on steam and on electric railways, and more than a dozen states have eight-hour laws for the protection of workers in mines and smelters. In two states, also, Mississippi and Oregon, ten-hour laws were passed in 1912 workers in manufacturing industries.

1912 and 1913 for

(a) Transportation. The regulation of hours of labor_on railroads presents peculiar difficulties. Almost invariably employees in other industries live sufficiently near their work to enable them to return home at night. But the engineer or fireman may find himself several hundred miles away from home or even away from food and shelter at the end of a stated number of hours' work. The problem therefore is to arrange "runs" so that employees may at the end of their work period find themselves in habitable quarters. The length of the "run" must, of course, depend somewhat upon the length of the railway division and upon the character of the country through which the road extends.

One of the early court decisions dealing with hours on railroads involved the case of an engineer who, after he had been on duty for nearly seventeen hours, was summoned by the master mechanic of the road to take out another train which it was assumed would require only five or six hours of work. In reality the second run lasted for a much longer time, and on his return after thirty-one hours' service his train collided with another train on the company's road. the ground of contributory negligence the court denied the engineer's claim for damages for injuries he sustained. Such situations have not been infrequent and runs of thirty-six, fifty, seventy, and at times even 100 hours have been recorded.2 These excessive hours have often resulted in serious accidents and great loss of life, and accordingly the first decade of the twentieth century saw the enactment, under the influence of the powerful railroad brotherhoods, of many laws regulating the length of the working day for railroad employees.

Although the legislation is of comparatively recent date,

Smith v. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co., 39 Tex. Civ. App. 468, 87 S. W. 1052 (1905).

2 For a vivid description of this subject see paper by A. B. Garretson, American Labor Legislation Review, Vol. IV, No. 1, pp. 120-128.

already over half of the states of the union have placed such acts upon their statute books. This legislation relates usually to two classes of employees, those directly connected with the handling of trains, such as engineers, firemen, conductors, and brakemen, and those connected with directing the movements of trains, such as despatchers, telegraphers, and signal-men.

Considerable uniformity exists in these legal restrictions. For men actually handling the trains the majority of states make sixteen hours the maximum limit for a day's work, to be followed by eight or ten consecutive hours of rest. Certain classes of employees, such as those on sleeping-cars, baggage-cars, or wrecking-trains, are frequently excluded, while a few roads under a specified length are exempted, as in New York, where the law applies only to lines of thirty or more miles. Practically all states make exceptions in case of "emergencies," a necessary exemption, but one which, if not defined, can easily be used as an excuse for disregarding all legal limitations.

The second class of railroad employees for whom hour limitations have been established by law are those connected with the movement of trains, such as telegraphers, despatchers, and signal-men. Great irregularity of employment exists among this class of workers, since an operator's work and distribution of time will depend entirely upon the frequency of train service at his particular station. Here again legal hours depend upon whether or not employment is continuous. In the case of continuous employment hours are usually limited to eight a day, and frequently the three-shift system is used, particularly in the larger railroad centers. If employment is not continuous, or if offices are open only in the daytime, hours are usually limited to twelve or thirteen a day, to be followed by a rest period of eight or ten hours, as with trainMost states make a few exceptions or allow overtime for limited periods, while two or three restrict hours only where a certain number of trains, as eight passenger or twenty freight-trains, pass daily.

men.

Railroad employees on interstate lines are protected by a federal statute, enacted on March 4, 1907, applying to all persons actually engaged in or connected with the movement of any train" in the District of Columbia, or in any

territory of the United States, or on interstate lines. By this act hours are limited to sixteen a day, with certain provisions for rest periods; but no train-despatcher, telegrapher, or any employee who transmits messages or orders by telegraph or telephone "shall be required or permitted to be or to remain on duty for a longer period than nine hours" in places continuously operated day and night, nor for more than thirteen hours in places operated only during the daytime. Overtime in cases of emergency, which is carefully defined in the act, may be permitted for four additional hours on not more than three days a week. The Interstate Commerce Commission is charged with the duty of enforcing the act, and it may require reports of violations and of the causes for overtime, and may after full hearing extend the period of permitted overtime in special cases. By the operation of the federal act the great majority of railroad employees, even in states without hour limitation laws, are protected, since but few employees are engaged in intrastate train service exclusively.

