In considering the labor legislation enacted in the various States it must be remembered that in States in which manufacturing and mining industries prevail, such as New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut, etc., there is more occasion for the enactment of such legislation than in States where industries are mostly agricultural, as in the South and West. . . .

Laws for the regulation of labor in factories, workshops, mercantile establishments, sweat shops, bakeries, laundries, and on building-construction work have been enacted in the various States for the purpose of protecting the health and safety of employees (see chart). For the proper enforcement of these regulations many of the States have made provision for inspection services.

In 27 States the laws provide for the appointment of inspectors of factories and workshops, whose duties consist of visiting and inspecting factories, workshops, mills, and, in some cases, mercantile establishments, sweat shops, bakeries, laundries, and building-construction work, and enforcing the laws concerning the same. . .

What are usually known as factory acts relate to (1) the protection of the health of employees, such as regulations requiring the proper ventilation, lighting, and heating of factories and workshops, the provision of exhaust fans to prevent dust or other deleterious products from being inhaled by the operatives, the lime washing or painting of walls, the provision of seats and separate toilet facilities for females, and the prohibition of overcrowding; (2) the prevention of accidents, such as regulations prohibiting the employment of women and children to clean machinery in motion or operate dangerous machinery or of children to run elevators, requiring that machinery and vats combining molten metal or hot liquids be properly guarded, that mechanical belt and gearing shifters, means of communication between the engineer's room and rooms where machinery is used, and safety appliances on elevators be provided, that hoistway openings be properly railed off, that sides or railings be placed on stairways, that special precautions be taken in cases of dangerous or injurious occupations, or where explosive or highly inflammable compounds are handled, that fire escapes be provided, and that doors in factories and workshops be so hung as to open outward, and that they be kept unlocked; and (3) the conditions of employment of women and children, such as regulations restricting the hours of labor, prohibiting night work, and requiring intervals of rest during the working day....

Mine-labor legislation is necessarily confined to States and Terri

tories which produce coal or other minerals in sufficient quantities to justify the enactment of special laws for the protection and safety of persons employed in the mines. Thirty-four States and Territories and the Federal Government have enacted laws of this character. The Federal statute applies to the organized and unorganized Territories having coal mines in operation.

The provisions for the regulation of mines are quite similar in the leading mining States, the difference being mainly in the extent to which regulation is undertaken. They may be grouped into the following classes, namely: Provisions of law (1) concerning employment in mines; (2) insuring the health and safety of mine employees; (3) making special regulations for mines generating fire damp or other explosive gases; (4) protecting the rights of miners by regulating the manner of weighing or measuring the quantity of coal mined. . . .

The railway labor laws enacted by the various States and by the Federal Government (see chart) have, with few exceptions, the object of protecting the health and safety and the rights of employees, and of reducing to a minimum the liability of the traveling public to accidents and inconvenience on account of acts of employees. They may be considered under five groups, namely: Laws (1) regulating the employment of certain classes of persons, (2) prohibiting certain acts of railway employees, (3) protecting the rights of railway employees, (4) requiring certain mechanical equipment on railways for the protection of the health and safety of employees, (5) concerning the reporting and investigating of accidents to employees.

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Hours of Labor.- The statutes relating to hours of labor (see chart) that have been enacted in the various States may be considered under five groups, namely: (1) General laws which merely fix what shall be regarded as a day's labor in the absence of contract; (2) laws defining what shall constitute a day's work on public roads; (3) laws limiting the hours of labor per day on public works generally; (4) laws which limit the hours of labor in certain occupations; (5) laws which specify the hours per day or per week during which women and children may be employed. The statutes considered in the first. four groups relate to employees regardless of age or sex.

The following 10 States have passed laws declaring that eight hours shall be regarded a legal day's work unless otherwise agreed: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The following 7 States fix the legal working-day at 10 hours: Florida, Maine, Michigan,

Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. In New Jersey a week's work is defined as consisting of 55 hours.

All States and Territories except Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, and the Philippine Islands have laws prohibiting the employment of labor on Sundays. In California, however, it is a misdemeanor for any employer to cause his employees to work more than six days in seven except in cases of emergency. . . .

Much of the legislation enacted for the protection of women employees (see chart) is similar to that for child labor. In many cases the same provision of law applies to both women and children. This is especially true in the case of legislation concerning hours of labor and employment in mines and barrooms. The existing statutes concerning female labor may be grouped as follows: (1) Statutes prohibiting the employment of women in certain occupations, as in mines, underground workings, and smelting and refining works, in barrooms, and in operating dangerous machinery or cleaning machinery while in motion; (2) statutes limiting the hours of labor; (3) statutes prohibiting or restricting night work; (4) statutes requiring seats for female employees; (5) statutes requiring separate toilet facilities for female employees; (6) legislation not included in the above groups. . . .

In 18 States and 1 Territory a limitation has been placed upon the number of hours per day or per week that women may work in manufacturing, mechanical, or mercantile establishments. In nearly all of these States the same provisions which relate to women apply also to children. . . .

Five States prohibit the employment of women at night. . . .

Thirty-one States and the District of Columbia have laws requiring employers to provide seats for the use of female employees when they are not actively engaged in their duties.

Seventeen States and the District of Columbia have laws requiring employers to provide toilet facilities for the separate use of females when employed. . . .

Legislation relating to child labor is so varied in character in the different States and Territories that it is difficult to classify it satisfactorily. For the purpose of the present outline it has been most convenient to consider child-labor legislation under the following groups: (1) Statutes fixing an absolute age limit for the employment of children in all gainful occupations or in one or more of the principal groups of industries; (2) statutes prohibiting the employment of children of school age or of illiterate children during school time or

unless they have complied with certain educational requirements; (3) statutes prohibiting the employment of children in dangerous, injurious, or immoral occupations, such as selling or handling intoxicating liquors, or as rope or wire walkers, gymnasts, contortionists, street singers or musicians, mendicants, itinerant peddlers, etc.; (4) statutes prohibiting certain dangerous operations, such as running elevators, cleaning machinery in motion, or operating dangerous machinery, etc.; (5) statutes restricting the hours of labor or prohibiting night work on the part of children; (6) legislation not included in the above groups.

The age limit prescribed by law in the different States, under which employment is absolutely prohibited, is either 16, 14, 13, 12, or 10 years. As above stated, the law applies in some States to only one, in others to several groups of industries. In some cases an age limit is prescribed under which children can not be employed except during vacation, and in some an age limit is fixed under which persons can not be employed in certain occupations or during certain hours,

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F. Workmen's Compensation, 19131

Probably no subject connected with the improvement in the position of labor has received more widespread recognition and support in recent years than that of the indemnification of workmen for injuries received in the pursuit of their work. Lack of space prevents adequate discussion, but this extract will indicate the importance of the subject.

The Fourth Special Report of the Commissioner of Labor, issued in 1893 under the title of "Compulsory Insurance in Germany," was the first report published in this country devoted to the subject of workmen's insurance. At that time compensation for industrial accidents had been established by law in two countries only, Germany in 1884, and Austria in 1887; the third country - Norway not following until 1894. In the other countries discussed in the appendix of this early report the workmen's compensation movement had not passed beyond the stage of Government commissions and legislative discussion.

Since the publication of this first report, the development of the legislation providing for workmen's compensation for industrial accidents in Europe and throughout the world has been extremely rapid;

1 Workmen's Compensation Laws of the United States and Foreign Countries. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 126 (Washington, 1914), 9-10.

in fact, it may be doubted whether any subject of labor legislation has ever made such progress or gained so general acceptance for its principles throughout the world in so brief a period. The legislative summaries in the present report show that 41 foreign countries (including all European countries except Turkey) have introduced some form of workmen's compensation for industrial accidents, all of which, while showing great variations in the industries covered, the amount of compensation provided, and the methods by which compensation payments are secured, recognize the principles of compensation as distinguished from the older idea of employer's liability previously accepted in the civil law of continental Europe, as well as in English and American law.

In the United States what might be called the period of investigation and education began somewhat late as compared with European countries. But since that beginning, investigation and study have been followed by legislative action with great rapidity. The first American State commissions were appointed in New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in 1909, and legislation followed in New York in 1910, in Wisconsin in 1911, and in Minnesota in 1913. Within this period beginning with 1909, 27 commissions (not including one Federal commission) have been appointed to consider the subject of compensation, and compensation legislation has been enacted in 23. States.

G. The Federal Compensation Act, 19081

The federal government was a pioneer in the United States in the enactment of legislation granting compensation to employees injured while at work. It thus recognized the necessity of placing the social cost of industrial accidents upon the industry itself rather than upon the laborer. Its example has since been followed by the leading industrial and mining states of the Union.

Injuries to workmen in the course of their employment may be due to negligence or to accident. Where negligence is the cause, the fault may be that of the workman or his employer, of a fellow workman, or even a stranger. Where accident is the cause, no one is at fault. In all cases the suffering and the loss fall on the injured person and his dependents, except in so far as the law permits the loss to be compensated. The rules of the common law, which were formulated at a time when industrial operations were simple and conducted in small establishments where responsibility could easily be fixed, permitted

1 Opinions of the Solicitor for the Department of Commerce and Labor dealing with Workman's Compensation from August, 1908, to August, 1912. (Washington, 1912), 9-11.