HD 3Z 0-7/14 REPORT OP ROYAL COMMISSION SB Mb S7D TO INQUIRE INTO IKDUSTBIAL Drs.Pi; COTTON FACTORIES OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC Commissioner : W. I. MACKENZIE KING, C.M.G., Deputy Minister of Labour. PRINTED BY ORDER OF PARLIAMENT OTTAWA PRINTED BY C. H. PARMELEE, PRINTER TO THE KING'S MOST ' EXCELLENT MAJESTY 1909 . 391900.] en EXCHANGE DQCUK1WT1 8-9 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 A. 1909 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION TO INQUIRE INTO INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES IN THE COTTON FACTORIES OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC Commissioner : W. L. MACKENZIE KING, C.M.G., Deputy Minister of Labour. PRINTED BY ORDER OF PARLIAMENT OTTAWA PRINTED BY C. H. PARMELEE, PRINTER TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY 1909 [No. 391900.] 8-9 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 A. 1909 ROYAL COMMISSION Commissioner : W. L. MACKENZIE KING, C.M.G., M.A., LL.B., Deputy Minister of Labour. Secretary : FRANCIS W. GIDDENS, Department of Labour. Counsel representing Cotton Companies: GEORGE H. MONTGOMERY. Counsel representing employees: P. K. DtlTREMBLAY. J. 0. BUMBRAY. Interpreter : VICTOR DUBREUIL, Department of Labour. Stenographer: J. H. KENEHAN. 343051 8-9 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 A. 1909 TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE. Order in Council constituting Commission ... vii Commission ix Letter of Minister of Labour transmitting report of His Excellency the Governor General. . . . , xi Commissioner's letter transmitting report to the Minister of Labour xii Report of Commissioner 1 Appendix relating to strikes and 1 lockouts from 1900 (with table) wages, &c 23 8-9 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 3& A. 1909 CERTIFIED COPY OF A EEPOET OF THE COMMIITTEE OF THE PEIVY COUNCIL, APPEOVED BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVEENOE GENEEAL ON THE 29th JUNE, 1908. On a Memorandum, dated May 27, 1908, from the Minister of Labour, repre- senting that during recent years frequent industrial disputes have arisen in the cotton factories of the Province of Quebec, which have occasioned severe losses to both em- ployers and employees, and hare seriously affected the general welfare of the localities particularly concerned; That many of the cotton mills have lately reduced the wages of the employees, as a consequence of which, it is estimated there are at the present time, about six thousand operatives unemployed, either directly or indirectly in consequence of a strike or for other causes; That with a view to the establishment of more harmonious and satisfactory relations between employers and employees in this industry, it is advisable that an inquiry be made into and concerning such disputes and the nature and causes thereof; That the manufacture of cotton not being an industry in the nature of a public utility, an investigation under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act, 1907, cannot be conducted without the consent of both employers and employees, which joint consent has not been obtained. The Minister therefore recommends that it be referred to William Lyon Mac- kenzie King, C.M.G., Deputy Minister of Labour, as Commissioner under the pro- visions of Part 1 of Chapter 104 of the Kevised Statutes of 1906, commonly called * The Inquiries Act/ to hold and conduct such inquiry, with all the powers conferred therein upon commissioners, and that the said William Lyon Mackenzie King be allowed the amount of his actual and necessary disbursements in the execution of the said Commission. The Minister further recommends that the Commissioner have the right to deter- mine the manner of conducting the proceedings in respect of such inquiry, and to make inquiries and investigation concerning the relations between employers and em- ployees in the same or kindred industries in industrial centres other than those imme- diately affected with a view of making such recommendations as in his opinion may serve to promote amicable relations between employers and employees and to mini- mize the frequency and magnitude of industrial disputes in this industry. The Minister further recommends that the Commissioner be authorized to employ a stenographer for the purpose of taking down and recording the evidence, and to have such other assistance as in the opinion of the Minister of Labour may be neces- sary to have the inquiry conducted as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible, and that the Commissioner report to the Minister of Labour the evidence and proceedings, together with such opinions as he may see fit to express thereon. The Committee submit the same for approval. F. K BENNETTS, Asst. Cleric of the Privy Council. vii 8-9 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 A. 1909 COMMISSION. CANADA. C. FlTZPATRICK, Deputy Governor General of Canada. A. POWER, Acting Deputy Minister of Justice, Canada. EDWARD THE SEVENTH, ly the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions "beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India. To all to whom these presents shall come, or whom the same may in anywise concern. GREETING : WHEREAS in and by an order of Our Governor General in Council bearing date the twenty-ninth day of June in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and eight (a copy of which is annexed) provision has been made for an investigation by Our Commisisoner therein and hereinafter named into disputes between employers and employees in connection with cotton factories in the Province of Quebec and into the nature and causes thereof, and into the relations between employers and employees in the same or kindred industries in industrial centres other than those immediately affected. Now KNOW YE, that by and with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada, We do by these Presents nominate, constitute and appoint William Lyon Mackenzie King, Esquire, C.M.G., of the city of Ottawa, in the Province of Ontario, Deputy Minister of Labour, to be our Commissioner to conduct such inquiry. To have, hold, exercise and enjoy the said office, place and trust unto the said William Lyon Mackenzie King, Esquire, C.M.G., together with the rights, powers, privileges, and emoluments unto the said office, place and trust, of right and by law appertaining, during pleasure. AND WE DO HEREBY, under the authority of the Kevised Statutes respecting In- quiries concerning Public Matters, confer upon Our said Commissioner the power of summoning before him any witnesses and of requiring them to give evidence on oath or on solemn affirmation if they are persons entitled to affirm in civil matters, and orally or in writing and to produce such documents and things as our said Com- missioner shall deem requisite to the full investigation of the matters into which he is hereby appointed to examine. AND WE DO HEREBY require and direct Our said Commissioner to report to Our Minister of Labour the result of his investigation together with the evidence taken before him and any opinion he may see fit to express thereon. In testimony whereof, we have caused these our Letters to be made Patent and the Great Seal of Canada to be hereunto affixed. WITNESS. The Honourable Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, K.C.M.G., Deputy of Our Bight Trusty and Eight Well-beloved Cousin the Eight Honourable Sir Albert Henry George, Earl Grey, Viscount Howick, Baron Grey of Howick, in the County of ix X REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 Northumberland in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and a Baronet; Knight Grand Cross of Our Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, &c., &c., Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of our Dominion of Canada. At our Government House in Our City of Ottawa this twenty-ninth day of June in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and eight and in the eighth year of Our Eeign. By Command. P. PELLETIER, Acting Under Secretary of State. 8-9 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 A. 1909 letter of Transmitted of Report from the Honourable the Minister of labour to His Excellency, The Governor General. To His Excellency the Bight Honourable Sir Albert Henry George, Earl Grey, Fw- count HowicTc, Baron Grey of Howick, in the County of Northumberland in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, and a Baronet; Knight Grand Gross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, &c., <&c., Governor Gen- eral and Commander-in-Chief of the Dominion of Canada. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY: The undersigned has the honour to submit to Your Excellency the report of Mr, W. L. Mackenzie King, C.M.G., Deputy Minister of Labour, Commissioner appointed to inquire into disputes between employers and employees in the cotton factories of the Province of Quebec. All of which is respectfully submitted. KODOLPHE LEMIEUX, Minister of Labour. OTTAWA, September 25, 1908. Letter of Transmitted of Report from the Commissioner to the Hononrable the Minister of Labour. To the Honourable KODOLPHE LEMIEUX, E.K.S.C., LL.D., KG., M.P., Minister of Labour. SIR, Having been appointed by Koyal Commission dated the 29th June, 1908, to make inquiry into disputes between employers and employees in the cotton factories of the Province of Quebec, and into the nature and causes thereof, I have the honour, pursuant to the directions of the Commission, to transmit herewith a report upon the proceedings of the Commission and the results of my investigation, together with the evidence taken before me and the opinions I have deemed it desirable to express thereon. I have the honour to be, sir, Your obedient servant, W. L. MACKENZIE KING, Commissioner. OTTAWA, September 15, 1908. 8-9 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 A. 1909 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER. By a reference to the approved minute of council recommending the appointment of the Commission herein, and to the Commission itself, it will be seen that a memo- randum on the subject was submitted to His Excellency in Council on May 27, at a time when it was estimated that there were about six thousand cotton mill operatives unemployed in the Province of Quebec, either directly or indirectly in consequence of a strike or for other causes. The report of the Committee of the Privy Council was not approved till June 29, and the Commission itself was not signed till July 15. When the recommendation of my appointment was made, I was absent in British Columbia, being engaged upon an enquiry under Royal Commission into the losses sustained by the Chinese residents of Vancouver in the Anti-Asiatic riots of Sept- ember last. It was the 26th of June before it was possible for me to conclude this inquiry, return to Ottawa and submit my report. Departmental duties then pre- vented me from commencing the present inquiry until Monday, July 13, on which date I left for Montreal. After conferring as to their convenience with the parties interested and making the necessary arrangements, I opened the sittings of the Commission in the Montreal Court House on the morning of Wednesday, July 15. The following public notice was inserted in the press of the day previous : Public Notice. ' The undersigned, appointed Commissioner under the provisions of Part 1 of Chapter 104 of the Revised Statutes, 1906, commonly called the Inquiries Act, to investigate into the causes of industrial disputes in the cotton factories of the Pro- vince of Quebec, hereby gives public notice that the sittings of the Commission will be commenced in the Court House (Room 21) in the City of Montreal on Wednesday, July 15, at 10.30 o'clock, a.m., and that he will be pleased to hear the representations of any parties who may desire to appear or give testimony concerning the matters into which he has been appointed to enquire. W. L. MACKENZIE KING, Commissioner. MONTREAL, July 14, 1908.' The Proceedings of the Commission. Continuous sittings of the Commission were held at Montreal from July 15 to July 18 inclusive and from August 3 to August 6 inclusive. Sittings were also held at Valleyfield, Que., on August 7 and at Magog, Que., on August 8. The mills of the Dominion Textile Company at Montmorency were also visited. Fifty-six (56) witnesses in all were examined, including the managers and chief officials of the Dominion Textile Company and the Montreal Cotton Company, 12 superintendents and overseers, the leading union officials, 23 male operatives, and nine female opera- tives. One of the chief factory inspectors of the province