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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
ROYAL MEEKER, Commissioner
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES {
B U REAU OF LABOR STATISTICS f
LABOR
LAWS
OF
THE
UNITED
................
STATES
No. 244
SERIES
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917
/v \
I LjlJ l
U fiy
AU G U ST, 1918
W ASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1918
CONTENTS.
Review of labor legislation of 1917:
Page.
Introduction................................................................................................
5, 6
Contract of employment.............................................................. : .............
6-9
Examination and licensing of workmen...................................................... 9-11
Wages..........................................................................................................12-16
Public works........................................................................................ 12,13
Private employment............................................................................ 13-16
Hours of labor............................................................................................. 16-18
Public employment.............................................................................. 16,17
Private employment............................................................................ 17,18
Holidays and rest days................................................................................ 18,19
Hygiene and safety..................................................................................... 20-29
Factories...............................................................................................20-25
Mine regulations...................................................................................25-27
Railroads..............................................................................................27, 28
Street railways......................................................................................28, 29
Buildings, etc.....................................................................................
29
Employment of children and women.......................................................... 30-36
Emergency suspension of labor laws........................................................... 37, 38
Employment offices—unemployment......................................................... 38-41
Bureaus of labor..........................................................................................41-44
Mothers’ pensions........................................................................................44-46
Retirement funds........................................................................................ 46, 47
Employers’ liability....................................................... ............................
47
Reports of accidents....................................................................................47, 48
Accident insurance.....................................................................................
48
Labor organizations.....................................................................................
48
Labor disputes............................................................................................ 48 49
Cooperative organizations............................................................................49, 50
Civil rights of employees.............................................................................50, 51
Vocational education.................... ............................................................. 51-53
Convict labor............................................................................................... 53-57
Commissions on housing, welfare, etc......................................................... 57, 58
Laws of various States relating to labor enacted since January 1, 1917:
Alaska......................................................................................................... 59,60
Arizona........................................................................................................61-64
Arkansas......................................................................................................65-72
California.................................................................................................... 73-95
Orders of the industrial accident commission....................................... 92-95
Colorado.................................................................................................... 97-105
Connecticut............................................................................................. 107-111
Delaware.................................................................................................. 113-125
District of Columbia....................................................................................
127
Florida........................................................................................................
129
Georgia.................................................................................................... 131-133
Hawaii..................................................................................................... 135,136
3
4
CONTENTS.
Laws of various States relating to labor enacted since Jan. 1,1917—Concluded, page.
Idaho....................................................................................................... 137,138
Illinois..................................................................................................... 139-15*
Indiana........................................................................................................
159
Iowa............................................................................................................
161
Kansas..................................................................................................... 163-174
Orders of the industrial welfare commission..................................... 173,174
Louisiana.. ~..............................................................................................
175
Maine....................................................................................................... 177-182
Maryland./.............................................................................................. 183-185
Massachusetts........................................................................................... 187-193
Decrees of minimum wage commission....................... , .................... 191-193
Michigan.................................................................................................. 195-199
Minnesota................................................................................................ 201-206
Missouri.................................................................................................... 207-210
Montana................................................................................................... 211-216
Nebraska.................................................................................................. 217-221
Nevada.................................................................................................... 223, 224
New Hampshire....................................................................................... 225-231
New Jersey.............................................................................................. 233-243
Regulations of department of labor.................................................. 240-243
New Mexico............................................................................................. 245-246
New York................................................................................................ 247-254
Rules of industrial commission.............................................................
254
North Carolina............................................................................................
255
North Dakota.......................................................................................... 257-259
Ohio......................................................................................................... 261-265
Oklahoma................................................................................................ 267-270
Oregon..................................................................................................... 271-276
Pennsylvania........................................................................................... 277-299
Safety standards of industrial board....................................................... 286-299
Philippine Islands................................................................................... 301 303
Porto Rico............................................................................................... 305-313
Rhode Island..............................................................................................
315
South Carolina.............................................................................................
317
South Dakota..............................................................................................
319
Tennessee............ ................................................................................... 321-325
Texas....................................................................................................... 327-333
Utah........................................ ............................................................... 335-346
Vermont................................................................................................... 347-350
Washington.............................................................................................. 351-354
Orders of industrial welfare commission.................................................. 352-354
West Virginia.............................. .................. ......................................... 355-360
Wisconsin................................................................................................. 361-368
Orders of industrial commission.............................................................. 367, 368
Wyoming................................................................................................. 369-373
United States........................................................................................... 375-383
BULLETIN OF THE
U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
WASHINGTON.
NO. 244.
AUGUST, 1918.
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917. •
B Y LINDLEY D. CLARK.
INTRODUCTION
Legislative sessions were held in 1917 in 51 jurisdictions of the
United States, besides the sessions of the Federal Congress. Laws
classifiable as labor laws were enacted by all of these legislatures, with
the exception of the Legislatures of Kentucky and Mississippi in
extra session. Orders and regulations issued by industrial commis
sions of some of the States, representing the results of their investi
gations and conclusions, are reproduced, as far as available. The
present bulletin is a supplement to Bulletin No. 148, which under
takes to present the labor laws in force at the close of the year 1913,
with the exception of those which relate to workmen’s compensation.
This latter class of laws, on account of its bulk and special interest, is
reproduced in Bulletin No. 203 and in a supplemental bulletin, No.
241. A cumulative index presented in the present bulletin covers the
material contained in Bulletin No. 148 and succeeding supplements
thereto (Nos. 166, 186, and 213).
A result of the economic conditions caused by the world-wide war is
found in a number of laws creating councils of defense, commissions
of public safety, etc., some of them being given power to undertake
industrial adjustments occasioned by the emergency of war. Another
result of the war was a proposal made and carried out in a few States
to waive or provide for the waiver of labor laws under certain circum
stances, the assumption being that such waiver would facilitate pro
duction. Fortunately but little legislation of this kind appears.
Another type of emergency legislation was enacted in two States,
looking toward compelling all able-bodied men to be engaged regu
larly in some productive and useful occupation—a type of law that is
entirely without precedent in this country in recent times.
The number of laws and changes in existing laws relating to the
employment of women and children continues almost without diminu
6
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
tion; while the idea of provision of support for needy mothers with
children under employment age was extended to a considerable num
ber of States.
Judging by the number of enactments on the subject, the question
of the employment of convicts continues to occupy a prominent place
in the legislative mind; while employment and unemployment, the
needs of social insurance for other disabilities than those due to in
dustrial accident, and the subject of the best preparation of young
persons for industrial usefulness are also prominent. While this last
subject, i. e., that of vocational education, is not strictly within the
definition of labor legislation usually followed, in that it does not
directly affect the status of employers or employees, it is of interest
to note the rapidity and extent of the acceptance of the Federal pro
posal to cooperate with the States in the matter. Only a bare enu
meration will be made under this head, however, and a summary pres
entation will be made, as heretofore, of certain groups, of laws the
text of which is not reproduced.
CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT.
On account of its rank as a constitutional provision, the first item
to be noted under this head is negative rather than positive, being an
amendment to the constitution of North Carolina, adopted November
7, 1916, forbidding special acts of the legislature relating to labor,
trade, mining, or manufacturing (Art. II, sec. 29).
The Civil Code of Porto Rico is amended by an act (Vol. II,
No. 12) relating to the discharge of certain employees before the
expiration of their terms of employment. The former provision of
a presumption in favor of the employer in the matter of proof is
stricken out.
Undertaking to restrict directly the power of the employer to ter
minate a contract of hiring at will, are laws of Michigan (No. 92)
and Ohio (p. 603), making it unlawful for railroad companies to dis
charge employees against whom charges have been filed by spotters
or detectives without hearings held in which the person charged is
permitted to face his accuser. Somewhat analogous is a law of Cali
fornia (ch. 747), requiring publie-service corporations to furnish
workmen leaving their employment clearance cards or service letters
ii requested.
A Colorado statute (ch. 54) makes it an offense for an employer to
obtain, knowingly and designedly, labor or services by false pretenses
providing severe penalties. In Tennessee (ch. 48), an employer en
ticing employees by misrepresenting the wages to be paid in the new
employment is guilty of fraud, and if offering new employment, is
required to give bond to cover the difference in wages promised, and
CONTRACT OF EM PLOYMENT.
7
to protect the original employer from loss caused by fraudulent
promises or contracts.
Fraud on the part of the workman is penalized by a statute of New
Hampshire (ch. 3), which provides fine or imprisonment for a work
man who receives advances of goods, money, or transportation on an
agreement to labor at logging, and without cause fails to do the work
or to repay advances. Laws of similar tenor formerly existing in the
States of Maine and South Carolina were repealed, and no new
enactments made on the subject (Me., ch. 231; S. C., Act No. 197).
Laws of this class are clear attempts to enforce specific performance
of the labor contract, and are contrary to the spirit of the law as
generally construed. Enforcement of such contracts, however, is per
missible, at least in a negative sense, by forbidding an employee who
has been inducted into trade or business secrets of his employer to
engage in competitive business, for himself or with another employer,
either indefinitely or for a limited time. Thus an act of the Michi
gan Legislature (No. 171) exempts from the prohibitions of the anti
trust law of the State contracts in which an employer has furnished
his employees a route list under an agreement not to work for an
other employer in the same line, in the same territory, for a period
of 90 days after the conclusion of his employment.
A result of recent development in the economic conditions of the
localities represented is found in laws of Idaho (ch. 145) and Minne
sota (ch. 215). These laws forbid interference with employment
through the practice of what is designated as criminal syndicalism—the doctrine which advocates crime, sabotage, violence or unlawful
methods of terrorism as a means of accomplishing industrial or
j political reform.
Teaching or encouraging such doctrines or prac
tices, or assembling for the purpose, as well as permitting such
>assemblages, subjects offenders to severe penalties. Departing less
widely from the older methods of dealing with a somewhat, similar
problem is an act of the Legislature of Kansas (ch. 167) which
classes as vagrants persons loitering without visible means of sup
port and refusing to work when work at fair wages is offered, or
! threatening violence to fellow-workmen or to employers of labor.
In this connection may be mentioned the compulsory service laws
of Maryland (extra session, ch. 33) and West Virginia (second extra
session, ch. 12), though these laws are emergency laws, applicable
|only to conditions existing by reason of the state of war. The Mary
land statute is to be effective when the governor decides that its
operation is desirable for the protection and welfare of the State on
1account of emergency conditions. It applies to male persons between
the ages of 18 and 50 inclusive, who, if not regularly and usefully
employed, must register with the clerk of the court of the county of
8
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
residence for assignment by the governor to occupations essential to
the general welfare, to be carried on either as public or private em
ployments. Standard wages and hours are to be observed, and
payments are guaranteed by the State. The West Virginia law
covers male residents, “ between the ages of 16 and 60 years,” requir
ing them to be habitually and regularly employed at a useful occu
pation, the law to be enforced as a vagrancy law. These laws apply
to residents, without regard to citizenship.
A law of New Hampshire (ch. 146) forbids, during time of war,
attempts to influence or coerce any person not to work in any shop,
factory, etc., and makes it unlawful to encourage strikes or lockouts
therein, while the plant is engaged in producing military or naval
supplies.
An act of 1913 of the New Hampshire Legislature requires em
ployers advertising for labor to give notice of existing labor dis
putes, if any. This act was amended (ch. 212) by adding a clause
forbidding the knowing publication of any advertisement not com
plying with the provisions of the act. A law requiring such notice
was enacted for the first time in Porto Rico (No. 17).
Two additional States have taken legislative noti.ce of the too
prevalent custom of employees making purchases for their em
ployers receiving bonuses from dealers or repairmen, the acts in
question being directed specifically against chauffeurs and supply and
repair men in the motor vehicle business (Connecticut, ch. 333, sec.
29; Minnesota, ch. 75). These acts for the protection of the em
ployer find their counterpart in laws of California (ch. 172) and
Ohio (p. 614) which undertake to protect workmen from the abuses
sometimes practiced in the hiring of men by foremen, who accept
gifts or require commissions from persons seeking employment or
advancement in the establishments in which such foremen have power
to hire and discharge. The acceptance of such bonuses or gifts is
forbidden under severe penalties by the laws named.
Another California statute (ch. 108) provides that where an em
ployer requires employees to furnish bonds or photographs, the cost
of the same shall be borne by the employer.
The subject of medical and hospital fees was taken up by the Leg
islature of Oregon (ch. 393), the act permitting reasonable deduc
tions from the wages of employees, but if a complaint is made, the
industrial accident commission fixes the amounts; the fund thus
formed is to be regarded as a trust fund, and in no wise for the
financial benefit of the employer, and an annual statement must be
made to the industrial accident commission, which also supervises its
use. The supervision of such funds in California, regulated by an
act of 1915, is declared (ch. 73) to be in the hands of the railroad
CONTRACT OF EM PLOYMENT.
9
commission only in the case of railroad funds, such funds of other
public utilities and employers generally being supervised by the in
dustrial accident commission of the State.
The remaining items under this head relate to public employment,
an act of Arizona (ch. 90, sec. 50) directing that where money is
spent for State improvements under the appropriation made by the
act, the contractor must file a detailed statement showing efforts to
procure “ actual, bona fide resident citizens,” before he shall be
allowed to hire other workmen; while a law of Massachusetts (ch.
260) adds teamsters to the enumeration of mechanics and laborers
in the employment of whom preference shall be given to citizens.
The highway law of Montana (ch. 172) requires employers to fur
nish to the county treasurer a complete list of all persons in their
employment who are liable for a special road tax, and makes the
employer liable for the payment of the tax, permitting him to reim
burse himself from the employee’s wages.
The United States Congress continues its prohibition of the use
of various appropriations for payment for work where stop watches
or other efficiency tests are applied, or bonuses are paid to workmen
(chs. 4, 180).
EXAMINATION AND LICENSING OF WORKMEN.
The laws under this head are in large measure amendatory of
existing legislation on the subject, and, as might be expected, relate
most frequently to chauffeurs. One State, however (Michigan, Act
No. 178), amends its law as to the examining and licensing of barbers,
requiring one member of the examining board to be a journeyman,
and forbidding persons working under temporary permits or appren
tices’ certificates to open or operate shops as proprietors or managers.
The fee for a State certificate for holders of certificates from other
States is reduced from $5 to $3, while a fee of $1 is fixed for an
apprentice’s certificate.
The law of California as to chauffeurs is amended (ch. 22) by lim
iting the term of all licenses to one year, though operators not em
ployed as chauffeurs pay no renewal fee. Laws of Connecticut (ch.
232) authorize the governor to appoint a commissioner of motor vehi
cles to enforce statutes on the subject; (ch. 131) provide for sus
pensions and revocations of chauffeurs’ licenses on second and subse
quent convictions for offenses; and (ch. 333) fix the minimum age of
chauffeurs at 18 years, require demonstration of ability, and fix an
annual license fee of $2—in the main resembling the earlier law on
the subject, which is repealed.
In Delaware (ch. 16) the fee for examination is reduced from $5
to $3. Laws of Florida (chs. 7275, 7276) amend previous acts, and
10
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
require a minimum age of 18 years, the passing of an examination
prescribed by the State comptroller, and fix the license fee at $2,
requiring annual renewals. In Maryland the law originally fixed 16
years as the minimum age for chauffeurs; an amendment of 1912
advanced the limit to 18 years. An act of the extra session of
1917 (ch. 32) allows licenses to be issued in the discretion of the
commissioner of motor licenses to persons between the ages of 16
and 18 as a war emergency measure. An amendment to the Min
nesota law provides (ch. 320) that a chauffeur operating a machine
when intoxicated forfeits his license, which can not be renewed for
a term of three months, and further is guilty of a misdemeanor;
while in Oregon (ch. 29) the employment of a chauffeur addicted
to drunkenness is penalized if the employer is engaged in the trans
portation of passengers; and any chauffeur must be discharged if a
passenger gives written notice, on oath, of the fact of the chauffeur’s
intoxication while on duty.
The Missouri statute of 1911 is repealed, and a new law enacted on
the subject (p. 403), its provisions being practically the same as
those of the former statute, except that a nonresident chauffeur may
work for 60 days in Missouri on presenting a license from the State
of his residence. The Legislature of Montana (ch. 75) also enacted
a new motor vehicle law, repealing the act of 1913, but making
unimportant changes in the points relating to examination, etc.,
of chauffeurs. A license revoked for cause may be held not more
than six months before renewing; though the registrar may refuse
to renew a license if he deems the applicant not qualified to receive
it, but with right of the applicant to appeal to the courts. In New
Hampshire (ch. 151) the commissioner of motor vehicles may appoint
local examiners of applicants for licenses, who shall also have power
to enforce the laws as to motor vehicles. An act of the Texas Legis
lature (ch. 207) fixes 18 years as the minimum age for applicants for
a chauffeur’s license, requires the certificate of two reputable citi
zens as to trustworthiness, sobriety, and competence, and establishes
an annual license fee of $3. The same amount is fixed as the fee
for the first examination in Vermont (No. 132), that for annual
renewals remaining at $2.
In one State (North Dakota, ch. 118) a State board is established
for the examination of electricians. Examinations are to be given
according to the grades of license desired, the fee for a master’s
license being $5, for a journeyman’s $3, and for a special electrician’s
$2. Licenses are valid for a term of two years, and are renewable
without examination on payment of a proper fee—presumably the
same amounts as for the original licenses.
EXAMINATION AND LICENSING OF W O RKM EN.
11
A specific field of electrical operation is that of the moving-picture
business, and three States last year enacted laws relative to the
licensing of operators. In Minnesota (ch. 466) and South Dakota
(ch. 280) a minimum age of 18 years is fixed for such operators, and
authority is given to the State fire marshal in the former State, and
the commissioner of insurance in the latter, to examine operators if
they think it necessary, and if found incompetent the person ex
amined is not to act until the incompetency is satisfactorily removed.
A New Jersey statute (ch. 134) provides that no license shall be
required where designated types of apparatus or films are used.
Laws of California (ch. 65) and Colorado (ch. 107) authorize the
State boards of health to appoint local boards for the examination of
persons desiring to engage in the business of plumbing. The original
fee in California is fixed at $2.50, the annual renewal fee being $2.
Plumbers engaging in business in Colorado at the time the law takes
effect are to be licensed without examination. The fee for a master’s
examination is fixed at $10, the annual renewal fee being $5, while
for journeymen the examination fee is $2, and the annual renewal
fee $1. The law of Florida is amended (ch. 7312) so as to make it
applicable to cities of 7,500 instead of 10,000 population as a mini
mum, as formerly. The term of the license is limited to one year, but
it may be renewed on payment of $1 by masters and journeymen
alike. A new law was enacted on this subject by the Legislature of
Illinois (p. 520), quite similar in its general provisions to the act of
1897, which it repeals. It is applicable, however, to cities of 5,000
population instead of 10,000 as a minimum, as formerly.
Steam engineers and firemen are the subject of a law of Maine (ch.
262), which provides that municipal officers shall appoint annually
an examiner; all engineers and firemen except for heating plants in
buildings are to be licensed. Three grades of licenses are provided
for besides a special license. The examination fee is $2, with an
annual renewal fee of $1. In New Jersey (ch. 251) the examining
boards are to be appointed from persons found eligible by the civil
service commission. The administration of the law is brought more
fully under the commissioner of labor, who makes rules, etc.
A statute of North Dakota (ch. 68), hardly coming under this head,
but perhaps less appropriate elsewhere, requires employees in butcher
shops and similar establishments to have a doctor’s certificate of free
dom from infectious, contagious, or loathsome diseases.
Not required by law, but approximating the idea of licensing, is
the order of the Industrial Commission of Wisconsin fixing stand
ards of skill and technical knowledge for bricklayers as conditions
precedent to the giving of a certificate of ability to apprentices in
this trade.
12
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
WAGES.
PUBLIC WORKS.
The power of the State to regulate the conditions of employment
of its own employees and of those of contractors with it or its sub
divisions finds expression in a few instances in laws determining the
rates of wages payable to such employees. Thus in California
(ch. 52) labor employed on the public highways is to be given a
minimum wage of $3 per day. The Hawaiian Legislature, by sec
tion 164 of its revised laws, fixed a minimum of $1.25 for persons
employed on public works of the Territory. This was increased to
$1.50 in 1915, and to $2 in 1917, excepting in the county of Kalawao
(No. 192). The Montana highway law (ch. 172) fixes $4 as the
minimum amount of wages to be paid,* while in Nevada (ch. 205)
the legislature satisfied itself by declaring that current rates of wages
must be paid for highway labor.
The subject of public printing was disposed of by the Iowa Legis
lature (ch. 183) by directing that contractors must pay such wages
as are fixed by the Typographical Union, while in Massachusetts
(Resolves, ch. 128) it was directed that equal pay be given to women
for equal work done, the rate to be approved by the officers in charge
of printing. A law of the Philippine Islands (No. 2711, secs. 15561558), relating to the bureau of printing, directs that for overtime
work 20 per cent be added to the regular rates, while for holiday
labor double time shall be paid; the act also fixes the rate of wages
und the annual increase therein to be paid apprentices. In Porto Rico
also (No. 43) it was directed that employees of the territorial bureau
of supplies who are paid by the hour shall receive 50 per cent in
crease upon their wages for holiday and overtime work.
A novel provision of the Philippine law already cited (sec. 2118)
permits persons employed on provincial improvements to be paid in
rice or other necessaries in lieu of currency if authorized by the pro
vincial board, such supplies to be furnished at cost.
The time of payment of public employees is fixed by a California
statute (ch. 574), which directs that all persons employed on a
daily basis by counties of the first and second class shall be paid
twice monthly.
To safeguard the rights of employees of contractors on public
works, in a manner analogous to the provisions of mechanics’ lien
laws, and at the same time to protect the public, contractors on public
works are required by law in a majority of the States of the Union
to give bond conditioned on the payment of the sums due for labor
and materials. The Arizona statute on the subject was amended
(ch. 34) with regard to contracts for street improvements,- the c o l -
WAGES— PUBLIC WORKS.
13
tractor being required to give bond in an amount equal to one-half
the contract price to cover the wages, etc., payable by him and by
subcontractors. The California statute was also amended (ch. 714),
the claimants being authorized to sue on the bond within six months
after the completion of the work if the claim was filed in proper time.
The statute of Delaware (ch. 224) applies to contracts on streets,
roads, aiid other public improvements amounting to more than $500,
the bond to be for 75 per cent of the value of the contract. The
Wisconsin statute (ch. 388) is made to apply to contracts involving
$100 or more, and is extended to public work of all kinds, whether
for the State or its subdivisions, instead of to State buildings only as
formerly. In Utah (ch. 36) the existing law is amended, and any
State institution, county, city, etc., which fails to exact the bond
prescribed by the law is declared to be directly liable to creditors.
Laws of this class were also enacted in Connecticut (ch. 118); Michi
gan (No. 125), relating to employees on highways only; Missouri
(p. 442), of similar scope with the Michigan law; Ohio (p. 642);
Pennsylvania (No. 90); and the Philippine Islands (No. 2711, secs.
1921, 1923).
The highway law of Montana (ch. 172) provides for the retention
of 20 per cent of the pay due the contractor at any stage of the work
as security for payments to laborers and material men.
PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT.
Legislation as to rates of wages in private employment relates thus
far in this country only to the employment of women and children,
and minimum wage laws are noted under that heading.
The medium of payment is considered in laws of Illinois (p. 363),
Kansas (ch. 229), and Minnesota (ch. 348). These laws are quite
similar in provisions, requiring all tokens or instruments given in
payment for labor to be redeemable on demand at face value, though
the Kansas statute permits a future date if plainly stated, and not
more than 15 days later than the date of delivery. A kindred law
is that of California (ch. 141), which forbids coercion of employees
in the matter of trading or buying supplies, though employers may
prescribe the weight, color, etc., of uniforms required to be worn by
their employees.
The time of the payment of wages was the subject of laws in a
number of States, a semimonthly pay day being established in each
instance. In New Mexico (ch. 16) the law relates to railways and
manufacturing corporations; in Tennessee (ch. 28), to all private
employments, the law further prescribing that payments shall be in
lawful money, or check, or draft without discount; while the Wis
consin statute on the subject is amended (ch. 279) so as to exempt
14
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
from its application corporations owning or operating sanitariums
or hospitals; an additional provision of this act requires these cor
porations to give notice of dismissal of their employees of the same
length of time as the notice of leaving required. The semimonthly
pay laws of Nebraska (ch. 218), North Dakota (ch. 187), and West
Virginia (ch. 50) apply only to railroads.
Procedure for the recovery of the wages due farm laborers is pre
scribed by an act of the Legislature of Porto Rico (Vol. II, No. 10).
Simple complaint is to be made before the court, the same to be filled
out by the judge or his secretary. The commissioner of agriculture
and labor may intervene in behalf of the workman, and prompt
judgment is to be rendered, with punitive damages where malice or
dilatory action is shown.
The payment of wages due deceased employees was considered in
laws of Arizona (ch. 22) and Florida (ch. 7866). In the former
State the surviving husband or wife may collect any sum of wages
due not in excess of $300 without letters of administration, while in
the latter State the widow or children over 18 years of age may
similarly collect wages due without regard to their amount.
The business of lending money on assignments of future earnings
is increasingly the subject of legislative control. In general, for
malities of records and receipts are explicitly provided for, interest
rates established, charges limited, and a license is required for the
conduct of the business, together with a bond to protect borrowers
against violations of the provisions of the laws. A law of Colorado
(ch. 93) relates to sums up to $500 in amount where interest is
charged in excess of 1 per cent per month. An additional charge
of $1 is permitted for papers, and the note must express the actual
amount loaned. A copy of the assignment of the employee’s wages
must be filed with the employer. The Illinois statute (p. 553) ap
plies to loans of $300 or less where interest in excess of 7 per cent
per annum is charged. The maximum interest charge permitted
is 3J per cent per month, and the assignment of wages must be
signed by the borrower, and is valid only for existing debts or a
debt simultaneously incurred. Not more than 50 per cent of current
wages may be collected under such an assignment. The Maine
statute (ch. 298) applies likewise to loans of $300 or less, but only if
the interest exceeds 12 per cent per annuiji. The maximum interest
chargeable is the same as in Illinois, and the lender is forbidden to
take a confession of judgment or power of attorney. Assignments
must be in writing and signed by the husband or wife if the assignor
is a married person, and are valid only for debts simultaneously
contracted.
The Utah statute (ch. 41) resembles that of Maine with reference
to the size of loans to which it applies and in the matter of joint sig
WAGES— PRIVATE EM PLOYMENT.
15
natures. The interest rate is fixed at 3 per cent per month, and no
other fees or charges may be made except in cases of foreclosure. The
Minnesota statute is amended (ch. 321) so as to limit the law in its ap
plication entirely to matters affecting future earnings. The law of
Tennessee (ch. 62) makes no reference to employers or wages other
than in the second section, in which reference is made to engaging in
the business of making loans on personal property or wages or sal
aries. The statute fixes rates of fees, forbids the splitting of loans,
and regulates renewals. The rate of interest is limited to 6 per cent
per annum.
Another aspect of the question of the assignment of wages is treated
in an act of the Nevada Legislature (ch. 94), which declares that an
assignment of wages made when there is an unsatisfied judgment for
debt on the court records is conclusive evidence of fraud, and is void.
The protection of the rights of employees of bankrupt employers
is the subject of a single amendment adopted by the Legislature of
Indiana (ch. 109), extending the law which makes wages a preferred
claim in assignments, etc., to specifically cover traveling salesmen and
agents and manufacturers’ agents.
The extent to which wages may be garnisheed is passed upon in an
act of the Legislature of New Mexico (ch. 18), this act repealing
existing laws on the subject. The old law permitted but 20 per cent of
a workman’s wages to be garnisheed where they did not exceed $50
per month. The present act permits but 20 per cent to be taken on
wages up to $75 per month. This provision is for the benefit of heads
of families, and the family, instead of the head only, must now reside
in the State to get the benefit of the law. The statute applies to
public employees as well as to employees of private employers.
Laws of North Dakota (ch. 152) and South Dakota (ch. 296) have
for their purpose the securing of the payment of wages by contract
ors, the law of the former State declaring it to be fraud for a con
tractor to appropriate to himself payments on his contract while
wage and material debts are unpaid; while in the latter State the use
by him of such payments under like circumstances, if with intent to
defraud, makes the contractor guilty of larceny. In Nebraska (ch.
203) it is made an offense for a contractor to fail to pay lawful claims
such as would give rise to mechanics’ liens, unless waivers from pos
sible lien claimants have been secured. Of similar intent is an Ore
gon law (ch. 226), which makes the lessee, licensee, or person other
than the owner operating any mine or lode a bailee only, and not the
owner, of any metal or mineral taken, until the sums due to the
lessor of the mine and the wages of workmen have been paid.
Most States have laws limiting or excluding entirely the exemption
of property from execution or judgment where the action is for the
recovery of wages or for designated services. The law of Missouri
16
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
is amended (p. 202) by placing blacksmiths in the class with house
servants and common laborers, for whose services no exemptions will
lie where the claim does not exceed $90.
The question of the venue of suits for wages was before the Legis
lature of Texas, which enacted a law (ch. 124) permitting suits to be
brought either at the residence of the defendant or where the labor
was performed; if the employer was a railroad or canal company, or
a stage or coach line, the action may be brought in any precinct in
which the company operates.
In 28 jurisdictions laws were passed amending or extending their
mechanics’ lien laws, some States passing three or more separate en
actments during the year. In the majority of cases the amendment
is of slight general importance, relating frequently to procedure,
modes of release, etc., or extending the usual provisions of the law
of the State to specific subject matter, as automobile repairs, caring
for orchards and orchard lands, work on ditches and reservoirs, re
pair of clocks and jewelry, etc. The law of West Virginia was en
tirely recodified (ch. 6), and classifies liens on the basis of the grounds
therefor, fixing different periods for filing, either 90 or 60 days. Forms
of notice are prescribed, rank is fixed, and methods of enforcement,
discharge, etc., are set forth in full. The same is largely true of
North Dakota (ch. 182) and Oklahoma (ch. 187). The law of Con
necticut (ch. 95) provides for the release of liens on personal prop
erty upon the substitution of a bond given by the owner, such bond to
be void if not recovered on within one year. A Wisconsin amendment
(ch. 266) makes liens for repairs, etc., superior to a chattel mortgage
under a contract for conditional sale, such lien to be for not more than
$75; misrepresentation on the part of the owner as to his interest in
the chattel is a misdemeanor. The Washington amendment (ch. 68)
also gives labor liens a priority over liens for materials. The Texas
Legislature enacted a new law (ch. 17), covering mines, quarries,
oil, gas, and water wells, and pipe lines, the act being declared to
be cumulative of present laws and repealing none of them. Another
amendment passed by the legislature of this State (ch. 171) broad
ened the scope and extent of the terms of the lien law of the State,
so as to facilitate the obtaining of loans from Federal reserve banks.
HOURS OF LABOR.
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.
The State of Montana has established an 8-hour maximum work
ing day for employment on public works carried on by municipal,
county, and State governments. School districts of the first class
are added to the list of agencies to which the law applies, and em
ployees in or about buildings, works, or grounds used or occupied
HOURS OF LABOR— PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT,
17
for any purpose by any of the governmental agencies within the law
are brought within its provisions (ch. 30). In contrast with the
foregoing, the operation and repair of plants owned by municipali
ties of not over 1,000 inhabitants are exempted from the operation
of the Oregon law on this subject, though the hours of employment
per week may not exceed 56 (ch. 98). An 8-hour day is fixed for
employment on public works in the island possession of Porto Rico
by the Civil Government Act passed by the United States Congress
(ch. 145).
An 8-hour day is fixed for work on public roads by the highway
laws of California (ch. 52), Montana (ch. 172), and Nevada (ch. 205);
in the latter State the law specifies that the time indicated is to be
exclusive of that occupied in going to and returning from work.
Contracts for public printing are regulated by an act o f the Iowa
Legislature (ch. 183), which requires contractors to observe the
working hours fixed by the typographical union; while in Massachu
setts (Resolves, ch. 128) an 8-hour working day is to be the basis
of the contract. Congress, in its act making appropriations for the
naval service, authorized the suspension of the 8-hour law in cases
of national emergency, but requires time and a half to be paid for
time worked in excess of eight house (ch. 180).
Not usually classified as labor laws, but determining the condi
tions of employment of classes of employees rendering public service,
are laws of Minnesota (ch. 91) and Montana (ch. 91), fixing 14
hours as the maximum daily period of service of city firemen, the
law in the first instance being limited to cities of the first class,
while in the second it applies to cities of the second class as well. In
both instances exceptions are made of cases* of emergency. In Min
nesota also (ch. 422) a regulation is made of the hours of labor of
guards at the State prison and State reformatory, a 10-hour day
being fixed, subject to variation in emergencies.
PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT.
The most conspicuous legislation of the year in this field is the
establishment by a referendum law (ch. 55) of an eight-hour day
for all classes of employments in the Territory of Alaska. The oper
ation of this law may be suspended by the Government on the re
quest of the Council of National Defense or of the Secretary of the
Interior during the present or any future war. A Minnesota statute
establishes a 10-hour day as the legal standard workday, to be so
construed in the absence of contract, and an amendment of 19ff (ch.
248) provides that this shall apply unless a shorter time is provided
45913°— Bull. 244— 18-------2
18
BEVIEW OF LABOB LEGISLATION OF 191T.
by law. Persons 16 years of age or over may work extra hours for
extra pay, unless seme statute specifically forbids it.
Apparently redundant in its precautions, the Legislature of Alaska
(ch. 4) established an eight-hour day for employment in all under
ground mines and workings, such employment being declared in
jurious to health and dangerous to life and limb. Each day of vio
lation is made a separate offense, and severe penalties are provided.
A Kansas statute (ch. 242) applies to lead and zinc mines only, and
fixes an eight-hour day except in emergencies where added labor is
necessary to protect life or prevent irreparable injury to property.
The law of Porto Rico fixing the hours for closing commercial and
industrial establishments is amended (Vol. II, No. 26) by fixing 9
o’clock on Saturday evenings instead of 10 o’clock as formerly.
Work in compressed air is the subject of an act of the Pennsylvania
Legislature (No, 364), the act specifying the periods of employment
permitted under different pressures, fixing decompression periods,
requiring the physical examination of applicants and workmen, and
directing that attendants, nurses, a hospital lock, dressing rooms,
shower baths, etc., be provided.
Again stepping outside the field of labor legislation strictly speak
ing, mention may be made of an act of the North Carolina Legisla
ture (ch. 181), which fixes 80 hours per week of 7 days and 12 hours
per day as the maximum term of employment of student nurses,
though in emergency a 16-hour day may be worked.
HOLIDAYS AND REST DAYS.
In Alaska (ch. 1) and California (ch. 19) Lincoln’s Brithday is
added to the list of legal holidays, while in the former jurisdiction
March 30 is also declared a holiday in commemoration of the signing
of the treaty of cession of the Territory to the United States, the day
being designated as Seward’s Day. Lee’s Birthday (January 19)
is added to the list of legal holidays in the State of Tennessee
(ch. 86); while the birthday of a native patriot and statesman, Luis
Munoz Rivera (July 17), is made a holiday in Porto Rico (Vol. II,
No. 47). In Washington (ch. 35) Saturdays after 12 o’clock are
declared to be legal holidays for public offices in cities and counties
of the first class.
Sunday labor was a subject considered in several States, the results
in different jurisdictions being quite divergent. Connecticut (ch.
352) enacted a law, largely duplicating existing provisions, forbid
ding employers to do or to require their employees to do any secular
business on the first day of the week, except works of necessity and
charity; another act (ch. 382) permits the sale of certain articles, as
milk, bakery products, fruit, newspapers, etc. The Legislature of
HOLIDAYS AND REST DAYS.
19
Porto Rico (Vol. II, No. 26) revised the list of establishments ex
empted from compliance with the Sunday closing law of the island
and repealed the provision allowing municipalities to require ex
empted establishments to be closed notwithstanding the general law.
The same act makes July 4 and Labor Day full holidays instead of
half holidays, as formerly, and directs that certain classes of em
ployees be allowed a weekly day of rest.
The Georgia law forbidding the operation of freight trains on
Sunday is suspended (p. 204) during the continuance of the present
war, the suspension affecting municipal ordinances as well as the law
of the State. So also in Massachusetts, the cultivation o f land and
the harvesting, conserving, and transporting of agricultural products
may be carried on on Sunday during the term of the present war and
until the end of the year following (ch. 207). In Oregon a still
more drastic step is taken by an initiated act (ch. 1) which repeals
the law closing stores, shops, groceries, bowling alleys, billiard rooms,
and tippling houses for purposes of labor and traffic, and all places
of amusement. Orders of the industrial-welfare commission of the
State, however, forbid the employment of any person under 18 years
of age, or any woman, for more than six days in one calendar week*
with some exceptions as to telegraph and telephone establishments
and public housekeeping.
An amendment to the North Dakota statute (ch. 222) names ex
emptions somewhat along the line of the Connecticut law noted
above, naming also livery and garage service. The operation of
barber shops on Sunday is forbidden in Nebraska (ch. 234); also in
Nevada (ch. 227) in towns of 10,000 or more population. The legis
latures of New Jersey (ch. 97) and Wyoming (ch. 45) authorize
municipalities to regulate and control the conduct of barber shops
within their boundaries, the law of New Jersey specifying the control
of hours of opening and closing on week days and their operation and
closing on Sundays.
An act of the Federal Congress (ch. 162) directs that where special
postal clerks in post offices of the first and second classes have been
required to work on any holiday, compensatory time shall be allowed
within the next 30 days.
The subject of annual vacations for city firemen was passed upon
in Texas (ch. 185), 15 days being granted each year in cities of more
than 30,000 population; while in Wisconsin (ch. 521) firemen in cities
of the first class must be allowed 24 consecutive hours off duty in
each 72 hours, in the second class in each 96 hoars^ and in the third
class in each 168 hours, though emergency conditions may prevent
these allowances.
20
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
HYGIENE AND SAFETY.
FACTORIES.
Important laws in this field were enacted in California (ch. 586,
secs. 33-54) and New Hampshire (ch. 183). In the former State
the general obligation is declared to rest upon employers to furnish
safe places and install safeguards, employees being forbidden to
remove the same. The State industrial accident commission is given
power to fix standards, issue orders, make necessary investigations,
and enforce the labor laws and its orders. The commission is also
to receive reports of injuries and investigate the same. The New
Hampshire law is the first step in the direction of any adequate regu
lation of factory conditions, and applies to factories, mills, work
shops, and other manufacturing establishments where 10 or more
persons are regularly employed. The matters of safeguards, lighting,
inspection, etc., are enumerated, and the commissioner of labor is
authorized to make rules and orders, either general or special, to
secure the ends in view. The commissioner is charged with the duty
of inspection, and may employ two inspectors to assist in the work.
In Idaho (ch, 81) the industrial accident board is authorized to fix
standards of safety, both of construction and equipment, so as to
render all places of employment safe.
The California statute requiring factories to be registered is
amended (ch. 177) by a provision requiring new factories to be
reported, the commissioner of labor being directed to give notice to
the State board of health and to local boards or health officers
monthly. Another amendatory act by the same legislature (ch. 766)
forbids the oleansing of wiping rags for machinery, etc., where
clothing or articles of personal wear or household use are laundered.
Orders of the industrial accident commission of the State relate to
safety in sawmills and logging operations. Minor changes are made
in the law of Connecticut in accordance with the new title of the
inspection office “ commissioner of labor and factory inspection,” and
in the provision as to service of notice (ch. 49).
The work of inspection of factories, etc., in Kansas is extended
(ch. 228) to mercantile establishments and laundries and to all
other places of business where labor is performed. The removal of
guards is forbidden, and employers may not require or permit the use
of unnecessarily dangerous machinery, the employee being also for
bidden to operate the same.
An identical code regulating the lighting of factories was promul
gated by the departments of labor of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Various changes are made in the factory law of New York (ch.
694) by way of rendering definitions and the intent of the law more
explicit, a point of interest being a provision that where an employee
HYGIENE AND SAFETY— FACTORIES.
21
is found at work at prohibited employment, either with or without
compensation, lack of consent on the part of the employer shall be
no defense in any prosecution on account of such work. The act
also substitutes the term “ State industrial commissioner ” for “ com
missioner of labor ” in the section under consideration.
The safety of persons operating or using elevators was considered
by the Legislature of California (ch. 74), periodical inspection being
required of all elevators except those under the jurisdiction of the
United States Government and those operated by employers not
subject to the safety provisions of the workmen’s compensation, in
surance, and safety law of the State. No elevator may be operated
till a permit has been granted, and the inspectors themselves must
have certificates of competency. In Connecticut also (ch. 154) no
elevator may be put into operation, except temporarily, in building
operations or for testing while installing until officially inspected.
The law of New York is amended (ch. 532) in the matter of the
requirement of guards for counterweights, such guards now being
required “ unless found unnecessary” ; cars must be suitably lighted
during working hours or when in use. The industrial commissions
of New York and Wisconsin revised their order's on the subject of
elevators, and the Department of Labor of Pennsylvania adopted
detailed regulations with regard thereto.
The subject of safety in case of fire was passed upon by several
legislatures. In Arkansas the office of fire marshal is created by a
law (No. 190) which is declared to have validity for 30 years. This
officer is to enforce laws as to fire protection, fire-alarm systems, fire
escapes, exits in factories, etc. An officer bearing the same title is
provided for in Hawaii (No. 115), the insurance commissioner of the
Territory to so act ex officio. The marshal is to appoint a chief
deputy, and is directed to cooperate with local officials in enforce
ment of laws as to fires, inspection, fire-escape systems, and the manu
facture, storage, and sale of combustibles or explosives. The law of
Connecticut is amended by declaring that a ladder affixed to the
premises will not be considered as a compliance with the law requir
ing the installation of fire escapes (ch. 247). Imprisonment for
three months is made an alternative penalty, instead of fine only. A
Missouri statute (p. 492) adds trustees to the list of persons who are
obligated to comply with the law, and directs that stair fire escapes
must be of iron or steel, structural details being added. The law of
Nebraska on the subject is redrafted (ch. 179), earlier enactments be
ing repealed. The classes of buildings required to have fire escapes
are designated, and the nature and construction of such devices are
prescribed. The enforcement of the law is intrusted to the State fire
commissioner instead of to the commissioner of labor as formerly.
22
REVIEW OF LABOE LEGISLATION OF 1917.
The Department of Labor of New Jersey has issued orders or rules
relative to the installation of fire-alarm signal systems, classifying
factory buildings for this purpose, rules being adapted to each class.
An amendment to the New York law adds provisions as to the in
stallation and maintenance of fire-alarm signal systems, and makes
it the duty of anyone discovering a fire to sound the alarm (ch. 634).
Another amendment by the same legislature permits work places in
establishments provided with a sprinkler system to be at a greater
distance from exits than is permissible in buildings not so pro
vided, and also gives discretion to the State industrial commission as
to the number of exits required in any establishment (ch. 721). The
law of Pennsylvania is amended (No. 357) by adding provisions as
to fire walls which may be required by the commissioner of labor
and industries. The details existing in the former act as to con
struction, etc., are omitted, proprietors being required to conform
to specifications issued or approved by the department of labor and
industry. The Texas law is revised, a general and special repeal of
all prior acts being made; one fire escape is required to each 5,000 feet
of lot area unless the buildings exceed five stories in height, when at
least two fire escapes must be provided for each such area. I f only
one fire escape is erected, other means of exit must be provided. The
materials used in construction are specified, and certain standards are
fixed, the State fire marshal being authorized to promulgate further
specifications and enforce the law (ch. 140). The Wyoming statute
(ch. 18) is a new enactment in its field, and requires fire escapes or
ladders on factories, workshops, etc., three or more stories in height.
Two or more means of egress must be provided wherever persons are
employed at labor, and doors of workrooms must not be locked. Fire
escapes must be unobstructed, and the means of approach thereto
must be marked.
The materials of which ladders of various kinds may be con*
structed, their length, maintenance, and various regulations for
safety are prescribed in rules of the Department of Labor of Pennsyl
vania.
Sanitary provisions were considered in several laws, an act of the
Delaware Legislature (ch. 231) requiring toilets to be provided if
females are employed, and separate toilets if there are four or more
employees and persons of both sexes are employed. Relative num
bers and prescribed conditions of maintenance are determined by the
act. Seats must also be provided for female employees and their use
permitted. Wash rooms must be supplied, and if the work is of such a
nature as to require a change of clothing, there must be dressing
rooms also. In establishments in which white lead, arsenic, nicotine,
or other poisons are present, or there is lint, dust, or fumes, there
HYGIENE AND SAFETY— FACTORIES.
23
must be a separate lunch room and washing facilities, with hot water,
soap, and individual or paper tissue towels. I f the dust or fumes are
poisonous, exhaust fans must be installed. The act also contains pro
visions as to air space, heating, ventilation, and the supply of drink
ing water. The law is to be enforced by inspectors appointed by the
labor commissioner.
A Missouri law requires wash rooms in foundries, and an amend
ment o£ 1917 (p. 322) adds shower baths to the equipment to be in
stalled. The act also prescribes the width and conditions for safety
of gangways in foundries, and for the ventilation of the wash rooms.
The same subject was legislated upon in Tennessee (ch. 50), the act
requiring shower baths, dressing rooms, and lockers to be supplied at
foundries, with heat to dry the clothing of workmen if necessary.
The law of New York as to the provision o f toilets in factories, etc., is
amended (ch. 693) so as to permit the use of certain types of in
stallation under conditions specified by the State industrial com
mission instead of absolutely prohibiting them. The Rhode Island
law on the same subject is amended (ch. 1522) by requiring waterclosets in all factories and mercantile establishments where there is a
public water service, proper provisions to be made in other localities
according to the judgment of the factory inspector. The act pre
scribes the ratio of such installments to the number of employees, and
directs provisions for privacy, etc.
Relief in case of injury is contemplated by a law of Porto Rico
(Yol. II, No. 41), which requires employers of more than 50 persons
in factories, etc., in rural districts to contract with a physician and
provide a dispensary and hospital room properly equipped.
Rules of the Department of Labor of New Jersey establish a sani
tary code for factories in general, while other rules relate to lead
workers, paint grinders, etc.; the Industrial Accident Commission
of California amended its orders as to canneries; the Industrial
Welfare Commission of Kansas formulated a code for laundries; and
the Department of Labor of Pennsylvania drew up a* very detailed
safety code for employees in various kinds of factories engaged in the
manufacture of explosives.
Two acts of New Jersey are devoted to the subject of sweat
shops, one (ch. 176) making the law on the.subject apply to buildings
back of residence tenements, and also to the manufacture of “ any
articles whatsoever.” Licenses for rooms or apartments are for a
six-months period only. The act prescribes the amount of air space
per employee and requires sanitary installations. The authorities are
authorized to destroy manufactured articles if contagious disease
is discovered in the workroom, and employment of any unlicensed
person, firm, or corporation is forbidden. A supplemental act
(ch. 229) authorizes the commissioner of labor to require workrooms
24
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
to be separate from living or sleeping rooms, with no connecting
openings. Lighting and ventilation are to be adequate, and the
commissioner may require outlets to be provided. Employers must
keep registers of persons to whom work is given out, and the manu
facture of articles of food, dolls, dolls’ clothing, and articles of
children’s or infants’ wear is forbidden in any tenement or portion
of an apartment house used for living purposes.
A type of factory the regulation of which is directly related to
the public health is that in which bread and other food products are
produced. The labor aspect is in eAddence, however, in an act of
the Connecticut Legislature (ch^ 195) which requires lockers to be
furnished for employees in bakeries. An amendment to the act
requires the substitution of the words “ commissioner of labor and
factory inspection ” for the words “ factory inspector ” through
out. The inspection fee is fixed at $1, and the certificate of in
spection is valid for a single year. A Wisconsin act (ch. 648) is
also an amendment, placing the administration of the law under the
dairy and food commissioner of the State instead of the industrial
commission—action that indicates that it is a health law rather than
a labor law. A new enactment in the field is that of the Vermont
Legislature (No. 200) which prescribes the construction of bakeries,
requires toilets and lavatories to be furnished, and forbids the em
ployment of persons affected with contagious or infectious diseases.
The State board of health may require a physical examination of
workmen before permitting them to be employed.
The inspection of steam boilers in power plants is the subject of an
act of the Arkansas Legislature (No. 428). The commissioner of
labor is to appoint a practical and experienced boiler maker, who
must give his whole time to his duties, making annual inspections,
and investigating and reporting on explosions of boilers. The act
prescribes the tests to be used and fixes fees. Steam vessels, plants
under Federal inspection, and heating plants of not more than 15
pounds pressure are exempt. In California also (ch. 202) all boilers
must be inspected except those under Government inspection or in
plants not covered by the workmen’s compensation and insurance act.
The certificates of other inspectors, as of insurance companies, etc.,
will be accepted, but certificates of competency must be procured from
the industrial accident commission of the State by other inspectors
than those acting for the commission. In Michigan (No. 174) and
New Jersey (ch. 185) provision is made for the appointment by the
governor of a board to formulate rules for the safe use and construc
tion of steam boilers, such rules to have the force of law.
Extensive and detailed codes on this subject were formulated or
amended by the Department of Labor of Pennsylvania and the In-
25
HYGIENE AND SAFETY— -FACTORIES.
•
dustrial Commission of Wisconsin, and in less detail by the Indus
trial Commission of New York. The equipment and installation of
electrically controlled engine stops are regulated by rules of the De
partment of Labor of New Jersey.
Acts that relate mainly to public safety, but that seem also to re
quire mention in this place, are one of Montana (ch. 129) and one
of New Jersey (ch. 243) which relate to the manufacture, etc., of
explosives. The first mentioned forbids any other than officials and
authorized persons to enter any factory, building, magazine, or car
containing explosives, and forbids persons in charge of vehicles con
taining explosives to smoke, or to drive the same in a reckless man
ner or when intoxicated, or to unload them carelessly. The New
Jersey law is to be enforced by the commissioner of labor, who issues
licenses, makes inspections, etc. Provisions as to entering factories
and the conduct of drivers are practically the same as in the Mon
tana law.
Noted here for lack of a better classification is an act of the
Legislature of Porto Rico (No. 14) which limits to 200 pounds the
weight that a workman may be required or permitted to carry on
'his head, back, or shoulders.
MINE REGULATIONS.
In Alaska (ch. 51) and Washington (ch. 36) the legislatures codi
fied their laws relating to mines, the former law being general in
its application, while that of Washington relates only to coal mines.
The laws are quite inclusive in their scope, and provide for inspec
tion, ventilation, escape shafts, signals, and other provisions for
safety, first aid to the injured, and regulate the use of explosives, the
installation of machinery, etc. The Alaska law provides for co^
operation with the Federal mining inspector. The law of Washing
ton applies only to mines in which 5 or more persons are employed in
one shift, inspection provisions being applicable only for 10 or more
employees.
Preliminary to revision of the mining laws of the State, the Kansas
Legislature (ch. 238) provided for the appointment of a commission
of six persons, who shall hold hearings and draft a code of mining
laws, the same to be ready to report by November 1, 1918. In Illi
nois also (p. 599.) the governor is to appoint nine persons to study
the subject of safety of life and property and the conservation of
coal deposits in the State, report to be made to the next legislature.
The Kansas act contains no provision for expenses or compensation,
while in Illinois $7,000 is appropriated to cover expenses and a per
diem allowance to three members of the board who are neither
miners nor owners of mines.
26
•, -
REVIEW
es
LABOB LEGISLATION o r 1917.
An inspector is provided for by an act of the Arkansas Legislature
(No. 130), the appointee to be an experienced practical miner. The
act applies to coal mines employing 10 men underground in 24 hours,
quarterly inspections being contemplated, and at other times on emer
gency calls. The salary of the inspector is fixed at $2,000. The
law of Colorado is amended (eh. 45), the salaries of the chief in
spector and deputy inspector being increased. The qualifications of
applicants for foremen, assistant foremen, and fire bosses are modi
fied, so that persons who have worked in Colorado for one year, in
stead of for two years, are eligible, though they must still have five
years3experience in the United States. Holders of first-class certifi
cates may act as fire bosses in gaseous mines. In Missouri an amend
ment (p. 339) makes the expenses of the mine inspector and his as
sistant payable out of the mine inspection fund instead of the gen
eral revenue fund of the State. The mode of raising the mine fund
is set forth, rates of taxation and inspection fees being prescribed.
An act of the Nevada Legislature (ch. 25) provides for a second
deputy inspector, requires statements to be furnished by operators in
all cases when commencing operations, and directs a notice to be
posted as to the workmen riding on the rim, bail, or cable of a hoist
ing bucket or skiff.. An additional inspector is provided in Tennes
see also (ch. 102), and the permissible expenditures of the depart
ment are increased from $15,000 to $20,000 annually. Another
act (ch. I l l ) requires reports of all accidents causing injury to per
sons, whether fatal or not. The mining laws of West'Virginia are ex
tended (ch. 20) to sand and clay mines and pits, quarries, and cement
works, an inspector being appointed to have supervision over this
class of operations. The chief of the department of mines appoints
this inspector and is authorized to make and enforce suitable rules.
The subject of rescue stations was passed upon by the legislatures
of Kansas (ch. 239) and West Virginia (ch. 47). The purchase of
equipment and the training of miners, etc., in the rendering of first
aid are provided for. The Washington Code (ch. 36) also contains
provisions as to rescue work; while in Pennsylvania (No. 383) an
amendment requires the ambulance equipment provided for by earlier
legislation to be motor ambulances, the same to be properly heated.
A radius of service of 4 miles is authorized instead of 1 mile as
heretofore.
Various other amendments may be noted, as the repeal of the code
of signals formerly provided for by a California law (ch. 229); a
requirement that where drilling is done by machinery in ground
that causes dust there should be a water jet or spray, or other
equally efficient means of preventing dust (Idaho, ch. 86); a per
mission to substitute approved equivalent equipment in lieu of the
HYGIENE AND SAFETY— M IN E REGULATIONS.
27
previously prescribed chemical fire extinguisher in Illinois coal
mines (p. 596); a requirement that shot firers and inspectors, gas
men or fire bosses, hoisting engineers, mine foremen, and assistant
mine foremen shall be examined and have certificates in Kansas,
no employment being permitted in these capacities in coal mines in
the State without certificate after January 1, 1918 (ch. 237) ; fur
ther regulations as to the use of mechanical shot-firing devices, re
turn after firing, firing where there is dust, etc. (Kansas, ch. 240); a
prescription as to the materials to be used in the construction of
bathhouses and their equipment at underground mines (Kansas, ch.
241); an extension of the period within which an air or escape
shaft must be sunk where the main shaft of a mine is over 1,000 feet
deep, but requiring a double shift of men to be employed on the
work (Kansas, ch. 243); and an amendment to the Ohio law (p. 150)
requiring a hoisting attendant to be employed at shafts 50 feet deep
instead of 100 feet, and striking out the provision of law allowing
the owner to appeal from an inspector’s order to provide an addi
tional escape shaft where the hazards appear to warrant it.
RAILROADS.
An act of the Arkansas Legislature (No. 75) requires engine cabs
on locomotives of designated types to be so constructed that engineers
and firemen shall be under the same roof; while one of the California
Legislature (ch. 784) directs that automatic bell ringers shall be in
stalled on locomotives. Another act of the latter legislature (ch. 201)
declares the powers of the industrial accident commission of the State
as regards the safety of employees in shops to extend to employees in
shops for the construction and repair of railroad equipment and in
electrical plants as well as to employees of all other public utilities, but
not so as to interfere with the prerogatives of the railroad commission.
The commissioner of labor and factory inspection of Connecticut is
directed (ch. 60) to examine into the lighting and sanitary conditions
o f railroad roundhouses. The safety appliance laws of Illinois are
declared to apply to narrow-gauge roads and the locomotives and
cars thereon, except as regards couplers (p. 647). It is also provided
that the act shall not be construed to interfere with the powers of
the public utilities commission as to the health and safety of em
ployees, passengers, and customers of such railways.
The construction of caboose cars is the subject of an act of the
Kansas Legislature (ch. 261), the law prescribing the dimensions,
material, equipment, etc. An annual inspection by the State public
utilities commission, a member thereof, or a person appointed by it,
of all tracks, rolling stock, bridges, etc., is directed by an act of the
Legislature of Maine (ch. 49). In Utah (ch. 47) the public utilities
28
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
commission may require the safe construction, equipment, and main
tenance of railways, having regard to the health and safety of em
ployees, passengers, and the general public. Accidents nre to be re
ported to the commission, and may be investigated by it in its dis
cretion. A law of Porto Rico (Vol. II, No. 70) directs public-service
corporations to furnish and maintain reasonably safe facilities, etc.,
and to report all accidents causing injury or death.
Shelters for repair tracks are prescribed by a Missouri law (p.
323) wherever the construction or repair of cars is done and six or
more persons are regularly employed thereat. Laws of New York
(ch. 370) and Ohio (p. 560) require automatic doors to be provided
on locomotives, the former law exempting engines on which me
chanical stokers are in use. Footboards must be provided on switch
Sngines under an act of the Wisconsin Legislature (ch. 375), the
law being applicable to common carriers operating 50 or more miles
of track. A negative provision appears in the civil government act
of the United States Congress (ch. 145) relating to Porto Rico, this
law providing that safety-appliance laws enacted by Congress should
not apply in that jurisdiction.
Looking to the personnel rather than to the material equipment
is an act of the Missouri Legislature (p. 242) requiring that flagmen
or section crews must be able to read, write, and speak the English
language plainly. The full-crew law of New Jersey is repealed by
an act of the legislature of 1917 (ch. 94), which, instead of absolute
numerical provisions, authorizes the board of public utilities com
missioners to act on its own initiative or on complaint in determining
the number of persons necessary to operate the trains on railways
of the State. Crews employed when the act took effect were not to
be reduced without the authority of the board. The liability of
employees of common carriers for their negligence was legislated
on in Tennessee (ch. 54), the act providing that there should be lia
bility only for gross negligence instead of for negligence, as for
merly. In Connecticut also (ch. 128) the penalty where loss of life
or the breaking of a limb is chargeable to the intoxication of a rail
road employee may be a fine of $1,000 or 10 years’ imprisonment,
or both, instead of 10 years’ imprisonment only, as provided by an
earlier law.
STREET R A ILW A YS.
The protection of employees on street railways by requiring vesti
bules to be provided for motormen, gripmen, etc., is contemplated by
an act of the Arkansas Legislature (No. 174), such vestibules to be
furnished during the months from November to March, inclusive.
The Kansas law on the same subject was amended (ch. 255) by
HYGIENE AND SAFETY— STREET RAILWAYS.
29
requiring that the temperature in the vestibule should not be allowed
to be less than is healthful and comfortable. Acts requiring seats to
be furnished were amended in Connecticut (ch. 106) and Ohio (p.
590). In the first-named State seats must be furnished motormen
on street railway cars with air brakes, without any proviso or excep
tion, while in the latter State the law requires seats for both motor
men and conductors on electric street or interurban railways.
BUILDINGS, ETC.
A law of Delaware (ch. 234) requires safe scaffolding, hoists,
stays, ladders, and other equipment to be furnished where buildings
are being erected, repaired, painted, etc. Scaffolds more than 20
feet above the ground must be equipped with safety rails. Other
provisions of the act require protective flooring on high buildings
and inclosed shafts for hoistways, etc. A New Jersey act (ch. *168)
authorizes inspection of appliances about building operations to be
made on complaint of dangerous conditions. Standard provisions
for such appliances and equipment are established, and scaffolds must
be constructed with guard rails and a prescribed margin of safety.
Minor changes are made in the law of Porto Rico; the maximum
limit for fines for violations is abrogated, and a minimum of $25 is
fixed (Vol. II, No. 46).
Laws of California (ch. 575) and Montana (ch. 171) relate to the
safety of employees engaged in electrical construction. The Califor
nia law relates to electrical subways, and is an amendment to the act
of 1911 on this subject. Administration is placed in the hands of
the railroad commission of the State, and a section is added author
izing inspection and a requirement of additions and changes to be
made if thought necessary by the commission. The Montana law re
lates for the most part to the safety of linemen working on poles,
and prescribes adequate climbing space where high-power transmis
sion wires are found, the material to be used for cross arms, the
spacing of pins, etc. Protective and first-aid devices must be fur
nished, and the law prescribes clearances inside of buildings, the
grounding of wires, and provisions as to manholes.
An extensive and detailed electrical code was adopted by the De
partment of Labor of Pennsylvania, covering particulars of con
struction, installation, maintenance, safeguards, devices for specified
conditions, and classes of equipment and uses, etc.
The same office has issued rules for the use of ladders, applicable
apparently to building operations and factory conditions alike.
These rules prescribe lengths, materials, construction, and regulations
for safety in general.
30
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN,
In most instances the laws under this head are amendments de
signed to perfect existing laws, though a few States provide for the
suspension of the laws on account of war emergencies. Four States
redraft in practical entirety their existing legislation governing the
employment of children, enacting something of a code upon the
subject. Many of the provisions of the former laws are retained,
changes being in the nature of extension and enlargement of the
provisions regulating age, the issuance of employment certificates,
etc. Thus in Delaware (ch. 232) the minimum age for employ
ment generally is fixed at 14 years, though in canneries for the
preservation of perishable fruits and vegetables, in which there
was formerly no minimum age limit, a minimum of 12 years is
provided. For employment in an enumerated list of dangerous
occupations the age is fixed at 15 years instead of 14, and a 16year minimum limit established for employment in theaters, con
cert halls, eta; 18 years in electrical and transportation work, at
polishing or buffing, or in explosive factories; 21 years for employ
ment in places where liquors are sold and for messenger service at
night between the hours of 10 and 6 in cities of more than 20,000
inhabitants. Employment certificates must be required for children
under 16, vacation certificates being provided for for children 12 years
of age and above in approved occupations. As preliminary to the
issue of an employment certificate the child must furnish a medical
certificate, school records, and proof of age. A maximum of 10
hours per day, but not more than 54 hours per week, and a day of
rest must be allowed. An intermission of 80 minutes at midday is
prescribed, and no work may be done between 7 p. m. and 6 a. m.
The Illinois law (p. 511) adds mills and canneries to the list of
establishments to which it applies, places employment in bowling
alleys and elevator service in the group for which a minimum age
of 16 years is required, and fixes a six-day working week. Other
changes are made in matters of application and methods of adminis
tration.
The newly codified Kansas law (ch. 227) makes the provision
against the employment of children under 14 years of age absolute,
whether the establishment is owned or operated by the parent or not,
and adds mills and canneries to the list of establishments enumerated
in the act. A work schedule is to be posted in each working place,
and in order to procure a certificate the applicant must have a state
ment from his prospective employer as to the work to be done. The
act contains new provisions as to evidence of age, and directs that
the certificate be returned to the official issuing it on the termination
EM PLOYMENT OE CHILDREN AND W O M E N .
31
of employment, and that the original or a copy of it be by him re
turned to the State commissioner of labor;
The new law of Texas (ch. 59) fixes 15 years as the minimum agfe
of employment in any factory, mill, workshop, laundry, theater, or
other place of amusement, or in messenger service in towns or cities
of 15,000 or more; this provision in lieu of a minimum-age limit of
15 for employment in establishments using dangerous machinery.
A minimum of 17 years is fixed for employment in distilleries, brew
eries, mines, quarries, or to act as messenger to places of an immoral
character. Children under 15 may not be employed more than 10
hours per day or 48 hours per week, and must have permits issued
by a county judge before entering upon employment, such permits to
be valid for terms of six months only. Permits are not required in
vacation time for work other than in factories, mills, workshops,
theaters, or moving-picture establishments. The children of de
pendent widows may begin work at the age of 12 years if able to
read and write, but may not be employed in dangerous or immoral
occupations.
The compulsory school-attendance law of Arkansas (No. 294) re
quires attendance at school for three-fourths of the session for chil
dren between 7 and 15 years of age, but makes an exception in the
case of the children of needy widows. The same legislature amended
the general law as to the employment of children, by authorizing the
person empowered to issue work certificates to make, change, and
amend rules as to evidence of age, instead of prescribing the evidence
specifically in the act (No. 391). It is provided, however, that such
evidence must conform with the requirements of the Federal law as
to carrying products of child labor in interstate commerce. The
California Legislature made a minor change (ch. 580) in its law in
the matter of employment in theatrical performances, a more farreaching piece of legislation being its act (ch. 192) authorizing the
State board of education, with the approval of the governor, to close
the schools as a matter of war emergency if thought necessary for
planting or harvesting crops or for other agricultural or horticul
tural purposes. The term must not be less than six months per year,
and no reduction is to be made in the teacher’s salary. In New York
also (ch. 689) a suspension of the compulsory-school-attendance law
is authorized for the period of the war and two months thereafter
in order to permit the children to engage in agricultural and garden
work under rules formulated by the commissioner of education.
Local boards may use school funds to provide for the supervision of
the children when so employed, and for work properly done pupils
are to receive school credits.
32
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
The Connecticut Legislature enacted five laws falling under the
present heading, one (ch. 127) requiring the employment certificate
to carry a list of occupations at which the child to whom it is issued
may not be employed; the second (ch. 206) provides for prosecut
ing agents to be appointed to aid in the enforcement of the schoolattendance laws of the State and the laws as to the employment of
children; while a third law (ch. 320) fixes the salaries of such agents
at $1,600 per year instead of $5 per day for the time actually em
ployed, and makes other minor changes. The fourth (ch. 261) fixes
18 years as the minimum age of children employed as messengers in
cities of 20,000 population or over between the hours of 10 p. m. and
5 a. m. The last law of the State to be noticed (ch. 300) fixes the
hours of labor of women and of children under 16 years at not more
than 58 per week in restaurants, dining rooms, barber shops, hair
dressing or manicuring establishments, or in photograph galleries.
Employment between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m. is forbidden. The act does
not apply to hotels, and classifies bowling alleys with mercantile
establishments for the purpose of the regulation of the hours of em
ployment of children therein.
Amendments to the Maine statute provide (ch. 146) for the ac
ceptance of other documentary evidence of the age of a child where
the evidence prescribed in the act is not obtainable, and (ch. 248)
substitute the words “ attendance officer55 for “ truant officer ” in all
laws relating to child labor and school attendance. The Massachu
setts law prescribing time for meals is made applicable to women
and persons under 18 years of age instead of to women and young
persons as before, the time to be 45 minutes instead of a half hour as
formerly (ch. 110) ; employment as telephone operators is permitted
in regular service in exchanges as late as 11 p. m. for girls under 21
years of age, instead of only until 10 o’clock (ch. 294).
The Michigan law permitting children of dependent parents to
begin work at the age of 14 is amended (No. 179) by limiting such
permission to those who have completed the work of the sixth grade
of school. Another act of the same legislature (No. 280) authorizes
permits for vacation work, work on Saturdays during the school
term, and on other days outside the school hours to be valid in
places of employment generally, and not in canneries alone. A
permanent child-welfare commission is provided for by another act
(No. 293). The duties of this commission are to investigate the
social and economic environment of children, the nature of their
parental care, the fitness of parents to have charge of their children
in specific cases, and to recommend legislation for the moral, mental,
and physical well-being of ^he child. A law somewhat similar to
the foregoing was enacted by the Legislature of North Dakota
(ch. 181), but more strictly economic in its outlook. The commis-
EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN AND W O M EN.
33
sioner of agriculture and labor, the attorney general, and a woman
who is to be an experienced welfare worker, and to act as secretary
and executive officer, are to constitute a public welfare commission for
the study of the economic, moral, and social conditions of women, girls,
and children in factories, hotels, restaurants, stores, laundries, etc.,
and make report to the legislature, showing wages paid in the estab
lishments investigated. The State hotel inspector may be called
upon to report on wages, hours of labor, opportunities for recrea
tion, moral conditions, etc., of women and girls employed in hotels
and restaurants inspected by him.
Amendments to the law of New York require an increased attend
ance at school, 180 days instead of 160 per year, and also strengthen
the educational requirements for the issue of employment certificates
(ch. 563) ; and require lists of certified children furnished to the
commissioner of labor to be accompanied by statements as to the
kind of evidence of age accepted (ch. 536). The commissioner of
labor is also to report each month to the local school superintendents
what children under 16 years of age axe found to have been illegally
employed.
The compulsory-attendance law of North Carolina is made to apply
to children up to 14 years of age, instead of up to 12 only (ch. 208);
while in North Dakota (ch. 206) the question of necessary employ
ment exempting the child from school attendance is to be passed
upon by the State’s attorney, the right of appeal being given. The
South Carolina law required a record to be kept of employed
children up to the age of 14 years, but by an amendment of 1917
(No. 95) the age limit was advanced to 16 years. The law of Ten
nessee is amended (ch. 77) by adding canneries to the list of estab
lishments in which employment under the age of 14 is forbidden.
Children may be employed not more than eight hours per day nor
more than six days in the week, work between 7 p. m. and 6- a. m. be
ing forbidden. An employment certificate is required for children
under 16 years, the act containing the standard provisions as to issue,
evidence, etc., including health certificates in all cases. The law of
Utah, as to the employment of children under 16 in places where
tobacco is sold at wholesale or retail, is amended so as to forbid their
employment only at cigar stands and cigar and tobacco stores (ch.
80) ; an 8-hour day and 48-hour week is established for boys under
14 and girls under 16 engaged in occupations other than domestic
service, agricultural labor, and fruit and vegetable packing. In
Wisconsin (ch. 633) the evidence of age for the issue of employment
certificates is to be such as the industrial commission requires, instead
of the statutory provisions originally prescribed, which are now re
pealed. Another act (ch. 674) fixes the age for attendance on inclus4593 3°—Bull. 244—18------ 3
"
34
BE VIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
trial or continuation schools at from 14 to 17, instead of from 14
to 16; this act to be in effect after September 1, 1918. A minimum
of eight hours attendance per week for eight months in the year is
prescribed. A longer working day for five days in order to give a
Saturday half holiday is no longer permitted.
Laws applicable to both women and children were passed in a
few States, that of New Hampshire (ch. 196) recasting the former
law and making it of general application, but excepting domestic
and; farm labor, nursing, and employment in hotels, boarding houses,
and telegraph and- telephone offices. The act forbids employment in
two establishments in such a manner as to permit excess work, strikes
out the proviso permitting the making up of lost time in factories,
and allows additional work hours in mercantile establishments for
seven days preceding Christmas. Limitations of the act may be
waived in the manufacture of munitions or supplies for the United
States in time of war. The Vermont law is amended (No. 177) by
adding two years in a junior high school to the educational qualifica
tions for children asking for employment certificates, fixes an eighthour day for those under 16 years of age, instead of nine hours, and
establishes a six-day week. The hours between which night work
is forbidden are 7 p. m. and 6 a. m. instead of 8 p. m. and 7 a. m.5
and canneries are added to the list of establishments in which chil
dren under 14 years of age may not be employed. Minors between 16
and 18 and women may be employed not more than 10^ hours per
day in manufacturing and mercantile establishments and in mines
and quarries, and not more than 56 hours per week, instead of 11
hours per day and 58 per week. Other establishments are added to
those in which vacations for childbirth must be allowed. The
enforcement of child-labor laws is placed in the hands of the State
commissioner of labor and industries instead of those of local offi
cials. The Industrial Welfare Commission of Kansas established a
form of record for women and minors employed, giving details of
wages, hours, length of employment, experience, etc. In Wash
ington (ch. 29) the industrial-welfare commission is authorized to
fix standards of employment conditions in telegraph offices as well
as in telephone service. Orders of this commission fix wages and
hours and requirements for toilets, rest rooms, etc., for women and
minors in mercantile establishments* laundry and dyeing establish
ments, telegraph and telephone offices, general office work, and wort
in hotels and restaurants.
Laws of Colorado (ch. 98) applying to both women and children,
and Arizona (ch. 38) relating to women only, provide for the es
tablishment of minimum wages. In Colorado the State industrial
board is made a minimum wage commission, and it is declared to be
unlawful to employ women at wages inadequate to maintain health,
EM PLOYMENT OP CHILDREN AND W O M EN.
35
or minors (under 18) at unreasonably low wages. Investigations
may be made on the request of 25 persons engaged in any occupation,
or on the initiative of the commission. The commission may act of
itself, or may appoint wage boards, whose action is to be passed upon
by the commission. I f only time rates are established, substandard
employees are to be granted special licenses. The Arizona statute
declares $10 a weekly minimum for any female employee in restau
rants, hotels, laundries, stores, and manufacturing establishments,
no provision being made as to learners. The Minimum Wage Com
mission of Massachusetts fixed a minimum of $8.75 per week for
adult females engaged in the manufacture of women’s clothing.
The Louisiana Legislature took action that may be noted here, not
by way of legislation, but in a senate concurrent resolution (No. 44),
adopted in view of the considerable substitution of women for men in
industry on account of the war service into which men are called, the
resolution recommending that women thus taking the place of men
should be given equal pay for their work.
Of the laws remaining to be considered under this head, practically
all relate to the hours of labor of women. Thus the law of California
permitting women to be employed in canneries and fruit-drying
plants in excess of eight hours is restricted (ch. 582) to such work as
is necessary to save materials from spoiling. The order of the indus
trial accident commission of the State, relating to wages and hours
in canneries, was also amended last year. The Delaware law is
extended (ch. 230) to cover restaurants, hotels, places of amuse
ment, dressmaking establishments, and offices. A six-day week is es
tablished, and work between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m. is forbidden in
mechanical and manufacturing establishments, laundries, bakeries,
printing establishments, offices, and dressmaking. Thirty minutes
must be allowed for a midday or evening meal, during which women
are not to remain in their workrooms. The Montana Legislature
passed two laws (chs. 18, 70), the second being effective as later legis
lation. The act is practically the same as chapter 108, Acts of 1913,
which it repeals, except that it fixes an eight-hour day instead of one
of nine hours, and omits the proviso as to overtime work for extra
pay where life or property is in danger. Orders of the Industrial
Commission of Wisconsin forbid the employment of women in fac
tories and laundries between the hours of 6 p. m. and 6 a. m., pea
canneries excepted.
Nevada enacted in 1917 its first law on the subject of the hours of
labor of women, fixing an 8-hour day and 56-hour week for employ
ment in manufacturing, mechanical, and mercantile establishments,
laundries, hotels, restaurants, public lodging houses, apartment
houses, places of amusement, and all express or transportation com-
36
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
panies (ch. 14). Nursing and employment in canneries are excepted.
Seats are to be provided wherever females are employed.
A new subsection is added to the New York law covering employ
ment in restaurants (ch. 535). Women may work therein 9 hours
per day and 54 hours per week as the maximum, a 6-day week being
prescribed. Work between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m. is forbidden. Ex
empted from the application of the act are singers and performers,
cloakroom girls, women employed in dining rooms and kitchens in
hotels, and lunch rooms maintained strictly for employees of an estab
lishment. A reduction of hours is effected by an Ohio amendment
(p. 149), a 9-hour day being provided instead of one of 10 hours, and
a 50-hour week instead of one of 54 hours. A weekly day of rest is
required. Work may be done for 10 hours on Saturdays in mercantile
establishments, and canneries are exempt from the operation of the
law, but only during the canning season. Labor in canneries is also
exempt from the operation of the law of Oregon fixing a 10-hour day
for women, but time and a half must now be paid for work over 10
hours, pieceworkers to be compensated in the same ratio (ch. 163).
The law of Wyoming is amended (ch. 106) by exempting telephone'
exchanges from its operation, and fixing a 10-hour day, but limiting
the weekly employment to 60 hours if 7 days are worked and 52 hours
if 6 days are worked. Permitting excess employment is made a
violation of the law.
Orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission of Kansas fix a 9hour day and 54-hour week for women employed in laundries, 1 hour
to be allowed for lunch; while in mercantile establishments 9 hours
out of a consecutive 10 are to be a day’s work, no work to be done
after 9 p. m. except on one day of the week, when longer hours may
also be worked.
Contingencies arising from war conditions were provided for in
an act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania (No. 254), authorizing
the industrial board of the department of labor of the State to permit
modifications of the law of 1913, governing the employment of women
in industry, on petition of the employer. Such modification can affect
only the single establishment or department for which it is requested.
The hours of labor may not be extended, nor can these modifications
apply to manufacturing establishments.
An industrial survey as to the conditions of employment of women
is provided for by an act of the Illinois Legislature (p. 519). A com
mission of seven is to be appointed, two to be employers of women,
two representatives of women workers, one sociologist, and two
physicians, a specific point of investigation to be the hours of labor of
women workers and their effect on health. A report is to be sub
mitted by December 1, 1918, and $10,000 is appropriated for expenses
and per diem allowances.
EMERGENCY SUSPENSIONS OF LABOR LAWS.
37
EMERGENCY SUSPENSIONS OF LABOR LAWS.
Besides the various specific provisions as to the suspension of laws
during the period of the war, more general provision was made in a
few States. Thus in Connecticut (ch. 326) the governor is author
ized to suspend specific laws for specific periods if so requested by
the Council of National Defense, but such suspension shall not be
effective beyond the close of the war. A practically similar law was
passed in New Hampshire (ch. 194) ; while in Vermont (No. 172)
the suspension is authorized to be done by the commissioner of indus
tries with the approval of the governor.
Mention has already been made of the authority granted the- Presi
dent to suspend the Federal eight-hour law in case of national emer
gency (ch. 180). The same act authorizes him to fix the precedence
of ships and war material in time of war over other products; also to
cancel or take over contracts, and to let contracts on a basis of costs
plus a fixed percentage of profit.
Not strictly falling under the head of suspensions, but introducing
in some cases a new factor in the control of industrial conditions, with
a grant of new and unusual powers, are the laws of several States
creating councils of defense. A Council of National Defense was
created by an Act of Congress of August 29,1916 (39 Stat., 619, 649).
This is established “ for the coordination of industries and resources
for the national security and welfare ” and consists of designated
members of the Cabinet, who are to nominate for presidential ap
pointment an advisory commission of seven persons specially quali
fied to render service in the field indicated. Cooperation with this
body is contemplated under the terms of the laws creating the State
bodies, as well as a coordination of the activities of the State bodies.
The laws vary considerably in their scope, some giving authority
to take action of a rather comprehensive nature, and providing ade
quate funds, while in others only an investigative or advisory capac
ity is contemplated, and no appropriation unless for expenses is made.
In Maryland, for instance (ch. 24), the governor is to appoint a coun
cil to cooperate with the national council and councils of other States
to assist in bringing about the highest effectiveness within the State,
to which end it may, among other things, “ organize and direct public
employment labor exchanges,” and cooperate with similar labor ex
changes in other States and with the United States Employment
Service. In Massachusetts (ch. 342) the governor is authorized to
take over property with the approval of his council. The State
board of labor and industries is directed to appoint a committee to
consider applications for emergency suspensions of labor laws; hear
ings are to be had, and the board can revoke the authority of the
committee in its discretion. All permits for suspensions are to be
38
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
void 60 days after the close of the war. In West Virginia (second
extra session, ch. 4) the State board of public works is made a State
council of defense with executive authority, besides which an ad
visory council appointed by the governor is provided for. The ex
ecutive council may adopt and enforce rules and regulations govern
ing the operation of railroads, mills, mines, manufacturing estab
lishments, etc.
A number of the laws are less explicit, the common intent being
fairly expressed in the declared purpose of the legislation adopted
in California on the subject (ch. 32), which is to develop produc
tion, eliminate waste, and look after the interests of those on whom
the burden of the War falls; or, as the Minnesota act (ch. 261) ex
presses it, the commissioner is to act in the event of war to secure
public safety and perform all acts and things necessary and proper,
•so that the military, civil, and industrial resources of the State may
be most efficiently applied to the maintenance of the defense of the
State and Nation. In Colorado (extra session, ch. 1) the governor
is directed to cooperate with the National Government in securing
an adequate production of foods and the necessaries of life. Other
States having councils of general authority are Georgia (p. 93),
Illinois (p. 153), Louisiana (No. 7), New Mexico (extra session,
chs. 3, 5), Mississippi (extra session, ch. 37), Pennsylvania (No, 106),
Texas (first called session, c I l 8) r and Wisconsin (chs. 82^ 561, 647).
EMPLOYMENT OFFICES—UNEMPLOYMENT.
The growing influence of the idea of public employment offices
rendering free service to employers and the employed is manifested
not only by Federal legislation but by that of the States as well.
The Arizona Legislature (ch. 2.1) arranges for a State board of
control whose duty is to establish free employment offices under
rules and regulations prescribed by the United States Department
of Labor, an annual appropriation of $2,500 being provided. In
Arkansas (No. 11) the commissioner of labor is to establish a cen
tral office; branches also are to be established where convenient to
the greatest numbers of persons, the latter to be without cost to the
N o te . — In order to summarize the effect o f the War ©n labor legislation,, brief reference
may here be made to a number of provisions noted elsewhere. First in order are the
compulsory service laws o f Maryland and West Virginia, noted on p. 7 ; next are the
suspension of the Federal eight-hour law (p. 17), the authorized suspension of the
eight-hour law of Alaska (p. 17), and Sunday labor laws of Georgia and Massachusetts
(p. 19). The action of the legislatures of California and New York as to school at
tendance (p. 31), and that of New Hampshire in its woman and child labor law (p. 34),
and of Pennsylvania as to the employment of women (p. 36), in providing for waivers
of provisions supposed to limit production, come under this head.
A different aspect appears in tbe action of the Louisiana Legislature in calling for
equal wages for women taking the places of men on account of war conditions (p. 35)
and of that of Pennsylvania in authorizing the employment of convicts on county or
almshouse farms as a war emergency (p. 56).
EM PLOYMENT OFFICES---- U NEM PLO YM EN T.
39
State. An amendment to the Colorado statute (ch. 76) authorizes
the establishment of an additional office at the city of Grand Junc
tion. The State of Georgia joins the list of those having free em
ployment offices by an act (p. 88) which extends the scope of activi^
ties of the State department of commerce and labor, particularly by
providing for the maintenance of free employment offices in con
cert with any person or persons, county, municipality, or govern
ment agency, including those of other States or the United States,
engaged in rendering such service without profit. The Minnesota
statute (ch. 113) also contemplates State and Federal cooperation in
the maintenance of one or more bureaus, the expenses to be borne
on an equitable basis. City and town clerks are to cooperate with
the commissioner of labor of New Hampshire, as he may request, in
the maintenance of free public employment offices (ch. 198).
Special classes of persons are the subject of amendments to laws of
Illinois (p. 518), in which the free employment offices are especially
charged to aid in securing employment for discharged convicts; in
Wisconsin (ch. 513), where employment for blind adults is to be
secured; and in New York (ch. 749), where the provisions of the act
relating to juvenile departments in public employment offices were
amended, emphasis being placed on vocational and trade training and
the suitable placement of children entering industrial employment.
An attempt to meet the problem of unemployment by a different
method is set forth in a statute enacted by the Legislature of Penn
sylvania (No. 411), the governor of the State, the auditor general,
the State treasurer, and the commissioner of labor and industry
being appointed to have the custody and management of a fund of
$50,000 to be used in providing labor on public works in times of
unemployment. Applicants for employment under the act must be
citizens of the United States and have resided in the State of Penn
sylvania for six months. The industrial board of the department
of labor and industry is directed to cooperate. Of similar intent,
though using different methods, is an act of the North Carolina
Legislature (ch. 170), which provides for a State board of charities
and public welfare, to be chosen by the general assembly on the nomi
nation o f the governor, one member to be a woman. The board is to
receive expenses, but no pay for its services. It is charged with the
duty of studying nonemployment, poverty, vagrancy, housing, etc.;
it is also to encourage the employment of county superintendents of
public welfare and cooperate with them, one duty of the latter being
the finding of employment for the unemployed. The act also author
izes county commissioners throughout the State to employ such
county superintendents.
The regulation of private employment agencies was likewise the
subject of a number of laws, an annual license fee of $5 being pre
40
•REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
scribed by an act of the Arkansas Legislature (No. 11). A bond
must be given and a register of applicants kept. A registration fee
of not more than $2 may be charged, and this must be returned if
no position is obtained for the applicant within one month. Besides
the provision of the Georgia law as to public offices noted above,
the same act (p. 88) authorizes the commissioner of commerce and
labor to superintend private employment agencies and emigrant
agents. Private agencies must be licensed, the application to be
indorsed by two taxpayers of the county. A bond is also required.
Emigrant agents must also be licensed and give bond and make
monthly reports to the commissioner showing the names, addresses,
and number of people carried out of the State, the points to which
taken, the kind and character of work s e c u r e d by them, fees charged
and by whom paid, etc.
The legislatures of Florida (ch» 7273), Tennessee (ch. 70), and
Texas (ch. 36, third called session) also considered the subject of the
emigrant agent, i. e., agents securing workmen to perform service
outside the State. In Florida an annual fee of $2,000 is required for
each county in which business is transacted, and no fee for a fraction
of a year is to be accepted. The fee provided by the Tennessee statute
is $500 annually. The Texas statute fixes a fee of $50 for each county
in which business is transacted and limits to $2 the charge made; this
must be returned within 30 days if no employment is secured.
The law of Michigan on the subject of private employment agents
was amended (No. 244) merely in the matter of the nature of the
bond required. A new law was enacted in Nebraska (ch. 199) re
pealing prior legislation. It is in the main similar to the earlier
law, but differs in providing two grades of license fees, according
to the population of the locality in which the business is to be carried
on. The maximum limit of fine for dividing fees is stricken out5
and the section penalizing employers who fail to fulfill the terms
of their contracts is likewise omitted;, A new law was also enacted
in Oklahoma (ch. 181), the principal changes from the former law
being an increase of the license fee from $5 to $50, and of the amount
of the bond from $250 to $500. Receipts are to be given persons for
whom employment is procured, showing all the details of the trans
action. No fee may be charged for registration, arid the amount of
fees for service is limited; dividing fees with a superintendent,
foreman, or other employing agent is forbidden. Employers are
penalized if they fail to fulfill the contracts entered into. The
Legislature of Tennessee enacted its first regulative law on this sub
ject (ch. 78). The statute contains the customary provisions as to
giving bond, the keeping of a register, and the procuring of a license,
the license fee ranging from $10 to $50 annually, according to the
population of the locality. Applicants for employment must be in
EM PLOYMENT OFFICES---- U NEM PLO YM EN T.
41
formed as to the conditions of labor and the existence of labor dis
putes, if any, and the registration fee is to be returned if no place
is procured within 10 days. The Michigan Legislature adopted a
measure (No. 256) looking toward a different solution of the problem
of unemployment by authorizing the formation of companies to write
unemployment insurance; while in Oregon (H. Con. Res. No. 15)
a committee was authorized to investigate the subject of unemploy
ment and poverty and recommend remedial legislation.
The immigration law of the United States (ch. 29) may be noted
in this connection, primarily for the reason that it makes provision
for efforts to secure a distribution of aliens immigrating into this
country, and in general because the wThole question of immigra
tion is closely connected with that of employment and the labor
supply. The act in question retains and extends the provisions of
former legislation on the subject of immigration, including the pro
hibition of the bringing in of contract labor, the offer of inducements
for immigrants, advertising to secure immigration, etc. Illiteracy is
in general a bar to admission as an immigrant. Specific provisions
are made with reference to ships’ crews and their discharge in the
United States. Note may also be made here of a Massachusetts law7
(ch. 321) which creates a bureau of immigration of five persons, to be
appointed by the governor, one member to be a woman and two mem
bers to be representatives of immigrant races. Service is to be given
without compensation, but expenses are to be reimbursed, and for
this $10,000 is made available. The term of appointment is five
years, and the bureau is charged with the duty of protecting immi
grants and aiding in education, assimilation, and naturalization.
BUREAUS OF LABOR.
Important changes are made in the laws of a few States to be noted
under this head, though in most instances they were merely amend
ments of subordinate rank. Taking the States in alphabetical order,
the first act to be noted is one of Arkansas (No. 161), which author
izes the commissioner of labor to file information for the violation of
labor laws, including the.minimum wage law, with any mayor, judge
of a municipal court or other court of competent jurisdiction, where
upon warrants are to be issued without delay. In California (ch.
211) there is a reclassification of deputies and assistant deputies, a
larger appropriation is made for rents and expenses, and the salary
of the commissioner is increased from $3,000 to $4,000 per annum.
In Connecticut (ch. 306) the title of the chief officer becomes com
missioner of labor and factory inspection, instead of factory inspector,
and a salary of $1,600 is fixed instead of a per diem of $5 for actual
services.
42
EE VIEW QF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
The Illinois Legislature enacted a civil administrative code of the
State (p. 2),, provision being made for a department of labor, a de
partment. of mines and minerals, and a department of registration
and education, among others. At the head of each department is a
director, with subordinate and adjunct officers, boards, and commis
sions. In the department of labor are an assistant director, a chief
factory inspector, a superintendent of free employment offices, a chief
inspector of private employment agencies, and the industrial com
mission of five officers designated as industrial officers. A mine
board and a miners’ examining board are to be in the department
of mines, besides an assistant director* In the department of regis
tration and education an assistant director is provided for and a
superintendent of registration. State and local advisory boards for
free employment offices are to be appointed. The industrial com
mission administers the workmen’s compensation and the arbitration
and conciliation acts. The examination of mine inspectors, mine
foremen, etc,, is in the department of mines and minerals, while the
department of registration and education looks after the examination
and licensing of horseshoers and barbers.
The only act of the Indiana Legislature to be noted under this
head is an act (ch. 79) abolishing the State bureau of statistics. The
Kansas appropriation act (ch. 1) made minor changes as to the
salaries and expenses of the staff of employees in the department of
labor and industry. A Michigan act (ch. 98) increases the total
allowance for office expenses for the department of labor from $45,000
to $65,000, also making increases in salaries. Considerable changes
were made in the administrative provisions of the Montana law (ch.
92), the offices of inspector of boilers, inspector of steamboats, and
coal-mine inspector being brought within the industrial accident
board, which exercises general supervision. The appointment of in
spectors is placed in the hands of this board. The New Hampshire
law is amended (ch. 142) by declaring that proceedings before the
labor commissioner acting as mediator of labor disputes are not to be
admitted as evidence for any purpose in any judicial proceeding.
In New Jersey a supplemental law as to inspectors (ch. 58) estab
lishes four grades and fixes the salary of each grade. Persons seek
ing appointment must pass a civil-service examination, while a non
competitive examination must be passed to secure promotion; ap
pointments to the two higher grades are to be made only by promo
tion. Salary increases for the assistant commissioner and the chief
inspector are provided for, conditioned on recommendations and the
passing of examinations. Minor changes are mads in the Ohio law
(p. 157) authorizing investigations and hearings by one member of
its industrial commission or by a deputy, orders made by such person
BUREAUS OF LABOR.
43
to be regarded as orders of the commission when approved by it, and
so set forth on the records. An act of the Pennsylvania Legislature
(No. 139) provides for the grading- and classification of inspectors,
three classes to be formed, the inspectors to be assigned thereto on
the basis of results of examinations held. Another act (No. 345)
increases the salaries of supervising inspectors and of the chief of the
bureau of mediation and arbitration.
A reversal of the usual order is found in an act of the Philippine
Legislature (No. 2668), which reduces the salary of the director of
the bureau of labor from 7,000 pesos to 5,000 pesos ($3,500 to $2,500).
Another act (No. 2711) pjaces the bureau of labor in the department
of commerce and communications; the duties of this bureau are to
enforce laws as to labor aiid capital, promote the enactment of bene
ficial legislation, compile statistics as to labor and industry, inspect
factories, railways, vessels, and industrial and commercial establish
ments, aid labor in securing a just compensation for injuries, etc.
The mediation of disputes, the maintenance of a free employment
office, and the supply of an attorney for legal aid to the needy are
other functions of this bureau. The commissioner of agriculture
and labor of Porto Eico is directed (J. Res. No. 2) to appoint an
assistant to perform the duties that may be assigned to him by law
and to act in the absence of the commissioner or, in case of his death
or removal, until a successor is appointed and qualified.
A reorganization is made by an act of the Legislature of Utah (ch.
100), and conflicting laws are repealed. An industrial commission is
created in connection with the enactment of a workmen’s compensation
law, the commission being charged with the enforcement of provisions
contained in the act as to safe working places and guards for dangerous
machinery, and wTith the inspection of factories and mines, the issue
of orders after hearings, the gathering of statistics, etc. Employers
are required to supply data requested by the commission, and to
keep records of injuries and other matters to be reported upon. In
Vermont, on the other hand (No. 171), the industrial accident
board, created to administer the compensation law, is abolished, and
its enforcement is placed in the hands of a commissioner of industries,
who is to be also State inspector of factories, enforce labor laws, and
make statistical reports biennially. No law is displaced by a statute
of Wyoming (ch. 113), this State for the first time providing for a
bureau of this nature. The chief is designated as commissioner of
labor and statistics, appointment being made by the governor. A
condition is prescribed that the appointee must not have been an
official of a labor organization for six months prior to his appoint
ment. He is charged with the duty of collecting statistics and enforc
ing labor laws, the act itself establishing regulations as to safety
44
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
devices, guards for dangerous machinery, the right of the commis
sioner to enter working places for inspection, etc. Coal mines and
railroads are not within the purview of this office.
MOTHERS5 PENSIONS.
Although aid has long been rendered needy persons in various
forms of outdoor relief, it is only*of recent years that the definite pro
vision for assistance of mothers of children under working age has
been provided for in the form commonly known as mothers’ pensions.
The permanence and growth of the idea are indicated by the fact that
10 States having laws of this kind passed amendatory legislation in
1917, while 6 States enacted original laws on the subject. The labor
aspect of these laws is negative rather than positive, benefits on ac
count of children usually terminating when they have reached the
age of permitted employment. While differing in details the prin
ciples are much the same in the different States, applicants being re
quired to make a showing of citizenship, of the suitableness of the
mother to have the care of her children, of the fact of dependence,
of the proper use of the funds furnished, etc. Juvenile or other
courts may be charged with the supervision of the laws, or local
boards provided for. The amounts allowed vary considerably, the
law of Arizona (No. 70) permitting the payment of $20 for the first
child under 16 years of age, $15 for the second, $10 for others, with
a maximum monthly benefit of $60. The law of Arkansas (No. 326) ■
is hardly more than local in effect, 40 of the 75 counties of the State
being exempt from its operations. Benefits provided for are $10 per
month for one child under 15 years of age, and $5 for each additional
child. Benefits under the Delaware law (ch. 227) are payable only
when there are children under 14 years of age, and are $8 per month
for one and $4 for each additional child, though extra allowances
may be made in cases of sickness or emergency. The administrative
commissioners are required to see that children receiving this aid are
sufficiently clothed and fed and attend school regularly.
Amendments to the Illinois law (pp. 220, 221) relate to questions
of citizenship and other qualifications. A woman may hold a home
stead of not more than $1,000 in value, while the ability of relatives
to furnish aid is not a bar to benefits, unless a judgment of a court
has ordered them to support the claimant. In Iowa (ch. 150) relief
may be continued until the child is 16 years of age instead of stop
ping at 14 as originally provided for. The Kansas statute is
amended (ch. 138) by making two years’ residence a test of eligibility
instead of but one. Other amendments relate to procedure and the
records to be kept. The law of Maine (ch. 222) contemplates aid for
needy mothers not necessarily widowed or the wives of convicts or
M OTH ERS* PEN SIO N S.
45
insane persons, as is usually specified. Children under 14 years of
age may receive aid to the amount of $10 per month for one, and $4
for each additional child, five years’ residence in the State being a
precedent condition. The Minnesota law is repealed and a new one
enacted (ch. 223), children up to 16 years of age being entitled to
assistance instead of only to 14, if they are “ not lawfully entitled to
apply for and receive an employment certificate.” More elaborate
details as to procedure and the conditions on which benefits may be
received are laid down* and the juvenile court may require the
mother to work a certain number of days per week if not detrimental
to health or causing neglect of her home. The maximum monthly
payment is fixed at $15, with $10 for each additional child. The Mis
souri law formerly applied to counties having at least 250,000 in
habitants; a new act (p. 151) provides for counties of a smaller popu
lation. Allowances are made to widows, divorced wives, and those
whose husbands are convicts or permanently incapacitated, if there
are children under 16 years of age. Needy women about to become
mothers may also receive assistance for three weeks before and three
weeks after childbirth if necessary to prevent neglect, and there is no
relative able or willing to aid. Allowances are fixed at $16 per
month where there is one child and $8 for each additional one, a
maximum of $40 being established. In Montana (ch. 83) a new law
advances the maximum age of beneficiaries to 16 years instead of 14,
and makes the allowance for one child $20 per month instead of $10.
If there are two or more children, $15 is to be allowed for the first,
$10 for the second, and $5 for each additional child, the total not to
exceed $50. In Nevada, on the other hand (ch. 11), the maximum
age of the child is reduced from 16 years to 15, $15 being paid for
each additional child instead of $5, the maximum being $55.
A number of restrictive provisions are incorporated in the Oregon
law on the subject by an amendment of 1917 (ch. 267), among others
being a requirement that the mother must be a citizen of the State
and of the United States, and must show affirmatively that she was
not in needy circumstances when she came into the State. The owner
ship of a home not in excess of $500 in value, as appraised by the
court, is not a bar to the receipt of aid. The Legislature of South
Dakota repealed former laws, enacting a new law (ch. 300) em
bodying practically the same provisions. Investigations of appli
cants are to be made by the county commissioners instead of the
State’s attorney; a higher tax levy (^ of a mill instead of ^ ) is also
authorized. An original law was passed in Texas (ch. 120) for the
aid of needy widows having children under 16, and who have been
bona fide residents of the State for a term of five years and of the
county for two years.- The benefits provided are for one child $12,
for two children $18, and for each additional child $4 per month.
46
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
The West Virginia law is rewritten (ch. 46) and provides benefits for
widows, abandoned wives, etc., who are mothers of two or more chil
dren under 13 years of age, if citizens of the United States, five years
in the State, and three years in the county, and without real estate
or personal property except household goods; $15 is payable on
account of two children, and $5 for each additional child, the total
not to exceed $25 per month. The Wisconsin law is amended (ch.
589) so as to permit payments on account of children between 14 and
16 years of age if they are unable to secure permits to work. The
maximum monthly benefits receivable by one family are fixed at $50
in counties of more than 3,000 inhabitants. Monthly statements of
expenditures and of receipts under the act must be made.
RETIREMENT FUNDS.
With a single exception the only laws to be considered under this
head relate to the public service, Hawaii (No. 220) establishing a
system of pensions for police officers, city firemen, etc., while in
New Jersey (ch. 91) an act of 1915, providing for pension ^unds for
employees of street and water departments in cities of the first
class, is appended by authorizing a refund of contributions of em
ployees separating from the service after as much as one year’s con
tributions have been paid, and providing for the admission of old
employees who have failed to become subscribers on the organization
of the fund; one of Pennsylvania (No. 194) strikes out the word
“ continuously ” as qualifying the nature of service which entitles to
a pension, and reduces the age for retirement from 70 years to 65
years; and one of Wisconsin (ch. 606) establishes a noncontributory
retirement system for all civil service employees on the basis of onehalf the salary received annually after 30 years of service if they
have become inefficient or incapacitated, or after 20 years of
service if disability is incurred in the performance of duty. The
New Jersey Legislature by a joint resolution (No. 11) provided for
a legislative committee of five persons to make a survey of the sub
ject of pension and retirement funds for public employees, and re
port to the current or a future session; $2,000 was appropriated for
the expenses.
The -Territory of Alaska has an old age pension law, which it
amended this year (ch. 49) by adding a provision allowing a pension
of $25 per month to pioneer women 60 years of age who meet certain
specified requirements. This act is alone in the provision made for
an old age pension based on need and not on employment status or
by means of an insurance system. That the subject of such pro
visions is of more general interest, however, is demonstrated by the
fact that in Pennsylvania a commission is provided for, whose duty
BETmEMENT FUNDS.
47
it is to investigate old age pension systems of other States and
nations, and report to the legislature in 1919. This commission of
seven persons* to be appointed by the governor, is to consist of two
members of the bar who have studied social problems, two employ
ers, two members of labor unions, and a woman expert in social
problems; an appropriation of $5,000 is made for expenses (No. 413).
In Ohio also (p. 520) and in Connecticut (ch. 163) provision is made
for the appointment of commissions to investigate and report on the
subject of old age insurance and pensions in connection with other
subjects.
EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY.
But little legislation appears under this head, the matter of redress
for industrial accidents being regulated in so many States by work
men’s compensation laws, which are reproduced in a separate bulle
tin. The law of Arkansas was amended (No. 364) by making the
period of limitation three years instead of two, as formerly; this
extension is made applicable to causes accruing before the date of the
amending act. An amendment to the Iowa statute (ch. 403) de
clares judgments against railroad companies on suits for personal
injuries to be liens on the property of the company in the county.
Not confined to cases of the employer’s liability but applicable
thereto is a provision of a North Dakota statute (ch. 179) declaring
settlements for personal injuries, or contracts retaining or employ
ing a lawyer to prosecute therefor, voidable if made while the injured
person is under disability or within 30 days after the receipt of the
injury. Steps to avoid such settlement or agreement must be taken
within six months. Any payment made on account of the settle
ment is to be considered as an offset in the final determination of the
case.
The New Jersey Legislature amended its law as to actions for
injuries causing death (ch. 180). Action may be brought by an
administrator appointed especially for the purpose unless there is an
executor under a probated will. The action is to be brought within
two years, and recovery is for the benefit of the widow or widower
and next of kin, to be distributed as personal property. Provision
is made for settlements not with the special administrator but with
a general administrator. A new law in Washington on the same
subject (ch. 123) repeals the existing law, designating the persons
for whose benefit action may be brought by the personal reprei entative.
