SECOND BIENNIAL REPORT
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State of Kansas
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FROM JUNE 30, 1917, TO
APRIL 15, 1919
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SECOND BIENNIAL REPORT % 3
OF THE
Industrial Welfare Commission
OF THE
State of Kansas
From June 30, 1917, to April 15, 1919
HANSAS STATE PRINTING PLANT
IMRI ZUMWALT, STATE PRINTER
TOPEKA. 1919
7–7066

MEMBERS OF INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
P. J. McBRIDE, Labor Commissioner,
Chairman.
(Labor Commissioner is ea officio member of Commission.)
MRS. A. C. MITCHELL.
Term expires January 1, 1921.
MR. CHARLES HAMLIN.
Term expires January 1, 1923.
LINNA. E. BRESETTE.
Secretary.
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MARCH 1930
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
OFFICE OF INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION, STATE OF KANSAS,
TOPEKA, KAN., April 15, 1919.
To Honorable Henry J. Allen, Governor of the State of Kansas:
SIR-In compliance with chapter 275, Session Laws of 1915,
we have the honor to transmit herewith to you and to the
members of the legislature this, the second biennial report of
the Industrial Welfare Commission, for the years 1917 and
1918.
This report of the Industrial Welfare Commission will not
cover a period of two full years, but we have deemed it ad-
visable at this time to make a brief report setting forth what
has been accomplished and some of the aims and purposes of
the Commission. Respectfully yours, -
INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
P. J. MCBRIDE, Chairman.
MRS. A. C. MITCHELL.
CHARLES HAMLIN.
LINNA E. BRESETTE, Secretary.
(3)
INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
THE LAW.
INDUSTRIAL VVE LIF.ARE COMMISSION ESTABLISHEI)—POWERS
ANID DUTIES.
1. State asserts police power to regulate 9. Board may establish hours and stand-
labor conditions of women, learners, ards.
apprentices and minors. 10. Commission review determination of
2. Unlawful to employ at inadequate “board”; notify employers.
Wages. 11. Reopen determinations upon petition.
3. Commission created ; appointments; 12. Special license for physically unfit.
terms of office; vacancies; quorum 13. Terms and names defined.
of commission ; blood or marriage 14. Employers may appeal to district
clause. court.
4. Expenses of commission ; office pro: 15. Penalties.
vided. 16. Discriminations: penalties.
5. Investigation ; authority of commis- 17. Further penalties; damages.
sion. 18. Further investigation.
6. Employers to keep register ; inspec- 19. Duties of commissioner of labor.
tion by commission. 20. Biennial report.
7. Public hearings; further powers; wit- 21. Application of act.
nesses; expense of hearing.
8. May establish “board” to regulate
wages, hours and conditions; coin-
pensation and expenses. |,
AN ACT to establish an industrial welfare commission for women, learners and appren-
tices, and minors, prescribing its powers and duties and providing for the fixing of
wages, hours, and the standard conditions of labor for such workers: providing
penalties for violations of the same.
Be it enacted by the Legislatum e of the State of Kansas:
SECTION 1. That the state of Kansas exercising herewith its police
and sovereign power declares that inadequate wages, long continued
hours and unsanitary conditions of labor, exercise a pernicious effect on
the health and welfare of women, learners and apprentices, and minors.
SEC. 2. That it shall be unlawful to employ women, learners, and ap-
prentices and minors in any industry or occupation within the state of
.Kansas under conditions of labor detrimental to their health or wel-
fare and it shall be unlawful to employ women, learners, and appren-
tices and minors in any industry within the state of Kansas at wages
which are not adequate for their maintenance and for more hours in
any one day than is consonant with their health and welfare, except as
herinafter provided.
SEC. 3. That there is hereby created a commission to be known as
the Industrial Welfare Commission for tho state of Kansas to establish
such standard of wages, hours, and conditions of labor for women, learn-
ers and apprentices, and minors employed within this state as shall be
held hereunder to be reasonable and not detrimental to health and wel-
fare. This Commission shall consist of the Commissioner of Labor and
two others appointed by the governor. No two of whom shall be from
any one congressional district. At least one member of this Commission
shall be a woman. The first appointment shall be made within sixty days
(5)
6 Industrial Welfare Commission.
after the passage of this act. One member shall be appointed to serve
until January 1, 1917, a second to serve until January 1, 1918. There-
after each member shall be appointed for a term of four years and until
his successor is appointed and qualifies. The governor shall have the
power of removal for cause. Any vacancy that may occur shall be filled
in like manner for the unexpired portion of the term. The Commission
shall have power to elect its own chairman, a secretary, and such other
employees as it may require. Two members of the Commission shall con-
stitute a quorum at all regular meetings: Provided, that no person shall
be appointed on such Commission, who is related by blood or marriage to
the Commissioner of Labor, or to any state officer, or to any member of
any other state board or commission. And no person shall be appointed
to any place or position on said Commission or be employed by such Com-
mission in any way who is related by blood or marriage to any member
thereof, or to any of its chief officers or heads of departments.
SEC. 4. That each member of the Commission shall be paid all trav-
eling and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his
or her official duties, but shall serve without salary. The Commission
may incur other necessary expenses not exceeding the appropriation
therefor and shall be provided with an office in the statehouse.
SEC. 5. That the Commission may at its discretion investigate wages,
hours and sanitary and other conditions affecting women, learners and
apprentices and minors in any industry or occupation in the state.
Upon the request of not less than twenty-five persons engaged in any
occupation in which women, learners and apprentices and minors are
employed, it shall become the duty of the Commission to make such in-
vestigation as is herein provided. To this end, said Commission shall
have full power and authority to call for statements and to examine,
either through its members or other authorized representatives, all pay-
rolls or other wage records of all persons, firms or corporations employ-
ing women, learners and apprentices and minors as to any matter that
would have a bearing upon the question of wages, hours, or labor condi-
tions of such employees.
SEC. 6. That every employer of women or of learners and appren-
tices, or of minors shall keep a register of all such persons employed by
him in such form as the Commission shall prescribe; and every such em-
ployer shall on request permit the Commission, or any of its members, or
agents to inspect such register.
SEC. 7. That the Commission may hold public hearings at such times
and places as it deems fit and proper for the purpose of investigating
any matters it is authorized to investigate by this act. At any such
public hearings, any employee, or employer or other interested person
may appear and give testimony as to wages, hours, sanitation and other .
pertinent conditions of the occupation or industry under investigation.
The Commission or any member thereof shall have power to subpoena
witnesses, to administer oaths, to compel the production of all wage
records, papers, and other evidence, and to make findings and report
such findings to the Commission; but no order shall be made by less than
a majority of the Commission. Witnesses subpoenaed by the Commission
Second Biennial Report. 7
may be allowed such compensation for travel and attendance as the Com-
mission may deem reasonable, to an amount not exceeding the usual
mileage and per diem allowed by statute to witnesses in civil cases in
the district court.
SEC. 8. That if after investigation the Commission is of the opinion
that in any occupation the wages, hours and conditions, sanitary and
otherwise, are prejudicial to the health or welfare of any substantial
number of the classes of employees named in this act and are inadequate
to supply the necessary cost of living and to maintain the worker in
health, it shall establish a wage, hour or sanitary board, as the condi-
tions developed may demand, which shall hereinafter be described as
the “board,” consisting of not less than three representatives of em-
ployers in the occupation in question, of an equal number of persons to
represent the employees in the occupation in question, and of one or
more disinterested persons appointed by the Commission to represent
the public, and shall make rules and regulations governing the selec-
tion of members and the modes of procedure of the board, and shall ex-
ercise exclusive jurisdiction over all questions arising with reference
to the validity of the procedure and of the determinations of the board.
The members of the board shall be compensated at the same rate as ju-
rors in civil cases in the district court, and they shall be allowed the
necessary traveling and clerical expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties.
