assist members of the Building Trades Union to recover unpaid wages. A Construction Regulations law compels contractors and builders to provide for temporary floors in the course of constructing buildings more than two stories high. The Occupational Diseases law requires physicians treating patients suffering from lead, phosphorus, arsenic or mercury or their compounds, or from anthrax, or from compressed air illness to notify the State Board of Health. The Tenement House law requires certain improvements in light, air, sanitation, etc., for tenement houses. It defines tenement as a building of more than one story used as the home of four or more families living independently of each other. The Loan Shark act limited interest on loans to 2 per cent per month. A law regulating temporary injunctions renders them void if not brought to trial within a certain time. A Workmens' Compensation act was authorized by constitutional amendment. The act abrogated all the common law defenses. The Child Labor law raised the age at which a child could work-with an age and schooling certificate--from 14 years to 15 years; raised the age for night work from 16 to 18. The number of persons authorized to issue certificates was greatly limited so that only one person became responsible for each locality. The Eight-Hour law for women limited their work in mechanical or mercantile establishments, laundry, hotel or restaurant, telephone or telegraph company, or in any employment connected with transportation, to eight hours in one day or forty-eight hours per week. However, harvesting, canning, curing or drying of any variety of perishable fruit or vegetables were exempted from the provisions of this act. The Payment of Wages law required that employes be paid promptly at termination of contract and provides for a monthly pay-day. The 1911 session of the Nebraska Legislature enacted the following labor laws: A commission was appointed to draft and submit to the next Legislature an employers' liability and compensation law. The commission created for this purpose has agreed upon a tentative bill which is to be submitted to the employers' and workingmens' organizations for their approval. The Fire Escape law provides for an outside iron stair escape in addition to the inside stairways and elevator. The Factory Inspection and Safety Appliance law provides that every factory, mill, workshop, mercantile or mechanical establishment where eight or more persons are employed shall be provided with suitable safety appliances; it provides for inspection by competent inspectors. Letter Service law provides that every public service corporation, or contractor or employer shall furnish to their employes, when requested so to do, "a service letter," setting forth the nature of the service rendered, the duties thereof, and shall truly state the cause for which such employe was discharged or quit such service. Said letter shall be written in its entirety upon a plain sheet of white paper to be selected by such employe. No printed blanks shall be used and if the letter shall be typewritten it shall be signed with a pen in black ink and immediately beneath the signature shall be affixed the official seal or stamp. This law is to guard against a system of blacklisting. Printing Commission law will make possible the use of the union label upon State printing. Theater, moving picture, and building inspection laws provide for inspection of all theaters, moving picture houses, and buildings in the course of construction. This law also provides that all equipments used in the construction of a building shall be safeguarded, that the temporary floors shall be carried in the construction of said building, that a card shall be posted upon each and every floor designating the weight that may be carried upon said floor, said law being under the supervision of the Labor Commissioner. The Safety of Employes and Travelers' law prevents employment of any person in train-movement service for a longer period than sixteen consecutive hours, nine hours constituting the limit for train dispatchers, etc. This law is made enforceable by the State Railway Commission. West Virginia, in 1911, enacted the following: An act making provisions for the protection of street-car employes from the inclemencies of the weather. A Child Labor act forbidding the employment of children under 14; requiring an employment certificate for those between 14 and 16, this certificate to assert that the child met the legal requirements for school record, age, and educational qualifications. A commission was appointed to investigate Employers' Liability and Laborers' Compensation laws. North Dakota reports these laws passed in 1911: A commission was appointed to study employers' liability and compensation systems. This must be a non-partisan commission of three men, one of whom must be a representative of labor. A railroad law regulating the construction and repairing of caboose cars. The School Attendance law for children requiring that every child between the ages of 8 and 15 shall attend school during the entire session, provided that the labor of such child is not actually necessary to the support of the family. The Commissioner of Labor for Kansas reported these laws as passed by the Legis lature in 1911: The Railroad Liabilities law takes away from the employer the common defense of criminal negli gence or the fellow-servant act, and compensation must be paid the employe according to the extent of the injury. Use of power headlights on locomotives was required for the purpose of avoiding accidents. School of Mines. This bill was passed for the reason that there were so many accidents oftentimes due to incompetent managers. This school is a State institution for educating in every line of mining, but more especially for the prevention of accidents. Telephones must be installed in mines. By this telephone