REPORTS OF ACCIDENTS.
The only act of importance under this head is one of the Wyoming
Legislature (ch. 74), which directs all public utilities to report to the
State public utilities commission all accidents causing loss of life or
48
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
injury to persons or property arising out of the operation of their
plants, and a similar law of Porto Rico (Vol. II, No. 70). The
Wyoming commission is authorized to make investigations in its
discretion. The Wisconsin statute is made applicable (ch. 666) to
employers of three or more persons instead of four.
Belated to industrial accidents is the subject of occupational dis
eases, so that mention may be made here of the repeal by an act of
the California Legislature (ch. 2*27) of an earlier law requiring phy
sicians to report certain diseases of this .nature, the compensation
law of the State now making adequate provision for such reports.
ACCIDENT INSURANCE.
The Legislature of California (ch. 614) requires certain “ standard
provisions55to be ‘embodied in policies for accident insurance, among
them being specific provisions for proportional benefits when the in
jured person changes occupations. A Michigan act (No. 256) makes
provision for the formation of companies to write accident insurance,
and establishes the provisions of policies; cooperative and employers’
liability insurance may also be written by companies organizing
under the provisions of this act.
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.
Legislation under this head was of minor importance, an act of
the Montana Legislature (ch. 79) exempting labor, agricultural, etc.,
associations from the license tax assessed upon other corporations
organized and doing business in the State; while in New Hampshire
(ch. 177) organizations of the same classes are exempted from the
operations of the antitrust law of the State. In Vermont (No. 187)
the trade-mark law is made to extend specifically to the emblems or
trade-mark of labor organizations. The Porto Eican Legislature
enacted a new law (Vol. II, No. 42) on the protection of employees
as members of labor organizations, but of the same general effect as
an existing statute on the subject.
LABOR DISPUTES.
Incidental mention is made of the subject of labor disputes in an
act of the California Legislature (ch. 689) providing for the organi
zation of a home-defense guard, a proviso being inserted that this
guard is not to be used in case of strikes or other industrial disputes.
The Georgia Legislature, by a resolution (No. 10, p. 997), tendered
the aid of the committees of the House and Senate on the state of the
Republic in behalf of an early setlement of a strike then in force on
the Georgia, Florida & Alabama Eailway.
LABOR DISPUTES.
49
Mention may be made under this head of the rejection by referen
dum at the election in November, 1916, of an act of the Washington
Legislature of 1915 (ch. 181), which undertook to declare picketing
unlawful.
Laws of Minnesota (eh. 493) and Utah (ch. 68) embody provisions
quite similar to the Massachusetts act of 1914 (ch. 778) declaring
labor organizations not unlawful, and restricting the issue of in
junctions in labor disputes. Like that law, the statutes declare that
labor is not a commodity, and that picketing and persuading are
lawful. The Utah statute also contains provisions relative to trials
for contempt, giving to the accused the privilege of demanding a
jury, the trial to be conducted under the rules governing criminal
procedure. It may be noted that the Massachusetts law was declared
unconstitutional by the supreme court of that State. (Bogni v. Perotti,
112 N. E. 853; see Bui. 224, p. 181.) The Legislature of New
Jersey also regulated punishment for contempts, limiting the power
of the courts to punishment for misbehavior in the actual presence
of the court unless the conduct complained of was an act of dis
obedience or resistance to a lawful writ, process, order, or rule of the
court (ch. 37).
COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATIONS.
Corporations for the conduct of cooperative business may be
organized under special laws enacted in most jurisdictions. The
purposes of such associations provided for under an Alaska statute
(ch. 26) are for the conduct of the business of agriculture, dairying,
mining, manufacturing, or for any mercantile or mechanical busi
ness. Any number of persons not less than five may form an associa
tion, each member to have a single vote. In Florida (ch. 7384) not
less than 10 men may effect an organization, and the subject of the
voting power is left to the decision of the stockholders. Illinois
statutes (pp. 303, 304) authorize joint-stock corporations to change
to cooperative associations by a vote of two-thirds of their members,
and forbid the charging of any commission for the sale of stocK.
The Kansas law on the subject is amended (ch. 126) by requiring in
corporators to be citizens of the United States, and a majorhy of
them residents of the State. A new law was enacted in Michigan
(No. 239), former laws being repealed. The fundamental pro
visions are the same, and existing corporations, companies, and as
sociations may accept the provisions of the new law by a majority
vote of the stockholders. The Oregon statute, providing for one
vote per member, is changed in various ways by an act of 1917 (ch.
411), the principal departure being the authorization of an appeal
from a decision reached by the method of one vote per member to a
45913°—Bull. 2 4 4 -1 8 -— £
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
vote on the basis of the amount of business each member does, if
such vote is required to protect the welfare of the association in an
emergency. The Legislature of Tennessee enacted a law on the gen
eral subject (ch. 142), but applicable only to horticulture, agricul
ture, and dairying.
CIVIL RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES.
An Ohio statute (p. 601) forbids the practice of any policy which
would influence or tend to influence employees in political action,
whether as candidates for office or otherwise; while in the Philip
pine Islands (No. 2711, sec. 2656) threats of discharge or the lower
ing or raising of wages to prevent or influence voting are forbidden.
In Utah (ch. 92) employers are forbidden to make deductions from
the wages of their employees for the expenses of political campaigns,
and no one may pay another for time lost while voting or registering,
though this provision is not to be construed as authorizing the em
ployer to make deductions on account of time taken off to vote.
A form of legislation that seems to have originated in a desire to
permit railroad employees to exercise their franchise right at some
point most convenient for them, whether in their home precinct or not,
has received such an extension as to be of practically general applica
tion. The Missouri law (p. 274), however, retains something of a
labor aspect by specifying traveling salesmen and employees of rail
road companies among other persons to whom the act applies; voting
at primary elections is brought within the scope of the act. The
Arkansas statute (No. 175) applies to railroad employees, traveling
salesmen, students, and other persons unavoidably absent from the
county, voting elsewhere within the State being permitted. A Michi
gan law (No. 203) applies to designated classes of persons who expect to
be absent from their polling place, including railroad employees and
sailors. This act also forbids discharge or threats of discharge for
the purpose of influencing the votes of employees.
Few of the States make the limitation contained in the law o f Ar
kansas, but permit voting where the person may happen to be, whether
within the State or out of it, on conformity with the regulations pre
scribed. Details differ, but in general a ballot must be obtained from
the proper officer of the place of residence and certified to by an electiou or other officer authorized to administer an oath at the place
of voting, the ballot then being transmitted by mail. Other States
enacting laws on the subject were Florida (ch. 7380), Idaho (ch. 142),
Illinois (p. 434), Indiana (ch. 100), Iowa (amendatory, ch. 419), Min
nesota *(chs. 68, 120), Montana (ch. 155, repealing an earlier law),
North Carolina (ch. 23, also permits registration by mail), Ohio
(amendatory, p. 52), South Dakota (ch. 233), Tennessee (amenda
CIVIL EIGH TS CF E M PLO YE ES.
51
tory, chs. 8, 104), Texas {first called session, eh. 40), Washington
(amendatory, ch, 159), and Wisconsin (amendatory, ch. 570).
The Michigan statute noted above is in accordance with an amend
ment to the constitution of the State (Art. I l l , sec. 1), ratified at the
April election o f 1917, declaring that designated classes of qualified
electors absent from home on election day should not by reason thereof
be deprived of their right to vote, and authorizing the legislature to
provide by law the method of such voting, and to extend the law to
other cases than those named in the amendment.
Under this head mention may be made of an act of the Maine Legis
lature (ch. 259, secs. 130,131) making it a misdemeanor to prevent the
employment of a person because of his membership in the National
Guard or to obstruct or annoy a member or his employer in respect
of his trade, business, or employment, or to dissuade from enlisting
by threats as to employment. It is also made unlawful for labor
organizations to discriminate against workmen who are members of
the guard. In Ohio also (p. 382) an amendutory act was passed rela
tive to discrimination by employers on account of the membership of
employees in the National Guard.
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION.
While laws relating to vocational education are not strictly classi
fiable as labor laws, in no wise affecting the status of employers and
employees, their educational and economic interest is such as to war
rant at least some account of the marked progress that has been made
in this field within the past year. An act of the United States Con
gress (2d sess., ch. 114, 39 Stat., 939), approved February 23, 1917,
creates a board on vocational education consisting of the Secretaries
of Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor, the United States Commis
sioner of Education, and three citizens, one representing manufac
ture and commerce, one representing agriculture, and one represent
ing labor. This board is particularly charged with the encourage
ment of education in lines of agriculture, industry, and home eco
nomics. The plans for such education are to be formulated by the
State authorities, the approval of the Federal board being required.
An appropriation is made for the expenses o f the Federal board,
and separate funds for cooperation with the States in the work in
view. Allotments are to be made for instruction in agriculture in
proportion to the rural population in the States, and for instruction
in industry and home economics in proportion to the urban popula
tion. The States are to meet the allotments by appropriations for the
respective purposes equal to those made by the Federal Government,
the allotments made to be increased from year to year until the maxi
mum is reached in eight years. The initial appropriation made is
$1,000,000, and the maximum contemplated is $6,000,000 per annum.
O f 41 States whose legislatures met in regular session in 1917, 36
52
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
accepted the principle of cooperation set forth by the Federal law,
some making specific appropriations, while others pledged the good
faith of the State to meet the allotments made, still others directing
a distribution of the educational funds of the State in accordance
with the methods of administration laid down by the Federal law.
In some States a separate board was designated as a board of voca
tional education, while in others the existing State board of educa
tion was authorized to act.
The promptness with which the States acted on this subject (the
Federal law becoming effective only near or after the middle of the
session of several of the State legislatures) is indicative of a practi
cally universal acceptance of the system of vocational education
contemplated by the act. The States whose legislatures did not
act were Illinois, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, and
Washington. Those accepting the provisions of the law were Ari
zona (ch. 44), Arkansas (No. 181), California (ch. 720), Colorado
(ch. 150), Connecticut (ch. 383), Delaware (ch. 183), Florida (ch.
7376), Georgia (p. 200), Indiana (ch. 112), Iowa (ch. 300), Kansas
(ch. 280), Maine (ch. 186), Massachusetts (ch. 215), Michigan (No.
189), Minnesota (ch. 491), Mississippi (extra session, chs. 18, 29),
Missouri (p. 512), Montana (ch. 102), Nebraska, (ch. 227), Nevada
(ch. 209), New Hampshire (ch. 226), New Jersey (ch. 119), New
Mexico (extra session, ch. 2^, New York (ch. 576), North Carolina
(ch. 95), Ohio (p. 579), Oklahoma (ch. 155), Pennsylvania (No.
281) j South Carolina (Nos. 14, 44), South Dakota (ch. 227), Ten
nessee (ch. 57), Texas (first called session, ch. 45), Utah (ch. 124),
Vermont (No. 65), West Virginia (second extra session, ch. 8), Wis
consin (ch. 494), and Wyoming (ch. 99).
The Missouri Legislature enacted a precautionary provision that
if the legislature should at any time fail to make adequate appropri
ations for cooperative purposes, local school boards and the boards
of public institutions may use any funds under their control for the
purpose; while in Nevada and Iowa local communities are directed to
make contributions for the purpose. *
In part embodying the idea of vocational education, and in part
looking toward more elementary needs, are enactments made by the
legislatures of a number of States providing for evening schools.
Thus the California Legislature (ch. 717) authorizes the high-school
board of any high-school district to maintain evening schools, and
to establish part-time vocational courses in agriculture, commerce,
industries, trade, or other vocational subjects, instruction and prac
tice or employment to alternate, the employment to be on a commer
cially productive basis, under the supervision of compet^t certified
teachers. Laws of Iowa (ch. 97) and Minnesota (ch. 356) authorize
the boards of school districts to maintain evening schools for persons
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION.
53
16 years of age or over who are from any cause unable to attend day
school. A North Dakota statute (ch. 209) makes similar provision;
while in Tennessee (ch. 29) the minimum limit is fixed at 15 years.
In Nevada (ch. 191) the schools are to be opened to native and for
eign-born youths and adults; while in New Mexico (ch. 88) such
evening schools are to be maintained where there are 10 or more
illiterate or semi-illiterate persons desiring them. The South Caro
lina law (No. 24) is for the benefit of persons over 21; while in
West Virginia (ch. 74) night schools may be established for all per
sons, including those of foreign birth, except those required by law to
attend day schools. In some cases the State is to pay all expenses,
while in others the district must contribute one-half. The regular
teachers are designated in some instances, and the number of hours
per week and the term of the school are prescribed. The number of
applicants is fixed in some States, 10 being the minimum noted. In
the Philippine Islands (No. 2711, sec. 930) night schools are to be
maintained if 15 pupils over the age of 14 will be accommodated.
CONVICT LABOR.
Most of the States whose legislatures were in session in 1917
passed one or more laws on this subject. In the main, the enact
ments relate to specific lines of activity, as employment on roads
and bridges or other forms of public works, while other acts re
late to individual undertakings. In a few States laws abolishing
the contract or lease system were adopted, thus effecting more
important changes.
County convicts employed under a contractor for road construc
tion in Arkansas are to be allowed $1 per day on their fines and
costs (No. 330). An amendment adopted by the Connecticut Legis
lature (ch. 170) changes the previously existing law and permits
Ihe employment of convicts in the manufacture or preparation of
tobacco or other articles coming in contact with the mouth, the State
board of health to make regulations as to inspection, etc. Another
act (ch. 406) permits the employment of other than life prisoners
on highways on request of the highway commissioner. The levtv
court may employ Delaware convicts on the roads if the sheriff
does not find other employment for them (ch. 241). I f such em
ployment is found the sheriff is entitled to 10 per cent of the wages,
one-half the remainder going to the convict for dependents or
being allowed to accumulate for his benefit.
Three laws were passed by the Florida Legislature, one (ch.
7323) relating to county convicts, who may work on streets or be
leased for work in the county, directing that camps shall be super
vised by the superintendent of State convicts; the second (ch. 7324)
provides for the grading of State convicts by a physician, the men
54
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
to be employed on the State farm, on highways and State insti
tutions, or leased, while females may be employed only on the
State farm or in State institutions. The time of labor is fixed at
11 hours per day maximum, and 60 hours per week, including the
time occupied in going to and returning from work. The third
law (ch. 7325) creates a State convict road force to be employed
by the State road department and by contractors with it. In
Hawaii (No. 181) a board on the compensation of persons employed
is to fix the wages, the rate not to exceed 25 cents per day, the
earnings to be deposited in their behalf.
The Illinois law is
amended (p. 640) so as to allow the making of crushed rock and
other road material by convicts and to permit the sale of.surplus
rock, cement, etc. The Indiana Legislature (ch. 83) provided for
the establishment of manufactures for State use, with a view to
abolishing the system of contract labor.. The highway law of the
State (ch. 87) authorizes the employment of convicts in the prepa
ration and manufacture of road-building material if the governor
approves. The employment of convicts to work for private citizens
outside the penitentiary grounds is forbidden in Kansas (ch. 56),
surplus labor to be employed on State and county roads and other
work exclusively for the benefit of the State. Another act (ch.
168) speaks of employment on streets, highways, poor farms, and
public works, a credit of $1 per day on fine and costs being allowed,
no work to extend beyond 8 hours in 24. In Maryland (ch. 4)
provision is made for employment on streets and highways and
(ch. 15) on a State farm. A Massachusetts amendment (ch. 129)
contemplates the purchase or lease of lands for improvement and
cultivation by convicts, and the care and repair of public insti
tutions and highways adjacent to such property. Michigan statutes
provide appropriations for brickmaking and farm lands (No. 57)
and for the maintenance by counties of farms, factories, and shops
(No. 78). Counties not making such provisions may contract with
those that do for the care and employment of their convicts.
An act of the Missouri Legislature (p. 153) provides for the em
ployment of convicts on highways, a second act (p. 155) establishing
a State prison board to have control of all penal institutions, with
authority to purchase lands, plants, machinery, and equipment. The
contracting of convict labor is forbidden, the making of supplies for
State institutions, highway construction, including bridges, the manu
facture of lime for fertilizer, etc., and of binder twine being contem
plated. Prisoners are to be trained in occupations that will enable
them to earn a livelihood when released. Employment on public
roads or other public works is contemplated by an act of the Montana
Legislature (ch. 60). In Nebraska an amendatory act (ch. 133) pro
vides for employment of State convicts on highways and bridges by
CONVICT LABOR.
55
counties, cities, and villages, the prisoners and camps to be under the
supervision of State authorities. Another act (ch. 172) revises the
law as to the employment of county convicts, creating a board of
workhouse commissioners. Farm and industrial employments are
named, also contracting out, specifically with any city or village in
the county. A third act (ch. 265) makes appropriations for addi
tional industries to be carried on in the State penitentiary.
The Nevada department of highways is authorized to employ or
cause to be employed convicts in the State prison for the getting out
of materials, building roads, etc. (ch. 169), An amendment to the
New Hampshire law (ch. 45) permits employment in any occupation
thought desirable, to which end machinery may be provided and tools
obtained. The products are to be disposed of, so far as practicable,
to the public institutions of the State; employment outside the prison
walls is authorized. Another act (ch. 119) looks to the employment
of convicts on public highways, in preparing road material, and in
forestry.
Prisoners held for nonsupport in New Jersey may be employed at
wages not in excess of 50 cents for eight hours’ work, the same to be
paid to dependents (ch. 157). Provision is made as to the labor of
county convicts in general, all labor to be under the custody and
control of the sheriff, who provides guards or attendants (ch. 271).'
A similar wage as in the preceding law may be paid for similar
work time, all or part to go to dependents. The legislature of this
State provided further (joint resolution No. 1) for a commission of
investigation to report on conditions in penal institutions, and upon
the State-use system, employment on roads, prison farms, etc. This
resolution was adopted January 23, a report to the current session
being contemplated.
Acts of the New York Legislature provided a system for paying
State convicts employed on highways by counties or towns (ch. 318),
and extended the provisions for the employment of State convicts on
prison farms and at stone quarrying and crushing (ch. 391). The
highway law of North Carolina (ch. 284) authorizes the assignment
of county convicts to the county road commission for Jabor on the
highways. A general law as to State convicts (ch. 286) forbids leas
ing, and authorizes the employment of convicts for State use and on
public works and ways. Convicts are to be classified and allowed
wages, 10 hours being fixed as the period of a day’s work A statute
of North Dakota (ch. 167) takes up the subject of the discharged
convict, authorizing his employment at or in the penitentiary, or
by the lessee of a workshop at the penitentiary, for such time and at
such wages as the warden may approve. Before a contract for road
construction is let in the State of Ohio it is directed (p. 69) that
56
BE V IE W OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
request be made for prison-made materials, the same to be used if the
cost does not exceed the cost of material otherwise produced.
In Oklahoma county commissioners may take and use city or
town convicts for employment on public highways, at a rock pile
or crusher, or on other public work (ch. 234); a second act (ch. 236)
relates to the equipment of convict camps by the State board of
public affairs to enable the employment of State convicts on road
work. The highway law of Oregon (ch. 237) authorizes roads to
be built directly by the highway commission by the labor of convicts
delivered to the State engineer.
Laws of Pennsylvania authorize the employment of State and
county convicts by the State highway department (No. 314) ; on
county or almshouse farms as a war emergency (No. 337); while a
more general law (No. 399) looks to the establishment of industrial
farms, workhouses, and reformatories in the counties; convicts may
be employed at farm work and at making road-building material,
brick, tiling, and concrete, which may be sold. A law of the Philip
pine Islands (No. 2711, sec. 2239) provides that municipal convicts
may be made to labor on public works of the municipality.
Employment of State convicts on State roads is authorized by a
Rhode Island law (ch. 1511). A specific object is designated by a
South Dakota statute (ch. 351), being the construction of a drainage
ditch and spillway near the State penitentiary. The Tennessee Leg
islature announced its purpose to abolish the contract or lease sys
tem in the State, directing that all contracts expire not later than
April 1, 1919 (ch, 46).. Another act of the same legislature (ch. 40)
authorizes the State board of control, the Department of Agricul
ture of the United States, and the State department of highways,
to employ State convicts on post roads, the department of highways
to be instructed to use county prisoners on county roads in coopera
tion. In Texas also (first called session, ch. 32) the lease system is
abolished, the declared policy of the State being the employment of
convicts within prison walls or on farms. Nine hours are a day’s
work, except that on farms in summer 10 and 11 hours may be worked.
State detention farms where convicts may be employed are pro
vided for by a Vermont statute (No. 34), employment in the vicinity
being also permitted. Washington statutes relate to the employ
ment of convicts on highways (ch. 121), the sale of jute sacks
and other products of convict labor (ch. 56), and authorize counties,
cities, and towns to maintain jails, workhouses, or stockades any
where in the county, or to arrange for the joint maintenance of their
convicts, who may be employed on public works (ch. 103). The
Wisconsin Legislature provides that portions of the forest reserves,
not in excess of 5,000 acres, may be converted into farms by convict
labor if the State boards interested so decide (ch. 360). Another act
CONVICT LABOR.
57
(c h , 6 1 1 ) a m e n d s th e la w as t o e m p lo y m e n t o n S ta te b u ild in g s o r
b y b o a r d s o r d e p a r tm e n ts o f th e S ta te . L a w s o f W y o m i n g a u t h o r iz e
th e m a n u fa c t u r e o f g o o d s b y c o n v ic t s (c h . 1 0 9 ) o r p e r s o n s c o n fin e d
in th e in d u s t r ia l in s titu te o f th e S ta te (c h . 1 1 6 ) f o r sa le in th e o p e n
m a r k e t a t p r ic e s f o r th e b e st in te re s ts o f th e S ta te , as w e ll as f o r S ta te
u se. G o o d s o f. a n y k in d o r cla ss w h a ts o e v e r m a y b e m a d e .
A d iffe r e n t p h a s e o f th e c o n v ic t -la b o r p r o b le m w a s p a s s e d u p o n
b y th e C a lif o r n ia L e g is la t u r e (c h . 1 6 4 ), a r tic le s o f p e r s o n a l w e a r
m a d e b y c o n v ic t la b o r o u ts id e th e S ta te b e in g r e q u ir e d t o b e m a r k e d :
m e r c h a n ts s e llin g th e sa m e a re r e q u ir e d t o d is p la y a s ig n s b it ii-g
(h e fa c t .
C O M M IS S IO N S O N H O U S IN G , W E L F A R E , E T C .
U n d e r th is h e a d a re g r o u p e d a n u m b e r o f a cts a n d r e s o lu tio n s
w h ic h are o f s o c ia l a n d e c o n o m ic s ig n ific a n c e s p e c ific a lly r e la t in g t o
w o r k in g m e n in so m e in sta n ce s, w h ile in o th e r s th e y c o n c e r n s o c ie t y
s till m o r e g e n e r a lly . T h u s , in th e m a tte r o f h o u s in g , th e S ta te o f
M a ssa c h u se tts h a s ta k e n th e le a d b y th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f a h o m e s te a d
c o m m is s io n w h ic h is a u th o r iz e d (c h . 3 1 0 ) to ta k e o r p u r c h a s e , in th e
n a m e o f th e S ta te , la n d f o r sm a ll h o u se s a n d p la t s w h ic h m a y b e
s u b d iv id e d , im p r o v e d , s o ld , r e p u r c h a s e d , m a n a g e d , a n d c a r e d f o r f o r
th e b e n e fit o f w a g e e a rn ers. T h e su m o f $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 is m a d e a v a ila b le .
S o m e w h a t s im ila r a re th e p r o v is io n s o f a C a lif o r n ia s ta tu te (c h .
7 5 5 ) w h ic h cre a te s a la n d se ttle m e n t b o a r d , w h ic h is g iv e n a u t h o r it y
t o p u r c h a s e a g r ic u ltu r a l la n d s a n d im p r o v e , s u b d iv id e , a n d se ll th e
sa m e to a n y c it iz e n o f th e U n it e d S ta te s. D w e llin g s m a y b e b u ilt
a n d la n d s se e d e d . T w o ty p e s o f • a llo tm e n ts a re c o n te m p la te d , o n e
f o r fa r m s a n d a s m a lle r o n e f o r fa r m la b o r e rs . P r o p e r t y is t o b e
d is p o s e d o f o n e a s y p a y m e n ts e x t e n d in g o v e r l o n g te rm s, tr a n s fe r b y
p u r c h a s e r s b e in g r e s tr ic te d . T h e c o m m is s io n e r o f in t e r io r o f P o r t o
R i c o is a u th o r iz e d ( V o l. I I , N o . 2 8 ) t o e re ct h o m e s f o r w o r k in g m e n
o n p u b lic la n d s o r la n d s g r a n t e d b y m u n ic ip a lit ie s o r p r iv a t e i n d i
v id u a ls , th e b u ild in g s a n d la n d s t o b e m a n a g e d a n d d is p o s e d o f in
a c c o r d a n c e w it h r u le s a n d r e g u la t io n s la id d o w n b y a h o m e s te a d
c o m m is s io n . H o m e s m a y b e r e n te d o r s o ld , a n d $25 0 ,0 0 0 is a p p r o
p r ia t e d f o r th e w o r k o f th e c o m m is s io n .
T h e r e m a in d e r o f th e a cts a n d r e s o lu tio n s t o b e c o n s id e r e d r e la te
t o in v e s t ig a t iv e c o m m is s io n s , th e b r o a d e s t fie ld b e in g th a t p r o p o s e d
f o r a c o m m is s io n o f p u b lic w e lfa r e c r e a te d b y a n a c t o f th e C o n n e c
t ic u t L e g is la t u r e (c h . 1 6 3 ), t o in v e s tig a te th e a d v is a b ilit y o f c r e a t in g
a n a g r ic u ltu r a l a n d in d u s t r ia l b o a r d , th e m a tte r o f o ld -a g e p e n s io n s ,
h e a lth in s u r a n c e , fr e e e m p lo y m e n t b u re a u s , c o o p e r a t iv e s o c ie tie s ,
p a s t e u r iz a t io n p la n ts , a id t o fa r m e r s a n d s to c k g r o w e r s , r e fo r e s t in g ,
r u r a l lo a n s , r o a d im p r o v e m e n ts , te le p h o n e s a n d p o w e r c o m p a n ie s f o r
r u r a l d is tr ic ts , h o u r s o f la b o r , a n d m in im u m w a g e . R e p o r t is to b e
m a d e t o th e le g is la tu r e o f 1918,
58
REVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
A n O h io c o m m is s io n , a lr e a d y m e n t io n e d as a s s s ig n e d th e s u b je c t
o f o ld -a g e in s u r a n c e , is t o r e p o r t a ls o o n th e s u b je c t o f h e a lth in s u r
a n ce a n d sick n e s s p r e v e n t io n (p . 5 2 0 ), T h e s u b je c t o f s o c ia l in s u r
a n ce , w h ic h h a s a lr e a d y r e c e iv e d a tte n tio n in th e S ta te o f C a lif o r n ia
u n d e r a p r io r e n a c tm e n t, is t o b e fu r t h e r in v e s t ig a t e d b y a c o m m is s io n
o f sev en p e r s o n s , w h ic h is t o a d v is e le g is la t io n as t o th e a d o p t io n o f a
sy s te m o f s o c ia l in s u r a n c e in s u ch b r a n c h e s as th e c o m m is s io n m a y
r e c o m m e n d (c h . 3 1 2 ). A r e s o lu t io n (c h . 5 7 ) p r o p o s e s a n a m e n d m e n t
t o th e c o n s t it u t io n a u t h o r iz in g th e le g is la t u r e t o p a ss la w s p r o v id i n g
f o r in s u r a n c e a g a in s t th e h a z a r d s o f sick n e s s a n d d is a b ility .
I n I llin o is (p . 4 8 8 ) a c o m m is s io n is d ir e c t e d t o in v e s t ig a t e s ic k
n ess a n d a c c id e n ts n o t c o v e r e d b y th e c o m p e n s a t io n la w o f th e S t a t e
a n d r e p o r t in 1919. I n M a s s a c h u s e tts a ls o (R e s o lv e s , ch . 1 3 0 ) t h e r e
is a c o m m is s io n o f m e m b e r s o f th e h o u s e a n d se n a te a n d t w o o t h e r s
n a m e d b y th e g o v e r n o r t o in v e s t ig a t e th e s u b je c t o f h e a lth in s u r a n c e
a n d r e p o r t in J a n u a r y , 1918. T h e lo w e r h o u s e o f th e N e w H a m p s h ir e
L e g is la t u r e b y r e s o lu t io n p r o v id e d f o r a c o m m it t e e t o s tu d y th e
s u b je c t o f h e a lth in s u r a n c e a n d w o r k m e n ’s c o m p e n s a t io n a n d r e p o r t
its fin d in g s a n d r e c o m m e n d a tio n s t o th e s p e a k e r o f th e n e x t h o u se .
T h r e e s e n a to r s a n d th re e r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s o f th e P e n n s y lv a n ia L e g i s
la tu r e , t o g e t h e r w it h th re e p e r s o n s a p p o in t e d b y th e g o v e r n o r , a r e
t o in v e s t ig a t e th e s u b je c t o f sick n e s s a n d a c c id e n ts n o t c o v e r e d b y th e
S ta te c o m p e n s a tio n la w , th e a d e q u a c y o f p r e s e n t m e th o d s o f t r e a t
m e n t a n d o f m e e t in g lo s s d u e t o th e sa m e, th e in flu e n c e o f w o r k in g
c o n d it io n s o n h e a lth , a n d r e m e d ia l m e a su re s (N o . 4 1 4 ). A le g is la
t iv e c o m m itte e o n s o c ia l in s u r a n c e is t o in v e s t ig a t e th e s u b je c t, i n c lu d
in g in s u r a n c e a g a in s t o c c u p a t io n a l d ise a ses a n d sick n e s s, u n d e r a
r e s o lu t io n o f th e W is c o n s in L e g is la t u r e ( J o in t R e s . N o . 2 4 ). T h is
c o m m it t e e is a u th o r iz e d t o a c t d u r in g th e rece ss, a n d is g iv e n p le n a r y
p o w e r a s t o o a th s, in v e s t ig a t io n s , h e a r in g s , etc. (c h 6 0 4 ).
O t h e r in v e s t ig a t io n s p r o v id e d f o r r e la te t o th e s u b je c t o f th e c o s t
o f liv in g , a jo in t r e s o lu t io n o f C o n g r e s s (c h . 2 ) d ir e c t in g th e D e p a r t
m e n t o f L a b o r o f th e U n it e d S ta te s t o in v e s tig a te th e s u b je c t o f th e
c o s t o f l iv in g o f w a g e e a rn e rs in th e D is t r ic t o f C o lu m b ia a n d m a k e
r e p o r t . I n N e w H a m p s h ir e (c h . 1 6 0 ), i f 100 r e g is t e r e d v o t e r s m a k e
p e t it io n , th e A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l is a u t h o r iz e d t o m a k e a n in v e s t ig a t io n
o f th e c a u se o f a n y r ise o f p r ic e o f n ece ssa rie s, n o t in c lu d in g u n d e r t h a t
te r m w o r k o r la b o r o n fa r m s a n d th e fr u it s t h e r e o f, o r f a c t o r y p r o d
u c ts p r o d u c e d b y “ p r o le t a r ia n s o r n e a r p r o le t a r ia n s .” I n N e w
J e r s e y ( J o in t R e s . N o . 2 ) th e g o v e r n o r is t o a p p o in t a c o m m is s io n o f
fiv e p e r s o n s t o c o n s id e r th e h ig h c o s t o f l iv in g a n d r e p o r t o n th e p o s
s ib ilit y o f r e d u c in g th e sa m e t h r o u g h m a r k e t in g s y s te m s o r o t h e r
w is e . A r e p o r t t o th e th e n c u r r e n t se s s io n o f th e le g is la t u r e w a s
d ir e c t e d .
LAWS OF VARIOUS STATES RELATING TO LABOR
ENACTED SINCE JANUARY 1, 1917.
ALASKA.
A C TS O F 1917.
C hapter
4.—H otirs o f lab or in m in es .
B e it en acted by th e L e g isla tu re o f th e T er r ito r y o f A la slca :
S ection 1. Employment in underground coal mines, under-
. What wor k
ground lode mines, underground placer mines, in underground dangerousR° d
coal, lode or placer workings, and in all other underground mines
or workings of any kind or nature whatsoever, is hereby declared
to be injurious to health and dangerous to life and limb.
S e c . 2. The period of employment of any person in underEight-h ou r
ground coal mines, underground lode mines, untierground placer day*
mines, underground coal, lode or placer workings, and in all other
underground mines, or workings of any kind or nature whatso
ever, shall not exceed eight hours within any twenty-four hours,
except on such days as change of shift is made, excluding, how
ever, any intermission of time for lunch or meals, or otherwise
going to, or from the place where the work is actually carried
on, whether going to or coming from the place of work be in go
ing on, or off shift, or in going to, or returning from meals or
lunch. It being the intention of this act to limit the hours of em
ployment in any twenty-four hours to eight hours of actual labor
at the face, or other place or places where the work or labor
to be done is actually performed; except in case of emergency,
where life or property is in imminent danger, the period may be
extended during the continuance of such emergency.
S ec. 3. Any person, persons, body corporate, general manager,
Violations,
foreman or employer, who shall employ, or cause to be employed
any person or persons in violation of the provisions of this act,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon a first con
viction shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100, nor
more than $500, or by imprisonment in the Federal jail, not less
than sixty days, nor more than six months; or by both fine
and imprisonment. Upon a second conviction within the mean
ing of this act as hereinafter set forth, the punishment shall be
imprisonment in the Federal jail not less than sixty days, nor
more than one year.
A second conviction within the meaning of this act, shall be a
conviction for a violation of this at!t committed within a period
of two years after a previous conviction of the same person, per
sons, body corporate, general manager, foreman or employer for
a violation of this act. All other convictions within the meaning
of this act shall be first convictions. Every day’s violation of the
provisions of this act shall constitute a separate offense.
Sec. 4. Should it be adjudicated that any portion, section, or
P r o v is io n s
part of any section of this act, is unconstitutional or otherwise severable,
invalid for any reason, an adjudication of invalidity of such por
tion, section, proviso or part of any section of this act shall not
effect the validity of the act as a whole or any other part
thereof.
Approved April 16, 1917.
60
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
C hapter 51.— Mine regulations.
Summary.
[This act is a mining code for the Territory of Alaska, and
repeals chapter 72, acts of 1913, unci chapter 69, acts of 1915.
A Territorial mine inspector is to be appointed by the governor,
who is to be theoretically and practically qualified for hjs duties.
Besides the customary inspections, he is to examine the men in
charge of first-aid work, and, if requested, give instruction
therein. Orders as to unsafe mines are subject to review by the
governor, and through him an appeal may be taken for review
and revision by the United States Bureau of Mines. Reports of
accidents and investigations of the same are provided for. Sta
tistical records must be furnished by operators, and reports made
by the inspector covering the various branches of his activities.
The act prescribes guards for dangerous machinery, safety pro
visions in -the sinking of shafts, hoisting of men and materials,
construction of cages, etc., and requires escape shafts in all
mines having a depth of BOO feet. Boys under the age of 16 years
may not be employed underground. A code of signals is estab
lished by the law, and a list of articles necessary to be kept for
first aid to the injured. Only experienced men are permitted
to use high explosives, and provisions are made as to tamping,
blasting, storage, etc.]
C hapter
55.— Hours of labor— General employments.
Section 1. A period of employment for all wage earners, and
salary earners in the Territory of Alaska shall not exceed eight
hours within any one calendar day, except in cases when life or
property is in imminent danger. Employment as herein used
shall be construed as the performance of labor or services fop
any individual, partnership, association or corporation, whether
the person performing such labor or service be a member of
such partnership or association or stockholder or officer of such
corporation or not.
Violations.
S ec. 2. Any person, persons, association or corporation who
shall violate or cause to be violated any of the provisions of this
act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con
viction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100,
nor more than $500, or by imprisonment in the Federal jail not
less than sixty days nor more than six months, or by both such
fine and imprisonment. Every day’s violation of the provisions
of this act shall constitute a separate offense.
S ec.. 3. The governor of the Territory is hereby given the
Modi f i ca power to suspend or modify restrictions contained in this law
tio n s.
when such shall be requested by the Council of National Defense
or the Secretary of the Interior, and such modification or sus
pension when made shall continue for a specified period and not
longer than the duration of the present war, or during the con
tinuation of any future war with a foreign power.
Eight-h o u r
day,
Approved May 3, 1917.
A R IZ O N A ,
ACTS OF 1917.
C hapter 21.— F r e e em p loym en t offices— S ta te and F e d era l coop era
tio n .
Section 1. The State board of control is hereby authorized and
state board
empowered, and it is made a part of the duty of said board of of control,
control, to establish and maintain free employment offices in the tabiish offices!"
.State of Arizona. Said free employment offices shall be conducted
in cooperation with and under the established rules and regula
tion o f the Department of Labor of the United States.
Sec. 2. For the establishment and maintenance of free employA p p ropriament offices in the State of Arizona, as provided by section one of tion*
this act, there is hereby annually appropriated the sum of $2,500,
or as much thereof as may be necessary. The appropriation made
under the provisions of this act shall be set apart by the State
treasurer in a separate fund hereby designated The Free Employ-'
ment Office Fund. All moneys expended out of said fund shall be
under the authority and by the direction o f the State board of
control. The State auditor is hereby authorized and directed to
draw said warrant and the State treasurer is hereby directed to
pay said warrant from said fund.
Approved March 7, 1917.
C hapter 22.— P a ym en t o f w ages due d eceased em p loyees.
S ection 1. The surviving husband or wife of any deceased per- w ^ ^ o ut6 ad*
son may, without procuring letters of administration, collect from ministration,
any corporation, copartnership, association, or individual any
sum of money which said corporation, copartnership, association,
or individual may have owTed such deceased person at the time
of his or her death for wages earned by such deceased person
while in the employ of such corporation, copartnership, asso.
ciation, or individual, provided said sum of money shall not Limit*
exceed $300.
Sec. 2. Any corporation, copartnership, association or indiProcedure,
vidual, upon receiving an affidavit stating that a person previously
in the employ of any such corporation, copartnership, association
or individual is dead, and that the affiant in such affidavit is the
surviving husband or wife of such employee, as the case may be,
and that the whole amount that such corporation, copartnership,
association or individual owed such deceased person at the time
of his or her death, does not exceed the sum of $300, may pay to
such affiant any amount of such wages earned by said deceased
person if the same does not exceed $300, and the receipt of such
affi.’ iit shall be sufficient acquittance therefor.
Approved March 8, 1917.
C hapter
38.—E m p loym en t o f w om en —M inim um w a g es .
S ection 1. No person, persons, firm or corporation, transacting
business within the State of Arizona, shall employ any female in
any store,* office, shop, restaurant, dining-room, hotel, rooming
house, laundry or manufacturing establishment, at a weekly wage
of less than $*10 per week; a lesser amount being hereby declared
inadequate to supply the necessary cost of living to any such
female to maintain her health, and to provide her with the com
mon necessaries of life.
Ten dollars
minimum,
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
62
Violations.
S ec . 2. Any person, persons, firm or corporation violating any
of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and
upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less
$50, nor more than $300, or by imprisonment in the county jail for
not less than ten days, nor more than sixty days, or by both such
fine and imprisonment, for Qach separate offense.
Approved March 8, 1917.
C h a p t e r 7 0 . — Mothers'
B o a r d s of
child welfare.
Appointment.
Composition.
pensions.
S e c t i o n 1. Provision i s hereby made for the appointment o f
local boards of child welfare, which, subject to the provisions of
this act and through the vote of public moneys by local authorities
for such purpose, shall be empowered to grant allowances to
widowed mothers with one or more children under the age of
sixteen years in order that such children may be suitably cared
for in their own homes by such mothers: Provided always, That
such allowances shall be made only when the mothers are suitable
persons mentally and morally to bring up their children properly
and require aid to enable them to do so.
S e c . 2 . Within sixty days after the passage o f this act the judge
of the superior court of each county shall appoint a board of child
welfare for such county, and the clerk of the board of supervisors
.shall be secretary ex officio of such board.
S ec. 3. Where the appointment of the board of child welfare 'is
to be made by the judge of the superior court as herein provided,
such judge of the superior court shall appoint a board of child
welfare composed of seven members, with the county superin
tendent of the poor of the county or other officer exercising the
duties of county superintendent of the poor, a member ex officio
of such board. The said judge of the superior court shall also
appoint as members of such board, a representative each of the
public schools, and the public health authorities and of the
juvenile court, or in case there be no juvenile court, of the superior
court, in such county. He shall also appoint three additional
members of said local board of child welfare, two at least of whom
shall be women. The judge of the superior court shall appoint
the members of the said board of child welfare, with the exception
of the county superintendent of the poor or other officer exercising
like powers in the county who shall continue to serve during his
entire term of office, for definite terms of six years each: Provided,
however, That the places occupied by the representatives of the
public school and the public health authorities as well as the
representatives of the juvenile court or the superior court, shall
become vacant upon their retirement from such public school,
public health or court work, whereupon the vacancy so created
shall be filled for the balance of the term by some other represen
tative of such authorities: And further provided, That the judge
of the superior court shall appoint the original members of the
board of child welfare, except the county superintendent of the
poor or other officer exercising like powers in the county, for one,
two, three, four, five, and six years, respectively, and shall there
after when their terms expire appoint them or their successors for
terms of six years each. In the event of a vacancy occurring
before the expiration of a term of a member, the appointment to
fill such vacancy shall be for the balance of the term.
Sec, 4. The members of the board of child welfare, as herein
provided, shall receive no compensation for their services as mem
bers of such board, but shall be allowed the necessary expenses
incurred by them in the discharge of their official duties.
Allow ances
Sec. 5. The said boards of child welfare shall in their discre
to widows.
tion have authority and be empowered to grant an allowance to
any dependent widow resident in the county wherein she applies
for an allowance, provided such allowance be approved by the
board of supervisors of said county, who is of good habits and
character, and is at the time of such application for an allowance
the mother of one or more children under the age of sixteen years,
Expenses.
TE X T OF LAW S— ARIZON A.
63
living with and dependent upon her, provided such widow !s a
citizen of the United States and has been a resident of the county
where the application for an allowance is made for a period of
one year immediately preceding such application, and whose hus
band was a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the
State of Arizona at the time of his death, such allowance may by
a majority vote of all its members, duly entered upon the minutes
of any regular or special meeting of such board, be granted
directly by the said board of child welfare, subject to the approval
of the board of supervisors of the county, through its duly ap
pointed visitors, agents or other representatives. Before aiding
any mother to care for her children at home, the board of child
welfare shall determine that the mother is a suitable person to
bring up her own children and that aid is necessary to enable
her to do so.
Amounts.
S e c . 6. The allowance made to such widowed mother shall
not exceed $20 per month when such mother has but one child
under the age of sixteen years, and if she has more than one
child under the age of sixteen, the allowance shall not exceed $15
per month additional for the second child, and $10 per month
additional for each such other child. It is further provided, That
in no event shall the allowance granted to any one mother and
her children exceed the sum of $60 per month. The allowance
granted by the said board shall be paid out of any moneys ap
propriated by the local authorities empowered by law to appro
priate moneys for such purposes, or as provided by law for
meeting prospective deficiencies in the expenses of any county.
Applications for allowances may be made directly to any mem
ber of the board, or through the public school which the children
of the applicants for allowances are attending. A full and com
plete record shall be kept in every case coming either directly or
indirectly within the jurisdiction of the said department.
Du t i e s oi
S e c . 7. Each of said boards of child welfare shall:
boards.
1. Meet and organize within ten days after appointment, and
fix the dates for its meetings, which shall be held at least
monthly.
2. Elect a chairman who shall hold office subject to the pleas
ure of the board.
3. Establish an office.
4. Establish rules and regulations for the conduct of its busi
ness, which rules shall provide for the careful investigation of
all applicants for allowances and the adequate supervision of
all persons in receipt of allowances. Such rules shall further
provide that no grant of an allowance shall be made by the board
for a longer period than six months without renewal by the said
board and that reports shall be filed at least quarterly by the
agents, visitors or representatives of the board with respect to
the families in receipt of allowances granted by the said board.
5. Report annually in detail, to the board of supervisors, the
result of their transactions for the preceding fiscal year, with
such conclusions and recommendations as may be deemed wise
and expedient.
6. Submit annually to the proper fiscal authorities an estimate
of funds required to carry out the purposes and intent of this act.
Funds.
S e c . 8. The boards of supervisors of the several counties af
fected by this act shall appropriate in each year such sum or
sums as, in their judgment, may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of this act. In the case of the counties affected by this
act all the expenses for administration, and relief shall be paid
by the respective county.
Approved M^rch 19, 1917.
64
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
C hapter
9 0 . — E m p loym en t
on
p u b lic
w o rk s— P r e fe r e n c e
of
citizens.
Citizens to
be employed,
S ection 50. In all cases where money appropriated under the
provisions of this act [providing for State improvements, etc.] is
or shall be expended for labor, only citizens of the United States
or wards of the United States shall be employed, and actual bona
R e s id e n ts fide resident citizens of this State shall be given the preference
preferred.
whenever such labor as may be required can be found within this
State and before any labor can be sought outside of this State,
either directly or indirectly, the person, contractor, firm or cor
poration, shall file with the State auditor a verified written state
ment setting out in detail the effort put forth, showing his, their,
or its inability to secure such labor as is required within this State,
and if the auditor is satisfied of such inability, then the auditor
may execute a release permitting the bringing into this State,
such citizens only of the United States as may be needed for such
w^ork. Before any money herein appropriated shall be paid out
. for labor or construction, a verified statement shall be filed with
the auditor, showing strict compliance with the provisions of this
section. If the provisions of this section are not complied with, it
shall be unlawful to pay out any of the moneys herein appropri
ated ; and any contract entered into wherein the provisions of this
section have not been complied with, shall be void: Provided,
That nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the working of
prisoners by the State.
Approved March 20, 1917.
ARKANSAS.
ACTS OF 1917.
A ct N o.
11.—Free employment offices—Private offices.
S ection 1. The commissioner of labor shall maintain, in connecFree bureau
tion with his office, a free employment bureau, to be known as established.
“ The Arkansas Free Employment Bureau,” and for the purpose
of receiving and filing applications of persons seeking employ
ment and applications of persons seeking to employ labor.
Sec. 2. The commissioner of labor shall have supervision over
Branch buall branch bureaus that may be established.
reaus.
Sec. 3. The commissioner of labor is authorized to maintain
Same sub
branch free employment bureaus in the State, where, in his opin- 3ect*
ion, the convenience of the greatest number of people may be
served : Provided, Said branch bureaus shall be conducted without
cost to the State.
S ec. 4. The commissioner of labor shall preserve a record in Registers,
books kept for that purpose, names of all persons applying for em
ployment or help, designating the names and addresses of each
applicant, the character of employment or help desired. Separate
registers for applicants for employment shall be kept, showing
the names of all persons applying for employment 9r help, desig
nating the names and addresses of each applicant, the character
of employment or help desired, and in such register shall show
the age, sex, nativity, trade or occupation of each applicant, the
cause and duration of nonemployment, whether married or single,
the number of dependent children, together with such other facts
as may be required by the commissioner of labor to be secured
by said officer: Provided, That such statistical and sociological
data as the commissioner of labor may require, shall be held in
confidence by said office and so published as not to reveal the
identity of anyone: And provided further, That any applicant
who shall decline to furnish answers to the questions contained
in special registers, shall not thereby forfeit any rights to any
employment the office might secure.
Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of labor to
Placing
communicate "with manufacturers, merchants, and other em- workers,
ployers of labor in the State and to use all diligence in securing
the cooperation of employment bureaus. To this end it shall be
competent for such officers to advertise, under the direction of
the commissioner of labor, in newspapers, or other mediums, for
such situations as they have applications to fill, and they may
advertise in a general way for the cooperation of contractors
and employers in such trade or special publications as reach such
employers.
Sec. 6. No fee or compensation shall be charged or received,
directly or indirectly, from persons applying for employment or
help through said free employment bureaus or branch free em
ployment bureaus.
Sec. 7. The term “ applicant for employment ” as used in this
No fee.
Definitions,
article, shall be construed to mean any person seeking work of
any lawful character, and “ applicant for help,” shall mean any
person or persons seeking help in any legitimate enterprise; and
nothing in this article shall be construed to limit the meaning of
the term “ work ” to manual occupation, but it shall include pro
fessional services and all other legitimate service.
Sec. 8. No persons, firm, or corporation in this State shall open,
Private
operate, or maintain a private employment agency for hire with- fices*
out first obtaining a license for the same from the commissioner
45913°—Bull. 244— 18------ 5
65
of-
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
66
License fee.
Bond.
Register.
Feo,
Fee to be re
turned, when.
Acts
den.
forbid
Definition.
Funds.
of labor, and such license fee shall be $5. Such license shall be
of force for one year, but may be renewed from year to year
upon the payment of a fee of $5 for each renewal. Every license
shall contain a designation of the city, street, and number of the
building in which the licensed party conducts such employment
agency. The license, together with a copy of this article, shall
be posted in a conspicuous place in each and every employment
agency. The commissioner of labor shall require with each application for a license a good and sufficient bond in the penal
sum of $250, to be approved by said commissioner, and con
ditioned that the obligator will not violate any of the duties,
terms, conditions, provisions, or requirements of this article.
The said commissioner of labor is authorized to cause an action
to be brought on said bond in the name of the State for any
violation of any -of its conditions, and they [he] may revoke,
upon a full hearing, any license whenever, in his judgment, the
party licensed shall have violated any of the provisions of this
article.
S ec . 9. It shall be the duty of every licensed agency to keep a
register in a substantial book in the form prescribed by the com
missioner of labor, in which shall be registered the age, sex,
nativity, trade or occupation, name and address of every appli
cant. Such licensed agency shall also enter into a register the
name and address of every person who shall make an applica
tion for help or servants, and the name and nature of the em
ployment for which such help shall be wanted. Such register
shall, at all reasonable hours, be open to the inspection and ex
amination of the commissioner of labor or his agent. Where a
registration fee is charged for filing or receiving applications
for employment or help, said fee shall in no -sense [case] exceed
the sum of $2, for which a receipt shall be given, in which shall
be stated the name of the applicant, the amount of the fee, the
date, the name or character of the work or situation to be pro
cured. In case the said applicant shall not obtain a situation
or employment through such licensed agency within one month
after registration as aforesaid, then said licensed agency shall
forthwith repay and return to such applicant, upon demand being
made therefor, the full amount of the 2ee paid or delivered by
said applicant to said licensed agency: Provided, That such de
mand be made within thirty days after the expiration of the
period aforesaid.
S ec . 10. No agency shall send or cause to be sent any female
help or servants to any plaee of bad repute, house of ill fame or
assignation house, or any house or place of amusement kept for
immoral purposes. No such licensed agency shall publish or
cause to be published any false information or to [sic] make any
false promise concerning or relating to work or employment to
anyone who shall register for employment and no licensed agency
•shall make any false entries in the register to be kept as herein
provided. Any person convicted of a violation of any of the pro
visions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
fined not less than $10 nor more than $25 for each offense, or be
imprisoned in the county jail for a period not to exceed thirty
days, or both, at the discretion of the court.
Sec. 11. A private employment agency for hire is defined and
interpreted to mean any person, firm or corporation engaging in
the occupation of furnishing employment or help or giving infor
mation as to where employment or help may be secured or dis
playing any employment sign or bulletin, or, through the medium
of any card[,] circular or pamphlet, offering to secure employ
ment or help.
S e c . 12. The commissioner of labor shall make an itemized
account of all moneys received by him under the provisions of
this act, and pay the same into the State treasury as provided
by law.
A pproved Jan u a ry 22, 1917,
TEXT OE LAWS— ARKANSAS.
67
A ct N o. 75.— Railroads— Construction of engine cabs.
Construction
Section 1. It sMH be unlawful for any person, or persons, com
pany or corporation, or receiver of any railroad, to use or operate prescribed.
any locomotive engine in the State of Arkansas that is not so con
structed that the engineer and fireman will be located under the
same roof of engine cab at all times while engaged firing, running
and operating said engine. Said roof not to be more than four
teen (14) feet in length and to extend entirely over deck or
gangway of said engine.
Sec. 2. It is intended that section 1 of this act shall apply to
Scope.
engines of the “ Wooton firebox type,” or “ Mother Hubbard ” or
“ Double cab ” or “ Camel back ” engines only.
Sec. 3. Any person or persons, company or corporation, or re Violations.
ceiver of any railroad violating the provisions of this act, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall
be fined in any sum not less than $50 and not more than $500 for
each offense and each day shall constitute a separate offense.
Approved February 12, 1917.
A ct
No. 130.—Mine regulations—Inspector.
1. A mine inspector shall be appointed by the governor
A p p o i n t
immediately upon the taking effect of this act, who shall hold ment.
office until the first day of July, nineteen hundred and nineteen,
and until his successor shall have been appointed and qualified,
after which the term of office of each mine inspector shall begin
on the first day of July of every odd-numbered year and shall
continue for two years, and until his successor is appointed and
qualified, and 'all appointments shall be made by the governor of
the State. Said mine inspector shall not, while holding office, be Other inter
connected with or engaged directly or indirectly as owner, opera ests.
tor, agent, or director of any coal mine or other mining interests.
He shall have had eight years* actual experience as a practical
miner. He shall have an office, which shall be located in Fort
Smith, Arkansas, and shall safely keep all records, papers, docu
ments, and other property pertaining to, or coming into his hands
by virtue of his office, and deliver same to his successor. Said
mine inspector shall receive as salary for his services the sum Salary.*
of $2,000 per annum.
Sec . 2. The mine inspector, before entering upon the duties of
Bond.
his office, and within twenty days after his appointment, shall
make and execute a bond to the State of Arkansas, with one or
more sufficient sureties, in the sum of $5,000, conditioned upon
the faithful performance of his duties; same to be appointed
[approved] by the governor. When said bond is so approved, he
shall also take oath of office prescribed by the constitution; and
in the event that said mine inspector shall fail to make and
execute said bond within the. time prescribed by this act, his
appointment shall be declared void, and it is hereby made the
duty of the governor to appoint and have qualified a proper per
son in his stead, as contemplated by the provisions of this act.
Sec. 3. Said mine inspector shall be allowed all necessary
Expenses.
postage, stationery and other expenses of a similar character
necessary for the transaction of the business of the office; and
the said salary and expenses shall be paid as in the case of other
State officers. In addition to the salary, necessary traveling ex
penses while in the performance of the duties of the office shall
be allowed; but the total expenses, in addition to salary paid,
shall not exceed $1,000 per annum.
Sec. 4. The mine inspector shall devote his entire time to the
Duties.
duties of the office. It shall be the duty of the mine inspector, to
examine all mines as often as necessary, and not less than once
every three months: Provided, however, That employees of any
mine, as contemplated by the mining laws of this State, shall have
authority to call the said mine inspector, at any time in cases of
emergency for the enforcement of the mining laws of this State*
Section
68
L A B O B LEGISLATION OF 1917.
Inspections shall be made of the works and machinery used or op
erated by any mine; also the state and condition of the mines as to
ventilation, circulation and condition of the air, drainage, and the
number of accidents, injuries, or deaths occurring in or about the
mine, number of persons employed, and the extent to which the
laws relating to mines and mining are observed; the progress
made in improvements for the safety and health sought to be ob
tained by the provisions of the mining laws of this State, to
gether with all other such facts and information of public in
terest concerning the conditions of mine development and progress
in this State as may be deemed useful and proper; and to keep a
complete record of same, which shall be included in the mine in
spector’s annual report to the governor. Should the mine inspec
V io la tio n s , tor find any violations of the mining laws of this State by any
dangerous con owner, lessee, or agent in charge of any mine, notice shall imme
ditions, etc.
diately be given to such owner, lessee, or agent in charge of such
mine of the neglect or violation thereof, and unless the same is,
within a reasonable time, rectified, the mine inspector shall insti
tute a prosecution under the laws of the State, as hereinafter pro
vided. If the said mine inspector finds any matter, thing, or prac
tice in or connected with a mine to be dangerous or defective,
which makes it unsafe for persons employed therein, notice in
writing thereof to the owner, lessee or agent of such dangerous
or unsafe condition shall be given, and the said conditions shall,
by the said owner, lessee, or agent, be remedied without unnec
essary delay. For the purpose of making the inspection and ex
amination as contemplated by this act, the mine inspector shall
have the right to enter any mine at any reasonable time, by day
or night, but in such manner as shall not necessarily obstruct the
workings of said mine, and the owner, lessee or agent is hereby
required to furnish the means necessary for such entry and in
spection. The inspection and examination, as contemplated by
this act, shall extend to all coal mines where the same are oper
ated by shaft, slope, or drift.
Sec. 5. The mine inspector is hereby empowered concurrently
Enforce
with the sheriffs and constables throughout the State to make
ment.
[arrests] for any violations of the mining laws of this State,
but he shall make no arrest until after notice has been given as
provided in this act. Where, in the opinion of the mine inspector,
there is imminent danger to the life or health of the miners or
employees in said mine, said inspector shall at once notify the
person in charge of or operating said mine in which the danger
ous condition exists to immediately remove said danger, and on
failure to remove said dangerous condition without unnecessary
delay, said inspector shall order the mine, or dangerous portion
thereof, cleared of all persons except those necessary to remove
or remedy said dangerous condition. Upon the clearing of any
mine of persons employed therein, as herein provided, any owner,
lessee, or agent in charge of or operating any such mine may
apply to the chancery court within the jurisdiction of said mine
for a writ of injunction to enjoin the mine inspector from con
tinuing the prevention of the operation of said mine. Whereupon,
the chancellor of said court, either in term or vacation, shall at
once proceed t© hear and determine the case, and if the cause ap
pears to be sufficient after hearing the parties and their evidence,
as in like cases, the chancellor shall sustain or overrule the mine
inspector.
Sec. 6. Any person who shall willfully obstruct or hinder the
Offenses.
mine inspector in the discharge of his duties, and every owner,
lessee or agent, or manager of a mine who refuses or neglects to
furnish the mine inspector the means necessary for making entry,
inspection, examination or inquiry under the mining laws of this
State, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con
viction shall be punished as hereinafter provided. Should the
mine inspector willfully fail or refuse to perform any of the
duties required under the provisions of the mining laws of this
State, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon
TEXT OF LAWS—
j
69
conviction shall be fined in a sum not less than $100 nor more
than $1,000, and upon a second conviction for such failure or
refusal, shall be removed from office by the governor, and his
successor appointed within thirty days from the date of such
removal. Any owner, or agent, lessee, or other person convicted
of the violation of any of the provisions of the mining laws of this
State or failing in any manner to comply therewith, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be
fined in any sum not less than $50 nor more than $500 except
where provisions of the mining laws otherwise provide penalties.
Each day any such violation or failure shall continue on the part
of any owner, agent, lessee, or other person shall be deemed a
separate offense: Provided, That the provisions of this act do not scope of act.
apply to coal mines where less than ten men are employed under
ground in twenty-four hours.
S e c . 7. It shall be and is hereby made the duty of the prosecutP rosecu tin g
ing attorney in the district wherein the mine inspector shall arrest attorney,
or cause to be arrested any person or persons violating the provi
sions of the mining laws of the State to at once take charge of
and prosecute the same with reasonable diligence.
S e c . 8. This act shall not repeal any of the mining laws of the
Construction
State, except wherein it specifically conflicts, but shall be cumu- o£ act*
lative to all mining laws now in force.
Approved February 23, 1917.
A
ct
N o.
161.— Commissioner of labor—Enforcement of laics.
S e c t io n 1. From and after the passage of this act the commisinformation
sioner of labor, or any person duly authorized by' him, shall file to be filed,
information with any justice of the peace, mayor, or judge of
municipal court or any other court of competent jurisdiction, for
any violations of any of the labor laws of this State.
Sec. 2. Upon said information being filed, it shall be the duty W arrants,
of said justice of the peace, mayor, judge of municipal court, or
other courts of competent jurisdiction to issue warrants for said
violations without delay.
S e c . 3. It shall be the duty of all circuit judges of the State of
Circuit
Arkansas to charge the grand juries specifically for the violations judges,
of the minimum wage law, child labor law and all other labor laws
of the State.
Approved March 3, 1917.
A
ct
N o.
174.— Protection of employees on street railways.
S e c t io n 1. Every electric street car, other than trail cars,
Screens
to
which are attached to motor cars, shall be provided during the be provided,
months of November, December, January, February, and March
of each year, at the front end, with a screen composed of glass or
other material which shall fully and completely protect the driver,
motorman, gripman or other person stationed on such front end
and guiding or directing said car, from wind and storm.
Sec. 2. Any person, agent, or officer of any association or corpo- Violations,
ration violating any of the provisions of section 1 shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in a
sum not less than $25 nor more than $100 for each day that any
car belonging to or used by such person, association or corpora
tion is permitted to remain unprovided with the screen required
by section 1 of this act.
Approved March 6, 1917.
A
ct
No. 190.—Factory, etc., regulations— Fire marshal.
S ection 1. For and during a period of thirty years from the
Office c re
time this act takes effect; there is hereby created and established ated*
at the seat of government of this State, the office of insurance
commissioner and State fire marshal.
70
-TTZ^BOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
Duties.
Sec. 6L * * * It shall also be the duty of the insurance com
missioner and State fire marshal to enforce all laws of this State
regarding the prevention of fires; the installation and mainte
nance of automatic or other fire alarm systems and fire extin
guishing equipment; the storage, sale and use of combustibles
and explosives; the construction, maintenance and regulation of
fire escapes; the means and adequacy of exit, in case of fire, from
factories, * * * and all other places in which numbers of
persons work, * * *.
No. 294.—Employment, of children— School attendance.
A ct
Scope
law.
of
Attendance.
Exemptions.
1. From and after September first, nineteen hundred
and seventeen, every parent, guardian, or other person residing
within the State of Arkansas, having in custody or charge any
child or children between the ages of seven and fifteen, both in
clusive, shall send such child or children to a public, private, or
parochial school under such penalty for noncompliance with this
act as is hereinafter provided for.
Sec. 2. The minimum session of attendance required under this
act shall be three-fourths of the session or sessions of the pub
lic school in the district or districts in which the child or chil
dren resides. All children shall be required to enter school not
later than two weeks after the opening of the session or term.
Sec. 3. The following classes of children between the age of
seven and fifteen years shall be exempted from the provisions of
this act: (a) Children mentally or physically incapacitated to
perform school duties; (b) children who have completed the common-school course of study, including the seventh grade as out
lined by the State superintendent of public instruction; (c) chil
dren whose services are needed to support widowed mother.
S ection
*
*
*
Approved March 21, 1917.
A ct N o. 326.—Mothers* pensions.
[This
act,
though
general in form, is by its own provisions made
Scope.
inapplicable to thirty-five of the seventy-five counties of the State,
thus making it practically classifiable as a local law. It is to be
Administra .administered by the juvenile courts in counties where such exist,
and by the county courts elsewhere. Widows, deserted wives,
tion.
and wives of husbands incapacitated for work or confined in the
State penitentiary, citizens of the LTnited States and residents
for one year in the county in which the application is made, are
eligible if the mother of a child or children under fifteen years of
age. The amount of relief may not exceed $10 per month for one
Amount.
child, and $5 for each additional child. The usual investigations
as to need, fitness, and so forth, are required, and supervision is
to be exercised by officers appointed by the court.]
A ct
Act amended.
Limitation.
No. 364.— Liability of employers for injuries to employees.
1. Section five of act Number One hundred and seventyfive of the Acts of Nineteen hundred and thirteen [shall] be
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 5. No action shall be maintained under this act unless com
menced within three years from the date the cause of action
accrued, and this shall apply to all causes of action heretofore
.accrued if suit has been filed or shall be filed within three years
from the date the cause of action accrued.
Approved March 24, 1917.
Section
A ct
Act amended.
No. 391.—Employment of children— General provisions.1
1. Section eight of the initiative act Number One, ap
proved October thirteen, nineteen hundred and fourteen, [shall]
he amended to read as follows:
Section
1 The title of this act is, “ An act to amend Initiative Act No. 1, an act
to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of minors, to conform to act
of Congress regulating interstate commerce in products of child labor.”
2TEXT OF LAW S— AKIMEST SAS.
71
Sec. 8. The person .authorized to issue an employment certifi- P o w e r to
cate shall be, and is hereby., authorized and empowered to make and m
rules,
prescribe, and from time to time to change and amend such rules
and regulations not in conflict with this act, as he may deem
necessary and proper to secure satisfactory evidence of the age
of the child: Provided, however, That the evidence of tlie age
required under .such rules and regulations as to proof of age pre
scribed by any rules and regulations, and pursuant to the act of Standard.
Congress entitled, ‘An act to prevent interstate commerce in the
products of child labor and for other purposes,' approved Septem
ber one, nineteen hundred and sixteen. [Sic.]
A ct No. 428.— Inspection of steam boilers.
Section 1. The commissioner of labor of the State of Arkansas
inspector to
shall on the first day of April, nineteen hundred and seventeen, be appointed,
appoint one inspector of steam boilers. The person appointed shall
t>e a practical boilermaker with not less than ten years’ practical
experience, and shall be qualified in the use and construction of
t>oilers, generators, and their appurtenances used for the genera
tion of steam for power, steaming or heating purposes, and shall
he neither directly nor indirectly interested in the manufacture,
ownership or agency of the same. The duties of said inspector
shall be to inspect steam boilers throughout the State as here
inafter specified and directed. The inspector shall hold office for
a term of two years from the date of appointment, and until
his successor shall be appointed and qualified, and before entering
on the duties of his office he shall give a good and sufficient bond Bona,
in the sum of $5,000 for the faithful performance of his duties,
to be approved by the attorney general and deposited with the
secretary of state. Said inspector shall receive an annual salary Salary,
of $2,000, to be paid monthly out of a fund as hereinafter provided,
and shall be allowed all necessary traveling expenses; said ex
penses not to exceed $1,000.
S ec . 2. The inspector shall devote his time and attention to
Duties,
the duties of his office. He shall carefully inspect and test every
boiler and steam-generating apparatus under pressure, as pro
vided by this act, including all attachments and connections lo
cated within the State of Arkansas, once annually, and shall give
the owner or user of any boiler five days’ notice of the time he
shall make such inspection: Provided, The boiler used on rice
farms shall be inspected during the months of March, April, and
May, and boilers used for ginning purposes shall be inspected dur
ing the months of June, July, and August: Provided, The owner
or user of any steam boiler in the State of Arkansas [who] may
insure such boiler in any reputable insurance company, and who
shall desire to have an inspection made for the purpose of said
insurance may give the said State boiler inspector ten (10) days’
notice in writing of the time of such contemplated insurance, and
it shall thereupon be the duty of said State steam-boiler in
spector to cause the annual State inspection, by this act provided,
to be made at the time that said examination for insurance is
made. He shall examine into and report to the governor the
cause of boiler explosions that occur within the State. He shall
keep in his office a complete and accurate record of names of
owners or users of steam boilers inspected, giving a full descrip
tion of the same, the amount of pressure allowed and the date
when last inspected, the kind and make of boilers, and shall make
annual report to tlie governor.
.Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of every owner or user of a steam D u t y o t
boiler or boilers, in use or to be used in any part of the State, owners, etc.
within sixty days after the passage of this act, and each year
thereafter at such convenient times, and in such manner and form
72
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
as may be determined by the rules and regulations to be there
fore [therefor] made by the inspector, to report to the said in
spector the location of such steam boiler or boilers. Strength
and security of such boiler shall be treated [tested] by hydro
static pressure, each boiler being tested one-quarter greater than
the ordinary working steam pressure used and to a pressure de
manded by the owner. The certificate of the inspection herein
provided shall state the maximum pressure at which such boiler
may be worked. If at any time the inspector shall find a boiler,
in his judgment, unsafe after inspection of the same, he shall
condemn its future use. All boilers to be tested by hydrostatic
pressure shall be filled with water by the owner or user and
pumps shall be furnished by the inspector, if necessary. All cer
tificates shall be for one year unless sooner revoked for cause.
S ec. 4. The owner and user of steam boilers or engineers and
Pressure.
firemen in charge of same shall not allow a greater pressure in
any boiler than is stated in the certificate of inspection granted
by the inspector.
Before the owner or user of any steam boiler or boilers shall
Notice of in
have a boiler placed in position, he or they shall notify the in
stallation.
spector, who shall within ten days from the date of receiving
such notifications, examine the same and satisfy themselves
that the construction material* bracing, and all other parts of
such boiler or boilers are such as to assure the safety of same.
No person or persons shall use or cause to be used for generating
steam in [sic] any boiler that has been condemned as unsafe by
the inspector. Any person or persons violating the provisions
Violations.
of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine in any sum
not to exceed $1,000, or by imprisonment for a period not exceed
ing two years, or by both fine and imprisonment.
Fees.
S ec. 5. There shall be paid for the inspection of each boiler,
according to the provisions of this act, the sum of $3 to be paid
by the owner, user or agent, of the same occupying the building
in which it may be situated and the inspector shall receipt for
same. In case the owner, user, or agent of any boiler or boilers
Failure t o to the inspector [sic] shall fail to report the location of any
report.
boiler or boilers to the inspector, he shall be liable to pay a penalty
of $50, and in case the owner, user, or agent of any such boiler
or boilers shall fail to have some [same] ready for inspection, as
aforesaid, he shall be liable to pay the fee and expenses of the
inspector incurred in the inspection of boiler or boilers and a
penalty of $10 thereto in addition, fees, penalties and expenses in
all such cases may be sued for recovery in any court of record by
and in the name of the State of Arkansas and in any county of the
State, and it shall be the duty of the prosecuting attorney of the
district wherein such county may be situated to prosecute all such
suits.
Offenses b y
S ec. 6. The State boiler inspector of steam boilers provided for
inspector.
in this act who shall knowingly issue a certificate of safety, and
a commission to run any such boiler or boilers that are not safe
and in good condition, and for every failure to perform his duties
as herein directed, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon
conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine in the sum of not
less than $100 or by imprisonment for a period of not less than
two months, or greater than one year, or by both fine and im
prisonment.
S ec. 8. It is the duty of the owner or user or agent of steam
A c c e s s to
boilers to allow the inspector free use and access to ,same.
boilers.
Scope of act.
S ec. 9. The provisions of this act shall not apply to steam
vessels, nor to boilers where the United States Government laws
have jurisdiction, or to boilers used for house heating purposes
using a pressure of 15 pounds or less.
Approved March 28, 1917.
CALIFORNIA.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
52.— Labor on highways— Wages and hours.
S ection 35. * * * A maximum of eight hours shall constttute a day’s labor and $3 shall be the minimum charge paid for
such day’s labor performed upon the work of construction.
Approved April 5, 1917.
C h apter
Standards,
74.— Factory etc. regulations.—Elevators.
S ection 1. No power elevator or hand-power elevator, unless
inspection
exempted in the following section, shall be operated in any place required,
of employment in this State unless a permit, as hereinafter pro
vided, for the operation thereof, shall have been issued by the in
dustrial accident commission, and unless such permit shall remain
in full force and effect. The operation of such elevator by any
person owning or having the custody, management or operation of
such elevator without such permit shall constitute a misdemeanor,
and each day of operation of such elevator without such permit
shall constitute a separate offense: Provided, That no prosecution
shall be maintained where the issuance or renewal of such permit
shall have been requested and shall remain unacted upon. When
ever any elevator in any place of employment is being ^operated
without the’ permit herein required, and is in such condition that
its use is dangerous to the life or safety of any employee, the
industrial accident commission, a commissioner or any safety in
spector thereof, or any person affected thereby may apply to the
superior court of the county in which such elevator is located for
an injunction restraining the operation of such elevator until such
condition shall be corrected. Proof by certification of the said
commission that such permit has not been issued, together with
the affidavit of any safety inspector of the commission that the
operation of such elevator is dangerous to the life or safety of any
employee, shall be sufficient ground for the immediate granting of
a temporary restraining order.
S ec . 2. Elevators under the jurisdiction of the United States
Exemptions.
Government, and all elevators operated by employers not subject
to the safety provisions of the workmen’s compensation, insurance
and safety act of nineteen hundred and seventeen and acts
amendatory thereof, are exempted from the provisions of this act.
S ec . 3. The industrial accident commission shall cause power
Times of in
elevators to be inspected, not less frequently than twice each year speetion.
and hand-power elevators not less frequently than once each year.
If such elevators shall be found upon such inspection to be in a
safe condition for operation, a permit shall be issued by said com
mission for their operation for not longer than six months for a
power elevator or longer than one year for a hand-power elevator,
which shall be the permit referred to in section one. If such in
spection shall show such elevator to be in an unsafe condition, the Unsafe concommission, or a commissioner, may issue a preliminary order re- ditions.
quiring such repairs or alterations to be made to such elevator
as may be necessary to render it safe, and may order the use of
such elevator discontinued until such repairs or alterations are
made or such unsafe conditions are removed. Unless such pre
liminary order be complied with, a hearing before the commission,
a commissioner or referee of such commission shall be allowed,
upon request, at which the owner, operator or other person in
74
Who
Inspect.
'MTt^liXBOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
m ay
Fees.
Reports.
charge of such elevator shall have opportunity to appear and
show cause why he should not comply with said order. If it shall
thereafter appear to the commission that such elevator is unsafe
and that the requirements contained in said preliminary order
should be complied with, or that other things should be done to
make such elevator safe, the commission may order or confirm
the withholding of the permit to operate such elevator and may
make such requirements as it deems proper for its repair or altera
tion or for the correction of such unsafe conditions. Such order
may thereafter be reheard by the commission or reviewed by the
courts in the manner specified by the workmen’s cdfnpensation,
insurance and safety act of nineteen hundred and seventeen for
safety orders, and not otherwise. If the operation of such ele
vator during the making of repairs or alterations is not imme
diately dangerous to the safety of employees, the commission may,
in its discretion, issue a temporary permit for the operation of
such elevator for not to exceed thirty days during the making of
such repairs or alterations. Nothing contained in this act shall
be construed as a limitation upon the authority of the commis
sion to prescribe or enforce general or special safety orders.
Sec. 4. The commission may, in its discretion, cause the inspec
tion herein provided for to be made either by its safety inspectors
or by any qualified elevator inspector employed by an insurance
Company, or may issue its permit, based upon a certificate of in
spection issued by qualified elevator inspectors of any munici
pality, upon proof to its satisfaction that the safety requirements
of such municipality are equal to the minimum safety require
ments for elevators adopted by the commission: Provided, That
such persona making inspections shall first secure from the com
mission a certificate of competency to make such inspections. The
commission is hereby vested with full power and authority to
determine the competency of any applicant for such certificate,
either bv examination or by other satisfactory proof of qualifica
tions. Tne commission may rescind at any time, upon good cause
being shown therefor, any certificate of competency issued by it
to an elevator inspector, or may at any time, upon good cause
being shown therefor, and after notice and an opportunity to be
heard, revoke any permit to operate such elevator. Nothing con
tained in this act shall be construed to limit the authority of the
commission to prescribe or enforce general or special safety
orders*
Sec. 5. The commission may fix and collect such fees for the
inspection of elevators as it may deem necessary, not to exceed $2
for each inspection or $4 per year for each elevator. Such fees
must be paid before the issuance of any permit to operate such
elevator. No fee shall be charged by the commission where an
inspection has been made by an inspector of any insurance com
pany or municipality, if such inspector holds a certificate of com
petency from said commission. All fees collected by the commis
sion under this act shall be paid into the accident prevention
fund.
S ec. 6. Every inspector so certified shall forward to the com
mission, on the forms provided by it, within twenty-one days after
such inspection is made, a report of such inspection, in default of
which his certificate of competency may be canceled.
Approved April 6, 1917.
C hapter 108.—-Employees’ bonds mid photographs— Costs.
S ection 1. Whenever a bond or photograph of an employee or
Employer to
pay costs.
applicant for employment is required by any employer of labor
said employer shall pay the cost of such bond or photograph.
Sec. 2. Any person violating any provision of this act shall
Violations.
be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not less than
$25 nor exceeding $500.
Sec. 3. The commissioner of the bureau of labor statistics of
Enforcement.
thev State of California shall enforce the provisions of this act.
Approved April 20, 19.17.
TE X T OE LA W S---- CALIFO RN IA.
75,
4
C h a p t e r .141.— Coercion of employees in trading.
Coercion un
S ection 1. It shall be unlawful for any employer o f labor, or
any officer, agent or employee o f any employer o f labor to make, lawful.
adopt or enforce any rule or regulation compelling or coercing
any employee to patronize said employer, or any other person,
firm or corporation, in the purchase o f any thing o f valu e: Provided, however, That nothing herein shall be interpreted as pro
hibiting any employer o f labor from prescribing the weight, color,
quality, texture, style, form and make o f uniform s required to be
worn by their employees.
Sec. 2. Any .person, whether as an individual, or as an agent
or employee of a firm, or as an officer, agent or employee of a
corporation, who shall violate any of the provisions of this act,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof
shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100 or by imprison
ment in the county jail for a term not exceeding six months, or
by both such fine and imprisonment.
Penalties.
Approved April 26, 1917.
C hapter 172.— Employment of labor—-Foremen, etc., accepting
fees.
Acceptance
Section 1. Any employer or agent or representative o f an em
ployer or other person having authority from his employer to forbidden.
hire, employ, or direct the services o f other persons in the em
ployment of said employer, who shall demand or receive directly
or indirectly from any person then in the employment o f said
employer, any fee, gift or other remuneration or consideration,
or any part or portion o f any tips or gratuities received by such
employee while in the employment o f said employer, in consid
eration or as a condition o f such employment or hiring or employ
ing any person to perform such services for such employer or of
permitting said person to continue in such employment, is guilty
Penalty.
o f a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not
more than $300 for such offense, or by imprisonment for not more
than six months or by both fine and imprisonment. All fines
imposed or collected under provision of this act shall be paid into
the State treasury and credited to the contingent fund o f the
bureau of labor statistics.
Sec. 2. Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to
A ct
con*
apply to employment agencies or employment agents licensed and strued.
operating under the laws o f the State of California.
Enforce
S ec. 3. This act shall be enforced by the commissioner of the
ment.
bureau o f labor statistics.
Sec. 4. An act * * * designated chapter fifty-six of the
statutes of 1915 is hereby repealed.
Repeal.
Approved May 5, 1917.
Chapter 177.— Registration of factories, etc.
S ection 1. [This act amends section 1 o f Chapter 255, Acts o f
1913, by adding thereto the follow in g :]
Whenever the commissioner o f labor shall have been notified or
Duty of comotherwise becomes aware o f the existence o f a new factory, or mi s s i o n e r of
labor.
factories, he shall forw ard a notification o f said fact on or
before the tenth day of each month to the State board o f health
and to the board o f health or the health officer o f the city and
county wherein said factory or factories may be located.
Approved May 5, 1917.
C hapter 192.— Employment of children— Closing schools in war
emergency.
S ection 1. During the continuance o f a state o f w ar between the
When schools
United States o f Am erica and any foreign power, the State board may be closed,
o f education, w ith the approval o f the governor, shall have power,
76
IJ S W
LEGISLATION- O F 1917.
whenever in the opinion o f a m ajority o f its members such step is
necessary for the planting or harvesting o f crops or for other
agricultural or horticultural purposes and is fo r the welfare o f
the State, to make an order closing, for such time as may be
specified therein, any or all educational institutions supported
wholly or in part by the State, or any grade or class thereof, and
may in like manner, by similar order, postpone the opening o f
any or all such educational institutions,, or any grade or class
Proviso.
thereof, during the continuance o f a state o f w a r : Provided, how
ever, That the annual school term shall not be reduced to less
than six school months under the provisions o f this a ct: And
provided further, That whenever any such educational institution
is closed, or the opening thereof is delayed, under the provisions
o f this act, the salary o f any teacher regularly employed shall be
paid according to any written contract between the governing
board o f such educational institution and such teacher, or in case
there is no written contract, according to any salary schedule
adopted by such board. In case there is neither such contract or
salary schedule, the total salary paid for any school year in
w hich such order is made shall not be less than the salary paid by
the governing board o f such institution for similar service during
the preceding school year. It is further provided that nothing
herein contained shall in any manner affect the amount o f money
apportioned to any school district during any school year.
Scope, etc.
Sec. 2. Such an order issued under the provisions o f section one
hereof may be made applicable to such district, city, city and
county, county or group o f any thereof as the State board o f edu
cation may determine and specify therein, and may be altered,
amended or rescinded from time to time.
Sec. 3. Inasmuch as the United States is now involved in war,
Act in effect.
this act is hereby determined and declared to be an urgency
measure necessary for the immediate preservation o f the public
peace and safety, within the meaning of section one o f article
fou r o f the constitution and shall take effect immediately.
Approved May 5, 1917.
C hapter 201.— Railroads— Safety of employees— Powers
of in
dustrial accident commission.
Railroad re
S ection 1. The industrial accident commission o f the State of
pair shops.
California is hereby vested with jurisdiction, as provided in the
workmen’s compensation, insurance, and safety act o f one thou
sand nine hundred seventeen, and acts amendatory thereof, subject
to the provisions o f section three hereof, over the safety o f em
ployees o f steam railroads employed in shops devoted to the con
struction or repair o f railroad equipm ent; the safety o f employees
o f electric interurban or street railroads, employed in the genera
tion, transmission or distribution o f electric energy, or in shops
devoted to the repair o f railroad equipment, or in any nonpublic
utility operation o f such railroads; and the safety o f employees
o f all other public utilities as such utilities are defined in the
public utilities act.
Jurisdiction
Sec. 2. The jurisdiction vested in the industrial accident com
of r a i l r o a d mission o f the State o f California by section one hereof shall in
commission.
no instance, except those affecting exclusively the safety o f em
ployees, be construed to impair, diminish or in any way affect
the jurisdiction o f the railroad commission o f the State o f Cali
fornia over the construction, reconstruction, replacement, main
tenance, or operation of the properties of public utilities as defined
in the public utilities act, or over any matter affecting the relation
ship between such public utilities and their customers or the
general public.
Orders may
Sec. 3. I f the industrial accident commission, in the exercise o f
be modified.
the authority and jurisdiction conferred by this act, makes or
issues any order, decision, ruling or direction, which in the ju dg
ment o f the railroad commission, unduly and prejudicially inter
feres with the construction or operation o f any public utility
77
TEX T OF LAW S— C A L IF O l£ M C r
affected thereby, or with the public, or with a consumer or other
patron o f a public utility affected thereby, the railroad commis
sion, o f its own motion, or upon application o f any utility or per
son so affected, may suspend, modify, alter or annul such order,
d ecision ruling or direction o f the industrial accident commis
sion, and the action o f the railroad commission in that regard
shall supersede and control the order, decision, ruling or direction
of the industrial accident commission previously made in the
premises.
Sec. 4. This act shall not be construed to repeal or m odify the , A c *
act entitled “ An act regulating the placing, erection, use, and rue '
maintenance o f electric poles, wires, cables, and appliances, and
providing the punishment for the violation thereof,” approved
April twenty-second, nineteen hundred and eleven, as amended.
Approved May 9, 1917.
c 0n-
C hapter 202.— Inspection, etc., of steam boilers.
Section 1. No steam boiler, unless exempted in the follow ing
Inspection
section, shall be operated in the State of California unless there requirea*
shall have been issued for the operation o f such boiler a permit,
as hereinafter provided, and unless such permit shall remain in
full force and effect. Such permit must be posted under%glass
in a conspicuous place on or near the boiler covered by it.* The
violation o f this section by any person owning or having the
custody, management, or operation o f such boiler without such
permit shall be a misdemeanor and the operation o f such boiler
w ithout such permit shall constitute a separate offense for each
day that it shall be so operated: Provided, That no prosecution
shall be maintained where the issuance or renewal o f such permit
shall have been requested and shall remain unacted upon. I f the
operation o f such boiler without such permit shall constitute a
serious menace to the lives or safety o f persons employed about it,
the industrial accident commission, a commissioner or any safety
inspector thereof, or any person affected thereby, may apply to
the superior court o f the county in which such boiler is situated
for an injunction restraining the operation o f said boiler until
such condition shall be corrected or such permit secured. The
certification o f the industrial accident commission that no permit
exists for the operation o f such boiler, and the affidavit o f any
such inspector that its operation constitutes a menace to the life
or safety o f any person or persons employed about it, shall be
sufficient proof to warrant the immediate granting o f a tempo
rary restraining order.
Sec. 2. The following boilers are exempt from the provisions
of this act:
Exemptions,
(1) Boilers under the jurisdiction or inspection o f the United
States Government, and all other boilers operated by employers
not subject to the workmen’s compensation, insurance, and safety
act o f nineteen hundred and seventeen, and #acts amendatory
thereof.
(2) Boilers o f twelve horsepower or less, on which the pressure
does not exceed fifteen pounds per square inch.
(3) Automobile boilers and boilers on road motor vehicles.
Sec. 3. The industrial accident commission shall cause to be gp^ticm ° f *n"
inspected, internally and externally, not less frequently than once
in each year, every steam boiler subject to the provisions o f this
act. I f such boiler be found upon such inspection to be in a safe
condition for operation, a permit shall be issued by the commis
sion for its operation fo r not longer than one year, which shall
be the permit referred to in section one o f this act. I f any such
inspection shall show such boiler to be in an unsafe or dangerous
Unsafe concondition, the commission, or a commissioner, may issue a pre- ditions.
liminary order requiring such repairs or alterations to be made to
such boiler as may be necessary to render it safe, and may order
78
' •rt^BO R LEGISLATION OP 1911.
tlie use o f such boiler discontinued until such repairs or altera
tions are made or such dangerous or unsafe conditions are reme
died. Unless such preliminary order be complied with, a hearing
^before the commission, a commissioner, or referee o f such com
mission, shall be allowed, upon request, at which the owner, oper
ator or other person in charge o f said boiler shall have oppor
tunity to appear and show cause why he should not comply with
said order. I f it shall thereafter appear to the commission that
such boiler is unsafe and that the requirements contained in said
preliminary order should be complied with, or that other things
should be done to make said boiler safe, the commission may
order or confirm the withholding o f the permit to operate said
boiler, and may make such requirements as it deems proper
fo r the repair or alteration o f said boiler, or the correction o f
such dangerous and unsafe conditions. Such order may there
after be reheard by the commission, or reviewed by the courts, in
the manner specified by the workmen’s compensation, insurance,
and safety act o f nineteen hundred and seventeen for safety
orders, and not otherwise. It may also, in its discretion, issue
and renew temporary permits for not to exceed thirty days each,
pending the making of replacements or repairs. Nothing con
tained in this act shall be construed to limit the authority o f
the commission to prescribe or enforce general or special safety
orders.
Sec. 4. The commission may cause the inspection herein pro
Who may
inspect.
vided for to be made either by its safety inspectors or by any
qualified boiler inspector employed by any county, city and
county, city, or insurance company, or by any boiler inspector em
ployed by any -person or corporation for the purpose of testing his
own boilers o n ly : Provided, That such persons making inspections
other than «uch safety inspectors shall first secure from the
said industrial accident commission a certificate o f competency to
make such inspections. The industrial accident commission is
hereby vested with full power and authority to determine the com
petency o f any applicants for such certificate, either by examina
tion or by other satisfactory p r o o f of qualifications. The com
mission may rescind at any time, upon good cause being shown
therefor, any certificate o f competency issued by it to a boiler in
spector, or may at any time, upon good cause being shown there
for, and after notice and an opportunity to be heard, revoke any
permit to operate such steam boiler.
Fees.
S ec. 5. The industrial accident commission shall fix and col
lect fees for the inspection o f steam boilers covered by this act,
n ot exceeding $2.50 for each external inspection and $7.50 for
each internal inspection per annum. Such fees must be paid
before the issuance o f any permit to operate tlie -said boiler.
No fee shall be charged by the industrial accident commission
where an inspection, as herein provided, has been made by an
inspector holding a certificate o f competency from said commis
sion and employed by any county, city and county, city, insur
ance company, or by any person or corporation for the purpose o f
testing his own boilers only. All fees collected by the commission
under this act -shall be paid into the accident prevention fund.
Reports.
Sec. 6. Every inspector so certified -shall forw ard to the com
mission on the form s provided by it, within twenty-one days after
such inspection is made, a report o f such inspection, in default
o f which the certificate o f competency may be canceled.
Approved May 9, 1917.
Chapter 211.— Bureau of labor statistics.
Act amended.
Section 1. Section nine of an act entitled “ An act to establish
and support a bureau o f labor statistics,” approved March third,
eighteen hundred and eighty-three, is hereby amended to read as
.follows.;
79
TEXT OF LAWS----GAfi^ENLA.
Sec. 9. The commissioner shall appoint two deputies who shall Appointees,
have the same power as said commissioner; an assistant deputy etc>
who shall reside in the county of Los Angeles; a statistician and
chief examiner; a .stenographer; and such agents or assistants
as he may from timuTto time require, at such rate of wages as he
may prescribe, and actual traveling expenses for each person
while employed. He shall procure rooms necessary for offices in
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and in such
other places as he may deem necessary, at a rent not to exceed
the sum of $400 per month.
[Section 10 of the same act is amended by increasing the
salary of the commissioner from $3,000 to $4,000, and by increas
ing the contingent fund of the bureau from $20,000 to $40,000.]
Approved May. 10, 1917,
C hapter
227.— OccnpoMmal diseases— Reports.
[This act merely repeals chapter 485, Acts of 1911, which required reports of occupational diseases, this matter now being
provided for in the general law as to the reporting of injuries.]
C hapter
Repeal,
229.— Mine regulations—Signals.
[This act merely repeals No. 2225, General Laws (Chapter 741,
Acts of 1893) ; which provided a code of mine signals.]
Repeal.
C hapter 312.— Social insurance— Commission of investigation.
S e c t io n 1. The governor of the State of California is hereby
C om m ission
authorized and requested to appoint a eomminsion of seven per- authorize(1.
sons, citizens of this State, to investigate and advise the legisla
ture concerning the adoption of a system of social insurance.
The commission shall report to the forty-third session of the
legislature the details of any or all branches of a social insurance
system it may deem advisable, and may recommend for adoption
any measure or measures it deems expedient.
S e c . 2. The commission shall have power to subpoena witnesses
powers,
and to enforce their attendance at any public hearings that may
be held for the purpose of obtaining evidence of conditions bear
ing upon the establishment of any system of social insurance.
S e c . 3. It shall be the duty of every person, firm, or corporaDuty of em*
tion employing labor in this State to supply the commission, at ployers.
its request, with any and all information from the books, reports,
contracts, pay rolls, documents, or papers of such person, firm,
or corporation which the commission may require to carry out
the purposes of this act.
S e c . 4. The members of the commission shall serve without pay,
Expenses,
but shall be reiir!>ursed for traveling expenses incurred in con- etc.
nection with the work of the commission. The commission shall
have power to employ an executive secretary and expert, clerical,
and other assistants.
S e c . 5. There is hereby appropriated out of the general fund, not
A p p ropriaotherwise appropriated, the sum of $22,500, oi* any portion thereof, tionas may in the judgment of the commission be required for the
purposes of this act. The sum of $500 of said money may be
drawn from the State treasury upon the approval of the State
board of control without the submission of receipts, vouchers, or
itemized statements to be used by the commission as a cash
revolving fi*1**! to facilitate its work.
Approved May 14, 1917.
C hapter
574.— Public employees— Semimonthly pay day.
1. The wages of all employees of any county of the first Sc o pe
or second class, whose compensation is based on a daily rate of law.
payment, shall be paid at not less than two stated times in each
calendar month, and at substantially equal intervals.
S e c t io n
of
80
Violations.
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
Sec. 2. Any officer, employer, or agent of any county of the first
or second class, or of any department or institution thereof, who
fails, refuses or neglects to comply with the requirements of this
act, in so far as the payments a*e prescribed or controlled by him,
is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Approved May 22, 1917.
C hapter
Amendment.
P o w e r s of
commission.
[This act amends section 1 of chapter 500, Acts of 1911, by sub
stituting for the words “ the proper authorities,” where they occur,
the words ‘‘ the railroad commission of the State of California.”
A new section is also added, as follows:]
S e c t io n 5. The railroad commission of the State of California
is hereby vested with the authority and power to inspect all work
which is included in the provisions of this act, and to make such
further additions or changes as said commission may deem neces
sary for the purpose of safety to employees and the general public,
and the said railroad commission is hereby charged with the duty
of seeing that all the provisions of this act are properly enforced.
Approved May 22, 1917.
C hapter
Amendments.
575.— Safety of employees—Electrical subways, etc.
580.—Employment of children— General provisiotis.
[This act amends section 14 of chapter 1611, General Laws, as
amended by chapter 625, Acts of 1915, by substituting for the
words, “ drama or dramatic play,” where they occur, the words,
“ drama, play, performance, concert, or entertainment ” ; also by
striking out the last proviso.]
C h a p t e r 5 8 2 . — Employment
Amendment.
of women— Hours of labor.
[This act amends chapter 258, Acts of 1911, by limiting the time
of employment in excess of eight hours in canneries, etc., to “ such
periods as may be necessary to harvest, cure, can, or dry said
fruit, fish, or vegetable in order to save the same from spoiling.” ]
C hapter
586.—Employment of labor—Provisions for safety—
Powers of industrial accident commission.
Definitions.
S e c t io n 33. The following terms, as used in sections thirtythree to fifty-four, inclusive, of this act, shall, unless a different
meaning is plainly required by the context, be construed as
follows:
(1) The phrase “ place of employment” shall mean and include
every place, whether indoors or out or underground, or else
where, and the premises appurtenant thereto, where, either tempo
rarily or permanently, any industry, trade, work or business is
carried on, or where any process or operation directly or indirectly
related to any industry, trade, work or business, is carried on,
including all construction work, and where any person is directly
or indirectly employed by another for direct or indirect gain
or profit, but shall not include any place where persons are em
ployed solely in household domestic service, or any place of em
ployment, concerning the safety of which jurisdiction may have
been vested by law heretofore or hereafter in any other com
mission or public authority.
(2) The term “ employment ” shall mean and include any trade,
work, business, occupation, or process of manufacture, or any
method of carrying on such trade, work, business, occupation,
or process of manufacture, including construction work, in which
any person may be engaged, except where persons are employed
solely in household domestic service.
(3) The term “ employer” shall mean and include every per
son, firm, voluntary association, corporation, officer, agent, man
ager, representative or other person having control or custody
of any employment, place of employment or of any employee.
TEXT OF LAW S---- CALIFORN IA.
81
(4) Thq term “ employee ” shall mean and include every per
son who may be required or directed by any employer, in con
sideration of direct or indirect gain or profit, to engage in any
employment, or to go to work or be at any time in any place
of employment.
(5) The term “ order” shall mean and include any decision,
rule, regulation, direction, requirement or standard of the [in
dustrial accident] commission or any other determination arrived
at or decision made by such commission under the safety pro
visions of this act.
(6) The term “ general order” shall mean and include such
order, made under the safety provisions of this act, as applies
generally throughout the State to all persons, employments or
places of employment,- or all persons, employments or places
of employment of a class under the jurisdiction of the commis
sion. All other orders of the commission shall be considered
special orders.
(7) The term “ local order” shall mean and include any ordi
nance, order, rule or determination of any board of supervisors,
city council, board of trustees or, other governing body of any
county, city and county, city, or any school district or other pub
lic corporation, or an order or direction of any other public offi
cial or board or department upon any matter over which the In
dustrial accident commission has jurisdiction.
(8) The terms “ s a fe ” and “ sa fety ” as applied to an employ
ment or a place of employment shall mean such freedom from
danger to the life or safety of employees as the nature of the
employment will reasonably permit.
(9) The terms “ safety device” and “ safeguard” shall be
given a broad interpretation so as to include any practicable
method of mitigating or preventing a specific danger.
Safe places,
Sec. 34. Every employer shall furnish employment which shall
be safe for the employees therein and shall furnish a place o| etc.
employment which shall be safe for employees therein, and shall
furnish and use such safety devices and safeguards, and shall
adopt and use such practices, means, methods, operations and
processes as are reasonably adequate to render such employment
and place of employment safe, and shall do every other thing
reasonably necessary to protect the life and safety of such
employees.
P ro v isio n s
Sec. 35. No employer shall require, permit or suffer any em
ployee to go or be in any employment or place of employment for safety.
which is not safe, and no such employer shall fail to furnish,
provide, and use safety devices and safeguards or fail to adopt
and use methods and processes reasonably adequate to render
such employment and place of employment safe, and no such em
ployer shall fail or neglect to do every other thing reasonably
necessary to protect the life and safety of such employees, and
no such employer shall occupy or maintain any place of em
ployment that is not safe.
Construe
Sec. 36. No employer, owner or lessee of any real property
in this State shall construct or cause to be constructed any tion.
place of employment that is not safe.
Removing
Sec. 37. No employee shall remove, displace, damage, destroy
or carry off any safety device or safeguard furnished and pro safeguards.
vided for use in any employment or place of employment, or
interfere in any way with the use thereof by any other person,
or interfere with the use of any method or process adopted for
the protection of any employee, including himself, in such em
ployment, or place of employment, or fail or neglect to do every
other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life and safety
of such employees.
P o we r of
Sec. 38. The [industrial accident] commission is vested with
full power and jurisdiction over, and shall have such supervision commission.
of, every employment and place of employment in this State as
may be necessary adequately to enforce and administer all laws
45913°— B ull. 2 4 4 - 1 8 - ------6
82
LABOE LEGISLATION OF 1917.
and all lawful orders requiring such employment and place of
employment to be safe, and requiring the protection of the life
and safety of every employee in such employment or place of
employment.
Sec. 39. The commission shall have power, after a hearing
Orders, etc.
had upon its own motion or upon complaint, by general or
special orders, rules or regulations, or otherwise:
(1) To declare and prescribe what safety devices, safeguards
or other means or methods of protection are well adapted to
render the employees of every employment and place of employ
ment safe as required by law or lawful order.
(2) To fix such reasonable standards and to prescribe, modify
and enforce such reasonable orders for the adoption, installation,
use, maintenance and operation of safety devices, safeguards
and other means or methods of protection, to be as nearly uni
form as possible, as may be necessary to carry out all laws and
lawful orders relative to the protection of the life and safety of
employees in employments and places of employment.
(3) To fix and order such reasonable standards for the con
struction, repair and maintenance of places of employment as
shall render them safe.
(4) To require the performance of any other act which the
protection of the life and safety of employees in employments and
places of employment may reasonably demand.
(5) To declare and prescribe the general form of industrial
injury reports, the injuries to be reported and the information to
be furnished in connection therewith, and the time within which
such reports shall be filed. Nothing in this act contained shall be
construed to prevent the commission from requiring supplemental
injury reports.
Sec. 40. Upon the fixing of a time and place for the holding of
Hearings.
a hearing for the purpose of considering and issuing a general
safety order or orders as authorized by section thirty-nine hereof,
the commission shall cause a notice of such hearing to be published
in one or more daily newspapers of general circulation published
and circulated in the city and county of San Francisco, and also
in one or more daily newspapers of general circulation published
and circulated in the county of Los Angeles, such newspapers to
be designated by the commission for that purpose. No defect or
inaccuracy in such notice or in the publication thereof shall in
validate any general order issued by the commission after hear
ing had.
Sec. 41. Whenever the commission, after a hearing had upon its
Special con
own motion or upon complaint, shall find that any employment or
ditions.
place of employment is not safe or that the practices or means or
methods or operations or processes employed or used in connection
therewith are unsafe, or do not afford adequate protection to the
life and safety of employees in such employment or place of
employment, the commission shall make and enter and serve such
order relative thereto as may be necessary to render such employ
ment or place of employment safe and protect the life and safety
of employees in such employment and place of employment and
may in said order direct that such additions, repairs, improve
ments or changes be made and such safety devices and safeguards
be furnished, provided and used, as are reasonably required to
render such employment or place of employment safe, in the
manner and within the time specified in said order.
S ec. 42. The commission may, upon application of any employer,
Ti me f o r
compliance.
or other person affected thereby, grant such time as may reason
ably be necessary for compliance with any order, and any person
affected by such order may petition the commission for an exten
sion of time, which the commission shall grant if it finds such an
extension of time necessary.
S ec . 43. Whenever the commission shall learn or have reason
Investiga
tions.
to believe that any employment or place of employment is not
safe, or is injurious to the welfare of any employee it may, of its
own motion, or upon complaint, summarily investigate the same,
T EX T OF LAW S— CALIFO RN IA.
83
with or without notice or hearings, and after a hearing upon such
notice as it may prescribe, the commission may enter and serve
such order as may be necessary relative thereto, anything in this
act to the contrary notwithstanding.
S e c . 44 . Every employer, employee and other person shall obey
C o m p lia n c e
and comply with each and every requirement of every orfler, req u ired ,
decision, direction, rule or regulation made or prescribed by the
commission in connection with the matters herein specified, or in
any way relating to or affecting safety of employments or places
of employment, or to protect the life and safety of employees in
such employments or places of employment, and shall do every
thing necessary or proper in order to secure compliance with and
observance of every such order, decision, direction, rule or
regulation.
S e c . 45. The orders of the commission, general or special, its
Review,
rules or regulations, findings and decisions, made and entered
under the safety provisions of this act, may be reviewed by the
courts specified in section sixty-seven and sixty-eight of this act
and within the time and in the manner therein specified and not
otherwise.
