HOURS FOR WORKING WOMEN.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

the

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.- When United States Supreme Court sustained the Oregon ten-hour law for women and decided that a State can constitutionally protect women workers-on the grounds that the future of the race and the general welfare of society may be conserved -it set a proper example to State courts. Since the celebrated Oregon decision, the courts of Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, Virginia and Missouri have supported similar legislation in behalf of working women. The courts in California, Washington, and Ohio have, at the present time, cases of a like character under consideration. Attorneys for notorious Gradgrinds and open shoppers have harangued the courts with all their old, moth-eaten pleas of the right to contract and the right to work as many hours as one likes, or as many hours as the capricious and profit-mongering boss determines to drive an employe; but the valiant, determined, persistent efforts of the trade unionists have had the effect of so educating the public and the courts, that it is not likely the State constitutions will be longer twisted to promote injustice by such absurd contentions-which are merely survivals of a decadent era— or that the welfare of society can be longer endangered for the advantage of the exploiting few.

Utah and Missouri have nine-hour laws for women; California and Washington have eight-hour laws. They were obtained by the organizations of labor. Local Legislative Committees in other states should immediately make plans and exert themselves to do as good, if not better, for the protection of their women workers.

NEW LABOR TEMPLE.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

ATLANTA, Jan. 6.-The Atlanta Federated Trades moved into its new temple on January 1, in which accommodations will be furnished to all the unions in the city. To the great credit of the organized workmen of Atlanta, their new home is paid for.

INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS IN CANADA.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6. During the month of ..ovember 95 persons were killed and 191 injured in Canadian industries, or a total of 286 fatal and nonfatal accidents. This was a considerable improvement over the record for the month of November, 1910, in which 407 casualties occurred, 140 being fatal, and 267 non-fatal.

A WIDE-AWAKE UNION.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

No

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.-The "Bar Association" is the professional title of the organization in which attorneys, solicitors, lawyers and brief writers are all enrolled. It is probably one of the oldest and strongest unions of professional men in existence. Its first, second, last and only thought is self-preservation. Its word is law, in fact, it is the law, and for the sake of that self same law (of self-preservation), it elects its own members to administer the law, and up to the present no other section of society. has mustered strength enough to balk their plans. It never sleeps nor allows its interest to lag. It tolerates no nonunionists nor strike-breakers. The much lauded "right to work" theory is not applicable to a non-union lawyer. one would dare hire such a creature, no self-respecting union attorney would work with him, no dignified berobed judge would give him recognition. For the proof of this fealty of the lawyers to their union, reference is herein made to a most comprehensive exposure on the "extravagant cost of the law," by Carl Snyder, in Collier's of December 30, in which he says in part: "We have five times as many judges as there is any need for. The chief occupation of these judges is the obstruction of justice. * In the United States, with 92 million people, there are over 3,600 judges. In England, with 32 million people, only 200 judges. The City of New York has 144, almost as many as in the whole of England." Mr. Snyder concludes his analytical exposure by saying: "Reduce the number of lawyers in Congress and the

State Legislatures, and then, and not until then, will there be a real reform of the law in this country."

The news letter cordially invites Mr. Snyder and his fellow reformers to cooperate with the American Federation of Labor in the accomplishment of this laudable task. Some headway was made in this direction during the last two Congressional campaigns. A bigger advance will be made in future campaigns.

NEW YORK MEN ALERT.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

NEW YORK, Jan. 6.-The Executive Board of the New York State Federation of Labor met at Albany on December 13 and formulated a legislative program on a number of labor subjects of a very meritorious character. Among the many measures it decided to champion before the next Legislature the following are deserving of special mention: A Workmen's Compensation Act, modeled on the lines of the Compensation Act passed by the Legislature of Washington on March 14, 1911, which also includes a compulsory insurance provision-the Washington act was framed to meet the objections of the New York Supreme Court, in which it declared that the former New York act took property without due process of law. The Washington act is considered by students to be the most comprehensive and complete yet devised in the United States, for the purpose of compensating workmen suffering from industrial injuries. The Executive Board also decided to favor a bill creating a State owned and operated printing office; an amendment to the Metal Polishing law prohibiting females and minors to be so employed; an amendment to the State Eight-hour law, extending it to the manufacture of all building material; an amendment to the Conspiracy law, so as to permit all lawful combinations; a bill prohibiting detective agencies from supplying employes where strikes or lockouts are known to exist; an amendment to the Garnishee law, raising the wage limit from $12.00 to $20.00 per week; a bill providing for sanitary conveniences in foundries; a

bill prohibiting the employment of women in sausage making and other slaughter house bye-products.

