REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL MEETING 
 
 OF THE 
 
 American Association for Labor Legislation 
 
 HELD AT 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, 
 
 April 10, 1909 
 
b T fo L H 
 
 
 American Association for Labor Legislation 
 
 REPORT 
 
 Of the General Administrative Council Meeting of the 
 American Association for Labor Legislation, 
 held at Chicago, April 10, 1909 
 
 - 
 
 I 8 
 
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 The spring meeting of the General Administrative Council 
 of the American Association for Labor Legislation was held 
 April 10th, at the City Club, in Chicago. 
 
 The work of the day was begun with a meeting of the 
 Executive Committee, followed by a luncheon at 12 :30, after 
 which three members of the council, President Farnain of 
 Yale University, Secretary Commons of the University of 
 Wisconsin, and Commissioner of Labor McEwen of Minne¬ 
 sota, addressed the regular Saturday meeting of the City 
 Club, on Workingmen’s Insurance> 
 
 The semi-annual meeting of tlie Administrative Council 
 was opened at 2:30, in the library of the City Club, with 
 President Farnam in the chair. The following members were 
 present: Miss Jane Addams, of Hull House; Henry W. Far- 
 nam, of Yale University; Towner K. Webster, of the Web¬ 
 ster Manufacturing Company, Chicago; John P. Frey, editor 
 of the Iron Holders 1 Journal , Cincinnati; Edgar T. Davies, 
 Chief Factory Inspector, of Illinois; Mrs. Raymond Robins, 
 president of the National Women’s Trade Union League; 
 William E. McEwen, Commissioner of Labor of Minnesota; 
 Hugh R. Fuller, National Legislative Representative of the 
 Railway Trainmen, of Pennsylvania; Robert Hunter, of New 
 York City; Ernst Freund, Professor of Law in the University 
 of Chicago; Richard T. Ely, chairman of the Madison Local 
 Executive Council; and Secretary John R. Commons, Assist¬ 
 ant Secretary Irene Osgood, and Executive Secretary John 
 B. Andrews, of Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
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In addition to the above, the following members and 
 friends of the Association were present: Graham Taylor, of 
 the Chicago Commons; James D. Beck, Commissioner of 
 Labor of Wisconsin; Julius Wiengerski, of Chicago; John 
 A. Fitch, of the Pittsburg Survey; George N. Carman, of 
 Chicago; Don Lescohier and Reuben McKitrick of the Uni¬ 
 versity of Wisconsin; and John L. Coulter, Secretary of the 
 Minnesota State Branch. 
 
 The minutes of the preceding meeting, the report of the 
 executive secretary, and the statement of cash receipts and 
 disbursements for the first quarter of the year 1909, were 
 read by the Executive Secretary. 
 
 REPORT OF EXECUTIVE SECRETARY 
 
 T'- • I ■ J (April 1909) 
 
 Since the annual meeting of the Association at Atlantic 
 City, two State Branches have been organized. Early in 
 January the Assistant Secretary co-operated with local mem¬ 
 bers in the preliminary work of forming a State Branch in 
 Minnesota, which was finally organized on February 8th. At 
 the same time the Secretary and the President of the Asso¬ 
 ciation attended preliminary conferences in New York, 
 which resulted in a public meeting and the organization of 
 the New York Branch on February 19th. Recently, inquiries 
 have been received from members in Missouri, Massachu¬ 
 setts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and steps have been taken 
 by the Association to co-operate in the organization of State 
 Branches in those four states. 
 
 Aside from the special organization activity, mentioned 
 above, the work of the Association during the three months 
 has been conducted almost entirely from the office in Madi¬ 
 son . 
 
 The Secretary, however, has addressed meetings of the 
 Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Association in Milwaukee, 
 and the Six 0’Clock Club, the Saturday Lunch Club, and the 
 University students, at Minneapolis, on Workingmen’s In¬ 
 surance and Industrial Hygiene. For the consideration of 
 similar subjects, he has also attended frequent conferences 
 and carried on a considerable correspondence with people 
 from various parts of the country. 
 
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Encouraging progress has been made in the tabulation and 
 comparative analysis of laws on the subjects of Sunday Rest, 
 Health, Comfort and Safety of Employees, the Labor of 
 Women, Factory Inspection, and Industrial Accidents. 
 
