Chapter Xiii the Government and the Working Man

The Department of Labor was organized for the benefit of all the workers of the United States, whether union or non-union. And it attempts to function in such a way as to be of general help and value.

One of its important functions is performed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the duty of which, as its name indicates, is to gather and publish information concerning labor, especially information regarding hours and earnings of laboring men and women, the relations of capital and labor, and the material and social welfare of labor.

The Bureau publishes a monthly review and various bulletins. These contain, in addition to news of interest to labor, statistics on immigration, unemployment, cost of living, etc.

The Department also maintains an Employment Service, which deals with the labor requirements of the country in agriculture, in the factories, in the mines and in the workshops.

This Service functions through headquarters and sub-branches established in different parts of the country.

Considering the cruel wrongs and impositions of many of the old-time labor agencies, it can be seen that a government agency of this sort may be a boon to the working man looking for a job. It is the policy of the bureau in such cases to get the employer and the employee into direct personal touch with the Service itself.

The work of the Department of Labor regarding which the public hears the most is its mediation service. This Service is authorized in the Act creating the Department of Labor. The Secretary of Labor acts in labor disputes, not as a judge, but as a mediator. The policy of the Department, therefore, is one of conciliation and its representatives attempt to act with fairness to employers, employees and the public, alike.

Many threatened strikes are prevented annually and hundreds of disputes settled.

Another government agency operated for the welfare of the laboring man is The Bureau of Mines. Its primary concern is to see that high standards of safety and health are maintained in the mining industry of the country. It investigates the causes of accidents, makes recommendations, and cooperates with mine owners and miners in working out plans for the improvement of conditions in any given mine.

The Bureau maintains rescue cars in every mining district of the country. They are equipped with experts in rescue work and with first aid appliances of every sort. When not actually required in connection with some disaster, the cars are sent from place to place, and the members of the crew act as teachers of first aid and rescue work in the mining centers. With each of the cars there is a mining engineer who gives talks and personal advice regarding sanitation and the general problem of the improvement of living conditions.

Cooperating with the Bureau of Mines in many mining communities will be found the Public Health Service. It has been called upon in particular, to fight against miners’ consumption.

Another Bureau maintained in part for the benefit of labor is the Bureau of Navigation of the Department of Commerce, which supervises the labor contracts of seamen on merchant vessels engaged in foreign trade. In this way seamen are protected against fraud and assured that their pay will be forthcoming in accordance with their contracts, which are made under the supervision of the Bureau.

In these various ways the government works to promote and protect the welfare of the laboring men and women of the country, though, of course we have here only glimpsed its activities in outline.