The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1902-04-12

siOners.
/ Last week the eighteenth annual con-
vention of the commissioners OF LABOR
! statistics was held at New Orleans.
Carol D. Wright was again elected
president, and the next convention Will
be held in Washington.
Labor Commissioner O'Donnell, OF
Minnesota, contributed a paper to the
convention from which we clip the
following from the Picayune:
John O'Donnell, commissioner for
Minnesota, of St. Paul, submitted, a
report that was exceedingly interesting,
from the fact that it dealt with MANY
domestic troubles, such as the servant
girl problem apd others. He said,
among other things:
Some of the special Investigations
already closed are: Investigations into
the length of working time on week
days and on Sundays of drugstore en-
ployes, the attendants of electric light,
! heating and power generating plants,
! and of men employed in livery, board
! ing and sales stables Our investiga-
tons have shown very unsatisfactory
| conditions under which this class of
wage earners have to labor. OF the
total number of drug clerks only 1856
per cent work less than ten hours on
week days; 13.49 per cent work ten
hours; 1908 per cent work eleven hours;
! 24.57 per cent work twelve hours; 6.57
per cent work thirteen hours; 1915 per
| cent work thirteen hours; 1915 per cent
fourteen hours 1895 per cent fifteen
| hours and $40 per cent sixteen hours
and 2.OS per cent seventeen hours each
| week day; but aside from this there is
considerable amount of Sunday at
| tendance required from prescription
| clerks.
We have been able to show that
from 2S9 persons, only Al enjoy freedom
from labor on Sunday; ISL have to be
| IN attendance each Sunday, and 81 each
alternate Sunday. While the work of
the drug clerk does not require great
pnyslcal exertion, yet the hours of at
! tenoance are unusually long on weeks
| Gays as well as Sundays. The general
pubic should give this matter more
than a passing consideration, for a per-
son worn out by long and continuous
! hours of service, is more apt to make
mistakes and put up prescriptions
wrong, than one who has had suffi-
clent time for rest and some time for
recreation.
In electric light, heating and pover-
generating plants we find only III per
cent OF me total number of employees
working less than ten hours daily, but
the largest number, 61.68 per cent, work
Twelve hours, and in some instances
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and sixteen
hours go to make up the work of the
men so employed. Sunday work was
performed by 1851 per cent of all en-
! ployes In this kind of work, the time
ranging all the way from three to fiji
teen hours, but the greatest number,
3S5 out Of 5S7, have. to perform twelve
| hours work every Sunday The length
Of the working day in the livery, board
| ing and sale stables, has been another
subject of inquiry by the department.,
which has established the fact that in
this particular vocation some persons
| have to devote eighteen out of every
tWenty-four hours to work. or, at least,
must be in attendance. Only about Is
! per cent of all wage earners in this
particular line of work have a regular
! ten-hour work day. The greatest num-
Der have to work from eighty-four to
eighty nine hours weekly, and in some
| instances, we have found men who
work one hundred and twenty-six hours
every week.
1.-THE subject of the domestic wage
earners, which is being investigated by
the bureau Of labor, is progressing very
satisfactorily. We had, in order to get
both sides Of the question, inquiry
| blanks addressed to employers Of
| domestic service, as we'll as to the
servants themselves. I am glad to say
! that the ladies of our state responded
very heartily to our request, in fact
ers have done. The ladies of the Min
nesota Federation Of Women's Clubs
offered and gave me their assistance.
1.-The ladies and maids of Minnesota
| both realize that some sort Of train
| ing school would greatly benefit them,
| and that the standard Of the domestic
| wage Garner could, in a measure, be
! improved, and mutual good will and
| fairness result on both sides.
| Our inquiries into the early closing
movement of retail stores has brought
out the fact that our retail merchants
| in our large cities, with perhaps few
| exceptions, favor early closing, and this
| leads me to believe that with little
| hard work, in the way of agitation, on
| the part of the employees Of stores who
have not yet been granted the blessings
| Of early closing, would result in the
| closing Of all the stores of retail trade,
| and the public would soon get used to
the new situation. and it would be
proven that short work day would
! not only benefit the employer by re-
ducing his operating expenses, but it
| would demonstrate the fact that en-
ployes can and do render more efficient
| service in a reasonable number of
hours than can be secured from en-
ployes who are compelled to work four
teen and sixteen hours a day.
I'VE are still engaged in two other
Investigations: One has for its object
the conditions surrounding the female
wage earners in stores, factories, work.
shops and other places of employment:
the other is devoted to- male wage
earners Of; our state" =.