 The time of the Assistant Secretary has been fully occu¬ 
 pied with the work of preparing for the printer the manu¬ 
 script of the Second Annual Meeting, the quarterly report 
 to the International Office, the department on Labor Legis¬ 
 lation in Charities and the Commons, special articles on labor 
 legislation, and with the rapidly increasing business of the 
 office. Twice during the last six weeks the Assistant Secre¬ 
 tary was called upon to address meetings in Milwaukee, where 
 she explained the plans and work of the Association to the 
 representatives of the Wisconsin State Consumers’ League, 
 and the members of the Milwaukee Social Economics Club. 
 These addresses have served a two-fold purpose. They have 
 made known to a wider circle the organization’s purposes 
 and plans, and they have increased the membership in Wis¬ 
 consin. 
 
 The Executive Secretary commenced work on February 
 12th. The preparation of special new circulars', and leaflets, 
 and revised editions of the old material including the Con¬ 
 stitution and the Outline of Work, and the task of re-organ¬ 
 izing the office system in order to facilitate the extension of 
 the work of the Association, were recognized as necessary 
 first steps. As a preliminary to subsequent field work, iden¬ 
 tification card lists of members and correspondents, and 
 duplicate catalogs classified by States and cities, with special 
 information concerning persons and places, have been com¬ 
 pleted. 
 
 Thousands of pieces of literature have been enclosed in 
 letters and, with discrimination, distributed to special groups 
 of supposedly interested people. 
 
 Requests for information have steadily increased. Among 
 the many inquiries which have been received, the following 
 are merely typical. Requests for special information con¬ 
 cerning the laws of all States and the most progressive for¬ 
 eign countries on the Health, Safety, and Comfort of Em¬ 
 ployees, by the Illinois Industrial Commission; the laws of 
 all States providing for the care of dependent children, by 
 
the Chicago Women’s Trade Union League; bills recently 
 introduced for the protection of women workers, by the Leg¬ 
 islative Committee of the Neighborhood Workers; laws reg¬ 
 ulating the speed of machinery, by the librarian of the Kan¬ 
 sas State Library; bibliographical information concerning a 
 list of books, submitted by the Women’s Trade Union League 
 of New York City; sources of information on the subject of 
 public and private health, by the World's Work magazine ; 
 Municipal Control of the Milk Supply, by the New York Milk 
 Committee; proper procedure of prosecution under Child 
 
 by Miss Breckenridge of the University of Chicago; status 
 of the sweated industries legislation in the British parlia¬ 
 ment, by tlie secretary of the National Consumers’ League. 
 
 Two meetings of the Local Executive Council have been 
 held for the consideration of several matters of business of a 
 more or less routine character. 
 
 Special attention has been given to building up the or¬ 
 ganization and to arousing interest in the subject of indus¬ 
 trial hygiene. On February 16th, a bill was introduced in 
 the Wisconsin Legislature providing for an investigation of 
 conditions affecting the health, vitality and industrial effi¬ 
 ciency of wage earners. Thousands of copies of this bill, 
 with a brief history of the Association’s interest in the sub¬ 
 ject of industrial hygiene, were circulated in the state of 
 Wisconsin and throughout the United States. The bill came 
 before a joint committee of both houses on March 25th and 
 was reported favorably by a unanimous vote. 
 
 In accordance with the spirit of the International Office 
 considerable time has been spent in outlining plans for the 
 investigation of special conditions resulting in occupational 
 disease. 
 
 Arrangements have been made for the publication of 1,000 
 copies of the Second Annual Report, and an additional thou¬ 
 sand separate copies of President Farnam’s address, to be 
 circulated more widely wherever conditions appear most 
 favorable for strengthening the organization. 
 
 Word has come from the English office that present plans 
 provide for the delivery of eight numbers of the Bulletin 
 during the present year. The first number for the year is 
 
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being mailed to the members this week from the Madison 
 office. The number of copies of the Bulletin ordered from 
 the London office has been doubled. 
 
 The membership of the Association is increasing steadily. 
 
 John B. Andrews, 
 
 Executive Secretary. 
 
 A letter from the secretary of the National Civic Federa¬ 
 tion, with reference to a proposed conference on Uniform 
 Legislation, was read by President Farnam. The executive 
 committee was authorized to take the necessary steps to se¬ 
 cure proper representation. 
 
