The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1907-12-28
Recommends that Eight Hour Law
: Be Extended to All Gov
ernment Works.
Nation Should Aid. States by
Putting Good Laws on -
Statute Books.


Statute Books.
be lost track of is that the character
Of the average man, whether he be a
| man of means or man who works
| with his hands, is the most important
| factor in solving the problem Alright.
But it Is almost equally important to
remember that without good laws it
is also impossible to reach the proper
solution. It Is idle to hold that with
out good laws evils such as child la
Dor, as the overworking Of women, as
the failure to protect employees from
loss of life or limb can be effectively
reached any more than the evils of re-
bates and stock watering can be:
reached without good laws To fail
to stop these practices by legislation
means to force honest men into them,
because otherwise the dishonest. who
surely will take advantage of them,
will have everything their own way.
If the states will correct these. evils,
well and good, but the nation must
stand ready to aid them.
Employment Of Women and Children.
NO question growing out of our
! rapid and complex industrial! Develop
Went is more important tnan that Of
the employment of women and child
rem. The presence of women in in
dustry reacts with extreme directness
upon the character of the nome and
upon family life, and the conditions
surrounding. the employment of child.
rem bear vital relation to our future
citizenship. Our legislation in those
areas under the control of, the con-
fEresss very eli 1id ttie sfe1is-.
lation Of our more progressive states.
A thorough and comprehensive meais-
ure should be adopted at this session
of the congress relating to the en-
ployment of women and children fn
the District of Columbia and thes Ster.
| ritories. The investigation into the
condition Of women and children waxe
earners recently authorized and direct
! ed ythe congress is now being car
ried on in the various states ,and I
recommend that the appropriation
made last year for beginning this
work be renewed, In order that we
! may have the thorough and compre-
! hensive investigation which the sub
ject demands. The national govern
! 1nent has an ultimate resort for con-
troll of child labor-the use of the in
terstate commerce clause to prevent
the products of child labor from en-
terlng into interstate commerce But
before using this it ought certainly to
enact model laws on the subject for
the territories under it's own imme-
diate control -, =.
Farmer and Wage Worker,
| When the department of aericu14nro
was founded there was mucn sneerine
as to its usefulness No department
of the government, however, has more
emphatically vindicated it's usefulness
and none save the postoffice DEPART
ment comes so continuously and inti-
mately into touch with the people, The
two citizens whose welfare is in the
aggregate most vital to the welfare of
the nation, and therefore to the well
fare of all other citizens, are the wage
worker who does the manual labor and
the tiller of the soil, the farmer. There
are, of course, kinds of labor where
the work must be purely mental, and
there are other. kinds of labor where.
under existing conditions, very little
demand indeed is made upon the
MIND, though I am glad to say that
the proportion of men engaged in this
Kind of work Is diminishing. But in
any community with the solid. healthy
qualities which make up a really great
nation the bulk Of the people should
do work which calls for the exercise Of
both body and mind. Progress cannot
| >{e%Fl H.,
ment of physical labor, but in the de-
velopment of physical labor, so that
1t shall represent more and more the
work Of the trained mind in the train
ed body. -.'? ,.sT -
| Labor injunctions.
instances of abuse in the granting
OF 1njunctions in labor disputes con-
tinue. to occur and the resentment in
the minds of those who feel that their
rights are being invaded and their lib
erty of action and of speech unwar-
rantbly restrained continues S likewise
to grow. Much of the attack on the
use of the process Of injunction Is
wholly without warrant; but am cons
strained to express the belief that for
some Of 1t there Is warrant This
question is becoming more. ana more
one OF prime Importance and unless
the courts Will themselves deal with
1t In effective manner It IS certain III
timately to demand some form F6f leg
islatiye action. It would be most nm
fortunate for our social welfare if we
should permit many honest and law-
abiding citizens to feel that they had
Just anse for regarding our courts
with hostility earnestly commend