New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-01-22
Belmont FaYors National Confer.
ence to Prepare Laws
CIVIC FEDERATION MEETS
Industrial Preparedness, Minimum
Wage, Enactment of Safety Lesis-
Among Questions Discussed.

New York, Jan. 22.-Industrial pre-
international peace, governmental
regulation of immigration and COM
pulsory health insurance were dis
cussed by corporation executives,
labor leaders and noted publicists at
the National Civic Federation's seven
tenth annual meeting, which opened
here today. V. Everit Macy, the new
president, is chairman.
Memorial services were held for
Seth Low, the late president of the
organization, with addresses by Tai
colt Williams for the public, Frank
Trumbull for employers and Samuel
Gompers for labor
The calling of a national conference
to discuss the question of state leg
| islation throughout the country which
would require employers to compen-
safe workers who contract occupa-
tional diseases was urged by August
Belmont, chairman of the workmen's
| compensation department. The en-
actment of special statutes cover
! ing occupational diseases, apart from
accidents, would render sickness in
surance legislation unnecessary, Mr..
Belmont said. Compensation laws
! should be made to apply universally
| to all employees and should not be
! limited to hazardous occupations, the
| speaker declared.
Minimum Wage.
Alexander J. Porter chairman Of
| the federation's minimum wage COM
mission, announced that the national
organization is as yet unable to take
,st ~
minimum wage movement, in the
absence of conclusive evidence of the
beneficence of minimum wage laws
wherever they have been adopted and
because of the impossibility of apply
ing foreign experience to American
conditions.
Minimum wage legislation presents
the same need of adjustment to
modern industrial conditions that is
revealed by other forms of labor-reg-
ulating legislation, Mr.. Porter said
! and state minimum wage commissions
should hesitate to fix wage rates until
! they have learned more about the
| fact of cooperation.
These conclusions were based, the
| speaker asserted, upon an analysis
. which the commission had made of
woman labor in competitive indus
tries.
Economic Preparedness.
The appointment of committee of
business men to study the question of
economic preparedness, including the
problem of conditions to be met after
the war, was announced by Louis A.
Coolidge, chairman of the Welfare
Development department.
1t will consider also the advisibil-
+ ity of organizing state committees to
adopt a campaign to induce employ
ers to realize the necessity for caring
for their employees 'in the interest of
increased productivity, if for no other
reason"
Mr.. Coolidge asserted that unnec-
essary "hiring and firing" in factories,
due largely to unintelligent methods,
was the cause of enormous national
loss to American industry and said
the plan to appoint satte commissions
was part of movement to avert such
a national waste in the future.
Enactment of uniform safety legis-
lation, a better enforcement of laws,
increased numbers of factory i'm
provements and the establishment of
safety museums in the principal man
ufacturing centers by state and fed
eral governments were advocated by
Louis Schram in a report on the "con-
servation of human life in industry"
Mr.. Schram said the losses by acct
dent in New York state amounts to
$4,000 day and that the total num-
Der of accidents for which compen-
sation will be paid by employers in
this state for 1915, is $4,000, includ-
ing 1900 deaths and 100 totally dis
abled.
EVE NE tn nDKOH