St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-19
The Republican City Council
Knocks Out the Eight
Hour Law.
The Days Work System Also
Booked for Early and
Prompt Attention.
Several Hundred Thousand
Dollars in Appropriations
Modestly Asked For.
Aid. Downs Considers the
President and Old Men,
bers InsuIted.

The Republican city council i'm
proved an early opportunity yesterday
to knock out the eight-hour law which
has always been bone of contention
for the past year. An attack was also
made on the days work system, but the
eagerness displayed by the leaders from
the old council rather alarmed the new
aldermen and the funeral was post
poned. 1t was late in the afternoon
when Aid. Barrows offered resolution
passed July 10th and approved August
Is. 1887, which provided that work for
the city should be done by the day or
hour whenever practicable, instead of
by contract. He explained that this
simply did away with the requirement
that work should be done by
the day, and left it optional
as to whether it should be
done by contract or days work. Aid.
Grimes promptly seconded the resolu-
ton. Aid Blichfeldt moved to lay on
the table, which was lost, however by
vote of % to Is. Aid. Downs stated
that the repeating of the resolution
simply united the hands Of the alder
men, and allowed them to have the
work done for the best interests of the
city. Aid. MCGOWAN, of the First ward,
wanted to have the resolution POSTPONED,
as he thought it too serious matter to
be hastily acted upon. Aid. VAN
deWater agreed with him and moved a
postponement of the question to the
next meeting, which carried by vote
of % to Ia.
At this President johnson sung out:
Bring on your other resolution, Fred,
and stand by it.'
Whereupon Aid. Barrows handed up
the following:
Resolved, That the certain resolution
of the city council passed April %, 1887,
and approved April 80, regulating the
number of hours and price per day con-
Stituting weeks work, and the time
of payment for the same, be, and the
same is hereby repealed.
Aid. BarrOwS proceeded to Island by
it," and made quite speech for him,
managing to get out that days work
has cost 20 per cent more than contract,
and that of the nineteen aldermen who
had supported the days work system
only one had been returned to the cOun-
Gil, and he came with very small ma
FORTY from a strong Democrat ward.
President Johnson didn't think Bar
rows made itstrong enough, so he helped
the chair and made strong plea for the
passage of the resolution, his chief
argument being that of economy. Min
neapolis, he said. should not pay as
much for eight hours labor as other
cities pay for len. Aid. Downs claimed
the voice of the people. as shown by the
election, was Enthusiastically against
days work. Aid. Vanderwaker thought
the eighthour law made discrimina-
ton by allowing city employees to work
two hours less than other laborers.
Aid. McGowan made another effort for
postponement, but the resolution was
finally adopted by the following vote:
Yeas-Adams, Barrows, Brazie, Bursell,
Cole, Downs, Durham, Enstad, Fuetz, Farms
worth, Gray, Grimes, Hunter, Loye, Lowell,
MelOy, Potter Rhode. Reeves, Smith, Swan.
son, Sterling, Thompson, Vogt, underwater,
E. NJ. Johnson %.
Nays-Brueshaber, Blickfeldt Ellingson,
Flaten, Gilman. Ingenhutt, MCGOWAN,
Perry, Phillips-9