LABOR, BUREAUS The first bureau of statistics of labor in the world was created by act of the Alassaehusetts Le2islature in dime, 1509. While political expedien•y may have had influence in establishing this bureau, it, functions were defined by law for the general good of the State as follows: "The duties of such bureau shall lie to colleet, assort, systematize. and present in amounts re port, to the Legislator“ On or before the first day of larch in each \ear, statistical details relating to all department- of labor in the Com MOM ealth, especially in its relation In the Corn Liercia industrial. social. educational, and sani tary condition of the laboring classes, and to the permanent prosperity of the proditetive industry of the ('ommonwealth." This expresses the pur pose of every State bureau of similar character in this country, the United States Bureau of Labor (later the Department of Labor) and similar Oil iO's in other nations.
The United States Deportment of Labor organized in P585 as one of the bureaus of the Department of the Interior. and Carroll D. Wright, who had been signally successful as Chief of the Bureau of Statistics in Massachu setts., was selected as Commissioner. lie de clared its policy to be chiefly educational, by judicious investigation, and fearless publication thereof to (vnable the people to comprehend more clearly and more fully many of the problems which now vex them. After the bureau had been ill existence three years it was changed to the Department of Labor with independent funetions. Since November, 1895, a bimonthly bulletin has been published. Since its organization it has issued annual reports. nine special reports, and the bimonthly bulletins. The annual reports have been on the following subjects: industrial Depressions, Convict Labor, Strikes and Lock outs, Working Wmien in the United States, Rail road Labor, Cost of Iron and Steel and Cognate in This and Other Countries. Industrial Education in Different Countries, Building and Loan Assoeiations, Work and Wage, of Alen. Women, and Children. Feouowric ',wet of the 1 iquor 'Traffic, Hand and :Machine Labor, Water. Gas, and light under Private and Municipal Ownership, Wages and Hours of Labor in the Princit,a1 Commercial Countries of the World. The special reports deal with simi lar topics. n NV appropriates more than A175.000 annually for the administration of the department, exclusive of printing.
Thirty-one of the States in this country have offices similar to that initialed in Massachusetts in 1509. Thirteen of the State bureaus of labor publish a biennial report, and eighteen an an nual. The Association of of Bureaus
of Labor Statistics of America meets annually to promote the object, of the lint-vans by disen.. ing methods and presenting subjects for investi gation. The Federal and State bureaus have pub lished over 400 Several of the State bureaus condnel free employment agencies. no tably those of New York and Connecticut, while the inspection of faetorie, and mines is an im portant function of many of them.
increased authority has recently been granted a number of State bureaus for conciliation and arbitration in labor disputes, by providing for vial under the direction of the bureaus. The bureaus have been kept free from and the exact information they have given has been extremely valuable in adjust ments of labor difficulties.
France was the first European country to fol low the example of the United States. A bureau for the collection of statistics and information concerning labor was created in 1891, and has become the general statistical bureau of the country.
in 1892 Germany established a labor com mission which possesses to a large extent the permanency of a labor bureau. It has published more than ten volumes of reports giving the re sults of its investigations relating to the condi tions of labor in various industries. In 1893 a `Labor Department' under the direction of a `Commissioner for Labor' was instituted in con nection with the Board of Trade in England, and its duties are similar to those of other countries. Austria was the last of the Conti nental countries to organize a bureau. This was done in 1S9S and placed sunder the Alinistry of Commerce. Belgium. Italy. Sweden, New Zealand, New South Wales, the Dominion of Canada, and Ontario also have bureaus. Some of these are largely employment bureaus, others concern themselves chiefly with publishing sta tistics, but all are modeled more or less closely after the American plan.
Consult: Wright. "The Working of the De partment of Labor" and "The Value and influ ence of Labor Statistics," in Monographs mu Social Economics, vols. i. and ii. (Washington, 1901 ) ; A /mac/ Reports Association of Officials of Bureaus of Labor Statistics of America (Wash ington) ; Bulletins of the United States Depart ment of Labor, the Annual and Special Reports, particularly the Second Special Report, "Labor Laws of the United States" (2d ed., Washington, 1896) ; Reports of Labor Department of Eng land (London) ; Office du Travail, France ( Paris) ; Kommission fiir Arbeitcrstatistik, Ger many (Berlin) : Secretariat Ourricr. Switzer land (Bern) ; and similar agencies of various States and countries.