VALUABLE BENEFITS.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.-The funeral, old age and disability benefits of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employes of America will be increased under the new constitution, which went into effect January 1, 1912. The new laws provide that $100 will be paid in case of death or disability, where a membership has been continuous for one year; for two years' continuous membership the benefits will be $150; for three years, $250; for four years, $400; for five years, $500; for six years, $600; for seven years, $700; for eight years or over, $800. This benefit will apply both as to death or a general disability benefit. A member of the organization holding 20 years' continuous membership who reaches the age of 65 and who because of age is disabled from following his occupation, will be entitled to a benefit of $800. The financial officers of the local divisions of the Amalgamated will hereafter be bonded so as to protect the finances of the Association; audits will be compulsory every three months, under the supervision of the auditor in the international office.

CIGARMAKERS' STATISTICS.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.-From the bulletins issued by the United States Census Bureau, the following interesting results have been proven by analysis: In 1904, 159,406 persons were engaged as wage earners in the cigarmaking business, their average annual wages amounted to $392.00, the value of their product averaged $2,077.00 per capita; in 1909, the number of wage earners had increased to 166,810, the average annual wages had increased to $415.00, and the average per capita production had increased to $2,437.00. This shows an increase in wages, during the five years, of six per cent., and an increase in productivity, for the same period, of seventeen per cent.

CONTEMPT CASE.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.-On December 30 Justice Daniel Thew Wright, of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, commenced taking testimony in open court in support of the charges by the prosecuting committee, Messrs. Darlington, Beck and Davenport, that President Gompers, Vice-President Mitchell and Secretary Morrison were guilty of contempt in the alleged violation of the Buck Stove and Range injunction. Among the witnesses examined were Commissioner General of Immigration, Daniel J. Keefe, formerly President of the National Longshoremen's Union; James O'Connell, President of the Metal Trades Department; Andrew Furuseth, President of the National Union of Seamen; Samuel DeNedrey, former editor of The Trades Unionist; D. F. Manning, President of the Local Retail Clerks' Union, Washington, and others. Several exceptions were made to the rulings of the court by the attorney for the American Federation of Labor, Mr. Jackson Ralston. The hearings are being continued from day to day at the convenience of the court.

A BOLD HONEST STATESMAN.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.-During an address in Cincinnati, on December 30, Senator Robert M. La Follette attacked the decision of the United States Supreme Court in which it brought the organizations of labor under the restrictions of the Sherman Anti-Trust Law. His language was clear and definite. He said: "It is strange that when the court goes to its fullest limit in imposing penalties on combinations of capital, all of the capitalist owners get away with the full value of their property, but when the court goes to the same limit in enforcing penalties on combinations of labor, it takes away the homes and savings of the workman. The fact is, the law was not understood by the people to apply to labor organizations, and it is a mistaken judicial construction that has made it so apply. The law should be

amended, by taking out from under its operation all labor organizations and all employers' associations." By this clear, straightforward statement Senator La Follette has demonstrated a spirit of high courage, sterling honesty and true justice, and in addition he has set a noble example to his contemporaries.

LABOR CONDITIONS BAD.

BUFFALO, N. Y., Dec. 23.-A special investigator before the state factory investigation commission, in session here recently, told of appalling conditions she had found in the local meat packing plant. "About 1,000 people are employed," she said. "There is no distinction made between men and women. One of the buildings is old and ramshackle and has been condemned. In three of the rooms that I examined the men and women were forced to work in water standing half an inch deep on the floor. Those were the sausage, the pickling and the pork trimming rooms. In the latter there were seventy-five employes, twenty-three being women. The floors are so wet and slimy that women have to wear rubber boots or stand on barrel tops. They work at cutting up the hogs. The men frequently lose fingers in the machinery and the women wore many bandages on their hands. The work is very disagreeable and dirty, and the rooms are in a filthy condition."

