Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-09-29
JUDGE ClEAvES ASSAILS 4S HOUR LAW
IN TALK BEFORE AUGUSTA ROTARIANS

Judge Benjamin F. CIeaves. ex-
ecutive secretary of the Associated
Industries of Maine, in a speech be-
fore the Augusta Rotary club Friday
evening, declared that the issue of
the 4S-hour law which is to be de-
cided in this state on the 18th of
October is as important as any issue
that has come before the people
since Maine became a state.
Would Curtaii Production
He stated that the law in its word
ing refers only to women and chill
dren but that it affects the men as
Well in this state through the fact
that there are about as many women
employed in Names three basic in
dustrieS as there are men. These
three basic industries to which Judge
Cleaves alluded are the cotton tex
tiles, the wooden textiles and the
boot and shoe industry. AS is we'll
known the modern process of manu-
featuring Is dependent upon the
smothness with which the various
processes are dovetailed and no one
process may go faster or slower
than any of the others. AS the wom-
en- are employed In nearly all of these
processes 1t follows that If they
work but eight hours the men must
1915 when the 81 hour law went
into effect. The factories and even
the other industries were working 81
hours within the first six months
after the law took effect. In fact the
speaker declared that speakers for
the measure had declared in his
presence that it was their intention
to put Maine on an eight hour sched-
ule.
With regard to the amount of ac-
tual labor done by the women in the
mills he stated that in many of them
fully 90 per cent of their time was
devoted to watching the automatic
or nearly automatic machinery, and
that especially in the cotton trade it
is not uncommon for a woman to go
days at a time and have nothing to
do but to watch the machinery. The
monotony does not effect them as
many believe, Judge Cleaves declar-
ed, and in many cases after a woman
had worked on some job of this kind
for long time, she could not be
contented upon a job which might be
better and pay more money.
If it were possible to work the
shorter hour and not have the differ
ence taken from the pay envelope
of course it would be all right with
the workers but many have declared
that If they must suffer a cut in
| wages they do not want the shorter
day. AS 40 or SO per cent of these
women are on piece work, it Is OBJ
vious that they cannot do as much
| work in eight hours as they formerly
did in nine hours and consequently 1t
wOuld be necessary to cut wages or
| increase the cost of the article.
Southern Competition Threatens
This latter cannot be done because
of the southern competition, especially
in the cotton textiles. In the south
they are manufacturing as fine
goods as are being manufactured in
Maine and they have the advantage
of paying less wages for a longer
day, and have less overhead to be
figured into the cost of the finished
article. There they work the chill
dren and the work day is from 55
hours UP to 20 a week and in two
states there is no limit.
Therefore it is necessary that the
difference be made up by a cut in
wages of the workers.. This hour
a week in terms of wages means
that there must be a cut of II per
cent. Last year the wages paid in
the state were 100000. so the yearly
wage cut would be $4,000. This
difference would become noticeable
in the purchasing power of the work.
ers ard SO would react upon the
state itself.
1t, was announced at this meeting
that Hairy Dodge, Secretary of the
Fall River Rotary Club would speak