The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-10-27
PASS LAWS LONG
URGED BY LABOR
States Rapidly Awakening to
Justice Of Demands That
Have Been Made.
PROGRESS ALL ALONG line
Establishment of Maximum Workday
for Adult Males Sure to Come
Matter Of Retirement Systems
Being Given Consideration.


The establishment of a minimum
workday for adult males is move
ment of slow growth, but it continues
to progress. The question Of social in
surance also continues to receive at
tention, not only in that aspect of 1T
which is covered by workmen's COM
pensation laws, but also in the extern
sion of provisions for the relief of
widowed mothers unable to maintain
homes for their children.
The above are conclusions reached
by the United States bureau Of labor
statistics, in review of the labor leg
islation of 1916, recently published In
form Of bulletin of the department
of labor. During that year the legis-
latures of II states, the Philippines
and Porto Rico, and congress, met in
regular session, besides which the leg
islatures of five states were called In
extra session, that Of Illinois thus
meeting twice. With the exception Of
the extra sessions of South Dakota and
Tennessee, laws OF resolutions affect
ing labor were enacted or adopted by
all of these bodies. There also was
an extra session Of the Maine legisla-
ture, called to approve revision of
the code of that state. The Industrial
commissions and like bodies In num-
Der Of states also issued orders or
regulations having the. force of laws.
Maine also, in 1916, ratified the act of
Legislature of 1915, limiting the work
of women and children to maximum
of 81 hours a week, and the veto of the
antitipping law Of Tennessee, enacted
in 1915, was declared to be void, In
1916, and it now is In force.
The state of Massachusetts has made
provision for retirement systems for
various classes Of employees of the
state, the persons affected being given
the option Of accepting or rejecting the
provisions Of the laws, date having
been set prior to which the choice
should be made. An act supplemental
to this provides that persons who had
rejected the retirement provisions in
the past but who had changed their
minds might "come i'm during 1916 by
-ysfisslAg q prescribed netiees IN the
Philippines provisions are made for
the retirement Of permanent officers
and employeesin the civil service after
six years Of service, if such retirement
is not prejudicial to the operation of
the bureau affected. The benefit is a
limited one, consisting of various per-
centages of the basic salary, according
to the term of service, payable for
period of but three years; in case Of
death of the beneficiary before this
period has been completed the unpaid
balance goes to the estate.
Liability for Injuries.
A long-standing classification has
placed as one of the incidents of the
employment status the inability of the
employer for injuries Detailing en-
ployees on account Of the formers neg
ligence. The present-day movement
toward workmen's compensation tends
to transfer that subject to the field
of social insurance, though obviously
the method of compensation awards
is the substitute for, and successor of,
the liability system. In two states,
however, none of which has as yet
any compensation legislation, laws
were enacted prescribing the liability
of railroad companies for injuries to
Virginia and South Carolina, the law
enacted follows closely the provisions
of the federal statute governing inter-
state commerce. The particular re-
spects in which this is true are the
abrogation of defense of fellow serv-
ice, in the enactment of the principle
of comparative negligence, and in the
denial to the employer of the defenses
of contributory negligence and as
sumed risks where there Is a violation
of safety laws. In both laws also con-
tracts of waiver are forbidden. The
South Carolina statute provides that
punitive damages shall not be recov-
cred under the act, while that of Vir-
gfnia limits it's operations to steam
roads for general traffic only, electric
lines and mine and mill roads not be-
ing included.
Wages.
Legislative regulations affecting
wages address themselves mainly to
the securing of payment of the amounts
Of wages agreed upon in the contract
of employment, only exceptionally con-
corning themselves with the question
of what these amounts shall be. This
rule has been varied in a number of
states, however, by prescriptions Of
the amounts to be paid for labor on
public works. The legislature of Mary
land provides that for work on the
public roads of Allegany county the
minimum amount payable shall be So,
for day of nine hours; overtime may
be worked in case of emergency, with
pro rata pay for the excess over nine
hours. a similar effect as to overtime
is contemplated in the federal statute
establishing an eight-hour day as the
standard working day, not restricting
overtime work, but directing that any
excess over eight hours shall be paid