The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-05-29
President SyivIs To Attorney General
HOaT--RevieW of has Decision.
OFFICE o. TfE NATfoSAL LARlR USIox,
Phil DsI PHIA- NV \ 1861

SiR,-lOut late "oplhi0h giving construc-
ton to the Eight Hour Law, approved June rs
1868, has caused considerable excitement and
much inquiry throughout the country. You say
the effect Of the Law reducing he hours Of Ia
Dor was to reduce the wages. / nave given
this matter a very careful eonsid cration, Will
an earnest desire 70 arrive at the truth, but
have failed 70 find q single Justification of your
course. | have read, very carefully the de-
bates in both l. ouses Of congress while the bill
was under consideration, and can find nothing
I upon which to base the OPT ion that the redue-
ton OF hours was intended to work reduction
Of wages. IL seems to me that some respect
should be paid TO the INTENTION Of those who
from all parts Of The country, petitouel for tht
passage Of the Eight Hour Law, ana those wbC
advocated the bin and voted for il.
4 Among the millions Of workingmen through
out the country, who have discussed this ques
ton, and asked for the passage Of an Eight
I Hour Law, not one can BE- found Who Intended
( or believed a rcduc ton of wages would follow .
reduction Of hours We nave further the mos
positive evidence that not one. IN either house
who voted for the bill, intended q reduction q
wages and yhen we turn a. the opponents OF
the bill, we snd that even they did not expect
a reduction Of wages would follow it, passage
The speeches Of Sherman, Fessenden and others
show that the ground Of their opposition wa;
because the effect Of the bin would be to short
Ell the day aud not TIE wages, thus discriniinat
J Ing il favor 81 government en- pIoyes aud against
\ those in private employment, which they held
would create an antagouism between the gov
eminent and private employees, ana between the
workmen employed BY the public and private
employers. So fully convinced was Mr. Shcr-
man, the champion Of che opposition, that thi:
would be the result, and so anxious was Ia
either 70 kill tile bin Nv destroy its effect, that
he offered the folio wing amendment:
4 Sand, unless otherwise provided by law, the
rate of wages paid ~ tile United States shall ~
I the current rate for the same labor for the same
time, AZ the place Of cmpOyment'-Pa 1924
I Congressional Globe.
\ This amendment was ably debated by botr
j sides and defeated by vote Of "A to Is r.
as you say, The bill as it passed The house would
work reduction of wages ~ well as A reduc
ton OF hours where was the necessity for Mr.
Sherman's amendment, and on the other hand
if the senate intended 70 reduce wages as vel
as hours, why did it not adopt the amendmer
The defeat Of this amendment furnishes the
most positive evidence that the senate did mol
intend there should be reduction Of wages.
As a still further evidence Of this fact, We fnt
that Immediately after the passage Of me bin il
the senate, Mr.. Sherman sugyestcd that 'Jhe
title of the bill ought to be changed to read, "A
bill to give to government employees twenty five
per cent. more wages than employees in private
establishments receive" This factious propo-
sition of the senator was laughed at. As still
further evidence that the house did not intend
a reduction of wages, We have the fact before
US that the house, Just before its final adjourn
meut, unanimously adopted resO ution attest
ing the fact that a red ction or wages was no
intended to follow the passage Of Che law.
/ think have said enough 70 prove that tn,
friends of the Eight Hour Bill never intended
reduction Of wages should follow its passage
Ia your opinion you place great stress upor
The assertion that congress failed 10 repeal th,
act Of December o. ls6l, as amended July Is
1862, which reads,
THAT the hours Of labor and the rate Of wage
Of employees in the navy yards shall conform, a
nearly as is consistent with the public interests
with those Of private Establishments in the i'm
me date vicinity of the respective Yards to b.
determined by the commandants of the nav
yards, subject to the approval and revision .
the secretary Of the navy
And you have labored hard to impress TIL
president and the cabinet with sense of you
position. So weak is your position on this point
that the whole country ridcues it, and believe
you have resorted TO it simply as a SUFFERING
20 maintain a position utterly untenable BY an
honest course Of reasoning
That the Eight Hour Law does repeal the &C
referred to, there is not the least doubt in til
mind Of any candid man. The Eight Hour Lay
as it stands, reads
''That eight hours shall constitute a day'
work for all lal,orers, workingmen and mechan
les now employed, or who ma be hereafter EN-
pIoyed, BY or on behalf of thu government .
the Unised States. AND -HAF ALL AcFs, AN
PARTS on ACTS, INCONSISTENT VIII THIS ACT BE
AND rHE SAME ARE HEREBY REPEALED."
''Shal constitute a days work" Does thi
mean what it says, or is there hidden meaninI
invisible to every body but yourselfS If i
means what il says, then it simply fixes tn
length Of the day. Under the old las the lengtl
Of the day was to be measured BY the stsndar,
outside Of government shops, and the wages u
be the same as in outside shops. Neither tn
employees Of the government, nor those outsd
work y the hour, but by the day, and III
length Of the day and the wages were to be th
same. The Eight Hour Law reduces the iengtl
Of the day, but is silent oE the subject Of wages
It simply strikes out that part Of the act Of Jul
Is, 1864 which refers to the hours Of labor, leay
ing the standard Of wages for days work re-
main as before. "Shall constitute a day
work. not 'four-ffths Of a days work, measure
BY the day in private shops, as you would hav
US believe, but A DAY's WORK, the wages to b
the same as before for a days work.
But we can sustain our construction Of tn
law upon other grounds The government i
its paat policy, has at all times recognized an
Endorsed our view of this question. When Nj
Van Buren, issued his order making ten hours
days work in all government workshops, no re
duction Of wages followed, although most en-
ployes in outside establishments worked eleve
and twelve hours. Again, in October, 1856. th
hours of labor in the government printing estal
, lishmens, at Washington, was reduced 70 eigh
and an advance Of wages made at the sam