Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-26
HOURS Of LABOR
COMMITTEE
LAW REGULATING WORK
ING TIME.
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION
Employees Should Not Be Compelled
to Trade at Any Particular Store
employment Of Children

Washington, May 25.-The industrial
commission in it's report to congress ON
labor legislation recommends improved
legislation to the state legislatures
rather than to directly.
"The subject Of the greatest public in
terest today" says the report, rs per-
haps that of the regulation of the hours
Of labor permitted in industrial occupa-
ton, and especially in factories"
AS congress has no power to legislate
directly in this matter, the committee
recommends that a simple statute be
enacted by all the states regulating the
length Of the working day for all per-
sons between the ages of IA and q years,
who work in factories. The report In
brief says:
1.-The employment Of children below
the age of IA should be prohibited in fac
tories. The length of the working day
in all public employment should be fixed
at eight hours. The same time should
be fixed for workmen in underground
mines except in cases of emergency.
Employment in mines of children less
than IA years of age, and all women
and girls should be forbidden. Congress
might well enact that no person under
IA should be employed as a telegraph OPP
orator on railroads, and all engineers
and switchmen should submit to an ex-
animation for color blindness; also, that
it be made a m~isdemeanor for an en-
gineer or SWitchman to be intoxicated
while an duty. A simple and liberal law
regulating III payment of labor. should
be adopted by all the states, providing
that all laborers shall be paid in cash
orders, without discount, not in goods or
due bills, and that no compulsion, direct
or indirect, should be used to make them
purchase goods at any particular store
provisions for the fair weighing OF
coal at mines before passing over q
screen should be adopted and THE miners
should have the privilege of employing
a check weighman at their own expense
The question of the enforcement OF
the labor contract by injunction or con.
tempt in equity process is a difficult one
mainly made so by the abuses which
have arisen from %injunctions carelessly
issued. 1t is suggested that it might be
well to limit punishment for contempt
to imprisonment for a brief period, blu
! equity courts must not be deprived O.
the owe to protect themselves and t.
make their DEGREES respected. The prac
tlce of awarding blanket Injunction;
against all the world, or against un
named defendants, as we'll as the .prac
tlce OF indirectly enforcing the contrac
ior personal service by enjoining, EN-
ployes from quitting work should be dis
couraged, not only by popular sentiment
but by intelligent judicial opinion.
On the subject of railway labor tn
commission IS Of the opinion that con
gress should adopt a consistent code O
avs, regulating all matters regardin,
employment, such as hours of labor. i'm
ltatlon OF continuous runs by engineer
or continuous service by telegram nj,
orators of switchnen, the enactment O
"a consistent employers liability code
the inability of the employer or corpora
tlcn for defective appliances, etc. Th
statutes already adopted in some state
discriminating as between union an,
b by making it a pena
offen,se for an employer to exclude unio
labor only seem to the commission to b
unconstitutional, being class legislation
The statute should apply to non-uniol
as we'll as union labor alike, if it is to .
enacted at all. The right to be employe,
and protected without belonging 70
union should be preserved. but every ia
cillty should be given to labor to organ
lZe II 1t desires, n the last Vestige O
the notion that trade unions ARE a Grim
inal conspiracy should be swept away
The use of private police detective O
other hired bodies of men to be Used i
connection with labor troubles ha
aroused considerable attention and con
gress has probably the power to enae
reasonable legislation to prevent abuse
in this direction.
j. In a general way the commission re
ports that Cancellation laws have bee
found effective, but that strict asbitra
.tlOu IlaClllIefy IHtely WORKS WeI. IL
recommended that labor bureaus or com
mittees be established in adj the states.
Commissioners e. A. Smyth and c. .
Harris unite in a minority report, i
which they express the opinion that
would be beth unjust and impractical
!. to attempt any uniform laws re,golatin
labor in all the states, if labor and cap
ital are to have their full development
, They say the right of private contrao
!, should be allowed to both laborer an
employer. and therefore the limitation G
hours of labor would be fraught wit
, danger.
Commissioner John w. Daniel, in a ser
2 arate minority repOrt, concurS in tn
!, spirit of the views expressed by Com
missioners Smyth and Harris.