June 30,1897................................................................................................
June 30,1898..........................................................................................................................
Total..............................................................................................................
a
Persons
regis• tered.
Persons
assisted
and sent
to work.
18,600
12,145
13,575
17, 345
6,427
4,167
8,154
10,349
16,380
25,903
13, 718
7,817
72, 259
82,321
For the period, February 18,1895, to June 30,1896.
That the number assisted and sent to work should exceed the num
ber registered is due to the fact that a man is registered only once,
while there is no limit to the number of times he may be sent or
assisted to work.
872
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The years ending June 30, 1897, and June 30,1898, respectively, show
a marked decrease in the number of registrations of persons seeking
employment, and also in the number assisted and sent to work. In
the former year 6,427 were registered and 13,718 were assisted and
sent to work while in the latter year 4,167 were registered and 7,817
were assisted and sent to work. This shows a decrease of 2,260 in 1898
as compared with 1897 in the registrations, and a decrease of 5,901 in
the number assisted and sent to work. These figures seem to indicate
a decided improvement in the labor market during the years covered
by these reports.
SWEDEN.
Undersokning a f Bagerierna i Sverige. Pa uppdrag af Kongl. Kommerskollegium och under dess ofverinseende verkstald af Johan
Leffler. Arbetsstatistik I. lxv, 75 pp.
This report is the first *of a series on labor statistics prepared by
direction and under the supervision of the Swedish department of
commerce and gives the results of an investigation, conducted in 1897,
relating to bake shops and bake-shop employees in Sweden, The
report consists of an analysis and a series of detailed statistical tables.
With regard to the bakeries, the data presented show the number
investigated, by localities and by the number of persons employed, the
number of bakeries below and above ground, their cubic air space,
and their condition as to cleanliness and sanitation. The statistics
relating to employees show the number by sex, age, occupation, and
civil condition, their hours of labor on week days, Sundays, and at
night, earnings, housing conditions, health, membership of provident,
trade, and temperance organizations, number of unemployed in 1896
by causes of nonemployment, etc.
The investigation covers a total of 727 bakeries, employing 2,260
males and 612 females, or in all 2,872 persons. The bake shops were
mostly found to be above ground and were usually in a satisfactory
condition with regard to air space, cleanliness, and sanitation. The
greater part of the bake-shop employees worked from 66 to 84 hours
per week, although in a few cases the hours of labor exceeded 108 per
week. A majority of the male employees received from 600 to 1,000
kroner ($160.80 to $268) per year, and of the female employees from
470 to 600 kroner ($125.96 to $160.80). A few males earned over 1,500
kroner ($402), but the highest wages paid to females did not exceed
1,000 kroner ($268) per year. Of the male employees, 512 were mem
bers of provident associations, 853 of trade unions, and 194 of temper
ance societies.
Undersokning a f Tobaksindnstrien % Sverige. Pa uppdrag af Kongl
Kommerskollegium och under dess ofverinseende verkstald af Hen
ning Elmquist. Arbetsstatistik II. 374 pp.
This work, the second of the series on labor statistics, prepared
under the direction of the Swedish department of commerce, is the
FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— SWEDEN*
873
result of an elaborate investigation of the labor conditions of cigar
and tobacco workers in 1898. Besides a series of tables giving details
for each locality or district, the work contains an extended analysis
of the statistics obtained, and a historical sketch of the development
of the tobacco industry in Sweden. The following are the principal
points covered by this investigation: Number of establishments, cubic
air space, and systems of ventilation in the factories and workshops;
persons employed, by occupations, sex, age, and civil condition; occu
pations of parents of employees and of members of their families;
length of service with present employer; hours of labor, earnings, and
character of wage payments; membership of working people’s organi
zations; strikes and lockouts; sickness and mortality statistics, and
sick benefit, burial, and travel funds. An appendix contains statistics
of the incomes of a number of selected families, and 14 budgets of
working people employed in the tobacco industry.
The investigation covered 128 places of employment, of which 104
were factories and workshops, and 24 were private homes. The
employees in these establishments numbered 1,621 males and 2,759
females, or a total of 4,380 persons. The average weekly hours of labor
of employees were 57.6 in the case of males, and 56.4 in the case of
females, or 56.8 for both sexes. The average yearly earnings of employ
ees in the cigar and tobacco industry were 574.50 kroner ($153.97) in
the case of unmarried males, and 880.24 kroner ($235.90) in the case of
married men and widowers. Unmarried females earned an average of
466.17 kroner ($124.93), and married women and widows 572.36 kroner
($153.39) per year. With regard to the system of wage payments, it
was found that 64.5 per cent of the employees were paid by the piece,
33.9 per cent by the time worked, and in the remaining cases the wage
system was either variable or not reported. A total of 1,301 cigar and
tobacco workers were members of trade unions, of which number 624
were males and 677 females; 2,045 composed of 818 males and 1,227
females, were members of provident institutions, and 144 males and 163
females, or a total of 307, belonged to temperance societies.
64—No. 25----- 8
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
[This subject, begun in Bulletin No. 2, has been continued in successive issues.
All material parts of the decisions are reproduced in the words o f the courts, indi
cated when short by quotation marks and when long by being printed solid. In
order to save space, immaterial matter, needed simply by way o f explanation, is
given in the words of the editorial reviser.]
DECISIONS UNDER STATUTORY LAW.
A l ie n C o n tr a c t L a b o r
L a w — C o n s t r u c t io n
of
Sta tu te —
United States v. Gay (two cases), 95 Federal Reporter, page 226.—These
two cases were identical as to their facts, and were heard and sub
mitted together as one case. The actions were brought by the United
States to recover the penalty of $1,000 under the act of Congress of
February 26, 1885 (23 Statutes at Large, 332, chap. 164), the first sec
tion of which reads as follows:
From and after the passage of this act it shall be unlawful for any
person, company, partnership, or corporation, in any manner what
soever, to prepay the transportation or in any way assist or encourage
the importation or migration of any alien or aliens, any foreigner or
foreigners, into the United States, its Territories, or the District of
Columbia, under contract or agreement, parol or special, express or
implied, made previous to the importation or migration of such alien or
aliens, foreigner or foreigners, to perform labor or service of any kind
in the United States, its Territories, or the District of Columbia.
After a hearing in the United States circuit court for the district of
Indiana, the action was dismissed on the ground that a draper, window
dresser, and dry-goods clerk did not come within the prohibition of the
statute. The case was then carried up on writ of error to the United
States circuit court of appeals, seventh circuit, which rendered its deci
sion June 6,1899, and affirmed the action of the lower court.
District Judge Bunn delivered the opinion of the court of appeals,
and the following is quoted therefrom:
The plaintiff, in its amended complaint, alleges: That the defendant,
on the 20th day of July, 1893, did assist, encourage, and solicit the
importation and migration of a certain alien and foreigner into the
United States, to wit, one J ames H. Ferguson, then a native of Scotland,
and a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, for the pur
pose of performing manual labor as a draper, window dresser, and drygoods clerk in the United States, under agreement made by the defend
ant with him prior to his migration.
Several questions were discussed on the hearing, but there is only
one which we think it necessary to consider. The opinion of the court
below, printed in the record, shows that the principal ground on which
the action was dismissed was that a draper, window dresser, and dry874
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
875
goods clerk did not come within the prohibition of the statute. The
court says, in its opinion:
“ The statute in question is highly penal, and must be so construed
as to bring within its condemnation only those who are shown by the
direct and positive averments in the declaration to be embraced within
the terms of the law. It will not be so construed as to include cases
which, although within the letter, are not within the spirit of the law.
It must be construed in the light of the evil which it was intended to
remedy, which, as is well known, was the importation of manual labor
ers, under contract previously entered into, at rates of wages with which
our own laboring classes could not compete without compelling them to
submit to conditions of life to which they were unaccustomed. (Citing
authorities.) It is well settled by these and other cases that the statute
must be construed as limited to cases where the assisted immigrant
was brought into this country under a contract to perform manual labor
or service.” (U. S. v. Gay, 80 Fed., 254.)
We are of the opinion that this ruling is correct, in view of the pre
vious construction placed upon the statute by the Supreme Court in
Church of the Holy Trinity v. U. S., 143 U. S., 457, 12 Sup. Ct., 511,
and U. S. v. Laws, 163 U. S., 258,16 Sup. Ct., 998. Mr. Justice Brown,
as district judge in Michigan, had already, in U. S. v. Craig, 28 Fed.,
795, given the motive and history of this act, and the situation which
called for it, as follows:
“ The motives and history of the act are matters of common knowl
edge. It had become the practice for large capitalists of this country
to contract with their agents abroad for the shipment of great num
bers of an ignorant and servile class of foreign laborers, under con
tracts by which the employer agreed, upon the one hand, to prepay
their passage, while, upon the other hand, the laborers agreed to work
after their arrival for a certain time at a low rate of wages. The effect
of this was to break down the labor market, and to reduce other labor
ers engaged in like occupations to the level of the assisted immigrant.
The evil finally became so flagrant that an appeal was made to Congress
for the passage of the act in question, the design of which was to raise
the standard of foreign immigrants, and to discountenance the migration
of those who had not sufficient means in their own hands, or those of
their friends, to pay their passage.”
This language is quoted by the Supreme Court in its opinion by Mr.
Justice Brewer with approval, in Church of the Holy Trinity v. U. S.,
supra, and a construction is given to the statute which accords with the
evident purpose of the law and the mischief it was intended to remedy.
The statute was again before the Supreme Court in U. S. v. Laws, 163
IJ. S., 258, 16 Sup. Ct., 998 [Department of Labor Bulletin No. 9, page
173], and the same liberal construction followed. In this case it was held
that a contract made with an alien to come to this country as a chemist
on a sugar plantation in Louisiana is not a contract to perform labor
and service within the meaning of the act.
I f construed strictly, the act would include every person employed
to perform any sort of labor or service, except those placed among the
exempted class by Congress. It would include ministers, lawyers,
physicians, surgeons, architects, engineers, bookkeepers, stenographers,
typewriters, clerks, salesmen, drapers, and window dressers. But
when we once break away from the letter of the law and seek for its
true meaning and intent, which was to stay the influx of cheap,
unskilled manual labor, then the liberal construction adopted by the
Supreme Court furnishes the only safe resting place. Under such a
876
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
construction it seems quite clear that the employment of a single
person to come to this country and engage for a dry-goods house as a
draper, window dresser, and clerk does not come within the true intent
and meaning of the prohibition. There was no such mischief as that
ever complained of and none such to be remedied. It was not service
of this kind that Congress sought to shut out, but the cheaper, grosser
sort o f unskilled and unhoused manual labor which was coming from
abroad in competition with the common labor of this country, which
has ever been on a somewhat higher plane, and where it was the pur
pose of Congress in the enactment of the law to keep it. The judgment
of the circuit court in each of the two cases is affirmed.
A l ie n s — D e p o r t a t io n o f P a u p e r I m m ig r a n t s — A u t h o r it y
M i n i s t e r i a l O f f i c e r s —In re Yamasaka, 95 Federal Reporter,
of
page 653.—One T. Yamasaka, a Japanese, was taken into custody by
an immigration inspector of the United States for the reason, as
alleged, that he “ had, on or about the 15th day of December, 1898,
surreptitiously, clandestinely, unlawfully, and without authority, come
into the United States of America, and that he # # # was a pauper
and a person likely to become a public charge,” etc. Soon after his
arrest an order to deport him was issued by the Secretary of the Treas
ury, whereupon he filed his petition in the United States district court
for the district of Washington, northern division, asking for a writ of
habeas corpus and a judicial determination of the following question:
“ Do the statutes cited in the warrant (chap. 164, acts of 1884-855
chap. 220, acts of 1886-87 5 chap. 1210, acts of 1887-88, and chap. 551,
acts of 1890-91) confer upon the Secretary of the Treasury the power
assumed, to arrest and remove from the United States an alien who
may be found dwelling in this country, because he is poor and, in the
opinion of the Secretary, likely to become a public charge Vy The dis
trict court seemed to think that the case depended upon the meaning of
chap. 551, acts of 1890-91, approved March 3, 1891, and upon its
interpretation of the same rendered its decision July 20, 1899, in favor
of the petitioner and to the effect that the Secretary of the Treasury
did not have the power he had attempted to exercise.
In delivering the opinion of the court District Judge Hanford spoke,
in part, as follows:
As the result of my analysis of this statute fact approved March 3,
1891, above referred to], I find that its elements are: First. Prohibition
of immigration into the United States of certain specified classes, includ
ing paupers or persons likely to become a public charge. Second. To
make the prohibition effective, persons and corporations who import or
assist aliens of the prohibited classes to come into the United States
are subjected to penalties. Third. Officers are provided, charged with
the duty and clothed with authority to inspect aliens upon their arrival,
and to prevent the entry into the United States of those who appear to
belong to the prohibited classes. These officers are fully empowered
to receive and consider evidence, and to decide as to the right of an
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
877
alien to enter, and their decisions are made conclusive, •subject only to
review by their superiors up to the head of the Treasury Department,
and all aliens who are by the inspection officers found to have come to
the United States unlawfully shall be sent back on the vessel by which
they were brought in. Fourth. Aliens belonging to the excluded
classes, who have succeeded in making their way into the United
States, may at any time within one year after arrival be proceeded
against in a lawful manner, and returned to their own country. But
the law does not confer power upon ministerial officers to arrest them,
or adjudicate any controverted question respecting their freedom to
remain in this country, and it does invest the circuit and district courts
with full and concurrent jurisdiction of all causes, civil and criminal,
arising under any of the provisions of the act,* and I hold that, when
ever proceedings affecting the personal liberty of any person who may
be found dwelling in the United States shall be instituted pursuant to
this law, there must necessarily arise a cause of which the courts have
full jurisdiction by virtue of the thirteenth section. In the case of
Nishimura Ekiw v. U. S. (142 U. S., 651-6G4, 12 Sup. Ct., 336) the
Supreme Court affirmed the validity of the provisions of the eighth
section of this act of 1891, conferring power upon the Secretary of the
Treasury, and immigration officers acting under his direction, to decide
finally all questions as to the right of aliens to enter. And the court
held that, as to aliens who have never gained a foothold upon the soil
of this country, the inquiry and decision which officers of the executive
branch of the Government may make in the due course of administra
tion of the immigration laws is due process of law. But I do not think
that the decision in that case, or any decision to which my attention
has been directed, justifies the assumption of power by ministerial offi
cers of the United States to arrest aliens and expel them from this
country, when such power is not conferred upon such officers in explicit
terms by an act of Congress. An act of Congress should not be con
strued so as to read into it a provision not necessary to its enforcement,
and contrary to the letter of the Bill of Bights contained in our National
Constitution. The guaranty of personal liberty in the fifth amendment
to the Constitution of the United States does not distinguish between
citizens and aliens, but lays down the broad principle that no person
shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of
law.
For the reasons above stated, I must hold that the detention of the
petitioner by the officers of the Treasury Department is not authorized
by any law. The statute providing for returning alien paupers to the
countries to which they belong is a wholesome provision, and this court
has no disposition to obstruct lawful proceedings thereunder. If it is
true that this petitioner has become a public charge from causes which
existed before he came into the country, the Government should cause
an information to be filed against him in a court-having jurisdiction to
issue proper process for his deportation. He should be given the right
to defend against proceedings instituted for the purpose of depriving
him of his liberty, and then the question of his right to remain in this
country should be determined judicially. The policy of our Govern
ment in this respect is well illustrated in the statutes excluding Chinese
laborers. Even a Chinaman can not be arrested and expelled without
a judicial warrant and a judicial determination of his rights after a
hearing. Petitioner discharged.
878
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
E m p l o y e r s 7 L i a b i l i t y — C o n s t r u c t i o n o f S t a t u t e — Whatley v.
Zenida Coal Co., 26 Southern Reporter, page 124.—In the circuit court
of Shelby County, Ala., one Tyre W. Whatley, as administrator of the
estate of Thomas J. Whatley, deceased, brought suit against the abovenamed coal company to recover damages for the death of his intestate.
In his complaint he alleged that the deceased was an engineer employed
by the coal company to run a pump engine situated down in a coal
mine; that coal was drawn up from said mine by means of tram cars
drawn up a steep incline on a tramway by a chain which was attached
to said cars and wound around a drum at the top near the entrance;
that the only means of ingress or egress to and from his work was along
this tramway; that while the deceased was leaving the mine in the
regular course of his employment three tram cars broke loose from the
chain, ran back down the incline with great velocity, and ran off the
track and against a prop placed there to support the roof, and knocked
the prop against his head, so injuring him that he died in a few hours;
that the coal company was negligent in not having provided a manway
for the passage of the employees separate from the slope through which
ore was brought to the surface; and that the accident was caused
through the negligence of the engineer who was running the engine
which was drawing the cars up the incline. It was the theory of the
complaint that these last two allegations brought the case within the
provisions of section 2590, subsections 1 and 5, of the Code of Alabama,
which read as follows:
S e c t i o n 2590. W h e n a personal injury is received b y a servant or
em ployee in th e service or business o f the m aster or em ployer, the
master or em ployer is liable to answer in dam ages to such servant or
em ployee, as i f he were a stranger and not engaged in such service or
em ploym ent, in the cases follow in g:
1.
When the injury is caused by reason of any defect in the condi
tion of the ways, works, machinery, or plant connected with or used
in the business of the master or employer.
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
5. When such injury is caused by reason of the negligence of any
person in the service or employment of the master or employer, who
has the charge or control of any signal, points, locomotive, engine, switch,
car, or train upon a railway, or of any part of the track of a railway.
After a hearing a verdict and judgment were rendered in favor of
the defendant, and the plaintiff appealed the case to the supreme court
of the State, which rendered its decision May 30,1899, and reversed
the judgment of the lower court, but on points other than those men
tioned above.
Upon the above points it sustained the rulings of the circuit court,
and, in so doing, Chief Justice McClellan, who delivered the opinion
of the supreme court, used the following language:
It can not, as a matter of law, be said to be the duty of persons
operating coal mines to cut a manway, different and separate from the
slope through which coal is brought to the surface, for the ingress and
egress of their employees.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
879
The fifth count [of the complaint] ascribed intestate’s death to the
negligence of a person in charge of a stationary engine. This person
was a fellow-servant of the deceased, and, not being in charge, etc., of
an engine on the track of a railway, the defendant is not liable for his
negligence in operating the engine under his control.
E m p l o y e r s ’ L i a b i l i t y — C o n s t r u c t i o n o f S t a t u t e — Colorado
Milling and Elevator Co. v. Mitchell, 58 Pacific Reporter, page 28.—This
action was brought by Anna M. Mitchell against the above-named com
pany in the district court of Larimer County, Colo., to recover damages
for the death of her unmarried son, William M. Mitchell. For cause of
action she, in substance, averred that on the 7th day of August, 189G,
he was employed by appellant to assist in raising a smokestack at its
mills, at the city of Fort Collins, which work was under the immediate
supervision, direction, and control of one Benjamin F. Hottel, its gen
eral manager and representative; that said Hottel, acting for and rep
resenting appellant, provided a derrick for lifting said smokestack into
position, which was insufficient for that purpose 5 that by reason of such
insufficiency, and the negligent manner and method in which the same
was caused to be used by said Hottel, the stack fell, striking said
Mitchell, and causing his death. A demurrer was interposed to the
complaint on the ground that it did not state facts sufficient to consti
tute a cause of action, the particular objection being that it failed to
allege the giving of any notice of the time, place, or cause of the injury,
in compliance with section 2 of the act of 1893, generally known as the
uEmployers’ liability act.” The demurrer was sustained and judg
ment entered dismissing the action. On error to the court of appeals
this judgment was reversed on the ground that the complaint showed
a complete cause of action under an act approved March 7, 1877,
authorizing the recovery of damages for the death of an employee, and
requiring no notice. (See Department of Labor Bulletin, Ho. 22, page
437.) The defendant company then carried the case upon writ of error
before the supreme court of the State, which rendered its decision June
19,1899, and sustained the decision of the court of appeals.
The second section of the act of 1877, referred to above, reads as
follows:
Whenever the death of a person shall be caused by a wrongful act,
neglect, or default of another, and the act, neglect, or default is such as
would (if death had not ensued) have entitled the party injured to
maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof, then, and
in every such case, the person who, or the corporation which would
have been liable, if death had not ensued, shall be liable to an action
for damages notwithstanding the death of the party injured.
Judge Goddard delivered the opinion of the supreme court, and in
the course of the same he used the following language:
The question presented and elaborately argued in the court of appeals
was as to whether the action comes within the provisions of the act of
880
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
1893, and therefore the service of notice as required by section 2 of the
act was essential to its maintenance, or whether the facts alleged con
stitute a cause of action entitling plaintiff to a recovery under the act
o f 1877, unaffected by the later act. The court of appeals held that
the complaint stated a complete cause of action, and a right to recover
under the act of 1877, which was not controlled or affected by the
act o f 1893. It, however, based its conclusion mainly upon the fact
that the title to the act of 1893 limited the right to maintain an action
thereunder to the agents, servants, and employees sustaining dam
ages, and did not embrace within its terms any provisions affecting
the cause of action, or the recovery of damages sustained by any other
person; and that, in so far as the act attempts to regulate, restrict, or
in any manner affect actions by one who was in no capacity in the
employ of defendant, it is obnoxious to section 21 of article 5 of the
constitution, which provides that “ no bill except general appropriation
bills shall be passed containing more than one subject, which shall be
clearly expressed in its title; but if any subject shall be embraced in
any act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void
only as to so much thereof as shall not be so expressed.” If, in the
title to the act, which is “ an act concerning damages sustained by
agents, servants, and employees,” the word “ damages” is used in its
technical sense to express simply compensation for injuries received, or
the amount which the injured party is entitled to recover, the construc
tion given to the title by the court of appeals is manifestly correct.
If, on the other hand, we give to it the meaning with which it is fre:
quently used, and of which it is also susceptible as a law term, as
expressing “ the injury for which compensation is sought;” in other
words, as synonymous with “ injuries,” the title sufficiently expresses
the subject treated in the body of the act. We are inclined to accept
the latter view, and for the purpose of this review assume the act to be
constitutional. If this view be adopted, and force be given to all the
provisions of the act of 1893, it does not in any manner repeal, modify,
or change any of the provisions of the statute of 1877; nor does it
purport to specify all the causes from which a right of action may
accrue in favor of an employee against an employer. Section 1 of the
act, which is the only section which undertakes to specify the causes
for which an injured employee may recover, is as follows:
“ S e c t i o n 1. Where, after the passage of this act, personal injury is
caused to an employee, who is himself in the exercise of due care and
diligence at the time, (1 ) by reason of any defect in the condition of
the ways, works, or machinery connected with or used in the business
of the employer, which arose from or had not been discovered or reme
died owing to the negligence of the employer, or o f any person in the
service of the employer, and intrusted by him with the duty of seeing
that the ways, works, and machinery were in proper condition; or (2 ) by
reason of the negligence of any person in the service of the employer,
intrusted with or exercising superintendence, whose sole or principal
duty is that of superintendence; (3) by reason of the negligence of any
person in the service of the employer who has the charge or control of any
switch, signal, locomotive, engine, or train upon a railroad, the employee,
or in case the injury results in death the parties entitled by law to sue
and recover for such damages, shall have the same right of compensation and remedy against the employer as if the employee had not been
an employee of or in the service of the employer or engaged in his or
its works.”
Clauses 1 and 2 , which are the only provisions which can be said to
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
881
have any bearing upon the case in hand, are, so far as they go, but a
legislative recognition of the principles laid down in the former decisions
of this court. A t the time they were enacted it was settled law in this
State that the master Avas bound to personally see that reasonable care
was used in providing reasonably safe and proper machinery and appli
ances for use in his business, and to use reasonable care in maintaining
the same in suitable condition, and that agents to whom he delegated
the duty of procuring the machinery, and the duty of inspecting and
keeping the same in suitable repair, were not regarded as fellowservants with those employed in the business in which such machinery
and appliances were used, and therefore the master was liable for
injuries resulting, without contributory negligence on their part, to other
servants through the negligence or want of due care on the part of such
agents in dischargingtheir duties in these respects, and was also liable
for the negligence of the person to whom he delegated the duty of
superintendence.