SEC. 9. That the Commission may transmit to each board all perti-
nent information in its possession relative to the wages, hours and sani-
tary conditions of the occupation in question. Each board shall endeavor
to determine the minimum wage, whether by time rate or piece rate, re-
quired in the case of a woman worker of ordinary ability in the occupa-
tion in question to supply the necessary cost of living, and the number of
hours and other sanitary conditions necessary to maintain her health,
and suitable minimum wages, hours and sanitary conditions for learners
and apprentices and minors: Provided, however, that such board may
recommend different minima hours and standards for each class in an oc-
cupation of different localities in the state, when, in the judgment of the
board, the different conditions obtaining justify such action. When a
majority of the members of a board shall agree upon minimum wage,
standard of hours, or sanitary determinations, they shall report such de-
terminations to the Commission, together with the reasons therefor and
the facts relating thereto.
SEC. 10. That upon receipt of the report of the determinations of a
board, the Commission shall consider and review the same; and it may
approve any or all of such determinations or disapprove any or all of
them; and it may resubmit to the same board, or a new board, any sub-
ject covered by any determinations so disapproved. If the Commission
approves any determination contained in a report from a board, it shall
publish a notice, not less than once a week for four consecutive weeks in
the official state paper, that it will on a date and at a place named in said
notice, hold a public meeting, at which all persons in favor of or opposed
to said recommendations will be given a hearing; and, after said publica-
8 - Industrial Welfare Commission.
tion of said notice and said meeting, the Commission may, in its discretion,
make and render such an order as may be proper or necessary to adopt
such determinations and carry the same into effect, and require all em-
ployers in the occupation affected thereby to observe and comply with
such determinations and said order. Said order shall become effective in
sixty days after it is made and rendered and shall be in full force and
effect on and after the sixtieth day following its making and rendition.
The Commission shall, in so far as it is practicable, mail a copy of any
such order to every employer affected thereby; and every employer affected
by any such order shall keep a copy thereof posted in a cospicuous place
in each room in his establishment.
SEC. 11. That whenever wages, hours or conditions of labor have been
made mandatory in any occupation, upon petition of either employers or
employees, the Commission may at its discretion reopen the question and
reconvene the former board or call a new one, and any determinations
made by such board shall be dealt with in the same manner as were the
original determinations.
SEC. 12. That for any occupation in which only a minimum time wage
has been established, the Commission may issue to an employee physically
defective or crippled, or of less than ordinary ability, or learners, appren-
tices and minors a special license authorizing the employment of such per-
son at a wage and for a number of hours less than that fixed by said Com-
mission, to be stated in said license.
SEC. 13. That the word “occupation” as used in this act shall be so con-
strued as to include any and every vocation and pursuit and trade and
industry. The words “learners” and “apprentices” shall include only such
learners and apprentices as are minors or are women. Any board may
make a separate inquiry into and report on any branch of any occupa-
tion; and the Commission may make a separate order affecting any
branch of any occupation. A “minor” shall mean a person, male or female,
under eighteen years of age. A “women” [woman] shall mean any female
eighteen years of age or over. Any board may include in its determina-
tions difinitions of “learner” and “apprentice,” and the Commission shall
have power to make such rules and regulations and to issue such orders
relating to the same as it deems necessary to make effective the object of
this act. -
SEC. 14. Any employer or employee or other person who shall be inter-
ested therein, who shall be dissatisfied with any order, ruling or holding
of the Commission may, within thirty days from the making thereof, com-
mence an action in the district court of Shawnee county or in the district
court in the county in which the person so complaining shall reside or
have his principal place of business, against the Industrial Welfare Com-
mission, as defendant, to vacate and set aside such order, ruling or hold-
ing, on the ground that the same is unauthorized by law, confiscatory or
unreasonable, and in any such action all determinations of questions of
fact which shall have been made by the Commission under the foregoing
provisions of this act shall be presumed to be correct and the burden of
proof shall be upon the plaintiff to show the incorrectness of such deter-
minations. In all such actions the attorney-general shall appear for and
Second Biennial Report. 9
represent such Commission. All such actions shall have preference in any
court and on motion shall be advanced over any civil cause of a different
nature pending in such court, and such actions shall be tried and deter-
mined as other civil actions. Appeal from any decision of the district
court may be taken from the district court to the supreme court in the
same manner as provided by law in other civil actions and shall have
precedence in the Supreme court over civil cases of a different nature.
During the pendency of any such action the orders, rulings and holdings
complained of shall, unless temporarily stayed or enjoined by the court,
remain in full force and effect until final judgment. Service of summons
on any member of the board shall be sufficient service on the board.
SEC, 15. That a violation of any provision of this act shall constitute
a misdemeanor, and any one convicted thereof shall be punished by a fine
of not less than twenty-five ($25) dollars, nor more than one hundred
($100) dollars for each such misdemeanor.
SEC. 16. That any employer who discharges, or in any other manner
discriminates against any employee because such employee has signed or
agreed to sign any request to the Commission to investigate wages, hours,
or sanitary, or other labor conditions, or has testified or is about to testify,
or because such employer believes that said employee may testify in any
investigation or proceedings or sign any request relative to the enforce-
ment of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon con–
viction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five.
($25) dollars nor more than one hundred ($100) dollars for each such.
misdemeanor.
SEC. 17. That any employer who employs any woman, or minor,
learner or apprentice in any occupation at less than the minimum wage
or for a greater number of hours in a day or week fixed or under sani-
tary or other conditions forbidden by order or license issued by the com-
mission, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five ($25)
dollars nor more than one hundred ($100) dollars for each such misde-
meanor. Any woman or minor or learner or apprentice who shall receive
less than the minimum wage or shall be compelled to work for a greater
number of hours than that fixed by order or license issued by the Com-
mission, shall be entitled to recover in a civil action the full amount of
the legal minimum wage, and compensation at the same rate for the
number of hours of overtime work as herein provided for, together with
costs and attorney’s fees to be fixed by the court, notwithstanding any
agreement to work for such lesser wage or greater number of hours.
In such action, however, the employer shall be credited with any wages
which have been paid upon account.
SEC. 18. That the Commission shall, from time to time, investigate
and ascertain whether or not employers or employees in the state of
Kansas are observing and complying with its orders and take such steps
as may be necessary to have prosecuted such employers and employees
as are not observing and complying with its orders.
SEC. 19. That the Commissioner of Labor and the several inspectors of
the Bureau of Labor shall, at any and all times, give to the Commission
10 Industrial Welfare Commission.
any information or statistics in their respective offices that may assist
said Commission in carrying out this act and render such assistance to
said Commission as may not be inconsistent with the performance of their
respective official duties.
SEC. 20. That the Commission shall biennially make a report to the
governor and legislature of its investigations and proceedings, and such
reports shall be printed and distributed as in the case of other executive
documents.
SEC. 21. That this act is to be construed as supplemental to existing
laws regulating the employment of women, learners and apprentices and
minors.
SEC. 22. That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after
its publication in the statute book.
Approved March 6, 1915.
POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
What is the function of the Industrial Welfare Commission? This
question, no doubt, has arisen partly from the fact that people do not
altogether understand this sort of legislation, as the Industrial Welfare
Commission is a comparatively new departure in the field of industrial
betterment. It may, therefore, be well to review briefly this work in
Kansas.
Labor departments have always given some attention to women and
children workers, and it is well known that all legislation regarding
shorter hours and minimum wage came as a result of the need for
bettering the condition of these more dependent workers. The growth of
a body of laws governing such conditions has necessarily been a slow
process, and inspectors have been greatly handicapped by the meagreness
of the laws behind them.
The plan of delegating to any administrative body the authority to
determine rules and standards for the protection of labor had its first
important development within the United States in the Wisconsin In-
dustrial Commission of 1911.
The Pacific States, Washington, Oregon and California, followed the
plan developed in Wisconsin, and in the course of events our own state
was aroused to the necessity of some work being done to better the con-
ditions of Kansas women workers.
The result of investigation on the part of our department of labor
as to the best means of ameliorating the conditions of the women wage
earners was the recommendation to the legislature of 1915 of a law known
as the industrial welfare law. This law resembles in many details the
law which was in effect, at this time, in the state of Oregon. The con-
stitutionality of the Oregon law was upheld in the courts and sustained
by the supreme court of the United States. The decision as expressed
by Justice Brunner, in the case of Muller v. State of Oregon, emphasized
the fact that woman’s physical structure and her position in the economy
of the race renders her incapable of competing with men either in
strength or endurance.