 On motion of Dr. Ely, the appointment of a delegation to 
 attend the meeting of the Commission on Uniform State 
 Legislation was referred to the Executive Committee, with 
 power to act. 
 
 The arrangement of the program for the Annual Meeting 
 at New York, December 1909, was also left to the Executive 
 Com mittee. 
 
 On motion of Mrs. Robins, seconded by Professor Freund, 
 the Administrative Council voted to recommend to the an¬ 
 nual meeting that Section 5, of Article Y, LOCAL SEC¬ 
 TIONS, be amended so as to read : 
 
 “The officers of this section shall be a president and a sec¬ 
 retary-treasurer, who, with three or more other members, 
 shall constitute the Executive Committee.” 
 
 STATE BRANCHES 
 
 At the request of Miss Addams discussion was called for 
 on the subject of State Branches. Said Secretary Commons: 
 “The purpose of the Association is to bring up the backward 
 States. . . . Pennsylvania is a drag upon the progress 
 
 of social legislation. . . . The influence of Pennsylvania 
 
 is more important for us than the influence of the Southern 
 States. . We should build up the membership in 
 
 Pennsylvania, and organize a State Branch. . . . Then 
 
 we should investigate Pennsylvania’s State Factory Inspec¬ 
 tion . . , get the facts and publish them . . . lighten 
 
 the load of competing States (New York, New Jersey, etc.) 
 . . . As a practical suggestion I say : Make a vigorous 
 
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campaign in Pennsylvania, and I ask the question : Will 
 concentration on Pennsylvania be a discouragement to the 
 branches in Illinois, Minnesota, and other progressive 
 States?” 
 
 Miss Addams wished to emphasize important national 
 phases of the subject of labor legislation, and referred to 
 lack of uniformity in regulations of child labor in theatres. 
 She felt very strongly that the national aspect of labor legis¬ 
 lation needed special attention. 
 
 Professor Freund said : "The Illinois Branch is giving in¬ 
 dividual advice and keeping an eye on Springfield. 
 
 Locals should work out locally what the American Associa¬ 
 tion is trying to do on a national scale.” 
 
 Mr. Webster said : " Work men’s Compensation is a subject 
 on which it is easy to get up enthusiasm. People will meet 
 you more than half way. Of course we want uniform laws. 
 
 . Our hope, of course, is agitation. . . . Lay out 
 
 a policy. . . . Get people to go around and talk. . . . 
 
 Hammer away—on not too big a plan.” 
 
 Dr. Coulter, Secretary of the Minnesota Branch, explained 
 that they had a very definite piece of work on hand when 
 their State Branch was organized. They had given much 
 attention to Workmen’s Compensation, and indirectly had 
 been active in getting people interested. He felt that the 
 questions of finance and publicity were the most important 
 internal problems before the Minnesota Branch. He be¬ 
 lieved in organizing the most advanced states first. 
 
 Mrs. Robins thought it a great mistake to think the same 
 people were in all progressive groups. u We can get more 
 people interested, and there should be a membership of 1,000 
 in the State of Illinois.” 
 
 Mr. Davies, factory inspector for the State of Illinois, said : 
 "The locals should be well organized, and might do much by 
 inspecting the factory inspectors. 1 welcome it here.” 
 
 Mr. McEwen urged the Association to lay out a program 
 for two years hence, and then investigate with that in mind. 
 In Minnesota a minimum air space bill was introduced, but 
 failed because no one backed it up with intelligence. 
 
 President Farnam said: "There is a well-defined division 
 of functions between the National and the State Associa- 
 
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tions. It is the function of the National Association to sup¬ 
 ply ammunition—the Bulletin , leaflets, pamphlets, etc. The 
 State Branches are on the firing line and should push legis¬ 
 lation. They are in a position to appear before legislative 
 committees and say: l We represent this State and have a 
 right to be heard ! ’ Local Branches should be financed by local 
 contributions. ” 
 
 Mrs. Bobins recommended that the consideration of the 
 problem of local finances be referred to the executive com¬ 
 mittee, and it was so voted. 
 
 BUREAU OF INFORMATION 
 
 Secretary Commons opened the discussion on this subject, 
 and asked for opinions on what is needed. He mentioned 
 many requests received for information and the present dif¬ 
 ficulties in the way of giving full replies, on account of in¬ 
 adequate office force. 
 
 President Farnam gave as his opinion that, “ Willy nilly, 
 we need to furnish information.” 
 