It is obvious, therefore, that clauses 1 and 2 create no new cause of
action nor deprive the employer of any defense that existed at common
law, unless it may be said that clause 1 operates to exclude the defense
of implied assumption of risk on the part of the employee. Clause 3
gives a right to recover compensation for the death of or injury to an
employee caused by the act or omission of a class of persons for whose
negligence the master was not answerable at common law, and therefore
creates a new right of action, or, perhaps it maybe more properly said,
abolishes the defense that the negligence causing the injury was that
of a fellow-servant. It is manifest, therefore, that the intent of the act
is at most to abolish certain defenses in certain specified cases, and in
such cases to impose a compensatory limitation on the right to sue, but
in no manner to prejudice the common-law rights of employees or to
interfere with the enforcement of any right that the statute itself does
not create.
The negligence complained of in the case at bar was that of the
defendant itself in failing to exercise due care in providing a safe and
proper appliance for raising the smokestack. The complaint charges
this negligence both upon the defendant company and its manager, and
also charges that the manager used the appliance in a grossly negligent
manner. If it may be said that under these averments the default of
the company was not the sole producing cause of the injury, but that
the negligence of the manager also contributed thereto, it is immaterial,
since it appears from the complaint that the manager was acting as the
vice-principal of the company, and hence his negligence was the negli
gence of the company. To whichever cause the injury is attributable,
Mitchell, had he lived, would have been entitled to maintain an action
and recover therefor at common law; and, death having ensued, a
complete cause of action is alleged in favor of appellee under the
statute of 1877.
Counsel for appellant concede that an employee who survives an
injury can still avail himself of his common-law remedy, notwithstand
ing the statute of 1893, but contend that the same rule does not apply
to one whose right of action is given by the statute of 1877. We can
not see any reason for this distinction, or perceive why the right of
action created by the statute is abrogated by the subsequent act, any
more than one that existed at common law, since no such intention is
indicated in terms or by implication. It is well settled that a statute
providing a new remedy for an existing right does not take away a
preexisting remedy without express words or necessary implication.
882
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The same rule of construction is applied to statutes in derogation of
existing statutes as applies to those in derogation of common law, and
the same presumption obtains that no change is intended, unless the
later statute is clear and explicit to that effect.
The statute of 1893, as we have before stated, does not attempt in
any manner to repeal, modify, or restrict any of the provisions of the
statute of 1877, nor to change or abridge any right or remedy thereby
given. It merely provides that the parties who were entitled by law
to sue in case the injury results in death shall have the same right of
compensation and remedy that it gives to the employee. In other
words, its plain purport and intent is to extend to the parties designated
in the act of 1877 the right to recover for an injury resulting in death
under "the same circumstances that would have entitled the employee
to maintain the action if death had not ensued. The right, therefore,
of appellee to maintain this action under the act of 1877 is not affected
by the later act, and no notice was required as a condition precedent
to the maintenance of the action, and the court of appeals correctly
held that the district court erred in sustaining the demurrer to the com
plaint on the ground of failure to allege such notice. Its judgment is
accordingly affirmed.
E m p l o y e r s 5 L i a b i l i t y — C o n s t r u c t i o n o f S t a t u t e —Indianapo
lis Gas Go. v. Shumackj 54 Northeastern Reporter, page 414.—In the cir
cuit court of Hamilton County, Ind., one William M. Shumack recovered
a judgment in a suit for damages brought by him against the gas com
pany above named on account of injuries incurred by him while in its
employ. The company appealed the case to the appellate court of the
State, which rendered its decision June 28, 1899, and sustained the
judgment of the lower court.
The facts in the case are fully set out in the opinion of the appellate
court, which was delivered by Judge Robinson, and from the syllabus
of said opinion the following is quoted:
2.
Plaintiff was repairing a leak in a gas main under the direction of
defendants5 superintendent, who instructed plaintiff to get into the
trench and remove the defective pipe. While plaintiff was in the
trench the superintendent approached with a lantern, which ignited
the escaping gas and injured plaintiff. Held, that plaintiff was injured
through the negligence of the superintendent, while working under his
orders, within Burns5 Rev. St., 1894, § 7083 (Horner’s Rev. St., 1897, §
5206s), making a corporation liable for injury to an employee u where
such injury resulted from the negligence of any person in the service
o f such corporation to whose orders or direction the injured employee
at the time of the injury was bound to conform, and did conform.55
E m p l o y e r s 5 L i a b i l i t y — R a i l r o a d C o m p a n ie s — C o n s t r u c t io n
S t a t u t e —Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railway Co. v.
of
Wagner, 53 Northeastern Reporter, page 927.—Action was brought by
George Wagner against the above-named railway company to recover
damages for personal injuries. In the circuit court of Clark County,
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
883
Ind., a judgment was rendered in his favor, and the defendant company
appealed the case to the supreme court of the State, which rendered
its decision May 23, 1899, and sustained the judgment of the lower
court.
The facts of the case are clearly set out in the opinion of the supreme
court, which was delivered by Judge Hadley, and the following is quoted
therefrom:
The special verdict of the jury discloses the following facts: Ine
Cunningham was the duly constituted foreman of a gang of 10 or 12
men, common laborers, of whom the appellee was one, all, including
Cunningham, employees of appellant, and engaged in loading car
trucks, composed of four wheels, axles, and gearing, and weighing about
2,500 pounds, upon a flat car for transportation. By the method pur
sued, which was the usual and ordinary way, the trucks were placed
upon the rails occupied by the flat car to be loaded, about 50 feet dis
tant. Then two wooden skids 15 feet long, made for and suitable to the
purpose, were arranged by placing ends on top of the flat car and the
other ends upon the rails toward the trucks. The 10 or 12 men, includ
ing appellee, were all subject to the orders of Cunningham, and were
bound to conform, and did conform, to his orders. Ordinarily the men,
being placed about the truck, some to the sides and three to the rear,
two outside and one between the skids, by their united effort, under
the orders of Cunningham, would push the trucks along rapidly, and,
by the momentum attained, would be able to carry the trucks halfway
up the skids before stopping and when a stop was made Cunningham,
in addition to giving orders, would chock the trucks with a piece of
timber. From the first stop to the top of the car movement was made
by short stages. On the occasion of appellee’s injury it had been rain
ing and the skids were slightly wet. The men were directed to their
places about the truck by Cunningham, appellee taking his place in the
rear, between the skids, in conformity to Cunningham’s order. The
truck was put in motion and forced more than two-thirds of the way up
the skids, where it stopped and began slipping back; whereupon, while
appellee was exerting his strength in pushing at the truck and without
any notice or warning to appellee, Cunningham ordered the men to
“ get out of the way and let her go.” The other men obeyed the order
immediately, and the truck at once rushed back and down the skids,
striking appellee in the breast, precipitating him backward to the track,
his arm falling across the skid, where it was run over by the truck and
crushed. Appellee had no warning or knowledge that said order would
be given by Cunningham, and could not escape from between the skids,
or from the descending truck, after it was given. The other men could
have held the truck until appellee could have escaped from between
the skids, if they had been requested or ordered by Cunningham so to
do. Appellee and the said other men engaged with him in attempting
to load said truck were at the time and place of appellee’s injury bound
to conform, and were conforming, to the orders of Cunningham in all
things respecting the loading and letting go of said truck. Appellee
was without fault. Appellant’s demurrer to the complaint was over
ruled; also its motion for venire de novo, for judgment in its favor on
the special verdict, and for a new trial. Error is assigned upon each
ruling of the court; but the special verdict fully supports the aver
ments of the complaint, and the only proposition discussed relates to
the plaintiff’s right to recover under the averments of his complaint
and the verdict returned in support thereof.
884
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The discussion centers around the second subdivision of section 1 ,
page 294, acts 1893 (sec. 7083, Burns’ Rev. Stat., 1894; sec. 5206s,
Horner’s Rev. Stat., 1897), commonly known as the u Employers’ lia
bility act,” which is in these words: u First. That every railroad or
other corporation, except municipal, operating in this State, shall be
liable in damages for personal inj ury suffered by an employee while in
its service, the employee so injured being in the exercise of due care
and diligence, in the following cases: * # # Second. Where such
injury resulted from the negligenceof any person in the service of such
corporation, to whose orders or direction the injured employee at the
time of the injury was bound to conform and did conform.”
The question we have here is not to be controlled by the general doc
trine of fellow-servants or of assumed risks; hence the cases cited by
appellant upon these questions can not be accepted as authorities in
the case at bar. The statute above set out is clear and free from ambi
guity. We can not interpret it. We may only read it. The statute
places the case upon a principle different from that in support of the
coservant’s rule and the assumption of risk. The test here is threefold:
(1 ) Was the offending servant clothed by the employer with authority
to give orders to the injured servant that the latter was bound to obey?
(2 ) Hid the injury result to the latter from the negligence of the former
while conforming to an order of the former that the injured servant
was at the time bound to obey ? (3) Was the injured party at the time of
injury in the exercise of due care and diligence? If these three things
concur, appellee exhibits a good cause of action.
These averments [of the complaint] are all established by the special
findings of the jury. And the jury also finds that the other men
might and would have held the truck long enough for the plaintiff to
have safely escaped if they had been requested or ordered by Cunning
ham to do so.
In this case the plaintiff was in a dangerous place in obedience to the
orders of Cunningham, whom he was at the time bound to obey, and,
without giving the plaintiff warning or a chance to escape, as he might
have and ought to have done, Cunningham ordered the men to loose
the truck. The men instantly obeyed, as they were bound to do, and
thus precipitated the truck upon the plaintiff, crushing his arm. The
order to loose the truck was the proximate cause of plaintiff s injury.
And it was both directing the plaintiff into a dangerous situation, that
he was thus bound to enter, and then ordering the truck turned loose
upon him without warning, that constitutes the actionable wrong. The
facts found bring this case within the spirit and letter of the statute.
W e find no error in the record. Judgment affirmed.
L a b o r e r s ’ L ie n s — S u p e r i o r i t y o f S a m e t o L i e n o f P r i o r
M o r t g a g e G i v e n t o S e c u r e P u r c h a s e M o n e y — Georgia Loan,
Savings and Banking Go. v. Dunlop et ah, 33 Southeastern Reporter,page
882.—Action was brought by H. C. Hunlop and others in the superior
court of Fulton County, Ga., against S. W. Postell, to enforce laborers’
liens under section 2792 of the Civil Code, edition of 1895. The Georgia
Loan, Savings and Banking Company was, by order of the court, made
a party, and its action to foreclose a mortgage consolidated with the
plaintiffs’ suit. A judgment was rendered in favor of the plaintiffs,
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
885
and the above-named company carried the case on writ of error before
the supreme court of the State, claiming that the mortgage held by it
should have been first satisfied and paid out of the assets of the bank
rupt, Postell, before the laborers’ liens were paid. The court rendered
its decision July 2 1 , 1899, and, in affirming the decision of the lower
court, held that the laborers’ liens were superior to the lien of the
mortgage. Section 2792, above referred to, reads as follows:
Laborers shall have a general lien upon the property of their employ
ers, liable to levy and sale, for their labor, which is hereby declared to
be superior to all other liens, except liens for taxes, the special liens of
landlords on yearly crops, and such other liens as are declared by law
to be superior to them.
The opinion of the supreme court was delivered by Judge Oobb, and
the syllabus of the same, prepared by the court, is in the following
language:
1. Affidavits, one alleging that the affiant is “ a laborer and mechanic,
and that as such” he was employed “ to work and labor” in a printing
office; and the other, in addition to the above, setting up that the
affiant was employed as a “ job printer,” are sufficient to be the founda
tion of proceedings to foreclose the general laborers’ lien provided for
in section 2792 of the Civil Code.
2 . Such a lien is superior to the lien of a mortgage older in date than
the contract of labor and given to secure the purchase money on the
property against which the laborers’ lien is sought to be enforced.
3. The fact that such a mo1 tgage has been foreclosed, and execution
levied, and the property redelivered to the mortgageor upon the execu
tion of a forthcoming bond, does not prevent such a lien from attach
ing to the property, and this is true though the contract of labor was
entered into after the redelivery of the property under the forthcoming
bond. Whether or not in such a case the sureties on the forthcoming
bond would be liable to the plaintiffs in the mortgage-foreclosure pro
ceeding, as for a failure to redeliver the property to the levyiug officer,
when called for in terms of the law, in the same condition it was in
when the bond was given, is a question not made by the present record,
P r o c e e d in g s u n d e r t h e U n it e d S t a t e s B a n k r u p t c y L a w —
P r i o r i t y o f L ie n s f o r ' W a g e s P e r f e c t e d u n d e r S t a t e L a w —
In re Kerby-Dennis Co., 95 Federal Reporter, page 116.—This was a
review of an order of the United States district court for the eastern
district of Wisconsin, made in bankruptcy proceeding by the United
States circuit court of appeals, seventh circuit. The court of appeals
rendered its decision June 14,1899, and affirmed the order of the lower
court.
The facts o f the case are sufficiently stated in the opinion of the
court of appeals, which was delivered by Circuit Judge Jenkins, and
from which the following is quoted:
The Kerby-Dennis Company, a corporation under the laws of the
State of Wisconsin and doing business at Marinette, in that State,
886
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
was duly adjudged a bankrupt, in the district court of the United States
for the eastern district of Wisconsin, upon a petition filed November 1,
1898, being at the time the owner of a large amount of logs, posts, ties,
and shingles, upon and in the production of which labor had been per
formed, within three months prior to the filing of the petition in bank
ruptcy, by a number of laborers, including the petitioners. The labor
claimants are divisible into two classes, the one class comprising those
who, on the 27th of October, 1898, filed claims for liens with the clerk
of the circuit court of Alger County, in the State of Michigan, where
the product was situated, for the amount of the indebtedness due them,
respectively, for work and labor, and who thereafter prosecuted suits
against the bankrupt corporation and seized the property upon which
the labor had been performed. The other class of claimants is com
posed of those who had performed like services in the production of the
property but had failed to file claims for liens under the statute of the
State of Michigan. That statute provides that any person performing
labor or services in manufacturing lumber or shingles u shall have a
lien thereon for the amount due for such labor or services, and the same
shall take precedence of all other claims or liens thereon.” The statute
also provides that any such debt, demand, or claim shall not remain a
lien on any of the mentipned products unless a statement thereof in
writing, made under oath by the claimant or someone in his behalf,
shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the county in which such labor
or service was performed, which statement of lien shall be filed within
thirty days after the completion or last day of such labor or service;
and that any sale or transfer of the products upon which the lien is
claimed during the time limited for the enforcement of the same shall
not affect the lien, but the lien shall remain, and be enforced against
such products, in whosesoever possession the same shall be found. The
statute also provides that the lien may be enforced by attachment
against any of the products in the designated courts of the State, and
that such lien claims shall cease to be a lien upon the property named
in such statement unless suit be commenced within three months after
the filing of the statement for lien. (3 How. Ann. St. Mich., §§ 8427a8427p.)
The referee in bankruptcy, on April 25, 1899, directed the trustee to
apply the fund to the payment of a pro rata dividend upon all the claims
for labor and services approved and allowed by the court, entitled to
priority under the provisions of subdivision 4, par. b, § 64, of the
national bankruptcy act, u without distinction or preference as to
whether said labor claims had secured or attempted to secure liens
upon any of the property of said bankrupt prior to the adjudication in
bankruptcy, under the provisions of sections 8427a-8427p of HowelFs
Annotated Statutes of the State of Michigan.” The district court, on
the 23d day of May, 1899, reversed that order, and adjudged that the
claims of those who had filed their statements of liens were entitled to
priority of payment out of the proceeds of the property covered thereby,
as against the claims of laborers who had no liens, under any State law
or otherwise, upon the property, and that the proceedings in the State
court to secure the liens were unaffected by the proceedings in bank
ruptcy, and entitled to recognition by the bankruptcy court with the
same force and effect as though the same had been enforced in the
courts of the State. Whereupon, on the 3d day of June, 1899, the
claimants so postponed filed their original petition in this court, asking
for a review and reversal of the order of the district court and for
instruction to the trustee to apply the proceeds of the property without
distinction or preference.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
887
The question presented is whether these labor liens secured by tne stat
ute of Michigan should be preferred to the claims for like work not so
secured. W e cannot doubt that the statute of Michigan gives to a laborer
a lien for his services which results from the performance of and exists
from thecommencementofthe work, and is not created by the proceedings
to enforce the lien, but only continued or secured thereby. The pro
ceedings under the statute are merely the means for the preservation
and enforcement of a preexisting lien, given by the statute and arising
from the performance of the service.
It is insisted, however, that the bankruptcy act does not preserve
these liens. It is said that to hold them valid would be in antagonism
to subdivision f of section 67 of the act, which provides “ that all levies,
judgments, attachments, or other liens obtained through legal proceed
ings against a person who is insolvent at any time within four months
prior to the filing of a petition in bankruptcy against him shall be
deemed null and void in case he is adjudged a bankrupt, and the prop
erty affected by the levy, judgment, attachment, or other lien shall be
deemed wholly discharged and released from the same and shall pass
to the trustee as a part of the estate of the bankrupt,” etc. But it is
to be observed that the lien in the case before us was not obtained
-through “ legal proceedings.” It is a creature of the statute, arising
from and immediately upon the performance of labor. The legal pro
ceedings contemplated by the statute do not create a lien, but enforce
a lien already existing.
It is also urged that since the bankruptcy act does not, as did a
former bankruptcy act, expressly reserve liens of this character, there
fore they are not entitled to protection. It is possible, perhaps, for
Congress to interfere with vested rights and to impair obligations of
contracts; but such legislation would be opposed to equity and good
conscience, and the intention of Congress so to enact can not be pre
sumed in the absence of clear and unmistakable expression. W e find
in the bankruptcy act no such design. To the contrary, we find pro
visions, like that quoted, which direct that certain liens shall be invalid.
It is clear to us that the design of Congress was to protect all liens,
whether arising by contract or by statute, and only to avoid those
which are in fraud of the act and those which have been secured by
and arise from legal proceedings within the limited time specified before
the bankruptcy.
The question is not affected by the provisions of section 64, subdivi
sions a, b. That section directs the order of distribution of the estate
after the assets have been marshaled and the liens discharged, and
provides for the priority of payment of labor claims not otherwise
secured. It is true that the petitioners here, with respect to the char
acter of their services and labor, stand equal in equity to the claims of
those which were allowed preference by the decision of the court below.
The apparent inequity in now denying equality results, however, not
from the bankruptcy act, but from their own omission to comply with
the requirements of the local law. Both of these classes of laborers
had liens upon the product upon which their labor was expended. The
one class preserved their liens by proper proceedings, which the statute
giving the lien rendered imperative for its continuance. The other class
omitted so to do, and therefore, by force of the statute which created
the right, the lien is gone forever. W e are of opinion that the decree
of the court below is correct and must be affirmed, and that the prayer
of the petitioners should be denied.
888
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
Se a m e n — U n w a r r a n t e d D e s e r t io n o f V e s s e l — F o r f e it u r e
W a d e s — The C, F. Sargent, 95 Federal Reporter, page 179,—This
of
was a libel in rem against the above-named vessel, brought in the
United States district court for the district of Washington, northern
division, for the recovery of wages as seamen. The libelants left the
vessel at Seattle, before the voyage for which they had shipped was
completed, and without the master’s consent.
The further facts are sufficiently shown in the opinion of the district
court, delivered by District Judge Hanford. The following is quoted
therefrom :
In the testimony and the argument there appears to have been a con
tention as to whether or not the forecastle where the men slept in the
ship was heated and made comfortable as required by existing laws,
but no complaint or request respecting that matter was made to the
captain. Therefore, whatever the fact may be as to the actual condi
tion of the sailors’ quarters, the libelants were not justified in leaving
the vessel on account of any such defect.
The libelants’ demand, as set forth in their libel, is for the amount of
wages which they respectively earned by service in the ship pursuant
to their contract; and, as they have stated their case, it is simply a
demand for wages. There is no question but what the libelants worked
faithfully on the voyage from Tacoma to Honolulu, and while the vessel
lay at Honolulu and on her return passage to Seattle, and only a part
of the wages which they earned has been paid to them.
It is my opinion that the libelants were not justified in leaving the
ship without the masters’ consent by reason of the unseaworthiness
of the vessel. The vessel was in a leaking condition on the trip from
Tacoma to Honolulu, and it was necessary for the crew to perform con
siderable labor in manning the pumps; but the vessel did not become
water-logged, and she reached Honolulu in safety, and on the return
trip to Seattle, when she was light, she took in very little water. After
arrival at Seattle, and before the libelants left her, a carpenter employed
by the master located the leak and stopped it, and after taking on
cargo a certificate of seaworthiness was given to the vessel by an agent
of the underwriters, who is an experienced mariner, and who gave a
careful examination and found her to be in a seaworthy condition, and
who has testified as a witness in this case that he did examine the ship
and that she appeared to him to be staunch and fit to go to sea, and
that he would not have given the certificate if he had not believed
that she could make the voyage to San Francisco safely. The United
States inspector of hulls of steam vessels has also appeared as a witness
in this case, and testified that he found the ship to be seaworthy.
Under the circumstances shown by the uncontradicted evidence, the
seamen were not authorized to determine the question as to the sea
worthiness of the ship, and they can not be relieved from their obliga
tion to perform their contract, under the shipping articles which they
have signed, on the ground of unseaworthiness. If they in good faith
believed that it was unsafe for the ship to go to sea, they might have
demanded a survey, which, if fairly made by competent persons, would
be treated by the court as conclusive for the purpose of determining
whether the men should or should not be discharged before completion
of the voyage.
The contract contained in the shipping articles signed by the libel
ants provides for a term of service, and not merely for service upon a
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
889
specified voyage. By said contract the libelants bound themselves to
serve as mariners on board the,C. F. Sargent on her contemplated
voyage, and for a term described as follows:
“ From the port of Tacoma to Honolulu, H. I., and back to San
Francisco, Gal., as a final port of discharge, either direct or via one or
more ports on the Pacific coast, for a term of time not exceeding nine
calendar months.77
This contract is worded to meet fairly and fully the requirements of
section 4511, Rev. Stat. U. S., which prescribes that every agreement
of seamen to serve in American vessels shall set forth definitely,
among other things, “ the nature and, so far as practicable, the dura
tion of the intended voyage or engagement, and the port or country at
which the voyage is to terminate/7 This contract is certainly definite
as to the duration of the engagement, and specifies the port of final
discharge. It is a lawful contract, broken by the libelants by their
having quit the service of the ship before her arrival at San Fran
cisco, or the expiration of the term of nine months, without the mas
ters consent; and the penalty for the breach of their contract is
forfeiture of their wages. A decree will be entered dismissing the
libel.
DECISIONS UNDER COMMON LAW .
E m p l o y e r s 7L ia b il it y — M a st e r ’s D u t y as to F u rn ish in g Sa f e
A ppl ian ces — Western Goal and Mining Go. v. Berberieh, 94 Federal
Reporter, page 329.—Joseph Berberieh, a coal miner, while employed by
the above-named company in its mines at Denning, Ark., was injured
by an explosion of gas or fire damp, and brought suit for the recovery
of damages against said company. A judgment in his favor was ren
dered in the United States circuit court for the western district of
Arkansas, and thereupon the defendant company appealed the same to
the United States circuit court of appeals, eighth circuit, which ren
dered its decision April 10, 1899, and affirmed the judgment of the
lower court.
An important point of the decision is quoted below, in the language
of Circuit Judge Caldwell, who delivered the opinion of the court of
appeals:
It is assigned for error that the court, in the course of its charge,
told the ju ry :
“ It was the duty of the defendant to use all appliances readily
attainable, known to science, for the prevention of accidents arising
from the accumulation of gas or other explosive substances in its
mines.77
In the case of Mather v. Rillston (156 U. S., 391, 15 Sup. Ct., 464),
which was an action to recover damages for personal injuries resulting
from the explosion of powder and caps in an iron mine, the court dis
cusses at length the dut> of mine owners to their employees, and laid
down the following rule:
“ Occupations, however important, which can not be conducted with
out necessary danger to life, body, or limb, should not be prosecuted
at all without all reasonable precautions against such dangers afforded
by science. The necessary danger attending them should operate as a
64—No. 25----- 9
890
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
prohibition to their pursuit without such safeguards. Indeed, we think
it may be laid down as a legal principle that in all occupations which
are attended with great and unusual danger there must be used all
appliances readily attainable, known to science, for the prevention of
accidents, and that the neglect to provide such readily attainable
appliances will be regarded as proof of culpable negligence.77
It will be observed that the clause of the court’s charge excepted to
is ulaid down as a legal principle77 by the Supreme Court. The charge
is not that the defendant must use u all appliances attainable,77etc., but
all appliances u readily attainable.77 This is imposing a very reason
able burden, for u readily,” according to the dictionaries that are
accepted authority, means u quickly, speedily, easily (Century Dic
tionary); at hand, immediately available, convenient, handy (Standard
Dictionary).77 In effect, the contention of the plaintiff in error (the
coal company) is that the court should have charged the converse,
and told the jury that in occupations attended with great and unusual
danger there is no obligation resting on the employer to use the appli
ances known to science for the prevention of accidents, although they
are readily and easily obtainable and immediately available, convenient,
and handy. The law has not yet reached that degree of barbarity,
E m p lo ye rs 7 L ia b il it y — M a st e r ’ s D u t y — D e l e g a t io n of I ts
P erfo rm an ce —Hustis v. James A. Banister Go., 43 Atlantic Reporter,
page 651.—In the circuit court of Essex County, N. J., one Henry H.