Second Biennial Report. 11
The act establishing the State Industrial Welfare Commission came
into effect on July 1, 1915, but the Industrial Welfare Commission did
not begin its work or elect its secretary until late in September.
The law provides “That it shall be unlawful to employ women learners,
apprentices or minors in any industry or occupation in the state of Kansas
under conditions detrimental to their health and welfare, and it should
be unlawful to employ women learners, apprentices or minors in any in-
dustry in the state of Kansas at wages that are not adequate for their
maintenance and for more hours in any one day than is consonant with
their health and welfare.”
It further provides, “If, after investigation, the Commission is of the
opinion that wages, hours, sanitary or other conditions need regulating,
it may, upon a recommendation through a board made up of representa-
tives of employers, employees and one or more of the disinterested public,
make and render such action as may be proper and necessary to carry
out the recommendations and determinations of the board.”
In accordance with the recommendations of the law, the Commission
has established the boards for the various industries of the state, and
these boards, after investigating each industry, have made recommenda-
tions to the Commission. After consideration, the Commission, if approv-
ing, publishes these recommendations and notifies all employers for four
consecutive weeks that a public hearing will be held on a specified date,
at which time they will be permitted to present their case to the Com-
mission. After the public hearing, at which time there may be an open
discussion by all interested, the Commission decides whether it will accept
the recommendations as the board has prescribed or deny it further con-
sideration by the board. If approved by the Commission, the ruling is in
effect sixty days following such approval.
OPERATION OF THE ACT.
After two years’ trial of the rulings promulgated by the Industrial
Commission it is conceded by all fair-thinking people that its work is
beneficial to employer and employee.
The pioneer work was not without its difficulties. The work of edu-
cating both employers and employees to recognize their responsibilities
has gone hand in hand with the work of establishing these regulations.
The Commission has met with great opposition from some employers,
while others have anticipated the rulings and on their own responsibility
have established good schedule of hours and a decent minimum wage.
Both employers and women workers are recognizing the place of the
Commission in helping to find a solution of their difficulties. Their ad-
vice is often sought and accepted as a form of mediation between em-
ployers and employees.
This brings the employers, the employees and representatives of the
public on a common ground for the honest discussion of the labor prob-
lems by those who sell their services and those who buy them, and by
the public which is affected by this transaction. This get-together plan
will surely result in the solution of problems which must be solved if
industrial life is to be reconstructed in such a fashion that the best re-
sults must be obtained at a minimum expenditure of labor and money.
12 - Industrial Welfare Commission.
SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF THE WORK.
The work of the Industrial Welfare Commission has been built upon
a scientific basis in recognizing that those conditions which most directly
affect the health of the working women are hours of labor, sanitary
conditions and posture while working.
HOUR'S OF WORK.
It is generally conceded that the regulation of the hours of the worker
should have the first place in the work of the Welfare Commission.
Many states have established an hour law for women, recognizing the
fact that women must be protected from the effect of the long workday.
EFFECT OF LONG HOURS.
A celebrated hygienist says: “Overstrain may be either the result
of unreasonably hard work, or of hours of work that are too long, even
though the processes of work do not make special demands upon muscular
strength.” In both cases the same results appear in course of time,
sooner in proportion as other dangers are involved in the occupation, or
the organism of the worker is younger and less resistant, or the social
condition of the worker more wretched. As an illustration, it is a well-
known fact that waiters and waitresses are “used up” at a compara-
tively early age. The soldiers who have returned from France, when
asked about the attractions of the French girls, say: “Oh, no, they do
not attract an American boy; they are old before they are twenty.
They have to work too hard.”
The American woman must be protected from the fate of her Euro-
pean sisters. Professor Gunton, of the Institute of Social Economics,
says: “The factory system makes the shortening of hours more and
more necessary. In proportion as it is perfected in its mechanism, it be-
comes all the time more and more exacting. The greater the perfection
of the machinery or the method the more attention is required.”
The remedy for this, they decide, cannot be found in the slackening up
on the demands for economic output. The remedy must come on the other
side—shortening the day—not slackening the effort. The exhaustion of
the laborer must be avoided, but it cannot be avoided by reducing pro-
duction; they must have relief by lessening the duration of the pres-
sure every day. The time is past when men are told to come to work
“by the day” without having the day defined as to hours and time of
beginning and closing. There are still some women in our state work-
ing “by the day”—the day meaning “until work is done,” which may
be eight hours, or more likely from ten to fifteen hours. Such conditions
as this are getting the attention of the Industrial Commission.
ECONOMY ASPECT OF THE SHORTER HOUR.
The experience of those manufacturing companies which have long-
est had the short workday shows that commercial prosperity is not ham-
pered by curtailment of hours. The increased efficiency of the worker
due to standard working hours, together with the general improvement
of industrial communities in physique and morals, react so favorably
upon output that commercial prosperity is heightened rather than im-
paired. Abbe, a student of economics, writes: “Every reduction of
Second Biennial Report. 13
the workday raises the economic and intellectual forces of the nation.
The gain in energy on the part of the individual sets itself against his
exhaustion through labor; it strengthens the power of resistance and
lengthens life. Most important is the moral and intellectual advantages
of a standard workday. The intelligence of the people represents pro-
ductive powers of the first rank, a capital which for the most part lies
fallow because conditions do not exist under which this intelligence could
have full play.”
SANITARY CONDITIONS.
We might concede that secondary only to the hours which women
work are the conditions which surround them while they are at work,
and the adjustment of machinery for the purpose of insuring safety and
comfort to the worker. Previous to the establishment by the Kansas
legislature of the Industrial Welfare Commission the factory inspector
could make recommendations as to sanitary conditions of factories, but
had no power to establish specific standards. The Industrial Welfare
Commission since its beginning has formulated sanitary codes for laun-
dries, mercantile establishments and factories.
It would be interesting to note the effect which the orders as to sani-
tary conditions have had on the laundries of our state. When you recall
the old type of laundry—dark, illy ventilated, poorly equipped and
without any modern machinery (there are still a few left in the state)—
you will see that progress is being made, and you can appreciate how
different the surroundings of the workers will be when orders from the
Commission are made for all industries arid are fully enforced. The
work of the Industrial Welfare Commission has been largely a work of
education. *
POSTURE AT WORK.
A prominent physician has made the statement that many of the
cases of operation performed upon his women patients could be traced
as to cause to the long period of standing while employed in factory,
store, shop or schoolroom. The old-time idea still exists in many minds
that the worker must not sit at his work. A mother who found her
daughter seated at the table peeling potatoes was heard to exclaim:
“Don’t sit, Jenny; you look so lazy.” The doctor quoted and the mother
in question should come together in consultation. The doctor recognizes
the necessity of a change of posture because of the effect of long-con-
tinued standing upon the female organs. The mother errs because of her
ignorance of the physiology of herself and daughter and because of her
anxiety to make a showing of being industrious. Too many employers
maintain the attitude of this mother toward their female employees when
the matter of seats is in question. -
The inspector of the future will enable the employer and employee to
see that it is possible to use the seats while actively engaged at their
duties. The physician’s knowledge must be imparted to the generation of
future workers if the men and women of America are to maintain their
position among the workers of the world.
14 Industrial Welfare Commission.
MINIMUM WAGE.
And yet if all conditions surrounding women when at work were
healthful, of what avail would this be if poor food, lack of heat and
proper ventilation, insufficient clothing and miserable housing conditions
generally are her lot at home. Only minimum-wage legislation can make
possible better conditions in the home. How far the work of the Com-
mission in its four years of operation has gone toward making these
scientific demands is explained by the story of the various boards.