S e c . 46. Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to
P o w e r s of
deprive the board of supervisors of any county, or city and county, other bodies,
the board of trustees of any city, or any other public corporation
or board or department, of any power or jurisdiction over or
relative to any place of employment: Provided, That whenever
the commission shall, by order, fix a standard of safety for em
ployments or places of employment, such order shall, upon the
filing by the commission of a copy thereof with the clerk of the
county, city and county, or city to which it may apply, establish a
minimum requirement concerning the matters covered by such
order and shall be construed in connection with any local order
relative to the same matter and to amend or modify any require
ment in such local order not up to the standard of the order of the
commission.
S e c . 47. The commission shall have further power and authority:
Museums.
(1) To establish and maintain museums of safety and hygiene
in which shall be exhibited safety devices, safeguards and other
means and methods for the protection of the life and safety of
employees, and to publish and distribute bulletins on any phase of
this general subject.
(2) To cause lectures to be delivered, illustrated by stereopti- Lectures,
con or other views, diagrams or pictures, for the information of
employers and their employees and the general public in regard
to the causes and prevention of industrial accidents, occupational
diseases and related subjects.
(3) To appoint advisers who shall, without compensation, assist Advisers,
the commission in establishing standards of safety and the com
mission may adopt and incorporate in its general orders such
safety recommendations as it may receive from such advisers.
Sec. 48. Every order of the commission, general or special, its Or d e r s as
rules and regulations, findings and decisions, made and entered ev enceunder the safety provisions of this act shall be admissible as evi
dence in any prosecution for the violation of any of the said pro
visions and shall, in every such prosecution, be conclusively pre
sumed to be reasonable and lawful and to fix a reasonable and
proper standard and requirement of safety, unless, prior to the
institution of the prosecution for such violation or violations, pro
ceedings for a rehearing thereon or a review thereof shall have
been instituted as provided in sections sixty-four to sixty-eight,
inclusive, of this act and not then finally determined.
S e c . 4 9 . Every employer, employee or other person who, either
Violation*,
individually or acting as an officer, agent or employee of a corpora
tion or other person^ violates any safety provision contained in
sections thirty-four, "thirty-five, thirty-six or thirty-seven of this
act, or any part of any such provision, or who shall fail or refuse
to comply with any such provision or any part thereof, or who,
directly or indirectly, knowingly induces another so to do is guilty
84
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
Separate o f
fen ses.
Finp«
Accident pre
vention fund.
Information
.confidential.
Keports
injuries.
of
of a misdemeanor. In any prosecution under this section It shall
be deemed prima facie evidence of a violation of any such safety
provision, that the accused has failed or refused to comply with
any order, rule, regulation or requirement of the commission rela
tive thereto and the burden of proof shall thereupon rest upon
the accused to show that he has complied with such safety pro
vision.
S ec . 50. Every violation of the provisions contained in sections
thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six or thirty-seven of this act, or
any part or portion thereof, by any person or corporation is a
separate and distinct offense, and, in the case of a continuing
violation thereof, each day’s continuance thereof shall constitute
a separate and distinct offense.
S ec . 51. All fines imposed and collected under prosecutions for
violations of the provisions of sections thirty to fifty-four of this
act shall be paid into the State treasury to the credit of the
“ accident prevention fund,” Which fund is hereby created. In
addition to other sources of income of said accident prevention
fund, the State compensation insurance fund shall pay into the
said accident prevention fund, on or before the first Monday in
July, ninteen hundred and eighteen, and annually thereafter, the
sum of two per cent upon the amount of the gross premiums re
ceived by it upon its business done in this State during the pre
ceding calendar year, less return premiums and reinsurance in
companies or associations authorized to do business in this State,
which payment is intended to be the equivalent of the taxes
imposed upon private insurance companies by the laws of this
State relating to revenue and taxation. The State compensation
insurance fund shall also pay into the said accident prevention
fund interest from September one, nineteen hundred and seven
teen, at the rate of four per cent per annum, payable quarterly,
upon the sum of $100,000 heretofore advanced by the State to
said State compensation insurance fund as long as the said fund
shall retain the said sum of $100,000. The commission is author
ized to draw from said accident prevention fund toward the sup
port of its department of safety. The commission shall submit
from time to time to the State board of control an estimate of the
amount it desires to withdraw from the accident prevention fund,
and when such estimate shall be approved by the State board of
control, the controller is directed to draw his warrant on said
fund in favor of said commission for such amount, and the
treasurer is authorized and directed to pay the same. The com
mission shall account to the State board of control and to the
State controller for all moneys so received, furnishing proper
vouchers therefor. The said accident prevention fund shall be a
revolving fund.
S ec . 52. It shall be unlawful for any member of the commis
sion, or for any officer or employee of the commission, to divulge
to any person not connected with the administration of this act
any confidential information obtained from any person, concerning
the failure of any other person to keep any place of employment
safe, or concerning the violation of any order, rule or regulation
issued by the commission. Any member of the commission or any
officer or employee of the commission divulging such confidential
information shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
S ec . 53. (a) Every employer of labor, without any exceptions,
and every insurance carrier, and every physician or surgeon who
attends any injured employee, is hereby required to file with the
commission, under such rules and regulations as the commission
may from time to time make, a full and complete report of every
injury to an employee arising out of or in the course of his em
ployment and resulting in loss of life or injury to such person.
Such reports shall be furnished to the commission in such form
and such detail as the commission shall from time to time pre
scribe, and shall make specific answers to all questions required
by the commission under its rules and regulations. It shall be
unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, agent or officer of a
TE X T OF LAW S---- CALIFORNIA.
85
firm or corporation, to fail or refuse to comply with any of the
provisions of this section, and any such person, firm, corporation,
agent or officer of a firm or corporation, who fails or refuses to
comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor for each and every offense and upon conviction
thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $10 nor more
than $100. Any such employer or insurance carrier who shall
furnish such report shall be exempt from furnishing any similar
report or reports authorized or required*under the laws of this
State.
(ft) Every employer or insurance carrier receiving from the
commission any blanks with directions to fill out the same shall
cause the same to be properly filled out so as to answer fully and
correctly each question propounded therein; in case he is unable
to answer any such questions a good and sufficient reason shall
be given for such failure.
(c) No information furnished to the commission by an employer
or an insurance carrier shall be open to public inspection or made
public except on order of the commission, or by a commissioner
or referee in the course of a proceeding. Any officer or employee
of the commission who, in violation of the provisions of this sub
section, divulges any such information shall be guilty of a mis
demeanor.
Investi gaS ec. 54. (a) The commission shall investigate the cause of all
industrial injuries occurring within the State in any employment tions.
or place of employment, or directly or indirectly arising from or
connected with the maintenance or operation of such employment
or place of employment, resulting in disability or death and re
quiring, in the judgment of the commission, such investigation;
and the commission shall have the power to make such orders or
recommendations with respect to such injuries as may be just and
reasonable: Provided, That neither the order nor the recommen
dation of the commission shall be admitted as evidence in any
action for damages or any proceeding to recover compensation,
based on or arising out of such injury or death.
(&)
JTor the purpose of making any investigation which the
commission is authorized to make under the provisions of this
section, or for the purpose of collecting statistics or examining
the provision made for the safety of employees, any member of
the commission, inspector, referee or other person designated by
the commission for that purpose, may enter any place of employ
ment.
(c) Any employer, insurance carrier, responsible agent or em
ployee of such employer or insurance carrier, or any other per
son who shall violate or omit to comply with any of the pro
visions of this section, or who shall in any way obstruct or
hamper the commission, any commissioner or other person con
ducting any investigation, authorized to be undertaken or made
by the commission, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Approved May 23, 1917.
C hapter
614.— Accident insurance— Provisions in policies.
Section 1. On and after the first day of January, nineteen hun Forms to be
dred and eighteen, no policy of insurance against loss or damage filed.
from the sickness, or the bodily injury or death of the insured by
accident shall be issued or delivered to any person in this State un
til a copy of the form thereof and of the classification of risks, if
more than one class of risks is written and the premium rates per
taining thereto have been filed with the commissioner of in
surance ; * * *.
Standard
Sec. 3. Every such policy so issued shall contain certain stand
ard provisions, which shall be in the words and in the order here provisions.
inafter set forth and be preceded in every policy by the caption,
“ Standard provisions.” In each such standard provision
wherever the word “ insurer ” is used, there shall be substituted
therefor “ company ” or “ corporation ” or “ association ” or “ so-
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
86
ciety ” or such other word as will properly designate the insurer.
Said standard provisions shall be:
(1) A standard provision relative to the contract which may
be in either of the following two forms: Form (A) to be used
in policies which do not provide for reduction of indemnity on
account of change of occupation, and form (B) to be used in
policies which do so provide. If form (B) is used and the policy
provides indemnity against loss from sickness, the words “ or
contracts sickness ” may be inserted therein immediately after
the words “ in the event that the insured is injured.”
(A) 1. This policy includes £he indorsements and attached
papers, if any, and contains the entire contract of insurance.
No reduction shall be made in any indemnity herein provided
by reason of change in the occupation of the insured or by
reason of his doing any act or thing pertaining to any other oc
cupation.
(B) 1. This policy includes the indorsements and attached
papers, if any, and contains the entire contract of insurance ex
cept as it may be modified by the insurer’s classification of risks
and premium rates in the event that the insured is injured after
having changed his occupation to one classified by the insurer
as more hazardous than that stated in the policy, or while he is
doing any act or thing pertaining to any occupation so classified,
except ordinary duties about his residence or while engaged in
recreation, in which event the insurer will pay only such por
tion of the indemnities provided in the policy as the premium
paid would have purchased at the rate but within the limits so
fixed by the insurer for such more hazardous occupation.
*
Exemptions.
*
C h a p te r
Guard.
*
*
*
Sec. 11. Nothing in this act, however, shall apply to or affect
any policy or liability of workmen’s compensation insurance or
any general or blanket policy of insurance issued to any munic
ipal corporation or department thereof, or to any corporation,
copartnership, association, or individual employer, police or fire
department, underwriters’ corps, salvage bureau, or like associa
tions or organizations, where the officers, members or employees
or classes or departments thereof are insured for their individual
benefit against specified accidental bodily injuries or sickness
while exposed to the hazards of the occupation or otherwise in
consideration of a premium intended to cover the risks of all the
persons insured under such policy.
*
*
*
*
*
Approved May 26, 1917.
*
S ection
*
689.—Strikes— Use of home defense guard.
1. There is hereby created a State defense guard
9. This act shall be in force and effect only during the
existence of war between the United States and any foreign nation.
Not to be Sec. 10. The State defense guard shall not be used in connection
used, when.
with strikes or other industrial disputes.
Approved May 28, 1917.
Term.
S ec .
C h a p te r
Letter to
furnished.
be
Violations.
747.— Employment of labor— Service letters.
S ection 1. Every public utility corporation shall, upon request
therefor made to it by any employee thereof leaving its service,
give to such employee a letter covering and stating the period
during which such service was and kind of service rendered to
such corporation by such employee.
Sec. 2. Every public utility corporation violating the provisions
of this act shall, for each offense, suffer a fine of not less than
$25, nor more than $100; which fine shall be collected by the
district attorney of the county in which such corporation has its
principal place of business.
Approved June 1, 1917.
TEX T OF LAW S— CALIFORN IA.
C hapter
87
755,—Homes for working men— State land settlement
board.
Section 1. The legislature believes that land settlement is a Basis of act
problem of great importance to the welfare of all the people of
the State of California and for that reason through this particular
act endeavors to improve the general economic and social condi
tions of agricultural settlers within the State and of the people
of the State in general.
Sec. 2. With the object of promoting closer agricultural settle- Purpose,
ment, assisting deserving and qualified persons to acquire small
improved farms, providing homes for farm laborers, increasing
opportunities under the Federal farm-loan act, and demonstrating
the value of adequate capital and organized direction in subdivid
ing and preparing agricultural land for settlement, there is hereby
created a State land settlement board to consist of five members Board e r e
appointed by the governor to hold office for a term of four years ated.
and until their successors have been appointed and shall have
qualified; * * *.
The members of the board shall receive a per diem for each
meeting attended, to be fixed by the State board of control with
the approval of the governor; they shall also receive their actual,
necessary traveling expenses in the discharge of their duties.
The board shall elect its own chairman and secretary. The
secretary may or may not be a member of the board. The board
shall appoint a superintendent who shall be the general executive
officer of the board, and such expert, technical and clerical assist
ance as may prove necessary, and shall define their duties. It
shall fix the salaries of all officers and other employees, with the
approval of the State board of control.
Sec. 3. The State land settlement board, hereinafter called the
Status,
board, shall constitute a body corporate with the right on be
half of the State to hold property, receive and request donations,
sue and be sued, and all other rights provided by the constitution
and laws of the State of California as belonging to bodies
corporate.
Three members of the board shall constitute a quorum and
such quorum may exercise all the power and authority conferred
on the board by this act.
Sec. 4. For the purpose of this act the board may in the manPowers,
ner hereinafter provided acquire on behalf of the State agricul
tural lands in California that are susceptible of intensive culture
and suitable for colonization in an area of not more than ten
thousand acres, together with any water rights and rights of way
desirable or necessary therefor, and shall without delay improve,
subdivide, and sell such lands with appurtenant water rights
to approved bona fide settlers under the conditions and in the
manner hereinafter provided: Provided, That, with the approval
of the governor, the board shall have the authority to set aside
for town-site purposes a suitable area purchased under the pro
visions of this act and to subdivide such area and sell or lease
the same for cash, in lots of such size, and with such restrictions
as to resale, as, with the approval of the governor, they shall
deem best: And provided further, That the board shall have au
thority so set aside and dedicate to public use such area or areas
as it may deem desirable for roads, schoolhouses, churches, or
other public purposes.
Sec. 5. Whenever the board believes that private land should
Purchase of
be purchased for settlement under this act, it shall give notice Prlvate lands,
by publication in one or more newspapers of general circulation
in this State, setting forth the area and character of the land
desired and the conditions that shall govern such proposed pur
chase, and inviting owners of lands believed to be suitable, and
who are willing to enter into a contract for the sale of such
lands on the conditions proposed, to submit such lands for in
spection.
88
Bo a r d
LABOR LEGISLATION OP 1917.
to
Sec. 10. All purchases of land under this act shall be made
under such terms and conditions as shall give to the board full
control of any subdivisions thereof until all moneys advanced by
the State for the purchase, improvement, or equipment of such
subdivisions are fully repaid, together with interest thereon as
herein provided.
Sec. 11. Immediately upon taking possession of any land pur
Subdivisions.
chased as above, and after deducting any areas to be set aside
for town sites or public purposes in accordance with section four
of this act, the board shall subdivide it into areas suitable for
farms and farm laborers’ allotments, and lay out, and where neces
sary, construct roads, ditches, and drains for giving access to and
insuring the proper cultivation of the several farms and allot
ments. The board, prior to disposing of it to settlers, or at any
time after such land has been disposed of, but not after the end
of the fifth year from the commencement of the term of the
settler’s purchase contract, may—
(a)
Prepare all or any part of such land for irrigation and
I mp r o v e
ments.
cultivation;
(&)
Seed, plant or fence such land, and cause dwelling
houses and outbuildings to be erected on any farm allotment or
to make any other improvements not specified above necessary
to render the allotment habitable and productive in advance
of or after settlement, the total cost of such dwellings, outbuild
ings, and improvements not to exceed $1,500 on any one farm
allotment;
(c) Cause cottages to be erected on any farm laborer’s allot
ment and provide a domestic water supply, the combined cost of
the cottage and water supply not to exceed $800 on any one farm
laborer’s allotment;
(tf) Make loans to approved settlers on the security of stock
and farm implements, such loans to be secured by mortgage or
mortgages on such stock or farm implements, and the total amount
of any such loan, together with money spent by the board on im
provements as above specified, not to exceed $3,000 on any one
£»rm allotment.
control.
Sec . 12. Authority is hereby granted to the board, where deemed
I rrigation
works.
desirable, to operate and maintain any irrigation works con
Leasing.
Allotments.
Advertising.
structed to serve any lands purchased and sold under the provi
sions of this act. All moneys received in tolls or charges for the
operation and maintenance of any works or for any water supplied
therefrom, shall be deposited in the land settlement fund created
by this act and shall become available for the payment of any
costs, expenses, or other charges authorized in this act to be paid
from said land settlement fund.
Sec. 13. After the purchase of land by the board under the pro
visions of this act and before its disposal to approved bona fide
applicants the board shall have authority to lease such land or a
part thereof on bonded or secured lease on such terms as it shall
deem fit.
S ec. 14. Lands disposed of under this act, other than lands set
aside for town sites or public purposes, shall be sold either as farm
allotments, each of which shall have a value not exceeding, with
out improvements, $15,000, or as a farm laborer’s allotments, each
of which shall have a value not exceeding, without improvements,
$400. Before any part of an area is thrown open for settlement
there shall be public notice thereof for thirty days in one or more
daily newspapers of general circulation in the State, setting forth
the number and size of farm allotments or farm laborer’s allot
ments, or both, the prices at which they are offered for sale, the
minimum amount of capital a settler will be required to have, the
mode of payment, the amount of cash payment required, and such
other particulars as the board may think proper, and specifying a
definite period within which applications therefor shall be filed
with the board on forms provided by the board. The board shall
have the right in its uncontrolled discretion to reject any or all
applications it may see fit and may readvertise as aforesaid as
TEX T OP LAW S— CALIFORNIA.
89
often as it sees fit until it receives and accepts such number of
applications as it may deem necessary.
S ec . 15. Any citizen of the United States, or any person who has
W ho m ay
declared his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States, purchase.
and who is not the holder of agricultural land or of possessory
rights thereto to the value of $15,000, and who by this purchase
would not become the holder of agricultural land or of possessory
rights thereto exceeding such value, and who is prepared to enter
within six months upon actual occupation of the land acquired,
may apply for and become the purchaser of either a farm allot
ment or a farm laborer’s allotment: Provided, That no more than
one farm allotment or more than one farm laborer’s allotment
shall be sold to any one person: Provided, further, That no appli
cant shall be approved who shall not satisfy the board as to his
or her fitness successfully to cultivate and develop the allotment
applied for.
Applications
S ec . 16. Within ten days after the final date set for receiving
be consid
applications for either farm allotments or farm laborer’s allot to
ered.
ments the board shall meet to consider the applications, and may
request applicants to appear in person: Provided, That the board
shall have the power and the uncontrolled discretion to reject any
or all applications.
Prices.
S ec . 17. The selling prices of the several allotments into which
lands purchased under this act are subdivided, other than those
set aside for town-site and public purposes, shall be fixed by the
board, so as to render such allotments as nearly as possible equally
attractive, and calculated to return to the State the original cost
of the land, together with a sufficient sum added thereto to cover
all expenses and costs of surveying, improving, subdividing, and
selling such lands, including the payment of interest, and all costs
of engineering superintendence, and administration, including the
cost of operating any works built, directly chargeable to such
land, and also the price of so much land as shall on subdivision
be used for roads and other public purposes, and also such sum as
shall be deemed necessary to meet unforeseen contingencies.
S ec . 18. Every approved applicant shall enter into a contract
Contracts.
of purchase with the board, which contract shall among other
things provide that the purchaser shall pay as a cash deposit
a sum equal to five per cent of the sale price of the allotment
and in addition not less than ten per cent of the cost of any im
provements made thereon, and, unless prepared to pay one-half
of the purchase price in cash, such applicant shall enter into an
agreement to make an immediate application for a loan from
the Federal farm loan bank under the provisions of the Federal
farm loan act for an amount equal to fifty per cent of the ap
praised value of the land and twenty per cent of the value of the
improvements thereon, and shall pay the amount of any loan so
made to the board as a partial payment on such land and im
provements. The balance due on the land shall be paid in
amortizing payments extending over a period to be fixed »by the
board not exceeding forty years, together with the interest there
for at the rate of five per cent per annum. The amount due on
improvements shall be paid in amortizing payments extending
over a period to be fixed by the board not exceeding twenty years
together with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per
annum. The repayment of loans made on live stock or implements
shall extend over a period to be fixed by the board not exceed
ing five years: Provided, however, In each case, that the settler
shall have the right on any installment date after five years
from the first payment, but not before, to pay any or all install
ments still remaining unpaid.
S ec . 19. The number and amount of yearly or half yearly in Installments.
stallments of principal and interest to be paid to the board under
contracts of purchase shall be calculated according to any table
adopted or approved by the Federal farm loan board.
Provisions of
S ec . 20. Every contract entered into between the board and an
approved purchaser shall contain among other things provisions contracts.
that the purchaser shall cultivate the land in a manner to be ap
90
Transfers re
stricted.
Co n t r a c t s
may be can
celed.
Residence.
Eminent do>
main.
Appr opr i a
tion.
L A B O E L E G IS L A T IO N
OF 1911.
proved by the board and shall keep in good order aif9 repair all
buildings, fences, and other permanent improvements situated
on his allotment, reasonable wear and tear, and damage by fire
excepted. Each settler shall, if required, insure and keep in
sured against fire all buildings on his allotment, the policies
therefor to be made out in favor of the board and to be such
amount or amounts and in such insurance companies as may be
prescribed by the board.
Sec. 21. No allotment sold under the provisions of this act
shall be transferred, assigned, mortgaged, or sublet in whole or
in part, within five years after the date of such contract without
the consent of the board given in writing. At the expiration of
five years after the purchase of an allotment, if the board is
satisfied that all covenants and conditions of the contract cover
ing such allotment purchase have been complied with, the pur
chaser may, with the written consent of the board, transfer,
assign, mortgage, sublet, or part with the possession of the whole
or any part of the allotment covered by such contract.
In the' event of a failure of a settler to comply with any of the
terms of his contract of purchase and agreement wjth the board,
the State and the board shall have the right at its option to cancel
the said contract of purchase and agreement and thereupon shall
be released from all obligation in law or equity to convey the
property and the settler shall forfeit all right thereto and all
payments theretofore made shall be deemed to be rental paid for
occupancy. The failure of the board or the State to exercise any
option to cancel for any default shall not be deemed as a waiver
of the right to exercise the option to cancel for any default
thereafter on the settler’s part. But no forfeiture so occasioned
by default on the part of the settler shall be deemed in any way,
or to any extent, to impair the lien and security of the mortgage
or trust instrument securing any loan that it may have made as
in this act provided. The board shall have the right and power
to enter into a contract of purchase for the sale and disposition
of any land forfeited as above provided, because of default on the
part of the settler.
S ec . 23. Actual residence on any allotment sold under the pro
visions of this act shall commence within six months from the
date of the approval of the application and shall continue for at
least eight months in each calendar year for at least ten years
from the date of the approval of the said application, unless pre
vented by illness or some other cause satisfactory to the board:
Provided, That in case any farm allotment disposed of under this
act is returned to and resold by the State, the time of residence
of the preceding purchaser may in the discretion of the board be
credited to the subsequent purchaser.
S ec . 24. The power of eminent domain shall be exercised by the
State at the request of the board for the condemnation of water
rights and rights of way for roads, canals, ditches, dams, and
reservoirs necessary or desirable for carrying out the provisions
of this act, and on request of the board the attorney general shall
bring the necessary and appropriate proceedings authorized by
law for such condemnation of said water rights or rights of way.
and the cost of all water rights or rights of way so condemned
shall be paid out of the land settlement fund hereinafter provided
for. The board shall have full authority to appropriate water
under the laws of the State when such appropriation is necessary
or desirable for carrying out the purposes of this act.
S ec . 25. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this
act the sum of $260,000 is hereby appropriated out of any moneys
in the State treasury not otherwise appropriated. Of this amount,
the sum of $250,000 shall constitute a revolving fund to be known
as the “ land settlement fund,” which is calculated to be returned
to the State with interest at the rate of four per cent per annum
within a period of fifty years from the date of the passage of this
act. The remaining $10,000 shall constitute a fund available for
91
TEXT OF LAW S— CALIFORNIA.
the payment of administrative expenses alone until such time as
other moneys are available for such purposes from the sales of
land as provided for in this act. The State controller is hereby
authorized and directed to draw warrants upon such funds from
time to time upon requisition of the board approved by the State
board of control, and the State treasurer is hereby authorized
and directed to pay such warrants.
Advances.
S ec . 26. The State board of control is hereby authorized to
provide for advances of money to the board needed to meet con
tingent expenses to such an amount not exceeding $5,000 as the
said board of control shall deem necessary.
Re vol vi ng
S ec . 27. The money paid by settlers on lands, improvements,
fund.
or in the repayment of advances, shall be deposited in the land
settlement fund and be available under the same conditions as
the original appropriation for the following purposes:
(a) Making improvements on land being prepared for settle
ment ;
( b ) Making advances to settlers ; and
(c) Completing payments on lands purchased: Provided, That
when these expenditures on an area of ten thousand acres shall
have been completed, then all moneys received shall be paid into
the State treasury and used to reimburse the State for the land
settlement fund created by this act.
Rules.
S ec . 28. The board with the approval of the governor shall
have authority to make all needed rules and regulations for car
rying out the provisions of this act.
Recommen
S ec . 29. The board is hereby authorized to investigate land
settlement conditions in California and elsewhere and to submit dations.
recommendations for such legislation as may be deemed by it
necessary or desirable.
Approved June 1, 1917.
C h a p te r
766.— Wiping rags for machinery, etc.
S ection 1. Section three of an act * * * approved April
twenty-five, nineteen hundred and thirteen, [chapter eighty-one,
Acts of Nineteen hundred and thirteen], is hereby amended to
read as follows:
S ec . 3. Any person or corporation who shall wash, cleanse or
launder soiled rags or soiled cloth material for wiping rags by
the same machinery or appliances by which clothing and articles
for personal wear or household use are laundered, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor.
Approved June 1, 1917.
C h apter
Act amended.
Washing.
784.— Railroads— Safety provisions—Resolutions.
Bell ringers
S ection 1. Every railroad corporation, or receiver or lessee
thereof, operating any line of railroad in this State by steam to be installed.
locomotives, shall within one year after the passage of this act
or within such additional time as may be prescribed by order of
the railroad commission of California after such railroad or re
ceiver, or lessee thereof has made a proper showing of its in
ability to comply therewith, equip all steam locomotives used or to
be used in the hauling or propelling of trains over said railroad
with a bell ringer apparatus or device, which apparatus or device
when set in operation will ring and continue to ring the locomo
tive bell automatically, such apparatus or device being so con
structed that it may be set in operation from either or both sides
of the locomotive cab.
Sec. 2. Any railroad company, receiver or lessee thereof, op Violations.
erating any line of railroad within this State by steam locomo
tives, violating the provisions of this act shall be punished by a
fine of not less than $100 or more than $1,000 for each offense.
Approved June 1, 1917.
92
LABOR LEGISLATION OP 1911.
RESOLUTIONS.
C h a p te r
57.—Health insurance.
The legislature of the State of California * * * hereby
proposes an amendment to the constitution of the State of Cali
fornia by adding to article twenty thereof a new section, to be
numbered section twenty-two, to read as follows:
S ec . 22. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State of
P o l i c y of
State.
California to make special provision for the health and welfare and
the support during illness of any and all persons, and their depen
dents, whose incomes, in the determination of the legislature, are
not sufficient to meet the hazards of sickness and disability, and
for the general industrial welfare of this connection. The legis
Health I n lature may establish a health insurance system applicable to any
s u r a n c e au or all such persons, and for the financial support of such system
thorized.
may provide for contributions; either voluntary or compulsory,
from each of the following—namely, from such persons, from
employers, and from the State by appropriations.
The legislature may confer upon any commission or court, now
or hereafter created, such power and authority as the legislature
may deem requisite to carry out the provisions of this section.
The provisions of this section shall not be controlled or limited
by any other provision of this constitution, except the provisions
thereof, relating to the passage and approval of acts by the legis
lature and to the referendum thereof.
Filed with Secretary of State May 4, 1917.
Amendment
to constitution.
ORDERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT COMMISSION.
Wages and hours of labor in canneries.
Amendments.
[An order dated April 16, 1917, amends the order of February
14, 1916 on this subject (see Bulletin No. 213, p. 29). The mini
mum piece rate for cutting apricots is fixed at 25 cents per 100
pounds or 10 cents for 40 pounds, instead of 22£ cents per 100
pounds or 9 cents for 40 pounds. A rate is fixed for the sorting
of asparagus, not found in the earlier order, the rate being 13
cents per 100 pounds or 6 cents for 46 pounds. A new section
No. 2 is added as follows:]
Piece rates.
2.
Upon the preparation and canning of all varieties of fruits
and vegetables upon which no piecework rates have been fixed
by the commission, piecework rates may be fixed by the individual
establishments: Provided, however, That these rates are sufficient
to yield to at least eighty per centum of the women and minors
employed hourly earnings of 16 cents or more. Licenses may be
issued by the commission to women physically disabled, by age or
otherwise, which will exempt them from being considered in mak
ing up the required eighty per centum.
Application for licenses may be made to the commission.
[Old section No. 2 becomes No. 3 and is not changed. Old sec
tions Nos. 3 and 4 become Nos. 4 and 5, and are amended to read
as follows:]
Hours.
Overtime.
4. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or per
mit an adult woman, eighteen years of age or over, to work in
the fruit and vegetable canning industry for more than nine hours
in any one day, or six days in any one week, except in case of
emergency: Provided, however, That the provisions of this section
shall not apply to those occupations coming under the provisions
of the Statutes of California, 1913, chapter 352, “An act limiting
the hours of labor of females,” etc.
5. No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or per
mit any woman or minor to work in case of emergency at a wage
less than one and one-fourth times the foregoing time or piece
rates.
TEXT OF LAW S---- CALIFO RNIA.
93
Emergency work shall be all work performed by any woman or
minor in excess of nine hours in any one day, or all work per
formed by any woman or minor in excess of six calendar days in
any one week: Provided, however, That all work in excess of
twelve hours in any twenty-four hours shall be paid for at not
less than double the foregoing time and piece rates: And be it
provided, further, That upon the preparation and canning of all
varieties of fruits and vegetables upon which no minimum piece
rates have been fixed by the commission, not less than one and
one-fourth times the prevailing rate shall be paid on all emergency
work up until twelve hours, and all such work in excess of twelve
hours in any twenty-four hours shall be paid for at not less than
double the prevailing rate.
[Old section No. 5 is stricken out. Sections 6 and 7 retain their
numbers, and are unchanged, except that in section 6 the word
“ and ” between the words “ women ” and “ minors,” where first
used, is changed to “ or.” ]
Sanitary conditions
in
Amendment.
canneries.
[The order of February 14, 1916, under this head (see Bulletin
No. 213, pp. 30-32), is amended by an order of April 16, 1917.
The last sentence of paragraph numbered (3) is changed to read
as follows:]
Where floors are wet and women are required by their work to
walk over or stand upon them, wooden racks or gratings of an
adequate height shall be provided at such points. Wherever the
floor at the working point is of cement, tile, brick or similar ma
terial, suitable wooden racks or gratings shall be provided for the
women to stand upon.
[Paragraphs numbered,(7), (8), and (9) are changed to read
as follows:]
Wet floors.
(7) The floors of every toilet room hereafter installed, and the Floors.
side walls to a height of not less than six inches, shall be con
structed with sanitary base and of material, other than wood,
which is impervious to moisture and which has a smooth surface.
This material shall be marble, asphalt, Portland cement, with
admixture of approved waterproofing material, tile, glazed brick
or other approved waterproof material. The angle formed by the
floor and the base shall be coved. Wooden floors will be per
mitted in existing installations, if kept well painted with a non
absorbent paint.
(8) All walls of toilet rooms and water-closet compartments, Walls,
unless constructed of marble, cement-plaster, tile, glazed brick,
or other glazed material, or concrete with admixture of water
proofing material, shall be kept covered with a nonabsorbent
light-colored paint, or other impervious compound.
(9) Every water-closet shall be in a separate compartment
Water clos
which must not be less than twenty-seven inches wide and pro ets.
vided with a door. The door shall, if possible, be arranged to
open outward only, and in any position of the door there shall be
at least eighteen inches clearance between the front edge and
any part of the door.
[Paragraph numbered (12) is amended by striking out the Amendments.
words “ or of first quality cast iron, porcelain enameled inside
and out.” Paragraph (13) is amended by adding on the end
thereof the words, “ aad shall not be provided with a cover.”
A new paragraph numbered (15) is added, and succeeding para
graphs are advanced one number and amended in various re
spects, with the exception of paragraph (22), which becomes
paragraph (23) and is not changed. Paragraphs 15 to 22, inclu
sive, are reproduced herewith.]
(15)
Sanitary napkins shall be readily obtainable at a reason Napkins.
able price, and a metal receptacle with a hinged cover in wh'ch
napkins may be deposited shall be provided in each toilet room.
94
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
(16) All toilet rooms and lavatories shall be kept clean and the
floors shall be washed and scrubbed daily. The bowls and seats
of water-closets and all wash basins, bowls and sinks shall be
scrubbed at least once a day.
Drinking
(17) Each place of employment shall be equipped with suffi
water.
cient pure drinking Water and the faucets shall be placed so that
they are convenient to the employees. Common drinking cups
are prohibited. Individual cups must be used or sanitary drink
ing fountains of an approved design must be installed. Drinking
fountains shall be kept in a sanitary condition and shall be of
such design that it is impossible to place the lips in contact with
the orifice from which the jet or [of] water issues, or for the
supply orifice to become submerged by the waste water. The
water supply of drinking fountains shall be so regulated and
maintained that a jet of at least two inches in height shall be
constantly available.
(18) There shall be adequate washing facilities provided as
Washing fa
cilities.
hereinafter specified. A sufficient number of washbowls or sink
space shall be located either within the toilet room or adjacent
to the toilet room and in the direct route between the toilet
rooms and the work place. Any wash sinks or bowls not so lo
cated shall be installed in an approved location.
(19) At least twenty lineal inches of sink space with one water
Numbers.
supplied faucet shall be supplied for each twenty women employed,
or majority fraction thereof, based on the maximum number of
women employed at one time, except that one washbowl shall be
considered the equivalent of twenty inches of sink space. Every
washbowl or sink shall be of vitreous china, enameled iron, or
other approved material impervious to water, and if used on one
side only shall be not less than twelve inches wide inside measure
ment, or if used on both sides, not less than twenty-two inches
inside measurement. Self-closing faucets shall not be used except
Soap and where wash basins or bowls are provided. Sufficient soap and
towels.
individual or paper towels shall be supplied. Common towels
will not be permitted.
Dressing
(20) A suitable room shall be provided where women may
rooms.
change their clothing in privacy and comfort. A sufficient number
of approved lockers shall be provided, and if general access to the
lockers is permitted they must be fitted with individual locks and
keys, or such other provision as will insure the safety of the
womens’ belongings.
Cost, etc.
There shall also be provided at least one couch, bed or cot;
where more than forty and less than one hundred women are em
ployed, two shall be provided, and thereafter, at least one for
every additional two hundred and fifty women employed.
There shall also be one stretcher for use in case of accident or
Stretchers.
illness, except that where one of the above required couches,
beds or cots is a cot of a type suitable for use as a stretcher, a
separate stretcher need not be provided. Where these couches,
beds or cots are not placed in a separate room they shall be placed
in the locker or dressing room and protected from direct observa
tion by a suitable screen, and the first aid kit shall be kept adja
cent to them.
Time
for
(21) Every woman and minor shall be entitled to at least one
meals.
hour for noonday meal: Provided, however, That no woman or
minor shall be permitted to return to work in less than one-half
hour.
If work is to be continued through the evening, every woman
and minor shall be entitled to at least one hour for the evening
meal.
(22) (Applying to new installations only, until March, 1918,
when it becomes generally effective.)
Seats.
Seats shall be provided at the work table for each and every
woman or minor employed, and such seats shall be capable of
substantially the same whether seated or standing. Work tables
that the position of the worker relative to the work table shall be
substantially the same whether seated or standing. Work tables
Rooms, etc.,
to be washed.
TE X T OF LAW S— CALIFO RN IA.
95
(cutting and canning tables, sorting belts, etc.) shall be of such
dimensions and design that there are no physical impediments to
efficient work in either sitting or a standing position, and one or
more foot rests of proper height shall be provided. New installa
tions are to -be approved by the commission.
Logging and sawmill safety orders.
[Orders under this head were issued effective March 15, 1917,
being orders Nos. 501 to 511, inclusive. These orders are given the
following titles: 501, donkey boilers; 502, donkey engines; 503,
donkey engine signals; 504, lines and blocks; 505, log landings;
506, logging railroads; 507, steam locomotives; 508, logging cars;1
509, rules governing train operation; 510, tools; 511, sawmills.
On account of their technicality and the limited field covered by
these rules, they are not reproduced.]
Summary.
COLORADO.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
45.—Mine regulations—Inspection.
[This act amends several sections of the coal mining code,
chapter 56, Acts of 1913.
Section 21 is amended by increasing the salary of the chief Amendments,
inspector from $3,000 to $4,000.
Section 29 is amended by increasing the salaries of the deputy
inspectors from $2,100 to $2,700.
Section 37 is amended by striking out from the list of subjects
to be included in the inspector’s annual report to the governor the
items as to accidents other than fatal and the amount of compen
sation paid on account of injuries or death.
Section 40 is amended so as to read as follows:]
S ec . 40. The board of examiners mentioned in section four
of this act, shall meet at places selected by them, immediately held.
>e
after the taking effect of this act, and every two years or oftener,
if necessary, thereafter at places designated by the board, for the
purpose of examining persons for the following positions: Com
pany mine examiners, mine foremen, assistant mine foremen and
fire-bosses; and to issue certificates of competency for same. The
certificates of competency herein provided shall be issued to any
person who shall satisfactorily pass such examination, written or
oral, as may be prescribed by the board, and who shall satisfy the
board that he shall have had at least five years’ experience in coal
mines situated in the United States of America, and, also, that he
shall have worked in underground positions in coal mines in Colo
rado for at least one year immediately prior to the date such ex
amination is given. The board of examiners shall file, in the chief
inspector’s office, a list of names of successful candidates. Shot
firers shall pass an examination to be given by the chief inspector
or deputy inspector on occasions when either of these officials
shall be present at the mine where the applicant for the position
of shot firers is employed: Provided, That when there is no certifi
cated shot firer at any mine employing shot firers the mine fore
man and fire boss may examine any applicant as to his fitness to
fill the position of shot firer and, having been satisfied of such
fitness, may employ him in that capacity until the next visit of the
chief or deputy inspector.
[Section 62 is amended to read as follows:]
S ec . 62. The mine foreman shall direct at what hours blasting
Blasting,
shall be done in the mine, but not so as to conflict with the pro
visions of this act, and a notice of the time shall be posted in a
conspicuous place at the mine and a copy of the notice shall be
kept on file at the mine office.
[Section 66 is amended by adding thereto the following sen
tence :]
Any such dangerous condition [due to water, gas, or fire] found Conditions to
to exist shall be removed if possible or made safe as soon as posremedie sible.
[Section 75 is amended by adding to the items on which the fire
boss is to report, “ the approximate amount of any explosive gas
found.”
Section 80 is amended by adding a proviso, so as to read as
follows:]
45913°— Bull. 244—18------ 7
97
98
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
Em ergency
service.
Amendments.
Safety lamps.
Amendment.
Fund
ated.
cre
Sec. 80. Nothing in this act shall prevent a mine foreman or an
assistant mine foreman from acting as fire boss, or a regularly
employed fire boss in an emergency as assistant mine foreman:
Provided, however, That in mines where explosive gas has been
detected, only officials holding first-class certificates shall be elig
ible to act as fire boss.
[Section 127 is amended by exempting automatic doors from
the requirement that attendants shall be stationed at doors in
haulage ways.
Section 129 is amended by adding the requirement that fans
shall be equipped with “ a water gauge, to be kept in constant use
where and when weather conditions will permit.”
Section 133 is amended so as to read as follows:]
S ec . 133. In coal mines or parts of coal mines generating ex
plosive gases and believed by the chief inspector to be unsafe for
the use of open or naked lights, the chief inspector may, after
January one, nineteen hundred' and eighteen, require the owner to
use either electric or safety lamps, or both. In all mines where
electric lamps are used exclusively (except safety lamps for test
ing purposes) on account of the presence of explosive gases, the
owner shall employ a first class certified mine official whose duty
it shall be to look after the ventilation of the mine and the safety
of the employees therein. All lamps shall be the property of the
owner, and shall be kept in a room at the surface and delivered
daily in good condition to the underground employees and others
authorized to £nter the mine. All safety lamps for testing pur
poses, and all electric lamps shall meet with the approval of the
chief inspector. In parts of mines where noxious gases are gener
ated in dangerous quantities, the chief coal mine inspector may
prohibit the use of any kind of lamp which is unsafe.
[Section 166 is amended by striking out the following from the
list of itms as to which owners must make annual reports to the
chief inspector: The improvements made, the number of nonfatal
accidents disabling for five days or more, the amount of compensa
tion paid for death or disability, and the number of tons of coal
mined by solid shooting.
Section 167 is amended so as to read as follows:]
S ec . 167. There is hereby created a fund to be known as and
called the coal mine inspection fund. Each owner operating a
coal mine or coal mines in Colorado, shall, from and after Janu
ary one, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and on not later than
the fifteenth day of April, July, October, and January, respec
tively, of each and every year, pay into the State treasury for and
to become a part of said coal mine inspection fund an amount
equal to one-third of 1 cent per ton of coal, estimate[d] on a runof-mine basis, mined by said owner during the three preceding
calendar months, and all moneys now in said fund, and all moneys
hereafter paid into said fund on account of coal mined prior to
January one, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and all moneys
paid into said fund on coal mined from and after January first,
nineteen hundred and seventeen, shall be used and they are hereby
appropriated for use to pay the salaries and traveling expenses
and other expenses as in this act provided, and for no other
purpose whatsoever: Provided, however, That whenever at the
end of any quarterly period, a surplus in excess of $15,000 exists
or shall be found to have accumulated in said fund, the State
treasurer shall forthwith in writing so notify the chief inspector
of coal mines, and said chief inspector shall thereupon in writing
so notify each owner by registered mail, and all owners of coal
mines shall thereupon be excused and exempted from paying into
said fund on the coal mined during the quarterly period next
following that in which such surplus is found to exist or to**have
accumulated, and as frequently as may be necessary, such notices
shall be given in order to keep and maintain such surplus within
the said limit of $15,000; and in determining the amount of any
TEXT OP LAW S— COLORADO.
99
such surplus, the moneys now in said fund, and all moneys paid
into said fund on coal mined prior and subsequent to January one,
nineteen hundred and seventeen, shall be included. Nothing
herein provided shall release the owner of any coal mine or mines
from liability on account of moneys payable into the coal mine
inspection fund on coal mined by said owner prior to January one,
nineteen hundred and seventeen, the cause of action for the re
covery of which accrued under the provisions of said act prior to
this amendment thereof. All expenses of the coal mine inspec
tion department, including salaries and traveling expenses, shall
be paid by the State treasurer out of the moneys in said coal mine
inspection fund on warrants drawn by the State auditor on said
fund on vouchers issued by the chief inspector of coal mines and
approved by the governor. On or before the tenth day of each
calendar month, the State treasurer shall furnish to the chief
inspector a detailed statement of moneys received for said fund
during the preceding calendar month.
Approved April 4, 1917.
C hapter
54.— Employment of labor— Fraud.
1. Any person who shall knowingly and designedly, by tenses.186 Pre
any false pretense or pretenses, obtain the labor or services of
another shall be deemed a swindler and upon conviction shall,
where the labor or services obtained is over the value of $20, be
imprisoned in the State penitentiary not to exceed ten years; and
where the labor and services obtained is [are] of the value of $20
or less be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000 or imprisoned in
the county jail not to exceed six months; or by both, in the dis
cretion of the court; and in all cases where the value of the labor
or services obtained is $20 or less, justices of the peace shall have
jurisdiction of violations of this act.
S e c . 2. The commissioner of labor statistics of the State of
Enforcement.
Colorado shall cooperate with the district attorneys, sheriffs,
and all peace officers of the State in the enforcement of this act.
Approved April 10, 1917.
S e c t io n
C h apter
76.—Free public employment office*.
[This act amends section 2465, R. S., by directing that a free
employment office be established and maintained at Grand Junc
tion,]
C h a p t e r 9 3 . — Assignments
New office,
of wages— Wage brokers.
S e c t io n 1. When any person, persons, partnership, corporation
a t con*
or corporations, or joint-stock company, national bank, trusttracts V01d*
company, or any bank or banks operating under a State charter
or under State supervision, or building and loan associations,
or title and guaranty companies, shall lend any sum of money not
exceeding $500, and shall take as security therefor any mortgage,
assignment or other instrument of writing, upon personal prop
erty, or on account of any salary or wages due or to become due,
or to be earned in the future, and shall contract for, exact or
receive directly or indirectly, as interest or for the use of the
money loaned, any sum of money or other thing of value in excess
of one per cent per month on the amount actually loaned, provided,
that an additional charge not to exceed $1 may be made to cover
expenses of filing or drawing of papers, or who shall accept or
receive any note, bond, bill, or other evidence of debt for or on
account of such loan, or as an inducement thereto, which shall
express on its face a sum to be due or payable in excess of the
actual amount so loaned, such bond, bill, note, or other evidence
of debt, together with any mortgage, .assignment, or other in
strument of writing to secure the same, upon chattels, salary or
wages, shall be void and nonenforcible, and any payee or any
other person with knowledge thereof who shall assign, transfer,
LABOE LEGISLATION OF lM .?.
100
Notice
employer.
to
Actions n o t
m a i n tainable,
when.
Violations.
or deliver to any person, for a good and valuable consideration,
any such bond, bill, note, or other evidence of debt, which shall
express on its face a sum due or payable in excess of the sum
actually loaned, or who shall transfer any mortgage, assignment,
or other instrument of writing to secure the same, upon chattels,
salary, or wages, without stating to such vendee, assignee, or
transferee the true amount actually loaned, shall be liable to the
purchaser thereof for double the amount named in any such
bond, bill, note, or other evidence of debt, to be recovered in an
action at law ; and in addition thereto he or they shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and be punished as hereinafter provided.
S ec . 2. Any person, persons, partnership, corporation or cor
porations, or joint-stock company, national bank, trust company,
or any bank or banks operating under a State charter or under
State supervision, or building and loan associations, or title and
guaranty companies, who shall hereafter make to any employee
an advance of money, or loan, on account of salary or wages clue
or to become due or to be earned in the future by such individual,
upon an assignment or note covering such loans or advances, shall
not acquire any right to collect or attach the same while in the
possession or control of the employer, unless within a period
of seven days after the execution of such assignment or notes
and the making of such loan or loans, the party making such
loan and taking such assignment shall have filedr with the em
ployer or employers of the individual so assigning his present or
prospective salary or wages, a duly authenticated copy of such
agreement or assignment or notes under which the claim is made.
Sec. 3. No action shall be maintained in any of the courts of
this State, brought by the holder of any such contract, assign
ment, or notes, or other instrument in writing, given by an em
ployee for moneys loaned on account of salary or wages, in which
it is sought to charge in any manner the employer or employers,
unless it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court that a copy
of such agreement, *assignment, or notes or other instrument in
writing, together with a notice of lien, was duly filed with the
employer or employers of the person or persons, corporation or
company making said loan within seven days after the said loan
was made and the said agreement, assignment or notes were given.
Sec. 4. Any person violating any provision of this act -shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction be punished
by confinement in the county jail for not less than thirty days
nor more than (Hie year.
Approved April 20, 1917.
C hapter 98 .—Employment
Basis.
Commission.
Employees.
of women and children—Minimum
wages.
Section 1. The welfare of the State of Colorado demands that
women and minors be protected from conditions of labor which
have a pernicious effect on their health and morals, and it is there
fore hereby declared, in the exercise of the police and sovereign
power of the State of Colorado, that inadequate wages and un
sanitary conditions of labor exert such pernicious effect.
Sec. 2. The Industrial Commission of Colorado is hereby made
and constituted a minimum wage commission for this State, and
the word “ commission” as hereinafter used refers to and means
said Industrial Commission of Colorado, and the word “ commis
sioner ” as hereinafter used refers to and means a member of said
commission. The act and decision of a majority of said commis
sion, or any deputy when duly authorized by the commission, shall
be deemed the act or decision of said commission, and no vacancy
shall impair the right of the remaining commissioners to exer
cise all the powers of said commission.
Sec. 3. The commission may appoint a secretary, who shall de
vote his entire time to the duties of the office, and shall receive
a salary of $1,800 per annum, payable monthly. The commis
sion may employ and fix the compensation of such deputies,
TEXT OF LAWS— COLORADO.
101
expert, clerical, and other assistants as may be necessary to carry
out the purpose of this act, and may include among its expenses
the traveling expenses of the members of the commission and
its employees. All employees shall hold office at the pleasure of
the commission. The commission may incur other expenses not
exceeding the annual appropriations therefor, and shall be pro
vided with a suitable office in the State capitol.
S ec . 4. It shall be unlawful to employ women in any occupaE m p loy m en t
tion within the State of Colorado for wages which are inadequate forbidden,
to supply the necessary cost of living and to maintain the health
of women so employed; and it shall be unlawful to employ minors
in any occupation within the State of Colorado for unreasonably
low wages; and it shall be unlawful to employ women or minors
in any occupation within this State under conditions of labor
detrimental to their health or morals.
S ec . 5. It shall be the duty of the commission to inquire into
investigathe wages paid to women employees above the age of eighteen tions.
years, and minor employees under eighteen years of age; also
into the conditions of labor surrounding said employees, in any
occupation in this State, if the commission has reason to believe
that said conditions of labor are detrimental to the health or mor
als of said employees, or that the wages paid to a substantial
number of employees are inadequate to supply the necessary cost
of living and to maintain such employees in health. The word
“ minor ” as used in this act refers to and means any person of
either sex under the age of eighteen years, and the word “woman”
as used in this act refers to and means a female person of or over
the age of eighteen years. At the request of not less than twentyfive persons engaged in any occupation in which women or minors
are employed, the commission shall forthwith make such investi
gation as is herein provided. The commission may, at any time,
make such investigation upon its own initiative.
S ec . 6. The commission is hereby authorized and empowered
wages
to ascertain and determine, and shall ascertain and determine,
the minimum wages sufficient for living wages for women and
irinors of ordinary ability, including minimum wages sufficient
for living wages, whether paid according to time rate or piece rate;
a iso the minimum wTages sufficient for living wages for learners
and apprentices; also standards of conditions of labor and hours
of employment not detrimental to health or morals for women
and for minors, and what are unreasonably long hours for women
and minors, and what are unreasonably low wages for minors,
in any occupation in this State.
S ec . 7. The commission shall, for the purposes of this act, have
powers o f
full power and authority to investigate and ascertain the con- commission,
ditions of labor surrounding said women and minors, also the
wages of women and minors in the different occupations in which
they are employed, whether paid by time rate or piece rate, in
the State of Colorado. The word “ occupation ” as used in this
act shall be so construed as to include any and every vocation,
trade, pursuit, and industry. The commission shall have full
power and authority as a commission, or through any au
thorized representative or any commissioner, to inspect and ex
amine and make excerpts from any and all books, reports, con
tracts, pay rolls, documents, papers and other records of any em
ployer of women or minors, that in any way appertain to or
have bearing upon the question of wages of any such women
workers or minor workers in any of said occupations, and to re
quire from any such employer full and true statements of the
wages paid to all women and minors by any employer. Every Du t i e s of
employer of women and minors shall keep a register of the emPl°yers.
names, ages, dates of employment, and residence addresses of all
women and minors employed, and it shall be the duty of every
such employer, whether a person, firm, or corporation, to furnish
to the commission, at its request, any and all reports or informa
tion which the commission may require to carry out the purposes
of this act, such reports and information to be verified by the
102
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1911.
oath of the person or a member of the firm, or the president,
secretary, or manager of the corporation furnishing the same,
if and when so requested by the commission or any member
thereof; also to allow the commission, any authorized represen
tative, or any commissioner, free access to the place of business
of such employer for the purpose of making any investigation
authorized by this act.
Hearing*.
S ec . 8. The commission may hold public hearings at such times
and places as it deems proper for the purpose of investigating any
of the matters it is authorized to investigate by this act, at which
hearings employers, employees, or other interested persons may
appear and give testimony as to the matter under consideration.
The commission, or any member thereof, shall have power to
subpoena and compel the attendance of any witnesses and to ad
minister oaths; also, by subpoena, to compel the production of
any books, papers or other evidence at any public hearing of the
commission or at any session of any wage board called and held,
as hereinafter provided. All witnesses subpoenaed by said com
mission shall be paid the same mileage and per diem as are
allowed by law to witnesses in civil cases before the district court
of the State of Colorado.
If any person shall fail to attend as a witness, or to bring
with him any books, papers, or other evidence when subpoenaed
by the commission, or shall refuse to testify when ordered so to
do, the commission may apply to any district court or county
court in this State to compel obedience on the part of such per
son, and such district court or county court shall thereupon com
pel obedience by proceedings for contempt, as in cases of dis
obedience of any order of said court in a proceeding pending
before said court. The commission shall have power to make
and enforce reasonable and proper rules and procedure and shall
not be bound by the technical rules of evidence. Said commission
may hold meetings for the transaction of any of its business at
such times and places as it may prescribe.
Procedure.
Sec. 9. If, after investigation, the commission is of the opinion
that the conditions of employment surrounding said employees
are detrimental to the health or morals, or that a substantial
number of women workers in any occupation are receiving wages,
whether by time rate or piece rate, inadequate to supply the
necessary costs of living and to maintain such workers in health,
the commission shall proceed to establish minimum wage rates,
either directly or by the indirect method hereinafter described.
If it selects the direct method, the commission shall establish the
Wage boards. minimum wage rates. If it adopts the indirect method, the
commission shall establish a wage board, consisting of not more
than three representatives of employers in the occupation in
question, and of an equal number of persons to represent the
female employees in said occupation, and of an equal number of
disinterested persons to represent the public, and some one repre
senting the commission, if it so desires. The commission shall
name and appoint all members of such wage board and designate
the chairman thereof: Provided, however, That the selection of
members representing employers and employees shall be, so far
as practicable, through election by employers and employees re
spectively, subject to approval and selection by the commission, as
aforesaid. At least one representative of the employers, at least
one representative of the employees, and at least one representa
tive of the public shall be a woman. The members of the wage
board shall be compensated at the same rate and fees for service
as jurors in counties of the second class, and they shall be al
lowed their necessary traveling and clerical expenses incurred in
the actual performance of their duties, these payments to be made
from the appropriations for the expenses of the commission. The
proceedings and deliberations of such wage board shall be made
a matter of record, for the use of the commission, and shall be admissable as evidence in any proceedings before the commission.
Each wage board shall have the same power as the commission to
103
TEXT OF LAW S— COLORADO.
subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and compel the production
of books, papers and other evidence. Witnesses subpoenaed by a
wage board shall be allowed the same compensation as when
subpoenaed by the commission.
S ec . 10. The commission may transmit to each wage board all
Dutyofwn~p
pertinent information in its possession relative to the wages boards,
paid or material to the subject of inquiry in the occupation in
question. Each wage board shall endeavor to determine, if re
quested so to do by the commission, the standard conditions of
employment; also the minimum wage, whether by time rate or
piece rate, adequate to maintain in health and to supply with
the necessary cost of living, a female employee of ordinary ability
in the occupation in question, or in any branches thereof; also
suitable minimum wages (graded, so far as practicable, on a
rising scale toward the minimum allowed experienced workers)
for learners and apprentices; also suitable minimum wages for
minors below the age of eighteen years. When a majority of the
members of a wage board shall agree upon standard conditions of
employment or minimum wage board determinations, they shall
report such determinations to the commission, together with the
reasons therefor and the facts relating thereto. A majority of the
members of any such wage board shall constitute a quorum.
S ec . 11. Upon receipt of a report from a wage board, the comReports to
mission shall review the same and may approve or disapprove any eomrnhtsion.
or all the determinations, or may recommit the subject to the same
or a new wage board. If the commission approves any or all
of the determinations of the wage board, said commission shall
publish notice not less than once a week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county or
counties in which any business directly affected thereby is located,
that it will, on a date and at a place named in said notice, hold
public meeting, at which all persons in favor of or opposed to said
recommendations will be given a hearing; and after said publi- Hearings,
cation of said notice and said meeting, said commission may, in
its discretion, make and render such an order as may be proper or
necessary to adopt such recommendations and carry the same
into effect and require all employees in the occupation directly
affected thereby to preserve and comply with such recommenda
tions and said order. Said orders [sic] shall become effective
in thirty days after it is made and rendered and shall be in full
force and effect on and after the thirtieth day following its making
and rendition. After said order becomes effective, and while it is
effective, it shall be unlawful for any employer to violate or
disregard any of the terms or provisions of said order, or to
employ any woman worker in any occupation covered by said
order at lower wages or under other conditions than are author
ized or permitted by said order.
Said commission shall, as far as is practicable, mail a copy of Notice to eraany such order to every employer affected thereby; and every ployers.
employer affected by any such order shall keep a copy thereof
posted in a conspicuous place in each room in his establishment
in which women workers work. No such order of said commis
sion shall authorize or permit the employment of any woman or
minor for more hours per day or per week than the maximum
now fixed by la w : Provided, however. That in case of emergencies
which may arise in the conduct of any industry or occupation,
overtime may be permitted under conditions and rules, and for
increased minimum wages, which the commission, after investi
gation, shall determine and prescribe by order, and which shall
apply equally to all employers in such industry or occupation.
S ec . 12. Whenever a minimum wage rate, or a new standard of
Reconsideraconditions of employment established in any occupation, has been tionestablished in any occupation, the commission may, if it deems
proper or necessary so to do, upon petition o f either employers or
employees, reconvene the wage board or establish a new wage
board, and any recommendation made by such board shall be
dealt with in the same manner as the original recommendation of
a
104
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1911.
a wage board: Provided, however, That, pending any new deter
mination, any* minimum wage rate and any new standard of
conditions of employment theretofore established shall be and
continue in force and effect.
S ec . 13. For any occupation in which a time rate only has been
Special 1 i censes.
established, the commission may issue to any woman physically
defective or crippled by age or otherwise, or less efficient than
women workers of ordinary ability, a special license authorizing
the employment of the licensee at such wage less than said legal
minimum wage as shall be provided by said commission and
stated in said license: Provided, That the number of such persons
so specially licensed shall not exceed one-tenth of the whole
number of workers in any establishment.
Minors.
Sec. 14. The commission may at any time inquire into the wages
paid to minors and the conditions of their employment in any
occupation, and may, after public hearings, determine minimum
wages and working conditions suitable for such minors. When
the commission has made such a determination, it may proceed
in the same manner as if the determination had been recommended
to the commission by a wage board.
Protection of
S ec . 15. Any employer who discharges or threatens to discharge,
employees.
or in any other way discriminates against an employee because
such employee serves upon a wage board, or is active in its forma
tion, or has testified or is about to testify, or because the employer
believes that said employee may testify in any investigation or
proceeding relative to enforcement of this act, shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be
punished by a fine of not less than $200, nor more than $1,000
for each such misdemeanor. The commission shall, from time to
time, investigate and report to the proper prosecuting officials
whether employers in each occupation investigated are obeying
its decrees, and members and employees of the commission may
cause informations to be filed with, and prosecutions to be insti
tuted by, the proper prosecuting officials for any violation of any
of the provisions of this act.
Violations.
Sec. 16. The minimum wages for women and minors fixed by
the commission, as in this act provided, shall be the minimum
wages to be paid to such employees, and the payment to such
employees of a less wage than the minimum so fixed shall be
unlawful, and every employer or other person who, individually
or as an officer, agent, or employee of a corporation, or other
person, pays or causes to be paid to any. such employee a wage
less than such minimum, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not
less than $100, or by imprisonment for not less than thirty days,
or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Presump
S ec . 17. In every prosecution for the violation of any provision
tions.
of this act, the minimum wage established by the commission,
as herein provided, shall be prima facie presumed to be reasonable
and lawful and to be the wage required herein to be paid to women
and minors. The findings of fact made by the commission acting
within its powers shall, in the absence of fraud, be conclusive,
and the determination made by the commission shall be subject
to review only in the manner hereinbefore prescribed.
Wages below
S ec . 18. An employee receiving less than the legal minimum
standard.
wage applicable to such employee shall be entitled to recover in
a civil action the unpaid balance of the full amount of such mini
mum wage, together with costs of suit, notwithstanding any agree
ment to work for such lesser wage.
Complaints.
S ec . 19. Any person may register with the commission complaint
that the wages paid to an employee for whom a rate has been
established are less than that rate, and the commission shall in
vestigate the matter and take all proceedings necessary to enforce
the payment of a wage not less than accords with such rate.
Reports o f
S ec . 20. The commission shall, on or before the first day of Jan
commission.
uary of the year nineteen hundred and nineteen, and biennially
thereafter, make a succinct report to the governor and the general
TEXT OF LAW S— COLORADO.
105
assembly of its works and any proceedings under this act during
the preceding two years.
S ec . 21. There is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the
A p p ropria
State treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $3,000 to tion.
carry into effect the provisions of this act and to pay the expenses
and expenditures authorized by or incurred under this act for
the years nineteen hundred and seventeen and nineteen hundred
and eighteen. The expenditures authorized shall be payable at
the end of each month, upon certificate made by the commission
to the auditor of state, who shall draw his warrant upon the state
treasurer; and the auditor of state is hereby authorized and
directed to draw said warrants, as aforesaid, upon receipt of
certified vouchers of the chairman of said commission, attested by
the secretary.
S ec . 22. Whenever this act or any part thereof is interpreted by
Construeany court, it shall be liberally construed by such court.
tionS ec . 23. If any part, section, subsection, sentence, clause, or
Provisions
phrase of this act is for any reason declared unconstitutional, severable,
such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining por
tions of this act. The general assembly hereby declares that it
would have passed this act, and each part, section, subsection,
sentence, clause and phrase, irrespective of the fact that any
one or more other parts, sections, subsections, clauses, phrases,
word or words, [might] be declared unconstitutional.
S ec . 24. Chapter 110 of the Session Laws of Nineteen hundred
Repeal*
and thirteen, entitled “ Minimum wage for women and minors,”
and all acts and parts in conflict with any of the provisions of
this act are hereby repealed.
Approved April 20, 1917.
CONNECTICUT.
ACTS OF 1917.
C hapter 49.— Factory
regulations— Inspection.
S ection 1. Section 4623 of the General Statutes is amended to
read as follows:
See. 4523. The orders and notices given by the commissioner of
labor and factory inspection under the provisions of this chapter
shall be written or printed, signed by him officially, and may be
served by him or any proper officer or indifferent person, by leav
ing an attested copy thereof with or at the usual place of abode
of the person upon whom service is to be made, or by registered
mail addressed to such person at his last known place of address.
Such notice, properly indorsed with the doings of the person or
officer serving the same, shall be returned to the commissioner of
labor and factory inspection, and shall be prima facie evidence
that notice was given as therein appears. Notice to one member
of a firm shall be notice to every member thereof, and notice to
the president, secretary or treasurer of a corporation shall be
notice to such corporation. The fees for serving such orders and
notices, unless served by the inspector, shall be the same as for
the service of process in civil actions, and shall be included in the
necessary expenses of the inspector.
Approved March 27, 1917.
C hapter 60.— Railroads— Lighting,
etc., of roundhouses.
S ection 1. The commissioner of labor and factory inspection, or
his deputy, shall, in addition to the duties prescribed by the
general statutes, examine as soon as practicable the lighting and
sanitary conditions of railroad roundhouses.
Approved March 28, 1917.
C h a p te r
Notices.
Inspection.
106.—Seats for employees on street railways.
1. Section 1 of chapter 237 of the public acts of 1909
* * * is amended to read as follows:
Section 1. Every company owning or operating a street railway What
in this State shall cause each of its cars having an air brake to be to have
provided with a seat or stool for the use of the motorman.
Approved April 10, 1917.
S ection
C h apter
c ar s
seats.
127.—Employment of children—General provisions.
S ection 1. Each certificate issued under the twovisions of sec Statement
tion three of chapter one hundred and nineteen of the public acts occupations.
of nineteen hundred and eleven shall have printed upon the back
a list of the occupations in which the child possessing such certifi
cate shall not be employed.
Approved April 10, 1917.
C h a p te r 128.—Intomcation and negligence of employees on street
railways, etc.
S ection 1. Every servant of any railroad or electric railway
company and every person operating a motor vehicle upon the
highways of this State, who shall, in consequence of his intoxica
tion or of any gross or willful misconduct or negligence, cause
any loss of life or the breaking of a limb, shall be fined not more
than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
Approved April 10, 1917.
Penalty.
107
of
108
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
C hapter
Notice to be
forwarded.
Exemptions.
154.— Inspection of elevators.
Section 1. No elevator installed after August 1, 1917, shall be
operated in any factory, mercantile establishment, storehouse,
workhouse, dwelling or other building until five days after notice,
from the owner or his representative that the same is ready for
inspection, has been mailed to the department of labor and fac
tory inspection. Any person violating any provision of this sec
tion shall be fined not more than $50 for the first offense, and for
the second offense shall be fined not more than $100, or imprisoned
not tiaore than six months, or both.
Sec. 2. The provisions of this act shall not prevent the opera
tion of any elevator installed for temporary use in connection
with building operations nor with the operation of any elevator
for purposes connected with the installation of the same or the
testing of the same.
Approved April 19, 1917.
Chapter 163.— Commission of public welfare.
Com mission
created.
Section 1. The governor shall, on or before July 1, 1917,
appoint five commissioners to investigate the advisability of
creating an agricultural and industrial board and the mat
ter of old-age pensions; health insurance; pasteurization plants;
free employment bureaus; cooperative societies and pools;
experiments and dissemination of information to assist farm
ers and live stock growers; reforestization; loans to assist
purchase of seed and fertilizer; a State bureau for making rural
loans; improvement of byways; the extension of telephone and
power companies* facilities in rural districts and hours of labor
and minimum wage and to report to the next general assembly.
Said commissioners shall serve without pay, but may incur such
expenses as are authorized by the board of control.
Approved April 19, 1917.
Chapter
Amendments.
195.— Inspection and regulation of bakeries.
[This act amends section 2569, General Statutes, by adding the
requirement that a locker shall be provided for each employee, and
that a fee of $1 shall be paid for the certificates of inspection,
which shall be valid for one year. The term “ commissioner of
labor and factory inspection ” is substituted for the term “ fac
tory inspector ” where it occurs.]
Chapter 206.—Employment of children— School attendance.
Prosecuting
agents.
Section 1. The State board of education may appoint one or
more persons, subject to the approval of a judge of the superior
court, to be prosecuting agents, who shall diligently inquire
into and prosecute for violations of the laws relating to the
attendance of children at school, or relating to the employment of
children in mechanical, mercantile or manufacturing establish
ments, and shall exercise in any town or city the authority of
grand jurors or prosecuting officers in prosecutions for such
violations and may conduct such prosecutions personally or by
attorney. Such prosecuting agents may render such aid in the
superior court in prosecutions for such violations, and shall give
such information with reference thereto, as the State’s attorney
may require. They shall render to said State board of education
such reports as may be required by said board, which may re
move any of such agents at its discretion and appoint another
in his stead. Such prosecuting agents shall be paid in the manner
provided by law for other agents of said board.
Approved May 1, 1917.
T E X T OF LAW S— CO N N E C T IC U T.
C hapter
247.— Fire escapes on factories, and so forth.
[This act amends section 2628, General Statutes, adding the
provision that a ladder affixed to the premises described shall not
be considered a fire escape within the meaning of the section.
Section 5 of chapter 239, Acts of 1911, relating to the same sub
ject matter, is amended so as to read as follows:]
Sec. 5. The owner of any building, or in case such owner be
non compos mentis or a minor, the guardian of such owner, or
in case such owner be a nonresident, the agent of such owner
having charge of such property, who shall fail to comply with
the foregoing provisions of this act shall be fined not less than
$100 nor more than $500, or imprisoned not more than three
months, or both.
Approved May 3, 1917.
109
Amendments.
Violations.
C hapter 261.—Employment of children—Messenger service .
Minors un
Section 1. No person under the age of eighteen years shall
be employed by any telegraph or messenger company, in cities der 18.
having a population of twenty thousand or over, to distribute,
transmit, or deliver goods or messages between fhe hours of ten
o’clock at night and five o’clock in the morning.
Violations.
Sec. 2. The manager of the office of any corporation who shall
violate any provision of this act shall be fined not more than $20
for each day of such employment.
Approved May 3, 1917.
C hapter
300.— Employment of women and children— Hours of
labor.
Night work.
Section 1. No public restaurant, cafe, dining room, barber shop,
hair dressing or manicuring establishment or photograph gallery
shall employ any minor under sixteen years of age or any* woman,
between the hours of ten o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in
the morning.
Sec. 2. No such establishment shall employ any such minor or Hours of la
female more than fifty-eight hours in any week. The hours of bor*.
labor of such minors or females shall be conspicuously posted in
such establishment in such form and manner as the commissioner
of labor and factory inspection shall determine.
Hotels e x *
Sec. 3. The provisions of this act shall not affect hotels.
empt.
Sec. 4. A bowling alley shall be regarded as a mercantile estab
Bowling al
lishment and the provisions of chapter one hundred and seventy- leys.
nine of the public acts of nineteen hundred and thirteen [amend
ing chapter two hundred and twenty, Acts of nineteen hundred
and nine] shall be applicable to employment therein.
Sec. 5. The commissioner of labor and factory inspection shall Enforcement.
examine and inquire into the employment of such minors and
women in the establishments described in this act and investi
gate all complaints of violations hereof and report all cases of
such violation to the prosecuting officer having jurisdiction
thereof. Said commissioner shall on or before the first day of
December of each year make a report to the governor of the num
ber of violations found and of the prosecutions instituted therefor.
Violations.
Sec. 6. Any person violating any provision of this act shall be
fined not more than $100 for each offense.
Approved May 16, 1917.
C hapter
306.— Commissioner of labor and factory inspection—
Deputies.
[This act amends section 3 of chapter 97, Acts of 1903, by fix
ing the salary of deputies at $1,600 per annum, and substituting
the term “ commissioner of labor and factory inspection ” for the
term “ factory inspector ” where it occurs.]
110
LABOB LEGISLATION OP 1917.
C h a p te r
Enforcement
agents.
S ection 1. Section four thousand seven hundred and seven of
the general statutes is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4707. It shall be the duty of the State board of education
the school visitors, boards of education and town school com
mittees to enforce the provisions of chapter one hundred and nine
teen of the public acts of nineteen hundred and eleven and chapter
two hundred and twenty-one of the public acts of nineteen hundred
and thirteen; and for that purpose the State board of educa
tion may appoint agents, under its supervision and control,
for terms of not more than one year, at a salary not to exceed
$1,600 annually, and their necessary expenses which shall
be approved by said board and audited by the comptroller.
The agents so appointed may be directed by said board to en
force the provisions of the law requiring the attendance of chil
dren at school and to perform such other duties as may be re
quired by said board.
Approved May 19, 1917.
C h a p te r
E m ergency
provisions.
320.— Employment of children— Enforcement of law.
326.— Labor laws— Suspension during time of war.
S ection 1. The governor is authorized to modify or suspend,
by proclamation, the laws of this State relating to labor, for
definite periods, during the present war between the United
States and the German Empire. He shall specify in such procla
mation the law or laws to be modified or suspended and the period
during which such modification or suspension shall be in force,
and may continue the same for a further definite period or pe
riods, provided he shall exercise such power only upon request
of the Council of National Defense, when essential to national
defense. No such modification or suspension shall continue be
yond the close of the war.
Approved May 16, 1917.
C h a p te r
333.—Bribery, etc., of employees making purchases.
Section 29. No person having charge of a motor vehicle for the
Acts forbid
den.
owner thereof shall receive, directly or indirectly, any considera
tion for the purchase of supplies or parts for such motor vehicle,
or for work performed thereon by others; and no person furnish
ing such supplies, parts or work shall, in connection therewith,
give or offer to give such person having charge of such motor
vehicle, directly or indirectly, any valuable consideration.
Approved May 19, 1917.
Chapter 352.—
Labor, etc.,
forbidden.
Sunday labor.
1. Every person who shall do, or require an employee
to do any secular business or labor, except works of necessity or
mercy; or, unless required by necessity or mercy, keep open any
shop, warehouse or manufacturing or mechanical establishment,
or sell or expose for sale any goods, wares or merchandise, be
tween the hours of twelve o’clock Saturday night and twelve
o’clock Sunday night next following, shall be fined not more than
$50. The provisions of this section shall not affect the issue or
service of any criminal complaint or any proceedings thereon, nor
the performance by haywards of their duties, nor the issue or
service of complaints for injunctions and orders thereon, nor the
issue or service of any other civil process, except between sunrise
and sunset on Sunday.
Approved May 16, 1917.
Section
Chapter 382«.— Sunday
labor.
Section 1. The sale of milk, bakery products, fruit, ice, ice
Acts permit
ted.
cream, confectionery, nonalcoholic beverages and drinks, tobacco
in any form, smokers’ supplies, newspapers and other periodicals,
TEX T OF LAW S---- CO N N E C T IC U T.
drugs or automobile supplies, by retail dealers whose places of
business are open for the sale thereof on secular days, shall not
be a violation of the provisions of chapter one hundred and nine
teen of the public acts of nineteen hundred and thirteen, provided
the provisions of this act shall not apply to any hotel or restaurant
or be construed to permit any person to engage in any business on
Sunday at a place where he is licensed to sell spirituous or in
toxicating liquors, except a regularly licensed druggist who shall
not, on Sunday, sell any spirituous or intoxicating liquor except
upon the prescription of a licensed physician^
Approved May 16, 1917.
I ll
DELAW ARE.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h apter
227.—Mother's pensions.
1. Chapter 88, of the Revised Statutes of the State of Act amended.
Delaware, is hereby amended by inserting after section eleven of
said chapter, being code section three thousand and seventy-one,
the following new section, namely:
Sec. 3071x\. Sec. 11A. The administration of thi^ section shall Commission.
lie in the hands of a mothers’ pension commission. Said com
mission shall consist of nine women, three from each county,
who shall serve without pay, except for traveling and admin
istrative expenses. During the month of June, nineteen hun
dred and seventeen, the governor shall appoint said commis
sion as follows: One from each county for a term of one year,
one from each county for a term of two years, and one from
each county for a term of three years. The term of office, after
the first appointments made hereunder, shall be for three years,
and annually, during the month of June, the governor shall ap
point successors to fill the vacancies caused by the expirations
of the terms of office. In case of vacancy caused by death, resig
nation, refusal to serve, or otherwise, the governor shall make ap
pointments to fill such vacancy or vacancies for the balance of the
unexpired term: Provided, however, That nor [not] more than
three commissioners shall reside in any one county.
On petition by any trustee of the poor, by a member of the Petition for
municipal council of any incorporated city or town in this State, order.
or by a friend or relative of the mother falling within the class
hereinafter specified, the mothers’ pension commission of Dela
ware may make an order for aid in the maintenance, support,
and education of the child or children of said mother as herein
after provided.
Any widowed or abandoned mother of a child or children under Who may
fourteen years of age, who is unable, without aid, to support, have aid.
maintain, and educate her child or children, or any mother whose
husband is permanently, either physically or mentally, unable,
without aid, to support, maintain and educate such child or
children, shall be deemed to be within the clasa described in this
section.
Upon the filing of any petition as aforesaid, stating the facts In v e s t l g a and circumstances relative to the financial condition of any such tion.
mother, and praying the said mothers’ pension commission to make
an order as aforesaid, the said mothers’ pension commission shall
report the case to the members of the commission of the county
wherein the mother resides; and, within thirty days of the receipt
of such notice, the members of the commission of the county shall
make or cause to be made, by a trained woman investigator, an
investigation as to the following points:
(a) That the applicant for aid is a widowed or abandoned
mother of a child or children under fourteen years of age, who is
unable without aid to support, maintain and educate such child or
children, or a mother whose husband is physically or mentally
unable without aid to maintain, support and educate such child
or children.
(b) That the mother is fit to bring up her child or children.
( c ) That aid is necessary to enable her to I ring up her child
or children and to maintain a suitable home for them.
S ection
45913°—Bull. 244—18------ 8
113
114
L A B O B L E G IS L A T IO N
OF 1917.
(d) That the child, or children, if physically and mentally able,
attend school and have a satisfactory record from the teacher.
( e ) That the mother has been a continuous resident, for a
period of three years, of the State.
Grant
If the mothers’ pension commission, upon receipt of the written
report of the investigation, shall deem it for the best interests of
the family that the mother* receive aid, the said mothers’ pension
commission shall pay to the mother or to such person as the
mothers’ pension commission- may designate, such sum as the said
mothers’ pension commission shall deem proper to be used in aid
of the maintenance,, support and education, of such child or chil
dren, such payments to continue during such time as the said
mothers’ pension commission shall specify : Provided'y That no
payment shall be made for the support of any child beyond tlife
time when the rlaw will permit such child to secure a general em
ployment certificate. Such payment shall,- in no case, exceed $8
a :month. for a Single child and $4 for each additional child in the
same family, except for a limited period in case of sickness, or of
some unusual condition requiring ^an increase thereof. The said
mothers’ pension. commission may, at the recommendation of the
members of the commission of the county, vary the terms of such
payments by, directing.the furnishing of food, clothingr or supplies,
instead-of the payment of money to the person aforesaid for the
use^ and benefit of such child or children.
Mont h 1y After the award of aid. the members of the commission of the
visits.
county shall cause the family to be visited at least once a month
to. see that the mother is properly caring, for the child or children ;
that they are sufficiently clothed and fe d ; that they attend school
regularly; and that they are receiving religious instruction.
Quarterly re'
On the first day of October, nineteen hundred and seventeen,
ports.
and quarterly thereafter, the members of the commission of the
county shall make a report to the mothers’ pension, commission
which shall show:
(a) The number of families receiving aid.
(b) The number of visits made to each family, together with
the number of children in each family, the^ number receiving aid,
the amount paid for each child, and, in each case, a recommenda
tion with regard to the continuance of aid, and any other informa
tion the said commission may desire.
On the fifteenth day of October, nineteen hundred and seven
teen, and quarterly thereafter, it shall be the duty of the mothers’
pension commission to make report to the. levy court of each
county, of all warrants drawn under this section on said county
treasurer during the preceding three months.
Payments,
The amount paid to a beneficiary under this section shall be on
a= warrant drawn by the mothers’ pension commission, or author
ized agent thereof, on the county treasurer of the county in which
such beneficiary resides. And the said county treasurer is hereby
authorized and directed to pay the said warrants on the approval
of the comptroller of said county out of any moneys he may have
belonging to said county not otherwise appropriated.
Expenses.
The traveling and administrative expenses of the mothers’ pen
sion commission shall be paid on warrants drawn by the mothers’
pension commission, or authorized agent thereof, on the State
treasurer, and the said State treasurer is hereby, authorized and
directed to pay said warrants on the approval of the State audi
tor, from any. moneys he may have belonging; to the State and not
otherwise appropriated: Providedf however; That the total amount
of the traveling.and administrative expenses of the said mothers’
pension commission shall not exceed $1,500 in any one year.
R e p a y m ent
On the first day of January of each year, the county treasurer
Oy State. T
shall certify, under oath, in duplicate, to the secretary of the
State and to the: State treasurer the amount paid out by such
county during the*preceding.year under this section* and the State
treasurer thereupon shall pay’ to the county treasurer of the said,
county, a sum equal to one-half of the amount paid out by such
115
TEXT OF LAWS— DELAWAE3L
county: PrwH&e&i h o w e v e r , That the amount paid by the State tt*
any county in any one year shall not exceed the sum of $2,500.
The sum of $7,500 shall be deemed and taken to be appropriated Appropriaanmially, beginning with the year nineteen hundred and seventeen, 0IU
out of any moneys in the State treasury not otherwise appropri
ated for the purpose of this section.
Approved April 2, 1917;
C h apter
230;— Employment of women— Honrs o f labor.
S ection 1. Chapter ninety of the Revised Code of the State of Act amended.
Delaware is hereby amended by repealing [section] thirty-one
hundred and thirty-five, section thirty-five and [section] thirty-one
hundred and thirty-seven, section thirty-seven, and inserting in
lieu thereof the following, to be styled [section] thirty-one hundred
and thirty-five, section thirty-five and [section] thirty-one hundred
and thirty-seven, section thirty-seven:
Section 3135. See. 35. No female shall be employed or per- , Hours p e r
mitted to work in any mercantile, mechanical or manufacturing ay an wee *
establishment, laundry, baking or printing establishment, tele
phone and telegraph office or exchange, restaurant, hotel, place of
amusement, dressmaking establishment, or office, more than six
days in any one calendar week, more than ten hours in any one
day, or more than fifty-five hours in any one week -. Provided, how*
ever, That any said female may be permitted to work twelve
hours in one day only of each week, on the condition' that her
total hours of employment for any week shall not exceed fifty-five
hours: And provided further, If any part of the daily employment
of any said ffemale is performed between the hours t>f eleven
o’clock post meridian and seven o’clock ante meridian of the fol
lowing day, no such female shall be employed or permitted to
work thereat more than eight hours in any twenty-four hours. No
female shall be employed or permitted to work-in any mechanical
or manufacturing establishment, laundry, baking or printing Night work,
establishment, office, or dressmaking establishment between the
hours of ten o’clock post meridian and six o’clock ante meridian of
the following day. The provisions of sections thirty-five to fortythree, inclusive, of this chapter shall not apply to females em
ployed in the canning or preserving or preparation for canning or
preserving of perishable fruits and vegetables.
Sec, 3137. Sec. 37. No female shall be employed or permitted to Rest period,
work for more than six hours continuously at one time in any estab
lishment or occupation named in section thirty-five of this chapter
without an interval of at least three-quarters of an hour; except
that such female may be so employed for not more than six hours
and one-half continuously at one time, if such employment ends not Ti me f o r
later than half past one o’clock in the afternoon, and if the said meals,
female is then dismissed for the remainder of* the day. Not less
than thirty minutes shall be allowed to every female employed or
permitted to work in, or in connection with, any establishment or
occupation named in said section thirty-five of this chapter for the
midday or evening meal, which period shall not be considered a part
of the hours of labor. Employees shall not be required to remain
in the workrooms during the time allowed for meals.
Approved March 22, 1917.
C hapter
231.—Factory, etc., regulations— Sanitation.
S ection 1. In every mercantile, mechanical or manufacturing
establishment, laundry,, baking or printing establishment,, dress
making. establishment,, place of amusement, telephone or telegraph
office or exchange,, hotel, restaurant, or office in which females
are employed or permitted to work, there shall be provided, suitable
and easily accessible water-closets or privies for their use.
When both males and females are employed, or permitted t®
work, and four or more persons are employed, separate water-
Toilets,
116
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
closets or privies shall be provided for each sex and shall be
plainly marked at the entrance “ Men ” and “ Women,” and these
closets shall be easily accessible.
Numbers.
Where fifteen or less such females are employed or permitted
to work at any time, at least one water-closet or privy shall be
provided; where fifteen or more such persons are employed, they
shall be provided in the ratio of one for every twenty-five persons.
Condition.
All water-closets or privies shall be properly lighted and shall
at all times be kept in repair, clean, sanitary and free from all
obscene writing or marking. The compartments containing such
water-closets or privies shall open to the outer air or be ventilated
by means of a shaft or air duct to the outer air.
The entrance to every water-closet or privy used by females
shall be effectively screened by partition or vestibule. Where
water-closets or privies for males and females are in adjoining
compartments, they shall be separated by solid partitions extend
ing from the floor to the ceiling; and where the entrances adjoin,
they shall be separated by a screen or partition at least seven
feet high.
Sec. 2. In every establishment named in section one of this act
Seats for fe
males.
in which females are employed or permitted to work, there shall
be provided suitable seats for their use in the room where they
work and the use of such seats shall be permitted. At least one
seat shall be provided for every three females employed or per
mitted to work at any one time. During working hours all seats
shall be conveniently accessible to those for whose use they are
provided.
Sec. 3. In every establishment named in section one of this act
Dressing
rooms.
in which females are employed or permitted to work, there shall
be provided washing facilities for their use; not less than one
spigot, basin or receptacle for each twenty-five such persons em
ployed at any one time. In establishments where the labor per
formed by such employees makes necessary or customary a change
of clothing, there shall be provided one or more separate dressing
rooms of adequate size for the exclusive use of such employees.
Every dressing room shall be separated from any toilet compart
ment by adequate solid partitions; every dressing room shall be
adequately heated, ventilated and illuminated. It shall be pro
vided with a locker or separate hook for each worker and with a
suitable number of seatsl
Sec. 4. In every establishment in which white lead, arsenic, nico
Lunch rooms.
tine or other poisonous or injurious substances, fumes or gases
are present, or in which dust, lint or particles of material are
created by the machinery or by the material in the process of
manufacture, and in which females are employed or permitted to
work, there shall be provided a suitable room, free from the afore
said substances, fumes, gases, dust, line [lint] or particles of
material, for the use of such employees during the time allowed for
meals, [when] they shall not be permitted to remain in any room
where the aforesaid substances, fumes, gases, dust, lint or particles
of material shall be present. In such establishments washing fa
cilities shall be provided, including hot water, soap and individual
towels or paper-tissue towels.
S ec. 5. In every establishment named in section one of this act
V entilation
in which females are employed or permitted to work, there shall
and
be provided not less than two hundred and fifty cubic feet of air
space for each and every person in every workroom in said estab
lishment where persons are employed. In aforesaid establish
ments all workrooms shall be adequately heated and ventilated,
and all workrooms, halls and stairways shall be kept in a clean
and sanitary condition and properly lighted.
Sec. 6. In every establishment in which poisonous fumes or
E x h a 11 s t
fans.
gases are present, or in which poisonous or injurious dust, line
[lint], or particles of material are created by the machinery or
by the material in the process of manufacture and in which, fe
males are employed or permitted to work, there shall be pro
vided proper hoods and pipes connected with exhaust fans of
TEX T OF LAW S— DELAW ARE.
117
sufficient capacity to remove such fumes, gases, dust, lint or par
ticles of material at the point of origin and prevent them from
mingling with the air of the room, and such fans shall be kept
running constantly while such fumes, gases, dust, lint or particles
of material shall be generated or present.
Drinking wa
S e c . 7. A sufficient supply of clean and pure water and in
dividual drinking cups or a sanitary fountain shall be provided ter.
in every establishment named in section one of this act in which
females are employed or permitted to work. If drinking water
is placed in receptacles, such receptacles shall be properly covered
to prevent contamination and shall at all times be kept thoroughly
clean. No employer in any such establishment shall collect from
any employee money for ice or water furnished for drinking
purposes.
S e c. 8. It shall be the duty of the inspectors appointed by the
EnferccLabor Commission of Delaware to enforce the provisions of this ment.
act. The inspectors shall visit and inspect establishments, and
shall have the power whenever they have reason to suppose that
work is being performed to visit and inspect any establishment
in or in connection with which any female shall be employed or
permitted to work. The inspectors shall investigate all com
plaints of violation of this act received by said inspectors, and
institute prosecutions for the violations of the provisions thereof.
The State Board of Health of Delaware shall determine what P o w e r of
Slate board of
are poisonous fumes and gases and what are poisonous or in health.
jurious dust, lint or particles of material, as set out in section six
of this act, and the Labor Commission of Delaware shall determine
the definition of all other terms used in this act; but the de
cision of either the State Board of Health of Delaware or the
Labor Commission of Delaware shall not be final, but subject to
appeal to the Court of General Sessions of the State of Delaware
in and for the county of the person appealing, or in case the ap
peal be prosecuted by the Labor Commission of Delaware, from
the decision of the State Board of Health, then in and for the
county wherein said poisonous fumes or gases or poisonous or
injurious dust, lint or particles of material are created.
The inspectors shall keep records of all visits or inspections Record*.
made and of all written orders given by the aforesaid inspectors.
The inspectors shall keep records of all complaints of violation of
this act received by them and of all prosecutions instituted, with
the result of each prosecution.
In the enforcement of the provisions of this act, the inspectors Noticc.
shall give proper notice in regard to violation of this act to the
person or corporation owning, operating or managing any such
establishment. Such notice shall be written or printed and
signed officially by the inspector, and said notice may be served
by delivering the same to the person on whom service is to be
had, or by leaving at his usual place of abode or business an
exact copy thereof, or by sending a copy thereof to such person
by mail.
Compliance with the written order of the inspector must be
within the number of days specified by him in his order. Ap
peal from the decision of the inspector may be made to the
Labor Commission of Delaware. 'Such appeal must be made in
writing within ten days of receipt of the inspector’s order.
Violations.
S e c . 9. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of
this act, or who omits or fails to comply with any of the fore
going requirements or who disregards any notice of the inspectors
when said notice is given in accordance with the provisions of this
act, or who obstructs of [or] interferes with any examination
or investigation being made by the inspectors, shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be fined
for the first offense by a fine of not less than $10 nor more than
$50, and upon conviction of the second and subsequent offense
shall be fined not less than $25 or more than $200. All fines shall
be paid to the treasurer of the State of Delaware.
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
118
Prosecutions.
Sec*. 10. Any justice of the peace of the State of Delaware shall
have jurisdiction of any offense arising under this act, but any
person convicted of such offense before any such justice of the
peace shall have the right of appeal to the Court of General Ses
sions of the State of Delaware in and for the county in, which,
said conviction was had, upon giving bond for the sum of $100
to the State of Delaware with surety satisfactory to the said
justice of the peace by whom said person was convicted: Pro
vided* Such appeal shall be-taken and such bond, given within
three days from the time of said conviction..
Approved March 16, 1917.
C ha p te r
Act amended.-
232.— Employment of children— General provisions.
S ection 1. Article 3 of chapter 90 of the Revised Code of Dela
ware is hereby amended by repealing [section] 3144, section 44
to [section] 3192r. section 92 thereof, inclusive and. by inserting
in lieu thereof the following sections to be styled [section] 3144,
section 44 [to] [section] 3173, section 73.
Age limit.
See. 3144. Sec. 44. No child under fourteen, years of age
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in, about or in
connection with any establishment or in any ocupation except as
hereinafter provided. Wherever the term “ establishment” is
used in this act it shall mean any place within the State of Dela
ware where work is done for compensation of any kind to whom
ever payable: Provided, however, That this, a^t shall not apply to
children employed on the farm or in domestic service in private
homes;
Dangerous
Sec. 3145, Sec. 45, No child under fifteen years of age shall
employments.
employed, permitted or suffered to work in operating or assist
ing in operating, steam boilers or blast furnaces or any of the
following machines, which, for the purposes of this act, are con
sidered dangerous: Circular saws, wood shapers, wood jointers,
paper-lace machines, job or cylinder printing presses* operated by
power other than, foot power, stamping machines used in sheetmetal and tinware or in paper and leather manufacturing, or in
washer and nut factories; metal or paper cutting machines; cor
rugating. rolls, such as are used in making, corrugated paper, or
in roofing or washboard factories; dough-brakes or cracker ma
chinery of any description; wire or iron straightening, or drawing
machinery; rolling mill machinery; power punches or shears;
washing.or grinding, or mixing, machinery ; calendar rolls in paper
and rubber manufacturing, or other heavy, rolls driven by power;
passenger elevators or lifts, or upon, or in connection with any
dangerous electrical machinery or appliances. Nor shall any
child, under fifteen years of age be employed, permitted or suf
fered to work, in any capacity, in adjusting, or assisting in ad
justing any belt to any machinery, orj in proximity to any
hazardous or unguarded belts, machinery or gearing, or in oiling,
wiping or cleaning, machinery, while any o f the same is in
motion.; nor on scaffolding; nor in heavy work m. the building
trades-; nor about docks or wharves; nor in stripping or assort
ing, tobacco; nor in, about or in connection with any processe; in
which dangerous or poisonous acids are used; nor in the manu
facture or packing of paints, colors* white or reel lead; nor in the
manufacture or preparation of compositions with dangerous or
poisonous gases; nor in the manufacture or use of dangerous o r
poisonous dyes ; nor upon any railroad, steam, electric or other
wise; nor upon any vessel or boat engaged in the transportation
of passengers or merchandise; nor in operating motor vehicles
o f any description; nor in any tunnel or excavation; nor in,
about or in connection with any mine, quarry, coal breaker or
coke-oven; nor in. or about any distillery, brewery, or any estab
lishment where alcoholic liquors are manufactured, or bottled.
TEXT OS’ LAWS---- DELAWARE.
119:
In addition•to the foregoing, it shall be unlawful fo r any c h ild , Power of la
under fifteen yearn; of age: to be employed; permitted or. suffered
comm
to work in any other’ occupation dangerous to the life or limb
or injurious to the health or morals o f. such child, as such occu
pations shall, from time to time, after public hearing; thereon, be.
so determined and: declared: by the labor commissioner* of Dela
w are: Provided, however, I f it should hereafter be held by the
courts of this State-that the power herein, sought to be granted
r
to the said commission: is. for any reason invalid, such holding
shall not be taken: in any case to affect or impair the remaining
provisions of this section.
Sec. 314S. Sec. 46. No child under sixteen years- of age shall
Certificate
be employed,. permitted or suffered to work in, about or in c o n -re<*uired*
nection with any establishment or in any occupation, except as
hereinafter provided, unless the person, firm or corporation em
ploying such child procures and keeps on file,, and: accessible to
the State child; labor- inspector, the employment certificate or
permit issued to said child:
Sec. 3147. Sec. 47. No child under sixteen years of age shall
T h e a tric a l,
be employed, permitted or suffered to work for compensation of Inces. pe
’
any kind upon the stage of any theater or concert hall or in con
nection with any theatrical performance or other exhibition or
show: Providedy how ever , That the State child labor inspector
may issue a permit allowing a child under said age to be employed
upon the stage of the theater or in connection with the theatrical
performance or exhibition or show therein designated, for a
limited period, when, in his opinion, such permit: is justified by
the evidence presented to him.
Sec. 3148. See. 48. No person under eighteen years of age
Employment
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in the outside under
erection or repair of electric w ires; in the running, or manage
ment of hoisting machines or of dynamos ; , in the operation or
use of any polishing, or: buffing, wheel; at switch tending.; at gsatetending.; at track repairing.; as a brakeman, fireman^ engineer,
motorman or conductor upon any railroad or railw ay; as a. rail*
road telegraph operator; as a pilot, fireman or engineer of any
boat or vessel engaged in the transportation of passengers ; nor
in or about any establishment wherein gunpowder, nitroglycerin,
dynamite or other high or dangerous explosives are manufac
tured or compounded.
Sec. 3149. See. 49. No person under twenty-one years of age Under 21.
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in any room or
rooms wherein, intoxicating liquors are sold or dispensed, of any
establishment excepting establishments wherein intoxicating. liq
uors are sold: for medicinal or scientific purposes.
Sec. 3150. Sec. 50. No person under twenty-one years of age
Night messhall be employed, permitted or suffered to work as a messenger senger ser
for telegraph, telephone or messenger companies in the distribu
tion, collection, transmission or delivery of goods or messages
before six o’clock in the morning or after ten o’clock in the eve
ning of any day in any town or city having a population of over
twenty thousand persons.
Sec. 3151. Sec. 5L The employment certificates to be issued to
Employment
children under sixteen years of age before they shall be entitled certificates,
to work in any establishment or in any occupation, except as here^
innfter provided, shall be of two classes^—general employment
certificates and provisional employment certificates. General em
ployment certificates- shall entitle the child, fourteen to sixteen
years of age, to work at the occupations not herein forbidden
;luring the entire year, under such regulations as may hereinafter
be provided. Provisional employment certificates shall entitle the
boy, twelve years-of age or upwards, and the girl, fourteen years;
of age or upwards, to work at the occupations which, the labor
commission of Delaware from time to time may determine and
declare to be such as are not dangerous to the life or limb or
120
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1911.
Injurious to the health or morals of such child, during the entire
year, excepting such time as such child is required to attend
public, private or parochial school under tlie provisions of the
laws now in force or hereafter to be enacted, under such regu
lations as may hereinafter be provided.
Sec. 3152. Sec. 52. Every employment certificate, general or pro
Contents.
visional, shall be issued in duplicate and shall state the name,
sex, date and place of birth, place of residence, color of hair and
eyes, height and weight, any distinguishing physical character
istics and proof of age accepted, of the child for whom it shall
be issued. It shall certify that the child named has personally
appeared before the issuing officer and has been examined as here
inafter provided. It shall be dated the date of its issue and shall
be signed by the child in whose name it is issued in the presence
of the issuing officer. In addition to the foregoing every employ
ment certificate shall state the character of the occupation in
which the child to whom it is issued is permitted to be engaged
and the conditions under which it can be legally used. The pro
visional certificate shall be of a color different from that of a
general employment certificate.
Who to is
Sec. 3153. Sec. 53. All employment certificates shall be issued
sue.
in the city of Wilmington by the superintendent of public schools
of said city or some person duly authorized by said, superin
tendent, and in the other school districts of the State, where said
certificates are applied for, they shall be issued by the principal
of the public school or some person designated in writing by said
principal. In the event that any aforesaid principal refuses to
serve or fails to so designate some person to act in his stead, the
chairman of the labor commission shall designate some person to
so act. Any designation may be revoked by the said chairman at
any time at his pleasure. Notification of the designation or revo
cation of persons to issue employment certificates shall be given
to the State child labor inspector, who shall keep on file a list of
the persons who, from time to time, are cl*ily qualified to issue said
certificates in the several school districts of the State.
Applications.
Sec. 3154. Sec. 54. Any employment certificate, general or pro
visional, shall be issued only upon the application in person of the
parent, guardian or legal custodian of the child for whom such
employment certificate is requested; or, if the application in per
son by parent, guardian or legal custodian is impossible, then by
the next friend, who must be over twenty-one years of age and
who in the judgment of the issuing officer will best conserve the
interests of the said child. Such application shall not be required
in any subsequent issuance of a certificate.
Personal ap
Sec. 3155. Sec. 55. The person authorized to issue a general em
pearance.
ployment certificate shall not issue such certificate until the child
for whom such certificate is requested has personally appeared
before and been examined by the- said person or until the said
person has received, examined, approved and filed, together with
the duplicate of said certificate, the following papers, duly
executed:
Papers.
1. A statement signed by the prospective employer or by some
one duly authorized on his behalf, stating that the said employer
expecte to give such child present employment and setting forth
the character of the same.
2. A certificate signed by a physician designated by the labor
commission, stating that such child has been thoroughly examined
by the said physician at the time of application for the employ
ment certificate and is physically qualified for the employment
specified in the statement of the prospective employer. In any
case where the said, physician shall deem it advisable, he may
issue a certificate of physical fitness for a limited tim e; at the
expiration of which time the holder shall again appear and submit
to a new examination before being permitted to continue at work.
3. A school record filled out and signed by the principal or chief
executive officer of the school where the child last attended and
TEX T OF LAW S— DELAW ARE.
121
[which] shall be furnished to any child who may be entitled
thereto. It shall certify that the said child has completed a course of
study equivalent to five yearly grades of the public school in spell
ing, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, history of the United
States and in the English language. Such record shall also give
the name, date of birth and residence of the child, and the name
of the parent, guardian or legal custodian, as shown on the
records of the school.
4. A -‘Statement signed by the person issuing such employment
certificate stating that the said child has been examined and can
read intelligently and write legibly simple sentences in the Eng
lish language.
5. Evidence of age showing that the child is fourteen years of Evidence o f
age.
age or upwards and shall consist of one of the following proofs of
age, which shall be required in the order herein designated:
(a )
A duly attested transcript of the birth certificate filed ac
cording to law with a registrar of vital statistics or other officer
charged with the duty of recording births.
{b ) A baptismal certificate or transcript of the record of
baptism, duly certified, showing the date of birth of such child.
( c ) A passport showing the age of such child as an immigrant.
{cl) Other documentary" evidence of age (other than the affi
davit of parent, guardian, legal custodian or next friend) or
transcript thereof, duly certified, which shall appear to the satis
faction of the issuing officer to be good and sufficient proof of
age.
(e) In case none of the aforesaid proofs of age shall be ob
tainable, and only in such cases, the issuing officer may accept,
in lieu thereof, the signed statement of the physician designated
by the labor commission, stating that, after examination, it is
the opinion of such physician that such child has attained the
age required by law for the occupation in which the said child
expects to engage. Such statement shall be accompanied by an
affidavit, signed by the parent, guardian, legal custodian or next
friend, certifying to the name, date and place of birth of such
child and that the parent, guardian, legal custodian or next
friend, signing such statement, is unable to produce any of the
proofs of age specified in the preceding subdivisions of this sec
tion.
Certificate to
Sec. 3156. Sec. 56. A general employment certificate shall, upon
the termination of the employment of the child to whom it is be returned.
issued, be returned by mail by the employer to the person issuing
the same within twenty-four hours, if said return is demanded
by said child, or otherwise within three days after termination
of said employment is known to the employer or his agents.
The person to whom said certificate is so returned shall file said
certificate and preserve the same until such time as the child
to whom said certificate was issued shall make application for
the same and present a statement from the prospective employer,
as herein provided, when the certificate shall be reissued after
physical* reexamination and subject to all the conditions as to
filing and reporting that governed its first issuance.
Provisional
Sec. 3157. Sec. 57. The person authorized to issue a provisional
employment certificate shall not issue such certificate until the certificates
following papers have been received, examined, approved ard, to
gether with the duplicate of said certificate, filed by said person :
1. The written statement of the principal or chief executive
officer of the school which the child is attending, stating that
such child is an attendant at such school with the grade such
child shall have attained and that, in the opinion of the said
principal or chief executive officer, such child is mentally fit to
be engaged in the occupations determined and declared by the
labor commission as suitable for a child of its age in addition to
the regular school work required by law.
2. A certificate signed by the physician designated by the
labor commission stating such child has been examined and, la
122:
Child to retain .
