The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-03-08
Woman Labor.

w Ofnin Labor.
The House OF Delegates yesterday
concurred in the Senate amendments 10
house Dill No. IL, the purpose of which
| Is 10 extend tho ten hours labor law
to women who labor in workshops and
| mercantile establishments. Hereto-
toro the law applied only to those wo-
| men VINO worked In factories and man.
ufacturing establishments, The Son.
ate Committee on General Laws amend
cd the House bill SO as not to make Il,
apply to Saturdays This is the day OF
all others on which the working women
| are called upon 10 endure tho lonres,
period of work, and tho bill might have
accomplished more in the way OF Civ
ing relief IL 1t applied only to Satur-
! gay. However, there is no desire 10
/ 40 injustice to the committee and it
was doubtless influenced BY the con
| sideration that tho succeeding day of
rest would enable tho women to rccup-
crate from the extra strain OF a long
saturday. Furthermore, the rush work
! OF Saturday might make IL extremely
/ inconvenien; for tho concerns inter
csted Ii the hours OF their women oper-
| ativas were shortened on that uay
! nevertheless. these considerations
are out OF line with progressive ideas
| concerning the limitation Of th. dura
ton OF woman labor. Many of me
| women who are compelled to earn their
| living and perhaps support helpless on
spring by manual labor should not be
! required to spend their whole Sunday
In recovering from the exhaustion OF
excessive work on Saturday. 1t Is spe
cially to be feared that mnny cstnb
! iishments in which there is no proper
! excuse for such excess will .akc adj
vantage OF this loopholc in the law to
make It's peneiiciaries on Saturdays re-
coup them for the supposed losses
arising from the compliance with the
| law the other days OF the week This.
| OF course is Il shortsighted policy upon
inc part of the employers OF labor. b.
cause IL can be demonstrated tina, in
the long run those operatives are the
most eTlcient who are given an oppor-
| iuhity for resular relaXatton out-o;-
door exercise and rest. An engine or
| other piece of mechanism can only per-
| FORM Its maximum work when given N
certain amount of rest, and the same
may be said of the human machine
| Chtorlunately, too often employers look
| only TO Immediate results and over
! look those that arc indirect but mora
substantial. SO 1t has been that al
laws of this Kind have been mass ID
only against their bitter oppo.itton.
| Inc policy OF this variety OF legisIa-
tioh Is broad and has n deep founda-
| uon. II looks to the future OF the race
and justities Itself by the consi,lera ton
that whatever Is injurious TO the fem
ihine physique. to the effect that it may
result IN issue feeble or otherwise de-
| iectiNe, Is a matter of public concern.
with which the law may rlehtfully
deal. Perhaps IL more time mad been
At tho Senate's disposal this particular
issue might have been decided along
more liberal lines.
The Senate also amended the House
bill SO that 1t would not apply ia
luundrles Figures are not at hand
TO give the information as to how
many women will be affected by thta
amendment. The committee Is said 70
nave had testimony before 1t that in
many laundries tho women laborors
are for the most part colored women.
VINO work only part of each week. Yet
III Is entirely possible that in many
laundries the conditions may be quite
! otherwise. However, tho friends of
TINS measure found it necessary 20
make concessions in view of the
crowded condition OF the Senate cal
endar, and decided to take what they
could get rather than lose ALL
n Child Labor DILL
sun remaining on the Senate cal
endar is House bill No. 70, which IL
tie Byrd child labor bill, which the
aforesaid committee has trimmed 10
the quick. For one thing. il has cur
out section !, which prohibited bows
under fourteen and girls under sixteen
from selling newspapers. From ply
! slcal standpoint, there is no injury 10
children In this occupation, eXcept in
| bad weather. The trouble is that moor
| parents too frequently allowed their
young children to sell newspapers
/ during the hours when they should be
| In school. Those persons opposed to
compulsory education and to all inter-
ference with the regulation of family
! Ire, Will say that this is question
! for parents to decide. Still. there ia
| an increasing disposition TO provide
! by law against decreasing the tempta-
! tons for children to neglect their
schooling. After all, though. there IS
much to be said OH both sides OF this
subject, and the evils mentioned are
not or startling character
| The amendment as to carly morn
ing work is not so easily understood.
The bill provided against the child
| beginning to work before T. which
| the committee changed to C. II Is
more than doubtful whether any mem
Der OF the committee ever went TO
work as child lii factory before
. o'clock In the morning. Otherwise,
tho report might have been different.
The amendment proposed to section
9. line !, Is TO strike out 16 and In
sert IA. Tho plain English or that Is
that the committee declined to recon-
mend the abolition OF the practice of
working children under the ago or
sixteen In factories, workshops. mer-
camille establishments. laundries,
bakeries, brickyards, lumber yards or
in the distribution. transmission or
sale OF merchandise. Tho law already
I nrn tl,n ,,lr t,,, ,t,i