The first board, established after long investigations and study of the
subject, agreed upon a recommendation regarding the sanitary condi-
tions of laundries and an eleven-hour day for women, thus demonstrating
in a very emphatic way the necessity of education among the employers
of the effect of the long workday upon the employee. The effect of the
sanitary ruling was soon evidenced by the fact that when a new laundry
is built, a model, well-lighted building, well equipped with modern labor-
saving machinery, takes the place of the old, unattractive building so
long associated with this useful industry. The sentiment in favor of
the standard working day and living wage for the workers grew so
rapidly that when, a year later, a new Laundry Board was established,
a recommendation for a nine-hour day, the hours of labor to come within
ten consecutive hours, and a wage recommendation of $8.50 a week was
presented to the Commission. This order has been in effect since May,
1918. The laundries have done the pioneer work, and deserve much
credit for the readiness with which they have complied with the rulings
made by the Commission Everybody now seems to agree that daily
monotonous labor has a stupefying influence; that there is only one way
to restore a balance, by giving some opportunity for natural intelligence
to develop, by concentrating toil into the shortest possible time, for rest
and intellectual stimulus, that people may not be stupid, but, in spite of
the monotony of their different tasks, may retain their capacity for in-
terest in other things. The wage rule is sufficiently moderate under the
present conditions to admit of no extravagance, or even of no surplus
on the part of the women workers of our state, and yet it has helped a
great deal and has made the workers more satisfied. It is to be hoped
that a living wage for women workers in the future may mean a decent
and sufficient standard of living, and not a mere subsistence. There
should be no subsidizing of industry by the public or the home. The
wage question has probably been the most difficult one to handle because
of the abnormal increase in the cost of living the past few years; but
even if the levels of prices and wages had remained without change, the
costs of living would have increased because the standards of living have
become more expensive. To live adequately to-day costs more than it did
even ten or fifteen years ago, not simply because prices have gone up,
but because our standards of living, therefore the efficiency, are more
exacting, to say nothing of the cost of satisfying those new desires which
we might do without. -
The mercantile ruling establishing nine hours during a ten hour day,
and that no female person may be employed later than nine o'clock at
night, with a wage of $8.50 minimum, was submitted by the board in
Second Biennial Report. 15
the spring of 1917. The hour ruling became effective April 13, 1917;
the wage ruling March 18, 1918. The mercantile establishments are
coöperating in this good work of shrinking the working day of their em-
ployees, many of the stores having established the custom of closing at
six p. m. on Saturdays. Others meet the requirements by opening at
ten a. m., or by dividing the employees into shifts for the day.
The idea of an early closing hour is becoming more general, and be-
fore another legislature convenes the custom may have become a well-
established one.
While the Commission has permitted the employment of women in
stores for nine hours, yet it has declared that the nine hours must come
within ten consecutive hours, thus preventing the distribution of the
hours throughout the twenty-four hours of the day. The Commission has
also established a prohibition of night work for women in stores by pro-
hibiting their employment after nine p. m. Precautions are taken to
protect the worker in each industry from an abuse of the hour order by
limiting the hours of continuous service and placing a limitation on the
closing hour at night. The idea of one day of rest in seven pervades
all the rulings of the Industrial Commission, and in a short time this
reform may be an established one in all the industries for women. The
Industrial Welfare Commission has included in its orders as to hours
almost every industry in which women are engaged, and it will be only a
matter of a few months before all industries are reached by these orders.
On May 24, 1918, the Industrial Welfare Commission issued an order
that employees in public housekeeping establishments shall, on a six-day
per week schedule, give not more than nine hours actual service per day
and not to exceed 54 hours per week, and on a seven-day-per-week
schedule, eight hours of actual service per day shall be given. This
order became effective July 22, 1918.
This rule was followed in September, 1918, by an order of the Com-
mission regulating the hours and wages of telephone operators. This
order, because of the nature of the occupation affected, is more com—
plex in its provisions than those previously made. Eight hours con-
stitute the basic day and six days the basic week. The minimum wage
established gives from $7 after one year of service in towns of 1,000 and
less than 5,000, to $9 after one year of service in towns of 20,000 or over
of population.
A proposed factory ruling is now pending waiting a public hearing,
which will be held in the near future. This factory ruling is in harmony
with the increased cost of living of the present day and with the in-
creased knowledge of the board established for the purpose of making
these recommendations. It is interesting to note that the progress made
during these four years is indicated by the attitude of the boards who
have, after investigation and study, made the recommendations to the
Commission. These men and women may be regarded as indexes of the
public thought and sentiment on this subject and are deserving of com-
mendation for the services which they have rendered in this way.
We have advanced many stages in this work, but some few people
are still asking such primitive questions as, “Do men take women’s
16 * Industrial Welfare Commission.
places?” and “Does the minimum wage become the maximum?” To these
and similar questions we refer our questioners to the industries affected
by the rulings of the Commission in their own communities. The women
workers are still at their posts. The wages may actually have a seeming
similarity for a time, for so many workers were getting below the stan-
dard set when the rulings went into effect. «
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE ACT.
The constitutionality of the Industrial Welfare Commission law has
not been decided by the Kansas supreme court, but similar laws have been
held constitutional by the courts of other states and by the United States
Supreme court.
In 1917 an action was brought by G. P. Jones, a laundryman at Hutch-
inson, to enjoin the enforcement of the law upon the ground that it was
unconstitutional. It was generally understood that this action was
brought by Jones as the representative of the laundrymen of the state.
After the case had been thoroughly briefed and argued, Judge Prigg
of the district court of Reno county, sitting at Hutchinson, held the
law constitutional. An appeal to the state supreme court was perfected
by the laundrymen, but was afterwards abandoned.
In Stettler v. O’Hara, 69 Ore. 519, in Simpson v. O’Hara, 70 Ore. 261,
a law practically the same as the Kansas law was held constitutional,
and on appeal to the United States supreme court the decisions in these
cases were affirmed without division. 243 U. S. 929.
As to the power of the state to fix hours of labor and minimum wages,
especially in the cases of female employees and minors, there is no
question. Bunting v. Oregon, 243 U. S. 426; Miller v. Wilson, 236 U. S.
373; Miller v. Oregon, 208 U. S. 412
DEFINITIONS.
“Mercantile occupation” shall include the work of those employed in
any establishment operated for the purpose of trade in the purchase or
sale of any goods or merchandise, and includes the sales force, the wrap-
ping employees, the auditing or check inspection force, and the book-
keepers and cashiers; the shippers in the mail-order department, the re-
ceiving, marking and stock-room employees, sheet-music saleswomen, and
pianists who are sheet-music demonstrators; employees in the garment
alteration department; but does not include the work of employees in the
millinery work rooms.
“Laundry occupation” shall include the work of those employed in
places where washing is done for the public and one or more people are
regularly employed.
“The public housekeeping occupation” includes the work of waitresses
in restaurants, hotel dining rooms, boarding houses, or attendants in ice-
cream and light-lunch stands in drug stores or elsewhere, and for the table
or counter work in cafeterias and delicatessens where fresh foods are
served; the work of chambermaids in hotels and lodging houses and
boarding houses and of kitchen workers in hotels and restaurants and
other places hereinbefore mentioned; also females employed in retail
Second Biennial Report. 17
confectionery stores which are conducted in connection with ice cream,
soft drinks or light-lunch counter or with a restaurant.
“The telephone occupation” includes the work of operators of switch-
boards in public and private exchanges.
“The manufacturing occupation” shall include all processes in the pro-
duction of commodities. Included in this general term is the work per-
formed in dressmaking shops, in wholesale millinery houses, in the work
rooms of retail millinery shops, in the drapery and furniture-covering
work rooms in mercantile stores and the candy-making department of re-
tail candy stores and of restaurants. Fruit and vegetable drying, can-
ning, preserving and packing and meat-packing establishments are in-
cluded.
ORDERS OF THE COMMISSION.
The orders adopted by the Industrial Welfare Commission have affected
the following industries: Laundries, mercantile establishments, telephone
exchanges, public housekeeping (this name borrowed from the Oregon
Commission), and factories.
A factory order has been made by the Commission and will be in effect
and force April 23, 1919.
It must be understood that no order can be made by the Commission
which has not been recommended to it by a board established to give con-
sideration to the employment of women and minors in the occupation in
question. If the board, made up of representatives of employers, em-
ployees and the public, after due consideration recommend certain regula-
ticns governing the employment of women and minors in the occupation in
question, then the Commission may approve or reject the order. After
final approval by the Commission these orders are statutory in effect.