PRINTING TRADES STATISTICS.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.-The analysis of the statistics furnished by the United States Census Bureau on the printing industry is exceptionally interesting. It shows that in the year 1904, 219,087 persons were engaged as wage earners, their wages averaged $580.00 per annum, and the value of their production, per capita, amounted to $2,521.00; in 1909, the number of employes had increased to 258,434, the wages had increased ten per cent., or an average of $637.00 per annum; the product had increased in value thirteen per cent. during the five years, or an average per capita of $2,855.

U.S. SUPREME COURT DOING BETTER.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30.-On Dec. 18 the United States Supreme Court sustained the "full crew" law of Indiana, in which a definite number of men on trains of a certain length is required. The test case was brought before the Indiana courts by the "Big Four" Railroad.

A few days previous to the "full crew" law ruling, the Supreme Court sustained the federal "standardization of equipment" act which passed the Sixty-first Congress and which required foot boards, grab irons, sills and other appurtenances of railroad freight cars and locomotives, to be of standard sizes and to be placed in similar locations on instrumentalities of commerce of interstate railroads. The court held in the latter case, which was tested by the Southern Railway, that lack of State legislation was not sufficient to prevent a car being used in intra-and inter-state commerce from being properly furnished with the ́ standard equipments.

The federal act on "equipment" and the Indiana "full crew" act could very profitably be used as models for similar legislation in all the states.

RECEIVERSHIP FOR

NON-UNION COMPANY.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.-The Allis-Chalmers Company, of Milwaukee, Chicago, Cincinnati and Scranton, manufacturers of heavy mining and rolling mill machinery, has been compelled to go into the hands of a receiver, by defaulting the interest on its first mortgage five per cent. bonds, on January 1, 1912. In spite of the fact that this company has had a practical monopoly, for a number of years, in the special machinery it manufactures, and that it has been a favored customer of the United States Steel Corporation, the chairman of its Board of Directors being Judge E. H. Gary, who is also chairman of the United States Steel Corporation, and in spite of the fact that it has fought the organizations of labor at every opportunity, it has failed to meet its financial obligations.

WRIGHT'S LATEST ORDERS.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30.-Mr. Justice Wright has passed an order appointing U. S. Commissioner Albert Harper commissioner to take testimony in the contempt proceedings against Messrs. Gompers, Mitchell and Morrison, with liberty to all persons so desiring to have their testimony taken in open court. This order was signed on December 15, and notice has just been served by the committee prosecuting the matter that its testimony will be taken in open court at ten o'clock Saturday, December 30. The order gives thirty days to the committee for the taking of testimony, and a like time to the respondents, with ten days for the committee to close.

TRADE UNION INVESTMENTS.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.-The United States Bureau of Labor reports that in ten years, from 1897 to 1907, wages of Bricklayers increased 411⁄2 per cent; Carpenters, 50%; Cornice Makers, 47; Gas Fitters, 532; Hodcarriers, 36; Building Laborers, 281⁄2; Painters, 412; Paperhangers, 412. Outside Electric Wire Men, 50%; Lathers, 34%; Plasterers, 392; Steam Fitters, 45%; Roofers, 331⁄2; Plumbers, 47; Stone Masons, 39; Structural Iron Workers, 364. This is an official report; it amply verifies statistics issued by organizations of the trades mentioned, and emphasizes most clearly what excellent dividends are secured through investment in a well managed trade union.

CONVICTS TO BE DISPLACED.

A. F. of L. Press Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6.-It is reported that on the first of January the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company will turn back to the State of Alabama the state convicts leased and worked in the mines at Pratt City, and just as quickly as the contracts with the various counties throughout the State expire the big corporation will give up those convicts worked at the Pratt mines.