Evening star., 1917-10-21

was nearly double that In 1914, the
| actual production of metals by quarlti-
| an average Of II per cent for sine. per
cent for silver, Q per cent for lead and
8 per cent for copper, but decrease
Of 20 per cent or approximately $780,
| 600 for gold
The larger part Of the decrease in
gold. 1t 10 stated. may be credited to
| the famous Cripple Creek. When one
Of the larger gold mining companies
has Its new Independence cyanidatien
and Rotation mill IN operation It 10 be-
| lieved that the year will probably show
an improvement over that of the first
six months The new machine. which
has q capacity OF 1000 tons day.
works on the low.grade ores.
vived many old copper properties. Dur
ing the calendar year 1916 Colorado
mines produced $19,14S.320 in gold.
7.S3S,eoo ounces Of silver. 7o.a5s.ooo
pounds s 81 % lead az $4,000 pounds Of cop
ing a total value Of s4s,55o.a1s.
With an annual life and property
loss conservatively estimated as some
| thousands Of lives and
Reducing the exceeding $500. .ooo. 900,
| ~. per capita loss near
s ly ten times as great
as that found In the leading European
| countries, and this despite the fact that
we have the most expensive and efficient
| fire-fghting equipment in the world
| 1t would be neglect Of duty. point out
officials of the bureau of standards.
! who have been making a study of this
| situation. not to direct attention to the
pressing needs for greater activities
nj hn AN.k = "A
\ in the nationwide movements to d.
mtnish this unpardonab1e waste of our
| national resources.
OmclAls OF the bureau who have been
doing work along the line Of nre pre-
moral duty Of the government to lend
its fullest cooperation and assistance
to this work. There Ii an urgent pub
| lie demand on the bureau. the experts
| think. for the bureau to continue in Its
| fire prevention work, and they claim
that the testimony Of the most eminent
| American engineers can be given in
| support of it
1t Is believed that the field of activity
| in which the bureau can be Of greatest
service to the many organizations now
| enlisted in the fight against our enor-
| nous hre waste Is in the determination
OF Fundamental engineering data to
| serve as basis for the revision and re-
construction Of state and municipal
building codes. The important investi-
| cations now under way that are ex-
pected to yield data of direct practical
application are the fire tests Of struc-
proofed in different ways. and Of rein
| forced concrete columns of different
aggregates and types of construction
1t Is Imperative. the experts state.
started at once. in connection with this
| FIRE prevention work Building col
| umns. walls and partitions. which will
| be quite we'll taken care of BY the
bureaus present program: are only a
few OF the structural parts that must
be considered in the building codes
Tests OF floors. roofs. f1re-resistihg
doors. shutters. windows. etc. must be
included in this program and must be
partition tests. II the experts Of the
| bureau are to lay before American
engineers in the next few years a com
prehensive set of data to enable them
codes in the light of the best modern
engineering experience.
At this time, when there is SO much
talk of meeting our own labor shortage
by teaching the women
Women and Of the land to take the
w. WI places of men in the
' munition and other fac
tories, some of the problems that have
been met and are being met by the
British government should be of epe-
! cial interest. In this connection Of
f1cials of our Department of Labor have
made some interesting Investigations.
With the advance Of the war one of
the most difficult problems confronting
the British government has been so
fn o. OF 1vn nf W. nftnan nd RI ri q
engaged In war work as to make them
fair and equitable not only to those
who have themselves entered employ
ments with which they are almost
ers who have been forced by the ex-
igencies of the situation to take on
large numbers OF female workers. In
its attempt to regulate women's wages
the British government has, of course.
been confined, SO far as compulsion Is
concerned. to controlled establishments.
and In these approximately 3sD 900 out
Of 100000 women have benefited by
wages adequate to maintain them in
health and efficiency, while to a very
large proportion opportunity has been
given to augment their earnings.
1t is said by those of our officials
who have looked carefully into this
matter that when consideration is
trades the absence of any data on
| which the British authorities could
work when they first took up the ques-
ton of regulating women's wages. the
absolute novelty of wage regulation
by government department. the ex-
trefie urgency of the many difficulties
which arose, the reluctant attitude of
employers and the interdependence Of
commercial work and munitions work.
that the British feel justified in claim
ing a very considerable adjustment in
the matter OF women's wages.
The principle upon which the wage
orders relating to women and girls
have been designed is that standard
rate should be n ed. variable only in
special cases This principle. it is
nointed out by our labor experts. Is
entirely different from that traditional
ly governing mems wages. which vary
from district to district. Experience. it
is believed, however, justified its adop-
| tion.
1t is contended by the British author
| titles that If the orders had fixed mini
mum rates there would have been a
! tendency for the women to agitate that
| they should be Increased on any and
I every pretext on the principle that, hav-
! ing got so much by no efforts of their
| own they should be able to double their
emoluments by determined agitation.
Moreover. many of the conditions under
which women are employed on NUM-
| tion work must necessarily be of tenn
war period. It Is of advantage both to
| en- lployers and employed to divide the
work done by women into two broad
classes, for which both parties know
| definitely the rate that will be paid. A
standard rate differs from minimum
rate in that it is the rate which ordi-
narily Is to be paid. and from a maxi