The labor standard., 1919-06-01
IN THE LABOR WORLD

The French senate passed the eight hour labor bill, which now becomes a l law.
 Wages in Denmark increased about 2s per cent between April, 1914, and April, 1917, and about 53 per cent up to April, 1918. Striking cigar factory workers of Tampa, Fla, voted to resume work. Twenty-one factories and about 5000 workers were affected.
 Teachers in the Lorain (O.) public schools have been granted an increase in salary of $150 a year for all grades. More than 200 are affected.
 Preparations are being made to es- tablish a diamond-cutting industry at Fort William in Noxthwest Scotland. Five years employment will be guar anteed trained men.
 The Cotton Manufac cturers' associa- tion in New York has abrogated its rule that any manufacturer who signs union agreement must withdraw from the association
 A medium weekly wage of $13.5O was fixed for all experienced women workers in mercantile establishments in California by the state industrial welfare commission.
 The minimum wage law of the District of Columbia follows the gen. eral lines of the Oregon law, which has been upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme court.
 The biggest undertaking that the British government will try in order to give employment to men liberated from the army forces will be the chan nel tunnel from. Dover, England, to Calais, France.
 Of the 22O,OOO workmen employed in ;. the tobacco industry in 1916 throughout Germany there are now only sOOOO. Over 5000 cigar factories in that country have been closed down owing to the lack of materials. ,. Gas workers at Bremen have joined the general strike there, and the mid d1e classes have commenced a counter strike, aecordingrto advices received at Copenhagen from that city. An in- tensified state of, siege has, therefore, been declared. 7sgad .S Ga ,-..s.-..r.a -~-s
 A senate criminal ,syndfcalis1n bill passed the California assembly, 59 to 9. Attempts to add a provision spe- officially exempting lawful purposes or acts of labor unions in conducting strikes or boycotts," failed. The as sembly passed senate bill authorizing the industrial accident commission to take up the work of rehabilitating through re-education workmen injured in industry. It would create fund for this work from payments to the state by employers. The bill now goes to the governor.
 When the 48-hour week became eff fective in the silk mills at Paterson, N. J., the manufacturers granted an increase in wages to the 2S,OO0 opera tives, paying them 50 hours pay for AS hours work. Expecting loyal CO., operation from all classes of the work CTS in giving the. mills long period of successful peace operation, the manufacturers made the increase vol untarily. The workers, however, are not entirely satisfied with the situa- tion, since they sought even fewer hours.
 Texas shipbuilders believe there will be market for all the vessels they can turn out and will continue operations, regardless of the Elmer gency Fleet corporation order cancel ing contracts for boats on which work had not started. At the shipyards at Beaumont and in Orange no men have been discharged since January l and the ways show as great activity as in war time. Officials of many yards say that with the revival of the Amer ican merchant marine they expect to keep up capacity operation indefi- nitely.
 Since the settlement with the paint ers' union April the joint concilia- tion committee of the Cleveland Build ing Trades Employers association and the Building Trades council have been settling details of working conditions without reaching decision on any of the demands still pending from the twelve building trades unions whose contracts with employers expire May 1. Committee members from both or ganizations believe that as soon IS an agreement is reached on one scale all the rest will be settled quickly. They are not expecting building operations will be interrupted May by inability to get together on new contracts.
 The smelters of the Fort smith tArk.) Spelter company and the Ath- letic Smelling and Mining company suspended operations as a result of strike of 300 employees. ten per cent cut in wages, effective April l. is the cause of the tieup. | .4..s
 The British labor party press de partment states that the executive committee of the labor party has con- sidered the scheme for a league of na- tions adopted at the official peace con- ference in Paris, and has appointed subcommittee to consider the calling of a national conference of labor to discuss the proposed covenant.