Warn, hall, hit. 8-5-31 STATE OF MISSOURI, OFFICE OF BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, ST. LOUIS, January 13, 1880. HON. JOHN S. PHELPS, Governor of Missouri : SIR-In obedience to law I herewith submit to you the first Annual Report of this Bureau, embracing its operations and inquiries for the year between September 1, 1879, and January 1, 1880. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. H. HILKENE, Commissioner. CONTENTS. PART I. INTRODUCTION. INTRODUCTION. In presenting this, the First Annual Report of the Bureau, we do so with a grave sense of the responsibility committed to our charge. The field of investigation contemplated in the law is so vast, the subjects so numerous, and the means and time under our control have been so limited, that at best all we can do this year is to present a preliminary report of our operations. This report for 1879 will contain three parts: 1. An account of the origin and work of the Bureau. 2. Agriculture, its inducements to the unemployed. 3. Wages, earnings and employment of skilled and unskilled labor. And these three parts will form a prelude to next year's report. It is not to be expected that, in the less than five months' existence of the bureau, a very extended, complete, and satisfactory array of facts and evidence could be gathered; and still more would it be impossible when all the perplexities and embarrassments of the work are considered. Next year's investigations and labors, however, will cover almost every ground of practical interest to the industrial welfare of the State. And even now we are in the possession of material, which, when compiled with other corroborative data, will make the Second Annual Report one of value and general interest. ORIGIN OF THE BUREAU. The bureau was established in response to the demands and petitions of the labor organizations of the State; and to the Trades Assembly of St. Louis is due the honor of projecting the movement. On January 25, 1879, the first petition for the bureau was presented in the House and referred to the committee on manufactures; petition after petition followed, and, finally, on February 28, Representative Geo. W. Hall introduced house bill No. 451, entitled: "An act to establish a bureau of labor statistics." After taking the usual course, the bill was reported from the committee on education and a reduction of appro priation from $9,000 per annum to $5,000 was recommended. With this amendment, the bill went subsequently to final passage on April 23, and was defeated by a vote of 71 to 50. The objection at that time to its passage came from those who desired to economize the expenditures of the State Government. But while the House bill was under consideration, a similar bill in the hands of the Senate, was referred to the committee on immigration, and, on May 9, a substitute bill was reported from that committee by Senator Byrns, of Jefferson county, and after some amendment, on May 13, was passed by an unanimous vote-26 Senators present and voting. On May 15 the bill passed the House, on recommendation of the judiciary committee, by a vote of 86 to 23; and, on the 19th of May, it was approved by the Governor. The following is the text of the bill as enacted: AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows: SEC. 1. There is hereby established a separate and distinct department, which shall be called the Bureau of Labor Statistics. SEC. 2. The object of this department shall be to collect, assort, systematize and present in annual reports to the Governor, to be by him transmitted biennially to the General Assembly, statistical details relating to all departments of labor in the State, especially in its relation to the commercial, industrial, social, educational, and sanitary condition of the laboring classes, and to the permanent prosperity of the productive industries of the State. SEC. 3. The Governor shall, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint immediately after this act goes into effect, and thereafter biennially on the first Wednesday in February, some suitable person, who is identified with the labor interests, and who shall be designated Commissioner of Labor Statistics, and who shall have an office in such place as shall be designated by the Governor. SEC. 4. The Commissioner, herein named shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars, and to aid in carrying out the provisions of this act, said Commissioner is hereby authorized to employ such assistance and incur such expense, not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars per annum, as shall be necessary to carry out the provisions of this act. SEC. 5. The Commissioner shall have power to take and preserve evidence, examine witnesses under oath, and administer the same, and in the discharge of his duty may enter any public institution of the State, and any factory, workshop, or mine. SEC. 6. All State, county, or city officers are hereby directed to furnish to said Commissioner, upon his request, all statistical information in reference to labor, which shall be in their possession as such officers. SEC. 7. There is hereby appropriated out of any money remaining: in the State Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, the sum of five thousand dollars, for the ensuing two years, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act. The Commissioner herein named shall receive his salary in quarterly installments, and the expenses of the Bureau shall be paid on the vouchers presented by the Commissioner. There being no emergency clause in the bill, it was not until August 19, 1879, in accordance with the State Constitution, that it became a law. On that date, Gov. Phelps appointed as Commissioner, W. H. Hilkene, of St. Louis, the choice of the labor organizations of the State. The Commissioner took his oath of office on August 23, 1879, and at once entered upon the discharge of his duties. By designation of the Governor, the headquarters of the Bureau was located in St. Louis, and room 25, Insurance Building, was secured as an office. On September 1st the Bureau went into full activity. MANNER OF WORKING. The first work was to ascertain what powers were conferred by the law, so to comprehend the scope of authority vested in the Bureau. No doubt existed in the mind of the Commissioner as to the intent and purpose of the law, but as no similar Bureau had heretofore existed in the State, it was deemed advisable to first understand, by legal interpretation, the powers and prerogatives of the office. With this object the following letter was mailed to the State Attorney General: STATE OF MISSOURI, HON. JACKSON L. SMITH, Attorney General: Sir-The act creating a Bureau of Labor Statistics, approved May 19, 1879 (page 164, Laws of 1879), provides as follows in sections 5 and 6: "SEC. 5. The Commissioner shall have power to take and preserve evidence, examine witnesses under oath and administer the same, and in the discharge of his duty may enter any factory, workshop or mine. "SEC. 6. All State, county or city officers are hereby directed to furnish to said Commissioner, upon his request, all statistical information in reference to labor, which shall be in their possession as such officers." 1. What power has the Commissioner to enforce the aforesaid provisions of the act, in case persons refuse to give statements under oath, or refuse to answer proper questions, or deny entrance to the Commissioner in the discharge of his duties, to any public institution of the State, or to any factory, workshop, or mine? 2. Is it necessary to use a seal in connection with this department, and if so what shall be its nature? Respectfully yours, W. H. HILKENE, Commissioner. |