was also examined. The proceedings were materially shortened by the officials of the several companies filing with the Commission detailed statements, the accuracy of which was duly attested, showing salaries paid, the rates of wages and hours of employment and changes in wages and hours during previous years; also statements showing the number of operatives employed and the causes and results of industrial disputes during the present and previous years. There was on the salient features of the inquiry, very 2 REPORT OF ROTAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 little conflicting testimony, and while by prolonging the investigation a much larger number of witnesses might have been examined, it was admitted by the parties that the evidence of any such would have tended only to corroborate and confirm testimony already given, and was not likely to tave brought to light any additional facts of importance. Forty-five exhibits in all were filed before the Commission, many of which were documents containing a vast amount of information, and are not less valuable than the sworn testimony of the several witnesses, which as transcribed extends over 1,200 typewritten foolscap pages. As frequent reference was made by both employers and employees to the cotton industry in the United States, and its bearing upon conditions in Canada, I thought it advisable, with a view of securing accurate informaton, as well as for the purpose of comparison, to visit some of the larger cotton mills in that country, and during the month of August, I visited mills in Lowell and Fall Kiver of a class similar to these in Canada. In addition to being allowed a personal inspection of the mills, I had many valuable interviews with representative and well informed persons. I took occasion also to confer with officials of the State Bureaus of Labour in Massa- chusetts, New York and New Hampshire concerning the laws and industrial condi- tions affecting cotton operatives in those States. In this report I have supplemented the information thus obtained by references from authoritative sources to conditions in Great Britain, the United States and elsewhere. It is gratifying to be able to report that the parties interested followed the pro- ceedings of the Commission closely from day to day, and were represented by able counsel. There being an unfortunate division in the ranks of the operatives, each of two groups was represented by separate counsel, Mr. P. E. DuTremblay appearing on behalf of one group and Mr. J. C. Bumbray on behalf of the other. Mr. George H. Montgomery appeared for the Dominion Textile Company and the Montreal Cotton Company, the two corporations which control the cotton mills in the Pro- vince of Quebec. As stated in the public notice, parties who so desired were invited to appear or give testimony concerning the matters into which the Com- mission had been appointed to inquire, and where a request was made by any person, whether counsel or not, to interrogate witnesses, and it seemed that such questioning would assist in eliciting facts relevant to the inquiry, permission to this end was granted. The examination of witnesses was conducted by counsel appearing on behalf of the parties and by myself as Commissioner. To a considerable extent witnesses were also interrogated by third parties who re- quested and were accorded the privilege described. Having adopted this method of procedure there is reason to believe that the inquiry was, as at the opening sitting I had expressed a wish it might be, both searching and thorough, and that no fact or feature of any real importance escaped publicity. In this connection I would like to make public acknowledgement of the valuable assistance rendered by counsel in the eliciting of information, and of the skill and care with which they emphasized during the course of examination, the bearing and significance of the testimony upon the interests of the parties they represented. I desire also to acknowledge the helpful services rendered by Mr. Francis W. Giddens, as secretary, and Mr. Victor DuBreuil as interpreter. The efficient manner in which these officers of the Department of Labour discharged their respective duties greatly facilitated the work of the Com- mission. The Cotton Industry of Quebec. With the exception of the Wabasso Cotton Company Ltd., of Three Kivers, and the Mount Koyal Spinning Co., of Montreal, both of which have been organized within the past year, but have not yet commenced active operations, the cotton fac- tories of the Province of Quebec are owned and controlled by either the Dominion Textile Company, Ltd., or the Montreal Cotton Company, Ltd. Tha latter corporation COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 3 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 is the older of the two, having been formed in 1888. Its head offices are located at Montreal and its mills, when working under normal conditions, employ about 2,500 operatives, of whom over 1,500 are males and about 1,000 females. The Dominion Textile Company was organized on January 4, 1905, and subsequently took over the management of the Dominion Cotton Mills Company, The Merchants Cotton Com- pany, The Montmorency Cotton Mills Company and the Colonial Bleaching and Print- ing Company. Its head offices are also at Montreal, and it has mills at St. Henri, Hochelaga, St. Ann's, Magog and Montmorency. Employment is given in normal times to over 5,000 operatives, of whom between 2,500 and 3,000 are males and be- tween 2,000 and 2,500 are females. During May of the present year these operators were distributed between the several mills as follows: Merchants, St. Henri, 1,366; Colonial, St. Henri, 181; Hochelaga, 1,098; St. Ann's, 409; Magog, 548; Magog Print Works and Mechanical, 377; Montmorency, 1,055; making the total number of em- ployees, 5,044. The other cotton manufacturing companies in Canada are the Canada Colored Cotton Co., with mills at Cornwall, Hamilton, Marysville and St. Croix; the Corn- wall and York Cotton Co., with mills at St. John, KB.; the Hamilton Cotton Co., with Mills at Hamilton ; the Imperial Cotton Co., with mills at Hamilton ; the Cosmos Cotton Co., with mills at Yarmouth, N.S.; the Mount Royal Spinning Co., a new company just organized at St. Henri in March, 1907; Wabasso Cotton Co., Three Rivers (recently organized). Of these the Dominion Textile Co. controls the mills at Moncton, employing in May, 1908, 255 hands; the mills at Windsor, employing 195 hands; the mills at Kingston, employing 267 hands; and the mills at Halifax, employing 345 hands. The Dominion Textile Company employs in all over 6,000 hands, of which number more than half are males. According to the last Dominion census (1901) the total number of persons em- ployed in the cotton manufacturing industry in Canada was 11,882, of which number 6,615 or more than half were employed in the Province of Quebec. Organization Among the Cotton Mill Employees. The story of organization among the operatives of the cotton mills in the pro- vince of Quebec is somewhat uncertain and varied, whether considered in the light of its development through the past, or viewed as to its nature and extent at the present time. There can be no doubt that with it are inseparably associated many of the industrial disturbances which have taken place, at times to the advantage of the workers, at times to their disadvantage and to the detriment of the industry as well. If the testimony of some of the witnesses is to be accepted, it would appear that the motives of some of those who have participated in the work of organization have not at all times been such as have actuated those who have most at heart the interests of an enlightened trade unionism. On the other hand the testimony as a whole leads to the conviction that however unfortunate and unnecessary some of the industrial conflicts, organization has helped, at least up to the time of the last reduction in wages, towards an improvement of the condition of all classes of operatives in this industry. A mention of the various phases which organization among the operatives has taken in the space of a few years is of itself sufficient to show wherein the mill man- agers were not without reason when they hesitated to grant a ready acquiescence to the customary demand for recognition, and why the wisdom of such a policy should still present some doubts to their minds. It will be apparent, too, that the success which has attended the efforts of organization on a rising market, and under favouring conditions, has led some of the leaders to mistake a means for a cause, and to believe that inasmuch as united efforts hastened what was economically possible on a rising market, united resistance could retard a movement which was inevitable at a time of depression. 4 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 Divested of the main features of controversy an outline of the development would appear to be as follows: Until 1905 there was practically no organization among the workers in any of the cotton mills in the province of Quebec. In Valleyfield, where the mills of the Montreal Cotton Co., are situated, the Union Ouvriere de Valleyfield No. 7387 A. F. of L. was organized on June 15, 1899. To this organization not only mill operatives but persons of different trades and callings belonged. It was a short lived affair, having been in existence for only part of a year. There was a serious strike in Valleyfield in the fall of 1900 in which the mill operatives were involved. So far as they were concerned it was a sympathetic strike and had nothing to do with their conditions of employment. The Union Ouvriere was particularly active at this time, but it disappeared soon after, and there was no renewal of organization in that centre until after the Federation of Textile Workers was formed and extended its jurisdiction in 1906. Not only was there no further organization at Valleyfield till 1906, but as has been said there was, saving the local at Valleyfield in 1900, no organization whatsoever in any of the cotton mills of Quebec until 1905. In No- vember, 1905, the mule spinners of Hochelaga, numbering 21, were organized into a local of the National Trades and Labour Congress. The National Trades and Labour Congress was formed at Berlin, Ont., in September, 1902. It was started as a rival organization of the Dominion Trades and Labour Congress, from which it is distin- guished by admitting to membership only such unions as are distinctly Canadian and have no international affiliations. The province of Quebec became for a time the chief field of operation of the new organization, and the local of mule spinners at Hochelaga organized November, 1905, was one of many locals holding charters from the National Congress formed in different trades and in different centres at that time. The mill authorities at Hochelaga were opposed to organization among the workers and in the spring of 1906 the president of the local and members of his family were discharged from the mill by the superintendent, their connection with the union constituting in the minds of its members the sole cause. The head officials of the National Congress went to confer with the management on the subject, but their intervention was not successful or satisfactory to the members of the local and connection with the National Trades and Labour Congress was thereupon broken off. A change was then speedily made from National to International affiliation. In June of the same year (1906) locals of the United Federation of Textile Workers of America were formed among the workers in the mills at Hochelaga, St. Anne's and St. Henri. There had been a large strike at the Hochelaga mills in May, as a result of which a 12 to 14 per cent increase in wages had been obtained, this increase hav- ing also been conceded to the operatives at St. Anne's and St. Henri. There was no organization at the time, but the advantages of organization were much discussed, and in this connection special stress was laid upon the advantage of association with the operatives already organized in the United States. The necessary information was obtained and arrangement made by correspondence, and in a short time as many as 14 locals of the United Federation of Textile Workers of America were formed. In some cases there were several locals in the one mill, as for example separate locals of loom fixers, weavers and furnishers in Montreal which were among the first formed. The attempts to form a local of the United Federation of Textile Workers of America at Magog led to a strike in July among the operatives of that mill. The company endeavoured to prevent organization by