The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-11-30

Judge Barnard's Fifth judicial district, which
was created by special act OF the Legislature
in 1852. The Eric manipulators here sent several
letters 10 the Post and other daily papers, de-
manding retrdctious and threatening libel suits
General Rousseau
has written to the Northern papers, defending
himself against the charge Of acting with tne
Rebels.
The wOrkingwOmen's Association
is goiug to purchase a permanent building on
Bond street for iorty.six thousand dollars.
Moses Beach furnishes the money.
The Eight. hour Law-OpIniOn OF Attor-
ney-GeneraI EVarts.
Continued from Second Edition.
The plain import OF the law Is that o laborer
workman, or mechanic, IN the employ of the
Government, whether hired by the day, week,
or MONTH snail only be required to work eight
hours o day to earn his daily, weekly, or
monthly wages, whatever these may be. The
rate of his conn pensation is left to the control of
the same agencies and laws which governed it
before, AND the salutary provisions on this sub
ject are few and very limited in their operation
The Slh section OF the act of Dec. u, 1861 az
Statute, 330), and the amendatory act of July i6,
1862 ubtd, 5o7). comprise all nave been able TO
tind and THESE are confined to employees in the
Government Navy Yard. The former act pro-
vided that the hours OF labor in the Government
Navy Yard should be the same as those In the
nearest private ship yard, and that the wages
of ali employes in such Navy Yards snouid an.
proximale as nearly AS possible to the average
prices paid employees of same grade in the
nearest private ship-yards or workshops. to be
determined by the CommandanL OF the Navy
Y ard. This was ameuded by the latter act
which provides that the hours of labor and rate
OF wages OF the employees in the Navy Glrd
shall conform as nearly as cousis eut with the
public interests with those OF private establish.
ments in the immediate vicinity of the re.
spec i've yards, to be determined by the Com
mandanJ of the Navy Yard, subject to the sp-
proval and revision OF the Secretary of the Navy.
The effect OF the recent act OF June 25 1865 Is to
repeal so much OF these statutes as relate to the
regulation OF the hours of labor leaving the
provisions relating To wages 10 stand as they
were before, and IL has necessarily correspond
ing effect where, in other departments OF tue
public service the wages Of Government en-
ployes are regulated by similar modes aud
standards; but while L 10 not find in the act
any indication that the reduction OF the honrs
of q days labor should of itself work y propor-
tionate or any reduction of wages, and while
the debate on the bill in the Senate exhibits
consideration OF this proposed consequence,
and rejection OF 1t, must also say that aud
nothing in the act that requires au absolute
embraced within the act must receive as
high wages for their days labor OF
eight hours as similar industry on private EN-.
plOyments receives for q day labor CT ten or
Twelve hours. The act is wholly silent on the
days labor. The equality between the wages
OF the em ployeS of the Govern Mt and similar
industry on private employment. which is so
maniiesty just and expedient as to have been
provided for by law in regard 10 employees of
the Navy Department, and by departmental
regulation in The War Department, is u matter
OF substance and not of law. This equality
requires That the same worth of labor should
be com pensated in the public employment at
the same rates of wages IL receives in private
employ ment. IT, Them II Is found that the
theory upon wlc, whlGh the act In
10 Congress-to wit, that as much worth Of
labor would be acquired TO the Government as
hy more hours VI labor Ia inc long run-is Justl-
fled by eX pertence then this rule of equality be.
tween public and private employment requires
that the eght-hour day LABOR of the Govern.
ment should be compensated by as high wages
as the en-hour day labor in EN- ployment re.
ctiVes IT, on the other hand, this eight.hour
day labor of the Government is found to pro
duce less worth of LABOR 10 the Government
than ten-hour day labor produces to private
employ ers, the principle of equality of co psn.
saIion would be surrendered If equal wages
were paid to unequal labor. II this dis
parity In the worth of Two different mea-
sures of labor were found to exist, then the
workmen in private employment would justly
claim that II the Government paid certain
wages for eight hours labor they should receive
higher wages for ten houi s. labor. This increase
OF wages for ten hours labor being tnus esta-
blisheu in private employment the employees
OF the Government would demand this new
measure of ten.hour labor based upon It's being
thus in turn each system would be encouraged
TO rise upon the demands of the other. That the
essential element OF this rule OF equality is that
the same worth of labor should receive the same
wages in Government as in private ploY-
ment may be illustrated by not tm probable
condition of wages, while this theory of fewer
hours producing equal amounts OF labor
with loi ger time OF work Is being tested by
experience. Suppose that there should be
divided practice in private employment by
which ten hours labor should receive certain
wages, and eight hours labor less wages, are
the Government eight hour laoorers to receive
under the statutes requiring of the depart
mental regulations prescribing equality of
wages between public and prlvats employ yments
the private wages for eight hours for those for
Ten hours labor. Mantestly the GaVernment
employ es in the supposed case would lud
their necessary measures OF equality in the
private wages of the eight hour labor, and not
in the larger wages of the ten-nour labor. The
couclus ion, then. TO which | come 49, that the
act does not require That the wages OF the
shortest day OF Government labor should be
reduced ia proportion to the hours of LABOR, aud
the shortened day should be IS large as the
wages of the longer day of private empioyme 1t.
In This silence of the act itself on the
measure of wages, while IL speaks only
of the hours OF labor, the departments are left
to the guidance of the rule of equality OF
eminent and private employment 1t may be
that tbe equality of worth shall he the eight
hour labor for the Government, and should be
compensated as highly as the ten hour labor in
private employment. 1t may be that the wages
in the two employ ments should be In the pro.
uoriion of the different hours of labor; and
finally, 1t may be that the true adjustment of
disparity of value between the two systems of
labor may be between these two rules. l
disposed to think that no better solution of the
question raised by the passage of an act pre-
ScIibing the length of a Government day of
labor, while the private employments are free
from any restriction in this respect, must be
found in the substance OF the rule OF equality
between Government and private wages, which
Is manifestly wise and just. Whatever diff
Guilty there may be in applying this rule is in
trinsic to the subject. and can only be met by
experience. have the honor to be. very re-
spectfully, VIM. NJ. EvARTs,
Attorney General