The orders on the pages which follow were each made upon recom-
mendation from the boards appointed for the various industries.
I. W. C. ORDER No. 1.
STATE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
SANITARY CODE FOR LAUNIDRIES.
TOPEKA, KAN., October 25, 1916.
To all Proprietors and Managers of Lawndries within the State of Kansas : - -
GENTLEMEN–TAKE NoTICE, That pursuant to the authority in it vested by the laws
of the state of Kansas (chapter 275, Session Laws of 1915), and in accordance with the
determination by it to-day duly made and rendered,
The INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMIssion of THE STATE OF KANSAs hereby orders that
in all laundries in the state of Kansas— -
1. Suitable seats must be provided in sufficient number for women and girls to use
when not actively engaged at their regular duties, and so far as practicable when operat
ing machines or when engaged at other duties.
2. Heat deflectors must he installed on body and sleeve ironers of rotary type.
3. Sanitary drinking fountains, or individual drinking cups, must be provided, in
connection with an adequate supply of wholesome drinking water.
18 Industrial Welfare Commission.
4. Adequate soap and towels with proper washing facilities must be supplied to all
employees.
5. That separate toilets for each sex be provided, and plainly so designated. If amy
laundry is so located as to make this impracticable, or impossible, it shall make such
suitable toilet provision as may be required by the Commission. Doors must be properly
screened and must not be entered by a common approach.
6. Exhaust fans must be provided where necessary to insure proper ventilation.
7. All plants must be kept clean and sanitary; floors free from water (except in
wash room) ; rubbish placed in receptacles provided, and removed regularly.
8. Dressing Rooms. A suitable space, effectively screened, must be provided for
women to change their street clothes for working clothes; a cot must be provided and
kept in some accessible place in each building for the accommodation of the women enu-
ployees.
9. Lighting. All rooms shall be properly and adequately lighted during working
hours. Where the light is insufficient artificial illumination in every work room shall be
installed, arranged and used, so that the light furnished will, at all times, be sufficient
and adequate for the work carried on therein, and prevent unnecessary strain on the
vision, or glare in the eyes of the workers.
Said order shall become effective from and after December 24, 1916.
After such order is effective, it shall be unlawful for any employer in the state of
Ransas affected thereby to fail to observe and comply there with, and any person who
violates said order shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and any one convicted
thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) nor more
than one hundred dollars ($100) for each such misdemeanor.
INIDUSTRIAI, WELFARE COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF KANSAs.
P. J. MCBRIDE, Chairman.
JOHN CRADDOCK.
GENEVIEVE H. CHAJKLEY
** -º-, -84 - ...A.. 4 *–4 Riº -- e
LINNA E. BRESETTE, Secretary.
T. W. C. ORDER NO. 3a.
STATE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
STATE AT LARGE–MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS.
TOPERA, KAN., January 9, 1917.
To all Proprietors and Managers of Mercantile Establishments within the State of Kamsas :
GENTIEMEN-TAKE NOTICE, That pursuant to the authority in it vested by the laws
of the state of Kansas (chapter 275, Session Laws of 1915), and in accordance with the
determination by it to-day duly made and rendered,
THE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF KANSAs hereby orders
that— - -
No female person shall be employed in any mercantile establishment in the state of
Kansas, except during ten consecutive hours of any day of twenty-four hours, and for
not more than nine hours during the said ten hours; and for hot more than six days dur-
ing each week; and no female person shall be employed later than nine o'clock at night
in any one day, provided that during one day and not oftener in each week the female
persons in any mercantile establishment may be employed during twelve consecutive hours,
but for not more than nine hours during said twelve consecutive hours.
Every employer in any mercantile establishment in the state of Kansas shall post in
a conspicuous place in the room in which female persons are employed, a printed notice
stating the number of hours of work required of each of them on each day of the week;
the hours of beginning and stopping work, and the hours when the time allowed for
meals begins and ends. -
Said order shall become effective from and after April 13, 1917.
After such order is effective, it shall be unlawful for any employer in the state of
Kansas affected thereby to fail to observe and comply there with, and any person who
Second Biennial Report. 19
violates said order shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and any one convicted
thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) nor more
than one hundred dollars ($100) for each such misdemeanor.
INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF KANSAS.
P. J. McBRIDE, Chairman.
JOHN CRADDOCK.
GENEVIEVE H. CHALKLEY.
LINNA E. BRESETTE, Secretary.
I. W. C. ORDER No. 5.
STATE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
SANITARY CODE FOR MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS-STATE AT LARGE.
TOPEKA, KAN., September 27, 1917.
To all Proprietors and Managers of Mercantile Establishments within the State of Kansas :
GENTLEMEN-TAKE NOTICE, that pursuant to the authority in it vested by the laws of
the state of Kansas (chapter 275, Session Laws of 1915), and in accordance with the de-
termination by it to-day duly made and rendered,
THE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE Comſ MISSION OF THE STATE OF KANSAS hereby orders
that—
No person, firm or corporation subject to chapter 275 of the Session Laws of 1915 shall
employ or permit any female person to work in any mercantile establishment in the state
of Kansas in which the conditions do not conform to the following standard:
1. Cleanliness. Every room, and the floors, walls, ceilings, windows, and every other
part thereof, and all fixtures therein, shall at all times be kept in a clean and sanitary
condition.
2. Drinking Water. A sufficient quantity of safe, fresh drinking water, within rea-
sonable access to all workers, shall be provided, with sanitary appliances for drinking. A
common drinking cup shall not be used. When the water is iced, the ice shall not be in
the same container as the water. -
3. Lighting. All rooms shall be properly and adequately lighted during working hours.
Artificial illumination in every workroom shall be installed, arranged and used, so that the
light furnished will, at all times, be sufficient and adequate for the work carried on therein,
and prevent unnecessary strain on the vision, or glare on the eyes of the worker. r
4. Ventilation. The ventilation of each room shall be adequate, and there shall be
sufficient provision for preventing excessive humidity, and an amount of cubic air space
necessary to health must be allowed for each employee.
5. Toilet Rooms. In every establishment there shall be provided suitable and conven.
ient toilets separate from those used by the opposite sex, and the number of such toilets
shall be not less than one to every twenty female persons employed at one time or majority
fraction thereof. Such toilets must be thoroughly ventilated and open to the outside air,
and such toilets must at all times be kept in a clean and sanitary condition. -
6. Washrooms. Washroom accommodations, separate and apart from those used by
male persons, must be provided, and individual towels, either cloth or paper, must be fur-
nished. The washing facilities must be adequate, and the wash room must be kept in a
clean and sanitary condition.
7. Dressing Rooms. A suitable space, effectively screened, must be provided for female
persons to change their street clothes for working clothes, and where practicable individual
lockers should be provided. A cot for emergency purposes shall be provided.
Where there are less than four female persons employed by any person, the Industrial
Welfare Commission may, upon application and showing, release each applicant from coin-
pliance with the foregoing regulations or any part of same.
Said order shall become effective from and after November 27, 1917.
After such order is effective, it shall be unlawful for any employer in the state of Kan-
sas affected thereby to fail to observe and comply there with, and any person who violates
20 - Industrial Welfare Commission.
said order shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and any one convicted thereof shall
be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) nor more than one, hun-
dred dollars ($100) for each such misdemeanor. --
INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF KANSAS.
P. J. McBRIDE, Chairman.
MRS. A. C. MITCHELL.
JOHN CRADDOCK.
LINNA E. BRESETTE, Secretary.
I. W. C. ORDER NO. 6.
STATE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
STATE AT LARGE–MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS.
TOPEKA, KAN., January 16, 1918.
To all Proprietors and Mamagers of Mercantile Establishments within the State of Kansas :
GENTI.EMEN–TAIKE NOTICE, That pursuant to the authority in it wested by the laws
of the state of Kansas (chapter 275, Session Laws 1915), and in accordance with the de-
termination by it to-day duly made and rendered,
THE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMIssion of THE STATE OF KANSAs hereby orders
that—
No person shall employ any experienced female worker in any mercantile establishment
in the state of Kansas at a weekly wage rate of less than $8.50.
