The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
MONTHLY REVIEW
OF THE
U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
vol. h i
no
.4
WASHINGTON
Oc t o b e r ,
me
JOB SELLING IN INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS IN OHIO.
Job selling involves the practice of paying to the foremen in indus
trial plants a fee for securing work and also of paying money to the
foremen from time to time in order that the workman may not lose
his job or may receive more desirable work. The first complaint of
this sort of graft on the part of foremen came to the department of
investigation and statistics of the Ohio Industrial Commission
through the demands of a body of striking employees in the latter
part of 1915. One of the demands of these strikers was for the dis
charge of a foreman to whom the foreign workmen were required to
contribute money from time to time in order to hold their jobs or to
secure an advance in wages. In response to this and subsequent com
plaints an investigation was instituted which developed the fact that
the collection of fees for jobs, or assessments of various kinds, by fore
men has been in the past few months carried on in at least six large
industrial plants in the State employing approximately 40,000 men.
The information collected in this connection is set forth in Report
No. 24 of the Department of Investigation and Statistics.1
It was found that in some plants the custom has been established
for years. With some foremen a box of cigars or a bottle of whisky
was a sufficient “ present” to secure a job 10 years ago; then the ap
plicant learned that money was more acceptable, and $5 was the
usual fee for the unskilled laborer; the applicant next learned that
$2 or $3 extra would help him to get a job without waiting, or, in
other words, it would place him on the preferred list; then the price
rose to $10, and from that to $15; and at the time the investigations
were begun the fee “ expected ” was generally $15, $20, or $25 for a
job paying approximately 25 cents per hour.
The employees paying these fees are almost altogether nonEnglish speaking foreigners, and those who profit from the fees
are usually English speaking, or able to speak English, and quite
generally of a different race from those who are exploited.
Such a custom produces the w orst possible type of industrial slavery, and
it is small wonder th a t the much-exploited im m igrant often feels b itter and
1 O hio. I n d u s t r i a l C o m m issio n . D e p a r tm e n t o f In v e s tig a tio n a n d S ta tis tic s R e p o rt
N o. 24. J o b s e llin g in in d u s tr ia l e s ta b lis h m e n ts in O hio. C o lu m bus, 1916. 38 pp.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[411]
2
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
th a t sometimes this bitterness m anifests itself in acts of violence during th e
excitement incident to a strike. W hat respect can the im m igrant be expected to
have for organized society which perm its such conditions to exist?
The story appears to be the same in establishment after establish
ment where special pains have not been taken to eliminate and to
prevent exploitation. The evidence showed that the shrewder fore
man, occupying a comparatively high position, seldom receives the
money directly from the applicant, but usually has a number of
men who act as go-betweens. These go-betweens may be “ s t r a w
bosses ” or they may be workmen. They are often of the same race
as those who are to be exploited. The applicant pays the money to
the go-between, and he in turn pays it to the foreman. Sometimes
the money passes through the hands of two, three, or even four per
sons before it reaches the foreman. In some cases the go-between
retains a small part of the money collected. The go-between, it
seems, performs this service practically without pay, for two reasons:
First, this enables him to stand in with his foreman, and thus to
secure more desirable work or to be retained during periods of
depression; and, second, it enables him to secure work for his friends
and countrymen, and this gives him a certain standing in his circle
of acquaintances. On the whole, the investigation seemed to show
that there are reasons to believe that more or less grafting in the
form of job selling by foremen, in collecting money from workmen
for retaining them during slack times, for assigning them to more
desirable jobs, or for increasing their wages, and in conducting
raffles for the benefit of the foremen, is carried on to a greater or
less extent in most of the large industrial plants where immigrants
are employed.
The report states that in some of the six plants mentioned above
very drastic measures have been taken to punish those foremen who
have violated their trust and to devise plans for preventing grafting.
In the majority of plants it is believed that the practice has been
broken up, “ but almost a complete reorganization of some depart
ments in some plants will be necessary before the public can feel as
sured that this graft will be permanently discontinued. The public
has a vital interest in this matter, for future citizens are receiving
in those plants their first lessons in graft, and moral standards are
being established for the community.”
In these particular plants, as a result of the investigation and of
prosecutions conducted by the attorney general’s office, three foremen
have been discharged by the company officials, who were convinced
of their guilt, without trial; three threw up their jobs and left the
State during the investigation; two stood trial and were convicted;
three go-betweens pleaded guilty; one foreman was found not guilty
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[412]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
3
by reason of insufficiency of evidence; and one was found not guilty
on the grounds that as a general foreman he was a principal and
not an agent within the meaning of the statute under which the pro
secution was brought and that the evidence did not conclusively
show that he had demanded money for jobs. In this case the evi
dence clearly established the fact that he had received money in a
great number of cases, and that the custom of paying for jobs was a
well-established one in that department.
The punishment provided by law is a fine of from $50 to $100,
“ and such a punishment is entirely inadequate, considering the
seriousness of the crime.” An effort will be made to induce the
next legislature to enact a law covering not only the taking of a fee
for a job, but also other forms of grafting on the part of foremen in
industrial establishments.
The complicated machinery, the system, and the far-reaching ef
fects of the practice of paying for jobs is indicated by the typical
cases cited below, each of which is supported by affidavits and in
some cases by the affidavits of witnesses to the transaction. Each of
the letters or combination of letters represents the same individual
throughout. Attention is called to the varying amounts, which
seem to indicate a general upward trend of the market. The work
man first named in each line was the applicant for a job.
MMM paid $15 to TTT, who paid $15 to N, who paid $15 to F, who paid $15
to A.
NN paid $15 to TTT, who paid $15 to N, who paid $15 to F, who paid $15 to A.
RRRR paid $9 to PPP, who paid $9 to I, who paid $9 to A.
UUU paid $10 to J J J , who paid $10 to I, who paid $10 to A.
J J J paid $7 to L, who paid $7 to I, who paid $7 to A.
TTT paid $15 to N, who paid $15 to I, who paid $15 to A.
XXX paid $16 to RRR, who paid $16 to I, who paid $12 to A.
YYY paid $13 to F, who paid $13 to I, who paid $9 to A.
BBBB paid $10 to LL, who paid $6 to I, who paid $6 to A.
CCCC paid $11 to ZZ, who paid $10 to I, who paid $10 to A.
DDDD paid $8 to LL, who paid $7 to I, who paid $7 to A.
GGGG paid $10 to N, who paid $10 to I, who paid $10 to A.
KKKK paid $15 to J J J J , who paid $15 to I, who paid $15 to A.
LLLL paid $16 to J J J J , who paid $16 to I, who paid $16 to A.
MMMM paid $15 to J J J J , who paid $15 to I, who paid $15 to A.
NNNN paid $25 to J J J J , who paid $25 to I, who paid $17 to A.
I I I I paid $9 to N, who paid $9 to I, who paid $9 to A.
CCC paid $10 to L, who paid $10 to J, who paid $10 to A.
DDD paid $10 to L, who paid $8 to J, who paid $5 to A.
EEE paid $15 to L, who paid $15 to J, who paid $15 to A.
F F F paid $10 to L, who paid $10 to J, who paid $10 to A.
GGG paid $25 to L, who paid $15 to J, who paid $15 to A.
H H H paid $15 to L, who paid $15 to J, who paid $15 to A.
QQ paid $15 to OO, who paid $15 to K, who paid $15 to A.
YY paid $15 to H, who paid $10 to A.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[413]
4
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
O paid $7 to H, who paid $5 to A.
P paid $20 to O, who paid $15 to H, who paid $10 to
It paid $17 to G, who paid $17 to B.
S paid $21 to G, who paid $20 to B.
T paid $20 to G, who paid $20 to B.
U paid $20 to B.
SS paid $15 to XX, who paid $15 to C.
TT paid $15 to XX, who paid $15 to O.
UU paid $10 to XX, who paid $10 to C.
VV paid $15 to XX, who paid $15 to C.
WW paid $15 to XX, who paid $15 to O.
W paid $5 to ,V, who paid $5 to D.
V paid $15 to D.
QQQ paid $25 to D.
M paid $20 to E.
RRRR paid $30 to E.
KKK paid $20 to N, who paid $20 to F, who paid $10
0 0 0 0 paid $15 to N, who paid $15 to F, who paid $8
P P P P paid $23 to N, who paid $20 to F, who paid $10
B.
to Q.
to Q.
to Q.
The report includes 49 typical affidavits, of which the following are
characteristic:
I , ------------------- , No. ------, being first duly sworn, depose and say th a t I
have worked for the past six years for the A. B. Co., under X---------, labor
boss, and Y--------- and Z---------, straw bosses. I paid nothing when I w ent to
work, but Christm as Y---------and Z---------- collected money from the men. This
money w as taken up a t the shanty, where they would call the men in two or
three a t a time. One would take the money and the other would enter it in a
book. L ast C hristm as X--------- asked me for the money several days before
the first pay day in December. I paid him $5 the first pay day in December at
the labor shanty, and Y---------w rote down my name in a book.
1
fu rth e r depose and say th a t I have bought tickets for raffles from Y--and Z---------for $2 watches, which they said belonged to X---------- .
------------------- , being duly sworn, deposes and says th a t on or about May 8,
1915, he w ent to the C. D. Co. and asked the assistant foreman, named F, for
a job in his departm ent ---------. F --------- told me th a t I would have to pay
$16 to him and he would give it to A---------, and he (A---------) would put
me to work. F--------- and I then w ent to the home of A--------- on --------Avenue, ---------, Ohio, and F --------- talked to A---------, who w ent w ith us to
a saloon near A---------’s home, where I paid $16 to F ---------, who handed this
to A---------while we were in the saloon. I was compelled to tre a t the crowd,
which cost me $8 in addition to the $16 already paid. In about six days I
went to the C. D. Co. and got a ticket from F ---------- and then w ent to A
,
who p ut me to work. The affiant fu rth e r says th a t when he had worked
about two months F --------- came to him and said th a t A--------- sent him to
get $16 more or I would lose my job. I am m arried and have a wife and three
children to support, so I could not afford to pay the second tim e; therefore
I was compelled to quit my job.
--------- ---------, who, being duly sworn, deposes and says th a t on or about
November 15, 1914, he applied for a job to B— — a t the E. F. Co.’s plant.
Being unable to speak English, he talked to F -----------, who could speak Bul
garian and English and who was present when he tried to get a job from
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 414]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
5
B---------. F --------- explained to B--------- th a t I w anted a job, and B--------told him to ask me for $5; th a t he had a job if I would give B
$5,
which I did. I paid this money to B-------- on or about November 15, 1914,
and went to work. A fter I had worked three days F --------- came to me and
told me th a t I would have to pay B another fee of $5 or I would be dis
charged, as one of the other men had-paid B---------- .$20, and if I w anted to
keep my job I m ust pay him an additional $5. I paid the second $5 to B--------on or about November 18, 1914, and was allowed to continue work.
CONCILIATION WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, AUGUST 16
TO SEPTEMBER 15, 1916.
The organic act of the department gives the Secretary of Labor
the authority to mediate in labor disputes through the appointment,
in his discretion, of commissioners of conciliation. During the month
August 16 to September 15, 1916, the Secretary exercised his good
offices in 12 labor disputes. The companies involved, the number of
employees affected, and the results secured, so far as information is
available, were as follows:
N U M B E R O F L A B O R D IS P U T E S H A N D L E D B Y T H E D E P A R T M E N T O F LA B O R
T H R O U G H IT S CO M M ISSIO N ER S O F C O N C IL IA TIO N , A UG. 16 TO S E P T . 15, 1916.
W orkm en affected.
N am e.
R esult.
Directly. Indirectly.
Strike a t F ran k Sheble Spinning Co., Philadelphia, P a ............
Strike a t G erm an-A m erican H osiery Mills, Philadelphia, P a . .
Strike of m achinists. New H aven, C onn........................................
S trike a t R oyle & F ilk in g to n ’s U pholstery Mills, Philadel
phia, P a.
C ontroversy betw een th e C incinnati, Indianapolis & W estern
R . R . a n d th e B rotherhood of R ailw ay Car m en, C incinnati,
Ohio.
Strike of w heelsmen, lookoutm en, w atchm en, oilers, etc.,
Goodrich T ran sit Co., Chicago, 111.
Strikes a t E q u inox, Brogon, a n d Gluck R u ra l Mills, A nder
son, S. C.
Strike of shingle weavers, E v e re tt, W a sh ......................................
Textile controversy, Bangor, P a . . ...................................................
T extile controversy, Sham okin, P a .................................................
Lockout of freight handlers, Chicago, 111........................................
Controversy betw een Pacific Coast L ight & Pow er Co. a n d
electrical w orkers, Los Angeles, Cal.
900
72
135
A djusted.
Do.
Pending.
A djusted.
Pending.
Do.
290
Do.
3,000
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Cases noted as pending in statement of August 15 have been dis
posed of as follows:
Controversy between Baltim ore & Ohio Railroad Co. and its maintenance-ofway employees, Baltimore, Md., in which there were 1,200 men directly affected,
and between 15,000 and 20,000 indirectly affected, has been adjusted.
Controversy between Crown Cork & Seal Co. and machinists, Baltimore, M d.;
175 directly and 2,000 to 2,500 indirectly affected; adjusted.
Controversy between Akron (Ohio) rubber m anufacturers and employees;
1,400 directly and 2,600 indirectly affected; adjusted.
T hreatened strike of milk-delivery drivers, Cleveland, O hio; 500 directly and
200 indirectly affected; adjusted by M ediation Board of Ohio.
Strike of milk-delivery drivers, St. Louis, M o.; 600 men directly involved;
unable to adjust.
1415]
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
6
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
MEDIATION OF INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES IN OHIO.
Report No. 23 of the Department of Investigation and Statistics
of the Ohio Industrial Commission1 sets forth the activities of the
commission in the mediation of industrial disputes from January,
1914, to June, 1916, inclusive. During this two and one-half year
period 26 such disputes, involving more than 200 firms and approxi
mately 35,000 employees, were taken up under the provisions of the
industrial commission act. In no case was arbitration undertaken.
Mediation resulted in a settlement in 11 of the 26 disputes. Although
authorized by law to mediate at any time that the industrial com
mission deems it advisable, the commission in practice has usually
waited until requested to act. However, in cases of unusual impor
tance, either where a great number are involved or where there is
violence or where the public is specially inconvenienced, mediation
has been undertaken without request. As the work has been carried
on in Ohio, only the most difficult disputes receive the attention of
the commission.
M ediation can not bring about exact industrial justice, but probably no
method of settling industrial disputes can more nearly approach justice if
fairly and fearlessly carried out. E xact industrial justice would not take into
consideration the demands of the employees or th e proposals of employers,
but would be determ ined afte r a full investigation and inquiry into cost of
production, cost of m aintaining a satisfactory stand ard of living, distribution
of profits, and all other such m atters. However, m ediation as well as prac
tically all other methods of securing settlem ents is confined on the one side
by the employees’ demands and on the other by the employers’ proposals, or
vice versa.
In mediating strikes in Ohio during the period covered by this
report the usual practice seems to have been not to bring the repre
sentatives of each side together in conference, but instead to hold
confidential conferences first with one side and then with the other
until the facts in the case were secured and a satisfactory basis of
settlement determined upon by the mediators. As a rule, it is
stated, the final terms of the settlement have come not as a proposal
from either side, but as a proposal from the mediators, with the
definite understanding that unless it was accepted without change
by both sides the proposition would be withdrawn by the mediators,
thus leaving each side in exactly its former position. I t would seem
that mediation under this plan does not disclose to either side either
the weak points or the strong points in the position of the opposing
side.
1
O hio. I n d u s tr ia l C o m m issio n . D e p a r tm e n t o f I n v e s tig a tio n a n d S ta tis tic s R e p o r t N o.
23. M e d ia tio n o f in d u s tr ia l d is p u te s in O hio, J a n u a r y , 1 9 14, to J u n e , 1916. C olum bus,
1916. 48 pp.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[416]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
7
The report justifies the principle of mediation by pointing out
several advantages which attend its application. These are—
Mediation has a very m arked influence in removing the bitterness which often
occurs during, or even continues after, industrial disputes.
Mediation in Ohio has usually also m aterially reduced the duration of the
industrial disputes, and this has been a great financial saving to employers,
to employees, and to the community.
Another m arked benefit of mediation arises from the fact th a t violence is
practically eliminated during the time negotiations for a settlem ent are under
way by the mediators.
It is suggested that the present law requires a slight modification,
by providing that the mayor or some other local official should notify
the industrial commission of industrial disputes within the com
munity over which he has authority.
During the two and one-half years covered by the report the total
amount spent in connection with the mediation work did not exceed
$4,000, or $363.63 for each dispute settled, a sum not considered ex
cessive in view of the financial gain to employers and employees by
reason of the activities of the mediators. The report includes a
detailed account of the 26 disputes in which the commission acted as
mediator.
FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
During August, 1916, the Division of Information of the Bureau of
Immigration of the Department of Labor placed 16,313 persons in
employment as compared with 16,309 during July, 1916. The opera
tions of the different offices throughout the country, by months,
since May, 1915, when fuller reports began to be made, are contained
in the statement following:
O P E R A T IO N S O F T H E D IV IS IO N O F IN F O R M A T IO N , B U R E A U O F IM M IG R A T IO N ,
D U R IN G T H E M O N TH S O F MAY, 1915, TO A U G U ST, 1916.
Y ear and m onth.
N um ber of N um ber of N um ber of N um ber
N um ber
referred
applica
ap applicants
actually
em ploy employed.
tions for persons
plied for. for places. to m
ent.
help.
1915.
M ay........................................................................
J u n e .......................................................................
J u ly ........................................................................
A u g u st..................................................................
S eptem ber............................................................
O ctober.................................................................
N ovem ber............................................................
D ecem ber.............................................................
638
1,249
1,160
1,279
1,201
1,104
847
698
3,826
3,601
8,665
7,931
4,551
5,423
4,650
3,588
12,132
14,530
18,061
17,827
13,334
12,215
11,908
11,902
3,752
5,131
6,360
7,321
5,671
5,460
4,459
2,622
3,495
4,646
6,035
6,757
5,405
5,006
4,146
2,170
1916.
Ja n u a ry .................................................................
F e b ru a ry ...............................................................
M arch....................................................................
A p ril......................................................................
M ay........................................................................
J u n e .......................................................................
J u ly ........................................................................
A u g u st..................................................................
933
1,423
3,443
3,805
4,918
4,826
5,488
6,420
5,063
6,413
10,209
12,104
21,326
17,402
23,657
26,791
15,015
14,257
19,484
13,498
17,614
18,824
24,058
23,720
4,300
5,036
8,113
8,843
12,938
13,839
17,608
18,062
3,419
4,185
7,030
7,653
11,453
11,960
16,309
16,313
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[417]
8
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
The following statement of the work of the 18 different zones
covering the whole country gives details for July and August, 1916:
SU M M A R Y O F A C T IV IT IE S O F U N IT E D S T A T E S E M P L O Y M E N T S E R V IC E F O R T H E
M O N T H S O F J U L Y A N D A U G U S T . 1916.
O pp o rtu n ities received.
Zone nu m b er and office.
A pplications
for help.
A pplications for em ploym ent.
Persons
applied for.
A pplications
received.
R eferred to
em ploym ent.
N um ber ac
tu a lly em
ployed.
July. August. July. August. July. A ugust. July. August. July. A ugust.
1. Boston, M ass...............
7
3
141
1,640
54
54
14
12
14
12
2. New Y ork, N . Y ........
Buffalo, N . Y ..............
245
93
231
115
956
850
1,303
815
1,128
698
1,692
839
510
694
579
787
494
517
550
634
T o ta l..........................
338
346
1,806
2,118
1,826
2,531
1,204
1,366
1,011
1,184
3. P hiladelpbia, P a ........
P ittsb u rg h , P a ............
W ilm ington, D e l........
86
15
21
77
24
19
588
196
524
1,328
425
338
302
505
101
257
809
52
288
273
27
246
491
48
224
246
13
209
463
40
T o tal..........................
122
120
1,308
2,091
908
1,118
588
785
483
712
4. B altim ore, M d.............
42
53
110
217
156
161
192
145
180
145
5. Norfolk, V a ..................
17
13
182
50
114
222
42
75
22
60
511
38
187
12
2
515
2
106
169
198
3
1
83
515
2
106
169
198
1
1
83
6. Jacksonville, F la ........
Miami, F la .'................
Savannah, G a ..............
C harleston, S. C ..........
Mobile, A la...................
1
2
1
3
1
2
2
106
38
3
1
11
732
14
362
97
10
T o ta l..........................
4
6
146
15
1,215
750
792
285
792
283
7. New Orleans, L a ........
G ulfport, M iss.............
M emphis, T erm ..........
18
1
30
1
4
21
1
42
1
6
289
47
390
60
49
35
50
6
13
33
T o tal..........................
19
35
22
49
336
499
35
56
13
33
8. G alveston, T e x ...........
H ouston, T e x ..............
A m arillo, T e x ..............
Eagle P ass, T e x ..........
El Paso, T e x ...............
A lbuquerque, N. Mex.
5
6
3
6
8
6
34
9
40
14
1
1
11
8
3
9
4
3
1
3
1
2
T o ta l..........................
5
9
6
14
47
58
11
12
9
7
9. Cleveland, O hio...........
21
10
201
15
125
101
88
96
12
13
10. Chicago, 111...................
D etroit, M ich...............
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich
Indianapolis, I n d ........
220
153
8
62
252
241
9
68
1,702
1,269
81
857
1,709
1,256
120
721
1,096
1,072
77
866
1,634
1,066
88
654
1,050
1,063
64
737
1,619
1,066
89
490
1,022
1,044
63
660
1,592
1,062
89
417
3,160
T o tal..........................
443
570
3,909
3,806
3,111
3,442
2,914
3,264
2,789
11. M inneapolis, M in n___
118
55
128
70
70
260
60
49
60
49
12, St. Louis, M o .............
K ansas C ity, M o ........
14
505
215
558
117
1,458
550
1,142
■ 200
1,228
392
1,012
50
1,006
320
1,032
45
787
302
833
832
1,135
T o t a l ........................
519
773
1,575
1,692
1,428
1,404
1,056
1,352
13. D enver, Colo................
3
2
3
2
27
20
8
10
2
14. H elena, M ont...............
Moscow, Id a h o ............
3
8
3
18
27
18
4
8
8
4
6
4
T o tal..........................
3
8
3
18
27
22
8
12
10
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
|
[418]
9
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
SU M M A R Y O F A C T IV IT IE S O F U N IT E D S T A T E S E M P L O Y M E N T S E R V IC E F O R T H E
M O N T H S O F J U L Y A N D A U G U S T , 1916— C o n clu d ed .
O pportunities received.
Zone n um b er and office.
A pplications
for help.
Persons
applied for.
A pplications for em ploym ent.
A pplications
. received.
Referred to
em ploym ent.
N um ber ac
tu a lly em
ployed.
Ju ly . A ugust. July. A ugust. July. A ugust. July. August. July. A ugust.
15. Seattle, W a s h ..............
A berdeen, W ash .........
B ellingham , W ash —
Colfax, W ash ...............
E v e re tt, W a sh ............
N o rth Y akim a, W ash .
Spokane, W ash ...........
Tacoma, W a sh ............
W alla W alla, W a s h ...
Sum ner, W a s h ............
P u yallu p , W ash .........
150
20
31
538
74
530
209
3.50
150
135
25
22
246
59
850
109
442
213
829
92
162
925
580
2,529
390
2,500
1,250
T o ta l.......................... 2,052
2,101
9,257
16. P o rtla n d , O reg............ 1,224
A storia, Oreg...............
1,439
25
2,589
T o ta l.........................
1,224
1,464
17. San Francisco, C al___
193
425
18. Los Angeles, C al.........
San Diego, (3al.............
880
180
35
522
785
1,838
605
1,150
400
1,317
226
167
957
378
66
375
10
1,766
712
1,325
316
883
639
1,165
490
1,894
'650
456
92
92
728
511
1,088
382
1,775
639
402
180
42
365
8
1,575
605
1,028
285
416
92
75
696
511
1,065
375
1,768
'628
354
172
34
365
6
1,451
595
1,018
276
7,431
5,905
5,763
4,490
5,626
4,271
3,269
170
2,512
2,627
171
2,454
2,378
140
2,399
2,262
104
2,589
3,439
2,512
2,798
2,454
2,518
2,399
2,366
412
817
1,248
1,330
654
807
378
321
335
1
348
778
1
651
103
1,017
149
1,035
803
1
866
767
1
688
T o tal..........................
335
349
778
652
1,120
1,184
803
867
767
689
H a rv e st h a n d s....................
i 23
278 11,081
23,691 i 2,303
21,861
i 992
21,861
1922
11,861
G rand to ta l.............. 5,488
6,420 23,657
26,791 24,058
23,720 17,608
18,062 16,309
16,313
6,395
1 Through general inspector, K a n sa s C ity, Mo.
2 T hrough H udson, S. D ak., b ran ch of M inneapolis office.
Figures for en tire season.
WORK OF STATE AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT BUREAUS IN THE
UNITED STATES AND OF PROVINCIAL EMPLOYMENT BUREAUS IN
CANADA.
In the following table data are presented for August, 1915, and
August, 1916, relative to the operations of public employment offices
in the United States and in Canada. For offices in the United
States, figures are furnished for State employment bureaus in 15
States, municipal employment bureaus in 7 States, State-city em
ployment bureaus in 2 States, a Federal-State employment bureau in
1 State, and a city-private employment bureau in 1 State. Data
are furnished for 2 provincial employment bureaus in Canada.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1419]
10
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
O P E R A T IO N S O F P U B L IC E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S , A U G U ST , 1915 A N D 1916.
UNITED STATES.
S tate a n d city .
Persons applying
for w ork.
A pplica Persons
Persons
tions from asked for
referred to Positions
filled.
em ploy b y em
positions.
New
R e
ployers. registra
ers.
newals.
tions.
California (m unicipal):
B erkeley—
158
August, 1915......... ..............................
256
Angnst, 1915.......................................
S a c ra m e n to 144
August., 1915.......................................
204
A ugust, 1916........................................
California (S tate-city):
Los A n g eles2—
An gnst, 1915..... .............. .................
1,540
Angnst, 1916.......................................
California (State):
O akland—
943
A vigil st, 1916.......................................
Sacram ento—
459
_An gust, 1916........................................
San Francisco—
1,571
A nglist. 1916........................................
Total:
Angrist, 1915 _
...............
Angiist, 1916.............................
Colorado (State):
Colorado Springs—
Anglist, 1915.......................................
(x)
Angnst, 1916........................................
0)
Denver" No. 1—
Angnst, 1915...... .................................
V)
A nglist, 1916.......................................
0)
D enver No. 2—
A ngnst. 1915........................................
C)
August., 1916........................................
0)
P u e b lo —
A ugust, 1915........................................
C1)
A ugust, 1916........................................
V)
Total:
August., 1915.............................
Angnst, 1916.............................
C onnecticut (S tate):
B ridgeport—
A ugust, 1915. ................. ...................
343
938
A ugust, 1916........................................
H artfo rd —
509
A ugust, 1915........................................
778
A ugust, 1916........................................
N ew H a v e n 310
A ugust, 1915........................................
852
A ugust, 1916........................................
N orw ich—
54
A ugust, 1915........................................
148
A ugust, 1916........................................
W aterb u rv —
287
A ugust, 1915........................................
157
A ugust, 1916........................................
T otal:
A ugust, 1915.............................
A u g u st, 1916................
Illinois (m unicipal):
Chicago—
25
A ugust, 1916........................................
Illinois (S tate):
Chicago—
A ugust, 1915........................................
0)
A ugust, 1916........................................
V)
E a st St". Louis—
A ugust, 1915........................................
(')
A u g u st, 1916........................................
(l)
Peoria—
A ugust, 1915........................................
V)
A ugust! 1916........................................
C1)
1 N ot re p o rte d .
2 In c lu d e s Los Angeles
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[420]
171
276
78
87
392
391
101
51
0)
3,766
1,647
1,365
171
258
171
258
C1)
(l)
392
391
392
391
(»)
V)
V)
3,738
3,500
3,601
416
356
1,297
635
369
1,220
803
2,418
1,440
329
1,689
1,586
3,718
2,418
728
2,849
2,173
563
10,145
4,063
8,812
840
870
1,479
0)
1,227
G)
(i)
V)
1,104
C1)
248
446
(l)
409
(i)
V)
C1)
371
(!)
148
722
V)
584
(!)
V)
C1)
453
C1)
257
491
(l)
590
(1)
0)
(i)
233
148
257
482
0)
2,410
V)
1,478
(!)
C1)
(i)
G)
(i)
(1)
(>)
G)
(>)
303
845
G)
(i)
(i)
(i)
(l)
(l)
G)
«
389
485
0)
(!)
V)
C1)
8
G)
(1)
231
664
V)
0)
0)
0)
(i)
V)
(!)
G)
50
144
V)
V)
0)
0)
( l)
(l)
V)
G)
144
112
G)
(l)
1,117
2,250
912
331
912
904
(1)
841
9,814
6,805
12,482
(')
G)
h
692
9,049
642
1,925
1,043
1,925
(1)
(!)
0)
C1)
621
1,425
563
1,043
628
912
0)
(l)
V)
C1)
521
847
d istric t, 8 counties.
O)
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
11
O P E R A T IO N S O P P U B L IC E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S . A U G U ST , 1915 A N D 1916—C ontinued.
UNITED STATES—Continued.
S tate and city.
Illinois (S tate)—Concluded.
Springfield—
A ug u st, 1915.......
.........................
A ugust, 1916........................................
R ock Island-M oline—
A ugust, 1915................................................
A ugust, 1916................................................
Rockford—
A ugust, 1915................................................
..............................
A ugust, 1 9 1 6 ....
Total:
In d ia n a (S tate):
F o rt W ayne—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
S outh B end—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Total:
Persons applying
for w ork.
A pplica Persons
Persons
tions from asked for
referred to Positions
filled.
em ploy b y em
positions.
New
R e
ployers. registra
ers.
newals.
tions.
(i)
C)
267
670
430
684
0)
C1)
(1)
0)
265
002
(>)
(i)
410
1,335
510
737
(»)
(*)
(>)
0)
408
627
(!)
(>)
395
1,502
491
1,294
(l)
0)
(»)
C1)
389
1,031
0)
912
2,896
13,912
209
326
288
522
223
385
74
67
297
452
285
375
167
223
298
922
405
452
64
32
292
401
260
357
589
853
545
732
103
70
27
51
17
36
1,124
590
140
280
86
145
0)
590
590
140
870
86
735
Iow a (S tate):
Des M o in e s A ugust, 1916........................................
K ansas (S tate):
Topeka—
K e n tu ck y (city-private):
Louisville—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
K en tu ck y (State):
Louisville—
A ugust, 1916........................................
Total:
M assachusetts (State):
B oston—
A ugust, 1915........................................
August, 1916........................................
F a ll R ivers—
Springfield—
August, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
W orcester—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Total:
0)
31
436
120
16
21
30
57
45
68
389
140
389
492
350
590
590
2 768
2 , 280
1,580
2,561
3 943
3 1,356
0)
0)
^ 2,757
4 3,617
1,225
1,645
650
1,185
931
1,788
3 538
3 949
(!)
0)
< 1,156
« 2,137
713
1,224
457
1,077
608
1,337
3 531
3 596
0)
(')
4 843
4 1,385
390
731
« 4,756
4 7,139
2,328
3,000
0)
171
171
0)
98
1,356
Michigan (State):
B attle Creek—
199
277
73
August, 1916........................................
B ay C ity—
133
184
52
August, 1916........................................
D etroit—
(')
August, 1915........................................
0)
0)
5,246
1,609
(')
August, 1916........................................
F lin t0
)
0)
A ugust, 1915.......................................
0)
961
1,182
108
August^ 1916....................................... 1
1 N ot reported.
2 N um ber applying for work.
3 N um ber w ho w ere registered.
< N um ber of offers of positions.
6 Closed in A ugust, 1915, a n d A ugust, 1916.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
18
[421]
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
C1)
(')
961
98
2,033
4,315
361
961
12
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
O P E R A T IO N S O F P U B L IC E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S , A U G U ST , 1915 A N D 1916—Continued.
UNITED STATES—Continued.
S tate and city .
Michigan (S tate)—Concluded.
G rand R apids—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Jackson—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Kalamazoo—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916...................................... :
Lansing—
A ugust, 1916........................................
Muskegon—
A ugust, 1916........................................
Saginaw—
August, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Total:
A ugust, 1915.............................
A ugust, 1916.............................
M innesota (S tate):
D u lu th —
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
M inneapolis—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
St. P a u l—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Persons applying
for work.
A pplica Persons
Persons
tions from asked for
referredto Positions
filled.
em ploy b y em
New
positions.
ployers. registra
R e
ers.
new
als.
tions.
0)
462
0)
890
0)
871
0)
0)
0)
855
588
855
0)
426
(■)
868
0)
816
0)
0)
0)
796
565
796
0)
C)
509
0)
479
0)
(>)
0)
479
377
479
179
0)
74
239
259
0)
228
228
69
342
253
0)
242
234
168
0)
1,047
0)
942
0)
C)
0)
942
665
942
(i)
4,772
4,589
9; 079
0)
(0
0)
0)
0)
(!)
0)
0)
C1)
0)
879
1,498
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
(*)
(>)
1,980
2,307
0)
0)
0)
0)
C1)
C1)
0).
0)
C1)
0)
1,158
1,609
(1)
0)
4,017
5 ,414
-
Total:
A ugust, 1915.............................
A ugust, 1916.............................
M ontana (m unicipal):
B u tte —
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
New Y ork (m unicipal):
New Y ork C ity—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
New Y ork (S tate):
A lbany—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
B rooklyn—
A u g u st, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Buffalo—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A u g u st, 1916........................................
R ochester—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916.......................................
Syracuse—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
T otal:
A ugust, 1915.......... ..................
A ugust, 1916.............................
Ohio ( State-city)7
A kron—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916..................... .................
C incinnati—
A ugust, 1915.........................................
A ugust, 1916.........................................
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
437
500
437
500
700
650
0)
0)
470
490
429
460
406
2,188
553
2,476
1,756
2,491
(0
(»)
1,035
3,729
440
1,985
220
533
329
764
664
487
164
171
451
696
228
407
479
1,311
778
1,890
1.450
1,116
658
548
1,097
2,110
494
1,230
447
960
621
1.757
1,009
1,120
342
67
646
1,659
422
1,222
550
1,113
817
1,602
837
794
148
317
844
1,556
503
873
548
783
768
905
1,053
514
90
119
915
834
523
647
4,988
10', 584
2,610
6 364
1,460
1,764
1,282
756
2,130
1,298
1,363
1,623
1,119
1,405
1,297
0)
1,672
0)
1 N ot rep o rted .
■2,146
1,424
3,812
2,882
1,570
1,665
1,154
989
0)
0)
[422]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
13
O P E R A T IO N S O F P U B L IC E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S , A U G U ST , 1915 A N D 1916—Continued.
UNITED STATES—Continued.
S tate and city .
Ohio (S tate-city)—Concluded.
Cleveland—
A ugu st, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1910........................................
C olum bus—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugu st, 1916........................................
D ayton—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916...................................
Toledo—
A ugust, 1915...................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Y oungstow n—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Persons applying
for work."
A pplica Persons
Persons
tions from asked for
referred to Positions
em ploy b y em
fi lied.
New
positions.
ers.
ployers. registra
R e
newals.
tions.
(l)
0)
4,449
8,321
2,958
2,769
7,816
7,296
4,097
7,181
3,421
5,858
0)
0)
1,401
2,565
833
813
2,485
2,238
1,366
2,320
1,198
1,919
0)
(1)
761
1,288
805
771
1,663
1,120
615
1,041
598
946
(!)
(0
1,987
4,484
1,582
1,401
2,093
2,162
1,825
2,676
1,698
2,267
0)
(*)
635
1,507
728
761
773
1,145
654
1,360
594
1,127
1 7 , 866
U , 511
T otal:
A ugust, 1915.............................
A ugust, 1916.............................
O klahom a (S tate):
E n id —
A ugu st, 1915........................................
A u g u st, 1916..................... .................
Muskogee—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
O klahom a C ity—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
T ulsa—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Total:
A ugust, 1915.......................
A ugust, 1916............................
P ennsylvania (S tate):
A ltoona—
A ugust, 1916........................................
H arrisburg —
A ugust. 1916........................................
Johnstow n—
A ugust, 1916........................................
Philadelphia—
A ugust, 1916.......................................
P ittsb u rg h —
A ugust, 1916.......... .............................
Total;
A ugust, 1916.............................
R hode Island (S tate):
Providence—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Texas (m unicipal):
F o rt W orth —
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
S outh D akota (F ed eral-S tate):
H u ro n —
A ugust, 1916........................................
V irginia (m unicipal):
R ichm ond—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
W ashington (Federal-m unicipal):
Tacom a 3.......................................................
Q78*3
225
113
0)
0)
229
153
6)
(1)
(l)
(i)
192
100
99
213
0)
C1)
160
215
(!)
(1)
(0
(1)
121
191
385
526
0)
0)
6)
0)
477
454
0)
C1)
336
443
151
693
0)
0)
(l)
0)
(1)
0)
(1)
0)
789
1,427
167
701
0)
537
54
(l)
795
230
112
140
693
24
24
207
188
6)
185
74
16
67
54
(»)
797
650
481
820
713
0)
1,373
738
180
585
529
1,703
1,508
302
269
375
324
204
136
115
187
201
616
2 422
475
(')
78
3,691
2 1,861
218
263
355
547
2 526
564
159
248
(i)
0)
375
324
220
381
189
363
(i)
1,861
1,861
C1)
(‘)
367
658
202
280
27
1 N ot reported.
2 N um ber applying for work.
s Figures for th is office are carried regularly in th e R e v ie w u nder th e subject “ Federal em ploym ent
w ork of th e D ep artm en t of Labor, ” to which th e reader is referred.
61766°—16-
-2
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[423]
14
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
O P E R A T IO N S O F P U B L IC E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S , A U G U ST, 1915 A N D 1916—Concluded.
UNITED STATES—Concluded.
State a n d city.
W ashington (m unicipal):
E v e re tt—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Spokaiie—
A ugust, 1915........................................
Persons applying
for w ork.
A pplica Persons
Persons
tions from asked for
referred to Position
filled.
em ploy b y em
positions.
New
R e
ployers. registra
ers.
new
als.
tions.
(9
(9
(9
(9
705
(9
4,231
2 ,7G0
(9
(9
(9
(9
(9
(9
Total:
A nglist. 1915
A n g n s t 1916
(9
(9
173
508
1,028
3,710
944
3 ,6C9
1,028
3,710
1,117
4; 177
CANADIAN PROVINCIAL EMPLOYMENT BUREAUS.
Province an d city .
Quebec (Province):
M o n tre a lA ugust, 1916........................................
Quebec—
A ugust, 1915........................................
A ugust, 1916........................................
Persons applying
for work.
A pplica Persons
Persons
tions from asked for
referred to Position
filled.
em ploy b y em
positions.
New
Re
ployers. registra
ers.
newals.
tions.
(9
931
96
328
(9
(9
418
2 152
2 155
(9
(9
(9
Total:
590
(9
(9
71
104
(9
71
610
590
1 N ot reported.
506
2 N um ber applying for work.
EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES IN AUGUST, 1916.
Continuing information of a like character given in the M o n t h l y
R e v i e w for several months past, there are presented below four
tables designed to show the changes in the amount of employment in
representative establishments in 10 manufacturing industries between
August, 1915, and August, 1916, and between July, 1916, and August,
1916.
It will be noted from the following table that the number of em
ployees in August, 1916, was greater than the number of employees
in August, 1915, in all of the 10 industries listed, except in cotton
manufacturing and cigar manufacturing. The greatest increase
shown is 25.3 per cent for the iron and steel industry. The amount
'of money paid out to employees in August, 1916, was greater than
in August, 1915, in all of the 10 industries. The greatest increase
in the amount of money paid out was 50.8 per cent in the iron and
steel industry.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[424]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
15
C O M PA R ISO N O F E M P L O Y M E N T IN ID E N T IC A L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S IN A U G U ST , 1915,
A N D A U G U ST, 1916.
In d u stry .
E stab
lish
m ents
to
which
inqui
ries
were
sent.
N u m b er on pay
E sta b
roll in A ugust— Per
lish
cent of
m ents
increase
rep o rt Period of pay
( + ) °r
roll.
ing for
de
A ugust
crease
1916
1915
both
(-)•
years.
A m ount of pay
roll in A ugust—
1915
1916
P er
cent
of in
crease
( + ) or
de
crease
(-)•
86
89
66 1 w eek.......... 47,416
45 ........d o ........... 36,079
56,900
35,580
+20.0
- 1 .4
$569,856
298,530
$738,687
332,913
+29.6
+ 11.5
19
82
14 ........d o ........... 10,000
50 ........d o ........... 24,337
10,814
26,517
4- 8.1
+ 9.0
108,467
216,659
131,629
246,737
+ 21.3
+ 13.9
56
64
83
40 ........d o ........... 29,199
47 2 w eeks........ 18,378
39 1 w eek .......... 19; 041
31,481
20,040
22,090
+ 7.8
+ 9.0
+ 16.0
277,445
378,923
259,851
369,948
453,143
355,506
+33.3
+ 19.6
+36.8
+25.3 4,076,274 6,125,481
792,490 1,082,099
+22.7
+50.3
+36.5
185,652
+ 3.1
Boots a n d shoes___
Cotton m anufactur
ing.
Cotton finishing___
H osiery an d underwear.
W o o le n .....................
Silk ............
Men’s ready-m ade
clothing.
Iron and s te e l..........
Car building a n d
142
80
98 £ m o n th ........ 130,696 163,783
28 ........d o ........... 27,599 33,871
Cigar m anufacturing
107
56
1 w eek .......... 18,240
17,745
- 2.7
191,348
In the table that follows, showing the smaller number of establish
ments reporting the number of employees actually working on the last
full day of the reported pay periods, it will be seen that more per
sons were employed on the specified day in August, 1916, than in
August, 1915, in all the industries listed, except in cotton manufac
turing and cigar manufacturing. The greatest increase reported
(22.7 per cent) was in the iron and steel industry :
C O M PA R ISO N O F E M P L O Y M E N T IN ID E N T IC A L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S ON LA ST F U L L
D A Y ’S O P E R A T IO N IN A U G U ST, 1915, A N D A U G U ST , 1916.
E stab
lish
m ents
report Period of pay
ing for
roll.
August,
both
years.
In d u stry .
"Rnnts and shoes.................................................................
C otton m a n u factu rin g ..................... .'..............................
C otton finishing.................................................................
H osiery and n n d e rw e ar..................................................
W oolen................................................................................
S ilk .......................................................................................
Men’s ready-m ade elnth in g
___________
Iron a nd steel . .
...............................................
Car building a n d re p a irin g .............................................
Cigar m anufactu rin g ........................................................
37
32
11
15
39
29
10
83
26
31
1 w eek ..........
........d o ...........
........d o ...........
........d o ...........
........d o ...........
2 w eeks........
1 w eek..........
J m o n th ........
.! . . .d o ..........
1 w eek..........
N um ber actually
w orking on la st P er cent
full day of re
of in
ported pay pe
crease
riod in A ug u st— ( + ) or
decrease
(->■
1916
1915
20,408
21 ; 294
8,145
9,972
26,835
9,300
859
104,788
23; 192
6', 874
23,018
20,912
8,939
10;250
29;326
10,414
896
128,618
27,734
6,299
+ 12.8
- 1.8
+ 9.7
+ 2.8
+ 9.3
+ 12.0
+ 4.3
+22.7
+ 19.6
- 8.4
An examination of the next table shows that in 3 of the 10 in
dustries listed there was an increase in the number of employees
on the pay roll in August, 1916, over July, 1916, but a reduction is
shown for the other industries. In the amount of money paid out
to employees in wages half of the industries listed show an in-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[425]
16
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
crease and the other half show a reduction. The greatest increase
is 12.2 per cent in the iron and steel industry and the greatest reduc
tion is 5.3 per cent in the woolen industry :
C O M PA R ISO N OP E M P L O Y M E N T IN ID E N T IC A L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S IN JU L Y , 1916, AN D
A U G U ST, 1916.
In d u stry .
Boots and shoes. . . .
C otton m anufacturmg.
C otton finishing___
Hosiery an d underwear.
W oolen......................
S ilk .............................
Men’s ready-m ade
clothing.
Iro n and ste e l..........
Car building and
repairing.
Cigar m anufacturing
E sta b
lish
m ents
to
which
inqui
ries
were
sent.
E sta b
lish
m ents
report
ing for
July
and
A ugust.
N um ber on p ay
roll in—
Per
cent of
increase
( + ) or
de
Ju ly , August, crease
1916.
1916.
(-).
Period of
pay roll.
A m ount of pay
roll in —
Per
cent
of in
crease
( + ) or
A ugust,
de1916.
crease
(-)•
July,
1916.
86
89
51 1 w eek.......... 47,147
51 ........d o ........... 39,651
46,666
38,826
-1 .0
- 2 .1
$626,291
357,064
$612,736
356,068
- 2.2
- .3
19
82
13 ........do ...........
50 ........do ...........
8,339
27,836
8,417
27,421
+ .9
-1 .5
96,627
258,277
96,137
255,924
— .5
- .9
56
64
83
41 ........do ........... 33,056
46 2 w eeks........ 18,310
32 1 w eek .......... 14,636
31,644
18,096
14'019
-4 . 3
-1 .2
-4 .2
393,106
387,439
188,959
372,088
401.566
210.567
- 5.3
+ 3.6
+ 11.4
+ 1.9 5,358,951 6,015,415
+ 1.4
876,140 ' 965^ 099
+ 12.2
+ 10.2
-6 .3
+ 4.9
142
80
107
101 | m o n th ....... 158,848 161,814
24 -T.. .d o ........... 29' 090 29'495
55
1 w eek .......... 18,524
17,362
174,778
183,274
In the next table, which embraces a smaller number of establish
ments, the hosiery and underwear, iron and steel, and car building
and repairing industries show a larger number of employees as
actually working on the last full day of the reported pay period in
August, 1916, than in July, 1916. A decline in the number of such
employees is shown in all the other industries. The greatest reduc
tion is 5.1 per cent, in the boot and shoe industry.
