Chapter XII: Part VII: Proceedings of Annual Meeting 287 (8)

The industrial troubles of 1886, and the efforts of the Labor Commission instituted the same year, prepared at last the solution to the question, and led to the law of December 13, 1889, upon the labor of women, of youths and of children in industrial establishments.[20]

This law placed under restrictive measures the labor of children:

(1) In mines (coal and metal), quarries, stoneyards.

(2) In works, mills and factories.

(3) In establishments classified as dangerous, unhealthy or unsuitable; as well as in those where steam boilers or machine motors were used.

(4) In harbors, terminals and stations.

(5) In transportation by land or water.

It applied both to public and private establishments, even when they were of an educational or benevolent character. By virtue of this provision the law regulated, for example, the labor performed by children in the reform schools, in the lace-making schools, etc.

The law did not affect the family workshops, where only the members of a family are employed, under the authority of either the father, the mother, or the guardian; providing, however, that these workshops were not classed as dangerous, unhealthy or unsuitable,[21] or that work therein was not performed with the aid of steam boilers or machine motors.

It also did not affect, according to the admitted official interpretation, other workshops which could not be regarded as mills or factories, or which are not classed among the dangerous, unhealthy or unsuitable establishments. Hence, the greatest portion of the clothing factories, which employ a great deal of child labor, escaped the application of the law.

The principal legal provisions applying to children and youths of less than sixteen years are the following:

(1) Prohibition to employ at labor children under twelve years of age (Art. 2).

(2) The King can prohibit, or only authorize under certain conditions, the employment of children and youths under sixteen, at labor that is beyond their strength, dangerous or unhealthful (Art. 3).

(3) The length of the working day is twelve hours at the most, divided by recesses, the total of which shall not be less than one and a half hours.

The King has the authority to regulate the length of the working day, as well as the length and the conditions of recess, in accordance with the nature of the occupations in which the children are employed, and the needs of the industries, professions or trades. (Art. 4).

(4) Night labor, that is to say, labor after nine o’clock in the evening and before five in the morning, is prohibited to children and youths under sixteen (Art. 6).

_Exceptions._ (a) The King can authorize the employment of children at night, at occupations which, by reason of their nature, cannot be interrupted or retarded, or which cannot be accomplished except within a definite period.

(b) As relating to labor in mines, the King can authorize night labor by a certain class of workmen more than fourteen years of age, also by male children fully twelve years old, to begin their labor at four a. m. (c) The governors of provinces, acting upon the report of the inspectors of suitable labor, can authorize night labor for children and youths, in all industries or trades, in cases of delay resulting from unavoidable necessity, or in exceptional circumstances. This authorization cannot be granted for more than two months at most; but it can be renewed. It must be approved by the Minister.

(5) Children and youths under sixteen cannot be employed at labor more than six days in the week (Art. 7). This regulation provides for the Sunday holiday, but the legislation of 1889 did not intend expressly to forbid Sunday labor. Indeed in 1889 the point was discussed whether the Belgian Constitution (Art. 15) did not oppose the legal prohibition of Sunday labor. Even to-day the question is still in controversy. Hence the law of 1889 solved the difficulty by merely forbidding children to labor more than six days in the week. In fact Sunday, the seventh day, is the day of rest. There are, however, certain _Exceptions_: (a) As regards the industries in which labor, by reason of its nature, cannot stand either interruption or delay, the King can authorize the employment of children over fourteen, during seven days in the week, whether permanently or temporarily, or conditionally. They must, however, be granted, in every case, the necessary time to devote to their religious duties once a week, as well as one complete day of rest in fourteen.

(b) In case of unavoidable necessity, the inspectors, burgomasters and governors can, with respect to the industries, authorize the employment on the seventh day of children and youths under sixteen.

(6) In order to facilitate the enforcement of these legal provisions, children and youths over sixteen must carry a memorandum book, which is to be given them gratis by the parish administration; and which must contain their Christian and surnames, date and place of their birth, their residence, and the full names with residence either of their parents or guardians. Likewise the heads of the industries, chiefs or managers, must keep a registry of the same information that appears in the memorandum books (Art. 10).

The Belgian laws, in their principal provisions which we have just examined, resemble for the most part the laws regulating child labor in other countries. But there is a gap which must have struck the reader, viz.: the absence of provisions for the education of children. Foreign laws, and notably the German, English and French laws, require that the children, whose industrial labor is effectively regulated, should devote to attendance at school the time which they do not spend in the factory or workshop. This is done in the interests of their welfare and for their intellectual and moral development. The legislator only imperfectly fulfills his mission when he confines himself to preventing and repressing the abuses of industrial labor.

This defect in the Belgian law is due to the opposition that compulsory education has met with and still meets among a notable part of the population and among the majority in Parliament.

In order that the statement of legislation may be complete, the author has collected in a table the provisions of the royal decrees which have resulted from Articles 4, 6 and 7 of the law, and which concern the determination of the duration of daily labor and the conditions of recess in a number of industries (Art. 4); the exceptions to the prohibitions of night labor (Art. 6), and the authorizations of work on the seventh day (Art. 7). (See page 210.)

Art. 3 of the law gives the King the power to prohibit or to regulate the labor of children or youths under sixteen, in certain industries particularly unhealthful or dangerous.

