Denver labor bulletin., 1918-07-20

form, how they should best be intro
duced, under what conditions they
should be employed. and what work
should be prohibited.
Standards as to hours, night work.
wages and conditions of labor have al
ready been provided by the govern
ment. in orders issued by the chief Of
ordnance and the quartermaster gen.
crnl, and in the recommendations made
by the war labor board, which should
be observed by all employers"
With this introduction. the war la
Dor policies board declares that wom-
en- should be employed first of all in
places suitable to their strength. such
be given work clearly unfit for wom-
en- owing to physical or moral rea-
sons" It specifies that girls under 81
years Of age should not be employed
in the public messenger service, in
street car. elevated or subway trans
portation service. as elevator opera
tors. as bell boys in hotels and clubs,
etc.
Standards for Women.
Health Standards for women in all
industries are to be rigidly guarded,
and The recruiting of mothers Of
young children for war industries is
to be discouraged. Women are never
to be invited into a war industry to
displace men.
The board says also: colder men
should be more generally employed.
They constitute largely unused labor
reserve. II is estimated that since
the war began, the maximum age of
engaging men has advanced ten TO
twelve years-that is, from about 3s
to 80. 1t has been found that tasks
can be graded for these workers ac-
cording to their strength, and that
work unsuitable for women, especial
ly at night, can be performed by
them. In many trades their expert
ence is an asset which offsets physi-
cal strength.
''The needs Of the country require
the united efforts of all classes of
workers, in accordance with their ca
pacities; and to maintain the stand
ards and conditions of labor set up
President Wilson indispensable to the
nations full productive efficiency"
Stop Child Labor Gap.
This same administrative board has
undertaken to prevent the employ
ment Of child labor upon war work,
thus stopping the gap opened by the
reactionary decision of the supreme
court on the child labor act. How far
1t will succeed is not yet evident.
The Taft-Walsh board, in addition
to breaking ground for the biggest
purely industrial decisions of the war
period, this week stretched out a
friendly and powerful hand to the
workers in Porto Rico. It voted to
send an examiner to the island Mt
once, and to send part Of its own
membership-probably four men,
later on. They will undertake to es-
tablish Health and comfort" stand
ard minimum wage, and n basic work.
day, for the agricultural laboerrs of
Porto Rico who have been engaged in
a series Of desperate strikes for near
ly five years past. Complaints pre-
scented by Senator Iglesias, general
organizer Of the A. F. Of L. in the
island, deal with starvation wages, ex-
ccssive hours Of labor. illegal police
interference with unions, and oppres-
sive conditions in the employment Of
women and children.
u. 8. Employ ment Service.
Under an order Of the department
of labor, all dock workers in Boston,
Philadelphia and Baltimore will hence
forth be supplied exclusively thru the
United States employment service.