Hustis recovered a judgment, in a suit brought by him against the
above-named company, for damages for injuries sustained by him while
in the employ of said company. The evidence showed that the general
care of the mechanical equipment of the defendant’s shoe factory was
intrusted to its treasurer, John W. Denny; that under him was Charles
E. Carr, an engineer and machinist, who ran the engine and inspected
and repaired all the machinery, reporting to Mr. Denny such defects
as he could not himself remedy; that a loose coupling in a line of heavy
overhead shafting, suspended from the ceiling in a hanger, was noticed;
that an expert mechanic called in by Mr. Denny advised that this
shafting should be taken down, but on instructions from Mr. Denny
repaired it in place; that there was a bend in one of the coupled pieces
which threw the shaft out of alignment, for the removal of which firing
and straightening were necessary; that a few days after the repairs
were finished a bolt broke and fell out of the coupling, and was taken
to the engineer, Carr; that about one month later another bolt broke
and was taken to Carr, and that in the afternoon of the same day, while
the plaintiff was at work sorting shoe soles under this shafting, the
coupling gave way and the hanger broke, letting down a heavy piece
of shafting which struck the plaintiff and caused the injuries for which
he brought suit. The defendant company appealed the case to the
supreme court of the State, which rendered its decision June 12, 1899,
and affirmed the decision of the lower court.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
891
Judge Collins delivered the opinion of the supreme court, and the
syllabus of the same, prepared by the court, reads as follows:
1 . A master, charged with the duty to use reasonable care that over
head shafting in a factory shall be supported and maintained so as not
to endanger the safety of servants working underneath it, can not
escape liability for a breach of that duty by delegating its perform
ance to an engineer placed in charge of the machinery in the factory.
2. Inspection and repair necessary to the safe support and mainte
nance of overhead shafting in a factory is not to be considered as
merely incidental to the running of the engine with which it is connected.
E m p l o y e r s ’ L ia b il it y — R a il r o a d C ompanies — Su it for D a m
a g a in st R e c e iv e r s
of R a ilr o a d
C om pany — Smith v.
ages
St. Louis and San Francisco Railway Co. et al.752 Southwestern Reporter,
page 378.—Suit was brought against the above-named railway company
and its receivers by William H. Smith, a locomotive fireman, to recover
damages for injuries incurred by him while in the employ of said com
pany. In the circuit, court of Newton County, Mo., a judgment was
rendered in his favor and the defendant company appealed the case to
the supreme court of the State, which rendered its decision July 12 ,
1899, and reversed the decision of the lower court. The grounds of
said reversal were various, but the most important point decided was that
an action against a railroad company, accruing before the appointment
of receivers, can not be maintained against the receivers without first
obtaining consent of the court appointing such receivers.
Judge Marshall, who delivered the opinion of the supreme court,
spoke as follows upon the above point :
This proceeding against the receivers appointed by the circuit court
of the United States for the eastern district of Missouri is without any
permission or authority from that court, and hence can not be main
tained. The cause of action did not arise or accrue while the receivers
were in charge of and conducting the business, and therefore the plain
tiff does not come within the provisions of the act of March 3, 1887
(24 Stat., p. 554) [providing that a receiver may be sued without the
previous leave o f the court in respect of any act or transaction of his
in carrying on the business].
The accident complained of occurred on the 20th of October, 1893,
and the receivers were not appointed until December 23,1893. Receiv
ers are officers of court to hold and manage property which is in the
registry of the court, and persons having any claim to property so sit
uated must submit their claims to the court that has obtained jurisdic
tion over the res, and the court will not permit its officers to be sued
in any other tribunal without its consent. This is not only a law of
comity among courts, but is a jurisdictional necessity, for it is mani
fest that two courts could not, acting separately, successfully manage
the property or harmoniously distribute it.
The petition does not aver that the consent or permission of the
United States circuit court to sue its receivers was asked or obtained
before this action was begun, and there is a total lack of any evidence
892
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
of such steps having been taken. Thfe action can not, therefore, be
maintained, and the judgment against -the receivers, or, as amended,
that the judgment against the company be certified to the receivers, is
reversed.
E m p l o y e r s ’ L ia b il it y — B a il w a y B e l ie f fu nd — A cceptance
B e n e fits th er efr o m to O p e r a t e as B e l e a se of Cl a im for
D am ages for I n ju r ie s —Beck v. Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 43 Atlan
of
tic Reporter, page 908.—An action brought by Henry Beck against
the above-named railroad company, for the recovery of damages for
injury incurred by him while in the employ of said company, was
heard in the court of errors and appeals of the State of New Jersey
and a judgment was rendered in his favor. The defendant company
carried the case on writ of error before the supreme court of the State,
which rendered its decision June 19, 1899, and reversed the judgment
of the lower court. In the lower court the defendant company proved
that it and some of its employees had established a relief fund, under
regulations requiring the members to contribute certain sums out o f .
their wages, and requiring the company to take charge of the fund, to
manage it at its own expense, and out of it to make payment of certain
specified benefits to sick or injured members, or, in case of the death of
a member, to a beneficiary named by him, and, in case the fund was
insufficient to make such payments, to supply the deficiency; that plain
tiff had become a member, and in his application had agreed that the
acceptance of benefits from the fund for injury or death should operate
as a release of all claims for damages against the company arising from
such injury or death, and that, after the injury for which the action was
brought, plaintiff accepted such benefits. The trial judge, on motion
in behalf of the plaintiff, overruled and excluded this evidence. In its
decision the supreme court held that action of the judge was error,
because the transaction created a contract between the company and
its employee which was not against public policy, nor lacking in
mutuality or consideration, nor beyond the power of the company to
make, and because it was not an insurance contract, within the meaning
of the State insurance law*
The opinion of the supreme court was delivered by Chief Justice
Magie, and in the course of the same he used the following clear and
instructive language:
The learned trial judge held the contract between the parties to this
action to be opposed* to public policy, because he construed it to be a
contract by the employee to relieve the employer of its liability to answer
for injuries occasioned by its neglect of duty to the employee, and a
stipulation on the part of the employee not to hold the employer liable
in any event for such injuries. I f such is the true construction of the
contract, I should not hesitate to assent to the view that it was invalid,
for the law will not tolerate a contract between parties by which one
agrees that the other may commit a tort to his injury with impunity
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
893
and without liability to answer for damages. Such a contract would
be opposed to public policy. But, in my judgment, such is not the correct construction of the contract now under consideration. I think it
plainly apparent that the employee, or his representative, is not
debarred by this contract from maintaining such an action [for dam
ages for injuries], but there is an option afforded thereby, either to seek
redress by action or to accept the benefits stipulated for from the fund.
The exclusion of the right of action can only arise by the acceptance
of the employee of the optional rights to benefits. I can perceive no
reason why such a contract may not be made, and find in it no opposi
tion to the policy of the law. *
What has been said respecting the contract in question disposes also
of the objection that it was without consideration or lacking in mutu
ality. Each of the contracting parties became bound to the other.
The contract of each was a legal and sufficient consideration for the
contract of the other, and thereby each was mutually bound.
But it is further contended that this contract on the part of the com
pany is ultra vires. I will assume that the company was created to
build, maintain, and operate a railroad in the State of Pennsylvania,
and obtained corporate powers sufficient to enable it to carry out that
purpose. We know that it has acquired power in our own State to
lease and operate railroads in extension of its system. Upon such
assumption and knowledge, we must recognize that it has either
express or implied power to engage the services of many men, and con
tract with them as to the compensation they shall receive for their
services. Each of such employees is engaged in an employment which
subjects him to the hazard of injury and the danger of death. Each is
possessed of the liberty to contract with the employer respecting his
compensation. A contract by which an employee permits such an
employer to create a fund in part out of his wages, supplemented by
a contribution by the employer, when necessary, out of which relief
for sick and injured employees is provided, and by which the employer
undertakes to manage the fund and furnish the agreed-on relief is, in
my judgment, within the implied powers of the employer if a corpora
tion. On the part of the employer such a scheme may be deemed
likely to increase the efficiency of the force it employs, and on the part
of the employee it may tend to relieve from anxiety as to support if
injured by any of the many dangers to which he is daily and hourly
exposed. As incidental to the contract of employment and compensa
tion, therefore, it is not ultra vires.
One question remains to be considered, and that is whether the con
tract wliich has been found to have been made between the parties is
one prohibited by the provisions of our legislation on the subject of
insurance. The contention of defendant in error is that by our laws no
contract to indemnify any person against loss by casualty to property
or health or life can be made by any corporation except one incorpo' rated for that purpose under our laws, or a corporation of a foreign State
formed for that purpose, which has complied with our law s, and obtained
authority to transact its business in this State. If it be conceded that
this contention properly exhibits the scope of our laws on this subject,
I do not think it effective in respect to the contract now under consid
eration, because, in my judgment, such a contract is not one of insur
ance within the meaning of these laws. The purpose of the legislation
appealed to is to regulate the business of insurance of various kinds by
corporations who propose to do such business, and who hold themselves
out as ready to contract for insurance with any person who applies and
894
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
agrees to the terms on which they offer to insure. If it be conceded
that, such business is a proper subject of legislative regulation, it is
obvious that such regulations are not to be extended beyond the busi
ness intended to be regulated. The scheme of the relief department of
this company does not contemplate a business of that sort. Such an
association [a railway relief association] creates its own fund by volun
tary action* and distributes it by an agreed-upon plan ; and the contract
is not of insurance, but of beneficial relief.
None of the objections to the contract being found to affect its validity,
it results that it was erroneous to overrule the evidence of its existence,
and its performance on the part of the company, and of the acceptance
by Beck o f benefits thereunder. Under that evidence the defense of
the company was perfect, unless it was met by counter evidence deny
ing the existence of the contract or the acceptance of the benefits by
Beck. The judgment must therefore be reversed.
Se a m e n — D am ages for P er so n a l
O w n e r of V essel for N e g l ig e n c e
I n ju r ie s — L ia b il it y of
th e M a ste r — Olson v.
of
Oregon Coal and Navigation Co., 96 Federal Reporter, page 109.—This
was a suit in admiralty brought by one Olson, a ship carpenter, against
the above-named company, in the United States district court for the
northern district of California, to recover damages for personal injuries.
The court rendered its decision August 3,1899, giving judgment in favor
of the defendant company.
From the opinion of said court, delivered by District Judge De Haven,
and setting out the facts in the case, the following is quoted:
This is a suit in admiralty to recover $15,000 damages for personal
injuries alleged to have been received by the libelant on board the
steamer Empire. The libel alleges, in substance, that on the 22d of
February, 1897, the defendant was the owner of and engaged inoperating
the steamer Empire, and the libelant WSs employed thereon in the capac
ity of ship carpenter; that on the date named the said steamer, with
the libelant on board, left the harbor o f San Francisco, bound on a
voyage to Coos Bay, in the State of Oregon; that she had no cargo on
board and was light, and “ by reason thereof liable to sudden, unusual,
and violent motions when in waters agitated by the wind ;77 that on the
day named there was a heavy sea on the bar at the entrance of San
Francisco Harbor; that, although there were hatch covers on board the
steamer, the defendant negligently and carelessly operated her on that
day with the afterhatch uncovered, “ and thereby made the deck of the
said steamer Empire, unsafe and dangerous; and while the libelant on
said day was performing his duty upon the said steamer as such ship
carpenter, and in the performance of his duties as such carpenter was
going from the afterpart of the said vessel to the forward part, he,
without any fault on his part, was thrown from his feet by a roll of the
said steamer Empire, and, by reason of the afterhatch of the said
steamer being uncovered, he was thrown down the afterhatch of said
steamer # # # and thereby suffered a compound comminuted frac
ture o f the right thigh/7 and by reason thereof was compelled to go to
the United States Marine Hospital at San Francisco, where he has been
since confined, “ and has suffered great physical pain and mental anguish
by reason of the premises aforesaid, and for like reason has become per
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
895
manently and totally disabled; * # * all to the libelant’s damage
in the sum of fifteen thousand ($15,000) dollars.” It is not alleged in
the libel that defendant or its servants refused or neglected to properly
treat or care for libelant after- the injury received by him. To this libel
certain exceptions have been filed, which make it necessary to consider
whether the facts alleged are such as to render the defendant liable in
this action.
The defendant is a corporation, and therefore can only act through
its agents or servants, so that the negligence with which it is charged
must necessarily have been the personal negligence of some one
employed by it; and for the purpose of passing upon the exceptions it
will be assumed that this person was the master to whom the navi
gation o f the ship had been intrusted for the voyage mentioned in the
libel. It is distinctly alleged that the steamer was provided with neces
sary hatch covers, and the act of negligence charged is that upon the
occasion referred to in the libel the steamer was carelessly operated
with the afterhatch uncovered. The question, then, is whether the
defendant as owner is liable for this act of negligence upon the part
of the master o f the steamer. It will be readily conceded that no cause
o f action is stated against the defendant unless the libel shows upon its
face that the defendant failed to perform some positive duty which it
owed to the libelant as its employee. The duties which the owner of a
ship owes to the seamen employed in its service are to see that the ship
is seaworthy, properly manned, and equipped with all necessary appli
ances for the seamen’s safety and for the use of the ship; to provide
them with sufficient food and with medical attendance and care in case
of sickness; to use due care in the selection of the master and other
officers of the ship; and he may also, under the general principles which
govern the relations of master and servant, owe certain special duties
to minors and seamen known to be inexperienced. Is there anything
in the libel which can be construed as a charge that the defendant failed
in the performance of any one of these duties ? I think not. The neg
ligence complained of, namely, leaving uncovered the hatchway into
which the libelant fell, was "that of the master or other officer whose
duty it was to see that it was properly closed with the cover provided
for that purpose by the defendant. Assuming this to have been the
fault of the master, it was the negligence of a fellow-servant of the
libelant, for which the defendant, as owner of the steamer, is not liable
to respond in damages. While it is true the master of a ship is a serv
ant of higher grade than that of a seaman, and represents the owner in
respect to the personal duties and obligations which the latter owes to
the seamen, still in all matters pertaining to the navigation of the ship
the master and seamen are fellow-servants, engaged in one common
employment, and each assumes the risk of the other’s negligence in the
discharge of the duties incident to such common employment. The
exceptions will be sustained.
Se a m e n — D am ag es for P ersonal I n j u r ie s — L ia b il it y of
V essel t h e r e f o r — The Marion GMleott et al., 95 Federal Reporter,
page 688.—This was a libel in rem against the above-named ship,
brought by one Franz Schwam, a seaman, to recover damages for per
sonal injuries, and heard in the United States district court for the
district of Washington, northern division.
896
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The court rendered a decision in favor of the libelant on July 24,
1899, and from the opinion of said court, delivered by District Judge
Hanford, the following is quoted:
The libelant claims damages to the amount o f $25,000 for abuse and
personal ill treatment alleged to have been suffered by him while serving
as a seaman on the ship Marion Chilcott, on a voyage from Baltimore to
Seattle. After careful consideration o f the pleadings, evidence, and
arguments, I am convinced that the libelant suffered corporal chastise
ment at the hands of the mate very frequently during the voyage, which
was, except on the first occasion, unnecessary and unjustifiable. When
discharged, after the termination of the voyage, the libelant was in
such poor health that he was taken to the marine hospital with a per
mit issued to him by the captain, and he was certainly in a nervous
and weakened condition in consequence of his sufferings during the
voyage. There is, however, no evidence upon which to base a finding
that his injuries are permanent. He has shown himself to be an
untruthful witness, and I am convinced that he has grossly exagger
ated, both as to the ill treatment and its effects. There is a decided
preponderance of the evidence against the libelant in regard to a num
ber of important facts, and convincing proof that the greater part
of his suffering was caused otherwise than by ill treatment at the hands
of the officers of the ship; and for the pain and distress now referred
to, the ship, her owners, and officers are not in any degree responsible.
An exorbitant demand increases the expense and burden of litigation,
and a party responsible for it should share the consequences by having
his recovery pared down. Having this principle in mind, I shall award
only a comparatively small amount of damages in this case.
The sixteenth admiralty rule is a bar to a suit in rem by a seaman to
recover damages for assaults committed by officers of a ship, but I hold
that the vessel is liable in this case for the consequences of continued
abusive treatment on the part of the first mate, which should have
been prevented by the captain. It was the duty of the captain to
maintain proper discipline on the ship and to protect members of the
crew from abuse at the hands of his subordinate officers, and neglect
to perform his duty in that regard renders the ship liable for the effect
o f such abuse.
I am not prepared to depart from the rule of limited liability for
injuries caused by accidents laid down in the decision of this court in
the case of The Governor Ames, 55 Fed., 327. But that rule is not
applicable in a case where the negligence complained of amounts to a
breach of duty on the part of the owner or master of a ship which
such owner or master is obligated to perform personally, as, for instance,
the duty to see that the ship is seaworthy at the time of leaving port,
and that her equipments, appliances, and apparatus which must be
handled and used by the crew in her navigation are sound and fit for
use, and not by reason of decay or wear calculated to expose mem
bers of the crew to unnecessary danger, or the duty of the master
while at sea to protect the crew from violence and brutal treatment in
violation of the implied contract that such protection will be afforded.
It is my opinion that the ship is liable in this case, and I award to thelibelant as his damages the sum of $100 and costs.
Se a m e n — R e l e a s e
of
str a in t — D am ag es for
Cl a im fq r W ag e s w h il e u n d e r C on
A b u siv e T r e a t m e n t — The Fred F . San
der, 95 Federal Reporter, page 829.—This was a suit in rem against the
DECISIONS OP COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
897
schooner Fred E. Sander to recover wages earned as cook on a voyage
from Seattle to St. Michael, and for damages for abusive treatment
and neglect while the libelant was in a disabled and suffering condition
at St. Michael.
The final hearing of the case was had in the United States district
court for the district of Washington, northern division, and the deci
sion o f said court, in favor of the libelant, was rendered June 27, 1899,
by District Judge Hanford, and his opinion, showing the facts in the
case, reads as follows :
The story of this case, as I have gathered it from the testimony, is
as follows: The libelant signed shipping articles at the port of Seattle
on the 3d day of June, 1897, to serve as cook on board tlie Fred E.
Sander on a voyage to St. Michael and return to Puget Sound, at the
agreed rate of wages of $45 per month. The libelant is quite an old
man, and past the age for doing the ordinary work of an able seaman;
but he is a competent cook, and performed his duties in a satisfactory
manner on the passage from Seattle to St. Michael. Besides the com
plement o f officers and men, there were on board the vessel on said voy
age the captain’s wife and an infant child and a nursemaid. It was
the custom on the vessel to serve two breakfasts in the cabin, the first
for the mates and the nursemaid, and the second for the captain and
his wife. One morning, while the vessel was at St. Michael, the
nursemaid was late in coming to breakfast, and the mates took advan
tage of her tardiness by eating all of the breakfast served for the three
persons. The cabin boy informed the libelant of this, and that the
maid wished to have a second breakfast prepared for her, to which the
libelant replied that a breakfast especially-for her could not be served,
and that she would have to take her breakfast with the captain and
his wife; and her breakfast was served in the manner he proposed,
but the maid informed the captain that the libelant had refused to
cook meals for her in the ship. Acting upon this information, the
captain went forward and spoke to the libelant in an irritable manner,
and the libelant answered him insolently; no doubt feeling exasper
ated by the captain’s manner toward him after he had actually pre
pared two breakfasts for the maid. The captain attempted to punish
his insolence by assaulting him, and a scuffle ensued in the galley.
The libelant, as soon as he could get free from the captain’s grasp,
sprang out of the galley and picked up an ax, with which he aimed a
blow at the captain, viciously inflicting a severe wound upon the cap
tain’s hand, and then attempted to escape from the consequences by
going aloft in the rigging. The captain ordered the mates to put him
in irons, and then went into the cabin. The mates brought the libel
ant to the deck, put handcuffs on him, and, handling him very roughly,
conducted him to the afterpart of the vessel, where they threw him
down the lazarette hatch; and by the captain’s orders he was* chained
to a stanchion, and imprisoned in the lazarette for about ten days.
He was, however, allowed certain liberty for exercise and necessary
purposes. He was thrown into the lazarette with unnecessary force,
and probably received several kicks or blows, whereby one of his ribs
was broken, and he sustained other injuries more or less severe.
While in the lazarette he was cramped for want of sufficient room, and
suffered great discomfort, and no attention whatever was paid to the
treatment of his wounds. On the 20th day of July, 1897, with his own
consent, he was released from imprisonment and discharged from the
service of the ship, and engaged as a mariner on board of another
898
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
American vessel then at St. Michael ; but being weak and sore, and
too old to perform the duties of a seaman with safety to himself, he
did not go to sea, but secured a position as cook on board a river
steamer running on the Yukon River. He was then able to superin
tend the cooking department in said steamboat, but was unable to do
hard work for several weeks. On the steamboat he was for the first
time put in bandages, and received proper treatment for his broken
rib. No wages were paid to him for his services on board the Fred E.
Sander, and at the ^ime of his release from imprisonment he signed a
paper relinquishing his claim for wages.
I hold that the libelant’s written agreement to forfeit his wages is
not binding upon him, for the reason that, considering his situation at
the time, a presumption arises that he was constrained to sign the
agreement or suffer further imprisonment, which he had every reason
to believe would continue until the return of the vessel to Puget Sound.
Courts of admiralty pay no respect to agreements o f seamen to forfeit
their wages, extorted from them at sea or in places where the power of
the ship’s master is supreme.
The libelant can not recover in this suit any damages for assault
made upon him and injuries inflicted by the violence of the captain
and his subordinate officers, because admiralty rule 16 does not per
mit a suit in rem to recover damages for such injuries; but, after the
injuries had been inflicted, he was entitled to humane treatment and
to be cured at the expense of the ship. For his additional unneces
sary suffering, and the neglect of the captain to see that he had such
proper treatment for the cure of his injuries as, under the circum
stances, might have been afforded, he is entitled to some compensation.
I f he were without fault in the matter, his claim for substantial dam
ages would be entirely just, and I would unhesitatingly award to him
more liberal recompense than the amount which I have fixed as proper
under all the circumstances which I have detailed. The libelant is
himself blameworthy, and to a very considerable extent responsible for
his own injuries, by reason of his unjustifiable conduct: First, in offer
ing insolence to the captain when he was spoken to concerning his duties;
and, second, in retaliating for an assault which had been made upon
him by making a murderous assault upon the captain with a deadly
weapon. The captain’s ill usage was sufficient to provoke him to anger,
but thq circumstances were not such as to justify him in resorting to
the use of a dangerous weapon in self-defense, because he had no rea
son to believe that he was in imminent danger of suffering great bodily
harm, and he had not retreated to the wall. Considering all the cir
cumstances shown by the evidence, it is my opinion that justice will
be done by awarding to the libelant wages at the rate of $45 per
month for a period of three months, and damages for neglect to treat
him properly after his injuries, in the sum of $200 and costs. A
decree will be entered in accordance with this opinion.