requiring its employees to sign a contract that they would not join any union A refusal on the part of 300 operatives to sign any such contract led to their being refused admission to the mills, or in other words, to a lock-out so far as they were concerned. As soon as this lock- out occurred about 350 other textile workers quit work and two days later the operatives employed in the print works at Magog also left their employment. Altogether some 800 employees at Magog were out and the mills were forced to close, but the disturb- ance was not confined to Magog; the mule spinners at Hochelaga and St. Henri, some COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 5 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 75 in number, who already were members of the United Federation which had been the occasion of the lock-out at Magog went out in sympathy. They remained out for four or five days, but were not joined by other classes in the mill. At Magog the fight for union recognition was made a united one, and after a struggle of about three weeks, during which time the strikers had added to their original grievance a demand for an increase in wages, the strike was declared at an end, the workers having been com- pletely successful. Not only were all reinstated in their former positions and allowed to become members of an organization, but an increase in wages of from 12 to 14 per cent was granted. Separation from the International. Notwithstanding that the attempt to organize the local of the United Federation was wholly successful at Magog and that as many as 14 locals of this organization were successfully formed within a few weeks, it was not more than three months before the Canadian organizations severed their connection with the International, and a return was made to National as opposed to International organization. Various reasons were assigned for this change. It is, for example, very plausibly asserted that the parties believed such a change would be in the interests of the employees and the Canadian industry and, secondarily, advantageous to themselves. There was always the possibility of conflict of interest between the cotton factories of the United States and of this country, and the avoidance of possible embarrassment in this connection is given as a reason for the withdrawal. On the other hand it appears that most of the officers and members of the United Federation of Textile Workers of America were English-speaking, that the business of the association was carried on in English, and the constitution and by-laws and other publications printed in English only. Doubt- less during the struggle at Magog, where most of the operatives were French Canadians some inconveniences was experienced on this account, and the assistance given by the International organization was probably ot up to the expectations of the advocates of the new organization. At all events, after the industrial contest at Magog the leader paid a visit to Fall River, Mass., and on his return advised a withdrawal from the United Textile Workers of America and the formation ~of a Canadian organization. The association with the international organization had familiarized the workers with trade union aims and methods, and had suggested to their leaders a suitable name for a Canadian organization. They had been dissatisfied with the National Trades and Labour Congress because, though a federated body, it embraced organiza- tions of all classes of workers. What was now desired was a federation which would embrace only such classes as were employed in the mills. By dropping the word ' United ' and substituting ' Canada for ' America " a suitable name was found for the new organization, and in September it was decided to substitute for the United Federation of Textile Workers of America the Federation of Textile Workers of Canada. In about six weeks two-thirds of the textile workers of Montreal were brought into the new federation, the mule spinners being the first, as in every in- stance, to become organized. After organization had been advanced in Montreal, locals were formed at Magog, Montmorency, Yalleyfield and Hochelaga. The organi- zation was not confined only to the cotton mills, or to the province of Quebec, but woollen mills were also included and the Federation's jurisdiction extended to parts of Ontario. The woollen mills in Ste. Hyacinthe, Quebec, and Paris, Ont., were the first to be formed. A large number of locals were formed. The new Federation commenced a publication known as *Le Fileur'; the first number was issued in October, 1906. Not having proven the financial success which it was hoped it might, and the Federation being in need of funds for other purposes the journal was discon- tinued in December, 1907, having run through nine issues in all. The Federation continues to the present time as the organization to which the most of the locals belong. A return to international unionism was made by the mule spinners of St. 392 6 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 Henri, Hochelaga, and Montreal during the spring of 1907, at which time a number of the mule spinners at these mills joined the International Spinners' Union of America, with headquarters at New Bedford, Mass. This international organization is confined in its membership to spinners only and membership in this organization not precluding membership in the Federation, the two organizations have continued side by side ever since, practically all the members of the International Spinners' Union being also members of the Federation. Throughout the year 1907 the Federation continued to grow and to extend its jurisdiction and influence. Its members were involved in a number of strikes, some of which were successful and others lost. The managers and head officials of the several mills appear to have recognized and dealt with its officers. They stated frankly before the Commission that in some instances the heads of the local unions of the Federation had been the means of quieting dissatisfaction among the operatives, and restoring order by refusing to support unfair demands on the part of some of the operatives. On the other hand, the mill managers were no less emphatic in the state- ment that at other times the Federation had been both directly and indirectly respon- sible for much of the friction which had taken place, directly in the demands which it had made, and indirectly by giving to the parties a feeling of independence which had caused them at times to act in a hasty and arbitrary manner. In the spring of the present year an unfortunate difference sprang up between the leaders of the Federation. Charges of a serious nature were made by certain offi- cers against other officers, which in turn were strongly resented and followed by fresh accusations. A leading officer of the Federation resigned, and in the course of a few weeks started a rival organization known as the Union Amicale. This society was formed among the operatives of the Hochelaga mill, and though its membership was not large, it was bitterly attacked by the Federation. On April 25 of the present year the companies announced their intention that on and after May 4 there would be a reduction of 10 per cent in the wages of all opera- tives. There arose a considerable difference of opinion between the parties as to the attitude to be assumed towards the proposed reduction, and the ranks of the Federa- tion became divided on this issue. One group favoured an acceptance of the reduc- tion, another group opposed. The dissensions to which this difference gave rise con- siderably widened the cleavage in the ranks of the Federation, and one indirect result was to increase for a time the strength of the newly organized Union Amicale, the members of which were entirely opposed to any strike taking place. As will appear later, a strike did take place, though it was claimed by the one group in the Federation that its declaration had not been in accordance with the decision of the majority and was, according to the constitution of the Federation, unconstitutional. The strikers were joined by the members of the Union Amicale, and by a considerable percent- age of operatives in some of the mills. This led to much bitterness of feeling between the parties themselves, with the result that what from one aspect appeared as a conflict between capital and labour, viewed from another standpoint was like a feud within the ranks of the Federation itself. This division in the ranks of the Federation found expression before the Commission in the appearance of separate counsel representing each of the contending factions. With the Union Amicale as a third element, the differences between the workers were presented before the Commission from three different points of view, with the result that a major part of the testimony had to do with the antagonisms of the contending factions within the ranks of the workers, and only secondarily with such grievances as were of common concern or had an immediate bearing upon the conditions of employment. Keviewing in outline the history of trade unionism in the cotton industry of Canada, it will be seen that in a period of less than a decade some of the operatives have belonged to: (1) A local organization embracing in its membership not merely operatives of particular classes, but persons of various trades and callings. COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 7 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 (2) The National Trades and Labour Congress; unlike the Knights of Labour and the Dominion Trades and Labour Congress in that its members belong to locals with no international affiliations; unlike the Knights of Labour, but like the Domin- ion Congress, in that the membership of the several locals is made up of persons belonging to a particular trade. (3) The United Federation of Textile Workers of America; an international federation restricted to operatives in the textile trades. (4) The Federation of Textile Workers of Canada; an organization the member- ship of which is likewise restricted to operatives in the textile trades, but which con- fines its membership to persons resident in the Dominion. (5) The International Spinners' Union of America, an organization which is limited in its membership to one particular class of operatives, but international in its jurisdiction. (6) The Union Amicale, a local organization differing from the recognized trade union in that it admits to membership certain of the companies' officials, and which from its constitution would appear to partake rather of the nature of a benefit society tnan a regular trade union. What the membership in these several organizations has been and what the mem- bership is among such of these organizations as are still existing is a matter on which the estimates presented to the Commission varied so widely that it would be dangerous to hazard an opinion. It was admitted that membership in the several organizations had been considerably reduced in consequence of the division and dissension, as well as unemployment occasioned by the strike and depression in the trade. As the parties themselves were averse to making public the membership as given in exhibits filed jbef ore the Commission, it may be as well to make no reference to numbers here. Changes in Wages and Hours. Attention has been drawn to the circumstance or coincidence of the organization periods being also the periods of greatest industrial disturbance in the cotton industry. Equally noticeable is the fact that up to the spring of the present year they were also the periods of increase in the wages rate. It was 1 stated by several of the witnesses 1 that they were unaware of such a thing as a general increase in the rate of wages of the operatives prior to 1906, at which time the first beginnings of effective organization took place, and this appears to be true. The only exception of which mention was made was that of a general increase of ten per cent conceded to the operatives at Magog after a strike of two or three weeks occasioned by the company's decision to change the day of pay. Of the changes which took place during 1906 all appear to have been in the nature of general increases of from ten to fourteen per cent brought about by strikes to the success of which the organization among the operatives at least contributed. During 1907, the year of most effective organization, general in- creases amounting to ten per cent in all the mills of the Dominion Textile Company and fifteen per cent in the case of the mills of the Montreal Cotton Co., were granted. Tliese increases were followed by additional slight increases of from two and a half to five per cent in the case of the several mills of the Dominion Textile Co., as the result of demands made by the Federation and after conference with its officers. In one instance the increase for a particular class amounted to eight per cent, while in the case of the Montreal Cotton Company where the demands of the Federation were resisted, additional increases of from ten to twelve per cent were obtained in the case of the mule spinners and increases of from two and a half to three per cent in the case of the weavers, as the results of strikes. The number and extent of the several increases together with the manner in which they were obtained will appear from the following table. 