To draw the line between labor and nonlabor laws is a difficult matter in many cases. Many laws have been enacted, particularly in recent years, designed to directly benefit the laboring classes. All such laws are included in this report. There are, however, many laws which were not enacted primarily as labor laws, but which in their actual application seem to affect the wage earners more than others. A good example of this class are the exemption laws, and all such laws are published in this volume. Great care has been taken to omit no provision of law which is not clearly and obviously outside the subject treated in this report, and if in following this idea some matter has been included seemingly of little importance, the error, if it be one, is clearly on the side of safety. Chapter III contains the decisions of the courts upon the various laws which it has been deemed best to annotate. The general plan has been, first, to annotate only such laws as were more distinctively labor laws, that is, laws passed with a view of having a direct effect upon labor, such as the many acts regulating the hours of labor, the employer's liability to the employee for injuries, etc., and, second, to publish only the decisions of the highest courts of the States and of the United States courts. Exceptions, however, have frequently been made, and decisions of inferior courts, when rendered upon important laws and not reviewed by a higher court, are often included. A number of important decisions are also given which have been rendered by the courts from time to time in cases not arising under any statute, but which are of considerable interest. A good example of this class of decisions is one made in a case resulting from a strike, where the common law offense of conspiracy is charged. It would require too large a volume to publish the opinions of the courts in full, and the decisions give, as a rule, the gist of the opinions only. Each case has been carefully examined, and when the syllabus of the same, as found in the law report, is a fair and clear exposition of the opinion, its language is used. Frequently, however, in the interest of perfect clearness, parts of the opinion as given by the court are added. Every decision published is followed by a citation giving the court by which it was rendered, the title of the case, the name and page of the law report where found, and the year in which the case was decided. Proper footnotes refer the reader to the chapter and page of this volume where the law upon which the decision was given can be found. The work of compiling this collection of laws and making the annotations of decisions was committed to Mr. Stephen D. Fessenden, a member of the bar and one of the statistical experts of this Department. Mr. Fessenden was assisted for some time by Mr. Victor H. Olmstead, also a member of the bar and an expert of the Department. These gentlemen have worked faithfully and honestly in preparing what must be considered as a valuable contribution to the study of the labor question. CHAPTER I. LEGAL HOLIDAYS, APPRENTICE LAWS, ETC. LEGAL HOLIDAYS IN THE STATES AND TERRITORIES. [In Minnesota Decoration Day, general election days, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Washington's Birthday are the only holidays expressly provided for by law. In the law relating to the maturity of bills and notes Christmas, Fourth of July. Good Friday, and New Year's Day are made holidays by implication.] January 1-New Year's Day.-In Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida. Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota (a), Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. January 8-Anniversary of the battle of New Orleans.—In Louisiana. January 19-Lee's Birthday.-In Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. February 12-Lincoln's Birthday.—In Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Washington. February 22-Washington's Birthday.-In Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon. Pennsylvania, Rhode Island. South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. March 2-Anniversary of Texan Independence.-In Texas. April 19-Anniversary of the battle of Lexington.-In Massachusetts. May 20-Anniversary of the Mecklenburg declaration of independence.—In North Carolina. May 30-Decoration Day.-In Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. July 4-Independence Day.-In all the States and Territories (b). July 24-Pioneers' Day.-In Utah. August 16-Bennington Battle Day.-In Vermont. September 9-Anniversary of the admission of the State into the Union.-In California. November 1-All Saints' Day.-In Louisiana. November 23-Repudiation Day.-In Frederick County, Md. (c). December 25—Christmas Day.—In all the States and Territories (b). a A holiday by implication only. b In Minnesota a holiday by implication only. c Half day only; from 12 o'clock noon. 13 |