S t r ik e s — C on spiracy — I njunction — C ontempt
of
C ou rt —
United States v. Sweeney, Same v. Tallemene et al., Same v. Heffley, Same
v. Barriclc et al., Same v. Lingo et uZ., Same v. Bunch et ah, 95 Federal
Reporter, page 434.—On the 22d day of April, 1899, the Kansas and
Texas Coal Company filed its bill in equity against one William Denny
and others in the United States circuit court for the western district
of Arkansas, Fort Smith division, and asked for the issuance of an
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
899.
injunction. The bill alleged the owning of property in Arkansas by
the above-named company, thq mining and selling of coal therein, and
the existence of an organization known as the United Mine Workers of
America 5 that the officers of the local organization presented to the
company a u scalev making certain provisions as to the weighing of
coal, payment and rates of wages, etc.; that they required the officials
of the company to agree to and sign said scale, and that said officials
refused so to do; that thereupon most of the miners employed by said
company struck and did not return to their work; that those who
remained at work were threatened with violence by the strikers, intim
idated, coerced, and abused, and were soon obliged to quit work; that
the company had to operate its mines in order to meet its contracts and
not suffer great loss and damage; that it could not find sufficient
miners in Arkansas to do its work on account of the threats, influence,
and persuasion employed by the strikers; that it proposed to employ a
large number of miners from abroad, but believed, from information
obtained, that unless the court took action to prevent it, said miners
would be met by the strikers and treated with violence, and that the
company’s property would be destroyed, etc. A temporary restraining
order was issued and service had upon the defendants. None of them
entered an appearance and on the 6th day of June a decree pro confesso was had, and afterwards, on the 7th day of July, 1899, a final
decree was rendered and the injunction made perpetual. Said injunc
tion read as follows :
Whereas in the above-entitled cause now pending in the United
States court for the western district of Arkansas, Fort Smith division
thereof, upon application duly made to the said court on the 22d day of
April, 1899, it was ordered that a preliminary writ of injunction issue
herein as prayed for in the bill of complaint herein filed, which said
order, among other things, provided as follows: That you, and each of
you, and all other parties, be, and are hereby, enjoined and restrained
from doing any and all of the following acts and deeds, to wit: First.
From in any way or manner interfering with, hindering, obstructing, or
stopping any of the business of the Kansas and Texas Coal Company,
in, near, or about the town of Huntihgton, in the county of Sebastian
and State of Arkansas, in the operation of its coal mines, or any other
part o f its business, in said town of Huntington or elsewhere. Second.
From entering upon the grounds and premises of the plaintiff*, or con
gregating thereon or thereabouts, for the purpose of interfering with,
hindering, or obstructing the plaintiff* in its business in any form or
manner. Third. From compelling, inducing, or attempting to compel
or induce, by threats, intimidation, unlawful persuasion, force, or vio
lence, any of the employees of the Kansas apd Texas Coal Company to
refuse or fail to perform their duties as such employees. Fourth. From
compelling or inducing, or attempting to compel or induce, by threats,
intimidation, force, unlawful persuasion, or violence, any of the
employees o f the Kansas and Texas Coal Company to leave the service
of the said company, and from preventing, or attempting to prevent,
any person or persons, by intimidation, threats, force, unlawful persua
sion, or violence, from entering the service of the Kansas and Texas
Coal Company. Fifth. From doing any act whatever in furtherance of
900
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
any conspiracy or combination to restrain or to hinder the Kansas and
Texas Goal Company, its officers or employees, in the free and unhin
dered control of the business of the Kansas and Texas Coal Company.
Sixth. From ordering and directing, aiding, assisting, abetting, or
encouraging, in any manner whatever, any person or persons to com
mit any of the acts aforesaid. Seventh. From congregating at or near
or on the premises or property o f the Kansas and Texas Coal Com
pany, in, about, or near the town of Huntington, Ark., or elsewhere, for
the purpose o f intimidating its employees or coercing said employees,
or preventing said employees from rendering services to the Kansas
and Texas Coal Company. Eighth. From inducing or coercing, by
threats, intimidation, force, or violence, any of the said employees to
leave the employment of the Kansas and Texas Coal Company, and
from in any manner interfering with said Kansas and Texas Coal Com
pany in carrying on its business in its usual and ordinary way, and
from in any manner interfering with or molesting any person or persons
who may be employed or seek employment by and of the Kansas and
Texas Coal Company in the operation of its coal mines at and near said
town o f Huntington or elsewhere. Ninth. From trespassing or going
upon the grounds, premises, or property of the Kansas and Texas Coal
Company, which are more particularly described hereinafter, and from
gathering in and about any of said property in large numbers, or in
company with each other or other persons who are not herein named,
for any o f the purposes hereinbefore prohibited. The property sought
to be protected herein consists, in part, as follows: Mine No. 51, about
1J miles north of west of Huntington; mine No. 53, about 1^ miles from
Huntington, in direction as aforesaid; mine No. 63, situated just out
side of the town limits of said town; mine No. 65,2 miles west of Hunt
ington, on ’Frisco road, and mine No. 45, now abandoned, but with
machinery still about it; and the top houses, tipples, engine houses,
boiler houses, fan houses, air-shafts, engines, boiler, tracks, pumps,
ventilating fans, stables, mules, coal cars, mine timbers, blacksmith
shops, powder magazines, company store and warehouses, and stocks
of merchandise, tenement houses, and all other real and personal and
mixed property, whether herein named and designated or herein
omitted, belonging to said mines or belonging to or in the possession
or control of the Kansas and Texas Coal Company; also, strip pits,
leases, and various and divers other kinds and classes of property too
numerous to mention or specifically describe. And you, and each of
you, are hereby commanded that? you do desist and refrain from doing
or causing to be done, or aiding or abetting in doing or causing to be
done, any of the acts or things herein recited, or interfering or injur
ing, or attempting to interfere with or injure, any of the property herein
mentioned, or any other property o f the Kansas and Texas Coal Com
pany, whether herein mentioned specifically or omitted. And you are
hereby further notified that the matters and things required of the
plaintiff by the court have been complied with, and that the marshal is
instructed to serve this preliminary injunction upon you, and each of
you, and any and all other parties that he receives information are
about to do, or contemplate doing, any of the matters and things herein
forbidden; and he is further ordered to give publicity to this injunction
in and about the town of Huntington, and to warn the parties herein
mentioned, and all others, of the purport of this order and the penal
ties attending a violation thereof; the form of this injunction having
been approved by the court.
Witness the Honorable John H. Kogers, judge of said court, on this
22d day o f April, 1899, and the seal of said court.
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
901
Subsequently certain acts were committed by the strikers which
appeared to be violations of the injunction, and upon affidavits charg
ing the same being filed in the court certain parties were brought into
court and heard as to why they should not be held guilty of contempt
of court and punished accordingly. The cases against the different
individuals were consolidated, and the decision of the court was ren
dered by District Judge Eogers July 22, 1899, and certain of the
defendants were adjudged guilty of contempt and were punished by
the imposing of terms of imprisonment of various lengths.
In the course of his opinion Judge Eogers, after speaking of the
issuance of the injunction, used the following language:
Subsequently, and while this restraining order was in full force, no
steps having been taken to vacate or modify it and no disturbances
having occurred, on the night of the 15th of May the strikers made a
simultaneous attack at three different points at Huntington, where
plaintiff company’s mines are situated. One attack was upon a negro
boarding house, not the property of the plaintiff, but in which were
sleeping 12 or 15 negro miners in the employ of the plaintiff company,
the strikers using dynamite, and blowing a hole through the porch, and
blowing out one side of the house. At a considerable distance there
from, about the same time, they fired numerous shots through the resi
dence of a white man with whom some of plaintiff’s white employees
boarded. Fortunately no casualties occurred at either of these places.
About the same time an assault was made with guns on the company
guards at the shaft of the mine, some distance from the places where
the other assaults were made. One of the guards was wounded through
the shoulder and head. Thereupon the guards returned the fire, and
one of the strikers was killed. It is not known who the individuals
were who engaged in these assaults. The man killed was a striker,
and his comrades carried him away, leaving, however, at the spot
where he was shot a large quantity of dynamite and two revolvers.
A searching investigation by the State authorities of this effort at mid
night assassination failed to disclose anyone who had any knowledge
of it. From the circumstances, however, it must be assumed that the
persons engaged in it were strikers. The reasonable conclusion is that
they intended to drive away or kill the guards and then dynamite the
mine and machinery used in its operation. It is proper to add that
about half the men assaulted were not imported into this State (if that
made any difference), but were in the employ of the company when the
strike was called, and who, after the injunction was granted, had
returned to work. The details of this lawless and felonious conduct
were the next day, May 16, communicated, both by wire and letter,
by the presiding judge of this court to the Attorney-General of the
United States, and the request made for 40 special deputy marshals to
enforce the injunctions granted by this court in that and other cases.
An answer came promptly to swear in 40 special deputies, which was
done, and about 15 of these deputies were located at Huntington and
the others distributed at other mines where injunctions were in force.
Before they were sent out, this court, in open court, carefully advised
them of their duties and cautioned them against any violations of
State laws or of being inveigled into disputes and controversies with
the strikers, and directed them to remain as close as possible to the
company property and to protect it and its employees from any inter
ference by the strikers. This condition of things obtained, the com
902
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
pany steadily filling its mines with miners from other States, both
white and colored—principally colored—until July 3, when the town
marshal of Huntington, in the effort, without a warrant, to arrest a
colored miner in the employ of the coal company, who was accused of
having on his person a concealed weapon in violation of the statutes of
the State, was resisted, and an altercation occurred in which the mar
shal came out second best, and the miner and his companion, who
assisted him, escaped and went to the mine, then guarded by deputy
United States marshals. An affidavit was immediately filed in this
court against the town marshal (himself a white striker) and two col
ored strikers, his posse, for contempt of this court in violating the
injunction by interfering with the employees of said plaintiff company;
and a writ o f habeas corpus was sued out for the negroes who had
resisted arrest, but who in the meantime had been surrendered to the
town authorities of Huntington for trial. Upon an investigation by
this court it was of opinion that the negro miner was, at the time the
marshal sought to make his arrest, carrying a concealed weapon, and
hence the court remanded him and his confederate to the State authori
ties to answer for his crime, although he stoutly denied he had any
weapon when the town marshal sought to arrest him. It also dis
charged the town marshal and his posse, with some misgivings as to its
duty, since the evidence strongly impressed the court of gross miscon
duct upon the part of the marshal and tended to show that in making
the arrest he sought to oppress the accused because he was a company
employee. On the following day (July 4) the miners held a meeting
and adjourned to meet at 2 o’clock p. m. on July 5. On July 5, two
days before the decree pro confesso was made final, at noon, the miners
at adjoining mines (some of them having resumed work) laid off.
Many did not go to work at all on -July 5. Early in that morning
they and the strikers began to assemble at Huntington, and by 2 p. m.
a large body of miners from Huntington, Jenny Lind, Prairie Creek,
Bonanza, and Greenwood, variously estimated at from 300 to 800
men (a majority armed with shotguns, Winchester rifles, and pistols),
assembled in the town of Huntington. During the day of July 4
the superintendent of the mines heard, in ,various ways, that the
mine was to be assaulted at 2 o’clock p. m. on the 5th and the
miners killed or driven away. The same information came to him
directly from the assembled strikers on the forenoon of July 5. A t
noon he, out of abundant caution and having due regard for his men,
called the men out, frankly stated to them what he had heard, advised
them o f the assemblage of many armed men up in the town, informed
them that if they chose to stay they could do so, and that he would
give them all the protection in his power; that he intended to stay
himself, but if they chose to go they were at liberty to do so. The
negroes nearly all left and started to town, to their homes and
families. The deputy United States marshals and white miners,
whom the superintendent also apprised of the situation, were offered
the same opportunities, but stayed and awaited the attack. In the
meantime, before the colored miners had left the mine to go to their
homes, the strikers had gotten two of their number who were not at
work on that day, and, having frightened them, sent them to their
comrades at the mine to tell them to come out or they would be killed
that evening. These two men met many of the miners on their way
home, advised them of the situation, and urged them to go to the
meeting o f the strikers. They started, and when met by the armed
strikers were escorted to the meeting under guard, and when there
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
903
they were corralled and kept under guard until 8 or 9 o’clock at night.
Such of them as did not go to the meeting were arrested wherever
found and taken to the meeting, and, with their fellow-miners, guarded.
In the meantime, after nearly every colored man in the employ of the
company had been arrested and put under guard, a squad of armed
strikers went to the homes of the colored men, where their wives and
children remained in terror, and searched their houses, turning up beds
and going through trunks and boxes, and taking firearms of all kinds,
not even sparing the homes of those whose families were sick and con
fined to their beds. While under guard the colored men were harangued
by violent agitators, urging they be lynched, killed, or driven out of
the State, and the like. About 7 or 8 o’clock, at the instance of the
mayor of Huntington, who was absent from the city on that day, but
returned late in the afternoon, the colored men were released and went
to their homes.
It is clear from the evidence that the meeting of July 5 was called
on July 4 ; that the avowed purpose was to attack mine No. 53 of the
coal company, then protected by the injunction of this court, and
guarded by deputy marshals appointed by the express authority of the
Attorney-General for the purpose of enforcing that injunction, and pro
tecting the company’s property and employees from interference of
any kind by the strikers. The purpose of this meeting, if carried out,
involved a wanton and felonious assault upon the officers of this court
while in the discharge of their duty. It involved a felonious attack
upon the peaceful miners working at that mine. It involved the
destruction o f the company’s property and injury to persons covered
by the injunction. That meeting was assembled partly on the property
of the company, and guards and pickets stationed at various command
ing and strategic points on the company property, and the colored men,
in large numbers, were corralled and guarded in the machine shop yard
of the company. The meeting was riotous and felonious. The meeting
itself, there, was a clear, positive, and aggressive violation of the sec
ond, seventh, and ninth paragraphs of the injunction, which forbid any
such meeting held at or near the company property. The avowed pur
pose of the meeting,, while it was being held, made by numbers of its
armed members, as testified to by various witnesses, and admitted
under oath by one of these defendants, was to assault the mine of
plaintiff company and kill or drive out its employees. In the opinion
of the court one of two things is true: Either they intended to carry
out their threat to attack, kill, or drive out the company’s employees,
or they intended, by a bold, audacious show of armed force, to u peace
ably persuade,” as they would have us believe now, but, in truth, to
bulldoze and intimidate the company’s employees in the mine until,
for very fear, they would leave the mine and go where they could get
to them, and, having obtained possession of them, search their houses,
disarm them, and then to threaten, abuse, and harangue them into a
state of fear; thereby forcing them to leave the employ of the company,
and either join the strikers or leave the State. Such a meeting for
either purpose at that place involved a clear, undisguised, and inten
tional violation of almost every paragraph of the injunction; and the
court is of opinion further, that but for the foresight and prudence of
the superintendent of the mine in calling the men out and giving them
an opportunity to leave the mine, thereby enabling the striking miners
to arrest a large majority of the men, in all probability a collision would
have occurred on the evening of July 5. This meeting did not originate
in race hatred or because the men at work were either of the criminal
904
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
classes or diseased, but because they had taken the places vacated by
the strikers. It is true that many of the company employees arrested
and falsely imprisoned by this mob, now, doubtless by way of “ benevo
lent assimilation,” styled by them a “ citizens’ meeting,” had been
imported from other States since the strike began, and they were col
ored men, but it is due the truth to say that those of them who appeared
as witnesses were of a superior class, far above the average colored
laborer in the South, and on the witness stand they deported themselves
in such a way as to impress the court that they were trying to tell the
truth. I have carefully read over the testimony since the trial, and I
think no one can read it without reaching the conclusion that it is
worthy of credence, although, from a sense of fear, some of them had
done and said things at and before the meeting of July 5 somewhat
out of harmony with their testimony (which was to be expected), and
although, from excitement at the time, they may not have remembered
all the circumstances as they occurred. The former residence of each
colored witness, and the time he had been in the State was ascertained.
They came from Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and
were miners, many of them having families; and, of the colored men in
the mine a considerable per cent were born and raised in this county, and
had been mining at that very place for years. Others, born in other
States, had been mining there for several years. But there was also a
considerable per cent of white men at work. The testimony wholly
failed to show any contagious disease among them, or that they had
ever belonged to the criminal classes'anywhere, or had participated in
any strike, or ever been present where any strike was on. On the other
hand, among the strikers were home-born negroes and negroes from other
States. One of the former figured prominently at public meetings of
the strikers, making incendiary speeches and stirring up strife. Others
were less prominent in their meetings, but took active parts as agitators,
so that there was no question of color line or of criminal classes or of
contagious diseases involved. Of these ten defendants, it is painfully
true, but it should be stated, most of them are American born, and all, I
believe, citizens of the United States. Most of them came from other
States, and some are Arkansans.
An effort was made to show that the meeting of July 5 was com
posed largely of citizens from the surrounding country—farmers of
this county. In the opinion of the court, the testimony shows this
to be absolutely without foundation. No witness has been able to
name a single bona fide farmer, armed, at that meeting. Mr. Crump,
a farmer living in that neighborhood, testified that he thought he
knew almost every old settler in that district of the county; that he
had been deputy sheriff for several years, and had visited or knew
almost every farmer in the county; that he passed by the meeting, was
himself arrested by the mob, and guarded on a business errand by
them, and that he did not see a single farmer armed that day. The
people of this county have not resorted to mob violence but once in
twenty-five years, and they do not share any part of the responsibility
for the mob of July 5, except as it may attach to the maladifiinistration of the municipal government of Huntington, partly composed of,
and altogether dominated by, the strikers, and the failure to enforce
State laws at that place. It is due these defendants that they be made
to know that they were guilty of false imprisonment, under the State
law, every time they detained by force, arrested, or guarded a man on
that day; that they are subject to indictment for robbery or larceny
for each gun they took from the negro miners by force or stealth; that
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
905
they are subject to indictment for criminal conspiracy at the common
law; that they are subject to prosecution for assault and battery, for
disturbing the peace, for riot, and for other misdemeanors under State
statutes; and that a number of them are subject to prosecution for
X>erjury in this court. I consider it my duty, as a judge and as a citi
zen, that I should furnish the State circuit judge with a copy of the
stenographic report of the testimony in this case, that he may, in the
exercise of his high office, if he thinks it his duty, call the special
attention of the grand jury to the violations of law at Huntington on
July 5. It must not be forgotten that the punishment of these defend
ants for violating the injunction of this court does not relieve them
from answering to the State for the infraction of its laws.
It was upon the proceedings I have summarized that affidavits were
filed in this cause against the defendants on trial, charging, in sub
stance, that each of them had violated the injunction of this court on
July 5, 1899, in tha t they were parties to a conspiracy, and participated
in the riotous proceedings detailed, and for the object and purpose of
removing, forcibly if necessary, and by unlawful persuasion, intimida
tion, and coercion, if possible, the plaintiffi’s employees—ostensibly
because said employees were negroes, but really because the company
was operating its mines without the aid of the strikers. These affida
vits also state that said conspiracy was carried out in many ways, and
specifically state several acts attributed to the several defendants.
The defendants filed separate answers, in which they admit the meet
ing without denying its character, but saying they do not know what
the object and purpose of the meeting was, and that, if its purpose
was as stated, they did not in any way participate therein. They deny
violating the injunction, and any knowledge that it was violated.
They deny the specific acts alleged against them. These answers are
duly verified under the oath of the several defendants. That these
answers are not only evasive and false, and they knew they were false,
is abundantly established, and in some cases, to all intents and pur
poses, admitted by themselves to be false, when they came upon the
stand to testify as witnesses. Take T. Lingo as an example: His
answer was the same as the others, except that he denied knowing the
object and purpose of the meeting, and alleged that if the purpose was
as stated in the affidavit against him, he did not lend his aid or par
ticipate therein, and did not violate the injunction, and did not know
that it had been violated, and states affirmatively that he met a crowd,
and was by them forced and compelled to take a gun and go to the
train, and when Grant and Tom Gentry, two of the company’s colored
employees, were arrested by the strikers, he was compelled to go with
them to the meeting against his will, and did not participate in the
acts and doings of the crowd. The proof shows he not only arrested
and guarded persons, and disarmed one colored man, and arrested him
and his wife on the way to the train to leave town, but that he had a gun
all day, and participated in the arrest of Grant and Tom Gentry at the
train. Nobody acted any worse than he, except those who searched,
and by force took from the families of the company employees occupy
ing houses owned by the company, their firearms. Take Sweeney:
His answer was about as stated above, and yet the proof shows over
whelmingly that he was the controlling spirit of the whole riotous pro
ceeding. He had been president of the local union. He was at the
meeting early with book and pencil, evidently forming committees, and
directing their actions. To him persons arrested were brought to report,
and were held or released, as he directed. He was armed at times, and
64—No. 25----- 10
906
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
at other times unarmed. Witnesses testify, and are not contradicted,
that he directed searches to be made, and guns taken from the colored
miners. He was, as the witnesses say, “ boss;” and yet this man,
young and intelligent, filed and swore to an answer the substance of
which I have stated. It is but just to say that, with becoming discre
tion, after hearing the evidence, he did not venture to testify in his
own defense. The testimony of these defendants without exception
shows an effort to make some plausible, specious, but, as it turns out,
absolutely incredible excuse for their presence, with arms, at the meet
ing, and to explain away inculpating conduct that will not explain.
Summed up, it presents a sickening, disgusting, palpably false,
and utterly insufficient defense, at once both shameless and shame
ful. If this court should accept their testimony as true, it would at
once forfeit the respect of all honest men, and become the object of rid
icule and contempt by these defendants, and would rightly deserve to
be regarded by them as its injunction has been treated by them, with
contempt, contumely, and defiance.
There is not a single question of law involved in all these proceed
ings not settled by authority as binding on this court as if written
into the statutes of the United States. That the court has jurisdic
tion of the original bill for injunction there can be no doubt. (Wire
Co. v. Murray, 80 Fed., 8115 Mackall'v. Eatchford, 82 Fed., 41; U.'S. v.
Debs, 64 Fed., 724; In re Debs, 158 U. S., 573, 15 Sup. Ct., 900.)
There is no settled practice in contempt proceedings. The proceed
ings in this case conform to the practice elsewhere. But if irregular,
no question has been raised, no complaint urged, that the defend
ants did not have ample notice of the charge against them. For
practice in contempt proceedings, see Fischer v. Hayes, 6 Fed., 76;
U. S. v. Memphis & L. E. E. Co., id., 237; U. S. v. Wayne, 28 Fed. Cas.,
504. That parties can not conclusively purge themselves of contempt
by filing answers denying acts alleged against them, see U. S. v.
Debs, 64 Fed., 725, and the cases there cited; In re Debs, 158 U. S.,
594,15 Sup. Ct., 900. That it was the duty of the court, on the facts
alleged in the bill, to grant the injunction, is sustained* by authority.
(Wire Co. v. Murray, 80 Fed., 811; Mackall v. Eatchford, 82 Fed., 41.)
That the court has the power, and that it is its duty, to punish a
person violating its injunction, is a principle universally recognized,
and as old as equity jurisprudence. (Wire Co. v. Murray, 80 Fed., 811;
In re Debs, 158 U. S., 595,15 Sup. Ct., 900.) “ To render a party ame
nable to an injunction, it is not necessary that he should have been a
party to the suit in which the injunction was issued, nor to have been
actually served with a copy of it, so long as he appears to have had
actual notice.” (Ex parte Lennon, 166 U. S., 549, 17 Sup. Ct., 658.)
The defendants were shown to have had actual notice, and none of
them claimed a want of notice as a defense or testified he did not have
it. To claim that the exercise of the power to protect by injunction
property and persons engaged in lawful business enterprises in proper
cases, and where the remedy at law is inadequate and the injury
irreparable, is new, or that such proceeding is a modern invention of
the Federal courts, is as stupid as it is untrue. (Wire Co. v. Murray,
80 Fed., 811.) In the last case cited Judge Sage reviews the history
of injunctions in a case in principle precisely on all fours with this one,
and shows by numerous citations that the remedy by injunction came
to us from the courts of England, and had been widely followed in
this country by the courts of the several States. That case is instruct
ive as showing that the first case in a dispute of this character
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
907
occurred in England in 1868, and that there was ample authority for
the injunction found in State decisions without citing a single Federal
case. That the remedy by injunction has become more common in
modern or recent times is doubtless true, and grows out of the everchanging conditions and evolutions in business incident to modern
civilization. That the courts adapt themselves to these changing con
ditions and afford relief, and preserve the personal and property
rights of the individual citizen, is a tribute to the conservatism and
wisdom of both bench and bar. There is nothing either strange,
novel, or extraordinary about these proceedings. Suppose A, a
citizen and resident of Missouri, should tile his bill in this court
against B and his codefendants, citizens and residents of Arkansas,
alleging that he was the owner and seized in fee of a valuable tract
of land, an addition to this city, covered by a heavy forest of great
beauty and value; that he had employed hands and was opening up
and grading streets and alleys preparatory to placing the same on
the market; that B and his codefendants, who were insolvent and
irresponsible, but who, for reasons satisfactory to themselves, whether
good or bad, had conspired together, and in order to prevent the land
being improved and put on the market assembled from day to day,
with force and arms, and drove away A 7s employees, and were cutting,
despoiling, and hauling away his forest; that lie had applied to the
peace officers and local authorities, and they refused to protect his
property or to disperse the mob or to protect his employees. Could
this court, with any conscience, refuse injunctive relief on the wellknown grounds for equity jurisdiction, namely, inadequate remedy at
law, irreparable mischief, and to avoid multiplicity of suits'? To state
the case is to answer it. Suppose the court granted the relief and
restrained B and his coconspirators from further trespassing and
interfering with A 7s land and employees; suppose B and his cocon
spirators, after service of the injunction, continued their trespasses on
A 7s land and to drive off his employees, and when cited to show cause
why they should not be punished for contempt should gravely answer,
“ Not guilty,77 and demand a jury. There you would have a court
rendering a judgment and granting relief which it has no power to
enforce, or the enforcement of which depends on the verdict of a jury.
What is the difference in principle between that case and this? None
whatever. Take another illustration: Suppose a wholesale house in
this city should, for reasons satisfactory to its owners, pay off and dis
charge one of its employees, whereupon the others should all quit
work and walk out. Thus far no rights are invaded.* The merchant
has discharged one of them, as he had the legal right to do, and the
other employees quit, as they had the legal right to do. But suppose
all the employees step up and say, u You must close up this house or
restore this discharged employee and increase the wages of us all
i?0 per cent, and if you do not do it you can not open this house
or sell these goods, and if you attempt to do it we will dynamite your
house and kill you.77 What is the difference between that case and
the one at bar? And will courts of equity grant no relief in cases
of this kind, where the employees are insolvent and the injury to be
indicted irreparable? This is anarchy. If the striking miners have
any such power as this it must needs be all other citizens have the
same power. Let us see. Suppose the plaintiff company ultimately
succeeds in filling its mines with nonunion miners until they out
number the strikers, and are better armed, and are equally as
stubborn in the exercise of their rights, and are supported by the
908
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
influence and sympathy of the local authorities. Suppose at this
juncture they advise the local union of mine workers at Huntington
that they shall not work in plaintiffs mine until they abandon the
union or not work at all, although plaintiff company desires their
services and seeks their employment? The exercise of such a power
is no higher or greater than the strikers now strive to exercise. The
assumption of such a power by a mere handful of men, as compared
with the population of this great country, must needs proceed (if it
exist at all) from a very high source. It invades the personal liberty
of the citizen, sweeps away the guaranties of personal and property
rights which our fathers deemed so sacred that they incorporated
them into the Federal and State constitutions. Such an assumption
of power and right must needs challenge investigation. Where do
the strikers acquire it? If they have acquired it, from whence does
it come? Who confided it to them? What is this association that
it should assume to exercise a power not confided to the States and
in contravention of the Federal Constitution? Who shall point out
the reasons why so great a power should be exercised exclusively by
them? What peculiar qualities have they exhibited of superior in
telligence, higher character, and greater sense of right and justice than
other persons, which renders them peculiarly fitted for so grave a duty
as the exercise of so great a power and the enjoyment of such exclu
sive rights? NTo such power as they assume to exercise resides any
where in this country. In law all are equal, and they, like all others,
are amenable to public law, and enjoy no legal rights which others do
not possess ; and the effort by any body of men to exercise any such
power is a criminal conspiracy that should meet with no favor among
honest men and good citizens in a free country. (Thomas v. Eailway
Co., 62 Fed., 817; Pettibone v. XL S., 148 U. S., 197, 13 Sup. Ct., 542.)
It is said, by way of palliation, that great excitement prevailed at
Huntington on July 5. There was no excitement there not created by
the lawless conduct of these defendants and their confederates. They
created the excitement, and then sought to make it a pretext for assem
bling a mob. It can not be learned too soon nor too thoroughly by
these defendants and their confederates and sympathizers, and all
other persons who do not know it now, 44that under this Government
o f and by the people the means of redress of all wrongs are through the
courts and at the ballot box, and that no wrong, real or fancied, carries
with it the warrant to invite, as a means of redress, the cooperation of
a mob, with its accompanying acts of violence.” (In re Debs, 158 U. S.,
599, 15 Sup. Ct., 912.)
The claim that persons who violate injunctions are entitled, under
the Constitution, to a trial by jury, is denied by authority absolutely
binding upon this court. In the case of In re Debs, 158 IJ. S., 599,15
Sup. Ct., 910, the court, by Mr. Justice Brewer, all the judges concur
ring, said:
u Nor is there in this any invasion of the constitutional right of trial
by jury. We fully agree with counsel th a t 4it matters not what form
the attempt to deny constitutional right may take. It is vain and
ineffectual, and must be so declared by the courts ;7 and we reaffirm the
declaration made for the court by Mr. Justice Bradley, in Boyd v. U. S.,
116 U. S., 616,635, 6 Sup. Ct., 535, th a t 4it is the duty of courts to be
watchful for the constitutional rights of the citizen, and against any
stealthy encroachments thereon. Their motto should be “ obsta principiis.” 7 But the power of a court to make an order carries with it the
equal power to punish for a disobedience of that order, and the inquiry
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
909
as to the question of disobedience has been from time immemorial the
special function of the court. And this is no technical rule. In order
that a court may compel obedience to its orders, it must have the right
to inquire whether there has been any disobedience thereof. To submit
the question of disobedience to another tribunal, be it a jury or another
court, would operate to deprive the proceeding of half of its efficiency.
In the case of Yates, 4 Johns., 314, 369, Chancellor Kent, then chief
justice of the supreme court of the State of Isew York, said: ‘ In the
case of Earl of Shaftesbury, 2 State Tr., 615, 1 Mod., 144, who was
imprisoned by the House of Lords for “ high contempts committed
against it,” and brought into the king’s bench, the court held that they
had no authority to judge of the contempt, and remanded the prisoner.
The court in that case seem to have laid down a principle from which
they never have departed, and which is essential to the due adminis
tration of justice. This principle that every court, at least of the
superior kind, in which great confidence is placed, must be the sole
judge, in the last resort, of contempts arising therein, is more explicitly
defined and more emphatically enforced in the two subsequent cases of
Reg. v. Paty (2 Ld. Raym., 1105) and of Crosby’s Case (3 Wils., 188).’
And again, on page 371: ‘ Mr. Justice Blackstone pursued the same
train of observation, and declared that all courts—by which he meant
to include the two houses of Parliament and the courts at Westminster
Hall—could have no control in matters of contempt,* that the sole
adjudication of contempts, and the punishments thereof, belonged
exclusively, and without interference, to each respective court.’ In
Watson v. Williams, 36 Miss., 331,341, it was said: ‘ The power to fine
and imprison for contempt, from the earliest history of jurisprudence,
has been regarded as a necessary incident and attribute of a court,
without which it could no more exist than without a judge. It is a
power inherent in all courts of record, and coexisting with them by the
wise provisions of the common law. A court without the power effec
tually to protect itself against the assaults of the lawless, or to enforce
its orders, judgments, or decrees against the recusant parties before it,
would be a disgrace to the legislation and a stigma upon the age
which invented it.’ In Cartwright’s Case, 114 Mass., 231, 238, we find
this language: ‘ The summary power to commit and punish for con
tempts tending to obstruct or degrade the administration of jus
tice is inherent in courts of chancery and other superior courts as
essential to the execution of their powers and to the maintenance of
their authority, and is part of the law of the land, within the meaning
of Magna Charta and of the twelfth article of our Declaration of
Rights.’ See also IJ. S. v. Hudson, 7 Cranch, 32; Anderson v. Dunn,
6 Wheat., 204; Ex parte Robinson, 19 Wall., 505; Mugler v, Kansas,
123 U. S., 623, 672, 8 Sup. Ct., 273; Ex parte Terry, 128 U. S., 289, 9
Sup. Ct., 77; Eilenbecker v. District Court, 134 U. S., 31, 36,10 Sup.
Ct., 426, in which Mr. Justice Miller observed: ‘ If it has ever been
understood that proceedings according to the common law for contempt
of court have been subject to the right of trial by jury, we have been
unable to find any instance of it. In the case of Commission v. Brimson, 154 U. S., 447, 488,14 Sup. Ct., 1138, it was said: ‘ Surely, it can
not be supposed that the question of contempt of the authority of a
court of the United States committed by a disobedience of its orders
is triable, of right, by a jury.’ In brief, a court enforcing obedience to
its orders by proceedings for contempt is not executing the criminal
laws o f the land, but only securing to suitors the rights which it has
adjudged them entitled to.”
910
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
That case was argued by as great lawyers as are in this country, and
was decided by the greatest court in the world. Until it is overturned
it must be held to be the law of the land. These defendants must be
made to know that the very rights they strive to take away from oth
ers—the right to work; the right to make their own contracts ; the right
to follow any lawful occupation at any place in this country; the right
to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—are all preserved for them
and all others by public law, administered always by courts organized
for that purpose. These rights I have mentioned are inalienable rights,
belonging to every citizen of the United States, guarantied by their
Constitution. That same great court, speaking by the late Mr. Justice
Field, in Butchers’ Union Slaughter House Co. v. Crescent City Live
Stock Landing Co., I l l U. S., 757, 4 Sup. Ct., 660, said:
“ Among these inalienable rights as proclaimed in that great docu
ment [the Declaration of Independence] is the right of men to pursue
their'happiness, by which is meant the right to pursue any lawful
business or vocation, in auy manner not inconsistent with the equal
rights o f others, which may increase their .property or develop their
faculties, so as to give them their highest enjoyment.”
And in Allgeyer v. Louisiana, 165 U. S., 589, 17 Sup. Ct., 431, the
Supreme Court of the United States, through Mr. Justice Peckham,
said:
u The liberty mentioned in that amendment [the fourteenth] means
not only the right of the citizen to be free from the mere physical
restraints of his person—as by incarceration—but the term is deemed
to embrace the right of the citizen to be free in the enjoyment o f all
his faculties; to be free to use them in all lawful ways; to live and
work where he will, and earn his livelihood by any lawful manner; to
pursue any livelihood or avocation, and for that pm pose to enter into
all contracts that may be proper, necessary, and essential to his carrying
out the purposes above mentioned.”
Much has been said about the men employed by the plaintiff com
pany being ex convicts from other States. It might be answered
that bub for the conduct of the defendants and their confederates the
company might have been able to secure a superior class of men. But
there is no evidence that they are ex convicts. It is a mere subter
fuge. But assume they are. They are still citizens of the United
States,' protected by its laws, and not denied the poor privilege of work
ing for their daily bread ; and because a man is an ex-convict is no
reason why he should be mobbed. Moreover, it is no part of the duty
of the United Mine Workers of America to determine what rights they
possessed or what rights they may have lost. That belongs to the
courts.
I have referred to the many aspects of this case, and at greater length
than was necessary, because I desire that these defendants shall under
stand fully the situation in which they have placed themselves, and in
order that they may in future abstain from a repetition thereof.
There is one other proposition which I desire to notice, namely, that
where a party o f men combine with the intent to do an unlawful thing,
and in the prosecution of the unlawful intent one of the party goes a
step beyond the balance of the party and does acts which the balance
do not themselves perform, all are responsible for what the one does.
In other words, in the pursuit by various parties of an unlawful con
spiracy each is responsible for the acts and doings of the others.
(U. S. v. Kane, 23 Fed., 75J.) There can be no doubt, in view of the
testimony, that the meeting of July 5 was preconcerted and held for
DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
911
a definite and fixed purpose. I have fully adverted to that. Nor is
there any doubt that each one of these defendants attended that meet
ing in pursuance of the purpose for which it was called, and each par
ticipated in its acts and doings, one in one way and another in another,
so that in law they are all equally culpable. To illustrate :
u Suppose three or four men form a purpose to commit burglary, and
break into a house for the purpose o f committing that burglary. That
is all they intend to do. That is the unlawful act, and the single unlaw
ful act, which they set out to accomplish. They get into the house.
Somebody wakes up, and one of the party shoots and kills. Now, the
three or four persons who went into that house never formed beforehand
an intent to kill anybody. They simply went in there to commit bur
glary. But, combining to do that unlawful thing, in the prosecution of
that burglary, and to make it successful, one of the party shoots and
kills, and the law comes in and says: 4All of you are guilty o f murder.
W e do not discriminate between you. You broke into that house to
commit burglary. In the prosecution of that burglarious entrance one
of your party committed murder. All are guilty.^ Now, that is a rea
sonable rule, when you stop to think of it. It is not a mere harsh,
arbitrary, technical rule, which the courts have laid down and the stat
utes have established; it is a rule intended to prevent combinations or
conspiracies to do an unlawful thing; and where there are many
together it is often difficult to distinguish the one who does any par
ticular actY (II. S. v. Kane, 23 Fed., 751, 752.)
There is one aspect of this case which, so far as I have discovered in
a wide range o f examination of cases, is peculiar to itself. No case has
been found where strikers conspired and combined together and armed
themselves with deadly weapons to openly and deliberately attack the
officers of the United States in the discharge of their duties. Such was
the avowed purpose here, as shown by their threats to attack mine No.
53, guarded by deputy marshals, and the searching of the Fort Smith
train for marshals when it arrived at Huntington on the evening of July
5. This fact must not be overlooked in the punishment to be imposed.
Mobs are becoming alarmingly frequent in some sections, usually where
the courts fail to enforce expeditiously and firmly the law; and crim
inals accordingly go unwhipped of justice. Sometimes they assemble
upon a very slight provocation, but it can not be truthfully said there
was any predicate for the mob of July 5. It was simply organized to
break, not to vindicate the law already broken, if it be permissible to
use that term at all in connection with the doings of a mob. It will be
fortunate if the wide publicity of this case shall awaken a sense of
responsibility and duty among good citizens as to the necessity of the
rigid enforcement of public law and the dangers to be apprehended if
we cease to rely, even in moments of great excitement, upon the courts
and other constituted authorities for the preservation of all our rights.
LAWS OF VARIOUS STATES RELATING TO LABOR ENACTED SINCE
JANUARY 1, 1896,
[The Second Special Report of the Department contains all laws of the various States and Terri
tories and of the United States relating to labor in force January 1, 1896. Later enactments are
reproduced in successive issues of the Bulletin from time to time as published.]
ALABAM A.
GENERAL ACTS OF 1898-99.
A c t N o . 734.—
Exemption from garnishment, etc.— Wages.
(Page 37.)
Section 1. Section 2038 of the Code of 1896 is hereby amended so as to read:
2038 (2512), (2823). Exemption o f wages of employees. The wages, salaries, or
other compensations o f laborers, or employees, residents o f this State, for personal
services, to the amount of twenty-five dollars per month, shall also be exempt from
levy under writs o f garnishment or other process for the collection o f such debts,
and when the fact o f such indebtedness is disclosed by the answer of the garnishee
the levy shall be void and the same shall be dismissed by the court before whom
filed unless the plaintiff in garnishment shall contest the answer o f the garnishee,
as now provided by the law in such cases.
Approved February 23, 1899.
A ct N o .
800.— T a x a t i o n
o f g o o d s , e t c ., k e p t in tr u c k o r c o m p a n y s to r e s
.
(Page 48.)
Section 1. Subdivision four o f section 3911 o f the Code of Alabama, with refer
ence to the assessment of stocks of merchandise, is hereby amended so as to read as
follows:
4. All stocks o f goods, wares,* merchandise, the assessment to be on the average
amount on hand during the preceding year, but the amount so assessed shall in no
case be less than the capital actually employed in the business, and this shall include
all goods, wares,-and merchandise, kept on plantations, or elsewhere, or by railroad
companies or manufacturing companies, or other associations, companies, or persons,
for sale or to be dealt out to laborers or employees for profit, or on account o f their
wages, and shall include all goods, wares, and merchandise offered for sale by any
person commencing business subsequent to the first day of October o f the current
year, but in such case the tax shall be apportioned according to the date at which
the business shall be commenced, so that if commenced after the 1st day of January,
the tax shall be three-fourths of the tax for the whole y'ear; if commenced after the
1st day of April, the tax shall be one-half of the tax for the whole year: Provided,
That the assessment herein provided shall not include products raised on the farms,
in the hands o f the original producers. * * *
Approved February 23, 1899.
A c t No.
917.—Coal mine regulations.
(Page 86.)
Section 1. The chief mine inspector shall, upon application by the owner or
operator of mines in which not more than twenty men are employed, grant permis
sion for such owner, operator, or some suitable person recommended by the operator,
to act as foreman in such mines, and no examination shall be required of said fore
man : Provided, That this act shall not apply to the counties of Bibb, Etowah, St.
Clair, Jefferson, Walker, Marion, Tuscaloosa, Shelby, Cullman, and Madison.
Sec. 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with the provisions o f this act are
hereby repealed.
Approved February 23, 1899.
912
LABOR LAWS— ALABAMA— ACTS OF 1898-99.
913
A ct N o . 766.— Wages preferred inpayments by receivers of corporations.
(Page 100.)
Section 1. Whenever a receiver of a corporation created or organized under the
laws of this State, and doing business in this State, other than insurance and bank
ing corporations, shall be appointed, the wages of all classes of employees, opera
tors, and laborers thereof shall be preferred to every other debt or claim against
such corporation, and shall be paid by the receiver from the moneys of such corpo
ration which shall first come into his hands.
Sec . 2. This act shall take effect and be in force on and after its passage.
Approved February 23,1899.
A ct N o . 817.—Alabama Industrial School—Trades to be taught to male inmates.
(Page 158.)
1. There is hereby established under the care of this State a reforma
tory and industrial school under the name and style of the Alabama Industrial
School. * * *
Sec . 13. The officers o f said school * * * shall cause all children in said
school to be instructed in such branches o f useful knowledge as may be suited to
their years and capacities. The boys shall be taught such useful trades as the
board may direct, and they shall be taught according to the course of the public
schools of the State. .
Approved February 23, 1899.
Se c t io n
G E O R G IA .
ACTS OF 1898.
A ct N o . 19.—Assignment, etc.j o f claims to avoid effect of exemption laws as regards
wages unlawful.
(Page 90.)
Section 1. From and after the passage of this act, whoever assigns, or transfers,
or sends out of this State, by himself or agents, any claim for debt against a resident
of this State, for the purpose of having the same collected by proceedings in attach
ment or by garnishments in courts outside o f this State, with intent to deprive a
resident of this State o f the right to have his wages exempt from garnishment as
provided by section 4732 of the Civil Code of 1895 and acts amendatory thereof,
where the creditor and debtor and person or corporation owing the money intended
to be reached by such proceedings are within the j urisdiction of the courts of this
State, thereby seeking to evade said law and defeat the public policy of this State,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be punished by a fine o f
not less than ten dollars and not exceeding fifty dollars lor each account or claim so
unlawfully transferred, or assigned, or sent out of this State as aforesaid; and the
person whose personal earnings are so attached or garnished shall have a right of
action before any court of this State having jurisdiction, to recover the amount
attached and any costs paid by him in such attachment proceedings, together with
all damages which he or they may sustain thereby, particularly such damages as
may result to such person or persons because o f any loss of employment by them, or
discharge or suspension from work because o f any levy o f such attachment or gar
nishment proceedings, either from the person so assigning, transferring, or send
ing such claim out o f the State to be collected, as aforesaid, or the person to whom
such claim may be assigned, transferred, or sent, as aforesaid, or both, at the option
of the person bringing such suit. The money thus recovered shall not be subject to
garnishment.
Sec . 2. The assignment, transfer, or sending of such claim to a person not a resi
dent of this State, and the commencement of such proceedings in attachment outside
of this State, shall be considered prima facie evidence o f the violation of this
section.
Sec . 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved December 7, 1898.
A ct N o . 25.— Wages due deceased employee to be paid to widow.
(Page 91.)
Section 1. From and after the passage of this act it shall be lawful upon the death
o f any person employed by any railroad company, express, street railroads, steam
914
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
boats, or navigation companies, compress companies, factories, machine shops, or
other corporations or persons, who may have wages due him by said company or
companies, factory, or machine shops, or other corporations or persons, for said com
pany or companies to pay over to the widow or widows, minors or guardians of said
employee or employees, whatever wages there may he due the deceased, to the
amount due, not to exceed one hundred dollars, without any administration upon
his estate for this purpose.
Sec . 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved December 6, 1898.
M ASSACH U SETTS.
0
ACTS OF 1899.
Chapter 247.—Payment of wages.
Section 1. Section one of chapter four hundred and thirty-eight o f the acts o f the
year eighteen hundred and ninety-five, as amended by chapter three hundred and
thirty-four o f the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-six, as amended by
chapter four hundred and eighty-one of the acts o f the year eighteen hundred and
ninety-eight, is hereby amended by adding after the word “ business,” in the seventh
line, the following words: in any of the building trades; in quarries or mines; in
public works; in the construction or repair of railroads or street railways, of roads,
bridges, sewers, of gas, water, or electric-light works, pipes or lines—so as to read
as follows:
Section 1. Sections fifty-one to fifty-four, inclusive, o f chapter five hundred and
eight of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-four, relative to the weekly
payment o f wages by corporations, shall apply to all contractors and to any person
or partnership engaged in this Commonwealth in any manufacturing business; in
any o f the building trades; in quarries or mines; in public works; in the construc
tion or repair o f railroads or street railways, of roads, bridges, sewers, of gas, water,
or electric-light works, pipes or lines. And the word “ corporation,” as used in said
sections, shall include such contractors,. persons, and partnerships.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved April 10, 1899.
'
Chapter 299.—Establishment o f textile schools.
Section 1. Whenever the mayor o f any city in this Commonwealth files a certifi
cate with the commissioner o f corporations that there is in operation in such city
four hundred and fifty thousand or more spindles, not less than seven nor more than
twenty persons, citizens o f this Commonwealth, may associate themselves by an
agreement in writing for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a textile school
in such city, for instruction in the theory and practical art of textile and kindred
branches of industry, with authority to take, by gift or purchase, and hold personal
and real estate, to the amount o f three hundred thousand dollars. A copy o f said
agreement, with the signatures thereto, sworn to by anyone of the subscribers, shall
be submitted to the governor, and if he shall certify his approval of the associates as
persons suitable for the purposes o f their association and o f this act, said associates
shall for said purposes, after due organization by the adoption of by-laws and the
election o f officers, and after filing a certificate of such organization and the certificate
of the approval o f the governor with the secretary of the Commonwealth, be a cor
poration, with all the powers and privileges and scbjeet to all the duties and obli
gations o f corporations organized for educational purposes under chapter one hundred
and fifteen o f the Public Statutes. Such corporation shall be known as the trustees
of the textile school of the place in which it is situated, and shall have power to fill
all vacancies in its number, however occurring, except as otherwise provided in this
act. There shall be only one school incorporated under the provisions of this act in
any one city.
Sec. 2. Any city in which such a corporation is organized may appropriate and pay
to it a sura o f money not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars, and upon the ap
propriation and payment of said sum or any part thereof by any such city, the mayor
and superintendent of schools for the time being o f such city shall become members
o f said corporation, and the mayor and superintendent of schools of such city shall
thereafter be members of such corporation.
Sec. 3. Whenever any such city shall appropriate and pay to any such corporation
any sum o f money, or whenever the trustees or members of any such corporation shall
pay into its treasury, for the establishment and maintenance o f such school, any sum
o f money, there shall be appropriated and paid to said corporation from the treasury
o f the Commonwealth a sum equal to the total amount so appropriated and paid; but
LABOR LAWS---- MASSACHUSETTS---- ACTS OF 1899.
915
in no case shall there he paid to any such corporation by the Commonwealth any sum
exceeding twenty-hve thousand dollars; and upon the appropriation and payment of
any sum of money by the Commonwealth for the purposes o f any such school the
governor shall, with the advice and consent o f the council, appoint two persons to be
members and trustees of the corporation, for two and four years respectively, and
thereafter such persons and their successors by like appointment shall be members of
said corporation. The governor, with the advice and consent o f the council, shall
till all vacancies occurring in the membership created by this section.
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect irpon its passage.
Approved April 25, 1899.
Chapter 344.—Hours of labor.
Section 1. Eight hours shall constitute a day’s work for all laborers, workmen,
and mechanics now employed, or who may hereafter be employed, by or on behalf
of any city or town in this Commonwealth.
