New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-08-27
THE IAnonERy CONGRESS.

The meeting deliberations and conclusions OF a
Labor Congress representing dborers III different Sec
tons of our country marks in our history. Oi
course the representation Of the Labor Of the country
was very imperfect but il was not necessarily unfair.
Probably If every City. County, and Village in the
United States had been present b delegates, the
result would not have been much different We do
not agree in all respects with the conclusions of the
Congress- yet we hail their tenor as calculated to I'M
prove the condition Of Labor throughout the world.
But there will be enough to proclaim concurrence
with The Congress and its conclusions Lot Us briefly
indicate the points wheJeon We think its resolves
M gh, have been improved:
As 10 Prison Labor we hold the Congress right rs
10 tho grievances but not clearly as to the remedy
III, hard on man who has learned trade and Is try
ing to support family by faithfully pursuing it, to
he compelled 10 compete with the labor OF convict,
which Is sold b the state 10 contractor for forty or
fly cents per day Yet does not seem TO Us prac-
tcable raise this price TO the full wages Of honest
and kiliul mcdaniel because cOnvics are generally
persons whom no reputable person would choose
fJr his daily. familiar associates and who have little
or no skill in any handcril whatever. To sag that
convict, who goes TO prison ignorant Of any trade
shall not work unless paid the full wages Of skillful
mechanic. IL 10 say that he shall not work at all.
Our plan would be. therefore 10 employ cOHriets on
trades NOT pursued in country outside Of prsons In
Southern State, we would grow and manufacture
Silk; in the North, we would establish manufactures Of
articles now almost exclusively imported We see no
other way TO achieve the end,
II. As to the Public Lands, We agree in the main
with the Congress- yet the grants OF Lands hitherto
~.
made VI aid ofraroads, &c. have enured decidedly to
the advantage of the settlers. Land of ITSELF in the
center Of vast wilderness prairie. is scarcely habit
able by civilized men; cheap and easy communication
with the seaboard and the seats OF manufacture Is IN
pensabe oe nc least exceedingly desirable There are
millions of acres better worth 81 per acre with rail-
road running through them than fifty cents without
H. That great abuses and improyidence have attended
the granting Of lands for such purposes, we believe
The business has been generally 0ycrdone; but We
think the settlement and of the Public Lands have
been fastened and the settlers thus benefited by
land grants for railroads. The system needs ciorm,
not destruction.
ILL., As to the Hours of Labor, the reform proposed
by the Congress must encounter strenuous oppositon
yet We believe It will ultimately be carried, and ought
to be- We are daily making immense strides in ecou-
duces far more of the nccessares and comforts of life
than it formerly did: why should hot Labor reap
part of the advantage OF this in dminution OF the
hours Of daily toll The Sewing Machine makes
garments far quicker than the needle ever did: why
should not the seamstress find her exhausting days.
work shortened II does seem to US that Limitation
of the Hours of Labor is expedent and proser-and
quite as much needed by the professional or business
man as by the mechanic or farm laborer. As
people, we (who work at ally work too
hard: all work and no play" is the rule with
Us, and We wear out sooner than We should As
people, we live too fast--we cat drink and smoke
more than other nations aud work accordingly; and
It were better that We live more frugaly and work
not 20 incessantly. Much effort and argument will
be required to induce the change proposed by tho
Labor Congress; but it will come at last aud We shall
then all wonder that it was not made before
The Congress neither said nor intimated that as
much must he paid for a short days work as long
one and we shall not hold IL responsible for that
error Yet most of the Labor Reformers wo have
met hold il and that is tho immediate obstacle to
their success. If the laborers in almost any field
would say to their employers We believe it best
that the days work be shortened; Let. US try TIE
experiment Of working eight hours per day,
and pay accordingly, till experience shall have dc.
termned what Is the actual reduction thereby effected
in the product Of our work'-weT believe the ogl-
ployers would readily acce1e. But when tho en-
poyed say, we want to work 'Jut eight hours here
after and TO DO paid the same as though we worked
ten" the employers very MAJ urally decline. Aud, so
long az the Eighth ruiz Is advocated as means
Of reyolutonizng tho relations Of Capital and Labor
of obtaining more pay FOR less work-we do not soo
how it can succeed. If shoemaker should 50 reduce
his hours Of labor "a to obtain more pay for making
pair OF shoos ", would have 70 pay more for his hat