39 2* REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 I! * 1 1 33 p * COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 9 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 There can be no doubt that the great prosperity of the industry during this period made these increases possible. It was admitted by some of the mill managers that so prosperous were they that it was impossible to fill the orders received, and in some instances orders were rejected in consequence. With the general industrial and commercial depression, the effects of which began to make itself felt in the cotton industry during the fall of 1907, a sudden change was wrought. Orders instead of coming in so rapidly that they could not be satisfactorily filled, began to fall off; the manufacturers began to curtail their output. At the beginning of October, the hours of the workers in the mills of the Dominion Textile Company at Hochelaga, St. Anns, St. Henri and Magog were reduced from 60 to 45 per week and a little later to 40. With the exception of the mule spinners a reduction in working time was also made at Montmorency, and reductions of working hours were made in some of the mills of the Montreal Cotton Co., at Valleyfield. In the spring of the present year the cotton industry not only in Canada but in the United States and Great Britain, had been caught in the trough of the depression. Mill managers in the United States informed me that they have not known a like depression in their experience of many years. Authentic reports from the cotton manufacturing centres of Great Britain were similar in tone. One witness, who claimd to be well informed, stated before the Commission that the industry in Great Britain had known nothing like it since the days of the Civil War in the United States. As to the falling off of business in Canada there can be no doubt. The books of the companies show that conclusively. What is most significant is that considering how widespread has been the general depression in the cotton industry throughout the world, Canadian manufacturers should not have suffered more than they have, and that despite the situation being what it was, its abnormal nature should have been recognized to the extent that two new cotton manufacturing companies the Wabasso Cotton Company at Three Rivers and the Mount Royal Spinning Company at Montreal, should have started up at this time, and with faith in the future pushed on operations, when, had the situation been other than temporary or exceptional, such a step would have been of the essence of commercial rashness. The Strike of 1908. The manufacturers had voluntarily conceded an increase of ten per cent in wages in May of 1907, and as has been seen, this had followed on increases/ of the previous year and was accompanied by additional increases a litle later on, in some instances in the same year. The employers looking to the prosperity of the trade had found this economically possible, and, doubtless, having regard to the relations with their employees, profitable as well. The operatives, thinking much, of the new organization to which they belonged and naturally enthused with the success which had attended many of its efforts, were inclined to attribute increases in wages, whether volun- teered or conceded only after negotiations or struggles, as due primarily to united demand and effort on their part. It was a post hoc ergo propter hoc sort of reasoning which unconsciously filled their minds. Because an increase in wages had followed after organization, it was thought that the increase was therefore on account of organi- zation. Both parties looked to different sides of the same shield. To the employers the increased wage rate was a sort of index of trade prosperity; to the employees, it was an index of what might be accomplished by united effort. Trade con- ditions -changed and the employers decided to take back in May the ten per cent increase which they had voluntarily conceded a year before. The opera- tives, or more correctly speaking, a certain number of the operatives believed that this was a lowering of the scale which united resistance might prevent. As it was, the shortening of the hours of labour throughout the winter had greatly reduced the amount which in any one week it was possible to make; and to add to the reduction in their working time, a reduction in the wage rate seemed to the operatives a hard- 10 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 ship amounting to injustice, the keen sense of which was not lessened by the pub- lished statements of the company, in which substantial dividends and accounts of business extension reflected the prosperity of the preceding year. A strike was there- upon declared in some of the mills and a lockout in others. In the closing down of six establishments for a period of three to four weeks, the net result was the throwing out of employment for the whole or a greater portion of that time operatives number- ing from 5,296 to 6,000 in all, who lost from this cause from 133,600 to 134,800 work- ing days. When the mills reopened it was upon the employers' terms. It was this strike which was the occasion of the appointment of the present Commission. At this date it can serve no useful purpose to retail the many incidents which preceded and accompanied the suspension of work, more especially as personal enmi- ties and jealousies among the operatives, some of which happily have since been for- given and forgotten, played a large part. With the industrial as with the individual family, the least said about unpleasantnesses after they are past, the better for all parties concerned. Some pronouncement will, however, be expected upon the merits of the dispute and the attitude of the parties, and this in so far as it may be helpful in preventing like recurrences is not only opportune, but desirable. The facts and the evidence alike warrant the conclusion that the strike was ill- timed and injudicious. The manner in which it was brought on was hardly creditable to those who were its chief advocates, and the greater wisdom lay with those repre- sentatives of labour who opposed it from the outset. The same economic law which lay at the root of earlier successes had doomed to failure a revolt against their existing conditions. As to the responsibility for the strike, it should, I think, be shared, 'in part, by both employers and those by whom the operatives were led, but mostly by the latter. By the employers for the manner in which the notice of the intended reduction was given, and a failure to recognize that the circumstances were such as demanded more than usual consideration on thir part; by the leaders for not following in spirit and letter the constitution of their organization, and for allowing internal dissen- sions, personal jealousies and antipathies to override the common good. The employees were informed of the intended reduction in wages by a notice, such as the following which was posted on Saturday, the 25th of April, at the several mills of both the Dominion Textile and the Montreal Cotton Companies: DOMINION TEXTILE CO. MERCHANTS BRANCH. A reduction of 10 per cent in wages of all employees will go into effect on the 4th of May, 1908. DOMINION TEXTILE Co., LIMITED. MERCHANTS BRANCH. No intimation that such a step was in contemplation and no conference between the parties or any of them was had prior to that date. May the fourth was a Monday. It was urged before the Commission on behalf of the companies that this constituted a nine days' notice; it might with more justice to the real situation have been said that it amounted to a notice of six (working days. A deputation of the organization waited upon the general manager of the Dominion Textile Co. on the day following that on which the notice of the reduction was posted. They were given to under- stand that no modification of the proposed step could be entertained; but that when trade conditions improved, wages would again be raised. There does not appear to have beeen much else in the way of conference between the parties. Many of the witnesses were of the opinion that if the length of time of the notice had been longer, it would have given more opportunity for conference and for a discussion and understanding of the situation among the operatives themselves. On the other hand it was pointed out that a section of the operatives had decided upon a strike within three days after the notice was posted, that the operative3 as a whole were divided in COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 11 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 opinion as to the advisability of any strike being declared and that had the require- ments of the constitution been strictly followed, the views of those opposed to going out would have prevailed. These facts may, I think, be admitted, without weak- ening the force of the inference that a longer notice affording ampler opportunity for conference and explanation might have prevented the strike The summary manner in which the announcement was made provoked a like proceeding on the part of the operatives, and the limited time in which action had to be taken necessitated hasty judgments, and gave opportunities for manoeuvres which a longer period of reflection would have made impossible. It would seem, too, that the circumstances were such that some special consideration might have been given the lot of the operatives in view of the position in which they were. As has been pointed out, their hours of work had been reduced in October from 60 to 45 per week, and were later on reduced to 40. The wages of operatives in cotton mills are at no time high as compared for example with wages in some other of the skilled trades. It is doubtful if previous increases in wages had more than offset the very considerable increase which there has been in the cost of living during recent years, and which has been felt by the opera- tives in the cotton industry in common with all others. The winter had been passed through on the reduced working time. To see wherein the step was a necessary one at a time when the company was making public its dividends, and to acquiesce with patience in it, required something more than summary notices. It is in just such cir- cumstances that a little consideration of human nature as it is, and an appreciation of the fact that working men and women, be they classed as ' labour ', ' operatives ' or what not, are after all human sentient beings, that necessary hardships may be spared the pang of bitterness and serious crises be thereby avoided. A little conferring and explanation, an attitude at least of understanding, to say nothing of possible conces- sions or alternatives, might have gone far towards avoiding the rupture which occurred. On the other hand the very circumstances which demanded consideration on the part of the employers placed a double responsibility on the labour leaders. There can be no doubt that operatives of the class of which mill employes are composed are easily led. Nearly one-half are women and girls, and in the Quebec mills over twenty-five per cent are under the age of 18. To seek to protect the interest of such a class is noble and worthy in the highest degree, but a wise leadership calls for the exercise of the most careful judgment. Had calmer reason prevailed in the councils of the federation, hun- dreds of men, women and young people would have been spared the extra privations occasioned by the temporary closing of the mills, after a winter of short work. That the lot of the workers at the time was a hard and unenviable one cannot be denied. This was freely admitted by those in authority and managing the affairs of the companies. It is a question of ethics just how far, all facts considered, the companies were right in saddling on the operatives, to the exclusion of others connected with the com- panies and to the exclusion of all other alternatives, the cut which it was necessary to make to save