C O M PA R ISO N OP E M P L O Y M E N T IN ID E N T IC A L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S ON L A S T F U L L
D A Y ’S O P E R A T IO N IN JU L Y , 1916, A N D A U G U ST , 1916.
In d u stry .
E sta b
lish
m ents
report
ing for
July
and
August.
26 1 w eek..........
:14 ........d o ...........
8 ........d o ...........
14 ........d o ...........
40 ........do ...........
30 2 w eeks........
7 1 w eek..........
95 J m o n th .......
22 ........d o ...........
30 1 w eek..........
Boots a n d shoes..............
C otton m a n u fa c tu rin g ..
C otton finishing..............
Hosiery and underw ear.
W oolen..............................
Silk
Men’s ready-m ade clothing
Iron and steel........................
Car building and repairing.
Cigar m an u factu rin g...........
1 Increase of less th a n one-tenth of 1 per cent.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Period of
pay roll.
N um ber a ctually
w orking on la st
full day of re
ported p a y pe
riod in —
July,
1916.
A ugust,
1916.
14,203
22,965
6,038
10,314
30, 749
9,229
466
130,167
23,621
6,381
13,478
22, 752
5,906
10,316
29,489
9,093
459
132,035
23, 797
6,380
P e r cent
of in
crease
( + ) or
decrease
(-).
- 5 .1
-
- 4 .1
—
1.5
—1. 5
+ 1.4
+ .7
( 2)
2 Decrease of less th a n one-tenth of 1 per cent.
[426]
2.2
0)
M O N TH LY REVIEW OP TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
17
RECENT CHANGES IN WAGE RATES.
Inquiry was made, on the volume of employment schedule sent to
reporting establishments, as to changes in wage rates for the period
July 15, 1916, to August 15, 1916. In many instances no definite
reply was received, and in such cases it is probably safe to assume
that there was no change in the wage rates. In the textile indus
tries—cotton manufacturing, cotton finishing, hosiery and under
wear, woolen, and silk—as well as in the boot and shoe industry and
in cigar manufacturing, wage rates are reported as practically sta
tionary, a total of only four increases being reported from the estab
lishments rendering reports. In the car building and repairing in
dustry, one establishment reports an increase of 20 per cent to 9 per
cent of the force and an increase of 3 per cent to 5 per cent of the
force. In the men’s ready-made clothing industry an increase of
5 per cent to a part of the force is reported by one establishment and
an increase of 10 per cent to a part of the force by another establish
ment. The greatest number of increases in wage rates is reported
for the iron and steel industry. Three establishments report in
creases ranging from 5 to 16f per cent to all employees. Twelve
establishments report increases ranging from 5 to 16§ per cent to a
part of the force, the high rate being reported in several cases for
puddlers. One establishment reports an increase in rate to furnace
men of 15 cents a day to 12-hour men and 10 cents a day to 10hour men.
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS, MARCH TO AUGUST, 1916.
According to data compiled from various sources by the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of strikes and lockouts
during the six months March to August, 1916, inclusive, was 2,006.
The number similarly compiled during the corresponding months of
the year 1915 was 633. The total number of strikes recorded for the
eight months of 1916 is 2,329.
The following table shows the number of strikes and lockouts be
gun in each of the months March to August, 1916, inclusive, together
with 174 strikes and lockouts reported as having occurred during
that period, although the month in which they began was not re
ported. The number of strikes compiled during the corresponding
months of the year 1915 is also given. In comparing these figures
it must be borne in mind that, although the number of strikes in
1916 has undoubtedly been larger than those in the corresponding
months of 1915, the sources of the bureau in obtaining data in regard
to strikes have also increased, and the difference between the two
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[427]
18
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
years is therefore not so great as the figures would tend to show.
The strikes and lockouts were distributed as follows:
N U M B E R O F S T R IK E S A N D L O C K O U TS B E G IN N IN G IN EA C H M O N TH , M ARCH TO
A U G U ST , IN C L U S IV E , 1916 A N D 1915.
K in d of dispute.
Strikes:
1916.......................................................
1915.......................................................
Lockouts:
1916.......................................................
1915.......................................................
Total:
1916............................................
1915...........................................
A u
gust.
M onth
not
stated.
March.
April.
218
75
320
91
500
111
260
54
251
94
222
138
165
1,936
563
8
14
13
16
16
11
16
6
2
14
6
9
9
70
70
226
89
333
107
516
122
276
60
253
108
228
147
174
2,006
633
May.
June.
July.
Total.
The above columns include disputes that began in the months indi
cated only, and are subjected to monthly revision. More detailed ac
counts of the disputes reported for each month preceding August
may be found in former numbers of the R e v i e w .
DISPUTES REPORTED DURING AUGUST, 1916.
The number of strikes during August shows a decrease from that
during the preceding four months. Probably the strike that attracted
the greatest amount of attention wTas that of the street-railway men
in New York City. Others of prominence were those of the miners
in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Arkansas; the culinary workers in San
Francisco; the machinists in Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Con
necticut; the freight handlers in Chicago; the cigar makers, leather
workers, barbers, raincoat workers, and paper-box manufacturers in
New York City; textile workers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
Pennsylvania; silk workers in New Jersey; milk drivers in St. Louis
and Cleveland; ice drivers in Memphis; shoemakers in New Hamp
shire, Massachusetts, and New York City; and coal-dock laborers at
Superior and Duluth.
The data in the following tables relate to 385 strikes and lockouts
concerning which information was received by the bureau during the
month of August. These include, in addition to the 228 strikes and
lockouts which began in August, 104 strikes and 3 lockouts which were
reported during the month, but began as follows: 54 strikes and 2
lockouts in July, 14 strikes in June, 6 strikes in May, 1 strike in
April, and 29 strikes and 1 lockout the dates of commencement of
which were not reported, but most of which probably occurred in
July or August. Inasmuch as strikes which start toward the end of
a month frequently do not come to the attention of the bureau until
after the report for the month has been prepared, it is probable that
corrected figures for August will show an increase over the number
of strikes herein reported for that month.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[428]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
19
Of the disputes reported during August, 18 strikes and 1 lockout
occurred east of the Mississippi and south of the Ohio and Potomac
rivers, 38 strikes and 1 lockout west of the Mississippi, and the
remaining 270 strikes and 7 lockouts in the district north of the Ohio
and Potomac rivers and east of the Mississippi. More than one-half
of these strikes occurred in four States.
S T A T E S IN W H IC H F IV E O R M O R E S T R IK E S A N D L O C K O U T S W E R E
D U R IN G A U G U ST, 1916.
REPO RTED
Strikes. Lockouts.
State.
P en n sy lv an ia.
New Y o rk .......
O hio..................
M assachusetts.
New Jersey___
Illinois..............
C onnecticut. . .
W isconsin........
M issouri............
R hode Is la n d .
T exas................
In d ia n a ............
M a ry la n d ........
25 other States
60
50
33
28
25
23
13
10
9
8
7
6
5
49
T o ta l___
326
Total.
i
1
60
54
35
28
25
23
13
10
10
8
7
6
6
50
9
335
4
2
1
The strikers were men in all but 15 strikes, which were confined to
women, 10 strikes which included both men and women, and 19
strikes and 2 lockouts in which the sex was not stated.
The industries in which four or more strikes and lockouts were
reported were as follows:
NUM BER
OF
S T R IK E S
AND
L O C K O U TS IN S P E C IF IE D
D U R IN G A U G U ST , 1916.
IN D U S T R IE S R E P O R T E D
Strikes. Lockouts.
In d u stry .
Total.
M etal tra d e s.......................
M ining.................................
T extile w orkers.................
Clothing in d u strie s..........
B uilding tra d e s.................
R ailroads............................
T eam sters...........................
C ity laborers......................
Cooks a nd w a ite rs............
P a p e r w orkers...................
S treet railw ay s..................
C hem ical w orkers.............
Clay w ork ers.....................
Iron a n d steel m ills..........
B akers.................................
Cigar m ak ers......................
F u rn itu re w orkers...........
M oving p ictu re operators
A ll others............................
54
55
31
25
24
12
9
10
9
7
7
0
6
6
4
4
4
4
49
2
1
50
55
31
26
24
12
12
10
9
9
7
6
6
6
4
4
4
4
50
T o tal.........................
326
9
335
1
3
2
Included in the above are 24 strikes of machinists, 15 of metal
polishers, and 6 of molders; 53 of the mining strikes were in coal mines.In 185 strikes and 8 lockouts the employees were connected with
unions; in 10 strikes and 1 lockout they were not so connected; in
7 strikes they were not connected with unions at the time of striking,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[429]
20
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
but became organized during the course of the strike; in tho
remaining 124 strikes it was not stated whether the strikers had
union affiliation or not.
The following table shows the causes of 257 of the strikes and lock
outs. In nearly 70 per cent of these the questions of wages or hours,
or both, were prominent.
P R IN C IP A L CA U SES O F S T R IK E S A N D LO C K O U TS R E P O R T E D D U R IN G A U G U S T , 1916
Cause.
Strikes. Lockouts.
F or increase of w ages.....................................................
Because of reduction of w ages........................................................
For increase of ho u rs......... .“. .............................................
For increase of wages and decrease of h o u rs ...............................
Because of unpaid'w ages.................................................................
General conditions.. . ..........................................
C onditions and wages..................................
Conditions, wages,“and h o u rs ..............................................
R ecognition of th e u n io n..................................................
R ecognition and w ages.........................
R ecognition and h o u rs................................
R ecognition, wages, and h o u rs...........................................
Because of discharge of em ployees................................................
Because of presence of nonunion m e n ......................................
In regard to th e agreem ent.................................................................
Jurisdictional................................................................
S y m p a th y ......................................................................
W an t foremen discharged.....................................
M iscellaneous.................................................
N ot reported.......................................
T o ta l.....................................................
1
Total.
88
3
18
39
4
5
6
1
13
9
2
7
14
33
3
1
1
3
22
54
1
1
3
23
55
326
9
335
1
1
3
1
89
3
19
39
4
6
6
1
16
10
2
7
14
33
3
1
1
In 192 of the strikes the number of persons involved was reported
to be 158,293, an average of 824 per strike. In 33 strikes, in each
of which the number involved was over 1,000, the strikers numbered
127,100, thus leaving 31,193 involved in the remaining 159 strikes,
or an average of 196 in each. In 4 lockouts the number reported to
be involved was 4,063, ranging from 3 to 3,500 in each.
In 246 strikes and 6 lockouts only one employer was concerned in
each disturbance; in 10 strikes, 2 employers; in 4 strikes, 3 em
ployers ; in 25 strikes and 2 lockouts, more than 3; in 41 strikes and
1 lockout the number of employers was not stated.
In 90 strikes reported as ending in August, 25 were won, 13 lost,
27 compromised; in 5 the strikers returned to work under promise
of the employer to arbitrate the matter in dispute; in 20 the result
was not reported. No lockouts were reported as ending in August.
The duration of 60 of these strikes was given as follows: One day
or less, 5; 2 to 3 days, 13; 4 to 7 days, 15; 1 to 2 weeks, 9; 3 to 4
weeks, 10; 1 to 3 months, 8. The duration of the 60 strikes was 892
days, or an average of 15 days each.
ARBITRATION OF RAILROAD LABOR DISPUTES.
In response to a resolution adopted by the Senate on May 3, 1916,
the United States Board of Mediation and Conciliation prepared and
filed on May 12, 1916, a report setting forth in detail the history of
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[430]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
21
all railroad labor arbitrations, including the effect in each instance
upon the rates of pay and working conditions of employees.1 The re
port includes an analysis of 21 arbitration proceedings held under
the provisions of Federal law, and in addition 4 arbitration proceed
ings not conducted under the provisions of law, covering the period
1898 to 1915. In the tables presented in connection with each case a
comparison has been made between rates of pay and working condi
tions prior and subsequent to the award of the arbitration boards.
The general plan followed in the presentation of each case is as fol
lows: (1) History of the case; (2) articles of the arbitration agree
ment; (3) testimony and argument of the employees; (4) testimony
and argument of the railroads; (5) comparison of requests of em
ployees with award of the arbitration board; (6) the application of
the award of the board to railroad operating conditions, and (7)
changes in the rates of pay and working conditions by individual
railroads as the result of the arbitration award.
The first law dealing with the adjustment of labor controversies
between the transportation companies and the employees was ap
proved October 1, 1888. It provided for voluntary arbitration and,
substantially, for compulsory investigation. No provision was made
for enforcing any award of the board of arbitration and the provi
sions of the act were never utilized. This law was superseded in
June, 1898, by the so-called Erdman Act. It included only em
ployees directly engaged in the movement of trains—engineers, fire
men, conductors, trainmen, switchmen, and telegraphers. Mediation
was purely voluntary, and the mediators had no power to intervene
on their own initiative. During the first eight and one-half years
following the passage of this law only one attempt was made to
utilize it, but within the next five years its provisions were invoked
more than sixty times, thus establishing the effectiveness of the law
and fully developing methods of procedure under its provisions.
The next step in legislation relative to mediation and arbitration was
the passage of the so-calfed Newlands law, approved July 15, 1913.
It created the offices of commissioner of mediation and conciliation
and assistant commissioner of mediation and conciliation, and fur
ther provided that the President shall also “ designate not more than
two other officials of the Government who have been appointed by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who, together with the
commissioner of mediation and conciliation, shall constitute a board
to be known as the United States Board of Mediation and Concilia
tion.”
1 R a ilro a d la b o r a r b itr a tio n s . R e p o r t o f th e U n ite d S ta te s B o a rd of M e d ia tio n a n d
C o n c ilia tio n on th e e ffe c ts o f a r b i t r a t i o n p ro c e e d in g s u p o n r a te s of p a y a n d w o rk in g c on
d itio n s o f r a ilr o a d em p lo y e es. P r e p a r e d u n d e r th e d ire c tio n o f th e B o a rd by W. J e t t
L a u c k . S. Doc. 493, 6 4 th C ong., 1 s t sess. W a s h in g to n , 1916, 608 pp.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[431]
22
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
The law in general reenacted the provisions of the Erdman law
relative to mediation. It also provided for three-member boards of
arbitration as authorized by the Erdman Act, but, in addition, in
order to meet the criticism that three-member boards placed too
much power in the hands of the neutral arbitrator, it provided fur
ther for six-member boards of arbitration, composed of two repre
sentatives from each party to a controversy, and two neutral mem
bers representing the public.
The immediate cause for the passage of the present law grew out
of the demands of the conductors and trainmen which had been pre
sented, in a concerted movement, some months previously, to 42
eastern railroads in what is known as eastern associated territory.
The direct negotiations between the parties resulted in a refusal by
the railroads to grant the demands of the men, on the ground that
the rates of wages prevailing were adequate and that the employees
were working under favorable conditions. In accordance with the
usual procedure a strike vote was then taken, resulting in some 97
per cent of the employees voting to authorize their representatives to
order withdrawal from the service of the railroads unless their de
mands were complied with. In this emergency Congress enacted the
Newdands law.
The case just cited was thus the first one arbitrated under the
Newlands law. On July 26, 1913, the parties agreed to arbitrate, and
six arbitrators were selected. The first hearing was held on Septem
ber 11, in New York city, and the award was made on November 10,
following. In this controversy 42 railroads and about 20,000 con
ductors and 70,000 trainmen were involved.
Under the operation of the various laws mediation appears to have
taken the leading part. The report of Commissioner Neill1 shows
that there were in all 48 cases in which the services of the mediators
were invoked under the Erdman law from June 23, 1899, to Decem
ber 31, 1911. Seven of these cases were concerted movements, involv
ing many of the various classes of employees and, in each instance,
a large number of railroads, in one case as many as 64 roads. Of
these 48 cases coming under the Erdman law up to the end of 1911,
20 were settled through mediation, 8 were settled by mediation and
arbitration, and 4 by arbitration alone. In the remaining 16 cases
the services of the mediators, requested by one of the parties, were
either refused by the other or direct settlements were reached between
the parties after the services of the mediators had been invoked with
out employing them or resorting to arbitration.
Since the Newlands law was approved, 56 controversies have been
adjusted by the Board of Mediation and Conciliation. Of this num1 Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 98.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
£432]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
23
ber, 45 were settled by mediation and 11 by mediation and arbitra
tion. In 20 cases employees made application to the board for its
services, the railroads applied in 13 cases, and in 15 cases the rail
roads and their employees made joint application. In 8 cases the
board proffered its services, which were accepted.
Before entering upon an analysis of certain cases the report pre
sents a table showing the arbitration proceedings under the Erdman
law, including cases where mediation was first invoked and cases of
arbitration direct, from June 1, 1898, to December 31, 1911, and a
table giving the arbitrations under the Newlands law during the
fiscal year ended June 30, 1915. In connection with each case the
date of the award is shown, together with the members of the arbi
tration boards, the place of meeting, and the duration of the pro
ceedings.
The report here under review contains no general summary, but is
limited to a study of the effects of arbitration proceedings taken in
dividual^ upon rates of pay and working conditions. Increases in
rates of pay and improvements in working conditions secured
through mediation are not included.
EIGHT-HOUR LAW FOR CERTAIN RAILROAD EMPLOYEES.
A statute that has attracted particular attention both on account
of its provisions and of the circumstances under which it was en
acted, entitled “An act to establish an eight-hour day for employees
of carriers engaged in interstate and foreign commerce, and for
other purposes,” received presidential approval on September 3,
1916. The first eight-hour legislation of Congress was enacted in
1868, relating to the employment of labor on public works. It was
held to be directory and not mandatory, so that it was of little practi
cal effect. However, subsequent legislation has established the prin
ciple of a restricted eight-hour day for employees on public works,
overtime being forbidden except in cases of emergency. Similarly
restrictive and prohibitory is the 16-hour law for employees on rail
roads, with 9-hour and 13-liour limitations for train dispatchers
using the telegraph or telephone. The eight-hour day as prescribed
by State legislation for certain dangerous occupations is likewise
restrictive, overtime work being forbidden. The present statute
differs from the foregoing in that it declares that “ eight hours shall,
in contracts for labor and service, be deemed a day’s work and the
measure or standard of a day’s work for the purpose of reckoning
the compensation ” of certain employees in interstate commerce.
Overtime work is not forbidden and may extend up to the limitations
prescribed by the 16-hour law noted above, but work in excess of
eight hours must be paid at a rate not less than the pro rata rate
for the standard 8-hour workday. A commission is appointed to
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[433]
24
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
observe the operation of the law and must report not sooner than 6
months nor later than 9 months from January 1, 1917; and pending
the report of the commission and for 30 days thereafter no reduction
may be made in the present standard day’s wage.
P ublic—No. 252— S ixty -fourth Congress.
[II. R. 177 00 .]
S ection 1. Beginning January first, nineteen hundred and seventeen, eight
hours shall, in contracts for labor and service, be deemed a day’s work and the
m easure or standard of a day’s work for the purpose of reckoning the compen
sation for services of all employees who are now or may hereafter be employed
by any common carrier by railroad, except railroads independently, owned and
operated not exceeding one hundred miles in length, electric street railroads,
and electric interurban railroads, which is subject to the provisions of the act
of F ebruary fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, entitled “An act to regu
late commerce,” as amended, and who are now or may h ereafter be actually
engaged in any capacity in the operation of train s used for the transportation
of persons or property on railroads, except railroads independently owned and
operated not exceeding one hundred miles in length, electric street railroads,
and electric interurban railroads, from any State or T erritory of the United
States or the D istrict of Columbia, to any other S tate or T erritory of the United
States or the D istrict of Columbia, or from one place in a T erritory to another
place in the same T erritory, or from any place in the U nited States to an
adjacent foreign country, or from any place in the United S tates through a
foreign country to any other place in the United S tates: Provided, T hat
the above exceptions shall not apply to railroads though less th an one hundred
miles in length whose principal business is leasing or furnishing term inal or
tran sfe r facilities to other railroads, or are themselves engaged in tran sfe rs of
freight between railroads or between railroads and industrial plants.
Sec. 2. The P resident shall appoint a commission of three, which shall
observe the operation and effects of the institution of the eight-hour standard
workday as above defined and the facts and conditions affecting the relations
between such common carriers and employees during a period of not less than
six months nor more than nine months, in the discretion of the commission,
and w ithin thirty days thereafter such commission shall report its findings
to the President and Congress; th a t each member of the commission created
under the provisions of this act shall receive such compensation as may be
fixed by the President. T hat the sum of $25,000, or so much thereof as may
be necessary, be, and hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the United
S tates T reasury not otherw ise appropriated, for the necessary and proper
expenses incurred in connection w ith the work of such commission, including
salaries, per diem, traveling expenses of members and employees, and rent,
furniture, office fixtures and supplies, books, salaries, and other necessary
expenses, the same to be approved by the chairm an of said commission and
audited by the proper accounting officers of the Treasury.
S ec. 3. Pending the report of the commission herein provided for and for a
period of th irty days thereafter the compensation of railw ay employees subject
to this act for a standard eight-hour workday shall not be reduced below the
present standard day’s wage, and for all necessary tim e in excess of eight
hours such employees shall be paid a t a rate not less than the pro ra ta rate
for such standard eight-hour workday.
S ec. 4. Any person violating any provision of this act shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than $100 and not
more than $1,000, or imprisoned not to exceed one year, or both.
Approved, September 3, 1916.
Approved, September 5, 1916.
LEGAL REGULATION OF LENGTH OF WORKING-DAY.
E IG H T H O U R S .
Public employees and employees on public works (30 States and Territo
ries).—D istrict of Columbia, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, In
diana, Kansas, Kentucky, M aryland, M assachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Mon-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[434]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
25
tana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, W est Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming,
H aw aii, Porto Rico, and the United States. The 8-hour day for public employees
is fixed by the constitutions of Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, New
Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.
Mines (l'i States).-—Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri,
Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and
Wyoming.
Smelters, reduction works, etc. (9 States).—Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming.
Electric light and power plants (1 State).—Arizona.
Coke ovens (3 States).—Alaska, Arizona, and Colorado.
Blast furnaces (2 S tates).—Arizona and Colorado.
Cement and plaster mills (2 States).—Arizona and Nevada.
Plate-glass works (1 State).—Missouri.
Rolling, rod, and stamp mills (5 States).—Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,
and Wyoming.
Tunnels (3 States).—Arizona, California, and Montana.
High-air pressure (2 States).—New Jersey and New York.
Irrigation works (1 State).—Montana.
Railroad telegraphers (6 States).—A rkansas, Connecticut, M aryland, Ne
vada, Texas, and W est Virginia.
Day’s work unless otherwise stipulated (9 States).—California, Connecticut,
Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
N IN E H O U R S .
Railroad telegraphers (5 States).—D istrict of Columbia, Nebraska, North
Carolina, Oregon, and the United States.
Telephone operators (1 State).—Montana.
Street railways (1 State).—M assachusetts.
Interlocking-tower operators, railroad (1 State).—Missouri.
TEN H O U R S.
Saw and planing mills (1 State).-—Arkansas.
Bakeries (1 State).—New Jersey.
Brickyards (corporation) (1 State).—New York.
Drug stores (2 States).—California and New York.1
Cotton and woolen mills (2 States).—Georgia and Maryland.
Manufacturing establishments (1 State).—Mississippi;
Street railways (5 States).—Louisiana, New York, Rhode Island, and W ash
ington.
Day’s work unless otherwise stipulated (7 States).—Florida, Maine, Michi
gan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
ELE V EN H O U R S .
Grocery stores {1 State).—New York.
TW ELV E H O URS.
Railroad telegraphers.—Island of Porto Rico.
Railroad trainmen.—Island of Porto Rico.
Street railways (5 States).—California, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
and South Carolina.
These States have no provision in law for the lim it of a day’s w ork: Ala
bama, Delaware, Iowa, N orth D akota, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia.
1 S e v e n ty h o u rs p e r w eek , 6 h o u rs o v e rtim e a llo w e d to m a k e s h o r te r s u c c e e d in g w eek ;
n o t o v e r 132 h o u rs in a n y tw o c o n se c u tiv e w eeks.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[435]
26
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
T H IR T E E N H O U R S .
Railroad trainmen (2 S tates).—Florida and Georgia.
FO URTEEN HO URS.
Railroad trainmen (1 State).—Oregon.
F IF T E E N H O U R S .
Railroad trainmen (1 State).—Ohio.
Railroad telegraphers (1 State).—Ohio.
Street railways (1 State).—Ohio.
S IX T E E N H O U R S .
Railroad trainmen (21 States).—Arizona, A rkansas, California, Colorado,
D istrict of Columbia, Indiana, Iowa, K ansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, N orth Carolina, N orth Dakota,
South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and the United States.
Railroad telegraphers (7 States).—Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana,
Kansas, Missouri, and Montana.
T W E N T Y -F O U R H O U R S .
Railroad trainmen (1 State).—Michigan.
N o t e . —A Federal statute fixes the hours of labor of railroad trainmen at 16 per day,
and of train dispatchers and railroad telegraph operators at 9 per day (13 hours in
offices, etc., operated only in the daytime). Decisions of the United States Supreme
Court and of the State courts hold State laws fixing a different standard to be void
and unconstitutional in so far as interstate commerce is concerned; some courts also
hold that a distinction between interstate and intrastate operations is impracticable, so
that no law fixing a different standard is valid. Laws thus held void are those of Mis
souri, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Federal statute enacted at the
session of Congress just closed, “ to establish an eight-hour day,” does not restrict em
ployment to eight hours, but makes the eight-hour day the measure for the payment
of wages.
LAW AND ORDER IN INDUSTRY.1
Prior to the summer of 1910 the garment makers in New York
City had been working under conditions which to them seemed hope
lessly unfair and unjust, and failure on the part of the manufactur
ers to remedy the situation culminated in a strike involving approxi
mately 15,000 employers and nearly 60,000 workers. To terminate
the strike the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers’ Protective As
sociation and certain locals of the International Ladies’ Garment
Makers’ Union entered into a collective agreement, known as the
“ protocol,” which established a minimum scale for week workers,
maximum hours, number of holidays to be observed, limitation of
hours of overtime, prohibition of home work, requirement for electric
instead of foot power, etc. Other provisions were the “ preferential
union shop,” a board of arbitration, a board of sanitary control upon
which the public had representation, and a board of grievances.
The history of the protocol and a discussion of the difficulties at
tending the workings of the institutions created by it, together with
an outline of some of the business difficulties inherent in the cloak
and suit industry, a discussion of the important principle of dis
crimination among workers and freedom of selection on the basis of
skill—in other words, the preferential union shop—and, finally, the
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[436]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
27
advocacy of the creation of a representative national industrial board
whose duty should be to certify any agreement “ voluntarily come to ”
between employers and employees in order to guarantee the majority
u against the undermining of standards by unscrupulous competi
tors,” are set forth in a book entitled “ Law and Order in Industry.” 1
The book is largely devoted to the history of the events which cul
minated in the protocol, and the subsequent experience under its
provisions. “ The protocol undertook to better industrial conditions
by rational and peaceable methods. Upon the sanitary side it suc
ceeded. Upon the business side, while it did not wholly fail, it did
not meet the expectations of those who framed it.”
The author draws some inferences from the experience in the cloak
situation which he believes demonstrate conclusively that “ the faith
in collective bargaining is justified and that the system is practi
cable, provided adequate machinery is established and there is lead
ership on both sides fully expressing the spirit of the arrangement.”
In discussing the making of collective agreements generally, the
author takes up in some detail the question of recognition of the
union and suggests that—
P erhaps the cause of more conflicts than any other of those mentioned is the
“ closed shop.” The “ preferential union shop ” established through the pro
tocol of 1910 would seem to furnish the modus vivendi for elim ination of this
obstacle.
Two other obstacles are suggested: (1) Contract breaking and (2)
acts of violence against nonunion workers and the properties of em
ployers, and in conclusion it is asserted that—
In d ustrial peace and w elfare is not to be secured by acquiescence in violence
as a method, nor by attacking personally individual employers, or even the
whole class. Employers generally already are aw are of the value of collective
bargaining to society generally. They accept it in theory and in principle.
W hat they w ant to know is how to run business by it. We will get more col
lective agreements when we solve the problem of enforcement of standards.
Those who from the outside believe in the social value of joint agreements be
tween unions and employers’ associations m ust not rely upon violence or law
breaking as the means for securing them. They m ust face the business factors
squarely. When we shall do this we shall make progress.
The author suggests that by the formation of a national industrial
board constituted of leaders of the trade-unions, employers, and
public men and women, we would find a method for “ applying intelli
gently and constantly to trade agreements the force of public opinion
and at the same time utilize Federal power in making such agree
ments [wages, hours, conditions of employment, etc.], 4voluntarily
come to’ binding upon the unscrupulous and illegitimate minority
1 L a w a n d O rd e r in I n d u s tr y , by J u liu s H e n ry C ohen.
1916. 292 p p.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[437]
T h e M a c m illa n Co., N ew Y ork,
28
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
employer ” thus “ rendering the entire country a real service ” and
hastening the “ day of industrial welfare as well as industrial peace.” 1
RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD IN THE UNITED STATES.
Reports to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from approximately 725
retail dealers in 44 of the principal industrial cities of the United
States show a decline of less than 1 per cent from June 15 to July
15, 1916, in the combined price of the principal articles of food. This
movement was largely due to the decline in the price of beef. The
prices of pork and lard, however, made slight advances. The most
marked changes were in potatoes, which declined 19 per cent; eggs,
which advanced 7 per cent, and beans, which advanced 21 per cent.
The table which follows shows the relative retail prices on June
15 and July 15, 1916, of 26 articles covered by the bureau’s reports,
together with the average money prices on the same dates. The plus
and minus signs are used to indicate that the exact figure was slightly
more or slightly less than the average money price carried to three
places or the relative price with the terminal decimals dropped.
Thus, the relative price of all articles combined was but a fraction
more than 109 for June 15, 1916, and a fraction less than 109 for
July 15, 1916.
A V E R A G E M O N E Y R E T A IL P R IC E S A N D R E L A T IV E R E T A IL P R IC E S O F FO O D ON
J U N E 15 A N D JU L Y 15, 1916.
[The relative price shows th e per cent th a t th e average price on th e 15th of each m onth was of th e average
price for th e year 1915.]
Average money
price.
Article.
Sirloin steak ....................................................................
R ound s te a k ...................................................................
R ib ro a s t..........................................................................
Chuck ro a s t............ .....................................................
P late boiling beef...........................................................
P ork chop s......................................................................
Smoked bacon................................................................
Smoked h a m ..................................................................
L ard, p u r e .......................................................................
Hens".*..............................................................................
Canned salm o n ..............................................................
Eggs, stric tly fresh ........................................................
B u tte r, cream ery .........................................................
Cheesed.......................................................... ..................
Milk, fresh.......................................................................
F lour, w h e a t..................................................................
Corn m e a l........................................................................
R ice...................................................................................
Potatoes...........................................................................
O nions..............................................................................
Beans, n a v y ..........................................'.........................
P ru n e s ..............................................................................
R aisins, seeded..............................................................
Sugar, g ra n u la te d .........................................................
Coffee..................................................
T ea....................................................................................
U n it.
R elative price (av
erage price for the
year 1915=100).
Ju n e 15,
1916.
July 15,
1916.
June 15,
1916.
P o u n d .......... $0,286........d o ...........
.257+
........d o ...........
.224
........d o ...........
.180+
........d o ...........
.1 3 4 ........d o ...........
.2 3 2 ........d o ...........
.292+
........d o ...........
.2 9 2 ........d o ...........
. 172........d o ...........
.2 4 4 ........d o ...........
.202
Dozen...........
.2 9 5 P o u n d ..........
........d o ...........
.2 4 5 .090
Q u a rt...........
.933+
J-barrel bag.
.031 +
P o u n d ..........
........d o ...........
.0 9 1 P e c k .............
.4 2 9 .054 +
P o u n d ..........
........d o ...........
.0 9 6 ........d o ...........
.130+
___d o ...........
.1 2 7 ........d o ...........
.087+
........d o ...........
.302—
........d o ...........
.551 +
$0,283+
.257+
.220
.177+
. 131 +
.2 3 6 .295+
.294 +
. 175.241 +
.202
.3 1 5 .360+
.2 4 3 .090
.923+
.031 +
.0 9 1 .346+
.053 +
.1 1 6 .131 +
. 128+
.0 8 8 .3 0 2 .551 +
112+
113 +
112112110114 +
107
113 +
116
11710188
102106100
93+
100100+
187
157124
98+
101 +
132100100+
111 +
113110+
110+
108+
116108114—
118—
116101
94100105
100+
92+
100100+
151154150
99102133+
100100+
109+
109-
All a rtic le s c o m b in e d ...............................................
Ju ly 15,
1916.
1 In th is c o n n e c tio n i t is o f i n te r e s t to c o m p a re th e re c o m m e n d a tio n s of th e in d u s tr ia l
c o u n c il o f th e B r itis h B o a rd o f T r a d e in r e g a rd to in d u s tr ia l a g re e m e n ts . See B u lle tin
of th e U. S. B u re a u o f L a b o r S ta tis tic s . N o. 133.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[4381
29
M O N TH LY REVIEW OP TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
The table below shows the average money prices and the relative
prices of the same 26 articles on July 15 of each year from 1912
to 1916:
A V E R A G E M O N E Y R E T A IL P R IC E S A N D R E L A T IV E R E T A IL P R IC E S O P FO O D ON
JU L Y 15 O F EA C H Y E A R , 1912 TO 1916.
[The relative price shows th e p er cent th a t th e average price on th e 15th of Ju ly in each year was of the
average price for th e year 1915.]
Average m oney price Ju ly 15—
A rticle.
R elative price
U n it.
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
P o u n d . . . $0.242+ $0.263- 10.268- $0.265+ $0.283+
. . .d o ......... .207+ .2 3 0 - .241+ .2 3 7 - .257+
.220
__d o .........
.194
.202
.208
.204
.177+
. .d o .........
. 172+
. 164+
.1 2 7 - .1 2 3 - .131 +
. . .d o ..........
__d o ........... .193+ .2 1 8 - .2 2 4 - .211+ .2 3 6 . . .d o .......... .2 4 6 - .284+ .2 7 9 - .2 7 6 - .295+
__d o .........
.2 4 3 - .276+ .2 7 4 - .2 6 1 - .294+
__d o .........
.1 4 8 - . 160- . 154- .146+ .1 7 5 __d o .........
.2 0 0 - .2 1 9 - .2 2 1 - .206+ .241+
.200
.202
__d o .........
.278+
.2 9 5 - .298+ .2 7 5 - .3 1 5 D ozen —
.3 3 9 - .349+ .3 4 6 - .3 4 6 - .360+
Pound. ..
.2 3 1 - .2 4 3 . .d o ..........
.089+ .090
.090
Q u a rt ----.087+ .090
.993+ .923+
.8
0
3
.7
8
3
i-b a r r el
.8 7 3 bag.
Com m e a l......................... P o u n d . . . .030+ .028+ .0 3 0 - .031+ . 031+
.0 9 1 - .0 9 1 R ice .......................................... . .d o .........
Potatoes............................ P e c k .......
.328— .284+ .401+ . 2 1 8 - .346+
.0 3 5 - .053+
O nions . . .
Pound. ..
Rea,n s , n a v y _______
d o .........
.0 7 6 - . 116. 133— .131+
Prunes
R aisins, seeded............... __d o .........
.1 2 6 - .128+
Sugar, g ranulated ............. . . .d o ..........
.062+ .0 5 5 - . 052+ .0 7 0 - .0 8 8 .3 0 2 - .3 0 2 Coffee ..................................... . .d o .........
T ea .......................................... __d o .........
.551+ .551+
'
A ll a rtic le s c o m b in e d . .
Sirloin steak .....................
R ound stea k ....................
R ib ro a st...........................
C h u n k ro a s t.....................
P lato boiling boot............
P ork chops.......................
Smoked ta c o n ....................
Smoked h a m ...................
L ard, p u re ........................
H e n s . ..............................
Canned salm o n...............
Eggs, stric tly fresh ...........
B u tte r, cream ery ..............
Cheese................................
Milk, fresh .............................
Flour, w h e a t .......................
1912 1913 1914
95 103- 105+ 1049 1 - 101- 106+ 104+
9 7 - 101- 104- 102+
107+ 102+
104- 10195+ 107 110+ 104+
90+ 104- 102- 101—
94 + 107+ 106+ 101100+ 108- 104 + 99+
9 6 - 105- 106- 99+
100
111+
113—
+
110
110+
108+
116—
108114—
118—
116—
101
94-
83+ 8 8 - 8 9 - 82
94+ 97+ 9 6 - 96+ 100100 - 105
9 7 - 100- ÌÒÓ+ 99+ 100+
99+ 92+
8 7 - 80+ 78
9 6 - 9 1 - 95+ 100
143+ 124
94
100-
100
+
100
-
102-
+
100100+
100+
175- 95+ 151101 + 1549 8 - 150
100 + 9 9 -
83+ 79+ 106- 133+
100
100
94+ 9 8 - 101- 99+ 109-
A comparison of prices from July 15, 1912, to July 15, 1916,
shows an advance in the price of all articles combined of 16 per
cent, each article for which prices were carried for the 5-year period
showing an advance.
Round steak advanced 24 per cent from July 15, 1912, to July 15,
1916, which was a greater advance than shown for any other meat,
and sugar advanced 41 per cent, a greater advance than made by any
other article.
From July 15, 1915, to the same date in 1916 there was an advance
in all articles combined of 10 per cent. The only article which
made any noticeable decline in price was flour, 7 per cent. Sugar
advanced 25 per cent, and all meats advanced, from bacon 7 per cent,
to hens, 17 per cent.
RETAIL PRICES OF BREAD.
A resume of the price of bread in a few selected cities in the
United States for August 15, 1916, and for the same date in the three
preceding years is given herewith, compiled from reports received
61766°—16------3
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[439]
30
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from leading bakers in these
cities.
The prices given are the computed prices of a loaf scaled at 16
ounces—that is, 16 ounces of dough—based on reports of the actual
scaling weights of the 5-cent loaf sold. While it would be highly
desirable to present the price of the loaf as actually purchased by
the consumer, the complications involved in the relation of the scaled
weight to the weight of the bread when it passes over the retailer’s
counter were found to be such that it was impossible to do so. The
loss of weight in baking varies with the formula, with the style of
loaf, and with the temperature of the oven. Furthermore, the weight,
of course, varies with the time intervening between the removal of
the loaf from the oven and its delivery to the consumer, the loss by
evaporation also being partly determined by the conditions under
which the bread is kept and by the state of the atmosphere.
The customary loss in baking is variously estimated by bakers,
but it may be said that a loaf weighing 16 ounces before baking will,
when baked and cooled, weigh about 14^ ounces.
It must be borne clearly in mind that the price of bread varies
with the kind of bread and the quality of materials used in its
composition.
No fancy, special, graham, rye, or restaurant breads are included
in these prices.
The following table shows the price of a loaf of bread weighing
16 ounces before baking in 16 important industrial cities of the
United States on August 15 of each year 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916.
For instance, the weight of the 5-cent loaf as reported from Atlanta
varied so that the price of a loaf weighing 16 ounces before baking
was 5.6 cents on August 15, 1913; 5.4 cents on August 15, 1914;
6.1 cents on August 15, 1915, and 6.3 cents on August 15, 1916.
P R IC E O F A L O A F O F B R E A D W E IG H IN G 16 O U N C E S B E F O R E B A K IN G ON T H E
15TH O F A U G U ST, 1913 TO 1916.
Price of loaf on—
City.
A ugust
15,1913.
A tla n ta , G a.................................................................................
B altim ore. M d ...........................................................................
B irm ingham , A la ......................................................................
Chicago, 111..................................................................................
C incinnati, O h io ........................................................................
Cleveland, Ohio.........................................................................
D allas, T e x .................................................................................
D enver, Colo...............................................................................
M inneapolis, M in n ....................................................................
N ew H aven, C o n n ....................................................................
N ew O rleans, L a ........................................................................
N ew Y ork, N . Y .......................................................................
P o rtla n d , Oreg...........................................................................
S t. Louis, M o.............................................................................
San Francisco, C al....................................................................
W ashington, D . C.....................................................................
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[440]
$0.056
.050
.047
.052
.043
.050
.051
.049
.050
.053
.044
.055
.049
.049
.054
.052
A ugust
15,1914.
$0.054
.050
.049
.053
.044
.051
.050
.048
.050
.053
.041
.059
.049
.050
.054
.051
A ugust
15,1915.
$0.061
.057
.054
.058
.052
.054
.060
.055
.058
.056
.049
.060
.055
.062
.057
.056
A ugust
15, 1916.
$0.063
.056
.057
.058
.051
.056
.060
.057
.057
.057
.048
.059
.054
.057
.056
.059
M O N TH LY REVIEW OE TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
31
Prices on August 15, 1913, and August 15, 1914, were not mate
rially different, but from August 15, 1914, to August 15, 1915, there
were very noticeable changes. In every city there was an advance.
The greatest advance was in St. Louis, but there was a greater
decline in St. Louis from August 15, 1915, to August 15, 1916, than
in any other of the 16 cities.
From August 15, 1915, to August 15, 1916, there was an increase
in the price of bread in 6 of the cities and a decrease in 8 cities, while
in 2 cities the price was the same on the two dates.
FEDERAL CHILD-LABOR LAW.
The Sixty-fourth Congress at its session just closed enacted a law
entitled “An act to prevent interstate commerce in the products of
child labor, and for other purposes.” The purpose of the act is in
brief to prevent the interstate shipment of the products of any mine
or quarry in which children under the age of 16 years have been
employed, or the products of any manufacturing establishment in
which children under 14 years of age have been employed, or in
which children between the ages of 14 and 16 years have worked
more than eight hours in any day, or more than six days in any week,
or have been employed at nightwork. This enactment marks the
culmination of demands extending over a number of years, appar
ently the first bill of this intent being an amendment offered by
Senator Beveridge, of Indiana, on January 23, 1907, to a bill then
before Congress, the object of which was to regulate the employ
ment of children in the District of Columbia. This amendment fell
far short of the completeness of the present act, as did other bills
introduced in succeeding Congresses. In the Sixty-third Congress a
bill on this subject passed the House of Representatives, and was
referred to the Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce; this
committee reported the bill with amendments, but no further action
was taken. The present act received the earnest support of the
President, passing the House by a vote of 337 yeas to 46 nays, and
the Senate by a vote of 52 to 12, receiving the presidential approval
September 1, 1916.
The act follows:
P ublic—No. 249— S ixty -fourth Congress.
(H. R. 8234.)
S ection 1. No producer, m anufacturer, or dealer shall ship or deliver for
shipment in in terstate or foreign commerce any article or commodity the
product of any mine or quarry, situated in the United States, in which w ithin
th irty days prior to the tim e of the removal of such product therefrom children
under the age of sixteen years have been employed or perm itted to work, or
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[441]
32
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
any article or commodity the product of any mill, cannery, workshop, factory,
or m anufacturing establishment, situated in the United States, in which w ithin
th irty days prior to the removal of such product therefrom children under the
age of fourteen years have been employed or perm itted to work, or children
between the ages of fourteen years and sixteen years have been employed or
perm itted to work more than eight hours in any day, or more th an six days
in any week, or after the hour of seven o’clock postm eridian, or before the
hour of six o’clock antem eridian : Provided, T hat a prosecution and convic
tion of a defendant for the shipm ent or delivery for shipm ent of any article
or commodity under the conditions herein prohibited shall be a bar to any
fu rth e r prosecution against the same defendant for shipm ents or deliveries
for shipment of any such article or commodity before the beginning of said
prosecution.
S ec. 2. The Attorney General, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary
of Labor shall constitute a board to make and publish from tim e to time uni
form rules and regulations for carrying out the provisions of this act.
S ec. 3. For the purpose of securing proper enforcement of this, act the
Secretary of Labor, or any person duly authorized by him, shall have authority
to enter and inspect a t any tim e mines, quarries, mills, canneries, workshops,
factories, m anufacturing establishments, and other places in which goods are
produced or held for interstate commerce ; and the Secretary of Labor shall
have authority to employ such assistance for the purposes of this act as may
from tim e to tim e be authorized by appropriation or other law.
S ec. 4. I t shall be the duty of each d istrict attorney to whom the Secretary
of Labor shall report any violation of this act, or to whom any S tate factory
or mining or quarry inspector, commissioner of labor, S tate medical inspector,
or school-attendance officer, or any other person shall present satisfactory evi
dence of any such violation to cause appropriate proceedings to be com
menced and prosecuted in the proper courts of the United States w ithout delay
for the enforcement of the penalties in such cases herein provided: Provided,
T h at nothing in this act shall be construed to apply to bona fide boys’ and girls’
canning clubs recognized by the A gricultural D epartm ent of the several States
and of the United States.
