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The Commoner
MAT, 1916
21
' V ,
4,
o
Labor Legislation During 1915
(Compiled by United States De
partment of Labor.)
The annual . summary of labor
legislation in the United States, pub
lished by the United States bureau
of labor statistics of the department
of labor, which appears as its Bulle
tin 186, covers the activities in this
field during 1915, of 45 states, two
territories, and the federal congress.
"With three exceptions, Kentucky,
Maryland and Mississippi, every state
in the union held a legislative ses
sion, regular or extra, in 1915, and
of these, all but two, Louisiana and
Virginia, enacted laws of special in
terest to labor. The bureau's report
reproduces the text of all thesr labor
laws and presents a concise review
of each class of legislation The
workmen's compensation laws are
omitted, having been published sep
ately in the bureau's recently issued
Bulletin 185.
Aside from the enactment of work
men's compensation laws, perhaps
the most" significant feature of the
legislation of the year is the growth
of the industrial commission plan,
uniting in one authority the admin
istration of workmen's compensation,
factory inspection, and other labor
laws. This plan was adopted in 1915
in Colorado, Indiana, Montana, Ne
vada and New York.
Especially notable in the legisla
tion of the year was the attention
given to the subject of unemploy
ment and ptiblic employment offices.
In Illinois a commission on unem
ployment, consisting of three repre
sentatives of labor, three of employ
prs and three of the public, was es
tablished to report at the- next legis
lative session. In connection with
the state employment offices a gen
eral advisory board was established
to investigate and deal with unem
ployment. California and Nevada
passed resolutions calling for investi
gation of unemployment. In Idaho
emergency employment is to be pro
vided by county boards of commis
sioners for unemployed citizens of
the United States who have been for
six months resident of the state. Em
ployment is to be on the highways at
rates to be fixed by the county
boards, not more than 60 days' work
of this kind to be furnished any per
son within one year. One-half of
the expense is to be borne by the
state, and refusal to perform the
work assigned, debars one from this
form of relief work for the period
of one year.
Public employment offices were
provided for in California, Idaho,
Iowa, New Jersey and Pennsylvania,
and provision was made for the ex
tension of the system of public em
ployment offices in Illinois, Michigan
and Oklahoma. The licensing and
supervision of private employment
offices were provided for in seven
states, Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas
and Wisconsin, while Idaho prohibit
ed the maintenance of private em
ployment agencies operated for
profit.
Laws relating to the employment
of women and children were quite as
numerous as in preceding years.
Notable among these were the min
imum wage laws enacted by Arkansas
and Kansas, making 11 states which
now have such legislation. Cal
ifornia, Massachusetts and Washing
ton passed amendments as to their
minimum wage laws, not, however,
involving any important modifica
tions. In Idaho a commission to in
vestigate the subject of minimum
wage legislation was provided for.
Considerable progress was made
fn the field of child labor legislation,
notable in the states of Arkansas and
Pennsylvania. In the latter states
the law requires 8 hours per week
of school attendance for children un
der the age of 16, such attendance
to be between the hours of 8 a. m.
and 5 p. m.
In the field of safety provision the
most detailed enactments were those
formulated by the industrial com
mission of Wisconsin and the indus
trial boards of New York and Penn
sylvania. The rules and orders of
these bodies indicate an intimate
knowledge of the conditions to be
met which it is impossible for an or
dinary legislative committee to pro
cure. The worker's welfare is looked
after in less usual ways by new en
actments in some states regulating
the sanitary conditions in labor
camps, railway labor camps, and the
like.
Laws to regulate the giving of
clearance cards or statements of
cause of discharge were enacted in
three states, California, Indiana and
Oregon, while in two states, Cal
ifornia and Nevada, the right Is given
the employe by la to hear and
answer charges brought by "spot
ters" before being discharged on
thoir evidence. Other important
laws enacted during 1915 were the
seaman's act, which made numerous
provisions for safety and abolished
arrest and imprisonment for deser
tion; the Alaska and Arizona old age
pension laws, and the California act
providing for the appointment of a
commission to report on the subject
of social insurance.
AMERICANISM .