the dividends. A glance at the salaries paid to overseers, superintend- ents and other officers of the companies show these to be generous enough. It is claimed that they were not increased when the 15 per cent increase in wages was given in the previous year and that, therefore, they were not entitled to share in the reduction. They are, however, so different in kind and so far removed from the stan- dard, which is a minimum of existence, toward which labour of unskilled or the less skilled trades tends in periods of depression to fall, that such a comparison is hardly to the point. Moreover it does not appear that these classes suffered any loss in income in consequence of the shortage of work. There can be no doubt that a recog- nition of the fact that the depression was temporary, that the cause was one for which the operatives were no more responsible than others connected with the industry, and a willingness to share all along the line in the temporary misfortune which had over- taken the trade, would have altered the situation at once, and would have been equitable in the highest degree. This is a kind of business morality which may not 12 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 be generally practised. It is however, fortunately enough, not without instances in this country. Mr. Samuel M. Robins, the manager of the New Vancouver Coal and Mining and Land Company, Limited, in evidence given before the Eoyal Commis- sion on Labour Disputes in British Columbia in 1903, testified as follows: Q. In these discussions that you had with the men, did they ever consent to a re- duction of wages ? A. Most assuredly so. On one special occasion I may mention that the business of our principal market was so utterly demoralized that it was almost impossible to dispose of any coal at all. When this matter was clearly explained to the men in a mass meeting of the union, they voluntarily agreed to accept a reduc- tion of twenty per cent without a single dissenter. Q. Did they have any promise from you as to how long that would last? A. No. One condition voluntarily made on our part was that the officers would submit to the same reduction as long as the men submitted to theirs. In a month after we revised the situation revised the figures, I should say and the twenty per cent was made ten per cent, and that continued in operation for six or seven years until the market justified reverting to the old figure. Mr. Robins did not have a strike in the 21 years of his management of these mines. Effect of Charges upon the Industry. Reverting to the cotton industry, to what extent charges upon the industry of one kind or another may have directly or indirectly contributed to the reduction in the wage scale in order that the effects of the depression might not be so largely felt in other quarters, will be apparent from the following testimony of the Secretary- Treasury of the Dominion Textile Company: Q. How was the company formed? A. It was composed of the Dominion Cotton Mills Company, The Merchants Cotton Company, The Montmorency Cotton Company, The Colonial Bleaching and Printing Company. Q. Were they merged into one company? A. Yes. # # # * # Q. What is the total preferred stock and bond issue of the Dominion Textile Company? A. The preferred stock amounts to $1,858,088.33. The bonds of the com- pany amount to $3,011,916.67. Q. Do you know how that compares with the total stock issue of the four cor- porations which went to make up the merger? A. The stock of the four companies was bought at different prices. We paid $120 for the Montmorency. We paid $167 for the Colonial Bleaching and Printing Company. We paid $85 for the Merchants and we paid $50 for the Dominion. Q. Would the preferred stock and bond issue amount to within half a million of the total issue of the four corporations that went to make up the merger? A. It would be within half a million of the purchase price. Q. Are there any bonds of those old companies still outstanding? A. Yes. Q. Bearing interest? A. Yes. Q. Is that interest being paid from the earnings of the present Dominion Textile Company? A. In connection with the Merchants Cotton Company and the Dominion Cotton Company, there were some shareholders who did not come in. As long as the stock is outstanding they have to be run as a separate company; according to the laws of the Government. We pay the Merchants four per cent interest on the money invested, and we pay four per cent on the Dominion. They have to pay their own interest, that is, four per cent, and the bond interest. Q. What is the common share capitalization of the Dominion Textile Company? A. Five million dollars. COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 13 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 Q. How much di d the common stock cost the original owners? A. It cost the original owners ten cents on the dollar. Q. How much interest does that stock pay? A. Fifty per cent on the cost. Q. Five per cent per annum? A. Yes. Q. How much does the preferred stock pay ? A. Seven per cent. Q. What is the rate of interest on the bonds? A. Six per cent. Q. Do you think that is a pretty fair financial load to carry? A. I do. Q. Do you think that the fact that there is such a large financial load to carry makes it more difficult to spend a larger amount on wages? A. The depression in trade has been responsible. Q. If that financial load was lighter, would there be more revenue for wages? A. Certainly. Q. How much did the Dominion Textile Company earn in 1907? A. I have not got the figures here. The net earnings were just about the same as they were, I think, for this year, or within a few thousand dollars. Q. How much would that be'? A. $970,000. Q. Is that after writing off anything for repairs and betterments ? A. We always write off something for repairs and betterments. Q. How much? A. It varies. Sometimes a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Q. Would it be a couple of hundred thousand dollars this last year? A. Yes, we wrote off more than that. We wrote off $218,186 for repairs and betterments, and $235,340 for new plants and machinery that was to replace old machinery. Q. Is this new plant and machinery in the nature of an investment? A. No, it is replacing old machinery, making improvements in the mills. Q. Has any part of the proceeds of the company gone towards the erection of new plant? A. There has been practically no erection of plant, outside of one build- ing that we put up in Magog that cost about thirty thousand dollars. Q. Was that taken out of earnings? A. Yes. Q. So the money used for this purpose left less for the amount out of which the wages would have to be paid? A. It was impossible to carry on the business of the company without that. Q. Was it necessary on account of the expansion of business? A. Yes. Q. It practically amounted to new plant? A. It is what we call an improve- ment. Q. Is it the policy of the company to extend the business out of its net earnings? A. If it is possible. Q. And they found it possible? A. Yes, out of this last year's earnings they did. Of course the less a company is capitalized, the better it is. Q. Do you know what percentage is paid out in wages as compared with the net earnings? A. The wages were about double the net earnings two hundred per cent on the net earnings. Of course that does not include the office staff, and so on. The net earnings were $970,000. The wages would be almost double that. Q. How many employees have you altogether? A. They run as high as six thou- sand. It varies a good deal. Q. Do you know what the average daily wages of the employees amounted to? A. It runs over three thousand dollars. Q. That is those who are employed fn the mills? A. Yes. Q. That does not include the officers? A. No, that includes children and all. ***** Q. Do you know, if there have been any increases in the salaries of the higher officers of the company since the formation of the Dominion Textile Company? A. There has been a slight increase. I will give you the figures if you want them. For the year ending 31st March, 1906, the total expenses of salaries for directors, officers and so forth was $97,027. For the year ending March 31, 1907, it was $102,447. 14 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VI!., A. 1909 For the year ending 31st March, 1908, it was $102,578, so that practically during the past three years there has only been an increase of five thousand dollars. Q. Would that be an increase in the number of officials? A. No; there has been an increase given at 1906. There was a slight increase given to the different officers of the company. Q. Was there any reduction in any of those salaries at the time the reduction was made in the wages of the employees? A. None. Effect of the Tariff. To a circular which was issued to the operatives at the time of the strike, and which was signed by A. Gignac, general president, it was stated that: 'Unfortunately the cotton trade of this country does not receive suffi- cient protection, and it is possible for the manufacturers of England and the United States to undersell us, which means that we do not secure all the busi- ness to which we have a right. ' With more protection our mills would be enabled to run full time, and the companies would be in a position to give better wages.' , During the inquiry it was shown that while this circular was signed by the General President of the Federation, it had, in fact, been written by an employee of the Dominion Textile Company, who had been allowed to absent himself from his employment in the mills, and received in addition to his regular salary or wage, an allowance of $65 on account of travelling expenses for the time during which he was engaged in getting out the circular and otherwise assisting, according to his statement, in bringing about a termination of the strike. While he was not prepared to concede that his relations with the head officials of the company were of a confidential nature he admitted that he had been sent to England by the company to gather help for the mill when they were short, and that he had brought over some 200 men. This witness stated during his examination that he had been asked by some of the workers, if they sent a delegation to Ottawa to ask the government to increase the tariff, would the company pay their expenses, and that he had replied : ' I cannot promise, but I will see Mr. Gordon.' When asked why he had not in the circular which had been sent out, informed the employees that his expenses had been paid by the company while he was engaged in consulting Mr. Gignac and in writing the circular, he replied that he thought it might have 'spoiled the effect.' That the tariff, apart from the present temporary depression, with which it was admitted it had nothing to do, was not in any way responsible for the falling off in trade in the cotton factories of Quebec, or the consequent recent reduction in wages, is abundantly proved from the statements ~of the head officials of the companies and the annual reports of the directors. The last annual report of the Directors of the Dominion Textile Company for the year ending March 31, 1908, sets forth that 'The company has enjoyed several prosperous years since its organization without feeling the effect of foreign compe- tition.' As to the year's business, the report says: 'The net profits for the year after paying current interest on loans, all mill charges, and writing off the large sums of $218,186.96 for repairs and betterments, and $235,340.40 for new plant and machinery, amount to $900,- 805.89; to these profits we have to add $68,635, being a dividend of 2 per cent on 27,454 shares of Dominion Cotton Mills stock, and $51,705.50, divid- end of 3i per cent on 14,773 shares of Merchants Cotton Co. stock, making in all $1.021,146.39. Out of this amount has been paid the following: COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 15 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 Interest on bonds $204,89500 Dividend on Pref. stock 130,067 00 " Com. stock 250,000 00 Kental Dom. Cotton Mills Co 322,678 77 Mer. " " 65,277 74 And after allowing for bad debts there is left a surplus for the year of $44,- 493.36. This will bring the amount at credit of profit and loss account to $568,335.41, against $523,842.05 last year. This in the opinion of your Di- rectors is very satisfactory, considering the large falling off there has been in trade since last fall/ In his testimony before the Commission the Secretary Treasurer of the Dominion Textile Company said: ' Business all over the world has been so good these last three years that we did not feel the effects of the competition. Last