The royal decrees of February 19, 1895, August 5, 1895, and April 5, 1898, have applied this legal provision in the following manner:

(1) Prohibition of labor of children and youths under sixteen in sixty-five industries, enumerated in Articles 1 and 2 of the decree of February 19, 1895. These industries are, for the most part, the chemical ones, or those which manufacture injurious products.

(2) In the lucifer-match factories:

(a) The labor of children and youths under sixteen is prohibited where paste containing white phosphorus is made, or in the factories where matches dipped in such paste are dried. Such labor is also prohibited where matches are dipped in white phosphorus.

(b) Children under fourteen may not be employed in filling boxes with white phosphorus matches (Article 3 of the royal decree of February 19, 1895).

(3) In factories where india-rubber is treated with carbon sulphuret, the presence and the labor of children and youths under sixteen are prohibited (Art. 4 of the same decree).

(4) Art. 6 enumerated a series of industries in which certain places are closed to children and youths under sixteen, because of the injurious and unhygienic character of the labor performed there. Art. 7 prohibits the admission into certain places and labor therein of children under fourteen.

(5) The royal decree of August 5, 1895, regulates the employment of children in rag-shops.

(6) Finally, by force of a royal decree of April 5, 1898 (intercalated into the decree of February 19, 1895, Art. 5) it is forbidden to employ children and youths under sixteen in all places where the treatment of hare and rabbit skins is performed; in all places where the hare and rabbit skins are prepared before the treatment; also in all processes which the skins undergo after the treatment, carrying, brushing, cutting.

INDUSTRIES. LENGTH OF LABOR NIGHT LABOR. LABOR ON THE
AND CONDITIONS OF SEVENTH DAY.
RECESS.

(Art. 4 of the (Authorization (Authorization
law.) provided by Art. provided by Art.
6 of the law.) 7 of the law.)

I. Spinning and For children and
weaving of youths of 13 to
flax, cotton, 16 years: 11½
hemp and jute hours a day, 3
(royal decree recesses of a
of December 26, total of 1½
1892). hours at least.
The recess at
mid-day to be
at least 1
hour. For
children of 12
to 13 years, 6
hours a day;
recess, ¼ hour.

II. Woolen For children and
industry (royal youths under
decree of 16: 11¼ hours a
December 26, day. Recess as
1892). in No. 1.

III. Newspaper For children and
printing (royal youths under
decree of 16: 10 hours a
December 26, day. Several
1892). recesses with a
total of 1½
hours at least.

IV. Art As for No. III;
industries but for type
(royal decree foundries, the
of December 26, labor of
1892). children under
16 is limited
to 8 hours a
day.

V. Manufacture of For youths of 14 Authorization for
paper, (royal to 16: 10 hours young men of 14
decree of a day. Length to 16. The
December 26, of recess: 3 length of night
1892). recesses with a labor and
total of 1½ recesses is the
hours at least. same as for day
For children of labor.
12 to 14: 6
hours a day.
Recesses: one
or more with a
total of ½ hour
at least.

VI. Tobacco and For youths of 14
cigars (royal to 16: 10 hours
decree of a day.
December 26, Recesses: 3
1892). with a total of
1½ hours at
least. For
children of 12
to 14: 6 hours
a day.
Recesses: one
or more with a
total of ½ hour
at least.

VII. Manufacture For children and Authorization for
of sugar (royal youths of less youths of 14 to
decree of than 16: 10½ 16. The same
December 26, hours a day. conditions of
1892). Recesses: 3 labor and
with a total of recess as for
1½ hours at day labor.
least.

VIII. Furniture For children and
and industries youths under
pertaining to 16: 9 hours a
ship-building day during the
(royal decree months of
of December 26, October to
1892). March, and 10
hours a day
during the rest
of the year.
Recesses: 3
with total of
1½ hours at
least. The
recess at
mid-day shall
be 1 hour at
least.

IX. Pottery and For children and
crockeryware youths under
(royal decree 16: 10 hours a
of December 26, day. Recess as
1892). No. VIII.

X. Refractory As for No. IX.
products (royal
decree of
December 26,
1892).

XI. Glass As for Nos. IX Authorization of One week in every
industry (royal and X. night labor, two, the boys
decree of _for the of 14 to 16 can
December 26, glass-tapping_, be employed a
1892). to boys of 14 seventh day _at
to 16. The same the
conditions of glass-tapping_.
labor and On that day the
recess as by actual labor
day. must not exceed
6 hours, with a
recess of ½
hour for rest,
and the time
necessary for
their spiritual
devotions.

XII. Lucifer For children and „ „
matches (royal youths under
decree of 16: 10½ hours a
December 26, day. Recesses:
1892). 3 with a total
of 1½ hours at
least. One hour
at mid-day.
During these
recesses the
workmen leave
the premises.

XIII. For children and
Ship-building youths under
industry (royal 16: 8 hours a
decree of day during the
December 26, months of
1892). November to
February, and
10 hours the
rest of the
year. Recess: 1
hour during the
first months,
and 1½ hours
during the
others.

XIV. Zinc rolling Children from 12 Authorization for
mills (royal to 14: 5 hours youths of 14 to
decree of a day. Recess 16. The same
December 26, of ½ hour at conditions of
1892). least. Youths labor and
of 14 to 16: 10 recess as by
hours. Recesses day.
with a total of
1½ hours; noon
recess at least
1 hour.

