The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1891-05-15
THE PARIS LABOR EXCHANGE.

An enormous building has Just been
completed in the Rue du Chateau d'Eu
in Paris. The nature of the use for
which it is intended is indicated by great
golden letters on its front, 'Bourse du
Travair-that is, labor exchange. The
building has five stories and glass COW
cred court, with huge assembly room
of 80 feet high, 70 feet long and go
feet wide. The seats for 1900 persons
are arranged in circles, rising as they
recede from the chairman's platform at
the center. The glass floor of this hall
is supported by four iron pillars in an
other hall in the basement, some seventy
feet square.
This basement hal, is to be a place of
assembly for day laborers and other
workmen who are now obliged, when out
OF work, to await engagement on street
corners and open squares. Adjoining
the hall are the rooms for the dynamos,
furnaces and ventilating machinery. On
the ground floor, to the right of the YES
tibule, are the janitor's quarters, and, to
the left, the private telephone, telegraph
and postal offices of the exchange. On
the ground floor are also the offices of
the general secretary, the committee and
administrative officers, and the bureau
OF labor statistics, as well as library
and reading room, with a combined floor
surface of eighty square yards. The
next four floors have large meetifly
room and thirty-three offices each; in NJ,
four assembly halls and 1872 offices. HE
offices are let out to the executive Of
ficials of the various worhngmen1l or
carnations in Paris.
The special purpose of the La. jr ex-
change is to help the laborers out Of
work to new engagements. It's general
purpose, however, is more comprehen-
sive. to prepare the way for thorough
and wide reaching labor reforms. The
organization of the bureau of labor
statistics, after the model of the labor
bureau of the United States, has been
to this end. All facts concerning the
working people of all France will be
collected, classified, discussed and con-
sidered at length by the committee in
whose respective departments they be-
long. The consequent conclusions will
be incorporated in legislative bills, given
into the hands of the legislative com
mittee, which will see that they are
brought before the French chamber bv
Radical deputies.
The working organization of the ex-
change is mostly on the trades union
basis. 1t does not limit the benefits to
manual laborers, however, but includes
those who are usually known as s'brain
workers" Trade, too, has it's represent
tation there, SO that the various societies
present an infinite variety of occupation,
from school teaching to street sweeping,
from commercial travelling to rag pick
ing. Each of the 100 workingmen So
cieties in Paris has seat and vote in the
exchange. The delegates will be chosen
and seated annually. The eight general
committees of the exchange are consti-
tuted from these delegates. The execu-
tive committee consists of twenty-one OF
the delegates, chosen pretty evenly from
the eight committees and reelected every
year. 1t is divided into five sub-com-
mittees-on finance, administration, agi-
tation, press and statistics, and has the
of choosing from its mem
bers two secretaries, cashier, a librarian
and an editor of the exchanges weekly
organ.
The salaries of the officers Of the ex-
change are paid by the hour. The rate
for all officers alike is twenty cents. The
two secretaries, for instance, who work
eight hours daily, receive $1.6O each
day. Each secretary works regularly
throughout the year on all days except
Sundays and few holidays, and re-
ceiye, therefore, approximately $500 an
nually. The editor, on the other hand,
who labors but a little more than an
hour daily, gets only some ninety dol
airs annually. The unusual recognition
If the workingmen of brain work as be.
ng as essentially labor as work with the
hands is illustrated by the fact that the
EDITOR gets just as much pay by the
hour as the janitor or engineer. An APP
parent exception to the rule of rewards
s made in the case of the executive
committee, that sits once weekly from 0
,'clock till midnight. AS all members
;annot be actively engaged at once in
he work of these sittings, generously
'ough estimate is made that every menu
~ Ao'DOAo oOOuV OAO nun III Iu0 IIT66s
md he therefore receives at the regular
ate, just twenty cents.-New York Sun.
Gompers Badged.
Samuel Gompers has made triumph-
mt trip from ocean to ocean, his recep-
ion at the several cities where he made
ddresses showing that the labor hosts
re alive. At San Francisco Mr.. Com
ers was rendered grand reception, at
which 5000 were present. On this occa-
ion he was presented with badge, the
description of which is taken
rom the San Francisco Chronicle:
The badge was designed by q. A.
lewis, of Carpenters union No. %, and
, handsome piece of workmanship.
rom bar of gold which bore the one
7ord president" there was a disc
larger than the standard dol
Is, suspended by two chains Around
be edge of the disc was chain, each
nix of which bore the name of one Of
he labor unions ON this coast composing
ne federation. Across the center of the
isc was wide bar of California quartz,
n which were two hands clasped, and
n the cuffs attached to the hands were
ne words EAST" and "West." In a
above the quartz bar, the
anne of Samuel Gompers" was en-
raved, and below the bar in semi
Ircle the inscription President of the
.merican Federation of Labor" On the
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