Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 14, 1900 Page: 1 of 16
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V oL XX No 2 4*
DALLAS, TEXAS, THURSDAY, JUNE 14, ipoo.
$1 Per Annuo*
DIRECT LEGISLATION.
SECOND ARTICLE.
Extracted from W. H. Dawson's
book, " Social Switzerland."—See intro-
duction to first article.
THE CANTONAL LABOR LAWS.
The principal defect of the federal
factory act consists in its limitations;
it does not go far enough. This is the
opinion not merely of ardent social re-
formers, but of most of the cantonal
legislatures, some of which have made
a serious endeavor to make up for the
act's shortcomings.
BASLE CITY.
Comment.—The canton of Basle is
divided into two parts, city and coun-
try. In the latter there are no factor-
ies. The city is a busy, manufacturing
place of something under one hundred
thousand souls.
The law of this canton for the pro
tection of women passed in April, 1888,
applies to all trades in which three or
more females are "industrially'' em-
ployed, or in which any gii-ls under
eighteen years of age are employed as
ordinary workpeople or as apprentices,
with the exclusion of licensed houseis of
refreshment and also shops in so far as
the owners of the latter do not employ
their workwomen in industrial work,
but in serving customers. It is laid
down that the daily hours of the work
ers shall not exceed eleven, and on the
eve of Sunday and any festival ten, and
these hours must fall between 6 a. m.
and S p. m., with a midday pause of
at least an hour. Sunday work is pro-
hibited. Overtime may be permitted
temporarily by the department for the
interior until eleven at the latest, but
if desired for more than two weeks to-
gether it must be sanctioned by the
government, as also when overtime is
sought for more than two weeks dur-
ing any two months. In any case,
however, girls under eighteen years
and pregnant women may not work
overtime, nor may they in any event
work later than eight o'clock. Preg-
nant women must stay away from
work before and after confinement 8
weeks altogether, and they can only
return on furnishing proof that six
weeks have elapsed since childbirth. In
the absence of written agreement to
the contrary, a fortnight's notice is
requisite on either side to the termina-
tion of an agreement, this dating from
pay day on Saturday. Only such flnos
may be imposed as are named in the
regulations of each workshop, and have
thus received official sanction. They
may not at the most exceed half a
day's wages, and the proceeds must
be used for the interest of the work-
people. Deductions for spoiled work
may only be made where the injury is
intentional or the result of culpable
negligence. All workshops are placed
under the control and regulations o£
the military authorities.
SUNDAY WORK.
This law was followed five years
later by one on Sunday rest—the Ge-
setz betreffend die Sonntagsruhe, of
April 13, 1893.
It constitutes the chief ecclesiastical
festivals, with all Sundays, New Year's
Day, and Ascension Day, public "rest
days" in the canton. On these days
all industrial, agricultural, and other
occupations occasioning "noise and dis-
turbance" are prohibibted. In com-
mercial concerns (offices and the like)
employes and apprentices may not
work at all on the high festivals, and
on other public rest days only 'from
10:30 to 12 o'clock in the forenoon, and
every employe and apprentice must be
given an entirely free Sunday every
fortnight. Shops must be closed all
day on high festivals; and on other
public rest days from nine to half past
ten in the forenoon; employes and ap-
prentices as well as members of the
tradesman's family under fourteen
years of age, may only be employed up
to noon, and alternate Sundays mu3t
be entirely free. Hawking from house
to house is prohibited on public rest
days, though food may be delivered by
tradesmen to their customers, and after
half past ten o'clock the sale of fruit,
flowers, and bakery may take place in
public places santioned by the police.
Hunting and sales by auction are also
forbidden on these days.
A number of businesses and occupa-
tions are, however, exempted from the
foregoing restrictions, including those
of apothecaries, bakers and confection-
ers, butchers, milk-sellers, hairdressers,
gardeners, with inns, bathing estab-
lishments, urgent work so far as per-
mitted by the police, public means of
conveyance, work in concerns which
from their nature require uninterrupt-
ed operations, though here, if they are
not suchjeot to factory act, special
sanction is necessary; work in con
nection with harvesting, necessary
street work and the care and feeding
of domestic animals. Likewise on the
statutory rest days the perambulating
of bands of music and singers and all
noisy public processions are forbidden,
as are pubic performances and amuse-
ments between the hours of nine and
half past ten in the forenoon and all
day on every high festival as well as
after three p. m. on the day before.