XV. Crystal and For children and Authorization for One week in every
goblet youths under youths of 14 to two, the youths
factories 16, who work at 16. The same of 14 to 16 may
(royal decree glass-making: conditions of be employed a
of December 26, 10 hours and 20 labor and seventh day at
1892) minutes. recess as by the manufacture
Recesses: 3, day. of glass tiles
one of 20 and other
minutes at analogous
least, in the labor, which
morning; one of settled glass
½ hour at demands. On
least, at noon; that day the
a third of 20 actual labor
minutes at shall not
least, in the exceed 6 hours,
afternoon. with a recess
of ½ hour at
least, and the
time necessary
for their
spiritual
devotions shall
be provided
for.

XVI. Industries For children and „
pertaining to youths under
clothing (1st 16: 11 hours.
category: Recesses: 3
hosiery, lace, with total of
embroidery, not less than
tulles and 1½ hours. The
blond lace, mid-day rest
wool-braid, shall be at
etc.), (royal least 1 hour.
decree of
December 26,
1892).

XVII. Industries For children and
pertaining to youths under
clothing (2d 16, it must not
category: exceed 10 hours
tanning, a day. Recesses
currying, with a total of
tawing, at least 1
cord-waining, hour. During
hat-making, these recesses
fine linen, the workmen
toilet and shall be at
millinery, liberty to
etc., in so far leave the
as the law of premises.
December 13,
1889, applies
to the
establishments
where these
industries are
performed),
(royal decree
of December 26,
1892).

XVIII. Bulky Children of 12 to
mechanical 14: 10 hours.
construction Youths of 14 to
(royal decree 16: 11 hours.
of December 26, Recesses with a
1892). total of 1 hour
at least.

XIX. Small In a first group
mechanical of industries
construction in this branch
(royal decree (Table A), the
of December 26, length of labor
1892). of children 12
to 14 shall not
exceed 10
hours. For
youths of 14 to
16: 11 hours.
In the trades
enumerated in
Tables B, C, D,
children and
youths of less
than 16: 10
hours. Recesses
with total of
1½ hours at
least. One hour
at noon. Free
exit from the
premises.

XX. Bricks and Children and
tiles youths under
“hand-made,” 16: 12 hours a
and other day. Recesses:
similar if the actual
employments day’s labor
(royal decree exceeds 8
of September hours: 3
22, 1896). recesses with
total of 1½
hours at least,
at noon. If
actual labor
exceeds 6, but
not 8 hours: 1
or more
recesses with
total of 1 hour
at least. A
recess of ¼
hour at least
is obligatory
after each 4
hours of labor.

XXI. Window-glass For children and Authorization for One week in every
industry; basin youths under youths of 14 to two, youths of
kilns; drying 16: 10½ hours. 16. The same 14 to 16 can be
ground; pot Recesses with conditions of employed the
kilns (royal total of 1½ recess and seventh day.
decree of hours. Each labor as by
December 31, period of labor day.
1892). shall be
followed by a
complete rest
of a duration
double that of
the labor
itself.

XXII. Mining and In underground Authorization of
quarrying labor, the night labor for
(royal decree length of stay, male youths of
of March 15, descent and 14 to 16
1893). N. ascent occupied in
B.—For the coal comprises, cutting out and
mines of among children maintaining the
Mariemont, and male youths roads and
where the under 16, 10½ filling up the
organization of hours. Recess: dumps. Length
labor is at least ⅛ of of labor 10
different from the stay hours, and
that of other underground. recess as by
coal mines, the Male children day.
royal decree of 12 years old
March 15, 1893, may be employed
provides a underground
special after 4 a. m.,
regulation. under the same
conditions of
labor and
recess. For
surface labor,
the length of
labor for
children and
youths under 16
is 10½ hours.
Recess, 1½
hours at least.

XXIII.
Manufacture of
coke (royal
decree of March
15, 1893).

A. Ovens for Children and A. One week in
common coke. youths under every two,
16: 10½ hours. authorization
Recess not less to work a
than 1½ hours. seventh day,
The principal for male youths
recess 1 hour. of 14 to 16.
Day’s work 8
hours, less the
recess of 1
hour and time
for religious
devotions.

B. Coke ovens Children and For male youths B. Same
for the youths under over 14, authorization
recovery of 16: 10½ hours a authorization as for No.
by-products. day. Recesses for night work. XXIII A.
with total of Same length and
1½ hours. recess as by
Principal day.
recess 1 hour.

XXIV. Factories Children and
for the youths under
agglomeration 16: 10½ hours.
of coal Recesses: a
(briquette total of at
factories), least 1½ hours.
(royal decree Principal
of March 15, recess 1 hour.
1893).

XXV. Quarries and For underground
works connected labor, the same
with them conditions as
(royal decree for No. XXII.
of March 15,
1893).

„ For surface
labor: 10
hours. In the
tool repair
shops: 10½
hours. Total
recess 1½
hours.

„ In the works for
cutting and
carving the
rough products
of the quarry:
for children
and youths from
12 to 16: 8
hours a day, in
order to give
time for
professional
instruction.

