apprenticed is 11 years, although many children start work at a younger age than this. The hours of work are from 8 to 10 a day, with one-half hour allowed in winter for the mid-day meal and 2 hours in hot weather. In the Shanghai district there were said to be about 20,000 apprentices most of whom live with subcontractors. It was said that the food given to the boys by the contractors is frequently poor and that it is worse when they are not working, employment not being continuous owing to the fact that the contract system is general. In mills and factories visited by the commission many children were seen at work who could not have been more than 6 years of age. The hours of work are usually 12 with not more than 1 hour off for lunch, and the children usually have to stand the whole time they are at work. Most factories stop for one shift at week ends and, with this exception and the customary holidays at the Chinese New Year, work is continuous. Atmospheric and dust conditions and sanitation generally are very bad. The earnings of young children do not average more than 20 cents, silver, a day and in some instances contractors obtain young children from the country, paying the parents $2 a month for the services of each child. These children are poorly housed and fed, and as they receive no money their condition is practically one of slavery. In cotton mills the children are usually employed in the spinning department. In silk filatures most of the employees are women and young girls, in a proportion of one child to every two adults. The children brush the cocoons, removing the waste and so exposing the silk thread. This operation is performed over basins of very hot water with which the fingers of the children frequently and necessarily come in contact, and they are required to stand the entire time they are at work. Many of the children were not more than 6 years old. The temperature of the workroom is usually above normal because of the hot water in the basins, and fainting in hot weather is not uncommon. The children, whose earnings amount to from 20 to 25 cents, silver, a day, are said to present a pitiable spectacle. In addition to the hard work they are often ill-treated by the adult workers if the amount of silk produced from the cocoons falls short of a certain fixed quantity. The conditions under which these children are employed were considered by the commission to be indefensible. Children in the Shanghai district are employed in the match factories in boxing the matches and making up parcels of boxes, for which as little as 9 copper cents is paid for a day's work. In one large factory visited by the commission children not more than 5 years of age were seen to be working with almost incredible rapidity, White phosphorus is used in some of these factories, but it was said that there was a possibility that native regulations coming into force next year forbidding the use of phosphorus might be observed. No precautions were taken against the risk of fire, although it is a special hazard in this industry. Much of the box making is home work, a mother and two children being able to finish from two to three thousand parts of boxes a day at a rate of 9 coppers per thousand. In an appendix to the report the evils of the factory system as it is developing in China without adequate national regulation are summed up as follows: Actual overstrain and injury to life, health, and limb of workers, adult and youthful, but especially to very young workers, through excessively long hours without pauses, through night work, injurious dusts, poisonous substances, humidity, extremes of heat and cold; dangerous unguarded machinery, rapid crowding into towns without good housing, with consequent ill effect on family life, and breakdown of ancient village customs of local government and hygiene; strain on expectant and nursing mothers, and on young, adolescent girls and boys, the future parents of the nation; break-up of the old guild system, and lack of social and economic protection for unorganized and unrepresented workers where personal and fraternal relations of employer and employed are quickly changing into impersonal relations. The recommendations of the commission include the following: (1) That the executive council seek authority to make and enforce regulations prohibiting the employment in factories and industrial undertakings of children under 10 years of age, this limit being raised to 12 years within 4 years from the date when the regulations come into force. (2) That the council seek authority to prohibit the employment in factories and industrial undertakings of children under 14 years of age for a longer period than 12 hours in any period of 24 hours, the working hours to include a compulsory rest period of 1 hour. (3) That in view of local conditions, the prohibition of work of children at night is not immediately practicable. The commission, however, considers night work for young children such a serious evil that it is of the opinion that this question should in any event be further considered by the council at the end of a period of four years. (4) That the council seek authority to make and enforce regulations under which every child under 14 years of age, employed in factories and industrial undertakings in the Settlement, should be given 24 hours' continuous rest from work in at least every 14 days. (5) That the council adopt a measure for the proof of age of working children, such as, for instance, the procedure in the Hongkong ordinance which provides that in any prosecution, until the contrary is proved, the child concerned in the charge is to be assumed to be under a particular age if he or she so appears to the sitting magistrate. (6) That the council seek authority to prohibit the employment of children under 14 years of age in factories and industrial undertakings at any dangerous, unguarded machine, in any dangerous or hazardous place, or at any work likely seriously to injure body or health, and to close any dangerous or hazardous premises where such children are employed until they are made safe. (7) That the council define the term "factory" so as to mean premises in which 10 or more persons are employed in manual work, and to define the expression "industrial undertaking" so as to cover out-of-door occupations, such as building, construction work, and transport, but should not include any agricultural undertakings. (8) That the council provide penalties for the violation of any of these regulations, and that the council provide an adequate staff of trained men and women to carry out the duties of inspection under the regulations. These recommendations are designed to govern the child labor situation in the foreign settlement of Shanghai, covering 16,955 girls and 4,485 boys under 12 years of age. The boys are mostly employed in the cotton mills and the girls in the silk filatures. LABOR AGREEMENTS AND AWARDS AND DECISIONS TH AGREEMENTS Brick and Clay Workers-New Straitsville, Ohio HE agreement made between the Straitsville Impervious Brick Co. and the United Brick and Clay Workers' Union No. 387, May 2, 1924, contains several provisions of interest relative to hiring and discharging, hours of labor, and arbitration. Day work varies from 50% cents to 664 cents per hour. Piece work varies from 45 cents to 832 cents per thousand according to the character of the work to be done. The other provisions of interest are as follows: Hiring and discharging.-The company [is] to give preference to members of the union who are residents of New Straitsville, Shawnee, and vicinity whenever competent men are available and satisfactory to the company. When such union members are not available, the company will select and hire its employees, but if the union can show just cause why any man so chosen is not fit to be an employee, the company will agree not to hire him. All men hired are to agree before going to work to join the union, but no new man shall be asked or required to join the union until he shall have worked on the yard until satisfactory to the company. Superintendents, foremen, two engineers, one machinist, office employees, and those engaged in construction work are not to become members of the union. In case of a shutdown the machinist will be kept employed entirely on machinery work of the character at which he is generally employed. In case of a suspension after the termination of this contract, and pending the making of a new contract, the company shall have the privilege of keeping at work not only the employees specified above as not belonging to the union, but also such of their union employees as may be required to preserve and keep up the property, to wit, burners, kiln firemen, and cartmen, until the burning of the kilns shall be finished. The company is to have entire control of the men at work, without interference by the union, and will have the natural right and privilege of disciplining or discharging any incompetent, disobedient, or unsatisfactory employee without obligation to submit such action to anyone for adjustment. A discharged employee, however, may appeal to the grievance committee of the union for an investigation of the cause of his discharge, and said committee and the discharged employee shall be entitled to an impartial hearing before the manager of the company. If it is shown that he has been unjustly discharged, then it shall be the duty of the manager to reinstate him, and he shall be paid his wages for the time he has lost. In case of a first offense, no man shall be discharged, but shall be laid off for a period not exceeding 10 days. It shall be optional with the company whether they shall fill the vacancy caused by discharging an employee with a new employee or with one of the remaining employees, and it shall be the duty of any man so chosen to take up the work of the discharged man at once so that the factory may continue its work without interruption. In filling all positions requiring skill, special ability, or experience which pay higher wages, the company agrees to promote old employees whenever suitable men for such places are available. No employee shall be discharged because of his activities in union matters or because of any petty prejudice or malice on the part of any foreman, in order to make an opening for employing some friend or favorite of such foreman. Hours of labor.-Eight hours shall constitute a day's work and is the basis of the wage scale of this contract unless otherwise specified herein. Employees shall work overtime and on Sundays at repair work at the regular rates of wages when such work is necessary to keep the plant in continuous operation. For Sunday work they shall be paid for one hour more than the actual time employed, and on week days they shall be paid for not less than one hour overtime. In consideration of the fact that the union and the company are trying to make a success of the 8-hour day in the machine room, the men employed there agree to cooperate fully in getting out the production. Should this production be gotten out in less than 8 hours, such men in the machine room as are not required for repair work may leave and will be paid for 8 hours. If necessary to work overtime in order to get out the production, the men will be paid for not less than 1 hour nor be expected to work more than 1 hour. Such overtime work will not be required on Saturday. Piecework employees shall start at whistle time in the morning and work the full 8 hours unless excused by those in authority. They shall not place a limit on the maximum amount of work they will perform in a day, unless that is satisfactory to the company. The amount of work to be performed by employees working by the hour shall not be limited by the performance of any task or operation, the completion of which does not constitute a day's work. Arbitration.