Sec. 2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall not take effect in any city or town until accepted by a
majority of the voters voting thereon at an annual election. Such vote shall be
taken by ballot. When so accepted, this act shall take effect from the date of such
acceptance.
Approved May 6, 1899.
Chapter 359.—Trade-marlcs of trade unions, etc.
Section 1. Section one of chapter four hundred and sixty-two of the acts of the
year eighteen hundred and ninety-five is hereby amended by striking out the whole
of said section and inserting in place thereof the following:
Section 1. Any person, firm, association, union, or corporation may adopt a label,
trade-mark, stamp, or form of advertisement not previously owned or adopted by
any other person, firm, association, union, or corporation, and may file such label,
trade-mark, stamp, or form of advertisement for record by depositing two copies or
facsimiles thereof in the office of the secretary o f the Commonwealth, one of which
copies or facsimiles shall be attached by the secretary of the Commonwealth to the
certificate of record hereinafter referred to; and shall file therewith a certificate
specifying the name or names of the person, firm, association, union, or corporation
so filing such label, trade-mark, stamp, or form of advertisement, his or its residence,
situation, or place o f business, the kind of merchandise to which such label, trade
mark, stamp, or form of advertisement has been or is intended to be appropriated,
and the length o f time, if any, during which it has been in use. In case such label,
trade-mark, stamp, or form of advertisement has not been and is not intended to be
used in connection with merchandise, then the particular purpose or use for which
it has been or is intended shall be stated in the certificate. Such certificate shall
be accompanied by a written declaration, verified under oath by the person or by
some member of the firm or officer of the association, union, or corporation by which
it is filed, to the effect that the party so filing such label, trade-mark, stamp, or form
of advertisement has a right to use the same, and that no other person, firm, asso
ciation, union, or corporation has the right to such use, either in the identical form
or in any such near resemblance thereto as may be calculated to deceive, and that
the copies or facsimiles filed therewith are true and correct. The secretary of the
Commonwealth shall issue to the person, firm, association, union, or corporation
depositing such label, trade-mark, stamp, or form of advertisement a certificate of
record, under the seal of the Commonwealth, and the secretary shall cause the cer
tificate to be recorded in his office. Such certificate of record, or a certified copy of
its record in the office of the secretary of the Commonwealth, shall in all suits and
prosecutions under this act be sufficient proof of the adoption of such label, stamp,
trade-mark, or form of advertisement and of the existence of the person, firm, asso
ciation, union, or corporation named in the certificate. The fee for filing the certifi
cate and declaration and issuing the certificate of record herein described shall be
two dollars. No label, trade-mark, stamp, or form of advertisement shall be
recorded which could reasonably be mistaken for a label, trade-mark, stamp, or
form of advertisement already on record.
Sec . 2. Section two of said chapter four hundred and sixty-two is hereby amended
by inserting after the word “ trade-marks,” in the third line, the word: stamps—so
as to read as follows:
Section 2. The secretary of the Commonwealth is authorized to make rules and
regulations, and prescribe forms for the filing of labels, trade-marks, stamps, and
forms of advertisement under the provisions of this act.
Sec. 3. Section four of said chapter four hundred and sixty-two is hereby amended
by striking out the whole of said section and inserting in place thereof the following:
Section 4. Every person who, without authority from the owner o f a label, trade
916
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.
mark, stamp, or form of advertisement recorded as aforesaid, shall make, use, sell,
offer for sale, or deal in, or have in his possession with intent to use, sell, offer for
sale, or deal in any counterfeit or imitation of such label, trade-mark, stamp, or form
o f advertisement, knowing the same to he counterfeit or imitation, and every person
who, without authority from such owner shall affix, impress, or use such label, trade
mark, stamp, or form of advertising upon any goods, shall be punished by a line not
exceeding two hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.
Se c . 4. Every person who shall, with intent to defraud any person or persons,
knowingly and willfully cast, engrave, or manufacture, or have in his possession, or
buy, sell, offer for sale, or deal in any die, plate, brand, mold, or engraving on wood,
stone, metal, or any other substance, of any label, trade-mark, stamp, or form of
advertisment recorded pursuant to the statutes o f this Commonwealth, or any print
ing presses, types, or other tools, machines, or materials provided or prepared for
making apy counterfeit or imitation o f such label, trade-mark, stamp, or form of
advertisement, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars, or by
imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Sec . 5. Any person who shall, with intent to defraud any persons, knowingly and
willfully aid or abet in the violation of any provision of this act or of said chapter
four hundred and sixty-two shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred
dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
Sec . 6. Section six of said chapter four hundred and sixty-two is hereby amended
by inserting after the word “ trade-mark,” in the third line, the word: stam p; also
by inserting in the last line, after the word “ person,” the word: firm, and also by
striking out the words “ or union,” in the last line, and inserting in place thereof the
words: union or corporation— so as to read as follow s:
Section 6. In any suit or prosecution under the provisions of this act the defend
ant may show that he or it was the owner of such label, trade-mark, stamp, or form
of advertisement prior to its being filed under the provisions of this act, and that it
has been filed wrongfully or without right by some other person, firm, association,
union, or corporation.
Sec . 7. Section 7 o f said chapter four hundred and sixty-two is hereby amended
by inserting in the fifth line before the word “ advertisements” the words: forms
of—so as to read as follows :
S e c t i o n 7. Chapter four hundred and forty-three of the acts of the year eighteen
hundred and ninety-three is hereby repealed. But this repeal shall not affect any
legal proceedings, civil or criminal, instituted under or by virtue of said a ct; and
all labels, trade-marks, stamps, and forms of advertisements already recorded accord
ing to the provisions of section four of said chapter, shall be deemed to have been
duly recorded according to the provisions of this act.
Sec . 8. Section two of chapter two hundred and twelve of the Public Statutes as
amended by section two of chapter three hundred and forty-two of the acts of the
year eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and by chapter two hundred and eighty-four
o f the acts o f the year eighteen hundred and ninety, is hereby further amended by
adding thereto the following, namely:
Tenth. To search for counterfeits or imitations of any label, trade-mark, stamp, or
form o f advertisement recorded pursuant to the statutes o f this Commonwealth;
any goods upon which any such counterfeit or imitation has been impressed, affixed,
or used; and any dies, plates, brands, molds, engravings, or printing presses, types,
or other tools, machines, and materials prepared or provided for making any such
counterfeit or imitation.
Approved May 11,1899.
Chapter 368.— Licensing, examination, etc,f o f stationary engineers and firemen.
Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to have charge of or to operate a
steam boiler or engine in this Commonwealth, except boilers and engines upon loco
motives, motor road vehicles, boilers in private residences, boilers in apartment
houses o f less than five flats, boilers under the jurisdiction of the United States,
boilers used for agricultural purposes exclusively, boilers of less than eight horse
power, and boilers used for heating purposes exclusively which are provided with
a device, approved by the chief o f the district police, limiting the pressure carried
to fifteen pounds to the square inch, unless he holds a license, as hereinafter pro
vided ; and it shall be unlawful for any owner or user of a steam boiler or engine,
other than those boilers or engines above excepted, to operate or cause to be oper
ated a steam boiler or engine for a period of more than one week, unless the persons
in charge and operating such boiler or engine are duly licensed.
Sec . 2. I f any such steam engine or boiler is found at any time in charge of or
operated by a person who is not a duly licensed engineer or fireman, and i f after a
LABOR LAWS— MASSACHUSETTS— ACTS OF 1899.
917
lapse of one week from such time the same is again found to he operated by a per
son or persons not duly licensed, it shall he deemed prima facie evidence of a viola
tion of section one o f this act.
Sec . 3. Any person desiring to act as engineer or fireman shall make application
for a license so to act to the examiner o f engineers for the city or town in which
he resides or is employed, upon blanks to be furnished by the examiner. The appli
cation must show his experience during the preceding three years or time of service.
The applicant shall be given a practical examination, and i f found competent and
trustworthy he shall receive within six days after the examination a license graded
according to the merits o f his examination irrespective o f the grade of license for
which he applies. The applicant shall have the privilege of having one person
present during his examination, who shall take no part in the same, but who may
take notes, if he so desires. No person shall be entitled to receive more than one
examination within ninety days, except in the case o f an appeal, as hereinafter pro
vided. A license shall continue in force for three years, or until the same is revoked
for incompetency or untrustworthiness; and a license shall remain revoked until a
new license is granted. A license, unless revoked, shall at the end o f said three
years be renewed by an examiner o f engineers upon application and without exami
nation, if the application for renewal is made within six months o f the expiration
of the license. In case a new license of a different grade is issued the old license
must be destroyed in the presence o f the examiner. In case o f the loss o f a license
by fire or other means a new license shall be issued in its place, without reexamina
tion, upon satisfactory proof o f such loss to an examiner.
Sec . 4. Licenses shall be granted according to the competency o f the applicant,
and shall be distributed in the following classes: Engineers’ licenses: First class,
unlimited in horsepower; second class, to have charge of and operate any boiler or
boilers and any engine not exceeding one hundred and fifty horsepower; third
class, to have charge of and operate any single boiler and any engine not exceeding
fifty horsepower. Firemen’s licenses: First, to operate any boiler or boilers; sec
ond, to have charge of and operate low-pressure heating boilers when the pressure
carried is less than twenty-five pounds to the square inch. Any person desiring to
have charge of or to operate any particular steam plant or type of plant may be
examined as to his competency for such service and no other, and i f found compe
tent and trustworthy shall be granted a license for such service and no other; and
the holder o f such special license may have the same transferred to some other par
ticular plant of the same type and horsepower without reexamination.
Sec. 5. The words “ have charge,” in this act, shall be construed to designate the
person under whose supervision a boiler or engine is operated. The “ person oper
ating” shall be understood to mean any and all persons actually engaged in gener
ating steam in any power boiler.
Sec. 6. The horsepower o f any boiler shall be ascertained upon the basis o f three
horsepower for each square foot o f grate surface for a power boiler, and on the basis
o f one and one-half horsepower for each square foot o f grate surface, i f the boiler
is used for heating purposes exclusively. The engine power shall be reckoned upon
a basis o f a mean effective pressure o f forty pounds per square inch o f piston for a
simple engine; fifty pounds fora condensing engine, and seventy pounds for a com
pound engine, reckoned upon area of high-pressure piston.
Sec. 7. All applications for licenses shall be accompanied by a fee o f one dollar.
All fees so paid shall be accounted for by the examiners to the chief o f the district
police, who shall return the same monthly to the treasurer of the Commonwealth.
Sec. 8. The boiler-inspection department o f the district police shall act as exam
iners and enforce the provisions of this act.
Sec . 9. Any person dissatisfied with the action o f an examiner in refusing or
revoking a license may appeal from his decision, within one month from such deci
sion, to the remaining examiners, who shall together act as a board of appeal,
and a majority of whom shall have the power to hear the parties and pass upon the
subjects o f appeal. The party appealing may have the privilege of having one firstclass engineer present during the hearing of his appeal, who shall take no part in
the same. The decision of the majority o f such remaining examiners so acting shall
be final, if approved by the chief of the district police.
Sec. 10. An engineer’s or fireman’s license granted under this or previous acts
shall be placed, so as to be easily read, in a conspicuous place in*the engine room or
boiler room of the plant operated by the holder o f such license.
Sec . 11. Whoever violates any of the provisions o f this act shall be punished by
fine of not less than ten nor more than three hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not
exceeding three months. Any trial justice may in his discretion take jurisdiction
in complaints for violations of this act, and in such cases may impose a fine not
exceeding fifty dollars.
Sec. 12. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed:
Provided, however, That such repeal shall not invalidate any license granted under
918
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
the acts repealed, and licensees holding licenses so granted shall have the same
powers given by section four of this act to licensees of a similar grade.
Sec . 13. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved May 12,1899.
Chapter
413.—Employment of children.
Section 1. No minor under eighteen years of age shall he employed in handling
intoxicating liquors, or in handling packages containing intoxicating liquors, in any
brewery or bottling establishment where intoxicating liquors are prepared for sale
or offered for sale.
Sec . 2. Whoever violates the provisions of this act shall be punished by a fine of
not less than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not less than three months, or by
both such fine and imprisonment for each offense.
Sec. 3. Nothing in this act shall prohibit the employment of minors in drug stores.
Sec . 4. This act shall take effect on the first day of September, in the year
eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.
Approved May 25, 1899.
Chapter
468.—Exemption of trade unions, labor organizations, etc., from the provisions
of the laic regulating insurance companies, associations, etc.
Section 1. Every trade union or other association of wage-workers, whose prin
cipal objects are to deal with the relations between employers and employees in
respect to wages, hours of labor, and other conditions o f employment, is hereby
exempted from the operation o f chapter four hundred and seventy-four o f the acts
o f the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of such other acts as relate to
insurance companies or associations.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
[This bill, returned by the governor to the house of representatives, the branch in
which it originated, with his objections thereto, was passed by the house June 1,
and, in concurrence, by the senate, on the same day, the objections of the governor
notwithstanding, in the manner prescribed by the constitution; and thereby has
the “ force of a law.” J
OREGON.
ACTS OF 1898—SPECIAL SESSION.
Exemption from execution, etc.— Wages.
(Page 11.)
S e c t i o n 1. Section 313 o f title II o f chapter III o f the General Laws o f Oregon,
as compiled and annotated by W. Lair Hill, is hereby amended so as to read as
follows:
S e c t i o n 313. The earnings of a judgment debtor for personal services, at any
time within thirty days next preceding the service o f an attachment of said earn
ings upon a garnishee, shall not be included in the judgment in said action against
said debtor, when it shall be made to appear by the affidavit of said judgment
debtor, or otherwise, that such earnings are necessary for the use of a family
supported wholly or partly by the labor of said debtor.
S e c . 2. Inasmuch as great necessity exists for the immediate amendment of said
section, this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its approval by the
governor.
Approved October 12, 1898.
ACTS OF 1899.
Convict labor.
(Page 84.)
S e c t i o n 1. Thp superintendent of the Oregon State penitentiary is hereby author
ized, and it is made his duty, to furnish and use such convicts as is deemed in his
judgment reasonably safe for that purpose to do the work necessary to repair,
improve, and properly build and construct the public roads leading from the State
penitentiary to the State insane asylum building, and to the asylum farm, and to
the deaf-mute school, and to the reform school, and in the vicinity o f said public
buildings, from time to time, as the weather will permit and said roads are in proper
LABOR LAWS---- OREGON---- ACTS OF 1899.
919
condition to be worked upon, until said public roads are rendered good, safe, and
convenient for the use of teams during all seasons of the year. * * *
Sec . 5. * * * this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its approval
by the governor.
Approved February 17, 1899.
Maintenance or employment of todies of armed men by corporations, etc., unlawful.
(Pag© 96.)
Section 1. It .shall be unlawful for any person, corporation or association o f per
sons, or agents of any person, or member or agent or officer of any corporation or
association of persons, to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men in
this State for the purpose of assuming, discharging, or attempting to discharge in
any city in the State of Oregon any o f the duties or occupations properly belonging
to the duly organized police patrol of such city.
Sec. 2. It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation or association of persons,
or agent o f any person, or member, agent, or officer of any corporation or associa
tion of persons, to establish or maintain in any city in the State o f Oregon any
armed or uniformed patrol system not under the direct control and appointed by
the proper municipal departments, as provided for in the charter o f such city.
Sec. 3. Any and all parties so offending or violating the provisions of this act
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be pun
ished by a fine o f not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000, and in a like sum for
each day they shall continue to offend after having been once fined, and in addition
to such fine, such offender, if a person, may be imprisoned in the county jail not to
exceed one year at the discretion o f the court. The fine shall be paid into the gen
eral fund of the county in which the offense was committed, and all arms, uniforms,
accouterments and other property of a military or police character in possession of
such person, member, agent, officer, corporation, or armed body of men shall be
seized by the officer making the arrest under the provisions of this act and be for
feited to the State of Oregon.
Approved February 17,1899.
Examination, licensing, etc., of barbers.
(Page 237.)
Section 1. Forthwith, after the passage of this act, it shall be unlawful for any
person not a registered barber within the meaning of this act to pursue the business
of a barber, or to conduct any barber shop, tonsorial parlor, shaving saloon, etc.,
for the purpose of shaving, cutting hair, or anything in any way pertaining to the
occupation of a barber, except as an apprentice under the supervision of a registered
barber.
Sec . 2. Within thirty days after the passage of this act the governor shall appoint
three persons, selected from the competent barbers o f this State, as a aboard o f ex
aminers. It shall be the duty o f each member of this board, before entering upon
the duties of his office, to appear before an officer duly authorized to administer
oaths in this State, and make oath to discharge the duties o f a member o f this
board in a faithful and impartial manner. Each member o f this board shall be a
barber o f not less than four years’ experience and a resident of this State for five
years. The first term of office of said members o f the board shall be two, three, and
four years, respectively, and the governor shall designate the term o f office o f each
member o f said board when the appointments shall be first made under this act.
Members o f the board shall meet at such time and place as agreed upon, and shall
proceed first to elect, by ballot, a president, a treasurer, and a secretary, who shall
hold office one year, or until their successors are elected and qualified. The treas
urer of said board shall execute a good and sufficient bond in the sum o f $1,000, for
the faithful performance o f his duties under this act. Thereafter, the board shall
meet and hold examinations as hereinafter provided for, at least quarterly during
each year, in at least four different cities in the State. The board shall have power
to make such by-laws as it may deem necessary, not inconsistent with the constitu
tion o f this State, or with the provisions of this act, and shall prescribe the qualifi
cations of a barber of this State. In case of a vacancy occurring in this board, the
governor shall fill such vacancy by appointment from the competent barbers of
this State.
Sec. 3. Each member of the said board shall receive $3 per day for each day
actually engaged in the performance of his duties under this act, and also 10 cents
per mile for each mile necessarily and actually traveled by him in the discharge of
the duties of his office; and the said expenses o f said board shall be paid from the
fees received by the board under the provisions of this act, and no part of the salary
920
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
or other expenses of the hoard shall he paid out of the State treasury. All moneys
received in excess o f the said expenses shall he held hy the hoard as a special fund
for meeting further expenses o f said hoard. The hoard shall render an annual
report o f the work it has done to the governor, and render an account o f all moneys
received and disbursed hy them pursuant to this act.
Sec . 4. Every person now engaged in the occupation o f harher in this State shall,
within sixty days after the passage o f this act, file with the secretary o f said hoard
an affidavit setting forth his name, residence, and length o f time and the place in
which he has practiced such occupation, and shall pay to the treasurer of the hoard
($1) one dollar, and thereupon a certificate of registration, entitling him to practice
said occupation, shall he issued to him.
Sec . 5. Any other person desiring to obtain a certificate under this act shall make
his application to said hoard therefor, and shall pay to the treasurer of said hoard
an examination fee of ($5) five dollars, and shall present himself at the next regular
meeting of the hoard for the examination of applicants, whereupon said board shall
proceed to examine such person, and, being satisfied as to his qualifications, his name
shall he entered hy the hoard upon the register kept hy them and a certificate be
issued to him : Provided, That whenever it appears that the applicant has acquired
his knowledge in a barber school the hoard shall he the judge as to whether or not
said harher school is properly appointed and conducted, and under proper instruc
tion to give sufficient training in such trade. All persons making applications under
the provisions of this act shall he allowed to practice until the next regular meeting
of said board.
Se c . 6. Nothing in this act shall prohibit any person serving as an apprentice in
said trade, under a barber authorized to practice the same under this a ct : Provided,
Said person shall serve an apprenticeship of three years.
Sec . 7. The said hoard shall furnish to each person entitled to a certificate under
this act a card hearing the seal o f the hoard, and the signature of its president and
secretary, stating that the holder thereof is entitled to practice the occupation of
harher; and it shall he the duty o f the holder o f such certificate to post the said
certificate or card, or both, in a conspicuous place in front o f his working chair,
where it may be readily seen hy all persons whom he may serve.
Sec . 8. The said hoard shall keep a register in which shall he entered the names
o f all persons to whom certificates are issued under this act, and said register shall
he open at all times to public inspection.
Sec . 9. The said hoard shall have power to revoke any certificate granted hy it
under this act that may have been obtained hy fraudulent representations, or other
wise not strictly in accordance with this act, or upon any one of the following grounds:
(a) Conviction o f felony; (b) habitual drunkenness for six (6) months immediately
before a charge duly made; (c) gross incompetency, or (d) contagious or infectious
disease: Providedt That before any certificate shall he so revoked the holder thereof
shall have notice in writing o f the charge or charges against him, and shall at a day
specified in said notice, at least five (5) days after the service thereof, he given a
public hearing and a full opportunity to produce testimony in his behalf and to con
front the witnesses against him. Any person whose certificate has been so revoked
may, after the expiration o f ninety (90) days, apply to have the same regranted to
him, upon a satisfactory showing that the disqualification has ceased.
Sec . 10 To shave or trim the beard or cut the hair o f any person for hire or reward,
received or to he paid at any time in the future, shall be construed as practicing the
oocupation o f barber within the meaning of this act.
Sec . 11. Any person who shall engage in the occupation o f a barber in any man
ner, except as an apprentice as aforesaid, without having obtained a certificate of
registration as provided by this act, or willfully employ a barber who has- not such
a certificate, or falsely pretend to he qualified to practice such occupation under
this act, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall he punished
hy a fine o f not less than ($10) ten dollars nor more than ($100) one hundred dollars,
or by imprisonment in the county jail not less than five days nor more than fifty
days, or by both fine and imprisonment.
Sec . 12. Any person who shaves another person afflicted with syphilis, eczema,
blood poison, or any skin disease, who does not, before he again uses his tools,
towels, or water, subject them to such disinfection as may remove any virus, scale,
or filth that may be on such tools, towels, or instrument, shall be guilty o f a misde
meanor, and upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine o f not less than ($20)
twenty dollars nor more than ($50) fifty dollars, or by imprisonment in the county
jail not less than ten days nor more than twenty-five days, or by both fine and
imprisonment.
Se c . 13. It shall he unlawful for any person who is not a duly registered barber
under this act to conduct a barbers7school or give instructions in the art or busi
ness o f a barber, and if anyone shall violate this section he shall he deemed guilty
o f a misdemeanor and he punished as provided hy section 11 o f this act.
LABOR LAWS— OREGON— ACTS OF 1899.
921
Sec . 14. Inasmuch as the public health is endangered by inattention to habits
and methods of cleanliness in many of the barber shops in this State, an emergency
is hereby declared to exist, and therefore this act shall be in force and effect forth
with upon its approval by the governor.
Filed in the office of the secretary of state February 23, 1899.
Convict labor.
(Page 249.)
Section 1. All convicts who are able-bodied men and sentenced by any court of
legal authority, whether in default of the payment of a. fine or committed for a
definite number of days to serve a sentence in a county jail, shall during the period
of such sentence be under the exclusive and entire control of the county court where
the crime was committed; and said county court shall have full power to put such
convicts under the control of any road supervisor, who shall have all the authority
of a sheriff to guard and keep such convict while in his custody, from the time of
leaving until his return to the county jail.
Sec. 2. In all cases where the sentence of the court is for a definite number of
days the person so sentenced shall be held to labor for the full period to which he
has been adjudged; and in all cases o f fines imposed, in default of the payment of
such fine such person shall be made to labor at a compensation of $1 per day until
such fine is fully paid; and in all cases not less than eight hours shall be considered
a day’s labor.
Sec. 3. Any convict sentenced in accordance with the provisions o f this act refus
ing to perform the labor herein required shall be denied all food other than bread
and water until he signifies his willingness to comply with the provisions of this
act; and for all days or parts of days lost by such refusal such convict shall be
made to labor until all lost time shall be made up and the sentence o f the court
shall be fully met.
Approved, February 24, 1899.
S O U T H C A R O L IN A .
ACTS OF 1899.
Act No. 7.—Convict laborj
Section 1. From and after the passage of this act, whenever, in the judgment
of the board of county commissioners of any county of this State, there shall not
be a sufficient number of convicts sentenced to work on the public works of such
county to warrant the expense of maintaining a county chain-gang, the supervisor
of such county shall be authorized to contract with the supervisor o f any other
county in the State for the placing of said convicts into the custody of and upon
the chain-gang of said other county, for such a period and upon such terms and
conditions as may be mutually agreed upon by said supervisors so contracting:
Provided, That said contract shall require payment of a reasonable price therein to
be stipulated, for the work of said convicts, or shall provide for an equal exchange
of convict labor between the counties so contracting.