S ec. 5. Any person who violates any of the provisions of section one of this
act, or who refuses or obstructs entry or inspection authorized by section three
of this act, shall for each offense prior to the first conviction of such person
under the provisions of this act, be punished by a fine of not more th an $200,
and shall for each offense subsequent to such conviction be punished by a
fine of not more than $1,000, nor less than $100, or by imprisonm ent for not
more than three months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the dis
cretion of the court : Provided, T hat no dealer shall be prosecuted under the
provisions of this act for a shipment, delivery for shipment, or transportation
who establishes a guaranty issued by the person by whom the goods shipped
or delivered for shipm ent or transportation were m anufactured or produced,
resident in the United States, to the effect th a t such goods were produced or
m anufactured in a mine or quarry in which w ithin th irty days prior to their
removal therefrom no children under the age of sixteen years were employed
or perm itted to work, or in a mill, cannery, workshop, factory, or m anufac
tu ring establishm ent, in which w ithin th irty days prior to the removal of
such goods therefrom no children under the age of fourteen years were em
ployed or perm itted to work, nor children between the ages of fourteen years
and sixteen years employed or perm itted to work more than eight hours in
any day or more than six days in any week or after the hour of seven o’clock
postm eridian or before the hour of six o’clock antem eridian ; and in such
event, if the guaranty contains any false statem ent of a m aterial fact, the
guarantor shall be amenable to prosecution and to the fine or imprisonment
provided by this section for violation of the provisions of this act. Said
guaranty, to afford the protection above provided, shall contain the name and
address of the person giving the same : And provided further, T h at no pro
ducer, m anufacturer, or dealer shall be prosecuted under this act for the
shipment, delivery for shipment, or transportation of a product of any mine,
quarry, mill, cannery, workshop, factory, or m anufacturing establishm ent, if
the only employment therein, w ithin th irty days prior to the removal of such
product therefrom , of a child under the age of sixteen years has been th a t
of a child as to whom the producer or m anufacturer has in good faith pro
cured, at the tim e of employing such child, and has since in good faith relied
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[442]
MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE, BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
33
upon and kept on file a certificate, issued in such form, under such conditions,
and by such persons as may be prescribed by the board, showing the child
to be of such an age th a t the shipment, delivery for shipment, or tran sp o rta
tion was not prohibited by this act. Any person who knowingly makes a
false statem ent or presents false evidence in or in relation to any such cer
tificate or application therefor shall be amenable to prosecution and to the fine
or imprisonm ent provided by this section for violations of this act. In any
State designated by the board, an employment certificate or other sim ilar
paper as to the age of the child, issued under the laws of th a t S tate and not
inconsistent w ith the provisions of this act, shall have the same force and
effect as a certificate herein provided for.
S ec. 6. The word “ person ” as used in this act shall be construed to include
any individual or corporation or the members of any partnership or other
unincorporated association. The term “ ship or deliver for shipm ent in inter
state or foreign commerce ” as used in this act means to tran sp o rt or to ship
or deliver for shipm ent from any State or T erritory or the D istrict of Columbia
to or through any other S tate or T erritory or the D istrict of Columbia or to any
foreign co u n try ; and in the case of a dealer means only to tran sp o rt or to ship
or deliver for shipm ent from the State, Territory, or d istrict of m anufacture
or production.
Sec. 7. This act shall take effect from and after one year from the date of
its passage.
Approved, September 1, 1916.
COMPENSATION LAW FOR INJURED EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED
STATES.
On September 7 the President affixed his signature to an act to pro
vide compensation for employees of the United States suifering in
juries while in the performance of their duties. This act supersedes
the act of 1908, which made provision for certain groups of such
employees, amounting in all to perhaps one-fourth of the more than
480,000 employees of the United States, as well as other acts applying
to the Post Office Department and orders relating to the Isthmian
Canal and the Panama Railroad and to the Alaskan Railway. The
foregoing measures wTere restricted both in scope and remedial value,
only one, the order relating to the Canal Zone, being at all of the
type of compensation legislation in present general acceptance. Sev
eral amendments were made to the act of 1908, and efforts have been
put forth during the greater part of its existence to secure a substi
tute for it which would be more inclusive as well as furnishing more
adequate relief. No particular hostility to such measures was ever
developed, but favorable action did not seem possible to be secured
until at the recent session of Congress, when a bill prepared by the
collaboration of the American Association for Labor Legislation and
the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics was favorably acted
upon.
The act provides for benefits on a basis of two-thirds of the injured
employee’s wages, payments continuing as long as the disability lasts.
Partial disability is compensated on the basis of the wage loss result-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[443]
34
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
ing from the injury. Death benefits to a widow cease only on her
death or remarriage and to children on their attaining the age of 18,
though they may continue beyond this date if the child is incapaci
tated from earning a livelihood. Other beneficiaries are to be pro
vided for in the absence of the foregoing or subject to their prior
rights.
The maximum benefit payable under the law during total disability
is $66.67 per month; the minimum, $33.33. No compensation is to
be paid for the first three days of disability, but reasonable medical,
surgical, and hospital services are to be furnished in all cases.
The act as drawn made provision for occupational or industrial
diseases, but this provision was omitted in the enactment. Compen
sation is to be based on personal injury, however, and not on acci
dent, and it was said on the floor of the House that laws of similar
phraseology had been construed to include the results of occupational
diseases. This question will, therefore, doubtless come up for con
sideration by the commission provided for by the act for its adminis
tration. This commission is to be appointed by the President for
terms of six years, the initial appointments to be made for terms of
two, four, and six years, respectively, in order to secure continuity by
biennial expirations of terms of service.
The text of the act is given herewith :
P ublic—No. 267—64 th Congbess.
(H. R. 15316.)
S ection 1. The United States shall pay compensation as hereinafter specified
for the disability or death of an employee resulting from a personal injury sus
tained while in the perform ance of his duty, but no compensation shall be paid
if the injury or death is caused by the w illful misconduct of the employee or by
the employee’s intention to bring about the injury or death of himself or of an
other, or if intoxication of the injured employee is the proxim ate cause of the
injury or death.
S ec. 2. D uring the first three, days of disability the employee shall not be
entitled to compensation except as provided in section nine. No compensation
shall a t any tim e be paid for such period.
S ec. 3. If the disability is total the United States shall pay to the disabled
employee during such disability a monthly compensation equal to sixty-six and
tw o-thirds per centum of his monthly pay, except as hereinafter provided.
S ec. 4. I f the disability is p artial the U nited States shall pay to the disabled
employee during such disability a monthly compensation equal to sixty-six and
tw o-thirds per centum of the difference between his monthly pay and his monthly
wage-earning capacity after the beginning of such p artial disability. The com
mission may, from tim e to time, require a partially disabled employee to make
an affidavit as to the, wages which he is then receiving. In such affidavit the
employee shall include a statem ent of the value of housing, board, lodging, and
other advantages which are received from the employer as a p a rt of his re
m uneration and which can be estim ated in money. If the employee, when re
quired, fails to make such affidavit, he shall not be entitled to any compensation
while such failure continues, and the period of such failure shall be deducted
from the period during which compensation is payable to him.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[444]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
35
S ec. 5. If a partially disabled employee refuses to seek suitable work or re
fuses or neglects to work after suitable work is offered to, procured by, or
secured for him, he shall not be entitled to any compensation.
S ec. 6. The monthly compensation for total disability shall not be more th an
$66.67 nor less than $33.33, unless the employee’s monthly pay is less than $33.33,
in which case his monthly compensation shall be the full am ount of his monthly
pay. The monthly compensation for p artial disability shall not be more than
$66.67. In the case of persons who a t the time, of the injury were minors or
employed in a learner’s capacity and who were not physically or m entally de
fective, the commission shall, on any review afte r the tim e when the monthly
wage-earning capacity of such persons would probably, but for the injury, have
increased, aw ard compensation based on such probable monthly wage-earning
capacity. The commission may, on any review a fte r the tim e when the monthly
wage-earning capacity of the disabled employee would probably, irrespective of
the injury, have, decreased on account of old age, aw ard compensation based on
such probable monthly wage-earning capacity.
S ec. 7. As long as the employee is in receipt of compensation under this
act, or, if he has been paid a lump sum in commutation of installm ent pay
ments, until the expiration of the period during which such installm ent pay
ments would have continued, he shall not receive from the United States any
salary, pay, or rem uneration w hatsoever except in retu rn for services actually
performed, and except pensions for service in the Army or Navy of the
United States.
S ec. 8. If a t the tim e the disability begins the employee has annual or sick
leave to his credit he may, subject to the approval of the head of the depart
ment, use such leave until it is exhausted, in which case his compensation
shall begin on the fourth day of disability after the annual or sick leave has
ceased.
S ec. 9. Im m ediately after an injury sustained by an employee while in the
perform ance of his duty, w hether or not disability has arisen, and for a rea
sonable tim e thereafter, the United States shall furnish to such employee
reasonable medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies unless he
refuses to accept them. Such services and supplies shall be furnished by
United States medical officers and hospitals, but where this is not practicable
shall be furnished by private physicians and hospitals designated or approved
by the commission and paid for from the employees’ compensation fund. If
necessary for the securing of proper medical, surgical, and hospital treatm ent,
the employee, in the discretion of the commission, may be furnished tra n s
portation a t the expense of the employees’ compensation fund.
S ec. 10. If death results from the injury w ithin six years the United States
shall pay to the following persons for the following period a monthly com
pensation equal to the following percentages of the deceased employee’s
monthly pay, subject to the modification th a t no compensation shall be paid
where the death takes place more than one year after the cessation of dis
ability resulting from such injury, or, if there has been no disability preceding
death, more than one year after the injury :
(A) To the widow, if there is no child, thirty-five per centum. This com
pensation shall be paid until her death or m arriage.
(B) To the widower, if there is no child, thirty-five per centum if wholly
dependent for support upon the deceased employee a t the tim e of her death.
This compensation shall be paid until his death or m arriage.
( 0 ) To the widow or widower, if there is a child, the compensation pay
able under clause (A) or clause (B) and in addition thereto ten per centum
for each child, not to exceed a total of sixty-six and tw o-thirds per centum
for such widow or widower and children. I f a child has a guardian other
than the surviving widow or widower, the compensation payable on account
of such child shall be paid to such guardian. The compensation payable on
account of any child shall cease when he dies, m arries, or reaches the age of
eighteen, or, if over eighteen, and incapable of self-support, becomes capable
of self-support.
(D )
To the children, if there is no widow or widower, twenty-five per
centum for one child and ten per centum additional for each additional child,
not to exceed a total of sixty-six and tw o-thirds per centum, divided among
such children share and share alike. The compensation of each child shall
be paid until he dies, m arries, or reaches the age of eighteen, or, if over
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[445]
36
MONTHLY REVIEW OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
eighteen and incapable of self-support, becomes capable of self-support. The
compensation of a child under legal age shall be paid to its guardian.
(E ) To the parents, if one is wholly dependent for support upon the de
ceased employee a t the tim e of his death and the other is not dependent to
any extent, twenty-five per centum ; if both are wholly dependent, tw enty per
centum to each ; if one is or both are partly dependent, a proportionate
am ount in the discretion of the commission.
The above percentages shall be paid if there is no widow, widower, or child.
I f there is a widow, widower, or child, there shall be paid so much of the
above percentages as, when added to the total percentages payable to the
widow, widower, and children, will not exceed a total of sixty-six and twoth ird s per centum.
(F ) To the brothers, sisters, grandparents, and grandchildren, if one is
wholly dependent upon the deceased employee for support a t the tim e of his
death, tw enty per centum to such dependent ; if more than one are wholly
dependent, th irty per centum, divided among such dependents share and share
alike ; if there is no one of them wholly dependent, but one or more partly de
pendent, ten per centum divided among such dependents share and share
alike.
The above percentages shall be paid if there is no widow, widower, child, or
dependent parent. I f there is a widow, widower, child, or dependent parent,
there shall be paid so much of the above percentages as, when added to the
total percentage payable to the widow, widower, children, and dependent
parents, will not exceed a total of sixty-six and tw o-thirds per centum.
(G) The compensation of each beneficiary under clauses (E ) and (F )
shall be paid for a period of eight years from the tim e of the death, unless
before th a t time he, if a parent or grandparent, dies, m arries, or ceases to
be dependent, or, if a brother, sister, or grandchild, dies, m arries, or reaches
the age of eighteen, or, if over eighteen and incapable of self-support, be
comes capable of self-support. The compensation of a brother, sister, or
grandchild under legal age shall be paid to his or her guardian.
(H ) As used in this section, the term “child” includes step-children,
adopted children, and posthumous children, but does not include m arried
children. The term s “brother” and “sister” include stepbrothers and step
sisters, half brothers and half sisters, and brothers and sisters by adoption,
but do not include m arried brothers or m arried sisters. All of the above
term s and the term “grandchild” include only persons who a t the time of the
death of the deceased employee are under eighteen years of age or over
th a t age and incapable of self-support. The term “p aren t” includes step
parents and parents by adoption. The term “widow” includes only the de
cedent’s wife living w ith or dependent for support upon him a t the time of
his death. The term “widower” includes only the decedent’s husband de
pendent for support upon her a t the tim e of her death. The term s “adopted”
and “adoption” as used in this clause include only legal adoption prior to
the tim e of the injury.
(I) Upon the cessation of compensation under this section to or on account
of any person, the compensation of the rem aining persons entitled to compen
sation for the unexpired p a rt of the period during which their compensation
is payable shall be th a t which such persons would have received if they had
been the only persons entitled to compensation a t the time of the decedent’s
death.
( J) In case there are two or more classes of persons entitled to compensation
under this section and the apportionm ent of such compensation, above pro
vided, would result in injustice, the commission may, in its discretion, modify
the apportionm ent to meet the requirem ents of the case.
(K ) In computing compensation under this section, the monthly pay shall
be considered not to be more than $100 nor less than $50, but the total monthly
compensation shall not exceed the monthly pay computed as provided in
section twelve.
(L) If any person entitled to compensation under this section, whose com
pensation by the term s of this section ceases upon his m arriage, accepts any
payments of compensation after his m arriage he shall be punished by a fine of
not more than $2,000 or by imprisonment for not more th an one year, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.
S ec. 11. If death results from the injury w ithin six years the United States
shall pay to the personal representative of the deceased employee burial ex-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[446]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
37
penses not to exceed $100, in the discretion of the commission. In the case of
an employee whose home is w ithin the United States, if his death occurs away
from his home office or outside of the United States, and if so desired by his
relatives, the body shall, in the discretion of the commission, be embalmed and
transported in a herm etically sealed casket to the home of the employee. Such
burial expenses shall not be paid and such transportation shall not be furnished
where the death takes place more than one year after the cessation of dis
ability resulting from such injury, or, if there has been no disability preceding
death, more than one year after the injury.
S ec . 12. In computing the monthly pay the usual practice of the service in
which the employee was employed shall he followed. Subsistence and the
value of quarters furnished an employee shall be included as p art of the pay,
but overtime pay shall not be taken into account.
S ec . 13. In the determ ination of the employee’s monthly wage-earning capac
ity after the beginning of partial disability, the value of housing, board, lodg
ing, and other advantages which are received from his employer as a p a rt of
his rem uneration and which can be estim ated in money shall be taken into
account.
S ec. 14. In cases of death or of perm anent total or perm anent p artial dis
ability, if the monthly paym ent to the beneficiary is less than $5 a month, or
if the beneficiary is or is about to become a nonresident of the United States,
or if the commission determines th at it is for the best interests of the bene
ficiary, the liability of the United States for compensation to such beneficiary
may be discharged by the paym ent of a lump sum equal to the present value of
all fu tu re paym ents of compensation computed at four per centum tru e dis
count compounded annually. The probability of the beneficiary’s death before
the expiration of the period during which he is entitled to compensation shall
be determ ined according to the American Experience Table of M ortality ; but in
case of compensation to the widow or widower of the deceased employee, such
lump sum shall not exceed sixty m onths’ compensation. The probability of the
happening of any other contingency aifecting the amount or duration of the
compensation shall be disregarded.
S ec. 15. Every employee injured in the perform ance of his duty, or some
one on his behalf, shall, w ithin forty-eight hours after the injury, give w ritten
notice thereof to the imm ediate superior of the employee. Such notice shall
be given by delivering it personally or by depositing it properly stamped and
addressed in the mail.
S ec . 16. The notice shall state the name and address of the employee, the
year, month, day, and hour when and the particu lar locality where the injury
occurred, and the cause and nature of the injury, and shall be signed by and
contain the adress of the person giving the notice.
S ec. 17. U nless notice is given w ithin the time specified or unless the imme
diate superior has actual knowledge of the injury, no compensation shall be
allowed, but for any reasonable cause shown, the commission may allow com
pensation if the notice is filed w ithin one year after the injury.
S ec . 18. No compensation under this act shall be allowed to any person,
except as provided in section thirty-eight, unless he or some one on his behalf
shall, w ithin the time specified in section twenty, make a w ritten claim there
for. Such claim shall be made by delivering it a t the office of the commission
or to any commissioner or to any person whom the commission may by regu
lation designate, or by depositing it in the mail properly stamped and addressed
to the commission or to any person whom the commission may by regulation
designate.
S ec . 19. Every claim shall be made on forms to be furnished by the com
mission and shall contain all the inform ation required by the commission.
Each claim shall be sworn to by the person entitled to compensation or by the
person acting on his behalf, and, except in case of death, shall be accompanied
by a certificate of the employee’s physician stating the natu re of the injury
and the nature and probable extent of the disability. For any reasonable cause
shown the commission may waive the provisions of this section.
S ec . 20. All original claims for compensation for disability shall be made
w ithin sixty days after the injury. All original claims for compensation for
death shall be made w ithin one year after the death. For any reasonable cause
shown the commission may allow original claims for compensation for disability
to be made a t any time w ithin one year.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[447]
38
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Sec. 21. A fter the injury the employee shall, as frequently and a t such times
and places as may be reasonably required, submit himself to exam ination by a
medical officer of the United States or by a duly qualified physician designated
or approved by the commission. The employee may have a duly qualified
physician designated and paid by him present to participate in such exam ina
tion. For all exam inations after the first the employee shall, in the discretion
of the commission, be paid his reasonable traveling and other expenses and
loss of wages incurred in order to submit to such examination. If the employee
refuses to submit himself for or in any way obstructs any examination, his
right to claim compensation under this act shall be suspended u ntil such refusal
or obstruction ceases. No compensation shall be payable while such refusai
or obstruction continues, and the period of such refusal or obstruction shall be
deducted from the period for which compensation is payable to him.
Sec. 22. In case of any disagreem ent between the physician making an ex
am ination on the p a rt of the United States and the employee’s physician the
commission shall appoint a third physician, duly qualified, who shall make an
examination.
S ec. 23. Fees for exam inations made on the p art of the United States under
sections twenty-one and twenty-two by physicians who are not already in the
service of the United States shall be fixed by the commission. Such fees, and
any sum payable to the employee under section twenty-one, shall be paid out of
the appropriation for the work of the commission.
S ec. 24. Im mediately after an injury to an employee resulting in his death
or in his probable disability, his immediate superior shall make a report to the
commission containing such inform ation as the commission may require, and
shall th ereafter make such supplem entary reports as the commission may
require.
S ec. 25. Any assignm ent of a claim for compensation under this act shall be
void and all compensation and claim s therefor shall be exempt from all claims
of creditors.
Sec. 26. If an injury or death for which compensation is payable under this
act is caused under circumstances creating a legal liability upon some person
other than the United States to pay damages therefor, the commission may re
quire the beneficiary to assign to the United States any right of action he may
have to enforce such liability of such other person or any right which he may
have to share in any money or other property received in satisfaction of such
liability of such other person, or the commission may require said beneficiary to
prosecute said action in his own name.
If the beneficiary shall refuse to make such assignment or to prosecute said
action in his own name when required by the commission, he shall not be en
titled to any compensation under this act.
The cause of action when assigned to the United States may be prosecuted or
compromised by the commission, and if the commission realizes upon such cause
of action, it shall apply the money or other property so received in the following
m anner : A fter deducting the am ount of any compensation already paid to the
beneficiary and the expenses of such realization or collection, which sum shall
be placed to the credit of the employees’ compensation fund, the surplus, if any,
shall be paid to the beneficiary and credited upon any fu tu re paym ents of com
pensation payable to him on account of the same injury.
S ec. 27. I f an injury or death for which compensation is payable under this
act is caused under circum stances creating a legal liability in some person other
than the United States to pay damages therefor, and a beneficiary entitled to
compensation from the United States for such injury or death receives, as a result
of a suit brought by him or on his behalf, or as a result of a settlem ent made
by him or on his behalf, any money or other property in satisfaction of the
liability of such other person, such beneficiary shall, after deducting the costs
of suit and a reasonable attorney’s fee, apply the money or other property so
received in the following m anner :
(A) If his compensation has been paid in whole or in part, he shall refund
to the United States the am ount of compensation which has been paid by the
United States and credit any surplus upon future paym ents of compensation
payable to him on account of the same injury. Any amount so refunded to the
United States shall be placed to the credit of the employees’ compensation fund.
(B ) If no compensation has been paid to him by the United States, he shall
credit the money or other property so received upon any compensation payable
to him by the United States on account of the same injury.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[448]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
39
S ec. 28. A commission is hereby created, to be known as the United States
Employees’ Compensation Commission, and to be composed of three commis
sioners appointed by the President, by and w ith the advice and consent of the
Senate, one of whom shall be designated by the President as chairman. No
commissioner shall hold any other office or position under the United States.
No more than two of said commissioners shall be members of the same political
party. One of said commissioners shall be appointed for a term of two years,
one for a term of four years, and one for a term of six years, and a t the expira
tion of each of said terms, the commissioner then appointed shall be appointed
for a period of six years. Each commissioner shall receive a salary of $4,000
a year. The principal office of said commission shall be in W ashington, D istrict
of Columbia, but the said commission is authorized to perform its w ork a t any
place deemed necessary by said commission, subject to the restrictions and
lim itations of this act.
S ec . 28a. Upon the organization of said commission and notification to the
heads of all executive departm ents th a t the commission is ready to take up the
work devolved upon it by this act, all commissions and independent bureaus,
by or in which paym ents for compensation are now provided, together w ith the
adjustm ent and settlem ent of such claims, shall cease and determine, and such
executive departm ents, commissions, and independent bureaus shall tran sfer
all pending claims to said commission to be adm inistered by it. The said com
mission may obtain, in all cases, in addition to the reports provided in section
twenty-four, such inform ation and such reports from employees of the depart
ments as may be agreed upon by the commission and the heads of the respective
departm ents. All clerks and employees now exclusively engaged in carrying on
said work in the various executive departm ents, commissions, and independent
bureaus, shall be transferred to, and become employees of, the commission at
their present grades and salaries.
S ec. 29. The commission, or any commissioner by authority of the commis
sion, shall have power to issue subpoenas for and compel the attendance of
witnesses w ithin a radius of one hundred miles, to require the production of
books, papers, documents, and other evidence, to adm inister oaths, and to
examine witnesses, upon any m atter w ithin the jurisdiction of the commission.
S ec . 30. The commission shall have such assistants, clerks, and other em
ployees as may be from time to time provided by Congress. They shall be ap
pointed from lists of eligibles to be supplied by the Civil Service Commission,
and in accordance w ith the civil-service law.
S ec . 31. The commission shall subm it annually to the Secretary of the Treas*
ury estim ates of the appropriations necessary for the work of the commission.
S ec. 32. The commission is authorized to make necessary rules and regula
tions for the enforcement of this act, and shall decide all questions arising
under this act.
S ec. 33. The commission shall make to Congress a t the beginning of each
regular session a report of its work for the preceding fiscal year, including a
detailed statem ent of appropriations and expenditures, a detailed statem ent
showing receipts of and expenditures from the employees’ compensation fund,
and its recommendations for legislation.
S ec. 34. For the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and
seventeen, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, from any money in
the T reasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $50,000 for the work of
the commission, including salaries of the commissioners and of such assistants,
clerks, and other employees as the commission may deem necessary, and for
traveling expenses, expenses of medical exam inations under section twentyone and twenty-two, reasonable traveling and other expenses and loss of wages
payable to employees under section twenty-one, ren t and equipment of offices,
purchase of books, stationery, and other supplies, printing and binding to be
done a t the Government P rinting Office, and other necessary expenses.
S ec . 35. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated, from any money in
the T reasury not otherw ise appropriated, the sum of $500,000, to be set aside as
a separate fund in the Treasury, to be known as the employees’ compensation
fund. To this fund there shall be added such sums as Congress may from time
to tim e appropriate for the purpose. Such fund, including all additions th a t
may be made to it, is hereby authorized to be perm anently appropriated for
the paym ent of the compensation provided by this act, including the medical,
surgical, and hospital services and supplies provided by section nine, and the
transportation and burial expenses provided by sections nine and eleven. The
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[449]
40
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
commission shall submit annually to the Secretary of the T reasury estim ates of
the appropriations necessary for the m aintenance of the fund.
S ec. 36. The commission, upon consideration of the claim presented by the
beneficiary, and the report furnished by the imm ediate superior and the com
pletion of such investigation as it may deem necessary, shall determ ine and
make a finding of facts thereon and make an aw ard for or against paym ent
of the compensation provided for in this act. Compensation when aw arded
shall be paid from the employees’ compensation fund.
Sec. 37. If the original claim for compensation has been made w ithin the
tim e specified in section twenty, the commission may, a t any time, on its own
motion or on application, review the award, and, in accordance w ith the facts
found on such review, may end, diminish, or increase the compensation pre
viously awarded, or, if compensation has been refused or discontinued, aw ard
compensation.
S ec. 38. If any compensation is paid under a m istake of law or of fact, the
commission shall immediately cancel any aw ard under which such compensation
has been paid and shall recover, as fa r as practicable, any am ount which has
been so paid. Any am ount so recovered shall be placed to the credit of the
employees’ compensation fund.
S ec. 39. Whoever makes, in any affidavit required under section four or in
any claim for compensation, any statem ent, knowing it to be false, shall be
guilty of perjury and shall be punished by a fine of not more th an $2,000, or
by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprison
ment.
S ec. 40. W herever used in this act—
The singular includes the plural and the masculine includes the feminine.
The term “employee” includes all civil employees of the United States and
of the Panam a Railroad Company.
The term “commission” shall be taken to refer to the United States Em
ployees’ Compensation Commission provided for in section twenty-eight.
The term “physician” includes surgeons.
The term “monthly pay” shall be taken to refer to the monthly pay a t the
tim e of the injury.
S ec. 41. All acts or p arts of acts inconsistent w ith this act are hereby
repealed : Provided, hoivever, T hat for injuries occurring prior to the passage
of this act compensation shall be paid under the law in force a t the tim e of
the passage of this act : And provided further, T hat if an injury or death for
which compensation is payable under this act is caused under circumstances
creating a legal liability in the Panam a R ailroad Company to pay damages
therefor under the laws of any State, T erritory, or possession of the United
States or of the district of Columbia or of any foreign country, no compensa
tion shall be payable until the person entitled to compensation releases to the
Panam a R ailroad Company any right of action which he may have to enforce
such liability of the Panam a R ailroad Company, or until he assigns to the
U nited States any right which he may have to share in any money or other prop
erty received in satisfaction of such liability of the Panam a R ailroad Company.
S ec. 42. The President may, from time to time, tran sfer the adm inistration
of this act so fa r as employees of the Panam a Canal and of the Panam a R ail
road Company are concerned to the governor of the Panam a Canal, and so
fa r as employees of the Alaskan Engineering Commission are concerned to the
chairm an of th a t commission, in which cases the words “commission” and “its”
w herever they appear in this act shall, so far as necessary to give effect to
such transfer, be read “governor of the Panam a Canal” or “chairm an of the
Alaskan Engineering Commission,” as the case may be, and “his” ; and the
expenses of medical exam inations under sections twenty-one and twenty-two,
and the reasonable traveling and other expenses and ioss of wages payable
to employees under section twenty-one, shall be paid out of appropriations for
the P anam a Canal or for the Alaskan Engineering Commission or out of funds
of the P anam a Railroad, as the case may be, instead of out of the appropria
tion for the work of the commission.
In the case of compensation to employees of the Panam a Canal or of the
Panam a R ailroad Company for tem porary disability, either total or partial, the
President may authorize the governor of the Panam a Canal to waive, a t his
discretion, the making of the claim required by section eighteen. In the case
of alien employees of the Panam a Canal or of the Panam a Railroad Company,
or of any class or classes of them, the President may remove or modify the
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[450]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
41
minimum lim it established by section six on the monthly compensation for
disability and the minimum lim it established by clause (K ) of secton ten on
the monthly pay on which death compensation is to be computed. The Presi
dent may authorize the governor of the P anam a Canal and the chairm an of
the A laskan Engineering Commission to pay the compensation provided by
this act, including the medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies
provided by section nine and the transportation and burial expenses provided
by sections nine and eleven, out of the appropriations for the Panam a Canal
and for the Alaskan Engineering Commission, such appropriations to be reim
bursed for such paym ents by the transfer of funds from the employees’ com
pensation fund.
Approved, September 7, 1916.
RECENT REPORTS RELATING TO WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION AND
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS.
MICHIGAN.
Under the title “ Michigan Workmen’s Compensation Cases’’ the
Industrial Accident Board of that State has published its first com
pilation of its own rulings and the decisions of the supreme court
of the State on the Compensation Act of 1912. The volume also in
cludes matter relating to administration, practice before the com
mission, rules of procedure, and forms and blanks for use in report
ing accidents, etc.
Chief interest naturally attaches to the decisions of the supreme
court which establish the constitutionality of the law generally
(Mackin v. Detroit-Timken Axle Co., 153 N. W., 49, Bui. No. 189, p.
233) ; and its constitutionality in its application to municipal corpo
rations (Wood v. City of Detroit, 155 N. W., 592; Purdy v. Sault
Ste. Marie, 155 N. W., 597). Of high interest also is the case Adams
v. Acme White Lead & Color Works (182 Mich., 157, 148 N. W., 485,
Bui. No. 169, p. 258), in which the supreme court of the State held
that the law did not permit compensation for occupational diseases,
even though the body of the act did not contain the word accident.
A board of arbitration had given an award in favor of the claimant
in this case, which was affirmed by the Industrial Accident Board.
On appeal to the supreme court, however, it was pointed out that the
title restricted it to “ personal injury by accident,” and the award
was reversed. That the board is inclined to a rather more liberal
construction than the supreme court appeared also in the case Bisehoff v. American Car & Foundry Co. (157 N. W., 34), the board in
this case having awarded compensation for injuries received by a
molder who undertook to point out to a machinist the place where re
pairs were needed, and while doing so lost a hand. The supreme
court held that the work of repair was no part of a molder’s employ
ment, and that in going upon the machine he had gone without the
scope of his duties and could recover nothing.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[451]
42
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
A large number of rulings are given on the points “ arising out
of employment,” dependence, evidence, etc. In fact, the volume well
meets the description given it by its own introduction as “ an aid in
the understanding and administration of the law,” since “ it substan
tially covers the development and administration of the compensa
tion law up to the date of publication, July, 1916.”
OHIO.
On November 1, 1915, 1,046 firms in Ohio employing a total of
222,697 persons were carrying self-insurance under the provisions
of the workmen’s compensation act, according to a recent report of
the Department of Investigation and Statistics of the Ohio Indus
trial Commission.1 In response to a request of the department for
certain information relative to facilities provided for medical and
hospital treatment of injured employees and also whether or not
they had reinsured, 994 firms employing 221,061 persons sent in
replies. Of the remaining firms, 9 are reported to have gone out of
business since November 1. The returns received disclosed the fact
that 284 firms employing a total of 173,762 persons had not rein
sured, while 710 firms employing a total of 47,299 had reinsured.
This would seem to indicate that while less than one-third (28.6
per cent) of the 994 firms were carrying insurance without reinsur
ing, these firms furnished employment to over three-fourths (78.6
per cent) of the 221,061 persons employed by all the firms reporting
and to more than three-fourths (78 per cent) of the 222,697
employed by the total number of firms (1,046) carrying self-insur
ance under the State plan.
Since medical and hospital facilities may vary in the different
establishments belonging to a firm, the information covering these
facts is compiled for establishments. The 994 firms carrying selfinsurance reported 1,017 establishments. Of these establishments,
59 reported hospitals connected with the plant (47 reported a com
plete hospital outfit), 34 reported an emergency dispensary only,
1 reported a physician at the plant but no hospital, while 923
reported no hospital facilities. Of the 59 establishments, 28 reported
more than 1,000 employees, while of the 923 establishments the
great majority (79.6 per cent) reported less than 100 employees
each. Of the 1,017 establishments, only 188 (18.5 per cent) reported
having contracts with outside physicians, while 619 (60.9 per cent)
reported having no such contract. Fifty-three reported that they
had no contract, but that they did call in the nearest physician,
1 Ohio. Industrial Commission. Department of Investigation and Statistics, Report
No. 22, April, 1916. Report on employers carrying self-insurance as provided under sec.
22 of the workmen’s compensation act. Columbus, 1916. 7 pp.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[452]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OP LABOR STATISTICS.
43
while 157 made no report on this point. One hundred and forty-six
reported that they had arrangements with outside hospitals; in 754
establishments (74.1 per cent) the choice of physician is allowed,
with or without certain restrictions, by the person injured or his
family or friends, and of this number 604 establishments (80.1 per
cent) pay the physician. The returns indicated that first-aid outfits
were in use in 354 (42.4 per cent) of the establishments giving
information on this point.
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON STATISTICS AND COMPENSATION IN
SURANCE COST OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INDUS
TRIAL ACCIDENT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and
Commissions was organized “ to bring into closer relation with one
another the various boards and commissions administering compen
sation laws of the United States, and to effect so far as possible
uniformity of legislation and administration of such laws and to
encourage and give effect to all measures looking toward the pre
vention of accidents and the safeguarding of plants and machinery.”
At the meeting held in Chicago on January 12 and 13, 1915, the
committee on statistics and compensation insurance cost was created
and commissioned to prepare: (1) Uniform tables for the establish
ment of compensation costs; (2) uniform classification of industries;
(3) uniform classification of causes of injuries; (4) uniform classifi
cation of nature of injuries. The first report of the committee,1
embracing a preliminary grouping of industries, was approved by the
association at its meeting held at Seattle, September 30 to October 2,
1915, and a second report, which was submitted at the third annual
meeting of the association held at Columbus, April 25 to 28, 1916, has
just been published as Bulletin 201 of the United States Bureau of
Labor Statistics.2 This report is signed by the members of the com
mittee, who were as follows :
E.
H. Downey, chairman, special deputy, Pennsylvania insurance
department, Harrisburg, Pa.
Royal Meeker, Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Washington,
D. C.
Robert K. Orr, manager State accident fund, Lansing, Mich.
W. N. Magoun, general manager Pennsylvania compensation rating
and inspection bureau, Philadelphia, Pa.
1 The first report of the committee was printed in full in the November, 1915, issue of
the M o n t h l y R e v i e w , pp. 28-37.
2 Report of committee on statistics and compensation insurance cost of the Interna
tional Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions. United States Bureau
of Labor Statistics, Bulletin 201. Washington, 1916. 128 pp.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[453]
44
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
H. E. Ryan, associate actuary, State insurance department, New
York City.
Floyd L. Daggett, chairman, industrial insurance commission,
Olympia, Wash.
Fred C. Croxton, chief statistician, industrial commission, Colum
bus, Ohio.
L. W. Hatch, chief statistician, industrial commission, Albany,
N. Y.
E. E. Watson, actuary, industrial commission, Columbus, Ohio.
In its work the committee had the benefit of the cooperation of
the Casualty Actuarial- and Statistical Society of America and the
Workmen’s Compensation Service Bureau. This latter organiza
tion has done much to bring about uniform classification of indus
tries, and the original classification issued by it was taken as the
basis by the committee in working out a classification of industrial
processes.
The work of the committee was guided by the accepted principle
that statistics of industrial accidents should serve for accident pre
vention, for the due administration and intelligent revision of work
men’s compensation laws, and for the computation of compensation
insurance rates. To this end the committee recommends that acci
dent statistics be analyzed by industries, by cause of accident, and by
nature and location of injury, and the extent of disability, and cross
analyzed so as to show the correlation of each of these sets of facts
with each other.
After the approval of the first report of the committee on statistics
and compensation insurance cost by the association in its annual
meeting at Seattle, in 1915, there remained for the committee the
preparation of the final subdivisions of classifications under each of
the various industry groups, the preparation of classifications of
causes of accidents and of nature of injuries and the drafting of
uniform tables for the presentation of accident and compensation
statistics. All of these subjects, except the drafting of uniform
tables, in which the committee is now engaged, are covered in the
report under review.
I t is believed that these classifications, necessarily the result of
compromise, will serve the most important needs of industrial acci
dent statistics. They are the fruit of much thought and discus
sion by experienced statisticians. They have made use of what
ever was best and applicable to American conditions in the official
classifications of the United States and Europe. All are designed
to admit of contraction or expansion according to the varied needs
and facilities of the different administrative boards.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[454]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
45
The industry classifications are presented under seven principal
divisions or primary headings, including (A) Agriculture, (B)
Mining and quarrying, (C) Manufacturing, (D) Construction, (E)
Transportation and public utilities, (F) Trade, (G) Service. The
7 divisions are divided into 43 schedules, these secondary head
ings explaining the details into which the primary headings are
separated. For example, the primary heading “ Manufacturing” is
divided into 18 schedules, such as lumber and wood, leather, tex
tiles, chemicals, paper, etc. The group headings, of which there are
272, are the most important in the series, and show a refinement of
the secondary headings. Each group heading is intended to be
significant of the industries covered under it. The final subdivi
sion consists of the classifications of industries appearing in the
manuals used by insurance companies in connection with their writ
ing of workmen’s compensation insurance. These final subdivi
sions are of special value to industrial accident boards and com
missions, serving as an index to show what industries are intended
to be covered by the respective groups. Opposite each industrialprocess is printed the Workmen’s Compensation Manual code num
ber given to that process in the manual, in order to facilitate the
work of translation and comparison of accident statistics recorded
under the classification of the Committee on Statistics and Com
pensation Insurance Cost with those of the Workmen’s Compensation
Service Bureau, since it was impossible for the latter to make
this classification conform exactly with the classification adopted by
the committee.
The whole purpose of a classification of accidents by causes is
accident prevention. The committee recommends that for the sake
of uniformity accidents be assigned to the proximate cause, namely,
“ to that condition or circumstance the absence of which would
have prevented the accident; but if there be more than one such
condition or circumstance, then to the one most easily prevented.”
The causes of accidents have been grouped into 12 divisions, as
follows: I. Machinery; II. Boilers and steam-pressure apparatus;
III. Vehicles; IV. Explosives, electricity, fires, and hot and corro
sive substances; V. Poisonous substances; VI. Falls of persons; VII.
Stepping on or striking against objects; V III. Falling objects;
IX. Objects being handled; X. Hand tools; XI. Animals; X II. Mis
cellaneous causes. These, again, have been subdivided into general
classes. Machinery, for instance, is divided into prime movers,
power-transmission apparatus, power-working machinery, hoisting
apparatus and conveyors, and miscellaneous machinery. A detailed
analysis of machine accidents by manner of occurrence and by part
of machine on which the accident occurred is recommended. Inas61766°— 16-
4
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[455]
46
•
MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR STATISTICS.
much as experience has shown that both in the United States and
abroad machinery of all descriptions accounts for not more than
one-fourth of the industrial accidents, the committee gives consid
erable attention to nonmachine accidents.
The committee has recommended four classifications of accidental
injuries, as distinguished from the accidents themselves, namely, the
location of injury or part of body injured, the nature of injury, the
extent of disability, and, as a subdivision of the last, the degree of
partial disability. In assignment of the location of injury, the
committee has followed the common anatomical divisions, beginning
with the head and ending with the feet. Special provision has been
made for injuries involving two or more parts. The nature of injury
classification is confined to the injuries sustained at the time of the
accident, and is designated by popular rather than technical medical
terms. Special provision is recommended for infections, so that
the infection shall be correlated with the nature of injury and also
with the extent of disability. With respect to extent of disability,
injuries are divided into the generally recognized classes of fatali
ties, permanent total disabilities, permanent partial disabilities, tem
porary total disabilities, and temporary partial disabilities. Perma
nent disabilities are further divided into dismemberment and others.
The report includes appendixes briefly setting forth the resolutions
in regard to accident and workmen’s compensation adopted by the
National Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commis
sions at Chicago, January 12 and 13, 1915; resolutions adopted at
the joint conference on standardization of accident reports and tabu
lations, held at Chicago, October 12 and 13, 1914 ; and definitions of
injuries and methods of tabulating the various kinds of injuries and
compensation payments in use by the Workmen’s Compensation Serv
ice Bureau.
The report includes a comprehensive and exhaustive index with
cross references to facilitate the work of finding a desired classifica
tion.
PREVENTION OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS.
The safety movement is in a state of constant evolution. As new
machinery is devised and new methods are adopted to meet the
demands of an era of unparalleled industrial progress accident haz
ards are multiplied and the necessity for protecting the men who
toil presents a problem of considerable magnitude which must be
met adequately and conclusively if industry is to be freed of the
large proportion of the preventable accidents which have heretofore
been charged against it. To this end the safety-first movement has
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[456]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
47
in recent years been developed along practical lines; studies have been
made by industrial engineers, safety inspectors, and others familiar
with the problems to be met; safety rules and regulations covering
processes and occupations in various types of establishments have
been formulated, machinery has been guarded, and attention has
been given to proper sanitation, lighting, heating, ventilation, wel
fare work, hospital and first-aid equipment, and to other factors
vitally necessary to an efficient working force.
In furtherance of this safety first or accident prevention campaign,
two books have been recently issued, one entitled “Practical Safety
Methods and Devices”1 and the other “Industrial Accident Preven
tion,”2 each of which seeks to present an authorative statement of acci
dent prevention methods proved by actual experience to be effective
and practical. Although not particularly the aim of the author, the
first book perhaps more than the second appeals to the layman who is
interested in the study of safety methods and their adaptation to
specific industries. There are many illustrations. The other book is
particularly useful to the employer, engineer, superintendent, and
foreman who is not only looking for practical workable methods but
who seeks definite and detailed suggestions for putting them into
actual use. It is illustrated with over 650 photographs and diagrams.
Accident prevention, it is stated, is now receiving considerable
attention in this country and it has been demonstrated by em
ployers, safety engineers, and accident indemnity companies that it
is practicable, profitable, and humane to prevent a very large pro
portion of such accidents. The volume on “Practical Safety Methods
and Devices” has been prepared to provide employers, superintend
ents, foremen, underwriters, safety inspectors, and engineers gen
erally a convenient descriptive and illustrative summary of stand
ard safety methods and devices as developed and perfected by those
who have specialized in the subject of accident prevention. It is the
result of observation made in hundreds of mills and manufacturing
establishments, in building and construction work, railroad opera
tion, handling explosives, and mining. It is not an exhaustive study,
but aims to present general principles in such a manner as to be
useful in special and exceptional applications not specifically
described.
The author points out that safety engineering has become a well
established profession; that safety is essential to efficiency; that edu
cation is the keynote to universal safety, emphasizing the fact that the
public school is the logical starting point for this educational cam1 Practical Safety Methods and Devices; Manufacturing and Engineering, by George
Alvin Cowee. New York, Van Nostrand Co., 1916. 464 pp. Illustrated. $3, net.
2 Industrial Accident Prevention, by David Stewart Beyer. New York and Boston,
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1916. 421 pp. Illustrated. $10, net.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[457]
48
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
paign; that 90 per cent of all work accidents are actually preventable,
30 per cent by means of safeguards and 60 per cent by the proper educa
tion of employees in matters pertaining to safety; and suggests that
if these methods are used to check the waste indicated in the para
graph quoted from the preface, “employers of labor may expect to
ultimately save the entire cost of insurance on these preventable acci
dents. Employees may also expect to save at least 75 per cent of the
losses in wage now incurred by these casualties.”
The author cites the following illustration to emphasize his point
that accident prevention is a paying investment.
The most striking proof of this statem ent is revealed in the experience of the
LTnited States Steel Corporation. Approximately $5,000,000 was expended dur
ing the la st eight years by the subsidiary companies of the corporation for the
installation of safety devices and the adoption of accident-prevention measures.
In three years the safety w ork resulted in the prevention of 6,308 accidents
which would have otherwise occurred if the accident ratio of preceding years
had been m aintained. In other words, the accident ra te has been reduced ap
proximately 40 per cent during the past five years. Likewise, the saving in
casualty expense over expenditures for safety, during the past three years, has
been over 35 per cent. W hen we consider, in connection w ith this exhibit, th a t
the compensation to injured workmen during this period was m aterially in
creased, the emphatic conclusion is th a t safety pays.
In the campaign for safety it is believed that the education of
employees should receive the first consideration, and this may be
effected through the organization, in each plant, of a safety commit
tee made up of workmen, such committee to investigate all accidents
and consider methods of prevention, warn fellow workmen against
unsafe practices, and to report all suggestions and recommendations
to the safety department. The organization of a central safety com
mittee to have general charge and supervision of all safety work, in
cluding the carrying on of an educational campaign among the em
ployees, is also recommended. These safety committees are regarded
as of great service not only in the prevention of accidents but also in
the increase of efficiency of the workers and in the promotion of
universal good will. In mentioning some general observations look
ing to the promotion of safety the author suggests that the safeguard
ing of machinery and work places is one of the best investments that
an employer can make, for it is to his interest, as well as to the in
terest of his employees, to maintain safe conditions in his factory;
that danger signs should be displayed wherever necessary; that work
men should be cautioned to wear proper clothing; that congested
work places should be eliminated; that intoxicants should be avoided;
that workmen should not be allowed to become fatigued at their
work; that concentration of mind and eye should be taught; that dis
cipline should be maintained; that periodical insoections should be
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[458]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
49
made; that children should be taught in the art of self-preservation
from public and industrial dangers; that the public generally should
be impressed with the importance of the safety problem.
Following chapters on buildings and fire hazard, exit fire drills,
and the organization of fire brigades, the author enters into a de
tailed description of the use and operation of various kinds of tools
and machines, and of occupations involving danger to workmen, in
cluding in each chapter suggestions and rules to be observed to pro
mote safety. These chapters cover: Boilers, engines, elevators, elec
tricity, transmission, machine tools, grinding machinery, woodwork
ing machinery, common machines, iron and steel, handling and stor
ing material, construction work, steam and electric railroads, mining
and quarrying, and explosives. There is a chapter embracing 21
rules for foremen and 60 general rules to be observed in the preven
tion of accidents. Suggestions as to sanitation, illumination, heating,
ventilation, and welfare work are given, as well as precautions to be
taken against occupational diseases, and the necessity of organizing
adequate first-aid work, together with an outline of the symptoms
and treatment of different injuries, including eye injuries, electric
shock, infection, hemorrhage, shock, contusions or bruises, wounds,
fractures, dislocations, sprains, strains, hernia or rupture, burns or
scalds, poisoning, fainting, epileptic fits, apoplectic fits, and sun
stroke.
