The most persistent violators of the eight hour law are the French laundries, and when prosecuted they invariably present the same defense, namely, that the women were ironing their own clothes after they had completed their eight hours of employment.

During the course of our inspection of over 5,000 factories and stores, we requested the number of women that had been discharged on account of the eight hour law; also the number of women that had been added. The replies to these questions were not altogether satisfactory on account of the apathy of some of the employers. Some of the employers stated that they had discharged part of their female employees when we had reason to believe otherwise, while some were not willing to admit that they had discharged any women or that they had been compelled to add some. We submit the following figures merely for what value they may have in showing the effect of the eight hour law upon the women employed in factories and stores.

Effect of the Eight Hour Law on Women employed in Factories and Stores (as reported by employers).

A special investigation of hotels was made, which included the principal hotels in San Francisco and Los Angeles and their vicinities. The results of this investigation are given in the following table, and we believe they are a good indication of the effect of the eight hour law upon women employed in hotels.

Reports on 49 hotels in San Francisco and vicinity, employing a total of 726 women, showed that only seven women had been discharged and 75 women had been added as a result of the eight hour law. The wages of 15 women had been reduced in one hotel.

Reports on 34 hotels in Los Angeles and vicinity, employing a total of 680 women, showed that 24 women had been discharged and 76 women added, while 65 women in two hotels had had their wages reduced.

Effect of Eight Hour Law on Women employed in Hotels in San Francisco and

Effect of Eight Hour Law on Women employed in Hotels in Los Angeles and vicinity.

OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES.

By act of the legislature of 1911 (Chapter 485, Statutes of 1911), every medical practitioner in the State of California is required to report to the State Board of Health all cases which he attends of persons "whom he believes to be suffering from lead, phosphorus, arsenic or mercury or their compounds, or from anthrax, or from compressed-air illness, contracted as a result of the nature of the patient's employment." The medical practitioners receive 50 cents for each case reported. The State Board of Health is directed to transmit a copy of the practitioner's report to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1912, only ten cases of occupational diseases were reported, five of which resulted in death. This number is far too small to be of any statistical value. It is undoubtedly true that many physicians have failed to report the cases coming under their observation, but at the same time it is also a fact that there are only a small number of industries in this State, in which the employees are particularly liable to contract these diseases. At the present time there are only two white lead factories in the State.

Record of certificates of occupational disease filed during fiscal year ending June 30, 1912.

IMMIGRATION

With the opening of the Panama Canal a new labor problem will confront us in this State, namely, that of restricting the immigration that will come to our shores. The first step in this direction was taken on August 20, 1912, when an Immigration Commission was appointed by the Governor. The immigration problem is one that particularly affects the conditions of labor and we should be prepared to meet the problem when the Canal is opened. The position of this bureau is best stated in an address by the Commissioner before the conference of State Immigration, Land and Labor Officials, with representatives of the Division of Information, Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, Department of Commerce and Labor, which was held in Washington, D. C., November 16 and 17, 1911.

The following is a copy of the above mentioned address:

MR. MCLAUGHLIN. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen: I am representing in this conference the State of California. The title of the office to which I have been recently appointed is that of Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the outset, let me state that in California I believe we have a situation different from any I have heard described here to-day. California, until recently, has been a state of large land holdings, due to the fact that when the United States acquired its western possessions it recognized as valid the Spanish land grants. These land grants of which there are about 600-contained immense areas. When agriculture succeeded gold mining, some of the owners turned to cultivating these lands, while others held them and are still holding them until such time as they shall be divided up into small farms. This led to two problems that have confronted the people of California for the past thirty or forty years. The former called for a large amount of cheap labor, while the latter prevented the American farmer from the Eastern States and the European immigrant agriculturists from obtaining small acreages at reasonable prices.

The influx of the Chinese, after the Burlingame Treaty, gave the farmers the cheap labor they desired, and I believe it was about the cheapest labor that could be obtained at that time. The cheapness of this labor, the high quality of the products raised and the successful sale of same increased the land values of these farms, and also those land grants that were being held, until the price of both had risen to such a point in many sections of the State that it was practically impossible for the average man to go into the business of farming. Then came the exclusion of the Chinese and the subsequent demand for some other labor to take his place. The Japanese became the successor of the Chinese in farm labor, but let it be understood at this time that the people of the State of California did not desire the Japanese, but were compelled to accept him in lieu of any other.

Probably the most important point in farming in California, and the one I desire to call your particular attention to, is that it is highly specialized. It was early demonstrated that certain crops could be grown to great advantage in certain localities, with the result that practically everybody in that locality went into the raising of that particular crop, thus calling for a large amount of labor during the season when such crop was barvested. This condition accounts for the employment of the Japanese. The Japanese is a migratory laborer, whereas the white man seeks to live where he works. The Japanese who is picking cherries in Vaca Valley (which is in the northern part of the State), say in May, will follow the different seasons and crops until he is picking oranges in the southern part of the State (over 500 miles away) during the months of December and January. The Japanese are under a directorate that simply shifts them from place to place and from crop to crop, with the result that they obtain a maximum amount of employment during the year. Of course there are certain classes of work which are distasteful to the white man