The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-06-15
THE WEEKLY PAYMENT LAW
-Four States Attorneys Explain
How It Has Worked.
CENTRAL VT. MAKES TROUBLE
-
Railroad Evades Act Until Driven
TO Observe It By State
Authority.

HuthOihy.
The Central Vermont Railway is op-
Grated In the counties Of Franklin,
Chittenden, Washington, Orange and
Windsor.
A weekly payment law was enacted
at the last legislature.
Past legislatures were unsuccessful
In enacting weekly payment law al
though labor organizations within the
state had fought hard to bring about
the weekly payment OF wages.
No corporations in Vermont were
more vitality affected by the weekly
payment law than the Vermont Mar
BILE company of Proctor, the Howe
Scale Works at Rutland and the Fair
banks Scale company at st. Johns
bury. This law was favored by Gov
ernor Proctor, president OF the Mar
BILE company and by DR.. j. A. Mead,
president of the Howe Scale Works,
who is candidate for lieutenant gov
ernor.
Lieutenant Governor Prouty, as
president of the senate, was energetic
In urging the passage Of the bill. He
has been for years an employer OF a
large number of help. He was among
the first of Vermont employers to
make weekly payments and this be-
gan fully fifteen years ago.
The passage Of this bill was vigor-
ousiy opposed, especially by the rail-
road lobby
How has the law been observed by
the corporations?
To their credit II may be said that
corporations generally have observed
the law To comply with It has nee
|essitated daily apy day with the Yer
mont Marble company, as the work
necessary to paying the help could
not be accomplished in single day.
meet the demand OF the law with this
corporation.
But how about the Central Vermont
Railway Company?
One of the states attorneys in one
|of the counties named makes this ex-
PLANTATION of what he had to do before
weekly payment Of wages was secured
to the railroad employees residing in
his county. He says:
Il conceived 1t my duty to get the
names OF all employees of corporations
coming under the law and see that
they had their pay weekly. did so
far as was able and ] think | sue
Iceeded In getting most OF them.
Then | sent notice, covering each
individual. to the corporations respec-
lively. ] forced the Central Vermont
Railway to pay every man and took
"a great deal Of trouble upon myself
to advertise that l would get their
pay weekly and as soon as l got
enough of the men on the weekly
payroll the balance began to come to
me and tell their story
After ! had succeeded In getting q
number of names, without the men
knowing about It even, and mailed the
notices, found that the Central Yer
mont would take 1t up with each man
and try to evade the matter In that
way, but. | did not listen to il and
kept getting after them until / have
them all. believe.
"Mr. Writers, referring to the chief
counsel of the Central took a very pc
culiar stand and that was that the
states attorney had no business to
send a notice to corporation coming
within the law until the man, the en-
|ploye, made the complaint"
Another states attorney says:
"The company refuse to pay each
week unless employees request to be
placed on list through the states at
torney of the county where employe
resides. have had them refuse to
pay each week men who were changed
from one department to another. do
not think this Is right. have placed
about two thousand names on the
weekly pay list"
The states attorney for another
county explains the situation in this
way:
II have given the company a great
many notices under the law and have
seldom had any further complaint
thinSk the company does not pay,
however, until notice Is received from
this office. as ] am still from time to
time asked to give notice for employ
les where notice has not been before
given"
| And another states attorney says:
II do not know Of any case where
the employee has requested the railroad
to pay him weekly, though there may
be such a case. but in all the cases
have any knowledge of, they have
come to me to make their applica
llion. do not know of any case
where the railroad has complied will
said act prior TO my application
The states attorney Of another
county explains the situation in this
way:
when employees have applied fol
weekly payment of wages the railroad
has referred them to me. What dit
was to pass the word among the mel
and let large number of them sign ;
request for weekly payment and thel
send it to the railroad company. an
entirely in the dark as to what the,
are driving at in insisting that tn
Guest for weekly payment COM
through the states attorney, but tina
is what they have done In this coun
ty."
And this is the history of the week
ly payment law as applied to the Ger
trail Vermont Railway company, tn
corporation which Is at present a de
PENDANT in the courts of the state be
cause 1t has failed to comply with tn
tax law.
. What other way is II possible to ur
derstand the action of the Central o.
the weekly payment law than that
complies with the law only when fore
ed to do so by state official with tn
proper authority.
The Central Vermont Railway con
pany through its legal counsel is III
derstood to favor the election of Re
s. Stanton for governor. Certain 1t
that 1t sees no favor coming to 1t i
the election of George IL PrQutY [