The author of “ Industrial Accident Prevention ” confines himself
almost exclusively to a presentation of this subject, but describes in
a general way such related subjects as sanitation, relief, and welfare
work, and hospital and first-aid equipment. The first part is de
voted to a discussion of general phases of the accident problem, in
cluding a chapter on compensation legislation, accident wTaste versus
accident prevention, causes of accidents, engineering provisions, and
plant arrangement. Parts I I to V II, inclusive, deal, respectively,
with building construction and arrangement; power generation and
distribution; machine construction and arrangement; special indus
tries ; fire hazard; and explosion hazard. Part V III takes up personal
elements to be considered in accident prevention and presents chapters
on safety education; inspection; eye protection; housekeeping, hand
labor, etc.; hospital and first-aid equipment; resuscitation; occupa
tional diseases; sanitation and welfare work.
Following a chapter outlining briefly the history and scope of
various compensation laws affecting industrial accidents, in which it
is pointed out that compensation legislation has stimulated accident
prevention, the author presents figures showing that it is more profit
able for employers to introduce preventive measures than it is to
compensate injured workmen and otherwise meet the enormous ex-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[459]
50
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
pense involved in accident waste. Among others, the experience of
the Eastman Kodak Co. is given, which in 1914 reduced the number of
accidents 75 per cent from the total in 1910.
In presenting a list of 90,168 injuries which occurred in Massa
chusetts during one year, the author makes the point that approxi
mately one-third were mechanical—that is, they occurred on ma
chines, shafting, gearing, etc.—and the other two-thirds were
nonmechanical. However, he concludes from this and other data
that from the standpoint of seriousness industrial accidents are
divided about equally between mechanical and nonmechanical. This
conclusion—
indicates th a t after all possible mechanical safeguards have been installed there
will still rem ain a large percentage of accidents which can not be prevented by
mechanical means. There is an effective way to reach such accidents, however,
which is equally im portant w ith the installation of mechanical safeguards;
th a t is the education of the workmen in the exercise of greater care for the
avoidance of injuries to themselves and their fellow-workmen. * * * To
summarize, * * * 50 per cent of our present industrial accidents are pre
ventable—25 per cent by mechanical safeguards and 25 per cent by education.
Emphasis is placed upon the responsibility of the modern indus
trial engineer for efficiency in construction and operation and the
elimination of needless expense and waste, necessitating familiarity
with improved safety practice and ability to apply it to his current
work.
The author deplores the fact that “ a large percentage of the
buildings which have been erected in the past, and many of those
which are now being erected even by architects of good reputation,
are decidedly lacking in one or both ” of the following two considera
tions which are regarded as of paramount importance in combating
the fire hazard:
1. The design of the building and the m aterials used in its construction
should, so fa r as practicable, prevent the rapid spread of fire.
2. Sufficient exit facilities of a safe and dependable type should be pro
vided to enable all the occupants of a building to leave it quickly in case
of fire.
Suggestions are given as to designs, materials, and exit facilities.
In some detail the author discusses the causes of the collapse or
failure of building structures, and the necessity for good lighting
and adequate ventilation, which, it is pointed out, tends to reduce the
alertness of the workmen and bring on fatigue which in turn causes
Serious accidents.
Accident prevention in relation to specific industries, occupations,
and equipment is taken up in a series of chapters presenting an ex
haustive fund of suggestions looking to the minimizing or elimina
tion of the hazards to which workmen are constantly exposed. These
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[460]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
51
chapters include boiler equipment, engine equipment; electricity;
power control—quick-stopping devices, etc.; protection of power
transmission equipment; cast iron and steel; machine design and
guards for machine hazards; cranes; elevators; punch presses; ma
chine shop and blacksmith shop equipment; carpenter shop and
woodworking equipment; abrasive wheels; ladders and scaffolding;
ropes, slings, chains, hooks, etc.; iron and steel works; foundries;
wire-mill equipment; railroad equipment; chemical works, labora
tories, etc.; textile equipment; leather and shoe industries; gas
works; contracting; laundries; refrigerating plants; paper indus
try, printing, etc.; candy factories; mining. Two chapters are
devoted to fire hazard—fire prevention and fire extinguishing, and
fire drills and fire alarm systems, and four chapters present sug
gestions as to explosion hazard, namely, explosives, explosive dusts,
celluloid and celluloid goods manufacture, and volatile and inflam
mable liquids.
The author believes that the formation of safety committees among
the workmen is one of the most effective methods of safety education
because they result “ in the development throughout the working
organization of a body of wide-awake men who are genuinely inter
ested in looking out for their own safety as well as that of their
fellow workmen.” Other effective methods are accident pictures,
safety bulletins, safety talks, and safety signs and slogans. The
organization of an inspection service within the plant is considered
of great value since it is effective not only from the standpoint of
eliminating accident hazards, but also from that of educating the
personnel of the working forces along accident prevention lines.
The large number of accidents affecting the eyes prompted the
author to- devote a chapter to the subject of eye protection. Direc
tions for first-aid treatment, covering the different kinds of injuries
to which workmen are susceptible, are given in a chapter on hospital
and first-aid equipment. Methods of resuscitation are set forth.
A list of common occupational diseases is presented showing
that in the British factories for the years 1911 to 1913, out of a total
of 2,036 cases, 1,791 were due to lead poisoning, and in this connec
tion the author devotes the major portion of his chapter on occupa
tional diseases to a consideration of this particular disease, giving
the symptoms, preventive measures and a set of rules and other infor
mation prepared by the Massachusetts General Hospital to be posted
under the following caption: Advice to persons working with lead
or with lead paints.
The volume concludes with a short chapter on sanitation and
welfare work, and one giving a list of safety organizations, publi
cations, etc.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[461]
52
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
TRINITROTOLUOL MANUFACTURING: PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.1
TNT is the abbreviation for trinitrotoluol,2 a highly poisonous
substance used in the manufacture of explosives. In its manufac
ture illness is due principally to escape of (1) nitrous fumes evolved
mainly in the manufacture of nitric acid and during the dilution of
the TNT waste acids, and (2) chlorine and compounds of chlorine
given off at the commencement of working each charge when not
thoroughly absorbed in the towers. The pamphlet under review
suggests precautionary measures against poisoning and gives instruc
tions as to accidents, minor inj uries, use of air helmets, use of oxygen
cylinder, artificial breathing, the treatment of cases of gasing by
nitrous fumes,3 instruction for first-aid attendants, and 11 rules
suggesting how to avoid the effects of TNT poisoning.
Illness as a result of this poison, it is stated, may result from (1)
general effects on the constituents of the blood, and (2) local
effects—dermatitis or eczema. Absorption of poison takes place
by inhalation of vapor or dust, by contact with the skin and by the
alimentary canal. Effective ventilation largely overcomes the first;
through proper provision and maintenance of clothing, washing
facilities and meal room accommodation the second may be con
trolled. The eating of potatoes, green vegetables and uncooked
fruits and the drinking of orange or lemen juice are recommended
as effective in minimizing the last named method of absorption.
Symptoms, it is declared, may develop quickly, especially where
there has been exposure in a confined space, in which case the best
treatment seems to be inhalation of oxygen, a cylinder of which
should be kept in readiness. In some workers an irritating rash on
the arms is caused by trinitrotoluol, but evidence has accumulated to
show that if washing facilities are suitable and are regularly used
by the workers, the hands being thoroughly dried afterwards, occur
rence of eczema is rare.
Emphasis is laid upon the importance of reporting all injuries,
however trivial, to the foreman, and that the workmen should also
report (1) a persistent cough due to no known cause, (2) unaccus
tomed shortness of breath, (3) fatigue not explained by exertion, and
(4) pains coming on suddenly in the feet and legs.
Such symptoms should not be disregarded because they are trivial. In fact,
they are only trivial if attended to in time. They may indicate the slight
beginnings of poisoning, the effects of which rapidly become serious if the poi
sonous influences are not counteracted.
1 Great Britain. Home Office. Factory Department. Trinitrotoluol Manufacturing.
Precautionary measures, rLondon] March, 1916. 22 pp. Illustrated.
2 A brief statement of symptoms of trinitrotoluol poisoning and preventive measures to
be adopted appeared in the M o n t h l y R e v i e w for .Tune, 1916, p. 84.
3 This subject was covered briefly in the M o n t h l y R e v i e w for June, 1916, p. 87.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[462]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OP TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
53
In tlie case of minor injuries causing abrasion of tbe skin, however slight,
the w orker is not to touch, wash, or attem pt to dress the w o u n d ; he or she is
to go to the nearest place where first-aid dressings are kept and have the wound
attended to by the person in charge of the first-aid dressing box.
Remedies for acid burns m ust be applied very promptly. The utm ost care is
to be used in dealing w ith acid burns to the eyes. When any acid gets into the
eyes they are to be attended to a t once by the person in charge of the first-aid
dressing box.
The danger from nitrons fumes is recognized, and the pamphlet
contains certain specific instructions in this connection.
1. Workmen are w arned against breathing brown acid fumes.
2. Always put on the air helmet before repairing leaks or entering or rem ain
ing in a p a rt of the room heavily charged w ith the fumes.
3. The fumes, if breathed, may cause shortness of breath some hours later
and lead to serious illness.
4. If these symptoms develop at home, send a t once for a doctor and mean
while keep in the open air as much as possible.
5. I f they develop a t the works, send a t once for the doctor.
6. Keep the air helmet handy and in good repair, as you never know when
you may w ant it.
There is an appendix setting forth the Home Office regulations
applying in factories where trinitrotoluol is manufactured.
FIFTH ANNUAL SAFETY CONGRESS OF THE NATIONAL SAFETY
COUNCIL .
The fifth annual safety congress of the National Safety Council
will be held in the Statler Hotel, Detroit, October 17 to 20, inclusive.
The program will be presented in sectional meetings, with addresses
and general discussion, relating to the chemical industry, foundries,
iron and steel, mining, public utilities, steam railroads, health serv
ice, electric railways, paper and pulp, textiles, cement, employees’
benefit associations, governmental; logging, lumbering and wood
working; and public safety. The program includes the following
principal addresses:
C H E M IC A L
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G
(O C T . 1 8 , M O R N I N G ) .
H ealth problems in the chemical industry, by Dr. George M. Price, Joint
Board of S anitary Control, New York City.
The goggle problem in the chemical industry, by J. R. de la Torre Bueno,
General Chemical Co., New York City.
Care of workmen employed in the m anufacture of aniline and benzol products,
by A. B. Mitchell, Benzol Products Co., Marcus Hook, Pa.
Fum e poisoning from nitric and mixed acids, by L. A. De Blois, E. I. du Pont
de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[463]
54
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
FO UNDRY
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G
(O C T . 1 8 , M O R N I N G ) .
Employment problem as related to safety.
Strains, sprains, and burns, by S. W. Ashe, General Electric Co., Pittsfield,
Mass.
Crane and chain practices, by F. H. Elam, American Steel Foundries, Chicago,
111.
Eye protection, by F. W. Shepard, American Cast Iron Pipe Co., Birming
ham, Ala.
Alcohol versus safety, by Dr. H. P. Hourigan, surgeon, L arkin Co., Buffalo,
N. Y.
Foundry sanitation, by J. F. Alexander, The Metal T rades Safety Association,
Toronto, Canada.
IR O N A N D S T E E L S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G .
(O c t . 1 8 , m o r n in g .)
Progress of safety in iron and steel industry (illustrated w ith lan tern slides),
by Lucian W. Chaney, United States D epartm ent of Labor.
Safety in blast furnace operation, by F. H. Wilcox, United States B ureau of
Mines.
Safety in Bessemer operations, by J. H. Ayres, National Tube Co., N ational
Works, McKeesport, Pa.
Safety in open hearth operations.
( O c t. 1 9 , m o r n in g .)
Achievements and possibilities of accident prevention in American industries,
by F. L. Hoffman, LL. D., P rudential Life Insurance Co., Newark, N. J.
Employment, by A. H. Young, Illinois Steel Co., South Chicago, 111.
Origin of safety methods and prevention of infection, by Dr. C. C. Booth,
chief surgeon, Republic Iron &* Steel Co., Youngstown, Ohio.
The duties of the visiting nurse, by Miss Florence W right, Clark Thread Co.,
Newark, N. J.
(O c t . 2 0 , m o r n in g .)
Safety in rolling mill operations, by Charles R. Hook, American Rolling Mill
Co., Middletown, Ohio.
Electric hazards, by D. M. Petty, Bethlehem Steel Col, South Bethlehem, Pa.
Safety in coke oven operations, by Iv. M. B urr, Illinois Steel Co., Gary, Ind.
Police and fire, by G. W. Atwood, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., Youngstown,
Ohio.
M IN IN G
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G .
( O c t. 1 8 , m o r n in g .)
Accident statistics, by Albert H. Fay, United States Bureau of Mines.
Mine safety signs and signals, by D. J. P arker and Edw in Steidle, United
States B ureau of Mines.
Qualifications of a mine foreman, by J. W. Paul, consulting engineer, P itts
burgh, Pa.
W orkmen's compensation and its effect on safety in mining, by H. M. Wilson,
the Associated Companies, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Mine accidents and their prevention, by FI. G. Davis, Delaware, Lackaw anna
& W estern Railroad, Kingston, Pa.
Relation of workmen's compensation laws to accident prevention movement,
by Dr. F. D. Patterson, Pennsylvania D epartm ent of Labor and Industry,
H arrisburg, Pa.
Underground sanitation at the mines, by W. A. Borchard, Austinville, Va.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[464]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
55
( O c t. 19, m o r n in g .)
Safety in hoisting and slope haulage, hy O. P. Hood, United States Bureau
of Mines.
Mine inspection, by W illiam H. Jobe, mine inspector, Crystal Falls, Mich.
W elfare work, by E. E. Bach, Ellsw orth Collieries Co., Ellsworth, Pa.
Mine fires and their recovery, by Prof. J. C. Roberts, Colorado School of
Mines, Golden, Colo.
Mine rescue apparatus—its value as a safety measure, by Oscar Cartledge,
Ottawa, 111.
Metal mine accidents and their prevention, by Prof. F. W. Sperr, School of
Mines, Houghton, Mich.
Education of miners in safety, by C. S. Stevenson, Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co.,
Islipeming, Mich.
P U B L IC
U T IL IT IE S S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G .
(O c t. 1 8 , m o r n in g .)
Station safeguarding, by Charles Penrose, Philadelphia Electric Co., P hila
delphia, Pa.
Accident prevention in the commercial departm ent of a large gas company,
by C. W. Clabaugh, Omaha Gas Co., Omaha, Nebr.
Safety from the economic standpoint, by B. F rank Day, Philadelphia Electric
Co.. Philadelphia, Pa.
Safety w rinkles around gas works, by G. I. Vincent, Des Moines Gas Co.,
Des Moines, Iowa.
STEA M
R A IL R O A D
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G .
(O c t . 1 8 , m o r n in g .)
The prevention of accidents, by R. C. Richards, Chicago & N orth W estern
Railway, Chicago, 111.
The American railroad p assenger: (1) W hat the railroads have done and
are doing for his safety ; (2) W hat he should do for his own safety, by G. L.
W right, Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad, St. Paul, Minn.
R ailroad trespassing—Its prevention a public duty, by A. A. K rause, Mis
souri, K ansas & Texas Railway, St. Louis, Mo.
( O c t. 1 8 , a f t e r n o o n .)
Railway crossing accidents: (1) Their cause; (2) How they can be reduced,
by John S. Rockwell, Buffalo, Rochester & P ittsburgh Railway, Rochester, N. Y.
How should the members of safety committees be selected and for w hat
length of time should they serve? by E. R. Scoville, Baltim ore & Ohio Railroad,
Baltimore, Md.
In order to secure the best results in safety work w hat should be the relation
of the railroad company and its officers to the safety first organization? by
J. M. Guild, Union Pacific Railroad, Omaha, Nebr.
(O c t . 1 9 , m o r n in g .)
The most frequent causes of injury to track and bridgemen and the best
way to elim inate these causes, by Charles T. Banks, E rie R ailroad Co., New
York City.
Shop accidents: (1) W hat has been accomplished in their reduction; (2)
How was it done and w hat more can be accomplished? by B. C. Winston,
W abash R ailw ay Co., St. Louis, Mo.
How shall injuries resulting from train operation other than collisions and
derailm ents be prevented? by F. M. Metcalfe, N orthern Pacific Railw ay Co.,
St. Paul, Minn.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[465]
56
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
( O c t . 1 9 , a f t e r n o o n .)
How to make safety committee meetings interesting, by W. C. Wilson, Dela
ware, Lackaw anna & W estern Railway Co., New York City.
The national safety council: (1) W hat service does it render its members
and how can th a t service be improved? (2) W hat it is doing for the public,
by G. S. Locker, D uluth & Iron Range Railroad, Two H arbors, Minn.
HEALTH
S E R V IC E
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G .
(O c t . 1 8 , a f t e r n o o n .)
H ealth service work as an efficiency factor, by Dr. Otto P. Geier.
H ealth education, by Dr. L. G. Shoudy, chief surgeon, Bethlehem Steel Co.,
South Bethlehem, Pa.
Physical exam ination of employees, by Dr. W ilbur E. Post, chief medical
adviser, Peoples Gas, Light & Coke Co., Chicago, 111.
F irst aid, by Dr. J. C. Bloodgood, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
Occupational diseases, by Dr. E. R. H ayhurst, Ohio State Board of Health,
Columbus, Ohio.
H ealth insurance, by A. W. Whitney, N ational W orkmen’s Compensation
Service Bureau, New York City.
(O c t . 1 9 , a f t e r n o o n .)
The company doctor, by Dean Samuel S. Marquis, Ford Motor Co., Detroit,
Mich.
Employment, medical supervision, and safety, by L. A. Phelps, The Avery
Co., Peoria, 111.
Industrial hospital and dispensaries, by Dr. R. C. Cabot, Boston, Mass.
H ernia, by Dr. Jam es Burry, chief surgeon, Illinois Steel Co., Chicago, 111.
D ental work in the industries, by Dr. Lee K. Frankel, M etropolitan Life
Insurance Co., New York City.
( O c t . 2 0 , a f t e r n o o n .)
Relationship of health to industry, by Dr. W. A. Evans, Chicago Tribune,
Chicago, 111.
Medical supervision of workmen, by Dr. H arry E. Mock, chief surgeon,
Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, 111.
Reduction of health hazards, by Dr. Francis D. Patterson, Pennsylvania
D epartm ent of Labor and Industry, H arrisburg, Pa.
S tandards of industrial hygiene, by Dr. J. W. Schereschewsky, United States
Public H ealth Service.
E L E C T R IC R A IL W A Y
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G .
( O c t. 1 9 , m o r n in g .)
How the attitu d e of the public tow ard the railroad company is influenced
by system atic safety work, by Russel A. Sears, Boston Elevated Railw ay Co.,
Boston, Mass.
How graphic charts and bulletins help in safety education, by H arold W.
Clapp, Columbus Railway, Power & Light Co., Columbus, Ohio.
Safety and efficiency—How a new member tackles the problem, by Julien
H. Harvey, K ansas City Railw ay Co., K ansas City, Mo.
How the safety movement is helping the electric railw ay industry meet its
problems, by Prof. H. H. Norris, Electric Railway Journal, New York City.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[466]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
57
( O c t. 1 9 , a f t e r n o o n .)
The application of the national electric safety code to electric railw ay con
struction and operation, by W. J. Canada, United States Bureau of Standards.
Safety devices on electric street and interurban cars, by Charles H. Cross,
Milwaukee Electric Railw ay & Light Co., Milwaukee, Wis.
W arnings a t interurban and obstructed crossings.
H azards of power houses and car barns and their remedies.
Methods of instructing new motormen in their duties, by H. B. Adams,
Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Railway, Aurora, 111.
PAPER
AND
PULP
M A N U F A C T U R E R S ’ S E C T IO N A L
M E E T IN G .
(O c t. 1 9 , m o r n in g .)
Paper mill lighting.
Guarding of electrical and steam machinery in paper mills.
Various types of calendar guards.
E levators—How used and how to avoid accidents while being used.
Paper mill ventilation.
(O c t . 2 0 , m o r n in g .)
Safety committee work in paper mills.
M aintaining interest in safety bulletin boards.
Safety in the Ontario pulp and paper m anufacturers’ plants.
Relation of the eight-hour day to safety.
H ealth and surgical problems of the paper industry.
T E X T IL E
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G
(O C T . 1 9 , M O R N I N G ) .
The safety work of the Ludlow M anufacturing Associates, by B. B. Fogler,
Ludlow M anufacturing Associates, Ludlow, Mass.
Safety in southern cotton mills, by G. D. Bragdon, General Accident, F ire & •
Life Assurance Co., Philadelphia, Pa.
CEM ENT
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G
(O C T . 2 0 , M O R N I N G ) .
W hat has been accomplished by cement companies in safety work, by Robert
Brinton Hill, P ortland Cement Association, Chicago, 111.
E lectrical hazards, by Ii. J. Young, U niversal P ortland Cement Co., Chicago,
111.
Safe practices in quarry and mill.
E M P L O Y E E S ’ B E N E F IT A S S O C IA T IO N S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G
(O C T . 2 0 , M O R N I N G ) .
The m utual value to employer and employee of a benefit association, by J. N.
Redfern, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R ailroad Co., Chicago, 111.
The essential features of organizing benefit associations, by W. L. Chandler,
Dodge M anufacturing Co., M ishawaka, Ind.
The statistical basis for assessments and benefits, by J. M. Eaton, Cadillac
Motor Car Co., D etroit, Mich.
The doctor’s work in a benefit association.
GOVERNM ENTAL
S E C T IO N A L
M E E T IN G
(O C T . 2 0 , M O R N I N G ) .
Standardizing accident records, by Royal Meeker, United States Commis
sioner of Labor Statistics.
The accident problem as it concerns the general public, by Frederick L.
Hoffman, Prudential Life Insurance Co., Newark, N. J.
Standardized Federal and S tate safety regulation, by E. B. Rosa, United
States Bureau of Standards.
Marine safety regulations.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[467]
58
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
L O G G IN G , L U M B E R IN G , A N D
W O O D W O R K IN G
M O R N IN G ).
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G
(O C T . 2 0 ,
Interesting the m anufacturer in accident prevention work, by F. D. Campau,
F u rn itu re M anufacturers’ Association, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Possibilities of preventing accidents in logging camps, through educational
means, by J. J. Lingle, Westboro Lumber Co., Westboro, Wis.
How to organize a sawmill for safety, by F. A. Barker, Lum berm an’s M utual
C asualty Co., Chicago, 111.
Safeguarding the most hazardous machines in woodworking plants, by Henry
B urr, T. H. M astin & Co., K ansas City, Mo.
Safe practices in lumber yards, by B. C. Christy, International H arvester
Co., Chicago, 111.
P U B L IC
SAFETY
S E C T IO N A L M E E T IN G
(O C T . 2 0 , M O R N I N G ) .
Public safety work of public service companies, by H. A. Bullock, Brooklyn
Rapid T ransit Co., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Ideal organization for public safety in a community, by Robert W. Campbell,
Illinois Steel Co., Chicago, 111.
Street traffic regulations as related to public safety, by W illiam P. Eno, in
ternational traffic expert, Saugatuck, Conn.
Public safety education in the public schools, by R. B. Morley, O ntario Safety
League, Toronto, Canada.
Practical aspects of public safety work, by Dr. W illiam Burgess, Public
Safety Commission of Chicago and Cook County, Chicago, 111.
GERMAN WORKMEN’S INSURANCE CODE: AMENDMENTS RELATING
TO INVALIDITY INSURANCE.
The bulletin (Amtliche Nachrichten) of the German Imperial
Insurance Office, of July 15, 1916, reprints a federal law of June 12,
1916 (R. G. Bl. No. 127, p. 525), which makes several vital changes
in those provisions of the workmen’s insurance code which relate
to old-age, survivors’, and invalidity pensions.
The age limit for the payment of pensions is reduced from 70
to 65 years. The provision limiting the increase of the invalidity
pension for children of dependents under 15 years of age to one and
one-half times the amount of the invalidity pension has been re
moved, permitting an increase of one-tenth in the invalidity pension
for each child without regard to number. The share of the invalidity
institutes in providing pensions for orphans has been made a fixed
rate for each orphan instead of a diminishing rate corresponding to
the increase in the number of orphans. To provide for this increase
in pensions, the weekly contributions of the insured in the different
wage classes have been increased as follows:
Wage
Wage
Wage
Wage
Wage
Class
Class
Class
Class
Class
I, from 16 pfennigs ($0,038) to 18 pfennigs ($0,043).
II, from 24 pfennigs ($0,057) to 26 pfennigs ($0,062).
III, from 32 pfennigs ($0,076) to 34 pfennigs ($0,081).
IV, from 40 pfennigs ($0,095) to 42 pfennigs ($0,100).
V, from 48 pfennigs ($0,114) to 50 pfennigs ($0,119).
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[468]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
59
Articles 1294 and 1295, limiting survivors’ pensions to a specified
maximum, have been abrogated. Each person under the law must
make contributions for a certain period, termed “waiting period,”
before entitled to a pension. Persons above a certain year of age
at the time the system became effective as to them were credited
with a certain number of weeks of waiting period for each year of
their age in excess of 40 years. The new law lowers this age limit
to 35 years, thereby reducing the period of actual contribution
necessary in order to entitle to a pension.
The law also amends certain financial provisions of the code as
to the keeping of reserves and the admission of special insurance
institutes as carriers of the insurance.
The amendments of the new law as to weekly contributions and
general reserve become effective January 1, 1917, and all of its
other provisions on January 1, 1916. Claims as to old-age and
orphans’ pensions, and orphans’ settlements pending on the day of
the promulgation of the new law are subject to the provisions of
the latter. Old-age pensions awarded under the new law do not,
however, begin earlier than January 1, 1916.
A complete translation of the German Workmen’s Insurance Code
was published in Bulletin 96 of this bureau. At the time of the pub
lication of this bulletin the Workmen’s Insurance Code was in force
only in so far as the measures for its administration were concerned.
The provisions of book 4 (invalidity and survivor’s insurance) and
those of book 5, which regulate the relations of the carriers of the
invalidity and survivors’ insurance to the other insurance carriers,
came into force on January 1, 1912. The third book of the code, re
lating to accident insurance, and that part of the fifth book which
regulates the relations of the accident insurance carriers with the
carriers of sickness insurance, became effective January 1, 1913, and
the second book (sickness insurance) and all remaining provisions of
the Insurance Code, came into force January 1, 1914 (R. G. Bl. 1912,
No. 44).
A translation of the new law of June 12, 1916, follows:
LAW OF JU N E 12, 1916, RELATING TO PENSIONS UNDER T H E INVA
LID ITY INSURANCE.
A r t i c l e 1. Articles 1257, 1291,1292, 1392, and 1397 of the Imperial
Insurance Code are herewith amended as follows:
Article 1257.
Old-age pensions shall be received by the insured person beginning
with the completed sixty-fifth year of life, even if he is not an in
valid.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[469]
60
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Article 1291.
If the beneficiary of the invalidity pension has children under 15
years of age, then the invalidity pension shall be increased for each
child by one-tenth.
Article 1292.
The share of the insurance institute shall in the case of widows’
and widowers’ pensions amount to three-tenths, and in the case of
orphans’ pensions to three twentieths of the basic amount and of the
increases of the invalidity pension, which the person providing their
support had received at the time of his death, or, in the case of in
validity, would have received.
Article 1392.
Until further action, the following shall be collected as weekly con
tributions :
In wage Class I, 18 pfennigs ($0,043).
In wage Class II, 26 pfennigs ($0,062).
In wage Class III, 34 pfennigs ($0,081).
In wage Class IV, 42 pfennigs ($0,100).
In wage Class V, 50 pfennigs ($0,119).
Article 1397.
For covering the general cost, each insurance institute shall, begin
ning with January 1, 1917, set aside in its accounts 60 per cent of the
contributions as general assets. The institute shall credit interest to
the general assets set aside. The Federal Council shall determine the
rate of interest on a uniform basis for the same periods of time as
well as for the same contributions.
A rt. 2. Articles 1294 and 1295 of the Imperial Insurance Code are
herewith abrogated.
A rt. 3. The text of paragraph 1 of article 65 of the introductory
law to the Imperial Insurance Code is herewith amended as follows:
Insured persons who, when the insurance obligation for their
branch of industry comes into force, have completed their thirtyfifth year of life shall be credited in the computation of the waiting
term for the old-age pension with 40 weeks for each full year of
their age in excess of 35 years and a proportionate number of weeks
up to 40 for the part of such year in excess.
A rt. 4. Special insurance institutes admitted by the Federal
Council in pursuance of articles 1360 to 1380 of the Imperial Insur
ance Code shall without new admission by the Federal Council be
considered as admitted up to September 30, 1916. Up to this date
they must grant the old-age and survivors’ pensions provided by the
present law.
The supervisory authority shall determine the date up to which
the special institutes must have made the required amendments in
their by-laws. If a special institute does not comply in time with
this provision, the supervisory authority shall amend the by-laws.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[470]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
61
A rt. 5. The provisions of this law relating to articles 1392 and
1397 become effective on January 1, 1917; all other provisions be
come effective on January 1, 1916.
A r t . 6. Claims to old-age and orphans’ pensions and orphans’ set
tlements, as to which the procedure of determination is still pending
on the date of the promulgation of this law, are subject to its provi
sions. Their nonapplication shall be ground for revision in cases in
which the superior insurance office was not at the time able to apply
them.
Claims to old-age or orphans’ pensions and orphans’ settlements
which have been decided after December 31, 1915, shall be examined
by the insurance institute in accordance with the provisions of this
law, unless paragraph 1 is applicable. If this examination results in
a decision more favorable to the claimant, or if the claimant demands
it, a new decision must be rendered.
Old-age pensions awarded in pursuance of this law begin at the
earliest with January 1, 1916.
A rt. 7. Contribution stamps of the denominations prescribed in the
former article 1392 of the Imperial Insurance Code may not be used
after January 1, 1917. Non valid stamps may within two years after
the expiration of their validity be exchanged for valid stamps of equal
denomination at the places designated for their sale.
SWEDISH WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION LAW.
The Swedish Parliament on June 7, 1916, enacted a new compen
sation law for wage earners. This law, which goes into effect Janu
ary 1, 1918, makes some important changes in the existing act of
1901. It changes the old law from one covering enumerated haz
ardous employments to one covering all employments. All wage
earners, excepting home workers and. children working for their
parents, are entitled to compensation for injury providing their
annual earnings do not exceed 5,000 crowns ($1,340). Children under
12 years of age and casual workers are excluded.
The new law reduces the waiting period from 60 to 35 days, com
pensation commencing on the thirty-sixth day after the occurrence of
the accident. The law provides, however, that until a special law on
sickness insurance shall have been enacted, the employer shall com
pensate the injured workman during the time of this waiting period,
beginning with the fourth day after the accident. The benefits pro
vided consist of medical and hospital care, drugs and surgical sup
plies, cash benefits equivalent to two-thirds of the daily wages of the
injured, but graded according to the loss of earning power, yet not
less than one-fourth of the total earnings. Pension payments are
made for permanent disability. In the event of death there is paid
a funeral benefit of one-tenth of the annual earnings of the deceased
61766°—16-
-5
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[471]
62
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
but not less than 60 crowns ($16.08), and to dependents, according
to their number, certain graded amounts.
As under the previous law, the risk of the employer may be insured
either in the state insurance institute or with a private insurance
company.
DANISH WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION LAW.
The seven existing workmen’s compensation laws in Denmark cov
ering various occupations and industries have been combined or codi
fied in a single law of July 6, 1916.
The new act covers, under separate chapters, fishermen, seamen,
agriculture and forestry and related industries, and all employments
in manufacturing industries. The former law enumerated employ
ments and industries which were covered under the act. Besides ac
cidental injuries, occupational diseases may be included under this
act, these to be specified presumably by the insurance council which
is established.
The new law continues the system of compensating the first 18
weeks of disability under the voluntary sickness insurance law. Com
pensation under this law, therefore, begins with the fourteenth week.
The act provides the usual items of compensation: Cash benefits;
permanent disability payments, graded according to the loss of earn
ing power; compensation to survivors; and funeral aid. The cash
benefits are limited to two-thirds of the total wages of the injured,
but not exceeding 3 crowns (80.4 cents) nor less than 1 crown (26.8
cents). To survivors the maximum lump-sum payment is limited to
6,000 crowns ($1,608), with a minimum of 3,000 crowns ($804). Fu
neral benefits range from 120 crowns ($32.16) to 80 crowns ($21.44)
according to the residence of the deceased.
The State contributes two-fifths of the necessary premium for the
support of the insurance system except in the case of seamen, for
whom it provides one-half of the contributions with certain excep
tions.
The law goes into effect January 1, 1917.
BRIEF FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.
The quarterly issue of the American Labor Legislation Review
(American Association for Labor Legislation, New York City) for
June, 1916, under the above title, contains special articles on health in
surance as a phase of paternalism, compulsory health insurance in
Great Britain, tendencies of health-insurance legislation, and volun
tary health insurance in New York City. Most of the volume, how-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[472]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
63
ever, is devoted to the brief for health insurance (pp. 155 to 236),
followed by a concise statement of principles to be regarded as fun
damental in considering health-insurance legislation. Based on these
principles a tentative draft of an act is submitted, and the volume
closes with a bibliography on health insurance.
Mr. William Hard, the author of the first article, entitled “ Is health
insurance paternalism? ” observes that a system of health insurance
once inaugurated so operates as to induce the employer voluntarily
to extend and maintain it. “ Having got started, it goes forward.
Having been coerced into self-activity, it self-acts beyond coercion.”
The system compels attention and interest in sanitation, because the
amount of the contribution to the sick fund is dependent upon the
amount of sickness prevailing. The employer is thus encouraged to
make every effort to reduce the sick rate. In Germany the monthly
sick insurance paid by nearly all employers “ has been worth thou
sands of sanitary inspectors to the Imperial Government.” Similar
results are said to have obtained in Great Britain as a consequence of
the compulsory health-insurance law of 1911. “ Already there are
indications,” declares an official investigating commission, “ that as
a result of the rest obtained under the act a better condition of
health has in certain cases been attained than has been exnerienced
for many years.”
Moreover, it appears that the whole antituberculosis movement has
been strengthened. In 1911 Parliament made a grant of $7,200,000
to defray the expenses of sanitariums for both insured and noninsured
persons, and for 1914 and 1915 the Government appropriated $1,464,000 and $2,300,000, respectively, to pay one-half of the expenses
incurred by local authorities in treating for tuberculosis noninsured
persons as well as the dependents of insured workers. Other results
claimed for the system in England include an increased use of the
midwdfe through the provisions of the maternity benefit, and a re
lief of the burden borne by the Poor law. The towns of Bristol and
Manchester report a diminution of pauperism in 1913 as compared
with 1912, which is attributed to the insurance act. Medical relief,
unlike the practice under the Poor law, is rendered in the home, and
this, it is stated, aided in preventing the breaking up of homes.
These and other benefits of a compulsory and State-wide system of
health insurance are developed at some length in the “ Brief for
health insurance,” which marshals the arguments in support of the
system, quotes the opinions of authorities in the field, and cites offi
cial and private reports and investigations favorable to the adoption
of a compulsory health-insurance plan. It is asserted that high sick
ness and death rates prevail among American wage earners, and
authorities are cited to show that the amount of disability due to
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[473]
64
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
sickness among wage earners is high, particularly as a result of
tuberculosis and degenerative diseases of middle life. An excessive
infant mortality rate in the industrial population is declared to be
“ indicative of conditions which stand sorely in need of correction.”
These conditions suggest the necessity for more extended provision
for medical care among wage earners and more effective methods
for meeting the economic loss due to illness. This seems particu
larly important since the wage earner, with an income generally
less than $1,000 a year, does not possess the means to meet the
expense of proper medical care. Furthermore, free hospital wards
and dispensaries not only have been insufficient to care for the wage
earners in time of sickness, but are objected to as charity by many
workers. Although certain systems have been designed to insure
against wage loss due to illness, they apparently are not fulfilling
their purpose. Establishment funds are too few and limited in
extent; commercial health insurance appears to be an excessively
expensive method for recouping loss due to illness; fraternal insur
ance societies are not reaching the lower paid workers but rather
the middle and higher classes; trade-union benefit funds are limited
in extent, being confined to the better paid workers.
The methods followed in this country for the prevention of sick
ness and for its immediate relief have proved inadequate. Factory
laws for the protection of the health and safety of workmen have
been incomplete, while their administration too often has been
defective. The economic loss due to tuberculosis, typhoid, and other
infectious diseases, would suggest that the authorities to whom is
entrusted their abatement have been unable to meet the situation.
The existing agencies noted above are declared to be ineffective
in meeting the needs for financial relief and the prevention of
illness among wage earners. It is furthermore asserted that volun
tary subsidized insurance can not meet these needs if reliance may be
placed upon the results achieved by such a system in various Euro
pean countries. The limited benefits which have accrued to wage
earners through voluntary health insurance as compared with the
benefits extended to those who have profited by a compulsory health
insurance system, in those countries in which the latter has been
applied, are cited in support of the compulsory plan. It may be
noted in this connection that while the voluntary health insurance
system of France reached only 9 per cent of the population in 1911,
the compulsory State health insurance system in Germany during
the same year reached 22 per cent of the population of that country.
Compulsory health insurance, therefore, is advanced as a proper
method of securing adequate treatment, financial protection, and
prevention of illness among wage earners.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[474]
MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR STATISTICS.
65
The advantages cited in behalf of a compulsory health-insurance
system, to which employers, employees, and the State shall con
tribute as sharers 1 in its benefits, are the following: (1) Certainty
of insurance to all wage earners reasonably expected to require
protection; (2) opportunity for simplified and economical adminis
tration; (3) the maintenance of a reserve, as under the voluntary
system, is unnecessary inasmuch as under the compulsory system
there will be a continuous accession of young lives. Under this
system there will be provided the necessary medical care, drugs,
and supplies, cash benefits, and relief from financial stress during
illness; maternity benefits for the wives of insured workmen; and
funeral benefits. The indirect results which may be expected to
follow the adoption of a system of State health insurance will
probably be as important as the direct results. “ The great merit
of the proposed legislation is the contribution it is certain to make
to the cause of health conservation. Under this scheme health
comes to have a cash value, not only to the employee but to the
employer and the State, since all must contribute to the insurance
fund.” 2 Factory sanitation will be developed; preventive medicine
may be expected to be stimulated; popular education on disease pre
vention will result; and governmental interest in a comprehensive
campaign for sickness prevention will be intensified by reason of the
Government having an interest in the system through its contribu
tion to the sick fund. All these results have apparently been
attained in those countries where the system has been tried.
“ Thus compulsory health insurance not only meets the urgent
need of the wage earner for medical care and for financial assistance
during illness, but, of the various possible methods of insuring, it
alone promises to distribute the cost fairly and wisely between
employers, employees, and the State, while it also offers peculiar
administrative advantages and can be counted on to give a powerful
stimulus to the prevention of sickness. Compulsory health insur
ance is at once an economical method of providing for the needs
of the wage worker and a mighty force for the inauguration of a
comprehensive campaign for health conservation.”
1 T h e S ta te s h a ll c o n tr ib u te o n e -fifth o f th e t o t a l e x p e n d itu re s f o r b e n e fits, a n d o n e -h a lf
o f th e b a la n c e s h a ll be p a id b y th e e m p lo y e r a n d o n e -h a lf by th e em ployee, e x c e p t t h a t if
th e e a r n in g s o f th e in s u r e d f a ll below $9 a w e ek th e s h a re s o f th e e m p lo y e r, em ployee, a n d
S ta te s h a ll b e th e p r o p o r tio n in d ic a te d in th e fo llo w in g s c h e d u le :
E m p lo y e r—
E m p lo y e e —
S ta te —
I f e a r n in g s a r e —
48 p e r c en t.
32 p e r c e n t.
$9, b u t n o t u n d e r $8.
20 p e r c en t.
56 p e r c e n t.
24 p e r c e n t.
20 p e r c e n t.
$8, b u t n o t u n d e r $7.
64 p e r c en t.
16 p e r c e n t.
20 p e r c e n t.
$7, b u t n o t u n d e r $6.
72 p e r c en t.
8 p e r c en t.
2 0 p e r cen t.
$6, b u t n o t u n d e r $5.
0 p e r c e n t.
20 p e r c e n t.
80 p e r c en t.
$5 o r le ss.
I n a ll cases th e c o n tr ib u tio n s s h a ll be c o m p u te d a s a p e rc e n ta g e of th e w a g es.
2 H e n ry R. S a e g e r, p ro f e s s o r o f eco n o m ics, C o lu m b ia U n iv e rs ity .
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[475]
66
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
HEALTH INSURANCE AND THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.
The American Medical Association has recently taken up the
study of health insurance. Through its council on health and public
instruction, to whom was delegated the duty of developing the
program of the association as regards health insurance—outlined
in 1914 and reaffirmed in 1915—a special subcommittee was
appointed in January, 1916, the report of which to the Detroit ses
sion of the association (June 12-16, 1916) appeared in the June
IT issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (pp.
1951-1985).
This committee was charged primarily “ to study social insur
ance in its relation to the medical profession.” A special office was
opened by the committee in New York and the services of a healthinsurance expert secured to prosecute the study.1 According to
the report in question it is the intention of this committee to under
take the following duties:
F irst. To educate the American medical profession in the general principles
of social insurance, particularly health insurance, the economic and social
significance of the movement to obtain such insurance throughout th e United
States, and the absolutely essential p a rt which the medical profession m ust
play in a successful adaptation of this new legislation to American conditions.
Second. The bureau will consider it as p a rt of its work to answ er all ques
tions which any physician may desire to w rite to it, asking for inform ation,
facts, or figures bearing on social insurance in any of its phases, and to be in
reality a bureau of inform ation for the medical profession in regard to the
details of organization, of medical aid in various forms of social insurance,
both in European countries and the United States.
Third. The committee considers it its duty to appear when advisable before
the legislative bodies in this country, w ith a view to bring about friendly
understanding between all parties concerned and to protect the legitim ate
economic interests of the profession in the law s coming up for discussion con
cerning social insurance.
Apparently, then, it is the purpose of this committee to study
health insurance with a view to- securing the best interests of
the medical profession in the adoption of any system by the
Nation or by the different States. In its review of the field of social
insurance, as practiced in foreign countries, it emphasizes particu
larly the part that the medical profession plays in its application.
Health insurance in the United States, as afforded through private,
voluntary agencies, is touched upon, and criticism is made of the
1 T h e c o m m itte e c o n s is te d o f H . B . F a v ill (s in c e d e c e a s e d ), A le x a n d e r L a m b e rt, a n d
F r e d e ric J . C o tto n , th e f ir s t tw o b e in g c h a irm e n , re s p e c tiv e ly , of th e c o u n cil on h e a lth a n d
p u b lic in s tr u c tio n , a n d th e ju d ic ia l c o u n c il. T h e e x p e r t e n g a g e d by th e c o m m itte e w a s
D r. I. M. R u b in o w .
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[476]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
67
methods employed by these agencies in engaging the services of
physicians.
The whole service and the capitation system under which it is possible is
held as the criterion of w hat is dishonorable and contemptible in the practice
of medicine. The results to the unfortunate physician who m ust give this
service are disproportionately severe for his responsibility in the m atter. The
vicious circle is formed by certain economic situations, and this circle can not be
broken except by a change of the economic forces. Compulsory insurance by the
S tate can alone solve these economic problems of the very poor and release the
u nfortunate physician who, facing starvation, m ust accept this lodge practice.
This criticism is mainly directed against the fraternal lodges.
The report under review reprints the proposed health-insurance
act drafted by the American Association for Labor Legislation, and
concludes as follows:
This voluminous report has made no pretense of arguing for or against
health insurance. I t has made no attem pt to bring together the advantages
or disadvantages to be gained by the community or its desirability as a
m easure of health or social necessity. The committee on social insurance
offers it as a compilation of w hat has been done abroad and of the present
situation in the United States. I t has brought forw ard only those points
which would seem to be of interest to the medical profession and which will
be useful to them in preparing a study of the situation in any given State
in this Union where health insurance is likely to be brought up and placed on
th e sta tu te books.
The effective adm inistration of any health insurance law m ust be done
through lim itation by trade or geographic area of its application. This is
clearly seen in the working abroad of the various laws in the different coun
tries. The English law is difficult of adm inistration because it violates this
fact. Germany and A ustria show m arked effectiveness because their laws
follow this peculiarity. F urtherm ore, the results obtained in working out the
details of the law will be greatly influenced by the financial management of
it. In Germany the percentage of expense borne by each member—the em
ployer, the employee, and the S tate—is designated in percentage, the actual
am ounts necessary being left to experience and management to obtain. In
England a definite m onetary am ount was laid down by law, and w ith the
erro rs of actuarial calculation, it has been found th a t these am ounts are insuffi
cient to give the desired results to the workers. Eighteen cents a week as a
premium was insufficient to give a full m easure of sick benefits to the workers
or ju st rem uneration to the physicians and medical benefits to the sick, let
alone the expenses for adm inistration. The English law fails to give more
th an the ordinary medical service and gives but a minimum of surgical appa
ra tu s and appliances, w ith the result th a t the sick do not receive the care
they should, though the physician is justly rem unerated, and the lack of
proper appliances keeps many sick on the sick benefit funds a t the unnecessary
expense of the insurance carriers. In Germany the generous application of
medical benefit and surgical appliances brings back the trem endous saving
in tim e and wages. As was pointed out by the judicial council la st year, the
expense of $8,000 to specialists saved over $160,000 in wages and sick benefits.
However one may criticize the details, the insurance act has unquestionably
improved the condition of the working classes which have come under the
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[477]
68
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
law. This is a very noticeable feature in England. I t will be of great
interest to note in the future the effect of the great w ar on these countries
and on the laws of social insurance.
The committee on social insurance has endeavored to bring forw ard as
much detail as possible regarding the rem uneration of physicians under these
laws, in order th a t the economic results on the lives of the physicians could
be fairly studied.
The more these laws of social insurance are studied the more it is evident
how essential is the medical profession in their adm inistration. I t is equally
essential th a t the profession should clearly understand these laws, and the
committee on social insurance therefore offers this study of health insurance
for the assistance of the profession in obtaining this necessary information.
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
AUSTRALIA.