year we were up to our full production, and we could not have taken any more orders unless we built other mills.' The Manager of the Montreal Cotton Company said: 'In September last year, the Montreal Cotton Company had orders on its books for all it could produce until the end of June of this year.' When asked, ' Do you think if the Canadian consumers had been entirely dependent upon the Canadian mills for their supply of cotton, they would have been able to get all the cotton they require? The Manager replied, 'No.' Q. Not without importation? A. No. The circular which set forth that the inadequacy of tariff was responsible for present conditions, contained the following parallel statement : ' A year ago the de- mand for cotton goods was so great that the manufacturers were in a position to ask and to get almost any price for their goods/ The writer when questioned as to the truth of this statement, replied, ' Yes, that is so/ If more were required to show that the falling off in trade and any consequent reduction in wages were due to causes other than the tariff, it need only be pointed out that the present tariff in cotton goods went into force in 1897, at which time the preference was introduced, and has not been changed since, and that an even greater depression in the cotton trade has taken place in the United States where the duties range from forty to fiftjr per cent, and in Eng- land where there is no tariff at all. There is the f urher fact, as pointed out above, that the past year has witnessed the formation of two new cotton manufacturing com- panies in the province of Quebec, an addition which would 1 hardly have taken place had conditions been adverse. The evidence as a whole proves conclusively that under the existing tariff the cotton manufacturing companies of the province of Quebec have until the present depression set in, enjoyed prosperous years, that the tariff has been in no way respon- sible for the depression, which has been world-wide and greater in England and the United States than in Canada, that until the depression set in, so prosperous were conditions that the effect of foreign competition was not felt. At most all that can be said of the lowering of the tariff, so far as the actual ex- perience of the cotton mills of Quebec is concerned, is that during this period of tem- porary depression it has caused the effects of competition to be felt sooner than they otherwise would have been, whereas at other times it has not been such as to cause those engaged in the industry to feel the effects of foreign competition, and has been an undoubted benefit to the consumer. The report of the directors of the Dominion Textile Company concludes by expressing the hope that with the prospect of good crops this year business will soon resume its normal condition. At the time the Commission sat in Montreal the secretary- treasurer of the company stated that during the month of July there had been a ' a slight increase in business/ 16 REPORT QF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 The Employment of Women and Children. During the inquiry a considerable amount of evidence was given with reference to the employment of women and children in the cotton mills of Quebec. While it does not appear that the employment of women and children has been made the subject, save indirectly, of industrial disputes of any importance, a consideration of this class of employment would seem to come within the scope of an inquiry which has to do with the conditions of employment of operatives and the important ques- tions of wages and hours, with which most of the disputes have been concerned. The existing scales of wages is the result of competition amongst the operatives, and the most important elements in this competition are female and child labour. It has been shown that of the operatives employed in the Quebec cotton mills 42-3 per cent are females and 26 -6 per cent are persons under 18 years of age. As to the hours of labour of all these two classes it was asserted that in normal times under normal con- ditions, work should begin on wek days at 6.15 o'clock in the morning and continue to 12 noon, resume at a quarter to 1, and continue till 6, with the exception of Saturday, when there was work only in the morning. It was stated by many of the witnesses, and the accuracy of the statement was not challenged, that operatives were obliged to be at their places of work a little before the time fixed, though a like practice did not exist in regard to leaving it. This is a work week of 60 hours and over. In Massachussetts, where the large cotton mills of Lowell and Fall River are situated, the hours of labour of women and minors are 58 per week, and by an amending Act approved on June 13, 1908, to come into effect January 1, 1910, the number of hours for women and minors in Massachusetts will be reduced to 56 per week, except in certain extablishments and under certain conditions, but in no case to exceed 58. In the state of New Hampshire also, the hours of labour for women and minors are fixed at 58 per week. A reduction of hours of labour to this maximum for similar classes of operatives in Canada would appear to be desirable on both economic and humanitarian grounds, and in this connection it would seem important that the law should leave no doubt as to the total number of hours to be worked in any one day. The section of the Quebec statute which relates to hours of employment is as follows : 3025. ' Except in the case mentioned in article 3026, no boy under eighteen years of age, and no child, girl or woman shall be employed in any of the establishments, mentioned in article 3020 for more than ten hours in one day or for more than sixty hours in any one week. Any employer may apportion the hours of labour per day for the sole purpose of giving a shorter day's work on Saturday. / ' One hour shall be allowed at noon each day for meals, if the inspector so directs, but such hour shall not be counted as part of the time herein limited) as respects their employment. 1 The day of ten hours mentioned in this article shall not commence before six o'clock in the morning nor end after nine o'clock at night. 3026. l The inspector, for sufficient reasons given to him, and in order to make up lost time or to satisfy the exigencies of the trade, may, for a period not exceeding six weeks, extend the time of employment of children, girls, and women to twelve hours in a day, or seventy-two hours in a week, provided that the day shall not commence before six o'clock in the morning nor end after nine o'clock in the evening, in the following cases: (a) When any accident, which prevents the working of any industrial establishment, happens to the motive power of machinery, or (b) When from any occurrence beyond the control of the employer, the machinery or any part of the machinery of any industrial establishment can- not be regularly worked; or (c) When any stoppage occurs from any cause whatsoever.' COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 17 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 It was maintained by the companies and their opinion was shared by the factory inspector who appeared before the Commission, that this gave the company the right to so adjust the working hours on each day that the total working time in a week would not exceed 60 hours. Clearly such an interpretation gives the right, should the employers decide to work only five days in the week, to make the hours 12 per day, or 15 per day, should it decide to work only four days, a possibility which could never have been intended. The maximum working hours in any one day should be defi- nitely stated and the statute should be so worded as to leave no doubt as to its in- tention. In determining what the maximum number of working hours should be, economic considerations alone demand that a full regard should be had for the effects of long and continuous employment, whatever its nature upon the constitution of women, and their place in the social economy of a nation. Excessive work bequeaths a legacy of weakness or disability to those who directly or indirectly are affected by it. In the upbuilding of a nation this is a factor which cannot be too constantly kept in mind. Similarly, the employment of children and young persons, whether male or female, cannot be surrounded by too many safeguards. It is distressing to be obliged to record that, though the minimum age at which children can be employed is fixed by the Quebec law at 14 years, several children were brought before the Commission from among those working in the mills who admitted that they had entered upon em- ployment under the legal age. Some of these children were so immature and ignorant that they were unable to tell the year of their birth, or their age. One little girl did not know the meaning of the word ' holiday/ and when it had been explained to her, stated that the only holidays she had known were Christmas and Epiphany. She had never received a week's vacation. One or two of the children admitted that they knew their parents had made false declarations as to age, and that they had been told by their parents to say what was untrue, when questioned on the point. There can be no two views as to the attitude which should be assumed towards such a condition, nor as to the kind of legislation which it demands. The employ- ment in factories of children under 14 years of age should be made absolutely im- possible, and a law no less imperative requiring their attendance at school between the ages of 10 and 14 years should be enacted. In Massachussets the law requires that a child, before he can be employed, must be 14 years of age, and a certi- ficate obtained from the clerk of the city as to his ability to read and write. If illiterate, he must be 16 before he can be employed, and 1 children who' wish to gain admission to a factory must first obtain a certificate of age and ability to read and write the English language from the school superin- tendent or member of a school committee. Some such arrangement which would remove from the parties interested in the contract, whether parents or employers, the possibility of making or accepting false declarations, and would place the responsibility as to age certificates upon those chosen representatives of the people, or officials whose duty it is to guard the welfare of the state, would seem to be the most effective manner of dealing with the situation. It is gratifying to be able to state that the heads of the companies concerned expressed themselves as much surprised at the fact that child labour was being employed contrary to law, and took immediate steps to rectify this abuse. Mr. S. H. Ewing, the President of the Montreal Cotton Company, said he had inquired particularly to find out if any child labour was used in the mills and he was very much surprised to learn that there was; that if anything of the kind were going on it was very much against his will and that of the Board of Directors. Mr. Simpson said that his company iwas careful to see that each child was obliged to bring a certificate from the parents or guardian, stating that he or she was at least 14 years of age, and that there were only two cases he knew of where children were under age, though there might be others where parents had 18 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 given false certificates, and that in the two cases mentioned there were justifiable cir- cumstances. It is unreasonable to suppose that any other than the most selfish and callous-hearted of individuals would knowingly permit an abuse of this kind to con- tinue and would not welcome such action on the part of the state as would put its continuance beyond the bounds of possibility. If Canada is to have a hardy and intelligent body of producers, on which primarily her industrial position among the nations of the world will depend, she cannot view with too much caution all those factors which go to the making of a nation's manhood, and of these none are of like importance to the health and well-being of the mother and the child. Opportunity for rest and recreation is the least that society can secure to those who are helping to carry the industrial burden, and this demands a limitation of the total hours of labour by day or week, an absolute prohibition of overtime, and a period of vacation in every year. Relations Between Employers and Employees. As to a plan whereby the relations between employers and employees in this industry may be improved and industrial differences between them averted, I would invite attention to a consideration of some such arrangement as came to my notice during the