The Portland daily press., 1866-02-27
Tuesday Morning, February 81, 1866.
The EIGHT Hour Movement.

| A few days ago was requested to sign
petition to the Legislature for the enactment
of q law, prescribing eight hours as the limit
| and extent of days work. 1 am myself
working man, but declined to sign the petit
| ton.
This movement has now assumed such pro-
portions that it ought to attract the attention
of political economists, who should take the
trouble to enlighten the people as to the effect
such measure, if it should be adopted
The persons who move in it evidently do not
see the principles involved in il, nor the results
which would certainly follow its adoption.
The days work now is nominally ten hours,
though in most kinds of labor it will not
amount to so much during the winter months.
1t is the working men who are actually eugag-
ed in the movement for law to compel the
public to pay them for eight hours work the
same price they now receive for ten hours
Labor is the commodity they have to sell, and
the proposition is, in plain English, to compel,
by law, the purchasers of it to pay for eight
hours the full price of ten hours The differ
ence is one fifth, or twenty per cent.
Flour contains one hundred and ninety-six
pounds to the barrel. We have many men
whose sole business is the selling of that arti-
Gle. What would be thought of proposition
by them that the barrel of -four should con-
tain, for the future, one hundred and fifty
seven pounds Of four-twenty per cent. less
than it has now, and that the people should
pay the same price for it? If this would not
be reasonable and right in the view of those
who approve the eight hour movement-why
not?
All classes Of our people consist of those
who have goods to sell, of one kind or anoth-
er. Merchants, mechanics, lawyers, divines,
doctors, farmers, manufacturers, laborers all
have their commodities in the market for sale,
and the price is governed by the memorable
law of supply and demand. But one class of
these persons step out of the rank in which
all alike stand, and require that their goods
to wit, labor-shal be treated exceptionally;
that over and above che price they can obtain
for it in open market, the statute law shall
add twenty per cent, and that consumers of
their goods shall be compelled to pay at that
rate. 6ra t,-ia. .s
Why may not any other class of our work
ing met-for all of us work-require the same
thing? If not-why not? ..i.f-
So much for the rightfulness and reasona-
bleness of the movement. There is nothing
like it in any civilized country, because all
statesmen and legislators know that nothing
but mischief can arise from any attempt to
fix by law the price of any vendable commodi-
ty. An attempt was made in Congress, two
winters ago, in violation of this rule, to regu-
late and fix the value of gold. The law en-
acted with that view, created great confusion
and mischief in a few days, and was repealed
within week or two after its enactment
But let us look briefly at the operation of
such labor law, If it should be enacted
Everything we have and use and enjoy is the
result of labor, either alone or in connection
with capital. The intrinsic value of every
thingi the sum of the labor required to pro-
duce it, or of the amount of labor and cap
ital combined. Capital alone produces moth
ing. The effect, then, of the eight-hour move
ment, if it should be successful, would be, to
add Immediately to the labor cost of every ar
ticle, not twenty, but twenty-five per cent
That is, every article on which the cost for la
Dor is now eighty cents, would then be one
dollar, which is one-fourth more than it is at
present. The instant effect Of this would be
to add twenty-five per cent. to the value of
houses, shops, stores, and all other structures,
into which labor enters largely, or of which it
is the only element, and which must be used
and occupied, whatever the cost. Large own
ers of such property would be greatly enrich
| ed by the movement. Labor enters largely
into the cost Of ships, but these would not in
crease in value, unless the labor movement
should extend over all maratme nations, be-
cause ships, unlike houses and stores, can be
brought from places where they are built by
labor at ten hours a day, to compete with those
built by labor at hours day, costing, there
fore, for the labor, one quarter more. At pres
ent, and for years past, this State builds one
third of the entire annual increase of the ton
mage of the United States. The eight hour
movement, if successful, would kill the ship
building in this State entirely, for our builders
could not possibly compete with others who
obtain ten hours for days work. Our ship
carpenters, our ship smiths, riggers, sail-mak-
ers, rope makers, boat-builders, ship joiners-
and all others whose work is upon ships,
would be Immediately thrown out of employ
ment, and must seek work in some line that
they are unused to, or must carry their COM
modity-labor-t some other place, to wit,
ten-hour market. ...
The result would be to drive all our ship
building to some other State, and our people
whose work is on ships must follow or fare
much worse. 1t would be interesting to know
how many Of our people, in one way or an
other, are supported by that great branch of
our trade-shipbuilding.
The labor required to build ship is not
merely that by which the materials are put
together, but that also by which the materials
are obtained, manufactured or created. The
timber, lumber, iron, copper, sails, rigging,
glass, paint, are all the result of labor Under
the eight hour system all these must cost, to
produce them, nearly or quite twenty-five per
cent. more than now, and the labor of putting
them together would cost exactly TWENTY-FIVE
per cent. more. 1t is plain, then, that ships
built at such cost, cannot proftably compete
with those built by labor at ten hours dav.
have taken for Illustration of the effect of
the eight hour system upon the industrial
and business interests of our State, that great
and most important branch of our industry
shipbulding-because its operation is so plain
and direct, that it can be comprehended by
the simplest understanding. But the effect of
the system would be the same, directly or in
diretcly, to greater or less extent, upon every
branch of business. For other examples,
boots, shoes, clothing of all kinds, hats, and a
multitude of other articles are made by the
piece, and the price is graduated upon labor at