Hours of la
bor.
Lists to be
sent to State
inspector.
Where labor
is necessary.
C hild labor
bispector.
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1911.
the- opinion of the said physician, the said child has. reached the
normal, development of a child o f its age and, is physically able to
be engaged in the occupations determined and declared by the
labor commission as suitable for a child of its age in addition to
the- regular school work required by law..
3.
Evidence of age, showing that such child is twelve years of
age or upwards, if the applicant be a male, or fourteeh years of
age or upwards, if the applicant be a female, and such evidence
shall be of a character similar to the proofs of age required in the
issuance of a general employment certificate
See. 3158. Sec. 58. A provisional, employment certificate shall at
all times be in the possession of the child to whom issued and
shall, be exhibited upon demand at any time to the State child
labor inspector. Such certificate shall be effective so long as the
child to whom it has been issued is engaged in the occupation and
during the hours set forth in said certificate. Such certificate
may be revoked by the issuing officer for violation o f the provi
sions under which the certificate was issued, or upon the recom
mendation of the principal or chief executive officer of the school
such child is* attending, or upon complaint of the State child labor
inspector or chief probation officer of the juvenile court.
Sec. 3159. Sec. 59. No child to whom an employment certificate,
general or provisional, has been issued shall be employed, per
mitted or suffered to work in, about or in connection with any
establishment or in any occupation for more than six. days or
more than fifty-four hours in a ny one w eek; nor more than ten
hours in any one d a y ; nor without at least thirty minutes con
tinuous rest between half past eleven ante meridian and two past
meridian, except that such rest period shall come not later than
after five hours of w ork; nor before the hour of six o’clock in the
morning or after the hour of seven o’clock in the evening of any
day. The presence of such child in any establishment during
working hours shall be prima facie evidence of its employment
therein.
Sec. 3160. Sec. 60. The superintendent o f public schools in the
city of Wilmington shall transmit monthly, and other issuing
officers quarterly, to the State child labor inspector, a list of the
names of children to whom general employment certificates have
been issued, with the name and address of the prospective em
ployer,, the character of the occupation the child intends to en
gage in and the time when said certificate will lapse, and a list
of the names o f children whose certificates have been returned
and the names of the employers returning same. A t the same
time they shall furnish a list of the names of children to whom
provisional employment certificates have been issued and the
character of the occupations they are permitted to be engaged in.
Sec. 3161. Sec. 6'1. In any case where application has been
made for an employment certificate— general or provisional— for
a. child, who fails to meet any of the requirements for securing
such certificates, and it shall be found, after careful inquiry
and thorough investigation by the State child labor inspector,
that the labor of such, child is necessary for the support 'of itself
or to assist in the support of its family, the chairman of the labor
commission, upon recommendation of the said inspector, may issue
a permit allowing the said child to be employed under the condi
tions set forth in the said permit.
Sec. 3162. Sec. 62. A t the expiration of the term of the present
State child labor inspector, on the first day of May, anno Domini
nineteen hundred and nineteen, and every four years thereafter,
the labor commission of Delaware shall appoint some suitable per
son, who shall be known as and be the State child labor inspector,
who shall serve for a term of four years from the time of said
appointment, and whose duties shall be as herein prescribed. Any
vacancies arising in the office of the State child labor inspector by
death, resignation or removal from office, or expiration of term, or
otherwise, shall be filled by the said labor commission as herein
provided. The State child labor inspector shall have no other
TEXT OF LAW S---- DELAWARE*.
m
gainful occupation than the performance of his duties as herein
set forth, and shall receive at salary of $1^800 per year; payable in
equM monthly installments by the State treasurer out of any State
funds in his hands not otherwise appropriated.
Sec.. 3163j See.- 63, llhe State cliild labor inspector may visit
Duties,
and inspect at any time any establishment in this- State to ascer
tain whether any children are employed therein contrary to the
provisions of this act, and it shall be the duty of said inspector
to make complaint against any person, firm, or corporation violate
ing any of its provisions and to prosecute the same.
Sec; 3164. Sfee.* 64. The failure of
per on; firm, or corporation, Failu re to
to produce to the State child labor inspector the general employ- P™duce certifiment certificate o f a child who is being employed, permitted or
e*
suffered to work-under conditions requiring such a certificate, or
the refusal o f such a child to give to the said inspector his or her
name, age and: place of residence, shall be prima facie evidence-of
the illegal employment of such child.
See. 3165, Sec. 65. The State child labor inspector may make
Child appardemand on any employer in or about whose establishment a child |g*ly u n d e r
apparently under the age of sixteen years is employed, permitted
*
or suffered to work, and whose employment certificate is not filed
as required, by this act, that such employer shall either furnish
him, within ten days, satisfactory evidence that such, child is in
fact over sixteen years of age, or shall cease to employ or permit
or suffer such child to work in such establishment. The said in
spector shall require from such employer the same evidence of age
of such; child as is required upon' the issuance of an employment
certificate and the employer furnishing such evidence shall not be
required to furnish any further evidence of the age of the child.
Sec. 3166. Sec. 66. In case any employer shall fail to produce
Evidence o f
and deliver to the State child labor inspector within ten days after ille g a l e m p io y demand is made for satisfactory evidence that a child is over six- ment*
teen years of age, the evidence of age required, and shall there
after continue to employ such child or permit or suffer such child
to work in such establishment, proof of the making of such de
mand and of the failure to produce and deliver such evidence shnll
be prima facie evidence of the illegal employment of such child in
any prosecution brought therefor.
Sec. 3167. See, 67. The State child labor inspector shall furnish Copies of act
upon the application of any person, firm, or corporation employing ^ be furnisl1a. child und^r sixteen years of age a printed copy of the sections
of this act relating to the hours of labor and blank lists upon
which shall be kept the names of all children employed under six
teen years of age, which copy and. lists shall be posted in a con
spicuous place in the establishment where such children are em
ployed. Such printed copies, blank lists and certificates, and all'
other papers that may be required for compliance with the pro
visions of this act shall be formulated and printed by the labor
commission of Delaware and furnished upon application by the
State child labor inspector.
Sec. 3108 Sec. 68. Any person, firm, or corporation, agent' or Violations,
manager of any firm or corporation, who, whether for himself or
for such firm or corporation, or by himself, or through agents,
servants, or foreman, shall violate any of the provisions of this
act, or who shall furnish o r sell to any child any articles of any
description with the knowledge that such child-intends to sell said
articles in violation of the provisions of this act, or who shall
continue to furnish or sell articles of any description to a child
after having received written notice from the State child labor
‘ inspector, or who, having under their control as a parent, guar
dian, legal custodian, or otherwise any child, permits or suffers
such child to be employed or to work in violation of the provisions
of this act, or who hinders or delays the State child labor in
spector in the performance of his duties, or refuses to admit or
locks out the said inspector fro$i any establishment, which he isr
authorized under the provisions of this act to inspect, shall, for a
first offense, be punished by a fine of not less than $5 nor more
124
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
than $50; for a second offense, by a fine of not less than $50 nor
more than $200, or by imprisonment for not more than thirty
days, or by both such fine and imprisonment; for a third offense,
by a fine of not less than $200, or by imprisonment for not more
than sixty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. All fines
collected under this section shall be paid into the treasury of the
county where proceedings are brought, for the use of said county,
and the costs in such cases as are dismissed shall be paid from
the treasury of the aforesaid county.
Jurisdiction.
Sec. 3169. Sec. 69. Any justice of the peace of the State of
Delaware shall have jurisdiction of any offense arising under this
act, but any person, firm, or corporation convicted of such offense
before any such justice of the peace, shall have the right to
appeal to the court of general sessions of the State of Delaware
in and for the county in which said conviction was had, upon
giving bond in the sum of $100 to the State of Delaware with
surety satisfactory to the said justice of the peace by whom said
person, firm, or corporation was convicted, provided such appeal
shall be taken and bond given within three days from time of said
conviction.
In d u s t r ia l
Sec. 3170. Sec. 70. Nothing in this act shall prevent children
education.
0f any age from receiving industrial education furnished by the
United States, the State of Delaware, or any city or town in the
State, and duly approved by a school board or committee or other
duly constituted public authority.
C a n n e r ie s
Sec. 3171. Sec. 71. The provisions of this act shall not apply to
exempt.
any child over the age of twelve years who may be employed, per
mitted or suffered to work in any establishment used for the pur
pose of canning or preserving or preparation for canning or pre
serving perishable fruits and vegetables.
Title.
Sec. 3172. Sec. 72. Sections 44 to 73, inclusive, of this chapter,
may be cited as the child labor law. It shall be so interpreted
Construction. and construed as to effectuate its general purposes and objects.
Approved, April 2, 1917.
C hapter 234 .— Protection o f em ployees on buildings.
Scaffolding,
Section 1. A person employing or directing another to perform
nished° be fm la b or o f any kind in the erection, repairing, altering or painting
of a house, building or structure slnill not furnish or erect, or
cause to be furnished or erected for tlie performance of such
labor, scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders or other mechanical
contrivances which are unsafe, unsuitable or improper, and which
are not so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper
protection to the life and limb of a person so employed or engaged.
Safety rail.
Scaffolding or staging swung or suspended from an overhead
support, or erected with stationary supports, more than twenty
feet from the ground or floor, except scaffolding wholly within
the interior of a building and which covers the entire floor space
of any room therein, shall have a safety rail of suitable material,
properly bolted, secured raid braced, rising at least thirty-four
inches above the floor or main portions of such scaffolding or
staging and extending along the entire length of the outside and
the ends thereof, with such openings as may be necessary for the
delivery of materials, and properly attached thereto, and such
scaffolding or staging shall be so fastened as to prevent the same
from swaying from the building or structure.
F l00.rs to be
S e c . 2. All contractors and owners, when constructing buildm.
ir)gg wliere
p]ans an(j specifications require the floors to be
arched between the beams thereof, or where the floors or filling
in between th3 floors are of fireproof material or brickwork, shall
complete the flooring or filling in as the building progresses
to not less than within three tiers of beams below that on which
the ironwork is being erected. I f the plans and specifications
of such buildings do not require‘filling in between the beams of
lloors with brick or fireproof material all contractors for cur-
TEXT OF LAW S---- DELAW ARE.
125
penter work, in the course of construction, shall lay the under
flooring thereon on each story as the building progresses to not
less than within two stories below the one to which such building
has been erected. Where double floors are not to be used,
such contractor shall keep planked over the floor two stories
below the story where the work is being performed. I f the floor
beams are of iron or steel, the contractors for the iron and steel
work of buildings in course of construction or the owners of such
buildings shall thoroughly plank over the entire tier of iron or
steel beams on which the structural iron or steel work is being
erected, except such spaces as may be reasonably required for the
proper construction of such iron or steel work, and for the rais
ing or lowering of materials to be used in the construction of such
building, or such spaces as may be designated by the plans and
specifications for stairways and elevator shafts. I f elevators or E l e v a t o
elevating machines are used within a building in the course of shaft.
construction, for the purpose of lifting materials to be used in
such construction, the contractors or owner shall cause the shafts
or openings in each floor to be inclosed or fenced in on all sides
by a barrier at least eight feet in height, except on two sides
which may be used for taking off and putting on materials, and
those Fides shall be guarded by an adjustable barrier not less
than three nor more than four feet from the floor and not less
than two feet from the edge of such shaft or opening.
Any person violating the provisions of this act shall be deemed Violations.
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be
fined not less than $50 nor more than $100 for each offense.
Approved April 25, 1917.
r
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA*
AC TS OF 1916-17.
C h ap ter 2 .— Cost o f living — Investigation*
S e c t i o n 1 . The [United States] Department of Labor hereby i s
^vestigaauthorized and directed to make an inquiry into the cost of living jzeJj11 autllor’
of wage earners in the District of Columbia, and to report thereon
to Congress as early as practicable; and there [shall] be appro
priated for this purpose the sum of $6,000.
Approved December 20, 1916.
127
FLORIDA.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p t e r 7273.—Emigrant
agents.
License
re
S ection 1. From and after the passage o f this act no person
shall conduct the business of an emigrant agent or solicit emi quired.
grants or laborers in any county in this State without having
first secured a license in each county where such business is con
ducted.
Sec. 2. All licenses required in section one of this act shall be Annual fee.
good for a period of one year and may be secured by an applica
tion to the tax collector in the county where such business is con
ducted and the payment of a fee o f $2,000 therefor, together with
the county judge’s fee of 25 cents for issuing the same. The
license year as contemplated herein shall begin on October the
first of each year and no license for the fractional part of a year
shall be issued.
Sec. 3. The term “ emigrant agent” as used in this act shall Definition.
apply to any person, agent, solicitor or recruiter engaged in the
business of hiring, enticing or soliciting laborers or emigrants in
this State to be transported and employed beyond the limits of
this State.
Sec. 4. Any person or persons violating any of the provisions
Violations.
o f this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction
thereof shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding $5,000, or by
imprisonment in the county jail not more than twelve months, or
by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.
Approved May 14, 1917.
C hapter 7366.—Payment
of wagts due deceased employees.
Section 1. It shall be lawful for any employer, in case of the Direct p a y
death of an employee, to pay to the wife or husband, and in case ment.
there is no wife or husband, then to the child or children, providedf
the child or children be over the age of eighteen years, and in case*
there is no child or children, then to the father or mother, any
wages that may be due said employee at the time of his death.
Sec. 2. Any wages so paid under the authority of this act shall
Status.
not be considered as assets of the estate and subject to adminis
tration.
Approved June 5, 1917.
129
45913°— Bull. 244— 18------ 9
GEORGIA.
ACTS OF 1917.
Department of commerce and labor—Free employment office—
Private offices.
[Page 88.]
Act amended.
S e c t i o n 1. The act approved August eighteenth, nineteen hundred
and thirteen, amending the act creating the department of com
merce and labor, approved August twenty-first, nineteen hundred
and eleven, is hereby amended by striking out section two of said
amended act and substituting therefor an entirely new section as
follows :
Duty of com
S e c . 2. The commissioner, aided by his lawful assistants, shall
collect and collate information and statistics concerning labor and missioner.
its relation to capital, showing labor conditions throughout the
State; the hours o f labor; the earnings of laborers; and their
educational, moral and financial condition, and the best means of
promoting their mental, moral and material welfare; shall in
vestigate the cause and extent of labor shortage, and the migra
tion of labor; shall also collect and collate information and
statistics concerning the location, capacity of mills, factories,
workshops and other industries, and actual output of manufac
tured products, and also the character and amount of labor em
ployed; the kind and quantity of raw material annually used by
them, and the capital invested therein; and such other informa
tion and statistics concerning the natural resources of the State
and the industrial welfare of the citizens as may be deemed neces
sary and of interest and benefit to the public and by the dissemi
nation of such data to advertise the various industrial and natural
resources of Georgia in order to attract desirable settlers and to
bring capital into the State. The department of commerce and
labor is also charged with the following duties:
Paragraph A. As soon as practicable after the passage of this
act, the commissioner shall organize a division of labor or free em
ployment bureau, having for its purpose the listing of the names Free employ
of all persons desiring employment in this State and the endeavor ment office.
to secure employment for such persons, and the listing of the
names of such persons, firms or corporations applying for labor
and the endeavor to supply the demand. In conducting the divi
sion of labor the commissioner of labor is herewith authorized
and empowered to assist and act in concert with any person or
persons, county organization, municipal or governmental agency,
having for its purpose the distribution of labor in this State, not
conducted for profit, and to cooperate with similar exchanges in
other States and with the United States Employment Service, and
in every other way the commissioner is charged with the duty
of endeavoring to be of assistance to both employer and employee,
and of working in harmony with others having a like end in view,
and for which no remuneration is received. For securing employ
ment for those who wish employment and for securing labor for
those who need help there shall be no charge whatever made or
accepted, directly or indirectly, by any person connected with the
department of commerce and labor. All officials of the State and
the various counties of the State are herewith charged with the
duty of lending such aid and assistance as may be called for by
the commissioner: Provided, Said commissioner may inquire into Strikes, etc.
the cause of strikes and lockouts, and other disagreements between
employer and employees; and, whenever practicable, offer his
good offices to the contending parties with a view of bringing
about friendly and satisfactory adjustments thereof.
131
LABOR LEGISLATION OF
132
1917.
Private em
Paragraph B. The commissioner shall exercise jurisdiction over
ployment o f each person, firm, or corporation acting as a private employment
fices.
agency, intelligence bureau, or employment agency, for which pay
is exacted or received, hereafter referred to as agency, [andj shall,
as frequently as may be necessary, examine into the condition o f
each agency; shall require each agent to make application for
license to do business, which application must be indorsed by
two taxpayers in the county where such agency proposes to con
duct business, said license to be granted by the commissioner
upon the payment to the State of such tax as may be charged,
and the filing of a bond in the sum of $500 for the faithful per
formance of duty, said license to be renewed annually. The
commissioner shall require each agency to report to him once a
month, in writing, showing the names, addresses, and number of
persons for whom positions were secured, where secured, the
kind of position, the pay of same, the amount of fee collected, and
the amount still to be collected. Nothing in this paragraph shall
authorize any employment agency or persons connected with
such agency, or any employee thereof, to act as an emigrant agent.
If any agent is found violating the law it shall be the duty of the
commissioner to immediately proceed to have such person pre
sented to the proper authorities for prosecution and to cancel
the license to do business.
E m i g ran t
Paragraph C. The commissioner shall exercise jurisdiction over
agents.
each person, firm, or corporation acting as an emigrant agent
or agency hereafter referred to as emigrant agent; shall require
each emigrant agent to make application for license to do business,
said application to be indorsed by two taxpayers and accompanied
by a bond of $1,000 for the faithful performance of duty, and
the payment of such tax as may be required by law. Each emi
grant agent shall make a monthly report to the commissioner,
showing the names, the addresses, and number of people carried
out of the State, the points to which they have been carried, the
kind and character of work secured for them, the pay to be re
ceived by them, the fee charged them or to be collected and from
whom. The emigrant agent must show clearly by whom em
ployed, if paid a salary, or from whom he receives a commis
sion and how much. The commissioner shall inspect the office
and work of each emigrant agent as often as may be necessary,
and if any emigrant agent is found to be violating the law, it
shall be the duty of the commissioner to immediately proceed to
have such person presented to the proper authorities for prosecu
tion and to cancel the license to do business. Each emigrant
agent must secure annually a license to do business.
Violations.
Paragraph D. Any -prson, firm, or corporation operating an em
ployment agency or any employee of such agency, or any per
son, firm, or corporation acting as an emigrant agent violating
any of the provisions of Paragraphs B and G, or if any person
knowingly makes any false statement or false representation to
any officer or employee of any employment bureau established
under the provisions of this act for the purpose of obtaining em
ployment or procuring working people, such person or persons
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction thereof
be punished as prescribed in section ten hundred sixty-five of
the Penal Code of nineteen hundred and ten.
Approved August 20, 1917.
Sunday labor—Freight trains—Suspension of law.
[Page 204.]
S u spension
during war.
S ection 1. From and after the passage of this act, in order to
avoid congestions, and to render more efficient, expeditious, and
certain the transportation services which the railroads operating
in the State of Georgia may be called upon to render during the
existence of the present war, the provisions of sections four hun
dred and fourteen and four hundred and fifteen o f the pres-
TEXT OF LAWS— GEORGIA.
133
ent Penal Code of Georgia forbidding and making penal
the running of freight and passenger trains on the Sab
bath, together with the penalties provided thereby, are suspended
and made inoperatitve [inoperative] during the period of the ex
isting war and until peace is proclaimed.
Railroad em
Sec. 2. Section four hundred and sixteen o f the present Penal
Code of Georgia, providing that no person shall pursue his business ployments.
or the work of his ordinary calling on the Lord’s day, in so far as
the same may apply to railroads and the running by them of
freight and passenger trains, as well as the performance of all
railroad work in connection with and incidental to the operation of
trains, together with the penalties provided by said section, are
hereby suspended during the period of the existing war and until
peace is declared.
M unicipal
S ec. 3. All existing municipal ordinances which may tend to
prevent the running of any trains on the Sabbath day by railroads ordinances.
in this State, and to prevent such work as may be incidental
thereto, are hereby suspended and rendered unenforceable during
the aforesaid period; and after the passage of this act no town or
city in the State of Georgia shall, during the period named, pass
any law, ordinance, or regulation which may be intended or have
the tendency to prevent railroads in the State from running
trains on the Sabbath, and from doing work incidental and re
lated to the operation of trains: Provided, however, That said
sections referred to in this bill shall not be suspended until after
a petition has been filed with the Railroad Commission of Georgia
and said commission has passed an order suspending the opera
tion of said sections as to the petitioning railroad, it being the
purpose of this act to vest in the Railroad Commission of Georgia
absolute authority to suspend said sections during said war and
•with the full right to revoke the order suspending said sections,
if in their judgment the exigency ceases to exist.
Approved August 20, 1917.
RESOLUTIONS.
No.
10.— Strike on
Georgia, Florida & Alabama Railway—*
Tender of aid to secure settlement.
[Page 997.]
Resolved, That the committee on state of republic of the House
and Senate be requested to tender their good offices to the contend
ing parties, with the hope of ascertaining the causes leading up to
such a strike, and aid, if possible, in bringing about a satisfactory
settlement of the issues and restoring commerce in the southern
section of the State to its normal condition.
Approved August 18, 1917.
Mediation of
fered.
HAWAII.
ACTS OF 1917.
A ct N o. 115.— Factory,
etc., regulations— Fire marshal.
S ection 49. (1) The [insurance] commissioner shall be ex Appointment,
officio Territorial fire marshal, herein designated fire marshal. He
shall appoint one of his assistants as chief deputy and may appoint
such clerks as he shall find necessary and he shall fix their duties
and compensation. All salaries and expenses of the fire marshal
department shall be paid out of the treasury of the Territory.
(2)
The fire marshal, in conjunction with or through other Duties.
public officers upon whom any such duties are imposed, if any,
shall enforce all laws and ordinances of the Territory and politi
cal subdivisions thereof relating to:
(a) The prevention of fires and the inspection of property,
periodically or otherwise, or any other regulations or methods
adopted for the prevention of or reduction of loss by fire, or to
promote the safety of persons in case of fire ;
( b) The manufacture, storage, sale and use of combustibles and
explosives;
(c) The installation and maintenance of automatic or other firealarm systems and fire-extinguishing equipment;
(d) Fire escapes and other means of exits from or access to
buildings or parts of buildings or other property in case of fire;
*
*
*
*
*
*
(13) Every owner or other person having charge of or control Duty of own
over any building, structure or other premises, in this section ers.
designated “ owner,” shall construct, keep and make such build
ing, structure or other premises, in this section designated “ build
ing,” safe from loss or damage to property or loss of life, or injury
to persons by fire, in this section designated “ fire loss.”
(14) No such owner shall require, permit or suffer the public O w n e r s to
or any employee to go or be in any such place which is not safe, provide s a f e
and no such owner shall fail to furnish, provide and use reason guards, etc.
ably adequate protection and safeguards against fire or fail to
adopt and use processes and methods reasonably adequate to
render such places safe, and no such owner or other person shall
fail or neglect to do every other thing reasonably necessary to
prevent a fire loss in such building so under his charge or control.
Approved April 21, 1917.
A ct No. 194.—Rates
of wages of employees on public works.
Section 1. Section one hundred and sixty-four of the Revised
Laws of Hawaii, nineteen hundred and fifteen, is hereby amended
so as to read as follow s:
Section 164. The daily pay for each working day of each laborer M i n i m u m
engaged in constructing or repairing roads, bridges or streets, wages.
waterworks or other works either by contract or otherwise, for the
Territory of Hawaii, or for any political subdivision thereof, shall
not be less than $2: Provided, however, That said minimum, of $2
shnll not apply to the county of Kalawao.
Approved May 1, 1917.
135
IDAHO.
AC TS OF 1917.
C hapter 81 .— Industrial accident board— Safety regulations.
P ow er of
S ection 118. The [industrial accident] board shall have the
power, in addition to other powers herein granted by general rules board.
or regulations—
(a )
To declare and prescribe what safety devices, safeguards
or other means or methods of protection are well adapted to
render employees and places of employment sa fe;
(&) To fix and order such reasonable standards for the con
struction, maintenance and repair of places of employment as
shall render them sa fe;
(c) To require the performance of any act necessary for the
protection of the life, health and safety of employees.
Sec. 119. Every employer, employee and other person shall obey
Compliance.
and comply with each and every requirement of every order, direc
tion, or regulation made or prescribed by the board, and shall do
everything necessary or proper in order to secure compliance with
and observance of every such order, direction or regulation.
Sec. 120. Every employer, employee, or other person, who, either
Violations.
individually or acting as an officer, agent or employee of a corpo
ration or other person, violates any safety provision contained in
this division of this act, or any part of such provision, or who
shall fail or refuse to comply with any such provision, or any part
thereof, or who, directly or indirectly, knowingly induces another
so to do is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Approved March 16, 1917.
Chapteb 86 .— Mine regulations— Drilling.
S ection 1. It shall be unlawful for any owner, operator or per
Dust preven
son in charge of any underground mine to cause to be drilled or tion.
bored by machinery a hole or holes in any stope or raise in
ground that causes dust from drilling, unless said machinery is
equipped with a water jet or spray or other means equally efficient
to prevent the escape of dust.
Sec. 2. Where machinery used for drilling or boring holes in
A p p lia n ce s
stopes or raises is equipped, as required by section one of this act, to be used.
it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to drill or bore a
hole in said stope or raise without using said appliance for the
prevention of dust.
Sec. 3. Any person who violates either ©f the two preceding
Violations.
sections, or any owner, operator, or person in charge of any un
derground mine who hires, contracts with or causes any person to
violate the two preceding sections shall be guilty of a misde
meanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine
of not less than $100, nor more than $500, or by imprisonment in
the county jail not more than six months or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
Sec. 4. The words “ person,” “ operator,” “ owner ” and “ person
Definitions.
in charge,” wherever used in this act, shall be deemed to include
corporations and associations existing under or authorized by the
laws of either the United States, the laws of the Territories, the
laws of any State or the laws of any foreign country.
Approved March 14, 1917.
137
LABOR LEGISLATION OF
138
C h a p t er 145.— In terferen ce
Definition.
1917.
with employment— Criminal syndi
calism.
Section . 1. Criminal syndicalism is the doctrine which advo
cates crime, sabotage, violence or unlawful methods of terrorism
as a means of accomplishing industrial or political reform. The
advocacy of such doctrine, whether by word of mouth or writing,
is a felony punishable as in this act otherwise provided.
Sec. 2. Any person who—
Offenses.'
(1 ) By word of mouth or writing, advocates or teaches the
duty, necessity or propriety of crime, sabotage, violence or other
unlawful methods of terrorism as a means of accomplishing in
dustrial or political reform ; or
(2) Prints, publishes, edits, issues or knowingly circulates,
sells, distributes or publicly displays any book, paper, document,
or written matter in any form, containing or advocating, advising
or teaching the doctrine that industrial or political reform
should be brought about by crime, sabotage, violence or other un
lawful methods of terrorism; or
(3) Openly, willfully and deliberately justifies, by word of
mouth or writing, the commission or the attempt to commit crime,
sabotage, violence or other unlawful methods of terrorism with
intent to exemplify, spread or advocate the propriety of the doc
trines of criminal syndicalism; or
(4 ) Organizes or helps to organize or becomes a member of,
or voluntarily assembles with any society, group or assemblage
of persons formed to teach or advocate the doctrines of criminal
syndicalism;
Is guilty of a felony and punishable by imprisonment in the
Penalty.
State prison for not more than ten years or by a fine of not more
than $5,000, or both.
Sec. 3. Whenever two or more persons assemble for the pur
Assembling.
pose of advocating or teaching the doctrines of criminal syndi
calism as defined in this act, such an assemblage is unlawful, and
every person voluntarily participating therein by his presence,
aid or instigation is guilty of a felony and punishable by im
prisonment in the State prison for not more than ten years or
by a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.
Permitting
Sec. 4. The owner, agent, superintendent, janitor, caretaker,
assemblages.
or occupant of any place, building or room, who willfully and
knowingly permits therein any assemblage of persons prohibited
by the provisions of section three of this act, or who, after noti
fication that the premises are so used, permits such use to be
continued, is guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by im
prisonment in the county jail for not more than one year or by
a fine of not more than $500, or both.
Approved March 14, 1917.
ILLINOIS.
ACTS OF 1917.
D epartm ent o f labor , etc .
[Page 4.]
Section 1. This act shall be known as “ The Civil Administrative
Title.
Code of Illinois.”
Sec. 2. The word “ department,” as used in this act, shall, unless
Definition,
the context otherwise clearly indicates, mean the several depart
ments of the State government as designated in section three of
this act, and none other.
S ec. 3. Departments of the State government are created as Departments,
follow s: * * * The department of labor; the department of
mines and m inerals; * * * the department of registration
and education.
Sec. 4. Each department shall have an officer at its head who Heads,
shall be known as a director, and who shall, subject to the pro
visions of this act, execute the powers and discharge the duties
vested by law in his respective department.
The following officers are hereby created: * * *
Director of labor, for the department of labor; director of mines
and minerals, for the department of mines and m inerals; * * *
director of registration and education, for the department of
registration and education.
Sec. 5. In addition to the directors of departments, the followO t h e r offiing executive and administrative officers, boards and commissions, cers*
which said officers, boards and commissions in the respective de
partments, shall hold offices hereby created and designated as
follow s:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
In the department of labor: Assistant director of labor; chief
factory inspector; superintendent of free employment offices; chief
inspector of private employment agencies; the industrial commis
sion, which shall consist of five officers designated industrial
officers.
In the department of mihes and m inerals: Assistant director of
mines and m inerals; the mining board, which shall consist of four
officers designated as mine officers and the director of the depart
ment of mines and m inerals; the miners’ examining board, which
shall consist of four officers, designated miners’ examining officers.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
In the department of registration and education: Assistant
director of registration and education; superintendent of regis
tration. * * *
Th£ above-named officers, and each of them, shall, except as
otherwise provided in this act, be under the direction, supervision
and control of the director of their respective departments, and
shall perform such duties as such director shall prescribe.
Sec. 6. Advisory and nonexecutive boards, in the respective departments, are created as follow s:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
In the department of labor: A board of Illinois free employment
office advisors, composed of five persons; a board of local Illinois
free employment office advisors, for each free employment office,
composed of five persons on each local board.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Sec. 7. * * * Of the five industrial officers, two shall be
representative citizens of the employing class operating under
Boards,
i ndus t r i a l
o ffic e r s.
139
LABOR LEGISLATION OF
140
E in ployment
office advisors.
Director o f
mines.
Miners’ e x
aminers.
A ffilia tio n s
forbidden.
Powers and
duties.
1917.
the workmen’s compensation act, two shall be representative citi
zens chosen from among the employees operating under such act,
and the other shall be a representative citizen not indentified
[identified] with either the employing or employee classes.
Of the five Illinois free employment office advisors, two shall
be representatives of employers, two representatives of organized
labor, and one representative citizen who is neither an employer
nor an employee.
The five local Illinois free employment office advisors shall have
the same qualifications as the Illinois free employment office ad
visors.
The director of mines and minerals shall be a person thoroughly
conversant with the theory and practice of coal mining but who
is not identified with either coal operators or coal miners. Of
the four mine officers, two shall be coal operators and two shall
be practical coal miners.
Each of the three miners’ examining officers shall have had at
least five years’ practical and continuous experience as a coal
miner and have been actually engaged as a coal miner in this
State continuously for twelve months next preceding his appoint
ment, and no one of whom shall hold any lucrative public office,
Federal, State, or municipal.
*
*
*
*
* *
*
*
Neither the director, assistant director, superintendent of reg
istration, nor any other executive and administrative officer in
the department of registration and education shall be affiliated
with any college or school of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry,
nursing, optometry, embalming, barbering, veterinary medicine
and surgery, architecture, or structural engineering, either as
teacher,, officer, or stockholder, nor shall he hold a license or cer
tificate to exercise or practice any of the professions, trades, or
occupations regulated.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
S ec. 8. Each advisory and nonexecutive board, except as other
wise expressly provided in this act, shall, with respect to its field
of work, or that of the department with which it is associated,
have the following powers and duties:
1. To consider and study the entire field; to advise the execu
tive officers of the department upon their request; to recommend,
on its own initiative, policies and practices, which recommenda
tions the executive officers of the department shall duly consider,
and to give advice or make recommendations to the governor and
the general assembly when so requested, or on its own initiative ;
2. To investigate the conduct of the work of the department
with which it may be associated, and for this purpose to have
access, at any time, to all books, papers, documents, and records
pertaining or belonging thereto, and to require written or oral in
formation from any officer or employee thereof;
3. To adopt rules, not inconsistent with law, for its internal
control and management, a copy of which rules shall be filed with
the director of the department with which such board is asso
ciated ;
*
4. To hold meetings at such times and places as may be pre
scribed by the rules, not less frequently, however, than quar
terly ;
5. To act by a subcommittee, or by a majority of the board, if
the rules so prescribe;
6. To keep minutes of the transactions of each session, regular
or special, which shall be public records and filed with the di
rector of the department;
7. To give notice to the governor and the director of the de
partment with which it is associated of tire time and place of
every meeting, regular or special, and to permit the governor
and the director of the department to be present and to be
heard upon any matter coming before such board.
TEXT OF LAWS— ILLINOIS.
i4i
S ec. 9. The executive and administrative officers whose offices Salaries.
are created by this act shall receive annual salaries, payable in
equal monthly installments, as follow s:
*
*
*
*
*
In the department of labor: The director of labor shall re
ceive $5,000; the assistant director of labor shall receive $3,000;
the chief factory inspector shall receive $3,000; the superin
tendent of free employment offices shall receive $3,000; the chief
inspector of private employment agencies shall receive $3,000;
each industrial officer shall receive $5,.000.
In the department of mines and minerals: The director of
mines and minerals shall receive $5,000; the assistant director
of mines and minerals shall receive $3,000; each mine officer
shall receive $500; each miners’ examining officer shall receive
$1,800.
*
*
*
*
*
In the department of registration and education: The director
of registration and education shall receive $5,000; the assistant
director of registration and education shall receive $3,600; the
superintendent of registration shall receive $4,200.
F r e e serv
S ec. 10. No member of an advisory and nonexecutive board
ices.
shall receive any compensation.
Who to give
Sec. 11. Each executive and administrative officer, except the
two food standard officers, the members of the mining board, entire time.
and the members of the normal school board shall devote his
entire time to the duties of his office and shall hold no other
office or position of profit.
Appoint
Sec. 12. Each officer whose office is created by this act shall
be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and con m e n t
sent of the senate. In any case of vacancy in such offices during
the recess of the senate, the governor shall make a temporary
appointment until the next meeting of the senate, when he shall
nominate some person to fill such office; and any person so nomi
nated, who is confirmed by the senate, shall hold his office during
the remainder of the term and until his successor shall be ap
pointed and qualified. I f the senate is not in session at the time
this act takes effect, the governor shall make a temporary ap
pointment as in case of a vacancy. .
Sec. 13. Each officer whose office is created by this act, except T e rm .
as otherwise specifically provided for in this act, shall hold
office for a term of four years from the second Monday in Janu
ary next after the election of a governor, and until his successor
is appointed and qualified.
*
*
*
*
*
Sec. 15. Each executive. and administrative officer whose office Bond.
is created by this act shall, before entering upon the discharge
of the duties of his office, give bond, with security to be ap
proved by the governor, in such penal sum as shall be fixed by
the governor, not less in any case than $10,000, conditioned for
the faithful performance of his duties, which bond shall be filed
in the office of the secretary of state.
Sec. 17. Each department shall maintain a central office in the
Offices.
capitol building at Springfield, in rooms provided by the secretary
of state. The director of each department may, in his discretion
and with the approval of the governor, establish and maintain, at
places other than the seat of government, branch offices for the
conduct of any one or more functions of his department.
Sec. 18. Each department shall be open for the transaction of
Office hours.
public business at least from eight-thirty o’clock in the morning
until five o’clock in the evening of each day except Sundays and
days declared by the negotiable instrument act to be holidays.
S ec. 21. All employees in the several departments shall render
H o u r s of
not less than seven and one-half hours of labor each day, Sat service.
urday afternoons, Sundays and days declared by the negotiable
instrument act to be holidays excepted in cases in which, in the
142
LABOR" LEGISLATION OP
1917.
Judgment of the director, the public service will not thereby be
impaired.
Sec. 22. Each employee in the several departments shall be
sence.
entitled during each calendar year to fourteen days’ leave of ab
sence with full pay. In special and meritorious cases where to
limit the annual leave to fourteen days in any one calendar year
would work peculiar hardship, it may, in the discretion of the di
rector of the department, be extended.
Extra serv
Sec. 23. No employee in the several departments, employed at a
ices.
fixed compensation, shall .be paid for any extra services, unless
expressly authorized by law.
A n n u a l re
Sec. 25. Each director of a department shall annually on or
ports.
before the first day of December, and at such other times as the
governor may require, report in writing to the governor concern
ing the condition, management and financial transactions of
their respective departments. In addition to such reports, each
director of a department shall make the semi-annual and biennial
reports provided by the constitution. The departments shall
make annual and biennial reports at the time prescribed in this
section, and at no other time.
Boards, etc.,
Sec. 35. The following offices, boards, commissions, arms, and
abolished.
agencies of the State government heretofore created by law,
are hereby abolished, v iz : * * * board of examiners of horseshoers, secretary of the board of examiners of horseshoers,
* * * Advisory board of managers of free employment of
fices, local board of managers of free employment offices, general
superintendent of free employment offices in each city having a
population of one million or over, department superintendent of
free employment offices in each city having a population of one
million or over, assistant department superintendents of free em
ployment offices in each city having a population of one million or
over, clerks of free employment offices in each city having a popu
lation of one million or over, superintendent of free employment
offices in cities of less than one million population, assistant super
intendents of free employment offices in cities of less than one
million population, clerks of free employment offices in cities
of less than one million population, chief inspector of private
employment agencies, assistant inspectors of private employment
agencies, chief State factory inspector, assistant chief factory
inspector, physician for chief State factory inspector, deputy
factory inspectors, State board of arbitration and conciliation,
secretary of the State board of arbitration and conciliation, the
industrial board, secretary of the industrial board, State min
ing board, chief clerk of the State mining board, State mine in
spectors, miners’ examining commissioners, constituting the
miners’ examining board, mine fire fighting and rescue station
commission, superintendents of mine fire fighting and rescue sta
tions, assistant superintendents of mine fire fighting and rescue
stations,
*
*
* board of barber examiners, secretary and
treasurer of the board of barber examiners. * * * Inspectors
of automatic couplers, power brakes and grab irons or handholds
on railroad locomotives, tenders, cars and similar vehicles. * * *
Powers of de
Sec. 43. The Department of Labor. The department of labor
partment of la shall have power:
bor.
1. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the commissioners of labor, the secretary, other officers and em
ployees of said commissioners of labor;
2. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the superintendents and assistant superintendents of free employ
ment offices, general advisory board of free employment offices,
local advisory boards of free employment offices, and other officers
and employees of free employment offices;
3. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the chief inspector of private employment agencies, inspectors of
private employment agencies, their subordinate officers and em
ployees ;
Leave of ab
TEXT OF LAWS— ILLINOIS.
143
4. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the chief factory inspector, assistant chief factory inspector,
deputy factory inspector, and all other officers and employees of
the State factory inspection service;
5. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the State board of arbitration and conciliation, its officers and
employees;
6. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the industrial board, its officers and employees;
7. To foster, promote and develop the welfare of wage earners;
8. To improve working conditions;
9. To advance opportunities for profitable employment;
10. To collect, collate, assort, systematize and report statistical
details relating to all departments of labor, especially in its rela
tion to commercial, industrial, social, educational and sanitary
conditions, and to the permanent prosperity of the manufacturing
and productive industries;
11. To collect, collate, assort, systematize and report statistical
details of the manufacturing industries and commerce of the
Sta te;
12. To acquire and diffuse useful information on subjects con
nected with labor in the most general and comprehensive sense of
that word;
13. To. acquire and diffuse among the people useful information
concerning the means of promoting the material, social, intel
lectual and moral prosperity of laboring men and women;
14. To acquire information and report upon the general condi
tion, so far as production is concerned, of the leading industries of
the State;
15. To acquire and diffuse information as to the conditions of
employment, and such other facts as may be deemed of value to
the industrial interests of the State;
16. To acquire and diffuse information in relation to the pre
vention of accidents, occupational diseases and other related sub
jects.
Sec. 44. The department of labor shall exercise and discharge
puties as to
the rights, powers and duties vested by law in the industrial compensation
bonrd under an act [the workmen’s compensation law] * * - *
approved June twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and thirteen, in
force July first, nineteen hundred and thirteen, or any future
amendments thereto or modifications thereof.
Said act and all amendments thereto and modifications thereof,
if any, shall be administered by the industrial commission created
by this act, and in its name, without any direction, supervision,
or control by the director of labor.
The industrial commission shall also, in its name and without
any direction, supervision or control by the director, administer
the arbitration and conciliation act.
S e c . 45. The department of mines and minerals: The departP o w e r s of
ment of mines and minerals shall have power:
mTn e s ^ a n°i
1. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in minerals,
the State mining board, its officers and employees;
2. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the State mine inspectors;
3. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the miners’ examining commission, its officers and employees;
4. To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the mine fire fighting and rescue station commission, superin
tendents and assistant superintendents, other officers and em
ployees of the several mine rescue stations;
5. To acquire and diffuse information concerning the nature,
causes and prevention of mine accidents;
6. To acquire and diffuse information concerning the improve
ment of methods, conditions and equipment of mines, with special
reference to health, safety and conservation of mineral resources;
144
LABOB LEGISLATION OF
1911.
7. To make inquiries into the economic conditions affecting the
mining, quarrying, metallurgical, clay, oil and other mineral
industries;
8. To promote the technical efficiency of all persons working .
in and about the mines of the State, and to assist them better to
overcome the increasing difficulties of mining, and for that pur
pose to provide bulletins, traveling libraries, lectures, correspon
dence work, classes of systematic instruction, or meetings for the
reading and discussion of papers, and to that end to cooperate
with the University of Illinois.
Mi n i n g
Sec. 46. The mining board, in the department of mines and
board.
minerals, shall—
1. Hold such meetings, from time to time, as may be necessary
for the proper discharge of its duties;
2. Conduct the examination and pass upon the practical and
technological qualifications and personal fitness of all persons em
ployed in the department of mines and minerals as inspectors of
m ines;
3. Conduct examinations and pass upon the practical and tech
nological qualifications and personal fitness of persons seeking
certificates of competency as mine managers, mine examiners and
hoisting engineers;
4. Conduct examinations, at the capitol, on the second Tuesday
in September of each year and at such other times as .may be
necessary, of candidates for employment as inspectors of mines;
5. Conduct examinations of persons seeking certificates of com
petency as mine managers, mine examiners and hoisting engineers,
at such times and places within the State as shall, in the judg
ment of the board, afford the best facilities to the greatest num
ber of candidates;
6. Give public notice, through the public press, or otherwise,
not less than ten days in advance, announcing the time and place
at which any examination is to be h eld;
7. Prescribe uniform rules, conditions and regulations for the
examination of persons seeking employment as inspectors of mines
and of those seeking certificates of competency as mine managers,
mine examiners and hoisting engineers;
8. Report in writing to the director of mines and minerals the
names of persons qualified to be employed by the department of
mines and minerals as'inspectors of mines, and of those author
ized to receive certificates of competency as mine managers, mine
examiners and hoisting engineers;
9. Supervise, control and direct the State mine inspection
service;
10. Have power to remove any inspector of mines or to cancel
the certificate of any mine manager, mine examiner or hoisting
engineer, as provided in paragraphs ( h ) and (i) of section three
of an act * * * approved June sixth, nineteen hundred and
eleven, in force July first, nineteen hundred and eleven, [page
three hundred and eighty-seven, acts of nineteen hundred and
eleven], and all amendments thereto, past or future, or modifica
tions thereof;
11. Preserve and keep on file, for not less than one year, ail
written examination papers and all other papers of any applicant,
and to permit the inspection thereof by any applicant interested,
at all reasonable times, and to give to any applicant a certified
copy of any or all of his papers.
S ec. 47. The director of mines and minerals shall be the execu
Director.
tive officer of the mining board and shall execute the orders, rules
and regulations made and promulgated by the mining board, and
shall issue, in the name of the department of mines and minerals,
certificates of qualification and competency to persons certified to
him by the mining board, and to no other persons.
Sec. 48. The department of mines and minerals shall exercise
E x a m in in g
board.
and discharge the rights, powers and duties vested by law in the
miners’ examining commissioners, constituting the miners’ ex
amining board for the State of Illinois, under an act * * *
TEXT OF LAWS— ILLINOIS.
145
approvd June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and thirteen, in
force July first, nineteen hundred and thirteen, [page four hun
dred and thirty-eight, acts of nineteen hundred and thirteen],
and all amendments thereto, past or future, or modifications
thereof.
Said act and all amendments thereto and modifications thereof,
if any, shall be administered by the miners’ examining board
created by this act, and in its name, without any direction, super
vision or control by the director of mines and minerals, or by the
mining board.
Powers of
Sec. 58. The department of registration and education: The
department of
department of registration and education shall have power:
regi
stration
*
*
*
*
*
*
and education.
3.
To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the board of examiners of horseshoers;
*
*
*
*
*
*
12.
To exercise the rights, powers and duties vested by law in
the State board of barber examiners, its officers and employees;
*
*
*
*
*
*
Sec. 60. The department of registration and education shall,
Same.
wherever the several laws regulating professions, trades and occu
pations which are devolved upon the department for administra
tion so require, exercise, in its name, but subject to the provisions
of this act, the following powers:
1. Conduct examinations to ascertain the qualifications and fit
ness of applicants to exercise the profession, trade or occupa
tion for which an examination is h eld; and pass upon the qualifi
cations of applicants for reciprocal licenses, certificates and au
thorities ;
2. Prescribe rules and regulations for a fair and wholly im
partial method of examination of candidates to exercise the re
spective professions, trades or occupations;
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
6. Conduct hearings on proceedings to revoke or refuse re
newal of licenses, certificates or authorities of persons exercising
the respective professions, trades or occupations, and to revoke
or refuse to renew such licenses, certificates or authorities;
7. Formulate rules and regulations when required in any act to
be administered.
None of the above enumerated functions and duties shall be
exercised by the department of registration and education, ex
cept upon the action and report in writing of persons designated
from time to time by the director of registration and education
to take such action and to make such report, for the respective pro
fessions, trades and occupations as follow s:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Horseshoers.
For the horseshoers, five persons, consisting of three practical
master horseshoers, who have been for at least three years prior
to their designation engaged in the occupation of horseshoeing in
this State, and two journeymen horseshoers, who have been for
at least three years prior to their designation engaged in the oc
cupation of horseshoeing as journeymen horseshoers in this S tate:
*
^ *
*
*
*
*
*
Barbers.
For the barbers, three practical barbers, each of whom has
been for at least five years preceding his designation engaged in
the occupation of barbering in this State.
The action or report in writing of a majority of the persons
designated for any given trade, occupation or profession, shall be
sufficient authority upon wThich the director of registration and
education may act.
Nominations
In making the designation of persons to act for the several pro
fessions, trades and occupations the director shall give due con by trades, etc.
sideration to recommendations by members of the respective pro
fessions, trades and occupations and by organizations therein.
45913°— Bull. 244r-18------ 10
146
LA.BOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
R eexam ina
Whenever the director is satisfied that substantial Justice has
tions, etc.
not been done either in an examination or in the revocation of
or refusal to renew a license, certificate or authority, he may
order reexaminations or rehearings by the same or other ex
aminers.
C e r tificates,
Sec. 61, All certificates, licenses and authorities shall be issued
etc.
by the department of registration and education, in the name of
such department, with the seal thereof attached.
A c t s re
Sec. 64. The following acts and parts of acts are hereby re
pealed.
pealed :
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
“An act to create a bureau of labor statistics and statistical de
tails of manufacturing industries and commerce of the State,
and to provide for a board of commissioners and secretary, and
repealing certain acts therein named,” approved June tenth, nine
teen hundred and nine, in force July first, nineteen hundred and
nine {page one hundred and ninety-nine, acts of nineteen hun
dred and nine] ;
“ An act to prevent accidents in mines and other industrial
plants, and to conserve the resources of the State by the estab
lishment of Illinois miners’ and mechanics7 institutes, and for the
administration and support of the same,” approved May twentyfifth, nineteen hundred and eleven, in force July first, nineteen
hundred and eleven [page three hundred and twenty-nine, acts of
nineteen hundred and eleven ];
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Approved March 7, 1917,
M others’ pensions.
[Page 220.]
[This act amends section 11 of an act, p. 127, Acts of 1913, pre
viously amended so as to read as follow s:]
Conditions.
S e c t i o n 11. Such relief shall be granted by the court only upon
the following conditions:
1. The child or children for whose benefit the relief is granted
must be living with the mother of such child or children;
2. The court must find that it is for the welfare of such child
or children to remain at home with the mother;
3. The relief shall be granted only when in the absence of such
relief the mother would be required to work regularly away from
her home and children, or when in the absence of such relief it
would be necessary to commit such child or children to a dependent
Institution and when by means of such relief she will be able to
remain at home with her children, except that she may be absent
for work a definite number of days each week to be specified in
the court’s order, when such work can be done by her without
the sacrifice of health or the neglect of home and children;
4. Such mother must, in the judgment of the court, be a proper
person, physically, mentally and morally fit, to have the care and
custody of her children;
5. The relief granted shall, in the judgment of the court, be
necessary to save the child or children from neglect;
6. A mother shall not receive such relief who is the owner of
real property or personal property other than the household goods,
but no mother who shall be the holder of, or entitled to, a home
stead under the exemption laws of this State, or who is the holder
of, or entitled to a dower right in real estate, provided the fair
cash market value of said real estate is not more than $1,000,
shall be denied relief under the provisions of this a c t;
7. A mother shall not receive such relief who has not resided
in the county where the application is made at least three years
next before making such application;
TEXT OP LAW S— ILLINOIS.
147
8.
A mother shall not receive such relief if her child or children
has or have relatives Of sufficient ability, and who shall .be obli
gated by the finding and Judgment of the court by |of] competent
jurisdiction, to support them.
Approved June 11, 1917.
Mothers’ pensions.
[P a g e 2 2 1 J
[This act amends section 2 of an act, p‘. 127, Acts of 1&I3, pre
viously amended, so as to read as follow s:]
S e c t i o n 2. A woman whose husband is dead and was a .resident
Who
of the State of Illinois at the time of his death, or whose husband p y*
has become permanently incapacitated for work by reason of
physical or mental infirmity, and becomes so incapacitated while
a resident of this State may file an application for relief under
this act, .provided .such woman has a previous .residence fo r three
years in the county where such application is made and is the
mother of a child or children.
Approved June 26, 1917.
m ay ap-
Pvym m t of wages m scrip.
[P ag e
3 6 3 .]
S e c t i o n 1. No person, firm, or corporation engaged in anyb u si- , Orders, ete^
ness or enterprise within this State shall iissue, in payment of or abie.
18 eem"
as evidence of indebtedness, for wages due an employee for labor,
any time check, store order, scrip, or other acknowledgment of
indebtedness, unless the same is payable or redeemable upon de
mand, without discount and for face value, in lawful money of the
United States at the office or place of business of such person,
firm, or corporation.
S ec. 2. Any person, firm, or corporation who £hall violate any of
Violations,
the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
and upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdic
tion shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $100, or confined in
*lhe county jail for a period not to exceed thirty days, or both, in
the discretion of the court.
Approved June 26, 1917.
.Health insurance commission.
.{/Page 4 8 8 .]
Section 1. A special temporary commission is hereby created t o cr^ ^ m i8Slon
be -known as the health insurance commission which shall investiDuties.
.gate sickness and accident of employees and their families (not
compensated by workmen’s compensation in the .State of Illinois X,
with reference to the adequacy of the present .methods of prevent
ing and meeting the losses caused by such sickness or injury,
either by mutual or stock insurance companies or associations, by
fraternal or other mutual benefit associations, by employers and
employees jointly, by employers or employees alone, or otherwise ;
and further, such definite proposals for legislative measures to
prevent and meet such losses as may have been proposed in this or
other S tates; all with a view to recommending ways and means
fo r the better protection of employees from sickness and accident
and their effects and the improvement of the health of employed
persons and their fam ilies in the State. The commission shall
hold public hearings In different parts of the State. .The com
mission shall submit a fu ll final report, including such recommenReport
dations for legislation by bill or otherwise as in its judgment may
seem proper, to the general assembly of nineteen hundred and
nineteen and unless continued by such -general assembly sh^ll
expire at the end of its regular session.
148
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
\
Membership.
Sec. 2. The commission shall consist of two representatives of
labor, namely, one representative of the male laborers, the other of
the female laborers of the State, an employer of labor, a physician,
a farmer, a social economist, a social worker, and two other per
sons, to be appointed by the governor. The members of such com
mission shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall
be entitled to their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
performance of their duties.
Powers.
Sec. 3. The commission shall have power to elect its chairman
and other officers, to employ a secretary, experts in the matters to
be investigated, and all necessary clerical and other assistants, to
purchase books and all necessary supplies, and to rent office room
and halls for hearings.
Cooperation.
Sec. 4. The department of public health and the department of
labor and mining are hereby directed to cooperate with the com
mission, to give it access to their records, and to render it any
such proper aid and assistance as in their judgment may not inter
fere with the proper conduct of their respective departments.
A pprojp n a
S ec. 5. The sum of $20,000, or so much thereof as may be needed,
tion.
is hereby appropriated for the actual and necessary expenses of
the commission in carrying out the provisions of this act, and the
auditor of public accounts is hereby authorized to draw his war
rant for the foregoing amount, or any part thereof, in payment of
any expenses, charges, or disbursements authorized by this act on
order of the commission, signed by its chairman, attested by its
secretary, and approved by the governor.
Approved June 23, 1917.
Em ployment of children— General provisions .
[Page 511.]
S e c t io n 1. No minor under the age of fourteen years shall be
employed, permitted or suffered to work at any gainful occupa
tion in, or in connection with, any theater, concert hall or place of
amusement, or any mercantile institution, store, office, hotel,
laundry, manufacturing establishment, mill, cannery, factory or
workshop therefor, within this State. No minor under the age
of fourteen years shall be employed at any work performed
for wrages or other compensation, to whomsoever payable, during
any portion of any month when the public schools of the school
district, town, township, or village or city, in which he or she
Nightwork. resides are in session, or be employed at any work before the
hour of seven o’clock in the morning or after the hour of six
o’clock in the evening: Provided , That no minor shall be allowed
Hours of la to work more than eight hours in any one day, nor more than
bor.
six days in any one week: Provided , That nothing in this section
shall be construed to prevent any minor under the age of four
teen years from doing voluntary work of a temporary and harm
less character, for compensation, when school is not in session.
Registers.
S ec. 2. It shall be the duty of every person, firm or corporation,
agent or manager, superintendent or foreman, of any firm or
corporation, employing minors over the age of fourteen and
under the age of sixteen years, in or for or in connection with
any theater, concert hall or place of amusement, or any mer
cantile institution, store, office, hotel, laundry, manufacturing
establishment, mill, cannery, factory or workshop within this
State, to keep a register in said theater, concert hall or place of
amusement, or in said mercantile institution, store, office, hotel,
laundry, manufacturing establishment, mill, cannery, factory or
workshop in or for or in connection with which said minors shall
be employed or permitted or suffered to work, in which register
shall be recorded the name, age, and place of residence of every
minor employed or suffered or permitted to work therein, or
therefor, or in connection therewith, over the age of fourteen
and under the age of sixteen years; and it shall be unlawful for
Age limit.
TEXT OF LAWS— ILLINOIS.
any person, firm or corporation, agent or manager, superintendent
or foreman of any firm or corporation to hire or employ or to per
mit or suffer to work in or for or in connection with any theater,
concert hall or place of amusement, or any mercantile institu
tion, store, office, hotel, laundry, manufacturing establishment,
mill, cannery, factory or workshop, any minor over the age of
fourteen and under the age of sixteen years, unless there is first
procured and placed on file in such theater, concert hall or place
of amusement, or in such mercantile institution, store, office,
hotel, laundry, manufacturing establishment, mill, cannery, fac
tory or workshop, an employmant certificate issued as hereinafter
provided and accessible to the authorized officers or employees of
the department of labor.
Sec. 3. Every person, firm or corporation, agent or manager,
superintendent or foreman of a corporation, employing or, permitting or suffering to work five or more minors over the age of
fourteen and under the age of sixteen years, in or for or in con
nection with, any theater, concert hall or place of amusement, or
any mercantile institution, store, office, hotel, laundry, manu
facturing establishment, mill, cannery, factory or workshop, shall
post and keep posted in a conspicuous place in every room in or in
connection with wThieh such help is employed, or permitted or
suffered to work, a list containing the name, age and place of
residence of every minor over the age of fourteen and under the
age of sixteen years, employed, permitted or suffered to work in
or in connection with such room.
Sec. 4. An employment certificate shall be issued only by the
superintendent of schools or by a person authorized by him in
writing; or where there is no superintendent of schools, by a
person authorized by the sohool board or other local school au
thority : Provided , That no member of a school board or •other
person authorized as aforesaid, shall have authority to issue
such certificates for any minor then in or about to enter his own
establishment, or the employment of a firm or corporation of
which he is a member, officer or employee. The person issuing
these certificates shall have authority to administer the oaths
provided for herein, but no fee shall be charged therefor. It
shall be the duty of the school board or local school authority,
to designate a place or places (connected with their offices when
practicable), where certificates shall be issued and recorded, and
physical examinations made without fee, as hereinafter provided,
and to establish and maintain the necessary records and clerical
service for carrying out the provisions of this act.
S ec. 5. The official authorized to issue an employment certificate
to any minor shall issue such certificate only upon the application
in person of the minor desiring employment accompanied by the
parent, guardian or custodian of such minor and after having re
ceived, examined and approved the following papers, namely r
(a ) A school record as hereinafter provided.
( b ) A certificate of physical fitness, as hereinafter provided.
( c ) Proof of age, as hereinafter provided.
(<Z) A statement signed by the prospective employer, or by
some one duly authorized on his behalf, stating that he expects to
give such minor present employment, and setting forth the char
acter of the same, and the number of hours per day and of days
per week, which said minor will be employed.
For the issuance of an employment certificate, the school record
required by this act shall be filled out and signed by the principal
of the school, public or private or parochial, which the minor has
last attended, or by some one duly authorized by him, and shall be
furnished to any minor who may be entitled thereto. It shall
certify that the said minor is able to read and write legibly simple
sentences in the English language and has completed a course of
study equivalent to the work prescribed for the first five years of
the public elementary schools, in spelling, reading, writing, arith
metic to and including fractions, geography and history, and has
149
ceHi“ Pa?ysment
8*
List t»
posted,
be
Who to issue
certificates,
Application,
Papers.
School
ord*
rec-
150
•LABOB LEGISLATION OF
1917.
attended school for at least one hundred and thirty days during
the year preceding the date of his application for his first employ
ment certificate, or between his thirteenth and fourteenth birth
days. Such school record shall also give the full name, date of
birth, and residence of the minor, and the name and residence of
the parent, guardian or custodian, as shown on the records of the
school.
The school record shall be in the following fo r m :
S C H O O L RECORD.
Name of parent or guardian or custodian________ Residence of
parent or guardian or cu stodian _______
Name of -m in or_______
Residence of m in o r _______
Date of birth of .m in o r_______
(Signature of minor.)
I hereby certify that the above-named minor is able to read
and write legibly simple sentences in the English language; that
he has completed the work of t h e _______grade in t h e ________
school, (location) ______ ; that he has completed a course of
study equivalent to the work prescribed for the first five years of
the public elementary school in spelling, reading, writing, arith
metic to and including fractions, geography and history and that
he has attended school f o r ______ days during the year preceding
this date, or between his thirteenth and fourteenth birthdays.
(Signature of principal.)
Physical fitThe certificate of physical fitness required by this act for any
ness.
minor shall be signed by a physician appointed by the municipal
health department, the board of education, or other local school
•authority, and shall state that the said minor has been thoroughly
examined by the said physician at the time of his application for
an employment certificate, and is physically qualified for the em
ployment specified in the statement submitted in accordance with
the requirements of this section,
Evidence o f
The evidence of age required by this act shall consist of one of
age.
the following proofs of age which shall be required in the order
herein designated:
(a )
A duly attested transcript of the birth certificate, furnished
free by the State, filed according to law with a registrar of vital
statistics, or other officer charged with the duty of recording
birth; 01%
(fc) A baptismal certificate or transcript of the record of bap
tism, duly certified, and showing the date of birth, and place of
baptism; or,
(c) A passport showing the age of the minor; or,
(d ) In case none of the aforesaid proofs of age shall be obtain
able, and only in such case, the issuing officer may accept, in lieu
thereof, other documentary record of age (such as official certifi
cate of arrival in the United States, bona fide Bible record, con
firmation certificate or life insurance policy which are at least
one year old at the tim e of the minor’s application for the
permit), or transcript thereof, duly certified, which shall appear to
the satisfaction of the issuing officer to be good and sufficient
evidence of age; or in case none of the aforesaid proofs of age
shall, in the judgment of the officer having power to issue employ
ment certificates, be obtainable, such .officer may accept in lieu
thereof a written statement signed by the head teacher or principal
of the public or private schools which such child has attended,
that he or she was i n _______grade, and can read and write
legibly simple sentences in English and further certifying the
name, age, place and date of birth of such child as shown by the
official records of such school for at least two years during the
period such minor was in attendance thereat; or,
evi( e) In case none of the aforesaid proofs of age shall be obtain
deuce.
able, and in such cases only, the issuing officer may accept, in lieu
thereof, the signed statement of two physicians, at least one of
whom shall be a public health officer or public school physical
Ot h e r
TEXT OE LAWS—ILLINOIS.
151
A
Inspector, stating that they have separately examined the minor
and that in their opinion the minor is art least fourteen years of
age.
Sec. & All employment certificates shall be issued m triplicate,. ^riniicate*68
one of which shall be forwarded by mail by the issuing officer to
p
the prospective employer of the minor for whom the employment
certificate is issued, and another o f which shall be forwarded
to the properly authorized officer of the department of labor, and
a third of whieh shall be filed in the issuing office.
Whenever an employment certificate shall be refused to a minor, cate refu?ed
the name and present, residence of such minor, and the school rec
ord issued to susch minor, shall be forwarded by the official re
fusing to issue the certificate, to the principal o f the school which
such minor should attend, or to the compulsory attendance or
truant offieer.
In any prosecution for a violation of this, act,, the employment evidence
**
certificate shall be adrilissible as prim a facie evidence of the
facts set forth therein.
Any explanatory matter may be printed upon such certificate
in the: discretion of the board of education or other local school
authority.
The employment certificate shall be signed by the officer duly
authorized by the board of education or other local school a u
thority and by the minor and shall be in the following fo rm ;
The offiee o f ____ (City)______(State) ______
Form*
EMP&OYME3ST CEKTDTICA'TE.
This certifies that I have made a careful examination of an
the proofs,, documentary and otherwise, required by section five
of an act entitled, “ An act concerning child labor,”1 approved
_______and in f o r c e ________ f o r ________ (name o f minor), and find
the follow ing:
(a ) That the above-named minor can read and write legibly
simple sentences in the English language,, and has completed the
work of t h e _______grade in t h e ________ school, and; that he has
attended school at least one hundred and thirty days during
the year previous to this date, or betwTeen his thirteenth and
fourteenth birthdays.
(b ) That the above-named minor is physically fit to do the
work specified in the statement submitted in accordance with the
requirements of section five of the aforesaid a c t; and that his
height is (feet and. inches) ---------- , w e i g h t _______ , complexion
(fair or d a r k ) _______, hair ( c o l o r ) ________
( e) That he or she was born at ( city, state or country) _________
on t h e ______ day o f ________ nineteen hundred a n d __________ as
shown b y _______
(d ) That (name of employer) _______o f (a d d r e s s )________ has
promised the said minor present employment at (character of
the w o r k ) ____ __f o r ____ ___ hours per day a n d _______days per
week.
(Officer duly authorized by the superintendent of the board of
education (or other local school authority) o f _______(city), to
issue employment certificates.)
This certificate belongs to the board of education (o r other
local school authority) and is to be returned to this office within
three days after (name of minor) leaves the service of the em
ployer holding the same.
Sec.. 7. It shall be the duty of every person who shall employ
Duty of emany minor under the age of sixteen years to acknowledge in writing ployem
to the official issuing: the same, the receipt of the employment cer
tificate, within three days after the beginning of such employ
ment. On termination o f the employment of a minor under the
age of sixteen years the employment certificate issued to such
152
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 191*7.
minor shall be returned by mail, by the employer to the official
Issuing the same, immediately on the demand of the minor for
whom the certificate was issued, or otherwise, within three days
after the termination of said employment. The official to whom
the certificate is so returned shall file said certificate, and notify
the compulsory attendance or truant officer. Any minor whose
certificate has been returned as above provided, shall be entitled
New certifi- to a new employment certificate upon presentation of a statement
cates.
from a prospective employer as hereinabove provided, accompanied
by a certificate of physical fitness issued in a manner as herein
above provided and based upon a reexamination of the minor,
and certifying that the minor is physically fit to undertake the
work specified in the statement submitted in accordance with
the requirements o f section five of this act.
E nforce'
Sec. 8. The department of labor, through its authorized officers
ment*
or employees, shall visit all theaters, concert halls or places of
amusement, all mercantile institution^, stores, offices, hotels,
laundries, manufacturing establishments, mills, canneries, fac
tories or workshops, and all other places where minors are or may
be employed, in this State, and ascertain whether any minors
are employed contrary to the provisions of this act. Such officers
and employees may require that employment certificates, and all
lists of minors employed in, or for or in connection with, such
theatres, concert halls or places of amusement, and such mercan
tile institutions, stores, offices, hotels, laundries, manufacturing
establishments, mills, canneries, factories or workshops and all
other places where minors are employed as provided for in this
act shall be produced for their inspection on demand: And ,
provided , That upon written complaint to the school board or
other local school authorities of any city, town, district, or
municipality, that any minor (whose name shall be given in such
complaint) is employed in, or for or in connection with, any
theatre, concert hall or place of amusement or any mercantile
institution, store, office, hotel, laundry, manufacturing estab
lishment, mill* cannery, factory or workshop, contrary to the
provisions of this act, it shall be the duty of such school board
or other local school authorities, to report the same to the de
partment of labor.
Hours of laSec. 9. No person under the age of sixteen years shall be emk°rployed or suffered or permitted to work at any gainful occupation
more than six days in any one week, nor more than eight hours
in any one d a y ; or before the hour of seven o’clock in the
Night work, morning, or after the hour of seven o’clock in the evening. Every
employer shall post in a conspicuous place in every room where
such minors are employed, a printed notice stating the hours re
quired of them each day of the week, the hours of commencing and
stopping work, and the hours when the time or times allowed
for dinner or for other meals, begins and ends. The printed
form of such notice shall be furnished by the department of
labor, and the employment of any such minor for longer time in
any day so stated, or more than six days in any one week,
shall be deemed a violation of this section.
Occupations
Sec. 10. No minors under the age of sixteen years shall be emforbidden.
ployed at sewing belts, in any capacity whatever; nor shall any
minors adjust any belt to any machinery; they shall not oil or as
sist in oiling, wiping or cleaning auy machinery; they shall not
operate or assist in operating circular or band-saws, wood-joiners,
planers, sandpaper or wood-polishing machinery, emery or pol
ishing wheels used for. polishing metal, wood-turning or boring
machinery, stamping machines in sheet-metal and tinware manu
facturing, stamping machines in washer and nut factories, cor
rugating rolls, such as are used in roofing factories, nor shall
they- be employed in operating or assisting to operate any
passenger or freight elevator, steam-boiler, steam machinery or
other steam generating apparatus; they shall not operate or as
sist in operating dough braker or cracker-machinery of any de-
TEXT OF LAW S— ILLINOIS.
153
scription; wire or iron-straightening machinery; nor shall they
operate or assist in operating rolling mill machinery, punches or
shears, washing, grinding or mixing mill or calendar rolls in rub
ber manufacturing; nor shall they operate or assist in operating
laundry machinery; nor shall minors under the age of sixteen
years be employed in any mine or quarry; nor shall they be
employed in any capacity in preparing any composition in which
dangerous or poisonous acids are used, and they shall not be em
ployed in any capacity in the manufacture of paints, colors or
white le ad ; nor shall they be employed in any capacity whatever
in any employment that may be considered dangerous to their
lives or limbs, or wThere their health may be injured or morals de
praved ; nor in any bowling alley, nor in any theater, concert hall
or place of amusement wherein intoxicating liquors are sold;
nor shall any females under the age of sixteen years be em
ployed in any capacity where such employment requires them to
remain standing for and during the performance of their work.
Presence a 9
S e c . 11. The presence of any minor under the age of sixteen
years in any manufacturing establishment, factory or workshop, evidence.
or in any other place in which such minor is by this act prohib
ited from working shall constitute prima facie evidence of his or
lier employment therein.
Prosecutions.
S e c . 12. It shall be the special duty of the department of labor
to enforce the provisions of this act, and to prosecute all viola
tions of the same before any magistrate or any court of compe
tent jurisdiction in this State. It shall be the duty of the au
thorized officers and employees of the department of labor, and
they are hereby authorized and empowered, to visit and inspect,
at all reasonable times and as often as possible, all places cov
ered by this act.
Violations,
S e c . 13. Whoever, having under his control a minor under the
age of sixteen years, permits such minor to be employed in viola
tion of the provisions of this act shall for each offense be fined
not less than $5 nor more than $25, and shall stand committed
until such fine and costs are paid.
Every person authorized to sign any of the certificates pre
scribed by section 5 and section 6 of this act, who certifies to any
materially false statement therein, shall be guilty of a violation
of this act, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than $5 nor more than $100 for each offense, and shall stand
committed until such fine and costs are paid.
A failure to produce to the authorized officers or employees of
the department of labor, or to the school attendance officers, c*ny
employment certificate or list required by this act, shall con
stitute a violation of this act.
Any person, firm or corporation, agent or manager, superin
tendent or foreman of any firm or corporation, whether for him
self or for such firm or corporation, or by himself or through sub
agent, or manager, superintendent or foreman, who shall violate
or fail to comply with any of the provisions of this act, or shall
refuse admittance to premises or otherwise obstruct the officers
or employees of the department of labor, in the performance of
tlieir duties as prescribed by this act, shall be deemed guilty of a
imisdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
thnn $5 nor more than $100 for each offense, and shall stand
committed until such fine and costs are paid.
Minors now
S e c . 14. No provision of this act shall be construed so as to de
prive any minor under the age of sixteen years, who is now employed.
employed under the provisions of an act entitled, ‘‘An act to
regulate the employment of children in the State of Illinois, and to
provide for the enforcement hereof,” approved May fifteenth, nine
teen hundred and three, m force July first, nineteen hundred and
three, of that employment or other employment.
P r o v is io n s
S e c . 15. The invalidity of any portion of this act shall in no
severable.
way affect the validity of any other portion thereof which can be
given effect without such invalid part.
154
ReDeaL
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
S ec , 16. “A n act to regulate the employment of children in the
State o f Illinois and to provide for the enforcement thereof,”
approved May fifteenth, nineteen hundred and three, and in force
July first, nineteen hundred and three, and all other acts and
parts o f acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved June 26, 1917.
Free employment offices—Discharged convicts.
[Page 518.}
Act amended.
S e c t i o n 1. An act entitled “ An act relating to employment of
fices and agencies,” approved and in force May eleventh, nine
teen hundred and three, as subsequently amended, is hereby
amended, by adding a new section, to be known as seetion Id,
which new section shall read as follow s:
Duty of de
S e c . 1-d. It shall be the duty of the department of labor to
partment of la obtain from the department o f public welfare [,] ninety days
bor.
before the discharge of any convict from either penitentiary, or
of the discharge of a prisoner from the reformatory, the name,
occupation, and such other information as may be o f aid in ob
taining employment for such discharged convict or prisoner.
Employment
The department o f labor [,] through the several free employ
to be sought.
ment offices, shall seek to provide proper employment fo r dis
charged convicts or prisoners, so that such, employment may be
available at the time of such discharge, and shall assist such dis
charged prisoners to retain suitable employment for such rea
sonable time as will afford such prisoners an opportunity to be
come self-reliant, to the end that every man shall be encouraged
in his effort to go straight. In no instance shall there be any
misrepresentation as to the record's of persons for whom em
ployment is sought, under the provisions of this section.
The department o f labor through the several free employment
offices shall also cooperate with the department o f public welfare
to secure suitable employment for paroled convicts or prisoners
and to help them retain such employment during the period of
their parole and for such reasonble time thereafter as shall af
ford such convicts or prisoners an opportunity to become selfreliant.
Approved June 22 [,] 1917.
Employment of women—Industrial survey.
*
[Page 5 1 9 .1
Commission
Section 1. There is hereby created a commission o f seven mem
created.
bers for the purpose of studying the conditions of industry in
which women are engaged as workers, to be known as the Illinois
industrial survey, two of whom shall be employers of labor in
industry in which women are employed, two of whom shall be
representative o f women workers in industry, one a person inter
ested in social problems, not known to be a representative of either
labor or capital, and two of whom shall be persons who have
haxi a medical education and are not distinctly representatives of
either labor or capital,, all of whom shall be appointed by the gov
ernor to hold office as members of said commission until the con
vening of the fifty-first general assembly, at which time said com
mission shall go out of existence. The governor shall designate
the chairman of the commission.
Duties,
Sec. 2. I t shall be the duty o f suchi commission to make a com
plete survey of all those industries in Illinois, in which women
are engaged as workers, with special reference to the hours of
labor ffor women in sujcIi industries, the effect of such hours of
labor upon the health of women workers, and to make a report
to the governor not later than December first, nineteen hundred
TEXT OF LAWS— rllXEKQIS.
ass
and eighteen, fo r transmission to the fifty-first general assembly,
with the recommendations, i f any, of the commission.
S ec. 3. The commission shall have power to employ such clerks Powers,
and assistants as m$y be necessary and to fix their compensateon
and may incur such other expenses as are properly incidental ;to
the work of the commission. It shall have power to administer
oaths and to take the testimony of witnesses, necessary for this
act.
Sec. 4. Thetexpense of said commission, including ,a reasonable
Expenses,
per diem to the members thereof not to exceed $10 per day for the
time actually spent in such investigation, shall be paid out of
funds to be appropriated for that purpose, upon vouchers drawn
upon the auditor of public accounts, ;properly itemized and certi
fied to by the chairman of the commission and approved by the
governor.
S ec. 5. The sum of $10,000, or so much thereof as may be necesAppropriasary, is hereby appropriated for the expenses of the commission, tlon*
and the auditor of public accounts is hereby authorized to draw
his warrants for the foregoing amount or any part thereof, in
payment of any expenses, charges or disbursements, authorized
by this act, properly itemized and certified to by 'tlie Chairman
of the commission and approved by the governor.
Approved June 22, 1917.
W age brokers— Assignment o f wages .
[Page 553.]
Section 1. It shall be unlawful to make any loan of money,
License r e credit, goods, or things in action in the amount or to the value of quired*
$300 or less, whether secured or unsecured and charge, contract
for, or receive a -greater rate of interest than seven per centum
per annum therefor, without 'first obtaining a license from the
department of trade and commerce as herein provided. * * *
S ec. 2. Every licensee licensed hereinunder may loan any sum
Maximum
of mon^y, goods, or things in action, not exceeding in amount or l°anvalue the sum of $300, and may charge, contract for and receive
thereon interest at a rate not to exceed three and one-half per
Rafe of lncent per month.
terest.
*
*
.
*
*
•
*
<
*
S ec. 4 . .No assignment o f any salary or any wages, earned or to
be earned, given to secure any loan made under this act, shall be
valid, unless in writing signed by the borrower; nor shall such
assignment be valid unless given to secure an existing.debt or one
contracted simultaneously with its execution.
Under such assignment or onk
for the payment of future
salary or wages given as security for a loan made under this act,
a sum of .fifty (50) per cent of the borrower’s salary or wages
shall be collectible [collectable] .by the licensee .from the^imc that
a copy thereof, verified by the oath of the licensee, or liis agent,
together with a verified statement of the amount unpaid upon such
loan, has been served upon the employer.
Sec. 5-a . This act shall not apply to any person, copartnership
or corporation doing business under any law of this State, or of
the United States relating to banks, trust companies, building and
loan associations, or .pawnbrokers; or to -wage loan corporations
organized under “ An act to provide for the incorporation, man
agement and regulation of wage loan corporations and to allow
the loaning of money by .such corporations, secured by the assign
ment of wages.and dimiting the .rate of compensation to be paid/*
approved June twenty, nineteen hundred and thirteen, in force
July one, nineteen hundred and thirteen.
Approved June 14, 191/7.
TThe above act was field constitutional in People v. Stokes, 118
‘N. E. OT.3
Assignments
wages,
Scope of act.
LAB.OE LEGISLATION OF 1917.
156
M ine regulations— Protection against fire.
[Page 596.]
Amendment.
[This act amends subsection (m ) of section 2 of the act, page
84, Acts of 1910, by inserting the words “ or its equivalent as ap
proved by the department of mines and minerals ” as qualifying
the description of the chemical fire extinguishers required to be
supplied.
The same change is made in section 6 of the act.]
Mining investigation commission*
[Page 599.]
Com mission
created.
1. A commission [shall] be established to be known as
the mining investigation commission of the State of Illinois, con
sisting of three coal mine owners and three coal miners appointed
by the governor, together with three qualified men, no one of
whom shall be identified or affiliated with the interests of either
of the mine owners or coal miners or dependent upon the patron
age or good will of either, nor in political life who shall be ap
pointed by the governor.
Each member of the said commission shall have equal authority,
power and voting strength in considering and acting upon any
matters which may be brought to the attention of the commission
and on which the commission may act and the said commission
shall have power and authority to investigate the methods and
j conditions of mining coal in the State of Illinois with special ref
erence to the safety of human lives and property and the conserva
tion of coal deposits.
Powers.
S e c . 2. In making an investigation as contemplated in this act,
said commissioners shall have the power to issue subpoenas for
the attendance of witnesses, which shall be under the seal of the
commission and signed by the chairman or secretary of said com
mission.
In case any person shall willfully fail or refuse to obey such
subpoena, it shall be the duty of the circuit court of any county,
upon application of the said commissioners, to issue an attach
ment for such witness, and compel such witness to attend before
the commissioners, and give his testimony upon such matters as
shall be lawfully required by such commissioners; and the said
court shall have the power to punish for contempt, as in other
cases of refusal to obey the process and order of such court.
The fees of witnesses shall be the same as in the courts of
record and shall be paid out of the appropriation hereinafter
made.
And upon order duly entered of record by the said commission
any one or more members of the said commission shall be em
powered to take testimony touching the matters within the
jurisdiction of the said commission and report the same to the
said commission.
Said commission shall have power and are authorized to adopt
a seal and to make such rules not inconsistent with or contrary
to law for the government of proceedings before it, as it may
deem proper and shall have the same power to enforce such
rules and to preserve order and decorum in its presence as is
vested by the common law or statute Of this State in any court of
general jurisdiction.
Organization,
S e c . 3. Said commission shall meet at the State capitol build
etc.
ing in Springfield on the second Tuesday after notice of their ap
pointment and shall immediately elect a chairman and secretary
from among their number, one of whom shall be a coal-mine
owner and the other a coal miner. Said commission shall cause
a record to be kept of all its proceedings.
Five members of the said commission shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business, but a less number than a quorum
may adjourn the meeting of the commission from time to time.
S e c tio n
TEXT OF LAWS— ILLINOIS.
157
Meetings of tlie said commission other than called meetings,
as provided for herein, may be held at such times and places
within the State of Illinois, as may be fixed by the said com
mission.
A meeting of the said commission shall be held upon the writ
ten request of any three members of the said commission signed
by them and delivered to the secretary, who shall, upon receipt
of such request, notify each member of said commission by mail
of such meeting so to be held, and the time and place thereof.
And no such meeting shall be held less than five days after the
mailing of notice of the said meeting to the members of said
commission by the secretary.
Such called meeting shall be held either in Springfield or
Chicago.
S e c . 4. Said commission shall report to the governor and to
Report,
the general assembly at its next regular session, submitting, so
far as they have unanimously agreed, a proposed provision of
coal mining laws of the State, together with such other recom
mendations as to the commission shall seem fit and proper re
lating to coal mining in the State of Illinois.
And where there is not unanimous agreement upon any recom
mendation there shall be submitted in like manner separate re
ports embodying the recommendations of any one or more mem
bers of the said commission, which said reports shall each set
forth in detail the recommendation of the commissioner or commis
sioners signing said report and shall embody his or their respec
tive reasons for such recommendation and his or their objection
to the report of other members of the commission. The duties
and functions of said commission shall cease and the terms of
office of the respective commissions shall terminate upon the
adjournment of the fifty-first general assembly.
S e c . 5. The members of said commission who are coal-mine . Compensaowners and coal miners, as aforesaid, shall receive no compensa-tion’
tion for their services. The remaining three members of the
commission shall receive as compensation for their services the
sum of $10 per day for each day actually employed by them as
such commissioners. All members of the said commission shall
be reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in and about
tlie actual work of said commission.
Said commission may appoint a stenographer or clerk and
Express,
such other employees as are necessary and shall fix their com
pensation and may incur such other expenses as are properly
incidental to the work of the commission.
S e c . 6 . The sum of $7,000, or as much thereof as may be neees- . Appropriasary, is hereby appropriated for the postage, stationery, clerical, tl0n*
and expert services, and incidental traveling expenses of the com
mission, and the per diem of members as herein authorized, and
the auditor of public accounts is hereby authorized to draw his
warrant for the foregoing amount, or any part thereof, in pay
ment of »any expenses, charges or disbursements authorized by
this act, on order of this commission, signed by its chairman, a t
tested by its secretary, and approved by the governor.
The department of public works and buildings is hereby author
ized and directed to provide all necessary printing for the min
ing investigating [investigation] commission, and testimony taken
by it shall be reported in full and may be published from time to
time by the commission.
Approved June 27, 1917.
Mine regulations .
[Page 602 .]
[This act amends the act, p. 387, Acts of 1910, by adding to
subsection (e) of section 14, the follow ing:]
Provided, how ever, That if in any mine the conditions are Option as to
such that in the judgment of the duly accredited representative of Pillars*
158
LABOE. LEGISLATION OJ?
1917.
tlie department of mines and minerals, expressed in writing, it is
considered equally safe and more advantageous to leave a blind
pillar between not less than every three rooms, the department
of mines and minerals shall have the power to grant the author
ity to leave said pillar subject to review by the department of
mines and minerals on formal complaint of the representative of
either party in interest and after an open hearing.
Approved June 27, 1917,
Railroads— S a fety appliances.
[Page 647.]
Amendment.
[This act amends section 6 of an act of May 12, 1905, (sec.
228 of ch. 114, Hurd’s Rev. S t a t ) , by substituting the words
" State public utilities commission of Illinois ” for the words
Mrailroad and workhouse commission ” where they occur; also by
adding thereto the follow ing:]
Exemptions.
And provided, That nothing in this act contained, except as to
the requirements of section 2 of this act [section 224] shall ap
ply to locomotives operated on any narrow gauge surface railway
which does not interchange cars with any connecting railway, or
to four-wheel cars having a capacity of not to exceed eight tons,
or trains composed of such cars, operated on such narrow gauge
railway.
Powers o 1! And provided fu rth er , That nothing in this act contained shall
ntilities c o m in any manner Effect the power, authority and jurisdiction of the
mission.
State Public Utilities Commission of Illinois to make and enforce
any orders, rules or regulations it may now or at any time be au
thorized by law to make or enforce with regard to the health and
safety of the employees, passengers and customers e f such rail
way or the public.
Became a law June 29, 1917.
INDIANA.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
79.— Bureau o f statistics abolished.
[This is the regular appropriation act of the State, but contains
among its provisions one abolishing the bureau of statistics.]
C h a p ter
Abolition.
109.— W ages as preferred claims— In assignments , etc.
[This act amends section 7976, Burns A. S. 1914 (sec. 7051, A.
S. 1901), by adding thereto the follow ing:]
Provided , That the term employees as used in this section shall
include traveling salesmen, traveling agents, and manufacturers’
agents, whether they are employed under monthly or yearly con
tracts or otherwise.
Definition.
159
IOWA.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p t e r 150.— Mothers' pensions.
[This act amends section 254a20, Supplement to Code, by substituting 16 years for 14 years as the age at which payments on
account of a child shall cease.]
C h a p te r
Amendment,
183.— Public printing — W ages and hours o f labor .
S e c t i o n 10.
* * * The contracts for printing and binding union condilet under this act shall provide that as an assurance of satisfactory tions.
work being performed, those offices doing work for the State shall
pay the wages and work the hours established by the typographi
cal union in the city where said work is done.
Approved April 9, 1917.
C h a p te r
403.— Railroads — Claims fo r personal injuries.
S e c t i o n 1. Section two thousand seventy-five of the code is
hereby repealed, and the following enacted in lieu thereof:
Sec. 2075. A judgment against any railway, interurban railway Judgment
or street railway corporation or copartnership, for an injury to lien,
any person or property, and any claim for compensation under
tlie Iowa workmen’s compensation act for personal injuries sus
tained by their employees arising out of and in the course of their
employment, shall be a lien upon the property of such corporation
or copartnership within the county where the judgment was re
covered or in which occurred the injury for which compensation
is due, and said lien shall be prior and superior to the lien of any
mortgage or trust deed executed since the 4th day of July, 1862,
by any railway corporation or partnership, and prior and superior
to the lien of any mortgage or trust deed executed after the
adoption of the code (1897), by any interurban railway or street
railway corporation or copartnership.
Approved April 25, 1917.
45913°— Bull. 244— 18------ 11
161
a
KA N SA S.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
1.— Department o f labor and industry.
[This act appropriates for the State executive departments, and
amends section 10419, General Statutes. 1915 (sec. 6, ch. 217,
Acts of 1913), by providing for the employment of a second sten
ographer; that the deputy State factory inspectors shall receive
their traveling expenses; that the inspector of fire escapes and
places of amusement receive a salary of $1,200 per annum and
actual and necessary traveling expenses; and that a clerk at
$1,080 and a stenographer at $720 be appointed in the mining de
partment at Pittsburg.]
C h a p te r
Employees,
138.— Mothers' pensions.
[This act amends section 6624, General Statutes, 1915 (sec.
A m en dm en t.
5545, Gen. Stat. 1909, as amended by ch. 261, Acts of 1915), by re
quiring the mother to have two years’ residence in the county,
instead of one, before being eligible for aid. The last sentence
of the section is stricken out, and the following substituted
therefor: ]
And after a full investigation, if said board of county comGrants,
missioners shall find that unless relief is granted the mother
will be unable to properly support and educate her child or
children, or that they may become a public charge, and that the
statements alleged in the application are true, it shall make an
order finding and determining such facts and thereby and therein
fixing and determining the amount of money which it deems neces
sary for the county to contribute toward the support of such
mother, child or children, and that such sums of money or so
much thereof as the board of county commissioners shall deem
necessary and proper shall be paid to such mother for said child
or children as directed and prescribed by the board of county
commissioners: Provided , That any such payments of money may
be increased temporarily by the board of county commissioners
in case of sickness or unusual condition, and decreased in like
manner when deemed unnecessary: And provided f urther, That
the court may, in its discretion, order the amount of aid to be
given in supplies instead of money.
[The following was also added:]
S e c . 2. A certified copy of such findings and order of the board
€opy to be
of county commissioners shall be filed with the county clerk of filed,
the county where such proceedings are had, and thereupon and
thereafter, and so long as such order remains in force, it shall
be the duty of the county clerk each month to draw his warrant
on the general fund of the county in favor of the person and for
the amount specified in such findings and order. Such warrants
shall be delivered to the person designated in said findings and
order upon the executing of a duplicate receipt therefor, one to
be filed with the juvenile court, and one to be filed with the county
clerk. It shall be the duty of the county treasurer to pay such
warrant out of the funds in the general revenue fund of the
county when properly presented. But nothing in this act shall be
construed as repealing any laws now in force giving the county
commissioners power to grant aid to the poor in their respective
counties: Provided, That it shall be unlawful for any attorney
163
164
LABOR ■LEGISliA'TION OF 1911.
Jurisdiction.
to receive any fee for bringing the proceedings in the juvenile
court provided herein.
Sec. 3. The board of county commissioners in each of the sev
eral counties of the State shall have jurisdiction of all cases
coming under the provisions of this act.
Approved March 13, 1917.
C h a p t e r 1 6 7 . — In terferen ce
ivith employment — Vagrancy.
S e c t i o n 1. Any person engaged in any unlawful calling what- •
ever, or who shall be found loitering without visible means of
support in any community, or who, being without visible means
of support, shall refuse to work when work at fair wages is to be
procured in the community, or who shall threaten violence or per
sonal injury to fellow workmen or to employers of labor, shall be
deemed a vagrant, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in
any sum not less than $100 nor more than $500, and shall be
imprisoned in the county jail for a period not less than thirty days
nor more than six months.
S ec. 2. It shall be the duty of all sheriffs and their deputies,
Duty of offi
chiefs of police and police officers, and other commissioned peace
cers.
officers to promptly arrest all persons described in section one of
this act as vagrants who may be found in their community and
to take them before some justice of the peace, city court or police
court in cities of the first, second and third class, which courts
are hereby authorized to summarily try such persons upon such
charge, and if found guilty to pass sentence upon them as is
provided in section one of this act.
Approved March 10, 1917.
Who
vagrants.
are
C h a p t e r 2 2 7 . — Employment
Age limit.
Employment
In mines, etc.
Night work.
Permits r equired.
Schedule t o
be posted.
of children — General provision &
S e c t i o n 1. No child under fourteen years of age shall be at a n y :
time employed, permitted, or suffered to work in or in connection1
'
with any factory, workshop, theater, mill, cannery, packing hoilSe,
or operating elevators ; nor shall such child be employed, permitted
or suffered to work in any business or service whatever during the
hours in which the public school is in session in the district in
which said child resides.
S ec. 2. No child under sixteen years of age shall be at any time
employed, permitted, or suffered to work in or about any mine or
quarry; or at any occupation at any place dangerous or injurious
to life, limb, health or morals.
Sec. 3. No child under sixteen years of age, who is employed in
the several vocations mentioned in this act, or in the transmission
of merchandise or messages, or any hotel, restaurant or mercantile
establishment, shall be employed before seven ante meridian or
after six post meridian, nor more than eight hours in any one
calendar day, nor more than forty-eight hours in any one week.
Sec. 4. All persons, firms, or corporations employing children
under sixteen years of age in any of the vocations mentioned in
this act, shall be required to first obtain and keep on file and
accessible to any inspector or officer charged with the enforcement
of this act, the work permit as hereinafter provided for.
Sec. 5. Every employer shall keep posted in a conspicuous place
near the principal entrance, in any establishment where children
under sixteen years of age are employed, permitted or suffered to
work, a notice stating the maximum number of hours such child
may be required, or permitted to work, on each day of the week,
the hours of commencing and stopping work and the hours allowed
for dinner or other meals. The form for such notice shall be
furnished by the commissioner of labor, and the employment of
any child for a longer time in any day than so stated, or at any
time other than as stated in said notice, shall be deemed a
Violation of the provisions of this act.
TEXT OF 'lA W S ^ K A N S A S .
165
Issue of per
S ec. 6. The superintendent of schools or his duly authorized
mits.
representative, or the judge of the juvenile court, shall issue a
work permit only after he has received, examined, approved, and
filed the following papers duly executed, nam ely:
Papers.
First. A written statement signed by the person for whom the
child expects to work, or by some one duly authorized by such
person, stating the occupation at which he intends to employ such
child.
Second. The school record of such child properly filled out and
signed by the principal of the school last attended, setting forth
that such child has completed the course of study prescribed for
elementary schools by the State board of education.
In case
such school record is not available then the official issuing the
permit shall cause such child to be examined to determine whether
or not such child has the educational qualifications equivalent to a
completion of the elementary course of study prescribed by the
State board of education, and shall file in the office a statement
setting forth the result of such examination: Provided, That a
permit may be issued to allow a child who has not completed the
course of study provided for herein to work when school is not in
session in the district in which such child resides, subject to all
the other limitations of this act.
Third. Evidence of age of the child, showing that the child is
fourteen years of a ge ; and the State commissioner of labor shall
be, and hereby is authorized, empowered, and directed to make
and prescribe, and from time to time to change and amend such
rules and regulations, not in conflict with this act, as he may
deem necessary and proper to secure satisfactory evidence of the
age of the child applying for a work permit: Provided, how ever ,
That the evidence of age, and the manner of preparing and pro
ducing such evidence, required under such rules and regulations,
shall comply substantially with the requirements as to proof of
age prescribed by any rules and regulations made pursuant to the
act of Congress entitled, “ An act to prevent interstate commerce
in the products of child labor, and for other purposes, approved
September first, nineteen hundred and sixteen,” and any amend
ments thereto hereafter made.
Contents o f
S e c . 7. Every work permit shall state the name, sex, the date
permits.
and place of birth, and the place of residence, and describe the
color of the hair and eyes, and the height and weight of such
child, and shall contain a statement of the proof of age accepted
and shall verify that the papers required by the preceding sec
tions have been duly examined, approved, and filed, and that the
child named in such permit has appeared before the official is
suing the permit and has been examined. Every such permit shall
be signed in the presence of the official issuing the same, by the
Child in whose name it is issued. It shall show the date of its
issue.
Duplicates.
S e c . 8. The permits provided for under this act shall be issued
upon blanks furnished by the commissioner of labor and shall
be made out in duplicate; one of such duplicates shall be
forthwith returned to the commissioner of labor, by the party is
suing the same, with a statement of the character and substance
of the evidence offered prior to the issuance of such permit.
Such permit shall be sufficient protection to the employer of any
child as to the age of such child, except when such employer has
actual knowledge of the falsity of such permit.
S e c . 9. On the termination of the employment of a child whose
Permits t o
work permit is on file, such permit shall be returned by the em be returned.
ployer within two days to the official who issued the sam e; upon
receipt of which the official shall transmit the same or a copy of
the same to the State commissioner of labor.
S e c . 10. Whenever it shall appear to the commissioner of labor
Revocation.
that any permit has been improperly or illegally issued or that
the physical or moral welfare of such child could be best served
by the revocation of such permit, he may forthwith revoke the
166
mentn
Violations.
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
same, and sliall then notify the person employing such child and
the child holding such permit of such revocation.
S e c . 11. It shall be the duty of the State factory inspector, State
inspector of mines and their deputies, to inspect the permits and
lists hereinabove provided for, to examine children employed in
factories, workshops, theatres, elevators, packing houses and
mines, and the vocations mentioned in sections one and two of
this act, as to their age and education, and to file complaints in
any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of
this act, and it shall be the duty of the county attorney of the
proper county to appear and prosecute all complaints so filed.
g EC. 12 . Any person, firm or corporation employing any person
or child in violation of. any provision of this act, or permitting or
conniving at such violation, shall be deemed guilty of a misde
meanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not
less than $25 nor more than $100, or by imprisonment in the
county jail for a period of not less than thirty days nor more than
ninety days.
Approved March 10, 1917.
C h a p te r
228.— F actory , etc., regulations — Inspection.
S e c t i o n 1. Section 10425 of General Statutes of 1915 [sec. 8019,
q. § 1909] is hereby amended to read as follow s:
Sec. 10425. The commissioner of labor and industry as State
factory inspector, his deputies, assistants and special agents, shall
have power to enter any factory or mill, workshop, private works
or State institution having shops or factories, mercantile estab
lishment, laundry or any other place of business where and when
labor is being performed, when the same are open or in operation,
for the purpose of gathering facts and statistics such as are con
templated by this act, and to examine into the methods of protec
tion from danger to employees and the sanitary conditions in and
around such buildings and places and to keep a record thereof of
N o t i c e of such inspection. I f it shall be found upon such investigation that
dangerous con- the heating, lighting, ventilation or sanitary arrangement of any
ditions.
such establishment or place is such as to be injurious to the health
of persons employed or residing therein, or that the means of
egress in case of fire or other disaster are not sufficient, or that
the belting, shafting, gearing, elevators, drums, saws, cogs 01* ma
chinery, in any such establishment or place are so located, or are
in a condition so as to be dangerous, or are not sufficiently
guarded, or that the vats, pans or any other structures filled with
molten metal or hot liquid are not surrounded with proper safe
guards for preventing accidents or injury to those employed at, or
near them, or that the construction or condition of any building or
buildings, or any boiler, machinery or other appurtenance in or
about any place as described in this section is such as to be dan
gerous or injurious to the persons employed or residing therein, or
that the methods of operation are such as to be unnecessarily
dangerous or injurious to the persons employed or residing therein,
or that any other condition which is within the control of the
owner, proprietor, agent, or lessee of any such building, estab
lishment or place be found to be dangerous or injurious to any
persons employed therein or to any other person or persons,, the
officer making such inspection shall notify in writing the owner,
proprietor, agent, or lessee of such building, establishment, or
place, to provide such safeguards or safety devices, or to make
such alterations or additions or to make the changes in methods
of operation by him deemed necessary for the safety and protec
tion of the employees or other persons endangered by such con
ditions, and it shall be the duty of the person or persons receiving
Employer to such notice to use all proper diligence to comply with the recomreport.
mendations contained in said notice, and immediately upon com
pletion. thereof to mail 01* deliver a written notice to the commis
sioner of labor at Topeka, Kansas, stating that said safeguards or
E n t e r i n g
factories, etc.
TEXT OF LAWS'- tt-K AN SAS.
167
safety devices have been provided or that said alterations or ad
ditions or changes in methods of operation have been fully made,
and if such safeguards or safety devices are not provided, or said
Failure t o
alterations or additions, or changes in methods of operation are
make changes.
not made, and the commissioner of labor notified thereof, as pro
vided herein, within thirty days, or within such time as such
safeguards or safety devices can be provided or said alterations
or additions or said changes in methods of operation can be made,
and the commissioner of labor notified thereof, with proper dili
gence upon the part of such owner, proprietor, agent or lessee,
said owner, proprietor, agent or lessee so notified shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon complaint of the commissioner
of labor, as State factory inspector, or his deputy or special agent,
before a court of competent jurisdiction, and upon conviction
thereof shall be fined in a sum of not less than $25 nor i#ore than
$200, or by imprisonment not more than ninety days, or by both
such fine and imprisonment. No person, firm or corporation, nor
Removing
any officer, agent or employee thereof, shall remove or require to
safeguards.
be removed, or made ineffective any practical safeguard around or
safety attachment to any machinery, vats, pan, or other apparatus
or device mentioned in this section while the same is in use, except
for the purpose of immediately making repairs thereto, and all
safeguards or safety attachments so removed shall be promptly re
placed before the said dangerous machine, apparatus or device is
put into use or operation, and any. person, firm, or corporation, or
any officer, agent or employee thereof who shall require or permit
such unnecessarily dangerous machine, apparatus or device under
his or their control to be used or operated without said safeguard
being in proper place and condition for the safety and protection
of the operator or other person or persons, or who shall require or
permit the continuance of such unnecessarily dangerous or inju
rious method of operation which has been prohibited by the com
missioner of labor or his deputy by written recommendation, as
provided in this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than $25 nor more
than $100, and each day of continued violation of this provision
shall constitute a separate offense. Any employee or other person
who shall operate any dangerous machine, apparatus or device
for which a practical safeguard or safety attachment is provided,
and of which said person or persons have knowledge, without
such safeguard or safety attachment being in proper place for
the protection of such employee or other persons, shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be
fined in a sum not less than $5 nor more than $25, or by imprison
ment not exceeding thirty days, or by both such fine and im
Orders to be
prisonment : Provided fu rth er , That all orders and findings of the
reasonable.
commissioner of labor and industry under this act shall be rea
A p pea ls.
sonable. Any person, company or corporation dissatisfied with an
order of the commissioner of labor and industry under this act
may, within thirty days after the same is made and promulgated,
commence an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against
the commissioner of labor and industry as defendant, to vacate
and set aside any such order, finding or decision of the commis
sioner of labor and industry, on the ground that such order, find
ing and decision is unlawful or unreasonable. Actions brought
under this secti'on shall have precedence in any court, and on mo
tion shall be advanced over any civil cause of a different nature
pending in such court, and such action shall be tried and deter
mined as other civil actions.
Approved March 8, 1917.
C h a p te r
229 .— Paym ent o f wages in scrip .
S e c t i o n 1. Any due bill, script [scrip], order or orders for
Orders, etc.,
merchandise issued by any person, firm or corporation to any to be redeem
able.
person in exchange for all or any part of a time check, due bill,
LABOR tffiGISmarjOK OF 1911.
168
Violations.
script [scrip], order or orders for merchandise issued by any
person, firm, or corporation to anyone in their or its employ in
payment of wages for labor shall, at the option of the holder, be
payable on demand in lawful money of the United States unless
the due date shall be plainly and specifically stated thereon, which
said due date shall not be more than fifteen days after date.
S e c . 2. Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the
provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor
and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum of not less
than $500 nor more than $1,000 for each offense.
Approved March 5, 1917.
C h a p te r
Board of ex
aminers.
237 .— Mine regulations — Examination, etc., o f em ployees .
