The workingman's advocate., 1874-05-23

but when .he war came he wanted d to be
fought at the ballot boz and not BY strikes.
Nm. 4. N. yoRkN
At the conclusion of Mr.. Fehrenbatch's
speech, Mr.. Foraa, who had bean expected
in the earlier partof the evening, was called
for, and upon coming forward, spoke sub
stantially as follows:
He expected TO address thsm on the ne
cessity, urgency and justice OF reducing
the hours of labor, manual and mental
He doubted, however, whether this was
the proper question 70 discuss now. That
was something that reached onward into
the future, but there were other questions
that reached 10 the marrow Of the present.
1t seemed rather incongruous to be discuss
ing the question of reducing the hours Of
labor when there were 30 many who were
by necessity forced to reduce their hours
of labor 50 low that they did not work at
all. The workingmen are staring hard
time in the face All over the land dark
cloud is hanging. There is a paralysis of
trade and commerce. Hundreds and thous-
snds Of men are hungering for work Nay,
many are hungering for something more
vital, for that which sustains life itself
Tho dearth of work extends to honest, sol
i'd, broad shouldered men, who would be
willing to work for q mere pittance to gain
bread to keep their families from starving.
The trouble is not confined to any class or
to any section of the country, for it extends
both East and West.
The press, almost without exception,
from the large dailies to the weeklies and
to the inferior Sunday papers, tell US we
have produced too much, that the markets
are glutted, and that there must be halt
in production. Again, there come others
who say that there should be reduction
in the hours of labor, and thus allow the
surplus to be worked off Both these posi-
tions are untenable When things are in
their proper condition, not all the labor of
the country can overplus the demands of
the world. The supply will create the de-
mand. As we'll might they urge us to stop
the institutions of learning for fear men
would become too intelligent, as to restrict
industry for fear that the market would be
glutted.
The speaker urged that, however the
truth was, that things were not in their
proper conditions, while workshops and
storehouses were crowded with goods that
cannot be sold, the men who produced
them are starving for actual necessities. If
the laboring man received his proper share
of what was produced, there would be no
danger of these storehouses long remaining
ovcrcrowded The real consumers Of the
country are the real body Of workingmen,
and if they were able to purchase all they
need this "surplus product" would soon
wear away.
We have now fallen upon time when,
as Charles Bradlaugh, the great English
labor reformer says, capital has created
gospel of its own" The power that con
centrated the republic into an oligarchy Of
National Banks, has also made us nation
of thieves and gamblers. We are not
building up great nation, boast as we
NAV.
Will the Eight-hour law bring a remedy
to these evils ! 1t may not be remedy in
itself, but a means by which its remedy
may be applied. Less time Of labor means
more leisure in which the mind may ex-
pand and develop. This is what the de-
mand means. Those who toll must he per-
mitted to come to the surface of tine social
sea. 1t means an educated and willing
race of people, and an intelligent people
will be free people.
The demand for an eight hour law is
based, first on the proposition that that
time Is more than is necessary to produce
all the material that is needed. and second
ly that the introduction of machinery
should result to the benefit of the human
race.
The speaker then argued that less prop
erty should be produced in a given time if
the overplus was produced at the sacrifice
of men.
After referring to some local Issues, Mr..
Foran retired amid loud applause.
REVOLUTIONS.
At the conclusion of the speech, Mr.. H.
q. nj. 5. Smith, Secretary of the meeting,
came forward and read the following reso-
lutioLs, which were adopted
WHEREAS. The country, through the in
iquitous course of the law makers and the
connivance public authorities, has been
thrown into unparalleled commissions, thus
causing untold suffering and in many cases
actual starvation among the industrial classes
and
WHEREAS, Persons engaged in industrial
pursuits can, by the aid OF improved so-called
labor-saving machinery, produce more in a
given time than was possible years ago, and
the benefits Of this saving Of labor accrues Ia
capital alone, which invariably makes use of
this advantage to Oppress labor still more
and
WHEREAS, We believe that the general
adoption of the re 1uction of the hours of labor
to eight per day, would tend materially to the
elevation and improvement of the industrial
classes, mentally, socially, physically and
morally therefore, be it
ResotUed, That the redemption Of labor and
the relief of the country can be secured only
by the general adoption Of the principles
enunciated by the Industrial Congress at its
late session, held in Rochester, New York.
Resolved, That A. B. Mullett, Supervising
Architect of the United States, in officially
recommending the appeal of the sO-called
natural eight-hour law, deserves the most
severe censure, and we demand his immediate
removal and the appointment of man whose
ideas are more in accord with the advanced
spirit and civilization of the age.
Resoired, That the present national bank
system is a fraud and an imposition on the
people. as it tends to create a moneyed oil
garchy by allowing those interested to draw
nearly double interest ON the money invested,
to the detriment and injury of all other citi-
zens, and that we not only emphatically pro-
test against its further extension, but we
also demand the withdrawal from circulation
of all such bank notes, and in their place the
issue of a national circulating medium by the
government directly to the people, receivable
for all demands, public and private, and in
terchangable. at the option of the holders with
65-lOO interest bearing bonds.
Resolved, That copy of these resolutions
be forwarded to the Senators from Ohio and
to the Representative Of this district in Con-
gress.
WHEREAS, Senators Bingham and Curtis.
Of Cuyahoga counties, in voting FOR the iniqui-
ty known as the Fisher bill, which, under
the ostensible plea of protecting labor, was
intended to still further Cypress it, have COM
mitted themselves to a class legislation in its
worst feature therefore. be it
Resolved, That we demand their Immediate