Januory
б,
1934
THE STATE
Page Eleven
FAGTS ABOUT OUR STATE GOVERNMENT
No. 9— Department of Labor
(This is Ike ninth of a series of ar¬
ticles appearing in
Тик
State regard¬
ing the personnel, history and duties
of the several departments of the slate
government of North Carolina,
through which this publication hopes
to acquaint its readers with the meth¬
ods used in caring for the affairs of
Tar Hedia.)
By W. J. SADLER
★
Ktiowti then as the North Carolina
Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Gen¬
eral Assembly of 1887 established what
is now the North Carolina Depart¬
ment of Labor. The title bestowed
upon the heads of the early bureaus
was Commissioner of Labor Statistics.
The Commissioner was charged with
the duty of collecting information
“upon the subject of labor, its relation
to capital, the hours of labor, the earn¬
ings of laboring meu and women, their
educational, moral and financial con¬
dition, und the best means of promot¬
ing their mental, material, social and
moral prosperity.”
In 1897 the Commissioner was made
Inspector of Mines, and two years
later the state printing was committed
to his care, and he was thereafter
known as the Commissioner of Labor
and Printing.
It is interesting to note that the
first commissioner was Wesley N.
Jones, well-known Raleigh lawyer. In
1889 he was succeeded by John C.
Scarborough, who was followed in
1893 by the late Bon R. Lacy. Mr.
Lacy was deposed when the Republi¬
can-Populist landslide of 1896 brought
in a Republican governor. Mr. Lacy,
however, made a political comeback
in 1899 when the Democratic party
regained control of the state, and held
the office until 1901 when he became
State Treasurer.
U. B. Varner was elected Labor
Commissioner to succeed Mr. Lacy,
and he held the office for two terms.
In 1909, he was succeeded by M. L.
Shipman, who retired in 1924 in fa¬
vor of Frank D. Grist, the latter hold¬
ing the office until January, 1933,
when he stepped aside iu favor of
Major A. L. Fletcher, the present in¬
cumbent.
A. L. FLETCHER
- ★ -
Major Fletcher, born in 1881, has
had a long, active and honorable ca¬
reer. After attending public schools,
he became a pupil in a preparatory
school, later attending Wake Forest
College, where he was awarded a
В.Л.
degree in 1907. lie also attended the
University of North Carolina Law
School, and was licensed to practice
that profession.
Mujor Fletcher was for nine years
following his graduation from college
connected with various newspapers of
the state, and served the Raleigh News
and Observer as correspondent during
the Mexican Border disturbances in
addition to his duties as a member of
the North Carolina National Guard.
Following his return from France
where he served with distinction dur¬
ing the World War as a Captain,
113th Field Artillery, of the famous
30th Division, Major Fletcher was for
several years Chief of the Income Tax
Division in the office of the Collector
of Internal Revenue at Raleigh. In
1921 he became Deputy State Insur¬
ance Commissioner, serving in that ca¬
pacity for two years.
Major Fletcher is the author of two
interesting volumes, one a history of
the 113th Field Artillery, and another
the history of the North Carolina De¬
partment of the American Legion, of
which he has been a prominent mem¬
ber since its organization. Tie was
commissioned a Major in the North
Carolina National Guard in 1929.
In 1931, the General Assembly
transferred tho state printing to the
Division of Purchase and Contract,
and established the present Depart¬
ment of Labor with the following
officers, divisions and sections:
A Commissioner of Labor, a Divi¬
sion of Workmen’s Compensation, a
Division of Standards and Inspec¬
tions, and a Division of Statistics.
To the Division of Standards and
Inspections were transferred all of the
rights, powers and duties of the State
Child Welfare Commission, which had
been set up in 1919 and which looked
after the enforcement of the Child La¬
bor laws and the laws relating to
women in industry. The Division of
Workmen’s Compensation is only
nominally in the Department of La¬
bor, and is administered by the North
Carolina Industrial Commission. The
Division of Statistics assumes the
duties of the original “Commissioner
of Labor Statistics," ns previously re¬
lated.
Under the 1931 act of tho General
Assembly, which greatly increased the
scope of the Department’s activities,
and under Chapter 244 of the Public
Laws of 1933, which placed upon the
the Commissioner of Labor the respon¬
sibility of enforcing the Labor Laws
of the state, the Department of Labor
became one of tho major agencies of
government in North Carolina.
Its inspectors are alert and active,
and every violation of the labor laws
uncovered by them has been dealt with
promptly and effectively. Hundreds
of complaints have been investigated
and satisfactorily adjusted. Three
strikes were adjusted during the year
just ended, and at least two others
were averted by prompt and intelli¬
gent effort on the part of Department
field men.
In addition to its activities in the
manufacturing centers, tho Depart¬
ment has revived its mine inspection
service, and all active mining opera¬
tions were visited at least twice dur¬
ing 1933 by the Department’s safety
engineer, accompanied by the District
Engineer of the United States Bureau
of Mines.
(Continued on page twenty)