investigation of conditions in the United States, the effectiveness of which arrangement has been duly tested by the severe strain of the present year, and received the hearty commendation of both employers and employes; I mean the system of an automatic adjustment of wages based upon a joint agreement between employers and employees such as exists at Fall River between the Association of Employers and the Textile Council, an association representative of the several unions to which the operatives belong. This plan was worked out as a consequence of a large strike which took place four years ago, and was the outcome of a recognition on both sides of the folly of industrial war as a means of securing industrial peace. I cannot do better than quote from the Massachusetts Labour Bulletin of June and July, which sets forth the nature and workings of the arrangement in an article dealing with the reduction in wages of the present year. Incidentally the article is also of great value as showing how parallel are conditions in the United States to conditions in Canada and as showing that the recent reduction in wages in Canada which occasioned the strike of May last have not been due to any peculiar severity on the part of Canadian employers or tariff or other special conditions, but have been part of a general depres- sion in which this country, for obvious reasons, has had to share. At a conference held May 19 between committees of the Fall River Textile Council and the Cotton Manufacturers' Association to determine the scale of wages to be paid during the six months from May 26, 1908, to November 26, 1908, the margin figures of the proceeding six months were gone over and the resulting reduction in t^ages was computed to 17.94 per cent. This is the heaviest reduction that has ever been made at one time in the history of Fall River, the nearest approach to it being a reduction made September 11, 1893, amounting to 14.28 per cent. Yet on May 20 the Textile Council, representing officially and unofficially some 25,000 operatives, demonstrated the ability of this great body of workers to stand by their contract by accepting, without a dissenting voice, the report of the committee, which recommended that the reduction in wages resulting from the operation of the agreement in force between the organization of mill employees and their employers be adopted. The wage agreement adopted on May 3, 1907, and now in force, provides: Clause 1. That 21.78 cents per cut shall be the recognized standard price for a margin of 95 points based on the cost of eight pounds of middling upland cotton and the selling value of 45 yards of 28-inch 64 x 64 print cloth and 33-11 yards of 38- inch 64 x 64. Quotations from New York Journal of Commerce shall be considered authority. COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 19 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 Clause 2. Wage agreements shall be binding for six months, beginning the last Monday in May and November of each year, based on the average margin for the pre- vious six months. Prices for weaving shall be as follows : With a margin of 115 points, 23-96 cents; 110 points, 23-42 cents; 105 points, 22-87 cents; 95 points, 21-78 cents; 85 points, 20-69 cents; 80 points, 19-66 cents; 75 points, 18-68 cents; 72 points, 18 cents. Wages in all departments other than weaving shall be adjusted on the same basis; 23*96 cents, with a margin of 115, shall be the maximum; and 18 cents, with a margin of 72 J, shall be the minimum rate paid for weaving. Clause 3. If at any time either party to this agreement should desire to make a change, at least three months' notice shall be given by the party desiring the change prior to the expiration of the existing six months' contract. It can be said that the wage agreement has met and passed successfully its first real test, for the operatives have shown their faith in the fairness of the system, even though the results may be decidedly unfavourable to them as in the present instance. This system of an automatic adjustment of wages was carefully devised as a result of previous experiments, for the purpose of giving the operatives as high a rate of wages as business conditions would allow, and the success which the system has had in its first crisis argues well for the peaceful settlement of wage scales in Fall Kiver, and it is to be hoped will result in the abolition of intermittent demands by the opera- tives on the manufacturers and long resultant controversies. The praiseworthy spirit shown by the operatives in keeping their agreement and submitting to this heavy cut in their wages is reflected in the following extract from the report presented to the operatives by James Tansey, president of the Fall River Textile Council: ' We, the members of the Textile Council, regret that such conditions have arisen which should call for the reduction in wages as stated in the agreement; and while we realize that the reduction is a steep one, we hope and feel that you will not lose sight of the fact that it is being taken from the highest rate of wages that has ever prevailed during the life of the Textile Council and for many years previous to its existence. It is safe to say that we can go back at least 35 years and then only under the most exceptional conditions can a comparison be made. 'It should not be necessary to remind you that the rate of wages paid during the last 12 months is ten per cent higher than ever was paid in the city during our life as combined unions, and further that it is twenty per cent higher, with an ex- ception of a period of about nine months a few years ago. 'With regard to the present agreement, we do not nor have we ever taken and declared that it is the panacea for all difficulties existing between the employer and employee in our trade, but we do declare emphatically and without reserve that it is and has proven to be the best agreement for the operatives that was ever accepted by the employers for the control and regulation of the rise and fall in wages, and further assert, for reasons stated above, that it is well worthy of a trial of experience and as a guide in dealing with such questions in the future. ' Until such time that we see that a change is necessary in the margin scale, we say to our members that this agreement should be honourably lived up to, as it was entered into honourably by a vote of acceptance and endorsed by all of the unions of their ^general meetings before being signed by the representatives of the respective associations contracted. ' Even though the reduction in wages is greater under the agreement than was anticipated by its most ardent supporters, and which we regret, we **i-e not prepared to declare that it is a failure, because owing to the unfortunate trade conditions previously referred to, which suddenly and unexpectedly worked havoc with our industry, we do not believe it has had a fair trial; and until such time that it has, 20 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 the least that can be expected is that judgment should be suspended and hasty action upon our part be rejected. 1 The only comparison that we can draw to compare with present conditions is that which existed in 1898, 10 years ago, when the market got down about 50 cents, and we were obliged to accept reductions in wages which brought the weaver down to 16 per cut and all other departments in proportion. The margin to-day is but 57;61 cents, and it has been between the fifties and sixties for nearly two months, and the price per cut under the reduced rate is 19 .66 cents per cut with operatives in all other departments in proportion, a matter of about 20 per cent, a higher rate than prevailed under similar conditions in 1898, to say nothing of other improved condi- tions. ' Again repeating our regret for the reduction of wages that goes into effect Monday morning, brought about through conditions over which neither employer nor employee has control, we bring these matters to your attention, so that you can delib- erate on the conditions and situation with more intelligence and give to it that fair, just and conservative consideration that all such important subjects of its kind are entitled/ Following the announcement of the new rate, a notice of a reduction of 17.94 per cent in the wages of the 5,000 operatives in the cotton mills of the Fall River Iron Works Company was posted at that plant. Other cotton mills throughout New Eng- land reduced wages in April, the average reduction being about 10 per cent. For a short period after the reduction went into effect, the demand for cotton cloth warranted the manufacturers in running their mills on full time, and as a result the actual weekly earnings of the operatives were greater than under the former rate of wages. These favourable conditions did not continue, however, and the mills were obliged to curtail, thereby decreasing the earnings of the operatives considerably. The sliding scale agreement is between the Textile Council, representing the operatives, and the Cotton Manufacturers Association, representing the manufac- turers, so that the agreement can only be terminated by a notice from either of the two contracting parties. At Fall River where the reduction of 18 per cent took place, there are over fifty mills employing in all about 30,000 operatives. In Lowell where the reduction was as in the province of Quebec, 10 pr cent, there are seven large mills employing about 15,000 operatives. At the Bourne mills, which are among the largest in Fall River, a profit sharing arrangement is in force, which I w-as informed by the manager had worked to the great advantage of employers and employees alike. Inasmuch as it is one of the (several methods which might be adopted to make more apparent the unity and interest between employer and employed, it also may I think, be commended as worthy of adoption by employers of labour in this country, and as a means of harmonizing the relations between the two great industrial classes. The circular issued by the trea- surer of Bourne mills in December, 1906, breathes a spirit of consideration for the welfare of operatives, which if generally followed would do more than anything else to avoid the possibilities of friction and to promote the interests common to both. This circular is as follows: FALL RIVER, Massachusetts, December 24, 1906. To the Employees of the Bourne Mills: You will receive herewith the thirty-fourth semi-annual dividend upon wages. Profit sharing will be continued another six months. I feel my- self happy to congratulate you upon the recent advance in wages, which placed Fall River again upon record as paying the highest wage known to the cotton industry in all the world. I sincerely Tiope there may never be another reduction of wages here. There ought not to be. The business should be adjusted to this schedule. COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 21 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 I trust this may be the merriest Christmas ever known here. May all try together, manufacturers and operatives, to make Fall River the most attractive spot on earth for textile wage-earners. Having this thought in mind the board of directors of the Bourne Mills has unanimously authorized me to announce to you the experiment of a vacation week in August, 1907. While I have not made it a habit to take vacation myself (except a short trip to Europe in 1900), I can see that in these strenuous days it is becoming more and more a wholesome practice. The mills will close Saturday noon, August 24, and reopen Tuesday morn- ing, September 3, thus allowing you ten days of rest and recreation. In lieu of regular pay, the directors have also unanimously authorized me to offer you an extra dividend upon your wages, payable just before the vacation, to the .amount of 50 per cent of the average weekly wages earned by each one of you, computed from the record of your wages during the pre- sent profit sharing term closing next June. Like all dividends upon wages, the August vacation dividend will be paid to you upon the single condition of continuous faithful efficient service. It will be in addition to the regular fourth of July dividend. Sincerely yours, (Sgd.) GEO. A. CHACE, Treasurer. Conclusions. Briefly summarized the main conclusions of this report are as follows: 1. The 10 per cent reduction in wages in the cotton mills of Quebec which occa- sioned the strike and lock-out of May of the present year was not due to any peculiar severity on the part of Canadian employers, or to tariff or other special conditions, but was an economic consequence of the general trade and financial depression in which Canada has shared in common with the United States and Great Britain and which has affected the cotton industry in all parts of the world. 