St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-04-20
CONGRESSIONAL.
The House Passes the Bill to Create q
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Cost of the Bureau Limited to Twenty-Five
Thousand Dollars year.
Several Members Take the Usual Saturday
Privilege of making Speeches.
The Horse of Representatives

applicable to the payment of new awards.
Adopted.
The speaker laid before the house the fol-
lowing messages from the president, which
were appropriately referred:
Transmitting the report of the secretary Of
stave in regard to the final awards made by
the late French and American claims com
mission, against the United States for $685.
SIG; for the payment of claims of French
citizens against the United States. The pres
ident recommends the appropriation of that
sum to enable the government to fulfill its
obligation, and of the treaty Of January -,
1880.
Also, transmitting a communication from
the secretary of state relative to the approach
ing visit of a special embassy from Siam.
The president recommends an appropriation
of'S25, 900 to defray the expenses of the en-
bassy while in this country.
Also. transmitting communication from
the secretary Of state respecting the approach
ing international conference at Washington,
for the purpose Of fixing meridian proper to
be employed as a common zero of latitude,
and standard Of reckoning throughout the
globe. The president recommends an ap
preparation of SO, 600 to defray the expenses
of the same.
The house then went into committee of the
whole, Mr.. Wellborne in the chair, on the
bills reported from the committee on labor.
The first bill considered was that establish
ing and maintaining department OF labor
statistics.
Mr.. Hopkins, chairman Of the committee
on labor, briefly called attention to the pro-
visions of the bill and to the advantages to
be derived from its passage. The labor
problem was one of the most important
questions which demand and command the
consideration Of the people, and it was of
greatest benefit to all that a department be
established, which should furnish authentic
and reliable data on the subject, and the bill
was not in the interest of any school of
political economy, but was intended to COM
pile information for the use of protectionist
and free trade alike. A great deal of atten-
ton has been given to the American hog and
the American steer, and it was time that con-
gress should give more attention
to the American man. Capital always
received consideration here, but legislation
in the interest Of laboring people had been
rare and stinted. The present house had
shown some disposition to atone for past neg
lect by creating a committee on labor, and
this bill has been greatly appreciated by the
Iaboring classes all over the land. They
looked this bill as one of immense benefit to
them, because it would bring to the atten-
ton of the country full and faithfdl state
ment of their condition.
Mr.. O'Neill of Missouri, said, the passage
of this bill was demanded by the laboring
men all over the country. They realized
that agriculture had been recognized by the
creation of department of agriculture, that
the signal service protected the shipping in
terests, that commerce was benefited by a
bureau to collect information from consular
officers, and for the past two years they have
been asking for bureau to compile informa-
ton as to labor. The statistical bureau Of
the treasury department could not accomplish
what was needed, and it was deplorable
fact, that a portion of the people, who did not
work, knew little of the condition of that
larger portion which toiled.
Mr.. Young had no doubt that when the re-
port of this discussion went out to the coun-
try, the laboring classes would be startled at
discovering they had so many ardent friends
on this floor. The tone and temper of the
house had not seemed so friendly week ago,
when the committee on public buildings had
brought in a number of bills, the effect of
which would have been to confer on laboring
men more practical good than would even be
| accomplished by measures coming from the
committee on labor. Thousands of Idle men
and willing workers would have been given
profitable employment. He proposed to give
the pending bill has most cheerful and earn
| est support, but hoped it would be amended,
so as to establish a bureau of labor statistics,
as an adjunct to the agricultural department.
| No question which could be considered by
his body was more far reaching in its in
fuence than this: No one more earnestly
demanded by the highest consideration of
public policy.
Mr. Wolford said, if the object of the bill
was alone to show to the men engaged in
labor where they could get better
compensation for their work, it would
| commend itself to every man who
loved his country, but as he was not
thoroughly confident that that alone was the
! object, he had some hesitation in giving his
unqualified support to the measure. If the
object was to point out to the rapidity of
men where cheap labor could be found, and
brought into competition with the honest
labor of the American people, he was utterly
opposed to it.
! Mr. Belford spoke in support of the pro-
posed amendment, prohibiting corporations
from importing foreign labor to compete
with American citizens. He reiterted the
statement made by him some days ago, that
the riot in Cincinnati had been, but the be-
| gining of communism in this country. The
riot at Braddock, Pa, had been occasioned
by the cupidity in the corporations in import
ing foreign lo6orers to compete with Ameri-
can workmen and in preventing the latter
! from having fair chance to earn their hon
est bread and butter
Mr. Bland suggested that protection did
not protect American labor.
Mr.. Belford replied, that at a meeting of
| the operatives at Pittsburg, series Of reso-
lutions were adopted, declaring that while
the protective system protected the manu-
tacturer, the wages of the laborer were con-
stantly diminishing.
Foram favored the bill and strongly antag
onized any proposition to put the work of
collecting labor statistics in tie hands of
the agriculture department.
Blount says, there is not single thing in
the bill to justify the creation of this de-
partment.
Mr.. Hopkins replied to the criticisms
against the bill, and maintained that the
people who could be vastly benefited by the
compilation of this information did notwant
to see the bureau buried in the agricultural
or treasury department
Mr.. Bayne, while heartily supporting the
general purpose of the bill, thought the sec
ton providing for an investigation of the re-
i - IL.