The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-17
Ghe LAND OF EIGHT.HOVR DAYS
AND THE WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAY.
WHERE THE SECRETARY OF LABOR HAS THE POWER OF A CABINET OFFICER.


, nave to regulate their trips SO as to skip
the holiday towns on such days. The rail-
road guides publish the names of the towns,
with the days OF tho week set aside as holi-
days opposite each town.
On half holiday tho streets are as de-
serted as on Sunday. There are cricket
matches. golf meetings and excursions.
Most of the people put on their best clothes
and go to the parks, and the whole town
takes a vacation. Some so off into the
country and you will now and then meet
a man on q tramp trip from Saturday to
Monday. On such, days the saloons are
usually open. They are not known as
saloons, but hotels. and you never expect
q hotel to shut UT. AS far as I can see,
however. there is much less drinking at
\ such times than you would expect. and
nothing like that OF Saturday afternoons
in the cities of Scotland.
The clerks seldom work much more than
eight hours a day. I have gone along the
streets at 8 o'clock in the morning and
| found many Of the stores still closed. There
Is also a proviso that merchants and banks
| must close their places at 5 in the after
| moons for two-thirds of each month. There
is a penalty for delivering goods on a
| half holiday. and the law provides that
the clerks shall not be worked longer on
ordinary days to make up for their half
holiday.
A Chat with the Secretary for Labor.
It was to ask some questions about this
and other labor matters that 1 called the
other day upon the. Honorable Edward Ire
gear. at the Labor Department in Yelling
ton. New Zealand has a Department of
labor which ranks even with the other de-
partments of the Government. 1t is on the
same basis as the Treasury Department
and Agricultural Department, and the Secre-
tary for Labor has as much influence in
New Zealand as n Cabinet Minister has in
the United States. The present head of
the Labor Department is Mr.. Tregear. He
has been Secretary for Labor for the past
decade. and has been one of the prime
movers In all of New Zealand's expert
ments for the benefit of the laboring men.
1t was in his office In the Department
of Labor that 1 met Mr.. Tregear. He is
a slender. bright-eyed Intellectual looking
man about 20 years of age. He is a good
talker. especially on the subjects nearest
his heart, namely, those connected with
the labor During our CONVEX
sation he tod me that he was at bot
tom a Socialist. and that he believed New
efforts toward eQualizing the
rights of man to be the beginning Of n de-
which would spread and which
would in time better the social condition of
How the WorkfnEmen onquere New
Zealand.
l asked Secretary Tregear how the labor
ing men had come to get the upper hand In
New Zealand. He replied:
ut originated a strike which failed. It |
was the last strike we had. and It was more
than seven years ago.. At that time the
unions controlled many branches of trade
and they were fairly well united. Among ,
others there was O union which handled all
freight at the wharves. called the Maritime |
Union. 1t was an old organization, with
plenty Of money in its treasury. resulting
from assessments upon its members J
throughout a period Of years. AS the funds
increased. the old members decided that, all
new unionists should pay an initiation feel
proportiOnate to the share each |
have in the assets of the treasury. |
There were but few laboring men who
could do this. and the consequence wus that
to the union was difficult. Never
theless. the union would not permit nom
union men to work, and though they could
not handle all the work themselves, they
still protested against the shipowners en-
ploying outsiders. The shipowners could
not stand this. They took on extra men
and defed the union The members Of the
union struck. and through their relations
with this other unions brought about q gen.
eral strike all over New Zealand. Their
demands were unreasonable. and the SYM
pathy of the people was with the nonunion-
SITS and the shipowners. Men came from
all places to help the ship owners. The
feeling was so great that even the clerks
n the stores asked for vacations, put on
overalls and worked for a time on the
wharves as common laborers.. The unem-
'loyed were given places, and the result
vas that the strikers were terribly beaten,
md they knew 1t.
.abOrinE Men as Parliament Mem.
bers.
They reconsidered the situation" con.
inued Mr.. Tregear. and decided that their
,nly chance for a fair show In the future