S e c t i o w 1. Immediately after the passage of this act there shall
be appointed by the governor a board of four examiners jto serve
until July first, nineteen hundred and twenty-one, and thereafter
such board of examiners shall be appointed for a term of four
years. Two of said board shall be practical coal miners, who have
had at least five years’ experience as miners in the coal mines of
Kansas. Two shall be operators of coal mines in the State of
Kansas or representatives thereof. The four thus appointed shall
select a fifth man to complete said board. The members of the
examining board shall be paid out of the coal mine examiner’s
fund, upon vouchers to be approved by the president of said board,
the sum of $5 per day for each day of actual service, and their
necessary expenses.
O rganizaS e c . 2 . Immediately after their appointment the examiners shall
tion. etc.
meet and organize by selecting a chairman and secretary. The
secretary shall keep on a file all examination questions and their
answers and all examination records and papers belonging; to
the board. The examining board shall convene upon the call of
the chairman. Except in cases of emergency, notices of all meet
ings of the board at which applicants are to be examined shall
be published in at least two newspapers of general circulation in
each county in which there are coal mines at least five days before
the day of meeting.
C e r t i flcates
S e c . 3. On and after January first, nineteen hundred and
required.
eighteen, no shot firers, shot inspectors, gas men or fire
bosses, hoisting engineers, mine foremen, or assistant mine
foremen shall be employed in any mine in the State of
Kansas unless they shall have been examined by the State
board of examiners and shall have been granted certificates
as hereinafter provided: Provided, That men holding positions
at the time this act goes into effect shall be granted certificates
Applicants. without examination. Applicants for examination shall be able
to read and write the English language and shall satisfy the
board of examiners that they are of good moral character, and
not be a user of intoxicating liquors, and shall be citizens of the
United States. All applicants shall be thoroughly examined with
reference to the duties of the positions for which they have ap
plied for certificates. Applicants for certificates as engineers shall
be at least twenty-one years of age. Applicants for certificates as
deputy mine inspectors, mine foreman, and assistant mine foreman
shall be at least twenty-five years of age and shall have had at
least two years’ experience as practical coal miners, mining engi
neers, or men of general underground experience. Applicants for
certificates as fire bosses or gas men, shot firers or shot inspec
tors shall have like qualifications and experience in the mines of
Kansas or elsewhere and shall also have had experience in
mines that generate explosive and noxious gases. Applicants for
certificates as deputy mine inspectors, mine foreman, assistant
mine foreman, and hoisting engineers shall before examination
pay to the board a fee of $2 and if successful a further fee of $3
Fees.
for a certificate. Other applicants shall before examination pay
to the board of examiners a fee of $1 and if successful a further
fee of $2 for a certificate.
TEXT OFj M,£W&^t>K&T$SA.&.
169
S ec . 4. The board shall grant certificates after examination to
C ertificates
all applicants who have shown themselves familiar with the
x a m 1n a'
duties of the positions for which they desire certificates and are
capable of performing such duties: Provided, That certificates of
Grades,
mine foremen shall be of two grades, namely, first-grade certifi
cates and second grade certificates. Certificates of the first
grade shall be granted only to applicants who by oral and written
examinations in the presence of and relating to explosive gas
have shown themselves competent to act as mine foremen in mines
which generate explosive or noxious gases, and the certificate
shall so state.
S ec . 5. Any persons who shall forge, alter, or counterfeit a
Offenses,
certificate, or shall secure or attempt to secure employment by
use of such forged, altered, or counterfeit certificate, or shall
falsely represent that he is a holder of a certificate, regularly is
sued to him, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
S ec . 6. In case of loss or destruction of certificate, the secretary
Lost certiflof the examining board, upon satisfactory proof of said loss or de- cates*
struction, may issue a duplicate thereof on the payment of the
sum of $1.
S ec . 7. All certificates issued hereunder may be revoked by the
Revocation,
board of examiners after hearing, upon due notice to the holder of
the certificate and upon written charges preferred by the board or
by some interested person for violation of this act. Complaint
/
may be filed against a holder of a certificate for intoxication, men
tal disability, neglect of duty, or other sufficient cause: Provided ,
however, That the holder of the certificate so canceled shall have
tlie right to appear before the examining board after the expira
tion of three months and be reexamined, if he shall first satisfy
the board that the incapacity complained of shall have ceased to
exist.
S e c . 8. All fees collected by said board of examiners shall l>e a+ ^ un d
cre”
paid to the State treasurer and credited to a fund to be known as e *
the coal-mine examiners’ fund.
S ec. 9. Anyone holding a first-grade mine foreman’s certificate
pDermitmay serve as foreman in any mine and may serve as fire boss, ted.
shot firer, or shot inspector, and anyone holding a second-grade
mine foreman’s certificate may serve as any of the above, except
as fire boss and foreman of mines which generate explosive or
noxious gases; and in case of emergency any mine owner, with
the consent of the examining board, may employ any trustworthy
or experienced man who shall not hold a certificate for a period of
not more than thirty days as mine foreman, assistant mine fore
man, fire boss, shot firer, or shot inspector.
S ec . 10. Any owner, operator, lessee, or agent of any coal mine
Violations,
in the State of Kansas violating any of the provisions of this act
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
shall be fined not less than $10 nor more than $100 or be im
prisoned in the county jail not exceeding one year, or both.
S ec. 11. The provisions of this act shall apply only to coal M i n e s covmines.
e
Approved March 10, 1917.
C h a p te r
239.— M ine-rescue stations .
S e c t i o n 1. Immediately after the publication of this act the f Co mmi t t e e
governor, the commissioner of labor and industry, and the assis- rormed*
tant commissioner of labor and industry in charge of mine inspec
tion, as a committee hereinafter referred to as mine-rescue station
committee, shall purchase a suitable location in Crawford County,
To purchase
Kansas, for a mine-rescue station and suitable locations in said site,
county and Cherokee County, Kansas, for mine-rescue substations,
and shall cause to be erected upon said location in said Crawford
County a building for a mine-rescue station, or in case there shall
already be a building on the location so purchased shall cause
said building to be remodeled for such purposes, and shall also
LA B O B -LEG ISBAfflO N OF 1917.
170
Buildings.
Space to be
provided.
Appliances.
Superin
tendence.
D u t i e s of
s u p e r i n t e ndent.
Miners, etc.,
to be trained.
Purpose
stations.
of
A p p r o p riation.
cause to be erected on said other location, suitable buildings for
mine-rescue substations.
S ec. 2. Said committee shall call to its assistance the State
architect, who shall prepare plans and specifications for the build
ings to be erected or for the remodeling or altering of buildings
already erected, which plans and specifications shall be approved
by said committee in writing, and said architect shall superintend
the erection of said building under the direction of said com
mittee.
S ec. 3. In the construction or reconstruction of said building,
space shall be provided for all mine-rescue equipment belonging to
the United States Government and now available for the use of
said committee of labor and industry, and for all such equip
ment as may hereafter be provided by the Government of the
United States for the use of such assistant commissioner or of
any mine-rescue department, together with accommodations for
such officers and employees as shall be furnished by the United
States Government to care for and aid in the use of such equip
ment and appliances. Room also shall be provided for officers or
assistant commissioner of labor and industry in charge of mine
inspection, for mine-rescue library, laboratory, and classrooms.
S ec. 4. Said committee shall purchase all necessary mine-rescue
and first-aid equipment and appliances and install the same in
said central station and substations.
S ec. 5. The assistant commissioner of labor and industry in
charge of mine inspection shall be ex officio superintendent of
said mine-rescue station and the commissioner of labor and in
dustry shall appoint one assistant superintendent, who shall be
at said central station, in said Crawford County, Kansas, and one
assistant superintendent at each of said substations, which assis
tant superintendent shall be appointed for a term of two years, and
thereafter such assistants as shall be appointed every two years
by said commissioner of labor and industry. Only such persons
shall be appointed such assistants as shall have been examined for
that place and granted certificates by the Government examining
board; in such case such a board shall be created; otherwise no
person shall be appointed to the office of such assistant unless he
shall be examined in the duties of his office, including mine-rescue
and first-aid work, by a committee of three examiners qualified
in such work, who shall be appointed from time to time, when
necessary, by the governor.
Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the superintendent of stations to
oversee and supervise the work of said stations, and it shall be
the duty of said assistants to see that all equipment in their
charge shall be kept in first-class working condition ready for
emergency and training work. Such assistants and said superin
tendent, when possible, shall rescue men, with all necessary appli
ances when notified of any explosion or accident of any kind in
any mine within possible reach of the station; and such assistants
shall report weekly to the superintendent of stations all such de
tails regarding the work of the stations as shall be required by
such superintendent.
Sec. 7. Said assistant superintendent under the direction of
said superintendent, shall, whenever not engaged in mine-rescue
and first-aid work, devote their time to training miners in such
work, and when possible to train such children in public and high
schools, as may desire, in such work.
Sec. 8. The purpose of such mine-rescue stations and the duties
of such superintendent and assistant superintendent shall be:
First, to aid in all cases of accident in mines within their reach,
and, second, furnish instruction and training of those engaged in
mines in such work, including training of first-aid and mine-rescue
crews of mines.
Sec . 9. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this
act there is hereby appropriated out of any money in the State
treasury, not otherwise appropriated:
171
TEXT OF -L A W S ^ K A N S A S .
For purchasing such site in said Crawford County, and for con
structing or remodeling the central mine-rescue station thereon,
equipment, salaries, maintenance, and incidental expenses, $7,500.
For purchasing sites and erecting or remodeling buildings for
said mine-rescue substations, equipment, salaries, maintenance,
and incidental expenses, $10,000.
Any unexpended balances [balance] in any of these funds for
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and seven
teen, is hereby reappropriated for the fiscal year of nineteen hun
dred and eighteen, and any unexpended balances [balance] in any
of these funds for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen
hundred and eighteen, is hereby reappropriated for the fiscal year
nineteen hundred and nineteen.
Approved March 13, 1917.
C hapter
240.— Mine regulations — Shot firers.
S ection 1. All owners, lessees, operators, and other persons
having the control or management of any coal mine within this
State shall, while such mine is in operation, employ shot firers,
whose duty it shall be to fire all shots in said mine. And it shall
be unlawful for any such owner, lessee, operator, or other person
to permit shots to be fired in such mine oftener than once each
day-or shift, or to permit any such shot to be fired until all per
sons shall have been hoisted out of or shall have vacated such
mine, except the persons employed to fire such shot. And in mines
where mechanical shot-firing devices are used it shall be unlaw
ful to fire shots until all persons are out of such m ine: Provided ,
That while sinking and developing coal mines such shots may be
fired at any time during the day, but no person shall be permitted
to enter such mine after a shot shall have been fired until all
smoke from the shot has been expelled from the m ine: And pro
vided further, That in all strip mines such shots may be fired at
any time during the day.
S ec. 2. It shall be unlawful for any owner, lessee, operator, or
other person in control or management of any strip mine to permit any shot to be fired while any person is near enough thereto
to be injured from such shot.
Sec. 3. In all mines except strip mines and mines equipped
with mechanical firing devices, it shall be the duty of the owner,
lessee, operator, or person in charge thereof to employ at least two
shot firers, and it shall be unlawful to permit any shot to be
fired except when at least two shot firers are in the mine.
Sec. 4. It shall be unlawful for any owner, operator, lessee, or
other person in charge of any mine to permit any shot to be fired
in any coal mine where there is such an accumulation of coal
dust as will make it dangerous to fire such shot.
Sec. 5. It shall be unlawful for any person to prepare a shot In
a hole which has been drilled so as to penetrate the solid face
beyond the point which has been prepared for the sh ot; or to load
any shot wTith mixed powTd e r ; or to prepare or fire any shot with
black powder in any body of coal or other material which has
already been loosened by a previous sh ot; or to prepare or fire any
following or dependent shots; or to prepare any shots without
tamping or stemming the shot hole with incombustible material,
and without using any coal drillings, such tamping to be done
with a bar composed of or tipped with some material which will
not produce sparks; or to load any shot in any case with more
than five pounds of black powder: Provided, That this section
shall not apply to strip mines.
S ec. 6. The preceding sections of this act shall not apply to
mines operated on the long-wall system of m ining: Provided, That
it shall be unlawful for any operator, owner, lessee, or agent oper
ating any mine on the long-wTall system of mining to permit any
shot to be fired in such mine, until all persons have vacated such
mine, except the person or persons firing such shots.
•
Shot firers to
be emPloye<i-
Firing shots,
Shots not to
’ when,
Tw o s h ot
firers, when,
Da n g e r o u s
conditions.
Preparing
s 0
Long- wal l
system-
LAB OB JLSJCrlSi-A'TI© N OP m l .
172
Violations.
S ec. 7. Any person, firm, or corporation who shall fail to comply
with or shall violate any of the provisions of this act shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be pun
ished by a fine in a sum of not less than $50 nor more than $200
or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to ex
ceed thirty days or by both such fine and imprisonment and each
day’s violation or failure to comply with the provisions of this
act shall constitute a separate offense.
Approved March 9, 1917.
C h a p te r
241.— Mine regulations — W ash room s.
Act amended.
[This act amends section 6342, General Statutes 1915 (sec. 1,
ch. 226, Acts of 1913), as amended by chapter 245, Acts of 1915,
by striking out the last sentence and substituting therefor the
follow ing: ]
Condi t i on,
The individual owner, operator, lessee, agent, or company or
c o n s t r u ction,
corporation shall keep said bathhouses in a clean and sanitary con
etc.
dition : Provided , All bathhouses built at underground mines sunk
after the passage of this act shall be constructed as follow s: The
walls shall be built of concrete blocks, cement, brick, stone, or
other noncombustible material. The floors shall be of concrete or
cement. The lockers shall be made of steel, not less than twelve
inches by twelve inches, by forty-eight inches in height: .And
provided fu rth er , That this section shall not apply to any mine
operated on the long-wall system, any mine in excess of six hun
dred feet in depth, or any strip mine or coal stripping.
[Section 6346, General Statutes 1915 (sec. 5, ch. 226, Acts of
1913) is amended by striking out the proviso at the end thereof.]
C h a p te r
242.— Hours of labor in lead and zinc mines — Eight-lidur
day.
Day’s labor.
Violations.
1. Eight hours per calendar day shall constitute a day’s
labor for all persons employed in lead and zinc mines in the Statfe
of Kansas, except in cases of emergencies when it may be neces
sary to work more than eight hours for the protection of human
life or for the prevention of irreparable damage to property, in
which case all persons working more than eight hours shall be
paid on the basis of eight hours constituting a day’s work.
S ec. 2. Any owner, manager, foreman, or other person who
shall require, permit, coerce, or attempt to coerce anjr person to
work more than eight hours any calendar day, in any lead or zinc
mine, except as permitted in section one of this act, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be
fined in a sum not less than $10 nor more than $500: Provided ,
Violations of this act as to each person working more than eight
hours and as to each day the same is required or permitted, shall
be separate offenses.
Approved February 16, 1917.
S e c tio n
C h a p te r
243.— Mine regulations — Escape shafts.
Extension of
S e c t i o n 1. In all cases where any coal mine heretofore in opera
time.
tion in this State, with its principal or main shaft of a depth of
over one thousand feet, and having no air or escapement shaft
other than its main or principal shaft, the time within which to
complete such air or escapement shaft, as required by chapter
three hundred and five of the Laws of Kansas nineteen hundred
and five, page four hundred and seventy-three, is hereby extended
three years from the first day of March, nineteen hundred and
seventeen: Provided , That work on such escapement shaft shall
commence and continue with not less than a double shifting crew
within six months after the hoisting of coal from said mine until
such escapement shaft has been completed.
Approved March 8, 1917.
TEXT OF O^WJ^-rrriRANSAS.
173
C h a p t e r 255.— Protection of employees on street railways.
[This act amends section 8702, General Statutes 1915 (sec. 7150,
G. S’. 1909), by inserting in the second sentence the requirement
that the degree of heat maintained “ shall not be less than is com
fortable and healthful.” ]
C h a p te r
Amendment.
261.— Railroads — Construction of caboose cars.
S e c t i o n . 1. The provisions of this act shall apply to any corScope of law.
poration or any person or persons while engaged as common car
riers in the transportation by railroad of passengers or property
within the State, to which the regulative power of this State
extends.
S ec . 2. Hereafter when any corporation or any person or perD im ensions
sons engaged as common carriers in the transportation by rail- and equipment,
road of passengers or property within this State shall purchase
new way cars or cabooses, or shall build new way cars or ca
booses, or shall rebuild new [sic] way cars or cabooses, now in
service within the State of Kansas, the same shall be constructed
as follow s: Such way cars or cabooses shall be at least twentyfour feet in length, exclusive of end platforms, and equipped with
two trucks of not less than four wheels each, and shall be pro
vided with metal center channel sills or steel underframe, or
shall be of the constructive strength equal to that of a thirty-ton
capacity freight car, and shall be provided with a door in each
end thereof, and an outside platform across each end of said c a r ;
each platform shall not be less than twenty inches in width, and
slip.ll be equipped with proper guard rails and grab irons and
steps. The steps shall be equipped with a suitable rod, board or
other guard at each end, and at the back thereof. The caboose
sliall not be less than eleven feet in height from the rail, with
cupola and necessary closets and windows: Provided , This and
following sections shall not apply where such car so used for a
w^y car or caboose car is a passenger car or a combination pas
senger and baggage car.
S e c . 3. Any corporation or any person or persons engaged as
V io la tio n s,
common carriers in the transportation of passengers or property
violating any of the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty
or a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
less than $100 or more than $300 for each offense, to be recovered
by a suit or suits brought by the attorney general of the State,
and it shall be the duty of the attorney general to bring such suit
upon information being lodged with him upon such violation
having occurred.
Approved March 12, 1917.
ORDERS OF IN D U ST R IA L W E L F A R E COMMISSION.
O rder
No. 1.— Sanitary code for laundries.
1. Suitable seats must be provided in sufficient number for
Seats.
. women and girls to use when not actively engaged at their regular
duties and so far as practicable when operating machines or when
engaged at other duties.
2. Heat deflectors must be installed on body and sleeve ironers
Heat deflec_
of rotary type.
tors.
3. Sanitary drinking fountains, or individual drinking cups,
Drinking
must be provided, in connection with an adequate supply of fou n tain s,
wholesome drinking water.
4. Adequate soap and towels, with proper washing facilities,
S o a p and
must be supplied to all employees.
towels.
5. Separate toilets for each sex [shall] be provided, and plainly Toilets,
so designated. I f any laundry is so located as to make this im
practicable, or impossible, it shall make such suitable toilet pro
vision as may be required by the commission. Doors must be
properly screened and must not be entered by a common approach.
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1017.
174
Ventilation.
Cleanliness.
Dressin;
room.
Cots.
Lighting.
6. Exhaust fans must be provided where necessary to insure
proper ventilation.
7. All plants must be kept clean and sanitary; floors free from
water (except in wash room) ; rubbish placed in receptacles pro
vided, and removed regularly.
8. A suitable space, effectively screened, must be provided for
women to change their street clothes for working clothes; a cot
must be provided and kept in some accessible place in each build
ing for the accommodation of the women employees.
9. All rooms shall be properly and adequately lighted during
working hours. Where the light is insufficient artificial illumi
nation in every workroom shall be installed, arranged and used,
so that the light furnished will, at all times, be sufficient and
adequate for the work carried on therein, and prevent unneces
sary strain on the vision, or glare in the eyes of the workers.
October 25, 1916.
O rder
Details.
O rder
Nine - h o u
day.
Schedule.
No. 3a.— Hours o f labor in mercantile establishments.
No female person shall be employed in any mercantile establish
ment in the State of Kansas,.except during ten consecutive hqurs
of any day of twenty-four hours, and for not more than nine
hours during the said ten hours; and for not more than six days
during each w eek; and no female person shall be employed later
than nine o’clock at night in any one d a y : Provided , That during
one day and not oftener in each week the female persons in any
mercantile establishment may be employed during twelve consecu
tive hours, but for not more than nine hours during said twelve
consecutive hours.
Every employer in any mercantile establishment in the State
of Kansas shall post in a conspicuous place, in the room in which
female persons are employed, a printed notice stating the num
ber of hours of work required of each of them on each day of
the week; the hours of beginning and stopping work, and the
hours when the time allowed for meals begins and ends.
January 9, 1917.
O rder
Nine - h o u
day.
Overtime.
Violations.
No. 2.— Em ployers' records.
Every person who employs women or minors within the State
of Kansas shall keep a record containing the following informa
tion concerning each of such employees:
1. Name.
2. Address.
3. Age: Adult. Minor (exact age, if m inor).
4. Single. Married.
5. Date of employment.
6. W age at which employed.
7. T im e : Hours per day and hours per week.
8. Length of experience in present occupation.
September 22, 1916.
No. 4.— H ours o f labor in laundries .
Nine hours shall constitute a regular day’s work for female
laborers in laundries in this State; and no female person shall
be required to work more than ten hours in any one day, nor
more than fifty-four hours in any one week.
Any such person working more than nine hours in any one day
shall receive for such overtime adequate compensation.
Said nine or ten hours shall be consecutive, except that one
hour shall be allowed for lunch, which hour shall not be counted
as any part of a day’s work.
February 5, 1917.
[The penalty for violations of the above orders is the same in
each case, being a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $100
for each offense.]
LOU ISIANA.
A C T S O F E X T R A SE SS IO N , 1917.
No. 7.— Industrial adjustment — State council of defense.
S e c t i o n 1. There is hereby created a State council of defense
Council ereto assist the governor in doing all things necessary to bring about
’
tlie greatest effectiveness within our State in the crisis now ex
isting, and to coordinate all our efforts with those of the Federal
Government and with those of other States.
S e c . 3 . The members of the State council of defense, appointed
M em b ers,
by the governor, shall be chosen with reference to their special
knowledge of labor, industries, public utilities, the professions, the
development of natural resources, sanitation, finance, transporta
tion, or some other subject matter relating to National or State
defense.
S e c . 4. It shall be the duty of the State council of defense:
Duties.
1. To cooperate with and assist the council of national defense
in the execution of the duties prescribed by an act of the Congress
of the United States, approved August twenty-ninth, nineteen
hundred and sixteen, entitled, “An act making appropriations
for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June
thirtieth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and for other pur
poses,” or any act amendatory thereof or supplemental or addi
tional thereto;
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
4.
To promote the agricultural resources and industrial interests
of the State, and to encourage food production and conservation;
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
10.
To make all investigations, arrangements and plans for the
efficient coordination and cooperation of the military, industrial,
agricultural and commercial resources of the State in time of w a r ;
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Sec. 11. The sum of $25,000, or so much thereof as may be . Approprianecessary, is hereby appropriated out of the revenues of the year tlon’
nineteen hundred and seventeen for the purpose of carrying out
the provisions of this act. * * *
Approved July 20, 1917.
No.
44
(S e n a te
C on cu rren t
R e s o lu tio n ).
— Em ployment
of
worn en — Wages.
Whereas, many men, now occupying positions in commercial,
Equal p a y
State and parochial occupations, have been called into activefor same workservice in defense of the United States in the war with the Im
perial German Government, and
Whereas, many of these positions must necessarily be filled by
women,
B e it resolved by the Senate , the H ouse o f R epresentatives con
curring, That when women are employed to fill the positions and
occupations hereinbefore referred to, the compensation paid to
women, performing the same work as was formerly done by men,
shall be of equal amount to that paid to men.
MAINE.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
49 .— Inspection o f railroads .
Act amended
S e c t i o n 1. Section forty-eight of chapter fifty-six of the Re
vised Statutes is hereby amended by striking out all of said sec
tion and substituting therefor the following:
See. 48, The public utilities commission, or one member thereof, A n n u a l in
spections.
or some competent person by said commission duly appointed,
annually, and at any other time on application or whenever
they think necessary, shall carefully examine the tracks, roll
ing stock, bridges, viaducts, and culverts of all railroads; and
shall annually make a report to the governor of their official
doings, therein stating the condition of the road and rolling stock,
with such facts as they deem of public interest or which he may
require; and all persons managing railroads shall give the com
mission such information as they at any time reqpuire.
Approved March 19, 1917.
C h a p te r
146 .— Em ployment o f children— General provisions .
S e c t i o n 1. Section twenty-one of chapter forty-nine of the Re
vised Statutes is hereby amended '* * * so that said section
as amended shall read as follow s:
C e r tific a te
Sec. 21. No minor between the ages of fourteen and sixteen
required.
years shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in any of
the aforementioned occupations unless the person, firm or corpora
tion employing such child procures and keeps on file accessible to
aay truant officer, factory inspector or other authorized officer
charged with the enforcement of sections twenty to thirty-one,
both inclusive, of this chapter, a work permit issued to said child
by the superintendent of schools of the city or town in which the
child resides, or by some person authorized by him in writing.
Conditions.
The person authorized to issue a work permit shall not issue such
permit until such child has demonstrated his ability to read at
sight and write simple sentences in the English language and per
form simple arithmetical problems involving the fundamental
processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division,
such educational test to be prepared and furnished by the superin
tendent of schools or the school committee of each city and town
in the State, or has furnished a certificate to that effect signed
by any teacher in any of the public schools of the city or town
in which such child resides, or by the principal of any approved
private school; nor until he has received, examined, approved and
filed satisfactory evidence of age showing that the child is four
teen years old or upw ards; such evidence shall consist of a cer
tified copy of the town clerk’s record of the birth of said child,
or a certified copy of his baptismal record, showing the date of
his birth and place of baptism, or a passport showing the date of
birth. In the event of the minor being unable t#o produce the
evidence heretofore mentioned, and the person authorized to issue
the work permit being satisfied of that fact, the said work permit
may be issued on other documentary evidence of age satisfactory
to the person authorized to issue the work permit, provided said
documentary evidence has been approved by the State commis
sioner of labor. The superintendent of schools, or the person
Medical cer
authorized to issue such work permit may require, ill doubtful tificate.
cases, a Certificate signed by a physician appointed by the school
board, or, in case there is no school physician, from the medical
45913°— Bull. 244— 18------ 12
177
178
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
officer of the board of health, stating that such child has been
examined by him, and, in his opinion, has reached the normal
development of a child of its age, and is in sufficiently sound
health and physically able to perform the work which he intends
to do. The State factory inspector, his deputy or agent, may re
quire a similar certificate in doubtful cases of the minors employed
under a work permit. A work permit wrhen duly issued shall ex
cuse such child from attendance at public school; but no person
shall issue such permit to any minor then in or about to enter
his employment or the employment of the firm or corporation of
which he is a member, stockholder, officer or employee.
Approved March 31, 1917.
C h a p t e e 222.— M others ’ pensions.
C i t i e s anfl
S
ection
1.
Every
city and town, shall, subject to the provisions
toWns to pro
vide.
hereinafter contained, render suitable and needful aid to any
mother residing therein, with a dependent child or children under
the age of fourteen years, who needs and desires such aid to
enable her to maintain herself and children in her home and who
is fit and capable, mentally, morally and physically to bring up
her children.
Who eligible.
Sec. 2. This act shall apply to all mothers and their dependent
children, whether or not they or any of them may have a settle
ment in this State, who shall have resided in the State for not
less than five consecutive years -next prior to making application
for aid. No mother, nor any of her children, shall acquire a
settlement or be in process of acquiring a settlement while receiv
ing aid nor be deemed a pauper by reason of receiving such aid.
Amount o f
S ec. 3. Such aid shall not exceed the value of $10 a month to a
aid.
mother having but one child under the age of fourteen years, with
a further allowance not exceeding $4 a month in value for each
additional child; the aid to be furnished hereunder may be
furnished either in money or supplies or both.
State board.
S ec. 4. A State board of mother’s aid hereinafter referred to a s
the “ State board ” is hereby created to serve without compensa
tion, and to consist of the members of the State board of charities
and corrections, ex officio. The secretary of said State board-of
charities and corrections shall be ex officio secretary of the State
board of mothers’ aid, and serve without additional compensa
tion as such.
Local boards.
In each city, town and plantation there shall be, and hereby is,
created a municipal board of mother’s aid, hereinafter referred
to as the “ municipal board ” to consist of the overseers or board
of overseers of the poor ex officio, unless the city by ordinance or
the town or plantation by vote upon warrant shall provide for a
special board of not fewer than three persons, one of whom at
least shall be a woman, appointed or elected for three-year terms,
one term expiring each year, to serve as such “ municipal board.”
The members of such municipal board shall serve without com
pensation as such.
The municipal board shall keep, a record of all applicants
investigated, visit regularly or cause to be visited by some agent
in their behalf the home of each mother aided hereunder; see
that her children are actually living with her in her home, observe
the conditions of the home and of the family and make and keep
a record of such visits and any fact observed which bears upon
the necessity or advisability of continuance of aid under this act
and report the same to the State board.
Applications.
Sec. 5. Any mother entitled thereto needing and desiring aid
herein provided for may apply therefor personally or by letter to
said municipal board. The board shall thereupon cause5the appli
cant to fill out and sign an application blank or shall fill out the
same fronl information furnished by the applicant who shall sign
it, in which shall be stated: First, name of the applicant and
that of her husband, the time and place of her marriage, and
whether her husband is living or deceased; second, the names
TEXT OF LAWS---- M AINE.
179
and ages of her children, whether those under compulsory school
attendance are attending and what school, and if not, the reason
of such nonattendance; third, her .present residence and address,
the length of time she has been a resident of this State and where
she has resided therein; fourth, the nature and amount of any
property possessed by herself or her husband, if living, and her
children, and- the extent and source of their income and h ers;
fifth, the names and addresses of her near relatives and those of
her husband, and of one or more persons to whom reference may be
made for information; sixth, a statement that the applicant will
agree to employ all aid received by her under this act solely for
the support of herself and her children under the age of fourteen
years, and for their proper upbringing in her home. The board
may, if it deems proper, require any such application and the
statements made therein to be substantiated by the oath or affirma
tion of the applicant.
Any person who shall knowingly, willfully and with intent to
deceive make any false statement in said application blank shall
be punished by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment
not exceeding one year, or both.
Investiga*
Sec. 6. When such application has been made to the munic'pal
tions.
board, it shall forthwith make careful investigation by personally
interviewing the mother in her home, looking up her references,
and pursuing such other sources of information as are available,
for the purpose of determining, first, the truth of the statements
contained in her application; second, whether she is a fit and
capable person to bring up her children, and .whether the inmates
and surroundings of her household are such as to render it suit
able for her children to reside at home; third, whether the child
or children of the applicant are attending school, and if not, w h y ;
fourth, whether under all the circumstances, considering her own
resources and the ability of any member of her family to con
tribute to her support, the possibility of receiving aid from other
relatives, individuals, agencies, or child-welfare organizations, and
the possibility of compelling contributions by any person under
legal obligations so to do, such mother is in need of aid under the
provisions of this act, and if so, in what amount.
Report
■Sfec. 7. The municipal board shall thereupon file with# the
State board a copy of said application and a written report em
bodying the results of their investigation and their recommenda
tions thereon, and the State board shall determine all matters in
question and communicate *in writing its decision to the municipal
board. I f the applicant is held entitled to aid, the State board
shall determine its character and amount, which may be less
than, but shall not exceed, the amount recommended by the
municipal board. The town shall thereupon, pursuant to such
decision, pay the same in money or its value to the applicant, or
to some person designated by the State board upon the recom
mendation of the Municipal board, who shall expend it for the
purposes and in the manner set forth in the decision. The State
board may revise its decision whenever it deems it necessary or
equitable so to do, but shall not increase the amount of aid pre
viously awarded except with the consent of the municipal board,
nor decrease it without giving said board opportunity to be heard.
A pplication
Sec. 8. I f the said municipal board shall fail for thirty days to to State board.
act upon and report upon said application, the said mother may
make application for aid to the State board, who shall communi
cate with the municipal board, and if the municipal board shall
thereafter neglect or fail to act for a period of ten additional days
the State board itself shall proceed to investigate the merits o f’
sa^d application and to determine what, if any, aid shall be
awarded the applicant, and the decision o f said State board shall
be of the Same effect and validity as if the municipal board had
in the first instance proceeded according to sections five, six, and
seven of this act. The expenses incurred by the State board by
reason of the default of the municipal board shall be audited by
the State auditor and paid by the State treasurer, who shall coi-
LABOR LEGISLATION OP 1917.
180
Del i nque nt
husbands.
D u t i e s of
State board.
State to pay
one-half.
A p p r o p na
tion.
lect said amount of the town in which the municipal board so
failing to act as aforesaid is located, by an action at law in the
name of the State.
S e c . 9. In any case when application for aid hereunder is made
by a mother who has a husband living, who is able by means of
his property or labor to contribute to her support and that of her
children, but who willfully neglects or refuses so to do, or wiio
has deserted her or her children, it shall be the duty of the
municipal board of the town where the applicant resides to advise
the mother in making complaint to compel such husband to con
tribute to the support of his said wife and children, under the
provisions of sections thirty-eight to forty-one, inclusive, of chap
ter one hundred twenty of the revised statutes, or in filing a peti
tion under the provisions of section nine of chapter sixty-six of
the Revised Statutes; and until such proceedings have been begun,
and are being prosecuted in good faith to the satisfaction of the
municipal and State boards, and until, in cases of desertion at
least one year has elapsed from date of commencement of such
desertion no aid shall be given under the provisions of this act.
S e c . 10. The State board shall have general supervision over
the administration of the provisions of this act, and shall pre
scribe appropriate forms for application, reports, and other pro
ceedings required by the a c t ; said board shall keep a record of
all cases reported to it hereunder and action taken by it in rela
tion to the sa m e; and shall keep on file all reports made to it by
municipal boards; it shall see that families aided hereunder are
visited as herein required and shall have access to any records of
the municipal boards or of the overseers of the poor relating to
any proceedings hereunder. In order to aid the State board in
determining any questions presented to it for decision "by any
municipal boards under the provisions of this act, it may, in addi
tion to their reports, make further investigation in such manner
as it may deem best. It shall embody a statement concerning the
work done hereunder in the annual report of the State board of
charities and corrections.
S e c . 11. Any city, town, or plantation rendering aid under
the provisions of this act shall be reimbursed by the State for
one-lialf of the amount expended after approval by the State
board and State auditor of its bills. I f the mother so aided has
no settlement the city or town shall be reimbursed for the total
amount of the aid given after approval of the bill as aforesaid,
but one-half of such reimbursement shall be made from the appro
priation for support of State paupers. I f the mother so aided has
a lawful settlement in another city or town, the amount of such
aid rendered may be recovered by the city or town giving it in
an action against the city or town liable therefor, provided the
city or town so liable was notified in accordance with the require
ments of section thirty-three of chapter twenty-nine of the Re
vised Statutes, or against the kindred of the mother and children
so aided in the manner provided by section thirty-three.
S e c . 12. For the purpose of reimbursing the cities or towns as
provided in this act the^e is hereby appropriated from the State
treasury the sum of' $35,000, $10,000 for nineteen hundred and
seventeen and $25,000 for nineteen hundred and eighteen: P ro
vided, That any unexpended balances of the amount appropriated
for nineteen hundred and seventeen may be expended for the pur
poses of this act in nineteen hundred and eighteen.
Approved April 7, 1917.
C h a p te r
Repeal.
231.— Em ployers9 advances — Repayment.
1. Section twelve of chapter one hundred and twentyeight of the Revised Statutes is hereby repealed.
Approved, April 7, 1917.
[This section authorized imprisonment in cases where advances
of goods, money, or transportation were fraudulently accepted and
not worked out, the act applying to lumbering operations only.]
S e c tio n
TEXT OF LAWS— MAINE.
181
Chapteb 259 .— Protection o f employees as members o f the
National Guard.
Section 130. Any person who, either by himself or with an-
In te r fe r in g
other, w illfully deprives a member of the National Guard or Naval m en t. emP ° y "
M ilitia o f his employment, or prevents his being employed by
himself or another, or obstructs or annoys said member o f said
National Guard or Naval Militia, or his employer in respect to
his trade, business, or employment, because said member o f said
National Guard or Naval Militia is such member, or dissuades
any person from enlisting in the said National Guard or Naval
M ilitia by threat o f injury to him in case he shall so enlist, in
respect to his employment, trade, or business, shall be deemed
guilty o f a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be
punished by a fine not exceeding $500, or by imprisonment not ex
ceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Sec. 131. No association or corporation, constituted or organ- Excluding
ized for the purpose o f promoting the success o f the trade, employ- g an iza^ ion L
ment, or business o f the members thereof, shall by any constitu- etc.
tion, rule, by-law, resolution, vote, or regulation, discriminate
against any member o f the National Guard or Naval Militia
because o f such membership, in respect o f the eligibility o f such
member o f the National Guard or Naval M ilitia to membership in
such association or corporation, or in respect to his rights to re
tain said last mentioned m em bership; and any person who aids in
enforcing any such provisions against a member o f the said
National Guard or Naval M ilitia with intent to discriminate
against him because o f such membership, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by
a fine not exceeding $500, or by imprisonment not exceeding six
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Approved April 7, 1917.
Chaptek 298.— Assignments o f ivages— W age brokers.
[This act regulates the making o f loans o f money, credit, goods,
or choses in action, in amounts o f the value o f $300 or less, on
Wliich interest is charged in excess o f 12 per cent per annum.
A license must be procured from the State bank commissioner,
the annual fee being $50; any costs o f inspection are additional.
Any license may be revoked for cause. A bond is required in the
sum o f $1,000 for the use o f the State and o f any person or per
sons having a cause o f action against the maker o f the bond.
But one place o f business may be operated under a single license,
and the books and papers o f every licensee must be opened to in
spection by the bank commissioner at any time and as often as
may be desired. The mode o f keeping records must be such as
to enable the commissioner to determine whether the provisions
o f the act are being observed.
Interest not exceeding 3£ per cent per month may be charged,
but shall not be payable in advance or compounded, and shall be
computed only on unpaid balances. No additional charges may
be made, either directly or indirectly, except law ful fees for the
filing or recording in any public office o f instruments securing the
loan.
A statement must be furnished the borrower setting forth in the
English language in clear terms, the amount and date of the loan
and o f its maturity, the rate o f interest charged, and a copy o f
certain sections o f the law. Receipts must be given for all pay
ments, and on the payment in full o f any loan the papers signed
by the borrower must be marked to indicate the fact, and all
notes, mortgages, and papers returned and cancelled. No licensee
may take any confession o f judgment or power o f attorney.
This act is o f general application, and violations o f it are pun
ishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, within the discretion o f
Summary,
*
182
LABOK LEGISLATION OF 1911.
the court. Section 12, which relates specifically to loans on wages,
is as fo llo w s :]
Assignments
S e c t i o n 12. No assignment o f any salary or wages, earned or
to be signed. to be earned, given to secure a loan, shall be valid unless in w rit
ing signed in person by the borrow er; nor, if the borrower is
S p o u s e to married, unless it shall be signed in person by both husband and
sign.
w if e ; nor shall such, assignment be valid unless given to secure a
debt contracted simultaneously w ith its execution. All such as
signments shall be subject to the provisions o f section nine o f
chapter one hundred and fourteen o f the Revised Statutes.
Approved April 7, 1917.
MARYLAND.
Chapter
ACTS OF 1917— E X T R A SESSION.
*
24.— State council o f defense— W ar em ergencies.
S e c t i o n 1. The Maryland Council o f Defense is hereby created.
Council cre
The said council shall consist o f not more than fifty members, ated.
all of whom shall be appointed by and shall hold office during
the pleasure .of the governor, who shall designate one o f the mem
bers to act as chairman. The term o f office o f the said council
shall be the duration o f the present war, and for such period o f
time thereafter as the governor may deem necessary for the
welfare o f the State. The members o f the council shall serve
without pay, but may be allowed necessary traveling expenses
incurred in the actual perform ance o f their duty. The council
may, with the approval o f the governor, employ such clerical
or other assistants as may be necessary, at such compensation
as the council, with the governor’s approval, may determine.
The council shall also be allowed for such printing, advertising,
stationery, office or other proper expenses as may be necessary,
and as the governor may approve.
S e c . 2. It shall be the duty o f the cou n cil:
Duties.
{a ) To cooperate with and assist the council of national de
fense in the execution o f the duties prescribed by the act o f Con
gress o f the United States, approved August twenty-ninth, nine
teen hundred and sixteen, or any act amendatory thereof or sup
plemental or additional thereto.
(&)
To cooperate with councils o f defense or other similar
bodies in other States, in so far as such cooperation is in harmony
with the policies o f the said council of national defense and with
the w elfare of this State.
(c ) To make all investigations, with respect to any and all mat
ters and subjects whatsoever, which the council may consider ad
visable for the interests and welfare o f the State or the Nation
in the present emergency, and to report thereon to the governor,
with such recommendations as it may deem proper.
(d ) To assist the governor in doing all things necessary to bring
about the highest effectiveness within the State in the crisis now
existing.
(e ) To organize and direct such public employment labor ex L a b o r e x
changes as it may deem necessary, during the present emergency, changes.
which shall cooperate in every practicable way with similar ex
changes in other States and with the United States Employment
Service.
Approved June 27, 1917.
Chapter 33.— Compulsory service— Em ergencies.
Law opera
S e c t i o n 1. Whenever, because o f the existence o f a state o f war,
the governor determines that it is necessary, for the protection tive, when.
mul w elfare o f the people o f the State, that all able-bodied male
persons, between the ages hereinafter mentioned, be employed in
occupations carried on by the State, the counties, or the city o f
Baltimore, or any of their agencies, or be Employed in occupations
carried on by private persons, firms or corporations, whether ag
ricultural, industrial or otherwise, and which occupations, whether
carried on by the State, and counties, the city o f Baltimore, or by
Governor to
private employers, the governor^ finds to be essential for the pro
a k e procla
tection and welfare o f the people o f the State and the United m
mation.
States, and also finds that the same can not be carried on as the
183
184
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
protection and welfare o f the people o f this State and o f the
United States require without resort to this act, then the governor
shall be authorized, by proclamation, to require every able-bodied
male person between eighteen and fifty years o f age, inclusive,
within the State, not then or thereafter regularly or continuously
Registration, employed or engaged in any lawful and useful business, occupation,
trade or profession o f any kind, to register forthwith his name,
address, age and any other inform ation which the governor shall
require, with the clerk of the circuit court o f the county in which
such person may be, or with the clerk o f the superior court of
Baltimore City, if such person be in Baltimore City. It shall be
the duty o f said clerks, from time to time, upon request o f the
* *
t governor, to furnish him lists o f the names, addresses, age and
to occupations. such other inform ation aforesaid as may have been obtained and
’ registered. The governor shall thereupon assign, or cause to be
assigned, and, if necessary, reassign or cause to be reassigned,
such persons to occupations as aforesaid, carried on by the State,
#
the counties or the city o f Baltimore, or to private employers
engaged in occupations of the character above mentioned, and
who accept the services o f such persons, for a period which shall
not in the case of any person exceed six continuous months at any
one time. Persons so assigned must in every case be physically
able to perform the work to which they are assigned. As soon as
Regulations, the proclamation has been issued, as herein provided, it shall be
the duty o f the governor to prepare and publish such rules and
regulations governing the assignment o f persons to w ork under
this act as w ill assure that all persons similarly circumstanced
shall, as far as it is possible to do so, be treated alike.
In fixing the period o f work to which anyone is assigned, and
in determining its nature, the governor shall take into consider
ation the age, physical condition and any other appropriate cir
cumstances o f the person so assigned. The rules and regulations
adopted under the provisions o f this act shall make allowances
Refusing t o for such facts and circumstances. Any such person failing or
work.
refusing to do or to continue to do the work assigned to hijn,
and who, in the meanwhile, has not become regularly or contigu
ously employed in some business, occupation, trade or profession,
shall, upon conviction before any justice o f the peace having crim i
nal jurisdiction, be fined not more than $500, or be imprisoned i^ot
more than six months, or be both fined and imprisoned, in the
discretion o f the court or justice.
I n c l us i o ns
g EC> 2 . All persons able to support themselves by reason o f ownan exc uslons- ership o f property or income and those supported by others, shall
be included among those required to register under this act. All
students and all persons fitting themselves to engage in trade or
industrial pursuits shall not be included within the provisions
of this act.
Persons failSec. 3. A fter the issuance o f the proclamation hereinbefore proing to register,
f or> ^ shall be the duty of the sheriffs o f the respective
counties and o f the police department o f Baltim ore City, and o f
any other officer, State, county or municipal, charged with en
forcing the law, to seek and to continue to seek diligently the
names and places of residence o f able-bodied male persons within
their respective jurisdictions, between the ages aforesaid, not reg
ularly or continuously employed as aforesaid, who have failed
to register as aforesaid, and to obtain warrants for their arrest
from any justice o f the peace having criminal jurisdiction. Failure
o f such persons to register shall be a misdemeanor and shall be
punishable by a fine not exceeding $50. The names o f all those
convicted before any justice o f the peace o f failing to register,
together with all other inform ation as aforesaid, shall be sent by
the justices o f the peace to the clerks o f the circuit courts o f the
counties or the clerk o f the superior court o f Baltimore City, as
the case may be. The said clerks shall register as aforesaid all
persons convicted o f failing to register, and report such registra
tion s to the governor as hereinbefore provided. The governor shall
thereupon assign such persons to work as provided in section 1.
185
TEXT OF LAWS---- MARYLAND.
Sec. 4. All persons required to work under this* act shall receive
compensation not less than the wage or salary paid to others en
gaged in the same nature o f work to which each such 'person
is assigned. I f any such person is assigned to w ork for any de
partment, board or commission o f the State, then the compensation
o f such person shall be paid him by such department, board or
commission out o f the appropriation made to it by the State.
I f any such person is assigned to work for any county or for the
City o f Baltimore, or for any private employer, then the compen
sation o f such person shall be paid to him by such county or the
City o f Baltimore or by the private employer accepting his serv
ices. Any such private employer shall be required to execute a
bond to the State, in such penalty and with such surety as the
governor may approve, conditioned to guarantee the payment o f
such compensation as the same falls due. I f any such private
employer fails to pay to any such person the compensation so
due him, then the same shall be paid by the State, out o f any
moneys in the treasury available therefor and not otherwise ap
propriated, or out o f any moneys appropriated th erefor; in the
latter event, such payments to be made on the order o f the execu
tive committee o f the Maryland council o f defense, by and with the
sanction and approval o f the governor, the same to de directed to
the comptroller, who shall draw his warrant upon the treasurer for
the amount thereof as in law provided. In the event o f such
payment by the State, the said bond o f such employer shall be in
default, and shall be put in suit by the State. No person shall be
required to work under this act any greater number o f hours per
day than law fully constitutes a day’s work in the occupation
in which such person is required to engage.
S e c . 5. The governor is authorized to appoint or employ such
assistants as may be necessary, and to use such agencies as may
be available and appropriate, to aid him in carrying out the proviions o f this act.
' S e c . 5A. The provisions o f this act shall not apply to persons
temporarily unemployed by reasons o f differences with their em
ployers.
S e c . 5B. Nothing in this act shall apply to any person engaged
o'r employed in any seasonal business, trade or occupation carried
6n in Baltimore City, or Allegany County.
Approved June 28, 1917.
Wages.
Payment.
Private
ployers.
em
Hours
labor.
of
Enforce
ment.
L a b o r dis
putes.
Personal
workers.
MASSACHUSETTS.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
72.— Regulation of factories , etc. — Lookers.
[This act amends chapter 115, Acts o f 1916, by inserting the
words “ or hotel ” after “ establishment ” in the first section.]
C h a p te r
110.— Em ployment o f ivomen and children — Time for
meals.
[This act amends section 68 o f chapter 514, Acts o f 1909, by
Time
striking out the words “ young person,” and substituting therefor creased«
the words “ person under eighteen years o f age ” ; also by striking
out the words “ half an hour ” and substituting the words “ fortyfive minutes.” ]
156.— Inspection and regulation of factories.
*
1. Chapter six hundred and fifty-five o f the Acts o f the
year nineteen hundred and thirteen is hereby amended by striking
out section twenty and inserting in place thereof the follow in g :
Sec. 20. * * * a building in which ten or more persons are
employed in a factory, workshop, mercantile or other establish
ment, * * * the owner, lessee or mortgagee in possession
whereof is notified in writing by an inspector that the provisions
o f this act apply thereto, shall be provided with proper egresses
or other means of escape from fire, sufficient for the use o f all
persons accommodated, assembled, employed, lodged or resident
th erein ; but no owner, lessee or mortgagee in possession o f such
building shall be deemed to have violated this provision unless he
has been notified in writing by an inspector as to what additional
egresses or means o f escape from fire are necessary and for thirty
days has neglected or refused to provide the same. The egresses
and means of escape shall be kept unobstructed, in good repair
and ready for use, and, if the inspector so directs in writing, every
such egress shall be properly lighted and provided with a sign
having on it the w ord “ E xit ” in letters not less than five Inches
in height, and so made and placed as plainly to indicate to per
sons within the building the situation o f such egresses; stairways
shall have suitable han drails; egress doors and windows shall
open outwardly, and women or children shall not be employed in
a factory, workshop, mercantile or other establishment, in a room
above the second story from which there is only one egress. The
certificate of the inspector shall be conclusive evidence o f a com
pliance with the said requirements. * * * Stairways on the
outside of the building shall have suitable railed landings at each
story above the first, accessible at each story from doors or win
dows, and such landings, doors and windows shall be kept clear
o f ice, snow and other obstructions.
[Section 2 o f this act amends section 55 o f the act o f 1913 by
allowing appeals within 30 days instead o f 10 days as form erly.]
Approved April 6, 1917.
in-
C h a p te r
S e c tio n
C h a p te r
E x its ,
207.— Sunday labor.
1. The cultivation o f land, and the raising, harvesting, L a b o r perconserving and transporting o f agricultural products on the Lord’s mitted*
Day shall not be unlawful, during the existence o f war, and until
the first day o f January follow ing the termination thereof, be
tween the United States and any other nation.
Approved April 27, 1917.
S e c tio n
187
188
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
' C h a p t e r 260.— Employment on public works— P referen ce of
citizens .
Amendments.
[This act amends section 21 o f chapter 514, Acts o f 1909, as
amended by chapter 474, Acts o f 1914, by inserting after the word
“ mechanics ” in the first line, the word “ teamsters ” ; also by
inserting after the word “ mechanics ” in the second sentence,
the words “ and teamsters.” ]
C h a p te r 294.— Employment o f minors— Telephone operators.
[This act amends section 9 o f chapter 831, Acts o f 1913, by
adding thereto the fo llo w in g :]'
Work until
Provided, hotoever, That girls under the age o f twenty-one years
11 o’clock.
may be employed as operators in regular service telephone ex
changes until, but not after, the hour o f eleven o’clock in the
evening.
Approved May 24, 1917.
C h a p t e r 310.— Hom estead commission— H omes fo r workingm en .
Land may be
purchased.
S e c t io n 1. The homestead commission is hereby authorized,
with the consent o f the governor and council, to take or purchase
in behalf o f and in the name o f the commonwealth, a tract or
tracts o f land for the purpose o f relieving congestion o f popula
tion and providing homesteads, or small houses and plots o f
ground, for mechanics, laborers, wage earners o f an y.lpnd, or
others, citizens o f this Com m onwealth; and may hold, improve,
Sale, etc., of subdivide, build upon, sell, repurchase, manage and care for such
lands.
land and the buildings constructed thereon, in accordance with
such terms and conditions as may be determined upon by tl}e
commission.
Terms.
Sec. 2. The commission may sell land acquired hereunder, or
any parts thereof, with or without buildings thereon, for ca$h,
or upon such installments, terms and contracts, and subjects to
such ^restrictions and conditions as may be determined upon Xgr
the commission, but no tract o f land shall be sold for less tl^in
its cost, including the cost of any buildings thereon. All pro
ceeds from the sale o f land and buildings or other sources shall
be paid into the treasury of the commonwealth.
A m o u n t al
Sec. 3. The homestead commission is hereby authorized to ex
lowed.
pend a sum not exceeding $50,000 for the purposes o f this act.
Approved May 25, 1917.
C h a p te r 321.— Bureau o f immigration.
Bureau 'cre
ated.
S e c t io n 1. The Massachusetts Bureau o f Immigration is hereby
established to consist o f five persons, to be appointed by the gov
ernor with the advice and consent o f the council, for terms o f one,
two, three, four and five years, respectively, from the first day o f
June, nineteen hundred and seventeen, as the governor may
specify. One member shall be a woman, and at least two mem
bers shall by nativity or descent be o f the races most largely
represented in the immigration to Massachusetts during the ten
years preceding their appointment. Thereafter, as the term o f
any member expires, the governor shall annually appoint, in like
manner, one member for the term o f five years. He shall fill
any vacancy for the unexpired term, and may remove any mem
ber for cause with the approval o f the council. The governor
shall designate one member to serve as chairman, who may be
known as the director o f immigration. All o f the members shall
serve without compensation, but they shall be reimbursed for
expenses necessarily incurred in the perform ance o f their duties*
and they shall be furnished with suitable quarters in the state
house. The bureau may appoint an executive secretary, clerks
and other assistants, and may pay them such salaries and may
TEXT OF LAWS---- MASSACHUSETTS.
incur such other expenses, including traveling expenses, not ex
ceeding such sums as may be appropriated therefor by the general
court, as it may deem necessary and proper, subject, however, to
the approval o f the governor and council.
S e c . 2. It shall be the duty o f the bureau to employ such
methods, subject to existing laws, as, in its judgment, w ill tend
to bring into sympathetic and mutually helpful relations the
Commonwealth and its residents o f foreign origin, to protect immi
grants from exploitation and abuse, to stimulate their acquisition
and mastery of the English language, to develop their understand
ing of American government, institutions and ideals, and gener
ally to promote their assimilation and naturalization. For the
above purposes, the bureau shall have authority to cooperate with
other officers, boards, bureaus, commissions and departments o f
the Commonwealth, and with all public agencies, Federal, State
or municipal. It shall have authority to investigate the exploita
tion or abuse o f immigrants, and in making any investigation it
may require the attendance of witnesses and the production o f
books and documents relating to the matter under investigation.
S e c . 3. T h e c o m m issio n is h e re b y a u th o rize d to ex p e n d fo r th e
p u r p o se s o f th is ac t d u r in g th e c u rr e n t fisc a l y e a r a s u m not
e x c e e d in g $ 10 ,000.
189
Duties.
Exoensea.
Approved May 25, 1917.
C h a p te r
3 4 2 . — Industrial
adjustments— W ar em ergencies— Sus
pension of labor laws.
Term of act.
S e c t io n 1. During the continuance o f the existing state o f war
between the United States and any foreign country in order to
provide for the safety, defense and welfare o f the Commonwealth
and for the discharge o f its duties toward the national defense as
one o f the United States the provisions o f this act shall be and
remain o f full force and effect, but except as herein otherwise
expressly provided shall cease to operate on the termination of
the said state o f war.
P o w e r s of
‘ S e c . 6. Whenever the governor shall believe it necessary or exI^Sdient for the purpose of better securing the public safety or the governor.
defense or welfare o f the Commonwealth, he may with the ap
proval o f the council take possession:
{a ) Of any land or buildings, machinery or equipment.
(b ) Of any horses, vehicles, motor vehicles, aeroplanes, ships,
boats, or any other means o f conveyance, rolling stock of steam
or electric railroads or o f street railways.
( c ) Of any cattle, poultry and any provisions for man or beast,
and any fuel, gasoline or other means o f propulsion which may be
necessary or convenient for the use o f the military or naval forces
o f the Commonwealth or o f the United States, or for the better
protection or w elfare o f the Commonwealth or its inhabitants.
He may use and employ all property so taken possession o f for
the service o f the Commonwealth or o f the United States, for
such times and in such manner as he shall deem for the interests
o f the Commonwealth or its inhabitants, and may in particular,
when in his opinion the public exigency so requires sell or dis
tribute gratuitously to or among any or all o f the inhabitants o f
the Commonwealth anything taken under clause (c ) o f this section
and may fix minimum and maximum prices therefor. He shall,
with the approval o f the council, award reasonable compensation
to the owners o f any property o f which he may take possession
under the provisions o f this section and for its use, and for any
injury thereto or destruction thereof caused by such use-.
Sec. 24. A. The State board of labor and industries shall imme C o m m itte e
diately upon the passage o f this act appoint a committee o f five on laws.
persons, none o f whom shall be members o f said board, who shall be
approved by the g overn or; o f whom one shall be the commissioner
o f labor, who shall be chairman, two shall be representatives o f
employers o f labor, and two shall be representatives o f wage
190
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
earners; to which committee all petitions, applications and mat
ters arising under this section shall be forthwith referred. The
commissioner o f labor shall serve thereon without additional com
pensation and the other members shall receive such compensation
and allowances for expenses as the governor with the consent o f
the council may determine. Such committee shall be given what
ever name the State board o f labor and industries may select.
Any action taken and all permits granted by said committee shall
have the.sam e effect as though taken or granted by said board,
which may at any time revoke the authority o f said committee,
remove any o f its members except the commissioner of labor, and
may fill any vacancies in said committee, and in the temporary
absence o f any member thereof, the committee or the commissioner
o f labor may fill such vacancy temporarily.
A p p 1i cation
B. Any employer o f labor may make application to the State
for suspension board o f labor and industries or to the committee created by
clause A o f this section, setting forth that a law or laws o f the
commonwealth licensing or regulating labor, or the employment of
labor, or any law or laws o f the Commonwealth in any manner
affecting conditions of labor, interfere with the prosecution o f
w ork which said employer is doing or is about to do, which work
is required by an emergency arising out o f the existing state o f
war, and asking that a permit be granted to him suspending the
operation of such law or laws, or any part thereof, as applicable to
his work or establishment. The committee shall convene and give
a hearing upon such application as soon after its receipt as pos
sible, and if in its opinion such emergency exists, it may grant to
the applicant such a permit. The permit shall contain such lim i
tations and restrictions as the committee may deem proper to
impose, in respect to the length o f time during which, and the
particular work or establishment in connection with which, such
Termit.
permit shall be effective. The permit shall be revocable at any
time by the aforesaid committee and shall in any event become
void sixty days after the termination of the existing state o f war,...
The operation o f any law or laws or parts thereof, shall be sus
pended only to the extent provided for in such permit.
:
Hearings.
C. At the hearing the committee shall permit the attendance
of representatives o f the interested parties and o f such other per
sons as it may deem proper, and shall give notice o f the hearing
to the interested parties and to such others, as it may determine.
E me r g e ncy
D. Whenever it appears or is represented to the commissioner
action.
of labor that a situation exists which requires immediate action
or decision before said committee can be called together, he is
hereby authorized to grant such permit or take such action as he
deems proper, which action so taken or permit so granted by him
shall remain in force and effect only until the committee can
assemble and give the hearings as heretofore provided and render
its d ecision : Provided, That in no case shall said temporary action
taken or permit granted by the commissioner o f labor be valid for
a longer period than seventy-two hours.
Assistance.
E. The entire office force and office equipment o f the State
board of labor and industries shall be at the disposal o f the said
committee and shall be subject to its orders in any matters arising
under this section; and the advice, assistance, and cooperation o f
any other department, board or commission o f the Commonwealth
shall, upon request, be immediately extended to said committee.
Approved May 26, 1917.
RESOLVES.
C h a p te r 128.— Public printing— Provisions o f contracts.
Proposals.
R esolved, That the attorney-general, the secretary o f the C om
monwealth, the treasurer and receiver general, the auditor of,
the Commonwealth, the supervisor o f administration, the clerk of
the senate and the clerk o f the house o f representatives are
hereby directed to advertise for proposals for the execution o f
T E X T OF LAW S---- M ASSACH U SETTS.
all the printing and binding for the several departments of the
government of the Commonwealth, except office stationery and
blank books without printed headings, for a term of one, three
or five years from the first day of July in the year nineteen hun
dred and seventeen. They shall take into consideration the cir
cumstances and facilities of the several bidders for the work as
well as the terms offered; they may reject any bids received,
and they shall award the contract, to be based upon a workingday of eight hours for each week day, except that on Saturday the
working-day shall consist of four hours unless in the judgment
of the official having supervision of the State printing, legislative
or ballot work shall require a full day of eight hours, and equal
pay for equal wTork performed by men and women, at such rates
as they shall decide to be equitable between employer and em
ployed, and to such bidder as in their judgment the interests of
the Commonwealth may require, and they shall execute the con
tract in the name and behalf of the Commonwealth. Bonds satis
factory to the said officers, to an amount not less than $10,000,
shall be given by the party to whom the contract is awarded, to
secure the faithful performance of the contract.
Approved May 25, 1917.
C h a p te r ISO.—Commission
191
Working-day.
Equal pay.
Rates.
on health insurance.
Resolved, That a special commission to be known as the commis Co mm lssioa
sion on social insurance, composed of three members of the senate created.
to be appointed by the president, six members of the house of
representatives to be appointed by the speaker, and two other
members to be appointed by the governor, shall sit during the
recess of the general court for the purp'ose of further investigat
ing the extent to which poverty occasioned by sickness may be
alleviated, medical care for wrage earners and others of limited
means may be provided, and measures to prevent disease may be
promoted, by insurance. The commisssion shall undertake such Duties.
investigations as to the health of wage earners and the conditions
under which they work, and as to existing systems of mutual,
stock, fraternal, State, and other forms of insurance in this com
monwealth and elsewhere as may be necessary to provide a sound
basis for its recommendations, and shall submit a report, includ
ing drafts of any legislation which it may recommend to- the next
general court, not later than the fifteenth day of January. The
Cooperation.
State department of health, the bureau of statistics, and the
insurance department are hereby directed to cooperate with the
commission and render such assistance as is compatible with the
proper discharge of their respective duties. The commission shall
have power to elect a chairman, secretary and other officers, to
appoint subcommittees, and to employ assistance, clerical, expert
or otherwise, as may be necessary. The commission shall have a
room in the statehouse assigned for its use, and shall hold such
public hearings as it may deem necessary with the same powers to
summon and examine witnesses as are conferred upon city coun
cils and other bodies by the provisions of sections eight and nine
of chapter one hundred and seventy-five of the Revised Laws.
The commission shall receive such sums for assistance, travel Expenses.
and other expenses, and for the compensation of its members, as
shall be allowed by the governor and council.
Approved May 25, 1917.
DECREES OF MINIMUM WAGE COMMISSION.
Women’s clothing decree.
1.
No experienced female employee of ordinary ability shall be Wage rate.
employed in the manufacture of women’s cloaks, suits, skirts,
dresses, and waists in Massachusetts at a rate of wages less than
$8.75 a week.
LABOR LEGISLATION OP 1917.
192
Who experi
2. No female employee of ordinary ability shall be deemed inex
enced.
perienced who has been employed in the women’s clothing in
dustry for one and a half years or more, after reaching the age
of eighteen years.
3. A female employee shall be deemed to have been employed in
Term of em
ployment.
the industry for a year and a half if her absence from her place
or places of employment during that period have not been of
unreasonable duration.
Lower rates.
4. The wages of learners and apprentices may be less than the
minimum prescribed for experienced employees, provided—
(a) That no female employee of ordinary ability who has
reached the age of eighteen years shall be employed at a rate of
wages less than $7 a week.
(b) That no other female employee of ordinary ability shall be
paid at a rate of wages less than $6 a week.
5. A female employee of less than ordinary ability may be paid
Same.
less than the prescribed minimum wage, provided that the con
ditions of section nine, chapter seven hundred and six, Acts of
nineteen hundred and twelve, are complied with.
6. These recommendations shall take effect on February 1, 1917,
Decree in ef
fect.
on which date all female employees of ordinary ability who have
been employed in the industry for a year and a half after reach
ing the age of eighteen shall be deemed to have served their ap
prenticeship, and all others shall be deemed to have begun their
apprenticeship, and to be entitled to the rates as specified above.
Men’s clothing and raincoats.
Wage rate.
Who experi
enced.
Term of em
ployment.
Learners and
apprentices.
Lower rates.
Decree
effect.
In
1. No experienced female employee of ordinary ability shall be
employed in the manufacture of men’s and boys’ outer garments
(suits, coats, vests, trousers and overcoats) and men’s, women’s
and children’s raincoats in Massachusetts at a rate of wages less
than $9 a week.
2. No female employee of ordinary ability of eighteen years o t
age or over shall be deemed inexperienced who has been employed
in the men’s clothing and raincoat industry for one year or mof*e.
3. A female employee shall be deemed to have been employed m
thie industry for a year if her absences from her place or places
of employment during that period have not been of unreasonable
duration.
4. The wages of learners an i apprentices may be less than the
minimum prescribed for experienced employees provided that no
female employee o f ordinary ability who, irrespective of age, has
had at least three months’ experience in the men’s clothing and
raincoat industry shall be employed at a rate of wages less than
$7 a week.
5. A female employee .of less than ordinary ability may be paid
less than the prescribed minimum wage provided that the condi
tions of section 9, chapter 706, Acts of 1912, are complied with.
6. ThesQ recommendations shall take effect on January 1, 1918,
on which date all female employees of ordinary ability of eighteen
years of age or over who have been employed in the industry
for at least one year shall be deemed to have served their ap
prenticeship, and all others shall be deemed to have begun their
apprenticeship, and to be entitled to such rates as are specified
above.
August 31, 1917.
Men’s and boys’ clothing, furnishings, etc.
Wage rate.
1.
No experienced female employee of ordinary ability shall be
employed in the manufacture of men’s or boys’ shirts, overalls or
other workingmen’s garments, men’s neckwear or other furnish
ings, or men’s, women’s or children’s garters or suspenders in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts at a rate of wages less than $9
a week.
TE X T OF LAW S— M ASSACH U SETTS.
193
2. No female employee of ordinary ability sball be deemed inex Who experi
perienced who has been employed in the manufacture of men’s enced.
or boys’ shirts, overalls or other workingmen’s garments, men’s
neckwear or other furnishings, 01 * men’s, women’s or children’s
garters or suspenders for more than fifty-two weeks of not less
than thirty-six hours each.
3. The wages of learners and apprentices may be less than the Learners and
apprentices.
minimum prescribed for inexperienced employees, provided:
(a) That no female employee of ordinary ability who has been
employed in the industry for more than twenty-six weeks of not
less than thirty-six hours each shall be employed at a rate of
wages less than $8 a week.
( b ) That no female employee of ordinary ability who has been
employed in the industry for more than six weeks of not less than
thirty-six hours each shall be employed at a rate of wages less
than $7 a week.
4. A female employee of less than ordinary ability may be paid Lower rates.
less than the prescribed minimum wage, provided that the condi
tions of section 9, chapter 706, Acts of 1912, are complied with.
5. These recommendations shall take effect on February 1, 1918, D e c r e e i n
on which date all female employees of ordinary ability who have effect.
been employed in the industry for at least fifty-two weeks shall
be deemed to have served their apprenticeship, and all others
shall be deemed to have begun their apprenticeship, and to be
entitled to such rates as are specified above.
October 26, 1917.
45913°—Bull. 244—18------13
MICHIGAN*
CONSTITUTION.
A r t i c l e III. — Electors— Absent
voters.
* * * Provided, That no qualified elector in the W ho m ay
actual service of the United States or of this State, or any stu- vote,
dent while in attendance at any institution of learning, or any
regularly enrolled member of any citizens’ military or naval
training camp held under the authority of the Government of the
United States or the State of Michigan, or any member of the
legislature while in attendance at any session of the legislature, or
commercial traveler, 01 * any qualified elector employed upon or in
the operation of railroad trains in this State, or any sailor en
gaged and employed on the Great Lakes or in coastwise trade
shall be deprived of his vote by reason of his absence from the
township, ward or State in which he resides; and the legislature
shall provide by law the manner in which and the time and place
at which such absent electors may vote and for the canvass and
return of their votes: Provided further, That the legislature shall
have power to pass laws covering qualified electors who may be
necessarily absent from other causes than above specified.
Ratified April, 1917.
S e c t io n 1.
ACTS OF 1917.
A c t No. 92.— Discharge
of railroad employees— Hearings.
S e c t io n 1. It shall be unlawful for any common carrier by railHearings re
road, its agents, superintendents, managers, or employees owning quired, when,
or operating any line or lines o f railroad in this State and engaged
in commerce by railroad, employing any special agent, detective
or person commonly known as a spotter for the purpose of in
vestigation and obtaining and reporting to the employer, its agents,
superintendents or managers information concerning its em
ployees to discipline or discharge any of its employees where such
act o f discipline or discharge is based upon the report of sucli
special agent, detective or spotter, which involves a question of
integrity, honesty or breach of any rule of the employer unless
such employer, its agents, superintendents or managers shall first
give notice to such employee so reported and grant a hearing to
him when he so requests and upon demand by said employee,
the employer at such hearing shall state the specific charges
against said employee, and the accused employee shall have the
right to demand and be confronted with the person making such
report to his employer, and to have the right at such hearing to
cross-examine the agent, detective, or spotter making such re
port, and shall have the right to employ counsel to represent him
at such hearing.
Sec. 2. Any common carrier by raHroad or any o f its agents, violations,
superintendents, general managers, officers or employees violat
ing any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a mis
demeanor and upon conviction therefor shall be punished by a
fine or [of] not more than $300, or by imprisonment in the
county jail for a period of not more than six months, or both
such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. In
any case of the violation of this act by any of the officers, agents,
©r employees or any such common carrier by railroad, the im
prisonment provided herein if imposed shall be imposed upon
such officers or agents committing such offense.
Approved April 17, 1917.
196
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 191'7.
A c t No. 98.— Department
Salaries, etc.
of labor.
[This act amends section 4 of act No. 285, Acts of 1909, as
amended by act No. 218, Acts of 1915. The salary of the commis
sioner is increased from $2,500 to $3,500 per annum; that of the
deputy from $1,800 to $2,000; and the maximum for factory in
spectors from $1,000 to $1,300. The total for the office expenses is
increased from $45,000 to $65,000. Sections 36 and 37 of the same
act are also amended by substituting $65,000 for $45,000 where the
sum is named.]
A c t No. 171.— Antitrust
law— Certain contracts exempt.
1. Section six of act number three hundred and
twenty-nine of the Public Acts of Michigan for the year nineteen
hundred and five, * * * is hereby amended to read as fol
lows :
Contracts in
Sec. 6. This act shall not apply * * * to any contract of
volving confi employment under which the employer furnishes or discloses to
dence.
the employee a list of customers or patrons, commonly called a
route list, within certain territory in which such employee is to
work, in* which contract the employee agrees not to perform simi
lar services in such territory for another engaged in a like or
competing line of business for a period of ninety days after the
termination of such contract or services.
Approved May 2, 1917.
Act amended.
S ection
A c t No. 179.— Employment
of children— School attendance.
[This act amends section 1 of act No. 200, Acts of 1905, subsec
tions id) and ( /) being made to read as follow s:]
{d) Children over fourteen years of age who have completed
Who not re
quired t q at the work of the sixth grade whose services are essential to the
tend.
support of their parents may be excused by the county commis
sioner of schools or city superintendent of schools from attend
ance at school, on the recommendation of the board of education
of the district in which such children reside, and said board shall
certify to the officers herein mentioned the facts in all such
cases: Provided, Nothing in this act or any other act shall pre
vent children fourteen years of age or over from procuring a per
mit to work outside of school hours, during the school y ea r;
( / ) Any child' twelve to fourteen years of age while in attend
ance at confirmation classes conducted for a period of not to
exceed five months in either of said years: Provided, however,
That any child claiming exemption from attending school under
subdivisions (a) or (b) hereof, shall secure such permit as may
be required under the statutes of Michigan covering the employ
ment of minors, and shall be regularly employed at some lawful
work if physically able so to do, or any child who has completed
the work of the eighth grade who wishes to assist with the house
work or farm work at home may be granted an excuse for such
work. Such child must present to the officer who issued the
excuse satisfactory evidence each month that he or she is actually
assisting with said housework or farm work.
Approved May 2, 1917.
A c t No. 203.— Absent
voters— Protection of employees.
C h a p te r XII.
Scope of law.
S ection 1. For the purposes of this act the term “ absent voter ”
shall be taken to mean any qualified elector, who is absent or who
expects- to be absent from the township or ward in which he
resides, on the day of any election or official primary election, and
who is—
(1)
A person in the actual service of the United States, or of
this State, or
T EX T OF LAW S— M IC H IG A N .
197
(2) A student, while in attendance at any institution of learn
ing, or
(3) A regularly enrolled member of any citizens’ military or
naval training camp, held under the Government of the United
States or the State of Michigan, or
(4) A member of the legislature while in attendance at any
session of the legislature, or
(5) A commercial traveler, or
(6) A person employed upon or in the operation of railroad
trains in this State, or
(7) A sailor engaged or employed on the Great Lakes or in
coastwise trade.
The term “ commercial traveler ” shall be taken to mean a per
son engaged in soliciting the sale of goods, by the exhibition of
samples, or by catalogue or other device, for the purpose of effect
ing such sales and taking orders for goods to be subsequently
shipped by his employer.
Sec. 2. Any such absent voter may vote at any election as here
inafter provided.
[The act then establishes a system of voting by mail.]
C h a p t er XXV.
Threatening
S ection 8. Any person who shall directly or indirectly discharge
or threaten to discharge any person who may be in his employ, discharge.
for the purpose of influencing his vote at any election in this
State, * * * shall, on conviction, be deemed guilty of a mis
demeanor.
Approved May 10, 1917.
A ct No. 244.—Private
employment offices.
[This act amends section 2 of act No. 301, Acts of 1913, by in
serting after the first sentence thereof the following relative to
the bond which the applicant for a license must g ive: ]
Such bond shall be a personal bond with two good and sufficient
sureties, to be approved by the prosecuting attorney or the circuit
judge of the county in which such employment agency is located
and when so approved shall be accepted by the commissioner of
labor.
Approved May 10, 1917.
Act amended.
Bond.
A ct N o. 256.— Insurance— Unemployment— Accident— Cooperative.
P art T h ree ,
ch a pte r
I.
S ection 14. Any number of person [s] not less than five, may
Who may in
incorporate for the purpose of insuring railway conductors, rail corporate.
way engineers and railway officials, first, for loss of position re Purpose.
sulting from discharge or retirement; second, against bodily in
jury or death by accident or against disability on account of
sickness.
CHAPTER II.
Provisions
S ection 14. Every such [health and accident] policy so issued
shall contain standard provisions, which shall be in the words and of policies.
in the order hereinafter set forth and be preceded in every policy
by the caption “ standard provisions.” In each such standard
provision wherever the word “ insurer ” is used, there shall be
substituted therefor “ company ” or “ corporation ” or “ associa
tion ” or “ society ” or such other word as will properly designate
the insurer. Such standard provision shall be:
sj:
H*
H*
#
(12) A standard provision providing for cancellation of the
policy at the instance of the insured which shall be in the follow
ing form :
198
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
(A ) 12. If the Insured shall at any time change his occupation
to one classified by the insurer as less hazardous than that stated
in the policy, the insurer, upon written request of the insured, and
surrender of the policy, will cancel the same and will return to the
insured the unearned premium.
*
Exemption.
*
*
*
*
Sec. 22. Nothing in this subdivision, however, shall apply to or
affect any policy of liability or workmen’s compensation insurance
or any general or blanket policy of insurance issued to any mu
nicipal corporation or department thereof, or to any corporation,
copartnership, association or individual employer, police or fire
department, underwriter’s corps, salvage bureau, or like associa
tions or organizations, where the officers, members or employees
or classes or departments thereof are insured for their individual
benefit against specified accidental bodily injuries or sickness
while exposed to the hazards of the occupation or otherwise in
consideration of a premium intended to cover the risks of all the
persons insured under such policy..
*
*
*
*
*
CHAPTER II I.
S e c t i o n 1. Any number of persons, not less than seven, resi
Who may in
corporate.
dents of this State, may incorporate for the purpose of carrying
Purpose.
Cl a s s e s
insurance.
on, upon the assessment or cooperative plan, the lines of casualty
insurance herein enumerated.
Sec. 2. The classes of insurance which may be carried on by
companies incorporated under this chapter shall be as follow s:
(a) Providing to members indemnity for disability or death by
accident, and disability by sickness, and may provide a funeral
benefit not exceeding $200 separate or in conjunction with acci
dent and sickness indemnity.
( b ) Providing indemnity to members not exceeding $500 to any
one member, for loss of position arising from discharge or retire
ment, in companies composed of conductors, engineers, or motormen of steam and electric railways, or of other similar trades or
occupations.
*
When to be
gin business.
Directors.
*
*
*
*
(a) or
(b) of section two hereof shall commence business, unless it shall
S ec. 3. No corporation doing business under subsection
have procured bona fide agreements for insurance therein from at
least two hundred eligible persons, * * * shall have received
at least one assessment thereon in cash from each of such persons,
according to the rate and plan set forth in its articles of associa
tion, which amount so received in cash shall aggregate for (a)
at least $1,000; for (b) $200 * * *; nor until it has
fully organized by the election of the proper and suitable officers
and the secretary and treasurer shall have given good and suf
ficient bonds to the association to be held by the president of the
association, for the faithful performance o f their duties, which
bonds shall not be less than $2,000 and shall be at least twice the
amount of money liable to come into their hands as such officers
at any one time, said bonds to be approved by the commissioner
of insurance. The president and secretary of such corporation
shall furnish under oath to the commissioner of insurance proof
of such agreements for insurance, giving the name, residence, age,
and amount of insurance applied for by each applicant and the
amount of assessment actually paid by each applicant, and also
proof of the election and qualification of the officers, and the
custodian of the funds of any such corporation shall furnish to the
commissioner of insurance a certificate under oath that he has
received and holds in trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries of
such applicants, the sum required as above set forth herein.
S e c . 4. The property, business and affairs of such corporation,
organized under the laws of this State, shall be managed by not
less than five nor more than twenty directors or trustees, to be
TEXT OF LAWS— M ICHIGAN.
chosen by and from the members at their annual meeting. They
shall hold office for one year, and until their successors are
chosen: Provided, It shall be law ful to designate the trustees or
directors for the first year in the articles o f association.
[Details as to reserves, assessments, etc., follow .]
Approved May 10, 1917.
A c t No. 280.— Employment o f children— General provisions.
[This act amends section 10, act No. 285, Acts o f 1909, as
amended by act No. 255, Acts o f 1915. The amendment authorizes
permits to children 14 years o f age, not only for work during
Work on
vacation, but also “ on Saturdays or other days during the school urdays.
year, outside o f school hours.” Such employment is not to be
restricted to canneries, as is provided by the amendment o f 1913,
but may be performed as well in mercantile institutions, stores,
offices, hotels, laundries, manufacturing establishments, factories,
or workships, or in telegraph or messenger service.
The same conditions govern the issue o f permits for w ork on
Saturdays, etc., as for -vacation permits, and a certificate that
the earnings o f the child are needed for his own or his parents’
support is not to be required in either case.
The unexplained absence o f a child from the place o f his em Absence
ployment for five full working days is to be construed as a w ith child.
drawal from employment, placing on the employer the duty o f
returning his permit to the issuing officer.]
MINNESOTA.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
14.— Departm ent o f labor.
[This act amends section 14, chapter 518, Acts o f 1913 (sec.
3825, G. S. 1913), by oorrecting the reference in the third sentence,
making it to section 8 o f the act, instead of to section 9.}*
Amendment.
Chapter 113.— F ree public employment offices— Cooperative
maintenance.
Section 1. The commissioner o f labor is hereby authorized and P o w e r o f
empowered to cooperate with the Federal Government in the com m issioner
of labor.
establishment, and maintenance within the State o f Minnesota,
of one or more employment bureaus for the purpose o f bringing
together the man and the job. Said commissioner is also author
ized and empowered to cooperate in a similar way, and for the
same purpose with a municipality or municipalities, or with the
Federal Government and any municipalities.
Such cooperative employment bureaus, when established, shall Costs.
be under the joint management o f the cooperating parties, and
the cost and expense o f establishing and o f carrying oil any such
bureau, shall be borne by the cooperating parties, upon an
equitable basis to be agreed upon between them.
Approved March 26, 1917.
Chapter 215.— In terferen ce with employment— Criminal syndi
calism.
Section 1. Criminal syndicalism is hereby defined as the doc
trine which advocates crime, sabotage, (this word as used in this
bill meaning malicious damage or injury to the property o f an
employer by an employee) violence or otliei unlawful methods
o f terrorism as a means o f accomplishing industrial or political
ends. The advocacy of such doctrine, whether by word o f mouth
or writing is a felony punishable as in this act otherwise pro
vided.
Sec. 2. Any person who by word o f mouth cr writing, advocates
or teaches the duty, necessity or propriety o f crime, sabotage,
violence or other unlawful methods o f terrorism as a means of
accomplishing industrial or political ends, or prints, publishes,
edits, issues or knowingly circulates, sells, distributes or publicly
displays any book, paper, document or written matter in any
form, containing or advocating, advising or teaching the doctrine
that industrial or political ends should be brought about by crime,
sabotage, violence or other unlawful methods o f terrorism ; or
openly w illfully and deliberately justifies by word o f mouth or
writing, the commission or the attempt to commit crime, sabotage,
violence or other unlawful methods o f terrorism with intent to
exemplify, l\ read or advocate the propriety o f the doctrines o f
criminal syndicalism, o^* organizes or helps to organize or becomes
a member or voluntarily assembles with any society, group or
assemblage o f persons formed to teach or advocate the doctrine
o f criminal syndicalism, is guilty of a felony and punishable by
imprisonment in the State prison for not more than five years
or by a fine of not more than $1,000 or both.
of
Sec. 3. Wherever two or more persons assemble for the purpose
advocating or teaching the doctrines o f criminal syndicalism
Definition.
Offenses.
Fenalty.
Assembling,
201
202
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
defined in this act, euch an assemblage is unlawful and every
person voluntarily participating therein by his presence, aid or
Instigation is guilty of a felony and punishable by imprisonment
in the State prison for not more than ten years or by a fine of
not more than $5,000 or both.
Per mi t t i ng
Sec. 4. The owner, agent, superintendent, or occupant o f any
assemblages.
place, building or rooms who w illfully and knowingly permits
therein any assemblage of persons prohibited by the provisions of
section three o f this act, or who, after notification that the prem
ises are so used, permits such use to be continued, is guilty of a
gross misdemeanor and punishable by imprisonment in the county
ja il for not more than one year or by a fine o f not more than
$500 or both.
Approved April 13, 1917.
Chapter 223.— Mothers' pensions.
Court m a y
act, wben.
Findings.
Section 1. Whenever any child under the age o f sixteen years
who is not lawfully entitled to apply for and receive an employ
ment certificate is found by juvenile court to be dependent the
court shall, when requested to do so, and in the same proceeding,
make its findings upon the follow ing p oin ts:
(a ) Whether the mother o f the child is a w idow ;
(&) I f her husband is living, whether he is an inmate o f a penal
institution under a sentence which w ill not terminate within three
months after the date of such finding; or is an inmate of a State
insane asylum or hospital, or o f a State hospital for inebriates;
or is unable to labor for the support o f his fam ily by reason of
physical disabilities; or is and for one year has been under indict
ment for the crime o f abandoning such c h ild ;
(c ) Whether the dependency o f the child is due to the poverty
o f the mother without neglect, improvidence or other fault on her
p a rt;
( d ) Whether the mother is otherwise a proper person to have
the custody of the child;
(e) Whether the welfare of the child will be subserved by per
mitting him to remain in the custody of the mother, if adequate
means of support shall be provided;
( / ) Whether the mother is a citizen o f the United States or
whether she or her husband has made declaration of intention
to become a citizen and has resided two years in the State and
one year in the county.
Grant.
Upon the making and filing o f findings that the mother is a
widow or that support is not obtainable from her husband by
reason o f one o f the alternatives specified in subdivision ( 6) ,
together with findings in the affirmative upon the points specified
in subdivisions ( c) , ( d) , ( e) , ( / ) , the courts shall further find,
•and order the payment o f the sum o f money which it deems neces
sary for the county, to allow the mother in order to enable her
to bring up the child properly in her own home, not exceeding
Amount.
$15 per month for one child and not exceeding $10 per month for
each additional c h ild : Provided, how ever, That no allowance
shall be made when the husband is under indictment for abandon
ment unless the court is satisfied that he is a fugitive from justice
and that the mother has in good faith assisted and will continue
to assist in all reasonable efforts to apprehend him.
Order to be
Sec. 2. A certified copy of such order shall be filed with the
filed.
county auditor and thereafter, so long as ^uch order remains in
force and unmodified, it shall be the duty o f the county auditor
each month to draw his warrant on the general revenue fund o f
the county in favor o f the mother for the amount specified in such
order. The warrant shall be delivered to the clerk o f the court
making the order and shall by the latter be delivered to the
mother upon her executing a receipt therefor, to be retained by
the clerk with the other records in the proceedings relating to
the child. It shall be the duty o f the county treasurer to pay
TEXT OF LAWS— MINNESOTA.
203
the warrant out o f the general revenue fund o f the county when
properly presented. No such allowance shall be paid toward the
Child w h o
support o f any child who has become lawfully entitled to apply can W01 *
for and receive an employment certificate or who has ceased to be
under the immediate care o f the mother. The court may for
cause duly shown revoke or m odify any order previously made.
A certified copy o f any such subsequent order shall forthwith be
filed with the county auditor and thereafter warrants shall be
drawn and payments made only in accordance with such subse
quent order.
Sec. 3. The court may require any m other.to whom an allow- P o w e r o f
ance is made under this act to make a reasonable effort to learn cour *
the English language and customarily use the same in her family.
The court may also require the mother to do such remunerative
work outside her own home as she can do without detriment to
her health or neglect o f her fam ily and may limit the number
o f days per week when she may be so employed.
Sec. 4. In counties where there is a county child w elfare board W e l f a r e
as provided by law such board, when so requested by the court, boardsshall consider applications for allowance under this act and shall
advise the court concerning their merit, the sum, if any, which
ought to be allowed and the special conditions, if any, upon which
the same ought to be granted.
Sec. 5. Before making any order or allowance under this act tionsV8St
it shall be the duty o f the court, either through the judge in
person or through the county child welfare board and its agents
or a probation officer designated for that purpose or an official
investigator appointed as provided in section six o f this act, to
make inquiry as. to all the points necessary to establish the right
to such allow ance; and particularly to inquire whether the sur
roundings o f the household, including its other members, are such
as to make for the good character of children growing up th erein ;
to ascertain all the financial resources of the family, includiwg the
ability o f its members of working age to contribute to its sup
port and if need be to-urge upon such members their proper con
tribution [ ; ] to* take all lawful means to secure support for the
fam ily from relatives under legal obligation to render such sup
port ; to ascertain the ability o f other relatives to assist the fam ily
and to interview individuals, societies and other agencies which
may be deemed appropriate sources o f such assistance. Every
fam ily to which an allowance has been made shall be visited at
its home by a representative o f the court at least once in three
m onths; and after each visit the person making the same shall
make and keep on file as a part o f the official record o f the case a
detailed statement of the condition o f the home and family, and all
other data which may assist in determining the wisdom o f the
allowance granted and the advisability o f its continuance; and the
court shall at least once in each year reconsider every case in
which an allowance has been made, and take such action as the
facts then existing shall warrant. All findings and orders pro
vided for herein may be made upon the written reports o f official
investigators with like effect as if based upon competent testimony
given in open court.
Sec. 6. In counties having over two hundred thousand popula- Visitors,
tion the judge of the juvenile court may appoint one or more
persons for the investigation o f applications for allowances under
this act; whose duty it shall be to visit the homes of the applicants
and ascertain all the relevant facts and circumstances, including
the facts specified in the preceding section and make report in
such form as the court may require. Each person so appointed
shall receive a salary o f $1,080 per /innum to be paid in monthly
installments out of the county treasury, together with all actual
expenses certified by the judge to have been necessarily incurred
by them in the perform ance o f their duties.
Sec. 7. Upon complaint being made to the county attorney by a i nV e s U g a t^
taxpayer o f the county that any person is unlawfully receiving an when.
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
204
allowance out o f the county funds on account o f an alleged d e
pendent child it shall be the duty o f the county attorney to investi
gate such complaint and if he finds it to have probable cause to
bring it to the attention of the court by appropriate proceedings.
The court shall hear such evidence and argument as shall be
offered and shall thereupon make its order confirming, m odifying
or setting aside the order complained of, from which decision an
appeal may be taken as in a civil action.
prop
Sec. 8. The ownership by a mother of personal property of the
What
erty a bar.
Definition.
Grandpar
ents.
Fraud.
State board
of control.
Act t o b e
construed lib
erally.
value of $100, exclusive of appropriate clothing and household
furniture and of such tools, implements and domestic animals, as
in the opinion of the court it is expedient to retain for the pur
pose of reducing the expense or increasing the income of the fam
ily or of real estate not used as a home; or of real estate, when
used as a home; of a value disproportionate to the actual needs
of the family, shall be a bar to any allowance under this act.
Sec. 9. The word “ husband ” in this act may denote either the
father o f a dependent child or a stepfather o f whose fam ily the
child is or has been a member. The w ord “ mother ” may denote
either the mother or a stepmother of whose fam ily the child is a
member.
Sec. 10. W henever the court shall be o f the opinion that the
welfare o f a dependent child w ill be best served by permitting
him to live in the fam ily o f his grandmother, all the provisions
of this act shall be so construed as to apply to such grandmother
and her husband in like manner as to the mother and her husband.
Sec. 11. Any person fraudulently procuring or attempting to
procure an allowance under this act for a person not entitled
thereto, by any act which does not constitute a felony, shall be
guilty o f a misdemeanor.
Sec. 12. It shall be the duty o f the State board o f control to
promote efficiency and uniform ity in the administration o f this
act. To that end it shall advise and cooperate with courts and
shall supervise and direct county child w elfare boards with respect
to methods o f investigation, oversight and record keeping; shall
devise, recommend and distribute blank fo r m s ; sfiall by its agents
visit and inspect fam ilies to which allowances have been m ade;
shall have access to all records and other data kept by courts and
other agencies concerning such allow ances; and may require such
reports from clerks o f the courts, child welfare boards, probation
officers and other official investigators as it shall deem necessary.
Sec. 15. This act shall be liberally construed with a view to ac
complishing its purpose, which is hereby declared to be to enable
the State and its several counties to cooperate with responsible
mothers in rearing future citizens, when such cooperation is neces
sary on account o f relatively permanent conditions, in order to
keep the mother and children together in the same household,
reasonably safeguard the health o f the mother and secure to the
children during their tender years her personal care and training.
Approved April 14, 1917.
Chapter £48.— Hours of labor— General employments.
Section 1. Section 3831, General Statutes, 1913 [sec. 1798, G. S.
1905], is hereby amended so as to read as follow s:
Ten-hour
Sec. 3831. Unless a shorter time be agreed upon, or be provided
day.
by law, the standard day’s work for hire shall be ten hours.
Every employer and other person having control who shall com
pel any person to labor more than ten hours in any one day, shall
be guilty o f a m isdem eanor; but persons o f sixteen years o f age
and over, unless expressly forbidden by law, may labor extra hours
for extra p a y ; and this section sha*ll not apply to farm laborers, to
domestic servants employed by the week or month, or to persons
engaged in the care of live stock.
Approved April 14, 1917.
TEXT OF LAWS— MINNESOTA.
205
C h a p te r 321.— Assignments o f wages.
[This act amends section 3858, General Statutes 1913 (sec. 1, Future earnch. 309, Acts of 1905), by limiting the operation o f the law entirely ^gs.
to future earnings, striking out all references to wages already
earned or due.]
C h a p te r 348.— Paym ent o f wages in scrip.
S e c t io n 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporaOrders to be
tion other than public-service corporations to issue to any em- negotiable,
ployee in lieu o f or in payment o f any salary or wages earned
by such employee, a nonnegotiable time check or order. Any
person, firm or corporation so issuing a nonnegotiable instrument
in lieu o f or in payment o f such salary or wages earned, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor.
Approved April 17, 1917.
C h a p te r 493.— Labor organizations— Injunctions.
S e c t io n 1. It shall not be unlawful for working men and
Organi zawomen to organize themselves into, or carry on labor unions for tions lawful,
the purpose of lessening the hours o f labor or increasing the
wages or bettering the conditions o f the members o f such organi
zations; or carrying out their legitimate purposes as freely as
they could do if acting singly.
Sec. 2. No restraining order or injunction shall be granted by Injunctions
any court o f this State, or any judge or judges thereof in any limited,
case between an employer and employees or between em ployer[s]
and employees or between employees or between persons em
ployed and persons seeking employment, involving or growing out
o f a dispute concerning terms or conditions o f employment, unless
necessary to prevent irreparable injury to property, or to a prop
erty right o f the party making the application, for which injury
there is no adequate remedy at law, and such property or prop
erty right must be described with particularity in the application,
which must be in writing and sworn to by the applicant or by
his agent or attorney.
Sec. 3. No restraining order or injunction shall prohibit any
What m a y
person or persons, whether singly or in concert, from terminating n o t be proany relation of employment or from ceasing to perform any work hibitedor la b o r ; or from recommending, advising, or persuading others by
peaceful means so to d o ; or from attending at any place where any
person or persons may lawfully be, for the purpose o f peacefully
obtaining or communicating information, or from peacefully per
suading any such person to abstain from w ork in g ; or from
ceasing to patronize any party to such dispute; or from recom
mending, advising, or persuading others by peaceful and law ful
means, so to d o ; or from paying or giving to, or withholding from,
any person engaged in such dispute, any strike benefits or other
moneys or things o f value; or from peaceably assembling in a
lawful manner, and for law ful purposes; or from doing any act
or thing which might law fully be done in the absence o f such dis
pute by a single in dividu al; or [nor] shall any o f the acts specified
in this section be considered or held to be illegal or unlawful in
any court o f the State.
Sec. 4. The labor of a human being is not a commodity or article
Labor not a
of commerce, and the right to enter into the relation o f employer commodltyand employee, or to change that relation , or to assume and create
a new relation for employer and em ployee; or to perform and
carry on business with any person in any p la ce ; or to work and
labor as an employee, shall be held and construed to be a per
sonal, and not a property right. In all cases involving the viola
tion o f the contract o f employment, either by the employee or em
ployer where no irreparable damage is about to be committed upon
the property or property right o f either, no injunction shall be
granted, but the parties shall be left to their remedy at law.
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
206
A g r e ements
S ec. 5. No person shall be indicted, prosecuted, or tried in any
not indictable. court o f this State for entering into or carrying on any arrange
When
does not
ply-
ment, agreement, or combination between themselves made with
a view o f lessening the number o f hours o f labor or increasing
wages or bettering the condition o f workingmen, or for any act
done in pursuance thereof, unless such act is in itself forbidden
by law if done by a single individual.
act
Sec. 6. Nothing in this act shall hamper or curtail or in any
ap manner take away the power o f the executive department of gov
ernment, or o f the courts wThere there is threatened any irrepara
ble injury to business or property by reason o f violence, threats
or other unlawful acts, or where crim inal syndicalism, as herein
after defined, or the acts constituting the same, are in volved ;
and criminal syndicalism is hereby defined to be the doctrine
w hich advocates crime, sabotage, violence, or other unlawful
methods o f terrorism as a means o f accomplishing industrial,
social or political reform.
Approved April 21, 1917.
[An act of the Massachusetts Legislature, quite similar to the
foregoing (ch. 778, Acts of 1914), was held unconstitutional by
the supreme judicial court of that State. Bogni v. Perotti (1916),
112 N. E. 853; Bui. No. 224, p. 181.]
MISSOURI.
ACTS OF 1917.
M others* pensions.
[Page 151.]
Money to be
S e c t i o n 1. The county court in every county which now has cr
appropriated.
hereafter may have a population o f less than tw o hundred and
fifty thousand shall appropriate out o f the moneys in the county
treasury not otherwise appropriated, and place at the disposal o f
the county board o f welfare, such sums as may be necessary to pro
vide for the support o f needy mothers in accordance with the pro
visions o f this act.
Who entitled
S e c . 2. Any needy mother having the custody o f a dependent
to benefits.
child or childrn under the age o f sixteen years, and any needy
woman about to become a mother, who is a resident o f a county
and has resided therein for at least one year shall be entitled as
hereinafter provided, to the benefits o f this a rticle : Provided, That
the father o f such child or children, or expected child, is either
dead, or in any hospital for the insane or for the feeble-minded
or epileptic, in prison, or is permanently incapacitated to earn a
living, or has deserted her or such child or ch ildren ; or provided
that she is divorced from the father.
Al l owanc e s
S e c . 3a. Monthly allowances to mothers o f dependent children
shall be made by the county board o f public w elfare upon the made, when.
follow ing conditions; (a ) The dependent child or children must be
living with the mother during the period in which support is
p rovid ed ; ( b ) the allowance shall be made only when in the ab
sence o f such allowance the mother would be required to w ork
regularly away from her home and children, and w^hen by means
of such allowance, she would be able to remain at home with her
child or children; (c ) the mother must in the judgment o f the
county board of public welfare, be a person morally, mentally
and physically fit and competent to rear her children. ( d ) Such
allowance shall in the judgment of the county board o f public
welfare be necessary to save the child or children from neglect.
(e ) No allowance shall be made in any case except when after
Investigation by the said county board, it has been ascertained
that there are no relatives able or willing to aid in the support o f
the child or children.
Mat e r ni t y
S e c . 3b. Monthly allowances to expectant mothers shall be allowances.
made by the county board o f public welfare upon the follow ing
conditions: (a ) The allowance shall not commence prior to three
w^eeks before childbirth and shall not continue longer than three
weeks after childbirth. ( b ) Such allowance shall in the judg
ment o f the county board o f public w elfare be necessary to save
the mother and child from n eglect; (c ) no allowance shall be made
in any case except when after investigation by the said county
board it has been ascertained that there are no relatives able or
w illing to aid in the support o f the mother and child.
S e c . 4. The amount o f allowance to such needy mothers as
Amounts.
shall be adjudged entitled to the benefits o f this act shall be
sufficient and adequate to enable the mother where she has a de
pendent child or children to rear such child or children properly.
It shall not be more than $16 per month when the mother has only
one child under the age o f sixteen y e a r s ; and not less than $8 a
month for each additional child under the age o f sixteen years:
Provided, That in no case shall a larger allowance than $40 a
month be made.
S e c . 5. S h o u ld th e fu n d herein a u th o r iz e d to be a p p r o p ria te d ,
b e sufficient to p e rm it an a llo w a n c e to o n ly a p a r t o f th e p e rso n s
c o m in g w ith in th e p r o v is io n s o f th is a c t, th e c o u n ty b o a r d o f
Selections
207
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
208
public w elfare shall select those cases in most urgent need o f such
allowance.
Children able
S e c . 6. W henever any child, in whose behalf an allowance
to work.
under the provisions o f this act has been made, shall reach the age
of sixteen years such allowance shall cease: Provided, That the
county board o f public welfare, in its discretion, at any time
before such child reaches such age o f sixteen years may discon
tinue or m odify such allowance within the restrictions as to the
amount prescribed by section four o f this article. It shall be the
duty of the county board o f public w elfare to investigate at least
semiannually, every case in which an allowance has been made,
and to determine whether such allowance should be discontinued
or modified.
Fraud.
S e c . 7. Any person procuring, or attempting to procure any
allowance for a person not entitled thereto, shall be guilty o f a
misdemeanor and on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a
fine o f not less than $100 or more than $500 or by imprisonment
in the county ja il for a period o f not more than one year, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.
S e c . 8. In each case where allowance is made to any woman
Records.
under the provisions o f this act, the board o f county welfare shall
make and keep a record o f such allowance and of all payments
made under it.
Enf orco
S e c . 10. I f for any reason' the county does not contain a
ment.
“ board o f county welfare ” then the county court shall carry out
the provisions o f this act.
Approved April 12, 1917.
Suits for wages— Exem ptions.
[Page 202.]
Act amended.
1. Section twenty-one hundred and eighty-seven o f the
Revised Statutes o f Missouri, nineteen hundred and nine, is
hereby amended * * * so [that] said section * * * shall
read as fo llo w s :
No property
Sec. 2187. F or all personal services rendered by any person act
exempt, when. ing in the capacity o f blacksmith, house servant, or common
laborer, to an amount not exceeding $90, no property shall be
exempt from seizure and sale under execu tion : Provided, That
suit be instituted to recover the same within * * *
[six
months].
Approved April 12, 1917.
S e c t io n
Railroads— Em ployees to read English.
[Page 242.]
S e c t i o n 1. All companies, corporations, lessees, owners, oper
Kno wl e dge
of English re ators, or receivers o f any. railroad or railway company operating
quired.
a railroad or railway in whole or in part in this State, are hereby
Violations.
prohibited from employing any person as a flagman for section
crews or extra track gangs, who are not and [sic] able to read,
write and speak the English language plainly.
S e c . 2. Any railroad or railway company, owner, operator,
receiver, or lessee, or the officer o f any railroad or railway com
pany, owner, operator, receiver or lessee, violating, causing, or
permitting to be violated the provisions o f this act, shall be
deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be
punished by a fine o f not less than $25 nor more than $100, for
each separate offen se; and it is hereby made the duty o f the
grand ju ry to inquire into violations o f this law.
Approved April 9, 1917.
Voting by persons absent from home— Railroad employees, etc.
[Page 274.]
Amendments.
[This act amends the act, p. 323, Acts o f 1913, by making it
applicable to primary as well as to general election s; also by
striking out the w ords “ or city o f St. Louis.” ]
TEXT OF LAWS— MISSOURI.
209
Factory, etc., regulations— Wash rooms in foundries.
[Page 322.]