system, in case of explosions, miners will be enabled to get connection with any rescue party out of the mines. Regulation of the private employment agencies to prevent unscrupulous employment agencies from defrauding workers. Compensation act provides for injured workmen for the purpose of doing away with damage suits. It provides damages according to the extent of the injury, payment to the injured. Under this statute the employer is not compelled to come under the act, but if he does not he loses his common defense-that of contributory negligence or of the Fellow Servant act. The employer must employ fifteen or more men before he comes under the law. Washhouses at the mines to enable miners to travel to and from work in dry and comfortable clothing. A law amends the Fire Escape law and provides proper ventilation for public buildings. The Texas Legislature, in its regular session in 1911, amended and passed the following labor laws: Amending the law creating the Department of Labor, increasing the appropriation for the maintenance of the department, and adding to the department a Factory Inspector and a Safety Appliance Inspector. Requiring mines to insulate all live wires in and about the mines for the protection of man and beast. Providing for railroad inspectors, with three years' experience, to inspect and test air brakes at division terminals before the departure of a train. Amending the anti-pass law, restoring the rights of ex-employes of railroads to travel on free transportation. Creating a department known as State Inspector of Public Buildings. Requiring railroads to provide shelter for employes doing repair work. Amending the child labor statute, raising the age limit from 12 to 14 in any employment dangerous to health or morals, from 15 to 17 years for employment in and about mines or quarries. South Carolina reports as progress in labor legislation during 1911 the following: The new Child Labor law covers all the textile plants. This law became effective January 1, 1912, and since that date its enforcement has been vigorous, yet conservative. The new act wipes from the statute books all exemption clauses. The "totally disabled father," the "widowed mother," the "orphan," and the "summer employment" special exemptions all were eliminated, making it unlawful to employ a child under the age of 12 years under any circumstances whatever. The act provides that no child under the age of 16 years shall be permitted to work between the hours of 8 p. m. and 6 a. m. in any factory, mining, or textile manufactory in the State, excepting the case of making up lost time, and then the extreme limit is 9 p. m. Penalties apply to the employers and the parents or guardians as well. Another act regulated the hours of labor for women employed in mercantile establishments, limiting those hours to sixty hours per week, not to exceed twelve hours in any one day, and containing a provision that female employes should not be required to work later than the hour of 10 o'clock p. m. A third important act requires all shopkeepers employing female help to provide suitable seats, stools, or other seats for the use of female employes at reasonable times to such an extent as may be requisite for the preservation of their health. The amendatory act makes the vitally important provision empowering the commissioner "from time to time to employ female inspectors for the purpose of collecting evidence." Due notice was given that such inspectors would be employed and that their identity would not be publicly announced. An act, effective on July 1, 1912, provides that in cities of 5,000 inhabitants and over, no child under 12 years of age shall be employed, permitted, or suffered to work as a messenger for any telegraph, telephone, or messenger company in the distribution or delivery of goods or messages, and that no minor child or person under 18 years of age may be so employed before 5 o'clock in the morning or after 10 o'clock in the evening. The General Assembly of Virginia, in its session of 1912, enacted as follows: The law which provided sanitary arrangements for factories was amended, so that separate toilets be provided where the sexes are employed together, and that the accommodations should be in the same building and not "within reasonable access" in mercantile establishments as heretofore prescribed. The law was amended to require persons, firms, and corporations to pay their employes in lawful money and by semi-monthly payments; excepting from its application, however, such persons, firms, or corporations engaged in mining coal, manufac turing coke, mining ore, or other minerals, excelsior mills or saw mills, who are required to settle at least once in each month. An act concerning coal mines and safety of employes, creating a Department and Inspector of Mines under the Bureau of Labor and Industrial statistics, was new legislation and designed to meet a long-felt need. A law regulating the hours of labor of women and children was amended so that the work period should not exceed ten hours in the twenty-four. It was made to apply to workshops and mercantile establishments. The House and Senate committees made the following amendments to the original bill which were embodied in the act: "Nothing in this act shall be construed to apply to females whose full time is employed as bookkeepers, stenographers, cashiers or office assistants, nor apply to persons employed in factories, engaged exclusively in packing fruits or vegetables between July first and November first of each year." This act shall not apply to towns of less than two thousand inhabitants or in country districts, nor in mercantile establishments on Saturday. (To be Continued.) Fraternal Delegates from the British Trade Union Congress to the Rochester Convention (1912) of American Federation of Labor THE CIGARMAKERS' CONVENTION. TH ITS SPIRIT AND LESSON. By SAMUEL