Continuing the investigation of strikes and lockouts which was
begun in 1913 the Australian Bureau of Census and Statistics1 notes
the occurrence of 358 labor disputes during the year 1915 as com
pared with 337 in 1914 and 208 in 1913. A fewer number of estab
lishments were, however, involved in 1915 as compared with 1914—
942 and 1,203, respectively; in 1913 the number was 921. On the one
hand the number of workers directly affected increased steadily,
being 33,493 in 1913, 43,073 in 1914, 57,005 in 1915 ; on the other hand
average duration of the disputes, omitting 522,967 days lost in con
nection with the dispute in the northern coal fields in 1914, shows a
very notable decrease from year to year—12^ days in 1913, 8^ in 1914,
7 | in 1915.
A greater prevalence of industrial disputes is noted in New South
Wales as compared with the other States, a fact accounted for
largely by the coal mining industry, in which most of the .disputes
in that State occur. Mining and quarrying, as a matter of fact, fur
nish a very large proportion of disputes throughout the whole Com
monwealth. For the year 1913 the proportion of disputes in those
industries represented approximately 50 per cent of the total number
recorded ; in 1914 the proportion was 55 per cent and in 1915, 57 per
cent.
The wage question was responsible for the greatest number of
industrial disputes for each of the years 1914 and 1915. The next
most important causes were “ employment of particular classes or
persons ” and “ working conditions and discipline,” followed by
“ trade-unionism.” The following table shows the causes of indus
trial disputes commenced in Australia in 1915 :
1 C o m m o n w e a lth B u re a u o f C en su s a n d S ta tis tic s , L a b o r a n d I n d u s tr ia l B ra n c h , R e p o r t
N o. 6. P r ic e s , p u r c h a s in g p o w e r o f m o n ey , w a g es, tra d e -u n io n s , u n e m p lo y m e n t, a n d g e n
e r a l in d u s tr ia l c o n d itio n s , 1 9 1 4 -1 5 . M ay, 1916, p p. 9 9 —124, M e lb o u rn e [ 1 9 1 6 ] . 183 pp.
L a b o r B u lle tin , No. 13 ( J a n u a r y to M a rc h , 1 9 1 6 ), pp. 3 4 -9 9 [M e lb o u rn e ], J u ly , 1916.
104 pp.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[478]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
69
CAUSES O F IN D U S T R IA L D IS P U T E S COM M ENCED IN 1915.
N um ber N um ber of N um ber of
w ork
of
w orking
people
disputes.
involved. days lost.
Item .
1. W ages—
( a) F o r increase.................
(6) A gainst decrease...............
(c) O ther wage q u estio n s...................
2. H ours of labor—
( a ) F or re d u c tio n ...................
(6) O th er disputes re h o u rs...............................................
3. T ra d e -u n io n ism fa) A gainst em ploym ent of nonunionists.......................
(6) O th er union q u estio n s..................
4. E m ploym en t of p a rtic u la r classes or persons__
5. W orking conditions................................
6. S y m p a th y ................................
7. O ther causes...........................
T o ta l...................
73
10
46
18,783
1,113
11,990
ion
]? hAh
133*606
6
896
2,643
836
23,374
19
16
70
70
6
27
3,873
3,739
13,844
16,114
950
7 347
31,145
7 434
77* 862
K? 322
f> 004
17) 442
358
81,292
99^
In comparison with 1914 the results of disputes commenced during
1915 appear to have been substantially more in favor of the em
ployees.
IN D U S T R IA L D IS P U T E S , A C CO RD IN G TO R E S U L T S .
1914
1915
N um ber N u m b er of
N um ber N um ber of
um ber of
of dis
w orkm en N u m b er of of dis
w orkm en Ndays
day s lost.
lost.
affected.
putes.
putes.
affected.
In favor of w o rk p e o p le ....................
In favor of em ployer.......................
Compromise.....................................
Indefinite....................................
118
98
110
11
21,224
18,242
30,396
1,187
129,995
119,819
829,265
11,316
190
78
68
22
44,140
15,327
14', 860
6,905
245,625
155;659
151,544
30,397
T o ta l..........................................
337
71,049
1,090,395
358
81,292
683,225
Direct negotiations between representatives of employers and em
ployees formed the most popular method for the settlement of
disputes, accounting for the termination of approximately 70 per
cent of the industrial disputes in 1914 and in 1915. During the year
1915 the report notes a decided increase in the number of disputes in
which a third party (not officials under the Commonwealth or State
industrial acts) was required in the capacity of arbitrator.
The first quarter of 1916 seems to show a relative increase in the
number of labor disputes in Australia. During that quarter there
occurred 132 disputes, “ the second largest number recorded in any
one quarter since particulars have been collected by this bureau
(1913), and only IT less than in the fourth quarter of 1915. The
number of persons involved, either directly or indirectly, in these
disputes totaled 40,185. New disputes entailed a loss of 407,724
working-days, and old disputes 30,138, making an aggregate loss
in working-days of 437,862, and a total estimated loss of wages
of £274,369 [$1,335,217]. Of the total number of disputes all, with
the exception of 14, terminated within the quarter under review.”
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
. [479]
70
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
AUSTRIA.
For the year 1914 the Austrian Bureau of Labor Statistics reports
260 strikes, affecting 794 establishments and participated in by 33,412.
striking workmen out of a total of 72,805 employed in the establish
ments affected. The following table permits a comparison of the
strike movement in Austria during the last 5 years :
G E N E R A L ST A TISTIC S O F T H E S T R IK E M O V E M E N T IN A U S T R IA , 1910-1914.
sta b Strik
trik Elish
W ork
W ork
W ork Sing
ing
ers em
days
m
ents work
ers
em
E sta b ployed S trik
ork
af
ployed— w
lish
ers— fected— ers— lost—
W o rk
ing
in
es
Strikes. m ents tab lish w ork- days lost.
ers.
ents
fected. maf
P e r establish
P e r strike.
fected.
m ent affected.
Year.
1910.........................
1911.........................
1912.........................
1913.........................
1914 .......................
657
706
761
438
260
2,888 108,464 55,474 1,129,460
3,507 103,390 122,001 1,710,277
2,818 211,743 120,953 1,862,027
409,353
1,024 88; 150 39,814
264; 354
794 72,805 33,412
37.6
55.1
75.1
86.1
90.4
19.2
34.8
42.9
38.9
42.1
4.4
5.0
3.7
2.3
3.1
84.4
173.0
159.0
90.9
128.5
1,719.1
2,423.0
2,446.8
889.0
1,016.7
The number of strikes during the year under review was the
smallest since 1895. This is partly due, it is stated, to the economic
depression immediately before the war and partly to the war itself.
The individual strikes, however, were more extensive than in the
preceding year, the number of establishments affected, striking
workers, and workdays lost having increased in comparison with
1913, if computed per strike. The establishments affected by strikes
in 1914 were on an average larger than in the nine preceding years,
considering the number of workmen employed in them and the num
ber of strikers. If only industry groups with at least 10 strikes are
considered, the strikes in 1914 were distributed as follows:
S T R IK E S IN A U S T R IA D U R IN G 1914, B Y IN D U S T R Y G R O U PS.
Strikes.
E stab lish
m ents
affected.
Strikers.
W orkers
employed.
W orkdays
lost.
N u m Per
ber.
cent.
N u m Per
ber.
cent.
N um Per
ber.
cent.
N um Per
ber.
cent.
N um Per
ber.
cent.
In d u stry group.
M in in g ..........................................
Stones, e arth s, clay, and glass..
Metal w o rk in g .............................
M achinery, ap p aratu s, instrum ents, e tc .................................
W oodw orking, r u b b e r..............
T extiles..........................................
Clothing, cleaning.......................
Foodstuffs....................................
Building tra d e s ...........................
O ther in d u strie s.........................
T o ta l...................................
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
28
31
24
10.8
11.9
9.2
39
76
47
4.9
9.6
5.9
14,475
2,429
2,379
43.3
7.3
7.1
25,689
3,850
4,615
35.3
5.3
6.3
35,465
46,202
22,561
13.4
17.5
8.5
19
15
33
24
19
42
25
7.3
5.8
12.7
9.2
7.3
16.2
9.6
23
122
37
275
48
97
30
2.9
15.4
4.7
34.6
6.0
12.0
4.0
1,035
830
2.856
1,481
1,000
5,510
1,417
3.1
2.5
8.5
4.4
3.0
16.5
4.3
14,205
1,016
7,369
2,998
2,242
8,733
2,088
19.5
1.4
10.1
4.1
3.1
12.0
2.9
5.826
31,249
28,088
22,801
3,830
55,130
13,202
2.2
11.8
10.6
8.6
1.4
20.9
5.1
72,805 100.0 264,354
100.0
260 100.0
794 100.0
[480]
33,412 100.0
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
71
As to the duration of,the strikes, 124 (47.8 per cent), involving
16,058 strikers (48.1 per cent), lasted less than 6 days, while 71
strikes (27.4 per cent), involving 12,149 strikers (36.4 per cent),
lasted from 6 to 15 days, so that the number of strikes lasting over
15 days formed less than one-fourth of the total number. Demands
relating to wages in 203 instances (78.1 per cent), to hours of labor
in 54 instances (20.8 per cent), and to organization in 57 instances
(21.9 per cent), were the most frequent causes of strikes. Con
sidered from the viewpoint of the strikers, 22.7 per cent of the
strikes, involving 35.1 per cent of all strikers, were terminated suc
cessful^; 39.2 per cent of the strikes, involving 38.6 per cent of all
strikers, were compromised ; and 38.1 per cent of the strikes, involv
ing 26.3 per cent of all strikers, failed. Workmen’s organizations
intervened in 126 strikes and employers’ organizations in 14. Media
tion by State or other authorities was attempted in 62 strikes.
A total of 18 lockouts is reported for 1914. They involved 50
establishments, employing 9,900 workmen, of which number 6,917
(69.9 per cent) were locked out, losing a total of 115,591 workdays.
The two most important lockouts took place in two shipbuilding
yards, in which 3,921 workmen were locked out, with a total loss of
97,362 workdays. Compared with the preceding year, in which
23 lockouts, affecting 1,675 establishments and 22,258 locked-out
workmen out of 30,296 employed, were reported, the lockouts of
1914 were of relatively small importance. The majority (12) of the
lockouts lasted less than 31 days.
SWEDEN.
There has been a decline in the number of strikes in Sweden occurring
during the war, as compared with years prior thereto. Thus, accord
ing to a recent report of the Swedish bureau of labor, the number of
strikes in 1915 was less than in any preceding year since 1903, except
1910. In the latter year there were 66 strikes, while during 1915
there were 70. In 1915 there were 7 lockouts and 3 disputes of an
indefinite character, making a total of 80, as compared with 76
disputes of every character in 1910. The 80 disputes occurring in
1915 affected 110 employers and 5,119 employees, as compared with
115 disputes in 1914, affecting 247 employers and 14,385 employees.
Since the above report was issued by the Swedish labor office, 31
labor disputes are reported as having occurred in the first quarter
of 1916.1 These latter involved 44 employers and 2,510 wmrkmen.
1 Sociala meddelanden utgivna K Socialstyrelsen.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[431]
Stockholm, 1916.
No. 6.
72
MONTHLY EE VIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
The average number of workers affected by each strike in 1915
was 64, somewhat greater than in 1914 (61).
By industry groups it appears that the largest proportion of
workers affected in 1915 were those in the building trades, or 30
per cent, which compares with 21 per cent as the average for the
same trade for the whole period 1903 to 1914.
As to duration, 35 per cent of the conflicts in 1915 did not extend
over a week, while 76 per cent were terminated within a month, and
15 per cent extended from 31 to 90 days, inclusive, while 3 per cent
continued for a period of over 180 days.
A larger proportion of the strikes in 1915 were favorable to the
workers than during the period 1903 to 1914. The results are rather
striking, as shown in the following tabulation:
Re s u l t s o r
l a b o r d is p u t e s a n d
num ber
of w o r k er s a ffe c t e d ,
1903-1914
A N D 1915.
L abor disputes.
K esult.
1903-1914
W orkers affected.
1915
1903-1914
1915
Per N um ber. Per N um ber. Per
Per
N um ber. cent.
cent.
cent. N um ber. cent.
In favor of em ployers.............................
In favor of w orkers..................................
Com prom ised............................................
R esult n o t reported or indecisive___
634
635
728
115
30
30
35
5
17
27
29
7
21
34
36
9
338,441
30,990
238,290
4,508
66
6
27
1
638
2,201
2,083
197
12
43
41
4
T o ta l....................... .......................
2,112
100
80
100
512,229
100
5,119
100
Relating the causes of strikes to their results, it appears, as is well
known, that those strikes in which the demand was for an in
crease in wages were most generally compromised. Thus, of the 39
strikes (49 per cent of all strikes) caused by a demand for increased
wages in 1915, affecting 2,327 workmen, 22, affecting 1,722 workmen,
were compromised, while only 8 terminated in favor of the employers
and only 7 in favor of the workmen.
Examination of the relation between the duration of strikes and
their results shows that, from the point of view of the number of dis
putes, the workers were most successful in conflicts of long duration,
while those of short duration were generally compromised.
Arbitration settled 3 strikes and the official conciliators contrib
uted to the settlement of 21.
The principal data concerning strikes in Sweden since 1903 are con
tained in the following statement:
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[482]
73
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
S T R IK E S A N D LO C K O U TS IN S W E D E N , 1903 TO 1915.
Strikes.
Year.
1903..
1904..
1905..
1906..
1907..
1908. .
1909. .
1910. .
1911. .
1912. .
1913..
1914. .
1915..
N um ber of
N um - ember of ploystrikes ers affeeted.
Lockouts.
D isputes of indefin
ite character.
A ll disputes.
N um ber of
employers affeeted.
N um ber of
employers affeeted.
N um ber of
employers affeeted.
N um ber of N um w ork- ber of
ers af- strikes
fected.
109
256
5,970
169
383
8,299
152
325 13,186
239
668 15,050
243
498 11,278
229
473 17,187
102 7,707 229,248
66
127
3,420
85
150
4,940
108
168
5, 797
118
203
9,574
105
101
8,832
70
100
4,277
N um ber of N um work- ber of
ers af- strikes.
fected.
16
96
982
12
62 1,218
12
12
456
8
12
560
23
37 5,669
38
125 2,672
22
451 71,364
5
101
5
9 1,759 15,145
4
337 2,166
1
1
17
8
64 5,368
7
7
813
17
34
25
43
46
35
14
5
4
4
2
3
N um ber of N um w ork- h er of
ers af- strikes
fected.
126 17,619
153 2,731
510 19,264
49 3,045
283 6,593
826 20,498
30 1,137
14
150
11
491
284 2,017
2
3
185
29
N um ber
N um ber of
workers affected.
642,000
478 24,571
142
385,000
598 12,248
215
189
847 32,906 2,390,000
479,000
729 18,655
290
514,000
818 23,540
312
302 1,424 40,357 1,842,200
138 8,188 301,749 11,739, 700
39,000
146
3.671
76
569,800
98 1,920 20,576
292,145
789
9,980
116
303,344
204
9,591
119
•620.469
115
247 14,385
83,270
5,119
80
110
A LIVING WAGE BY LEGISLATION: THE OREGON EXPERIENCE1
“A Living Wage by Legislation”1 is the title of a pamphlet set
ting forth the experience in Oregon under the operation of the
minimum-wage law passed by the legislature in 1913 and admin
istered by the State Industrial Welfare Commission. The volume
contains the code of rulings and orders issued by the commission,
a reprint of the act creating the commission, extracts from certain
decisions of the Supreme Court of Oregon, and the text of the
Oregon 10-hour law for women.
The presentation of this subject by the chairman of the Industrial
Welfare Commission is premised upon the principle that it is the
duty of the State, by wise and adequately enforced legislation, to
prevent any large section of its people from falling below decent
standards of living, which condition, it is claimed, would result in
economic, social and domestic evils, individual demoralization, and
in national weakness. One of the most important features of such
legislation, it is declared, is the provision for a living wage.
In reviewing foreign experience in this connection, minimumwage legislation enacted in the Australian States and in New
Zealand is particularly noted, with special reference to the principles
governing the action of the Australian court of conciliation and
arbitration as outlined by Justice Higgins in an article published in
the Harvard Law Review and reprinted in the M o n t h l y R eview for
February, 1916 (pp. 1 to 22). In the United States minimum-wage
1 A Living Wage by Legislation : The Oregon experience. By Edwin V. O’Hara, chair
man of the Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of Oregon. Salem, 1916. xxiii,
57 pp.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[483]
74
MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
legislation, with one exception,1 is administered by commissions or
boards, the first being established in Massachusetts in 1912.2 All
legislation of this character applies only to women and children, and
has followed in certain important features the Massachusetts law.
As already stated, the Oregon law was enacted in 1913, after a
comprehensive survey of wages and hours and conditions of labor of
women workers, and the Industrial Welfare Commission, which
began work in June of that year, was concerned not only with the
regulation of wages but the fixing of maximum hours and the estab
lishment of sanitary conditions of labor. Failing in an attempt to
induce employers voluntarily to adopt standards of hours and wages
and conditions for their women .workers, the commission resorted to
the policy of issuing mandatory rulings, which constituted the first
minimum-wage determinations made by any commission in the
country. These orders have been since revised, effective September
1, 1916. They provide for a minimum weekly wage rate for experi
enced adult women workers, ranging from $8.25 in the smaller towns
of the State to $9.25 in certain occupations in Portland. One feature
of the revised orders is a provision for a rise every four months
during the year in the wage scale allowed for apprentices. Other
provisions of the code relate to the limitation of daily hours of labor,
the prohibition of night work, the requirement of one day of rest in
seven, a 45-minute lunch period, and general sanitary regulations.
The report refers to the fact that minimum-wage legislation in
this country has been applied only to women because of the fear that
legal interference with the contractual freedom of men might be
declared unconstitutional, and then quotes from the decision of the
United States Supreme Court, which, in upholding the Oregon
10-hour law for women, laid down broadly the grounds upon which
welfare legislation interfering with the freedom of contract of
women would be upheld by the courts while similar legislation
would not be sustained for men.
Two cases are cited in which the constitutionality of the minimumwage law was attacked—one resulting in a decision by the Supreme
Court of Oregon upholding the constitutionality of the law and the
other resulting in a similar decision, which was subsequently appealed
to the United States Supreme Court, where the argument was heard
on December 17, 1914.3 The author argues that minimum-wage legis
lation does not interfere with the freedom of contract, and in support
1 In U ta h th e m in im u m w a g e h a s b een fixed by d ir e c t a c t o f th e le g is la tu r e .
2 T h e S ta te s w h ic h h a v e m in im u m -w a g e la w s a r e A rk a n s a s , C a lifo rn ia , C o lo ra d o , K a n
sa s, M a s s a c h u s e tts , M in n e s o ta , N e b ra sk a , O reg o n , U ta h , W a s h in g to n , a n d W isc o n sin .
3 N o d e c isio n w a s re n d e re d , a n d th e c a se is to be r e h e a r d th is fa ll.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[484]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OP TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
75
of his position quotes from Justice Higgins, president of the Austra
lian court of conciliation and arbitration:
The imposition of a minimum wage * * * implies, of course, an adm is
sion of the tru th of the doctrine of economists, of .all schools, I think, th a t
freedom of contract is a misnomer as applied to the contract between the em
ployer and an ordinary individual employee. The strategic position of the em
ployer in a contest as to wages is much stronger than th a t of the individual em
ployee. “ The power of the employer to w ithhold bread is a much more effec
tive weapon than the power of the employee to refuse to labor.” Low wages
are bad in the w orker’s eyes, but unemployment, w ith starvation in the background, is worse.
In regard to the effects of the Oregon minimum-wage law the
author cites the report of an investigation, especially of mercantile
establishments, undertaken jointly by the Federal Industrial Rela
tions Commission and the United States Department of Labor, the
results of which are set forth in Bulletin 176 of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. In general the report shows that—
1. Men have not taken women’s places.
2. The minimum rate of pay for the experienced adult workers was raised
in all occupations. The per cent of the force receiving $12 and over increased
after the wage determ inations.
3. Average weekly earnings increased 10 per cent for the total number of
women employed in 1914. And this, it will be observed, a t a tim e of financial
depression, when a 10 per cent cut in wages would have occurred except for
the wage rulings.
Occasion is taken in the report to differentiate between the wage
rate and the contents of the pay envelope. The one might be largely
increased, while the other, owing to unemployment, might still be
far below the necessary cost of decent subsistence. I t was found,
however, in the investigation mentioned above, that while the wage
law caused an advance in the wage rate it resulted in a still more
marked increase in weekly income, indicating a tendency to regulate
employment and to reduce the evils of unemployment.
Another result of wage legislation in Oregon, it is pointed out,
has been to stimulate the movement for vocational education. “ The
elimination of the unregulated apprenticeship system, with its mis
erable pittance of a wage and generally inadequate training, has
been altogether wholesome. I t has brought employers and technical
school authorities together in conference, with the promise of good
both to the schools and the shops.”
In discussing the employers’ viewpoint the report seeks to cor
rect the impression that minimum-wage legislation is opposed by
representative employers. “A legal minimum wage destroys the ad
vantage which unscrupulous employers who are willing to cut wages
below the subsistence level have always enjoyed over their more
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[485]
76
MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
decent competitors. Respectable employers have not been slow to
recognize this fact.”
At public hearings held in the spring of 1916, at the time the rul
ings were revised, “ while many employers manifested opposition to
further reduction of working day, opinion was practically unanimous
in favor of minimum-wage legislation.”
In conclusion, the author of the report submits arguments in favor
of a minimum wage, contradicting the position that girls enter indus
try to make “ pin money ” and that they are “ living at home ” and
consequently do not need a living wage, and suggesting that “ under
paid women workers are denying themselves the necessities of life in
order to lead lives of virtue,” that they “ are living on one or two
meals a day, are denying themselves clothing necessary to maintain
their health, and are huddled together in rooms devoid of light, ven
tilation, and of heat. These are facts * * * of a character to
create public sentiment of a permanent sort in favor of minimumwage legislation.”
OBJECTIONS OF MASSACHUSETTS EMPLOYERS TO THE STATUTORY
MINIMUM WAGE.1
“The executive committee of merchants and manufacturers of
Massachusetts, relative to the minimum wage,” representing more
than 20 industries, has issued a 58-page pamphlet setting forth its
conviction, based on the statements and experience of a number of
manufacturers, notably those making brushes, that the present legis
lative minimum wage in Massachusetts is weak and unjust, an eco
nomic error and a menace to capital and labor alike, and that it is
the result of the efforts primarily of those “ whose livelihood is
largely derived from service in this or that 4social welfare ’ organiza
tion, theorists on sociology, an occasional college professor, and,
finally, a large proportion of well-to-do women whose sympathetic
tendencies far outweigh their analytical grasp of the laws underlying
the business and economic relations of mankind.”
The pamphlet reviews the history of minimum-wage determina
tions from the beginning of industrial development down to the
experience of Australia, New Zealand, and, finally, of the United
States, where, beginning with Massachusetts in June, 1912, 11 States
have enacted legislation of this character. Although only two
decrees are now in effect in Massachusetts—in the brush industry2
1 T h e m in im u m w a g e, a f a ilin g e x p e rim e n t, to g e th e r w ith so m e s id e lig h ts o n th e M a s s a
c h u s e tts e x p e rie n c e . P u b lis h e d b y t h e e x e c u tiv e c o m m itte e o f m e r c h a n ts a n d m a n u
f a c tu r e r s o f M a s s a c h u s e tts . B o sto n , 1916. 58 pp.
2 A s ta t e m e n t o f th e effect o f th e m in im u m -w a g e d e cree u p o n th e b ru s h in d u s tr y , b a se d
u p o n th e r e p o r t o f th e m in im u m -w a g e c o m m issio n a s p re s e n te d in t h e i r B u lle tin N o 7,
S e p t. 15, 1915, w ill be fo u n d in th e M o n t h l y R e v i e w f o r D ecem ber, 1915, p p . 3 3 -3 6 .
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[486]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
77
and in retail stores—the report states that “in those two industries
enough havoc has been wrought to indicate sufficiently what the
larger industries may expect when reached.”
The most ardent proponents of this kind of legislation adm it it is an experi
ment. We em phatically m aintain th a t as an experiment, wherever it has been
tried in this country, it is languishing, and th a t the experiment in this State
has been given ample time to develop a t least some favorable aspects.
The pamphlet is devoted largely to the presentation of the em
ployers’ viewpoint, supplemented, however, by an appendix indicat
ing that trades-unionists “ in direct proportion to the thought or
analysis which they give to the statutory minimum-wage problem,
vary all the way from enthusiastic support to severe condemnation of
interference by the State with the question of wages.” The conten
tion of the employers is summed up in the following statement:
Nothing but growing irritation, unemployment w ith its consequent hardships
to needy girls, substantial loss of interstate business, and the reduction of pay
rolls have appeared in the nearly three years since the law w ent into effect.
Assuming, therefore, that the minimum wage is uneconomic and
unjust and has failed in practice, the authors of the pamphlet pro
ceed to point out objections to this legislation and to the principle
upon which it is founded, citing the opinions or experience of various
business men in support of their contention that such legislation is
of no benefit to the employee and has resulted in injury to employers.
These objections may be stated as follows:
1. One of the most fundam ental objections to the legislative minimum wage
is the false assumption by its advocates th a t the lim ited class of persons who
happen to be employers of labor a t the time should be forced by State edict to
bear the entire burden of enabling the wage-earning community to live accord
ing to the standards set by the cost of normal and healthful living. Every one
of us w ants to see this standard set and established for all, but it m ust be
done in a sound way. The problem of livelihood and health is not an industrial
but a community problem, and m ust be met by the community and not by class
legislation which singles out a p articular group (the employing class) of the
community to bear the brunt of the burden. The practical effect of the mini
mum-wage law is to place upon the shoulders of the employer the entire burden
of redeeming society, in the economic sense. I t seeks to compel them (the
employers) exclusively to remedy and solve the self-evident economic injus
tices and inequalities which we all know exist in our present-day s y s te m forgetting th a t the employing class is but one organ of the organism of society.
2. Another one of the inherent disabilities is th a t this legislation gets us
nowhere, because its results are circular and therefore vicious. The adm itted
basis of minimum-wage decrees in various industries is “ the necessary cost of
living ” and the “ m aintenance of the w orkers in health.”
61766°—16-----6
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
(487]
78
M O N TH LY EE VIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
It is argued that an increase of wages is reflected in an increase of
prices, which leads to an increase in the cost of living, which in turn
leads to a demand for further increase in the minimum wage.
3. I f * * * we say th a t in some industries the increased cost of mini
mum wage is met by the wholesale discharge of w orkers w ith consequent
unemployment, rath e r than by shifting the burden to the consumer (and this
is an actual fa c t), then we have only seized another horn of the dilemma.
For this result is as deplorable, perhaps more so, than the other, since the
evil is thus fixed upon those least able to bear it, and the State is not only
well-nigh made a partner w ith the iniquity, but becomes a direct factor in
causing hardships fa r exceeding those existing even under the lowest sw eat
shop wage, however abhorrent this may sound.
It appears that business men of Massachusetts have contended all
along that the real effect of minimum-wage decrees—for instance, in
the retail stores—would be to establish, among other evils, a method
by which very young girls would be employed during the apprentice
ship period at the rates fixed for that class of workers (which are
considerably below the so-called minimum-wage standard for experi
enced workers) and that these young workers would be retained only
during the apprenticeship period and would then be discharged just
as they were becoming eligible for the standard wage, new girls of
the same immature age then being hired in their place. In Appen
dix A instances are given, covering not only the retail stores, but also
the brush industry, of the effect of minimum-wage determinations,
which seem to bear out this contention. The following summary of
the report of a certain brush manufacturer, whose business was estab
lished more than a hundred years ago, is offered as indicating the
facts concerning the unemployment resulting from the introduction
of the minimum-wage decree.
These figures rendered by a registered public accountant show a decrease of
195 women and minors employed in this factory between the dates of September
18, 1913 (which was prior to the adoption of the decree), and September 16,
1915 (which was about 13 months afte r the going into effect of the minimumwage decree in the brush industry). This trem endous decrease (over 48 per
cent) in the number of female and minor workers is a hard nut for the
minimum-wage commission to crack. The stubborn fact is th a t because of the
minimum-wage decree this factory was obliged to discharge 195 women and
girls, while the decrease in workers caused a loss in the weekly pay roll of
$853.76. This weekly loss, figured in annual term s, would mean $44,395.52 in
this one factory. This is for women and minors alone. There was a fu rth er
loss in this factory owing to the discharge of men workers occasioned by the
minimum-wage law of $384 weekly, which added to the form er figure, makes
a total loss of $64,363.52 annually. The wage-earning community and all
classes of our business life is therefore seen to have suffered on this basis in
the 18 months up to March 1, 1915, a loss of $96,545.28, which would otherwise
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[488]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
79
have been in circulation and added correspondingly to our economic strength.1
Can the minimum-wage commission produce any figures to show as a result of
all th eir activities th a t they haye been able to increase wages to any class of
w orkers to an am ount sufficient to offset this substantial decrease caused by the
partial incapacitation of one factory alone? Careful analysis of their various
bulletins fails to disclose such a possibility.
These facts prove, declares the report, that there is no escape from
the conclusion that the continued administration of the present
minimum-wage law in Massachusetts, even for a year longer, pre
sents the utmost menace to the workers themselves.
As to the attitude of labor regarding the minimum wage, it has
already been suggested that “ there is far from unanimity of belief
among trades-unionists as to the merit or desirability of minimumwage laws. In Appendix C this point is set forth in detail, indicat
ing “ that among the more serious-minded thinkers in the labor world
the statutory minimum wage and its past history of disaster is
feared rather than loved. Its small temporary benefits to a limited
number are far outweighed by the danger to labor and to the highly
paid skilled expression of labor contained in the legal precedents
established by a State legislating along these lines.”
W hether we have a compulsory or a noncompulsory law, so long as the
State attem pts to work out this problem by itself, w hether through fines or
the sort of obnoxious boycott contemplated by the present law, our economic
sickness will only increase, and irritatio n between the classes and especially
against the adm inistering body will approach nearer and nearer the boiling
point.
The committee concludes with a plea for repeal of the obnoxious
law.
The committee points out the seriousness of the constitutional
question involved and cites two cases now pending in the supreme
court of the State—cases growing out of the activities of the
minimum-wage commission in the laundry and confectionery indus
tries. The following appendixes conclude the report:
A. Unemployment and loss of business in Massachusetts.
B. Minimum-wage law in brush manufacturing.
C. Trades-unionism and the minimum wage.
D. Commentary on Prof. Taussig’s article.
E. The minimum-wage commission—a semijudicial body or a cru
sading and dual organization.
F. Massachusetts minimum-wage law summarized.
1 A recent statement submitted by the president of this company to the executive com
mittee indicates that the company has paid for wages, since the introduction of the brush
decree, to date, nearly $200,000 less than would otherwise have been the case had no
decree been forced upon them.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[489]
80
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
SURVEY OF INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL.
The Springfield survey was instituted by the Springfield survey
committee and conducted under the direction of the department of
surveys and exhibits of the Kussell Sage Foundation for the stated
purpose of improving social and living conditions in this Illinois
city of nearly 58,000 inhabitants, 81 per cent of whom are American
born. Of the inhabitants over 10 years of age 53 per cent were, ac
cording to the census of 1910, employed in gainful occupations.
Most of the facts presented in the recently issued report1 were col
lected during the spring and early summer of 1914. In general the
plan was to visit factories and mercantile establishments in order to
examine physical conditions and gather data regarding hours, wages,
and similar matters; and to call upon workers in their homes for the
purpose of securing from them a full statement of their employment
conditions. Information was also secured from labor organizations
and a detailed study was made of the local branch of the Illinois
State free employment agencies. Although Springfield is not essen
tially a manufacturing city, it ranks eleventh in the number of fac
tory wage earners and fourteenth in the value of its products, the
most important manufacturing industries being the making of grist
mill products, shoes, zinc products, watches, agricultural imple
ments, and electrical supplies.
The report contains the following statement of general principles
and minimum standards which, it is stated, furnished a basis upon
which to consider the problems of social welfare and the recom
mendations for betterment resulting therefrom:
F irst and elem entary among these m atters are working conditions. These
should be made as wholesome and safe as possible. F ire hazard should be
minimized, m achinery guarded, sanitary conditions m aintained, industrial dis
eases prevented, and good light and ventilation provided. The m aintenance of
such conditions is a first responsibility of the employer.
Second. U ntil children are 16 years of age, it is essential th a t they develop
normally and receive train in g for the work of life. Any occupation, therefore,
is objectionable which interferes w ith such development or training. Under
14, children should not be employed in gainful occupations.
Third. H ours of labor should not be so long as to injure health or to deny
w orkers opportunity for self-improvement, the development of home life, and an
intelligent interest in public affairs. E ight hours for a day’s work is a standard
which is now widely accepted.
Fourth. Every worker should have one day of rest in seven.
F ifth. Women and children should not be employed a t night.
Sixth. W orkers who give their full working time to an industry should receive
as a very minimum a wage which will provide the necessities of life.
1 Industrial conditions in Springfield, 111. A survey by the committee on women’s work
and the department of surveys and exhibits, Russell Sage Foundation, by Louise C. Odencrantz and Zenas L. Potter. Philadelphia, 1916. 173 pp. Illustrated.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[490]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
81
Seventh. E ither the “ necessities of life ” should include enough to allow
w orkers t<> carry insurance and save something for old age or else industry
should provide directly for the care of incapacitated workmen and for the
dependents of workmen who are killed or used up a t work, through paym ent
made by the employer—the cost to be distributed over society by some form of
insurance or other method.
Eighth. Irregularity of employment should be minimized, and when workers
lose their positions adequate facilities should exist to help them find new places.
Ninth. The bargaining power in settling the term s of the work agreement
should be as evenly balanced as possible as between the employer and the em
ployee. This would recognize the right of employers and employees alike to
organize or form unions.
Following a brief introduction, the report considers industrial con
ditions in Springfield from the standpoint of physical safety in
industry, child labor, wages and regularity of employment, and hours
of labor, and presents a study of conditions in 100 wage earners’
families, including 573 persons, of whom 272 were gainfully em
ployed. A concluding chapter summarizes the findings of the survey
and gives specific recommendations for industrial betterment.
Physical safety in industry was considered from three stand
points—danger from accidents other than fire, from fire, and from
diseases. The report notes the incompleteness of the data as to fatal
and nonfatal accidents in Springfield, presents a brief review of the
provisions of State legislation for the safeguarding of workers, com
ments on the nonenforcement of law, offers suggestions to be adopted
for adequate protection from fire, reviews working conditions which
especially induce occupational diseases, outlines the provisions and
points out apparent defects in the Illinois workmen’s compensation
law, and then presents the main facts developed by the survey regard
ing physical safety in industry in a summary from which the follow
ing paragraphs are excerpts:
No establishm ent visited showed m arked disregard for the safety and physi
cal w elfare of its workers. Some showed unusual care. Nevertheless * * *
large numbers of employees were subjected to well-recognized industrial hazards.
Between 1909 and 1913, 36 Springfield individuals were killed by some kind of
industrial accident.
Thirty-five such accidents fnonfatal] were reported for the single year 1913.
These, particularly w ith the six fatal accidents of th a t year, are sufficient to
show a need for vigorous work in accident prevention.
Up to the time of the survey no energetic accident-prevention campaign had
ever been carried on in Springfield, either by employers’ associations, labor
organizations, civic bodies, the public officials, or the great m ajority of em
ployers, although such campaigns have yielded excellent results elsewhere.
The provisions of the statutes requiring the reporting of work accidents are
confused and in some cases overlap.
Protective legislation going into considerable detail, applying to accident
prevention in mines, on steam railroads, to building and construction work, and
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[491]
82
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
10 factories, m ercantile establishments, mills, and workshops, is found on the
Illinois sta tu te books. The work of the mine inspectors and railw ay safety
inspectors, however, is not well organized, and is not carefully checked up
and reported on from time to time—no reports a t all being issued to show >the
efficiency of the work of the mining inspectors.
Causes of occupational diseases a re : V itiation of air w ith irritatin g or
poisonous dusts and fum es; direct contact of workers w ith irritatin g and
poisonous substances; extrem es of heat and cold; extrem es of dryness and
hum idity; defects in lighting; abnorm al atmospheric p ressure; jarring, shak
ing, and deafening noise; and overstrain, fatigue, h urtfu l postures, and over
exercise of p arts of the body. A number of these conditions were found by
the survey in greater or less degree in Springfield.
Some efforts to elim inate possible sources of the sta rt and spread of fires
and to provide adequate fire-fighting facilities were observed in many Springfield factories, but this could not be said of all. In a number of establishm ents
provision for adequate egress had not been sufficiently looked after.
This law [workmen’s compensation law] marked a distinct step forw ard,
for it elim inated the “assumption of risk,” “fellow servant,” and “contribu
tory negligence” defenses against the recovery of damages by injured workmen.
But it has three great weaknesses which m ust be elim inated before the injured
workman will get ju st treatm ent. F irst, it is optional w ith employers, and
many, especially in the most hazardous industries, have elected to be exempt ;
second, injuries resulting from occupational disease are not covered; and third,
even where operative, the law as adm inistered does not in all cases elim inate
the drain of law yers’ fees.
Under the Illinois child-labor law an age and school certificate
must be secured by children under 16 years of age before they may
go to work, and when employed they may not work before 7 a. m.
or after 7 p. m.,1 or for more than eight hours a day, or in any one
of certain prohibited employments.
From conditions found in Springfield, however, it would appear th a t neither
the child-labor law of Illinois nor its enforcement is satisfactory. There are
opportunities for fraud and evasion in the provisions governing the issuance
of certificates to perm it children under 16 years of age to go to work, while
violation of the provisions lim iting the hours of work of children under 16
seems to be the rule rath er than the exception.
Thus, among 55 children selected at random, it was found that 40
(72.7 per cent) had been irregularly employed, that 4 (7.3 per cent)
began work before 7 o’clock in the morning, that 21 (38.2 per cent)
worked in the evening after 7 o’clock, and that 34 (61.8 per cent)
exceeded the weekly limit of 48 hours. “In the employment of these
40 children there was a total of 89 separate violations of different
sections of the law on hours of work.” The report suggests that the
present law should be amended, making it more difficult to evade
the requirements regarding proof of age, requiring at least a sixthgrade education or its equivalent before a child under 16 may leave
1 Those under 14 years of age may not work later than 6 p. m.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[492]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
83
school to go to work, and requiring that evidence of normal develop
ment and sound physical condition be procured before a work cer
tificate can be secured.
In the chapter on wages and regulation of employment consid
erable space is devoted to a consideration of conditions in the mining
industry which at the time of the survey employed approximately
2,500 residents of the city for an average of 181 days in the year.
Wages in 1913 ranged from $1.50 per day for trappers to approxi
mately $1.27 per to n 1 for miners and loaders, who make up the great
majority of mine workers. Because of the uncertainty of continuous
employment some miners, it is stated, are compelled to seek other
wmrk during slack periods.
The net result of these conditions is th a t m iners’ incomes, which when judged
by wage rate s appear to be liberal, are reduced until it is impossible in the case
of many of the men to supply an average family of five or six persons w ith
the reasonable necessities of life.
Among the measures recommended for improving wage conditions
in the mines the report includes:
G reater effectiveness in the work of public employment agencies; regularizing
the industry through larger summer production; Government regulation which
prevents the opening of new mines until there is commercial need for th e m ;
earlier negotiations tow ard agreements between the operators and the unions;
and the appointm ent of a commission to take up the study of unemployment in
surance.
Irregularity of employment was found in the manufacturing and
mercantile industries. Out of 3,771 employees in 49 establishments
about one-half had full-time employment in 1913. Wages varied
from industry to industry, but the report notes that unskilled laborers
received from $1.75 to $2 a day—a large proportion not over $1.80-—
and that the majority of skilled workers received wages ranging from
$2 to $3.75 a day. Wage rates in the building trades, construction
work, and in street paving were found to be fairly high, but the men
suffered from enforced idleness. Transportation showed much
greater regularity of work, with wages ranging from $12 to $30 a
week. In laundries and mercantile establishments employing women
mostly work was quite regular, but wages were low.
As to the wages of skilled and semiskilled workers in the manufac
turing and mechanical industries, the building trades, and on rail
roads, the report expresses the opinion that one hope for male
workers who at present are not members of the union is to be found
1 It is stated that many workers were able to make as much as $5 a day when there is
plenty of work, although a large proportion fall below that amount. Some of the miners
interviewed reported daily earnings of $7 and $8. The 1916 scale provides an increase of
3 cents per ton over the 1914 rates for tonnage men, and 5 per cent increase in the wages
of day laborers.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[493]
84
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
in labor organization. As to wages of women workers, especially
in laundries, 5-and-10-cent stores, and restaurants, it is stated that
“ minimum-wage legislation seems to offer the most promising
method for securing a wage adequate for self-support of girls who
give the whole of their working time to their employment.” Gen
eral wage increases may be brought about by certain indirect methods,
to which end the report urges the support of citizens along the fol
lowing lines:
The prohibition of child labor, w ith the consequent probable increase in the
demand for, and in the wage of, adult labor ; a corollary of this, the development
of better industrial education for children now of school age, thus preparing
the coming w orkers for better paid and higher types of work ; the establish
ment of better wage rates for m anual labor on public works ; and the establish
ment of minimum wage standards.
The work and management of the Springfield State free employ
ment office is reviewed, some apparent defects cited, and the need for
some sort of central control of all State employment offices suggested.
The report shows that in 1914, in 72 manufacturing establish
ments, employing 3,981 organized and unorganized workers, 85 per
cent were working nine or more hours a day, and that shorter hours,
as a rule, prevailed in the union shops, where 54 per cent were work
ing an eight-hour day.
At the same tim e hours of labor, considered as a Avhole, were not w hat should
be reasonably expected. The eight-hour day, tow ard which the leaders of the
labor movement throughout the country are working, was still a good way from
being achieved in Springfield. The great m ajority of all workers, both men
and women, were laboring 6, 9, or 10 hours a day or more.
There were a number of women and girls under 21 years of age still engaged
in nightwork.
Finally, many children were working for more than eight hours a day in
spite of the law which makes such labor illegal.
It is recommended that the reduction of the workday for women
to eight hours, the limitation of the weekly hours, the elimination
of nightwork for women, and the guaranty of one day of rest in
seven should be made a part of the State law and that better law
enforcement is needed to effect a reduction in the hours of child
workers.
From the study of 100 wage earners’ families the following facts
wTere developed :
Seventy per cent of the 378 persons 14 years of age or over in these families
were contributing to the family income.
The proportion of wage-earning children was very large. Of the 57 between
14 and 16 years old, 41, or 72 per cent, were gainfully employed.
W hen employed, 10 out of the 70 fath ers whose wage rates were reported
received less than $12 per w eek; 32 received from $12 to $20; 28 received $20
or more.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[494]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
85
Of all the other males employed for whom inform ation was available, oneth ird earned less than $7 a week, one-half less than $10. Among the women
of 16 years of age and over, more than one-fourtli earned less than $6, and
almost 70 per cent less than $8 per week.
Of all members of these families who contributed to the, family income, two
out of every five reported irregular employment for the previous year—and
irregular employment m eant the loss of from several weeks to six months.
Of 56 persons discovered in the investigation who had left school before 16
years of age, 25, or nearly one-half, had left because their parents had not felt
able to continue them in school.
Over one-fourth of the mothers in the 100 families were earning money to
augm ent the family income.
Finally, conditions found in Springfield showed clearly, as they have in other
investigations elsewhere, the im portant p a rt which low wages and unemploy
ment play in the problems of bad housing, child labor, evasion of the laws as
to compulsory education, neglected childhood, and the predisposition of families
to physical and often moral breakdowns. No solution of these problems, there
fore, will be effective th a t does not elim inate the great economic w aste of un
employment and correct the evil of low wages.
The report points out that the betterment of industrial conditions
depends upon employers acting together in some degree but for the
most part singly, employees acting individually and through labor
organizations, and the public acting through crystallized public
opinion and the power of the State. The largest responsibility is laid
upon the employers who? it is stated, have large latitude in fixing
wage rates, methods of payment, hours of labor, conditions as to
safety and sanitation, and regularity of employment. In conclusion,
the report briefly sums up the findings of the survey and offers defi
nite recommendations to effectuate industrial betterment, laying par
ticular emphasis upon the importance of consolidating and coordinat
ing all State bodies having to do with industrial conditions into a
single State department of labor with bureaus organized to have
charge of special work.
These should include a bureau of inspection responsible for railroad, factory,
and other inspection service, except m ining; a bureau of child la b o r; of em
ployment, including supervision of the public employment agencies; of m in in g ;
of research and labor sta tistics; and any other bureaus th a t may later be
needed. The plan of reorganization should provide for the establishm ent of an
industrial commission as an integral p a rt of the, new labor departm ent, w ith the
commission, instead of a single commissioner, acting as the executive head of
the department.
The adm inistration of the workmen’s compensation act should be made a
function of the industrial commission of the reorganized labor departm ent.
I t is believed * * * as in the case of workmen’s compensation laws, th at
health insurance legislation will act as a powerful force for prevention of dis
ease. * * * I t is x’ecommended, therefore, * * * th a t a commission of
the legislature be appointed to study and report upon the m atter.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[495]
86
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Under the reorganization plan recommended the enforcement of the childlabor law should be in the, hands of a bureau of child labor in the new dep art
ment of labor and mining.
The establishm ent of a minimum-wage board through which assurance may
be had th a t wages a t least adequate for the self-support of girls giving the whole
of their w orking tim e to stores or other work places is recommended.
It is recommended th a t thorough study of the unemployment situation and
unemployment insurance be taken up through a commission to be created by the
legislature.
The courts of New York S tate have held a law prohibiting the 7-day work
week in factories and mercantile establishm ents to be constitutional. A sim ilar
law is recommended for Illinois.
The law allowing women to work 10 hours a day 7 days per week should
be changed to make it illegal to employ women a t most for more than 8 hours per
day or 48 hours per week. This would merely be elim inating the 7-day week and
reducing hours on the other 6 days to 8. Moreover, the law should be amended
to prohibit night work by women and girls.
