Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-09-07
SECOND EDITION
THE LABOR COMMITTEE.
Another utopian Scheme for the Woes 81
tho Worlingman.

New York, September 6.--The sem
ate committee ON labor and education
resumed its session to-day. john
Swintan took the stand and testified
at considerable length. He recon-
merded II revisai % the income taxes
originally in force; the establishment
of IL AlatiOnal branch OF industry en-
powered to collect labor statistics OF
every description. aud including tiee
pow&sy to enforce the eight hour law
the establishment of etlectual boafds
of health, education and public works;
industrial schools and colleges on the
/ FrenS@l system OF public membership;
! railroads and telegraphs on the Bel
GUM system; frsetomo of patents, aud
postal hanks under the British system.
He advocated land laws which will
prevent the holding by private indi-
,iduala of great tlacts of land, or the
ownership OF coal gold and other
mines and wells. Every one of these
measures has been put in practice in
/ one country or another, and were all
capable of enforcement By legislation,
| and have in every instance proved sue
cessiui, A national bureau of industry
is absolutely necessary for securing
wise legislation, MS tlaete was now no
data of accuracy upon which legisl;-
tors could rely. The present system
o! boards OF health was not eflectuai
as shown by the state of public health
in all large cities. In New York the
| people in some districts were
crowded together like animals,
and children grew up with unhealthy
and enfeebled constitutions. Indus
trial schools, as in nearly all European
countries, could be Instituted and be
under control of the government. The
working OF railroad and telegraph
lines by the government in Berlin
show it should be adopted in
this country. The government
should institute postal banks,
make deposits and obtain an
annuity. The press s rule was un-
favorable to the working classes.
II am convinced of that myself,u
said Senator Blair, "since this investi-
CATION has been in progress, and in
my opinion such woeful misrepresen-
ta,ions should be punished Grim
inally.n
In closiog, Swinton urged the com
mittee to do all in its power to sup
press the threatened dictionaries and
raise and educate the lower classes.
John Jarrett. president of the anal
ganiated association Of iron and steel
workers, said he had been engaged for
twenty-five years i'm The iron industry.
The Pennsylvania association, OF
which he was the head, was c imposed
of employees of iron and steel rolling
mills. The object of the organization
WAS TO secure the moral, mental, social
and fnencial improvement of the
members and bring about conditions
whereby the rights of members are
recognized, and to get Il fair day s
wages for II fair days work. There
were many mills in Penn
sylvania which We're not under
the control of the union.
In these the rate of wages was invari-
ably lower than in union mills. There
hac been numerous strikes before the
supremacy of the union was acknowl-
edged by manufacturers. Among
the members of new organization
there was always a tendency to strike
NJ the least pgovocation. Now the
method of arbitrat on was pursued
largely viii satisfactory results. r. p
rescntatives of worlSrnen and nlanufac-
turers met once year and decided on
n scale of prices and wages. All the
iron workers were in favor of pfotec-
ton, because it protectedthem in their
wages. Protection did not increase
the price of steel but
If ii did not exist there
would be no employment for iron and
steel workers In some mills which
are not controlled by the union, work
men are PATE tue same wages as those
of English manufacturers. Jarrett, in
answer 20 Senator Call, said the man
who sold his iron ut $40 per ton less
than his competitor aud disposed OF
} three times the quantity would be
able to pay better wages, but the
tro1b'e would be To make him eXer-
else his ability in this respect. The
lahoriag classes should he conpaIled to
attend school, and the government
should appropriate means To carry out
II system OF public education, Il the
tin plate manufacture was carried on
IN this country, it would
give employment To 10000 men. The
ore could be obtained from California
and Australia as cheaply as England
could obtain il from her own mines
Under the present tariff, tin.pIate
manufacture could not be carried on.
The Industry was connected intimate
~ with iron working. Tin plate
manufacture was ait ampted year
ago In Pennsylvania, but failed on ac-