Connecticut western news., 1919-02-13

Bishop William T. Russell, Charleston, s. c. l made by labor to resist general wage | reductions.
 Turning now from those agencies and laws that have been put in opera tion during the war to the general sub Ject of labor legislation and problems, we are glad to note that there is no longer any serious objection urged by Impartial persons against the legal minimum wage. The several States should enact laws providing for the establishment of wage rates that will be at least sufficient for the decent maintenance of a family in the case of all male adults and adequate to the de- cent individual support of female workers. In the beginning the legal minimum for male workers should suf- flee only for the present needs of the family, but they should be gradually raised until they are adequate to flu ture needs as well-that iS, they should be ultimately high enough to make pos Si5lc that amount of saving which is necessary to protect the worker and his family against sickness, accidents, invalidity and old age.
 Labor Participation in Management.
 'The right of labor to organize and to deal with employers through repre- |sentatives has been asserted above in connection with the discussion of the War Labor Board. It is to be hoped that this right will never again be called in question by any considerable number of employers. In addition to this, labor ought gradually to receive greater representation in what the | English group of Quaker employers .haye called the industrial part of business management-'the control of processes and machinery; nature of product; engagement and dismissal of employees; hours of work, rates of pay, bonuses, etc. welfare work shop discipline relations with trade un- ions The establishment of shop con- mittees, working wherever possible with the trade union, is the method suggested by this group of employers for giving the employees the proper share of industrial management. There can be no doubt that a frank
 
 employers would not only promote the welfare of the workers, but vastly im- prove the relations between them and their employers, and increase the eff ciency and productiveness of each es- tablishment.
 '"There is no need here to emphasize the importance of safety and sanita- ton in work places, as this Is pretty generally recognized by legislation What is required is an extension. and strengthening of many of the existing statutes and a better administration and enforcement of such laws every where
 Vocational Training.
 'The need of industrial, or, as 1t has come to be mere generally called, vo- cltional, training is now universally acknowledged. In the interest of the nation as well as in that of the work CTS themselves this training should be made substantially universal. While we cannot now discuss the subject in any detail, we do wish to set down two general Observations-first, the voca- tional training should be offered in such forms and conditions as not to deprive the children of the working classes of at least the elements of cultural education. A healthy democ- racy cannot tolerate a purely indus trial or trade education for any class of its citizens. We do not want to have the children of the wage-earners put into a special class in which they are marked as outside the sphere of opportunities for culture. The second observation is that the system of voca- tionaI training should not operate so a. to weaken in any degree our paro- chial schools or any other class of pri- vate schools. Indeed the opportunities of the system should be extended to all qualified private schools on exactly the same basis as to public schools. We want neither class divisions in educa- ton nor a State monopoly of education.
 Increased Incomes for Labor.
 "The great evil of insufficient income for the majority can be removed only by providing the workers with more income. This means not only univer- sal living wages, but the opportunity of obtaining something more than that amount for all who are willing to work hard and faithfully. All the other measures for labor betterment recom- mended in the preceding pages would likewise contribute directly or indi- rectIy to a more just distribution of wealth in the interest of the laborer."