Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1884-01-26
Gov. McLANE's proposal to make

CiShG holilo iCSdi va . 11loCi has
aroused the Baltimore manufactur-
ers. Meetings have been held and
various argumen is adduced in oppo
sition to the measure, which, includ-
ing certain resolutions, will go before
the Legislature.
There is some force in the state
ment that an eight-hour law, to
be beneficial, should be uniform
throughout the country that the re-
suit of eight hours work in Mary
land cannot compete with ten hours
in Pennsylvania. 'Let Congress pass
an eight-hour law" said one, ''and
then all will be affected alike
The line of argument, therefore,
does not appear to have antagonized
an eight-hour day per Sc, but rather
the prejudice to our products result
ing from a self-imposed discrimina-
ton against ourselves. This was
held to be suicidal. But Mr.. John
G. Vanlohe, a gentleman introduced
as being largely interested in manu-
features, and who had come to Balti-
more from England to locate, is re-
ported as saying:
The bills of your new Governor took
my breath away. l said to Mr.. Gary,
"Why, he has gotten an old English
hobby for use in Maryland" Labor
laws of this kind We're rendered neces
sary in England by the marked degen
Grafton of the working classes. There
they were made by Parliament, and
could not injure any particular class of
manufactures more than another. The
working classes here in the United
States were much freer and more en-
lightened class. In England they were
q disgrace to the nation. He had in
tended going into the manufacturing
business in Baltimore, but he proposed
to wait now until these bills are either
passed or annulled.
1t is to be doubted whether Mr.. Van
lobe aided the opposition to ''sui-
eide" Accepting his statement as
true, it becomes pertinent to inquire
by what process the working classes
of England had become ga disgrace
to the nation ?" Did not this condi-
ton come primarily, and was it not
maintained for centuries by a system
of ''long hours ?" Was not the pop
ular submission to this immense evil
q self-destruction more deplorable
than any outcome of mere trade COM
petition between rival manufac-
turing communities could possibly
be? The final adoption of the cold
English hobby of eight hours came
at length, since which there have
been long advances in the character
and intelligence of the English citi-
zen. This is to be inferred from Mr..
Vanlehe's use of the past tense. He
says furthermore that ''labor laws of
this kind were rendered necessary in
England by the marked degeneration
of the working classes In other
words, in order to improve the morale
of the working people the enact
ment of an eight-hour law was neces-
sary. And, sigularly enough, the
law, whether effective or not, was
followed by gradually increasing
wages, until, to-day, the English
operatives of all trades are better
paid probably than ever beGore-a
situation which appears to rcfute Mr..
James A. Gary's statement that
Should this bill become Il law, the
effect would be to necessitate the en-
ployer to pay The worllmen by the
hour; so that if he was getting, say -
per day for ten hours, he would receive
but $l.60 for eight hours.
1t is to be admitted that the qucs-
ton as presented by Gov. Mclanc is
intricate and weighty. As such it
deserves careful elaboration by the
Legislature before action. The les
sons of history are open to all who
will read, and these should be studied
before the narrower views Of employ
crs, who look mainly to the superb
cial and temporal aspects Of ali pro-
posed industrial reforms, are adopted.
There are economics in morals as in
materials.
FOREIGN dealers in certain Amer1-
can products denouncc our State svs-
tenn of inspections. In the article of