Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1866-02-19
Our San Franci.co Correspondence.
SAN ERANoIsoo, February IA, 1855.

It.
SAN FRANo1sco, February IA. 1855.
BID. GorD Hul NxNs - Dear SIR,
If times arc not lively In San Francisco
hefeafter. !. will not b fo1 the. wsnt Of
vigorous and abundant l~esiilation. Our
State Legislature adjourns regularly every
Saturday, until the following Tuesday, to
allow IL members time to,come down to
San Francisco and zee for themselves just
what j. wanted in the WAY, Of special legis-
lation, and they see our citizens, and our
citizen. see them. This mutualinterchange
Of sentiments and things, begets confidence
and reciprocity Of feeling and l am as
cured on. the besttsuthority that the mem
bers do not lose anything by coming
down. Whether coming down has an
equally wholesome effect on our citizens
or not, I am not positive, but legislation
is getting tolerably cheap nowadays, and
II is q very poor nan who cannot get q
show at what be most wants in that line.
The Paid Fire Department 10 now q thing
beyond . peradventure, and the Registry
law, which mainly affects San Francisco,
is another. The repeal Of the Specific
Contract Act, 10 now much moro likely to
eome'to pass than any Of us dreamed a
few days since, though "there Is many .
slip between the cup and the lip" and
there 10 no dead-thing on It yet. The
aeightihours work and ten hours pay move
ment seems likely to succeed, so far as
passing the Legislature 10 concerned, at
least, and there are enough minor bills OF
public or private interest on the docket, to
utterly upset the foundations Of San Fran
cisco. financially, morally, socially, legally,
aud- I do mot know but physically, before
they get through with the tinkering. As
to the
Paid Deparfmsnt,
It,is all right. with the slIght exception
that instead Of q reduced number Of fire.
men, paid $500 per annum, to half attend
to such matters, the bill should provide
for still smaller number Of Hremen, paid
a liberal salary, to attend to ares and moth
in9 else. There 10 no use in minoing mat.
tsfs and e~ndesvorins 10 stand between the
two systems; what we want is q total
abolition Of the entire volunteer system.
and the system about to be i%naugurated
will inevitably be found defective and re-
quirs' reconstruction before the nextiLegis-
lature meets. Tho
Repeal Of tho SPseIac Contract Act,
II 1t scomsafa AT al, eomesa toolate. The
horse was stolen when the Specific Con-
tract Act was passed, and the mischief
was done theu-nw We admit that it was
done at all. A repeal now will not undo
the past, aud ! doubt Il It will not do more
harm than good. The measure now be-
fore the Legislature is undoubtedly dis.
eastsfnltoia n~isjority Of San Pranciscans,
and I doubt II it would have any effect in
inspiring confidence at the East and turn
ing, the flde Of capital seeking investment
towards the Pacific shores. As for the
Eight Hsur Msvoment,
I can't for the life Of me sec how it can
succeed without serious detriment to every
interest in San Francisco, and measurably
also, on the Pacific Coast. Ten hours q
day 10 ~ lttlsfas any man, now counted
among the wealthy men Of America, ever
| devoted to business while making his money,
and I have yet. to see the fret man, eter-
| nally mixed up in these strikes and popu-
lar excitements, who ever shook of the
condition Of the employee to become the
employer; / grant that q man who can
get along with eight hours labor in the
day, is a fool for working ten, and further
more, I claim that he is indeed 9 blamed
sight bigger fool to work. o., all If he
is no, absolutely obliged to do it, ]
wouldn't, apd 7 don't care who knows it.
But how Is the eight-hour movement to
beneArth Wozking men Of San Francisco
The manufacturing interests are now de-
pressed st6 the last degree, acontending
against high rates Of interest, high rents,
high priees Of labor, and high rates ofliv-
ing, with only partial success. Many Of
our best men fare desirous Of selling out
and going to the East, where the adyan-
tages for carrying on ialmostany descrip-
ton Of business are better, or are sup.
posed to be better than here. Now, the
average wages Of hboring men, ,mechan-
les and artizlns, are, we Will say, - pei
day--Imay be slightyover or under the
marx, but am near enough for the pur:
pose-of ten hours. Reduce the hourt
twenty per cent. as proposed, and main.
tain the rates where they now are, and in
stead Of paying forty cents an hour to EN-.
ployer, Is paying fifty cents an hour, or in
| other, words il costs him just twenty-five
per cant. more to produce any given thing
than 1t did formerly. How many kinds
Of business. are, now carried on in San
Francisco-business requiring capital and
employing labor I msan--which could
stand this and contend successfully
against Eastern and European comped.
toni Not many. It. then, comes down
to this: The employer must stop work,
or must employ other labor, at cheaper
ratss.i II works. stopped, even to a'small
degree, the laborer suffers; II Chinese la.
Dor Is mbstituted, for white labor the
white laborer suffers. To US It SCENT
plain that il tho employer barely live,
with eight men in his employment. he
must, II lcompelled. 10 employ ten, men to
do the, ssme work that u now done BY
eight, eventually divide the pay which the
eight now get among the ten, or quit
work entirely q . loosing game. I an
aware that there re those who do not ses
this matter In thu sams light that ! do
but, a. I am not an employer, but an en-
ployee, I think I have the same right to
my views that thsy have. and % ! do not
live Of my fellow employees. and have no
AZ to grind, no Office to obtain BY tick.
ling their vanity. a. some persons I could
mention have, I believe I can look at the
l- a----lNt- Aak $3.50 49,