[This act amends an act, p. 401, Acts o f 1913, by adding shower
baths to the equipment required by section 1 ; also by inserting
another section, la , as follo w s :]
S e c . la . In all establishments mentioned in section one hereof
all gangways shall be not less than eight feet wide, shall be kept
dry and free from any and all obstructions during all times when
employees are working therein. All such gangways shall have
dirt floors and shall be under water-tight r o o f; all water tanks
shall be so placed that the top thereof shall be not less than thirty
inches above the level o f the flo o r ; shall be kept clear o f any gang
ways and shall have an outlet near the top thereof, which outlet
shall be connected with a sewer or other receptacle sufficient to
prevent the overflow o f such tank upon the floor o f such establish
ment. Every corporation, company or person engaged in operating
any such foundry shall provide and maintain adequate and effi
cient devices for carrying off all poisons or injurious fumes, gases
and dust from such foundry.
Approved April 10, 1917.
Amendments,
Gangways.
Water tanks.
Ventilation.
Railroads— Shelters fo r repair tracks.
[Page 323.]
1. Every person, firm, corporation or receiver o f such Buildings re
person, firm or corporation engaged within this State in the con quired, when.
struction or repairing o f passenger or freight cars or car trucks
used in the transportation o f passengers o f freight by rail, shall
erect and maintain a building or buildings at every point or place
within this State where such construction or repairing is done,
and where six or more men are regularly employed on such work.
The building or buildings provided for in this section shall be so
constructed and equipped as to fully protect all employees en
gaged in such construction or repair w ork from exposure to cold,
rain, sleet, snow and all inclement weather during the hours o f
employment of such employees, providing that the provisions o f
this act shall not apply where ordinary light repairs are required.
The term, light repairs, as used in this act shall be such repairs
as can be made to cars in switching yard in thirty minutes or less,
or which may be made in less time than would be required to
switch such car or cars to the repair building provided for in this
act.
S e c . 2. Any person, firm, corporation or receiver of such per
Violations.
son, firm or corporation who shall violate the provisions o f this
act or shall require men regularly employed by them in the con
struction and repair o f such passenger and freight cars to work
outside of the building as provided for in this act, shall be deemed
guilty o f a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof in any court
o f competent jurisdiction shall be fined in the sum o f not less
than $100 nor more than $500 for such offense and each day o f
such violation shall constitute a separate offense.
Approved April 10, 1917.
S e c t io n .
Mine regulations.
(Page 339.)
[This act amends section 8464, General Statutes, by making the I n s p e ctor’ a
expenses o f the mine inspector and assistant mine inspector expenses.
payable out o f the mine inspection fund o f the State instead o f
the general revenue fund. New sections are also added, as fol
lows :]
45913°— Bull. 244— 18------ 14
210
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
Quarterly re
Sec. 8464a. Every person, firm or corporation engaged in the
ports.
mining or production with [w ithin] this State, o f lead, zinc,
coal, clay, shale, silicate or calamine, shall, within thirty days
after the expiration o f the quarter-annual period ending on the
last day o f March, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and within
thirty days after the ending o f each quarter-annual period there
after, file with the chief mine inspector and the State treasurer,
a statement, under oath, on form s to be prescribed and furnished
in triplicate by the chief mine inspector, showing the total
number of tons o f coal, clay, shale, lead concentrates or galena,
zinc ore or concentrates thereof, lead carbonate or concentrates
thereof, zinc carbonate or concentrates thereof, zinc silicate or
calamine or concentrates thereof, sold, shipped or otherwise dis
posed o f during the last preceding quarter-annual p eriod ; and
I n s p e c t i o n shall at the same time pay to the State treasurer, mine inspec
fees.
tion fees as follow s: On all lead concentrates or galena, 3 cents
per t o n ; on all zinc ore or concentrates thereof, 3 cents per t o n ;
on all lead carbonate or concentrates thereof, l i cents per ton ;
on all zinc carbonate or concentrates thereof, t\ cents per t o n ;
on all zinc silicate or calamine, or concentrates thereof, 1£ cents
per t o n ; on all coal, 2 mills per t o n ; on all clay, 2 mills per t o n ;
on all shale, 1 mill per ton.
Books to be
Sec. 8464-b. The chief mine inspector or any assistant mine in
open.
spector, shall for the purpose o f verifying the statement required
in the last preceding section, have access to the books, records
and files o f all persons, firms and corporations, subject to the
provisions of this act, and of their respective vendees, and agents
o f such vendees, and o f carriers o f the products hereinbefore
enumerated.
Sec. 8464c. The quarter-annual statement required by section
Who to make
report.
8464a shall be made by the owner or operator, or by the president,
secretary, general superintendent or other chief officer o f any
firm or corporation engaged in the enterprises affected by this act.
Approved March 22, 1917.
F a ctory, etc., regulations— Fire
escapes.
(Page 492.)
S e c t i o n 1. Section ten thousand six hundred and sixty-six, Re
Law amend
ed.
vised Statutes o f nineteen hundred and nine, is hereby repealed
and the follow ing new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be knowTn
as section ten thousand six hundred and six ty -s ix :
What build
Sec. 10666. It shall be the duty of the owner, proprietor, lessee,
ings to h a v e trustee, or keeper o f every * * * factory, office building, ex
fire escapes.
cept fireproof office buildings in which all structural parts are
wholly o f brick, stone, tile, concrete, reinforced concrete, iron,
steel or incombustible material and which are not used for
lodging purposes in the State of Missouri, * * *
which has
a height o f three or more stories, to provide said structure with
iron or steel stair fire escapes attached to the exterior of said
building and by stair cases located in the interior of said building.
C o n s t r u c The fire escapes shall extend from the upper story to the ground,
tion.
pavement or sidewalk with iron or steel ladder from the upper
story to the roof : Provided, how ever, That such fire escapes, if
not continued to the ground, pavement or sidewalk, shall be
equipped with a counter-balance device attachment, appliance or
apparatus which shall extend from the floor level of the sec
ond story to the ground, pavement or sidewalk. * * * In
no case shall a fire escape run past a window where it is prac
ticable to avoid it. All fire escapes required by this article, ex
cept as hereinbefore provided, must be o f the kind known as
stationary fire escapes. All buildings heretofore erected shall
be made to conform to the provisions o f this article.
A p p roved A pril 12, 1917.
MONTANA.
AC TS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
18.— Em ploym ent o f women — H ours o f labor — Seats,
[This act is superseded by chapter 70. below, which repeals all
conflicting laws.]
C h a p t e r 30.— H ours o f labor— Eight-hour day on public w orks, in
mines, smelters, etc.
S e c t io n 1. Section seventeen hundred and thirty-nine o f the
Revised Codes o f Montana, o f nineteen hundred and seven, [shall]
be amended so as to read as fo llo w s :
Sec. 1739. A period o f eight hours shall constitute a day’s L i m i t o n
w ork on all works or undertakings carried on or aided by any public works,
municipal, county or State government, school districts o f the
first class, and on all contracts let by them, and for all janitors,
engineers, firemen, caretakers, custodians and laborers employed
in or about any buildings, works or grounds used or occupied for
any purpose by any municipal, county or State government, school
districts o f the first class, and in mills and smelters for the treati n m i 11 s,
ment o f ores, and in underground mines, and in the washing, mines, etc.
reducing or treatment o f coal.
Approved February 15, 1917.
C h a p te r 70.— Em ployment o f women— Hours o f labor— Seats.
[This act is identical with chapter 108, Acts o f 1913, except that
Eight-h o u r
it establishes the eight-hour day instead o f one o f nine hours, and dayomits the proviso for overtime work for extra compensation where
life or property is in imminent danger.]
C h a p te r 75.— B ribery o f em ployees.
S ection 10.
*
*
*
d. No chauffeur or other person having the care o f a m otor
Ac c e p t i n g
vehicle for the owner shall receive or take directly or indirectly bonus, etc,
any bonus, discount or other consideration fo r the purchase of
supplies or parts o f such motor vehicle or for w ork done thereon
by oth ers; and no person furnishing such supplies or parts, work
or labor, shall give or offer any such chauffeur or other person
having the care o f a motor vehicle for the owner thereof, either
directly or indirectly, any bonus, discount or other consideration.
Approved March 3, 1917.
C h a p te r 79.— License tax on corporations— Labor, etc., organiza
tions exem pt.
S e c t io n 1. Every corporation except as hereinafter provided
Tax t o be
organized and existing under the laws o f the State o f Montana Paid*
and engaged in business therein, shall annually pay to the State
treasurer, as a license fee for carrying on business in said State
o f Montana, one per centum upon the total net income received by
such corporation in the preceding fiscal year from all sources
within the State o f Montana. * * *
There shall not be taxed under this title any income received by
Exception,
any—■
First. Labor, agricultural or horticultural organization; * * *
Approved March 3, 1917.
211
212
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1911.
C h a p te r 83.— M others’ pensions.
Who to re
S e c t io n 1. Each child under the age o f sixteen years, whose
ceive aid.
father is dead or an inmate of some Montana State institution,
except the Montana State prison, or who is physically or mentally
incapacitated, which said act o f disability shall have occurred
while he was a resident of the State o f Montana, and who has,
foi a period of one year or more, failed to provide for said child,
or whose father is an inmate o f the Montana State prison and has
for a period o f ninety days or more failed to provide for such
child, shall be entitled to such assistance which w ill help make
it possible for such child to be cared for in his 01* her own home
without being sent to some public institution, said financial aid
to be given to the mother o f said child or children as in this
act provided.
Allowance.
S e c . 2. Each child as provided for in section one, whose mother
is financially or physically unable to support such child, shall be
allowed from the public moneys o f the county in which the
mother resides, the sum o f $20 per month if there is one child
in said fam ily o n ly ; if there be more than one child, then the
sum o f $15 per month for the first child and $10 per month for the
second child and $5 per month for each additional c h ild :
Provided, That the total amount paid to any one mother shall
not exceed $50 per month, said money to be paid to the mother
o^ said child or children,
S e c . 3. The allowance herein referred to shall be made subject
Conditions.
to the follow ing conditions: (1) The child or children for whose
benefit allowance is made must be living with the mother o f such
child 01* children. (2 ) The allowance shall be made only when
in the absence o f such allowance the mother may be required to
work regularly away from her own home and children, when
by the means o f such allowance she can remain at home with her
ch ild ren : Provided, That the mother may at times be absent for
w ork by the consent o f the judge o f the district court, if he should
deem it necessary and if such work does not injure her health
or cause neglect o f her children. (3 ) The mother must, in the
judgment o f the juvenile court officer, if there be one, and if not,
in the judgment o f the court, be a proper person physically,
mentally and morally for the bringing up o f her children. (4)
Such allowance shall, in the judgment of the court, be necessary
to save the child or children from neglect. (5) No person shall
receive the benefit o f this act who shall not have been a resident of
the county in which said application is made for at least one year
prior to the making of such application for such allowance.
(6) Provided, That the provisions o f this act shall not apply to
any child who has property o f its own sufficient for its support.
S e c . 4. Whenever the judge shall determine that the allowance
J ud g e to
under this act shall be made, he shall make an order to that
make order.
effect, which order, among other things, shall set out the fu ll
name o f the mother, her place o f residence, the names and ages
of the children and the amount allowed to each child, and upon
presentation o f such order the county commissioners shall direct
monthly warrants to be drawn therefor, which warrant shall be
paid from the general funds o f the county.
S e c . 5. N o a llo w a n c e fo r a n y c h ild s h a ll c o n tin u e a f t e r su c h
Al l o wa nc e
ceasew, when. c h ild h a s r e a c h e d th e a g e o f s ix te e n y e a r s . W h e n e v e r th e m o th e r
o f a n y c h ild on w h o se ac c o u n t a n y a llo w a n c e s h a ll h a v e b een
m a d e u n d e r th e p ro v isio n s o f th is a c t, s h a ll m a r r y , su c h a llo w
a n ce sh a ll c ease.
S e c . 6. Under the conditions o f this act, when the father of
father a
If
convict.
Fraud.
the child or children applying for assistance has been convicted
o f a crime and ordered confined to the State prison, the county
in which he was convicted shall pay the allowance made for such
child or children to the mother.
S e c . 7. A n y on e w h o fr a u d u le n tly m a k e s a n a p p lic a tio n to r e
c e iv e th e b en efit o f th is act, or w h o m is r e p r e s e n ts th e n a m e o f
th e a p p lic a n t, th e p la ce o f re sid e n ce or th e n a m e s a n d a g e s o f th e
TEXT OF LAWS— MONTANA.
children, in order
deemed guilty o f a
not less than $25
county jail for six
prisonment.
Approved March
213
to receive the benefit of said act, shall be
misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine o f
or more than $500, or imprisonment in the
months, or subject to both such fine and im
1, 191T.
92.— Industrial accident board— Inspection of boilers,
mines, etc.
C h a p te r
S e c t io n 1. The office o f inspector o f boilers, inspector o f steamOffices coraboats, the office o f inspector of mines and the office of State coal bined.
mine inspector are hereby combined and placed under the gen
eral supervision o f the industrial accident board.
S e c . 2 . T h e in d u s tr ia l a c c id e n t b o a r d sh a ll a p p o in t n o t to e x ceed fo u r in sp e cto rs o f b o ile rs, one c o a l-m in e in sp e cto r, tw o in
sp e c to rs o f q u a r tz m in e s, and on e in sp e cto r o f s te a m b o a ts , a ll o f
w h o se te rm s o f office s h a ll b e a t th e p le a su re o f th e in d u s tr ia l
a c c id e n t b oard .
S e c . 3. T h e s a id officers s h a ll re c e iv e su c h a n n u a l s a la r ie s to
be fix e d b y th e in d u s tr ia l a c c id e n t b oard , an d a p p ro v e d b y th e
g o v e r n o r ; a ll o f sa id officers to be p a id m o n th ly .
S e c . 4. The industrial accident board shall district the State for
boiler inspection and shall assign one inspector o f boilers to each
such district, and may from time to time change the boundaries
o f said districts and change said inspectors o f boilers to other dis
tricts and said board shall have the power and it shall be its
duty to provide rules and regulations under which said inspectors
o f boilers, inspectors o f mines and coal-mine inspector shall pre
form their d u ties; and the board may require them, in addition to
their statutory duties, to make the annual inspections, reports
and collections required by the safety provisions o f sections fiftyone a, fifty-one b, fifty-one c, fifty-one e, fifty-two a, and fiftytwo b o f chapter ninety-six, laws of the fourteenth legislative as
sembly. [W orkm en’s compensation act o f 1915.]
Sec. 5. All fees collected by the inspectors o f boilers, the inspectors of mines and the coal-mine inspector shall remain the
same in amounts as now fixed by law and when same are col
lected they shall be paid into the State treasury and credited to
the industrial administration fund as other ii spection fees o f the
industrial accident board are now paid and credited.
S e c . 6 . S e c tio n fifty -fiv e a and fifty -fiv e b, c h a p te r n in e ty -s ix ,
la w s o f fo u r te e n th le g is la t iv e a sse m b ly , k n o w n a s th e w o r k m e n ’ s
c o m p e n sa tio n a c t, a r e h e re b y a m e n d e d an d com b in e d to re a d a s
fo llo w s :
inspectors,
Salaries,
District®,
Fees,
A ct amended,
Sec. 55. All laws that now prescribe the qualifications, powers
consi stent
and duties o f the inspectors o f boilers, inspector o f steamboats, acts continued,
inspectors o f mines and coal-mine inspector not inconsistent with
the provisions of this act are hereby continued in full force and
effect, and all other acts and parts o f acts contrary to the pro
visions o f this act are hereby repealed.
Approved March 3, 1917.
C h a p te r 129.— M anufacture, etc., o f explosives.
S e c t io n 12. No person, except an official as authorized herein
W h o m ay
or a person authorized to do so by the owner thereof, or his agent, enter factory,
shall enter any factory, building, magazine or car containing ex
plosives in this State.
S e c . 1 3.
*
*
*.
It shall be unlawful for any person in charge o f a vehicle containing explosives to smoke in or upon such vehicle, to drive the
vehicle while intoxicated, to drive the vehicle in a careless or
reckless manner, or to load or unload such vehicle in a careless
or reckless manner.
*
*
*
*
*
♦
Approved, February 27, 1917.
Drivers,
214
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
C hapter 171.— S afety o f em ployees— Electrical construction and
maintenance.
Climbing
space.
Section 1. Any person, company or corporation owning or using
any pole or appliance on which is run, placed, erected or main
tained in the State of Montana any wire or cable used or to be
used to conduct or carry electricity for the purpose o f light, heat
or power, shall provide and maintain an unobstructed climbing
space adjacent to any such pole or appliance, so that persons shall
be able to ascend any such pole or appliance with reasonable
safety and convenience up to and through the wires, connections,
attachments and structures o f any such pole or appliance, and
all cases where any “ buck ” or reverse arm is used or where
special construction is used there shall be provided and maintained
unobstructed climbing space of not less than twenty-two inches
square, omitting the area of any pole or appliance.
Space f o r
Sec. 2. At least one standard pole gain, or the equivalent o f four
h i g h - voltage feet, shall be left vacant between the nearest cross arm on which
wires.
is placed or maintained any wire or cable conducting or carrying
more than four hundred and forty volts o f electricity and any
cross arm occupied by or used for wires or cables carrying fou r
hundred and forty volts or less.
The said standard pole gain shall be spaced not less than
twTenty-four inches center to center, except that one “ buck ” or
reverse arm may be placed not more than twelve inches below any
cross ar m: And provided, That this section shall be held*not to
apply to bridge construction: And furth er provided, That it shall
be held not to apply to primary taps to transform ers on poles:
And provided further, That all such primary taps leading to
transformers on poles shall be o f double braid, rubber-covered
wTire o f at least twenty-two hundred volts insulation.
Cross arms.
Sec. 3. All cross arms shall be made from clear, straight
grained wood, or standardized material. The cross section of
wood arms shall be not less than three and one-half by four and
one-half inches. The pin spacing shall be, for six pin arms, not
less than thirty inch center for pole pin spacing, fourteen inch
side spacing and five inch end spacing; and four pin arms not
less than thirty inch center for pole pin spacing, fourteen inch
side spacing and five inch end spacing.
Guy wires.
P r o v is io n s
not applicable,
w bere.
S ec. 8. Guy wTires shall be attached to poles so as to inter
fere as little as possible with workmen climbing or working
thereon. * * *
Sec. 13. None o f the provisions o f sections one, two and three
shall be held to apply to direct current wire carrying nominally six
hundred volts o f electricity and used for street railway pu rposes:
Provided, however, That an unobstructed climbing space not less
than twenty-six inches in a horizontal line shall at all times be
provided and maintained.
Sec. 15. Any person, company or corporation owning or using
Climbing
space.
any pole or appliance used exclusively for telephone, telegraph or
other signal wires shall provide and maintain an unobstructed
climbing space o f not less than sixteen inches.
Whenever “ buck ” or reverse arms are used an unobstructed
climbing space shall be left adjacent to the pole or appliance at
least twenty inches square, omitting the area o f r,ny such pole
or appliance, [ ; ] any wire or cable attached to the pole in such
buck-arm construction not less than forty inches from the nearest
cross arm shall be held not to be an obstruction to the climbing
space as herein provided.
Same : poles
Sec. 19. All telephone, telegraph or other signal wires placed
jointly used. on poles jointly used for electric light, heat and power wires,
shall have an unobstructed climbing space o f not less than twentysix inches. All telephone, telegraph or other signal wires placed
on poles jointly used for light, heat or power w ires shall be
placed and maintained on cross arms, except that brackets may.
be maintained on one side o f the pole not nearer than two feet
TEXT OF LAWS— MONTANA.
215
below the lowest cross arm for the purpose o f carrying duplex
wires or cables to distribute telephone, telegraph or signal wires.
Sec. 21. In all cases where there are two or more pole lines
Same; t w o
used for telephone, telegraph or other signal wires, on the same p
linesside o f any street, alley or public highway, provided such lines
are not parallel on a horizontal plane, the cross arms shall have
an unobstructed climbing space o f not less than twenty-six inches.
Sec. 27. In every generating and substatioi used for light, heat
Records,
or power, there shall be kept a log book or record showing the
changes in the condition o f operation, including the starting and
stopping o f electrical supply equipment, the name o f each fore
man or workman locally in charge o f wrork, and all unusual occur
rences and accidents.
The log book or record shall be signed by the person in charge
before being relieved. He shall keep within sight an operating
diagram or equivalent device indicating whether electrical supply
circuits are open or closed and where work is being performed.
On circuits carrying normally in excess o f seventy-five hundred
volts the operator in charge shall place “ Men at work ” tags
upon switches controlling any circuits upon which men are known
to be working and it shall be his duty to enforce the safety rules
and permit only authorized persons to approach the equipment or
lines.
This section shall not apply to isolated plants, generating cur
rent for telegraph, telephone and signaling purposes.
Sec. 28. There shall be provided in conspicuous and suitable
Pr ovi si ons
places in electrical stations and shops a suitable and sufficient for accident,
supply o f first-aid and protective devices, all o f approved kinds
and qu alities; the kinds and number of such devices w ill depend
on the requirements o f each case, as may be from time to time
prescribed by the State industrial accident board, and it shall be
the duty o f the said State industrial accident board to prescribe
such necessary protective devices. All such prescribed devices
shall be kept, when not in use, in their regular location and in
good working order.
Sec. 29. All circuits o f four hundred and forty volts, or more
Switches ! n
where originating or terminating in any enclosure or building c e r t a i n c ' i x or is used for underground, shall be provided with air g a p cuits*
switches or other approved devices, [ ;] if any o f the above cir
cuits are o f seven and one-half kilowatts or more capacity they
shall, in addition, be provided with an oil break switch or other
approved device which w7ill safely open the circuit under the load.
There shall be no less than two experienced electricians employed
on any work or maintenance to be performed on any electrical
wires or equipment connected therewith carrying nominally [sic]
six hundred volts or m ore: Provided, however, That this shall
not apply to the operation o f electrical equipment nor in cases
o f emergency.
D irect current feeders of two hundred and fifty volts or over
shall be protected by approved circuit-breaking devices.
Sec. 30. All fuses shall be inclosed, or expulsion type, or other
Fuses
approved “ National Electrical Code ” standards.
Sec. 31. Where necessary all form s o f electrical apparatus shall
Grounding,
be effectively grounded for the protection o f persons.
Wherever wires or conductors are installed within enclosures
Head rooc-.
or buildings, in and about switchboards and other appliances
where conductors are run, placed or erected, a clear headroom o f
six and one-half feet above the floor or surface must be main
tained, or the wires be effectively guarded. All apparatus, pas
sages, manways and other places where persons may enter into
Guarda.
must be protected with efficient guards in accordance with stand
ard practice: Provided, This shall not be held to apply to elec
trical machinery and auxiliary devices carrying six hundred volts
or less.
When lines or wires carrying seventy-five hundred volts or more Disconnected
are disconnected from their source o f power for work to be per- wires.
21G
Manholes.
Watch men.
Violations.
LABOE LEGISLATION OF 1917.
form ed thereon, said lines or wires shall be effectively grounded
for the protection of workmen.
Sec. 32. The opening to outer air for any manhole used for
light, heat or power, shall be circular in shape, and shall be not
less than twenty-four inches in diameter.
The opening to outer air for any manhole used for telephone,
telegraph or other signal wires shall be circular in shape and
shall not be less than twenty inches in diameter.
Whenever persons are working in any manhole whose opening
to the outer air is less than three feet from the rail o f - any
railway or street car track, a watchman or attendant shall be
stationed on the surface at the entrance o f such manhole at
all times while work is being perform ed therein.
Sec. 33. Every corporation or joint stock company or individual
which shall violate any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished
by a fine o f not less than $100 nor more than $1,000.
Approved March 15, 1917.
C h a p te r 172.— H ighway labor— Em ployers to furnish names of
em ployees— W ages and hours.
Chapter II o f chapter 141 o f the Session Laws of the Fourteenth
Legislative Assembly o f the State o f Montana [1915] is hereby
amended to read as fo llo w s :
Duty of em • Sec. 3. Every employer having in his or its employment any
ployers.
person or persons liable for the special road tax of $2 mentioned
in this act, must on or before the third Monday o f March in each
year, and monthly thereafter until the first day o f October,
furnish to the county treasurer a complete list o f all the persons
so employed and if any such employer shall neglect or refuse to
furnish such list, he shall forfeit to the county, in which said
road tax is collectable [collectible], the sum o f $50, to be recov
ered by an action brought in the name o f the State in any justice
court of said county, and the further sum of $50 for each refusal
or neglect to furnish such list after any demand shall have been
made by the county treasurer. Upon the receipt of said lists it
shall be the duty o f said county treasurer to furnish to said em
ployer furnishing such lists, printed special road tax receipt books
with proper stubs containing memorandum of name, amount and
date attached.
Employer to
Sec. 4. I f any person required to pay the special road tax men
pay tax.
tioned in this act, does not pay the same and has no property sub
ject to taxation, and the person owing the same is in the em
ployment o f any other person, the county treasurer must deliver
to the employer a written notice, stating the amount o f tax due
for such employee and from the time o f receiving said notice the
employer is liable to pay said tax, and the tax so paid may be
deducted by such employer from the amount then due or to be
come due to such employee.
Chapter III of chapter 141 o f the Session Laws o f the Four
Act amended.
teenth Legislative Assembly o f the State o f Montana [1915] is
hereby amended to read as follow s:
Wages a n d
Sec. 6. Whenever it becomes necessary for any road supervisor,
hours.
in the repairing o f any public highways in his district, to secure
the assistance o f other persons, he shall be empowered to employ
suitable laborers, teams and implements, and to contract as to the
price to be paid therefor, which must not exceed the rate o f $4
per day o f eight hours for each person and $6 per day o f eight
hours for man and tea m ; but the time taken by such person or
teams in going to and from the place o f labor shall not be in
cluded within such period o f eight hours.
Approved March 15, 1917.
NEBRASKA.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
115.— Railroads — R ep orts o f accidents .
S e c t io n 1. Sections
* * * 6136 o f tlie Revised Statutes o f
Nebraska for 1913 [shall] be amended to read as follow s:
Sec. 6136. Sec. 210. Every common carrier, incorporated or
Reports
doing business in this State, shall, on or before the thirty-first Quil‘ed*
day o f March o f each year, transmit to the office o f the railway
commission a full and complete statement under the oath o f its
proper officers, of the affairs o f such common carrier, as the
same existed on the thirty-first day o f December next preceding.
Such statement shall sh o w : * * * Twenty-fourth— The number
o f employees killed and the number o f employees injured by acci
dent, and th cause or causes o f such acciden t; * * * Twentysixth— An itemized statement of the amount o f all damages paid
on account o f injuries to or the death of persons by reasons o f
accidents, stating in separate items the amounts paid on account
o f injuries or death o f employees, passengers and other per
sons ; * * *.
I f any common carrier shall neglect or refuse to file such state
ment with the commission -it shall forfeit and pay for each such
offense not less than $500 nor more than $5,000.
Approved March 28, 1917.
C h a p te r
re
179.— F a c to ry, etc., regulations — F ir e escapes .
S e c t io n 1. Every building now or hereafter used, in whole or . W hat buildin part, as a * * * office or store building * * * more {g.|s
Desave
than two stories high and containing above the ground floor,
*
offices, * * * workrooms * * * all or any o f which
rooms are designed for occupancy by fifteen or more persons,
shall be provided with one or more fireproof stairways, chutes,
or toboggans constructed on the outside thereof, placed in such
position and as many in number as may be designated by the
State fire commissioner or his deputy.
*
*
*
*
*
Such fireproof stairways, chutes, or toboggans shall connect the
Co n s t r u e cornice with the top o f the first story o f such building by a tion> etc.
wrought iron or steel platform, properly surrounded with a
wrought iron or steel railing; said platform to be constructed
on a level with the floor o f each story so connected, and o f
sufficient length to permit access to the same from not less than
two windows of each story— said platform shall be so constructed
as to be o f convenient access from the interior o f the building,
commodious in size and form and of sufficient strength to be safe
for the purpose o f ascent and descen t: P rovided, h ow ever, All
buildings more than two stories in height used for manufacturing
purposes, mercantile establishments, * * * where twenty-five
or more persons congregate at any one time, there shall be placed
one automatic metallic fire escape or device for every twenty-five
persons, for which working accommodations are provided above
the second floor o f said building— material, design and location
of such escapes to be subject to the approval o f the deputy fire
commissioner * * *.
S e c . 2. The fire commissioner is hereby authorized and required,
Enforcewhen it shall come to his notice that there is any building in ment.
this State where the provisions o f this article are being violated,
to inspect such building. Such inspection may be by the fire
218
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917-
commissioner, or his deputy, or such other person as may be ap
pointed by the deputy fire commissioner for the purpose o f mak
ing the inspection. Sucli persons shall be under the control and
direction o f 'the deputy fire commissioner.
Compensation for
services and expenses provided for in this article shall be paid by
the State treasurer out o f the general appropriation for the
State fire commission upon the warrant o f the State a u d itor:
Provided, The deputy fire commissioner in charge shall present to
the governor, on or before the fifteenth day o f January o f each
year, a report of such inspection with such recommendation as
may be necessary.
S e c . 8. Every person, firm or corporation, who shall fa il or
Violations.
refuse to comply with the provisions o f this act shall be deemed
guilty o f a misdemeanor and upon a conviction, shall be subject
to a fine o f $5 for each and every day he shall fail or refuse to
comply. I f for thirty days after final conviction, or any such
violation, he or they shall fail or refuse to comply w ith said
sections mentioned in such notice, the building and premises
involved may be closed for use until all the provisions o f the
article shall be complied with, upon five days’ notice thereof,
from the deputy fire commissioner.
Prosecu
S e c . 9. The county attorney o f each county in this State is
tions.
hereby required upon the complaint on oath o f the deputy fire
commissioner or other person, to prosecute to termination, in
the name o f the people o f the State o f Nebraska, a proper action
or proceeding against any person or persons violating the provi
sions o f this article.
Approved April 25, 1917.
C h a p te r
License r e
quired.
199.— P rivate employment agencies.
S e c t i o n 1. No person, firm or corporation in this State shall
open, operate or maintain a private employment agency for hire
or for help without first obtaining a license for the same from
the commissioner o f labor, and the license fee shall be $60 per
annum except in cities o f less than twenty-five thousand inhabit
ants, when said fee shall be $25 per annum, payable in advance
on the first day o f May each year, and shall expire on the last
day o f April o f each year. Every license shall contain a desig
nation o f the city, street and number o f the building in which
the licensed parties conduct said employment agency. In case o f
removal to another location during the period covered by such
license, the commissioner o f labor shall be at once notified and the
license corrected accordingly. No such license shall be transfer
able: Provided, That this act shall not be construed to include
teacher’s agencies.
S e c . 2. The commissioner o f labor shall require with each appli
Bond.
cation for a license a surety bond in the penal sum o f $2,000, to
be approved by said commissioner o f labor and conditioned that
the obligor w ill not violate any o f the duties, terms, conditions,
provisions or requirements o f this act. The commissioner o f labor
is authorized to cause an action or actions to be brought on said
bond in the name of the State for any violation o f any o f its con
ditions and he may revoke'upon a full hearing any license when
ever in his judgment the party licensed shall have violated any
o f the provisions o f this act; and in the prosecution of any such
inquiry, the commissioner o f labor is hereby empowered to ad
minister oaths, subpoena witnesses, take depositions, compel the
attendance o f witnesses, and the production o f books, accounts,
papers, records, documents and testimony.
License can
S e c . 3. In case o f refusal of any person to comply with the order
celed, when.
o f the commissioner o f labor or subpoena issued by him or the
refusal o f any witness to testify to any matter regarding which
he may be lawfully interrogated, or refusal to permit any inspec
tion as aforesaid, the commissioner o f labor may cancel the license
held by such person, firm or corporation refusing to comply with
the orders o f the commissioner o f la b o r : Provided, That the
TEXT OF LAWS---- NEBRASKA.
219
orders o f the commissioner o f labor be in accord with the provi
sions of this act. When such license shall be so canceled it shall
not be reissued to said person, firm or corporation for a period of
six months from the date o f said cancellation.
Use of name.
S ec. 4. No private employment agency shall print, publish or
paint on any sign, window, or inseit in any newspaper or publi
cation a name similar to that o f the Nebraska Free Employment
Bureau.
S e c . 5. It shall be the duty of every licensed agency to keep a
R< gister.
register in which shall be entered the name and sex o f every
person for whom employment is secured, and the amount o f fee
charged. Such licensed agency shall also enter into a register the
name and address of every person for whom help or servants are
secured. Such register shall at all reasonable hours be open to
the inspection and examination of the commissioner o f labor or his
agent, and a copy o f such facts shall be filed with the commis
sioner o f labor not later than the tenth day of each succeeding
calendar month.
Receipts.
S e c . 6 . Every licensed agency shall issue a "^ceipt to each per
son securing employment or help showing the occupation, name
and address o f the applicant, and the amount of the fee charged
for procuring the position and such receipt shall also show the
wages to be paid to said person securing employment, together
with the name and address o f the employer and the name o f the
agency issuing such receipt. Also the nature of the employment
offered and if a strike or lockout is known to exist the fact shall
be stated.
Said receipt shall be made upon form s prescribed by the com
missioner o f labor and the third copy to be retained by the agency
issuing same. The carbon copy o f each and every receipt issued
shall be mailed to the commissioner o f labor as prescribed in sec
tion five.
No registra
S e c . 7. N o licensed agency shall charge a registration fee for
filing or receiving application for help or employment nor on any tion fee.
agreement to furnish employment or help. Monthly reports shall
be made to the commissioner o f labor upon forms prescribed by
him, showing all registrations for employment or help.
Fee for ser?S e c . 8 . The fee for procuring employment or help shall in all
ices.
cases be clearly set out in the receipt as provided in section six.
The receipt shall plainly show the amount of the fee, all com
missions and expenses or compensations whatsoever to such
licensed agency for procuring employment or help. In case the
party paying such fee fails to obtain the employment specified
and such failure shall not be the fault o f such applicant for em
ployment, such licensed agency shall repay the same to such per
son upon demand being made th erefor: Provided, That in cases
where the person seeking employment is sent beyond the limits o f
the city in which such employment agency operates, such licensed
agency shall repay in addition to the above any actual expenses
incurred by le a s o n o f failure to receive employment, in all cases
when it shall appear that the employment agency made false rep
resentations.
Dividing
S e c . 9. Any licensed agency, or agent thereof, who shall be fees.
guilty of dividing fees with any superintendent, manager, foreman
of other employees of any person, company, corporation or associa
tion, for whom employees are furnished shall be guilty of a mis
demeanor and shall be fined not less than $50 or be imprisoned in
the county jail for a period not exceeding three months at the
discretion o f the court.
Offenses,
S e c . 10. No agency shall knowingly send or cause to be sent any
female help or servant to any place o f bad repute, house o f ill
fame, or assignation house, or to any house or place o f amusement
kept for immoral purpose. No such licensed agency shall publish
or cause to be published any false information, make any false
promise concerning or relating to work or employment to any one
who shall register for employment and no licensed agency shall
220
LABOK LEGISLATION OF 1911.
make any false entries in the register to be kept as herein pro
vided.
S e c . 11. It shall be the duty o f the commissioner o f labor to
ment.
enforce this act. When informed of any violation thereof it shall
be his duty to investigate same, as hereinbefore provided, and he
may institute criminal proceedings for enforcement o f its penalties
before any court o f competent jurisdiction. Any person convicted
o f a violation o f the provisions of this act not otherwise provided
for, shall be guilty o f a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less
than $50 nor more than $100 for each offense or be imprisoned in
the county ja il for a period not to exceed three months or both
such fine and imprisonment at the discretion o f the c o u r t: P ro
vided, That any person or persons who shall send any female help
or servant to any place o f bad repute, house o f ill fam e or assig
nation house or to any house or place o f amusement kept for im
moral purposes, shall be punished by imprisonment fo r not less
than thirty days nor more than three months and no license to
operate an employment agency shall be issued to such party.
Fees
to
S e c . 12. All moneys paid to the commissioner o f labor or [for]
treasury.
license fee under this act, shall be paid over by him to the State
treasurer.
Definition.
S e c . 13. The term employment or work, whenever used in this
act, shall be construed to mean manual or mechanical labor,
clerical, domestic or professional service.
Same.
S e c . 14. Any person, firm or corporation who for hire or with
a view to profit shall undertake to secure employment or help or
through the medium of cards, circulars, pamphlets of any nature
whatsoever, or through the display o f a sign or bulletin oft’er to
secure employment or help or give inform ation as to where em
ployment or help shall be secured, shall be deemed a private em
ployment agency and shall be subject to the provisions o f this act.
Pr ovi s i ons
S e c . 15. In case for any reason, any paragraph or any provision
severable.
o f this act shall be questioned in any court and shall be held
to be unconstitutional or invalid, the same shall not be held to
affect any other paragraph or provision of this act.
Act repealed.
S e c . 16. Sections one to eighteen, inclusive, of ch a p ter' two
hundred and nine o f the Session Laws o f nineteen hundred and
fifteen, are hereby repealed.
Approved April 25, 1917.
Enforce'
C h a p te r
Pay days es
tablished.
218.— Paym ent o f wages— Semimonthly pay day.
S e c t io n 1. Every railroad company authorized to do business
by the laws o f the State o f Nebraska shall, on or before the first
day o f each months pay the employees thereof the wages earned
by them during the first half o f the preceding month ending
with the fifteenth day thereof, and on or before the fifteenth
.day o f each month pay the employees thereof the wages earned
by them during the last half of the preceding calendar m on th :
Provided, however, That if at any time o f payment any employee
shall be absent from his or her regular place o f labor, and shall
not receive his or her wages through a duly authorized repre
sentative, he or she shall be entitled to said payment at any time
thereafter upon demand upon the proper paymaster at the place
where such wages are usually paid and at the place when the
next pay is du e; any such railroad company which shall violate
any o f the provisions of this act shall forfeit and pay the sum
o f $25 for each violation o f this act which shall be proved to
be recovered in any court o f competent jurisdiction by any per
son who shall sue for the sam e; one half o f said penalty to go
to said person so suing therefor, and the other half to go to the
S tate: Provided, further, Complaint o f such violation be made
within sixty days from the date such wages become payable, ac
cording to the tenor o f this act.
Agreem ents
S e c . 2. It shall not be law ful for any railroad company to enter
forbidden.
into or make any agreement with any employee for the payment
o f wTages o f any such employee otherwise than as provided in
TEXT OF LAWS— NEBRASKA.
221
section one o f this act, except it be to pay such wages at shorter
intervals than herein provided. Every agreement made in viola
tion of this act shall be deemed to be null and void, and it shall
not be a defense to the suit for a penalty provided for in section
one o f this a c t ; and each and every employee with whom any
agreement in violation o f this act shall be made by such railroad
company shall have his or her action and right o f action against
such railroad company for the full amount o f his or her wages
in any court of competent jurisdiction o f this State.
Approved March 23, 1917.
C h a p te r
234.— Sunday labor— Barber shops.
Sunday 1 a *
S e c t io n 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, persons, partner
ship, corporation, or the agents or servants o f any person, partner bar « forbidden.
ship or corporation in this State, to conduct, carry on or to per
form any o f the services o f a barber on the first day of the week,
commonly called Su n day: Provided, That the services o f a barber
shall be defined as common labor and shall not be construed as
being a work o f necessity or ch a rity : Provided, That where such
services shall be done in connection with the medical treatment of
persons confined to their rooms or in a hospital and being under
the care o f a physician, the same sPlall be construed as a wTork
o f necessity.
Violations.
S e c . 2. Any person, persons, corporation, partnership or the
agents or servants o f any person, partnership or corporation, vio
lating any of the provisions o f this act, shall upon conviction
thereof be punished by a fine of $10 for the first offen se; and
by a fine of not less than $15 or more than $f>0 or by imprison
ment in the county ja il for not to exceed thirty days for the
second and subsequent offenses.
Approved April 11, 1917.
NEVADA.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p t e r 11.— M other's pensions.
S e c t io n 1. Section tw o o f an act * * * approved March
fifteen, nineteen hundred and fifteen [ch. 131] is hereby amended
to read as follow s:
Sec. 2. The allowance to each o f such mothers shall not exceed
the sum o f $25 per month when she has but one child under the
age o f fifteen years, and if she has more than one child under
the age o f fifteen years, it shall not exceed the sum o f $25 a month
for the first child and $15 a month for each o f the other children
under the age o f fifteen years, but in no case shall the entire
allowance for mother and children be more than $55 dollars per
month.
Approved February 10, 1917.
Amount,
C h a p te r 14.— Em ployment o f women— Hours o f labor.
S e c t io n 1. No female shall be employed in any manufacturing, perEl^ y hours
mechanical, or mercantile establishment, laundry, hotel, public
lodging house, apartment house, place o f amusement, or restau
rant, or by any express or transportation company in this State,
more than eight hours during any one day, or more than fifty-six
hours in one week. The hours o f work may be so arranged as to
permit the employment of females at any time so that they shall
not work more than eight hours during the twenty-four hours o f
one day, or fifty-six hours during any one w eek : Provided, how
ever, That the provisions o f this section in relation to hours o f
employment shall not apply to nor affect the harvesting, curing,
Canneries,
canning, or drying of any variety o f perishable fruit or vegetable,
nor to nurses, nor to nurses in training in hospitals.
6 c‘
Sec. 2. Every employer in any manufacturing, or mercantile
geats
establishment, laundry, hotel, or restaurant, or other establish
ment, employing any female, shall provide suitable seats for all
female employees, and shall permit them to use such seats when
they are not engaged in the active duties of their employment.
Sec. 3. The district attorneys o f the respective counties o f this
Enforce*
State, and the attorney general o f this State, shall enforce the ment.
provisions o f this act, and said district attorneys, and said attor
ney general and their deputies and agents, shall have all powers
and authority o f sheriffs or other peace officers to make arrests
for violations o f the provisions o f this act, and to serve all
processes and notices thereunder throughout the State.
Sec. 4. Any employer who shall permit or require any female to
Violations,
work in any o f the places mentioned in section one more than
the number of hours provided for in this act during any day of
twenty-four hours, or who shall fail, neglect, or refuse to so
arrange the work o f females in his employ so that they shall
not work more than the number of hours provided for in this act
during any day o f twenty-four hours, or who shall fall, neglect,
or refuse to provide suitable seats as provided in section two o f
this act, or who shall permit or suffer any overseer, superin
tendent, foreman, or other agent of any such employer to violate
any o f the provisions o f this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and upon conviction thereof shall be punished for a first offense,
by a fine o f not less than $25 nor more than $50; for a second
offense, by fine o f not less than $100 nor more than $250; or by
imprisonment for not more than sixty days, or by both such
fine and imprisonment. All fines imposed and collected under
the provisions o f this act shall be paid into the State treasury
and credited to the State permanent school fund o f this State.
Approved February 14, 1917.
224
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
C h a p te r 25.— Mine regulations.
[This act amends section 4203, Revised Laws o f 1912, by re
quiring a detailed statement o f the character o f the mine, the
number o f employees, mode o f working, etc., to be made “ in all
cases when commencing operations.”
Section 4206 is amended by authorizing the appointment of a
second deputy inspector, each deputy to receive $200 per month
and traveling expenses.
Section 4234 is amended to read as fo llo w s :]
R i d i n g on
Sec. 38. [Sec. 4234.] It shall be unlawful for any person to
bail or cable. ride upon the rim, bail or cable o f a hoisting bucket, cage or
skip, and it is hereby made the duty o f every operator to post
notice o f same in all stations and upon all gallows frames.
Approved February 20, 1917.
Amendments.
C h a p te r
94.— Assignments o f wages— Fraud.
Wbat assign
S e c t io n 1. Every assignment o f wages, salary, or earnings
ments void.
made by any person against whom there is, at the time such
assignment is made, an unsatisfied judgment for debt on the
records o f any court within the.county in which such judgment
debtor resides, shall be conclusive evidence o f fraud, and shall be
void as against the judgment creditors o f the person making such
an assignment.
Approved March 14, 1917.
C h a p t e r 178.— Commissioner o f labor.
Cl e r i c al as
sistance.
[This act amends section 1 o f chapter 203, Acts o f 1915, cor
recting certain typographical errors, and increasing the allow
ance for clerical' and stenographic assistance from $1,000 to
$1,200 per annum.]
C h a p te r 227.— Regulation o f barber shops— Sunday labor.
Definitions.
S e c t io n 1. Any place where a person is shaved, his hair cut, op
his beard trimmed, for hire or reward, shall be construed as being
a barber shop.
Sunday 1 a Sec. 2. It shall be unlawful in any town o f this State having
bor forbidden. a population or [of] more than ten thousand people, for any
person, or persons, company or corporation, to keep open, or per
mit to be kept open, any barber shop or public place for the pur
pose of carrying on or applying the barber trade or business, or
to conduct such business, on the first day o f the week, commonly
called Sunday, that is to say, between the hours o f tw elve o’clock
midnight o f Saturday of any week, and twelve o ’clock midnight
o f the follow ing day, Sunday.
Tools to be
Sec. 3. Any person who shaves another person afflicted with
disinfected,
when.
U n san itary
practices.
Violations.
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 of a vio
lation of this act.
Sec. 4. It shall be unlawful for any person who conducts a
barber shop to permit to remain therein any virus, scale or filth, or
to conduct a barber shop that is unsanitary and dangerous to
the health of its patrons.
Sec. 5. Every proprietor, owner, manager, lessee, or other per
son in charge o f any barber shop in this State who shall fail to
comply with this act, whether through the acts o f himself, his
agent or employees, shall be guilty o f a misdemeanor, and upon
conviction thereof shall be fined not less than $25, nor more than
$100, or shall be imprisoned for not more than three months, or
both fine and imprisonment, and every day that any barber shop
shall be conducted in violation o f any o f the provisions o f this act
shall constitute a separate offense.
Approved March 27, 1917.
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
3.— Contract o f employment —Repaym ent o f advance .
S e c t io n 1 .-W hoever enters into an agreement to labor fo r
F a i l u r e tq
another in any lumbering operation or in driving logs and in con- rePay*
sideration thereof receives any advance o f goods, money, or trans
portation, and without cause fails to enter into said employment
as agreed, and labor for a sufficient length o f time to reimburse
his employer for said advances and expenses o f transportation,
shall be punished by fine o f not exceeding $10 or by imprisonment Penalty,
not exceeding thirty days.
Approved February 9, 1917.
C h a p te r 99.— Em ployment o f labor — N otice o f disputes.
S e c t io n 1. Amend section one o f said chapter [tw o hundred and
twelve o f the laws o f nineteen hundred and thirteen] so that as
amended said section shall read:
Section 1. I f any employer, during the continuance o f a strike
N o t i c e of
among his employees, or during the continuance o f a lockout or strike,
other labor trouble among his employees, publicly advertises in
newspapers, or by posters or otherwise, for employees, or by
him self or his agents solicits petsons to w ork for him to fill the
places o f strikers, he shall plainly and explicitly mention in such
advertisements or oral or written solicitations that a strike, lock
out or other labor disturbance exists. No person, firm, associa
tion or corporation shall knowingly publish or circulate any ad
vertisement fo r employees which does not comply with the pro
visions o f this section.
Sec. 2. Amend section three o f said chapter by striking out the
whole thereof and substituting therefor the follow in g:
Sec. 3. I f any person, firm, association or corporation shall Violations,
violate any provisions o f this chapter, he or they shall be subject
to a penalty o f $25, to be recovered by the commissioner o f labor
in the name o f his office in an action o f debt. All penalties re
covered under this chapter shall accrue to the bureau o f labor.
Approved March 27, 1917.
C h a p te r
142.— Bureau Of labor— Mediation.
[This act amends sec. 4 o f ch. 198, Acts o f 1911, by adding
thereto the follow in g :]
Neither the proceedings nor any part thereof before the labor
Proceedings
commissioner by virtue o f this section shall be received in evidence n°t evidence,
for any purpose in any judicial proceeding before any other court
or tribunal whatever.
Approved April 10, 1917.
C h a p te r
14G.— In terferen ce tcith employment — Instigating strikes ,
etc., during time o f war.
S e c t io n 1. N o person shall, during time o f w ar or invasion,
Coercion,
influence or coerce or attempt to influence or coerce, any person etc., forbidden,
or persons not to w ork in any shop, mill, factory, munition plant
or other industry or establishment whatever, nor instigate or
encourage, nor attempt to instigate or encourage, any strike or
lockout among the employees o f such shop, mill, factory, munition
plant or other industry or establishment whatever, so long as
such industry or establishment is engaged in the manufacturing,
45913°— Bull. 244— 18------ 15
225
226
Violations.
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
making or delivering .of sustenance, clothing, weapons, munitions,
material or other supplies, for the Army or the Navy of the United
States or the military or naval service o f the State.
S e c . 2. Any person violating any o f the provisions o f this act
shall be fined not less than $ 5 0 0 nor more than $ 1 ,0 0 0 for each
offense, or be imprisoned not more than nine months in the county
ja il or both.
Approved April 1 2 , 1 9 1 7 .
C h a p t e r 160=.— Cost o f living— Investigation.
S e c t i o n 1 . If, at any time, the price of. any o f the necessaries
Investiga
tion on peti o f life shall rise in price; the attorney general shall,, upon petition
tion.
o f one hundred registered voters o f the State o f New Hampshire,
investigate the cause o f such rise by instituting judicial proceed
ings, and is hereby empowered to summon persons with papers,
and if such rise is found to be unreasonable or arbitrary, the
person, firm, corporation or association, or one or more of these,
responsible therefor shall be fined not less than $1,000 or be
imprisoned for not less than one year, or shall be punished by
both such fine and imprisonment.
Exemptions.
S e c . 2 . F o r th e p u r p o se o f th is a c t w o r k o r la b o r p e r fo r m e d
u p o n a f a r m b y th e o w n e rs th e r e o f or b y o th e r p e rs o n s , an d th e
f r u it s o f su ch la b o r an d la b o r o f h a n d or b r a in p e r fo r m e d in
f a c to r ie s or e lse w h e re b y p e rso n s w h o a r e p r o le ta r ia n s or n e a r
p r o le ta r ia n s sh a ll n o t b e c o n str u e d *as a n e c e s s a ry o f l i f e ; n o r
s h a ll a n y a tte m p t b y a n in d iv id u a l or c o m b in a tio n o f in d iv id u a ls
w h o a r e p r im a r y w e a lth p ro d u c e rs to r a is e th e w a g e s or co m
p e n sa tio n re c e iv e d in a g a in f u l o c c u p a tio n , o r to b e tte r th e ir con
d itio n s o f e m p lo y m e n t, be c o n stru e d a s ra is in g or a tte m p tin g to
ra ise th e p rice o f n e c e ssa rie s o f life .
Approved April
C h a p t e r 1 7 7 .—
Exemptions.
1 8, 1 9 1 7 .
A ntitrust law— Labor organizations, etc., exem pt.
Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to
forbid the existence and operation o f labor, agriculture, or horti
cultural organizations, instituted for the purposes o f mutual help
and not having capital stock or conducted fo r profit, or to forbid
or restrain individual members o f such organizations from law
fully carrying out the legitimate objects th e re o f; nor shall such
organizations, or members thereof, be held or considered to be
illegal trusts or conspiracies against trade, under this act.
Approved April 1 8, 1 9 1 7 .
S e c t i o n 7.
C h a p t e r 1 8 3 .— Factory, etc., regulations.
Scope of act.
S e c t i o n 1. This act shall apply only to factories, mills, w ork
shops or other manufacturing establishments in which ten or
more persons are regularly employed. The term employer as
used in this act shall tiiean and include every person, firm, cor
poration or association operating in this State a factory, mill,
workshop or other manufacturing establishment in which ten ^
more persons are regularly employed. The term place o f em
ployment shall mean and include any mill, workshop or other
m anufacturing establishment where ten or more persons are
regularly employed, and all buildings, sheds, structures or other
places used in connection therewith. The term employee shall
mean and include every person employed to w ork in any such
place o f employment.
Safety appli
S e c . 2. W h e n e v e r th e n a tu r e or c o n d itio n o f a n y su ch p la c e
ances.
o f e m p lo y m e n t, or th e m a c h in e r y or oth e r a p p lia n c e s th e re in
a r e su c h a s to re n d e r e m p lo y m e n t th e re in o r in p r o x im ity th e re to
d a n g e ro u s to th e s a f e t y or h e a lth o f su c h e m p lo y e e s, i t s h a ll b e
t h e d u ty o f e v e ry su c h e m p lo y e r to p ro v id e a n d m a in t a in su c h
s a fe g u a r d s , s a f e t y d e v ic e s , a p p lia n c e s , lig h tin g f a c ilitie s , a n d
d o su c h o th e r th in g s a s m a y b e re a s o n a b ly n e c e s s a r y a n d p r a c
tic a b le to le sse n th e d a n g e r s o f su c h e m p lo y m e n t
E v e r y su c h
TEXT OF LAWS— NEW HAMPSHIRE.
employer shall provide and maintain reasonable and proper toilet
facilities and reasonably sanitary and hygienic conditions for
such employees.
Sec. 3. No person shall, so as to interfere with the intended
use thereof, remove, displace, damage or carry oft* any safety
device or safeguard furnished and provided for use in any em
ployment or place o f employment, or interfere in any way with
the use thereof by any other person, and no person shall inter
fere with the use o f any methods or process adopted for the
protection of any employee in such employment or place o f em
ploym ent
Sec. 4. (1 ) The commissioner of labor shall cause every
place o f employment to be inspected as soon as may be after the
passage o f this act, and at least once each year thereafter, for
the purpose o f determining the conditions in such place o f em
ployment with r e j e c t to the safety and health o f the employees
working therein.
(2) A report o f such inspection shall be filed in the office
o f the commissioner o f labor and a copy thereof given the em
ployer.
(3) The commissioner o f labor, factory inspectors and other
assistants of the commissioner of Labor shall have the right for
the purposes o f this act to enter any such place of employment
and to examine the same.
Sec. 5. It shall be the duty o f the commissioner of labor to
make and adopt such reasonable orders, rules and regulations
o f general application as may be necessary to give effect to section
tw o o f this act with respect to the use of mechanical contriv
ances for disengaging power, the safeguarding o f saws, planers,
jointers and other similar machines, the protection o f cogs, gear
ing, couplings and the like, and the use o f set screws, Iveys, bolts
and the like used in connection with revolving shafting.
Whenever the commissioner o f labor, after any such place o f
employment shall have been inspected in accordance with section
four o f this act, shall be o f the opinion that the special conditions
in that place o f employment render any general order, rule or
regulation so made by him inadequate or unreasonable as ap
plied to such place o f employment or any part thereof, he may,
b;r special order applicable to that place o f employment, so
m odify or extend the requirements o f such general order, rule or
regulation as to make the same adequate and reasonable with
respect to such special condition s; and whenever, after such In
spection, the commissioner o f labor shall be o f the opinion that
compliance with section two o f this act, under the special condi
tions obtaining in any place o f employment, necessitates the use
of any safeguard or the doing o f any other act for which the
genera] orders, rules and regulations adopted by him do not pro
vide, he shall have power by special order to require the adoption
in that place of employment o f such particular safeguards, safety
devices, appliances, lighting facilities or other means as may be
reasonable and practicable for the safety and health o f the em
ployees. The commissioner o f labor shall have like power and
it shall be his duty by general or special orders, rules or regu
lations to require compliance with section two with respect to
toilet facilities and sanitary and hygienic conditions in any such
place of employm ent
Sec. 6. Every order, rule or regulation made or adopted by
the commissioner o f labor shall fix the time when it shall take
effect, and in every case a reasonable time shall be allowed to
the employer or employers affected thereby for compliance there
with. Notice shall be given o f every order, rule or regulation to
those who are required to comply with the same and such notice
may be given by registered mail. Notice o f any such order, rule
or regulation o f general application may be given by publication
in some newspaper having circulation throughout the State.
Sec. 7. Any person or corporation affected by such order, rule
or regulation may petition the commissioner o f labor for a re-
227
Sanitary
conveniences,
Removi ng
guards,
Insoection.
Rales, etc.
*
Time for compliance*
Review,
228
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
view o f the validity or reasonableness thereof. The commissioner
o f labor may join in one proceeding all petitions alleging in
validity or unreasonableness o f the same or substantially s im ila r
orders, rules or regulations. The petition for review shall be
filed within thirty days after notice o f the adoption o f the o rd er,
rule or regulation: Provided how ever, That the c o m m is s io n e r o f
labor may, whenever in his opinion justice may re q u ire it, e x te u I
the time for filing such petition.
Upon receipt o f the petition the commissioner o f la b o r sh a ll,
i f necessary to determine the issue raised, order a h e a rin g .
N otice o f the time and place o f hearing, which shall b e op en to
the public, shall be given to the petitioner and to such o th e r
persons as the commissioner o f labor may find directly in te re s te d
in the issues raised by the petition.
I f upon such hearing the commissioner o f labor* finds th a t th e
older, rule or regulation complained of is invalid or unreasonable,
he shall revoke it or substitute therefor a new or amended order,
rule or regulation.
The decision o f the commissioner o f labor upon such petition
shall be final unless appeal is taken to the superior court in the
manner herein provided.
A p p e a l to
S e c . 8 . Any person or corporation aggrieved by any order, rule
court.
or regulation o f the commissioner o f labor may file a petition in
the superior court against the commissioner o f labor to determine
the validity and reasonableness o f such order, rule or regulation.
Such petition shall be filed within thirty days after notice o f
the adoption o f the order, rule or regulation, or if a petition for
review is filed, within thirty days from the decision upon such
petition.
Such notice shall be given to the commissioner o f
labor o f tlie pendency o f such proceedings as the superior court
may order.
Such petition so far as practicable shall have precedence over
other actions in the same court and the order o f the commis
sioner o f labor appealed from shall be prima facie valid and
reasonable.
The proceedings upon such petition shall be as
nearly as may be in accordance with proceedings in equity. The
court may, and on the request o f the parties shall, refer any issue
or issues arising in such action to one or more persons who shall
find and report the facts together with his or their recommenda
tions to the court. One or more o f such persons may be a lay
man conversant with the subject matter involved in such appeal.
The superior court shall upon such petition enter such order or
decree as justice may require.
Order s u s
S e c . 9 . D u r in g th e p e n d e n c y o f a n y p e titio n f o r r e v ie w , th e
pended,
o rd e r, r u le or r e g u la tio n u n d e r r e v ie w s h a ll b e su sp e n d e d , an d
d u r in g th e p e n d e n c y o f a n ap p e a l to th e s u p e rio r c o u r t u n d e r
se c tio n e ig h t, th e ord e r, ru le or r e g u la tio n a p p e a le d fr o m m a y be
su sp e n d e d b y th e su p e rio r c o u r t i f ju s t ic e r e q u i r e s ; b u t e x c e p t
a s a ffe c te d b y p ro ce e d in g s u p o n re v ie w b y th e c o m m is s io n e r o f
la b o r or a p p e a l to th e su p e rio r c o u r t, e v e r y o rd e r, ru le or r e g u
la tio n m a d e a n d a d o p te d u n d e r th e p r o v is io n s o f th is c h a p te r
s h a ll h a v e th e effect o f la w .
P o w e r s of
S e c . 10. The commissioner o f labor for the p u r p o se o f c a r r y
commissioner. ing into effect the provisions o f this act shall have p o w e r to
administer oaths, certify to official acts, issue subpoenas, com p el
tlie attendance o f witnesses, and the production o f papers, b ook s,
accounts, documents and testimony. In case o f the failure o f any
Witness fees.
person to comply with any order o f the commissioner o f labor
given under this section, or any subpoena law fully issued, or on
the refusal o f any witness to testify to any matter about which he
may law fully be interrogated, it shall be the duty o f the superior
court or any judge thereof on application o f the commissioner of
labor to compel obedience by proceedings as for contempt. A
complete record shall be kept o f all orders, rules or regulations
made and adopted by the commissioner o f labor.
S e c . 1 1 . E a c h w itn e s s wrho s h a ll a p p e a r b e fo r e th e c o m m is
sio n e r o f la b o r s h a ll re c e iv e f o r h is a tte n d a n c e th e fe e s a n d m ile -
TEXT OF LAWS— NEW HAMPSHIRE.
229
age provided for witnesses in attendance upon the superior court.
Tlie deposition o f any witness within or without the State taken
in the manner prescribed by law for depositions in civil actions,
may be used in any proceeding fo r review or appeal.
S e c . 12. F or the purpose o f inspecting factories and workshops,
Inspectors,
the commissioner o f labor shall have the power, subject to the
approval o f the governor and council, to employ not exceeding two
competent persons, who shall be known as factory inspectors, and
their compensation shall be fixed by the commissioner o f labor,
subject to the approval o f the governor and council. The com
missioner o f labor shall also have the power, subject to the apo t h e r emproval o f the governor and council, to employ such other as- pioyees.
sistants as may be necessary to the proper discharge o f his duties.
It shall be the duty o f the commissioner o f - labor to administer
and enforce, so far as not otherwise provided for in the statutes,
all lawrs relating to factories or workshops, and all valid orders,
rules or regulations, and he shall receive as compensation for his
services rendered under the provisions o f this act such sum
as shall be required to make the total o f his annual compensation
under this and all other acts the sum o f $2,500.
Sec. 13. No prosecution against any employer shall be com- Prosecutions,
menced under this act unless or until the commissioner o f labor
shall have first made an order in accordance w ith the provisions
o f this act and the employer affected thereby shall have had a
reasonable opportunity to comply therewith.
Any employer who shall omit or neglect to obey, observe or
comply with any law ful order, rule or regulation made in
pursuance o f this act shall be punished by a fine o f not less
Penalties,
tlian $25 nor more than $200. I f any person shall w ilfully violate
the provisions o f section three o f this act, he shall be punished
by a fine o f not less than $10 nor more than $100.
Sec. 14. Every employer subject to the provisions o f this act,
Em ployers’
sliall within thirty days after the same shall take effect send by statements*
mail to the commissioner o f labor a statement setting forth his
name, address, business and approximate number o f employees
o f such employer, and every such employer thereafter starting
iri business shall immediately send to the commissioner o f labor
a like statement.
Any such employer w ilfully neglecting to
comply with the provisions o f this section shall be punished by
a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $25.
Approved April 18, 1917.
C h a p t e r 194.— Labor laws— Em ergency suspensions.
S e c t io n 1. The governor is hereby empowered to suspend or
S u spen sion
m odify the restrictions contained in the labor laws o f the State authorized,
when such suspension or modification shall be requested by the
council o f national defence and such suspension or modification,
when so made, shall continue for such time as may be specified
in the order issued by the governor for that purpose, but not
longer' than the duration o f the state o f w ar now existing as
declared by the Congress o f the United States.
Approved April 19, 1917.
C h a p t e r 1 9 6 . — Em ployment of tcomen and children— Hours o f
labor.
S e c t io n 1. Amend section one o f chapter one hundred and fif- Act amended
ty-six o f the Laws o f nineteen hundred and thirteen * * *
by striking out the whole thereof and substituting therefor the
follow in g:
Section 1. No female, or minor under eighteen years o f age Hours of lashall be employed or be permitted to work at manual or mechani- b°r per d a y
cal labor in any employment, except household labor and nurses, a
weeJK*
domestic, hotel and boarding house labor, operators in telephone
and telegraph offices and farm labor, more than ten and onequarter hours during any one day, or more than fifty-four hours
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
230
in any one week. W here a minor under eighteen years o f age or
a female is employed in the same day or week by more than one
employer in manual or mechanical labor in any employment, ex
cept household labor and nurses, domestic, hotel and boarding
house labor, operators in telephone and telegraph offices and
farm labor, the total time of employment shall not exceed that
Night work. an owed per day or week in a single employment. No such
minor or female shall be employed or permitted to work at night
work more than eight hours in any twenty-four hours nor more
than forty-eight hours during the week. I f any such minor or
female is employed or permitted to work more than twTo nights
each week for any time between the hours o f eight o’clock post
meridian and six o’clock antemeridian o f the day following, such
employment shall be considered night work. Mercantile establish
ments for the period o f seven days immediately preceding Christ
mas day in each year are, as to regular employees, excepted from
the operation o f this section, but the total number o f hours o f
labor, for any female, or minor under eighteen years o f age, regu
larly employed in such establishment, shall not exceed fifty-four
hours per week for the full year.
Sec. 2. Amend section two o f said chapter * * * so that
as amended said section shall r e a d :
Schedule t o
Sec. 2. Every employer shall post in a conspicuous place in
be posted.
every room, where such minors or females are employed, a
printed notice stating the hours o f commencing and stopping such
work, the time allowed for dinner or other meals, and the m axi
mum number o f hours any such minor or female employee is per
mitted to work in any one day.
S e c . 3. A m e n d se c tio n th ree o f sa id c h a p te r
a s a m e n d e d sa id se c tio n sh a ll r e a d :
Evidence.
Repeal.
Exemption.
*
*
*
so th a t
Sec. 3. The employment of any female, or minor under eighteen
years of age, in any such place or establishment, as defined in
section one o f this chapter, at any time other than those o f the
posted hours o f labor, as hereinbefore provided for, shall be prima
facie evidence o f a violation o f this act.
Sec. 4. Section two o f chapter one hundred and sixty-four o f
the Laws of nineteen hundred and fifteen is hereby repealed.
Sec. 5. * * * The provisions o f this act shall not apply to
labor perform ed entirely in the manufacture o f munitions or sup
plies, for the United States Government or for the government o f
the State o f New Hampshire, while the United States is at w ar
with any other nation.
Approved April 19, 1917.
C h a p te r 198.— F ree public employment office.
Office to be
S e c t io n 1. There shall be established and maintained, under the
established.
care and direction o f the commissioner o f labor, a free employ
ment office for the purpose o f bringing together those who seek
employment and those who desire to employ.
Adm inistraSec. 2. This work shall be done in the office and in connection
tion.
with the bureau o f labor, and the commissioner o f labor shall
appoint such clerks or assistants as he may deem necessary fo r
the proper conduct thereof, and shall fix their compensation, sub
ject to the approval o f the governor and council.
Register.
Sec. 3. It shall be the duty o f the commissioner o f labor to re
ceive without charge and keep on file, by means of suitable books
or other record, a correct list o f all applications for employment
made by any person who shall file an application for work. It
shall also be the duty o f ‘ said commissioner of labor to keep on
file, in the same manner, a correct list o f all applications filed by
any person, partnership or corporation, seeking to hire help for
any legitimate purpose, and it shall be the duty o f said commis
sioner o f labor and his assistants to aid persons so applying fo r
employment and to assist employers so applying to obtain help.
TEXT OF LAWS— N EW HAMPSHIRE.
Sec. 4. This act shall apply to female as well as male applicants,
and to any and all kinds and descriptions o f legitimate employ
ment or service.
231
Scope of act.
S e c . 5. N o fe e s , d ir e c t or in d ire c t, s h a ll in a n y case be ta k e n
No fees
fr o m th o se se e k in g th e b en efits o f said e m p lo y m e n t office.
be cIlarged.
to
Sec. 6. In registering applications for employment and for emCitizens pre
ploy ees wanted, preference shall be given to residents o f the State, f erred.
Sec. 7. It shall be the duty o f city clerks o f cities and town
Duty of city
clerks o f towns to cooperate with said employment office as re- a n d t o w n
quested by .the commissioner o f labor in the matter of receiving clerks*
and forwarding applications from those desiring employees and
those desiring employment. Such city or town clerks may in the
discretion of the commissioner o f labor be furnished with applica
tion blanks for this purpose. Such city or town clerks shall re
ceive no compensation from the State for such service but they
may by proper order or direction from the authorities of their
towns or cities receive compensation therefor, or the same may be
regarded as a part of their duties as such town or city clerks ac
cording to the direction o f each town or city.
Sec. 8. The commissioner of labor shall cause reports showing Reports,
the business o f the office to be prepared at regular intervals, and
shall supply them to the newspapers and to citizens upon request.
Approved April 19, 1917.
JNJjiW JJbJKSJbJX,
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p te r
58.— Departm ent o f labor—Inspectors.
S e c t io n 1. The inspectors o f the department o f labor shall per- Inspectors to
form such duties as shall be designated by the commissioner o f be graded,
labor and shall be divided into fou r grades, as hereinafter pro
vided, which shall be designated, respectively, first grade, second
grade, third grade and fourth grade.
Fourth g ra d e: Inspectors o f this grade shall receive a salary o f
$1,000 per annum, which salary may be increased upon the recom
mendation o f the commissioner o f labor, after tw o years o f
service, to $1,100 per annum, and upon like recommendation, after
fou r years o f service, to $1,200 per annum. Appointments o f
inspectors to this grade shall be made from the list o f applicants
for this grade Submitted by the board o f civil-service commis
sioners.
Third grade: Inspectors o f this grade shall receive a salary o f
$1,200 per annum, which salary may be increased upon the recom
mendation o f the commissioner o f labor, after one year o f service, to
$1,300 per annum, and upon like recommendation, after two years
o f service, to $1,400 per annum, and upon like recommendation,
after three years o f service, to $1,500 per annum. Appointment o f
inspectors to this grade shall be made from the list o f applicants
for this grade submitted by the board o f civil-service commis
sioners.
Second g ra d e: Inspectors o f this grade shall receive a salary
o f $1,600 per annum, which salary, upon the recommendation o f
the commissioner o f labor, after one year of service, may be in
creased to $1,700 per annum, and upon like recommendation, after
two years o f service, to $1,800 per annum.
Any inspector, after having satisfactorily served for five years
as an inspector in the third grade, shall, if recommended* by the
commissioner o f labor, be admitted to a noncompetitive promo
tion examination, to be conducted by the board o f civil-service
commissioners, and upon successfully passing such examination,
shall be promoted to the second grade. No appointment o f in
spectors o f the second grade shall be made except after noncom
petitive promotion examination, as aforesaid.
First grade: Inspectors o f this grade shall receive a salary o f
$1,900 per annum, which salary may be increased upon the recom
mendation o f the commissioner of labor, after one year o f service,
to $2,000 per annum.
Any inspector, after having satisfactorily served as an inspector
o f the second grade for five years, shall, if recommended by the
commissioner o f labor, be admitted to a noncompetitive promotion
examination, to be conducted by the board o f civil-service commis
sioners, and, upon successfully passing such examination, shall
be promoted to the first grade. No appointment o f inspectors of
the first grade shall be made except after a noncompetitive pro
motion examination, as aforesaid.
S ec. 2. The salary o f the assistant commissioner o f labor shall
Salaries,
be $3,000 per annum. The assistant commissioner o f labor, after
having satisfactorily served as such assistant commissioner for
five years, shall, i f recommended by the commissioner o f labor,
be admitted to a noncompetitive promotion examination, to be
conducted by the board o f civil-service commissioners, and upon
successfully passing such examination shall receive a salary o f
$3,500 per annum.
234
Same.
LABOE LEGISLATION OF 1917.
S e c . 3. The chief inspector o f the bureau o f structural inspec
tion, the chief inspector o f the bureau o f electrical equipment, the
chief inspector o f the bureau of hygiene and sanitation, and the
chief o f the bureau o f industrial statistics shall each receive a
salary o f $ 2 ,5 0 0 per annum. The chief o f any o f the above-named
bureaus, after having satisfactorily served as chief o f such
bureau for five years, shall, if recommended by the commissioner
o f labor, be admitted to a noncompetitive promotion examination,
to be conducted by the board o f civil-service commissioners, and,
upon successfully passing such examination, shall receive a salary
o f $ 3 ,0 0 0 per annum.
Expenses.
S e c . 4. T h e in sp e cto rs in th e e m p lo y o f th e d e p a r tm e n t o f
la b o r, th e a s s is ta n t c o m m issio n e r o f la b o r an d th e c h ie fs o f th e
b u r e a u s a b o v e m en tio n e d sh a ll, in a d d itio n to t h e a n n u a l s a la r ie s
re c e iv ed b y th e m , re c e iv e th e e x p e n s e s in cu rre d b y th e m in th e
p e r fo r m a n c e o f th e ir d u tie s.
Status,
All inspectors now in the employ o f the department o f labor
shall be classified as inspectors o f the third grade and shSll be.
considered, fo r the purposes o f this act, to have been inspectors
o f the third grade from the date o f their original appointment as
inspectors: Provided, how ever, That nothing in this act contained
shall operate to reduce the salary o f any inspector now employed
by the department o f labor.
The period o f service o f the assistant commissioner o f labor
and the chiefs o f the bureaus above mentioned, now in the em
ploy o f the department of labor, shall, fo r the purposes o f this
act, run from the appointment o f such persons as assistant com
missioner or chiefs o f the bureaus herein named, as the case
may be.
Approved March 19, 1917.
Term.
C h a p t e r 9 1 .— Pension funds for em ployees o f street and w ater
departments— Cities o f the first class.
Wi t hdraw
[This act amends chapter 324, Acts o f 1915, inserting in section
ing members. 8 o f paragraph IV a proviso fo r refunding contributions to pension
funds made by an employee who is suspended or discharged after
having made payments for more than one year, and the separation
continues for more than two years.
Section 10 is amended so as to read as fo llo w s :}
When mem
S e c . 1 0 . Persons employed by any such board o f street and
bers may join.
water commissioners at the time o f the creation o f the pension
corporation or association in accordance with this act shall not be
eligible to take advantage o f or become members o f such pension
association after the expiration o f two years from the incorpora
tion thereof, except by a m ajority vote o f the board o f trustees
o f any such pension association : Provided, however, That any
such employee so accepted for membership by the board o f trus
tees shall pay to the pension association tw o per centum o f the
total amount o f salary received by him from the date o f the
form ation o f such pension association to the date o f the appli
cation, but the period o f payment, in order to fix the percentage of
pension o f such applicant, shall only be from the date o f .applica
N ew e m tion ; and any person coming into the employ o f any such board of
ployees.
street and water commissioners subsequent to the form ation o f any
such pension association shall not be eligible for membership in
any such pension associations unless he shall, within tw o years
after the date o f his appointment, file application for member
ship in such pension association: Provided, however, That the
board o f trustees may, in its discretion, by a m ajority vote, admit
to membership any such employee after such a period o f two years,
upon the payment by such applicant o f two per centum o f the
total amount o f salary received b y him from the date o f his ap
pointment to the time o f Ms admission, but the period o f pay
ment, in order to fix the percentage o f pension o f such appli-
TEX T OF LA W S— N E W J E R SE Y .
235
cant, shall only be from the date o f application; and in neither
case shall such deferred application be antedated.
Approved March 22, 1917.
C h a p t e k 9 4 .— Railroads— Sufficient crew s fo r trains .
S e c t i o n L In addition to the powers and duties now imposed
P o w e r of
upon and vested in the board o f x>ublic utility commissioners, said commissioners.
board shall have power, upon its own initiative or upon complaint
in writing, by order in writing, after hearing on notice to the
parties, to direct any common carrier by railroad in the State o f
New Jersey to employ such number of employees on any o f its
trains as said board o f public utility commissioners shall deem
necessary to afford safe, adequate and proper service for the
protection of the public and the employees of said common carrier.
Repeal.
S e c . 2. The act [Oh. 1 9 0 , Acts o f 1 9 1 3 ] entitled “ An act to pro
mote the safety o f travelers and employees upon railroads by
compelling common carriers by railroad to properly man their
trains,” * * * is hereby repealed.
'S e c . 3. N o re d u c tio n sh a ll be m a d e b y a n y r a ilr o a d , b e ca u se
R c d u c i ng
o f th e p a ssa g e o f th is act, in a n y tr a in cre w a s c o n stitu te d b y crews.
la w p rio r to th e p a ssa g e o f th is a c t, w ith o u t th e a u th o r iz a tio n o f
th e b o a r d o f p u b lic u tility c o m m issio n e r s, a s p r o v id e d in se c tio n
on e o f th is act.
Approved March 22, 1917.
C h a p te r
168.— Protection o f employees on buildings.
S e c t i o n 1. Whenever complaint is made to the commissioner
o f labor o f this State, mayor, superintendent o f police or other
persons in charge of the police force in any city, town, borough
or township in this State, that the scaffolding or slings, hangers,
blocks, pulleys, stays, braces, ladders, irons or ropes o f any sta
tionary sling or scaffolding used in the construction or alteration,
repairing, painting, cleaning or pointing o f buildings w ith in th e
lim its o f any city, town, borough or township aforesaid are
i unsafe or liable to prove dangerous to life or limb o f any person,
such commissioner o f labor, mayor, superintendent of police, or
other persons in charge o f the police force, shall immediately cause
an inspection to be made by a duly accredited representative o f
the commissioner of labor or by the building department of such
municipality, or by a competent architect or builder of such
scaffolding or slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, stays, braces, lad
ders, irons or ropes, or other parts connected therewith.
If,
after examination, such scaffolding, or any o f such parts, is
found not to conform to the provisions o f this act, or with the
rules made by the commissioner of labor under the authority o f
this act, the commissioner of labor, mayor, superintendent o f
police, or other persons in charge of the police force, shall pro
hibit the use thereof, and require the same to be altered and re
constructed so as to avoid such danger.
The person directed to make such inspection shall attach a cer
tificate to the scaffolding or slings, hangers, irons, ropes or other
parts thereof examined by him, which certificate shall state that
he has made such examination, and that he found it safe or
unsafe, as the case may be. I f he declares it to be unsafe, he
shall at once, in writing, notify the person responsible for its
erection o f the fact, and warn such person or persons against the
use thereof. Such notice shall be served personally upon the
person responsible for the erecting, or by conspicuously affixing
it to the scaffolding or part thereof to be declared unsafe.
A fter such notice has been served or affixed, the person re
sponsible shall immediately remove such scaffolding or part
thereof, or alter or strengthen it in such manner as to render it
safe in the discretion o f the person who has examined it, or his
superiors.
Complaint,
Inspection.
Certificate.
Compliance.
236
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
Right of ac
Any person whose duty it is to examine or test any scaffolding
cess.
or part thereof, as required by this act, shall have free access at
Safety rails.
Stays.
Ma r g i n oi
safety.
Rules.
all reasonable hours to any building or premises containing them
or where they may be used.
S e c . 2. I f a n y sc a ffo ld in g or s ta g in g s w u n g or su sp e n d e d fr o m
a n o v e rh e a d su p p o rt or su p p o rts s h a ll b e m o re th a n te n fe e t fr o m
th e g r o u n d o r floor, sa m e s h a ll b e d e e m e d u n s u ita b le an d im
p ro p e r, a n d a s n o t g iv in g pro p er p ro te ctio n to th e li f e a n d lim b o f
a n y p e rso n e m p lo y e d or e n g a g e d th e re o n , u n le s s su c h s c a ffo ld in g
o r s ta g in g sh a ll, w h ile th e s a m e is in u se , h a v e a s a fe ty r a il
p ro p e rly b o lte d se c u re a n d b ra c e d an d r is in g a t le a s t th ir t y -f o u r
in ch es ab o v e th e floo r or m a in p o r tio n o f su c h s c a ffo ld in g or s t a g
in g, a n d e x te n d in g a lo n g th e e n tire le n g th o f th e o u ts id e an d e n d s
th e r e o f, an d p ro p e rly a tta c h e d th e re to , an d it s h a ll be p ro v id e d
w ith b ra c e s so a s to su s ta in th e w e ig h t o f a m a n ’ s b o d y le a n in g
a g a in s t it.
S u c h sc a ffo ld in g o r s ta g in g s h a ll b e so f a s te n e d a s to
p re v e n t th e sa m e fr o m s w a y in g fr o m th e b u ild in g or s tr u c tu r e .
S e c . 3. All swinging and stationary scaffolding shall be so con
structed as to bear four times the maximum weight to be de
pendent therefrom or placed thereon while in use, and not more
than three men shall be allowed on any swinging scaffolding at
any time.
In addition to the safeguards hereinabove provided, the com
missioner o f labor shall make such rules as may in his judgment
be necessary to render the use o f scaffolding or slings, hangers,
blocks, pulleys, stays, braces, ladders, irons or ropes o f any
stationary sling or scaffolding used in the construction or alter
ation, repairing, painting, cleaning or pointing o f buildings within
the limit o f this State safe.
Violations.
S e c . 4 . A n y o w n e r, c o n tr a c to r, s u b c o n tr a c to r, fo r e m a n o r o th e r
p e rso n w h o v io la te s or o m its to c o m p ly w ith a n y o f th e fo r e
g o in g p r o v isio n s o f th is a ct, or w h o s u ffe rs or p e r m its th e u se o f
a n y a r tic le or sc a ffo ld in g d e c la r e d u n d e r th e p r o v is io n s o f th is
a c t b y a p ro p e r officer to b e d e fe c tiv e or u n s a fe , o r w h ic h d o e s
n o t c o m p ly w ith e v e ry p ro v isio n o f th is a c t, or w h o d e s tr o y s or
d e fa c e s a n y n o tic e p o ste d in a c c o rd a n c e w ith th e p r o v is io n s o f
t h is a c t, o r w h o h in d e rs or o b s tru c ts a n y officer w h o m a y b e
d e ta ile d to e n fo rc e its p ro v isio n s , s h a ll b e p u n is h a b le b y a fin e
o f n o t le ss th a n $ 10 n o r m o re th a n $100 a t th e d is c r e tio n o f th e
cou rt.
Procedure.
All proceedings brought under the provisions o f this act shall
be by action o f debt, to be instituted by and in the name o f the
commissioner o f labor o f this State, or by and in the name o f
the mayor or chief o f police o f any city or borough, the clerk
or chief o f police o f any township or village in which the offense
shall have been committed, in any district court o f a city, record
er’s court o f cities, or before any justice o f the peace having due
jurisdiction, and the first process shall be by summons return
able in not less than five nor more than ten days, which process
shall be served on the owner or owners, person or persons or any
o f them, owning the place or operating the business wherein the
alleged violation o f law has taken p la ce ; if such owner or owners,
person or persons, reside in the county where the offense was
committed, or if the owner or owners, person or persons as
aforesaid, do not so reside in the county where the offense was
committed, then said process shall be served on the superin
tendent, foreman or persons in charge o f the business or p la ce ;
service upon a corporation shall be made upon the president,
vice president, or any director, and if none of them reside in the
county where the offense was committed, then service may be
made upon the superintendent, foreman or person in charge o f
the business or place; in case the owner or owners o f a building
reside without the limits o f the county, then service o f the process
may be made upon the agent in charge o f said building, and if
there be no such agent, then service of the process may be made
by affixing a copy thereof to the main outer door o f such building
at least ten days before the return day thereof. All proceedings
TEXT OF LAWS— N E W JERSEY.
237
thereafter shall be the same as in any action o f debt in said
cou rt; the finding o f the court shall be that the defendant has
or has not, as the case may be, incurred the penalty claimed in
the demand o f the plaintiff, and judgment shall be given accord
ingly ; in case an execution shall issue and be returned unsatisfied,
the court, on application after notice to the defendant, may award
an execution to take the body o f the defendant, i f an individual,
and in case such a defendant is committed under such an execu
tion, he shall not be discharged under the insolvent laws o f the
State, but shall only be discharged by the court making the order
for the body execution, or one o f the justices o f the supreme
court, when such court or justice shall be satisfied that further
confinement w ill not result in the payment o f the judgment and
co sts; all moneys collected under the provisions o f this act shall be
paid into the treasury o f the State o f New Jersey when prose
cution is conducted by the commissioner o f labor, and into the
treasury o f the city, borough, town, township or village in which
the offense occurred when the prosecution is conducted by an
official o f such municipality.
Approved March 27, 1917.
C h a p te r
176.— Factory, etc., regulations— Sweat shops.
S e c t i o n 1. Section thirty-one o f the act which this act amends
[sec. 46, p. 3030, Comp. Stat.] is hereby amended to read as
fo llo w s :
No room or rooms, apartment or apartments, in any tenement
Manufaeor dwelling house, or in a building situated immediately in the ^ents
e"
rear o f any apartment, tenement or dwelling house shall be used
for the purpose o f manufacturing, altering, repairing or finishing
therein, for wages or for sale, any articles whatsoever unless a
license is secured therefor, as provided in this act.
Application fo r such a license shall be made to the commisLicense,
sioner o f labor by any fam ily or a member thereof, or any person,
firm, or corporation desiring to manufacture, alter, repair or finish
any such articles in any room or apartment in any tenement or
dwelling house or by any person, firm or corporation desiring to
perform such work in any building in the rear o f any tenement or
dwelling house. Each license shall run continuously for a period
o f six months, whereupon a new or further license must be
obtained. Each application for such a license shall describe the
room or apartment, shall specify the number o f persons to be
employed therein and shall be in such form as the commissioner
o f labor may determine. Blank applications shall be prepared
and furnished by the commissioner o f labor. B efore any such
license is granted an inspection o f the room, apartment or building
sought to be licensed shall be made by the commissioner o f labor,
factory inspector or in the discretion o f the commissioner o f labor
by any local board o f health or its inspector or inspectors. I f the
commissioner o f labor or such inspectors as herein provided for
ascertain that such room, apartment or building is in a clean and
proper sanitary condition, and that the articles specified in this
section may be manufactured therein under clean and healthful
conditions, he shall grant a license permitting the use o f such
room, apartment or building for the purpose o f manufacturing,
altering, repairing or finishing such articles. Each license shall
state the maximum number o f persons who may be employed in
the room or rooms to which such license relates. The number o f
persons to be so employed shall be determined by the number o f
cubic feet o f air space contained in each room or apartment men
tioned in such license, allowing not less than two hundred and
fifty cubic feet for each person employed between the hours o f six Air space,
o’clock in the morning and six o’clock in the evening, unless by
special written permit o f the commissioner o f labor, and not less
than four hundred cubic feet for each person employed therein
between the hours o f six in the evening and six in the morning,
but no such permit shall be issued unless such room or apartment
LABOE LEGISLATION OS' 1917.
238
License
be posted.
to
Sanitation.
Diseases.
W h a t con
tracts forbid
den.
Exemptions.
Violations.
has suitable light at all times during such hours as such persons
are employed therein.
Such license must be posted in a conspicuous place in the room
or apartment to which it relates. It may be revoked fcy the com
missioner o f labor if the health of the community or o f the em
ployees requires it, o f [or] if it appears that the rooms or apart
ments to which such license relates are not in a healthy and
proper sanitary condition. Every room or apartment in which
any o f the articles named in this section are mahufactured,
altered, repaired or finished shall be kept in a clean and sanitary
condition, and shall be subject to examination and inspection by
the commissioner o f labor, factory inspectors or local boards o f
health for the purpose o f ascertaining whether said garments o r
articles, or any part or parts thereof, are clean and free from
vermin and every matter o f infectious or contagious nature.
I f the commissioner o f labor, factory inspector or local board
o f health shall find evidence o f infectious or contagious diseases
present in any workshop, or in goods manufactured or in process
o f manufacture therein if [sic] the commissioner o f labor, factory
inspector or local board o f health shall issue such orders as the
public health may require and shall condemn and destroy such
infectious and contagious articles.
Sec. 31a. No person, firm or corporation shall hire, employ or
contract with any member o f a fam ily, or any person, firm or
corporation not holding a license therefor, to manufacture, alter,
repair or finish any articles whatsoever in any room or apartment
in any tenement or dwelling or any room or apartment in any
building situated in the rear o f a tenement or dwelling house as
aforesaid, and no person, firm or corporation shall receive, handle
or convey to others or sell, hold in stock or expose for sale any
articles whatsoever unless made under the sanitary conditions
and in accordance with this act. This act shall not prevent,
however, the employment o f a tailor or seamstress by any person
or fam ily for the purpose of making, altering, repairing or finish
ing any articles o f wearing apparel for such person or for fam ily
use, and shall not prevent such employment by women’s exchanges
or philanthropic associations not organized for pecuniary p rofit
S e c . 2 . S e c tio n th ir ty -tw o o f th is a c t to w^hich th is a c t is a n
a m e n d m e n t [se c. 4 7 , p. 3 0 3 0 , C o m p . S t a t ] is h e re b y a m e n d e d so
a s to re a d a s f o l l o w s :
S e c . 3 2. A n y p e rso n , firm o r c o rp o ra tio n b e in g th e o w n e r, le s s e e
o r o c c u p a n t o f th e p la ce , o r p la ce s to w h ic h th e p re c e d in g se c tio n s
or a n y p a r t th e r e o f re la te , s h a ll, fo r th e v io la tio n o f a n y o f th e
p r o v isio n s th e re in , b e lia b le to a p e n a lty o f $50 f o r th e first o ffe n s e
a n d $ 1 0 0 f o r e a c h su c c e e d in g o ffen se.
Approved March 27, 1917.
C h a p te r
185.— Inspection, etc., o f steam boilers— Board o f 'boiler
rules.
Board c r e
S e c t io n 1. The governor shall appoint two citizens o f this State,
ated.
who, together w ith the commissioner o f labor and the members of
Duties.
Violations.
the steam engine and boiler operator’s license bureau, shall act as
members o f a board o f boiler rules. This board shall meet at the
call o f the commissioner o f labor, who shall be the chairman o f
the board, and shall formulate rules and regulations for the safe
and proper construction and installation o f steam boilers. No
steam boiler shall be installed or used in this State unless it con
form s to the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this act.
S e c . 2 . Any person violating any o f the provisions o f this a c t or
violating any o f the rules or regulations or requirements o f the
board o f boiler rules shall be subject to a penalty o f $50 for the
first offense and $100 for the second and each subsequent offense.
Any penalty incurred under this act shall be sued fo r and recov
ered by and in the name of the commissioner o f labor in accord
ance w ith the procedure provided for by an act * * * [chap-
TEXT OF LAWS— NEW JEBSEY.
239
ter 64] approved M arch twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred and four.
[Comp. Stat., pp. 3023-3035.]
Approved March 27, 1917.
C h a p te r
229.— F actory, etc., regulations.
1. The commissioner o f labor may, when he deems it
necessary, require that all rooms or apartments used for the pur
pose o f manufacturing, altering, repairing or finishing therein any
articles as mentioned in section thirty-one o f the act o f which
this act is a supplement [sec. 46, p. 3030, Comp. S ta t] shall be
separate from and have no door, window or other opening into any
living or sleeping room or any tenement or dwelling, and that no
other rooms or apartments shall be used at any time for sleeping
purposes and shall contain no bed, bedding or cooking utensils.
He may further require or direct a separate outside entrance to
the rooms or apartments where the w ork is carried on, and if such
w ork is carried on above the first floor, then there may be directed
a separate and distinct stairway leading thereto, and every such
room or apartment shall be well and sufficiently lighted, heated
and ventilated by ordinary, or, if necessary, by mechanical ap
pliances. He may also require suitable closet arrangement and
separate toilets when and as he deems it necessary.
S e c. 2. Any person, firm or corporation, by themselves or by
their agents or managers, contracting for the manufacturing, alter
ing, repairing or finishing o f any articles whatsoever, as men
tioned in section thirty-one of the act o f which this is a supple
ment, or giving out material for which they or any part o f them
are to be manufactured, altered, repaired or finished, shall keep
a register o f the names and addresses plainly written in English
o f the persons to whom such article or articles are given to be so
manufactured, altered, repaired or finished, or with whom they
have contracted to do the same. Such register shall be subject to
inspection on demand by the commissioner o f labor or factory in
spectors, and a copy thereof shall be furnished at his or their
request.
S e c . 3 . No articles o f food, no dolls, doll’s clothing and no
article o f children’s or infants’ wearing apparel shall be manufac
tured, altered, repaired or finished in whole or in part for a fa c
tory, either directly or through the instrumentality o f one or more
contractors or third persons in a tenement house, in any portion
o f an apartment, any part o f which is used for living purposes.
S e c . 4. Any person, firm or corporation, being the owner, lessee
or occupant o f the place or places to which the preceding sections
or any part thereof relate, shall, for the violation o f any o f the
provisions herein, be liable to a penalty o f $50 for the first offense
and $100 for each succeeding offense.
Approved March 29, 1917.
S e c tio n
C h a p t e r 2 4 3 . — M anufacture,
Work rooms
to be separate,
when.
Registers,
Articles not
t o b e manu
factured, etc.
Violations,
etc.f o f explosives.
[The provisions o f this act are directed mainly to securing the Enforcement.
safety o f the public. Its enforcement is intrusted to the com
missioner o f labor, who issues licenses, makes inspections, etc.
Certain portions o f the act affecting employment conditions are
here reproduced.]
Inspection.
S e c . 11. The commissioner o f labor shall make, or cause to be
made, at least one inspection during every year o f each licensed
factory or magazine. The commissioner o f labor shall appoint
one or more inspectors who shall be subject to the direction and
control o f such commissioner o f labor to carry out the provisions
o f this act, and such other duties as may be assigned to them
by such commissioner o f labor. * * *
Sec. 12. No person, except an official as authorized herein or
W ho m ay
a person authorized to do so by the owner thereof, or his agent, enter.
shall enter any factory, building, magazine or car containing ex
plosives in this State,
240
LABOB LEGISLATION OF
1917.
Drivers.
S ec. 13. * * * It shall be unlaw ful for any person in
charge o f a vehicle containing explosives to smoke in, upon or
near such vehicle, to drive the vehicle while intoxicated, to drive
the vehicle in a careless or reckless manner, or to load or unload
such vehicle in a careless or reckless manner, or to make unneces
sary stops.
#
*
*
*
*
*
Articles for
S ec. 19. No employee or other person shall attempt to enter
bidden.
any explosive plant w ith matches or other flame-producing de
vices, except electric incandescent flash lights, or liquor or nar
cotics in his or her possession or control, or while under the
influence o f liquor or narcotics, or to partake o f intoxicants or
narcotics while within the plant, under penalty o f misdemeanor.
The superintendent may authorize in w riting any employee or
other person to have approved safety matches in his possession
or to depart from the other provisions o f this section.
It shall be the duty o f the superintendent or other person in
charge o f all plants included within this act to provide safety con
tainers for matches at all entrances to said plants.
Approved March 29, 1917.
JOINT RESOLUTIONS.
No. 2.— Commission on high cost o f living.
Com mission
The governor o f the State is hereby authorized to appoint a
created.
commission o f five persons, citizens o f this State, to investigate
Duties.
Report.
the subject o f the high cost o f living, w hich commission shall have
pow er to w ork and cooperate w ith like commissions from adjoin
ing States. The said commission shall, in any manner in which
it may deem advisable, thoroughly investigate the possibilities
through marketing and other facilities o f the reduction in the
present cost, o f living, and said commission shall not be lim ited
in any manner whatsoever in its investigation. Said commission
shall likewise have power to issue subpoenas for the attendance
o f persons and corporations as now provided by law, and said
commission shall report to the present session o f the legislature.
Approved January 23, 1917.
No. 11.— Commission on pensions and retirem ent o f public em
ployees.
1. A commission o f five members [ shall J be appointed, tw o by
Commission
created.
the president o f the senate and three by the speaker o f the house,
to be known as 44 the pension and retirement commission,” to
make a survey o f the subject o f pensions and retirement funds
fo r the employees o f the various municipal, county and State gov
Report.
ernments, and reports [report] its findings to the present or a
future session o f the legislature with such recommendations as
It may deem best regarding municipal pensions and retirement
funds.
It is the sense o f this legislature that no further legislation
along the lines above indicated should be enacted until the coming
in o f said commission report.
A p p r o p r ia
An appropriation o f $1,000 [shall] be placed in the supple
tion.
mental appropriation bill and $2,000 in the annual appropriation
bill to defray the expenses o f such commission.
Approved M arch 29, 1917.
Duties.
D EPAR TM E N T OF L A B O R : FACTORY, ETC., REGULATIONS.
Sanitary industrial standards.
W ashing facilities shall consist o f lavatory basins fitted with
Washing fa
cilities.
waste pipes and tw o spigots conveying hot and cold w a ter; or
troughs o f enamel or similar smooth im pervious material, fitted
w ith waste p ip es; arid for every 2 feet o f trough length, two
TEXT OF LAWS— NEW JERSEY.
241
spigots, conveying hot and cold water. W here basins are pro
vided, there shall be at least one basin for every five em ployees;
and where troughs are provided, at least 2 feet o f trough length
for every five employees. The department w ill accept as a sub
stitute for the hot and cold water spigots to every 2 feet o f trough
length a perforated pipe, conveying tempered water, installed
above the middle o f the trough at a height above the edge of the
trough o f from 18 to 24 inches. Stoppers shall be pulled so that
all washing is done in running water.
Showers.
In plants where the workers are exposed to dust, dirt, the
handling o f poisonous materials, excessive physical exertion, heat
or humidity, the department requires the additional provision o f
shower baths in the proportion o f 1 to every 15 employees so ex
posed.
Each worker shall be provided with a clean place in which to D r e s s i n g
change fr o m . street clothes to working clothing. A pipe rail rooms.
equipped with clothes hangers, and fastened high enough from
the floor so as to prevent the clothes from dragging, will be
accepted by the departm ent; excepting when the workers a r e :
a. Engaged in handling poisonous materials,
b. Exposed to injurious dust or fumes,
c. Excessive heat, humidity, or fatigue from physical exertion.
In such cases clean, lighted, ventilated and when necessary
heated dressing rooms shall be provided, separate from the w ork
room, but connected therewith. When poisonous materials are
handled which expose the person o f the worker to contamination,
lockers shall be provided (divided by perpendicular partitions)
o f a double type having the follow ing dim ensions: 60 inches
high by 24 inches wide by 12 inches deep.
W orkers exposed to heat, humidity and excessive physical ex
ertion shall be provided with single type lockers having the fol
lowing dim ensions: 60 inches high by 12 inches wide by 15 inches
deep.
Clothes baskets that can be drawn by means o f a rope to the
ceiling o f the workroom may be used in lieu o f lockers when
room is free from dust or smoke.
The department advises, in the absence o f mechanical ventila
Ventilation.
tion, that lockers be provided with perforated metal tops and
bottoms, and fluted or perforated metal doors.
Lunch room s: W orkers exposed to dangerous dusts or fumes Lunch rooms.
should be provided with a lunch room or rooms separate for the
sexes, and apart from the workrooms so contaminated.
Toilet facilities: These shall consist o f 1 siphon-action toilet
Toilets.
bowl for each 20 persons or fraction thereof. Toilets shall be fre
quently cleaned, well lighted, comfortably heated, and adequately
ventilated to the outer air by a window or windows (except in
cases where mechanical ventilation is perm itted), and in addi
tion, toilets shall be separate for the sexes, and provided with
vestibule entrances. Urinals, when deemed necessary, shall be
provided on a basis o f 1 urinal for each 50 persons using same.
Urinals shall be properly flushed and so installed as to prevent
noxious odors from arising.
The plumbing used for washing and toilet installations shall
be made in conformity with the local requirements o f the city
wherein the plant is located.
Where no regulations are operative, the department will furnish
the code required upon request.
Drinking water should be furnished by means o f sanitary Drinking wa
bubbling drinking fountains, provided with pipe coils so ar ter.
ranged they can be ice cooled during the summer months. The
fountains should be o f a type that prevents contamination from
use.
Specifica
[In addition to the foregoing, issued by the bureau o f hygiene
and sanitation of the department, standard specifications were tions.
issued for the construction and installation of exhaust systems
for the removal of industrial dust, noxious fumes, excessive heat,
45913°— Bull. 244— 18------ 16
242
LABOE LEGISLATION' OF 1917.
and humidity, giving the kind o f material, gauges o f material,
methods o f riveting, soldering, and lapping, prescribing the use
Classes of es of elbows and collars, and other details o f construction. Sepa
tablishments.
rate lists o f standard regulations were also established for re
moving dust generated by buffing, polishing, and grinding m eta l;
from woodworking m achinery; in shoe m anufacturing; in the
pearl-goods in du stry; in the manufacture o f leather g o o d s; in
flint grin din g; in the manufacture o f p ottery ; and in the manu
facture o f celluloid goods. Other regulations relate to printing
establishments, the ventilation o f laundries, the felt-liatting in
dustry, fu r dressing, the manufacture o f leather and metal dip
ping in alkali and acid solutions. These consist in part o f tables
standardizing the sizes o f pipes, etc., for the specific kinds o f
establishments and their construction, and in part of requirements
to be observed by employees under the conditions existing in the
specified industries. Besides emphasizing the necessity for venti
lation, the wearing o f protective clothing, cleanliness o f person,
the supply o f water for drinking and for toilet purposes, and
avoidance o f eating food or putting any object in the mouth with
out precautions as to cleanliness are particularly noticed. On ac
count o f the detail and the limited scope o f the separate orders,
the text o f these regulations is not reproduced.]
Safety standards for lead corroders, lead oxidizers, paint
grinders, etc.
[Chapter 162 o f the Session Laws o f 1914 enacts in some detail
a statute governing the inspection and regulation o f factories
Orders.
engaged in the manufacture o f wiiite lead and similar products.
The bureau o f hygiene and sanitation has issued orders extend
ing the requirements as to safety to be observed, prescribing
necessary sanitary provisions binding upon employers and em
ployees, setting forth the requirements both of a general nature
and those that are applicable to particular processes and the
different branches o f the industry. Lists o f regulations to be
posted in the different establishments, and form s o f blanks for
reports are prescribed..
Similar to the foregoing in purpose, and issued under the same
Ni t r o and
a m i d o c o m- general authority, are standards o f safety to be observed in the
pounds.
manufacture o f nitro and amido compounds. Eight form s o f
these compounds are designated as injurious. The regulations
refer to the ventilation o f buildings, the construction o f operating
platforms, the character and care o f floors and walls, the storage
and handling o f materials, the use o f work clothing and the
furnishing o f wTashing and dressing rooms, precautions as to
eating, drinking, using intoxicants and tobacco, the supply of
drinking water, the method o f carrying on repairs, modes o f
resuscitation, provisions for first aid, physical examination o f
employees, etc.]
