Mr. O'CONNELL. No; none at all; just women and children. When they run nights the men work 13 hours. There is no lunch time in that. They gather their lunch the best they can. The situation in Massachusetts is about the same as in other States. The business only comes in rush periods. There is no continuous employment in any of the mills. They get a rush order and then they get it out under the best speed possible. I have only one suggestion to offer. I think the bill, as I have read it, covers the situation, but I think a matter that might be satisfactory to the Nation at large, both the North and South, in order to cover that argument that they must have rush periods to get through these rush orders, that the textile business must run on rush periods, that while the 6-hour day would be a shift, that they be allowed to run between 6 and 6, two shifts. That might be satisfactory to the manufacturers who claim that they must have these rush periods to get their goods out, rather than stabilizing themselves throughout the year. Eventually they might get to that, but I should think that it should be no longer than that, unless it was an industry that had to have continuous production. I do not think the textile industry needs to work nights at all. It has no real reason for any night labor. It could stabilize itself if it ran purely in the day time. It would not only stabilize itself, but it would give more employment to those engaged in the industry. Senator ROBINSON. Do you agree with the witness that preceded you that 1 shift a day of 6 hours a day and 5 days a week would supply all of the output that is necessary? Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes, sir. Senator ROBINSON. For the entire domestic consumption? Senator ROBINSON of Indiana. And the export that is necessary? Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes, sir. In other words, I read here recently where at the present time the textile industry carrying on at the rate it was in the long hours in the Northern States, where it is 54 hours, except in Massachusetts, and in the South as high as 60 hours, that on that basis the textile industry could supply the consumptive needs of the country in the cotton industry in six months, the hours they are working now, or on that basis. With that matter threatening in Massachusetts, while the governor has called for the 27th and the 28th of this month the Department of Labor heads north to meet to see what they could do on some regularization of hours, I do not know what can come out of that, but I think this bill of the 6-hour day and five days a week is a proper bill. In fact the Massachusetts manufacturers are publicly speaking about a Federal enactment, because under the State they have tried and do not seem to get anywhere with the several States, and really the manufacturers are publicly announcing themselves in Massachusetts that Federal enactment is the preferable way to get some order amongst themselves. I believe if that bill was in effect we would be so much better off. They do not seem to be able to get any order among themselves. What the reason is I do not know, but they are as far apart now as they ever were. Senator BLACK. I saw the argument advanced for repealing the minimum hour law in Massachusetts. Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes. Senator BLACK. The argument was it placed Massachusetts at an unfair disadvantage with other States of the Union. Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes. Senator BLACK. Is that behind the movement to change the minimum hour law? Mr. O'CONNELL. Well, the governor made that announcement at a meeting of the New England council, which is furthering the progress of New England products. They viewed the statute as a matter of public policy, and wondered if they could do anything like that, but I do not believe that Massachusetts, as it stands now, would either by referendum or its representatives in the statehouse, change that situation. That is my opinion. Of course, that does not count. Another thing that has been said about this bill was the 5-day week, 6-hour day, would cause the manufacturers and promoters and the banking interests to naturally build more mills. The argument they were using was that it would promote a business such as came about during the prosperity period, the building of more mills. I believe the suggestion I have made to the committee, if in the textile industry they were allowed to have two shifts, from 6 to 6, with no night work, that that would eliminate the building of any further mills, unless somebody wanted to go out and legitimately compete, and thought they could. There is now enough spindlage and looms. The displacement in the industry has been tremendously heavy in late years. As far as our own industry is concerned we at our mill arrived at what a worker could do. We had an engineer, a member of the union, and members of the management working that situation out. We inaugurated a system that has never been tried in the country before, scientifically arriving at what a worker could do, and we increased our 90 inch, 100 and 108, from 12 to 20. Senator BLACK. In what period of time? Mr. O'CONNELL. It took about a year to make the study. The CHAIRMAN. When they put it in operation? Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes. Now, in all our competitive plants, where no study was made, or when an engineer went in and spent his time watching silently, studying the matter, the number of fooms run by an operator, runs on the wide loom from 28 to 32, so you see there has been great displacement. In competitive plants where a silent study was made, or a study by the management, the displacement was greater than it was in our place, and in our place we have four thousand and some looms. That displacement in there eliminated 150 weavers. Senator BLACK. In what length of time? Mr. O'CONNELL. In one day. We were a year making the study. When we put it into effect it eliminated 150 weavers immediately. In other plants they doubled what we did, and they must have lost 300 weavers on every 4,000 looms in the industry, and the displacement was tremendously heavy, and in spinning and carding it was just the same. In the textile industry displacements have been tremendously heavy in the last decade in new and improved machinery, and with the studies made by these various people. Senator BLACK. What effect would it have on your industry, the plant about which you are testifying, to put them on a 5-day week and a 6-hour day, with reference to the employment of those who are now out of work from displacement? Mr. O'CONNELL. If it was a 6-hour day I presume our plant would have to have some added capacity, because we have been quite fortunate. The depression did not strike us until about 14 months ago, when we reduced our working time to a 4-day week. We had been running on a 5-day week. I have had my treasurer tell me the 5-day week was as profitable to him as the five and a half. Practically we were agreed on a 5-day week. We had our goods probably more prominently known and were better situated than any other brand of goods in the country, but when the depression struck us 14 months ago we went on a 4-day week. We gathered up a little bit and went on a 5-day week for about one-third of our plant, then back to the 4-day week, and this week when I left home they were talking possibly that we might go on a 32-day week. That is due to the lack of purchasing power; January is a heavy month in sheet sales. Senator BLACK. What hours are they working now? Mr. O'CONNELL. Eight and three-quarter hours a day. In all other competitive plants they work 54 to 60 hours, from the North to the South. The CHAIRMAN. That is hours per week? We Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes. They are working night and day. We had an agreement with our plant for a great number of years, for more than a decade, to attempt to keep our people continuously employed. Others have seemingly thought of it only from the point of view of profit, and would be willing to and do work night and day if they can get a thing out at a profit. They would give them three or four months work and then shut down for a certain period of time. have never tried to do that. We have tried to keep ourselves steadily employed, and we have never tried to work nights, and only on one occasion did we work nights, in 1927. Practically every mill did then, when cotton struck a low, and everybody figured it was better for them to manufacture the goods and store them. They thought they would have more money in when they did sell the goods, when cotton went up again. Senator BLACK. It would have been a good thing for the cotton farmer if he would not be able to produce so much, would it not? Mr. O'CONNELL. Yes. That was the only suggestion I had to offer. The CHAIRMAN. We will adjourn until 10 o'clock Tuesday. (Whereupon at 1 o'clock p. m. the hearing was adjourned until 10 o'clock a. m., Tuesday, January 24, 1933.) |