The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-05-17
LABOR LEGISLATION OF 1914.

The annual summary of labor legis-
lation in the United States prepared by
federal bureau of labor statistics,
which appears as bulletin No. 166 of
that bureau, represents the activities
of IT legislative bodies in the year
1914 Four of these met in extra
ordinary session, two of them enact
ing no labor laws. Compared with the
current year, for which the work of
40 legislatures will have to be re-
viewed, this was an off year" for the
majority of state legislatures, SO that
the volume of output should be COM
pared with that of 1912, though the
number of extra sessions brought the
total of the law-making bodies meet
ing that year up to "a. The tendency
of this class of laws to increase in bulk
that has been in evidence for num-
Der of years is manifested in the fact
that the "a bodies in session in 1912
furnished but 1877 pages of bulletin
text, while the 1 meeting in 1914 pro-
vided approximately zoo pages. AS at
other times, the laws relating to the
employment of women and children
are most numerous, &c separate en-
actments, affecting IL jurisdictions,
falling under this head. One of these
was the S-hour law for women in the
District of Columbia, enacted by con-
gress. If to this number be added the
factory regulations that are often indi-
rectly due to the presence of women
and child workers in Industrial estab-
lishments, the public interest in this
class of employees would appear to be
great and influential. Occasionally.
however, a bit of regressive legislative
action is found, as in the Maryland
statute reducing the age for children
in street trades, or that of Mississippi
fixing a lower age for the regulation
of hours of labor of children in cotton
and knitting mills than is provided in
other industries. But on the whole
there is a steady advance in the states
named, as well as others. in the direc-
ton of better protective legislation for
the classes of persons who are, as the
supreme court has pointed out, in
need of special legislation that their
rights may be preserved, and on
whom the future of the race depends.
Masculine interests were looked after
in 1914 in laws requiring frequent
wage payments by public service cor
porations and the redemption of scrip
or coupons in Mississippi,-the weigh
ing of coal before screening in Ohio.
and regulating the work time of sta
firemen in Louisiana and of
workers in compressed air in New
Jersey railroad "full-crew' law
was enacted in Mississippi, and one
was repealed by referendum in Mis-
souri,, these being the only states act
ing on this subject for the year. The
state of Kentucky adopted a new min
ing code, and the Wisconsin industrial
drew up a set of regula-
tons for the protection of worl1men
in building operations The
subject of workmen's compensation
received attention from three or four
legislatures by way of amending acts.
while new laws were enacted in Ken
lucky, Louisiana, and Maryland. In
the last named state the law SUPER
seeded an earlier enactment which had
been entirely imperative, while the
law was found constitution
ally defective before the date when it
was to come into operation.