Morning journal and courier., 1885-12-26
ghe gnnrmaI and Gnt1rier,
Saturday,, December 26, 1885.
MIR. HADLKY,s FIRST REPORT.

MIR. HADLKYsS FIRST REPORT. The first annual report of the new Bureau l of Labor Statistics of the State of Connecti- l cut IS out. As Commissioner Hadley has ! not had much time to work in, and as his eff forts to get such information as he wanted have not met with the hearty and general re- sponse that IS desirable, the report is not what it might be, or what it would have been 1 under different circumstances. Still, it is interesting.
 The report is not chiefly a collection of facts, but is mainly a consideration of the present condition of the labor problem. The
 commissioner makes it plain that he has
 proper sympathy with those for whose bene
 hS he was appointed. He says: The state of
 things Is this: The men who do the most
 physical work, class, seem to have the
 least to show for it. Their wages are often
 barely sufficient to meet the expenses of liv-
 ing. They sometimes cannot get work at all
 At best, they are working for others, with
 little independence of action, and often with
 little hope of anything better. In their life
 their work and their relations to their en-
 ployers, evils and abuses have arisen which
 it seems impossible for any individual to pre-
 vent, while the attempt to remedy them by
 organized action too often proves worse than
 useless. In this difficulty there is demand
 for public investigation and for legislative
 interference
 He then points out that in any such inves-
 tigation there are three questions to be con-
 sideled: First, How far do the evils con-
 plained of really prevals Second, How far can they be helped. Third, Can legislation do anything to help thema If they exist widely, it constitutes public evil If they can be helped, it constitutes a grievance. If they can be helped by legislation, it consti- tutes political problem. In the course of l his remarks concerning the above mentioned | questions he says: That wages are not high | enough in proportion to expenses is the evil | That they are not high enough in proportion | to profits is the grievance. That the griev- | ance is in so many cases an imaginary one does not make it less serious. Whatever the facts are, the feeling does harm as long as it exists, and is perpetual menace to the ex- isting social order; and it will exist as long as manufacturing concerns keep the profits secret. There is no doubt that our large manufacturers are, as a rule, truly desirous i of good understanding with their work men. But they are blind te the fact that in 3 great many instances no such understand | ing is possible as long as they keep entirely secret the question how much money they are making
 Commissioner Had1ey doesn's see any hing criminal in labor organizations. In act, he thinks the best thing that could be lone IS to give such organizations a reoog- lized character "Without it you make it l { necessary for them to show their worst side l With it they have chance to develop their | 'est side" This strikes us as wise.
 Concerning ''hours of labor of young per- ons" the commissioner speaks as follows: But if it is 8 question between driving capi- al out of Connecticut on the one hand and C the health of our young men t nd women on the other hand, it may as | yell be clearly understood that the former s the less evil. Our textile manufactures ' re of great importance, but the health of : hem to seek enproyment in other Statesj It ; better to have State with small number f strong men and women than 8 larger l lumber of weaker ones.
 In his remarks concerning the work which QgOC to D0 uOuo Uy eA0 oot-A--AS toner says: .
 The subjects on which information is aost needed and at the same time most ob- follows: e
 1. Under the cad statistics, information S with regard to the rates of wages paid for different grades of labor, and the manner in which they are affected by irregularity ot | employment.
 2 As subjects of legislation, the first and most important facts are those relating to ,hild labor; second, those relating to weekly payments; and, third, those relating to lours of labor. The reasons for such in l ,uiry will appear from what has been said n the body of the report.
 B. Of those matters which are neither distinctly statistical, nor, for the present, at my rate, distinct subjects of legislation. the demand for information is strongest about methods of arbitration, conciliation, or CO., operation, both in Connecticut and else- where.
 The above indicates something of the spir- it in which Commissioner Hadley has begun his labors He seems to be humane, wide minded and careful. It is also evident that he is not afraid to ''speak his mind" when it is made up.