An experienced female worker is any worker who has served the apprenticeship period.
Any female worker who can show to the satisfaction of the commission that she has had
experience equivalent to such apprenticeship shall receive the minimum wage without the
apprenticeship in this state. The length of the apprenticeship term for female workers in
mercantile establishments shall be one year, and such apprenticeship term shall be divided
into two periods of six months each.
No person shall employ any female worker except as hereinafter provided in any mer-
cantile establishment for the first period at a weekly wage rate of less than $6; or for the
second period at a weekly wage rate of less than $7.
Minors employed in mercantile establishments in the capacity of bundle wrappers and
cash boys or cash girls shall be paid less than $5 a week; after six months of service
shall be paid not less than $5.50 a week, and after twelve months not less than $6 per
week. Not more than twenty percent minors and apprentices shall be allowed in any one
establishment.
Said order shall become effective on and after March 18, 1918.
After such order is effective, it shall be unlawful for any employer in the state of Kan-
sas affected thereby to fail to observe and comply there with, and any person who violates
said order shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and any one convicted thereof shall be
punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) nor more than one hundred
dollars ($100) for each such misdemeanor.
INDUSTRIAT, WELFARE COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF KANSAS.
P. J. McBRIDE, Chairman.
CHARLES HAMLIN.
MRS. A. C. MITCHELL.
LINNA E. BRESETTE, Secretary.
Second Biennial Report. Y 21
I. W. C. ORDER NO. 7.
STATE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
STATE AT LARGE–LAUN DRIES.
Top EKA, KAN., March 14, 1918.
To all Proprietors and Managers of Lawndries within, the State of Kansas :
GENTLEMEN-TAKE NOTICE, That pursuant to the authority in it wested by the laws
of the state of Kansas (chapter 275, Session Laws of 1915), and in accordance with the
determination by it to-day duly made and rendered, g
THE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF KANSAS does hereby order
that— •
Nine hours shall constitute a regular day's work for female laborers in laundries in
the state; and no female person shall be required to work more than nine hours in any
one day nor more than fifty-four hours in any one week. Said nine hours shall be
consecutive, except that not less than one hour shall be allowed for lunch, and no female
person shall be compelled to work more than six consecutive hours without such allowance
of time for lunch.
Each employer in any laundry in the state of Kansas shall, within five days from the
time this order takes effect, post and thereafter keep posted in a conspicuous place within
five feet of the main entrance or not more than five feet from the floor in the rooms in
which female persons are employed, a printed notice stating the number of hours of work
required of each of them each day, the hours of beginning and stopping work and the
hours when the time allowed for lunch begins and ends.
The minimum wage to be paid to any female employee in laundries shall be not less
than $8.50 per week for fifty-four hours' labor, provided she shall have -arved a six
months' apprenticeship in laundry work, for which the wage shall be not less trian $6 50
per week.
Said order shall become effective on and after May 14, 1918.
After such order is effective, it shall be unlawful for any employer in the state of
Kansas affected thereby to fail to observe and comply there with, and any person who
violates said order shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and any one convicted
thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) nor more
than one hundred dollars ($100) for each such misdemeanor.
INDUSTRIAL WELFA HE COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF KANSAS.
P. J. MCBRIDE, Chairman.
MRS. A. C. MITCHELL.
CHARLES HAMLIN.
LINNA E. B.RESETTE, Secretary.
I. W. C. ORDER NO. 8.
STATE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
STATE AT LARGE–Pl, BLIC HOUSEKEEPING ESTATE LISHMENTS.
TOPEKA, KAN., May 24, 1918.
To all Proprietors and Managers of Public Housekeeping Establishments within the State
of Kansas :
GENTLEMEN-TAKE NOTICE, That pursuant to the authority in it vested by the laws
of the state of Kansas (chapter 275, Session Laws 1915), and in accordance with the
determination by it to-day duly made and rendered,
THE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION OF THE STATE of KAN'sAs does hereby order
that —
Employers of female help in the public housekeeping occupation in the state of Kansas
shall elect to conduct their business on a seven-day-per-week schedule or a six-day-per-week
schedule.
Employers of female help conducting their business on a six-day-per-week schedule
shall not permit such help to give more than nine hours' actual service per day and not
22 Industrial Welfare Commission.
to exceed fifty-four hours per week. Said day's work shall be performed within a period
of thirteen consecutive hours, one hour of which period shall be allowed for meals. Said
hour shall not be included as any part of the day’s work.
Employers of female help conducting their business on a seven-day-per-week schedule
shall not permit such help to give more than eight hours' actual service per day and not to
exceed fifty-four hours per week. Said day’s work shall be performed within a period of
thirteen consecutive hours, one hour of which shall be allowed for meals.
Any female employee continuing work after midnight shall be considered a night em-
ployee, and any employer using the six-day-per-week schedule shall not permit night em-
ployees to work more than eight hours within a period of twelve hours in any twenty-four
hours and not more than forty-eight hours in any one week. Employers using the seven-
day-per-week schedule shall not permit night employees to work more than seven hours
within a period of twelve hours in any twenty-four hours nor more than forty-eight hours
per week. &
Employers of minors in public housekeeping occupations in the state of Kansas shall
not permit such employees to work more than eight hours in any one day nor more than
forty-eight hours in any one week.
Said order shall become effective on and after July 22, 1918.
After such order is effective, it shall be unlawful for any employer in the state of
Kansas affected thereby to fail to observe and comply there with, and any person who
violates said order shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and any one convicted
thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) nor more
than one hundred dollars ($100) for each such misdemeanor.
INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF KANSAS.
P. J. McBRIDE, Chairman.
MRS. A. C. MITCHELL.
CHARLES HAMLIN.
TINNA E, BRESETTE, Secretary.
STATE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
STATE AT LARGE–TELEPHONE OPERATORS.
ToPEKA, KAN., July 8, 1918.
To all Owners, Managers and Operators of Telephone Properties within the State of
Ransas : -
The Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of Kansas, pursuant to authority in
it wested by the laws of Kansas (chapter 275, Session Laws of 1915), and in accordance
with its determination after investigation duly made, makes the following order relating
to and governing hours of work and minimum wages to be paid women and minor tele-
phone operators within Kansas.
Eight hours shall constitute a basic day and six days shall constitute a basic week for
all women and minor telephone operators.
For all time served in excess of the basic day, the operator shall be paid at the rate
of one and one-half times the hourly rate of a basic day.
Sunday and holiday work shall be paid for at the rate of a basic day, and if any
operator is called for work on such days and reports on duty by reason of such call, and
is then excused at the convenience of the employer for all or part of such day, such
operator shall be paid for one basic day.
Operators other than night operators shall perform the basic day's work in two shifts
or “tours,” one of which shall not exceed five hours’ duration. Operators regularly em-
ployed after 10:30 o'clock p. m. shall be considered night operators. -
Rest and sleep time for night operators shall not be considered work time. The total
work time plus rest and sleep time of night operators shall be performed within twelve
consecutive hours. All such operators shall be paid for work time equal to the pay of one
basic day.
The minimum weekly wage to be paid women and minor telephone operaturs shall be
as follóws : --
Second Biennial Report. 23
First. At any exchange serving a city, town, village or community of less than 1,000
population, the weekly rate of pay shall be not less than six dollars, during the first six
months of service, not less than six and */100 during the second six months of service, and
not less than seven dollars after one year of service.
Second. At any exchange serving a city or town of 1,000 and less than 5,000 popu-
lation, the weekly rate of pay shall be not less than six dollars during the first six months
of service, not less than seven dollars during the second six months of service, and not less
than seven and */100 dollars after one year of service.
Third. At any exchange serving any city or town of 5,000 and less than 20,000 popu-
lation, the weekly rate of pay shall be not less than six dollars during the first six
months of service, not less than seven dollars during the second six months of service,
and not less than eight dollars after one year of service.
Fourth. At any exchange serving any city of 20,000 and over population, the weekly
rate of pay shall be not less than six and */100 dollars during the first month of service,
not less than seven dollars during the succeeding five months of service, not less than
eight dollars during the second six months of service, and nine dollars after one year of
service.