S e c . 2. The supervisor of any county of this State is hereby authorized to con
tract with the supervisor of any other county of this State, desiring to hire out
convicts or to exchange convict labor as herein provided, upon such terms as may be
mutually agreed upon; and to this end said supervisors are hereby vested with all
necessary powers as if said convicts were convicted and sentenced in their own
counties respectively: Provided, That all contracts entered into by any supervisor
hereunder for the hire or exchange of convicts hereunder be approved by a majority
of the board of county commissioners of his county.
S e c . 3. Any county in this State maintaining a chain-gang and hiring convicts of
another county, or exchanging convict labor with such other county, as herein pro
vided, shall at its own expense board, clothe, and securely keep such convicts while
in the custody of its officers.
Sec. 4. Any money due any county under any contract herein authorized shall be
collected by the treasurer o f such county and turned into the county treasury, to
aid in defraying the current and ordinary expenses of such county, and any money
due by any county under any contract herein authorized shall be paid by the treas
urer of such county upon the warrant of the supervisor thereof, as other county
funds are disbursed.
Sec . 5. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed,
Approved February 15, 1899.
64—No. 25----- 11
922
BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR..
A ct N o . 9.—Convict labor.
Section 1. On and after the approval of this act, the county hoard o f commission
ers shall have power and authority, in their discretion, to utilize the county chaingang in whole or in part in any kind of work calculated to promote or conserve
public health in the county or in any community thereof, in which the sentences of
the convicts on such gang were pronounced.
Approved March 2, 1899.
A ct N o .
10.— Convict labor.
Section 1. An act entitled an act to amend section 662 o f the Revised Statutes of
1893, vol. I, being section 23 of an act entitled “ An act to provide a system of county
government for the several counties of the State,” approved January 4, 1894, is
hereby amended * * * so that said section * * * shall read as follows:
S e c t i o n 662. From and after the passage of this act all the courts of this State and
municipal authorities which under existing laws have power to sentence convicts
to continement in prison with hard labor, shall sentence all able-bodied male con
victs to hard labor upon the public works of the county in which said person shall
have been convicted, and in the alternative to imprisonment in the county jail or
State penitentiary at hard labor: Provided, That municipal authorities may sentence
municipal convicts to work upon the streets and other public works of the munici
pality in which they have been convicted, and such convicts when so sentenced
shall work under the exclusive direction and control of the municipal authority
imposing sentence: Provided, That no convict whose sentence shall be for a period
longer than five years shall be so sentenced.
Approved January 2, 1899.
A c t N o . 52.—Payment
of ivages to discharged laborers by corporations.
S e c t i o n 1. [If] any corporation carrying on any business in this State in which
laborers are employed, whose wages, under the business rules or custom of such
corporation, are paid monthly on a fixed day beyond the end o f the month in which
the labor is performed, shall discharge any such laborer, the wages which have
been earned by such discharged laborer shall become immediately due and payable.
Approved March 6, 1899.
A ct N o.
71.—Seats for female employees.
1. It shall be the duty of all employers of females in any mercantile
establishment, or any place where goods or wares or merchandise are offered for
sale, to provide and maintain chairs or stools, or other suitable seats, for the use of
such female employees, to the number of one seat for every three females employed,
and to permit the use of such seats by such employees, at reasonable times, to such
an extent as may be requisite for the preservation of their health. And such
employees shall be permitted to use same, as above set forth, in front of the counter,
table, desk or any fixture when the female employee for the use of whom said seat
shall be kept and maintained is principally engaged in front of said counter, table,
desk or fixture; and behind such counter, table, desk or fixture when the female
employee for the use of whom said seat shall be kept and maintained is principally
engaged behind said counter, table, desk or fixture.
Sec. 2. Any person who violates or omits to comply with any o f the foregoing pro
visions of this act, or who suffers or permits any woman to stand, in violation of its
provisions, shall be guilty o f a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished
by a tine of not less than twenty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for each
offense.
Approved March 6, 1899.
Se c t io n
A ct N o . 72.—Sunday labor.
Section 1. On and after the approval of this act, in addition to the penalties pre
scribed against tradesmen, artificers, workmen and laborers who shall do or exercise
any worldly labor, business or work of their ordinary calling upon the Lord’s day
(commonly called the Sabbath) or Sunday, or any part thereof, any corporation,
company, firm or person who shall order, require or direct any work to be done in
any machine shop or shops on Sunday, except in cases of emergency, shall, upon
conviction, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined in a sum not less
than one hundred dollars and not more than five hundred dollars for each offense.
Sec . 2. All acts and parts o f acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved March 6, 1899.
LABOR LAWS---- UTAH---- ACTS OF 1899.
923
UTAH.
ACTS OF 1899.
Chapter
58.—Attorney’s fees in suits to enforce mechanics’ liens.
S e c t i o n 1. Section 1400 of the Revised Statutes of Utah, 1898, * * * is
amended so as to read as follows:
S e c t i o n 1400—Attorney’s fee.—In any action brought to enforce any lien under
this chapter, the successful party shall be entitled to recover a reasonable attorney's
fee, to be fixed by the court not to exceed twenty-five dollars which shall be taxed
as costs in the action
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect upon approval.
Approved March 9, 1899.
C h a p t e r 6 6 . —Exemption from
execution.
S e c t i o n 1. Section 3245 of the Revised Statutes of the State of Utah of 1898 * * *
is hereby amended so as to read as follow s:
S e c t i o n 3245 —Property exempt from execution.—The following property is exempt
from execution, except as herein otherwise specially provided:
1. Chairs, tables and desks, to the value o f two hundred dollars, and the library
belonging to the judgment debtor, also musical instruments in actual use in the
family.
2. Necessary household, table and kitchen furniture, belonging to the judgment
debtor, to the value of three hundred dollars; also one sewing machine, all family
hanging pictures, oil paintings, and drawings, portraits and their necessary frames;
all carpets in use; provisions actually provided for individual or family use sufficient
for three months; two cows with their sucking calves; two hogs with all sucking
pigs; all wearing apparel of every person or family; also all beds or bedding of
every person or family: Provided, That if the judgment debtor be the head of a
family consisting of five or more members there shall be a further exemption of two
cows and their sucking calves.
3. The farming utensils or implements of husbandry of a farmer not exceeding in
value the sum of three hundred dollars; also two oxen, or two horses, or two mules
and their harness, one cart or wagon, also all seed, grain, or vegetables actually
provided, reserved, or on hand for the purpose of planting or sowing at any time
within the ensuing six months, not exceeding in value the sum of two hundred dol
lars ; crops, whether growing or harvested, and the proceeds thereof, not exceeding
in value two hundred dollars.
4. The tools, tool chest, and implements of a mechanic or artisan, necessary to
carry on his trade, not exceeding in value the sum o f five hundred dollars; the
notarial seal and records of a notary public; the instruments and chests of a sur
geon, physician, surveyor, and dentist, necessary to the exercise of their professions,
with their scientific and professional libraries, and the law professional libraries and
office furniture of attorneys, counselors, and judges, and the libraries of ministers of
the gospel, and the typewriting machine of a stenographer, typewriter, copyist, and
reporter; and the type, presses and material of a printer or publisher necessary in
the pursuit of his business not exceeding in value the sum of five hundred dollars.
5. The cabin or dwelling of a miner not exceeding in value the sum of five hun
dred dollars; also his sluices, pipes, hose, windlass, derrick, cars, pumps, and tools
not exceeding in value five hundred dollars.
6. Two oxen, two horses, or two mules, and their harness; and a cart or wagon,
one dray or truck, by the use of which a cartman, drayman, truckman, huckster,
peddler, hackman, teamster, or other laborer habitually earns his living; and one
horse with vehicle and harness or other equipments used by a physician, surgeon, or
minister of the gospel, in making his professional visits.
7. The earnings of the judgment debtor for personal services rendered within sixty
days next preceding the levy of the execution, by garnishment or otherwise, if the
judgment debtor be a married man, or with a family dependent upon him for support.
8. All money, benefits, privileges, or immunities accruing, or in any manner grow
ing out of any life insurance on the life of the debtor, if the annual premiums paid
do nofc exceed five hundred dollars.
9. All arms, ammunition, uniforms, and accouterments required by law to be kept
by any person.
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11. A homestead selected or claimed as provided in the title “ Homesteads" of the
Revised Statutes of Utah.
Approved March 9,1899.
924
BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
W EST
V IR G IN IA .
ACTS OF 1899.
Ch apter
13.—Labor day.
S e c t i o n 1. The following named days [shall] he regarded, treated and observed
as legal holidays, v iz: * * * the first Monday in September, commonly called
“ Labor Day; ” * * * and when either o f said days or dates falls on Sunday,
then it shall be lawful to observe the succeeding Monday as such holiday: * * \
Passed February 18, 1899. In effect 90 days from passage. Approved February
21, 1899.
Chapter 17.—Hours o f labor on public works.
Section 1. Eight hours shall constitute a day’s work for all laborers, workmen,
and mechanics, who may be employed by or on behalf o f the State of West Virginia.
Sec. 2. The service and employment o f all laborers and mechanics who are now or
may hereafter be employed by or on behalf of the State of West Virginia or by any
contractor or subcontractor upon any o f the public works of the State of West Vir
ginia is hereby limited and restricted to eight hours in any one calendar day, and it
shall be unlawful for any officer of the West Virginia State government or any such
contractor or subcontractor whose duty it shall be to employ, direct or control the
service of such laborers or mechanics to require or permit any such laborers or me
chanics to work more than eight hours in any calendar day, except in case of
extraordinary emergency.
Sec . 3. Any officer or agent o f the State of West Virginia or any contractor or
subcontractor whose duty it shall be to employ, direct, or control any laborer or
mechanic employed upon any of the public works of the State of West Virginia who
shall intentionally violate any provisions o f this act, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor, and for each and every such offense shall, upon conviction, be pun
ished by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more
than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the
court having jurisdiction thereof.
Passed February 20,1899. In effect 90 days from passage. Approved February 21,
1899.
Ch apter
57.—Establishment of minors’ hospitals.
Section 1. There shall be established, and maintained at the expense of the State,
three hospitals, to be known as miners’ hospitals, and located as follow s: One in the
Flat Top coal region, either in McDowell or Mercer county, which shall be known
as miners’ hospital No. 1; one in the New River coal region, either in Fayette or
Kanawha county, which shall be known as miners’ hospital No. 2; one in the Fair
mont coal region, in the county o f Mar. on, which shall be known as miners’ hospital
No. 3. The actual or specific location o f each o f said hospitals is to be determined
by the respective boards hereinafter provided for.
Sec. 2. Within sixty days after the passage of this act, the governor shall appoint
four discreet persons, not more than two of whom shall belong to the same political
party, and two of whom shall be residents of the county of Mercer or McDowell, to
be known as the board of miners’ hospital No. 1; and four discreet persons, not more
than two of whom shall belong to the same political party, and at least two of whom
shall be citizens of the county o f Fayette or Kanawha, to be known as the board of
miners’ hospital No. 2; and four discreet persons, not more than two of whom shall
belong to the same political party, and at least two o f whom shall be residents of the
county o f Marion, to be known as the board of miners’ hospital No. 3. Each and all
of the persons so appointed shall be citizens and voters of this State, and upon each
board there shall be a competent physician, entitled to practice medicine in this
State, one person engaged in mining and shipping coal, and one practical coal miner.
Of the persons so appointed, two upon each board shall be appointed for two years,
and two for four years, and every two years thereafter two shall be appointed for
four years. The persons so appointed shall, before entering upon the duties o f their
offices, take and subscribe an oath that they will support the Constitution of the
United States and the constitution of this State, and faithfully discharge the duties
o f their office during their continuance therein.
Sec. 3. Each of said boards shall, within a reasonable time after their appoint
ment, select a site for the location of their respective hospitals at the points respec
tively named in the first section. Such location shall be convenient for railroad
transportation and contain at least one acre of land, and when so selected the said
LABOR LAWS---- WEST VIRGINIA— ACTS OF 1899.
925
board shall respectively cause the land so selected to be conveyed to the State by apt
and proper deeds of conveyance, and shall cause the same to be recorded in the
proper county: Provided, That the land for the sites aforesaid shall be donated to
the State free of cost.
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5. It shall be the duty of each o f said boards to admit into and treat free o f
charge any person who has been injured as a passenger on, or an employee of, a rail
road, or otherwise injured by a railroad train, or injured or hurt in a coal mine or
in the coal business, and they may, when there is room in such hospital, treat any
other person who has been injured, or hurt, at the actual cost of the treatment; but
in all cases when any of said hospitals may be insufficient to accommodate all those
who may apply for admission, preference shall first be given to the coal miner and
the railroad employee, or other laborer hazardously employed, who has been injured
in and about his employment.
Se c .
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Sec. 7. Each of said boards shall, on the first day of January of each year, make a
report to the governor showing the condition of the hospital under its charge, the
number of patients which may have been treated during the next preceding year, an
itemized statement of the costs of running the hospital, and any other information
which the board may deem proper to report, or which the governor may require to
be reported; and the governor shall, at any time, call upon the said board for informa
tion and report as to any matter which he desires to be advised, and upon such
demand being made, it shall be the duty of the said boards to make the report and
furnish the information so requested by the governor.
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Sec. 11. Each of said boards shall have power to receive any donation of money or
other property which may be made by any person or persons for the use of any of
said hospitals, and upon receiving any such donation the said boards shall at once
report the fact to the governor, and when required by the latter, and in their next
annual report to him, shall give a detailed account of all such donations, and an
accurate statement of the manner in which such donations have been used and
expended.
Passed February 24,1899. In effect 90 days from passage. Approved February 25,
1899.
RECENT GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.
[The Secretaries of the Treasury, War, and Navy Departments have consented to
furnish statements o f all contracts for constructions and repairs entered into by
them. These as received will appear from time to time in the Bulletin.]
The following contracts have been made by the office of the Super
vising Architect of the Treasury:
N e w p o r t , K y .— September 23, 1899. Contract with Schumann,
Bloss & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, for construction of post-office, except
heating apparatus, electric wiring, and conduits, $53,000. Work to be
completed within onb year.
B u f f a l o , N. Y.—September 23, 1899. Contract with John Peirce,
New York City, for interior finish, plumbing, and approaches for postoffice, $319,850. Work to be completed within fourteen months.
St . P a u l , M in n .— October 5,1899. Revoked contract of September
5,1899, with D. H. Hayes Company, Chicago, 111., for foundation, super
structure, and roof covering of extension of post-office, court-house, and
custom-house, for $144,000.
St . P a u l , M in n .— October 5,1899. Contract with Hennessy & Cox
for foundation, superstructure, and roof covering of extension of postoffice, court-house, and custom-house, $179,990. Work to be completed
within four hundred and sixteen working days.
B r i s t o l , T e n n .— October 21, 1899. Contract with Smith & Wilson
for construction of custom-house and post-office, except heating appa
ratus and electric wiring and conduits, $39,733. Work to be com
pleted within twelve months.
St . P a u l , M in n . —October 23,1899. Contract with Davis Heating
and Plumbing Co. for extension of heating apparatus, etc., of postoffice, court-house, and custom-house, $15,700. Work to be completed
within ninety days after notice that building is ready for the work.
926
I1ST D E X .
Page.
Agricultural and trade associations in France, 1897........................................ 432, 433
Arbitration and conciliation, twelfth annual report of the board of, of Mas
sachusetts, 1897.................................................................................................
428
Arbitration and mediation—
New York, eleventh annual report of the board of, 1897 .......................
568
New York, twelfth annual report of the board of, 1898.........................
713
Attitude of women’s clubs and associations toward social economics........... 501-545
Austrian bureau of labor statistics...................................................................
131
Benefit features of American trade unions........................................................ 361-400
Building and loan associations of—
Connecticut, second annual report on, 1898 ........................................... 315,316
New York, eighth annual report on, 1897 ............................................... 317, 318
Wisconsin, first annual report on, 1898 ..................................................
319
Bureau of labor statistics, Austrian..................................................................
131
Census of—
Massachusetts, 1895 ................................................................................... 561-567
Michigan, 1894............................................................................................ 124-126
Rhode Island, 1895..................................................................................... 864-866
Cities, statistics o f................................................................................................ 625-698
Cities, statistics of—editorial note..................................................................... 765-767
Conciliation and arbitration, twelfth annual report of the board of, of Mas
sachusetts, 1897..................................................................................................
428
Condition of railway labor in E urope...............................................................
1-117
Cooperative productive associations of workingmen in France, 1897............ 433-436
Decisions of courts affecting labor:
Alien contract labor law—construction of statute................................. 874-876
Aliens—deportation of pauper immigrants—authority of ministerial 876,877
officers......................................................................................................
Application of the eight-hour law—inability of employee to waive pro
visions of statute or to recover pay for his services in excess of eight
hours per day.......................................................................................... 729-732
Authority of agent—hiring servant—reasonable length of employment. 454, 455
Blacklisting—conspiracy—false entry on record as to cause of dis
charge ...................................................................................................... 455-457
Boycotting, intimidation, etc.—injunction to prohibit same................ 457-463
Breach of contract of employment by employees caused by fear of
bodily injury during strike—recovery of wages, etc.......................... 600-602
Coercion of employees—indictment insufficient under statute............ 732,733
Conditional sales—chattel mortgages—effect of statute....................... 328-330
Conspiracy—
combination in restraint of trade—destruction of business—
damages, e tc .................................................................................. 463-467
strikes—boycotts—intimidationof employees, e t c ...................... 575-579
Constitutionality and construction of statute—compensation of coal
miners....................................................................................................... 330-332
Constitutionality of statute—
attorneys’ fees to be allowed plaintiffs upon foreclosures of me
chanics’ liens.................
579-581
fellow-servant act—“ private acts” ............................................... 581, 582
mechanics’ liens................................................................................ 332, 333
payment of wages in script, e t c ..... ............................................. 132-136
Sunday la b or..................................................................... 136,137, 742, 743
trade-marks of trade unions........................................................... 333-337
trade-marks of trade unions, associations of workingmen, etc.. 582-585
wages to be paid in full upon discharge of employee................... 585-588
927
928
INDEX.
Decisions of courts affecting labor—Continued.
Page.
Contract of employment—
effect of same—right of employee to recover damages for breach
thereof......................................................................................... 602-605
notice of termination of employment required—forfeiture of
w ages............................................................................................ 605,606
Criminal law—corporations—eight-hour law.......................................... 137-139
Effect of statute prohibiting the issuing of checks in payment o f wages
upon the rights of the purchaser of the same from employees......... 337-339
Eight-hour law—
application of statute...................................................................... 139-141
effect of same on city ordinance providing for enforced labor on
roads.............................................................................................. 339,340
Employers’ liability—
assumption of risk by employee....................................... 356-358, 467,468
compromise o f claim for personal injuries—construction of con
tract—measure of damages.......................................................... 606-608
construction of statute...................................................... 744, 745, 878-882
construction o f statute, etc............................................................. 437-440
duties of employer as to furnishing printed rules and machinery—
assumption o f risk by employee, etc..........................................
609
duties of the employer—assumption of risk by employee, e t c ... 143-145
duties of the employer—contributory negligence o f employee—
effect o f statute............................................................................. 341-343
duties o f the master—negligence—assumption o f risk by em
ployee ............................................................................................ 734,735
fellow-servants................................................................................
145
fellow-servants—construction o f employers’ liability act.......... 440-442
fellow-servants—contributory negligence of employee, etc........ 468-470
for slandering an employee.............................................................
735
inspection of cars—assumption o f risk by employees................ 358, 359
master’s duty—delegation of its performance.............................. 890, 891
master’s duty as to furnishing safe appliances............................ 889,890
negligence o f employer.................................................................. 609, 610
negligence of employer—defective appliances . » ......................... 470,471
negligence of employer—fellow-servants..................................... 145,146
private railway—effect of rule to “ stop, look, and listen,” as
applied to employer and employee............................................. 146,147
railroad companies—assumption of risk by employee—duty of
employer as to furnishing safe appliances, etc...................... 736, 737
railroad companies—assumption of risk by employee—validity
of release o f liability by widow upon acceptance o f death
benefit from employees’ relief association—claim of minor
children......................................................................................... 589-592
railroad companies—assumption o f risk by employee as affected
by statute providing for the equipment of freight cars with
hand holds..................................................................................... 588, 589
railroad companies—assumptionof risk by employee, etc .. 148, 735, 736
railroad companies—construction of statute . . . 442, 443,592-595,882-884
railroad companies—duty of company to inspect foreign cars—
construction of statute............................................................... 737-740
railroad companies—ddty of employers as to making rules....... 148-150
railroad companies—fellow-servants—assumption o f risk s.......150-152
railroad companies—fellow-servants—negligence of employer.. 471,472
railroad companies—negligence—construction of statute.......... 343-345
railroad companies—negligence of employer—safety couplers .. 610, 611
railroad companies—negligence of fellow-servant—enforcement
of foreign statute......................................................................... 443-445
railroad companies—negligence of servant attributable to mas
ter ..................................................................................................
612
railroad companies—relief associations—release by employee of
claim for damages upon acceptance of benefits....................... 445-451
railroad companies—suit for damages against receivers o f rail
road company................................................................................ 891, 892
railroad companies—validity of release o f claim for damages .. 472,473
railroad companies—validity of waiver o f claims for damages
upon acceptance of benefits from railroad relief associations. 595, 596
railway relief fund—acceptance of benefits therefrom to operate
as release of claim for damages for injuries............................. 892-894
reciprocal duties o f the master and the servant.......................... 613,614
INDEX.
Decisions of courts affecting labor—Concluded.
Expulsion of members o f trade unions—mandamus to compel rein
statement.................................................................................................
Fines of weavers—payment of wages—construction of statute...........
Intimidation of employees to prevent them from continuing their
lawful work and employment.............. ...............................................
Laborers’ liens—superiority of same to lien of prior mortgage given
to secure purchase m oney.....................................................................
Liability of railroad company for malpractice of physician employed
in its hospital department—accident contracts...................................
Liability of receivers of a railroad on contract o f employment made
before establishment of receivership, etc.............................................
Master and servant—
hospital fund formed from contributions of employees—master’s
liability for unskillful treatment by its own physicians........
refusal of railroad company to give clearance card to discharged
employees.....................................................................................
suit for recovery of wages and penalty for nonpayment of same—
constitutionality of statutes......................................................
Mechanics’ liens—construction of statute—priority of liens for labor
over prior mortgage lie n .......................................................................
Mechanics’ liens law—construction of statute—priority of vendors’
lien.......................................................
Mining statute—negligence of employer.................................................
National bankruptcy law—preference of wages in payments by re
ceivers—construction of statute...........................................................
Nonliability of employer on employee’s policy of accident insurance
in case insurance company fails to p a y ...............................................
Proceedings under the United States bankruptcy law—priority of
liens for wages perfected under State law ...........................................
Receiver of street railway—regulating rights of employees, e t c .........
Right o f city authorities to make provision that union labor only shall
be employed on public works................................................................
Seaman’s right to wages for time while disabled by injury to which
his negligence contributed....................................................................
Seamen—
construction of shipping articles as to time of reporting for duty.
contract of employment—compensation for work outside of
contract.................................... .................... ...............................
damages for personal injuries—liability of owner of vessel for
negligence o f the master.............................................................
damages for personal injuries—liability of vessel therefor.........
release o f claim for wages while under constraint—damages for
abusive treatment.......................................................................
right to wages for services not rendered after having abandoned
service—forfeiture of wages earned...........................................
unwarranted desertion o f vessel—forfeiture of w ages................
Seamen’s wages—
desertion—evidence from lo g .........................................................
lien on cargo.....................................................................................
Strikes—
conspiracy—injunction—contempt of court.................................
right to use of streets—obstructing access to premises—inter
ference with right o f property and contract, e t c ...................
Sunday labor—barbers..............................................................................
Wages preferred in payment by receiver—telegraph and telephone
companies.......................... : ...................................................................
Wrongful discharge of employee—duty as to acceptance of offer of
new employment from same employer.................................................
Digest of recent foreign statistical publications:
Austria—
Die Arbeitsvermittlung in Oesterreich..........................................
Die Arbeitseinstellungen und Aussperr ungen im Gewerbebetriebe in Osterreich wahrend des Jahres 1897 ..........................
Belgium—
Travail du Dimanche: Mines, Minikres, et Carribres. Volume
III, Belgique.................................................................................