Somewhat akin to the problem of the trainman is that of the motorman and conductor on street railways. Until the early 'eighties, hours for streetcar employees were commonly from twelve to fourteen a day, and often ran as high as sixteen to eighteen. In 1864 a coroner's jury in the city of Philadelphia, passing upon a fatal accident, said: "Nor should we expect vigilance and attention from employees worn out by seventeen hours of incessant labor. . . . The constant occurrence of passenger railway accidents demands from this jury an unequivocal condemnation of the companies who compel men to do work to which the bodily and mental frame is not usually equal."

3

During the 'eighties the states began to enact legislation on the subject, until now about a dozen laws have been passed limiting hours usually to ten or twelve a day. Most of these acts provide for overtime in case of unexpected emergencies, and many require extra compensation for such emergency

1 United States, Laws 1906-1907, C. 2939.

2 See "Rest,Periods," p. 247.

United States Bureau of Labor, Bulletin No. 57, March, 1905, "Street Railway Employment in the United States," Walter E. Weyl, p. 610,

work, but very few give adequate attention to the equitable distribution of working time. Although streetcar service is one of the most constant forms of employment, the public demands not only regularity, but also additional service at the rush periods of the day, on Sundays and holidays, after the theater, for excursions, public games, or special celebrations, and on many other occasions, most of which do not occur with any degree of regularity. Men must be employed to meet these irregular and often unexpected demands. For this purpose a long waiting-list is usually kept, and men are employed and paid often for only two or three hours at a time. The presence of these extra men acts as a stimulus to the regular men, who for fear of losing their jobs will work for a longer time than the normal period. This situation furnishes an additional reason for the enactment of legislation in several states definitely fixing the maximum number of hours within which the legal day's work must be performed. Rhode Island in 1902 provided that a day's work should not be longer than ten hours, completed within twelve consecutive hours' time. Although this measure specifically permitted contracts for overtime, the supreme court of the state held the ten-hour day binding upon all companies, since the legislature had expressly stated its intention to limit the hours of all employees covered by the act.2 Massachusetts is among the more recent states which have attempted to meet effectively the problem of proper distribution of time. In 1913 the legislature limited working hours to nine a day and set eleven consecutive hours as the maximum time within which the labor must be performed.3 Moreover, this act specifically provides that threat of loss of employment or refusal of future work or hindering an employee in securing other work will be considered as "requiring" overtime, which is punishable by a heavy penalty.

Another method of regulating hours of service on street railways is by the insertion of labor clauses in franchises

1 Rhode Island, Laws 1902, Cs. 1004, 1045.

'Opinion to the governor (In re Ten-Hour Law for Street Ry. Corporations), 24 R. I. 603, 54 Atl. 602 (1902). "The law before us is more clearly within such power, for the triple reason that it deals with public corporations, the use of a public franchise, and a provision for public safety." • Massachusetts, Laws 1912, C. 533, as amended by Laws 1913, C. 833,

granted to railway companies. This method is much less common in America than in European cities. In Paris, for instance, one of the labor conditions stipulated in the franchise for the subway was that daily hours should not exceed ten. Among the few American cities which have adopted this plan are Dallas, where a twelve-hour day, and Cleveland and Detroit, where a ten-hour day were secured on local car lines.

Regulation of hours in water transportation is found in a federal act of 1913, limiting hours of deck officers to nine out of twenty-four while in port, and, except in emergencies, to twelve out of twenty-four while at sea. The federal law of 1915 regulating the working conditions of seamen provides that when a vessel is in a "safe harbor, nine hours, inclusive of the anchor watch, shall constitute a day's work." 2

(b) Mines and Tunnels. During the past generation several states have taken still another step and have enacted legislation regulating the hours of labor for men in private employments where the safety or welfare of the general public is not involved. This class of legislation has been applied particuTarly to mines, smelters, and related industries.

The mining industries occupy an important position in the industrial life of this country, since they employ over one and one-half million workmen, practically all being adult males. Coal-mining alone claims nearly one-half the total number. Trade union organizations in both the coal and the metalliferous branches of this industry have been among the largest and most powerful in America.

The special dangers of mining have been frequently pointed out, as well as the greater hazard in American than in foreign mines. It has been shown, for instance, that the average fatality rate in coal-mining in the United States during the ten years ending with 1910 was 3.74 a 1,000, in comparison with a rate of 2.92 for Japan, 2.11 for Germany, 1.69 for France, 1.36 for Great Britain, 1.04 for Austria, and 1.02 for Belgium.3

1 United States, Laws 1912-1913, C. 118.

2 Ibid., Laws 1914-1915, C. 153.

3 United States Bureau of Mines, Bulletin No. 69, 1913, "Coal-Mine Accidents in the United States and Foreign Countries," Frederick W. Horton, p. 87.