XXVI. Metallurgic Length of labor: Male youths of 14 One week in every
works governed 10½ hours a to 16 years may two, male
under the law day. Total work at night, youths of 14 to
of April 21, recess: 1½ under the same 16 may work a
1810. (Blast hours. conditions of seventh day, in
furnaces, iron Principal labor and order to feed
and steel recess: ½ hour recess as the the blast
mills, rolling between 11 and day labor. furnaces and
mills, 2 o’clock for attend to the
foundries, the furnace zinc foundries.
etc.), (royal men; 1 hour for Time allowed
decree of March the other for religious
15, 1893). workmen. devotions.

XXVII. Preserving Children and Authorization for
and pickling of youths under youths of 14 to
fish (royal 16: 11 hours. 16 to work from
decree of Recesses: 3 9 p. m. until
November 3, with total of midnight,
1898). 1½ hours when during a number
actual labor of days which
exceeds 8 shall not
hours. When it exceed thirty a
exceeds 6, but year. Actual
not 8 hours, labor may never
one or several exceed 12
recesses with a hours. Recesses
total of 1 as by day.
hour. A recess
of ¼ hour is
compulsory
after each
period of 4
hours’ labor.

XXVIII. Factories Boys of 14 to 16
for enamel may be employed
products (royal at night, one
decree of week out of
November 29, every two, in
1898). the work of the
enamel cooking
ovens. Length
of labor and
recess as for
No. XIX.

In order to give a full account of the extent of the regulation of child labor in Belgium, it was necessary to consider in detail the law of 1889 and the provisions of the various decrees of which we have just spoken. Let us see now how the law and the regulations are applied:

_The Application of the Law._

In order to insure the application of the law and to watch its execution, Article 12 prescribes the appointment of officials by the government, whose powers shall be determined by royal decree.

At first the inspection of labor was vested in officers already charged with other powers. This system, condemned by experience in other lands, did not give good results, and a special body of labor inspectors was organized by a royal decree of October 22, 1895.

According to this decree, the inspection of labor and the observance of the execution of the law of 1889 in the mines, quarries and metallurgic works is committed to the engineers of the mines. For all other industries, the service of labor inspection is attached to the Labor Bureau.

This service comprises:

(1) Inspectors of labor in the central administration, residing at Brussels. These officers are six in number: two inspectors-general, three labor inspectors and one female inspector.

(2) Inspectors and deputies residing in the country. There are actually eight labor inspectors in the provincial service and six deputies. The country is divided into nine districts, and the departments of inspection have, on the last occasion, been defined by a ministerial decree of December 16, 1899.

(3) Finally, a certain number of medical inspectors are charged specially with watching over the application of the rules with reference to the healthfulness and safety of the workshops.

The labor inspectors not only have charge of the execution of the law of 1889, but also of the laws on the payment of wages, the regulations of factories, etc. They make an annual report, and their reports have been published regularly since 1895, and from them information must be secured concerning the law’s execution, even though the reports are often incomplete and unmethodical.

I will refer here particularly to the last report published, that of 1900:

The law of 1889 was not applied seriously until 1895, following the reorganization of inspection. Since then progress has been made, but it is incontestable that in several of its provisions the law is not applied as it should be in all parts of the country. The press and Parliament[22] have several times pointed out this unsatisfactory situation.

The inspectors certainly perform their complicated and delicate work with fidelity. But they are too few in number to fitly discharge their numerous duties. The opposition or the ill-will of the manufacturers is still too frequent; and when the inspectors wish to apply the law and enforce its respect, they do not always find the support which they should have among their superior officers.

In certain industries, _e. g._, glass and hand-made brick, which employ a considerable number of children, the application of the law is particularly to be desired. It is true these industries have peculiar economic characteristics. There has already been introduced a regulation less severe for the brick-works, and certain mitigations are being asked for the glass industry.

Too many children are still permitted to labor before having reached the legal age of twelve years. The inspector for the district of East Flanders (Ghent) announces that the number of children under twelve found in the industrial establishments was particularly numerous in 1900. He found seventy-five such in his district in ten hosiery factories, two tobacco factories, one lace-making school, one mechanical weaving mill, one jute mill, one sugar refinery. (Report 1900, pp. 88, 89.) In some other districts the situation is better, according to this report, but almost everywhere violations are still observed, as well as the complicity of parents. “Families in need often make all efforts and use all sorts of devices to cause their children under age to be admitted to labor.” (Report, p. 143.) It happens that the regulation note-books requiring the entry of the child’s age contain false declarations, or they are delivered to the children under age by the civic authority. (Report, p. 127.) Moreover, these note-books are often missing, and the registries which the masters should keep do not always come up to the demands of the law.

A royal decree of December 26, 1892, as we have said, organizes the system of half-time—six hours of work—for children of twelve to thirteen, employed in the textile industries other than the woolen industry. This system has not given good results. The manufacturers prefer to do without children under thirteen, rather than adopt this special organization. In the works which have adopted this system, the child does not benefit from it at all. “After having worked six hours in the morning at the spinning or weaving of linen, the parents send that child to complete the day’s labor at a chairmaker’s, at picking rags, or in a preserved fruit and vegetable factory, where the law does not protect him any longer within the same limits. Moreover, if he does not work in the afternoon, he roams around the streets and becomes vicious, the school refusing to admit as pupil a child who can only attend half the time.” (Report, p. 65.)

This confirms what was said above, concerning the defect in the Belgian law, which contains no regulations for the instruction of children whose labor it limits.

On several occasions the labor inspectors have called attention to the necessity of extending the application of the law to the workshops which are not included, and especially to the clothing and millinery shops, which freely employ numerous children. They ask, in every case, that the legislator should state more clearly and precisely than the actual interpretation of the law does, the distinction between the workshops subject to the law and those that are not. (Report, pp. 3, 66.)

Finally, the inspectors think that it is necessary to revise and to simplify the royal decrees, the complications of which give rise to many difficulties. This revision is, by the way, at present under consideration. (Report, pp. 3, 44.)

From what precedes, we may conclude that, except certain desirable ameliorations and simplifications, Belgium possesses a law comprising what is needed for the protection of children employed in the industries, and a law regardful of the many interests of industry. The most important present problem is to secure general, strict and complete execution of the legal provisions. Nothing is more demoralizing, from the social point of view, than to possess laws to which officials either cannot or will not compel obedience.

MACHINERY AND LABOR

By HENRY WHITE

General Secretary, United Garment Workers of America

This subject is one which involves the whole industrial problem. It is the complexity of conditions due to the introduction of machinery which has caused the wide differences of opinion upon the question of wealth distribution. Under the simpler methods of industry the manner in which the proceeds of labor were divided was readily understood; to-day, however, the system is so highly organized that there is much confusion as to its operations. The perplexity is so great that many who see in labor-saving inventions some malign purpose, and others again who discern that any means which enhances the productiveness of labor must benefit mankind, are unable to comprehend the manner by which that result is effected. The habit of judging the operations of so complex a system by the effect upon special interests instead of viewing it as a whole, accounts for the common misconception regarding the function of machinery.

If people were to consider how meagre would be the rewards of toil without the aid of machinery, how costly the necessities of life, and how small the purchasing power of the laborer, its uses would soon become apparent. The confusion is heightened by the dual relation which a person occupies as a producer and as a consumer. As a consumer he benefits almost at once by every saving in effort, while as a producer his means of a livelihood may in consequence be threatened. The laborers thrown out of work by a machine or even the merchant forced out of business through some combination cannot be expected to appreciate the beneficence of such economy. In both cases their horizon is limited to their own means of a livelihood. When a person finds his occupation suddenly gone, it outweighs all other considerations; and unmindful of the benefits he may have received from similar economies in other trades, inventions to him seem a curse. The rewards of the particular invention which distresses him go to the body of consumers and he only shares indirectly as one of them. In the case of the wage-workers the gain is not evident as it is with the manufacturer who first utilizes an invention, and consequently their views on the subject will differ correspondingly. It is regrettable that even the temporary disadvantages of industrial progress should fall heavily upon some to the advantage of others, but it is as unavoidable as friction is to motion. The suffering can be mitigated only in proportion as our knowledge of the methods of industry increases, by recognizing the inevitableness of the changes and preparing to meet them.

Economic laws, like the laws of nature, admit of no exceptions. Were discriminations possible the consequences would make the present hardships seem nothing in comparison. In fact, society would quickly disintegrate and revert to its primitive state. If society had to wait for the sanction of every person before a forward step could be taken it would never start. In the process of adjustment and readjustment which progress implies, it is unavoidable that some have to be forced out of old grooves and made to fit into new ones. It is this adaptability to change which characterizes modern enterprise; this willingness to suffer immediate discomforts for the achievement of larger ends.

The general confusion as to the service rendered by machinery is not strange considering the absurd notions which are rife regarding the rudiments of social economy. No distinction is usually made between useful and useless labor. There is supposed to be only a given amount of work to be done, and hence the less each one does the more jobs there will be to go around. If wealth be wasted or destroyed, it will in some mysterious manner be replaced. The destruction of property by fire or flood is regarded with complacency by those not directly affected, upon the supposition that more work is thereby provided, without taking into account that the wealth required to replace it must be diverted from some productive use. The spending or circulating of money is equivalent to creating wealth. Luxury is looked upon with more favor than frugality, and it is even thought that gambling benefits a community as much as industry because the fortunate ones spend freely, and the misery which it begets is lost sight of in contemplation of the profits of a few. With such erroneous ideas entertained even by educated people, it is apparent why the complex operations of our industrial system are so slightly understood. The expansion of industry which follows labor-saving devices, the creation of new industries and the consequent replacing of those displaced is unintelligible to all save those that comprehend economic principles. In addition to the popular misconceptions of the subject, there are historic causes which have created this antipathy to machinery. During the transition from the domestic to the factory system in England, machinery became a club to subjugate the laborer. Untutored, unorganized, without any resisting power, the former independent artisan, now a factory hand, was placed in brutal competition with his fellows, and every invention only served to add to his helplessness. The plight of the English laborers at that time abundantly shows that there are circumstances in which the wealth of a nation may increase tremendously, the productive power of labor multiply many-fold, while the workers on the other hand become impoverished and brutalized. Mill was of the opinion that machinery had not benefited the working class, but happily, since the time in which he wrote, education and organization, two indispensable factors in their advancement, have come to their aid. An upward trend has in consequence taken place, and the stimulus which it has given will make a relapse, owing to the advances in sanitary science, as improbable as another visitation of a plague. Where the workers have succeeded in acquiring some independence, in raising their standard of living, machinery, despite the drawbacks described, has undoubtedly become a potent factor in the elevation of their class.

Under a collective system the immediate benefits which would be derived by each individual through labor-saving inventions are its chief merit, but to compare the good features of an imaginary social system with the disadvantages of the existing one is not an easy task. It can, however, be shown that this desired co-operative principle actually does work out at the present time in a rough way by the distribution of the benefits of inventions throughout society and that there are possibilities for a more perfect application of it.

As to the workers’ share in production, Karl Marx in his incisive analysis comes to the conclusion that the value of commodities is based upon the labor cost plus the profits of the capitalist and in that he is in accord with the authorities upon social science since Adam Smith. He deduces from that, that labor alone represents the actual wealth which is exploited for profit by the capitalist and that the very capital invested was previously appropriated from the laborer. Granting this conclusion, Marx should have made allowance for the competition between capitalists by which the price of commodities is kept within certain limits and the benefits of cheaper production are given to the consumers. In the cases Marx deals with, cheaper production unfortunately did not only mean more economical methods, but lower wages and long hours and the sacrifice of the worker, while the consumer represented some one else than the operative, who barely subsisted on his pittance. Without the ability to purchase the goods he produced, England had to dispose of in foreign markets that which should have been consumed at home, always the best market. Her chief dependence being upon outside markets, everything had to be subordinated to cheaper production, no matter how obtained.

Concerning the attitude of trades unions upon the question of machinery, the membership being composed of men with the usual abilities, their views do not materially differ from others. Having, however, the benefits of an education derived from a close study of economic problems and an experience which has helped them form broader opinions, they are gradually reconciling themselves to machinery. As for example the action taken at the late convention of the American Federation of Labor held at Scranton. In a resolution introduced by the delegates of the Cigar Makers’ International Union requesting that a certain firm be declared unfair, there was reference to a cigar-making machine used in the shop of this employer. Although the machine was mentioned as an evidence only of the inferiority of the product of the concern, a vigorous objection was at once raised by the delegates against any mention of the use of machinery by the firm. In the debate which followed, it was argued that the convention could not afford to go on record as against labor-saving devices and that any attempt to oppose them would prove futile. The objectionable words were stricken out by a decisive vote. As to what action the convention would have taken if the delegates had thought it possible to suppress the machine is a question. The decision of the convention, however, has brought the movement to a point in which the members will be enabled to take a more liberal and complete view of the subject, and realize that the limitation of work is not only impolitic, but that by increasing their capacities the opportunity is afforded for them to insist upon a fair share in the larger product. The British unions have not advanced in that respect as far as the American unions because the habits of the working people there are more set, but circumstances have also changed very much their attitude toward machinery.

The Typographical Union is a notable example of a union which accepted a revolutionizing invention as being inevitable and thus succeeded in securing a rate of wages for the operators considerably in excess of that received by the hand compositors An officer of the New York Union estimates that each linotype machine introduced into the newspaper offices displaced three men, and that within three years, owing to the increase in the size of the newspapers and the larger demand for printed matter which it encouraged, the men laid off have been re-employed, and that to-day the pay-rolls even exceed the former figure. This machine has also had the effect of elevating the standards of the craft, owing to the higher skill and education required. The competition among the employers is such that profits are reduced to a minimum the public therefore receiving the full benefit of the improvement.

In the building trades, similar results are also noted. Improved methods have led to a prodigious expansion in building operations. The laborer’s work is now largely done by mechanical means, and parts of a structure, such as the trimmings, are made in factories and are only fitted together upon the premises. The subdividing of the work is carried on to an extent that a number of contractors, each performing a distinct function, co-operate in the completion of a single building. When this specializing began and the ingenious hod-hoisting device made it unnecessary for men to make beasts of burden of themselves, a general alarm was created over the prospect of great numbers of workmen being thrown out of employment. To-day a far greater number of men are steadily employed in this fundamental industry than at any time in its history.

Examples of this kind can be cited indefinitely to demonstrate the larger results which flow from greater economy in effort. Allowances are seldom made for the enterprises which could not be carried on at all were it not for labor-saving methods.

The lowering of the cost of commodities enables the average person to indulge in what were formerly considered luxuries, and by this encourages the development of new industries. The tendency under the influence of machinery is for industry to spread out fan-shape, ever widening as the distance from the starting point increases. Were it not for the limitations set by the purchasing capacity of the people and the periodical disarrangements or panics which occur as a result of what is conveniently termed over-production, there would be no check. To fear a surfeit of wealth seems absurd considering the needs of the average person. What is meant by over-production is the inability to buy what has been produced.

Russia with her immense population is unable to consume the products of her few mills, while in the United States, where the efficiency of labor is higher than anywhere else and is being increased at a marvelous rate, not to speak of the half-million aliens absorbed every year, the percentage of unemployed is lower than it has been for years, and even less than during the earlier part of our history when manufacturing was in its infancy.

To increase the purchasing capacity of the people either by higher wages or cheaper products is to reduce the surplus and maintain an equilibrium, hence the economic value of higher standards of living. Production cannot be greater than the ability of the average person to consume, any more than water can rise higher than its source, therefore increased production must be accompanied by the same increase in consumption, if normal conditions are to be maintained. No matter to what extent machinery, division of labor or economy in management may be perfected theoretically, the demand for labor ought not to be diminished. The eight-hour work is advocated by many, not because of the personal benefit to the workman, but upon the same grounds that they would favor the curtailment of production, in the belief that it would increase the number of the employed. By decreasing the average amount of work done in order that it may be distributed more evenly may accomplish that object temporarily, but if generally practiced would decrease the demand for work through the increase of the price of the commodity.

It is doubtful if workmen in a particular craft have ever succeeded for a length of time in erecting a wall around themselves and preventing as many extra men as could be employed from getting in if the emoluments were sufficient. So even if it were possible to so restrict work as to create a scarcity of workmen, this pressure from without would prove irresistible and the normal level would be maintained. If on the contrary a lack of work would make a number of workmen superfluous, there would be a tendency for them to find their way into growing occupations. Union regulations, such as apprenticeship rules, can and do prevent undue crowding into a trade owing to a sudden and temporary demand which would prove highly injurious unless checked, for it would serve to break down standards upheld by the union. Through such means an assimilation of those entering the trade is gradually accomplished.

Unions have been frequently charged with trying to restrict output. The same accusation has also with equal effect been made against industrial combinations for seeking to create an artificial scarcity. In many cases where unions endeavor to prevent rush or driving work injurious to the worker, they have been accused of limiting work. Such restrictions can be easily defended. That labor organizations have in some instances attempted to prevent the use of labor-saving appliances there can be no question considering the prevailing ideas on the subject, and organized workmen can give force to their opposition, but that such is the policy of labor movement is far from fact as I have just illustrated. The opposition to labor-saving methods is not confined to workmen alone, for employers will rail against competitors able to give better service for less cost. The same resentment at being forced out of a settled occupation is entertained by all.

The actual injury done by machinery is caused by the suddenness of the changes that result. Since there could be no way of regulating inventive genius, and the incentives for using improvements will remain as great, the rational and the only way to meet them is by preparation. The working class suffers most because it is less able to accommodate itself to new situations. The rising generation should be better equipped with a general knowledge of mechanics, and taught how to handle tools with skill. Such a training would undoubtedly relieve the difficulty and it could only be adequately supplied by the public schools. The results would be to increase the independence of workmen, as they would not then rely upon a small division of a trade or upon a single employer. Independence and higher wages go together. Unskilled laborers in some cases learn more than skilled mechanics for the reason that workmen trained only in one craft are usually unfitted for other work, while those accustomed to being thrown upon their own resources are more adaptable.

In the case of the aged workman the situation is specially hard, as he cannot find any place in an industrial system in which alertness counts for more than skill. He cannot profit by accumulated experiences as others do. It is the tragic side of the question, this grievous predicament of the worker who has spent his energies adding to the nation’s wealth. It can and ought to be overcome, not by any system of alms-giving which must always prove inadequate, not by retiring him to idleness, but by keeping him employed at such work as his long training and peculiar abilities fit him for. As his earning power declines at a certain period, some system of insurance could supply the deficiency.

In respect to the material advantages of machinery, it surely has enlarged the capacities of the people and multiplied their opportunities. The possibilities are such as to make the mind tremble in anticipation. It is the agency which alone can raise wages, reduce the working time and enhance the buying power of money—a threefold gain.

The feeling against machinery will not cease until the workman profits more directly as a producer as well as a consumer, until he is treated as a human being and not as a mere animated tool, until he becomes more than a tender, an incident in production. The human element must become more evident and the toiler made to feel his partnership. The true mission of machinery, would then be revealed to all as the only means which liberate man from drudgery, increase his control over nature and provide the leisure essential to a higher culture.

One of the acknowledged evils of machinery is the exploitation of child labor which usually follows its introduction. Such was the case in England, and we find it repeated to-day in the new industrial districts of the South. In such industries where the repetition of a small mechanical process enables child labor to be employed, the temptation to take advantage of the opportunity is great; for children have no rights to assert, no wage scale to uphold or working time to protect. In that respect child labor is akin to slave labor. It must be added for fairness that the capitalists utilizing such opportunities are not alone to blame, for shortsighted and grasping parents often drive their children into the mills because of the paltry sum which can be added to the family income, and in time they get into the habit of depending upon the pittance purchased at so terrible a price.

The inducement of a “plentiful supply of cheap labor” is also held out to capitalists by small communities as a means of persuading them to locate factories in their neighborhood. These are the two chief obstacles in the way of reform. In course of time, however, as the consequences become more evident and the exultation over the establishment of a new factory wears off, the public conscience revolts against this debasement of the helpless children and the law is eventually evoked to suppress the evil. The strenuous efforts being made in the South upon the part of the labor organizations and sympathizers to enact protective laws lead us to hope that we will at least be spared the dreadful experiences of England during the first half century of the factory system.

V. Tendencies of Factory Legislation and Inspection in the United States

By SARAH S. WHITTELSEY, Ph.D., New Haven, Conn.