Rules and requirem ents fo r the installation and maintenance of
electrically controlled engine stojys and speed limit governors
fo r engines used for the purpose o f furnishing power in 'manu
facturing establishments.
Scope.
[These rules were issued by the bureau o f electrical equipment
o f the Department o f Labor, and bear date o f June 1, 1916. They
prescribe in detail the construction and installation o f electrically
controlled equipment o f the nature indicated, but are offered only
as “ a partial outline o f requirements.” Samples o f appliances
must be submitted to the bureau for examination and report before
being introduced for use.]
TEXT OF LAWS---- NEW JERSEY.
243
Code of lighting for factories, mills, and other work places.
R u le 1. W orking or traversed spaces in buildings or grounds
Art i f i ci al
shall be supplied during the time of use with artificial light, in lighting,
accordance with the follow ing rules, whenever natural light falls
below the intensities specified in rule 2.
R u le 2* The desirable illumination intensity to be provided and
standards
the minimum intensity which shall be maintained are shown in
the follow ing ta b le :
A t the w ork .
M inim um
O rd inary acceptable
footpractice.
candles.
A . K cad ways and yard th oroughfares..................................
B . Stairw ays, passageways, aisles, storage sp aces............
C. K ough m anufacturing operations, such as fou n dry
w ork, rough m achining, rough assem bling, rough
b en ch w o r k ............................................................................
D . Fine m anufacturing operations, such as fine lathe
w ork , p attern and to o l m aking, ligh t-colored te x
tiles, tob a cco m a n u factu re...............................................
E . Special cases of fine w ork , such as w atch m akin g, en
graving, drafting, dark-colored, te x tile s ......................
0.05
.25
0.05
.25
0.25
.50
1.25
1.25
2.50
3.50
3.50
6.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
R u le 3. Glare, either from lamps or from unduly bright reflecting surfaces, produces eyestrain and increases accident hazard.
Exposed bare lamps shall not be used except when they are out
o f the ordinary line o f vision. Lamps should be suitably shaded
to minimize glare.
Glare,
R u le 4. Lamps shall be so arranged as to secure a good distribution of light on the work, avoiding objectionable shadows
and sharp contrasts of intensity.
R u le 5. Emergency lights shall be provided in all work space
D istrib u tio n ,
E m ergen cy
aisles, stairways, passageways and e x its ; such lights shall be so
arranged as to insure their reliable operation when, through acci
dent or other cause, the regular lighting is extinguished.
R u le 6. Switching or controlling apparatus shall be so placed
L i g h t s at
that at least pilot or night lights may be turned on at the main en rance*
point of entrance.
Fire-alarm signal systems.
[These rules, like those relating to electrically controlled engine stops, etc., are issued by the bureau o f electrical equipment,
the rules relating to design and construction of appliances, being
but a partial outline o f the actual requirements. The rules are
applicable to factory buildings, which are classified according to
their construction, floor area, and presence or absence o f a
sprinkler system.
General and special provisions are made
relating to fire-alarm boxes, signal devices, sources of energy,
etc. The similarity o f rules o f this class, and their technical
nature, make it inadvisable to reproduce them in detail.]
S cope,
N E W MEXICO.
ACTS OF 1917.
C hapter 16.— Payment of wages— Semimonthly pay day.
S e c t i o n 1. All railway, mining and manufacturing corporations
Scope of
operating in this State shall designate regular days, not m o re lawthan sixteen days apart, as days fixed for the payment o f wages
to all employees thereof, paid in this State, and shall post and
maintain notices, printed or typewritten, in plain type in at least
two conspicuous places where said notices can be seen by said
employees as they go to and from their work, setting forth said
days as “ pay days.” And every such corporation shall pay on
Payment In
each o f said days to its employees in law ful money o f the United cashStates, or in negotiable bank check, payable on demand, o f the
date o f said day, all wages due said employees up to such pay
day, except it may withhold wages for not more than sixteen
days’ labor due any employee remaining in the service o f such
corporation.
S e c . 2. Every such corporation violating any o f the provisions
Violations,
o f this act shall be deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor and upon con
viction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than $50
nor more than $500 for each offense.
Approved March 5, 1917.
C h apter
18.— Exemption of wages from garnishment.
S e c t i o n 1. No person shall be charged as garnishee, in any . A m o u n t subcourts in this State, on account o f current wages or salary due nlshment.g &* *
from him to a defendant in his employ, for more than twenty per
cent o f any wages or salary due such defendant for the last thirty
days’ service unless the wages or salary due said defendant ex
ceed $75 per month. I f such wages or salary exceed $75 per
month, garnishment may be had for the full amount o f the ex
cess above $75: Provided, That no exemption whatever shall be P ro v iso ,
claimed where the debt was incurred for the necessities o f life
and the defendant is not the head o f a fam ily residing in this
State. No public officer shall be summoned as a garnishee in his P u b lic em official capacity, excepting in all cases where the plaintiff has a Pl°yees*
judgment against the defendant in some court o f this State. In
all cases where the plaintiff has a judgment in some court of the
State against any public official or any employee o f the State o f
New Mexico, any county, city, town, village, municipality or
school* district thereof, the salaries o f any such public officials
and the salaries or wages o f any such person so employed by the
said State o f New Mexico, or any such county, city, village, town,
municipality or school district thereof, shall be subject to garnish
ment : Provided, Nothing in this act shall be construed to im pair
the rights o f such public officials or such employee o f said State,
county, city, town, village, municipality or school district, to
claim exemption o f wages or salaries as provided herein. In all
cases where the plaintiff has a judgment in some court o f the
State against the defendant, any public officer may be summoned
as garnishee and the return o f such public officer shall be by a
statement over his official signature of the amount due the de
fendant, which said statement shall be filed by such public officer
without costs in the action.
Approved March 5, 1917.
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
246
E X T R A O R D IN A R Y SESSION.
C hapter
A p p r o p r ia tion .
P r o d u c tio n
to be in creased ,
5.— Public defense— Increase of production.
S e c t i o n 1. There is hereby appropriated the sum o f $750,000,
or so much thereof as may be required to be expended and dis
bursed by and under the direction o f the governor, as provided
in this act, in such-m anner and for such purposes, and through
such agencies, and under such regulations as the governor may
deem necessary or proper to provide for the increase o f domestic
production o f articles and materials essential to the support of
armies and o f the people, during the interruption o f foreign com
merce. and to provide fo r the public defense.
Approved May 8, 1917.
NEW YORK.
ACTS OF 1917.
C hapter
370.— Railroads— Equipment of locomotives.
Section 1. Section seventy-seven o f * * * chapter fortynine o f the Consolidated Laws is hereby amended to read as
fo llo w s :
E q u ip m e n t
Sec. 77. It shall be unlawful fo r any railroad company to use
within the State on its line or lines any locomotive engine not required .
equipped with a power driving wheel brake and appliances for
operating the train brake system, or to use any locomotive en
gine operated by steam not equipped with a mechanically operated
door to the fire box o f such locomotive engine. Such mechanically
operated door shall be so constructed and operated by steam,
compressed air, electricity or other means as deemed best and
most efficient by the officers o f such railroad. The device for
operating such door shall be so constructed that it may be oper
ated by the fireman on said engine by means o f a push button or
other appliance located in the floor o f the deck or floor o f the ten
der at a suitable distance from such door to enable the fireman
while firing such engine, by pressure with his foot to open such
door for the firing of such engine: Provided, however, That such
mechanically operated doors shall not be required on locomotives
equipped with mechanical stokers: And provided further, That
nothing in this section shall be construed to inhibit the passage
o f a locomotive engine not so equipped with such mechanically
operated door, moving under its own steam either with or with
out a train, when such movement is from a point without this
State through and to a point beyond its borders, or from a point
without this State to a point within it, or from a point within
this State to a point without it if such passage is for the pur
pose o f moving it to or from a repair shop or shops for the pur
pose o f repairing such locomotive engine, and when it is not
intended for service within this State.
Sec. 2. All new locomotive engines placed in service, after this
In s ta lla tio n .
act shall take effect, shall be equipped with such mechanically
operated doors. As to all locomotive engines not actually in
service, nor assigned to or held for such service, within this
State, at the time o f the passage o f this act, it shall take effect
on and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and nine
teen. As to any locomotive engine or engines in actual service, or
assigned to and held for such service, within this State, when this
act shall take effect, the same may be continued in service until
it is necessary to withdraw it or them for repairs; and every
locomotive engine so withdrawn from service for repairs shall
be properly equipped with such mechanically operated fire box
doors before it shall be returned to service.
A c t in effect.
S e c . 3. This act shall take effect January first, nineteen hun
dred and nineteen.
Became a law May 5, 1917.
C hapter 532.— Factory, etc., regulations— Elevators.
Section 1. Subdivision two o f section seventy-nine o f * * *
chapter thirty-one o f the Consolidated Laws * * * is here
by amended to read as follow s:
2.
All counterweights of every elevator shall be adequately pro Gua rdg.
tected by proper inclosures at the top and bottom o f the run, ex
cept where, in the judgment o f the commission, such inclosures
are unnecessary. The car o f every elevator used for carrying
passengers or employees shall be substantially inclosed on all sides,
247
LABOK LEGISLATION OF 1917.
248
including the top, and shall be properly lighted during working
hours or when in use. The top o f every freight elevator car or plat'
form shall be provided with a substantial grating or covering for the
protection o f the operator thereof, in accordance with such rules
and regulations as may be adopted with reference thereto by the
industrial commission.
Became a law May 17, 1917.
Chapter 535.— Employment of women— Hours of labor.
S e c t i o n . 1. Section one hundred and sixty-one o f
* * *
chapter thirty-one o f the Consolidated Laws * * * is hereby
amended by adding thereto, after subdivision two thereof, a new
subdivision, to be subdivision three, and to read as follow s :
W ork in res3. In cities o f the first and second class no female over the age
taurants.
0f sixteen years shall be employed, permitted or suffered to Work
in or in connection with any restaurant more than six days or
fifty-four hours in any one week, or more than nine hours in any
one day or before six o’clock in the morning or after ten o’clock
in the evening o f any day. This subdivision shall, however, not
apply to females employed in restaurants as singers and per
form ers o f any kind, or as attendants in ladies’ cloak rooms and
parlors, nor shall it apply to females employed in or in connection
w ith the dining rooms and kitchens o f h6tels, or in or in connec
tions with lunch rooms or restaurants conducted by employers
solely for the benefit o f their own employees.
S e c . 2. Present subdivision three of said section is hereby re
numbered subdivision four.
Became a law May 17, 1917.
Art
am ended,
C hapter 536.— Employment of children— General provisions.
S e c t i o n 1. Section seventy-five of
* * * chapter thirty-one
o f the Consolidated Laws * * * is hereby amended to read
as follow s:
List o f names
S e c . 75. The board or department of health or health commisto be reported, sioner o f a city, village or town, shall transmit, between the first
and tenth day of each month, to the commissioner o f labor, a list
o f the names o f all children to whom certificates have been issued
during the preceding month together with a duplicate o f the
record o f every examination as to the physical fitness, including
examinations resulting in rejection. Such list shall be accom
panied by a statement in a form which shall be prepared and fu r
nished by the commissioner of labor, certifying to the kinds o f
evidence o f age, together with the number of each specified kind,
accepted by the officer issuing employment certificates as proof
o f age for the granting o f employment certificates. The board or
department o f health or health commissioner of a city, village or
town shall likewise transmit weekly to the superintendent o f
schools o f each such locality, a list o f the names and home ad
dresses o f all children granted or refused employment certificates,
together with a statement showing in each rejected case the rea
son for such refusal.
F orm s
*n cities
the
an(^ second class all employment certifi
cates and school records required under the provisions o f this
chapter shall be in such form as shall be approved by the com
missioner o f labor. In towns, villages or cities other than cities
o f the first or second class, the commissioner of labor shall pre
pare and furnish blank forms for such employment certificates
and school records. No school record or employment certificate
required by this article, other than those approved or furnished
by the commissioner of labor as above provided, shall be used.
The commissioner o f labor shall inquire into the administration
and enforcement o f the provisions of this article by all public
officers charged with the duty o f issuing employment certificates,
and for that purpose the commissioner of labor shall have access
to all papers and records required to be kept by all such officers.
TEXT OE LAWS— NEW YORK.
249
The commissioner o f labor shall transmit to the local superintend
ent o f schools between the first and tenth day o f each month, on
form s prepared and furnished by the State education department,
a list o f the names and home addresses o f all children under
sixteen years o f age found during the preceding month, working
illegally in factories or for any factory at any place or in any
establishments specified in section one hundred and sixty-one o f
this chapter.
[Section 166 is identical with section 75, and is identically
amended.]
Became a law May 17, 1917.
C h apter
563.— Employment of children— School attendance.
Time ex
[This act amends subdivision 1 o f section 621, chapter 16, o f the tended,
Consolidated Laws, by requiring school attendance for 180 days
per year, instead o f 160 as formerly, in the case o f children be
tween 7 and 14 years o f age.
Subdivision 1 o f section 630 is also amended, so as to read as
fo llo w s : ]
1.
A school record certificate shall contain a statement certify School r e cing that a child has regularly attended the public schools, or ord certificates.
schools equivalent thereto, or parochial schools, for not less than
one hundred and thirty days during the twelve months next pre
ceding his fourteenth birthday or during the twelve months next
preceding his application for such school record, and has com
pleted the work in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, Eng
lish language and geography, in English, prescribed for the first
six years o f the public elementary school or parochial school or
school o f equal rank maintaining an equivalent course of study
in which the branches specified in subdivision one o f section six
hundred and twenty of this chapter are taught in English. Such
record shall also give the date of birth and residence o f the child,
as shown on the school records, and the name o f the child’s
parents, guardian or custodian. Such school record certificate
shall be in the form prescribed or approved by the commissioner
o f education.
Standard.
No school record certificate shall be issued to any child under
fifteen years of age for the purpose o f obtaining an employment
certificate, unless such child at the age o f fourteen is a graduate
o f a public elementary school or parochial school or a school o f
equal rank maintaining an equivalent course o f study in which
the branches specified in subdivision one o f section six hundred
and twenty of this chapter are taught in E nglish; or holds a
preacademic certificate issued by the regents, or a certificate o f
the completion o f an elementary course issued by the State edu
cation department.
Became a law May 18, 1917.
C hapter
634.— Factory, etc., regulations— Protection agaimt fire.
Act amended.
S e c t i o n 1. Subdivision one o f section eighty-three-a of chapter
* * * thirty-one of the Consolidated Laws, as added by chap
ter three hundred and thirty o f the laws o f nineteen hundred
and twelve, is hereby amended to read as follow s:
Signal s y s
Sec. 83-a. 1. Every factory building over two stories in height
in which more than twenty-five persons are employed, above the terns.
ground floor shall be equipped with a fire alarm signal system
w ith a sufficient number o f signals clearly audible to all occu
pants thereof, except in buildings in which every square foot o f
the floor area on all stories is protected wTith an automatic
sprinkler system having two adequate sources o f water supply
and approved by the public authorities having jurisdiction and
in which also the maximum number o f occupants on any one floor
does not exceed by more than fifty per centum the capacity o f
the exits as determined by subdivisions one, two, three, four, five,
six and seven of section seventy-nine-e o f this chapter. The board
250
LABOB LEGISLATION
OF
1917.
o f standards and appeals in the city o f New York, and else
where the industrial commission, may make rules and regulations
prescribing the number, character and location o f such signals,
and the mode, manner, method and character o f installation,
including the character o f all appliances in connection therewith.
Such system shall be installed by the owner or lessee o f the build
ing and shall permit the sounding o f all the alarms within the
building whenever the alarm is sounded in any portion thereof.
Such system shall be maintained in good working order. No
person shall tamper with, or render ineffective any portion of
said system except to repair the same. It shall be the duty of
whoever discovers a fire to cause an alarm to be sounded imme
diately.
Became a law May 23, 1917.
C hapter 689.— Employment of children— War emergency.
Section 1. The provisions o f article twenty-three o f the educa
tion law, relative to the compulsory education o f children, may,
in the discretion o f the commissioner o f education, be suspended
for the period between the first day o f April and the first day o f
November o f each year, or any portion thereof, during the time
that this act shall remain in effect, for the purpose o f aiding and
perform ing labor in the cultivation, production and care o f food
products upon farm s and gardens within the State. Such sus
pension shall be subject to such conditions, restrictions and limita
tions as may be imposed by the commissioner of education, and
shall be subject to rules and regulations to be prescribed by him.
In case o f any such suspension provision shall be made for the
w elfare and protection o f the children affected thereby, and dur
ing the period of such suspension and while engaged in such work
they shall be under the supervision and direction o f the school
authorities o f the city or district in which they reside.
Sec. 2. The board o f education o f a union free school district or
C a rryin g out the trustee o f a common school district may appropriate and ex
e m p lo y m e n t
pend district funds for the purpose o f carrying out the provisions
p rov ision s.
o f this act and o f the rules and regulations of the commissioner
o f education, without the vote o f a district meeting, and such
amount may be raised by tax in the same manner as for other
school expenditures. The board of education or other proper au
thorities o f a city shall provide for the raising o f money for the
purpose o f providing for the supervision, protection and welfare
of the children o f the city during the time that they are engaged
in the work authorized by this act, and the amounts expended
therefor shall be a charge against the city and shall be paid in
the same manner as other charges against the city are paid.
Sec. 3. The expenditures o f the commissioner o f education in
S o u r c e of
carrying into effect the provisions o f this act shall be paid out o f
funds.
the sums appropriated by the State for national or State defense,
upon the certificate o f the governor that in his opinion there is
necessity for using a portion o f the sums so appropriated for such
purpose. The commissioner o f education may apportion to the
cities and school districts of the State, out o f funds available
therefor, a sum not exceeding twenty-five per centum o f the
amount expended by any of such cities or districts in providing
for the supervision, protection and welfare o f children who are
engaged in the work authorized by this act. The board o f educa
tion or trustees o f a city or district may accept a gift, transfer,
devise or bequest o f property or money, to be used or applied for
the purpose o f carrying into effect the provisions o f this act and
o f the rules and regulations o f the commissioner o f education in
such city or district, and for the purpose o f providing for the
proper supervision, protection and w elfare of the children o f such
city or district who may be engaged in such work.
Sec. 4. A pupil in the public schools or in any State school or
Credits.
institution who is relieved from school work and is engaged satis
factorily in agricultural service during the present school year
S u s p e n s io n
of law .
TEXT OE LAWS---- NEW YOBK.
251
shall be given credit for the work of the present term without
examination, on the certificate o f the person in charge o f such
school or institution that his work therein up to the time o f en
gaging in such service is satisfactory. A pupil in any such school
or institution who engages in such service during the present
school year shall not incur any loss of standing or credit* on ac
count of such service. All pupils in public schools who are candi
dates for college entrance diplomas or other credentials to be
issued to them at the close o f the present school year shall be
granted such diplomas or credentials on the certificate o f the prin
cipal of the school that their work up to the time o f engaging in
such service is satisfactory. The regents o f the university shall
make rules for the purpose o f giving credit to pupils in the public
schools who have been in attendance at school during the present
school year and who have left the schools for the purpose o f ren
dering agricultural or industrial service.
Where the holders o f university scholarships awarded as pro- E xten sion o f
vided in sections seventy to seventy-seven, inclusive, of the edu- s c h o l a r s h i p
cation law as amended, shall be absent from the colleges or uni- Periods*
versities where they are in attendance, because o f the perform
ance o f military service or o f agricultural or industrial service,
they shall be entitled to an extension of the period covered by
such scholarships, upon presentation o f evidence satisfactory to
tlie commissioner o f education, that they have been engaged in
such service; but in no case shall the holder of such a scholarship
be entitled to receive more than the sum o f $100 each year for
a period of four years, to aid him in the completion o f a college
education.
S e c . 5. The commissioner o f education shall cause appropriate
B adges,
certificates or badges to be prepared and issued to pupils in the
schools of the State who shall perform satisfactory agricultural or
industrial service under rules and regulations of the commis
sioner o f education.
S e c . 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall continue
Act in effect,
in full force and effect until the end o f the present war and for a
period of two months thereafter.
Became a law May 29, 1917.
C h a p ter
693.—Factory, etc., regulations— Toilets.
S e c t i o n 1. Subdivision three o f section eighty-eight-a o f * * ♦ Act am ended,
chapter thirty-one o f the Consolidated Laws, as added by chapter
three hundred and forty o f the laws o f nineteen hundred and
thirteen, is hereby amended to read as fo llo w s :
3. The use of any form of trough water-closet, latrine or school T yp es not to
sink, other than those types specified in the rules of the State be used*
industrial commission, within any factory is prohibited. All such
trough water-closets, latrines or school sinks which do not conform
to the specifications set forth in the rules o f the State industrial
commission shall, before the first of October, nineteen hundred
and fourteen, be completely removed and the place where they
were located properly disinfected under the direction o f the
department of labor. Such appliances shall be replaced by proper
individual water-closets, or by trough water-closets conforming to
the rules o f the State industrial commission, placed in water-closet
compartments, all o f which shall be constructed and installed in
accordance with the rules and regulations to be adopted by the
State industrial commission.
Became a law May 31, 1917.
C h apter
694.— Factory, etc., regulations— Definitions.
1. Section two o f chapter * * * thirty-one o f the
Consolidated Laws, is hereby amended to read as fo llo w s :
Sec. 2. W henever used in this chapter:
The term “ employee ” means a mechanic, workingman or
laborer who works for another for hire.
S e c t io n
Definitions.
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 191*7.
The term “ employer ” means the person employing any such
mechanic, workingman or laborer, whether the owner, proprietor,
agent, superintendent, foreman or other subordinate.
The term “ factory ” includes any mill, workshop, or other manu
facturing establishment and all buildings, sheds, structures or
other places used for or in connection therewith, where one or
^
more persons are employed at manufacturing, including making,
altering, repairing, finishing, bottling, canning, cleaning or laun
dering any article or thing, in whole or in part, except dry dock
plants engaged in making repairs to ships, and except power houses,
generating plants, barns, storage houses, sheds and other struc
tures owned or operated by a public service corporation, other
than construction or repair shops, subject to the jurisdiction of
the public service commission under the public service commis
sions law. The provisions of this chapter affecting structural
changes and alterations, shall not apply to factories or to any
buildings, sheds, structures or other places used for or in connec
tion therewith where less than six persons are employed at manu
facturing except as otherwise prescribed by the State industrial
commission in its rules.
The term “ factory building ” means- any building, shed or
structure which, or any part o f which, is occupied by or used for
a factory, and in which at least one-tenth or more than twentyfive of all the persons employed in the building are engaged in
w ork for a factory but shall not include a building used ex
clusively for dwelling purposes above the first story. The pro
visions o f this chapter shall, so far as prescribed by the State
industrial commission in its rules, also apply to any building, not
a factory building wTithin the meaning hereof, any part o f which
is occupied by or used for a factory.
The term “ mercantile establishment ” means any place where
goods, wares or merchandise are offered for sale and shall include
any building, shed or structure, or any part thereof, which is
occupied in connection with such establishment. The provisions
o f this chapter affecting structural changes and alterations, shall
not apply to mercantile establishments where less than six persons
are employed except as otherwise prescribed by the State in
dustrial commission in its rules.
The term “ tenement house ” means any house or building, or
portion thereof, which is either rented, leased, let or hired out,
to be occupied, or is occupied in wrhole or in part as the home or
residence of three fam ilies or more living independently o f each
other and doing their cooking upon the premises, and includes
apartment houses, flat houses and all other houses so occupied,
and for the purposes o f this chapter shall be construed to include
any building on the same lot with any such tenement house and
which is used for any o f the purposes specified in section one
hundred o f this chapter.
The term “ department ” means the department o f labor o f the
State of New York.
The term “ commission ” means the industrial commission of
the State o f New York.
The term “ rule ” means any rule or regulation made by the
industrial commission and any amendment or repeal thereof.
Whenever, in this chapter, authority is conferred upon the
State industrial commission, it shall also be deemed to include
its deputies or a deputy acting under its direction. Whenever the
enforcement of any o f the provisions o f this chapter is committed
to any local officer or officers, by any law now in force or hereafter
enacted, such local officer or officers with respect to the matters
thus committed to them shall be deemed to have the powers and
jurisdiction of the industrial commission o f the State o f 3SIew York
to the extent specified in the law committing the enforcement o f
such provisions to each local officer or officers,
rohibited
2. Whenever the provisions o f this chapter prohibit the employloym en t.
ment o f a person in certain work or under certain conditions, the
employer shall not permit, suffer or allow such person to so work,
TEXT OF LAWS— NEW YORK.
253
either with or without compensation, and in a prosecution or
action therefor lack o f consent on the part o f the employer shall
be no defense.
3.
W ork shall be deemed to be done for a factory within the W ork in facmeaning o f this chapter whenever it is done at any place, upon tories.
the work o f a factory or upon any o f the materials entering into
the product o f the factory, whether under contract or arrange
ment with any person in charge of or connected with such factory
directly or indirectly through the instrumentality o f one or more
contractors or other third persons.
Became a law May 31, 1917.
C hapter
721.— Factory, etc., regulations— Exits.
S e c t i o n 1. Subdivision two o f section seventy-nine-a o f chapter
thirty-one o f the Consolidated Laws, as added by chapter four
hundred and sixty-one o f the laws of nineteen hundred and thir
teen, is hereby amended to read as fo llo w s :
2.
The term floor area as used in this section means the Floor area,
entire space between fire walls, or between a fire wall and an
exterior wall of a building, or between the exterior walls o f the
building where there is no intervening fire wall. From every floor
area there shall be not less than two means o f exit remote from
each other, one o f which on every floor above the ground floor
shall be an interior inclosed fireproof stairway or an exterior Exits,
inclosed fireproof stairway, and the other shall be such a stairway
or a horizontal exit. No point in any floor area in an unsprinklered building shall be more than one hundred feet distant
from the entrance to one such means o f exit, and in a sprinklered
building shall be more than one hundred and fifty feet distant
from the entrance to one such means o f exit. Whenever any •
floor area exceeds five thousand square feet there shall be pro
vided at least one additional means o f exit as hereinbefore de
scribed for each five thousand square feet in excess of five thou
sand square feet, except where the industrial commission shall
otherwise prescribe. In every building over one hundred feet in
height there shall be at least one exterior inclosed fireproof stair
way which shall be accessible from any point in the building.
Became a law June 4, 1917.
C hapter
749.— Public employment offices— Juvenile departments.
S e c t i o n 1. Sections sixty-six-i and sixty-six-j o f chapter thirtyone of the Consolidated Laws, as added by chapter one hundred
and eighty-one of the laws of nineteen hundred and fourteen, are
hereby amended to read, respectively, as fo llo w s :
Sec. 66-i. The State industrial commission may organize in any
branch office separate departments with separate entrances for
Separate de
men and women and shall organize in each branch, located in partments.
cities of the first and second class, a separate juvenile placement
department. These departments for men and women may be
subdivided into a division for farm labor and such other divisions
for other classes of work as in its judgment may be required.
Sec. 66-j. Juvenile placement departments shall be established
in connection with the branch office o f the bureau o f employment. Children.
The purposes and function o f such juvenile placement depart
ments shall be to provide inform ation concerning vocational and
trade training, the conditions and processes in industry, to give
advice tending to help keep juveniles in school, and assist in
such other ways as w ill contribute to the w elfare o f juveniles.
When juveniles, after leaving school, are seeking positions, the
juvenile placement department shall use its efforts to procure the
best opportunity for such applicants in accordance with the State
law regulating work certificates and age limits. The State in
dustrial commission shall appoint an advisory committee composed
o f representatives o f employers, employees, the board o f educa
tion, and such other persons as are interested in juvenile place-
LABOK LEGISLATION OF 1917.
254
ment work, for the purpose o f advising and assisting in the w ork
o f each such departm ent The supervisor and all other employees
in this department shall be selected from special civil-service lists.
Became a law June 5, 1917.
RU LES OF IN D U STRIA L COMMISSION— 1915.
Elevators.
A m en d m en ts.
Sum m ary.
[The 1917 edition o f these rules contains a number o f changes,
especially in rules 402 to 405, relating to hoistway inclosures,
and rules 406 to 411, relating to hoistway gates and doors. The
principal change as to inclosures requires hoistways used for
passenger and employees’ elevators to be inclosed from floor to
ceiling on all sides other than those in which door openings exist,
the rule being made applicable to existing hoistways. The pro
visions as to gates and doors are directed to the greater security
o f locking and interlocking devices, and the avoidance o f the
possibility o f cars leaving the landing while the gates or doors
are open.]
Inspection of steam boilers.
[These rules are supplemental to the labor law, sections 91
to 124. They relate to the inspection and maintenance of boilers,
with detailed provisions also as to construction and installation.
The general requirement o f external inspection at least once in
six months and internal inspection once a year are first laid
down, inspection by an insurance company being accepted on
prescribed conditions. Provisions as to certificates o f competency
for inspectors are presented, and general safety regulations, in
cluding tables o f maximum pressures, valve loadings, etc., are
given. The regulations are omitted as being too technical to be o f
general interest.]
NORTH CAROLINA.
CONSTITUTION.
A
r t ic l e
S e c t i o n 2 9 . — Special
II.
acts regulating labor, eto.
The general assembly shall not pass any local, private or special
act or resolution
* * * * regulating labor, trade, mining, or
m anufacturing; * * *
Amendment adopted November 7, 1916.
L a w s fo r b id
den.
ACTS OF 1917.
C hapter
170.— Unemployment— Boards of charities and public
welfare.
S e c t i o n 1. Chapter eighty-five o f the revisal o f nineteen hun
dred and five is hereby repealed and the follow ing enacted in
lieu thereof. * * *
Sec. 3913. There shall be elected by the general assembly, upon
the recommendation o f the governor, seven persons who shall be
styled “ The State board o f charities and public welfare,” and
at least one o f such persons shall be a woman, which persons
shall serve without p a y : Provided, however, That they shall
receive their necessary expenses. * * *
Sec. 3914. The board shall hold meetings at least quarterly
and whenever called in session by the chairman, and shall make
such rules and orders for the regulation of its own proceedings as
it deems proper. It shall have the follow ing powers and duties,
to w it :
*
*
*
*
A c t am en ded.
B oa rd to bd
a p p oin ted .
D u ties.
*
(b )
To study the subjects o f nonemployment, poverty, vagrancy,
housing conditions, * * * and the prevention o f any hurtful
social condition.
*
*
*
*
*
(i)
To encourage employment by counties o f a county superin
tendent o f public welfare and to cooperate with the county super
intendent o f public w elfare in every way possible.
*
*
*
*
*
Sec. 3915. The county commissioners of any counties o f the
State shall have the right and power to create the county board
o f charities and public welfare and to employ a county superin
tendent o f public w elfare; * * * the powers and duties o f
the county superintendent o f public welfare shall be as follow s:
*
*
*
*
Co unt y
boards.
*
(i)
To assist the State board in finding employment for the
unemployed.
Ratified the 6th day o f March, 1917.
C h apter
208.— Employment of children— School attendance.
[This act amends chapter 173, Acts o f 1913, by making the
upper limit o f the age o f compulsory school attendance 14 years
instead o f 12.]
A ge
van ced .
255
a d
NORTH DAKOTA.
ACTS OF 1917.
C h a p t e r 6 8 . — Employees
in butcher shops— Health certificates,
S e c t i o n 1. Every person who handles meats in a butcher shop
or meat market where meats are sold to the public, shall file with
the executive officer o f the board of health a certificate from a
physician licensed to practice medicine in this State, to the effect
that he has examined such person and found'him to be free from
any infection, contagious or loathsome disease.
Every such
person must be examined at least once in each year.
Approved March 10, 1917.
C hapter
C e r t ific a t e
required.
152.—Payment of wages by contractors.
S e c t i o n 1. Any contractor or subcontractor on any improve
A p p r op ria tment to real estate within the meaning of section sixty-eight hun i n g p a ym en ts
on co n tra cts.
dred and fourteen of the Compiled Laws o f nineteen hundred and
thirteen, with intent to defraud, shall use the proceeds o f any
payment to him on account o f such improvement by the owner of
such real estate, or person having any improvement made, for any
other purpose than the payment o f labor perform ed upon, or ma
terials, machinery or fixtures furnished for such improvement,
while any such labor performed, or materials, machinery or fix
tures furnished for such improvement at the time o f such pay
ment, remains unpaid for, shall be guilty o f larceny o f the pro
ceeds o f such payment so used.
Sec. 2. When payment so used in violation of the preceding
section is of an amount exceeding $20, such person shall upon con
viction be punished as provided by law for the crime of grand
larceny, and when the amount of such payment so used in viola
tion of the preceding section is of an amount to $20 or less, such
person shall upon conviction be punished for petit larceny.
P en a lty.
Approved March 10, 1917.
C hapter
179— Actions for personal injuries— Contracts— Settle
ments.
S e c t i o n 1. Every settlement or adjustment o f any cause . o f
W h a t settleaction and every contract o f retainer or employment to prosecute m e n t s , etc.,
void a b le.
an action for damages on account o f any personal injuries re
ceived, whether death ensue or not to the person injured, shall
be voidable if made while the person so injured is under dis
ability from the effect o f the injury so received, or if made within
thirty days after the dato o f such injury.
L im ita tio n .
S e c . 2. The person so injured, or in case o f his death, his per
sonal representative, may elect, at any time within six months
after the date of such injury to avoid such settlement, adjust
ment or contract by a notice in writing to that effect or by
bringing an action to recover damages therefor. Whenever such
action shall be so commenced within the period o f time so limited,
P a ym en t on
the amount received by the person so injured or his representa offset.
tive in case of his decease, in any settlement or adjustment so
made, shall not be a bar to the prosecution o f such action, but
may be set up as an offset or counter claim to the amount o f
damages recoverable, if any.
Approved March 1, 1937.
45913°— Bull. 244— 18-------17
257
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
258
C h apter
C o m m is s io n
created .
D u ty .
H otel in s p e c
tor.
R ep ort.
A p p r o p r ia
tio n .
S e c t i o n 1. There is hereby created a commission which shall
be composed o f the commissioner o f agriculture and labor, the
attorney general and a woman to be appointed by the governor.
Such woman shall have had, if possible, experience as a w elfare
worker among women and girls and shall be at least thirty years
o f age. The woman so appointed shall be the executive officer
and secretary o f the commission and shall receive as compensation
for her services the sum of $1,200 per annum together with
actual and necessary expenses while engaged in the work of
the commission. The other members o f the commission shall
receive their actual and necessary expenses while engaged in
perform ing the duties imposed by this act outside the city o f
Bismarck.
Sec. 2. It shall be the duty o f the Public W elfare Commission
to investigate or cause to be investigated, tire economic, moral
and social conditions o f women, girls and child workers in fac
tories, hotels, restaurants, stores, laundries, and other industrial
establishments. The executive officer and secretary o f the com
mission shall have the same police powers as are conferred by
law upon officers o f the State Humane Society.
S e c . 3. It shall be the duty o f the State hotel inspector when
so directed by the Public W elfare Commission to investigate the
wages, hours of labor, opportunity for recreation and other social,
economic and moral conditions o f women and girls employed in
hotels and restaurants inspected by him.
Sec. 4. It shall be the duty o f the Public W elfare Commission
to make a report to the governor and the next legislative as
sembly concerning the social, economic and moral conditious
o f female and child workers mentioned in section two o f thi.8
act, and recommend legislation for the improvement o f said
conditions. Such report shall also show the average wages, re
ceived by female and child workers in the places mentioned in
section two o f this act.
Sec. 5. There is hereby appropriated out o f any moneys in
the State treasury not otherwise appropriated the sum o f $4,000
or so much thereof as may be necessary to carry out the pro
visions o f this act.
Approved March 15, 1917.
C hapter
P a y d a ys es
tablish ed.
F a ilu re
p a y.
t
181.— Employment of women and children— Public
welfare commission.
189.— Payment
of wages— Semimonthly pay day on
railroads.
S e c t i o n 1. All railroad corporations doing business within this
State are required to pay their employees at least semimonthly,
the wages earned by them to within fifteen days o f the date o f
such payment, unless prevented by inevitable casualty: Provided,
however, That whenever an employee shall be discharged, his
wages shall be paid to him at the time o f his discharge or when
ever he shall demand the same thereafter.
Sec. 2. W henever any railroad corporation shall for seven days
neglect or refuse to pay its employees as prescribed by section one
o f this act, the wages due them may be recovered by action w ith
out further demand, and there shall be allowed to the plaintiff
and included in his judgment, in addition to his costs and dis
bursements allowed by law $5 if the judgment be recovered in a
justice court, and a like sum if the judgment be recovered in a
municipal court where no statutory costs are now allowed in
such municipal court in such action, and double costs in all other
courts on appeal.
Approved March 8, 1917.
259
TEXT OF LAWS----NOKTH DAKOTA.
C hapter
206.— Employment of children— School attendance.
[This act amends chapter 141, Acts o f 1915, subdivision 3 (sub
division 2 o f section 232, ch. 266, Acts o f 1911), so as to exempt a
child from compulsory school attendance on the ground “ That
such child is actually necessary to the support o f the fam ily as
determined by the State’s attorney, subject to appeal.” ]
C h apter
222.— Sunday labor.
S e c t i o n 1. Section ninety-two hundred and thirty-six o f the
Compiled Laws of the State of North Dakota for the year nineteen
hundred and thirteen is hereby amended and reenacted to read
as fo llo w s :
Sec. 9236. All manner o f servile labor on the first day of the
week is prohibited, excepting works of necessity and charity,
provided, however, that the operation o f steam railroads, street
railways, telegraph and telephone systems, electric light, gas,
heat and power systems, livery and feed barns, hacks, taxicabs
and busses, automobile garages and supply stations, bakeries,
bootblack stands, pop-corn stands and newspaper plants shall be
deemed and are construed to be wTorks of necessity.
S e c . 2. Section ninety-two hundred ami forty of the Compiled
Laws of the State o f North Dakota for the year nineteen hundred
and thirteen, is hereby amended and reenacted to read as fo llo w s :
Sec. 9240. All manner o f public selling or offering or exposing
for sale publicly, o f any commodity upon the first day of the week
is prohibited; excepting that meats and fiish may be sold at any
time before ten o ’clock ante meridian, and excepting that foods
may be sold to be eaten upon the premises where sold, and drugs,
medicines, surgical appliances, milk, ice cream and soda-fountain
dispensations, fruits, candy and confectionery, tobacco, and cigars,
newspapers and magazines may be sold at any time o f the day,
provided that none o f said articles or commodities shall be sold
in any billiard hall, pool hall, bowling alley, temperance saloon
or any other place where gaming of any kind is conducted unless
said gaming is discontinued from twelve- o’clock midnight on
Saturday night until six antemeridan on Monday.
S e c . 3. Section ninety-two hundred and forty-twTo o f the Com
piled Laws o f the State o f North Dakota for the year nineteen
hundred and thirteen is hereby amended and reenacted to read
as fo llo w s :
Sec. 9242. Every person guilty o f Sabbath breaking is punish
able by a fine of not less than $1, nor more than $50, or less than
one day in the county jail, nor more than twenty days in the
county jail, or both such fine or imprisonment at the discretion
of the court.
Approved February IT, 1917.
D epen den t
fa m ily .
A c t am ended.
Labor
b idden .
for*
E x ce p tio n s.
Sale o f a r ti
cles.
V io la tio n s.
OHIO.
ACTS OF 1917.
Employment of women.
[P a g e 149 .]
[This act amends sec. 1008, General Code, by limiting the hours
H o u r s per
o f labor of females employed in the establishments designated to day and week9 per day instead of 10, except that on Saturday they may be
employed 10 hours in mercantile establishments. The maximum
for the week is 50 hours instead o f 54, and work may be done
on but 6 days. Canneries continue to be excepted, but only during
the canning season.]
Mine regulations.
[P a g e 1 5 0 .]
[This act amends secs. 929 and 950 o f the General Code. D e p t h s of
The only change made in sec. 929 is to substitute 50 feet for shafts.
100 feet in describing the mine shafts to which the law is
applicable. The amendment to sec. 950 consists in striking out the Appeals,
last sentence, which permitted the owner, etc., o f a mine to appeal to
the courts against an order o f the district inspector and chief
inspector to provide an additional shaft where the hazards o f
the situation appear to wTarrant it.]
Industrial commission.
[P a g e 1 57 .]
S e c t i o n 1. Sections 871-5, 871-9
* * * o f the General Code . o r g a n i z a *
[shall] be amended to read as fo llo w s :
tion.
Sec. 871-5. The industrial commission o f Ohio shall choose one
o f its members as chairman. A m ajority o f such commission shall
constitute a quorum to transact business. No vacancy shall im
pair the rights o f the remaining commissioners to exercise all
the powers o f said commission, so long as a m ajority rem ains;
any investigation, inquiry or hearing which said commission is
authorized to hold, or undertake, may be held or undertaken by
or before any one member o f said commission, or by or before one
o f its deputies, and every order made by a member thereof, or
by one o f its duly authorized deputies, when approved and con
firmed by a m ajority o f the members, and so shown on its record
of proceedings, shall be deemed to be the order o f said comSessions and
mission.
records.
Sec. 871-9. The industrial commission o f Ohio shall be in con
tinuous session and open for the transaction of business during
all business hours o f each and every day, excepting Sundays and
legal holidays. The sessions of said commission shall be open to
the public and shall stand and be adjourned without further
notice thereof on its record. All of the proceedings o f said com
mission shall be shown on its record, which shall be a public
record, and all voting shall be had by calling each member’s
name by the secretary, and each member’s vote shall be recorded
on the record o f proceedings as cast. * * * Said commission
Approved March 29, 1917.
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
262
Protection of employees as members of the National Guard.
[P a g e 3 82 .]
D is c r im in a
tio n forb id d en .
S e c t i o n 1. Sections * * * [5265] o f the General Code * * *
[shall] read as follow s:
Sec. 5265. No person shall discriminate against any officer or
enlisted man of the Ohio National Guard because of his member
ship therein. * * * No employer, or agent o f any corpora
tion, company, or firm shall discharge any person from employ
ment because o f being an officer or enlisted man o f the Ohio
National Guard, or prevent him from perform ing any m ilitary
service he may be called upon to perform by proper authority.
Any person violating any o f the provisions o f this act shall be
deemed guilty o f misdemeanor, and upon conviction may be fined
not exceeding $200 or imprisoned not exceeding six months, or
both, at the discretion o f the court.
Approved March 30, 1917.
Commission on health and old-age insurance.
[P a g e 5 2 0 .]
C o m m is s io n
created .
D u ties as to
sickn ess.
1. The governor is hereby authorized and directed to
appoint within thirty days after this bill becomes a law a com
mission of seven members to conduct a study o f the subject
o f health insurance and sickness prevention and also o f the sub
ject of old-age insurance and of the application o f health insur
ance and old-age insurance to Ohio conditions.
Sec. 2. It shall be the duty o f such commission to make an in
quiry into the subject o f sickness, and the causes th e re o f; the
loss to individuals and to the public th ereby; the adequacy o f the
present methods o f treatment and care o f such sickness and o f
meeting the losses caused by such sickness by existing insurance
companies or associations, or oth erw ise; and the influence o f work
ing and living conditions upon the health o f employed and unem
ployed persons and methods for the prevention o f such sickness,
and other related subjects.
S e c t io n
S ec. 3. It shall also be the duty of such commission to make an
inquiry into the subject of old age in its relation to industry and
to the public interest and of the adequacy of existing methods of
caring for aged workers.
Sec. 4. The commission herein authorized to be appointed shall,
O r g a n im a
O ld age.
tion .
R ep ort.
E xpenses.
within thirty days after its appointment, meet in Columbus and
organize by the election o f a chairman and it shall submit to the
eighty-third general assembly a full report o f its work and
findings on the subject o f health insurance and sickness preven
tion and also a full report o f its work and findings on the subject
o f old-age insurance. Such commission, however, may issue par
tial reports on these subjects during the progress o f its work.
Sec. 5. The members o f such commission shall serve without
compensation except that each shall be entitled to his actual and
necessary expenses incurred in the perform ance o f his duties
under the provisions o f this act including his necessary traveling
expenses incurred in attending meetings or in perform ing other
duties incidental to the work o f the commission.
S ec. 6. Such commission shall have the power to employ and
fix the compensation of a secretary and such investigators and
other employees as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of
this act. Such commission shall have the power to provide
necessary office furniture, supplies, stationery,' printed forms,
books, periodicals, maps, and other furnishings and equipment
necessary to the performance of their duties.
Sec 7. The secretary, investigators, and other employees o f such
T r a v e l ex
P ow ers.
penses.
commission, in addition to the compensation herein provided for,
shajl be paid their necessary traveling expenses and other ex
penses necessarily incurred in the perform ance o f their duties.
TEXT OF LAWS---- OHIO.
263
Sec. 8 . The expenses incurred by such commission and the comP aym en t,
pensation and expenses o f its secretary, investigators, and other
employees for the purposes specified herein, shall be paid from the
State treasury upon the warrant of the auditor o f State when the
vouchers therefor have been duly signed by the chairman o f such
commission.
S e c . 9. Such commission and any sub-committee or member o f
A d m in iste rsuch commission delegated to conduct hearings shall have power to in& oaths, etc.
administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and compel the attendance o f
witnesses within the county of their residence. In case o f dis
obedience on the part of any person to comply with any proper
order o f the commission or any subpoena issued in behalf o f such
commission, or on the refusal of any witness to testify con
cerning any matters regarding which he may be law fully inter
rogated, the presiding officer shall make complaint thereof, in
writing, to the probate judge o f the county in which such w it
ness resides, who shall issue a subpoena for the appearance .of
such person forthwith before him to give testimony. I f any per
son so summoned fails to appear, or appearing, refuses to testify,
he shall be subject to like proceedings and penalties for contempt
as witnesses in actions pending in the probate court.
S e c . 10. Such commission shall have free access to all public
Use of recrecords necessary for the carrying out of the duties herein pre- ords> d e
scribed, and suitable rooms shall be furnished to such commis
sion either in the State House or in some other building.
S ec. 11. There is hereby appropriated, out o f any moneys in
Appropriathe State treasury to the credit o f the general revenue fund, not tion.
otherwise appropriated, not to exceed the sum o f $25,000 to carry
out the purposes o f this act.
Approved March 30, 1917.
Railroads— Automatic doors on locomotives.
[P a g e 5 6 0 .]
1. (8951-1.) All steam railroad companies, operating . ?°?]rs1 to be
stetoi locomotives on its railroads in, or through this State, shall ms aiAeci*
provide and equip each and every such locomotive engine so op
erated over its said road, or roads, in this State, with an auto
matic or foot-power door to the fire box o f such locomotive en
gines. Such automatic or foot-power doors shall be so constructed
and operated by steam, compressed air, electricity, or foot power,
as deemed best and most efficient. The device for operating such
door shall be so constructed that it may be operated by the fire
man on said engine by means o f a push button, pedal, or other
appliance located in, on, or near the floor o f the engine deck or
floor o f the tender at a suitable distance from such door to enable
the fireman, while firing such engine, by pressure with his foot, to
©pen such door for the firing o f such engine.
S e c . 2. (8951-2.) Any person, or steam railroad company, vioV io la tio n s,
lating any o f the provisions o f this act shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less
than $100, nor more than $500 for each offense.
S e c . 3. (8951-3.) The public utilities commission shall be eraEnforcepowered to enforce the foregoing sections and prosecute any vio- m ed
iations thereof.
S e c . 4. This law shall take effect and be in force on and after
A c t in effect.
December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and twenty.
Approved March 31, 1917.
S e c tio n
Street, etc., railways— Seats for employees.
IP a g e 5 9 0 .]
S e c t i o n 1. (9007-1.) It shall be unlawful to operate in Ohio pro®^ed t0 be
any electric, street or interurban railroad car unless it be pro
vided at all times during operation with seats for the motorman
and conductor.
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
264
Violations.
E n f o r c e
m ent.
Sec. 2. (9007-2.) A violation o f section one hereof shall con
stitute a violation thereof by the president, general manager,
general superintendent, or other officer in charge o f operation,
and shall be punishable by a fine o f not less than $50 ndr more
than $100, or by imprisonment for not less than ten nor more
than thirty days for each offense. An offense on any calendar
day and as to any car shall be a separate and distinct offense
from a violation on any other such day.
Sec. 3. (9007-3.) It shall be the duty o f the prosecuting at
torneys o f the various counties to prosecute violations o f this act.
Approved March 30, 1917.
Protection of employees as voters, etc.
[P a g e 6 0 1 .]
E m p lo y e r s
n ot to in te r
fere.
V io la tio n s.
D am ages.
Section 1. (5175-26a.) It shall be unlawful for any employer
of labor to make, adopt or enforce any rule, regulation or policy
forbidding or preventing his employees, or any o f them, from
engaging or participating in politics or from becoming candidates
or a candidate for public office, or controlling or directing,. or
tending to control or direct the political activities or affiliations
o f such employees or any o f th em ; or to coerce or influence or at
tempt to coerce or influence such employees or any o f them
through or by means o f threat o f discharge or loss o f employment
to adopt or follow or refrain from adopting or follow ing any par
ticular course or line o f political action or political activity.
Sec. 2. (5175-26b.) Any employer violating the provisions o f
this act shall upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of
not to exceed $1,000. In all prosecutions hereunder the person,
firm, or corporation violating this act shall be held responsible
for the acts o f his or its managers, officers, agents and employees.
Sec. 3. (5175-26c.) Nothing herein contained shall be con
strued to prevent the injured employee from recovering damages
from his employer for injury suffered through a violation of this
act.
Approved March 31, 1917.
Discharge of railroad employees— Hearings.
[P a g e
H ea rin g s
be gran ted .
to
V iolations..
6 0 3 .]
Section 1. (12956-1.) It shall be unlawful for any steam rail
road company, its superintendent or manager thereof, employ
ing any special agent, detective, or person commonly known as
“ spotter ” for the purpose o f investigating, obtaining and re
porting to the employer, its agent, superintendent or manager,
inform ation concerning its employees, to discipline or discharge
any employee in its service, where such act o f discipline or the
discharge is based upon a report by such special agent, detec
tive or spotter, which report involves a question o f integrity, hon
esty or a breach o f rules of the employer, unless such employer,
its agent, superintendent or manager, shall, before disciplining
or discharging such employee, grant to him a fair opportunity to
be heard in defense or explanation o f the complaint against him,
at which hearing said employer shall state specific charges on
which said act or discharge is based and at which said accused
employee shall have the right to furnish testimony in his defense.
S ec. 2. (12956-2.) Each and every violation of this act shall be
deemed a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be pun
ished by a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $300, or by
imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than one
year, or both and the imprisonment when imposed shall be im
posed upon the officers or agents thereof committing such offense.
Approved March 31, 1917.
TEXT OF LAWS---- OHIO.
265
Employment o f labor — Forem en, etc., accepting fe es .
[Page 614.]
Section 1. (897.) W hoever requests or accepts a fee, gift, or
gratuity or promise to pay a fee, to make a gift or to do an act
beneficial to himself, under an agreement or with an understand
ing that he, as principal, agent, employee, or servant, shall hire,
or undertake to secure or assist in securing work for another with
his principal, employer, or m aster; or with an understanding that
he shall advance or undertake to secure or assist in securing an
advance in pay or position of another in the employ o f his prin
cipal, employer, or m aster; or with an understanding that he
shall prevent or undertake to prevent or assist in preventing the
discharge or reduction in pay or position of another in the employ
of his principal, employer, or master, shall be guilty o f a mis
demeanor.
Sec. 2. (897-1.) W hoever violates any provision o f this act shall
be fined for the first offense not less than $25 nor more than $100
and the costs o f prosecution ; and for the second or any subsequent
offense not less than $100 nor more than $500 and the costs of
prosecution.
Sec. 3. (897-2.) Justices o f the peace, police judges, judges of
municipal courts, and mayors o f cities and villages shall have
jurisdiction coextensive with the county in all cases for violation
o f provisions o f this act, and the procedure provided by law for
such courts shall extend to all such cases. The defendant shall
have the right to trial by jury in all prosecutions under the pro
visions o f this act.
Sec. 4. (897-3.) A person authorized by law to prosecute a case
under the provisions o f this act shall not be required to advance
or secure costs therein. I f the defendant be acquitted or dis
charged from custody, or if he •be convicted and committed in
default of payment o f fine and costs, such costs shall be certified
under oath by the justice of the peace, police judge, judge of
municipal court, or mayor to the county auditor who shall correct
all errors therein and issue his warrant on the county treasurer
payable to the person or persons entitled thereto.
Sec. 5. (897-4.) The industrial commission o f Ohio shall have
full powder, jurisdiction and authority to administer the provisions
o f this act.
Approved March 30, 1917.
A cts
den.
fo rb id
P e n a lty .
J u ris d ic tio n .
C osts.
E n f o r c e
m ent.
OKLAHOM A,
ACTS OF 1917.
C
h apter
181.— Private employment office*.
S e c t i o n 1. No person, firm or corporation shall open, operate or
L icen se r e maintain a private employment agency for hire, or where a fee is quiredcharged, to either applicant fo r employment or for help, without
first obtaining a license from the commissioner o f labor, and such
license fee shall be $50 per annum, payable in advance, on the first
F ee.
day o f May o f each year, and shall expire on the last day o f April
o f each year. Every license shall contain a designation o f the city,
street and number o f the building in which the licensed parties
conduct said employment agency. In case o f removal to another
location during the period covered by such license, the commis
sioner of labor shall be at once notified and the license corrected
accordingly. No such license shall be transferable.
Sec. 2. The commissioner o f labor shall require with each appli
B ond.
cation for a license a surety bond in the penal sum o f $500, to be
approved by said commissioner, and conditioned that the obligor
w ill not violate any o f the duties, terms, conditions, provisions or
requirements o f this act. The commissioner o f labor is authorized
to cause an action, or actions, to be brought on said Bond in the
name o f the State for any violation o f any o f its conditions, and
he may revoke, upon a full hearing, any license whenever in his
judgment the party licensed shall have violated any o f the pro
visions o f this act, and in prosecution o f any such inquiry the
commissioner o f labor is hereby empowered to administer oaths,
subpoena witnesses, take depositions, compel the attendance o f
witnesses and the production o f books, accounts, papers, record,
documents and testimony.
Sec. 3. In case o f refusal o f any person to comply with the
E n f o r c e
order o f the commissioner or subpoena issued by him or the refusal m ent.
o f any witness to testify to any matter regarding which he may
be lawfully interrogated, or refusal to permit any inspection as
aforesaid, the district judge of the district in which the person
resides, on application o f the commissioner, shall compel obedience
by attachment proceedings as for contempt.
Sec. 4. No private employment agency shall print, publish or
U se o f sign.
paint on any sign, [or] window or insert in any newspaper or
publication, a nanse similar to that o f the Oklahoma Free Em
ployment B u reau
Sec. 5. It shall be the duty o f every licensed agency to keep
R egisters.
a register in which shall be entered the age, sex, nativity, trade
or occupation, name and address o f every person for whom em
ployment is secured and the amount o f fee charged. Such licensed
agency shall also enter into a register the name and address o f
every person for wThom help or servants are secured, [and] the
name and nature o f the employment for which such help shall be
employed. Such register shall at all reasonable hours be open
to the inspection and examination o f the commissioner o f labor,
or his agent, and shall be in such form as may be provided by
him.
Sec. 6. Every liceaased agency shall issue a receipt to eaeh per
R eceip ts.
son securing employment or help, showing age, sex, nativity,
trade or occupation, name and address o f the applicant, and the
amount o f fee charged for procuring the position. Such receipt
shall also show the wages to be paid to said person securing
employment, together with the name and address o f the employer
and the name o f the agent issuing such receip t Said agency
receipt shall be made in triplicate, upon form s prescribed by the
267
268
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
commissioner o f labor, the original copy to be given to the person
procuring employment, the duplicate to be mailed to the com
missioner o f labor, and the third copy to be retained by the
agency issuing same. The carbon copy o f each and every receipt
shall be mailed to the commissioner o f labor daily.
N o fee fo r
Sec. 7. No licensed agency shall charge a registration fee for
r eg istra tion .
filing or receiving applications for help or employment, nor on
any agreement to furnish employment or help. Daily reports
shall be made to the commissioner o f labor upon form s prescribed
by him, showing all registrations for employment or help as and
in such form as may be required by the commissioner o f labor.
F ee fo r s erv
Sec. 8. The fee for procuring employment or help shall not
ice.
exceed five per centum o f the first month’s wages, where the em
ployment is for one month or more. In all other cases the
maximum fee shall not be more than $1, and in no case shall
there be a charge made against both the employer and employee.
The above fee shall include all commissions, expense or compen
sation whatsoever to such licensed agency for procuring employ
ment or help. In case the party paying such fee fails to obtain
employment, such licensed agency shall repay the same to such
person, upon demand being made th erefor: Provided, That in
cases where the person procuring employment is sent beyond the
limits o f the city in which such employment agent operates, such
licensed agency shall repay, in addition to the above, any actual
expenses incurred by reason o f failure to receive employment.
D iv id in g
Sec. 9. Any licensed agency, or agent thereof, wrho shall be
fees.
guilty of dividing fees with any superintendent, manager, foreman
or other employees o f any person, company, corporation or asso
ciation for whom employees are furnished, shall be guilty o f a
misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than
$100 for each offense, or be imprisoned in the county ja il for a
period not exceeding six months, at the discretion o f the court.
A cts f o r
Sec. 10. No agency shall send or cause to be sent any female
bidden.
help, minor or servant to any place o f bad repute, house o f illfame or assignation house, or to any house or place o f amuse
ment, kept for immoral purposes. No such licensed agency shall
publish, or cause to be published, false information, or make any
false promise concerning or relating to work or employment, to
any one who shall register for employment, or secure employment,
and no licensed agency shall make any false entries in the register
to be kept as herein provided.
Power of Sec. 11. The commissioner of labor shall, after having de
com m ission er. termined by investigation that any employer in this State is not
fulfilling contracts made through employment agents, order all
employment agents in the State to refuse further service to such
employer. Any employment agent violating this section shall be
subject to the penalties as provided in sections two and twelve
o f this act.
Sec. 12. Every person, company, corporation or association
C o n tra cts to
be fu lfilled .
doing business in this State, who shall have persons brought into
this State or transferred from one point to another wTithin the
State, for the purpose o f employment through’ or by means o f any
employment agency operating in this or any other State, shall
immediately fulfill the terms of the contract made between such
persons shipped in for the purpose o f employment and the em
ployment agency, or shall, within twelve hours after the arrival
o f such persons desiring employment, in case o f failure or re
fusal to furnish such employment provide such persons with trans
portation to their original starting point, and such meals and
lodging as may be necessary for the proper sustenance o f such
persons until they arrive at their destination. Failure to comply
with the section shall subject the offending parties to a fine of
not less than $50, nor more that $100 for each offense.
Sec. 13. T h e’ term ‘‘employment” or “ work,” whenever used in
Scope o f act.
this act, shall be construed to mean manual or mechanical labor,
clerical, domestic or professional service.
TEXT 03? LAWS— OKLAHOMA.
269
S e c . 14.— In order to make more effective the foregoing statutory
Rules,
regulations, and in order to carry out their purpose and intent,
the commissioner o f labor is hereby authorized to issue such
rules and regulations from time to time as in his judgment are
deemed necessary. A violation of any such rules shall be deemed
a violation o f this act and punishable as provided in section
10 [sic].
Sec. 15. It shall be the duty o f the commissioner o f labor to
Enforce*
enforce this act. When informed o f any violation thereof it ment.
shall be his duty to investigate same as hereinbefore provided, and
he may institute criminal proceedings for enforcement of its
penalties before any court of competent jurisdiction. Any person
convicted o f a violation of the provisions o f this act not otherwise
provided for shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined
not less than $50 nor more than $100, or be imprisoned in the
Penalties,
county jail for a period not to exceed six months, or both, at the
discretion o f the c o u r t: Provided, That any person or persons
who send any female help, minor or servant to any place of bad
repute, house o f ill-fame or assignation house, or to any house
or place o f amusement kept for immoral purposes, shall be pun
ished by imprisonment for not less that thirty days nor more
than six months, and no license to operate an employment agency
shall again be issued to such party.
Sec. 16. A private employment agency for hire is defined and
interpreted to mean any person, firm or corporation engaging in
the occupation of furnishing employment or help or giving informa
tion as to where employment or help may be secured or displaying
any employment sign or bulletin, or through the medium of any
card, circular or pamphlet offering to secure employment or help:
Definition,
Provided, That charitable organizations not charging a fee shall
not be included m said term.
Approved this 19th day o f February, 1917.
C hapter
182.— Employment of children— General provisions.
S e c t io n 1. Section three thousand seven hundred and thirtyWh o issues
six, of article three, chapter forty-two, of the Revised Laws of certificates.
Oklahoma, nineteen hundred and ten, is hereby amended to read
as fo llo w s :
Sec. 3736. The age and schooling certificate shall be approved
only by the county superintendent o f public instruction, or other
school official designated by him, who shall, for the purpose o f this
article, be empowered to administer an oath. The county super
intendent o f public instruction, or other school official designated
by him, shall approve such certificate only upon the application in
person o f the child desiring employment accompanied by its par
ents, guardian or custodian, and after having received, examined
and approved documentary evidence o f age, showing that the E v id e n c e
child is fourteen years o f age, or over, which evidence shall con
sist o f one of the follow ing named proofs o f age, duly attested,
and the proof accepted shall be specified in the certificate issued
to the child; the proof specified in subdivision (a ) shall be re
quired first, but if this is not available then one o f the proofs
specified in the succeeding subdivisions shall be required and in
the order designated until the age of the child be established, as
fo llo w s :
(a ) A birth certificate or transcript thereof issued by a regis
trar of vital statistics or other officer charged with the duty o f
recording births which certificate or transcript thereof shall be
prima facie evidence o f the age o f the child.
(b ) A certificate o f baptism or transcript thereof, showing the
date of birth and place o f baptism o f the child.
(c ) A bona fide record o f the date and place o f the child’s birth
kept in the Bible in which the records of the births, marriages and
deaths in the fam ily o f the child are preserved; or a certificate o f
confirmation or other church ceremony at least one year old show
ing the age of the child and date and place o f such confirmation or
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1017.
270
F erson a l
pea ranee.
R ep eal.
cerem ony; or a passport showing the age o f the c h ild ; or a cer
tificate o f arrival in the United States, issued by the United
States immigration officer and showing the age o f the c h ild ; or
a life insurance policy at least one year old showing the age of
the child.
(d )
A certificate signed by two physicians, at least one o f whom
shall be a public health officer or public school medical inspector
stating that they have separately examined the child and that in
their opinion the child is at least fourteen years o f age; such
certificate shall show the height and weight o f the child, the con
dition o f its teeth, and any other facts concerning its physical de
velopment revealed by such examination and upon which their
opinion as to its age is based.
aPThe employment certificate shall not be issued until such child
has further personally appeared before the officer issuing the same
and he is satisfied that such child is physically able to perform
the work which he intends to do. In doubtful cases such physical
fitness shall be determined by a medical officer o f the board or de*
partment o f health. Every employment certificate shall be signed,
in the presence o f the officer issuing the same by the child in
whose name it is issued.
Sec. 2. Section three thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven
o f article three, chapter forty-two, Revised Laws of nineteen hun
dred and ten, and all other acts and parts of acts in conflict here
with, are hereby repealed.
Approved this 26th day o f March, 1917.
OREGON.
ACTS OF 1917.
Chapter 1.— Sunday labor.
[This is an initiated act, repealing section 2125 o f Lord’s
Oregon Laws, w hich forbade the keeping open on Sunday of
“ any store, shop, grocery, bowling alley, billiard room, or tippling
house, for the purpose o f labor or traffic, or any place o f amuse
ment.” ]
R ep eal.
C hapter 29.— Intoxication of employees.
Section 3. No person shall knowingly employ to drive any au
tomobile, motorcycle or other motor vehicle for the conveyance of
passengers upon any public highway or street, any person ad
dicted to drunkenness, under penalty o f $10 for every day such
person is in his employment.
Sec. 4. I f any driver, while actually employed in driving any
automobile, m otorcycle or other motor vehicle, is intoxicated to
such a degree as to endanger the safety of his passengers, the
owner of such vehicle, on receiving from any such passenger
a written notice o f the fact, verified by his oath, must forthwith
discharge such driver, and if such owner fails, neglects or refuses
to discharge such driver at once, or if he has such driver in his
service at any time within six months after the date o f the
service of such notice, he shall, upon conviction thereof, be
guilty o f a misdemeanor and shall incur the penalty prescribed
in section number one o f this act.
Approved bj the governor January 30, 1917.
E m p loym en t.
D isch a rg e.
C hapter 98.— Employment of labor on public works— Eight-hour
day.
Section 1. Section four o f chapter sixty-one [identical with
chapter one! General Laws of Oregon of nineteen hundred and
thirteen, * * * is hereby amended to read as fo llo w s :
H ou rs o f la
Sec. 4. In all cases where labor is employed by the State,
county, school district, municipality, municipal corporation or b or.
subdivision, either directly or through another, as a contractor,
no person shall be required or permitted to labor, except as
hereinafter provided, more than eight hours in any one day, or
forty-eight hours in any one week, except in cases of necessity,
emergency, or where the public policy absolutely requires it,
in which event the person or persons so employed for excessive
hours shall receive double pay for the overtime so em ployed; O vertim e.
and itf) emergency, necessity or public policy shall be presumed
to exist when other labor o f like skill and efficiency, which has
not been employed full time, is available: Provided, however,
That the provisions of this section shall not apply to State , in
stitutions and departm ents: And provided further, That in the
operation or repair o f any plant owned or operated by any mu
Municipal
nicipality o f this State in any city or town having a population p lan ts.
o f not more than one thousand inhabitants, any person hereinbe
fore mentioned may be permitted to labor more than eight hours
in any one day, but not more than fifty-six hours in any one week.
Approved by the governor February 13, 1917.
271
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
272
C hapter 163.— Employment of women— Hours of labor.
S e c t i o n 1. Section five thousand and thirty-seven o f Lord’s
Oregon Laws is hereby amended so as to read as follow s:
Sec. 5037. No female shall be employed in any m anufacturing
mechanical or mercantile establishment, laundry, hotel or restau
rant, or telegraph or telephone establishment or office, or by any
T e n - h o u r express or transportation company in this State more than ten
day.
hours during any one day, or more than sixty hours in any one
week. The hours of work may be so arranged as to permit the
employment o f females at any one time so that they shall not
work more than ten hours during the twenty-four hours o f one
day or sixty hours during any one w e e k : Provided, however, That
the provisions o f this section in relation to the hours o f employ
C a n n e r i e s , ment shall not apply to nor affect females employed in har
etc.
vesting, packing, curing, canning or drying any variety o f per
ishable fruit, vegetables o f [or] fish: Provided further, They be
paid time and a half for time over ten hours per day when em
ployed in canneries of* driers or packing p la n ts: Provided, alsof
That pieceworkers shall be paid one and a half the regular prices
for all work done during the time they are employed over ten
hours per day.
P a rtia l r e
S e c . 2. Chapter sixty-two o f the Laws o f Oregon for the year
p eal.
nineteen hundred and thirteen and chapter thirty-five o f the Laws
o f Oregon for the year nineteen hundred and fifteen in so far as
they confer authority upon the industrial w elfare commission
to regulate the hours o f employment for women engaged in har
vesting, packing, curing, canning or drying any variety o f per
ishable fruit, vegetables, or fish, are hereby repealed.
Approved by the governor February 16, 1917.
Chapter 226.— Payment of wages by lessees of mines.
S tatus
lessee, etc.
of
W ro n gful
con v ersion .
P e n a lty .
S e c t i o n 1. Any lessee, licensee, or person other than the owner,
who operates or works a mine, lode, mining claim, or deposit
yielding metal or mineral o f any kind, shall have custody and
control o f whatever metal or mineral may be produced in such
operation or work, as bailee only, and not as owner, until first,
the sum or sums due the lessor shall be paid, and second, the
wag6s due from such lessee to said lessor or to any workmen who
have perform ed labor under contract o f service on, in or about
such mine, lode, mining claim, or deposit, shall have been wholly
paid.
S e c . 2. I f any such bailee shall embezzle or w rongfully con
vert to his own use, or shall secrete or conceal with intent to con
vert to his own use, or shall injure, destroy, sell, give away, or
remove from the county wiiere situated when obtained, without
the written consent o f such lessor and workmen, any such metal
or mineral, he shall be deemed guilty o f *larceny by bailee, and
upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine o f not less than
$100, nor more than $500, or by imprisonment in the - county
ja il for not more than one year, or by both such fine and impris
onment in the discretion o f the court.
Approved by the governor February 17, 1917.
Chapter 267.— Mothers' pensions.
W h o to
ceive aid.
re
S e c t i o n 1. The juvenile or county court o f each county o f the
State o f Oregon shall give assistance to any mother who has a
child or children under the age o f sixteen years and who are
wholly dependent upon her for support and whose husband, the
father o f said child or children is either dead or is an inmate
o f some Oregon State institution or who by reason o f physical or
mental disease, is wholly unable to w ork or assist in any man
ner in supporting his fam ily and who is a citizen o f the State of
Oregon and a citizen o f the United S tate[s], a sum not to ex-
TEXT OF LAWS---- OREGON.
273
ceed $10 a month for one child and if she has more than one
child residing with her, $7.50 per month for each o f said addi
tional children.
The total amount given to any one fam ily shall be discretionary Amount,
with the court but shall not in any case exceed $40 per m onth:
Provided, Such mother had a previous residence o f three years in
the State o f Oregon and one year in the county immediately pre
ceding the date o f the tiling of the application for assistance and
is a citizen o f the United States.
Sec. 2. The court can not give assistance under the provisions
w h o m ay
o f this act to any applicant who came into the State in indigent n o t be aided,
circum stances; and the fact that such applicant was not in indi
gent circumstances at the time of coming into the State must be
shown affirmatively in her application for such assistance.
Sec. 3. In case the father of such dependent child or children
F a th e r
in
is an inmate o f an Oregon State institution, the residence of the in stitu tio n ,
w ife and children shall be conclusively presumed to be in the
county in which such father was a resident at the time o f his
commitment and no assistance shall be given under the provisions
of this act except by the proper court o f such county.
Sec. 4. The court shall not grant assistance for any dependent
Children
child wrho was not alive at the time of such commitment or who eligible,
was not born within ten months thereafter, and no child of a
father who is mentally or physically unable to work shall be
given assistance under the provisions o f this act unless such child
was alive at the time or was born within ten months after the
time said father became wholly unable to wTork.
Sec. 5. If, at the date of her application, or at any time thereChi l dren,
after, there is living with any applicant, as a member o f her
able to
household or otherwise, any o f her children over sixteen years
o f age, or any person or persons not of the immediate fam ily of
such applican t; and such children or persons are not contributing
their proportionate, individual share o f such household expenses,
the court shall not, for and during such time, grant nor render
to such applicant any assistance hereunder.
Sec. 6. The court shall not give assistance under the provisions . Child o w n of this act for the support of any child who has property o f his m g p ro p e rty ,
own unless in the judgment of the court relief may be temporarily
given, nor for any child or children who do not reside with their
mother.
S e c . 7. The court shall not give assistance under the provisions
If resources
of this act to any mother or child or children who have resources available*
or other property which may be drawn upon for the support of
herself or her child or children, and the court in giving assistance
shall take into account any income from the labor o f the appli
cant or her child or children; Provided, That the allowance of
any child under the age o f sixteen years shall cease as soon as it
is eligible for a permit to w o r k : Provided further, That when
the earnings o f said child are less than the maximum amount of
assistance named in this act the court may in its discretion give
such additional assistance as taken with its earnings will equal
said amount.
S e c . 8. The court shall not give assistance under the provisions
in te n tio n a l
o f this act when it shall appear the applicant has deprived her- d ep riv a tio n ,
self directly or indirectly o f property or income in order to qualify
herself for assistance under this act.
Sec. 9. The court shall not give assistance under the provisions
M on th ly acof this act unless monthly accounts are rendered to the court by countsthe applicant; which accounts shall be so rendered before further
assistance may be given. And the court shall be the judge as to
the sufficiency o f these reports and may require more complete
reports o f the applicant.
Sec. 10. Whenever assistance is given under the provisions o f
F a t h e r , inthis act to a mother whose husband is incapacitated for work by firm*
reason of physical oi* mental infirmity and the presence o f such
husband is a menace to the physical or moral w elfare o f the
45913°— Bull. 244— 18-------18
274
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
mother or children, the court may require that such husband may
be removed from the home and provision made for his care else
where, or failing to remove such husband or upon his refusal to
be separated from his fam ily the court may in its discretion refuse
to give further assistance.
M oth er to be
Sec. 11. No assistance shall be given unless the court finds that
qualified.
the mother is a proper person, physically, mentally and morally f it
to care for said child or children.
W h a t p rop
Sec. 12. The court shall not give assistance under the pro
el 1y a bar.
visions o f this act if the applicant has property o f an appraise 1
value exceeding $500 in use as a home, unless the court after full
investigation finds that further assistance is necessary to save
the child or children from physical or moral neglect; such ap
praisement to be made by the court.
W itn esses.
S e c . 13. F or thexpurpose o f carrying out the provisions o f this
act the tribunal mentioned in section one shall have power to
summon witnesses and compel their attendance and pay them the
same as witnesses in criminal cases are paid.
Sec. 14. Any person fraudulently attempting to obtain or
F raud.
fraudulently obtaining any assistance under this act shall be
deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof
shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100 or by imprison
ment in the county ja il for a period o f not to exceed six months,
or by both such fine and imprisonment. Justice’s courts, district
courts, and circuit court [s] shall have concurrent jurisdiction in
all cases arising out o f a violation o f this act.
Sec. 15. All moneys given any person under the provisions o f
A w a rd s e x
em pt.
this act shall be exempt from attachment and execution.
S e c . 16. There shall be filed with the application, proof o f
P r o o fs to be
filed.
death o f husband if he be dead, o f his condition if he is mentally
or physically incapable o f self support, o f his residence in any
Oregon State institution as provided in section one o f this a ct;
birth records o f child or ch ildren ; and such other data as may
be required by the court.
I f
m oth er
Sec. 17. And if in the judgment o f the court any mother o f
im p rov id en t.
such child or children is improvident, careless or negligent in the
expenditure o f the money received in pursuance o f this act, the
court may direct that -such money shall be paid to some person
whom he shall designate to be used for the support o f such
mother and child or children.
S ec . 18. Whenever the tribunal mentioned in section one shall
O rders.
determine that assistance under this act shall be given, it shall
make an order to that effect, which order among other things
shall set out in full the name o f the mother, place o f residence,
the names and ages o f the children and the amount given for
each child and upon presentation o f such order the county court
shall direct monthly warrants to be drawn therefor, and the
payment o f such relief shall date from the court order giving such
assistance: Provided, Whenever the conditions o f either the
mother or any child change after filing the last order, the court
may in its discretion either increase or decrease such monthly
allowance, and the fact that an application for assistance has
been denied to the applicant shall not be taken into consideration
upon a future application being made.
N o prtpr as
Sec. 19. Under no circumstances shall any assistance be given
sistan ce.
under the provisions o f this act prior to the order giving such
assistance.
Absence
S e c . 20. The relief given under the provisions o f this act shall
from cou n ty.
not be allowed during any term of absence from the county giving
such relief, except such absence is with the consent o f the court
and under conditions prescribed by him.
Decision
S e c . 21. The decision o f the tribunal mentioned in section one
final.
in all matters coming under the provisions o f this act shall be
final.
Approved by the governor February 19, 1917.
TEXT OF LAWS— OREGON*
C h a p t e r 393.—
275
Employment o f labor — Medical and hospital fees.
1. An employer under the terms o f this act shall be S cope o f a ct.
taken to mean all persons, firms, companies, corporations or as
sociations o f persons, not including employers engaged in inter
state commerce, doing business within this State who have been
w ithholding or who may hereafter withhold or accept any por
tion of the wages o f their employees for medical, surgical or
hospital care and attention.
Wherever the word “ contractor ” is used in this act, it shall
be understood to include any individual, firm, association or com
pany, which may contract with any employer for the medical,
surgical or hospital care and attention o f his employees.
Law t o b e
Sec. 2. On or after July first, nineteen hundred and seventeen,
ob served .
it shall be unlawful for any employer to deduct, withhold or
accept any portion o f the wages o f any employee for medical, sur
gical or hospital care and attention, or to expend any portion o f
the wages deducted or accepted for such purpose, except as pro
vided in this act.
C o lle ctio n o f
Sec. 3. It shall be law ful for an employer to collect or deduct a
fees la w fu l.
portion of the wages o f his employees for medical, surgical or
hospital care and attention in such an amount and in such a man
ner as may be reasonable: Provided, That if any employee shall
complain to the industrial accident commission as to the amount C om p la in ts.
or manner of said deduction, then it shall be unlawful, after
notice by said commission, for any employer to deduct or accept
any portion of the wages o f his employees, except in the manner
and amounts approved by the said industrial accident commis
sion : Provided, That it shall be unlawful for any employer to
R etaining
directly or indirectly retain any portion of the said fund, so col
lected, for his own use or benefit, it being the intention of this act fees.
that the money so collected by the employer shall be a trust fund
and shall be kept in separate accounts and promptly paid over
for the purpose for which it is so collected, and shall in no event
become a part o i the assets o f any such employer.
C on tra cto rs.
Sec. 4. It shall be lawful for employers to make contracts with
contractors with regard to the funds o f his [their] employees col
lected under the provisions o f section th ree: Provided, That the
industrial accident commission shall have power and authority to
cancel any such contract whenever it shall deem that the physician
selected to give service is not reasonably competent or the service
furnished is not reasonably efficient: Provided further, That no T erm ,
contract shall be valid or effective between an employer and any
contractor, which shall extend over a period of more than one
year, except that the contractor may make a valid contract for
two years with the previous consent of the commission.
S tatem en ts.
Sec. 5. Each contractor shall, on the first day of July, and the
first day of January o f each year, make a statement to the indus
trial accident commission showing the amount of funds received
from each employer during the preceding six months.
S u p erv ision .
Sec. 6. The supervision given to the industrial accident com
mission, under the provisions o f this act, shall be exercised for the
best interests o f the employees, and any complaint made by any
employee to said industrial accident commission hereunder shall
be made in writing and subscribed and sworn to.
R ep orts.
Sec. 7. The industrial accident commission is hereby authorized
to demand from the employer such sworn statements and reports
as may be reasonably deemed necessary in the administration of
this act.
V iolations.
Sec. 8. Any person violating any o f the provisions o f this act
shall be deemed guilty o f a misdemeanor, and upon conviction
thereof shall be punished by a fine o f not less than $100 nor more
than $500.
S e c t io n
Approved by the governor February 21, 1917,
276
LABOR LEGISLATION OE 1917.
HOUSE
CONCURRENT
RESOLUTIONS.
No. 15.— Unemployment— Committee of investigation.
Committee
a p p oin ted .
D u ties.
M em bership.
E xpenses.
A special committee hereby is appointed and instructed to inves
tigate the problem of unemployment and poverty in Oregon and
to recommend such legislation for the alleviation thereof as in its
judgment seems practicable, to the end that, as far as possible,
any and all human beings within this State shall be provided
opportunity to secure the necessaries o f life in return for labor
requisite to their production.
Said committee shall consist o f the president of the Oregon
Agricultural College, president of the University of Oregon, mas
ter of the State Grange, president o f the State Farm ers’ Union,
president of the Oregon State Federation o f Labor, and a repre
sentative to be chosen by the several commercial clubs and cham
bers o f commerce within the State. Each member o f the com
mittee here designated may act in person or through an accredited
representative.
No expense shall accrue to the State as a result o f this reso
lution.
Filed in the office o f the secretary o f state February 20, 1917.
P E N N SYLV A N IA .
ACTS OF 1917.
No. 139.— Department of labor and industry— Inspectors.
S e c t i o n 1. The commissioner o f labor and industry shall, b y
joint conference with the industrial board and chief inspector,
draft a table o f qualifications based upon experience and length
o f service, and shall classify inspectors of the first grade, in the
department o f labor and industry into three classes, designated
as “ Class A,” “ Class B ,” and “ Class C.”
S e c . 2. In “ Class A ” there shall be not more than twenty-five
inspectors, each o f whom shall receive a salary of $2,000 per an
num. In “ Class B ” there shall be not more than fifty inspectors,
each o f whom shall receive a salary of $1,800 per annum. In
“ Class C ” there shall be not more than twenty-five inspectors,
each o f whom shall receive a salary o f $1,500 per annum.
C la sses
in s p e cto rs.
o f
S alaries.
Sec. 3. No person shall hereafter be appointed as an inspector
Qualifica
of the department of labor and industry unless he shall have tio n s.
first passed an examination before the committee herein provided
for, in order to determine his qualifications and that he may be
classified in one of the classes hereinbefore provided according to
his past experience and ability.
Approved the 18th day o f May, 1917.
No. 194.— Pensions for State employees.
[This act amends section 1 of act No. 423, Acts o f 1915, by sub
stituting the word “ Hereafter ” for the date in the first lines
th ereof; by striking out the word “ continuously ” where it oc
curs ; by reducing the age of retirement from 70 years to 65 y e a rs;
and by adding the fo llo w in g :]
The term “ State employee,” as used in this act, shall apply to
all employees in penitentiaries, reformatories and other institu
tions operated by the Commonwealth, as well as those more
directly in the service thereof.
Approved the 7th day o f June, 1917.
A m en d m en ts.
P e rso n s
cluded.
in
No. 254.— Employment of ivomen— Modifications of law.
S e c t i o n 1. The industrial board o f the department of labor and
P ow er
industry may m odify the provisions of the act to which this is a board.
supplement [No. 466, Acts o f 1913], governing the employment of
females, except as hereinafter provided, whenever, in the opinion
o f a m ajority of the members of the said board after due hearing
upon petition filed, such modification may be justified and w ar
ranted, and will not result in or tend to the injury o f the public
health and w elfare or o f the health and w elfare o f the females
sought to be affected by such modification.
S e c . 2. The request for such modification shall be by written
P etition..
petition filed with said board, and shall contain, in addition to
such provisions as said board may from time to time prescribe, a
complete statement of the character of the establishment and
work to be affected, the number o f females employed, the modifi
cation desired, and the reason therefor, which petition shall be
verified by the oath or affirmation o f the applicant or of an officer
th e re o f; and any modification made by said board, pursuant to
said application and in accordance with the provisions of this act,
shall apply only to the particular establishment, or department
thereof, referred to in said petition.
S ec. 3. Any person, firm, or corporation affected by any modifi
cation granted by said board as aforesaid may, within ten days
A p p ea ls.
277
of
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
278
H ow m od ifi
ca tio n s made.
P o w e rs
ited .
lim
N otice.
R ules.
V io la tio n s.
E xp en se.
after said board has filed its opinion, appeal tlierefrom to the said
industrial board, as provided for in section fifteen o f an act
* * * [establishing the department o f labor and industry],
approved the second day o f June, nineteen hundred and thirteen
[No. 267] ; whereupon said board shall proceed to the considera
tion thereof as in said act p rovid ed ; or may, within said time,
appeal to a court o f common pleas o f the Commonwealth o f Penn
sylvania in the manner now provided by law.
S e c . 4. Said board shall not make or decree such modification
except upon the agreement o f a m ajority of all its members, and
shall file at its office at Harrisburg a written opinion, wherein
shall be contained a copy o f the petition filed, the testimony taken,
the decisions o f the board and its reasons therefor. Any modifi
cation so made may be changed or withdrawn by said board, by
the action o f a m ajority o f the members thereof, or by the com
missioner o f the department o f labor and industry whenever, in
his opinion, prompt action is necessary and the attendance of a
m ajority o f the members o f said board can not be secured, upon
due notice to the owner o f the establishment to be affected
th ereby; service o f which notice and o f any other notice required
herein may be had by mailing a copy thereof to the last known
postoffice address o f such establishm ent: Provided, That when
ever the said commissioner takes such action he shall immediately
report the same and his reasons therefor to the said board for
record.
Sec. 5. Nothing in this act contained shall have the effect of, or
be construed as, conferring power or authority on said board or
on said commissioner to increase the maximum hours o f labor per
week, established by the terms o f the act to which this is a supple
ment, which maximum o f hours per week shall be and remain as
in said act established; and nothing in this act contained shall
have the effect of, or be construed as, applying to females em
ployed in manufacturing establishments.
Sec. 6. Whenever any modification, or a change or withdrawal
thereof, shall have been ordered as aforesaid, detailed notice
thereof shall be mailed to the establishment affected in the man
ner aforesaid.
Sec. 7. Said board shall, from time to time, prescribe rules and
regulations, not inconsistent herewith, governing the preparation
and filing of petitions, the manner and time of service of all
notices herein required; and shall have power to administer oaths,
to subpoena witnesses and to compel obedience thereto, in the
same manner, with like effect, and under like penalties as are
now or hereafter may be provided by law with reference to pro
ceedings by or before said board.
S e c . 8. Violations o f any o f the terms o f such modifications, or
o f such changes or withdrawals thereof, as aforesaid, shall be
deemed a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
punishable in the same manner and to the same extent as is now
provided for violations o f the provisions o f the act to which this
is a supplement.
Sec. 9. The members o f the said board shall perform the duties
herein imposed upon them without additional compensation, but
may incur such reasonable expense as may be necessary to the
proper administration of the provisions of this act and the en
forcement thereof.
Approved the 5th day o f July, 1917.
No. 345.— Department of labor and industry— Inspectors’ salaHes.
S ala ries.
S e c t i o n 1. The salaries o f the four supervising inspectors o f the
second grade in the department of labor and industry are hereby
fixed at $3,500 per annum each. The salary o f the chief o f the
bureau o f mediation and arbitration in the department o f labor
and industry is hereby fixed at $4,000 per annum.
Approved the 18th day of July, 1917.
TEXT OF LAW S— PENNSYLVANIA.
279
No. 857.— Fire escapes on factories, etc.
[This act amends No. 2 3 3 , Acts o f 1 9 0 9 , so as to read as fo llo w s :]
Every building in this Commonwealth, other than
What buildbuildings situated in cities o f the first and second classes, * * * in?s to have
in which persons are employed above the second story, in a fac- exits*
tory, workshop, or mercantile establishm ent; * * * shall be
provided with proper ways o f egress, or means o f escape from
fire, sufficient for the use o f all persons * * * employed
* * * th erein ; and such ways o f egress and means o f escape
shall be kept free from obstruction, in good repair, properly
lighted, and ready for use at all tim es; and all rooms above the
second story in said buildings shall be provided with more than
one way o f egress or escape from fire, which shall be placed as
near as practical at opposite ends or sides o f the building, and
leading to stairways on the inside, or, where not possible to
provide such stairways, to stair towers or fire escapes on the
outside o f such buildings: Provided, That in all such buildings
hereafter erected such ways o f egress or means o f escape from
fire shall be located within the walls o f the building, and at
least one of such ways of egress or means o f escape from fire
shall be an inclosed stair tower of fire-resistance construction.
Except that properly constructed bridges between two separate
buildings, or parts o f buildings, separated by approved fire walls,
may be accepted in lieu of such inside stairway by the commis
sioner of labor and in du stry: And provided further, That the Fire-walls.
commissioner o f labor and industry may order fire walls to be
built in buildings already erected, or which may hereafter be
erected, where in his judgment the erection o f such fire walls is
necessary to the reasonably safe protection o f the inmates. Such
ways o f egress or means o f escape from fire, or fire walls, shall
be in accordance with standards drawn up by the industrial board
of the department of labor and industry. W here any o f said Doors,
buildings is designated for the use or occupancy of fifty or more
persons, the external doors o f the same shall open outward, shall
be kept unlocked and ready for instant use at all times, and be
so constructed or arranged as to afford, when open, an unob
structed passageway o f not less than five feet in the .clear.
Where such doors lead from stairways, there shall be landings
Landings,
inside the external doorways o f dimensions not less than four
feet between the external doors and the adjoining stairw ays; said
landings to be of a width not less than the stairway approaches
thereto.
S e c . 3. In addition to the foregoing means o f escape from fire,
F ire escapes,
all such buildings as are enumerated in section one o f this act
that are more than two stories in height, and buildings having one
or more galleries above the first or ground floor, shall have one or
more fire escapes, as may be directed by the commissioner of labor
and industry, or, under his instructions, by the chief inspector or
an inspector o f the department o f labor and industry. And such
fire escapes as are provided for in this section shall be constructed
according to specifications to be issued or approved by the depart
ment of labor and industry. Fire escapes now in use and here
after erected must be painted at least once a year, and be kept in
safe condition and up to the standard requirements of this section.
S e£. 4. W here any o f the aforementioned buildings are so con- internal prostructed that a fire escape can not be erected upon the same visions,
without trespassing upon the property o f the owner or owners of
adjoining lands or buildings, or upon a public thoroughfare, and
where permission to erect fire escapes has been refused by the
said owner or owners o f adjoining lands or buildings, or by the
municipal authorities of the municipality in which the said build
ing is located, it shall be the duty o f the owner or owners o f any
o f the aforementioned buildings, constructed as aforesaid, to erect
an internal fireproof means o f escape, the same to be located and
erected under the direction o f the commissioner o f labor and
inuustry, or, under his directions, by the chief inspector o f the
S e c t i o n 1.
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
280
P la n s to be
a p p roved .
V io la tio n s.
Enforce
m ent.
D am ages.
department of labor and industry. Should the construction of any
o f the aforesaid buildings be such as w ill neither permit of an
external iron fire escape, nor o f an internal fireproof escape, it is
hereby enjoined upon the commissioner o f labor and industry to
notify, in writing, the owner or owners of any building so con
structed, to discontinue the occupancy of the whole or of a part of
the said building for any o f the purposes which make the said
building amenable to the fire-escape provisions of this act.
S e c . 5. The owner or owners, or his or their architect or con
tractor, o f any building now used for other purposes than afore
said, and which is to be adapted lo any o f the aforesaid uses, or
o f any building to be erected for any o f the aforesaid purposes,
shall, before adapting or erecting any such building, submit to the
department of labor and industry detailed architectural designs
and specifications o f such building, in duplicate, showing that
compliance with the foregoing sections is provided for therein;
and work on the adaption [adaptation] or erection o f such build
ing shall not be begun without the approval o f the commissioner
o f labor and industry, or, under his directions, by the chief inspec
tor of the department o f labor and industry, or such other person
or persons as he may appoint to perform such serv ice: Provided,
That the industrial board o f the department o f labor and industry
shall have the authority to make, amend, or repeal rules for the
approval of such designs and specifications, and for carrying out
the other provisions o f this a c t : And provided, That the said
industrial board shall have authority to receive and hear appeals
of those affected by this a c t ; and, after public hearing, may, in
specific cases or classes of cases, make, amend, or repeal rules for
the adoption of other methods than those herein specified, wThere,
in its judgment, such order will to better advantage enforce the
intent and purpose o f this act.
Sec. 6. Any person who shall fail or refuse to comply with the
provisions of this act, or who shall fail or refuse to observe orders
for the enforcement of this act, issued by the commissioner of
labor and industry, or, under his directions, by the chief inspector
or an inspector of the department of labor and industry, or who
shall hinder or delay any officer of the said department in the
perform ance of duty in the enforcement of this act, shall, upon
conviction thereof, be punished by a fine o f not more than $500,
or not more than six months’ imprisonment, or either or both, in
the discretion o f the court.
Prosecutions for violations o f this act may be instituted by
the commissioner o f labor and industry, or, under his directions,
by any inspector o f the department of labor and industry, and
shall be in the form o f summary criminal proceedings instituted
before a magistrate, alderman, or' justice of the peace. Upon
conviction, after a hearing, the sentences provided in this act
shall be imposed, and shall be final unless an appeal be taken
in the manner prescribed by law.
All fines collected under this act shall be forwarded to the
commissioner o f labor and industry, and by him paid into the
State treasury for the use o f the Commonwealth.
And in case o f fire or panic occurring in any o f the said build
ings, in the absence o f such doorways, landings, exits, fire-escapes,
fire preventives, or other safeguards which it is the intent and
purpose o f this act to have provided, the owner or owners, afore
said, shall be liable for damages, in case of death or personal
injury, the result o f fire or panic in any of said bu ildin gs; and
such action for damages may be maintained by any person now
authorized by law to sue, as in other case o f loss by death or
injuries.
Approved the 18th day of July, 1917.
TEXT OF LAWS---- PENNSYLVANIA.
281
No. 364. — Work in compressed air.
S e c t i o n 1. The term “ pressure” when used in this act means
Definitions.
“ gauge pressure in pounds per square inch.”
The term “ employer” when used in this act includes individuals,
copartnerships, associations, and corporations.
S e c . 2. Every tunnel, caisson, compartment, or place to which
P r o v is io n s
this act applies shall be so constructed, equipped, arranged, oper- or sa y*
ated, and conducted as to provide such protection to the lives,
health, and safety o f all persons employed therein as the nature
of the employment will reasonably permit.
S e c . 3. Every employer carrying on any work in the prosecution
D u t i e s of
of which persons are employed in compressed air sh a ll:
employers.
(1) Provide and install gauges in each tunnel, for showing
the air pressure to which the persons so employed therein are
subjected. Such gauges shall be accessible at all times during
working hours to all employees in the tunnels.
(2) Provide and attach gauges to each caisson, for showing the
air pressure to which the persons so employed therein are sub
jected, and employ a competent person, who may be the lock
tender, to take charge of such gauges and o f the instruments re
quired under subdivision three o f this section. The person so
employed shall not be permitted to work more than eight hours
in any twenty-four hours.
(3 ) Provide and attach an air gauge and a timepiece to each
air lock. Such gauge and timepiece shall be accessible to the lock
tender at all times.
(4) Keep at least twTo air-pipes or lines connected with each
tunnel, caisson, compartment, or place in wiiich persons are so
employed.
(5) Provide a suitable iron ladder for the entire length o f
every shaft used in connection writh such work.
(6) Keep every passageway used in connection with such w ork
clear and properly lighted.
<7) Provide sufficient electric lights for all lighting purposes,
and provide a wire for lighting the shaft, which wire shall
be separated from the wire used for lighting the place where the
employees are at w'ork in compressed a ir ; all electric wires shall
be properly insulated.
(8) Provide, for the use o f all persons so employed, dressing
rooms, which shall be kept open and accessible during working
hours and during the intervals between working periods, and
also a separate room for drying clothes. The dressing rooms
shall contain benches and individual lockers, shower baths, with
hot and cold water, and sanitary water-closets, and shall be kept
properly heated, lighted, and ventilated.
(9) I f thfe maximum air pressure in such work exceeds seven
teen pounds, provide and maintain at least one double compart
ment hospital lo c k ; such lock shall be at least six feet high inside
measurement, and be suitably floored ; it shall be equipped with
inside and outside air gauges and timepieces, &nd a telephone with
proper connections, and shall contain benches and proper surgical
and medical equipment; it shall be properly heated, lighted, and
ventilated.
Sec. 4. No caisson in which persons are employed in compressed P o s itio n o f
air shall, while work is in progress therein, be suspended or hung caisson,
so that the bottom of the excavation is more than four feet below
the cutting edge of the caisson.
Sec. 5. Every employer carrying on any work in the prosecuIn sp e c tio n
tion of which persons are employed in compressed air shall cause daily,
all engines, boilers, steam pipes, steam gauges, drills, caissons, air
pipes, air gages, air locks, dynamos, electric wiring, signal appa
ratus, brakes, buckets, hoists, cables, chains, ropes, ladders, ways,
tracks, sides, roofs, timbers, supports, and all other equipment,
apparatus and appliances used in connection with such work to be
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1911.
282
inspected at least once every working day by a competent person
especially designated for that purpose; and if any defect in such
equipment, apparatus or appliances is found, a report thereof in
writing shall forthwith be made by the inspector to the employer
and the defect shall be immediately repaired.
S ec. 6. Every employer carrying on any work in the prosecu
Physicians
and nurses.
tion of which persons are employed in compressed air shall :
(1 ) Employ one or more licensed physicians as medical officers,
who shall be present to render medical assistance at all necessary
times at the place where such work is in progress, and who shall
perform such other duties as are imposed on them by this act.
(2 ) I f the maximum air pressure in such work exceeds seven
teen pounds, employ one or more registered nurses, or one or
more competent persons, which persons shall be selected by the
medical officer and be certified by him to be competent by actual
experience to handle cases o f compressed-air illness. The nurses
or persons so employed shall have charge o f the hospital lock
provided for in this act, and may also have other duties o f a
clerical nature, exclusive o f timekeeping, such as w ill not require
their presence elsewhere than at the hospital lock and such as
they may leave at any time their service at the lock is necessary.
Sec. 7. No person known to be addicted to the excessive use
of intoxicants shall be employed or permitted to work in com
pressed air.
Sec. 8. (1) No person shall be employed or permitted to work
P h y sica l e x
a m in a tion s.
in compressed air until he has been examined by the medical
officer and found to be physically qualified therefor.
U se o f
tox ica n ts.
in
R cco rd s .
Working
tim e.
(2 ) No person who has not previously worked in compressed
air shall, during the first twenty-four hours o f his employment, be
permitted to work therein longer than one working period, as
provided in section ten, and he shall not be permitted to resume
such work, if the air pressure exceeds fifteen pounds, until he
has been reexamined by the medical officer and found to be
physically qualified therefor.
(3 ) No person who is employed in compresser air, but who has
been absent therefrom for ten or more consecutive days for any
cause, shall be permitted to resume such work until he has been
reexamined by the medical officer and found to be physically
qualified therefor.
(4) No person who has been employed regularly in compressed
air for three months shall be permitted to continue such work
until he has been reexamined by the medical officer and found to
be physically qualified therefor.
Sec. 9. The medical officer shall keep a record o f all physical
examinations made in accord with section eight, which record
shall be kept at the place where the work is in progress, and shall
contain the name, age, address, and full description of each person
examined, the date on which each examination was made and the
physical condition on that date o f the person examined, and the
total time such person has worked in compressed air, including
time in previous employments. The employer shall also be re
sponsible for the observance o f this section.
S e c . 10. When the air pressure in any tunnel, caisson, com
partment, or place in which persons are employed exceeds normal,
but does not exceed fifty pounds, the maximum number o f hours
which, in any twenty-four hours, a person may be employed or
permitted to w ork or remain therein, shall be as hereinafter
stated. In every case the maximum number of hours shall be
divided into two working periods of equal length, and the mini
mum time interval which shall elapse between such working
periods shall be as hereafter stated.
When the air pressure exceeds normal, but does not exceed
twenty-one pounds, number of hours in twenty-four, eight; in
terval between working periods, thirty minutes.
When the air pressure exceeds twenty-one but does not exceed
thirty pounds, number o f hours in twenty-four, s ix ; interval be
tween working periods, one hour.
TEXT OF LAWS— PENNSYLVANIA.
283
When the air pressure exceeds thirty but does not exceed
thirty-five pounds, number of hours in twenty-four, fo u r ; in
terval between working periods, two hours.
When the air pressure exceeds thirty-five but does not exceed
forty pounds, number o f hours in twenty-four, th re e ; interval be
tween working periods, three hours.
When the air pressure exceeds forty but does not exceed fortyfive pounds, number o f hours in twenty-four, tw o ; interval be
tween working periods, four hours.
When the air pressure exceeds forty-five but does not exceed
fifty pounds, number o f hours in twenty-four, one and one-half;
interval between working periods, five hours.
Except in cases o f emergency, no person shall be employed, or
permitted to work or remain, in any tunnel, caisson, compartment,
or place where air pressure exceeds fifty pounds.
S e c . 11. No person shall be permitted to pass from any tunnel,
Decompres
ea isson, compartment, or place where he has been employed in s io n .
compressed air to atmosphere or [o f] normal pressure, without
passing through an intermediate lock or stage o f decompression.
When the employee is passing from a tunnel to atmosphere o f
normal pressure, the rate o f decompression shall be three pounds
every two minutes, except when the air pressure in the tunnel
exceeds thirty-six pounds, in which case the rate of decom
pression shall be one pound every minute. When the employee is
passing from a caisson, compartment, or place to atmosphere o f
normal pressure, the time o f decompression shall be as fo llo w s :
When the pressure in a caisson, compartment, or place exceeds
normal, but does not exceed ten pounds, time o f decompression
one minute.
When the pressure in a caisson, compartment, or place exceeds
ten but does not exceed fifteen pounds, time o f decompression
two minutes.
When the pressure in a caisson, compartment, or place exceeds
fifteen but does not exceed twenty pounds, time o f decompression
five minutes.
When the pressure in a caisson, compartment, or place exceeds
twenty pounds but does not exceed twenty-five pounds, time o f
decompression ten minutes.
When the pressure in a caisson, compartment, or place exceeds
twenty-five pounds but does not exceed thirty pounds, time o f
decompression twelve minutes.
When the pressure in a caisson, compartment, or place exceeds
thirty but does not exceed thirty-six pounds, time o f decompres
sion fifteen minutes.
When the pressure in a caisson, compartment, or place exceeds
thirty-six but does not exceed forty pounds, time o f decompression
twenty minutes.
When the pressure in a caisson, compartment, or place exceeds
forty but does not exceed fifty pounds, time o f decompression
twenty-five minutes.
S e c . 12. The commissioner o f labor and industry shall enforce
E n force*
this act. In enforcing this act any employee or agent o f the de- m ent.
partment o f labor and industry, specially authorized in writing,
may at any time enter any place o f employment covered by this
act for purposes o f inspection. It shall be unlawful to hinder or
prevent such employee or agent in the performance o f his duties
under this act.
