The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1909-05-03
NO DESIRE TO
INCREASE THE
HOURS OF TOLL
PrOprietors of Mercantile
Houses and Legislation
Which They Seek of the
General Assembly
Enormously Stated that 1t
Was Intention to Work
Employees Longer Than at
Presents Situation Clear
ly Defined in Statement by
Local Business House.


In the public mind there prevails a
misconception of the nature of the leg
islation sought of the General Assem-
bly, by large mercantile employers of
help, more particular the owners of
the department stores in this and other
cities throughout the state. 1t was
stated-and enormously in view of the
subsequent light shed upon actual con-
ditions-at the legislative hearing up
on the measure concerning the hours
of employees in stores and factories, at
the state capitol last week, that the
proposed bill which has the support of
the big mercantile shop keepers of the
state. would if enacted into law result
in increasing the hours of labor of the
employees.
Nothing could be farther from the
truth. Indeed an impartial survey of
what is requested by the store keepers
shows that there is nothing unreason-
able~in their request and that instead
of imposing any longer hours of labor
upon the help there would be no
change whatsoever in that respect.
Inquiry among the help I'm local busi-'
ness houses revealed IrO dissatisfaction
whatsoever with the legislation which
the employers are seeking. Perhaps
the subjoined interview with one of
the leading business houses of this
city will fully explain the situation.
Inc gentleman WITH WnOm the FARMER
talked said:
II believe" said a merchant this
morning in discussing the subject,
that the people of the city ought to
know about the proposed law. AS a
matter of fact, 1T is a law designed
more for their benefit than for the
good of the merchant. 1t is aimed to
give people chance to make their
purchases at a time convenient for
them But it should be plainly I'M
derStO0d that if iS NOT MANNED in
crease the hours of labor. Instead,
the proposed new law would simply
make rev distribution of the hours
and allow merchants to keep their
stores open one evening a week and
evenings during the week Immediately
preceding Christmas
LET me make the matter nttle'
palmer, If 1 can The present law
provides that children and women shall
not be employed more than So hours
in any week or more than 10 hours in
any day. Then it provides that any
employer who shortens the hours dur
ing June, July and August to So a
week may lengthen them in any other
portion of the year to 60 hours a week.
But at no time are the hours for any
one day to be over 10.
cit is the last condition that the
merchants wish to have changed. The
opening of the stores Saturday nights
would be prevented if this provision OFFS
the law should be enforced. Saturday
people in stores are asked to work over
10 hours. On that day they are busy
for IL hours and As minutes. But as
against this, on all other days of the
week they are employed for hours
and As minutes, while in summer this
time is shortened to hours and 45
So you see the Bridgeport
at least so far as the large
stores are concerned, do not work their
people to the limit of the law as has
been claimed in some quarters.
Merchants through the State have
been criticised for failing to obey the
they did not know of the ten-hour-a-
day feature of it till the close of last
year when an effort was made to
bring prosecutions in Hartford Since
then they have been trying to make a
way out of the difficulty and the pro-
posed new law has seemed to them to
be that way.
''In considering this matter. stores
should not be classed with factories. |
are entirely different. Fac
tory. workers are not paid for one mo- |
ment when they are not at work. |
Store workers are paid for holidays
least some cases are given vacation |
with pay. Then too, workers in the |
stores have privileges which no fac |
tory employe is granted. There are
certain hours when they may shop in |
other parts of the store with freedom. |
They are not locked out, with con- |
sequent Joss of pay, if they are two or |
three minutes late in the morning or
at noon. All in all, the request of the |
is not unreasonable.
But public interest lies as much in |
the effect of the proposed law upon |
the public as upon the store employee. |
To give satisfactory service, the stores |
should be allowed to keep open till 10
o'clock Saturday night and also to be
open during that period known as
Christmas week This privilege can
be granted and the hours of labor will |
still be much less than those author
lied by the law which has been in
force for the last two years.
The total number of hours allowed
by the present law in a year is 3.055.
The total number which the large
stores employ their people is 2,749.
Under the new law, employment on
some days more than 10 hours would
be legal. But the total number of
hours is not to be increased
ct believe any fair-minded man or
woman will admit that the request of
the merchants is a fair one, if they
take time to look up the real situa-
tiOr,