Gompers. HE story of the Cigarmakers' International Union convention recently held in Baltimore, lasting three weeks, is one of the interesting chapters in the labor movement of America. The international union had not held a convention for over sixteen years, but had transacted its business, including the nomination and election of officers, by the initiative and referendum. If any one fact was more clearly demonstrated than another, it was the necessity of international unions holding conventions oftener than the cigarmakers have held theirs. Between the time of the previous convention of 1896 and the one of 1912 three elections for officers had taken place by the initiative and referendum, and during these campaigns and in the interim, a persistent effort had been' made to discredit the officers and create suspicion and destroy confidence in them, without the slighest opportunity for these officers to defend themselves against the slanderous insinuations against them and the suspicions aroused as to their course. In addition, the international president and the executive board have been required, under the law, to render decisions. Often these decisions, when adverse, were not taken kindly by those against whom they were rendered. These also had been the cause of creating considerable bitter feeling. Efforts were made by some local unions to hold a convention, but according to the interpretations of many of the slander-mongers these efforts were opposed by the officers of the international union. As a matter of fact, under the law, a two-third vote of the referendum was required to order a convention, and it was impossible to secure the two-third vote. Consequently one local union proposed a change in the law so that but a majority of the referendum should be empowered to call for a convention. That amendment was adopted. A proposition was then submitted for holding a convention and was carried. President Perkins and the other officers were in favor of a convention, but preferred the membership to decide for themselves without being influenced. After the convention was ordered, a proposition was made to defer holding it. President Perkins wrote an editorial in the official journal against deferring, and the proposition to defer was defeated, and the convention was duly held. President Perkins' report to the convention contained much of good cheer. His report showed increasing longevity of the workers and better wages. On May 1, 1886, the Cigarmakers' International Union established the eight-hour workday, which has been in force ever since. The effect of the shorter workday upon the health of the cigarmakers is manifest. Tuberculosis and other preventable diseases had been destructive to cigarmakers. In 1888, two years after the inauguration of the eight-hour workday, 51 per cent of the total number of deaths was due to tuberculosis. This percentage has been decreased by 30 per cent, as the following statistics show: In 1890, the total deaths were 212, of which the proportion due to tuberculosis, was 49 per cent. In 1895, of 348 deaths, the proportion was 35 per cent; in 1900, of 339 deaths, the proportion was 33 per cent; in 1910, of 588 deaths, the proportion was 21.5 per cent; in 1911, of 622 deaths, the proportion was 20.1 per cent. The portion of the report containing the record of strikes and lockouts showed in a general way increase in wages. Of the 365 applications for increase of wages, approved since the last report (September 1, 1901), involving 33,171 members, over 86 per cent, or 314 difficulties, were successful. Of the 156 applications against reduction of wages approved since last report, involving 7,281 members, over 60 per cent were successful. Of the total number of strike applications approved since the last report, 1,010 in number, involving 60,510 members, the percentage of successful strikes is a little over 70 per cent. But I should give a glimpse of the convention proper. At the opening of the convention it was clearly manifest that there was more than a majority of the delegates thoroughly prejudiced against the officers. The air was full of their declarations of what they were going "to do" to them. This feeling lasted about two days when, gradually, but surely, the sentiment of the delegates showed a change. I should say that of the 385 delegates to the convention there were but 16 who had attended any previous convention of the international union. For nearly 17 years I have been Vice-President of the Cigarmakers' International Union. I have been delegate to every convention since and including the one of 1877, where there were but seven delegates who represented 1,016 union cigarmakers in all America. I was unanimously elected by my local union as delegate to the Baltimore Convention last month. The change in feelings and attitude came about when the work, purpose, and motives of the officers of the international union became clear to the fairminded delegates. They evidently made comparisons and saw the contrast between the officials and those who were most assiduous in the effort to create a false impression of the character, methods, and motives of the international officers and the true blue trade union delegates. As proposition after proposition was submitted and as the speeches of a constructive character made by the true trade unionists who are devoted to the international union and the trade union movement over and above any other form of organization, were contrasted with the propositions of those whom I shall designate for convenience the "Antis," and as these subjects were made clearer by the counter-propositions and speeches of the "Antis" every hour of the seventeen days of the convention, delegates whose minds had been prejudiced against the officers were convinced, and became the foremost defenders and advocates of the true trade union policies and principles as they had been |