Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-01-13
The RUTLAND HERALD.
The Eight.HOur Law--POverful
Protest Against il.

The Eight.HOur Law--POwerfuI
Protest Against il.
SPEECH OF THE HON. JUSTIN s. MORRILL,
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED
STATES
Among the most plausible and popular
of the labor reforms is that of cutting of
two hours from the ten now recognized
as the limitation of days work. There
are some obvious arguments in favor o.
the movement but that there are also in
conveniences in its enforcement must
occur after the most superficial observa
ton. These inconvenience and other OBJ
jections were stated with unusual pre-
oision and clearness by the Hon. Justin
s. Morrill,, Senator in Congress from Yer
mont, on the 10Th Of December, 1869 on
his proposition to repeal the act "constitut.
n ing eight hours days work for all la
borers, workmen, and mechanics en-
ployed by or on behalf of the United
States" AS the subject is one OF great
significance, we have thought some OF the
main points of Senator Morrill, might be
Interesting to those who have neither
time nor opportunity to read the elaborate
report of the argument itself.
He denies that the reduction of the
days work is reform. The act was passed
for the benefit of the Government me-
chanics, and was not asked for then by
the outside mechanics, farmers and other
laboring men. Shall the example be
@copied by State Legislatures? To this he
replies
But our own experience at our navy
yards, armory, and public printing office
conclusively demonstrates the failure OF
the system. Nowhere is any more than
eight-tenths of the former work done
nowhere is any better work done, and no.
where are the idle hours turned to any
moral profit. l have authentic proofs OF
gthis statement from quite number OF
these establishments, which l will show
to any Senator who wishes to further
satisfy himself on the subject.
Neither extraordinary pay nor less than
the ordinary amount of labor should be
allowed to draw mercenary crowds into
government employments. Such policy
would surely breed corruption and give
us a splendid government, with low
grade of service and poor people. Let
it be ever borne in mind that this is Re-
republican government, intended to be
plain and inexpensive, and therefore it
should encourage no sinecures and no soft
places. The people expect to meet Office
holders and the men necessarily employed
by the government without envy and up
on a level, as persons " no ought to render
On ample equivalent for all their emolu-
ments. They will not object to wages on
par with the general average of wages
in the country, nor perhaps compute the
honor of serving in public trust but
they will neither support aristocratic
offce-holders nor aristocratic laborers, nor
furnish them with leisure and means TO
contract aristocratic habits and manners,
saying nothing Of vanities and more
serious vices.
To increase wages, or to offer shorter
hours of labor than has been the practice
hitherto, entails additional expense upon
the government in keeping up these ma
tional establishments, and may ultimately
give to them such proud and swollen d.
mansions as will prompt cry Tor their
complete extinction. Workmen will nat
urally push fer the most agreeable places,
and the most agreeable places must be
found for the most agreeable persons, or
those who push the hardest. The work
to be done is not more onerous than agri-
cultural labor, and the large masses en-.
gagged in tie latter class of labor, less re-
munerative than any other, and who
largely contribute to the support of all
government men, will not willingly add
other hours to their own toll for the pur-
pose of giving rest to those already work
ing less by several hours per day than
they do, besides enjoying, perhaps de-
servedly, from their skill, higher COM
pensation. The measure when earnestly
examined will be found to be Unjust, and
while the injustice robs one party it Of
fers no permanent benefit to the other. 1t
also reverses the philosophy upon which
our government was founded, and would
make the government support the peo-
pie, instead of leaving the people to sup
portthe government. Such a style of
government, it is needless to say, would
soon arrive at anarchy and come to an in
glorious end. The benevolenees exacted
by Edward ". from a few individuals
Justly excited public odium. The differ
suce of policy here appears to be that a
few individuals would seem to claim a
kindred 'benevolence" from the govern
ment, and it excites eclat, but eel 1t of
rather private and limited character,
mostly inside of navy-yards and armories,
with little to do, and rarely just now ex-
Ycited by any thing else.
The agricultural population of the
country, many times larger than that of
any other class, or perhaps than of all
other classes together, labor upon an aver
age twelve hours, and during harvest
from peep of day to torchlight, or not less
than fifteen hours per day. Many farm
ers, as regularly as those in trades, employ
extra hands. To interfere by law 10 one
case can no more be justified than in the
other. To relieve one class and not the
other, and more especially when relieved
at the expense of the other, is manifestly
wrong. Two conditions of existence are
incompatible in a fre1 country. 1t is
clear that agriculturists cannot be the re-
oipients of the grace and favor of the
eight hour law, and would not be if they
could; nor, can they willingly aid the
contamination of such gross and unfair
partiality.
The merchants Of the country, especi
ally the retail dealers, are compelled from
the nature of their business to keep open
doors the entire day and often into the
night. How would it affect trade and
the conYeniences of the public to have all
those employed in mercantile affairs re-
fuse to do any business before nine O'Clock
in the morning or after five o'clock in the
afternoon or how long would it be toll
Grated if the entire service of the pos
effice, both carrying and delivery, were tt
be so restricted
The number of mechanics who work il
their own shops doing custom work is very
large, as, for example, it may be computed
there are are not less than 1860 black
smiths, with an average of four or fiv,
persons dependent upon each ant
many other trades are equally or NOR,
numerous.
The census Of 1860 shows the following
numbers
Shoemakers 161 6(lE