Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-02-20
MAINE LEGISLATURE.
Continued from Page Six


Speaker. l now move that this whole
matter be recommitted to the com :
mittee on labor, on the ground that
the proponents and the opponents %
the Sc hour proposition have not mad
an opportunity to he heard In an open
hearing of the committee
Mr. NEWBERT of Augusta: Mr.
Speaker, would like to characteriZe
that motion as absurd in the presence
of this House. An extended hearing
was had on this 81 hour matter at
which the opponents and the propon>
ents were present and exploded all
that they had 10 explode. The same
arguments made that day by both
sides would simply be repeated. and /
cannot understand how any member
of this House at this late stage of this
session of the Legislature should wish
10 rec0mmit this matter unless they
want to Kill it. | believe this House
wishes To go on record, today, in sup
port Of 4 az hour bill for women and
girls under Is and boys under IL. Cap
plause). | oppose the motion to re-
commit.
Mr. DESCOTEAUX: Mr. Speaker
do not see any need Of having an
other hearing on this matter. IL viii
be the same old story, and the same
bunch will come before the commit
tee that were here before. The labor
people cannot very will afford To come
down here again, and as | said, it will
be the same old bunch appearing be-
fore the committee, and | think it IS
n = Hf iIrtn In ma ton
given to the committee again hope
the motion will not prevail.
Mr.. SWIFT of Augusta: Mr. Speak
er, ! can see no reason for delaying
this matter further. AS the matter
now stands. it will give To the women
and children of our State a working
week of 55 hours. To leave the hu-
name side of the question out entirely.
It is in accord with the spirit Of the
times our brick masons work As
hours a week. and when that regula-
ton went into effect it was felt that
no one but a millionaire could even
anord TO top out a chimney, but We
suffered no hardship. our carpenters
work Is hours week, and we Stilf
continue To build houses; other trades
hardship. The vote Of this House. TO-
day, means a great deal to many hard
working women and children; and II
We were deciding for your wife or
your daughter, or my wife or my
daughter there is no question i'm the
mind of any member of this House as
To the result of this vote. applause
The SPEAKER: The question be-
lore the House is on the motion of the
gentleman from Skowhegan, Mr..
MarSton. that the matter be recon-
united 10 the committee on labor.
Mr.. NEWBERT: If the House will
bear with me, | wish to state some
thing which | should have stated when
J was on my feet before. This is a
JUST bin. and it is a fair bill especial
~ IN It's new draft. wish To speak
III general Of the bill itself the sener-
a. terms Of H. Your committee d.
Flded on his matter. five members Of
the committee signing the bill in new
afait, and seven signing the other.
iWo of the members signed both.
rms y a bill relating to the employ
ment Of women, girls under Is wears
OF age and boys under 6 years Of age.
l submit, gentlemen, il is in line win
the progress of our times. and il is =
leeple expression of the spirit of the
modern world. II relates particularly
TO women and children working in the
factories and mills of Maine. mainly
~ relates To the cotton mills and wooI-
en- iniils and shoe shops. II provides
also Tor emergencies 1t is not a radi.
car measure in its new draft, the so
honr proposition, al least.
have pretty good memory gen
tehen. ! can go back II number Of
years, and may be older than | loot
to be- recall viVidly when. at the
age of IA years with nv bundle of
clothes under my arm | walked eisht
miles in the dust from a country
town To little village where there
was wooden mill To apply for nm
pioSrhent IN the school vacation: and
l Sot It, gentlemen. ] worked 6S hours
wees or eleven and quarter bours
aay, and for that | was paid tho
sum OF 20 cents day. $4.20 weel,
a little over six cents an bour w.
had three quarters of an hofr ~ -.
tliile' and we boys didn't have tim.
eiioush To roll down our sleeves bur
ran TO the boarding house and ate
hastily and ran back again. | Went
away TO school again and came back.
TWO years later and at that time tbev
raised my pay ten cents, and | re-
ee'Ved 50 cents a day, and my board
increased all out of proportion to that
put l worked the same number Of
hours per week. practically 6S hours
4 Week Some years later when had
,ei' the mill and fitted myself for pro-
teSslonal training and had gone mart
way through | came up here to mis-
capitol Building, and in comnan,, u.;tb
nnisnts OF Labor organization I APP
ps",eu before the committee on labor
u 'he Legislature of 1887, if | am not
n'istaken' and that Legislature nassod