This order shall take effect and be in force from and after the 5th day of September,
1918.
From and after the date of effect of this order it shall be unlawful for any em-
ployer affected thereby to fail to observe and comply therewith, and any such person vio-
lating the terms of said order shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction
thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than
one hundred dollars for every such offense.
INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF KANSAS.
P. J. MCIBRIDE, Chairman.
CHARLES HAMLIN.
MRS. A. C. MITCHELI.
LINNA E. BRESETTE, Secretary.
I. W. C. ORDER NO. 10.
STATE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION.
STATE AT LARGE–MANUFACTURING EST.A.B.LISHMIENTS.
ToPEKA, KAN., February 21, 1919.
To all Proprietors and Managers of Manufacturing Establishments within the State of
Ramsas :
GENTLEMEN-TAKE NOTICE, That pursuant to the authority in it vested by the laws
of the state of Kansas (chapter 275, Session Laws 1915), and in accordance with the
determination by it to-day duly made and rendered,
THE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE CoMMISSION OF THE STATE of KANSAs does hereby order
that—
No person, firm or corporation shall employ or suffer or permit any woman or minor
to work in any factory in which the conditions of employment are below the standards
hereinafter set forth.
WORKING CONDITIONS.
Washing facilities, with water, soap and towels, shall be provided in accessible loca-
tion to make washing convenient at all times.
Work room floors and walls shall be kept clean and dry.
Dressing rooms shall be provided, making possible the changing of clothing and the
care of the clothing outside the work room.
Ample lighting shall be provided and so arranged that direct rays do not shine into
the workers’ eyes.
Heat and ventilation shall be ample at all times to keep the workers comfortable and
well supplied with fresh air.
Drinking water shall be safe and fresh, cool and accessible, and individual cups or
bubble fountains shall be provided.
24 Industrial Welfare Commission.
Provisions shall be made for workers to eat their meals outside the work room in a
clean, comfortable place. -
A suitable seat shall be provided for each woman employed and its use encouraged, so
that the worker may perform her labor with convenience comfort and efficiency. All seats
shall have backs and foot rests broad and firm enough to be convenient while working.
Risks from machinery and danger from fire and exposure to dust, fumes and other
occupational hazards shall be eliminated.
HOURS.
Eight hours shall constitute a basic day. The basic day shall be divided into two
periods. Not more than five hours shall be worked in any one period without relief for
meals, the meal relief to be not less than forty-five minutes.
Women and minors shall not be employed between nine o'clock p. m. and six
o'clock a. m.
Employment for women and minors shall be limited to six days in a week, with one
day of rest in every seven days.
Overtime shall not be permitted except in case of emergency, and the total work time,
inclusive of overtime, of any female or minor shall not exceed fifty-five hours in any one
week. Time in excess of the basic day shall be paid for at the rate of time and one-half
of the hourly rate of the basic day.
WAGES.
No person, firm or corporation shall employ any experienced female worker in any
factory in the state of Kansas at a weekly wage of less than $11.
An experienced worker shall be considered here to be one who has served the appren-
ticeship period. The length of apprenticeship term for female workers shall be six months.
and such apprenticeship term shall be divided into two periods of three months each.
No person shall employ any female worker in any factory in the state of Kansas for
the first period at a weekly wage rate of less than $7, or for the second period at a weekly
wage rate of less than $9:
INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION
OF THE STATE ().H" RANSAS.
P. J. McBRIDE, Chairman.
CHARLES HAMLIN.
MRS. A. C. MITCHELL.
LINNA E. B.RESETTE, Secretary.
FUTURE OF WOMEN IN INDUSTRY.
With the cessation of hostilities the industrial problem, as it affects
women in the United States, has taken on a new aspect. A recent report
published by an organization of employers shows that in the last twenty-
five years the employment of women has increased more rapidly than that
of men. Everything points to the fact that women will constantly be em-
ployed in larger numbers. We may, therefore, draw the conclusion that
woman in industry is not a theory but a well-established fact, and nothing
has been done to meet the solution of the problem of how to make her more
efficient as an employee and how to protect her from the abuses of in-
dustry better than the work of the Industrial Commission.
The Commission must continue its educational work through these
rulings until night work for women is reduced to a minimum, until the
early closing of our stores is a rule and not an exception, until the sani-
tary conditions surrounding all women workers, as well as the hour and
wage regulations are in harmony with better service rendered, healthier
and happier workers. The morale of the workers is dependent upon the
enforcement of such regulations as those ordered by the Industrial Com-
IſllSSIOIl.
Second Biennial Report. 25
The following statement, taken from a bulletin issued by Women in In-
dustry Service, deserves full consideration:
“The Women in Industry Service recognizes that problems of women in
industry, which have been familiar before the war, will be accentuated
during the reconstruction period. These include dangers to health from
unsanitary working conditions and hazardous occupations, inadequate op-
portunities for training and limited chances to be advanced to more re-
sponsible work in many industries, and the danger to health involved in
long hours and emloyment at night. These conditions, and the payment
of a distinctly lower wage in women’s occupations than in men's work,
have always been a check upon the rendering of the most efficient service
by women workers. The war has demonstrated that the range of possi-
bilities for efficiency by women in industry is much larger than has been
assumed in the past. This is notably illustrated in the work of women in
machine processes.”
Perhaps after employers and people in general are educated to the fact
that women can take their places side by side with men in industry, then,
instead of establishing a minimum wage or a decent living wage, we may
begin to do what Mary Van Kleeck suggests—that is, establish wages on
the basis of occupation and not on the basis of sex. Women occupy a
weaker position economically than men, which has made necessary the
establishment of standards of women’s employment. The fact that the
federal government, through the War Labor Policies Board, required full
compliance with state labor laws proves that the nation as a whole takes
the stand that the protection of the health of women workers is vital as an
economic as well as a social measure of reconstruction. r
The results of the work of the Industrial Commission in its four years
of operation are very gratifying. The first board, established after long
investigations and study of the subject, agreed upon a recommendation
regarding the sanitary conditions of laundries and an eleven-hour day for
women, thus demonstrating in a very emphatic way the necessity of edu-
cation among the employers of the effect of the long workday upon the
employee. However, an order was finally made governing the employ-
ment of women in laundries, which has much improved their conditions.
The effect of the sanitary ruling was soon evidenced by the fact that when
a new laundry is built, a model, well-lighted building, well equipped with
modern labor-saving machinery, takes the place of the old, unattractive
building so long associated with this useful industry. The sentiment in
favor of the standard working day and living wage for the workers grew
so rapidly that when, a year later, a new laundry board was established
a recommendation for a nine-hour day, the hours of labor to come within
ten consecutive hours, and a wage recommendation of $8.50 a week was
presented to the Commission. This order has been in effect since May,
1918. The laundries have done the pioneer work and deserve much credit
for the readiness with which they have complied with the rulings made by
the Commission. Everybody now seems to agree that daily monotonous
labor has a stupefying influence; that there is only one way to restore a
balance—by giving some opportunity for natural intelligence to develop
by concentrating toil into the shortest possible time, for rest and intel-
lectual stimulus, that people may not be stupid, but, in spite of the monot-
26 ‘woyssºulſwoO 2.40ſlaAM 107.148mpul
ony of their different tasks, may retain their capacity for interest in
other things. The wage rule is sufficiently moderate under the present
conditions to admit of no extravagance, or even of no surplus, on the part
of the women workers of our state, and yet it has helped a great deal and
has made the workers more satisfied. It is to be hoped that a living wage
for women workers in the future may mean a decent and sufficient stand-
ard of living and not a mere subsistence. There should be no subsidizing of
industry by the public or the home. The wage question has probably been
the most difficult one to handle because of the abnormal increase in the
cost of living the past few years, but even if the levels of prices and
wages had remained without change, the cost of living would have in-
creased because the standards of living have become more expensive. To
live adequately to-day costs more than it did even ten or fifteen years ago,
not simply because prices have gone up, but because our standards of
living and our demands for efficiency are more exacting.
MERCANTILE ORDER.