S e c . 13. Every person who, directly or indirectly, violates or
V io la tio n s,
fails to comply with any provisions o f this act is liable to a penalty
of $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second offense, and $300
for the third and each subsequent offense. Such penalties shall
be recovered as debts o f like amount are recoverable, in action to
lie brought for the use o f the Commonwealth by or under the direc
tion o f the commissioner o f labor and industry.
Approved the 19th day of July, 1917.
284
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
No. 383.— Mine regulations.
M o to r a m b u
la n ces.
N um ber-tags,
etc.
[This act amends article 7 o f the anthracite mine law o f the State
(p. 176, Acts o f 1891; secs. 94-100, p. 1349, B. P. Dig. 12th edition ),
by substituting the word “ motor-ambulance ” for the word “ ambu
lance,” where it occu rs; also by adding to section 2 (sec. 95) the
w o rd s: “ The motor-ambulance shall at all times be properly
heated ” ; also by substituting 4 miles for 1 mile in section 5 ; and
by adding to section 7 (sec. 100) the follow in g :]
There shall be furnished, free o f charge, by the State highway
department, a registration certificate and two number-tags for
every such motor-ambulance.
Approved the 19th day o f July, 1917.
No. 411.— Provisions for unemployment— Public works.
Emergency
fu n d .
C om m ission.
D u ty .
Industrial
board , etc.
R e p o rt
gov ern or.
t o
F u n d to
d istrib u ted .
be
Applicants
for e m p l o y m ent.
S e c t i o n 1. In order to provide increased opportunities for em
ployment in useful public works o f this Commonwealth during
periods of extraordinary unemployment caused by industrial de
pression, there is hereby created a fund to be known as the
emergency public works fund.
Sec. 2. The governor of the Commonwealth, the auditor general,
the State treasurer, and the commissioner o f labor and industry
are hereby constituted a commission, for the custody, manage
ment, and disposition o f the said fund, and for the perform ance
o f such other duties as are prescribed by this act, to be known
as the emergency public works commission.
Sec. 3. It shall be the duty o f the said commission to proceed
forthwith to ascertain and secure from the various departments,
bureaus, boards, and commissions o f this Commonwealth tentative
plans for such extension o f the public works o f the State as shall
be best adapted to supply increased opportunities for advantageous
public labor during such periods o f temporary unem ploym ent; to
gether with estimates of the amount, character, and duration o f
said employment, the number o f employees who could be profit
ably used therein, together with rates of wages and such other in
form ation as the commission shall deem necessary.
Sec. 4. It shall be the duty o f the industrial board o f the de
partment o f labor and industry, in cooperation with the various
bureaus of the said department, to keep constantly advised of in
dustrial conditions throughout the commonwealth as affecting the
employment o f la b o r ; and whenever it shall be represented to the
said board by the governor o f the State, or the said board shall
otherwise have reason to believe, that a period o f extraordinary un
employment caused by industrial depression exists in the Common
wealth, it shall be the duty of the said board to immediately hold
an inquiry into the facts relating thereto, and to find and report to
the governor o f the Commonwealth whether, in fact, such condi
tion does exist.
Sec. 5. In the event that the industrial board shall report to the
governor that a period o f extraordinary unemployment caused by
industrial depression does in fact exist within this Commonwealth,
the said commission is hereby authorized to make such disposition
and distribution o f the said emergency public works fund, among
the said several departments, bureaus, boards, and commissions of
the Commonwealth, for such extension o f the public works o f the
Commonwealth under the charge or direction thereof, including
the purchase o f materials and supplies necessary therefor, as
shall, in the judgment and discretion o f the said commission, be
best adapted to advance the public interest by providing the m axi
mum of public employment, in relief o f the existing conditions of
extraordinary unemployment, consistent With the most useful,
permanent, and economical extension o f the works aforesaid.
Sec. 6. It shall be the duty o f the commissioner o f labor and
industry, immediately upon the publication, under this act, o f a
finding that a period o f extraordinary unemployment due to indus
trial depression exists throughout this Commonwealth, to cause to
be prepared by the appropriate bureaus o f his department ap-
TEXT OP LAWS— PENNSYLVANIA.
285
proved lists o f applicants for public employment, and to secure
from such applicants, or otherwise, full inform ation as to their
industrial qualifications, and to submit the same to the emer
gency public works commission for transmission to such depart
ments, bureaus, boards and commissions as shall avail themselves
o f the provisions o f this a c t : And it is further provided, That no
person shall be given employment in the works contemplated by
this act who shall not be a citizen <?f the United States, and shall
not have been a resident o f the State o f Pennsylvania for a period
o f six months prior to his or her application for said em ploym ent:
Provided further, That this section shall not apply to such addi
tional employees as shall, in the judgment of the head o f said
department, bureau, board or commission, be necessary to prepare
the necessary plans for the said extensions, and to provide the ma
terials and equipment therefor, or to supervise the conduct thereof.
Sec. 7. The sum of $50,000 is hereby appropriated to the said
Appropriaemergency public works commission, from public moneys n o t tionheretofore otherwise appropriated, to be held in the said emer
gency public works fund for the purposes o f this act.
Approved the 25th day o f July, 1917, in the sum o f $40,000.
No. 413.— Old-age pensions— Commission of investigation.
S e c t i o n 1. The governor o f this Commonwealth is hereby auCom mission
thorized and directed to appoint a commission, to consist of seven created,
reputable citizens o f Pennsylvania, who shall serve without com
pensation other than for their reasonable expenses, to look into
the general subject of old-age pensions, and to investigate the
various systems provided for this purpose in other nations and
States, together with all the facts relating thereto, especially as Duties,
bearing upon the industrial and other conditions prevailing in
Pennsylvania, and with a view to their practical adaptability
here. Said commission to have full powers to subpoena witnesses
and to secure inform ation under the authority o f the governor o f
the Commonwealth, and to make its report to the legislature not
later than March fifteenth, nineteen hundred and nineteen.
Said commission shall consist o f two members o f the bar Members
of the Supreme Court o f Pennsylvania, who have studied social
problems, two employers o f labor, two members o f recognized
labor organizations, and one citizen o f the Commonwealth, who
shall be a woman experienced in the study o f social problems.
Said commission shall formulate such plans for its organization
and work as may deem [seem] desirable to its membership; and
an appropriation of $5,000, or so much thereof as may be neces- A ppropriasary, is l?ereb5r specifically made for the purpose o f carrying out tion .
the work o f said commission.
Approved the 25tli day of July, 1917.
No. 414.— Health insurance commission.
S e c t i o n 1. A commission is hereby created, to be known as
C o m m is s io n
the Health Insurance Commission, which shall investigate:
created.
1. Sickness and accident o f employees and their families, not
subjects o f
compensated under the provisions o f the workmen’s compensation investigation,
act - o f nineteen hundred and fifteen, the loss caused to individ
uals and to the public thereby, and the causes th ereof;
2. The adequacy o f the present method o f treatment and care
o f such sickness and in ju r y ;
3. The adequacy o f the present methods o f meeting the losses
caused by such sickness or injury, either by mutual or stock in
surance companies o r ‘ associations, by fraternal or other mutual
benefit associations, by employers and employees jointly, by em
ployees alone, or oth erw ise;
4. The influence or [o f] working conditions on the health o f
employed persons; and
5. Methods for the prevention of such sickness— all with a
view to recommending ways and means for the better protection
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
286
o f employees from sickness and accident and their effects, and
the improvement o f the health o f employed persons and their
fam ilies in the Commonwealth. The commission shall hold pub
H ea rin gs.
lic hearing's in different parts o f the Commonwealth.
The
commission shall submit a full final report, including such
R ep ort.
recommendations for legislation, by bill or otherwise, as in its
judgment may seem proper, to the general assembly of nineteen
hundred and nineteen.
M em bership.
S e c . 2 . The commission shall consist o f three senators, to be
appointed by the president pro tempore o f the senate; three repre
sentatives, to be appointed by the speaker o f the house o f repre
sentatives; and three other persons, not members o f the general
assembly, to be appointed by the governor.
P ow ers.
S ec. 3. The commission shall have power to elect its chairman
and other officers, to examine witnesses, books, and papers re
specting all matters to be investigated, to issue subpoenas, to
compel the attendance o f witnesses and the production o f books
and papers, to administer oaths, to employ a secretary, experts in
the matters to be investigated, and all necessary clerical and
other assistants, to purchase books and all necessary supplies, and
to rent halls for hearings. I f the commission shall appoint from
its members subcommittees to make an inquiry, the subcommit
tees shall have the same powers for the examination of persons
and papers and to administer oaths as are herein conferred upon
Salaries and other expenses o f the commis
S ala ries and the commission.
expenses.
sion shall be paid upon vouchers approved by the chairman of
the commission, up to the amount appropriated by the general
assembly.
Sec. 4. The commissioner of health and the commissioner of
C oop era tion .
labor and industry are hereby directed to cooperate with the
commission, and to render it any such proper aid and assistance
as in their judgment may not interfere with the proper conduct
o f their respective departments; and, as far as possible, rooms
in buildings owned or leased by the Commonwealth shall be as
signed to the commission for hearings or other purposes.
Appropria
Sec. 5. The sum of $5,000, or so much thereof as may be neces
tion .
sary, is hereby specifically appropriated for the actual and neces
sary expenses o f the commission in carrying out the provisions
o f this act. Payment of the money shall be on order of the
chairman o f the commission and on warrant o f the auditor
general.
Approved the 25th day o f July, 1917.
DEPARTM EN T OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY.
S a fe ty S tandards
of
I n d u s t r ia l B o a r d .
No. 12.— Inspection of steam boilers.
C ode o f 1915.
[A boiler code o f 140 octavo pages was adopted May 27, 1915, to
become effective July 1, 1916. It is too extensive and technical to
be reproduced here. Part II, relating to administration, pre
scribes the scope of the law, the duties o f inspectors, and other
administrative details.]
No. 13.— Foundries.
(Given in Bui. No. 186.)
No. 14.— Ladders.
S um m ary.
[Rules adopted November 5, 1915, define the classes o f ladders
included within the scope o f the act, and specify their general use
and construction. The different classes o f ladders are then taken
up, and details as to materials, length, mode o f construction, etc.,
are prescribed.]
287
TEXT OF LAWS— PENNSYLVANIA.
No. 15.— Cereal mills, malt houses, and grain elevators.
[Regulations adopted April 13, 1916, under this head, relate to
ventilation and the prevention o f dust explosions.]
Scope.
No. 16.— Lighting.
[A code o f lighting for factories, etc., adopted April 13, 1916, is
identical with the code on the same subject adopted by the New
Jersey Department o f Labor, reproduced on page — .]
Code o f 1016.
No. 17.— Elevators.
[The requirements under this head are applicable to elevators
hereafter constructed and installed, except in cities o f the first
and second class. The rules give detail^ of all parts and appur
tenances o f the different classes of elevators, shafting, cars, dumb
waiters, etc., the relative requirements for cables, sheaves, and
drums, carload, and electrical, hydraulic, and other pow er.]
S um m ary.
No. IS.— Textiles.
(N ot published.)
No. 19.— Plants manufacturing or using explosives.
[This is the first body o f regulations coming to hand which at
tempts to lay down specific protective provisions for workmen,
most o f the laws giving chief attention to the safety o f the public.
For this reason the regulations are reproduced in full.]
S e c t io n 1. This code shall govern the operation of all buildings,
factories, establishments, or other places where people are em
ployed, wherein explosives are manufactured, used, handled,
stored, or in which they are produced as the result o f m anufac
turing processes.
S e c . 2. The follow ing materials are classed as explosives by the
industrial board: Black powder (all varieties), dry guncotton,
nitroglycerin, dynamite, chlorates, fulminates, fireworks and any
other of their compounds or mixtures or any other substances
which are subject to explosion by the aid o f shock, friction, spark
or heat. Smokeless powder, wet guncotton and wet nitrostareh,
while not properly classed with the above as explosives, are also
included in these regulations.
S e c . 3. A ll rooms or portions o f explosives plants in which
there are used, generated or found, explosive vapors and wherein
persons are employed shall be separated from other rooms or
portions o f plants by fire resisting walls or partitions, pierced
with such openings only as are necessary except when such
rooms or portions o f plants consist of separate buildings. In
such places where the material which is being used or which
produces the explosive vapors does not exceed ten gallons in
quantity and is confined in approved safety cans it will be neces
sary only to prohibit the use o f naked flames, to post approved
danger signs and to observe safe practices. Materials which give
off explosive vapors shall not be stored in workrooms wherein
people are employed, unless such materials are stored in closed
containers properly vented. W here practical, safety cans should
be used.
Where materials giving off explosive vapors are stored in
separated or underground storage systems outside o f buildings
they may be distributed by approved types of pipe lines through
out buildings where persons are employed.
The openings which are necessary in the above mentioned fire
resisting walls shall be provided with an approved type o f fire re
sisting door and these doors shall be kept closed at all times ex
cept when in use to permit passage from one room or portion o f a
plant to the other. On all such doors shall be posted an approved
S cope.
E x plosive
m a te ria ls.
Construction
of buildings
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 191u
288
N um ber
em p loyees.
o f
L ig h tin g .
V en tila tion .
of
Prevention
ex p losion s.
N itr ic acid .
N o tic e to be
p osted .
danger sign, warning against the carrying o f matches or an open
light and prohibiting the entrance o f any but authorized em
ployees or others designated by the manager or superintendent.
Sec. 4. The number o f employees in such rooms or portions o f
a plant shall be kept to the minimum compatible with the
process of manufacture.
This can be obtained by building addi
tional fire resisting portions or by the addition o f small unit
buildings.
Sec. 5. No open or naked lights such as lanterns, stoves, torches,
etc., shall be allowed in such rooms or portions o f plants, ex
cept for necessary repairs under proper supervision. Watchmen
or others using portable lights shall be supplied with vapor proof
lights.
Such rooms or portions o f plants shall be lighted (if artificial
light is needed) by means o f an electric system installed in con
duit or in lead encased cables, with vapor proof keyless lamps.
All switches or fuses shall be located on the outside o f such rooms
or buildings in a protected place. This installation must con
form to the Underwriters’ Standards. It would be preferable and
desirable if all lights could be projected by reflectors into rooms
from the outside through properly located windows. The em
ployment of electric motors other than those o f a sparkless in
duction type in the above rooms is forbidden.
Sec. 6. I f the amount of gases or vapors produced in such
rooms or buildings is deemed sufficient by the commissioner of
labor and industry, or his authorized representative, to be a
menace to the safety or to the health of employees working there
in, an efficient exhaust system, plans of which must be approved
by the department of labor and industry, shall be installed in
such rooms and kept operating at all times when persons are
employed therein.
During necessary repairs which might cause a spark, all other
operations shall cease, and such repairs shall be made only after
adequate ventilation has been established to free the room or por
tion o f the plant from explosive gas or vapor.
Sec. 7. Oil lanterns, open lights, and any method o f work
which might generate a spark are prohibited in the vicinity of
acid containers, except when necessary to apply heat for thaw
ing purposes which shall be done under proper supervision. The
opening o f drums by means o f an iron chisel and hammer is pro
hibited. Suitable wrenches shall be provided.
Localities where such material is stored shall be posted with
warning signs calling attention to the danger o f bringing naked
lights into the vicinity.
Sec. 8. In view o f the danger to the worker from inhalation o f
nitrous fumes in case o f fire or o f the breakage o f carboys, such
carboys containing nitric acid shall be stored in detached sheds
with sandstone, brick, or other suitable flooring, and in quantities
not to exceed one hundred carboys placed in not more than four
rows. Nitric acid in carboys may be stored in the open in un
limited quantities.
The follow ing notice w ill be supplied by the department o f labor
and industry on application, and shall be posted at all places in
plants where there is danger o f poisoning by acid fu m es:
A cid F um es ,
w arning .
F o rm .
The inhalation of dense acid fumes may cause death.
Employees are strictly prohibited from entering buildings where
dense acid fumes exist, or tanks, or confined spaces which are not
entirely clear o f acid fumes, unless they wear a helmet.
Employees working in such places shall, in addition to the
helmet, wear a life line which is at all times in the hands o f an
assistant stationed outside o f the tank.
TEXT OF LAWS---- PENNSYLVANIA.
289
Employees who have been exposed to acid fumes and who feel
weak, sick, short o f breath, or who are attacked with cramps or
coughing shall report this condition to their foreman or to the
hospital at once so that proper treatment can be given. Do not
wait to get home. Delay may be fatal. Take no chances.
Responsibility for complying with these regulations shall rest
with the foreman or other person designated for that purpose by
the management o f the plant.
Failure to comply with these regulations may subject the
offender to a penalty of a fine or imprisonment.
D epartment
of
L abor
and
I ndustry .
[ E n d o f n o t i c e .]
W a te r to be
W ater shall be always available for use in case of evolution o f
nitrous fumes caused by breakage or other accident to carboys, a t hand.
and all workers handling such acid shall be warned against
sprinkling sand, sawdust, earth or anything other than water 01*
alkalies, upon any spilled nitric acid.
Poisonous
Sec. 9. In all buildings in which fumes, vapors or gases o f an
asphyxiating or poisonous nature arq manufactured, used, handled fum es, etc.
or stored and in buildings in which chemicals, which give off such
fumes, vapors or gases, are produced, used,.handled or stored, the
follow ing regulations shall be enforced.
F irst-a id p ro
Sec, 10. For every fifty persons or less employed in such plant
and exposed to such risk there shall be present at all times at vision s.
least two persons who are trained or competent to apply means of
resuscitation by the prone pressure or Schaeffer method or by
mechanical devices approved by the industrial board.
A sufficient number of helmets of a type approved by the in
dustrial board shall be kept at each plant, in order that they may
be available for use by every employee who has occasion to
enter places where there may be asphyxiating or poisonous gases,
fumes or vapors.
All employees who are required by the employer to wear helmets
in making repairs or in maintenance work shall be thoroughly in
structed in the use o f such apparatus and be physically examined
by a licensed physician at least once in ninety days or after ab
sence from work due to either sickness or accident and the physi
cian shall certify to the proper physical condition o f the men so
employed and no employee shall be permitted to do such repair
work unless so examined and certified.
Entering
Sec. 11. If it is necessary for an employee to enter any vats, vats.
tanks 01* other containers in which there have been used, stored
or manufactured, gases, fumes or vapors o f an asphyxiating or
poisonous nature, or materials which give off gases, fumes or
vapors o f an asphyxiating or poisonous nature, the follow ing pro
cedure shall be pursued:
(a)
Empty containers. Disconnect and blank off all connec
tions.
(&) Clean containers thoroughly by repeated washings with
water, soda water, steam, compressed air or other suitable means.
(c ) I f the person in charge then considers conditions satis
factory, employees may enter such containers. They must use an
approved type o f helmet and have attached to their bodies a life
line or rope if the person in charge considers it necessary.
( d) The life line or rope shall be under the control o f one or
more fellow workmen, who shall remain outside o f the container,
in order that they may render assistance if necessary.
( e ) After the work is finished the men should take, at once, a
bath and change their clothing, including shoes, if the foreman
or other person in charge shall deem it necessary. Facilities for
taking such baths shall be provided.
The superintendent o f the plant shall be held responsible for
the enforcement o f these regulations.
A copy o f the rules for procedure as given above will be fur
nished by the department o f labor and industry and shall be
45913°— Bull. 244— 18-------19
290
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
posted at every place in each plant where asphyxiating or poison
ous fumes, gases or vapors may be found.
H andling
S e c . 12. The handling and storage o f all acids and other chem
a cids.
icals necessary for the operation o f explosives plants, not herein
provided for, shall be governed by the regulations as set forth
in the code governing the operation o f chemical works.
Storage, etc.,
S e c . 13. All buildings in which any quantity o f explosives is
o f exp losiv es.
manufactured, handled, used or temporarily stored shall be classed
as explosives buildings. Those buildings, wherein finished ex
plosives not being used in the process o f manufacture are kept
or are stored for periods exceeding forty-eight hours, shall be classed
as magazines. Explosive material, not in process o f manufacture
but which is being used in loading detonators, timing or priming
caps, or in like manufacturing processes, shall not be stored in
workrooms wherein people are employed except under the follow
ing conditions:
{a) W here the quantity used for the day’s run does not exceed
one hundred pounds, it is permissible to keep in closely-covered
receptacles that necessary for the day’s run.
(&) W here the quantity necessary for the day’s run exceeds
one hundred pound's, only one hundred pounds may be stored in
the workroom at one time and then only at a place where it
shall be suitably protected from careless or promiscuous handling.
Additional supplies shall be brought from the magazine as needed.
(c ) Explosive materials being used in the above processes may
be stored in any quantity in storage buildings erected for that
purpose, provided that such buildings are not used for other
purposes and are located at proper distances from other buildings
wherein persons are employed, or are protected by suitable natu
ral, or artificial barricades.
{d) Fulminates or materials o f like sensibility shall be brought
into workrooms in quantities sufficient only for concurrent use.
Explosive material not in process o f manufacture and not being
used in processes o f manufacturing as above provided for shall
be stored in magazines.
Sec. 14. Each concern, manufacturing, using, handling, or stor
Plans.
ing explosives shall on and after April first, nineteen hundred
and seventeen, keep in the office o f the superintendent o f each
plant, a plan o f said plant showing the location o f all explosives
buildings and the distance they are located from other explosives
buildings or buildings where persons are employed and from
magazines, and these plans shall at all times be open to inspection
by a duly authorized inspector o f the department o f labor and
industry.
The superintendent o f each plant shall, upon the
demand o f said inspector, furnish the follow ing in form ation :
D a ta to be
The number o f persons ordinarily engaged at work in or at
fu rn ish ed .
each building or the proposed number to be allowed there.
The maximum amount and kind o f explosive material which is
or will be present in each building at one time.
The nature and kind o f work carried on in each building and
whether or not such buildings are surrounded by natural or arti
ficial barricades and the dimensions o f such barricades.
Nov/ plants.
S e c . 15. Every concern hereafter engaging in the manufacture,
use or handling o f explosives, shall before or at the time of com
mencing operations, comply with section fourteen.
E n terin g ce r
Sec. 16. The entrance to plants m anufacturing explosives ex
tain p lan ts.
clusively, and to all portions o f plants where explosives buildings
shall be maintained, shall be fenced off in such a manner as to
prevent the entrance o f persons other than employees unless per
mission has first been obtained from the superintendent, manager,
or proper authorities.
No person other than authorized employees, or State inspectors
properly identified, shall be allowed in any plant m anufacturing
explosives or handling or using the same in the process o f manu
facture unless they have been given written permission by the
superintendent, manager, or proper authorities, and are accom
panied by them or their authorized representative. A record of
such permissions granted shall be kept on file in the office.
TEXT OF LAWS---- PENNSYLVANIA.
No person upon whom the odor o f liquor is detected shall be
allowed upon the premises o f a plant manufacturing or using ex
plosives, or in any explosives building.
No employee, other than those authorized to do work in or
around such buildings, shall be allowed to remain near or in
explosives buildings.
S e c . 17. All explosives buildings shall be kept clean o f all un
necessary loose tools, refuse and debris of any kind, at all times,
and shall not be used as temporary storehouses for material not
necessary at that time in the process of manufacture.
No explosives building while containing explosives shall be used
as a storehouse for implements or other paraphernalia.
S e c . 18. Whenever repairs are necessary in an explosives build
ing, they shall be attended to by either a repairs engineer or other
authorized person. The foreman, or person in charge o f the
building, shall be responsible for seeing that only those authorized,
attend to these repairs, and that in the case o f m ajor repairs all
explosive material is removed before repairs are undertaken.
Before work may be resumed, after repairs have been made, all
articles other than those allowed shall be removed from the build
ing, and the workroom placed in its original working condition.
S e c . 19. No employee shall have in his possession at any time
in any explosives plant, any match or other flame producing device
unless he is authorized in writing by the superintendent to do so,
in which case approved safety matches only may be used.
A search for matches shall be made by some authorized person
at least twice a week at irregular intervals. The finding o f a
match or other flame producing device on the person o f an em
ployee not authorized to have matches in his possession shall be
cause for instant dismissal, and the facts shall be reported to the
commissioner o f labor and industry.
S e c . 20. All employees handling loose explosives or working in
or around explosives manufacturing buildings where there is a
possibility o f explosion by the attrition o f metals shall wear pow
der shoes or rubber soled shoes (without iron or steel nails).
No pockets shall be allowed in the clothing worn in such work ex
cept one skeleton pocket in either the coat or trousers. Neither
iron nor steel buttons, nor other metal attachments, shall be al
lowed on such clothes, nor shall metal objects, such as knives, keys,
and so forth, be allowed to be carried in the pockets.
All explosives buildings shall be provided at each entrance with
suitable devices whereby the shoes of all those persons entering
such buildings can be cleaned and all persons before entering
such buildings shall wipe or clean their shoes.
291
R oom s to
clean.
R epairs,
M a tch es.
C loth in g.
Dressing
Sec. 21. Suitable change or locker houses shall be provided
room s.
where employees can change their clothes and wash.
No lockers shall be allowed in explosives buildings.
T ru ck s.
S e c . 22. All trucks or conveyors used for the transportation of
loose explosive material, except smokeless powder not in the dry
state or wet nitro compounds, shall be provided with either side
or end rails, or guards, to prevent any explosives from slipping
off the truck or other conveyors. Only trucks or other conveyors
that are in perfect repair shall be used.
M ach in ery.
Careful inspection shall be made daily by the foreman to see
whether all machinery used in the manufacture or handling of ex
plosives is in perfect order. If not found in such shape, it shall
not be used until placed in perfect condition.
All dangerous machinery and moving parts of machinery shall
be guarded in approved manner as specified by the safety stand
ards of the industrial board of the department of labor and
industry.
Pl at f or ms,
All platforms, stairways, tanks, vats, runways and other danger
ous places shall be guarded by standard railings and toe boards as etc.
required by the industrial board standards on standard railings
and toe boards, except where there is danger o f dust collecting,
when toe boards shall not be u sed ; but in all such instances spe
cial permission shall be obtained from the department o f labor and
292
C a rry in g e x
p losives.
F loors to be
clea n , etc.
L igh tin g .
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
industry. Metal shall not be used for railings and toe boards
where its presence increases the danger o f an explosion and no
railings or toe boards shall be installed so as to interfere with
safety exits.
Either the tread o f all wheels on trucks or conveyors or the
rails used inside o f explosives buildings shall be composed o f non
sparking material.
Sec. 23. Where explosives are carried from one building to
another, as for instance from magazines to workrooms, employees
carrying such explosives shall not be allowed to follow each other
closely but must allow an interval o f at least one minute in time
or one hundred feet in distance. This does not apply to such
explosives as trinitrotoluol and smokeless powder.
Sec. 24. I f any explosive material or ingredients shall be spilled,
they shall be immediately cleaned up.
The floors o f all explosives buildings shall be so laid as to be as
free as possible from cracks, openings or any irregularities and no
projecting or visible iron or steel nails shall be permitted in such
floors.
Sec. 25. Temporary or loose electric wiring, such as extension
lights, and so forth, is absolutely prohibited in explosives buildings
except in case o f emergency while making necessary repairs.
All inside electric wiring shall be o f a permanent character in
stalled in metal conduit or lead encased cable with vapor proof
keyless lamps. Installation of material o f same shall conform to
the underwriters’ standards.
Sec. 26. (A table of distances is now in process of preparation
T a b le o f d is
tan ces.
and will be issued at an early date.)
L ignt nin g
Sec. 27. Lightning protection shall be provided for all electric
arresters.
conduits and circuits entering explosives buildings, b j means of
Ilea ting.
F ires.
suitable lightning arresters installed outside and not on the build
ings. All installations must be in accordance with underwriters’
standards.
Sec. 28. The workrooms, when desirable, -shall be heated by an
approved system o f steam, indirect hot-air radiation or hot water.
The temperature o f the steam shall not exceed one hundred and
twenty degrees centigrade. The radiators shall be at least one
inch distant from all wooden walls or other inflammable material
and shall be attached in such a manner that 'hey can be easily
inspected and cleaned.
Sec. 29. All outside water mains shall be underground below
the frost line. The provision o f chemical fire extinguishers is
recommended under certain conditions but not in high explosives
and black powder manufacturing buildings. In workrooms where
alcohol or other easily inflammable liquids, in quantities over
one barrel, are being used, steam pipes or sprinkler systems for
the extinguishing o f fires shall be provided.
In addition to the foregoing regulations the follow ing shall be
observed with reference to the manufacture and handling o f the
respective substances enumerated b elow :
Nitroglycerin— Its compounds and mixtures ( dynamite, all varie
ties: Gelatin dynamite, etc.)
F lo o rs o f nit r a to r house.
Thermome
ters.
Sec. 30. The floor o f the nitrator house shall either be cov
ered with sheet lead or the nitrator shall stand in a suitable lead
pan, drained to the drowning tank. All seams and joints shall be
lead burned in a careful manner, so that there may be no crevices
in which nitroglycerin will lodge.
The floor shall be so constructed as to be readily washed and
drained.
New lead floor covering shall be extended by means o f a round
corner at least three inches up each side wall, thus making a sani
tary corner.
Sec. 31. At least two reserve thermometers shall be kept in each
nitrator house for use in case o f emergency.
TEXT OF LAWS---- PENNSYLVANIA.
293
C o n s tru ctio n
Sec. 32. When in the judgment of the commissioner of labor and
a n d equip m en t.
industry or his authorized representative, fumes are being given
off, adequate vent pipes shall be provided to carry off all fumes
from the nitrator to the outside of the building.
There shall be a daily inspection o f the nitrator and a test o f
its coils.
No iron valves shall be allowed on any nitroglycerin pipe lines,
except quick opening nitrator plug cocks, which shall be frequently
lubricated. All other valves or stop cocks on nitroglycerin pipe
lines or containers shall be o f stoneware, earthenware, hard rub
ber 01* wood and shall be kept clean and greased.
No repairs shall be made during nitration except in emergencies.
Nitrators shall be provided with coils for cooling by cold water,
or brine or other suitable means and also with means for both
mechanical and compressed air agitation.
No more than two nitrators sliall be installed and not more than
three employees shall be regularly employed in any one building.
During nitration the attention o f one employee shall be given
wholly to observing the thermometer and running in the glycerine.
No removal of supplies of acid or glycerin drums shall be
allowed in the nitrator house while nitration is going on. The
nitrator house shall be located not less than the approved distance
from the nearest operating building containing other employees.
The glycerin heating house and acid tanks are excepted.
No charge of nitroglycerin shall be sent to the separator house
in a hose line while nitrating operations are in process.
Catch boxes shall be provided on all outlets for wash water and
inside catch boxes, if used, shall be cleaned weekly, at times when
there is no charge o f nitroglycerin in the nitrator house.
The floors shall be washed daily at the conclusion of the day’s
work.
Sec. 33. Each nitrator house shall be provided with a drowning
tank which shall have a water capacity of at least five times the
amount o f the acid charges and be provided with an air agitator
and water inlet. All valves shall be located conveniently for the
operators in case o f emergency.
S e c . 34. The floor o f the separator house shall be covered with
sheet lead with all seams and joints lead burned in a careful man
ner, so that there, may be no crevices in which nitroglycerin will
lodge.
The floor shall be so constructed as to be readily washed and
drained. The lead floor covering on new buildings shall be ex
tended by means o f a round corner at least three inches up each
side wall, thus making a sanitary corner.
O p eration .
Drowning
tan ks.
Separator
house.
A lead pan under the receptacle for holding nitroglycerin will
be acceptable, in old construction, in lieu of a complete lead floor
covering.
T h e r m o me
Sec. 35. Plain reading thermometers shall be supplied in each
separating tank and a reserve supply of at least two shall be kept ters.
in each separator house.
S e c . 36. Not more than two charges shall be allowed in a sep
arator house at one time.
The maximum number o f regular employees in each separator
house shall be three.
All stopcocks or valves on nitroglycerin pipe lines or con
tainers shall be o f stoneware, earthenware, hard rubber or wood.
Catch boxes shall be provided on all outlets for wash water and
inside catch boxes, if used, shall be cleaned weekly, at times
when there is no charge o f nitroglycerin in the separator house.
No charge shall be sent from the separator house at a time
when a charge is being received.
Each separating tank shall be cleaned and the floors washed
daily at the conclusion o f the day’s work.
It is permitted to carry on the three operations o f nitration, sep
aration and neutralization in one building, provided that the
regulations prescribed for each individual operation are complied
with.
C o n stru ctio n
a n d
op era
tion .
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
204
I)ro wiling
tanks.
S e c . 37. An air agitator shall be provided for each separating
tank and the outlet o f each tank shall be suitably arranged so
that the entire charge may be drowned in a drowning tank which
shall have a water capacity o f at least five times that o f the acid
charge. This drowning tank shall be provided with an air agi
tator and water supply.
Neutralizing, storage, and freezing houses.
F lo o rs ,
C on stru ction
a n d
op era
tion.
A cid burns.
H ose lin es.
G u tters.
C arriages.
Sec. 38. The floors o f each o f the above houses shall be cov
ered with sheet lead, with all seams and joints lead burned in a
careful manner so that there may be no crevices in which nitro
glycerin w ill lodge.
The floors should be so constructed as to be readily washed and
drained.
The lead floor covering on new buildings shall be extended by
means o f a round corner at least three inches up each side wall,
thus making a sanitary corner.
A lead pan under receptacles for holding nitroglycerin will
be acceptable in old construction in lieu of a complete lead floor
covering.
S e c , 39. The maximum number o f regular employees in each
one of these houses shall be three.
Catch boxes on the outlets for all wash water shall be pro
vided. Inside catch boxes when operating shall be cleaned at
least once a week, at a time when no charges are being sent from
the house or are being received into it.
No charge o f nitroglycerin shall be sent out o f a house into
a pipe line or gutter during the period in which a charge is being
received.
The floors shall be washed daily at the conclusion o f the day’s
work.
S e c . 40. A water outlet or shower bath shall be provided in
side o f all houses where an employee may be in danger o f being
burned with acid.
Transportation.
Sec. 41. B efore and after a charge o f nitroglycerin is sent
down a line in cold weather, hot water shall be sent down through
the hose line or in a gutter surrounding the hose line.
All nitroglycerin lines shall be carried on substantial scaffold
ing or runways and shall be protected by suitable covering.
A thorough examination o f the complete system shall be made
monthly by some responsible person and a written report rendered
by the official to the superintendent or manager o f the plant.
No nitroglycerin lines shall be located or pass an explosives
building in such a way as to be liable to rupture or other injury
in case of an explosion occurring in a building with which it is
not connected.
Hose lines shall be made o f the best grade o f rubber.
Sec. 42. I f lead gutters are used instead o f hose lines, they
shall be formed o f at least six-pound lead, suitably lead burned
and located so that they will drain completely toward one end.
Rubber gutters are permissible but shall be made o f a good quality
o f rubber.
Sec. 43. All carriages for the transportation of nitroglycerin
shall be of an approved design, shall be equipped with rubber
tires and be of a capacity not exceeding eight hundred pounds.
Smooth runways for these carriages shall be provided and
shall be kept in good repair at all times.
H and m ix in g
house.
S ec. 44. The floor of the hand mixing house shall be covered
with linoleum, rubberoid or other suitable covering, laid by
either lapping joints or cementing their edges.
C on s tru ction
and
o p e r a
tion ,
S e c . 45. The maximum number o f employees allowed in the
mixing house shall be three, except at a time when supplies are
being received or finished material is being taken away, when
the number may be increased to five.
TEXT OF LAWS---- PENNSYLVANIA.
295
Proper precautions shall be taken to prevent the freezing o f
nitroglycerin.
No nitroglycerin shall be stored in the mixing house in excess
o f that necessary for the next two charges.
The mixing bowl shall be made o f w o o d ; wood, lead lin e d ; or
o f some other approved substance.
All shovels and rakes shall be made o f wood.
No iron or steel tools of any kind shall be allowed in or about
a mixing house, at platforms or entrances, except in case o f re
pairs when operations shall cease and explosives shall be re
moved. No iron drums shall be rolled or dragged over the floor
or platform.
Tlie maximum amount o f nitroglycerin in a mixing house at
one time shall be two thousand pounds.
No mixed powder shall be regularly allowed to remain in a
mixing house over night.
Machine mixing house.
Sec. 46. The regulations for the hand mixing house shall cover
the machine mixing houses with, the follow ing exception s:
The maximum number o f regular employees in a mixing house
at one time shall be four, except at a time when supplies are
being received or finished material is being taken away when
the number may be increased to six.
The maximum amount of explosive material allowed at one
time in the building shall be four thousand pounds.
O p eration .
Hand packing or punching house.
Sec, 47. The maximum number o f regular employees in each
O p eration .
hand packing or punching house shall be seven.
The floors o f such houses shall be covered with linoleum,
rubberoid or other suitable covering laid by either lapping joints
or cementing their edges.
No explosive material shall be stored therein during operations
except that which is necessary for the day’s work.
A thorough cleaning shall be given at the conclusion of the
day’s work and all refuse material shall be destroyed according
to the method adopted at that particular plant.
Proper precautions shall be taken to prevent the freezing o f
nitroglycerin and no powder shall be packed in a frozen condi
tion.
Sec. 48. All dipping oi cartridges must be done in a jacketed
Paraffin
d ip
kettle, the heat being supplied by either hot water or steam with ping.
a maximum pressure of twenty pounds,
Sec. 49. The maximum number of regular employees shall be
B ox p a ckin g
seven. Whenever the output of the plant is such as to require a
larger number of employees they shall be placed in a separate unit
protected by barricades.
Sec. 50. All gelatin mixing shall be done in a building pro
vided for that purpose.
The gelatin packer or “ sausage ” machine shall be located in
a separate building, except when the number of employees is
four or less when mixing and packing operations may be carried
on in the same building.
The maximum number of regular employees in a packing
house.
G e la t in m ix
in g a n d p a c k
in g .
house shall be five.
The maximum number of
shall be four.
When the output is such
ber of hand wrappers, they
ing.
Blade
regular employees in a mixing house
that it requires an additional num
shall be housed in a separate build
powder mills.
Sec. 51. All materials used in the manufacture of black pow
Materials
used.
der shall, prior to mixing or incorporating, be subjected to
magnetic separator or put through a screen.
a
296
LABOB LEGISLATION OF 1917.
I n c o r p o r a t
in g m ills.
C leanin g.
In sp ection .
R ep airs.
L ig h tin g , etc.
Im plem en ts.
S ec. 52. The mechanism for the starting or stopping o f an in
corporating mill shall be so arranged that after the material has
be.en placed in the bowl, the mill can be started only by an em
ployee from a reasonably safe station, and then only after all em
ployees have left the building.
No loading or unloading of ingredients or finished mixed mate
rial shall be done while the mill is in operation.
It is recommended that all bolts or parts o f machinery which
might break off and fall into the mill, while it is in course of
operation, shall be suitably protected so that in the event of such
breakage, these parts will not fall into the mixing bowl.
S e c . 53. All buildings shall be wet down from time to time as
necessity demands and cleaned daily.
On at least one day in each week, at a time designated by the
superintendent, there shall be a thorough cleaning o f each build
ing with the removal o f all accumulated dust on walls and ceil
ings.
All buildings in which loose powder is handled shall be pro
vided with suitable hose and water connections so that a wet
down can be given as often as necessary.
Sec. 54. Workmen when going on duty shall first examine each
mill or building in their respective charge, oil up, and if anything
is out o f order, report at once to the superintendent or foreman.
Under no circumstances shall the mill be started unless in
proper condition.
When any foreign substance is thought to be in the powder,
work and machinery must be stopped at once and report made
to the superintendent or foreman.
At the conclusion o f the day’s run the machinery and belts shall
be examined and if not found to be in first-class condition, a
report shall be made to that effect, to the superintendent or
foreman.
Sec. 55. In the event o f any m ajor repairs being necessary in
any o f the buildings, work shall cease at once and those em
ployees so designated shall properly clean up the room and
machinery by the removal o f all loose powder and dust and after
wards thoroughly wet down all parts o f the machine and room.
Such repairs shall be made only by persons designated by the
management.
In order that the number o f persons present at such times may
be kept to a minimum, the millwright or mechanic shall send
away any o f his helpers when he can dispense with their services.
When repairs are complete, all tools taken to the mill shall be
accounted for and removed before starting the mill.
Caked powder can be removed by soaking with water and then
loosening by means o f a wooden shovel or wooden spud.
Sec. 56. The lighting o f all buildings shall be as provided for in
section 5 and no electric devices which may give off sparks shall
be permitted in any room where powder dust may accumulate or
be present.
Sec. 57. No metal implements o f any kind except those made o f
nonsparking metal, shall be used in handling powder.
Guncotton, nitrostarch, smokeless powder and similar products.
Standard
ra ilin gs.
AY a 1 k s
ru nw ays.
or
S e c . 58. All platforms, openings and stairways shall be guarded
with standard railings as provided in safety standards o f 4;he in
dustrial board on standard railings and toe boards, volume one,
number two, except where there is danger of explosive or inflam
mable dust collecting, when toe boards shall not be used. Metal
shall not be used for railings and toe boards wiiere its presence
increases the danger o f an explosion and no railings or toe boards
shall be installed so as to interfere with safety exits.
S e c . 59. W alks or runways should not be built over the tops of
tanks or vats but should be located at the sides o f such containers
at least three feet six inches below the top. W here such condi
tion can not be obtained standard railings shall be installed and
toe boards where necessary.
297
TEXT OF LAW S---- PE N N SY L V A N IA .
S e c . 60. All explosives buildings two or more stories in height
shall have at least one outside means o f escape which shall be of
the chute type or a sloping lateral runway. In no case shall steps
or ladders be considered a sufficient substitute.
S e c . 61. Provision shall be made for the carrying away o f acid
fumes at all stages o f the nitrating process, i. e., while filling the
nitrating vessels with acid, while adding the cotton and while
taking the nitrated cotton from the nitrating apparatus and plac
ing it in wringers or centrifuges.
S e c . 62. Employees shall be urged to wear suitable protective
clothing such as rubber gloves, rubber aprons, and rubber shoes or
boots. Suitable types o f respirators and goggles shall be pro
vided.
S e c . 63. Each cehtrifugal wringing out waste acid shall be
separated from other centrifugals by partitions or shall be located
at a safe distance from other centrifugals. The compartments or
sections so created shall be so arranged that employees can make
a quick get away in case the cotton should ignite.
Adequate water facilities shall be provided for fire fighting
apparatus and also for outlets for washing purposes and for
shower baths. The latter are necessary especially in the event
o f workmen receiving acid burns.
Exits.
A cid fum es. .
P r o t e c t ! vo
clo th in g .
C e n tr ifu g a l
sheds.
Rooms containing ether vapor.
S e c . 64. All rooms which may contain ether vapor shall be
governed by section three to section six inclusive.
S e c . 65. No electric apparatus capable o f giving off a spark
shall be allowed in such room.
S e c . 66. Floors shall be of such construction that they can be
kept clean.
S e c . 67. An approved number o f exit doors for a quick get away
shall be provided in such buildings.
Operation.
E le c tr ic
paratu s.
ap
F lo o rs .
D oors.
Dry houses, dry dump houses and blending houses.
S e c . 68. All powder bins shall be suitably grounded to insure
safety from static electricity.
A monthly inspection and report shall be made o f the condition
o f such apparatus by a competent person designated by the super
intendent.
S e c . 69. (A ) Not more than six employees shall be allowed
inside o f a dry house or dry dump house or around such houses
w hile a filling or emptying process is being carried on.
(B ) (a ) Not more than twelve employees shall be allowed in
side o f a cordite blending house.
(b) Not more than ten employees shall be allowed inside of a
gravity type of blending house. By gravity type is meant that
type of blending house in which the entire charge o f powder is
deposited in a bin or funnel situated one or more floors above the
packing floor.
(c) Not more than eight employees shall be allowed inside o f a
bin type o f blending house, i. e., a house in which all operations
are carried on on one floor.
If more than eight men are necessary to carry on operations in
a gravity or bin type of blending house, a maximum number not
exceeding twelve men will be permitted, providing a fire resisting
wall of a type approved by the commissioner o f labor and in
dustry, or his authorized representative, shall be erected. This
wall shall separate the employees who are engaged in weighing,
packing and inspecting from the bins containing the powder. A
covered fire resisting means o f escape, extending at least seventyfive feet from the building, shall be erected. The plan and type
o f this means o f escape shall be approved by the commissioner o f
labor ana industry, or his authorized representative.
The restrictions as to the number o f men mentioned above is
intended to include laborers and foremen but not to include
Grounding
o f bins.
N um ber
em p loy ees
low ed.
o f
a l
298
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
inspectors, superintendents or other members o f the plant man
ager’s staff, whose duties may require their presence occasionally
to see that the work is being carried on properly.
No.
2 0 .—
Cranes.
(Not yet received).
No.
S um m ary.
No.
Scope.
2 1 . — Electric
code.
[This code was prepared in cooperation with the National
Bureau o f Standards, and is the first to present so complete and
detailed a body o f regulations. It is, however, too technical and
too extensive a compilation to be reproduced in the present col
lection.
The introductory part is quite comprehensive and includes, be
sides the regular introduction, a section on definitions of special
terms and rules covering methods o f protective grounding o f cir
cuits, equipment and lightning arresters. The nature o f the
ground connection, its location, size and resistance are described
with much detail.
Part 1 gives rules for the installation and maintenance o f elec
trical supply stations and equipment. Various sections treat of
rotating equipment, storage batteries, transformers, switchboards,
lightning arresters, etc. Methods are given for reducing danger
of contact with live parts by either insulation, isolation or guard
ing. Adequate illumination and ventilation are specified when
required.
F ifty pages are required to give rules for the installation and
maintenance o f electrical equipment such as motors, lighting fix
tures, electric furnaces and welders, portable devices, etc. The
same method as follow ed in the first part is here also used in de
scribing adequate safeguards.
The last part covers operation o f electrical equipment and
lines.
Comprehensive discussions follow each part explaining the
reasons for the various rules where they may not be apparent.]
2 2 . — Lead
corroding and lead oxidizing.
[The rules embodied in this number relate to any and all
processes o f the corrosion o f metallic lead into carbonate o f lead,
and also the manufacture of red lead, litharge, basic lead sulWorkrooms P ^ a te , nitrate o f lead, and nitrite of soda. W orkroom s must be
thoroughly ventilated, and walls and doors o f fire-resisting mate
rial must separate the rooms in which dust is produced from all
departments in which the work or process is o f a nondusty char
acter. Dry sweeping is forbidden, and vacuum cleaning or flushing with water is recommended. No female may handle any dry
' ema es*
substance or dry compound containing lead in any form in excess
Minors.
of 2 per cent; nor may any male under 21 years o f age strip
stacks, repair ventilating systems, or work at dry packing of
carbonate o f lead, litharge, red lead, basic sulphate o f lead, or
sublimated white lead. The employment of persons who chew
Tobacco and tobacco or habitually use intoxicating beverages is to be discouralcohol.
aged. Respirators must be furnished by the employer without
Respirators cost for use in those operations in which use is required by these
nnd clothing. ruiege The employer must also furnish outer clothing, and keep
it clean and in repair.
W ashroom s,
Washrooms supplied with hot and cold water, nail brushes,
soap, and towrels must be furnished, and 10 minutes allowed at
the employer’s expense for the use o f the washroom at lunch
hour and at the close of the day’s work. A shower bath for each
10 employees must be provided, and 10 minutes allowed at the
close Of the day’s work at least twice a week for its use. Dress
ing rooms and eating rooms must be furnished and suitably
equipped, and no person may take any food or drink into any
workroom or remain in any workroom during the time allowed
for meals. Sanitary drinking fountains or individual cups must
be supplied.
TEXT OF LAW S---- P E N N SY L V A N IA .
A physical examination must be made monthly of all employees
exposed to lead dust, lead fumes, or lead solutions. This examii :ition must be made by a licensed physician, and any case of
load poisoning found must be reported to the department on a
prescribed b la n k ; a duplicate must be sent to the State depart
ment of health. A notice, containing 12 items, on how to prevent
sickness must be posted in workrooms, wash rooms, dressing
rooms, and eating rooms.
Details o f provisions are prescribed for the Old Dutch process
of making white lead, for the Carter process, for the making o f
sublimed white lead, for the manufacture of litharge, etc., and
for nitrate o f lead and nitrite of soda. All crushing mills, grind
ing mills, and sieving machines operating on material in a dry
state which contains lead in any form must be fitted with an
efficient air exhaust.]
299
Physical
amination.
Details.
No. 23.— Paint grinding.
(Not yet received).
No. 24.— Dry colors.
(N ot yet received).
No. 25.— Manufacture of nitro and amido compounds.
[The rules and regulations on this subject are presented as
“ suggested safe practices,” rather than absolutely binding rules.
Ventilation is of prime importance, and such construction of
wash rooms as to permit easy cleaning. The handling of com
pounds in the various forms, whether liquid, solid, or pulverized,
must be done in an appropriate manner to avoid contact and the
inhalation o f dust, gases, or vapors. The cleansing o f garments
used, the avoidance of the use o f alcohol and tobacco, and of the
employment o f men either too old or too young, are some of the
points covered. Females may be employed only in the offices,
hospitals, or welfare rooms. The making o f repairs must be pre
ceded by thorough cleansing o f the machinery, apparatus of place
to be repaired. First-aid methods must be understood by a suffi
cient number of persons, and suitable provisions made for resus
citation, including an oxygen inhalation apparatus.
Monthly
physical examinations are prescribed, as well as examinations
before resuming work after any absence.
Special suggestions
are made with reference to the various processes, and a special
warning notice is directed to be posted with regard to the danger
of inhaling dense acid fumes.]
Summary.
ex
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
ACTS OF 1917.
A c t No. 2668.— Salary law— Bureau of labor.
S e c t i o n 1. The salaries o f the officers and employees o f the
Philippine Government mentioned in this act shall hereafter be
as fo llo w s :
*
*
*
*
Salaries.
*
(bb) The director o f labor, 5,000 pesos ($2,500) per annum.
The assistant director, 4,000 pesos ($2,000) per annum.
Approved December 14, 1916.
A c t No. 2711.— Administrative code.
BUREAU OF LABOR.
Section 75. There shall be six executive departments, to wit,
*
* the department o f commerce and communications, which
shall be under the direct control o f the respective secretaries o f
departments, exercising their functions subject to the general
supervision and control o f the governor general.
S e c . 86. The department of commerce and communication shall
have the executive supervision over the bureau o f public works,
the bureau o f posts, the bureau o f supply, the bureau o f labor, and
the bureau o f coast and geodetic survey.
D ep a rtm en ts.
B ureaus.
BUREAU OF PRINTING— WAGES.
Sec. 1656. Technical employees o f the bureau o f printing and
other employees whose services are required to facilitate the ac
complishment of technical work shall be paid, for overtime work
on regular wTork days, twenty per cent more, and on holidays one
hundred per cent more, than they receive for the same amount o f
ordinary day labor.
Sec. 1657. Native craftsmen from the date o f their entrance
into the service, and native apprentices from the date o f their
entrance into the third year o f apprenticeship, for each year o f
honest, faithful, satisfactory, and continuous service in the bureau
o f printing shall be entitled to receive, at the end o f the next suc
ceeding year o f honest, faithful, satisfactory, and continuous serv
ice, extra compensation as follow s: Twenty centavos ($0.10) per
diem for each full day o f actual service rendered at a daily wage
o f 1 peso and 20 centavos ($0.60) or more but less than 2 pesos
and 40 centavos ($1.20) ; 40 centavos ($0,20) per diem for each
fu ll day o f actual service rendered at a daily wage o f 2 pesos
and 40 centavos ($1.20) or more but less than 3 pesos and 20 cen
tavos ($1.60) ; and 60 centavos ($0.30) per diem for each full day
o f actual service rendered at a daily wage o f 3 pesos and 20
centavos ($1.60) or more.
Service shall be deemed to be “ continuous,” for the purposes
hereof, until the employee is definitely separated from the serv
ice in the bureau o f printing; but periods o f unexcused absence
shall not contribute toward the maturing o f the privileges herein
granted.
Sec. 1658. A native craftsman or apprentice separated from
the bureau after extra compensation has been earned and before
it becomes due shall not be entitled to receive any part thereof
unless such separation shall be on account o f lack o f work,
permanent disability, or death, in which event such native crafts-
etc.
Overtime,
Rates of
w ages.
D i s ch a rg e d ,
etc., em p loy ees.
301
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
302
man or apprentice, or his estate in case o f death, may, on the
recommendation o f the director, approved by the department head,
receive the extra compensation accumulated at the time o f separa
tion.
BUREAU
H ead
reaii.
P ow ers
duties.
bu-
OF
LABOR.
Sec. 2058. The bureau o f labor shall have one chief and one
assistant chief, designated, respectively, as the director of labor
and the assistant director o f labor.
and
Sec. 2059. The bureau o f labor shall have the power, and it
shall be its duty—
(a) To see to the proper enforcement o f all laws relating to
labor and capital in the Philippine Islands, and to promote the
enactment o f legislation which shall tend to establish the mate
rial, social, intellectual, and moral improvement o f workers.
(&)
To acquire, collect, compile, systematize, and submit from
time to time reports to the department head, statistical data rel
ative to the hours and wages o f labor, the number o f workers in
each trade or occupation, employed and unemployed, their place
o f birth, age, sex, civil status, and moral and mental cu ltu re; the
estimated number o f fam ilies o f married workers, houses rented
by them, and annual ren ta l; property owned by them, the value
o f such prop erty ; the cost o f living, the amount o f labor re
quired, the estimated number o f persons dependent on their
daily wages, the probable changes in all the persons employed,
the condition o f shops, factories, railways, tramways, industrial
and commercial establishments, and all other places or centers of
labor, whether public or private, including the penal institutions
o f these islands, with respect to the safety of life and health of
w ork ers; the means adopted to avoid accidents or make repara
tion th erefor; the number o f accidents which take place, their
causes and the action taken in each c a s e ; conditions and cer
tainty o f the payment o f wa^ges; the business of savings banks
with the working classes; corporations, [sic] strikes, suspensions
o f work, and other labor difficulties, their causes and the remedies
adopted in each c a s e ; mutual benefit associations, w orkers’ in
surance societies, associations for the collection o f statistics and
cooperative production, and other labor organizations, and their
effects on labor and ca p ita l; private employment, complaint, de
fense, and consultation agencies for la b orers; their conditions
and effects and other matters relative to the commercial, indus
trial, social, educational, moral, and sanitary condition o f the
working classes and the permanent prosperity o f the various in
dustries o f the islands; and in the case o f laborers born in for
eign countries, the date o f their arrival and the length o f their
stay in these islands.
((3) To inspect all shops, factories, railways, tramways, vessels,
industrial and commercial establishments, and all other places
or centers o f labor, whether public or private, and to take the
proper legal steps to prevent the exposure o f the health or lives
o f laborers, and to aid and assist by all proper legal means labor
ers and workers in securing just compensation for their labor,
and the indemnity prescribed by law for injuries resulting from
accidents when engaged in the perform ance o f their duties.
( d) To secure the settlement o f differences between employer
and laborer and between master and servant and to avert strikes
and lockouts, acting as arbitrator between the parties interested,
summoning them to appear before it, and advising and bringing
about, after hearing their respective allegations and evidence,
such arrangement as these may, in his judgment, show to be just
and fair.
(e) To organize in such towns in the Philippine Islands as it
may deem necessary or advisable one or more free employment
agencies. A fee in an amount to be fixed by the director o f labor,
with the approval o f the department head, may be collected by
said director from employers for services perform ed by an employ
ment agency in securing servants and employees. An employment
TEXT OF LAWS— PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
agent shall not be subject to the provisions of the civil service
law, unless his appointment shall so state.
S e c . 2 0 6 0 . There shall be in the bureau o f labor an attorney to
be known as the attorney of the bureau o f labor. It shall be his
duty to assist the director or assistant director of labor in all
legal questions by them submitted to him, and to bring suit
gratuitously, in the proper courts, for indigent laborers or serv
ants when he shall deem this proper after the failure o f the
endeavors to bring about a friendly settlement made by the
director or assistant director o f labor in the perform ance o f the
duties imposed and the exercise o f the powers conferred upon
them by subsection ( d) of the next preceding section hereof.
S e c . 2061. The director of labor and the assistant director of
labor shall have power to administer oaths in matters connected
with the administration of the bureau o f labor and to take testi
mony in any investigation conducted in pursuance o f the provis
ions of this chapter.
The attorney of the bureau of labor shall have power to ad
minister oaths as aforesaid and may, when thereunto specially
deputed by the director o f labor, exercise the authority to take
evidence which is herein-above vested in said director.
303
A tto rn e y .
O aths.
P R O V IN C IA L E M P L O Y E E S — P A Y M E N T OF W A G E S .
S e c . 2118. Money expendable for provincial improvements o f
any character may, when duly authorized by the provincial board,
be used for purchasing rice or other necessaries to be sold or paid
in kind, without profit, to laborers actually engaged upon such im
provements.
p r o t e c t io n
of
em ployees
a s
Approved March 10, 1917.
in
voters.
2656. Any person who influences or attempts to influence a
voter to give or to withhold his vote at an election by threaten
ing to discharge such voter from his employment or to reduce his
w^ages, or by promising to give him employment at higher wages,
and any person who discharges any voter from his employment
or reduces his wages for giving or withholding his vote at an
election, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than
thirty days nor more than one year, or by a fine of not less than
200 pesos ($100) nor more than 500 pesos ($250), or both.
Sec.
P a ym en t
kind.
T h r e a t e n in g
d isch a rge, etc.
PORTO RICO.
ACTS OF 1917.
A c t No. 14.— Weight that workmen may carry.
S e c t i o n 1. No employee shall be required or permitted by his
employer to carry on his head, back or shoulders a weight or load
for said employer of more than two hundred pounds.
S e c . 2. Any natural or artificial person, or the administrator,
superintendent, mayor-domo or representative of such person re
quiring, consenting or permitting any employee to violate the pro
visions of the preceding section or any employee violating such
provisions shall be guilty of misdemeanor and punished by a fine
of not more than $100 for each violation.
Approved April 12, 1917.
Maximum.
Violations.
A c t N o. 17.— Strikes, etc.— Notice in advertisements for labor.
Notice to be
S e c t i o n 1. When any employer or owner of a factory or agri
given.
cultural estate, or mercantile or industrial establishment of any
kind, or any of their agents or representatives, during a general
strike of their laborers or employees of any class or during a lock
out, advertises in the newspapers, or by means of bills or in any
other form, for laborers or employees of any class, or employs
agents to solicit or personally solicits persons to work in place of
such strikers, he shall state clearly and precisely in all such ad
vertisements, whether written or verbal, the fact that a strike or
lockout exists.
Violations.
S e c . 2. If any person, firm, association or corporation, labor
agent or representative violates the provisions of this act, such
person, corporation, firm, association, agent or representative shall
be punished by fine not to exceed $100, or by imprisonment in jail
for not more than one hundred days, or by both penalties, in the
discretion of the court, for each violation.
Approved April 12, 1917.
A c t N o. 43. — Wages of employees of territorial bureau of supplies,
printing and transportation.
O v e r tim e
S e c t i o n 1. The chief of the bureau of supplies, printing and
transportation is hereby authorized and directed to pay to the work.
employees of the said bureau, who are employed and paid by the
hour, for any and all work done during holidays and outside of
the regular office hours at a rate of fifty per cent higher than the
regular rate authorized in accordance with law.
Approved April 12, 1917.
JOINT RESOLUTION.
No. 2.— Commissioner of agriculture and labor.
S e c t i o n 1. The commissioner of agriculture and labor shall
appoint an assistant commissioner of agriculture and labor, wTho
shall perform such duties as may be assigned to him by law.
In case o f the absence, death, removal or resignation o f the com
missioner, the assistant commissioner shall substitute him in office
until the form er’s successor is appointed and shall have qualified.
Approved March 30, 1917.
45913°— Bull. 244— 18------ 20
Assistant.
305
306
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 191*7.
ACTS OF 1917— VOLUME II.
A c t N o . 10.— Wages of farm laborers— Procedure for recovery.
Complaint.
Hearing.
Summons.
Service.
Appearance.
Questions o f
law.
Judgment.
Appeal.
Copy o f com
plaint, etc.
Hearing
appeal.
on
S e c t i o n 1. W henever a farm laborer shall find it necessary to
claim from his employer any sum for wages, he may appear be
fore the municipal judge for the municipal judicial district
wherein the property on which the work was perform ed is situ
ate, and file a complaint against the said employer, which com
plaint shall be filled out by the judge or his secretary, setting
forth therein under oath the facts upon which the claim is
fou n d ed : Provided, That where the property is situate in terri
tory comprised in tw o or more municipal judicial districts the com
plaint may be filed in any o f the courts in whose district any por
tion o f the property is situate.
Sec. 2. The judge shall fix the date for the hearing o f the case
which shall be held within ten days from and after the day on
which the complaint was filed, and it shall be the duty o f the
secretary o f the court to serve notice on the same day and by
mail on the commissioner o f agriculture and labor o f the day so
fixed, together with a copy o f the complaint, and the commissioner
o f agriculture and labor may intervene in the proceedings through
any o f the employees under him.
S e c . 3. The marshal shall personally summon the complainant
and defendant for the hearing and deliver to each o f them a copy
o f the com plain t: Provided, That at least three days shall inter
vene between the date on which the summons is served and the
hearing o f the case.
Sec. 4. W here the defendant is not found or where he has no
residence in the municipal judicial district, the summons shall
be served on the person who in any manner shall represent the
said defendant on the property on which the work originating
the claim was performed.
Sec. 5. W here the parties shall fail to appear or where the de
fendant only shall appear, the court shall dismiss the complaint
or cla im ; but where the complainant only appears the hearing
shall be held in the absence o f the defendant.
S e c. 6 . Before beginning the introduction o f evidence the court
shall pass upon all such questions o f law as may be submitted to
it, but no complaint shall be dismissed for a mere defect as to
form
In the introduction of evidence the widest possible latitude
shall be allowed to the parties.
Sec. 7. W ithin twenty-four hours after the hearing the mu
nicipal judge shall render judgment, affirming or dismissing the
claim. W here the claim is affirmed the defendant shall be ad
judged and directed to pay to the complainant such amount o f
wages as shall have been shown by the evidence: Provided, That
the said municipal judge, if malice on the part o f the defendant is
shown, shall adjudge him to pay to the complainant by way o f
indemnity or punishment an additional sum o f not to exceed fifty
(50) dollars.
S e c . 8. Any o f the parties who may believe himself prejudiced
by the judgment may take an appeal to the district court for the
judicial district in which the municipal trial court is situate.
The appeal shall be taken by filing with the secretary o f the
municipal court within two days after the rendition of judgment
a notice setting forth the intention o f appealing and by delivering
a copy o f the said notice to the opposing party or to his repre
sentative or attorney.
Sec. 9. W ithin five days from and after the date on which the
notice o f appeal was filed, the secretary shall transmit to the dis
trict court a copy o f the complaint, o f the judgment, &nd o f all
orders which the aggrieved party desires to submit to the said
district court for the revision thereof.
Sec. 10. Upon receipt o f the said proceedings by the secretary
o f the district court, he shall report the same to the judge who
shall fix, irrespective o f the calendar, a day for the hearing,
TEXT OF LAWS---- POETO EICO.
307
within the first ten days after receipt o f said proceedings and
notice thereof shall be transmitted by mail to the commissioner
o f agriculture and labor and by the marshal to the interested
parties: Provided, That the marshal of the district may entrust
the service o f such notice to the marshal of the municipal court
for the district in which the persons to be served shall reside.
Trial de novo.
S e c . 11. In the hearing on appeal the trial shall be held d e
n o v o : and where the appellant shall be the defendant and the
court, after the introduction o f the evidence, shall be satisfied
that the said appeal was taken only for the purpose o f delaying a
compliance with the judgment, it shall have power to adjudge
and direct the said defendant to pay to the complainant by way
o f indemnity or as a punishment a sum o f not to exceed one
hundred ( 1 0 0 ) dollars.
S in g le a p
S e c . 12. In no case of a claim for farm wages shall more than
peal.
one appeal be allowed.
Payment in
S e c . 13. The judgment affirming a claim shall direct payment
to be made within five days from and after the date on which five days.
the said judgment becomes final. Upon the expiration o f this
term said judgment may be executed on any property o f the de
fendant through an order o f execution which shall be issued by
the secretary on petition o f the complainant, and which shall be
executed by the marshal wTithin a term of not to exceed twenty
( 2 0 ) days from and after the date on which the said order of
execution was delivered to him.
Costs.
S e c . 14. No costs shall accrue in this class o f suits.
Approved, November 14, 1917.
A c t N o. 1 2 . — Employment of labor— General Provisions.
S e c t io n 1. Sections 1487, 1488, 1489, and 1490 o f the Revised
Civil Code o f Porto Rico [sections 4593-4596, Revised Statutes
and Codes] are hereby amended to read as follow s:
>Sec. 1487. A person employed for domestic service, whether
Term ination
for the personal service of the head of the family or for the gen o f contract.
eral service of the household, whose service contract is for a
specified time, may leave such service or be dismissed before the
expiration of the term of the contract; but if the employer dis
misses the employee subject to these conditions without suffi
cient cause, he shall indemnify said employee by paying him the
wages due and those for fifteen additional days.
Special laws.
Sec. 1488. In addition to the provisions o f the foregoing sec
tions in regard to contracts between employers and employees,
the provisions o f special laws and regulations shall be observed.
ployees
Sec. 1489. Field hands, mechanics, artisans, and other laborers forE m
fixed term.
hired for a certain time or for a certain work can not leave nor
be dismissed without sufficient cause before the contract is
completed.
Dispossession
Sec. 1490. The dismissal o f field hands, mechanics, artisans, o f tools, etc.
and other hired laborers to which the preceding sections refer
gives the right to dispossess them o f all tools and buildings which
they may occupy under the contract.
Approved, November 14, 1917.
A ct No. 26.— Closing time of commercial and industrial establish-
ments— Sunday labor.
1. Section 553 o f the Penal Code [section 6004, Re
vised Statutes and Codes] * * * is hereby amended to read
as fo llo w s :
When estab
Sec. 553. All day Sunday; from 12 o’clock noon on legal holi lishments a r e
days, except Labor Day, that is, the first Monday in September, to be closed.
and the.Fourth o f July, when they shall remain closed all da y;
from 9 p. in., every Satu rday; from 6 p. m., every working d a y ;
and from 10 p. m., on December 24 and 81, and January 5 o f
each year, commercial and industrial establishments shall re
main closed to the public and suspend all work for employees one
hour after closing, except the follow in g:
S e c t io n
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1911.
308
Exceptions.
Repeal.
W eekly
of rest.
I. Libraries,* sugar and alcohol factories, coffee-cleaning mills,
and pharmacies only so far as relates to the dispatch o f prescrip
tions and medicines at retail.
II. Public markets, printeries, garages, and bakeries: Provided,
That no establishment in public market places fo r the sale o f
provisions and merchandise shall be exempt from compliance with
this act.
III. Establishments where coffee and refreshments only are
s o ld ; restaurants, hotels, inns, eating houses, places where meals
are served, confectionery and pastry stores.
IY. Casinos, billiard rooms, ice depots, meat stands, milk
stalls, and stands where sweets, matches, manufactured tobacco,
and periodicals are sold.
V. Slaughterhouses, dairies, livery stables, piers or docks and
undertaking establishments.
VI. Public and quasi-public utilities and works o f emergency
necessary to prevent danger or considerable financial loss.
VII. Theaters, or other places devoted exclusively to amuse
ments or charitable purposes, shall not be comprised under the
provisions o f this section so.fa r as relates to the purposes stated
herein.
Sec. 2. Section 554 o f the Penal Code in force [Section 6005,
Revised Statutes and Codes authorizing municipal councils to
require all establishments to be closed on Sunday] is hereby re
pealed.
day
Sec. 3. Employees and clerks o f enterprises and establishments
not exempted by this act, and who render services on the basis
o f an annual, monthly, or weekly salary, or in any form other than
for wages or piece work at a fixed price, shall be entitled to one
day o f rest for every six days o f work, at full salary.
Violations.
S ec. 4. All violations of this act shall be punished by a maxi
mum fine of one hundred dollars for the first offense, or by
imprisonment for a maximum term of thirty days, and subse
quent violations shall be punished by a fine of from twenty
to one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment from five to thirty
days, or by both penalties in the discretion of the court.
Approved November 23, 1917.
A ct N o.
28.— Homes for worldngmen— Homestead commission.
S e c t i o n 1. The commissioner o f the interior is hereby directed
Houses to be
built.
to build houses in any municipality o f Porto R ico upon lands o f
The People o f Porto Rico to be selected for such purpose by the
commissioner o f the interior and the commissioner o f health,
in order to furnish adequate habitations to artisans, laborers and
other workingmen at a reasonable cost.
Sec. 2. Such houses shall be constructed and maintained in ac
R u l e s and
regulations.
cordance with the sanitary laws, rules, and regulations, now or
hereafter in force, and they shall be rented, operated, and main
tained in accordance with rules and regulations, not in conflict
with this act, adopted by the homestead commission created by
an act o f the legislative assembly o f Porto R ico entitled “ An act
providing for the sale to laborers o f certain lands o f The People
of Porto Rico, and for other purposes,” approved March 11, 1915,
Commission. The said commission shall consist o f the commissioner o f the in
terior, who shall be ex officio chairman thereof, the treasurer, the
commissioner o f health, the commissioner o f agriculture and
labor, and three persons o f good reputation who shall be desig
nated by the governor with the consent o f the Senate: Provided,
That the two principal political parties and the labor organiza
tions o f Porto R ico shall be represented in the said commission.
Funds.
Sec. 3. In order to provide the necessary funds in an amount
not to exceed twTo hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) dollars
for the works and improvements herein authorized, the treasurer
o f Porto R ico is hereby authorized, directed, and empowered to
issue bonds of The People of Porto R ico to the amount o f two hun
dred and fifty thousand (250,000) dollars in accordance with
the terms and conditions o f this act.
TEXT OE LAWS— PORTO RICO.
309
The commission shall fairly distribute in the island the funds
appropriated for this purpose, proportionately to the number of
laborers: Provided, That such houses may be constructed on
lands donated by municipalities or private individuals to The
People o f Porto R ico to carry out the purposes o f this act.
Income to be
Sec. 9. All moneys received as rental or other income from the
said houses shall be handled by the treasurer of Porto R ico and special fund.
shall constitute a special fund in the treasury o f Porto Rico,
which moneys are hereby appropriated for expenditure under the
direction of the homestead commission for. the payment o f ex
penses o f repairs and maintenance o f the said houses: Provided,
That the net receipts from such rentals or other income, after the
payments herein authorized have been made, at the end o f each
quarter, upon the first day o f March, June, September, and De
cember, shall be carried to the credit o f a sinking fund for the
purpose o f paying the interest and principal o f the bond issue
authorized by this act until such time as the principal and in
terest of the bonds provided for herein shall have been paid.
Rental or
Sec. 12. The rental to be charged for houses built under the
provisions o f this act shall be fixed by the homestead commis sale price.
sion. And likewise the price at which the lessee may acquire
ownership o f the leased house and lot. In determining the rental
and the selling price, the homestead commission shall take into
consideration the follow in g:
The value o f the land occupied by said houses.
The cost o f building said houses.
Repairs, insurance, and other necessary and proper administra
A p p lic a t io n
tive expenses: Provided, That such amount as shall have been o f payments.
paid as rental shall be applied, first, to the payment o f interest
on the amount fixed as the selling price, at a rate o f not to exceed
six ( 6 ) per cent, and the remainder shall be applied to the pay
ment o f said price, and title to the property shall be transferred
to the lessee, his heirs or successors when the said price o f said
mile shall have been paid in full.
Im prove
Sec. 14. The commissioner of the interior is hereby authorized
to provide for the survey, drainage, filling, laying out into streets ments.
and paving or macadamizing, where any or all o f such improve
ments are necessary, of lands of The People o f Porto Rico, and
to make such other improvements on such lands as may be neces
sary or advisable to place said lands in proper sanitary condi
tion for habitation.
Lease and
Sec. 15. The commissioner o f the interior, in accord with the
homestead commission, is hereby authorized to lease and sell lots sale o f lands.
o f land belonging to The People of Porto R ico improved in ac
cordance with the preceding section, as hereinafter provided.
Public lands situated in or near towns may be leased or sold to
workmen for dwelling purposes o n ly ; public lands situated in
rural sections may be leased and sold to farm laborers either for
dwelling purposes or for dwelling and farming purposes, pursuant
to the homestead act, approved March 11, 1915.
Area.
Sec. 16. The lots o f land to be leased for dwelling purposes
with a certain right to the ownership thereof in accordance here
with shall be of such area as the commissioner o f the interior may
determine, but not to exceed 500 square meters. Lots o f land to
be leased for dwelling and farm ing purposes in-accordance here
with shall be o f such area as the commissioner o f the interior and
the homestead commission may determine, but not to exceed two
hectares.
Advertise
Sec. 17. A fter any particular tract o f land shall have been im
proved, as provided in section fourteen o f this Act, and divided ment.
into lots or small farms, the commissioner o f the interior, in ac
cord with the homestead commission, shall publish a description
c f said lots or small farm s at least three times in two news
papers o f general circulation in Porto Rico. Such public notice
shall also state briefly the conditions under which applications
for the lease o f said lots or small farm s are to be made, with &
right to the ownership thereof.
310
W ho
LABOR LEGISLATION O f 1911.
m ay
Sec. 18. No application for the lease o f lands with a right to
the ownership thereof under this act shall be received unless the
person making the same is (1 ) a citizen o f the United States;
( 2 ) one whose annual income does not exceed one thousand
(1,000) d ollars; (3) o f good moral character; and (4) without
other property in Porto Rico or elsewhere, the value o f which ex
ceeds three hundred d olla rs: Provided, That where dwellings
are erected upon any lands which are to be leased, w ith a right
to the ownership thereof, the person actually living in them,
if without property in Porto Rico or elsewhere, the value o f which
exceeds five hundred dollars, shall be given priority over all
other persons in obtaining such leases and ownerships.
Sec. 19. A fter a tract o f land has been advertised, as herein
Applications.
provided, any person who can qualify as an applicant, in accord
ance with the provisions o f section eighteen of this act, may make
an application for the lease o f a lot or for a small farm with a
right to the ownership thereof, in the said advertised tract of
land. All applications shall be made in writing, and shall be filed
with the commissioner of the interior, and shall state the appli^
cant’s first and subsequent choices o f the lots or farms advertised.
Persons making application shall give to the commissioner o f the
interior all the information required by the homestead commission.
S e c . 20. Persons applying for the lease o f lots of land for dwell
Registers.
ing purposes or for dwelling and farm purposes wTith a right to
the ownership thereof shall be enrolled in registries kept by the
homestead commission, in the order o f priority o f the filing of
application.
I n v e s tig a
Sec. 21. The commissioner o f the interior shall make such in
tions.
quiries and investigations regarding the worthiness of the various
applicants, and the correctness o f the inform ation contained in
their application as he may deem necessary. A fter this inform a
tion has been obtained, the homestead commission, created by an
act o f the legislative assembly o f Porto Rico entitled “ An act
providing for the sale to laborers of certain lands of The People
o f Porto Rico, and for other purposes,” approved March 11, 1915,
A p p o r tio n shall apportion the lots or small farms with a right to the owner
ment.
ship thereof to the most worthy applicants, due regard being had
o f all of the provisions o f this act, under such rules and regula
tions and procedure as it may deem proper. In the assignment o f
lots preference shall be given, other things being equal, ( 1 ) to
persons actually living upon them, as hereinbefore provided; ( 2 )
to persons who have been residents for one year or more, previous
to the advertisement o f said tract of land, o f the municipality in
which such lands are located, and in the assignment o f small
farm s preference shall be given to those having the best records
for industry and to those having the best knowledge of practi
cal farm ing; and (3 ) choice of lots or small farm s available
for lots shall be granted in the order o f priority o f the filing o f
applications.
S e c . 22. Persons leasing lots with a right o f ownership under
Assignment
of leases, etc. the provisions of this act may, with the approval o f the home
stead commission, assign their leases and ownership to other per
sons who are qualified under this act to lease or purchase such
lots, or they may release their leases and ownership to The
People o f Porto Rico under such conditions as the homestead
commission may determine by rules and regulations.
Removal of
S e c . 23. The commissioner o f the interior, in accord with the
dwellings.
homestead commission, is hereby authorized to contract with the
persons actually occupying dwellings erected on lands o f The
People o f Porto R ico to remove said dwellings, and the home
stead commission may, in consideration for such removal, trans
fer all right and title o f The People o f Porto R ico In said dwell
ings to the persons removing th em : Provided, That the title to
the said dwellings shall not be transferred to any person other
than the persons actually occupying them. The commissioner of
the interior, in accord with the homestead commission, is hereby
authorized to permit persons removing their dwellings and ob
lease.
TEXT OF LAWS---- PORTO RICO.
taining title thereto, as provided in this section, to lease with the
right o f ownership other lots o f The People o f Porto Rico avail
able for that purpose and to place such dwellings ..thereon upon
compliance with the conditions herein specified, for the lease o f
lots o f lands belonging to The People o f Porto Rico.
S e c . 24. It is hereby expressly declared that the purposes for
which lands o f The People of Porto R ico are to be used, in ac
cordance with the provisions of this act, are public purposes.
S e c . 25. Whenever in this act rules and regulations are to be
adopted by the homestead commission, such rules and regulations
may be repealed and amended, or new rules and regulations
adopted from time to time in the discretion of said homestead
commission.
S e c . 26. Whenever the word “ person ” is used in this act, it
shall be interpreted to include workingman, head of a family,
and the plural form s o f the same when applicable. The word
“ dwelling,” as used in this act shall include structure, house,
habitation, inclosure, and building, and the plural form o f the
same when applicable.
S e c . 27. Any person knowingly hereafter erecting any dwell
ing upon lands belonging to The People of Porto Rico, otherwise
than in accordance with the provisions o f law, shall be guilty o f a
misdemeanor punishable by a penalty o f not less than ten ( 1 0 )
dollars, nor more than fifty (50) dollars, or by imprisonment for
not less than five days nor more than thirty days, or by both such
fine and imprisonment. Any person who, after this law goes into
effect, knowingly rents or leases for profit any dwelling erected
upon lands o f The People o f Porto Rico, except as permitted by
law, shall, be guilty o f a misdemeanor punishable by a fine o f not
less than fifty (50) dollars or by imprisonment o f not less than
thirty days or by both such fine and imprisonment.
S e c . 28. The sum o f twenty thousand (20,000) dollars, or so
much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out
o f any funds in the Insular treasury, not appropriated for other
purposes, in order to carry out the provisions o f this act, which
said sum shall be reimbursed to the Insular treasury out o f the
proceeds of the sale o f bonds authorized by this act.
Approved November 27, 1917.
311
Purpose,
public.
A m e n d in ::
rules.
Definitions.
Law to be
complied with.
Administra
tive fund.
A c t No. 41.— Factory, etc., regulations— First-aid provisions.
S c o p e of
S e c t i o n 1. Every owner o f a sugar factory, factory, workshop,
electric or hydraulic plant, or building plant operating power- law.
driven machinery outside o f the urban zone, whose employees
shall exceed fifty (50) in number, are [is] hereby obligated to
provide a dispensary with a sufficient stock o f medicines adequate
for cases of accident.
Equipment.
S e c . 2. The dispensary referred to in section 1 hereof shall be
established in a proper room wTith sanitary conditions and of
sufficient light and supplied with water, telephone, operating
table, and other appurtenances thereunto belonging, so that it may
be used for giving first aid in cases o f acciden ts: Provided, That
in any accident occurring in the places mentioned in section 1
hereof the physician or minor surgeon shall be furnished with
such supplies as it m a y b e necessary to use.
Physician.
S e c . 3. It shall be the duty o f every owner o f a sugar factory,
factory, workshop, electric, hydraulic, or building plant operating
power-driven machinery, whose employees shall exceed fifty (50)
in number, to contract for the services o f a physician and a
minor surgeon or a nurse for the care o f traumatic accidents oecuring during the year.
Mi n o r sur
S e c. 4. Minor surgeons under contract by virtue hereof shall
geons.
be duly licensed to practice their profession and shall be pro
vided with such instruments as may be indispensable.
Enforcement.
S e c . 5. The commissioner o f health shall be in charge o f the
enforcement o f this act and shall visit and inspect said dispen
saries either personally or through his inspectors or other em
312
Violations.
LABOE LEGISLATION OF 1917.
ployees, to satisfy himself that said dispensaries are properly
supplied with all the material necessary for the purposes for
which they are intended.
Sec. 6. Any violation o f this act shall be punished by fine not to
exceed five hundred (500) dollars or by imprisonment in ja il for
not to exceed six ( 6 ) months.
Approved November 30, 1917.
A c t No. 42.— Protection of employees as members of labor
organizations.
Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any corporation, company,
Forbidding
membership.
partnership, association, individual, or any employer o f la b o r e r s
Evidence.
Violations.
to require that the person or persons so employed, as a condition
precedent to obtaining work or to continue working, or to the exe
cution o f any contract, agreement, or covenant, evidenced in w rit
ing or otherwise, or by reserve conditions, shall sever their con
nections or abstain from belonging to any legal organization or
society ; or under any pretext whatever to prohibit, limit, or re
strict said employees in the exercise o f their social, economical,
fraternal, or commercial rights in connection with or through any
legal organization or society during their employment by any em
ployer.
Sec. 2. Any contract, agreement, covenant, or reserve condition
o f the aforesaid nature shall constitute prima facie evidence o f the
violation o f this act.
Sec. 3. Any corporation, company, partnership, association, in
dividual, or employer o f laborers violating any o f the provisions
o f this act shall be deemed guilty o f misdemeanor and upon con
viction o f any person or persons under the provisions o f this act
they shall be punished by a fine o f not less than fifty (50) dollars
nor more than five hundred (500) dollars for each and every
such violation, or by imprisonment for not less than ninety days
nor more than six months in the jail o f the district where tlie
violation shall have been committed, or by both penalties, fine
and imprisonment, in the discretion o f the court.
Approved November 30, 1917.
A
ct
N o . 46.— Protection
of employees on buildings.
C h a n g e s in
[This act amends No. 30, Acts of 1913, minor changes being
act.
made. Protection to “ life and limbs ” is the object o f the act,
instead o f “ life and body,” as form erly ; and violations are to
be punished by a minimum fine o f $25, the maximum limit being
stricken out.]
A c t No. 70.— Railroads, etc.— Safety of employees— Accidents to
be reported.
Section 3. It shall be the duty o f every public-service com pany:
(a)
To furnish and maintain such service, including facilities,
Facilities,
etc., to be safe. as shall in all respects be just, safe, reasonable, adequate, and
Repairs.
Accidents.
practically sufficient for the accommodation and safety o f its
patrons, employees, and the public, and in conform ity with such
reasonable regulations or orders as may be made by the [public
service] commission.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
(c )
To make all such repairs, changes, alterations, and im
provements, including facilities, as shall be reasonably necessary
for the accommodation or safety o f its patrons, employees, and the
public.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
( w ) To give immediate notice to said commission o f the happen
ing o f any accident in or about, or in connection with, the opera
tion o f its property, facilities, or service, wherein any person
shall have been killed or injured, and to furnish such full and
TEXT OF LAWS— PORTO RICO.
313
detailed report o f such accident, within such time and in sucfi
manner as the commission shall by general rule or special order
or otherwise require. Such report shall not be open for public
inspection, except by order o f the commission, and shall not be
admitted in evidence for any purpose in any suit or action for
damages growing out o f any matter or thing mentioned in said
report.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Approved December 6 , 1917.
ACTS OF 1916-17, UNITED STATES CONGRESS.
C hapter
145.— Employment of labor— Department of Agriculture
and Labor— Civil government act.
S e c t i o n 2. N o law shall be enacted in Porto R ico which shall
Li mi t of
deprive any person o f life, liberty, or property without due process pow er,
o f law, or deny to any person therein the equal protection of
the lawTs.
*
*
*
*
%
Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to limit the S a fe ty la w s,
power o f the legislature to enact laws for the protection o f the
lives, health, or safety o f employees.
*
*
*
*
*
Eight hours shall constitute a day’s w7ork in all cases o f emEight-h o u r
ployment o f laborers and mechanics by and on behalf o f the daygovernment o f the island on public works, except in cases of
emergency.
The employment o f children under the age o f fourteen years in
Age limit,
any occupation injurious to health or morals or hazardous to
life or limb is hereby prohibited.
S e c . 13. The follow ing executive departments are hereby ereDepartments,
a te d : * * * a department o f agriculture and labor, the head
of which shall be designated as the commissioner o f agriculture
and la b o r ; * * *
S e c . 18. The commissioner o f agriculture and labor shall have
D u t i e s of
general charge o f such bureaus and branches o f government as co m m issio n e r,
have been or shall be legally constituted for the study, advance
ment, and benefit o f agricultural and other industries, the chief
purpose o f this department being to foster, promote, and develop
the agricultural interests and the w elfare o f the wage earners of
Porto Rico, to improve their working conditions, and to advance
their opportunities for profitable employment, and shall perform
such other duties as may be prescribed by law.
*
*
*
*
*
S e c . 38.
* * * The [railroad] safety appliance acts and the
L a w s not to
several amendments made or to be made thereto * * * shall ^PPJynot apply to Porto Rico.
*
*
*
*
*
S e c . 52.
* * * The offices o f secretary o f Porto R ico and . Offices aboidirector [o f] labor, charities, and correction are hereby a b o l-isnecl*
ished. * * *
Approved March 2, 1917.
RHODE ISLAND.
ACTS OF 1917.
C hapter
1522.— Factory, etc., regulations— Sanitary conveniences.
S e c t i o n 1. Section eight of chapter seventy-eight o f the General
Laws, entitled “ Of factory inspection,” is hereby amended so as
to read as follow s:
Sec. 8 . In any city, town or district wherein there is a public
W a t e r w ater service, the owner, agent or lessee o f any factory, manu- closets,
facturing or mercantile establishment employing twenty-five
persons or less located on, adjacent, or in close proximity to,
any highway, street, road or path in which are laid public water
mains, shall equip said factory, manufacturing or mercantile
establishment with at least one effectively trapped and ventilated
water-closet for the use o f the em ployees: Provided, however,
That if the employees are of different sex, then and in such case,
there shall be at least two effectively trapped and ventilated
water-closets, one for male and one for female employees sepa
rately located, with separate entrances, properly designated and
so built as to insure privacy.
The owner, agent, or lessee o f any factory, manufacturing or
Numbers,
mercantile establishment, employing more than twenty-five per
sons, shall equip said factory, manufacturing or mercantile estab
lishment with one effectively trapped and ventilated water-closet,
for every forty employees or fraction thereof exceeding one-half:
Provided, however, That if the employees are of different sex then
there shall be separate water-closets for the different sexes with
separate entrances properly designated and so built as to insure
privacy.
Water-closets, earth closets, or privies shall be provided in all
other places where women and children are employed, in such
manner as shall, in the judgment o f said inspectors, meet the
demands o f health and propriety.
Separate dressing rooms for women and girls shall be provided
D r e s s in g
in all establishments where such are deemed a necessity by said rooms.
factory inspectors; and in every manufacturing, mechanical or
mercantile establishment in which women or girls are employed,
there shall be provided, conveniently located, seats for such women
and girls, and they shall be permitted to use them when their
duties do not require their standing.
Approved April 19, 1917.
SOUTH CAROLINA.
ACTS OF 1917.
No. 95.— Employment of children— General' provisions.
[This act amends section 426 o f the Criminal Code by substitilting 16 for 14 as the age up to which parents must give certificates of age, and registers be kept o f the same.]
A ge
va n ced .
No. 197.— Employers' advances— Repayment.
[This act merely repeals sections 501 and 502 o f the Criminal
Code, which provides penalties o f fine or imprisonment where ad
vances were leceived for farm labor to be performed, and the
laborer failed, “ without ju st cause,” to fulfill the contract.]
Repeal.
317
ad-
SOUTH DAKOTA.
ACTS OF 1917.
C hapter
300.— Mothers’ pensions.
[This act supersedes and repeals chapter 275, Acts o f 1913, as i n v e s t ! gaamended by chapter 251, Acts o f 1915. The essential provisions of tion s.
the new law are the same as those o f the act o f 1913. The duty
o f investigating applications is placed upon the county commis
sioner of the district in which the applicant resides instead o f on
the State’s attorney. Officers o f charity organizations and humane
societies are not designated as alternative investigators uftder
the new" law, but the provision o f an appointee by the judge of
the county court remains.
The tax for funds may be one-sixth o f a mill on the valuation F un d s,
of taxable property o f the county, instead o f only one-tenth.]
319
TENNESSEE,
ACTS OF 1917.
C hapter
28.— Payment of wages— Semimonthly pay day— Lawful
money.
S e c t io n T. All wages or compensation o f employees in private
p ay ^ays
employments shall be due and payable as follows, that is to say, tablished.
all such wages or compensation earned and unpaid prior to the
first day o f any month, shall be due and payable not later than
the twentieth day o f the month follow ing the one in which such
wages were earn ed; and all wages or compensation earned and
unpaid prior to the sixteenth day o f any month, shall be due and
payable not later than the fifth day o f the succeeding month.
The words “ private employment ” used in this act shall mean scope of act.
and include all employments except those under the direct man
agement, supervision and control o f the State o f Tennessee, any
county, incorporated city or town, or other municipal corporation
or political subdivision o f the State of Tennessee, or any officer
or department thereof.
But nothing contained herein shall be construed as prohibiting
the payment o f wages at more frequent periods than sem im onthly:
Provided, That this act shall apply only to private employments
where twenty or more employees are employed.
Sec. 2. Every employer shall establish and maintain regular Notice to be
pay days as herein provided, and shall post and maintain notices, posted,
printed or written in plain type or script, in at least two con
spicuous places where said notices can be seen by the employees
as they go to and from the wTork, setting forth the regular pay day
as herein prescribed.
S e c . 3. The payment o f wages or compensation o f employees in
Payment i n
the employments defined herein, shall be made in lawful money money*
o f the United States or by a good and valid negotiable check
or draft, payable on presentation thereof, at some bank or other
established place o f business without discount, exchange or
cost o f collection in lawful money o f the United States, and not
otherwise.
S e c . 4. In case an employee in any such employment shall be
Absent emabsent from the usual place o f employment at the time said pay- pioyees.
ment shall be due and payable as hereinabove provided, he shall
be paid the wages or compensation within a reasonable time after
making a demand therefor.
S e c . 5. Every person, partnership or corporation w illfully failviolations,
ing or refusing to pay the wages o f any employee at the time
and in the manner provided in this statute shall forfeit to the
State o f Tennessee the sum of $ 2 5 for each *and every such
failure or refusal, and suits for penalties accruing under this
act shall be brought in any court having jurisdiction o f the
amount in the county in which the employee should have been
paid, or where employed. Such suit shall be instituted at the
direction o f the chief o f the department o f workshop and factory
inspection by the district attorney general, or under his direction,
for the county or district in which suit is brought.
S e c . 6. The department o f workshop and factory inspection
Enforceshall enforce the provisions o f this act.
ment.
Approved March 13, 1917.
C hapter
48.— Enticing employees.
1. Chapter 93 o f the Acts o f the General Assembly o f
the State o f Tennessee for eighteen hundred and seventy-five
[sections 4337, 4338, Shannon’s Code]
* *
* is hereby
amended by adding thereto * * * the follow ing additional sec
tion, to w it:
S e c t io n
45913°— 18— Bull. 244-------21
Act amended,
321
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1917.
322
Fraud
Bonds.
[Sec. 4387a.] Any person who shall misrepresent to any em
ployee the amount o f wages to which such employee is to receive
on entering into a new contract o f employment or who shall fail
to give a bond with good and solvent sureties to be filed with the
judge or chairman o f the county court o f the county in which the
contract o f new employment is made, said bond to be in an
amount sufficient to cover the difference in wages received by such
employee at the time he is solicited to change his employment and
the amount promised to such employee as wages in his new em
ployment, also a good and solvent bond to protect the employer
against any and all loss sustained through the removal o f his
employees by a fraudulent promise or contract shall be deemed
guilty o f a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not
less than $5 nor more than $250 or imprisoned in the county w ork
house not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both
in the discretion o f the court.
Approved March 30, 1917.
C hapter
Shower
batlis required.
Violations.
S e c t io n 1. It shall be the duty o f all owners, proprietors and
operators o f foundries employing twelve or more men to provide
shower baths, w ith hot and cold water, for the use o f their em
ployees, and also to provide and furnish their employees com
fortable dressing rooms, with heat when necessary to dry clothing,
and lockers in which their employees may hang their clothes.
S e c . 2 . Any failure or neglect on the part o f any such owners,
proprietors or operators to comply with or perform any o f the
provisions o f this act, shall be on conviction thereof, subject to
a fine o f not less than $5 nor more than $50: And provided,
further, That each day the provisions o f this act are violated shall
constitute a separate offense.
Approved March 30, 1917.
C hapter
Amendment.
50.— Factory, etc., regulations— Shower baths at
foundries.
54.— Negligence of employees of common carriers.
[This act amends chapter 123, Acts o f 1852, codified as sections
6479 et seq. o f Shannon’s Code, by inserting the word “ gross ”
before the word “ negligence ” where it occurs. The penal pro
visions are also modified.]
C hapter
Bond.
Records.
Interest.
62.— Wage brokers— License required.
[This act forbids engaging in the business o f making loans on
personal property or wages or salaries without obtaining a license
and giving bond. Detailed records are to be kept plainly, and
the borrower is to have a duplicate statement o f all matters con
nected with the transaction. The amount o f fees chargeable for
the different incidents o f a loan is fixed according to the amount
o f the loan. The rate o f interest is to be not over 6 per cent per
annum. The splitting o f loans is forbidden and renewals are regu
lated. The taking o f excess fees or interest is penalized by the
forfeiture o f the principal and interest, and the license also be
comes void.]
C h apter
*
License fee.
*
*
70.— Emigrant agents.
*
*
*
*
Each emigrant agent, or person engaged in hiring laborers,
or soliciting emigrants in this State, to be employed or to go
beyond the lim its o f the State, must pay in annual license, each
per annum, [a fee] o f $500.
Approved April 7, 1917.
TEXT OF LAWS---- TENNESSEE.
C hapter
77.— Employment of children— Age limit.
[This act amends chapter 57, Acts o f 1911, by adding canneries
to the list o f establishments enumerated in section 1 , in which
employment under the age o f 14 is forbidden. Sections 4 and 5
are amended so as to read as fo llo w s : ]
S e c . 4 . It shall be unlawful
for any proprietor, foreman,
owner, or other person to employ, permit or suffer to w ork any
child between the ages o f fourteen and sixteen years in, about,
or in connection with any place or establishment named in section
one, for more than eight hours in any one day, or more than six
days in any one week, or after the hour o f seven o’clock post
meridian, or before the hour o f six o’clock ante meridian, or to
employ any child under-eighteen years of age as a messenger for
a telegraph or messenger company in the distribution, transmis
sion, or delivery o f goods or messages before five o ’clock in the
morning or after ten o’clock in the evening o f any day.
Sec. 5. It shall be unlawful for any proprietor, foreman, owner,
or other person to employ, permit, or suffer to work any child
between the ages o f fourteen and sixteen years in, about, or in
connection with any place or establishment named in section one,
unless said proprietor, foreman, owner, or other person keep on
file and accessible to the shop and factory inspector an employ
ment certificate which shall be issued only by the county superin
tendent o f schools, or by a person authorized by him in writing
in ,the city, town, or village where such child resides, or in the
city, town, or village, in which the child is to be employed, and
only upon the application in person, of the child desiring employ
ment, accompanied by its parent, guardian or custodian. Such
certificate shall only be issued after the person so authorized shall
have received, examined, approved and filed in his office docu
mentary evidence o f age, showing that the child is fourteen years
o f age, or over, which evidence shall consist o f one o f the fo l
lowing named proofs o f age, duly attested, and the proof accepted
shall be specified in the certificate issued to the ch ild; the proof
specified in subdivision (a ) shall be required first, but if this
be not available, then the proof specified in the succeeding sub
division shall be required and filed in the order designated until
the age o f the child be established as follow s:
(a ) A birth certificate or transcript thereof issued by a
registrar o f vital statistics or other officer charged with the duty
of recording births, which certificate or transcript thereof shall
be prima facie evidence o f the age o f the child.
(b ) A certificate o f baptism or transcript thereof, showing the
date o f birth and place o f baptism o f the child.
(c ) A bona fide record o f the date and place o f the child’s
birth kept in the Bible in which the records o f the birth, mar
riages and deaths in the fam ily o f the child are preserved, or a
certificate o f confirmation or other church ceremony at least one
year old showing the age o f the child and date and place o f such
confirmation o f cerem ony; or a passport showing the age o f the
child, or a certificate o f arrival in the United States, issued by
the United States immigration officers and showing the age o f the
c h ild ; or a life insurance policy at least one year old showing the
age o f the child.
(d ) A certificate signed by two physicians, at least one o f whom
shall be a public health officer or public school medical inspector
stating that they have separately examined the child and that in
their opinion the child is at least fourteen years o f a g e ; such cer
tificate shall show the height and weight o f the child, the condi
tion o f its teeth, and any other facts concerning its physical de
velopment revealed by such examination and upon which their
opinion as to its age is based.
Approved April 7, 1917.
323
C an neries.
Hours of Li
bor.
N ig lit w o r k .
Messenger
service.
E m p lo y m e n t
certificates.
Evidence.
LABOE LEGISLATION OF 1917.
324
C hapter
License
q uired.
re
Fee.
Signs.
B ond.
Resistor.
A cts
den.
fo rb id
T n f orm a tion
to em ployees.
R eturn
fees. '
of
78.— Private employment agencies.
S e c t i o n 1 . It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corpora
tion to open, maintain, conduct or operate any employment agency
in the State o f Tennessee for profit without first obtaining a State
license to be issued by the department o f workshop and factory in
spection. For said license a fee shall be paid as hereinafter set
out. In cities o f twenty-five thousand or more inhabitants, $50
per an n um ; in cities and towns less than twenty-five thousand
and more than five thousand inhabitants, $25 per annum ; in all
cities*or towns less than five thousand inhabitants, $10 per annum.
Tlie fees above provided shall be paid direct to the county court
clerk and by him transmitted to the comptroller o f the treasury as
other State revenue.
Every such license shall contain the name of the person, firm
or corporation holding the same, together with his, their or its
correct address, including street or building number where busi
ness is located, and such license shall be conspicuously posted in
the place o f business o f such employment agency.
No employment agency shall print, publish or paint on any sign,
window or other place or insert in any newspaper or publication
a name similar to that o f any free employment bureau or office.
The chief officer o f the department o f workshop and factory in
spection shall require that any person, firm, or corporation desir
ing to open, operate, maintain or conduct an employment agency
within the scope of this act shall, before opening such employ
ment agency, secure a license therefor as hereinbefore provided,
and such person, firm or corporation, before such license is issued,
shall give bond in the sum o f $ 1,000 with two or more good and
sufficient sureties to be approved by the said chief officer o f the
department o f workshop and factory inspection, payable to the
State o f Tennessee, and conditioned that such person, firm or cor
poration will not violate any of the terms, conditions, provisions
or requirements o f this act.
The chief o f the department o f workshop and factory inspection
is hereby authorized to cause an action or actions to be brought
on said bond in the name o f the State o f Tennessee on the relation
o f such chief o f said department for the violation o f any o f the
conditions o f said bond.
It shall be the duty o f every licensed agency to keep a register
in which shall be entered the name and address o f every appli
cant, and such licensed agency shall also enter in said register the
name and address o f every person who shall make application for
employment, and the nature o f the employment sought. And such
register shall at all reasonable hours be open to the inspection and
examination o f the chief officer o f the department o f workshop
and factory inspection, or any deputy o f said department.
S e c . 2. No employment agency shall send or cause to be sent
any female help or servant to any place o f bad repute, house of
ill fam e or assignation house, or any place o f questionable charac
ter. No such licensed agency shall publish or cause to be pub
lished any false or fraudulent notice or advertisement, or give
any false inform ation or make any false promise concerning or
relating to work or employment to anyone who may register for
em ploym ent; and no licensed agency shall make any false entries
in the register to be kept as hereinbefore provided.
Sec 3. It shall be unlawful for any person conducting any em
ployment agency within the scope o f this act to ship, or attempt
to ship any number o f employees to any point within or without
the State o f Tennessee without first advising said applicants o f
the general conditions surrounding the employment for which said
employees are to be furnished, and fully explaining the absence
or presence o f any labor dispute, strike, or lockout then existent
with reference to such employment. In all cases where a fee is
charged by such agency a receipt shall be given in which shall be
stated the name o f the applicant, the amount o f the fee charged
and the nature o f the employment sought which inform ation shall
be recorded in the register as hereinbefore provided. In case
TEXT OF LAWS---- TENNESSEE.
325
said applicant shall not obtain a situation or employment through
such licensed agency within ten days after registration as afore
said, then said licensed agency shall forthwith repay or return
to said applicant the full amount o f the fee paid or delivered by
said applicant to said licensed agency.
Duty to re
Sec. 4. Every licensed agency as hereinbefore provided which turn
ices.
shall agree or promise, or which shall advertise in the public
press, or otherwise to furnish employment or situations to any
person or persons, and in pursuance o f such advertisement, agree
ment or promise shall receive any money, personal property, or
other valuable consideration whatsoever, and who shall fail to
procure for such person or
@FedFRASER