New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-03-30
CANNERIES AGAIN
TRY 12-H0UR LAW
New Bills Would Allow
Women and Children to
Work Overtime.
OLD TRICKS ALLEGED
IN FRESH ATTEMPT
Consumers League Also Assails
Factory Fire Escape
ModilierS.

IRON a star Correspondent q The Trbursl
Albany, March %. Another attempt
TO provide a twelve-hour work day for
the women and children employed in
the cannNics upstate made its appear
ance in INC Legislature to-day in the
form Of deity prepared bills in
troduccd by Senator Spring and As
semblyman Brennan, the latter OF
Brooklyn. The bills provide for re-
codifcation OF the labor laws, and the
provisions affecting the women and
children in the canneries is tucked
away in the heart Of the more or less
complex verbiage Of the measures.
Not alone do the measures in
troduced to-day allow the Gamers to
work women and children twelve hours
a day, but it also makes it possible to
keep them at work as late as II
o'clock at night. There is nothing In
the bills introduced to-day to prevent
the Gamers keeping the women and
children at work for seventy-two hours
a week. The bills provide that the
consent OF the Industrial Commission
must be obtained by the Gamers be-
fore compelling the women and
children to work more than sixty hours
a week. but persons familiar with the
canning situation declare that this is
simply a subterfuge.
In practice this provision will have
the effect of letting the Gamers work
the women and children until midnight
and then telling the Industrial Com
mission about it afterward. There is
also provision that employees in the
canning factories will be paid time and
a half for all overtime that is, for all
time over ten hours a day. This pro-
vision was inserted in the bills as a sop
to those opposed TO having women and
children work twelve hours a day. 1t
is well known that the Industrial Com
mission has no power 10 compel the
Gamers to pay their employees any fixed
compensation FOR overtime or ordinary
time.
The bills affecting the Gamers intro
duced in the Legislature to-day provide
that the extra hours shall not be
worked earlier than 6 a. m. nor later
than - midnight, and shall be per
mitted only when the board finds that
the employment is required by emer-
gency and can be allowed without
serious injury TO the health OF women
SO employed.
In effect, the canning provisions OF
the bills introduced to-day are modl-
fcation Of the notorious canning bills
in the last Legislature, which were so
overwhelmingly defeated, after a siren
uous fight on the part of various social,
civic and philanthropic societies. That
to-day's measures will meet with sim
liar opposition was demonstrated to-
dav. when nellie Swartz, of the New
York Consumers League. declared
that they were vicious legislation, and
that every effort should be made to de-
feat them.
The canning measures are not the
only legislation introduced by Senator
Spring, however. 10 meet with the con-
demnation Of civic organizations. lie,
in conjunction with Asser-blyman Tay-
lor, is the author Of proposed changes
in the factory laws which Miss Frances
Perkins, executive secretary OF the
Committee on Safety, declared to-day
should be killed, because, she says, they
break down the wholesome require
ments Of the labor law.