Travail de Nuit des Ouvrieres de l’Industrie dans les Pays
Etrangers (France, Suisse, Grande-Bretagne, Autriche, Allemagne)..........................................................................................
929
Page.
473-476
345-347
347, 348
884, 885
349-352
745, 746
614, 615
476-478
747, 748
451, 452
452-454
352-354
597,598
152-154
885-887
154-156
478-481
615
599,600
740-742
894, 895
895, 896
896-898
748, 749
888,889
142,143
156
898-911
481-490
354-356
157,158
490
429-432
714-717
127-130
130
930
INDEX.
Digest of recent foreign statistical publications—Concluded.
Page.
Belgium—Concluded.
Annuaire de la Legislation du Travail. Ire ann^e, 1897............
569
Travail du Dimanche: Consultation des conseils de Pindustrie
et du travail, enquete dans les grands magasins, consultation
de PAssociation pour le repos du dimanche en Belgique. Vo
lume IV ....................... I . . . .......................................................... 717-719
Finland—Industri-Statistik, 13. Ar 1896. Senare delen. Fabriker
och Handtverkerier................................................................................ 569,570
France—
Salaires et Dur£e du Travail dans PIndustrie Fran^aise. Tome
IV, R6sultats Gen^raux............................................................... 320-327
Annuaire des Syndicats Professionnels Industriels, Commerciaux et Agricoles constitu^s conform^ment a la loi du 21
mars 1884 en France et aux Colonies.......................................... 432,433
Les Associations Ouvrieres de Production..................................... 433-436
Les Caisses Patronales de Retraites des Etablissements Indus
triels .............................................................................................. 719-722
Germany—Statistik der Ursachen der Erwerbsunfahigkeit (Invalidi
t y ) nach dem Invaliditats- und Altersversicherungsgesetz. Beiheft
zu den amtlichen Nachrichten desReichs-Versicherungsamts.......... 570-573
Great Britain—
Tenth Report on Trade Unions in Great Britain and Ireland, 1897. 722-725
Report on the Strikes and Lockouts of 1897 in Great Britain
and Ireland.................................................................................... 867-871
Italy—Statistica degli Scioperi avvenutinelP IndustriaenelP Agricoltura durante P anno 1897........................................................... ............ 726-728
New South Wales—Fifth and Sixth Annual Reports of the Govern
ment Labor Bureau of New South Wales for the years ending June
30,1897, and June 30,1898...................................................................... 871, 872
New Zealand—Seventh Annual Report of the Department of Labor of
New Zealand for the year ending March 31,1898 ............................... 573,574
Sweden—
Undersokning af Bagerierna i Sverige..........................................
872
Undersokning af Tobaksindustrien i Sverige.............................. 872, 873
Digest of recent reports of State bureaus of labor statistics:
Connecticut................................................................................................ 699-701
-Indiana........................................................................................................ 421-424
Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5ol—
553
M aine............................................................................................ 118,119,553-555
Maryland..................................................................................................... 857,858
Michigan.............................................................
311-314
Missouri....................................................................................................... 555, 556
858-860
Nebraska......................
New Hampshire........................................................................................... 424,425
New Jersey.................................................................................... 425-428,860-863
New Y o r k ...........................................
119-122
North Carolina....................................*....................................................... 701-703
North Dakota..............................................................................................
703
Ohio.............................................................................................................. 122,123
Pennsylvania.............................................................................................. 557-559
West V irginia..............................................................................
559,560
Wisconsin................................................................................................... 703-707
Employment agencies in Austria, 1895 ............................................................... 429-432
Foreign labor laws................................................................................................ 768-856
Government contracts............................................................. 172, 360,500, 624, 764, 926
Hours o f labor and wages in France.................................................................. 320-327
Industrial statistics of Finland, 1896.................................................................. 569, 570
Invalidity pension system of Germany............................................................. 570-573
Labor laws, foreign.............................................................................................. 768-856
Labor legislation in Belgium...............................................................................
569
Laws relating to labor:
Accidents in factories—
Kansas...........................................................................
498
Ohio................................................................................................... 164,165
Alabama, labor laws o f.............................................................................. 912,913
Alaska, labor laws o f.....................................................
751
Arkansas, labor laws o f .............................................................................
616
Assignment, etc., of claims to avoid effect of exemption laws as regards
wages, unlawful—Georgia......................................................................
913
INDEX.
931
Laws relating to labor—Continued.
Page.
495
Association of miners, State—Kansas ..................................................
Attorney’s fees in suits to enforce mechanics’ liens—Utah...................
923
Bakeshops, regulation, inspection, etc., of—Ohio....................................
168
Bankruptcy law, national, wage earners, etc., not to be adjudged
involuntary bankrupts under the—United States.............................
499
Barbers, licensing, examination, etc., of—Oregon..............- ................... 919-921
Beneficiary societies, fraternal, labor organizations excepted from the
operation of laws regulating the organization, etc., of—Kansas.......
494
Blowers for emery wheels, etc., in factories—
New York..........................................................................................
620
Ohio...................................................................................................
167
Boilers, etc., steam, inspection of—New York..........................................
621
Bookbinders, printers and, rate of pay of, in the Government Printing
Office—United States..............................................................................
763
Books of employers, felony for employees to make false written state
ments or false entries, concerning wages of employees in, with intent
755
to defraud—New M exico.......................................................................
Brakemen, conductors and, as policemen—Railroads—New York.......
621
Buildings, protection of employees on—New York.................................
618
Bureau of industry and labor—Kansas.................................................... 496-498
Bureau of statistics—New Jersey.............................................................
162
Bureaus, employment, free public—Illinois................................
491-493
California, labor laws o f ........................................................................... 616, 750
Census—Labor statistics—United States.................................................
763
Children, employment of (see Employment of children).
Claims, assignment, etc., of, to avoid effect of exemption laws as re
gards wages, unlawful—Georgia.......................................
913
Coal at mines, weighing of—Ohio........................................................... 165,169
Coal mines—
Alabama............................................................................................
912
Kansas..............................................................................................
495
Ohio................................................................................................... 165,169
Collection of statistics—
Kansas............ ......................................................................... 495,496-498
New Jersey.......................................................................................
162
United States...................................................................................
763
Company stores, taxation of goods kept in—Alabama..........................
912
Conductors and brakemen as policemen—Railroads—New York........
621
Construction of overhead wires—Ohio.............................
167
Convict labor—
Alaska...............................................................................................
751
Arkansas..........................................................................................
616
California........................................................................................
616
Kansas..............................................................................................
493
Louisiana.......................................................................................... 752-754
New Jersey..........................................................................
164
Ohio...................................................................................................
170
Oregon............................................................
918,921
South Carolina.................................................................................. 921,922
499
Tennessee ........................................................................................
Convict labor, power of municipal corporations as to—Louisiana.......
754
Corporations receiving money from employees for employment of a
755
physician to erect and maintain a pesthouse—New Mexico..............
Court of visitation—Railroads—Kansas..................................................
494
District of Columbia, labor laws o f .........................................................
752
Emery wheels, etc., in factories, blowers for (see Blowers for emery
wheels, etc., in factories).
Employees as voters, protection of—New Jersey...................................
162
Employees, corporations receiving money from, for employment of a
physician to erect and maintain a pesthouse—New Mexico..............
755
Employees, deceased, wages due, to be paid to widow—Georgia.........
913
Employees, felony for, to make false written statements or false en
tries concerning wages of employees in books, o f employers with
intent to defraud—New Mexico.............................................................
755
Employees, female, seats for (see Seats for female employees).
Employees, intimidation of—New Jersey.....................
162
Employees on buildings, protection of—New Y ork...............................
618
Employees, railroad, protection of (see Protection of railroad*
employees).
932
INDEX.
Laws relating to labor—Continued.
Page.
Employers, felony for employees to make false written statements or
false entries concerning wages of employees in books of, with intent
to defraud—New M exico.......................................................................
755
Employment agencies, licensing, etc., of—Illinois................................. 491-493
Employment bureaus, free public—Illin ois............................................ 491-493
919
Employment, etc., of armed men for policeduty—Oregon...... „............
Employment, fraudulently obtaining money upon promise of—New
Jersey.......................................................................................................
163
Employment o f a physician, corporations receiving money from
employees for the, to erect and maintaina pesthouse—New Mexico.
755
Employment of children—
Alaska................................................................................................
751
Kansas..............................................................................................
497
Massachusetts..................................................................................
918
New Y o r k .........................................................................................
620
Ohio......................................................................... 164,165,166,169
Employment of laborers on public works—
California.........................................................................................
750
District o f Columbia.......................................................................
752
West V irginia..................................................................................
924
Employment of women—
A lask a..............................................................................................
751
Kansas..............................................................................................
497
New Jersey.......................................................................................
163
New Y ork .....................................................................................
620
O h io ................................................................................................. 164,165
Engineers, stationary, licensing, examination, etc., of—Massachusetts. 916-918
Entries, false, felony for employees to make false written statements
or, concerning wages o f employees, in books of employers, with
intent to defraud—New Mexico.............................................................
755
Establishment of miners’ hospitals—West V irginia..............................
924
Examination, etc., of barbers, licensing—Oregon................................. 919-921
Examination, etc., of horseshoers, licensing—New York.....................
622
Examination, etc., of stationary engineers, licensing—Massachusetts. 916-918
Examination, etc., of stationary firemen, licensing—Massachusetts___ 916-918
Execution, etc., exemption from (see Exemption from execution, etc.).
Exemption from execution, etc.—
Alabama................................
912
Oregon..............................................................................................
918
U tah..................................................................................................
923
Exemption from taxation—Louisiana...................................................... 752, 753
Exemption laws, assignment, etc., of claims to avoid effect of, as re
gards wages, unlawful—Georgia...........................................................
913
Exemption of laborers, etc., from license tax—Louisiana.....................
753
Exemption of trade unions, etc., from effect o f insurance law—Mas
sachusetts ................................................................................................
918
Factories, accidents in (see Accidents in factories).
Factories and workshops—
Kansas..............................................................................................
497
New Jersey....................................................................................... 162,163
New Y o r k ......................................................................................... 617-621
Ohio..................................................................................... 164,165,166,167
Factories, blowers for emery wheels, etc., in (see Blowers for emery
wheels, etc., in factories).
Factories, etc., inspection o f (see Inspection of factories, etc.).
Fees, attorney’s, in suits to enforce mechanics’ liens—Utah..................
923
Felony for employees to make false written statements or false entries
concerning wages of employees in books of employers with intent
to defraud—New M exico........................................................................
755
Female employees, seats for (see Seats for female employees).
Firemen, stationary, licensing, examination, etc., of—Massachusetts.. 916-918
Fraternal beneficiary societies, labor organizations excepted from the
operation of laws regulating the organization,etc., of—Kansas........
494
Fraudulently obtaining money upon promise of employment—New
Jersey.......................................................................................................
163
Free public employment bureaus—Illinois.............................................. 491-493
Garnishment—
Alabama............................................................................................
912
Oregon..............................................................................................
918
INDEX.
933
Laws relating to labor—Continued.
Page.
Georgia, labor laws o f................................................................................
913
Goods kept in company stores, taxation of—Alabama..........................
912
Government Printing Office, the, rate of pay of printers and book
binders in—United States.....................................................................
763
Horseshoers, licensing, examination, etc., of—New York.......................
622
Hospitals, miners’, establishment of—West Virginia..............................
924
Hours of labor—
California.........................................................................................
750
Massachusetts..................................................................................
915
New Y o rk ......................................................................................... 620,622
Ohio...................................................................................................
166
West V irginia..................................................................................
924
Illinois, labor laws o f ................................................................................ 491-493
Industrial institute, State—Louisiana....................................................
754
Industrial school, reformatory and—Alabama........................................
913
Industrial training—
Alabama.................................................................
913
Louisiana..........................................................................................
754
Massachusetts..................................................................................
914
New M ex ico.....................................................................................
755
Industries, mine, State secretary of—Kansas..........................................
495
Inmates of State institutions, utilization o f the labor of, on public
493
works—Io w a .......................................
Inspection, etc., of bakeshops, regulation—Ohio.....................................
168
Inspection, etc.* of mines—
Alabama............................................................................................
912
Kansas..............................................................................................
495
Ohio...................................................................................................
169
Inspection of factories, etc.—
Kansas..............................................................................................
497
New Y o r k ........................................................................................ 617-621
Ohio..................................................................................... 164,165,166,167
Inspection o f steam boilers, etc.—New York..........................................
621
Inspector, State mine—Kansas..................................................................
495
Insurance law, exemption of trade unions, etc., from effect of—Massa
chusetts ...................................................................................................
918
Intimidation of employees—New Jersey.................................................
162
Involuntary bankrupts, wage earners, etc., not to be adjudged, under
the national bankruptcy law—United States......................................
499
Iowa, labor laws o f.....................................................................................
493
Kansas, labor laws o f ................................................................................ 493-498
Labor, bureau of industry and—Kansas................. ‘.............................. 496-498
Labor, convict (see Convict labor).
Labor, convict, power of municipal corporations as to—Louisiana___
754
Labor day—
Vermont............................................................................................
499
West V irginia.......................................
924
Labor, etc., local or special laws regulating, not to be passed—Loui
siana ........................................................................................................
752
Labor, hours o f (see Hours o f labor).
Labor, manual, laws regulating price of, not to be passed—Louisiana.
752
Labor of inmates of State institutions, utilization of the, on public
works—I o w a ..........................................................................................
493
Labor organizations—
Kansas....................................................................................... 494,496,497
Louisiana..........................................................................................
753
Massachusetts.................................................................................. 915,918
New Jersey....................................................................................... 159-162
Labor organizations excepted from operation of laws regulating or
ganizations, etc., of fraternal beneficiary societies—Kansas............
494
Labor, State society of industry and—Kansas....................................... 496-498
Labor statistics—Census—United States.................................................
763
Labor, Sunday (see Sunday labor).
Laborers, employment of, on public works {see Employment of labor
ers on public works).
Laborers, etc., exemption of, from license tax—Louisiana...................
753
Laborers, protection of wages due {see Protection of wages due laborers).
Laws, local or special, regulating labor, etc., not to be passed—Loui
siana ..........................................................................................
752
934
INDEX.
Laws relating to labor—Continued.
Page.
Laws regulating organization, etc., of fraternal beneficiary societies,
labor organizations excepted from operation of—Kansas..................
494
Laws regulating price o f manual labor not to be passed—Louisiana ..
752
License tax, exemption of laborers, etc., from—Louisiana.................
753
Licensing, etc., of employment agencies—Illinois................................. 491-493
Licensing, examination, etc., of barbers—Oregon................................. 919-921
Licensing, examination, etc., of horseshoers—New York.....................
622
Licensing, examination, etc., of stationary engineers—Massachusetts. 916-918
Licensing, examination, etc., of stationary firemen—Massachusetts .. 916-918
Local or special laws regulating labor, etc., not to be passed—Louisiana.
752
Louisiana, labor laws o f............................................................................. 752-755
Manual labor, laws regulating price of, not to be passed—Louisiana..
752
Manual training—
Alabama............................................................................................
913
L ouisiana.........................................................................................
754
Massachusetts..................................................................................
914
New M exico.....................................................................................
755
Massachusetts, labor laws o f .......................................... ......................... 914-918
Mechanics’ liens, attorney’s fees in suits to enforce—Utah...................
923
Mine industries, State secretary of—Kansas.............................
495
Mine inspector, State—Kansas.................................................................
495
Mine regulations—
Alabama............................................................................................
912
Kansas.............................................................................................*
495
Ohio.................................................. i............................................... 165,169
Miners’ hospitals, establishment of—West V irginia..............................
924
Miners, State association of—Kansas......................................................
495
Mines, coal (see Coal mines).
Mines, inspection, etc., o f (see Inspection, etc., of mines).
Mines, weighing of coal at—Ohio............................................................. 165,169
Municipal corporations, power of, as to convict labor—Louisiana___
754
National bankruptcy law, wage earners, etc., not to be adjudged invol
untary bankrupts under the—United States......................................
499
New Jersey, labor laws o f......................................................................... 159-164
New Mexico, labor laws o f .......................................................................
755
New York, labor laws o f ........................................................................... 617-623
Normal university—New Mexico...............................................................
755
Ohio, labor laws o f..................................................................................... 164-171
Oregon, labor laws o f................................................................................ 918-921
Organization, etc., of fraternal beneficiary societies, labor organiza
tions excepted from the operation of laws regulating—Kansas.......
494
Organizations, labor (see Labor organizations).
Organizations,, labor, excepted from the operation o f laws regulating
organization, etc., of fraternal beneficiary societies—Kansas...........
494
Overhead wires, construction of—Ohio....................................................
167
Pay of printers and bookbinders in the Government Printing Office,
rate of—United States...........................................................................
763
Payment of wages—
California.........................................................................................
750
District of Columbia........................................................................
752
Massachusetts..................................................................................
914
South Carolina................................
922
Police duty, employment, etc., o f armed men for—Oregon...................
919
Policemen, conductors and brakemen as—Railroads—New York.........
621
Power of municipal corporations as to convict labor—Louisiana.......
754
Preferred, wages—Alabama......................................................................
913
Price of manual labor, laws regulating, not to be passed—Louisiana..
752
Printers and bookbinders, rate of pay of, in the Government Printing
Office—United States..................................................................
763
Promise o f employment, fraudulently obtaining money upon—New
Jersey.......................................................................................................
163
Protection of employees as voters—New Jersey.....................................
162
Protection of employees on buildings—New York.................................
618
Protection of railroad employees—
Kansas..............................................................................................
497
Ohio......................................
167,170
Protection of wages due laborers—
California.........................................................................................
750
District of Columbia........................................................................
752
INDEX.
935
Laws relating to labor—Continued.
Page.
Protection of wages due laborers—Concluded.
Louisiana....................................................................
752
South Carolina.................................................................................
922
Public employment bureaus, free—Illinois............................................. 491-493
Public works^ employment of laborers on (see Employment o f laborers
on public works).
Public works, utilization of the labor of inmates of State institutions
on—Iow a.................................................................................................
493
Railroad employees, protection of (see Protection of railroad em
ployees).
Railroads—Conductors and brakemen as policemen—New Y ork .........
621
Railroads—Court of visitation—Kansas..................................................
494
Railroads, safety appliances on—Ohio....................................................
170
Rate of pay of printers and bookbinders in the Government Printing
Office—United States............................................................................
763
Reformatory and industrial school—Alabama........................................
913
Regulation, inspection, etc., of bakeshops—O h io .............................
168
Regulations, mine (see Mine regulations).
Safety appliances on railroads—Ohio......................................................
170
School, industrial, reformatory and—Alabama......................................
913
Schools, textile, establishment of, in cities—Massachusetts................
914
Seamen—United States............ . .............................................................. 756-762
Seats for female employees—
New Jersey.......................................................................................
163
Ohio................................
165
South Carolina..................................
922
Societies, fraternal beneficiary, labor organizations excepted from the
494
operation of laws regulating the organization of—Kansas...............
Society of industry and labor, State—Kansas........................................ 496-498
South Carolina, labor laws o f ................................................................. 921, 922
Special laws, local or, regulating labor, etc., not to be passed—Louis
iana ....................................
752
State association of miners—Kansas........................................................
495
State industrial institute—Louisiana......................................................
754
State institutions, utilization of the labor of inmates of, on public
works—Io w a ..........................................................................................
493
State mine inspector—Kansas..............................................
495
State secretary of mine industries—Kansas...........................................
495
State society of industry and labor—Kansas.......................................... 496-498
Stationary engineers, licensing, examination, etc.,of—Massachusetts. 916-918
Stationary firemen, licensing, examination, etc., of—Massachusetts .. 916-918
Statistics, bureau of—New Jersey...........................................................
162
Statistics, collection of (see Collection o f statistics).
Statistics, labor—Census—United States...............................................
763
Steam boilers, etc., inspection of—New York..........................................
621
Strikes—Kansas ....................................................................................... 494, 497
Sunday labor—
A laska..............................................................................................
751
O h io ..................................................................................................
171
South Carolina..................................................................................
922
Sweating system—New York....................................................................
617
Taxation, exemption from—Louisiana....................................................
752
Taxation of goods kept in company stores—Alabama..........................
912
Tenement-made articles—New York........................................................
617
Tennessee, labor laws o f ...........................................................................
499
Textile schools in cities, establishment of—Massachusetts...................
914
Trade-marks of trade unions, etc.—
Louisiana............................................................................
753
Massachusetts..................................................................................
915
New Jersey.......................................
159-162
Trade unions—
Kansas.............................................................................................. 494,497
Louisiana.........................................................................................
753
Massachusetts.................................................................................. 915, 918
New Jersey....................................................................................... 159-162
Trade unions, etc., exemption of, from effect of insurance law—Massa
chusetts ...................................................................................................
918
Trade unions, etc., trade-marks of (see Trade-marks of trade unions, etc.).
Truck system—Alabama.................................................................
912
936
INDEX.
Laws relating to labor—Concluded.
Pago.
United States, labor laws o f .............................................................. 499,756-763
University, normal—New M exico.............................................................
755
Utah, labor laws o f......................................................................................
923
Utilization of the labor of inmates o f State institutions on public
works—I o w a ...........................................................................................
493
Vermont, labor laws o f..............................................................................
499
Visitation, court o f—Railroads—Kansas...................................................
494
Voters, protection of employees as—New Jersey...................................
162
Wage earners, etc., not to be adjudged involuntary bankrupts under
the national bankruptcy law—United States......................................
499
Wages—
Alabama............................................................................................. 912,913
California.........................................................................................
750
District of Columbia........................................................................
752
Georgia ....................................
913
Louisiana..*......................................................................................
752
Massachusetts.........................................................................
914
New Jersey........................................................................................
162
New M exico......................................................................................
755
Ohio...................................................................................................
166
Oregon..............................................................................................
918
South Carolina..................................................................................
922
United States........................................................ 756, 757, 759,760,762,763
Wages, assignment, etc., o f claims to avoid effect of exemption laws as
regards, unlawful—Georgia...................................................................
913
Wages due deceased employee to be paid to widow—Georgia..............
913
Wages due laborers, protection of (see Protection o f wages due
laborers).
Wages of employees, felony for employees to make false written state
ments or false entries concerning, in books of employers with intent
to defraud—New M exico........................................................................
755
Wages, payment of (see Payment of wages).
Wages preferred—Alabama. *....................................................................
913
Weighing of coal at mines—Ohio............................................................. 165,169
West Virginia, labor laws o f ....................................................................
924
Wires, overhead, construction of—Ohio..................................................
167
Women, employment of (see Employment o f women).
Workshops, factories and (see Factories and workshops).
Loan and building associations of—
Connecticut, second annual report on, 1898 ............................................ 315, 316
New York, eighth annual report on, 1897................................................. 317, 318
Wisconsin, first annual report on, 1898 ....................................................
319
Manufactures in Massachusetts, twelfth report on the annual statistics of,
1897 ..................................................................................................................... 708-712
Mediation and arbitration—
New York, eleventh annual report o f the board of, 1897.......................
568
New York, twelfth annual report of the board of, 1898........................
713
Negro in the black belt, the: Some social sketches.......................................... 401-417
Paper and pulp in the United States, production of, from January 1 to June
30.1898 ................................................................................................................ 546-550
Pawnbroking in Europe and the United States............................................... 173-310
Production of paper and pulp in the United States from January 1 to June
30.1898 ............................................................................................................... 546-550
Railway labor in Europe, condition o f...............................................................
1-117
Statistics o f cities.................................................................................................. 625-698
Statistics of cities—editorial n ote..................*.................................................. 765-767
Strikes and lockouts during 1897 in—
Austria........................................................................................................... 714-717
Great Britain and Ireland......................................................................... 867-871
I t a ly .........................................
726-728
Sunday labor in Belgium........................................ .............................. 127-130, 717-719
Superannuation funds for working people in France....................................... 719-722
Trade and agricultural associations in France, 1897 ........................................ 432,433
Trade unions, American, benefit features o f ...................................................... 361-400
Trade unions in Great Britain and Ireland, 1897............................................... 722-725
Wages and hours of labor in France........................................................ - ........ 320-327
Wages in Lyons, France, 1870 to 1896................................................................. 418-420
Women’s clubs and associations, attitude of, toward social economics........... 501-545
Workingmen’s cooperative productive associations in France, 1897.............. 433-436
@FedFRASER