THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

~

FROM CONDITIONS IN 1918

CANADIAN LABOUR

HAS COME A LONG WAY »

_Editor’s Note:

The following items are re-
printed from the Labour Ga-
zette’s October issue of 1918,
in which such topics as
stronger beer for Canada’s
working men, industrial acci-
dents involving legal decisions,
labour mobility, and the Rail-
way Board of Adjustment’s
first case are reported.

A Montreal workman who
had been struck on the head
by an elevator, a railway la-
bourer who lost his arm in an
industrial accident, and a
window cleaner who fell from
a Montreal hotel were given
little sympathy or financial
encouragement in the courts
of 50 years ago, according to
reports in the Labour Gazette
in October 1918.

FRENCH LAW

A French law, placing the
blame on the owner of an ob-
ject that causes damage, play-
ed a major role in a Superior
Court decision that an assist-
ant foreman was solely re-
sponsible for his own death
when an elevator hit him on
the head. The man rang for
the elevator, and it was set
in motion by the engineer in
the basement. While it was
rising, another employee on
a higher storey called to the
man, who meanwhile had for-
gotten to ring the bell a sec-
ond time to signal the engin-
eer to stop the lift. He stuck
his head in the elevator well
to answer the man on the
higher level and was hit by
the upcoming cage.

The Court of Review re-
versed the Superior Court
decision, assessing the dam-
ages at $8,000, but the Court
. of King’s Bench reduced
them, stating that there was
contributory negligence on
the part of the deceased.
When both sides appealed to
the Supreme Court of Can-
ada, the fellow employee who
called to the deceased was
found partly to blame for the
accident, making the defend-
ant company liable. The Su-
preme Court upheld the judg-
ment of the Court of King’s
Bench and dismissed both ap-
peals with cost.

HEPWORTH
APPOINTED

A. L. “Bert” Hepworth has
been named Director of the
Edueation Department of the

Canadian Labor Congress, ~

taking over from Max Swerd-
low who is now working for
the International Labor Or-
ganization.

Formerly Director of the
International Affairs Depart-
ment, Mr. Hepworth became
a member of the Canadian
Brotherhood of Railway,
Transport and General Work-
ers (then CB of RE) in 1935.
He joined the national staff of
his union in 1945, and in 1962,
was appointed program direc-
tor of the Overseas Institute
of Canada.

He went on CLC staff in
1963.

RAILWAY LABOURER

An Intercolonial Railway
labourer, who considered a
lost arm worth at least $10,-
000, discovered that, although
he lost it in an accident at
work, he should have read
the fine print in a book titled
Intercolonial and Prince Ed-
ward Island Railways Employ-
ees’ Relief and Insurance As-
sociation, Rules for the Guid-
ance of Members of the Tem-
porary Employees’ Accident
Fund before trying to collect
damages from the railway.
When he signed a document
to the effect that he had re-
ceived the booklet and agreed
to its rules and regulations,
he precluded any hope of
making the company liable
for loss of life or limb.

The window cleaner who fell
from a hotel in Montreal dis-
covered that, although clean-
ers were supposed to be sup-
plied with safety appliances,
they were considered remiss
if they didn’t ask for them.
He sued for $3,000, but the
action was dismissed by the
Superior Court. An appeal to
the Court of Review won him
the satisfaction of being con-
sidered only partially to
blame. His sharing of the
blame with the company net-
ted him half of what he ask-
ed for — $1,500.

ANY CHILD

Any child under 16 years
of age working in a brewery,
or in a place where intoxi-
cating beverages were being
made or sold, could be con-
sidered by law as “neglect-
ed,’ stated the Children’s
Protection Act of Nova Sco-
tia. A similar law in Saskatch-
ewan forbade children to en-
age in street trades in De-
cember, January and Febru-
ary after 8 o'clock in the eve-
ning, and after nine o’clock
throughout the rest of the
year. Both laws were passed
by the provincial legislatures
during 1918.

And while the provinces
were trying to keep children
away from work in the brew-
eries and liquor stores, the
34th convention of the Trades
and Labour Congress of Can-
ada was demanding stronger
beer for the “working men

Well...

AAHACT AL

maybe we were’nt in better shape financially . . . but we sure was

in better shape physically when we used th’ old cross cut!

of Canada.” A resolution sub-
mitted and adopted by the
Congress asked that it be
made lIégal to manufacture
and sell any beverage not
exceeding 2% per cent of
alcohol by weight.

PAID TO C.P.R.

The same convention asked
that the Government take
over the railways and con-
necting lands because “the
greater portion of our earn-
ings are being paid to the
CPR and other railway com-
panies and building up indi-
viduals as millionaires owing
to the great access that they
have to our lands and homes,
for which our boys are giving
their lives; and whereas,
what we find for our returned
soldiers is taxation in abun-
dance ...” This resolution
was approved also.

Not approved, however,
was the urging by the Winni-
peg Trades and Labour Coun-
cil to release wartime con-
scientious objectors serving
penitentiary terms to work on
farms in the interests of na-
tional food production. It was
turned down in a roll call
vote of 99 to 90.

RAILWAY TRAINMEN

The first case of the Cana-
dian Railway Board of Ad-
justment No. 1 concerned a
controversy between the
Brotherhood of Railroad

Trainmen and the Toronto,
Hamilton and Buffalo Rail-
way over a brakeman’s re-
sponsibility in a rear-end col-
lision that killed one employ-
ee and injured another. The
company contended that,
when his train stopped, the
brakeman had ample time to
flag the oncoming train. The
brotherhood argued that the
brakeman had left his caboose
quickly and raced back as far
as he could before the on-
coming train rounded the

curve. The Board sided with
the brotherhood and ordered
that the brakeman be rein-
stated and paid for all time
lost.

On the chance that we
might be a little smug about
a new idea called “labour
mobility,’ the United States
Employment Service in Aug-
ust 1918 recruited and moved
between 50,000 and 60,000
unskilled workers from one
state to another, depending
on need.

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

CARELESS

We’ve just heard about the
recently-nabbed prisoner who
was chatting with his cell-
mate.

“I was making big money,”
he said ruefully. “Just about
a quarter of an inch too big!”

* * *

Any time the modern child

.can be seen but not heard, it’s

a shame to wake him.

* * *
SELF-PRESERVATION
Lady reports that her five-

year-old son and a five-year-
old friend were watching tele-
vision at her house the other
day. Some sort of medical
type programme was on.

ae)

BANK BY

MAIL

When you use our special bank-by-mail
service there’s always a branch of the
Commerce as close as your mail box.

CANADIAN IMPERIAL

“Why do they wear masks
when they do operations?” the
visitor inquired.

“Because,” said the knowl-
edgeable host, “if they make
a mess of it, the patient won’t
know who did it.”

* * *

GROWING UP
When parents stop wonder-
ing why children don’t turn
the lights out, they are likely
to begin wondering why they
do.

SSS ay 4

GLOVE
PROBLEMS?

SOLVE THEM WITH
THESE WATSON GLOVES
AND MITTS

‘MILL-RITE’
begs CHAIN’

“LUMBER
LOADER’

ATSON

GLOVES