TENDENCIES OF FACTORY LEGISLATION AND INSPECTION IN THE UNITED STATES

By SARAH S. WHITTELSEY, Ph.D.

The introduction of the factory system in American industry acted in this country, as it had in England, to develop certain abnormal conditions of labor that in the end required government interference. Thus in the manufacturing states, chiefly in the North and East, there has come into existence a very considerable body of factory law. The enactment of such regulative statutes is the prerogative of each of the several states acting independently and according to the discretion of its own legislature; in consequence there is great variety in these laws and in their scope,—from the comparatively complete codes of Massachusetts and New York to absolutely no regulation whatever.

_Present Factory Laws of the United States._[23]

“In all, about half the states have so far passed what may be called a factory act; that is, laws for the regulation, mainly sanitary, of conditions in factories and workshops. These include ... the New England states generally, New York and the Northern Central and Northwestern states following their legislation. There are almost no factory acts in the South nor in the purely agricultural states of the West, but these statutes are being passed rapidly and moreover, in states where they have already been enacted, are being amended every year.

“The most usual statutes are those making provision for proper fire-escapes, or against use of explosive oils, etc.; for the removal of noxious vapors or dust by fans or other contrivances; requiring guards to be placed about dangerous machinery, belting, elevators, wells, air-shafts, crucibles, vats, etc.; providing that doors shall open outward; prohibiting the machinery from being cleaned while in motion; laws to prevent overcrowding and to secure sanitary conditions generally.”[24] Building laws also reinforce these measures.

Antedating such factory acts proper, the same states have very generally passed statutes regulating child labor and forbidding employment to those under a stated age. In eleven states this age limit is fourteen years, in nine over twelve, and in four,—New Hampshire, Vermont, Nebraska, and California,—ten years; eleven also make educational provision for older children and illiterate minors.[25]

The majority of states have further legislated upon the hours of labor of minors, while fifteen limit the working time of women as well, generally to sixty hours per week, but in Massachusetts to fifty-eight hours, in New Jersey to fifty-five, and in Wisconsin to forty-eight.[26] Eight also provide for time for meals, and five prohibit night work.[27] This limitation of hours for women and children, considered “wards of the state,” very generally necessitates a similar working day for the adult male laborer in the factory, while it in a measure avoids the serious question of constitutionality that a broader statute could not fail to raise.

“There is absolutely no limitation for persons of any age or sex only in Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Kentucky, Arkansas, Texas, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, and the District of Columbia.”[28]

Besides these statutes, other laws that must be mentioned, as immediately affecting the interests of factory labor, are those which regulate wage payment and fines, also the employers’ liability acts which allow recovery of damages for bodily injury sustained in service. Thirteen states have passed laws regulating the period of payment by individuals and corporations, and nine others stipulate weekly or fortnightly payments by corporations. Only Massachusetts, Indiana and Ohio have attempted to “prevent the withholding of wages or the imposition of a fine by factory employers for imperfect work.”

Outside of the New England states “anti-truck acts,” similar to the English statute and stipulating a money payment, have been passed in sixteen states, five of which, however, limit its application to corporations. It may be noted in passing that several of these wage-regulating laws have already fallen under the ban of the courts.

Employers’ liability statutes supplement the factory acts by affording additional reason for care on the part of the employer in guarding dangerous machinery and otherwise providing for the safety of those in his employ. Twenty-two states have legislated upon the “fellow-servant” question, and ten make employers liable for injury caused by defective machinery. Of these, however, only six apply in full to factory labor.

The states that have passed factory acts and regulated hours of labor “have usually created one or more factory inspectors, charged with the duty of seeing that the statutes are carried out generally with powers to enter personally or by deputy and to inspect all factories at any time.”[29]

The child labor laws are variously entrusted for enforcement to the factory inspectors, school committee or board of education, commissioners of labor, or left to the care of the police.

_Historical Development._

It may seem perhaps that such a sketch fails to show the underlying or directive principle of this legislation, but a detailed study of the laws adds confusion rather than enlightenment. Studnitz considered that he had seized upon the real causal force and summed up the situation in the statement that American labor legislation has been determined by the political and social strength of the laborers demanding it, rather than in accordance with the natural needs and varied conditions of industry within the states.[30]

Allowing this explanation at least as to the immediate agency, we must nevertheless recognize the fact that other forces are at work and that there are traceable tendencies of a natural growth even when arbitrary human action is so apparent. The most casual acquaintance with the history of labor legislation must convince us that the action of economic law has inevitably necessitated the legal regulation of labor; and this really in spite of human opposition and in the face of extreme doctrines of non-interference. Industrial labor unregulated has everywhere developed the same symptoms. Competition between producers tends to encourage all possible reductions of costs, to reduce wages, to increase the use of cheap child labor, to perpetuate long hours of labor, etc., and to range the interests of the employing class against those of the operative class. In the struggle which results from this antagonism the employer has the advantage of position to force his own terms of contract upon the laborer, for he has in his hands an accumulated capital which is equivalent in power to effective organization. Such conditions left to work themselves out have invariably acted to degrade the social status of labor, the heaviest pressure falling upon those who could least resist it. This was the experience of England first, then felt on the Continent and in this country in the New England states and other centres of manufacture, and to-day we are becoming aware of like tendencies in the cotton-goods industry of the South.