THE ORGANIC DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS.1
This is the subtitle of the report of the committee on vocational
guidance submitted at the fourth annual convention of the National
Association of Corporation Schools held at Pittsburgh, May 30 to
June 2, 1916. As stated in the report of the committee for 1915,
“ vocational guidance in industry is the organic conception of the
individual in industry, and is possible only through organic prog
ress in industry; hence the subtitle of the report."7 The present re
port is “ an attempt to set forth what employee, employer, and society
should strive for in the human relations in industry—the realization
of an organic unity in each individual life, in each business, between
businesses, and between business and society.” It appears to be con
cerned primarily with the problem of “ suggesting machinery for
getting the organic conception of the individual in industry to oper
ate efficiently in each firm of the association.”
In order to grasp the significance of the organic unity of man, cer
tain normal human needs are emphasized, among which are physical
integrity, adequate compensation, training and knowledge, appre
ciation of the beautiful, social opportunities, and justice. Health is
absolutely the foundation of economic and social efficiency, declares
the report in drawing attention to the necessity of physical examina
tion of employees, the protection of all workers after they are in their
1 National Association of Corporation Schools. Report of Committee on Vocational
Guidance (The Organic Development of Business). Fourth annual convention, Pittsburgh.
May 30, 31, and June 1, 2, 1916. New York, 1916. 148 pp.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[496]
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
87
positions, the prevention of accidents, and the control and elimina
tion of occupational diseases. In order to give concreteness to the
organic progress of the employee in industry, the report gives in
synthetic outline a picture of the worker at his job from start to
finish, having an adequate starting knowledge of his prospective em
ployer, fairly selected for his job, instructed in his work, guaranteed
bodily integrity, given a chance to learn the business, justly remuner
ated, working reasonable hours, surrounded by machinery designed
to keep open channels, assured that merit will win, and freely and
fearlessly taking part in all those activities that awaken, train, and
develop personal power.
Representatives of the committee on vocational guidance made a
tour of investigation, visiting a number of individual firms in New
York, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia,
and this personal contact with more than 200 executives of all grades
revealed a “ keen interest in the significance of the human relations
in industry and a deep appreciation of it,” and also that “ the organic
conception of the employee must include work, income, food, home,
sleep, training, protection, recreation—the total life of an efficient
contented human being—in work and out of work.” This personal
investigation also revealed a clear tendency among the firms visited
“ to get away from the old type autocratic one-man rule and substi
tute therefore the functionalized and cooperative committee system.”
Furthermore, many firms expressed a desire to have an efficient clear
ing house established in the association that would effectively gather,
evaluate and pass along helpful assistance in the understanding and
solution of their problems. In laying emphasis upon the general
considerations resulting from this personal investigation—the rap
idly growing interest in the human relations in work; the grasping
in business of the organic ideal; the open, friendly, give-and-take
spirit; the definite, helpful cooperative arrangements with our edu
cational institutions; the rapidly developing, scientific, and human
spirit in business, evidenced through the demand for the expert and
the deep interest in experiments in industrial cooperative control;
the searching efforts to anticipate and prepare for the readjustments
certain to follow the war—“ we see clearly that business is being
recognized as the all correlating life fact of our time, in which the
sovereignty of the normal individual must be realized.”
Part I I of the report is devoted to the formulation of ways and
means for putting the organic conception of the individual employee
in industry into practical operation—to make it of real working
value. The general subjects discussed in this connection relate to a
central employment and service bureau, the selection and adjustment
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[497]
88
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
of men to jobs, health, education, promotion and transfer, griev
ances, and management sharing.
Decentralization in dealing with questions of employment is re
garded as the fundamental weakness in the whole employment prob
lem. Through a well thought-out centralized employment and
service bureau should function all fundamental problems having
to do with job analysis and the educational value of the job, and
with the selection, hiring, compensation, promotion, and discharge of
workmen. The importance of job analysis which includes a care
ful study of every kind of occupation, both within the industry
itself and in relation to the life of the employee outside of his occu
pation, is emphasized. The medical examination of employees is
regarded as the basis for all accurate work along the line of health
conservation. The education and training of employees within the
industry “ is one of the most significant movements in the world of
industry and gives promise of rapid extensive and intensive develop
ment. The training of emplojmes is ‘ good business.’ This convic
tion is turning our large corporate industries into veritable schools,
colleges, and universities. It is already having a wholesome retro
active influence on our formal educational procedure in schools and
colleges, giving it a more concrete content and shaping up educa
tional methods more in terms of vocational business and social
values.” The report discusses some prerequisites of corporation edu
cation, pointing out the necessity of making physical, mental, and
vocational tests in order to get “ the right man on the right job.”
The value of systematic promotion and the advantages of a policy
of transferring men from one job or department to another—rem
edying misfits—are briefly mentioned. Taking up the matter of
grievances, the report declares that “ a wise handling of misunder
standings, dissatisfactions and grievances is one of the most important
problems now receiving wide attention.” The report concludes with
a brief description of how some firms are encouraging the coopera
tion of their employees in the management of the business—that is,
making the workers practically partners in management.
Part I I I of the report includes special articles on the general sub
jects of Selection, Employment department, Home conditions, Train
ing courses, and Adjustment machinery.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
89
CHOICE OF OCCUPATION OF CHILDREN LEAVING SCHOOL IN THE
CANTON OF ZURICH, SWITZERLAND.
In a recently issued bulletin1 of the statistical bureau of the
Swiss Canton of Zurich are published interesting statistics as to the
choice of the occupation of pupils leaving the cantonal primary
and secondary schools in 1915. It may be noted that in the primary
schools the school age varies from 6 to 16 years. The secondary
school supplements the work of the primary schools for those chil
dren who desire to increase their knowledge though having no idea
of going on to higher studies, and also prepares certain pupils for
entrance into the middle schools. Attendance is compulsory in the
primary school but generally voluntary in the secondary schools.
The course of studies in the secondary school covers from two to
four years and pupils are admitted from ten years and upward. In
the Canton of Zurich, the primary schools have eight grades and the
secondary schools three grades. Attendance is compulsory for eight
years.
The total number of pupils leaving the primary and secondary
schools in Zurich in the spring of 1915 was 7,972, against 8,077 in
1914. The decrease is partly explained by the fact that at the
outbreak of the war a large number of alien children who had been
living in the Canton returned with their parents to their native
country. It is interesting to note that the pupils leaving school
in 1915 had on an average a higher education than those leaving
in 1914. In 1914, 51 per cent of the pupils leaving had attended
the primary schools and 49 per cent the secondary schools, while
in 1915 this proportion was exactly reversed.
The statements of those who were able to report that they had
made a choice of occupation before leaving school are summarized
in the following table:
i D ie B e r u fs w a h l d e r im F r ü h j a h r 1915 a u s d e r V o lk s sc h u le a u s g e tr e te n e n S c h ü le r.
W i n te r th u r , 1916.
58 p p .
( S ta t is tis c h e M itte ilu n g e n b e tre ffe n d d e n K a n to n Z ü ric h .
H e f t 122. H e ra u sg e g e b e n vom K a n to n a le n S ta tis tis c h e n B u re a u .)
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[499]
90
M O N TH LY REVIEW OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
G E N E R A L S T A T E M E N T O F CH O ICE O F O C C U PA T IO N M ADE B Y P U P IL S L E A V IN G
SC H O O L IN 1915.
Pu p ils of p ri
m ary schools.
Pupils of sec
ondary schools.
N um
ber.
N um
ber.
Total.
1915
Choice of occupation.
Per
cent.
Per
cent.
N um
ber.
1914
Per
cent.
Per
cent.
M ALE.
E ntrance in to a higher educational in s titu tio n .
D eparture for th e purpose of a n education in
foreign languages.................................................
E ntrance in to th e business or in d u stria l establishm ent of p a re n ts .............................................
A pprenticeship.........................................................
U nskilled lab o r.........................................................
T o tal................................................................
14
0.9
418
21.9
432
12.5
5
.3
59
3.1
64
1.9
2.5
379
700
440
24.7
45.5
28.6
257
1,067
111
13.4
55.8
5.8
636
1,767
551
18.4
51.2
16.0
19.7
49.6
17.8
1,538
100.0
1,912
100.0
3, 450
100.0
100.0
10.4
F E M A LE.
E ntrance in to a higher educational in s titu tio n .
D eparture for th e purpose of education in foreign languages.......................................................
E ntrance in to th e business or in d u strial establishm ent of p a re n ts.............................................
A pprent i cesh fp .........................................................
In d u stria l unskilled lab o r.....................................
Domestic occupation in:
Own fam ily—
A gricultural...............................................
N o n aericu ltu ral........................................
W ith stran g ers..................................................
T o tal................................................................
6
0.3
371
22.1
377
10.5
7.4
7
.4
67
4.0
74
2.1
6.6
55
378
495
2.9
19.9
26.1
79
432
100
4.7
25.7
6.0
134
810
595
3.8
22.7
16.6
3.6
23.9
19.7
306
340
311
16.1
17.9
, 16.4
171
330
127
10.2
19.7
7.6
477
670
438
13.3
18.7
12.3
13.3
17.1
8.4
1,898
100. 0
1,677
100.0
3,575
100.0
100.0
The decrease shown in the number of pupils who entered gainful
employment without any previous apprenticeship the report ascribes
to the economic crisis caused by the war. This decrease, the report
notes, indicates that in times of economic depression unskilled labor
is less in demand than skilled labor.
A close study of the data presented shows in how large a measure
the future of children entering gainful occupations is dependent upon
their schooling. In the case of the boys leaving school, it becomes
evident that those entering into the business of their parents, as well
as those choosing unskilled labor in the service of strangers, were
largely primary-school pupils, while about three-fifths of those choosing apprenticeship in a skilled occupation were pupils of the second
ary schools (1,067 out of 1,767). A majority of the girls who are
being apprenticed are likewise from the secondary schools, while
more than four-fifths of those choosing unskilled labor have merely a
primary-school education (1,452 out of 21,807).
Below are shown the principal industrial and occupational groups
from among which the pupils of both sexes chose their future occu
pation.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[500]
91
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
C H O ICE O F O CCU PA TIO N O F P U P IL S L E A V IN G SCH O O L, B Y S E X , IN D U S T R IA L AN D
O C C U PA T IO N A L G R O U P S , A N D IN W H A T C A PA C ITY , 1914 A N D 1915.
Pu p ils entering—
In d u stria l and occupational groups.
U nskilled
labor.
The business of A pprenticeship.
th eir parents.
1914
1914
1915
1914
1915
T otal.
1915
1915
1914
M A LE.
A griculture, gardening, e tc ...................
Industries and trades:
Foodstuffs, etc., in d u s try ..............
Clothing in d u s try .............................
B uilding tra d e s .................................
Tftxtilfi in d u s try ...............................
M etal in d u s try !................................
P rin tin g tra d e s ..................................
O ther industries and tra d e s ..........
T o ta l................................................
T<v»hnir»al iw * n pat,ions in in d u stry . . .
M ercantile occupations in in d u stry
p n r | n n m m f ir f if i..................................................
508
475
41
34
19
41
4
27
28
16
44
15
6
33
4
10
101
54
208
20
726
72
52
146
135
1,233
99
11
L abor in m ercantile e sta b lish m e n ts..
H otels, restau ran ts, saloons, cafés, e tc .
T ran sp o rta tio n .........................................
P ublic adm in istratio n , professions__
11
6
7
3
G rand t o ta l....................................
692
70
129
173
678
718
98
116
35
857
59
53
15
18
29
161
76
1
39
11
15
18
125
80
2
13
150
91
278
185
829
79
106
137
99
178
160
970
65
76
1,286
339
264
1, 718
1,685
68
104
99
104
270
114
30
15
18
13
9
2
2
279
5
34
25
28
257
1
23
636
1,744
1,767
2
1
7
104
5
5
290
160
46
39
31
625
551
3,061
2,954
501
492
144
6
8
18
FEM ALE.
A griculture, gardening, e tc ...................
Industries and trades:
Foodstuffs
. in d u s try ..............
Clothing and m illinery in d u s try ..
T extile in d u s try ...............................
\fp,ta,l ind u stry
P rin tin g tra d e s .................................
O ther industries and tr a d e s ..........
T o ta l................................................
499
491
—
—
-----------
1
7
22
42
508
9
11
19
21
38
453
9
4
25
57
694
526
9
14
32
53
628
470
9
7
33
598
611
550
1,332
1,200
35
21
5
32
14
3
63 i
13
576
14
2
5
2
1
8
1
68
52
653
—
1
M ercantile occupations in in d u stry
1
H otels, restau ran ts, saloons, cafés, e tc .
3
32
25
19
24
25
Domestic service, housekeeping..........
637
670
G rand t o ta l....................................
1,265
1,281
197
15
7
10
3
887
1S6
8
4
10
112
5
36
9
200
144
45
3
1
1
315
438
4
952
3
1,108
810
1,046
1,033
3,198
3,124
1
8
h
60
42
4
10
IMMIGRATION IN JULY, 1916.
The number of immigrant aliens admitted into the United States
during the first eight months of 1916 has been in excess of the
number admitted during the corresponding months of 1915. There
has also been an increase from month to month during the first five
months of 1916. June shows a decrease of 0.8 per cent from May,
July a decrease of 18.6 per cent from June, and August an increase
of 19.7 per cent over July. These facts are brought out in the state
ment following.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[501]
92
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
IM M IG R A N T A L IE N S A D M IT T E D IN T O T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S IN S P E C IF IE D M O N T H S,
1914, 1915, A N D 1916.
'
1914
M onth.
1915
15,481
13,873
19,263
24,532
26,069
22,598
21,504
21,949
44,708
46,873
92,621
119,885
107, 796
71, 728
60,377
37. 706
J a n u a ry ........................................................................................
F e b ru a ry ................................................. ! .................................
M arch............................................................................................
A p ril..............................................................................................
M ay ...............................................................................................
J u n e ..............................................................................................
.............................................................................
J u ly .........
A ugu st..........................................................................................
Per cent of
increase
over pre
ceding
m onth.
1916
17,293
24,740
27,586
30,560
31,021
30,764
25,035
29,975
8.5
43.1
11.5
10.8
15.1
1.8
i 18.6
19.7
1 Decrease.
Classified by races, the number of immigrant aliens admitted into
and emigrant aliens departing from the United States during July,
1915 and 1916, was as follows:
IM M IG R A N T A L IE N S A D M IT T E D IN T O A N D E M IG R A N T A L IE N S D E P A R T IN G FRO M
T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S , .TULY, 1915 A N D 1916.
A d m itted.
D eparting.
Race.
Ju ly , 1915.
African (b lack )...........................................................................
A rm enian.....................................................................................
B ohem ian an d M oravian.........................................................
B ulgarian, Serbian, M ontenegrin.........................................
C hinese. . . .
..........................................................
C roatian and Slavonian
....................................
C u b a n ................
...........................................................
“D alm atian Bosnian TTerzevovinian....................................
D utch and Flem ish . .
.......................................................
F a s t In d ia n ..
..........................................................
Fnglish
...............................................
Finnish
...............................................
F ren c h .............
...........................................................
B erm an .
..
...................................................
Greek
.....................................................
..........................................................
TTehrew
Irish
.................................................................................
Italian (n o rth '). ....
...........................................................
Italian (s o u th )....
...........................................................
Japan ese.
..........................................................................
K orean
...
......................................................................
Tiithnanian
....................................
ATagyar
..................................................................
Alexican
..........................................................
Pacific Islander
..................................
Polish
..................................................................
..........................................................
T^ortno-uese _
"Roumanian
.
............................................
Russian
..................................................................
R u th e n ian (R ussniak).
______ . . . . . . . . . .
S can d in av ian .............................................................................
Scotch
......................................................................
Slovak
....................... ............................................
Spanish
.........................................................................
Spanish- America,n
, T ...................................................
Svria.n
..................................................................
T urkish
- r ...........................................
W elsh
............................................................
W est Indian (except C u b an ) .. , ..... .............. -..............
O ther peoples___A ................................................................. T otal
.........................................................................
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1502]
Ju ly , 1916. Ju ly , 1915. Ju ly , 1916.
486
30
54
419
357
54
454
12
548
11
2,787
341
834
798
2,314
1,357
1,530
423
1,913
903
11
35
64
1.121
2
350
758
41
330
160
1,027
937
42
420
143
40
20
96
84
198
797
118
15
160
180
33
719
3
322
2
3.119
631
1,526
783
1,692
1,031
1,618
340
3,004
686
5
37
17
1.132
3
283
1,118
49
413
109
1,706
1.081
12
1,467
211
93
39
73
205
203
210
58
4
50
157
4
109
1
39
4
578
48
48
30
185
12
141
457
4,649
69
6
4
6
26
229
168
6
179
42
22
1
7
44
30
1,481
8
20
54
1,107
21,504
25,035
9.861
5,429
76
70
5
606
140
15
6
50
232
76
3
617
45
325
55
188
12
186
212
489
50
7
12
101
4
9
53
2
522
1
387
184
3
202
46
6
M O N T H L Y R E V I E W O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T I C S .
93
OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO LABOR.
UNITED STATES.
C a lifornia .—Industrial Accident Commission.
Report of. decisions for the
year 1915. Vol. 2. [Sacramento] 1916. 1121 pp.
Contains report of decisions under the employers’ liability act, commonly
known as the Roseberry Act, an elective measure applying only to those tiling
notice of their intention to come under its provisions, and under the workmen’s
compensation insurance and safety act, as amended, effective Ja n u ary 1, 1914,
which superseded the Roseberry Act. This act is a compulsory compensation
m easure and includes all classes of labor w ith the exception of farm , dairy,
agricultural, viticultural or horticultural labor, stock or poultry raising, house
hold domestic service, and employments which are both casual and not in the
usual course of the business of the employer. This act was amended by the
legislature in 1915 to cover occupational diseases. The volume contains about
1,000 decisions, of which 7 are under the Roseberry Act. The dismissed cases
number 110. There are included also S decisions of th e Supreme Court and
D istrict Court of Appeals of California on review of decisions made by the
commission.
G eorgia.—Department of Commerce and Labor. Fourth annual report of the
Commissioner of Commerce and Labor for the fiscal year ending December
31, 1915. Atlanta, 1916. 85 pp.
Embraces a resume of approxim ately 100 years of industrial progress in the
S ta te ; an article on the n atu ra l resources of the S ta te ; statistics showing the
am ount and value of the raw m aterial used during 1915 by the m anufacturers
of the S tate ; the number of employees; the amount of wages paid to wage
e a rn e rs ; the value of m anufactured a rtic le s; and other inform ation. The 166
textile mills, w ith a combined capital of $48,849,232.73, turned out product
valued a t $70,241,926.81. They employed 15,242 females and 22,063 males,
2,336, or 15.3 per cent, of the form er being under 16 years of age. The highest
weekly wage paid to women workers was $18 and the lowest was $2; the
highest paid to male w orkers was $32 and the lowest $2.
M a ss a c h u s e t t s .—Bureau of Statistics.
Rates of wages and hours of labor in
stea?n and electric railw ay service in Massachusetts. June 1, 1916. Boston,
1916. 60 pp. (Labor bulletin, No. 115, being P art III of the annual report
on the statistics of labor for 1916.)
T his is a special report on the rates of wages and hours of labor in the
entire railw ay service in M assachusetts. I t supplements previous annual re
ports on union scale of wages and hours of labor by including inform ation pre
viously omitted, having reference to those occupations represented in construc
tion, maintenance, and repair work, while prior reports pertained to the oper
ation of rolling stock. D ata for the report were secured from printed and
typew ritten “ Rules ” or schedules furnished by the officials of the steam ra il
road and electric railw ay companies, and of the several labor organizations
concerned.
The d ata for steam railroads are of date May 15, 1916, and for street ra il
ways of date October 1, 1915.
M ic h ig a n .—Department of Labor. Thirty-third annual report [1915]. Lan
sing, 1916. 71/1 pp.
This report gives detailed statistics of inspections of factories and work
shops, stores, buildings, restaurants, hotels, and schoolhouses, w ith supplemen
tary reports of the S tate boat inspector and the coal-mine inspector. There are
61766°—16-
-7
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[503]
94
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
also presented prison and reform atory statistics, a summ ary of accidents re
ported, a list of orders issued suggesting compliance w ith the provisions of law,
statistics of the Michigan free employment bureaus, a list of banks in the
State, a compilation of labor laws, and reports of municipalities.
D uring the year 1915 there were 14,359 inspections of factories and w ork
shops, in which were employed 452,105 persons a t the tim e of securing the statis
tics, 65,708 (14.5 per cent) being females and 386,397 (85.5 per cent) being
males, w ith an aggregate daily pay roll of $1,116,428.80. There were 1,226 males
employed under 16 years of age. The average daily hours of labor for males was
9.4 and for females 8.6. About half of the firms inspected, 7,250, or 50.5 per
cent, carried workmen’s compensation insurance. There were 2,834 inspections
of stores employing 2S,0741 people a t an average daily wage of $2.12; 529 res
ta u ra n ts employing 4,5991 persons a t an average daily wage of $1.31; 986 ho
tels employing 11.3S71 persons a t an average daily wage of $1.16.
The six free employment offices in the State sent 54,000 persons to employers
desiring help, an increase of 15,342 over 1914.
In 15 coal mines operated in 4 counties, 239 accidents occurred, of which 5
were fatal.
In all, 7,110 accidents, 75 being fatal, were reported to the departm ent. Of
these, 2,775 (39 per cent) occurred in connection w ith automobiles and auto
mobile accessories. Approximately 75 per cent were due to causes other than
machinery. In 2,425 cases (34.1 per cent) the disability did not extend be
yond one-half day. A comparison of these figures w ith the number of accidents
reported to the Michigan Industrial Accident Board (in 1915 a to tal of 39,781,
of which 332 were f a t a l 2) shows th a t they are fa r from complete and omit
m any fa ta l as well as nonfatal accidents.
N ew J ersey .—Department of Labor.
Thirty-eighth annual report of the Bureau
of Industrial Statistics for the year ending October 31, 1915. Camden,
1916. 296 pi).
P resents com parative statistics of m anufacturers for the calendar years 1913
and 1914 ; a tab u lar and analytic review of employment, w orking time, wages,
accidents, etc., on steam railro ad s; a review of reta il prices of food supplies;
statistics of the fru it and vegetable canning in d u stry ; and a year’s record of
occurrences of interest to labor and industry, grouped under the title In d u strial
Chronology of New Jersey, as follows ; Accidents to workmen while on duty ;
suspension of work—tem porary or perm anent—in m anufacturing establish
m ents; changes in working hours and w ages; expansion of m anufacturing in
dustry ; industrial property damaged or destroyed by fire ; organization of trad e
and labor unions ; and such strikes as have occurred during the 12 months cov
ered by the chronological record.
The num ber of m anufacturing establishm ents on December 31, 1914, was
2,624, divided into 89 general groups, w ith total capital of $1,025,169,694. The
aggregate average number of wage earners employed w as 325,634. Of these,
233,208 were males 16 years of age and over, 87,669 were fem ales 16 years of
age and over, and 4,757 were children of both sexes who were less th an 16 years.
The total am ount paid in wages was $183,530,980, or $563.61 per employee.
On railroads, for the year ending June 30, 1914, 44,898 persons were employed,
to whom $35,586,727.36 were paid in wages—an average daily wage of $2.82.
The employees injured numbered 2,490 ; 53 injuries resulted fatally.
1 A ll th e em ployees did n o t receiv e w a g es, and th e a v era g e is based upon th e num ber to
Whom w a g es w ere paid.
2 See M o n t h l y R e v i e w o f th e U n ited S ta te s B u rea u o f L abor S t a tis tic s , A p ril, 1916,
p. 61.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[5041
M O N T H L Y R E V I E W O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T I C S .
95
F or the year ending September 30, 1914, the report notes 3,795 accidents, of
which 259 (6.8 per cent) were fata l and 3,536 (93.2 per cent) nonfatal. Approxi
mately one-third (65.6 per cent) of the accidents were reported by the rail
roads. One hundred and twenty-seven strikes and lockouts are reported,
involving 26,786 wage earners and an aggregate wage loss of $598,989, or
$22.40 for every participator. The aggregate number of days lost was 288,309,
an average of 10.7 for each wage earner concerned. A detailed history of the
strike of the S tandard Oil Co. employees a t Bayonne and the strike of the
workers a t the American A gricultural Chemical Co. a t Roosevelt is given.
W yom ing .—S tate Coal Mine Inspector.
SO, 1915.
Annual report, year ending September
Cheyenne [1916]. 40 pp.
T his report shows a total coal production for the year ending September
30, 1915, of 6,268,990 to n s ; total employees, 7,379; fa ta l accidents, 21; non
fa ta l accidents, 144; tons of coal produced per accident, 37,994; number of fatal
accidents per 1,000 employees, 2.85. I t emphasizes the importance of safety
in mines.
U nited S tates .—Congress.
House.
Committee on Labor. 'National employ
ment bureau. Report to accompany H. R. 5783. [Washington, 1916.]
12 pp. ( 64 th Cong., 1st sess., II. Rept. No. 424-)
A t the hearings held by the committee on H. R. 5783 statem ents were made
by the Secretary of L a b o r; the Commissioner of Labor S ta tistic s; Hon. J. I.
Nolan, Congressman from C a lifo rn ia; Dr. B. A. Sekely, representing the
N ational L iberal Im m igration League; and Mr. D. B. Wheeler, of Washington,
D. C., all agreeing on the necessity of imm ediate legislation to take care of
th e problem of unemployment. No one appeared in opposition to the legisla
tion. This report is largely devoted to the statem ent of the Secretary of Labor,
Hon. W. B. Wilson. In conclusion, the report s a y s :
H. R. 5783, introduced by Mr. Nolan, contains a comprehensive plan for the
establishm ent of such a bureau and embodies the proposition to use the post
offices, postal facilities, and postal employees under the direction of a bureau
of employment established in the D epartm ent of Labor. This idea has met
w ith the approval of the committee and practically all students of the ques
tion, since it offers the opportunity of using for the solution of this problem
well-established departm ents of the Government already organized. More
over, it recommends itself for the reason th a t the expense entailed will thus
be com paratively small. Also, as the post office is already the center of the
social life in every community and the inhabitants habitually visit these
offices, the system can a t once be put into operation and those in most need
of service of this kind be immediately acquainted w ith its opportunities
through channels w ith which they are fam iliar and in the habit of usingdaily. The facilities for free and easy intercom m unication possessed by
the Post Office D epartm ent will also aid greatly in m aking the system
efficient. * * *
The necessity for legislation of this character is denied by no one; and,
indeed, the increasing menace of the situation in regard to unemployment at
certain seasons of the year is so apparent th a t all students of the question
agree th a t some remedy m ust be found.. * * *
The committee is convinced th a t it is in the power of Congress, by imme
diate action (which should be taken before another season of unemployment
is upon u s), to alleviate to a large extent the appalling situation th a t periodi
cally confronts the country by reason of unemployment and earnestly urges
th e imm ediate attention of Congress thereto.
------------- Senate. The Seaman’s Act of 1915. Address delivered at the ninth
annual meeting of the American Association for Labor Legislation, held
in Washington, D. C., on December 28, 1915, by Henry W. Farnam.
Washington, 1916. 16 pp. (64th Cong., 1st sess., S. Doc. No. 333.)
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
(505]
96
M O N T H L Y R E V I E W O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T I C S .
U nited S tates .—Congress.
Senate. The Federal Farm Loan Act, approved
July 17, 1916, w ith marginal notes and index. . 8. Doe. 500, 6 4 th Congress,
1st sess. Washington, 1916. 50 pp.
This is an act to provide capital for agricultural development, to create a
standard form of investm ent based upon farm mortgage, to equalize rates of
interest upon farm loans, to furnish a m arket for United States bonds, to
create Government depositaries and financial agents for the United States, and
for other purposes.
— — Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Financial statistics of
cities having a population of over 30,000. 1915. Washington, 1916. 338 pp.
Contains 34 tables and 27 diagram s as a p a rt of the tex t and 32 general
tables setting forth financial statistics of 204 cities having a population of
over 30,000 in 1915, the total population represented by these cities being
31,168,150, or 31 per cent of the population of the entire country. M assachusetts
has the largest number of cities in this class, namely, 19. These cities show
total receipts of $271,505,178 which, added to the cash balance a t the beginning
of the year, made a total of $2,381,103,700. The paym ents for governmental
and nongovernmental purposes were $2,118,134,530, leaving a cash balance at
the close of the year of $262,969,170.
------ Department of the Interior. Bureau of Education. Vocational guidance
bibliography. June 7, 1916. [ Washington, 1916] 31 pp.
------ Public Health Service. Health insurance: Report of standing committee
adopted by the conference of State and Territorial health authorities icith
the United States Public Health Service, Washington, D. C., May 13, 1916.
Washington, 1916. 8 pp. (Reprint No. 352 from the Public Health Re
ports, July 21, 1916, pp. 1919-1925.)
The committee, consisting of W illiam C. Woodward, M. D., health officer of
the D istrict of Columbia, and B. S. W arren, surgeon, United States H ealth
Service, recommends the following fundam ental provisions in any health-insur
ance measure proposed for N ational or S tate G overnm ents:
1. Insured persons.—Every person engaged in a gainful occupation and earn
ing less than a specified annual income, say $1,000, should be entitled to the
benefits provided under the law. Every person earning more than the specified
annual income should be allowed to qualify for the same benefits or greater
benefits according to annual income.
2. Funds.—To be provided jointly by contributions from employees and em
ployers ; the Government to appropriate for the expenses of supervision and
adm inistration.1
3. Benefits.—The following benefits should be provided:
(a) Cash benefits.—Weekly cash paym ents in case of disability due to sick
ness, nonindustrial accident, or to childbearing by the beneficiary, for a period
not to exceed 26 weeks in any one 12-month period.
(b) Death benefits.—Cash paym ent (for funeral expenses) to legal heirs for
death due to sickness or nonindustrial accident.
(c) Medical -benefits.—To include adequate medical and surgical care, medi
cines and appliances in home, hospital, sanatorium , dispensary, or physician’s
office, beginning w ith the first day of disability, w hether due to sickness, non
industrial accident, or to childbearing by the beneficiary or the wife of the
beneficiary, and lim ited to a period of 26 weeks in one 12-month period.
4. Administration.—All m atters of promulgation of rules and regulations and
appeals should be vested in a N ational or S tate commission created for this
purpose. All m atters of local adm inistration should be vested in local boards
of directors, federated according to districts, subject to supervision by the
central authorities, and rules and regulations promulgated by the commission.
The commission and all local and federated boards should be composed of
persons representing the contributors to the funds. The number representing
1 C om pare p rop osal o f A m erican A sso c ia tio n for Labor L e g isla tio n , p. 65 o f th is issu e
of th e R e v ie w .
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[506]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
97
employees and employers should be in the same ratio as their respective
contributions.
Provision should be made for free choice of any physician registered on the
local panel, and provision might be made also for adequate institutional care
for those who prefer this method of medical benefits.
A corps of full-time medical officers should be provided w ithin the N ational
or State health service to have supervision of all hospital and dispensary relief;
to examine all insured persons claiming to be disabled, and issue certificates in
accordance w ith the regulations prom ulgated by the com m ission; to advise the
adm inistrative authorities and all contributors to the funds as to the best
m easures for the relief and prevention of sickness; to advise w ith the physicians
attending sick members as to measures which will shorten the periods of dis
ability ; and to perform such other duties as may be fixed by regulations.
FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
A r g e n t i n a .—Boletín
del Departamento Nacional del Trabajo. Buenos Aires.
May, 1916 (No. 34).
Continues from the preceding number the report of an investigation or study
by the D epartm ent of Labor on labor conditions in the Federal D istrict and in
Chaco and Formosa.
A u s t r a l i a .—Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. Labor and In
dustrial Branch. Report No. 6. Prices, purchasing power of money,
wages, trade-unions, unemployment, and general industrial conditions,
1914-13. May, 1916. Melbourne 11916]. 183 pp.
The scope of this report is indicated in the title. The number of trade-unions
in the Commonwealth increased from 302 w ith a membership of 147,049 in 1906,
to 713 w ith a to tal membership of 52S,031 in 1915. The largest membership, not
including the miscellaneous group, was in the railw ay and tram w ay services.
Compared w ith 1911, the base year, the weighted average purchasing power of
money index number shows an increase of 14 per cent for 1914 and of 27.8 per
cent for 1915. The weighted average norm al weekly rate of wages as expressed
by index numbers, for adult male workers on December 31, 1915, the wage pay
able on April 30, 1914, being taken as the base—1,000—was 1,023, and for
fem ale workers, 1,006. The weighted average working hours per week on
December 31, 1915, were 48.77 for male w orkers and 49.12 for female workers,
as compared w ith 48.93 and 49.0S, respectively, on April 30, 1914. Operations
under the arb itratio n and wages board acts show a total of 208 aw ards or
determ inations made and 130 agreements filed in 1914, and 274 aw ards and
243 agreem ents in 1915. The report notes, during 1915, 358 in d u strial disputes
involving 81,292 w orkers w ith a total loss in days of 583,225 and a wage loss of
£299,633 ($1,458,163.99). (See p. 68.) In 1915, 111,339 applications for em
ployment were filed w ith the S tate free employment bureaus, and 39,089 posi
tions were filled. In the same year 5,027 industrial accidents occurred; 144
were fa ta l and 4,883 incapacitated for more than 14 days. More than 80 per
cent of the accidents occurred in the mining industry.
------------------- Labor Bulletin (published quarterly). Melbourne. July, 1916
(No. 13, January-March, 1916).
Contains the usual current m aterial on labor conditions, unemployment,
retail and wholesale prices, house rents, industrial disputes, rates of wages,
operations under the arbitration and wages board acts, emigration, employ
m ent bureaus, industrial accidents and labor legislation.
------------ Official year book of the Commonwealth of Australia, containing au
thoritative statistics for the period 1901 to 1914 and corrected statistics for
the period 1788 to 1900. Number 8, 1915. Melbourne, [1916]. 1127 [1] pp.
In addition to the statistical m aterial in this volume concerning political,
social, and economic conditions in A ustralia, the year book contains special
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[507]
98
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
articles dealing w ith subjects of particular interest to labor and contained in
those sections referring to industrial unionism and labor and industrial sta
tistics. Considerable use is made of maps and diagram s.
Amtliche Nachrichten des k. k. Ministeriums
die Unfall- und Krankenversicherung der Arbeiter.
Special articles and current reports on m atters relating
system of A u stria ; a special supplement reports financial
of the workmen’s sick funds for the years 1912 and 1913.
A u s t r i a .—
des Innern, betreffend
Vienna, June, 1916.
to the social-insurance
and sickness statistics
------A rbeitsstatistisches A m t im Handelsministerium. Die Arbeitseinstellungen
und Aussperrungen in Öesterrich während des Jahres 1914. Vienna, 1916.
95, 76 pp.
A report of the A ustrian bureau of labor statistics- on strikes and lockouts
during 1914. An appendix gives statistics of employers’ and workmen’s organi
zations. The strike and lockout statistics are reviewed on pages TO and 71 of
the present number of the R e v i e w .
------------ Die kollektiven arbeits- und Lohnverträge in Österreich. Abschlüsse
und Erneuerungen des Jahres 1913. ’ Vienna, 1916. 178 pp.
The present report on collective agreements entered into in A ustria during
1913 continues a series begun in 1906 by the A ustrian bureau of labor sta
tistics. D uring the year 1913, 500 collective agreements, covering 10,986 estab
lishm ents and affecting 142,682 workmen, were concluded. The number of
newly concluded agreem ents decreased 23 per cent as compared w ith the average
number for the seven preceding years, while the number of establishm ents
covered corresponds to the average for these seven years, and the number of
workmen affected decreased by about 4 per cent. Of the total agreements con
cluded during the year, 45 per cent were new agreem ents and 55 per cent
were renewals. Classified as local and shop agreements, 170 agreements, affect
ing 119,234 workmen, were local or group agreements, while 330, affecting
23,448 workmen, were shop agreements. The data concerning the duration of
the agreements concluded in 1913 have been summ arized in the table follow ing:
C L A S S IF IE D D U R A T IO N O F C O L L E C T IV E A G R E E M E N T S C O N C L U D E D IN A U S T R IA
IN 1913.
A greements.
E stablishm ents
covered.
W orkm en
covered.
D uration.1
N um ber. P er cent. N um ber. P e r cent. N um ber. P er cent.
Less th a n one y e a r............................................
O ne year b u t less th a n tw o years.................
Tw o years b u t less th a n th re e years............
T hree years b u t less th a n four years............
F our years b u t less th a n five y e ars..............
Five years an d over..........................................
8
69
171
130
60
14
1.77
15. 27
37.83
28.76
13. 27
3.10
15
305
3,617
2,676
1,828
128
0.18
3.56
42. 21
31.23
21.33
1.49
293
3,969
54,621
51,309
20,213
1,400
0.22
3.01
41.44
38.93
15.34
1.06
T o tal..........................................................
452
100.00
8,569
100.00
131,805
100.00
1 In 48 agreem ents, covering 2,417 establishm ents a n d 10,877 w orkm en, th e du ratio n was indeterm inate.
The following table shows the total number of collective agreem ents in
force, w ith the number of establishm ents included and number of employees
affected, on December 31, 1913, by industries. The d ata given in this table
are somewhat defective, because many agreements are broken or term inated
by notice before their actual expiration w ithout this fact being reported to the
bureau, and partly because agreem ents of indeterm inate duration are not in
cluded in the compilation, as no inform ation could be obtained as to w hether
or not these agreements were still in force.
[5081
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
99
C O LLE C TIV E A G R E E M E N T S C L A S S IF IE D B Y IN D U S T R IE S IN FO R C E IN A U S T R IA D EC.
31, 1913.
Number
of
agreements.
Number
of
establish
ments
covered.
Agriculture and gardening.............................................................................
Mining..................................................................................................................
Stone, earthenware, glass, and china........ ..................................................
Metal working and machinery......................................................................
Woodworking industry...................................................................................
Leather industry...............................................................................................
T extile industry................................................................................................
U pholstering.......................................................................................................
Clothing...............................................................................................................
Paper....................................................................................................................
Foodstuffs...........................................................................................................
Hotels, restaurants, cafés, e tc ........................................................................
Chemical industry............................................................................................
Building trades.."..............................................................................................
Printing trades..................................................................................................
Commerce, transportation..............................................................................
Engineers and firemen.....................................................................................
Other occupations............................................................................................
1
2
152
397
179
45
27
18
164
35
194
10
20
225
24
85
10
13
1
41
799
2,873
2,925
233
64
364
15,788
1,133
3,163
1,946
20
5,640
1,881
2,625
10
13
87
39,200
21,239
78,004
24,178
3,696
5,349
1,415
54' 808
10,266
30,857
5 717
2' 025
99,451
23; 907
18,590
201
382
T otal.........................................................................................................
1,601
39,519
419,372
Industry and occupational groups.
The principal
(97 per cent of
principal facts
agreements, are
Number
of
workmen
covered.
provisions in agreements entered into in 1913 relate to wages
all agreem ents) and to the hours of labor (87 per cent). The
in regard to hours of labor, as reflected in these collective
disclosed in the table following:
N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T O F A G R E E M E N T S , E S T A B L IS H M E N T S C O V E R E D , AND
W O R K M E N A F F E C T E D , C L A S S IF IE D ACCO RD IN G TO N O RM A L H O U R S O F LA B O R
O N T H E F IR S T F IV E D A Y S O F T H E W E E K .
A greem ents.
N orm al hours of labor
on th e first 5 d ays of
th e week.
N um
ber.
Per
cent.
E stablishm ents
covered.
N um
ber.
Per
cent.
W orkm en
covered.
N um
ber.
E a rlier closing on S atur
days.1
Per
cent.
0.3
1.1
.6
45.2
1.6
19.5
14.8
13.6
1.8
.1
.4
1.3
406
1,414
795
58,405
1,993
25,218
19,084
17,617
2,308
165
470
(2)
1,305
100.0
129,180
100.0
8 ............................................
8-1..........................................
8 J..........................................
9 ............................................
9 ) ..........................................
9§..........................................
9 f ..........................................
10..........................................
10J........................................
101........................................
11..........................................
I l l .........................................
1 2 ! ........................................
7
2
7
103
19
103
27
108
18
2
12
1
1
1.7
.5
1.7
25.1
4.6
25.1
6.6
26.3
4.4
.5
2.9
.3
.3
156
201
116
3,978
176
959
705
675
773
76
100
(2)
105
2.0
2.5
1.5
49.6
2.2
12.0
8.8
8.4
9.6
.9
1.2
T o ta l.........................
410
100.0
8,020
E sta b W ork
Agree lish
men
m ents. m ents covered.
covered.
2
2
75
18
95
25
73
5
1
5
201
101
3,108
141
921
703
377
651
75
55
1,414
514
47,473
1,593
24,415
19,030
14,234
1,329
150
220
301
6,333
110,372
1.0
1 Of th e agreem ents show n here, 25, covering 717 e stab lish m en ts and 19,473 w orkm en, in addition to
earlier closing on S atu rd ay also provide for earlier closing on other w eek days. F o u rteen e stablishm ents
w hich, w ith o u t regulating th e daily hours of labor, provide for earlier closing on S atu rd ay are n o t included
here.
2 T he estab lish m en ts and w orkm en covered were enum erated u n d e r agreem ents providing for 12 hours
oflabor.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[509]
100
MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
B razil (S âo P a ulo ) . —Boletim do Dcpartamento Estadual do Trabalho.
Sdo
Paulo. F irst quarter, 1916 (vol. 5, No. 18).
In d u strial accidents in 1915, the labor m arket in 1915, and labor legislation.
D e n m a r k .—Statens sta tistisk e Departement.
S tatistiske meddelelser. J).
rœkke, 51. bind. Copenhagen, 1916. 3 parts in 1 volume.
Constitutes volume 51 of the fourth series of the general statistics of Den
m ark, and contains the results of the population census of D enm ark of Feb
ru ary 1, 1916, wages of agricultural laborers in 1915, and statistics of produc
tion of products subject to S tate regulation, namely, alcohol, beer, sugar, oleo
m argarine, and cigarettes.
In the inquiry covering wages of agricultural laborers there were included
6,700 workers. The average annual wages of male w orkers hired by the
year and living w ith the fam ily of the employer was 441 crowns ($118.19).
To this should be added the value of board and lodging, which may be esti
m ated a t 354 crowns ($94.87) for the year. The annual average wage of
female domestics was 264 crowns ($70.75), w ith 302 crowns ($80.94) addi
tional estim ated for board and lodging. These wages are an increase of 30
per cent over those prevailing in 1910.
The daily wage of day w orkers (m ales) w as found to be about 3.5 crowns
($0.94) for the spring and summer months, 3.75 crowns ($1.01) during the
harvest season, and 2.5 crowns ($0.67) during the w inter months. The corre
sponding rates for female day w orkers were 2 crowns ($0.54), 2.33 crowns
($0.62), and 1.5 crowns ($0.40), respectively.
The daily hours of w ork of all agricultural laborers in D enm ark vary from
9 to 10 hours in the spring and summer, 10 to 10} hours during harvest, and
8 to 8} hours in winter. These hours have rem ained practically unchanged
since 1905.
■
----- S tatistiske Effterretninger udgivet af det S tatistiske Departement. Co
penhagen July 21, 1916; August 5, 1916; August 22, 1916.
Contain retail prices (average and index numbers) July, 1916, em igration in
1915, and unemployment in May, 1916.
F rance .— Bulletin du Ministère du Travail et de la Prévoyance Sociale, Paris.
June, 1916. (Vol. 23, No. 6.)
Besides containing a special study on the volume of employment, begun
shortly afte r the outbreak of the war, this volume includes current reports
on strikes and lockouts, operations of the governmental unemployment fund
and the central employment exchange, together w ith special articles on the
application of the minimum-wage law enacted in 1915. Labor conditions in
foreign countries are briefly reviewed. C urrent legislation and judicial deci
sions are noted.
----- -Bureau de la Statistique Générale de la France. Résultats statistiques du
recensement générale de la population, effectué le 5 mars 1911. Vol. 1,
part 2. Paris, 1915. 168 pp.
Form s the second p a rt of the first volume of the general population census
of March 5, 1911. The first p art of this volume showed the so-called “legal”
population, i. e., the persons habitually residing in each locality, while the
second p a rt shows the “present” population, based on individual schedules
for all persons present in each locality on the day of the enum eration. On
M arch 5, 1911, the “legal” population was 39,602,258, and the “present” popu
lation 39,192,133. The “present” population is shown for all F rance and for
the individual D epartm ents by sex, age, conjugal condition, place of birth,
and literacy, In an appendix the same data are shown for foreign countries.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[510]
101
MONTHLY REVIEW OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
F r a n c e .-— Ministère
du travail et de la Prévoyance Sociale. Conseil Supérieur
du Travail. Allaitement maternai au magasin et à l’atelier. Procèsverbaux, enquête et documents. Paris, 1916. 24 pp.
A bill providing th a t mothers working in m ercantile or in d u strial establish
ments be granted one hour each day or half an hour twice a day in which to
nurse th eir infants less than 1 year old, w ithout reduction of wages, was
passed on June 12, 1913, by the Chamber of Deputies. The present volume
contains a report on this bill by the perm anent committee of the Superior
Labor Council. The report advocates legislation still more liberal to mothers.
A new bill drafted by the committee provides in addition th a t m others may
nurse th eir infants in the establishm ent and th a t each employer m ust furnish
a decent secluded place to employed mothers who nurse their infants.
In an appendix is given sim ilar legislation in Denmark, Spain, Italy, Nor
way, Argentina, Roum ania, and Sweden.
G e r m a ny —Amtliche Nachrichten des Reiclisversicherungsamts.
Berlin. June
and July, 1916.
C urrent reports on the operation of the German social insurance system ;
laws am ending the Insurance Code are reproduced (see p. 58).
G reat B r ita in —Board of Trade.
General report to the Board of Trade upon
the accidents that have occurred on the railways of the United Kingdom
during the year 1915. London, 1916. 17 pp.
