St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-03-12
HOURS OF LABOR.
Claims of Those Who Advocate the Gen.
eral Adoption of Reduction
of Hours.
Possibilities Of the Success of the Move
ment in Certain Lines in
Minneapolis.
Laboring Men VIII Make fConces-
sions, Asking Pay only For
Hours OF Work.
a Variety OF Opinions Expressed by
Leading Men--Mayor Pills
bury's Views.
The Lnhor Question

The Labor Question.
The chief object of the industrial agita-
tation during the past six months has been
a reduction of the hours of labor. The
movement is not confined to any particular
section or craft but i'm many of the large
cities of the country organization has been
perfected for a united effort 10 reduce a
days labor on and after May TO eight
hours. The claim is made that such re-
I duction will be a benefit 10 the working
classes and TO society Tor the following
| reasons:
/ Human labor acquires a greater efficiency
and consequent money value with every in
/ vention and improvement OF the means of
] production; hence IL is but just that the
| worker should receive a fair proportiOnate
I share of the increasing value of his own labor.
This can only be done by an increase of
/ wages. either 10y paying larger sum OF
/ money for the same length OF time. or by
! paying the same money for shorter length
I OF time. The payment Of the same sum for
shorter days work is the most feasible. the
most rational. and therefore the best way of
increasing every wOrkman's wages Ut the
same time; because,
First-The reduction of the hours of labor
/ will require proportionate increase in the
! number of men employed, and will thus les
| sen IL IL does not remove the competition
! among workmen, which competition is now
! admitted by all TO be the sole cause of low
/ wages. To the extent that the drudgery of
| daily toll is reduced IL will certainly benefit
| the toiler. and to the extent that the idle
| members of the community are furnished
| employment il will certainly benefit society.
! b. increasing the opportunities for making
an honest living il will reduce the number of
paupers aud criminals, and relieve society of
| the burden of their support by making them
! self-sustaining.
Second-The reduction OF the hours of
| daily labor will proportionately decrease pro-
| duction, and the employment of greater
/ number of men will relatively increase con-
/ sumption, thus destroying the bugaboo of
] overprCduction which now afiiicts the dabblers
in political economy and frightens so many
| well-meaning but unthinkng people. The
nearer consumption approNimates produc-
! ton the less the necessity for stoppages in
order 10 work OF the ''surplus" stock, and
| the more readily will the work of production
! 20 on; the periods OF enforced idleness will
no longer exist; the necessity for a foreign
market will vanish; our people will produce
! not 10 sell but 10 enjoy, and a happy, con-
| tented society will be constructed upon a
| basis of general prosperity.
| Third-The reduction of the hours of daily
! labor, without a decrease OF nay Is neces-
sary consequence of invention and improved
| methods of production. To call machinery
| labor-saving while men work hard as they
ever did is an absurdity, and vet every ma
chine introduced must have either the effect
of saving labor or of increasing wealth, or
| both. To use machinery simply as a wealth
I producer and vastly increasing the product,
| TO deny the worker a legitimate share of such
| Increase is an injustice.
| Fourth-The reduction OF the hours of
labor does not necessarily involve diminu-
ton of the gross SECRETARY product. Aside
from the fact that there are always large
| numbers of unemployed persons, who are
idle solely because of their temporary in
| ability TO find employment, it is also fact
/ that in many manufacturing and other in
| dustries there are periods Of inactivity when
all the men and machinery engaged are
| either put on short time or stop altogether.
| To reduce the hours of daily labor from
ten to eight will put at work those who now
| are wasting their time and wearing them
selves out unprodtably looking for work, and
| il Will ensure a steady employment the whole
| year instead of working by dts and starts as
! so many branches of industry are doing now.
IN MINNEAPOLIS.
The movement will be confined in all
probability to the building trades. The
stonecutters have already secured the re-
duction. and the bricklayers, carpenters,
plasterers and painters have in their re-
Spectiye organizations resolved upon max
ing the demand. and through the Trades
and Labor assembly have established an
eighth hour league, which will thus embrace
a majority of the wOrknen of these crafts
in the city. who will be backed up also by
the influence and Endorsement of the pow
erful knights of Labor, and other sympa-
thiZers with the cause.
The Minneapolis workers are TO act in
still more reasonable spirit than those OF
Chicago and other cities who insist that
there shall not be any reduction in pay.
Here the men will cOncede a reduction in
wages and will not demand ten hours pay
for eight hours work. Already several
concessions have been granted by employ
ers. Col. NJ. W. Glenn recently voluntarily
made the reduction To the men employed in
the Minneapolis Boiler works. The John
Orth Brewing company has also
voluntarily reduced the hours of
its men from fourteen to ten
hours The Minneapolis Street Railway
company has also indicated disposition to
reduce the hours of its drivers from fifteen
hours TO twelve.
In order to test popular feeling upon this
important movement the GLOBE yesterday
interviewed a number of prominent citizens
who employ large numbers of men i'm diff
ferent branches of manufacturing and build
ing. and whose opinions will be read with
interest.
FROM THE MAYOR.
Mayor Pillsbury-In regard to the labor
! question ] will say that am opposed to the
| contract system. and believe city aud public
I
under the instructions OF a competent super
! intendent. am constitutiOnally opposed TO
convict labor. But as 10 the reduction of
time 10 eight hours per day 1 am undecided.
| In the mill IL would be highly ImpracIicable.
We could not run three crews of
| men, aud the result would be that
the mills viii shut down certain hours per
day. am convinced. however, that many
of our laborin0 men are deserving of i'm
prOvement. Should they improve the extra
two hours a day by intellectual study, il
would be beneficial TO the thousands. II
| would. furthermore. give additional employ
ment and hence is an improvement in that
sense at least. 1 am i'm full sympathy with
the laboring men. The only question is, can
contractors and employers generally pay the
same wages for eight hours as they paid for
! ten hours labor! II il can be done, Tn On the
problem is solved.
AN ALDERMANIC CONTRACTOR.
] Aid. Downs would like TO know how the
labor organizations can argue that a reduc-
ton in hours does not decrease production.
There are many men now working ten hours
day who can scarcely make a living. II
would be an almost uneXampled hardship to
reduce their hours unless the remuneration
is left the same. have learned from prac-
teal experience that it is i'm
possible for crew of men 10
do as much work IN eight hours
as they can ordinarily do in ten hours
Decrease of pauperism and crimeg Why,
cannot understand why IL should. believe
that theory is a fallacy. especially in Mime
apolis. Here many industries can only be
/ fha FV,f