 Mrs. Robins mentioned an important item of information 
 regarding the feeding of school children in the United States, 
 recently furnished by the Association through her to a for¬ 
 eign association, after the failure of several inquiries made 
 to various governmental and private bodies. This experience 
 proved to her the importance of supporting the Association 
 in establishing its Bureau of Information. 
 
 John Frey said : u We want good tools for labor legislation 
 and can’t get them. ... I burn midnight oil in trying 
 to get information on what laws have been passed. 
 
 We get State legislation which is declared unconstitutional 
 and then we introduce bills in Congress which we are told 
 would infringe on State’s rights. ... A Bureau of In¬ 
 formation is one of the most valuable things the Association 
 could provide for us.” 
 
 Mr. McKitrick described the methods of the Wisconsin 
 Legislative Reference Library, and thought the essential 
 problem was to secure some one to collect and catalog ma¬ 
 terial. 
 
 Mr. Webster said he helped organize the “People’s Lobby, ” 
 and knew the Standard Oil Company could always get infor- 
 
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mation. He added : “The government should get this in¬ 
 formation. It is a function of the government. In the mean¬ 
 time we must do what we can. We must organize public 
 sentiment and tell the government that it is a public func¬ 
 tion.” 
 
 Mr. F idler believed the government should do the work 
 and supply information in an impartial way. “But,” he 
 said, “government statistics often do not go far enough. 
 This Association should figure out something more vital with 
 the aid of government statistics. Encourage the Department 
 of Labor at Washington to provide a Bureau of Information. 
 Bass a resolution, and urge action.” 
 
 Mr. Fuller introduced the following resolution, which was 
 unanimously adopted : 
 
 Resolved —That in the opinion of the General Administra¬ 
 tive Council of the American Association for Labor Legisla¬ 
 tion there is urgent need for the establishment in the Bureau 
 of Labor at Washington of a Division of Information regard¬ 
 ing social legislation and social conditions in the several 
 States, the United States and foreign countries; and that 
 the information so collected should be furnished promptly on 
 request in such form as will be of the greatest immediate 
 practical value. 
 
 Resolved ,—That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
 President of the United States, the Senate and the House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 POLICY FOR THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE 
 
 The relative importance of extending the organization, 
 making investigations, and promoting legislation was next 
 discussed. 
 
 President Farnam opened the discussion. “We cannot do 
 anything without extending the organization,” he said. 
 “Investigations are useful but costly. This Association 
 probably cannot undertake the big investigations on account 
 of the expense. We can, however, stimulate investigations. 
 The Federal Government subscribes, and we can make a 
 strong appeal to the Government. The Sage Foundation 
 may be encouraged, and we may secure investigations made 
 under its auspices. We can then promote legislation through 
 the State Branches. 
 
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INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE 
 
 Dr. Ely spoke to the question: The relative importance 
 of different subjects, such as industrial hygiene, accidents, 
 workingmen’s insurance and compensation, labor of women 
 and children, and in reply to the question, Which is most 
 important? said: “Industrial Hygiene, without question. It 
 furnishes the strategic point, along lines of least resistance. 
 It is so reasonable that it appeals to everybody. Even school 
 children know the value of it. Of all the national resources 
 of which we hear so much, human resources are the most 
 important. Public health is involved. We disarm opposi¬ 
 tion when we propose to take up the question of Industrial 
 Hygiene. Efficiency of workers is of interest to employers. 
 
 We enlist strong classes, especially physicians, in 
 our favor. We can secure the co-operation of Boards of 
 Health and they can carry out policies and secure new legis¬ 
 lation. We can get facts of great importance on ventilation, 
 and the effect of air on health. Pacts of great significance 
 are already available. Boards of Health have great power, 
 and they are little interfered with by the courts. There is 
 least likelihood of opposition from the courts here. In this 
 way we can persuade the courts to uphold labor laws. If 
 the New York Bakers’ Case had been presented from the 
 standpoint of industrial hygiene it would not have been lost. 
 It would have appeared reasonable. We should try to induce 
 other agencies to take up this question. More can be done 
 through a study of industrial hygiene than in any other 
 way.” 
 