This report is presented under three general heads: (1) T rain accidents;
(2) Accidents caused by the movement of train s and railw ay vehicles ex
clusive of train accidents; (3) Accidents on railw ay premises not due to train
accidents or to the movement of train s and railw ay vehicles. These are
fu rth e r subdivided in each of the three groups according as they relate to
passengers, servants of the railw ays, and other persons. The following table
is a general summ ary of all accidents :
N U M B E R O F P E R S O N S K IL L E D OR IN J U R E D ON T H E R A IL W A Y S O F T H E U N IT E D
K IN G D O M IN 1915, C O M PA R E D W IT H 1914, SH O W IN G T H E P E R C E N T O F IN C R E A S E O R
D ECREA SE.
1914.
P e r cent of increase
1915 over 1914.
1915.
Group.
K illed.
Injured.
1. T rain accidents:
p assp/n p u r s .............................................................
S ervants
6
8
.................................................
O tt> er p e r s o n s
322
115
Total .......................................................
269
9
1
.................................................
2. A ccidents d u e to m ovem ent of tra in s
and railw ay vehicles, exclusive of tra in
accidents:
Passengers .................................................
S e rv a n ts.......................................................
O t.h e r p erso n s.............................................
3. A ccidents on railw ay prem ises n o t in
cluding 1 an d 2:
P assen g ers
..............................
K illed.
119
417
565
2,118
4,950
344
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
1,115
7,850
Injured.
K illed.
Injured.
-1,432 1 4,383.3
12.5
'183
2
1 344.7
36.1
11.2
162
403
521
2,355
4,962
334
6
59
40
708
21,202
'562
1,469
31,740
2 3 .4
.2
7.8
2.3
2
< 22.3
1 T his increase is due to one accident in w hich 227 persons were killed and 246 w ere injured.
Decrease.
s D a ta n o t available.
i B ased upon th e to tals of groups 1 and 2 only.
2
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[511]
59.1
100.0
1
18.1
102
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Of the 22,472 persons injured and 105 killed in accidents on railw ay premises,
incidental to and not directly connected w ith railw ay working, the report states
th a t “ the bulk of them were due to m isadventure and com paratively few could
be attributed to preventable causes.”
Board of Trade Labor Gazette. London. August, 1916.
C urrent review of the labor m arket and volume of employment in the prin
cipal industries, reports from the labor exchanges, and labor conditions in
foreign cou n tires; also special articles on employment in Germany, retail food
prices, and English and German food production. C urrent court decisions
affecting labor are reviewed.
G b e a t B r i t a i n .—
------------- Dope poisoning [London, 1916].
------ Factory Inspector’s Office.
4 PP-
Nitrous fumes.
[London, 1916].
----- -------- T N T Manufacture: Precautionary measures, 1916.
20 pp.
See p. 52.
1 p.
[London, 1916.]
------ Local Government Board. Forty-fifth annual report of the local govern
ment board, 1915-16. P art II—Housing and town planning. London, 1916.
19 pp.
“ D uring the year to which the present report relates there has been a marked
dim inution in the activity of local authorities generally in housing m atters.”
P riv ate building continues also to be much restricted, “ and it is to be feared
th a t in many districts in England and W ales there exists, or will exist on the
conclusion of the war, a very serious need for additional accommodation for
persons of the w orking class.”
The following table shows the am ount of loans and the number of homes
erected since December 3, 1909:
N U M B E R AN D A M O U N T O F LO A N S A U T H O R IZ E D F O R T H E E R E C T IO N O F H O U S E S ,
1910 TO 1916.
U rb a n au th o rities.
Y ear ending
Mar. 31—
1910........................
1911........................
1912........................
1913........................
1914.......................
1915.......................
1916........................
R u ra l au th o rities.
Total.
N um A m o u n t of
um
um
H ouses N
m o u n t of Houses N
b er of
ber of A
ber of A m ount of H ouses
p ro p ria to be au
ap p ro p ria to be au
p ro p ria to be
th
o
r
a u th o r ap tions.
th o r a ptio
b u ilt.
tions..
b u ilt.
ns.
b u ilt.
ities.
ities.
ities.
2
12
29
46
79
110
14
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
$65-, 844
491,322
980; 921
1,634,536
2,753,758
4,197,069
2,269,677
78
464
882
1,549
2,465
3,264
1,917
1
1
16
22
45
72
10
$1,314
l ‘216
133Ì561
289,834
942,057
1,278,600
177,705
1 Including 1 lodging house.
[512]
139
331
871
1,144
154
3
13
45
68
124
182
24
$67,158
492,538
1,114; 482
1,924,370
3,695,815
5, 475,669
2,447,382
78
464
1,021
1,880
3,336
i 4,408
2,071
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
103
G eeat B r i t a i n — Registrar of friendly societies.
Friendly societies, industrial
and provident societies, building societies, trade-unions, workmen’’s compen
sation schemes, loan societies, scientific and literary societies, post office,
trustee, and railway sa vings banks. Report of the chief registrar of friendly
societies for the year ending December 31, 1915. P art C: Trade-unions.
London, 1916. xxv, 10 pp.
On December 31, 1914, there were upon the register 690 unions; 643 marie
retu rn s showing 3,261,050 members, and funds am ounting to £7,013,048
($34,128,783.58), the average contribution per week from each member being
6fd. (13.2 cents). About £890,000 ($4,331,185) was expended in unemployment
benefits, including £170,000 ($827,305) for the unemployment insurance bene
fit) ; £670,000 ($3,260,555) in dispute benefits; £680,000 ($3,309,220) in sick
ness and accident benefits; £160,000 ($778,640) in funeral benefits; and a
fu rth e r £540,000 ($2,627,910) in benefits of a miscellaneous character. The
average am ount of unemployment benefit paid per member was 5s. 5d. ($1.32)<
------ (Scotland.)—Government Committee on W ar Organization in the Dis
tributing Trades in Scotland. Second report of the committee, 28th March,.
1916. Edinburgh, 1916. Jj pp.
This committee was appointed “ to consider how far, and by w hat means,
it will be practicable so to rea d ju st the conditions of employment in the dis
tributing trades, both wholesale and retail, in Scotland, as to release a larger
number of men for enlistm ent or other national services, w ith the minimum of
interference w ith the necessary operations of those trades.” R eturns received
by the committee from 4,306 employers indicated 10,170 employees already
released for m ilitary service, 11,440 men of m ilitary age still employed, 1,834
who could still be released, and 3,508 substitutes required, including 640
women and 2,818 men ineligible for m ilitary service. The committee emphasizes
the importance of the recommendations contained in its first report regarding
the establishm ent of trad e committees to deal w ith such m atters as reorganiza
tion, technical training, the extension of early closing and dinner-hour closing.
“ Special reference may be made to the desirability of extending early closing
and dinner-hour closing, wherever practicable, so as to make employment in
the distributing trades more attractive.”
The first report of this committee wras sum m arized in the M o n th ly R eview
of April, 1916 (Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 106).
I n d ia .— Annual report of the working of the Indian factories act, 1911, in the
Punjab, Delhi, and N orthwest Frontier Provinces, for the year 1915.
jab, 1916. 59 pp.
Pun
The report indicates a general improvement in the conditions of factory labor,
including sanitary reform s and improvements in ventilation and in the fenc
ing of machinery. I t is noted th a t in the P unjab the guarding of machinery
w as accompanied by an imm ediate reduction in the number of fata l and
serious accidents, the average per 100 operatives employed in 1915 being 0.65
as against 0.72 in 1914. I t is recommended th a t the age a t which children
may be perm itted to work be raised from 9 to 10 years. The belief th a t
women were being worked in excess of the legal 11 hours per day in certain
ginning factories is noted, and as to children operatives it is stated th a t in
many factories they “ look fagged out, jaded, undersized, and unliealthly in
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[513]
104
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
appearance.” The range of wages paid to skilled and unskilled laborers in the
three Provinces in 1915 was as follow s:
R A N G E O F W A G E S P A ID S K IL L E D A N D U N S K IL L E D L A B O R IN F A C T O R IE S IN
P U N JA B , D E L H I, A N D N O R T H W E S T F R O N T IE R P R O V IN C E S , IN D IA , IN 1915.
Skilled.1
THE
U nskilled.2
Province.
H ighest.
P u n ja b ..................................................................................
D elhi.......................................................................
N orthw est fro n tier...............................................................
$42.12
48.60
35.64
Low est.
$2.59
3.89
4.86
H ighest.
$0.20
.20
.20
Low est.
$0.04
3 .085
.08
1 P er m onth.
2 P e r day.
3 The re p o rt gives th is ra te as 4a. 6p., h u t it is n o t clear w h eth er th e “ p ” stan d s for th e In d ia n coin “ p ie ”
or “ pice.” I f th e form er, th e equivalenl is 8J cents; if th e la tte r, th e equivalent is 11 cents.
I t a l y .—Bollettino,
dell’ Ispettorato dell’ Industria e del Lavoro. Ministero di
Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio. Ufficio del Lavoro. Rome. JanuaryFebruary, 1916. (Bimonthly.)
Special articles on the factory-inspection service and an account of an accident
in connection w ith a G arnett machine in a woolen mill in T urin and of one
connected w ith the operation of a grindstone for the sharpening of ag ricu ltu ral
implements.
------ Bollettino dell’ Ufficio del Lavoro. Ministero dell’ Industria, Commercio e
Lavoro. Rome. August 1, 1916. (Semimonthly.)
C urrent reports on the labor m arket, labor disputes, employers’ and w ork
men’s organizations, retail prices, court decisions affecting labor ; also articles
on labor in foreign countries and one on tuberculosis among employees of
retailers of wine in Paris.
------Ministero di Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio. Direzione Generale del
Credito e della Previdenza. Provvedimenti in m ateria di economia e di
finanza emanati nella Svizzera in seguito alla guerra europea. Part 1:
July 31, 19Iff, to December 31, 1915. Rome, 1916. 2-'f6 pp. (Annali del
credito e della previdenza. Series II, voi. 16, part 1.)
The present volume gives the tex t of all economic and financial m easures—
laws, decrees, ordinances, circular orders, etc.—enacted in Switzerland between
Ju ly 31, 1914, and December 31, 1915,.on account of the European war.
■
------- —— Ufficio del Lavoro. Provvedimenti di carattere sociale emanati all1
estero, durante la guerra europea fino al 30 aprile 1915. Rome, 1915. 109 pp.
{Supplemento al Bollettino dell’ Ufficio del Lavoro. No. 26.)
A compilation of social measures enacted during the w ar up to April 30, 1915,
in G reat B ritain, France, Germany, and A ustria.
--------------------Statistica degli scioperi avvenuti in Italia nell’ anno 1913. Rome,
1916. xv, 502 pp. (Pubblicazioni dell’ Ufficio del Lavoro, series B, No. If7.)
This recently published report of the Italian labor office on strikes and lock
outs in Italy during 1913 shows th a t the number of strikes in industry con
tinued to decrease during the year under review, the total number reported
being 810, the lowest since 1905. In contrast to this decrease in the number of
strikes, the report shows an enormous increase in the number of strikers, which
to tal 384,725, as compared w ith 144,124 in 1912, and even exceeds the previous
highest to tal of 321,499 for 1907. The report ascribes this large number of
strik ers to the fact th a t sym pathetic strikes of large extent took place during
the year, the most extensive among these being the general strike in Milan.
This strike, originating among workmen of the railroad car shops in Milan, was
soon joined in by all m achinists and m etal workers (about 30,000) and ulti-
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[514]
MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
105
m ately participated in by all tbe workmen (about 90,000) of Milan and by
about 87,000 workers in other industrial and agricultural centers of tbe King
dom. Altogether, 10 sym pathetic strikes, involving 25S,630 strikers, took place
during 1913, leaving a total of 126,095 strikers for the rem aining 800 strikes.
The duration of the strikes is shown in the following ta b le :
D U R A T IO N O F S T R IK E S IN IN D U S T R Y (IN C L U S IV E A N D E X C L U S IV E O F
S Y M P A T H E T IC S T R I K E S ) , 1913.
Inclusive of
sym pathetic strikes.
E xclusive of
sym pathetic strikes.
D uration.
P e r cent of Per cent of Per cent of
strikes.
strikers.
strikes.
U p to 1 d a y .................................................................................
O ver 1 to 5 d a y s.........................................................................
O ver 5 to 10 d a y s.......................................................................
O ver 10 to 20 d a y s.....................................................................
O ver 20 to 30 d a y s.....................................................................
O ver 30 to 50 d a y s.....................................................................
O ver 50 to 75 d a y s.....................................................................
O ver 75 to 100 d a y s...................................................................
Over 100 to 150 d a y s.................................................................
N o t re p o rte d .............................................................................
21.4
35.3
17.4
11.5
4.8
5.0
2.2
1.4
.4
.6
15.5
23.7
31.6
21.3
1.3
3.3
.8
2.0
.5
P e r cent of
strikers.
21.6
35.0
17.3
11.4
4.9
5.0
2.3
1.5
.4
.6
14.3
30.5
17.4
13.4
4.2
10.0
2.3
6.2
1.6
.1
Demands relating to wages were the most numerous (718, or 49.18 per cent),
those relating to organization (286, or 19.50 per cent), hours of labor (158, or
10.82 per cent), and discipline (141, or 9.66 per cent), come next in the order
named. The report estim ates th a t the strike movement during 1913 has caused
to the workmen a pecuniary loss am ounting to approxim ately 15.3 million lire
($2,952,900).
The results of the industrial strikes vary greatly according as they are com
puted inclusively or exclusively of the sym pathetic strikes, as may be seen from
the following ta b le :
R E S U L T S O F S T R I K E S IN IN D U S T R Y (IN C L U S IV E A N D E X C L U S IV E O F
S Y M P A T H E T IC S T R I K E S ) , 1913.
Inclusive of sy m p ath etic strikes.
R esu lt of strikes.
P er 100
strikes.
Successful......................................
M ainly successful-......................
C om prom ised..............................
P a rtly successful.........................
F a ile d .............................................
N o t reported ................................
17.5
12.2
12.4
20.1
32.1
5.7
Per 100
strikers.
4.3
4.4
5.0
10.3
6.6
69.4
Per 100
w orkdays
lost.
2.3
13.0
15.3
19.2
5.6
44.6
E xclusive of sym pathetic strikes.
Per 100
strikes.
17.7
12.4
12.5
20.4
32.2
4.8
Per 100
strikers.
13.0
13.6
15.2
31.4
20.2
6.6
Per 100
w orkdays
lost.
3.9
23.3
27.4
34.6
10.0
.8
Labor organizations directed or managed 497, or 61 per cent, of the 810
strikes in industry.
Mediation was resorted to for the settlem ent of 350, or 43 per cent, of the
810 strikes, and arbitration, or mediation and arbitration combined, was found
necessary in 11 instances. The 43 per cent of all strikes noted as settled by
mediation involved, however, 235,S34, or 61 per cent, of all persons striking.
The number of agricultural strikes decreased from 176 in 1912 to 97 in 1913.
The decrease in the number of strikers was, however, less marked, the respec
tive figures being 95,841 and 79,842. About 60 per cent of these strikes had a
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[515]
106
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
duration of not over 5 days. Most of the strikes were caused by demands
relating either to organization or wages.
A total of 21 lockouts in industry is reported for 1913. They involved 21,098
workmen out of a total of 23,961 employed in the establishm ents affected and
caused a loss of 638,777 workdays. The most im portant lockout as to num
ber of locked-out workers (8,850) and duration (Nov. 15, 1913, to Jan.
31, 1914) was th a t in the marble industry in C arrara. The wage loss in all
lockouts was approxim ately 2.6 million lire ($501,800). From the viewpoint of
the empoyers, 3 lockouts were term inated successfully, 3 mainly successfully,
4 were compromised, 2 were partly successful, 3 failed, and in 6 the result is
unknown. Only one lockout took place in agriculture in 1913. I t involved 500
laborers, began on Jan u ary 19, and term inated April 21.
Maandschrift van het Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek.
The Hague. July 1, 1916 ( Vol. 11, No. 7).
Contains the usual current d ata on the state of the labor market, unemploy
ment and unemployment insurance, employment exchanges, strikes and lock
outs, organization of employers and employees, wholesale and retail p ric e s;
also an account of the progress of labor legislation through Parliam ent and a
review of labor conditions in foreign countries.
N e t h e r l a n d s .—
Department of Mines. Annual report for the year 1915.
Sidney, 1916. 213 pp. 25 charts and diagrams.
The value of the output of m etals in 1915 was £10,064,569 ($48,979,225.04) ;
in 1914 the value w as £10,499,720 ($51,096,887.38). The following table shows
the am ount produced and the value of the more im portant m e tals:
N e w S o u t h W a l e s .—
T O T A L P R O D U C T IO N AN D V A L U E O F EA C H S P E C IF IE D M IN E R A L IN 1915 AS C O M PA R ED
W IT H 1914.
1914
1915
Mineral.
O utput.
C oal..................................................
Silver, lead, z in c ...........................
Copper.............................................
T in ...................................................
G old.................................................
I r o n ................................................
10,390,622.00
1 722,317.85
6,607.00
2,316.65
2 124,507.00
75,150.00
• Value.
$18,189,813.90
22,542,017.32
1,336,686.42
1,299,988.15
2,573, 760.45
1,237,341.69
O u tput.
9,449,008.00
1 503,997.20
6,793.45
2,188.00
2 132,498.00
76,318.00
Value.
$16,665,961.90
21,571,588.56
1.140.887.66
1,298,284.87
2.738.958.66
1,299,355.50
1 This is silverdead, ore, concentrates, etc., and does no t include ingots and m a tte , of w hich 2,871,559
ounces were produced in 1914 an d 3,237,432 in 1915.
2 Ounces.
The report shows 31,411 persons employed in and about mines, this being a
decrease of 6,059 from 1914. More than half of this number (57.1 per cent)
w as employed in the coal and shale mines. The number of fata l accidents in
1915 was 37, as against 43 in 1914, and the number of serious injuries was 84,
being a decrease of 2S from 1914. Most of these accidents occurred in coal
and shale mining. The number killed per 1,000 employed was highest in copper
mining, being 3.282, and the number injured per 1,000 employed was highest
in silver, lead, and zipp mines, being 5.211. The report of the m iners’ accident
relief fund gives 23,477 as the average aggregate number of contributors, the
income of the fund being £57,936 ($281,945.54). On December 31, 1915, the
invested funds am ounted to £330,000 ($160,594.50). The allowances payable a t
December 31, 1915, in respect of fatal accidents and cases of perm anent disable
ment were a t the rate of £34,346 ($167,144.81) per annum . The report includes
detailed statistics of each m ineral produced.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[516]
MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
107
N ew S outh W a les .—The New South Wales Industrial Gazette, issued by the
Department of Labor and Industry. Sidney. June, 1916 ( Vol. 10, No. 2).
Contains the usual current m aterial on the labor m arket, cost of living,
minimum wages, retail prices, labor exchanges, factory orders, wages rates
under industrial arbitration, and the legislative and judicial record for the
m o n th ; also reports from wages hoards and on industrial agreements.
Zea land .—Department of Labor.
Twenty-fifth annual report, 1916.
Wellington, 1916. 21 pp.
Covers the financial year ending March 31, 1910. “ The various paragraphs
deal chiefly w ith such items as may be noteworthy on account of the w ar.”
The report notes a sm aller number of applicants for work than during any
other period in the history of the departm ent, and th a t of those applying for
work a high percentage was assisted. The employment bureaus were able to
offer employment, both government and private, to all classes of workmen.
D uring the year under report 5,978 persons were assisted, of which 4,394 (73.5
per cent) were employed in government work. The overtime worked during
the year was 432,250 hours. This is an increase of 45.7 per cent over th a t
of the preceding year, “ mainly contributed to by those trad es engaged in the
m anufacture of articles of m ilitary requirem ent.” A total of 1,065 accidents,
of which 3 were fatal, in factories is reported, an increase of 10.1 per cent
over 1914-15. Seven strikes are reported. A rrears of wages am ounting to
£1,688 11s. 7d. ($8,217.47) w ere collected from employers and handed over to
the workers concerned. Fifty-tw o cases were dealt w ith under the workmen’s
compensation act. An unusual feature, it is stated, has been the extensive
employment of girls in the place of men in various vocations, notably in banks.
N ew
------ Government Insurance Department. Accident Insurance Branch. An
nual report for the year ended 31st December, 1915. [Wellington,
1916] lp .
Shows premium income of about £23,466 ($114,197.29) and claims paid
am ounting to £9,092 ($44,246.22). The total income, including the balance
from the previous year, was £50,564 15s. 2d. ($246,073.40) and the total expen
ditures were £39,862 7s. 2d. ($193,990.17).
------Journal of the Department of Labor. Wellington. July, 1916.
Contains usual current data on the labor m arket, employment offices, retail
prices, cost of living, trad e union statistics and legal decisions affecting labor.
N orway .—Riksforsikringsanstalien.
Ulykkesforsikringen for industriarbeidere
m. v. 1913. Christiania, 1916. 33*, 79 pp. (Norges officielle S tatistik.
VI: 79).
This is the annual report on the operations of the S tate accident compensa
tion system in Norway for the year 1913. I t reports the technical as distinct
from the adm inistrative phases of the compensation system, the la tte r appear
ing in a special report. The report covers all establishm ents subject to com
pensation, except the silver mines of Kongsberg and the S tate trunk-line rail
road, which have their own separate compensation fund. Results of operation
from 1895 to date are as follow s:
>
'
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[517]
108
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
TO T A L N U M B E R O F A C C ID E N T S, F U L L -T IM E W O R K E R S , PR EM IU M S AN D C O M PE N
SA TIO N P A ID , F O R A L L IN D U S T R IE S IN N O R W A Y , 1S95-1908, 1909-1913.
A m ount of
prem ium s.
Year.
ber
N u m Nofum
full
ber of
tim
e
estab w orkers
Wages paid.
lish
(300
ments. days).
Total.
Per
cent
of
wages
Compensation
p aid, reserves,
etc.
Total.
N um
ber of
acci
dents
com
pen
Per
sated
cent Total. Com Caus
per
pen ing
of
1,000
sated. death. years'
wages
work.
N um ber of
accidents.
1895-1908.
1909..........
1910..........
1911..........
1912..........
1913..........
19,988
19,655
20,984
21,581
23,864
(')
1,472,189 8331,876,227 $5,166,181
144, 425
35,699,871
531,918
150,771
37,771, 501
569,092
160.809
41,063,989
624,902
173, 783
45,537,923
756,200
194,477
49,610,403
830,887
1.6 85,697,770
561, 549
1.5
1.5
647,369
1.5
769,725
1.7
755,948
1.7
1.7
1.6
1.7
1.9
1.7
1.6
5,600
5,875
7,564
8,808
8,849
1895-1913.
0)
2,296,454
1.6
1.7
6)
541,559,914
8 ,479; 180
8,432,361
0)
C1)
C1)
I'D
C1)
fi)
(B
3,866
3,986
5,020
6,183
6,903
136
119
138
116
137
38.8
39.0
47.0
50.7
45.5
1 N ot rep o rted .
For fu rth e r inform ation concerning accident insurance in Norway reference
is made to Bulletin No. 157 of this bureau and volume 2 of its tw enty-fourth
annual report.
N o r w a y .— Sociale Meddelelser u tgit av Socialavdelingen under Departementet
for Sociale Saker, Handel, Industry og Fiskeri. Christiania, 1916. No. 3.
C urrent retail prices and special article on compulsory arb itratio n in Norway
and notes from foreign reports. Official regulations of the S tate Insurance
In stitu te under various social insurance acts and the results of a child-labor
investigation are contained in special supplements.
Department of Agriculture. Twenty-eighth annual report of the
factory inspection branch, 1915. Toronto, 1916. 61 pp. Illustrated.
This report is for the year ending October 31, 1915, during which period
11,455 inspections were made in 467 cities, towns, and villages, in 7,625 factories
and m ercantile establishm ents employing 195,762 workers of whom only 39 were
dismissed as being under the legal age. Eleven prosecutions were instituted
and convictions secured and fines imposed in all but one instance. A decrease
in the number of accidents is reported—994, of which 33 were fatal, as against
1,270, of which 52 were fatal, during the preceding year. More th an 50 per
cent of these accidents were due to causes other than machinery, the largest
number, 179 or 18 per cent, being due to falling objects. A few breaches of
the law in respect to hours of labor were found, notably violations of the onehour noon-day regulation for females and youths. The report is largely de
voted to a detailed tabulation of the accidents by districts, giving date, em
ployer, place, sex, age, and n ature of the injury.
O n t a r i o .—
The Queensland Industrial Gazette issued by the Department of
Labor. Brisbane. July 10, 1916 (vol. 1, No. 5).
Contains current monthly reports on the labor m arket, employment offices,
retail prices, industrial arbitration aw ards, trade agreements, factory acci
dents, etc.
Q u e e n s l a n d .—
Boletin del Instituto de Reformas Sociales. Madrid. July, 1916.
Contains the usual current adm inistrative reports of the Spanish departm ent
of labor, current reports on strikes, cost of living, and labor legislation.
S p a i n .—
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[5181
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
109
S w e d e n .—Sociala
Meddelanden utgivna av K . Socialstyrelsen. Stockholm.
Number 7, 1916.
In addition to current reports on the state of employment, retail prices and the
cost of living, prices of cattle, supply and consumption of meat, reports from
factory inspectors on fata l industrial accidents, etc., this number of the Swedish
labor periodical contains special articles on the new accident compensation law
enacted in June, 1916; the census of m anufacture in Sweden in 1914; strikes
and lockouts, 1915; employment of women and children, 1914; operation of the
wholesale cooperative society, 1915; special articles on labor conditions in for
eign countries. There is noted an am endment of the factory inspection law of
1912 and the pension law of 1913.
------Socialstyrelsen. Arbetsinställelser i Sverige dr 1915. Stockholm, 1916.
viii, Jfi pp. ( Sveriges officiella Statistik; S ocialstatistik).
This volume forms the report of the Swedish bureau of labor on strikes
occurring in Sweden in 1915. The m aterial has been used in a special article
appearing elsewhere in this number of the R e v i e w . (See p. 71.)
( C a n t o n o f Z ü r i c h ) . — Kantonales Statistisches Bureau.
Die
Berufswahl der im Frühjahr 1915 aus der Volksschule ausgetretenen
Schüler. W interthur, 1916. 58 pp. (Statistische Mitteilungen betreffend
den Kanton Zürich, H eft 122.)
S tatistics as to the choice of occupation of children leaving the elem entary
schools in the Canton of Zurich in 1915. A sum m ary of this investigation will
be found on page 89 o f this number of the R eview .
S w it z e r l a n d
------( C t t y o f B e r n ) . — Verwaltungshorn.mission des Arbeits-und Wohnungs
amtes und der Versicherungskasse gegen Arbeitslosigkeit der S tadt Bern.
Vermattungsbericht für das Jahr 1915. Bern, 1916. 18 pp.
The annual report for 1915 of the single adm inistrative commission in charge
of the varied activities of a public renting bureau, a public employment
office, and a system of subsidized unemployment insurance for the city of Bern
calls attention to how activities of interest to the wage earner not ordinarily
considered as related are, however, in many instances in European countries
intim ately connected in adm inistration.
W ar conditions have required the employment offices to supply an exceedingly
large demand for labor in those industries actively engaged and to look after
the workers throw n out of employment in stagnant industries. The following
table indicates their activity in 1914 and 1915:
S T A T IS T IC S O F T H E M U N IC IP A L E M P L O Y M E N T B U R E A U O F B E R N , 1914 A N D 1915.
V acant situations.
1914
1915
A pplicants.
1914
1915
S itu atio n s filled.
1914
1915
M ale......................................................................
F em ale.................................................................
10,723
5,062
9,256
4,571
18,656
4,731
13,234
5,119
8,813
2,560
7,752
2,539
T o tal.........................................................
Fem ale d ay laborers, laundresses, and
charw om en.....................................................
15,785
13,827
23,387
18,353
11,373
10,291
3,468
2,567
3,432
2,556
3,432
2,556
G rand to ta l.............................................
19,253
16,394
26,819
20,909
14,805
12,847
The municipal renting bureau received orders for the renting of 1,583 prop
erties and if to these are added 159 still vacant from the preceding year a total
of 1,692 is made, of which 1,520 were apartm ents and one-family houses.
61766°—16—
8
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[519]
110
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
In the unemployment fund the commission reports a membership of 780 on
March 21, 1916, an increase of 29 over the preceding fiscal year. Of the total
number of members 521 were skilled and 259 unskilled workers.
Heavy
demands made on the unemployment fund on account of the economic depres
sion caused by the w ar induced the commission to suspend the paym ent of
unemployment benefits indefinitely beginning from April 1, 1915. Paym ents
were, however, resumed on November 20 of the same year. The municipal
subsidy granted annually to the fund had been increased to 20,000 francs
($3,860). The contributions from the insured workmen am ounted to 11,299
francs ($2,180.71) which approxim ately equals the regular annual municipal
subsidy. Up to the end of the fiscal year 446 members, as against 455 in 1914,
had received unemployment benefits. Of this total number, 310 were skilled and
136 unskilled workmen. Skilled workmen received daily while unemployed 3
francs (58 cents) if m arried, and 2 francs (39 cents) if single, while unskilled
workmen were given 2.50 francs (48 cents) and 1.50 francs (29 cents) respec
tively. Only 72 of the insured members received benefits for the maximum
period of 60 days. The total am ount disbursed for cash benefits was 38,645
francs ($7,458.46).
of Z u r ic h ) . —Stadtisches ArbeUsamt.
Geschafts-bericht
für das jahr 1915. Zilrich, 1916. 32 pp., chart.
This report of the municipal employment office of the city of Zurich for the
year 1915 states th a t the depressing effects of the w ar upon the labor m arket
were felt somewhat less in 1915 than in the preceding year. As compared w ith
the preceding year, the number of vacant positions increased by 1,198 and th a t
of vacancies filled by 585, while the number of local applicants decreased by
1,625 and th a t of tran sien t and out of town applicants by 5,951. A summ ary
of the activities of the employment office during the period 1901-1915 is given in
the following table :
S w itzerland .— (C it y
ST A T IS T IC S O F T H E M U N IC IPA L E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E IN Z U R IC H , 1901-1915.
V acant situations.
Local applicants.
Situations filled.
Year.
Male.
1901............
1905............
1910............
1911...........
1912............
1913............
1914............
1915............
6,343
10, 728
0,134
9,430
8.613
7,200
8,471
10,286
Female.
3,052
3,763
2,998
3,043
3,464
3,315
2,713
2,096
Total.
Male.
9,395
14,491
12,132
12,473
12,077
10,515
11,184
12,382
14,487
12,288
13,618
15,681
14,904
13,925
16,485
14,599
Female.
Total.
3,256
3,676
2,440
2,452
2,957
2,642
2,630
2,891
17,743
15,964
16,058
18,133
17,861
16,567
19,115
17,490
Male.
4,518
7,317
7,335
7,499
6,753
5, 713
6,904
7,645
Female.
1,250
1,743
1,719
1.684
1,994
2,124
1,694
1,538
Total.
5, 768
9.060
9,054
9,183
8; 747
7^837
8; 598
9; 183
T ran
sient
and
out-oftow n
a ppli
cants.
7,560
10,191
10; 597
12' 498
9' 198
9'682
9,533
3', 582
V ictoria .— Department of Labor.
Report on some of the effects of labor legisla
tion and, suggestions for attaining greater industrial efficiency. Melbourne.
[1 9 m . 16 pp.
This report claims th a t Victorian labor law s have abolished sweating, have
made the surroundings of the w orker in the factory and outside healthier,
safer, more moral, and generally better than before their enactment, and have
raised wages in all occupations. A table is inserted which shows th a t wage in
creases made by law in trades regulated by the wages boards have am ounted to
42 per cent for the 150,000 workers affected. An adm ittedly incomplete table is
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[5201
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
I ll
also inserted to show th a t the wages of 5,720 workers out of a to tal of 200,000
w orkers not under the wages boards have increased on the average 61 per cent.
An advance of 26.8 per cent, on the other hand, is noted in the cost of liv in g ;
and, accepting the estim ate of 40.7 per cent made by the Commonwealth sta tis
tician for the wage increase in all trades, it is claimed th a t the w orker has
benefited to the extent of 13.9 per cent.
The report notes th a t in many instances the m anufacturer has benefited in
spite of wage increases by being able to pass the effect of such wages on to the
consumer. The practice of lim iting output is condemned.
As a remedy for this sta te of affairs, and in order to provide an inducement
to the highest endeavor, the report recommends universal profit sharing and
piece paym ent in all trades.
RECENT UNOFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO LABOR.
T h e A m erican L abor Y ear B ook, 1916.
Prepared by the department of labor
research of the Rand School of Social Science. New York. [1916] 382 pp.
B u r n h a m , A. C., M. D. The role of the physician in industrial medical in
surance. Reprinted from the Medical Record, May 22, 1915. 11 pp. (5
by 7f inches.)
■----- A plan for the care of the insured under the proposed health insurance
law. Replanted from the Medical Record, April 22, 1916. 7 pp. (5 by
7 f inches.)
Ca su a l t y A ctuarial a nd S tatistical S ociety oe A merica , T h e . Proceedings,
May 26 and 27, 1916. Vol, II, P art III, No. 6. pp. 335-521.
. C lark , V ictor S. H istory of manufactures in the United States, 1607-1860.
Published by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1916. W ith index,
675 pp.
C ollie , S ir J o h n , M. D., J. P. Articles on industrial accidents and occupational
diseases, including suggestions to attending doctors, medical examiners,
and claim adjusters. Published by the Employers' Liability Assurance Cor
poration (L td.), of London, England. 66 pp. (4 by 9 inches).
A rep rin t of 26 short articles contributed by the author to the Post Magazine
and Insurance Monitor of London. The author for many years conducted a
large number of medical exam inations for various English insurance com
panies, and these articles exhibit, in the light of his experience, inform ation on
certain points which should be useful to those interested in the subject of
claims for disablement.
Titles to some of the articles are—
F unctional nervous disease (5 articles) ; malingering in skin disease (2
articles) ; medicolegal aphorism s (2 articles) ; notes on the conduct of the
medicolegal examinations, w ith special reference to m alingering; notes on lac
erated wounds, w ith-special reference to some type of self-inflicted wounds;
the pecuniary inducement to malinger.
Many examples met in actual experience are cited to illu strate the points of
the au th o r’s observations.
Philadelphia, Pa. Vocational studies. Nursing.
School edition, teachers' auxiliary, No. 13. Copyright, 1916. 16 pp. (84
by 11 inches).
F a b ia n S ociety (L iverpool ). Tract No. 14. Industrial conditions after the
w a r; The place of the labor exchange. 1916, 15 pp.
------ (L ondon ). Fabian Tract No. 5. Facts for Socialists, showing the distri
bution of the national income and its results. Twelfth edition, 1915.
23 pp.
C ollins P ublic ity S ervice.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[521]
112
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Twenty-third annual report on tlie work of the Fabian so
* * * 1916; also the rules of the society. 25 pp.
G eph a r t , E. C. Analysis and cost of ready-to-serve foods: a study in food
economics. Chicago, 1915. 51. [12] pp.
G onzales , P edro L u i s , P rof. El Contrato de Trabajo. Santiago de Chile, 1912.
106 pp.
Biennial prize essay of the S tate U niversity on the question (the labor con
tra c t) selected by the faculty of law and political sciences, 1908, 1909.
H o ffm a n , F rederick L., LL. D. The sanitary progress and vital statistics of
Hawaii. An address delivered before the Medical Society of Hawaii, Honolulu, March 5, 1915. 82 pp.
I l l u m in a t in g E ngineering S ociety , T h e , (Founded in London, 1909). The
Illuminating Engineer, September, 1915, No. 9, Vol. VIII. 39 pp.
This number (special factory lighting num ber) contains (pp. 369-390) an ab
stract of the recently issued first report of the D epartm ental Committee on
Lighting in Factories and Workshops.
I ndependent L abor P arty and t h e F a bia n S ociety . Joint Committee. Report
for the two years ended April 30, 1913. 12 pp.
I n ternatio nal L abor F orum , N ew Y ork . Latin-Amercian News Association,
1916.
Contents: Introduction to labor law of Yucatan, Mexico, by M. C. H olland;
Labor law of Yucatan, Mexico; Appeal to U. S. workers by Mexican working
man ; P resident Gompers issues call for unity of labor in all Pan-America.
J o h n so n , E mory R., and collaborators. H istory of domestic and foreign com
merce of the United States ( two volumes), Vol. I, 363 pp; Vol. II, w ith
index, 398 pp. Published by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1915.
K ober, G eo. M., E d. Diseases of occupations and vocational hygiene. Phila
delphia [1916] 918 pp., illus.
L abor Co partnership A ssociation , T h e (formerly Labor Association), 6
Bloomsbury Square, London. Thirtieth report, * * * 1915. 32 pp.
M in n e a po l is C ivic and C ommerce A ssociation . Fourth annual report, 1915.
155 pp.
Contains reports of the association’s standing committees on housing, indus
tria l welfare, and unemployment, for the year 1915.
N ational C h ild L abor Committee ( I n c .), 105 E. Twenty-second Street, New
York City. The child labor bulletin, August, 1916, vol. 5, No. 2. pp.
84-125.
Devoted to a discussion, both in editorial form and in special articles, of the
recently enacted Federal child labor law, industrial education in New York
City, and the street trades.
“ The passage of the bill, in spite of all th a t it will accomplish for the pro
tection of working children, is not the end of the fight,” declares an editorial
in the bulletin, which continues:
There m ust still be S tate campaigns for laws to protect children in local
industries (in stores, street trades, and the night messenger service), campaigns
for better school laws, and, most im portant of all, perhaps, investigations of
occupations in which children engage about which little is known. Of these
investigations, the survey of children in agriculture, which is now under way,
is the most significant. The study of the children employed in the beet fields
of Colorado is being followed by an intensive study of the effects of agricul
tu ra l labor on school attendance in Kentucky. The condition of the tenant
farm ers and the extent of adult illiteracy are also receiving attention, w ith a
view to discovering the relation of poverty and ignorance to the employment
of children on the farm s. The agricultural survey is being extended still
fu rth e r to discover w hat opportunities for schooling there are for the children
who m igrate during a large p a rt of the year from one agicultural section to
another as the crops m ature. (Pages 85-86.)
[522]
F a b ia n S ociety .
ciety.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MONTHLY REVIEW OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
N ational S ociety
for t h e
113
of I ndu stria l E ducation , 1)0 W. FortyVocational Education, one of the significant
P romotion
second Street, New York City.
problems of the day. 11 pp.
N ational W orkm en ’s C om pensation S ervice B u r ea u , 13 Park Row, New York
City. The industrial compensation rating schedule. Schedule, 77 pp., and
table, 31 pp., (5 x 7$ inches).
A system of measuring the accident hazards in individual m anufacturing
plants for use in the determ ination of workmen’s compensation insurance rates,
adopted by the first conference on schedule rating, New York, July 27, 1916.
O’H ara , E d w in V., chairman of the industrial welfare commission, Oregon. A
living wage by legislation, the Oregon experience. Salem, Oreg., 1916.
57 pp. See p. 73.
S tuck ey , L orin . The Iowa State Federation of Labor. Iowa City, Ioiva.
1915. With index, 1J)7 pp.
A monograph subm itted to the faculty of the graduate college of the S tate
U niversity of Iowa, in p artial fulfillment of the requirem ents for the degree of
doctor of philosophy.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[523]
114
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
ADDENDA.
EMPLOYMENT IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK IN AUGUST, 1916.
The condition of employment in the State of New York in August,
1916, is set forth in the following statement issued by the New York
State Industrial Commission. The statement is based upon reports
by 1,400 representative firms employing over half a million persons—
approximately one-third of the factory workers in the State.
More wages w ere paid to w orkers in New York S tate factories in August,
1916, than in any other month during the last two years. From July to August
there was an increase of 2 per cent in wages and a slight increase in number of
employees. The increase in total wages in August, 1916, was 32 per cent, as
compared w ith August of last year and 43 per cent, as compared w ith August,
1914. Increases in total number of employees for the corresponding dates were
18 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.
In the stone, clay, and glass products group there was an increase in wages of
19 per cent and in number of employees of 7 per cent from July to August. The
most m arked increase both in wages and employees was in miscellaneous stone
and m ineral products m anufacture. The glass industry also reported a m arked
increase in the amount of wages paid, but there was a slight falling off in the
number of employees. The group as a whole paid out two-fifths more wages
and employed one-fourth more w orkers than in August one year ago. The
metals, machinery, and conveyances group reported an increase of 1 per cent in
both wages and employees from July to August. Overtime work and increased
rates of pay were contributing factors. Every industry in the group, w ith two
exceptions, reported an increase in both wages and employees. In the m anu
factu re of machinery and of stru ctu ral and architectural iron w ork there were
decreases in wages of 9 and 5 per cent, respectively, and a decrease of 8 per cent
in number of employees in the latter. As compared w ith August, 1915, the total
wages paid in the group as a whole increased by one-half and the number of
employees by one-third. The wood manufactures group reported 4 per cent
increase in wages and 3 per cent increase in employees from July to August. In
th e saw and planing mill industry and in the m anufacture of fu rn itu re and
cabinetwork, 7 per cent more wages were paid than in July. Each of these two
industries likewise reported a substantial increase in number of employees.
Musical instrum ents and miscellaneous wood products reported little change.
As compared w ith August, 1915, the group as a whole paid out one-fifth more
wages and employed one-tenth more workers. The furs, leather, and rubber
goods group reported only a slight change from July to August. The boot and
shoe industry, which is by fa r the largest in the group, paid out 1 per cent more
wages to 2 per cent more employees. A decrease in the fu rs and fu r goods
industry was offset by increases in the other minor industries. The to tal wages
paid in the entire group were two-fifths greater and the total number of em
ployees was one-fourth greater than in August, 1915. The chemicals, oils, and
paints group established in August a new high record for wages paid and num
ber of employees, the increase in each being 1 per cent over July. The increase
w as confined to the drugs and chemicals industry, the other industries in the
group reporting negligible decreases. As compared w ith August, 1915, the group
paid out one-fourth more wages to one-fifth more employees. The paper-making
industry paid out in August 1 per cent less wages to 5 per cent more employees
th an in July. A new high record in number of employees was established.
The slight decrease in am ount of wages paid was caused by the closing of some
[524]
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
115
mills for a short time. As compared w ith August, 1915, one-fourth more wages
w ere paid and one-eighth more workers were employed. In the printing and
paper goods group negligible increases both in wages and in employees w ere
reported from July to August. The printing industry, which is dom inant in
this group, reported a slight increase which offset somewhat larger decreases in
the other industries. As compared w ith August, 1915, the group paid out oneseventh more wages and employed one-tenth more workers. The textiles group
paid out 1 per cent less wages and employed 5 per cent few er w orkers in
August than in July. Summer vacations were chiefly responsible for this de
crease. Each industry, except silk and silk goods and wool m anufactures, paid
out less wages, and every industry employed fewer workers. The decrease was
greatest in the m anufacture of cotton goods, caused in great p a rt by a strike in
one large concern. As compared w ith August, 1915, the group as a whole paid
out one-fifth more wages and had 6 per cent more workers. The clothing, m illi
nery, and laundering group, although employing 2 per cent few er w orkers in
August th an in July, paid out 9 per cent more wages. Men’s clothing, the
largest industry in the group, paid out 4 per cent more wages than in July.
Men’s sh irts and furnishings reported about half the business done in July, on
account of vacations, while women’s clothing reported about one-half more busi
ness th a n in July, caused largely by resum ption of activities after strikes.
Women’s underw ear and the miscellaneous sewing industry reported decreases
both in wages and employees, while women’s headw ear and laundering-cleaning
dyeing reported increases. As compared w ith August, 1915, th e group as a
whole paid out one-fifth more wages and employed one-tenth more workers.
The food, liquors, and tobacco group reported 1 per cent increase both in wages
and in employees from July to August. The m anufacture of cigars and tobacco
products, the second largest industry in the group, reported an increase of 10
per cent in wages, due in p a rt to resum ption of activity following strikes in
July. Bakery pi’oducts, the largest industry in the group, reported a 2 per cent
increase. The most serious decrease was reported in the miscellaneous groceries
industry. Shortage of crops was partly responsible for the 16 per cent decrease
in the canning and preserving industry. Flour, feed, and cereal products re
ported an increase of 16 per cent. The group as a whole in August, 1916, paid
out one-tenth more wages and employed slightly more w orkers than in August,
1915. The mater, light, and power industry paid out 3 per cent more wages and
employed 7 per cent more workers in August than in July. As compared w ith
August one year ago, one-eleventh more wages were paid and one-twentieth more
workers w ere employed.
Building activity as reported by building departments.—In the 10 cities of the
first and second class in New York S tate the estim ated cost of building work (of
which new buildings constituted four-fifths) for which perm its were granted in
August, 1916, w as 74 per cent less than in July, 1916, and 23 per cent less than
in August, 1915. Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Troy reported substantial
increases over Ju ly ; Syracuse reported a negligible increase; New York City,
Rochester, Schenectady, Utica, and Yonkers reported substantial decreases. As
compared w ith August, 1915, increases were reported for August, 1916, in Albany,
Binghamton, Buffalo, Schenectady, and Troy. The other five cities reported
decreases. The decrease of 81 per cent in New York City from July to August
contrasts strongly w ith the increase of 106 per cent from June to July. The
July total in New York City was swelled by reason of the zoning resolution
passed by the board of estim ate on July 25, 1916, which restricts the height of
fu tu re buildings. A large number of perm its were filed in anticipation of this
resolution. Many of these buildings will doubtless not be erected in the near
future, if a t all.
[525]
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
116
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
FEDERAL LIMITATION OF HOURS OF LABOR ON PUBLIC WORKS.
Probably the earliest official act concerning the limitation of the
hours of labor of workmen in the Federal service was an order of
President Van Buren, issued March 31, 1840, which directed the
observance of a 10-hour clay on public works for all classes of work
men. The order reads as follows:
u The President of the United States, finding that different rules
prevail at different places as well in respect to the hours of labor by
persons employed on the public works under the immediate authority
of himself and the Departments as also in relation to the different
classes of workmen, and believing that much inconvenience and dis
satisfaction would be removed by adopting a uniform course, hereby
directs that all such persons, whether laborers or mechanics, be
required to work only the number of hours prescribed by the tenhour system.”— (Richardson, Messages and Papers of the Presidents,
Vol. I l l , p. 602.)