Evidently the Colonel has spent
too much time of late east of the Al
leghenies. The west has always
claimed the Colonel for its own, a
Dig, two-handed fighter, no puss
foot, no snob, all American, and
proud of it. So it isn't like the
Colonel to believe, as he confesses he
did, that "the state of Lincoln and
Grant isn't loyal and patriotic."
"They talk about the middle west,
he told a Tribune reporter, "The Mis
sissippi valley being prosperous and
contented, and not thinking about
the country's needs. Why, this coun
try out here is as truly patriotic to
day as though the Atlantic ocean ran
clear up the whole length of the Mis
sissippi valley." '
Thanks, Colonel for nothing.' If
we in the west are worrying about
anything it is most certainly not an
accusation from New England and
New York that we are not American
because we do not care to go to war
for England. The west is confident
of its Americanism and it would like
the Colonel next time New York tells
him the west is without patriotism
to consider a few facts.
For example, during the Christmas
holidays last year they were stand
ing eight deep at the diamond count
ers on Fifth avenue. New York was
rrnvtrpa with easv money. War had
brought to the east sudden wealth.
New fortunes sprang up in a few
months. Old fortunes expanded
hugely. After several lean years
every one began to thrive. The great
banks and financial houses swam in
the mid-current. Their transactions
for the allies ran into the billions.
If their relations with England and
France for years have been of great
moment in the world of internation
al finance, they now become of para
mount importance.
In the west we view the war hero
ics of New York and New England
with some self-control because we
see it against the blazing background
of this vast financial phenomenon.
We are not unaware, furthermore,
that the most conspicuous social
class of the east likes of all things
to speak of Lady Lammox by her
first name. It is intermarried with
the British nobility and gentry and
spends a reasonable amount of time
in England or Scotland, where it is
even so tactless sometimes as to out
spend royalty.
This class is small numerically,
but the number of the comparatively
obscure who accept its standards as
far as purse will permit is larger
than a plain western American likes
to believe. In no western city will
you see American lads at transplant
ed English schools playing Rugby
with English teachers under an
English flag. In no western city will
the Colonel find, as the Colonel
knows, that habit of deference to all
things transatlantic and especially to
things English that is the special
weakness of the wealthy and "edu
cated" in the east.
The west, of course, has its snobs,
its vociferous minorities, its senti
mental partisans, its selfish interests,
its "hyphenates" of varieties. But
there is no dominating spirit but the
spirit of America, the deep American
ism of the mid-continent , whose
naive pride is here, whose highest
hopes and fairest dreams are hero.
The west is not apathetic. It Is
not in the nature of the westerner
to bo apathetic, and this the Colonel,
if any one, should know. But the
west is not infected with Anglican
ism and not intoxicated with entente
money. It is American and so pro
foundly concerned with the
problems of America, the
essential American problems
to which Colonel Roosevelt has so
vigorously addressed himself, that
it has less stomach for tackling the
problems of the old world than the
idealists of tho cast, and no stomach
at all for sealing with Us blood the
financial contracts of Wall street or
the marital contracts of Newport.-
Chicago Tribune.
TITE MICROBE OF MILITARISM
Charles Thomas, Chicago, 111.: V
havo read Tho Commoner of March
with groat interest especially the fifty
or more letters approving your peace
policy. To mo tho crime- that over
shadows all other features of mili
tarism is tho determination to turn
millions of our "little brick school
houses" into training camps, and our
universities and colleges into rifle
ranges. If military madness is
spreading among tho adults of this
land, what may bo exepected from
tho school boys of this nation?
Spread this microbe of militarism In
our school houses and tho former
marvelous school system of ours
that has been tho bulwark of pros
perity and peaco, will crumble and
fall, and then will begin tho down
fall of this nation.
A DKOIDUOUS TREE
John Drew was congratulated at
trie players in Gramercy park on tho
abundant hair with which, despite
his years, ho is still blessed.
"Thank goodness," said Mr. Drew,
complacently, "I'm not like Tree.
"Tree went Into a Los Angeles
barber shop the other day and said:
" 'Can you cut ray hair without
my taking off ray collar?'
"Tho barber, with a loud laugh
slapped Tree's pink and polished
dome jocularly.
" 'Why, bless your heart, Sir Her
bert,' he said, 'I could cut it without
your taking oft your hat.' " Wash
ington Star.
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