Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1886-04-20
THE BUILDING PROBLBM
writer in Saturdays Washington Sta

says:
81 notice various statements emanatine
from The members of labor unions, that the
adoption of the eight hour system will not
increase the cost of building, which seems to
me to he the sheerest nonsense. Ifthe price
per day was 10 be reduced in proportion
then of course the cost OF work on build
ing would be the same. 1t would simply re-
qule 81 longer time or more hands to erect
it. But when the same price is charged for
eight hours as has heretofore been paid for
ten hours, it follows, as a matter of course,
that tho cost will be increased in proper
ton. For instance, suppose 1000 days
work of ten hours arc required to erect a
| building. At 50 per day that would be
S3. .000 If now, the days work is limited to
eight hours it viii! require ,25O days work,
and that at So per day will be S., ,750, m in.
crease Of $50, and on larger jobs in proper
ton. | put over 500, 900 cash into build
ings here last year, and found thet
it cost me fully twenty per cent. more than
it did four years before to do the same, and
the buildings were not as expensively finish
Ell either: the former being in hard woods,
and the latter in soft wood. Why this in
crease in cost should be can see no reason,
for there has never been time during the
past fifty years when dollar would buy as
much OF anything required to support a
family as ii will to-day-either i'll provi-
siouS, clothing, dry goods, or groceries.
Sugar which cost II cents four or five years
ago can DC bought Tor Z! 10 Sets. now, and
SO Of flour, and in fact of every article ex-
cept, perhaps, fresh meats. AT the same
time wages are higher than ever before, ex-
Ccpt during the war, when the cost of liv
ing was double and, in many articles, quad
rupie what il is now, especially in dry
goods. These are not mere assertions, but
facts. rs can readily be seen by any one
who will compare the pricclists then and
now. The reason generally given for re-
duciug the hours of labcr-that the addi-
tional lime is necessary and will he used for
self-culture, &c.-whiic very pretty in
theory, is not bore cut by the facts. For
instance, the pasterer on my jobs employed
fourteen iourneymen, and il occurred re-
peatedly that on Monday he could get but
four men TO go to work, the rest
OF theu! having been on 81 spree, from which
they had not recovered. Indeed, one
Of them was 50 drunk in the middle of the
week that he fell into the area and at least
| one Of the carpenters and some of the brick.
layers were but little better, some of the lat
ter frequently going oil on drunken spree
IoT ItS III - tlile, IIHl 'u5 IiS DusleSl phFU
of the season. While no doubt there are
some men who would make good use of
their time, am satisfied that tho great
mass will not be -, all benefited b; the re-
duclion in hours, but that it will simply
| result in so many more hours Of lOaiing at
the saloons and about the streets, and that
at the end OF tie year their families will not
be any better, ii as well off. Ii seems to me
that if they are honest in tho preteaces that
the object of reducing the hours is to give
employment to men now idle, they should
reduce the price pro rata, or better still,
work by the hour. Them every one could
work as much or as little as he pleased, and
get pay for what he actually did. If had
q million dollars to invest in building,
would not invest cent under the present
condition Of affairs in this District not 81
cent"