The mercantile ruling establishing nine hours during a ten-hour day,
and that no female person may be employed later than nine o'clock at
night, with a wage of $8.50 minimum, was submitted by the board in the
spring of 1917. The hour ruling became effective April 13, 1917; the
wage ruling, March 18, 1918. The mercantile establishments are co-
operating in this good work of shrinking the working day of their em-
ployees, many of the stores having established the custom of closing at
six p.m. on Saturdays. Others meet the requirements by opening at ten
a.m., cr by dividing the employees into shifts for the day.
The idea of an early closing hour is becoming more general, and be-
fore another legislature convenes the custom may have become a well-
established one.
PUBLIC HOUSEKEEPING ORDER.
On May 24, 1918, the Industrial Welfare Commission issued an order
that employees in public housekeeping establishments shall, on a six-
day-per-week schedule, give riot more than nine hours’ actual service
per day and not to exceed fifty hours per week, and, on a seven-days-per-
week schedule, eight hours of actual service per day shall be given.
This order became effective July 22, 1918.
TELEPHONE ORDER.
This rule was followed in September, 1918, by an order of the com-
mission regulating the hours and wage of telephone operators. This
order, because of the nature of the occupation affected, is more complex
in its provisions than those previously made. Eight hours constitute
the basic day and six days the basic week. The minimum wage estab-
lished gives from $7, after one year of service in towns of 1,000 and
less than 5,000, to $9 after one year of service in towns of 20,000 popu-
lation or over.
Second Biennial Report. 27
FACTORY ORDER.
The factory order has been approved by the Commission and will be
in effect April 23, 1919. This factory order is in harmony with the in-
creased cost of living of the present day, and with the increased knowl-
edge of the board established for the purpose of making these recom-
mendations. It is interesting to note that the progress made during
these four years is indicated by the attitude of the boards who have,
after investigation and study, made the recommendations to the com-
mission. These men and women may be regarded as indexes of the
public thought and sentiment on this subject and are deserving of com-
mendation for the services which they have rendered in this way.
We have advanced many stages in this work, but some few people
are still asking such primitive questions as, “Do men take women’s
places?” and “Does the minimum wage become the maximum?” To
these and similar questions we refer our questioners to the industries
in their own communities affected by the rulings of the commission.
The women workers are still at their posts. The wages may actually
have a seeming similarity for a time, for so many workers are getting
below the standard set when the rulings went into effect.
The federal government urges that the standards which were adopted
by the War Labor Policies Board be maintained as a part of the recon-
struction program. These standards are printed here for their educa-
tional value:
STANDARDS RECOMMENDED FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF
WOMEN.
I. HOURS OF LABOR.
1. Daily Hours. No woman shall be employed or permitted to work
more than eight hours in any one day or forty-eight hours in any one
week. The time when the work of women employees shall begin and end
and the time allowed for meals shall be posted in a conspicuous place in
each workroom, and a record shall be kept of the overtime of each woman
worker.
2. Half Holiday on Saturday. Observance of the half holiday should
be the custom.
3. One Day of Rest im Seven. Every woman worker shall have one
day of rest in every seven days.
4. Time for Meals At least three-quarters of an hour shall be al-
lowed for a meal.
5. Rest Periods. A rest period of ten minutes should be allowed in
the middle of each working period without thereby increasing the length
of the working day.
6. Night Work. No woman shail be employed between the hours of
ten p. m. and six a. m.
II. WAGES.
1. Equality With Men's Wages When doing the same work as men,
women shall receive the same wages, with such proportionate increases
as the men are receiving in the same industry. Slight changes made in
the process or in the arrangement of work should not be regarded as
justifying a lower wage for a woman than for a man unless statistics
of production show that the output for the job in question is less when
women are employed than when men are employed. If a difference in
28 Industrial Welfare Commission.
output is demonstrated the difference in the wage rate should be based
upon the difference in production for the job as a whole and not deter-
mined arbitrarily.
2. The Basis of Determination of Wages. Wages should be estab-
lished on the basis of occupation and not on the basis of sex; the mini-
mum wage rate should cover the cost of living for dependents and not
merely for the individual.
III. WORKING CONDITIONS.
1. Comfort and Samitation. State labor laws and industrial codes
should be consulted with reference to provisions for comfort and sanita-
tion. Washing facilities, with hot and cold water, soap and individual
towels should be provided in sufficient number and in accessible locations
to make washing before meals and at the close of the workday convenient.
Toilets should be separate for men and women, clean and accessible.
Their numbers should have a standard ratio to the number of workers
employed. Workroom floors should be kept clean. Dressing rooms should
be provided adjacent to washing facilities, making possible change of
clothing outside the workrooms. Rest rooms should be provided. Light-
ing should be adequate and heat sufficient. Drinking water should be
cool and accessible, with individual drinking cups or bubble fountain pro-
vided. Provisions should be made for the workers to secure a hot and
nourishing meal outside the workroom, and if no such lunch rooms are
accessible near the plant, a lunch room should be maintained in the es-
tablishment.
2. Postwre at Work. Continuous standing and continuous sitting are
both injurious. A seat should be provided for every woman employed and
its use encouraged. It is possible and desirable to adjust the height of the
chairs in relation to the height of machines or work tables, so that the
worker may with equal convenience and efficiency stand or sit at her
work. The seats should have backs. If the chair is high a foot rest
should be provided.
3. Safety. Risks from machinery, danger from fire and exposure to
dust, fumes or other occupational hazards should be scrupulously guarded
against by observance of standards in state and federal codes. First-aid
equipment should be provided. Fire drills and other forms of education
of the workers in the observance of safety regulations should be instituted.
4. Conditions Needing Correction. Work can be more efficiently done
by either men or women if healthful conditions are established. It is
usually possible to change conditions so as to remove such hazards to
health as the following:
A. Constant standing or other postures causing physical strain.
B. Repeated lifting of heavy weights or other abnormally fatiguing
motions.
C. Operation of mechanical devices requiring undue strength.
D. Exposure to excessive heat or excessive cold.
E. Exposure to dust, fumes or other occupational poisons without
adequate safeguards against disease.
5. Prohibited Occupations. Women must not be employed in occupa-
tions involving the use of poisons which are proved to be more injurious
to women than to men, such as certain processes in the lead industries.
Subsequent rulings on the dangerous trades will be issued.
6. Uniforms. Uniforms with caps and comfortable shoes are de-
sirable for health and safety in occupations for which machines are used
or in which the processes are dusty.
IV. HOME WORK.
1. No work shall be given out to be done in rooms used for living or
sleeping purposes or in rooms directly connected with living or sleeping
rooms in any dwelling tenement.
Second Biennial Report. 29
W. EMPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT.
1. Hiring, Separations and Determination of Conditions. In estab-
lishing satisfactory relations between a company and its employees, a
personnel department is important, charged with responsibility for se-
lection, assignment, transfer or withdrawal of workers and the establish-
ment of proper working conditions.
2. Women in Supervisory Positions. Where women are employed, a
competent woman should be appointed as employment executive, with
responsibilty for conditions affecting women. Women should also be
appointed in supervisory positions in the departments employing women.
VI. COOPERATION OF WORKERS IN ENFORCEMENT OF STANDARDS.
1. The responsibility should not rest upon the management alone to
determine wisely and effectively the conditions which should be estab-
lished. The genuine coöperation essential to production can be secured
only if definite channels of communication between employers and groups
of their workers are established. The need of creating methods of joint
negotiation between employers and groups of employees is especially
great in the light of the critical points of controversy which may arise in
a time like the present. Existing channels should be preserved and new
ones opened if required, to provide easier access for discussion between
employer and employees.
VII. COóPERATION WITH OFFICIAL AGENCIES.
The United States government and state and local communities have
established agencies to deal with conditions of labor, including standards
of working conditions, wages, hours, employment and training. These
should be called upon for assistance especially in the difficult problem of
adjustment in the period of reconstruction following the war.
Inquiries regarding the employment of women may be addressed to the
Woman in Industry Service, Department of Labor, Washington, D. C.,
and these will be dealt with directly or referred to the official federal or
state agency best equipped to give the assistance needed in each instance.