-In case of any local dispute, or any question not covered by this agreement or involving the interpretation of any part of it, arising between any employee and the company, the employee shall present his grievance to the grievance committee duly authorized by the union to act as its agent. Said committee shall carefully investigate the trouble, and if it finds the complaint well founded, it shall endeavor to adjust the difficulty with the superintendent of the plant, but failing to do so, the matter in dispute shall, within 10 days thereafter be left to the arbitration committee composed of one man chosen by the company, one man by the union, both men to be disinterested parties, and if they can not agree they are to call in a third disinterested man, and their decision is to be binding upon all parties. The question of the discharge of any employee is not to be arbitrated, neither shall any dispute arising from a violation of the well-known rules of the company. Pending investigation and arbitration, work shall be continuous, as the object of this section is to prevent strikes on the part of the employees and lockouts by the employer, and is also to prevent any labor dispute from interfering with the continuous operation of the factory. Check off.-The company agrees to check off all dues, assessments, fines, and initiation fees, and will pay the amount checked off to the financial secretary of the union on the second pay day of each month, provided the secretary shall submit the names not later than the first day of each month. Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers-Syracuse, N. Y. THE agreement under which the painters, decorators, and paperhangers of Syracuse, N. Y., are working provides for extra payment for dangerous work or for responsibility and also penalizes the workman who does a poor job. The sections relating to these matters are as follows: SECTION 8. Members working for regular employing painters, decorators or paperhangers shall receive $1.10 per hour. All exterior work being done on buildings over three stories or over the equivalent in height of three stories such as water tanks, trestles, bridges, and all structural-iron work whether done by swing scaffold, bos'n seat, window jacks or life belts shall receive $1 per day more than the regular scale. SECTION 13. In order to promote harmonious relationship between the parties hereto, it is mutually agreed that all defects due to imperfect workmanship are to be corrected by the man making the mistake, on his own time if he is capable, if not, he must pay for same. SECTION 16. Any member of Local Union No. 31 placed in charge of any job where four or more journeymen are employed shall receive at least 10 cents per hour more than the regular journeyman wage. Sign Writers New York City THE New York Sign Writers' Union, Local No. 230, is working under an agreement which not only sets minimum wage rates for the different classes of workers, but also provides that the employee shall be protected from loss due to weather conditions. The sections dealing with these subjects are as follows: ARTICLE III. The minimum rates of wages from April 1, 1924, to March 31, 1925, shall be as follows: Journeyman (any branch)--$13.20 per day. After fourth year, by extension only of the party of the second part, $11 Senior apprentices, $9.60 per day. The minimum rate for men engaged exclusively in the designing of outdoor advertising shall be $16.80 per day. SEC. C. Journeymen and senior apprentices employed on advertising work to be paid regardless of weather condition, or any other circumstance preventing them from working, and over which they have no control, such as rain, snow, or when the official thermometer reaches a point lower than 10 degrees above zero, providing they report for duty on such occasions. AWARDS AND DECISIONS Clothing Industry-Baltimore SEVERAL interesting decisions have been made recently by the trade board in the clothing industry in Baltimore. In case number 196, decided July 20, 1924, two lining basters after working for a time at week work marking cuffs, were returned to their regular occupation at piece work. They claimed that they had suffered a loss by their return and wished to be reimbursed therefor. The impartial chairman decided that "Since both of these men are experienced lining basters, and since they are paid the regular piece rates that all the other lining basters get, the trade board is of the opinion that they have no just ground for complaint." In case No. 198, decided July 19, 1924, a woman sought reinstatement after being away from work for 10 months on a verbal leave of absence." The impartial chairman said Obviously a position can not be held open for such a long time under circumstances like these. It is understood that a leave of absence for a considerable period, as distinguished from absence of a few days, must be secured in writing. Case No. 210, decided August 9, 1924, is one of fixing work. It appears that this man sewed in seven pairs of sleeves with black silk on light coats. The error was discovered in the final examining department after the coat had been completed. The man fixed his own work, but in order to do that, other work, not his, had to be ripped and after he had corrected his error the other parts had to be fixed again and the coat had to be repressed. It is for this fixing and pressing that the charge of $4.65 was made. The agreement requires the worker to fix any errors, regardless of when those errors are discovered, but he is not required to undo the work of others in correcting his own mistakes. The reason this last proviso was put into the agreement |