New-York tribune., 1868-07-29
WORK-ITS HOURS AND WAGES.

WORh-ITS HOURS AND WAGES.
BY request, we print herewith certain resolves
purporting to have been passed at a meeting of
the "BOsten Working Mems Institute" on the
2tst inst. They contain mixture of truth and
error which provokes comment.
l. We fully concur in the proposition that
the progress of Invention and Machinery should
either reduce the hours or enhance the earn
ings of Labor. Take the Sewing Machine, for
example. For few years, the inventor and
the capitalists who aided him to perfect his
machine absorb large share of its advantages,
AZ is their right. But, their patents having ex-
pired, we ought to have cheaper garments than
of old or the makers should receive more than
they did; or the advantage should be divided,
giving them somewhat higher wages and us
somewhat cheaper garments III neither Oh us
derive any such benefit from the machine, there
must be something wrong.
H. AS to fixing Eight Hours as the legal
definition of days work, in the absence OF
any bargain, we see little coed or harm in it 4,
but make no objection. We like it for its
probable effect on the condition OF Apprentices.
There are not now nearly so many apprentices
as there should be- and, while they are gen
orally well treated, some are OverwOrked.
Every apprentice should have some time each
day for study and recreation; and the Eight
Hour rule will give it. We hope the law OF
Congress may be successfully invoked i'll behalf
of this class. Eight Hours hard work per day
is enough for boys and girls; and we believe
they would generally do as much work under
the Eght-IIour rule as they now do Let us
have it tried.
III. AS to the relative values respectively of
an Eight Hour and a Ten-Hour days work, we
have no safe data wherefrOm to estimate them.
We presume they would differ in different pur-
suits and under diverse circumstances Where
q man, woman, boy or girl, simply tends q
machine, automatic or nearly sO we presume
one-fifth more would be accomplished in ten
than in eight hours; while in chOpping, NOW
ing, and many other pursuits, the result might
be different. There is urgent need of care
full collection and collation. of facts bearing on
this point. If Eight-Hours work will produce
as good a result as Ten-Homs, the wages
should be the same; if not, not
". The melancholy feature of the Boston
manifesto is its acceptance OF the Wages system
as perfect and final. We regard it as step in
advance of Slavery-a long one, if you please
but still step-to be followed by others. We
insist that too many persons are content to
work for wages-that they seem to sink into
this as a cushion (or quagmire), instead OF using
it as spring-board. Every third person you
meet wants some one else to hire him. Why
do MT he hire himself Has he no brains 2 Then
he will have to hire some other persons, and
pay for them. We have tens of thousands In
this City working for wages who ought long
since to have earned and saved the means OF
setting themselves to work as their own bosses.
And those who seem determined to die hire
lngs are generally most vOciferOus in expati-
ating on the wrongs and expressions OF the
Wages system. Men, if men you are, stop
grumbling at what Others offer for your work,
and set to work for yourselves If one of you
can't do this alone, let ten, twenty, fifty, one
hundred, fvo hundred. put their means and
talents into a common stock, and see if they
can't run the race of life without rider! Do
try to emerge from the hireling condition!
V. The Boston men say that if working men
Chat is those who work for wages) had their
just dues, there would be no such rich men as
AstOr, Vanderbilt, A. T.. Stewart, &c. They
must allow us to think differently. Men of
rare capacities, who choose to devote them
selves to amassing wealth, can do it. 1t may
be nwise, ignOble, or what you please-that
is their business. You could not devise a
system under which such men as Cornelius
Vanderbilt and A. II. Stewart could not become
quite rich, provided their lives were prolonged
and their health preserved. And they may do
this to the advantage of others as well as them
selves. The inventors of the Steam Engine,
the Cotton Gin, the Electric Telegraph, the
Locomotive, the Sewing Machine, the Reaper,
&C., &c, are great public benefactors, over and
above the large sums presumptively paid them
by those who used their inventions. The man
who should invent n machine that would cut
rock as a knife cuts cheese, and should be paid
Ten Millions of Dollars therefor would have
as fairly earned that money as the hod-carrier
earns his g per day. We beg those who i'm
properly arrogate to themselves the designation
of Working Men to comprehend that others
are useful as well as they, and earn their
money as fairly.-But enough for one lesson. :
There seems to be a great discrepancy of