The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1914-01-09
PUBLIC FEELING AROUSED.
Church Dienitary Believes the States
viii Soon Adopt Laws Controlling
Demands Protection For Women.

remuneration OF Workers-Society
Demands Protection For Women.
An interesting contribution to the
bulletin on vocational training Just
sent out by the National Retail Dry
Goods association came from the pen
OF the Right Rev John ~ Mccormick,
Protestant Episcopal bishop of western
Michigan. AT the recent gathering of
bishops in New York city Dr. McCor-
mick made reference to fhe need OF vo-
cational training and .nimum wage
laws for young Ameri ans. and his re-
marks at that time attracted consider
able attention AT the invitation of
Secretary Pinkham of the association
DIR. Mccormick prepared the following
resume of his ideas on the subject:
There Is every reason to forecast
than many of the states of the Union
will soon adorg some sort OF mint
mum wage law The drift Of public
opinion seems TO be in the direction of
state control. both as to hours OF work
and as TO wages. especially in regard
to the employment OF women and chill
dren. The Oregon state law creating
an industrial welfare commission en-
powered to regulate the wages and the
hours OF labor for women and children
has just been declared constitutional
by Judge OF the circuit court appeal
having been taken to the supreme
court of the state. Judge Cleeton. who
made the decision. declared that the
laws Sxshg asnxi,Si1ni kours of labor
and minimum wage are compliments.
the minimum wage law being neces-
sary In some instances to make the
maximum wage law effective. There
is every reason for believing that leg
fslation Of this sort. along lines SINH
lar to those adopted in Australia. New
Zealand. England and now in Oregon
and Massachusetts, will be adopted at
an early date In many states.
Professor John Bates Clark OF Co
iumbia university said In the Septem-
Der Atlantic Monthly, "Of pending
measures OF economic reform few ap
peal so strongly to public feeling as
does the minimum wage act" In the
article referred to he reminds us OF the
intricacies and the practical difficulties
OF such experiments and of the abso-
lutte necessity for approaching them
only In a conservative way and only
after the most careful and thorough
OF. y6u Of fttIif fn
evident to him that If radical laws are
passed the state itself would have to
provide emergency employment He
states the possibilities as follows:
Between the conservative policy
which estimates as best il can the pro
ductive power Of labor In i'll paid occu
pations and prescribes n corresponding
amount as the minimum of pay. and
the radical policy. which boldly de
mands whatever labor needs for life
of modest comfort there are various
gradations OF policy, and the guiding
principles In choosing between them
are, first. that any legal rate above the
value OF labor to its employer will
cause idleness: second. that the amount
of the idleness will be greater the
higher the rate established. and third.
that any idIeness created In this way
and not relieved by natural causes will
give to the workers an unanswerable
claim on the state for emergency en-
ployment"
Other factors than that OF the mini
mum wage are also entering into the
problem. For example. the state Of
Ohio has raised the age limit for en-
ployment to sixteen years. and other
states are likely to follow.
On the employers side is the busi-
ness efficiency campaign, which de-
mands as one Of its essentials employ
ees who are more intelligent. more
capable and more interested In their
work 1t appears. therefore. that there
is good reason for the emphasis now
being placed on vocational guidance
and industrial training, especially In
connection with the public schools.
The campaign conducted by such lead
ers az Mrs Prince of Boston will be-
come more widespread and effective.
The public schools will take more So
riously into consideration kind OF
training whereby girls especially who
are likely to be compelled to earn their
own living can be raised above the
ranks OF unskilled labor and can be
prepared to make good under the new
conditions In Grand Rapids. for ex-
ample, there is department Of voca-
tional direction under the board Of ed
ucation. and there are courses OF
salesmanship In both the day and night
schools At the present time 214 girls
are taking a commercial course which
will include salesmanship The heads
OF most of the department stores have
expressed willingness that their clerks
shall attend part time classes for al
least one-half day in the week without
loss OF pay Boston has done advance
work on these lines. and courses are Ii
contemplation In Cleveland. Philadel
phia, Detroit and other cities.
Society Is demanding more efficient
production. but 1t is also demanding
that women and minors of the 81
called working class In particular shal
be legally protected. 1t is quite likel,
that thare will be an endemic OF leRis