Arizona republican., 1917-11-30
LABOR STANDARDS
 BEING RESTORED IN WARNING COUNTRIES
IEePublican A. p. Leased Wirel

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29. - Labor standards of the warning European countries, which were relaxed at the beginning of hostilities when mobiliza- tion made necessary the recruiting of women and children for work usually performed by men, are being restored in most countries and strengthened in others. according to information com- piled by the children's bureau of the department of labor and made public today.
 Experience proved that the relaxing of standards failed of it's purpose" says the report. Definite steps were taken by the governments to restore the provisions of the labor law, be- cause they were found to be essential not only to the conservation or the available workers, but to the quantity and quality of their output"
 Increase in the number of women and children workers, according to the report, has made more widespread and serious the effects of relaxing employ ment standards. Tn France. Germany and Italy there has been a great in- l crease of home work on government contracts, with its customary evils of long hours and low wages" In Rus saa, school attendance has been more 1 irregular than usual because of the work children must do at home and Tn the. fields. High wages for boys in unskllled occupations thereby drawing young boys in street trades were re- ported from England.
 | The most general 1oosening of re- l strictions on woman and child labor was found to have been lengthening of irn Ind ie-l,f l. and Sunday work. There has also been lowering of the age requirement for children entering industry and women and young persons have been employed in dangerous, injurious or heavy work formerly prohibited by 4aw, such as in powder plants and coal i mines.
 The point which stands out unmis 1 takably from the foreign experience the. report continues. lis the general realization that the labor standards l achieved in times of peace are none too high to promote the efficiency et work, the intensity of output and the general level of health which are abse- lutely essential to the nations welfare 1 in war time.
 Tn practically all countries some movement for restoring standards is reported; in England, France and Italy official action has been taken. From l these countries and others come re- ports of dissa tisfaction of the workers and testimony of physicians concern l ing the effects of excessive hours. The greater efficiency of a reasonable working day is mentioned frequently 1 England and France have gone ever 1 further than the restoration of old standards and are planning new sys- | Af al a d, 1 ditional opportunities for industria education. Part time school attendance l of boys and girls now exempt from compulsory attendance laws will be re- quired. In England it is recommended that the school-leaviHg age be raised to 14 years without exemptions ant that all other young people under 1,
 be enrolled in part-time classes. France proposes to require part -timi attendance of girls under IS and beys
 under 20, after they finish the pre-
 scribed number of years of full at
 tendance.
 There has been no, weakening o
 labor laws affecting women and ehil
 dren in Canada or New Zealand. ant
 Manitoba has reduced the oyertim,
 permitted to women and girls. The re port adds:
 Tt is hoped the report will call at
 tention to the growing concern in tn
 warning countries for the welfare Q
 children and the earnest efforts nov
 being made in the midst of war to i'm
 prove their condition and that it vii
 aid in showing not only the importane
 of maintaining here all the present in
 dustriai protection afforded to womel
 and children, but of carrying this pro
 tectien forward. notwithstanding wa
 conditions"