2. That similar and even greater reductions in wages have taken place in the cotton mills of the United States ; and a greater shortage of work has been occasioned among the operatives in that country as well as England; 3. That the lot of many of the operatives in the cotton mills during the present year has been a particularly hard one both because of a considerable shortage of work and a considerable reduction in the rate of wages paid; 4. That the present depression is temporary and that the employers have promised a restoration of the former scale of wages when trade improves; 5. That the strike in the Quebec mills was unwise and ill-timed and would not have taken place had the constitution of the labour organization been strictly followed ; 6. That the manner in which notice of the intended reduction in wages was given was an aggravating circumstance under the then existing conditions, a longer time and greater opportunity for conference between the parties might have avoided it; 7. That personal enmities and ambitions on the part of certain of the leaders were responsible for dissensions among the operatives which were prejudicial to their common interests ; 8. That the industry as a whole and the interests of both employers and employees have suffered much unnecessary loss in consequence of the exceptionally large num- ber of strikes which have taken place during recent years; 9. That some of the strikes which have taken place would not have occurred but for the organization that existed among the workers, and methods adopted by some of the leaders, but that in other instances organization has been the means of avoid- 393 22 REPORT OF R07AL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 ing disputes, and broadly viewed has (at least up to the spring of the present year) resulted in a betterment of the economic conditions of the operatives as a whole; 10. That the attitude of the employers has not on the whole been averse to organi- zation among the employees, though individuals have endeavoured to prevent it; that to entitle themselves to that confidence on the part of employers which will ensure a willingness to co-operate with them, the unions must secure harmony within their own ranks and adopt a more conservatives policy towards those with whom they have business dealings; 11. That the hours of labour of women and young persons in the cotton mills are too long and should be shortened; 12. That the present law regulating the hours of employment should be amended so as to leave no doubt as to its- intention and so as to secure against possible injus- tice to those on whose behalf it has been enacted; 13. That the law respecting the employment of child labour has been evaded and should be so amended as to provide against possible infractions in the future, and that in this connection a special responsibility devolves upon shareholders and all other persons who profit by the results of such labour; 14. That industrial peace might be preserved and the friendly relations between employers and employees promoted (a) by the adoption of joint agreements between employers and operatives with some system of automatic adjustment of wages; (!}) by each of the parties being required to give at least one month's notice be- fore attempting to enforce any contemplated change in wages, hours or other impor- tant condition of employment ; (c) by the adoption of permanent Boards of Conciliation, composed of represen- tatives of employers and operatives, to which boards all matters in dispute should be referred for conference and adjustment before resort is had to a lock-out or strike ; and (d) by the adoption of some form of labour co-partnership in which the joint interests of employers and employees is made apparent to both parties. All of which is respectfully submitted. W. L. MACKENZIE KING, Commissioner. Dated at Ottawa, this 15th day of September, 1908; 8-9 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 A. 1909 STATISTICAL APPENDIX RELATING TO STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS, WAGES, &c. Strikes and Lock-outs since 1900. If the series of disputes which began on May 4, 1908, be considered as separate strikes, there have been forty strikes and lock-outs in the cotton industry in the pro- vince of Quebec from February, 1900, to June, 1908, inclusive. Of these, nine occurred at Valleyfield, eight at Magog, seven at Hochelaga, six at Montmorency Falls, five at St. Henri, three at St. Annes, one at Montreal, and one at Hochelaga and St. Annes. In thirty-two of these disputes the loss of time to the employees amounted approximately to 201,090 working days. In the remaining eight disputes the data were not sufficient to afford an estimate of the lost time. An analysis of the causes that led to the strikes and lock-outs shows that in twenty-one cases, over half the total number, questions of wages were involved. In ten cases the employees had demanded an increase in wages, coupled with other de- mands in two cases, and in nine they opposed a reduction in wages. On five occa- sions strikes were declared in protest against the discharge of employees, and on two occasions the French operatives objected to the employment of English persons. There were four sympathetic strikes and two lockouts during the past eight years. With regard to the results of these trade disputes, the employers were successful in twenty-six cases out ot forty, and the employees were successful in only nine cases, while compromises were reached in the remaining five. The records in the Depart- ment of Labour show that in the disputes involving al industries during the years from 1901 to 1906 inclusive, the employers were successful in 244 cases out of a total of 692, while the employees were successful in 214 cases. This indicates that a greater proportion of strikes in the cotton industry failed in their object, than of strikes in all the industries in Canada combined. The following statistical tables relating to the strikes and lockouts in the cotton industry in Quebec from February, 1900, to June, 1908 inclusive, show in the case of each dispute the locality in which it occurred, the classes and number of employees affected, the date of the commencement and termination, the approximate number of working days lost, and the cause and result. TABLE showing causes of Trade Disputes in Cotton Industry in the province of Quebec from February, 1900 to June, 1908, inclusive. Number of Cause. Disputes. For higher wages 8 For higher wages and changes in conditions of employment. ... 1 For higher wages and against change in pay day 1 For changes in method in payment 2 Against reduction in wages 9 Against discharge of employees 5 Against employment of English persons, strikers being French employees 2 Against employment of apprentices 1 Against employment of an assistant foreman 1 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 Number of Cause. Disputes. Against suspension of an employee 1 Against being laid off on account of shortage of work 1 Refusal of employers to transfer a man from another branch to fill a vacancy 1 Dispute in regard to the opening of windows 1 Sympathetic 4 Lockout following refusal of employees to abandon union. ... 1 Lockout following a strike of certain employees against reduction in wages 1 Total 40 TABLE showing results of Trade Disputes in the Cotton Industry in the province of Quebec from February, 1900 to June, 1908 inclusive. - Disputes. .Cause. Number of In favour of employers 26 employees 9 A compromise 5 Total. . . 40 COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 25 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 M M n S o 5 * -s-g as 5 ! . CH .2j? o' 'S 2 si ^ ca .^^ o If till? .2 o -S^TJ ^ S "iSMSgB &-DalB llll-llll - O. O -S e8 T3 OD *. 8" P P of t-T a>, K 8f S S >, "B ^ & = .8 rj 05 S"! 41 02 i ^ : ' T3 d rf I I' REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 .. ii n ' t fil ,1 H i Jfliffs ne an e bs. . ered y. ed. b n to be n - >.>. da '^^S|opq^^^-co| 5 w w t> JO CO t~-ld a -a /. /. 02 COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 27 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 1 -to 43 3 tf O O * n a 5 a! ' 0) v. o Sg 1 DO CC DO 00 CO QQ s ,5 s-s a a * 11 Ss -s2 o & g a c s 1 O> H M4 11 2 >^T3 G JZ 'G P s-sis j< 1 1 ^ Hsll 11 J - 0,^ 00^ ^ >,!,>-.> >>^! >. -< TO 51 >> ^M O ZT *"* JJ? -U r* Z & c^ S 11^? Strikers 1 1 1 S^^3 ol^ ^.2 - & - : G ? Je s id rs 2 '5e P EC <]j ^ oa^j ^m 1 05 1 C a yflg-rtrJOJC S 8 ^ > BL > 5. fa S. i & s^s^a^a^ 8^8-8^8^ com pan Detween II 3^S *Mlsii SStjgSS^o Work resumed. one day. Work resumed, one day. Work resumed. 1 two days. Company agreed charges against if put in writing. Work resumed. . . Work resumed ( schedule. Mills run by ni Amicale and ou Company reporti employees weni sumed after 4 v* ed that over 200 "S W -11 * ^3 M ^ 8*1 11-8 Work resumed on saococ^cg O |S,^S.S^ ^ 02 | 00 T, G 0} d} ?n X *12 s^ d gj g ,-1 S3 jjn rH s g i i Kn f^ rnplovees wanted windows c wider, isagreement as to prices. < men directly concerned in di Dmpany would not put in from Merchants' branch vacancy. Members of Textile Workers' demanded dismissal of ass foreman in weaving room, mand made February 28. i sympathy with employ* Hochelaga. gainst reduction of 27 ^ per < waeres. gainst reduction in wages per cent. Spinners were o week alone. gainst reduction in wages per cent. Strikers were mt of Federation of Textile W< gainst reduction of 10 per c wao-es. gainst reduction of 10 per c waeres. All but 25 or 3 ployees went out. gainst reduction of 10 per c wages. No notice given. Against reduction of 10 per wages. No notice given. Lockout following strike o ners and weavers, gainst reduction of 10 per c waeres. gainst reduction of 10 per c wages. em and for increase in wag night work. i sympathy with night spini r ^ Q Q a A 1 r V r ] S r 5 ': $ '. ^ 9 s 1 hs & 8 Sf .8 g Sf 1 s* 1 p p r r "~ CJ O ] ] ; ^ S p ^ T-4^ iH 00 00 9 ~ 00" 1 t oo oo OO" rH *- rH r r 9 9 s S = = 9 ^ - ' ; 9 s 8 S rH iH s i .2 S 8 ^ ^ I r-T ^ - ~" cC -* ^ Employees of en- graving room. Spoolers Mule spinn e r s and boys. Weavers primar- ily, joined by all classes. All operatives. . . Shop employees . Mule spinners. . . All other classes of employees. Mule spinners . . All other classes of employees. Mule spinners . . Weavers All other classes of employees. All classes of em- *^ g'S. osT? q m M StS'S > * Ug-5^ | S i 1 I I o o G G C G ! i w e8 j 00 h h o a 1 G cS i a . a . W I 02 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 1 1 |^ f 6 C-. c8 r- . co +^ 1 ( .1 ill i! . Jjr, rf^ 505 "S'Sfl .^Sc 5 fc.-T3 03 =S{/2 ^ " S P ^ gi/s >.;i ||i 09 3 & S a; co * ."^3 rj ^ 1 1 'OtoW^^bC^ +3a5'' > ^ | If S 8 I"" 8 h I'S^-S fa '| ^g-S o H S F ^ u "Sofl^ ^Sa _faa,ii.g.nq o^o p O* h S "- 0)^2 fiS^S "s f QJ c S *-^ S co ' .S|l^.l | 8 o fjj 1, 4_, -^-SiCfl^aDS^C e8 be Q -^ , f^^ 3 2 8 5-gg ^5*1 Lilij&iilli illfhsM |s, ^fe-S ta' H 'o l-o^-c ^ *&S.!8r$*3.l-9& H g g * ^-10 ^s**- 1 o c*s^'o'nsjr 1lll'lifli? A l l^iSll -2 s . > 1 3 1 Q O rH u- 8 PPP P ^ oo ^3 H ^ Q S S r^* ^ ^ O O w Q r? a S H p TJ - . >; O IO T 1 H i ^ T^J ^ T-I CO rH S 2 || ^2 i p o-i -JS 5 | S S 525 1 s l w M Pn SH Q i sl ; ; ; I il t CQ CQ CQ CO r/5 o 4) Q3 (p 0- a s p III 1 ti i w , : h S g ' s O fl ^J Jz H *3 "^ *. ^ - 1 E" ^ |1| | COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES 29 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 S Before reduction she ran 6 looms but after reduction 8 looms. Average earnings given as $1 . 10 pe day, but weekly earnings given a $14 make 1' 166 per day. After reduction only earned $13 pe fortnight by working during dinne hour. ages 15c. per hour both before and after strike, but worked only 40 hours per week two or three weeks preceding strike. otMaJ llil * 11 11 m 221 11 -21 1 2^ O c 1 ^O iO 5O !>. 8m$S8$ O rH rH O O' O O 3 3 -1C t>. lO 30 REPORT OF ROYAL COMMISSION t-0 T I JO "* rH "f *' rji 8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 Ci 00 ] C5 O -ooT-i^JiOiO iHCCXMOTHOOOOr-HMiMr-IOOCO' COTTON FACTORIES INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39 31 OiHOOOOOi IT IT I T I rH r- 1 r-l T i T I O O O O O i I i I T I O T IT IT IC3T OOr- IT IT I a : .s g 8 : <0 'oi' D FM a s 2 ^ O OO ' o co 10 ' |Q O p ill ^ .SrHC^irH -rHOrH rHO'- ..r-irH O 1 1 ill gjS f rH 00 ^f C^l Tf CO CO C^ lO CO C ^ t> t> +& O C^ O d rH O r- ^ OOO rH O r- 1 O rH rH r- OOiOCO -OOOCllOCOO^ lOt^CO * CC r^ t^ C^ rH rj< (rHOO rH rH fH O O TH H <^ ^ IjCJiOCC 00 rH .2 O rH O ..-. O rH 00 -OrH -0 ' 11 lJo^ . 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