At this time 11 and 12 hours per day were common for laborers
and mechanics in private employment.
One of the earliest enactments of Congress on this subject was the
law of December 21,1861 (12 Stat. at Large, p. 330), which provided:
T hat the hours of labor in the navy yards of the United States shall be the
same as in the private shipyards a t or nearest to the post where such navy yard
is established, and the wages to be paid to all employees in such yards shall be,
as near as may be, the average price paid to employees of the same grade in
private shipyards or workshops in or nearest to the same vicinity, to be deter
mined by the com mandant of the navy yard.
This act was amended on July 16, 1862, so as to provide that the
wages and hours of labor of employees in the navy yards of the
United States should conform, as nearly as might be consistent with
the public interests, with those of private establishments of a similar
nature.— (12 Stat. at Large, p. 587.)
The agitation for an eight-hour day for wageworkers in the
Federal service began about the year 1865. During the first session
of the Thirty-ninth Congress (1865-66) several bills and resolutions
were introduced in the Llouse and Senate making provision for an
eight-hour day for laborers and mechanics employed by or in behalf
of the Government of the United States. These measures caused
considerable discussion in both Houses of Congress but failed to be
enacted into law. The next Congress, however, took up the matter
early in its session by the introduction of a bill for an eight-hour
day (H. R. 103 40th Cong.) on March 28, 1867, which was enacted
into law June 25, 1868, and provides as follows:
Eight hours shall constitute a day’s work for all laborers, workmen, and
mechanics who may be employed by or on behalf of the Government of the
United States.— (U. S. Compiled S tatutes, 1901, sec. 3738.)
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[5261
MONTHLY REVIEW OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
117
At this time persons in private employment commonly worked
about 10 hours per day, so that this was a step forward by the
Federal Government in the reduction of the hours of labor. This
act, however, was largely misunderstood or disregarded by the Gov
ernment officials in charge of the employment of mechanics and
labores. It gave rise to many controversies and complaints, and fre
quent calls were made upon the Attorney General for interpretation.
The first opinion rendered by the Attorney General on this subject
was in regard to the reduction of wages of laborers and mechanics
made by officials to correspond with the reduction in hours of labor.
In this opinion Mr. Wm. M. Evarts, Attorney General, held on
November 25, 18G8 (12 Op. A. G., 530), that the act does not abso
lutely require that employees of the Government must receive as
high wages for their eight hours’ labor as similar industry in private
employment receives for a day’s labor of 10 or 12 hours, but it
simply requires that the same worth of labor shall be compensated
in the public employment at the same rate of wages that it receives
in private employment.
This construction of the law resulted in a continuance of the prac
tice of paying reduced wages on account of the reduced hours, of
labor. On May 19, 1869, however, President Grant issued a procla
mation directing “ That, from and after this date, no reduction shall
be made in the wages paid by the Government by the day to such
laborers, workmen, and mechanics on account of such reduction
of the hours of labor.”—(16 Stat. at Large, p. 1127.)
Notwithstanding this proclamation of the President, the practice
seems to have continued, for on May 11, 1872, the President issued
another proclamation, which recited the proclamation of May 19,
1869, and contained the following:
And w hereas it is now represented to me th a t the act of Congress and the
proclam ation aforesaid have not been strictly observed by all officials of the
Government having charge of such laborers, workmen, and mechanics; now,
therefore, I, Ulysses S. G rant, P resident of the United States, do hereby again
call attention to the act of Congress aforesaid, and direct all officers of the
executive departm ent of the Government having charge of the employment of
laborers, workmen, or mechanics employed by or on behalf of the Government
of the U nited States to make no reduction in the wages paid by the Govern
m ent by the day to such laborers, workmen, and mechanics on account of the
reduction of the hours of labor.— (17 Stat. a t Large, p. 955.)
On May 18, 1872, an act was approved making an appropriation to
pay to laborers and mechanics the amount of reduction of wages that
they had suffered on account of the above interpretation. The law
provided as follows:
S ection 2. T hat the proper accounting officers be, and hereby are, authorized
and required, in the settlem ent of all accounts for the services of laborers, work
men, and mechanics employed by or on behalf of the Government of the United
[527]
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
118
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
States between the twenty-fifth (lay of June, eighteen-hundred and sixty-eight,
the date of the act constituting eight hours a day’s work for all such laborers,
workmen, and mechanics, and the nineteenth day of May, eighteen hundred and
sixty-nine, the date of the proclam ation of the P resident concerning such pay,
to settle and pay for the same, w ithout reduction on account of reduction of
hours of labor by said act, when it shall be made to appear th a t such was the
sole cause of the reduction of wages, and a sufficient sum for said purpose is
hereby appropriated out of any money in the T reasury not otherw ise appro
priated.— (17 Stat. a t Large, p. 134.)
In 1876 an opinion was rendered by the Supreme Court of the
United States (U. S. v. Martin, 94 U. S., 400), which declared that
the eight-hour law of 1868 is chiefly in the nature of a direction by
the Government to its agents, and is not a contract between the Gov
ernment and its laborers that eight hours shall constitute a day’s
work, and that it does not prevent the making of agreements by which
a greater or less number of hours of labor may be required, and any
claim for the excess of time over eight hours per day is, when ac
cepted by the laborer, a bar to any further proceedings. Another
more recent decision (United States District Court for the District of
Kentucky, 1897, Coleman v. United States, 81 Fed., 824), declared
that no action lies to recover for labor in excess of eight hours where
monthly pay was received without protest.
During several years that followed, frequent attempts were made
in Congress to secure such legislation as would compel a limitation
of the working hours of laborers and mechanics in the Government
service to eight per day. Among these successful attempts were first,
a joint resolution (H. J. Res. 9, 46th Cong.) which declared that, ac
cording to the true intent of the act of Congress, of June 25,1868, eight
hours constitute a day’s work for all laborers, workmen, and mechan
ics, that while the act remains upon the statute book no reduction
should be made in the wages paid by the Government, by the day, to
such laborers, workmen, and mechanics on account of the reduction of
the hours of labor and that all heads of departments, officers, and
agents of the Government should enforce the law as long as unre
pealed; and second, a joint resolution (H. J. Res. 239, 46th Cong.)
which provided that, according to the true intent of section thirtyseven hundred and thirty-eight of the Revised Statutes, all laborers,
workmen, and mechanics, employed by, or in behalf of, the Govern
ment, should thereafter receive a full day’s pay for eight hours’
work; and that all heads of departments, officers, and agents of the
Government should enforce the law as therein interpreted.
The construction placed upon the eight-hour law of 1868 by the
Supreme Court of the United States in 1876, and the failure of Con
gress to pass any remedial legislation, left this law without practical
effect, even though it remained on the statute book. This will appear
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[5281
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
119
from the following opinions rendered by the Attorney General
from time to time and summarized in an opinion rendered April 29,
1882 (17 Op. A. G.), 341:
1. The act prescribes the length of time which shall constitute a day’s work,
but it does not establish any rule by which the compensation for a day’s work
shall be determined.
2. I t does not contemplate a reduction of wages simply because of the reduc
tion thereby made in the length of the day’s work, but, on the other hand, it does
not require th a t the same wages shall be paid therefor as are received by those
who in sim ilar private employments work a greater length of time per day.
3. I t does not forbid the making of contracts for labor, fixing a different
length of time for the day’s work than th a t prescribed in the law.
Another opinion of the Attorney General, rendered on May 2, 1872
(14 Op. A. G., 37), and afterwards reaffirmed, declared that the pro
visions of the act of June 25, 1868, were not applicable to mechanics,
workmen, and laborers in the employ of a contractor with the United
States, and that the act was not intended to extend to any others
than the immediate employees of the Government.
But while Congress failed to enact legislation providing for a
compulsory eight-hour day in the general employment of laborers,
workmen, and mechanics, several acts were passed requiring an
eight-hour day for letter carriers and for employees of the Govern
ment Printing Office. The first of these acts was approved May 24,
1888, and provided as follows:
H ereafter eight hours shall constitute a day’s work for letter carriers in
cities or postal districts connected therew ith, for which they shall receive the
same pay as is now paid as for a day’s work of a greater number of hours.
If any letter carrier is employed a greater number of hours per day than eight
he shall be paid ex tra for the same in proportion to the salary now fixed by
law.— (U. S. Compiled Statutes, 1901, p. 2637.)
A decision of the Supreme Court of the United States concerning
the application of this law rendered March 13, 1893, declares th a t:
This sta tu te does not require th a t the eight hours’ service shall relate
exclusively to the free distribution and collection of m ail m atter, nor does it
otherw ise define the nature of said service. I t is necessary only th a t one
should be a letter ca rrie r and be lawfully employed in work th a t is not incon
sistent w ith his general business under his employment in order th a t he may
recover for any employment for a greater number of hours per day than eight.—
(United States v. Post, 1S93, 148 U. S., 124.)
Another act, approved June 2, 1900, limits the weekly hours of
labor of letter carriers. It provides as follows:
L etter carriers may be required to w ork as nearly as practicable only eight
hours on each working-day, but not in any event exceeding forty-eight hours
during the six working-days of each w eek; and such number of hours on Sun
day, not exceeding eight, as may be required by the needs of the serv ice; and
if a legal holiday shall occur on any working-day, the service perform ed on
said day, if less th a n eight hours, shall be counted as eight hours w ithout
regard to the time actually em ployed— (U. S. Compiled S tatutes, 1901, p. 2637.)
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[529]
120
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
A provision concerning employees of the Government Printing
office was inserted in the urgent deficiency bill approved March 30,
1888, and provided as follows:
Tlie Public P rin ter is hereby directed to rigidly enforce the provisions of the
eight-hour law in the departm ent under his charge.— (U. S. Compiled Statutes,
1901, p. 2588.)
This last provision was reenforced by the enactment of the follow
ing section of an act approved January 12, 1895:
The Public Printer, shall cause work to be done on the public printing in the
Government P rinting Office a t night as well as through the day, when the
exigencies of the public service require it, but the provisions of the existing
eight-hour law shall apply.— (U. S. Compiled Statutes, 1901, p. 2551.)
In 1892, steps were finally taken to secure the enactment of an
effective eight-hour law for all laborers and mechanics employed on
Federal public works. For this purpose, an investigation was made
by the House Committee on Labor, and on March 8, 1892, the testi
mony of the Chief of Engineers, the Superintendent of Public Build
ings and Grounds, the Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, the Public
Printer, and the chief of the law and construction division of the Su
pervising Architect’s Office of the Treasury Department was taken.
The testimony given by these officers, who had charge of practically
all of the public works of the Federal Government, showed, accord
ing to the report of the committee, that at the time of the investiga
tion, the administration of the eight-hour law of 1868 by the several
officials directing Government employees “ was not uniform and not
intended to be.” Following the report of this committee the law of
August 1, 1892, was enacted. It provided as follows:
S ection 1. The service and employment of all laborers and mechanics who are
now or may hereafter be employed by the Government of the United States, by
the D istrict of Columbia, or by any contractor or subcontractor upon any of the
public works of the United States or of the said D istrict of Columbia, is hereby
lim ited and restricted to eight hours in any one calendar day, and it shall be
unlaw ful for any officer of the United States Government or of the D istrict of
Columbia or any such contractor or subcontractor whose duty it shall be to em
ploy, direct, or control the services of such laborers or mechanics, to require
or perm it any such laborer or mechanic to work more th an eight hours in any
calendar day, except in case of extraordinary emergency.
S ec. 2. Any officer or agent of the Government of the U nited States or of the
D istrict of Columbia, or any contractor or subcontractor whose duty it shall be
to employ, direct, or control any laborer or mechanic employed upon any of the
public works of the U nited States or of the D istrict of Columbia who shall
intentionally violate any provision of this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misde
meanor and for each and every such offense shall upon conviction be punished
by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars or by imprisonm ent for not more
th a n six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of
th e court having jurisdiction thereof.— (U. S. Compiled Statutes, 1901, p. 2521.)
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[530]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF, THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
121
According to the report of the committee recommending the hill
which was enacted into this law, it was intended to be an eight-hour
law which would be effective. In its explanation of the law, the com
mittee used the following language:
I t makes it unlaw ful to allow* or perm it a laborer or mechanic to work more
th an eight hours in any one calendar day, thus prohibiting evasion in the
m anner the act of 1868 was evaded.
The m easure herew ith submitted, it is thought, will secure a practical
enforcement of the purpose intended to be secured by the act of 1868. I t limits
the service and employment of all laborers and mechanics employed by the
Government of the United States, by the D istrict of Columbia, or by any con
tracto r or subcontractor of the United States or of the D istrict of Columbia to
eight hours in any one calendar d a y ; makes it unlaw ful for any officer of the
United States or of the D istrict of Columbia, or any contractor or subcontractor,
whose duty it shall be to employ, direct, or control the services of such laborers
or mechanics to require or perm it such laborer or mechanic to work more than
eight hours in any one calendar day except in cases of extraordinary em ergency;
makes the w illful violation of its provision a misdemeanor, and enforces su it
able penalties for such violation.1
While the intention of Congress in regard to the enforcement of
the eight-hour provision was made clear by these statements, there
still remained some misunderstanding as to the scope of the law.
Owing to this misapprehension there has been some litigation in the
Federal courts, and numerous requests for opinions have been made
of the United States Attorney General. The following are extracts
from Federal court decisions bearing upon this point:
To render one amenable to this law he m ust be an officer or agent of the
United States, or a contractor or subcontractor whose duty it is to employ,
direct, or control laborers or mechanics upon some of the public works of the
United States, and he m ust have intentionally required or perm itted such laborers
or mechanics to work more than eight hours in any calendar day. The law does
not apply where one builds barges a t his own risk and cost, though under Gov
ernm ent inspection and under agreement for their sale to the Government if,
on completion, they are found to conform to certain prescribed specifications.—
(U nited States D istrict Court for the Southern D istrict of Alabama, 1898,
United States v. Ollinger, 55 Fed., 959.)
Seamen upon a Government vessel, when engaged in removing obstructions
to navigation in rivers and harbors, are employed upon public works of the
United States, w ithin the meaning of the above act. The tim e actually required
in the care and repair of appliances necessary to carry on such work m ust be
included w ithin the eight hours, and is a p a rt of the public ivork.— (United
States D istrict Court for the N orthern D istrict of W ashington, 1894, United
States v. Jefferson, 60 Fed., 786.)
The foregoing opinion is in apparent conflict with a later ruling
in 1907 of the Supreme Court of the United States, three justices
dissenting.
The sta tu te says, “ laborers and mechanics * * * employed * * *
upon any of the public works.” I t does not say, and no one supposes it to
1 Quoted in Report No. 1272, to accompany bill H. R. 6882, 56th Cong., 1st sess., p. 6.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[•531]
122
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
mean, “ any public work.” The words “ u p o n ” and “ any of the,” and the
p lural “ works ” import th a t the objects of labor referred to have some kind
of perm anent existence and stru ctu ra l unity, and are severally capable of
being regarded as complete wholes. The fact th a t the persons mentioned as
employed upon them are laborers and mechanics, words adm itted not to
include seamen, points in the direction of structures and away from the sea.
❖ ❖ ❖
* * * The scows and floating dredges were vessels. * * * Therefore
all of the hands mentioned in the inform ations were seamen w ithin the
definition in an earlier sta tu te of the United States. * * * W ithout fu rth er
elaboration of details, we are of opinion th a t the persons employed by the two
defendant companies were not laborers or mechanics and were not employed
upon any of the public w orks of the United States w ithin the meaning of
the act.— (Ellis v. U nited States, 1907, 206 U. S., 246; 27 Sup. Ct., 600.)
The statem ent th a t “ a corporation as such is not capable of entertaining a
crim inal intention ” is not a defense in case of the violation of such a law
as the above, where the prohibited act can be done by a corporation.— (United
States D istrict Court for the N orthern D istrict of California, 1898, United
States v. John Kelso Co., 86 Fed., 304.)
The U nited States has the power to control in regard to the subject m atter
of this law, although the S tate in which a building is being erected retains
political jurisdiction over the land occupied.— (United States D istrict Court
for the N orthern D istrict of California, 1898, United S tates v. San Francisco
Bridge Co., 88 Fed., 891.)
This law can not be held to provide for compensation for services rendered
in excess of eight hours per day.— (U nited States C ircuit Court of Appeals,
N inth Circuit, 1903, United S tates v. Moses, 126 Fed., 58.)
W hen confronted w ith an “ extraordinary emergency ” w ithin the meaning
of the statute, the laborers and mechanics [employed in the construction of a
dam] may be required or perm itted to w ork overtime in protecting property
during the emergency, but not afterw ard for the purpose of minimizing the
losses of the contactor.
* * * N either the law nor the contract justify the assum ption th a t the
w ork w as one of continuing extraordinary emergency, or th a t a case of ex
trao rd in ary emergency would cover the time employed in repairing the
injuries, and in removing the obstacles caused by the flood. The phrase
“ continuing extraordinary emergency ” is self-contradictory. A condition or
conditions which necessarily m ust continue for years can not be called an
uncommon, sudden, unexpected happening, which presents a sudden and unex
pected occasion for action.— (United States v. Sheridan-Ivirk C ontract Co.,
1907, 149 Fed., 809.)
A contractor for levee work on the Mississippi River made the
contention that the undertaking presented “ at all times an extraordi
nary emergency within the meaning of the statute,” and this conten
tion was allowed by a circuit court (180 Fed., 502). On appeal,
the Supreme Court reversed this ruling, quoting the expression that
“ the phrase ‘ continuing extraordinary emergency ’ is self-contra
dictory,” and saying:
The building and repair of levees on the Mississippi River is one of the most
im portant and conspicuous of the public works of the United States, and if it
had been intended to exempt it from the provisions of the act of August 1, 1892,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[532]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
123
which declared a public policy in regard to labor, it would have been ex
pressed.— (U nited States v. Garbish, 1911, 222 U. S., 257; 32 Sup. Ct., 77.)
Bargemen engaged in transporting stone for use in the construction
of a jetty in a harbor, all work being done offshore, were held not
to be within the act, on the authority of Ellis v . United States, supra.
The barge was a m aritim e vessel. She was engaged in a m aritim e duty.
The men were entitled to a m aritim e lien on her for their wages, for their work
was of a m aritim e character. Their labor contributed to the w ork in which
the barge was engaged, and they were clothed w ith the rights of seamen.—
(B reakw ater Co. v. United States, 1911, 183 Fed., 112.)
The following are summaries or extracts from opinions which
have been rendered by the United States Attorney General on the
application of the eight-hour lay of August 1, 1892:
As this new tim ber dry dock is intended to be a valuable and perm anent
improvement of real estate belonging to the United States, and is solely for its
use and benefit, it is * * * to be regarded as one of the “ public works ”
of the United States under this eight-hour law.— (20 Op. A. G., 445.)
Contracts for supplying post-office lock boxes, lock drawers, locks,
pulls, plates, etc., for various public buildings throughout the United
States, to be delivered by the contractors at the freight depot at the
point of destination and placed in position in the buildings by the
Government, were held not to be within the provisions of the stat
ute.— (20 Op. A. G., 454.)
. The statute, while in one sense restricting and in derogation of the common
rig h t of parties to contract, is nevertheless remedial, and is entitled to a fairly
liberal construction. * * * The law as to laborers and mechanics in the
direct employment of the Government and of the D istrict of Columbia, is gen
eral ; and the lim itation to public works applies only to such persons as are
in the employ of contractors and subcontractors. * * * As to others—as, for
instance, sailors or others on shipboard, or team sters—th eir employment being
peculiar, they m ight well be held to be, as a m atter of fact, neither laborers
nor mechanics w ithin the meaning of th is lav/.— (20 Op. A. G., 459.)
The statute does not apply to foremen of mechanics employed to
direct the mechanical labor of prisoners at the Fort Leavenworth
Military Prison, whose hours of labor exceed eight per day.— (21
Op. A. G., 32.)
Although Congress has no power to enact laws which shall operate beyond
the jurisdiction of the United States, still it has the power to determ ine w hat
shall be the length of a day’s work of any and all persons employed by the
Government or by contractors upon any public works undertaken by the
U nited States anywhere. * * * By the letter of the law, therefore, the
hours of labor of all laborers and mechanics engaged in the construction of the
P anam a Canal are lim ited to eight hours in any one calendar day, whether
employed directly by the United S tates or by a contractor or subcontractor
w ith the United States. * * * The act of 1892 does not apply to the office
force of the Isthm ian Canal Commission stationed on the Isthm us of Panam a,
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[533]
124
MONTHLY EEVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
or to any of the employees of the Government who are not w ithin the ordinary
meaning of the words “laborers and mechanics.” (25 Op. A. G., 441. See act of
June 30, 1906, below.)
Toolmen and repairers and cleaners of machinery, whose work
must be done before or after the day’s work of employees in machine
shops where the regular force of workmen is within the provisions
of the law, are likewise included therein if fairly coming within the
description of laborers and mechanics, whether they are paid by the
year, month, or day. (25 Op. A. G., 465.)
The employees of a corporation engaged in the business of a com
mon carrier, even though the United States owns practically all of
the stock of such corporation, and is largely served by it in the
prosecution of a public work, as is the case with the Panama Rail
road & Steamship Line, are not within the provisions of this
statute, being employees of the corporation and not of the United
States. (25 Op. S. G., 465.)
The act * * * does not apply to vessels under construction for the Navy
by contract w ith builders a t private establishments. The case of m aterial for
such vessels, as for instance, armor, guns, and other articles obtained under
special contracts, is a fortiori; and, besides, rests fully on the ruling of A ttorney
General Miller in 20 Op., 454, as above cited, which is hereby expressly ap
proved and affirmed. (26 Op. A. G., 30.)
Presumably, quartermaster’s supplies for the use of the Army are
such as, generally speaking, are consumed sooner or latçr in the
using. [The act does not apply.] (26 Op. A. G., 36.)
There is no conflict between the act of August 1, 1892, and the proviso to
section 4 of the act of July 17, 1902. [Reclam ation ac t; see below.] The
“ex traordinary emergency” of the form er act would apply to the latter. The
acts are to be construed together [and it is held th a t it was not], the intention
of Congress, by the proviso in the reclam ation act and the use of th e term
“construction work,” either to displace the provisions of the act of August 1,
1892, as to laborers and mechanics not strictly engaged in “construction work,”
or to exclude the exception of an “ extraordinary emergency.” * * * The
eight-hour law applies fully to contractors on the irrigation works constructed
by the U nited States. (26 Op. A. G., 64.)
Blacksmiths and their helpers, firemen, and pumpmen are either
mechanics or laborers. (26 Op. A. G., 64.)
Engineers of the Reclamation Service are responsible to the extent
of requiring the law to be observed and reporting violations of it.
(26 Op. A. G., 64.)
As to employees engaged in the construction of a jetty at the
mouth of the Columbia River, the following ruling was made :
Upon the questions suggested by your communication you are advised th a t
the eight-hour law applies to this work, and th a t I fully concur w ith the view
of yoiir [W ar] D epartm ent * * * th a t those who fairly come w ithin the
ordinary meaning of the words “ laborers and mechanics ” should be restricted
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[534]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
125
to no more than eight hours of effective labor upon each calendar day, irre
spective of enforced idleness on other days, except when a sudden emergency
m ust be met by prom pt action. (26 Op. A. G., 278.)
I think th a t the eight-hour day means eight hours of effective labor, and,
therefore, so fa r as your questions present the case of laborers and mechanics
who, from the exigencies of the situation, m ust w ait until afte r the completion
of the regular day to finish their work, I am of the opinion th a t the blasting,
cleaning of tracks, repair of machinery, and all other sim ilar work essential to
prom pt and continuous service in the regular day may be legally done before
and afte r the regular hours. To be more specific, laborers and mechanics who
are called upon to do two hours’ work, for example, before or after the regular
day begins or ends have no ju st cause for complaint th a t th e law is violated if
they are only called upon to work six more hours during the regular hours.
(26 Op. A. G., 64.)
In accordance with the above ruling, it was held in a later opinion
that persons employed as lock tenders, lock helpers, lockmen, and in
similar employments at the locks of canals owned and operated by
the Government may be called upon to render service at any hour
of the day, if only the total hours of labor actually performed do
not exceecl eight. (26 Op. A. G., 605.)
Specifically, it was held that a watchman charged with the duty
of keeping the door at a department building, enforcing regulations
or reporting their breach, or keeping guard at night was not within
the act; so also a laborer in such building who moved furniture,
cleaned windows, cut grass on the surrounding grounds, and the like,
rendered services more of the nature of a domestic servant than of a
laborer within the meaning of the act; the same was said of a hostler
whose duty it was to feed, drive, and care for horses and to clean car
riages, harness, and stables; and a messenger who swept floors, did
general office -cleaning, attended fires, and carried messages was held
not within the act. (26 Op. A. G., 623.)
The naval appropriation act of June 24, 1910, required vessels
built under its provisions to “ be built in accordance with the pro
visions of ” the eight-hour law of August 1, 1892. As to the extent
of this requirement, it was said:
The provision in the appropriation act m ust be construed to apply simply to
work done upon the vessel itself a t the place where it is built, and not as
applying to the m anufacture of machinery or other m aterial elsewhere which
is to enter into the construction of the vessel. (28 Op. A. G. 358.)
Similarly, the naval appropriation act of March 4, 1911, required
the observance of “ an eight-hour workday ” in the construction of
certain vessels provided for in the act. It w^as held that this direc
tion would not be complied with by an arrangement by which the
workmen would be employed 8^ or 8f hours for five days, and given
a shorter day on Saturday, the aggregate for the week being 48
hours. (29 Op. A. G. 371.)
61766°—16----- 9
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[535]
126
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Besides these rulings by the courts and the Attorney General, Con
gress took a hand in determining the application of the law to specific
undertakings, declaring in the act of June IT, 1902, relating to the
construction of irrigation works, that the act of August 1, 1892,
should apply to such work; while by an act of June 30, 1900, the
eight-hour day was made not to apply to unskilled alien laborers
and their foremen and superintendents in the construction of the
Isthmian Canal within the Canal Zone.
As to the enforcement of the law and the attitude of the officials
of the Government thereto, it was stated in July, 1906, that the
practice had grown up for the “ inspectors of work done under pub
lic contracts, acting in accordance with the department’s instructions
or approval, to ignore altogether the question whether the Govern
ment contractors were obeying the law with reference to the eight
hour a day provision, it being the department’s attitude that it was
the duty of the contractors with the Government to obey the law
and not the peculiar responsibility of the department to see that
they did so.” 1
Subsequently, in September, 1906, for the purpose of securing
prompt enforcement and uniform action among the departments in
regard to the law, the following Executive order was issued:
1. All departm ents of the Government tinder the supervision of which public
works are being constructed are hereby directed to notify the representatives
stationed a t such public works to report a t once to th eir respective departm ents
all cases in which contractors or subcontractors on works now under construc
tion have required or perm itted laborers or mechanics in their employ to work
over eight hours in any one calendar day.
2. All Government representatives in charge of construction of public works
are fu rth e r directed th a t it is p a rt of their duty to report to their respective
departm ents each and every case in which laborers or mechanics are required
or perm itted to w ork over eight hours a day on the works under supervision of
such Government representatives. W herever reports showing work in excess
of eight hours a day are received by any departm ent they are to be referred to
the D epartm ent of Justice for appropriate action.
3. All departm ents of the Government under the supervision of which public
w orks are being constructed by contract are fu rth e r directed to have their
respective legal officers prepare and forw ard to the P resident a list of such
statu tes and Executive orders as have a direct bearing on contracts for the
construction of public works, and w ith which bidders on such works should
be made acquainted.
T heodore R oosevelt.
S eptember 19, 1906.
It had been ruled in 1892 by an Attorney General that—
The duty to employ, direct, or control such laborers or mechanics, and the
penalty for their wrongful employment, is w ith the contractor, and not w ith the
Government or any of its officers or agents. (20 Op. A. G. 500.)
1 Memorandum addressed to chiefs of bureaus, etc., by Acting Secretary of the Navy,
July 17, 1906. '
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[536]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
127
In October, 1906, however, the then Attorney General issued in
structions to United States attorneys throughout the country saying
that—
The Government is determined upon a strict enforcement of this statute,
and you are directed diligently to investigate all com plaints which may come
to you from any source of violations of this law, and upon your own initiative
to make investigation if there appears to you to be any reasonable ground for
suspecting violation of this law.
The Navy Department memorandum quoted from above also laid
down the principle that—
I t is the duty of the officers of the Government, w ith respect to public con
trac ts th a t are perform ed under their supervision and for the perform ance of
which they are responsible, to use the powers they have to prevent violations
of the law, and especially the Federal law, by the contractors in the w ork th at
comes under their supervision.
Defects were found, however, other than lack of enforcement,
especially in the restricted application of the act of 1892 as indi
cated in the case of Ellis v. United States, and elsewhere. Steps were
taken accordingly to secure additional and amendatory legislation,
and on June 19, 1912, at the second session of the 62d Congress, the
following act was passed:
[P ublic —No. 199.]
An act lim iting the hours of daily service of laborers and mechanics employed
upon w ork done for the LTnited States, or for any T erritory, or for the D istrict
of Columbia, and for other purposes.
S ection 1. Every contract hereafter made to which the U nited States, any
Territory, or the D istrict of Columbia is a party, and every such contract
made for or on behalf of the United States, or any T erritory, or said D istrict,
which may require or involve the employment of laborers or mechanics shall
contain a provision th a t no laborer or mechanic doing any p a rt of the work con
tem plated by the contract, in the employ of the contractor or any subcontractor
contracting for any p a rt of said w ork contemplated, shall be required or per
m itted to work more than eight hours in any one calendar day upon such
w o rk ; and every such contract shall stipulate a penalty for each violation of
such provision in such contract of five dollars for each laborer or mechanic
for every calendar day in which he shall be required or perm itted to labor
more than eight hours upon said w o rk ; and any officer or person designated as
inspector of the work to be perform ed under any such contract, or to aid in
enforcing the fulfillment thereof, shall, upon observation or investigation, fo rth
w ith report to the proper officer of the United States, or of any Territory, or
of the D istrict of Columbia, all violations of the provisions of this act directed
to be made in every such contract, together w ith the name of each laborer or
mechanic who has been required or perm itted to labor in violation of such
stipulation and the day of such violation, and the am ount of the penalties
imposed according to the stipulation in any such contract shall be directed to
be w ithheld for the use and benefit of the United States, th e D istrict of Co
lumbia, or the T erritory contracting by the officer or person whose duty it
shall be to approve the paym ent of the moneys due under such contract,
w hether the violation of the provisions of such contract is by the contractor
or any subcontractor. Any contractor or subcontractor aggrieved by the w ith
holding of any penalty as hereinbefore provided shall have the rig h t w ithin
six months thereafter to appeal to the head of the departm ent making the
contract on behalf of the United States or the Territory, and in the case of a
contract made by the D istrict of Columbia to the Commissioners thereof, who
shall have power to review the action imposing the penalty, and in all such
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 537]
128
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
appeals from such final order whereby a contractor or subcontractor may be
aggrieved by the imposition of the penalty hereinbefore provided, such con
tracto r or subcontractor may w ithin six months afte r decision by such head of
a departm ent or the Commissioners of the D istrict of Columbia file a claim
in the Court of Claims, which shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide the
m atter in like m anner as in other cases before said court.
S ec . 2. Nothing in this act shall apply to contracts for transportation by
land or w ater, or for the transm ission of intelligence, or for th e purchase of
supplies by the Government, w hether m anufactured to conform to p articu lar
specifications or not, or for such m aterials or articles as may usually be
bought in open m arket, except arm or and arm or plate, w hether made to con
form to particular specifications or not, or to the construction or rep air of
levees or revetm ents necessary for protection against floods or overflows on
the navigable w aters of the United S ta te s : Provided, T h at all classes of work
which have been, are now, or may hereafter be perform ed by the Government
shall, when done by contract, by individuals, firms, or corporations for or on
behalf of the U nited States or any of the T erritories or the D istrict of Co
lumbia, be perform ed in accordance w ith the term s and provisions of section
one of this act. The President, by Executive order, may waive the provisions
and stipulations in this act as to any specific contract or contracts during time
of w ar or a time when w ar is imminent, and until Ja n u ary first, nineteen
hundred and fifteen, as to any contract or contracts entered into in connection
w ith the construction of the Isthm ian Canal. No penalties shall be imposed
for any violation of such provision in such contract due to any extraordinary
events or conditions of m anufacture, or to any emergency caused by fire,
famine, or flood, by danger to life or to property, or by other extraordinary
event or condition on account of which the President shall subsequently declare
the violation to have been excusable. Nothing in this act shall be construed
to repeal or modify the act entitled “An act relating to the lim itation of the
hours of daily service of laborers and mechanics employed upon th e public
works of the United States and of the D istrict of Columbia ” being chapter
three hundred and fifty-two of the laws of the Fifty-second Congress, approved
August first, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, as modified by the Acts of Con
gress approved F ebruary twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and six, and June
th irtieth , nineteen hundred and six, or apply to contracts which have been
or may be entered into under the provisions of appropriation acts approved
prior to the passage of this act.
S ec . 3. This act shall become effective and be in force on and afte r Jan u ary
first, nineteen hundred and thirteen.
Approved, June nineteen, nineteen hundred and twelve.
As an independent piece of legislation the act called for new
rulings by the Attorney General to determine its application. Thus
the Secretary of the Navy requested a construction of the provision
that limits the hours of labor of any workman “ in the employ of
the contractor or any subcontractor contracting for any part of said
work contemplated ” to not more “ than eight hours in any one calen
dar day upon such work.” The limiting words “ upon such work ”
were held to restrict the application of the eight-hour provision to
employment upon the subject matter of the Government contract
only, the Attorney General in 1912 (Oct. 3) saying,
Clearly, no penalty could be collected under the authority of this provision if
the laborer or mechanic were required to labor more than eight hours per day
upon some other w ork than th a t contemplated by the contract. (29 Op. A. G.,
538.)
Another question submitted at the same time related to the extent
of inclusion of the phrase “ any part of the work contemplated by the
contract,” the question being at what stage in the segregation and
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[538]
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OE LABOR STATISTICS.
129
application of materials the eight-hour law became applicable. As to
this it was said:
To determ ine wliat class of work is covered by this definition m ust be largely
a m atter of ad m in istratio n ; but, in my opinion, the general work done by the
contractor or a subcontractor in his plant which is applicable and destined to
the fulfillment of his contracts w ith all persons generally does not fall w ithin the
law. Only th a t portion of the work which can be regarded as directed spe
cifically to the fulfillment of the Government contract, and nothing else, falls
w ithin the provisions of the act.
A similar ruling to the foregoing was made in response to an
inquiry of the Secretary of War as to the construction of a provision
of the appropriation act of June 6, 1912 (antedating the eight-hour
law of the same year), which prohibits the purchase of ammunition
from any persons who do not at the time of commencement of work
thereon establish an eight-hour workday for all employees engaged or
to be engaged in the work of manufacturing such ammunition. It
was held th a t:
The provision contained in the act relative to the eight-hour law applies only
to employees, laborers, and mechanics w hile engaged in the work of m anufac
turing the am munition named therein, and does not establish any general rule
governing the employees of the contractor beyond their occupation in carrying
out the work embraced in the contract w ith the Government. (30 Op. A. G., 16.)
The exception, in the act of June 19, 1912, of supplies purchased
by the Government “whether manufactured to conform to par
ticular specifications or not, or for such articles or materials as may
usually be bought in open market, except armor and armor plate,
whether made to conform to particular specifications or not,” was
held to exempt from the application of the act articles to be pur
chased by the Public Printer for use in the Government Printing
Office, as leathers, cloth, colors, ink, gold leaf, etc. (30 Op. A. G. 21);
as also of the labor involved in the dressing of marble and stone for
public buildings, such work not being performed at the sites of the
buildings themselves (30 Op. A. G. 211) ; of dynamos and engines
for installation in public buildings, tiles for roofing, terra cotta,
bricks, structural iron and steel, lamp standards and brackets, sash,
doors, molding, etc (30 Op. A. G. 31) ; and of cloth for clothing
and tents for the Army (29 Op. A. G. 505).
Another question submitted related to the application of the
new act to dredging in river and harbor work—employment which
had been held not to be covered by the act of August 1, 1892. On
the authority of the decision in the case of Ellis v. United States,
previously noted, the later act was construed as not affecting such
employment (29 Op. A. G. 583). This opinion is of less importance,
however, in view of the enactment, on March 3, 1913, of a statute
amending the act of 1892, which had for one of its specific aims the
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[539]
130
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
inclusion of persons employed in constructing, maintaining, or im
proving a river or harbor. This enactment was made as an amend
ment of the act of 1892, and reads as follows:
[ P u b l i c —No.
408.]
An act relating to the lim itation of the hours of daily service of laborers and
mechanics employed upon a public work of the U nited S tates and of the
D istrict of Columbia, and of all persons employed in constructing, m ain
taining, or improving a river or harbor of the U nited States and of the
D istrict of Columbia.
S ection 1. Sections one, two, and three of an act entitled “An act relating
to the lim itation of the hours of daily service of laborers and mechanics em
ployed upon the public works of the United S tates and of the D istrict of
Columbia [shall] be amended to read as follow s:
Section 1. The service and employment of all laborers and mechanics
who are now, or may hereafter, be employed by the Government of the United
States or the D istrict of Columbia, or by any contractor or subcontractor, upon
a public work of the United States or of the D istrict of Columbia, and of all
persons who are now, or may hereafter be, employed by the Government of
the U nited States1 or the D istrict of Columbia, or any contractor or subcon
tractor, to perform services sim ilar to those of laborers and mechanics in con
nection w ith dredging or rock excavation in any river or harbor of the United
States or of the D istrict of Columbia, is hereby lim ited and restricted to eight
hours in any one calendar d a y ; and it shall be unlaw ful for any officer of the
United States Government or of the D istrict of Columbia, or any such con
tracto r or subcontractor whose duty it shall be to employ, direct, or control
the services of such laborers or mechanics or of such persons employed to per
form services sim ilar to those of laborers and mechanics in connection w ith
dredging or rock excavation in any river or harbor of the U nited States or of
the D istrict of Columbia, to require or perm it any such laborer or mechanic or
any such person employed to perform services sim ilar to those of laborers and
mechanics in connection w ith dredging or rock excavation in any river or
harbor of the United States or of the D istrict of Columbit, to work more th an
eight hours in any calendar day, except in case of extraordinary em ergency:
Provided, T hat nothing in this act shall apply or be construed to apply to per
sons employed in connection w ith dredging or rock excavation in any river or
harbor of the United S tates or of the D istrict of Columbia while not directly
operating dredging or rock excavating machinery or tools, nor to persons en
gaged in construction or repair of levees or revetm ents necessary for protec
tion against floods or overflows on the navigable rivers of the United States.
Sec. 2. Any officer or agent of the Government of the United States or
of the D istrict of Columbia, or any contractor or subcontractor whose duty it
shall be to employ, direct, or control any laborer or mechanic employed upon a
public w ork of the United States or of the D istrict of Columbia, or any person
employed to perform services sim ilar to those of laborers and mechanics in
connection w ith dredging or rock excavation in any river or harbor of the
United States or of the D istrict of Columbia, who shall intentionally violate
any provision of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and for each
and every such offense shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine not to
exceed $1,000 or by imprisonm ent for not more than six months, or by both
such fine und imprisonment, in the discretion of the court having jurisdiction
thereof.
Sec. 3. The provisions of this act shall not be so construed as to in any man
ner apply to or affect contractors or subcontractors, or to lim it the hours of
daily service of laborers or mechanics engaged upon a public work of the
U nited S tates or of the D istrict of Columbia, or persons employed to perform
services sim ilar to those of laborers and mechanics in connection w ith dredging
or rock excavation in any river or harbor of the United States or of the D istrict
of Columbia, for which contracts have been entered into prior to the passing of
this act or may be entered into under the provisions of appropriation acts ap
proved prior to the passage of this act.
Sec. 4. This act shall become effective and be in force on and after March
first, nineteen hundred and thirteen.
Approved, M arch 3, 1913.
[540]
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
131
But little is available in the way of official interpretation of this
act, a single point of narrow range being to the effect that this law
does not apply to laborers employed on the Panama Canal (30 Op. A.
G. 139). Obviously this act is of broader application than the act of
1892 in its use of the phrase “ upon a public work ” in lieu of the
phase “ upon any of the public works,” the latter phrase being held
by both the majority and dissenting opinions in the Ellis Case to be
of a narrower inclusiveness than the phrase “ any public work.” The
effect of the act on dredge workers is less obvious, since its applica
tion is restricted to persons performing “ services similar to those of
laborers and mechanics in connection with dredging or rock excava
tion in any river or harbor,” and, further, the act does not apply to
any person in this line of employment “ while not directly operating
dredging or rock excavating machinery or tools.”
One exemption that is clear affects persons held to be covered by
the act of 1892; that is, workers on levees or revetments for protection
against floods or overflows on the navigable rivers of the United
States, this exception being found both in the act of 1912 and that of
1913. Except where the modifying provisions are specific, it is a fair
assumption that the interpretation of the act of 1912 is applicable to
the later acts. Authority for this view, especially as to the act of
1913, is found in a statement of the Attorney General to the effect
that—
In the absence of clear evidence to the contrary it m ust be presumed th a t in
the act of March 3, 1913, Congress intended to amend the act of August 1, 1892,
only to the extent provided for in the later act. (Op. A. G., —.)
The foregoing account and discussion is limited to the single line
of legislation the object of which was to regulate the working time of
employees of restricted definition, i. e., laborers and mechanics em
ployed by or on behalf of the Federal Government, a Territory, or
the District of Columbia. The law of June 25, 1868, though un
repealed, is negligible, while those of 1912 and 1913 lie side by side.
The relationship of these two laws to each other would appear to be
one of coordinate control in some aspects, while in others their fields
are more distinct. The provision in the act of 1912 that it was not
to be regarded as in any way repealing or modifying the act of 1892
must be held to indicate its separateness from the act of 1913 amend
ing the act of 1892.
Other laws of Congress affecting public employment are an act of
August 27,1912, fixing the hours of labor of letter carriers in the city
delivery service and clerks in first and second class post-offices at not
more than 8 per day, to be performed within a period of 10 consecutive
hours, Sunday work to be compensated for by a time allowance on
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[541]
132
MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
one of the 6 clays following the Sunday on which such work was
done.
The law applicable to hours of labor of clerks and other employees
in the executive departments is found in an act of March 3, 1893, and
is as follows:
H ereafter it shall be the duty of the heads of the several executive depart
ments, in the interest of the public service, to require of all clerks and other
employees, of w hatever grade or class, in their respective departm ents, not less
th a n seven hours of labor each day, except Sundays and days declared public
Ijolidays by law or Executive o rd e r: Provided, T hat the heads of the depart
m ents may by special order, stating the reason, fu rth e r extend the hours of any
clerk or employee in their departm ents, respectively; but in case of an extension
it shall be w ithout additional compensation. * * * — (U. S. Compiled
S tatutes, 1901, p. 80.)
As disclosed by opinions of the Attorney General and by court
decisions, the net effect of the different eight-hour laws of the Fed
eral Government made applicable to public works, and beginning
with the act of 1868, may be briefly summarized as follows:
The law of June 25, 1868, while still on the statute books, is only
in the nature of a direction.
The eight-hour law of August 1, 1892, however, was mandatory
and made it unlawful for officers, contractors, or subcontractors to
employ laborers and mechanics on public works of the United States
or of the District of Columbia for more than eight hours per day,
except in cases of emergency. The term “ public works ” included
all fixed works for public use.
The law of 1892 applied to all laborers and mechanics properly
classified as such, who are—
(1) Employed directly by the United States or the District of
Columbia.
(2) Employed within the bounds of property of the United States
Government.
(3) Working on Government buildings, even though the land occu
pied is under the political control of a State.
(4) Working on levees on navigable rivers of the United States.
(5) Employed by contractors on public works.
(6) Employed in “ construction work” in the Reclamation
Service.
(7) Employed in repairing tools or appliances necessary to the
prosecution of public works.
The lav/ of 1892 did not apply to :
A.
Laborers and mechanics employed in private establishments
engaged in—
(1) Manufacturing material for public works, even though such
material is to be used for fixtures.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[542]
MONTHLY REVIEW OE THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
133
(2) Manufacturing supplies for tlie quartermaster’s department.
(3) Building vessels or barges for the Government.
B. Unskilled alien laborers and their foreman and superintendents
engaged in the construction of the Panama Canal.
C. Employees of the Panama Railroad.
D. Watchmen, laborers, hostlers, messengers, and the like em
ployed in and about the Government departments in Washington.
The act did not authorize payments for overtime work.
The term “ extraordinary emergency ” must be strictly construed,
and can not be held to apply to continuing conditions.
A corporation could be held criminally liable for violations.
The observance of an eight-hour day does not imply continuous
employment, but means eight hours of effective service within the 24
hours of a calendar day.
Lost time due to adverse conditions of the weather, etc., can not be
made up by extra work on another day.
Where work—as on a vessel—must be carried on in accordance with
the provisions of the act, this requirement affected only the labor done
at the place of construction, and not the preparation of materials.
A specification that an eight-hour workday must be observed is not
met by working days of different lengths, aggregating 48 hours per
week. The eight-hour act of June 19, 1912—
Does not apply to supplies purchased for the Government, even
though manufactured for it in accordance with its own specifications.
Dos not prevent the employment of workmen for additional hours
of service on other jobs after having worked eight hours upon the
subject-matter of a Government contract:
Does not apply to the dressing of stone for public buildings if not
done at the site of the.building, nor to the manufacture of fittings and
equipment for such buildings;
Does not modify the act of 1892 as to river and harbor work.
The eight-hour act of March 3, 1913—
Does not apply to laborers on the Panama Canal;
Apparently retains the construction and application of the act of
1892 except as specifically provided for by the later act; in particu
lar it includes dredge work in so far as services similar to those of
laborers and mechanics are employed, and excludes labor on levees
and revetments.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[543]
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
@FedFRASER