 Professor Freund then offered the following resolution : 
 
 The fundamental purpose of labor legislation is the con¬ 
 servation of the human resources of the nation. The phy¬ 
 sique, vigor and wide-awake intelligence of the future wage¬ 
 earning population is of greater importance than the conser¬ 
 vation of our natural resources. Wise legislation on either 
 subject cannot be enacted unless it is based on thorough, 
 scientific investigation. Such investigation is imperative 
 also as an aid to the courts in determining the constitution¬ 
 ality of labor laws brought before them. The decisions of 
 the courts show clearly that they rely upon the science of 
 industrial hygiene in marking out the limits of the police 
 power. As long as this branch of science remains undevel¬ 
 oped, the legislatures and the courts can rely only on uncer- 
 
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tain opinions and common knowledge. This is not enough 
 to support legislation regulating the hours and conditions of 
 labor. Employers and workmen also are seeking more exact 
 knowledge in order that they may improve the health,-vigor 
 and efficiency of labor. The more exact and scientific the 
 knowledge on this subject the more can be expected from 
 the voluntary co-operation of employers and workmen with¬ 
 out resort to legislation. In view of its fundamental impor¬ 
 tance the American Association for Labor Legislation joins 
 with the International Association in urging upon all medical 
 bodies and colleges, all bureaus of labor, boards of health, 
 all philanthropic and charitable agencies and endowments, 
 to take up and carry out the scientific investigation of in¬ 
 dustrial hygiene. Only in this way can the human resources 
 of the country be conserved, just as agricultural and engi¬ 
 neering science have been brought to the conservation of 
 natural resources. 
 
 “Now, just one word on the legal importance of this,” 
 said Professor Freund. “The courts should have before them 
 well-worked out schedules showing what and where protec¬ 
 tion is needed. ... A measure that is general is apt to 
 be unreasonable; a measure that is not general is apt to be 
 class legislation. ... A thorough investigation of in¬ 
 dustrial hygiene would revolutionize the attitude of our 
 courts with reference to labor legislation.” 
 
 Coulter : “We in Minnesota are going to work on the ques¬ 
 tion of Workingmen’s Insurance.” 
 
 Ely: “This resolution would not interfere.” 
 
 Farnam : “This furnishes the best opportunity to get in¬ 
 vestigation. Hygiene is at the basis of all of it. It touches 
 questions of hours, age, etc. Industrial hygiene is funda¬ 
 mental and practicable. This resolution would be an ex¬ 
 pression of opinion, but other subjects would not be neg¬ 
 lected.” 
 
 Mrs. Robins: “Accidents are closely associated with long 
 hours.” 
 
 11 ■ 
 
 Webster: “An investigation of industrial hygiene will 
 furnish the basis for attack. We must have this basis first, 
 before Insurance Companies would take up the question of 
 compensation. ” 
 
 Freund: “Industrial Hygiene and accidents differ; we 
 know about accidents, and the question is as between differ- 
 
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ent methods of legislation. But we know too little about 
 Industrial Hygiene to have even a basis for legislation.” 
 
 The question was then put and the resolution was adopted 
 unanimously. 
 
 Adjourned at 5 :25 P. M. 
 
 At six o’clock about 100 members, as guests of the Illinois 
 State Branch, sat down to dinner in the Club dining room. 
 Unusual opportunities for social intercourse were given to 
 visiting members, who had the pleasure of meeting several 
 distinguished representatives of the Illinois Branch. 
 
 The evening was given over to a public meeting with short 
 addresses by Professor Farnam, Dr. Andrews, Deputy Labor 
 Commissioner Lorenz of Wisconsin, and Professor Commons. 
 The discussion was led by Miss Jane Addams, and continued 
 by Mr. Webster, and Edwin JR,. Wright, president of the Illi¬ 
 nois State Federation of Labor. Among those present were 
 Judge Julian Mack, Louis Post, editor of The Public, Luke 
 Grant, secretary of the Illinois State Branch, Dr. Alice 
 Hamilton, William Hard, Bertha Poole Weyl, Dr. David 
 Blau stein, Professor C. Edward Merriam, Agnes Nestor, Sec¬ 
 retary Nockles of the Chicago Federation of Labor, and 
 Attorney Frederick N. Judson, of St. Louis. 
 
 The Conference was in many respects the most successful 
 in the history of the organization. 
 
 JOHN B. ANDREWS, 
 
 Executive Secretary, American Section of the 
 International Association for Labor Legislation. 
 
 ALadison, Wisconsin, 
 
 April 1909. 
 
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