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A resolution holding that the "com-- mittee is in accord with the principle of the bill, but considers that further investigation should be made by the Department of Labor into the general LICENSING PROPOSAL MINIMUM WAGE ACT (PRICE GIVES ANSWERR TO BE INVESTIGATED AMENDMENT IS SEEN T0 LIQUOR CRTICM principles of licensing pipefitters, electricians, stcamfitters, and plumb-- ers, and also proper municipal or Pro-- vincial inspection of work and materi-- als," was passed by the Labor Com-- mittee of the Ontario Lesislature --es-- terday, after lengthy consideration of the proposed legislation providing for g:: examination and lice.. sing of pipe-- ers. PROTESTS REGISTERED Principle of Pipefitters Bill Is Approved by Labor Committee 'The advisability of inspeciion,.| which had not been provided in :*| original legislation, was repeatec'y | stressed by the deputit on& which ay--| peared before the committee yester | day morning. sharing honors with a : controversy between pipefiters :nd stationary engineers, in which the lat-- ter protested against the clause re-- quiring ail pipefitters' business to be done by licensed pipofitters. In this connection an amendment was intro-- duced excepting maintenance, repairs, and alterations and minor extensions, when done by regularly empicyed sta-- tionary engineers under the super-- vision of the chic / onerating engineer of a steam or refr'gerating plant, from . the operations of the act. The: amendmen} formed a subject for cont-- ment by appaaring witnesses. 3 George Milligan, appearing on be-- half of the stcamfitters, painted a dark picture of present conditions in tre industry, contending that steam-- fitting was being done by workmen unskilled in any form of the work and that second--hand material was being used on new jobs. A great nw~»ber of accidents could be elim-- inatec if the work was done by quali-- fied nen and properly 'mcwd. Proper licensing, he said, also militate against unscrupulous work-- men who have entered the busi-- ness, until, in certain cases, heating systems were practically worthless. Other witnesses testified in the same tenor, one representative of the unions declaring that "the steam:-- fitting industry today is nothing but a rackct." Members particularly ques-- tioned the representatives of the in-- dustry in respoct to their contentions that there was at present no satis-- factory insvection and that the us* of second--hand equipmwent was un-- desirable, but witnesses so questioned reafilirmed the truth of their obser-- vations. Stationary engincers were repre: sented by a deputation which offered no cbjections to the licensing pro-- visions, but protested against any clauses requiring steamfitters to do work which, they held, they were authorized to do. "We have to live with our work and, if anything goes wrong, it comes back on us," a rep-- resentative pointsd out. l Ernest Ingles of London, Ont., rep: resenting the electricians, discussed the problems in that industry. There was no check on the purchase and in-- stallation of utilization equipment, he said, and he claimed that there was an uncontrolled competition from "jerry'" contractors, who worked after the skeleton elsctric wiring had been inspected and approved. Mr. Ingles su:}ested that every sale of electric ecuipment should be reported to the inspector, who could then check up on its use. Commending the improvements im-- piemented by the enacoment, Mr. Ball neld that even the amended law would be liable to abuse, particularly because of the clauses setting a highcr m.ni-- mum wage for a lower maximum of nours in large centres in contrast with the scalcs prevailing in the smaller «oranmunities. Referring to mass buy-- ing, Mr. Ball suggested that these provisions would induce manufactur-- ers to employ modern transportavion as & link between manufacturing in the rural sections and selling in the urban centres, Factoriecs doing the same business in the two different zones might be particularly involved, Hon. Dr. J. M. Robb pointed out that the great number of retail stores in outlying areas had to be taken into consideration. William Morr.son (Con-- servative, Hamilton East), Cha'rman of the Labor Committee, and other members admitted some force in Mr. Ball's contention, but pointed out that the legislation had gone so far that successful amendment was out of* the question. The advantages of separate legislation for factories and for "service" ':'sbor were mentioned by Mr. Morrison, who also lauded the iGdea of a permanent committee which could study labor problems dur. ing the recess. * "Are you in favor of a minimum wage for men?" ons member @asked Mr. Ball, Mr. Ball answered: "I on nOot." The minimum . wage amendment, which is awaiting proclamation before becoming law, was brought befors the labor Comumiltse at Queen's Park yesterday when Charlcs H. Ball, Pro-- vincial Chairman of the Trades and labor Congress of Canada, appeared by arrangement with the Department ef Labor, to speak on one feature of m new legislation. AS LIABLE TO ARUSE OTHER VIEWS ARE HEARD Charles H. Ball Addresses mininnnnncnmee Labor Committee on GOVERNMENT'S MONEY New Legislation N fenmaaknas -- Mr. Morrison remarked a minimum wage for unskilled labor was a maiter worthy of consideration. March 293 States, After Withdrawals, $422,959 Left With Board Liberal House Leader McQuibban's allegations regarding Liquor Board accounts, based on his contention that funds were diverted to the Provincial Treasury to create a surplus for the Government, were answered in Pub-, lic Accounts Committee yesterday by Attorney--General Price, with the state!gents that all Liquor Board funds are the property of the Gov-- ernment; and that withdrawals have been made at a rate that reduced the surplus, but, nevertheless, l°ft $422,959 still in the hands of the board at Oct, 31, the end of the past fiscal year. Colonel Price noted that Dr. Mc-- Quibban and D. Paul Munro, Liberal lawyer, had besn given access to Liquor Board accounts for the year 1932, concerning which the Opposi-- tion had displayed curiosity. When the Liquor Board started operations, it had been loaned $500,000 by the Government, and this loan gradually had bern paid off, After the repay-- ment, the" board, over a period of years, had been enabled to build up a surplus. In the fissal year ended Oct. 31, 1928, a surplus of $603,088 had been established, after payment of $7.225,000 to the Government: in 1929 the surplus was $2,156,448, after a payment of $7.505.000; in 1930 the surplus was $1,820,967. after paynient of $7,495.000. In 1931, said Colonel Price, this meant that there was a surplus of $4,000,000 on hand, and when, in succeeding years, the profits were not so large, $1.508.346 was taken from the surplus in 1931 to make a pay-- 1 ment of £10,000,000 to the Treasurer; in 1932, $2,627,579 was teken, t o make a payment of $9,-- 260,000; and in 1f53, $26,378, to make a pey-- ment of $5,450,000. The question of whether the Province should have with@rawn thst amount was zs matter of business wisd om, but the fact re-- meined that all the money belonged to the Province, ssid Colonel Price. Hon. Harry Nixon, Pro-- gressive Leader, asked why the money had not been shown in accounts receivable, and the Attorney--General agreed that this might have been a wise step. The committse adjourned for the session yester-- day. so largs, $1,508,346 was