Finally, power is reserved to the gov-
ernment to moderate the provisions of
the law on special occasions, as at fetes,
Christmas and New Year time, during
fairs, and the like.
Comment.—Notice how careful the
law is while protecting the rights of
women, children and that weak; and
while protecting the rights to Sundays
and holidays and guarding against
overtime, it also guards the interests of
the factories in allowing overtime
when necessary under certain condi-
tions.
This law is elastic in its exceptions,
but the exceptions are carefully guard-
ed so that they may not become the
rule. It guards the rights of all par-
ties and bears evidence on its face pf
being a fair law. It was passed after
a full and free discussion in which all
interests had a chance to .be heard
* i * '
Such comprehensive, honorable, fair
laws we might expect after we had had
direct legislation for a time.
CANTONAL LABOR LAWS, ZURICH.
Comment.—The canton of Zurich,
like Basle, has a large manufacturing
city, but it is not divided into two parts
and so the laws govern the whole
canton. It is one of the most radical
cantons in Switzerland, and has had
the obligatory referendum, by which
all laws have to be voted on by the
people, for over thirty years. Every
one of the laws here described was
discussed and goted on by thit whole
people.
The government of canton Zurich in
1894 passed a "law for the protection
of workwomen, which came into force
at the beginning of 1895.
By the new law it is required that
all workrooms shall be of adequate
size, light, dry, well-ventilated and
properly heated when necessary, and in
general of such sort that the health of
the workers may not suffer. All prac-
ticable measures shall also be taken to
protect the workers against bodily in-
jury, and these hygenie provisions are
placed under the oversight of the local
public health authorities. To the nor-
mal termination of service ia notice of
fourteen days is requisite on either
side, dating from the pay day, or Sat-
urday, and every worker may on leav-
ings require a certificate setting forth
the duration of her service and the
character of work she has done. The
law provides that girls under fourteen
years of age may neither be employed
in regular service nor as apprentices,
while women in childbirth must have a
month's rest after confinement, and
they may remain from work six weeks
if they wish. Work on Sundays and
festivals is forbidden under all circum-
stances. For the rest the maximum
hours of work are fixed at ten daily
(the lowest maximum enacted
by any Swiss law)—falling be-
tween six a. m. and eight p. m.—bur.
nine on the days preceding Sundays
and festivals, while the noon pause Is
fixed at an hour and a half; nor may
work be taken home. Where girls un-
der eighteen years of age are liable to>
attend continuation schools or other
instruction (including preparation tort
confirmation) the hours so employed'
are to be counted as part of the nor-
mal hours of occupation. In the event
of an exceptional prolongation of work
—which, however is absolutely prohib*
ited in the case of girls under eighteen
years of age, and can not be forced op-
on the rest except with their free con-
sent—the maximum is two hours a
day, and the total excess for the year
must not exceed seventy-five hours,
while wages for overtime must be at
least tweinty-flve per cent higher than
the ordinary rate. Such overtime,
moreover, should cease at eight p. m.,
and may never extend beyond nine p.
m. An employer may only impose
such fines as have been duly approved
as proper to be included in the regula-
tions of his or her concern, and in no
case may a fine exceed one-fourth of a
day's wages, while all fines must be
employed for the benefit of the work-
people generally. These provisions do
not apply to the obligation of employ-
er for which compensation may not be
claimed at law.
THE VOTE ON IT.
It Is a sign of the healthy public
sentiment which prevails on this sub-
ject in the canton of Zurich that the
law was approved by an overwhelming
majority of the voting citizens. When
the referendum was taken on August
12, 1894, 45,909 votes were given for
the measure, and 12,531 against.
OTHER TRADES.
Zurich is now enacting a law regu-
lating trades generally. The low ap-
plies to all handicrafts, trades and in-
dustries which do not come under the
federal law with the exception of agri-
culture. It also subjects the trades of
porters, cabmen, boat pliers and pub-
lic conveyers generally, as well as ser-
vice and information agents and chim-
ney sweepers to municipal control.
Employers are required to adopt all
practicable measures for the protection
(Continued on fourth page.)
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Park, Milton. Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 14, 1900, newspaper, June 14, 1900; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth185855/m1/1/?q=El+Paso: accessed June 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .