Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-09-17
WHAT wORKINGMEN WANT.
Their Views on Labor Bills Now BE.
fore the Senate.

AOEC thc oNhosCs
TEE FEDERATION OF LABOR ADDRESSES A LITTER
TO THE sENATE-THE-EIoHT HOUR Law AND
TIE PENDING KisHT-HoUR NEAsUREs-orHKR
PROPOSITIONS BEFORE CONGRESS.
At the meeting of the Federation of Labor
last evening a letter to the United States Senate
relative to pending bills was adopted, and the
committee that prepared it was directed to
present it to Congress. The letter Is as follows:
To the United States Senate:
The following bills have passed the House OF
Representatives and are now pending in the
Senate:
H.R. 32s6-To prevent the use of the produc.
OF convict labor by the government
II. R. 392s-To prevent the employment Of
convict labor on public buildings.
H. r. 9632-TO amend the act 20 prohibit the
Importation of foreign labor under contract.
HR. Ill2O-To adjust the accounts of labor
ers, &c, arising under tho eight-hour law.
H.R. 979l-Constituting eight hours a days
ployed by or on behalf of the government Of
the United States. &c.
CONVICT LABoE.
The general purpose of the bills II. r. 32S6
and S92S is to prevent the competition of con-
vict labor with free and honest labor. Expe-
rience has shown the evils of such competition,
and in the various states where it has been pre-
scented to the people as an issue the verdict has
always been against such competition. The
enactment of these laws viii place the national
government in line with the most progressive
state governments and. while charging the
held of honest and free labor, relieve the con-
Wet from the barbarities of contract slavery.
which too often disgrace our penal administra-
tions.
IMPORTED CONTRACT LABOR
The policy upon which the bill II. r. 9632 is
based is already recognized in the enactments
of Congress. 1t has been discussed amply. 50
We need add no arguments in its support. Ex-
isting law has been found inadequate to sup
press the evils OF the importGtions of labor un-
der contract and this bill is designed to remedy
the defects OF the old law. 1t is needless TO
say that il IL the only measure that directly
and plainly protects American labor from COM
petition with foreign laborers by excluding
part of the latter who would come TO this coun-
try to work. II there Is anything IN the policy
Of protection measure like this should
stand at the head and not at the rear OF the
legislation on the subject, and the law could
net be made ridiculous by the prosecution of
Importers of hiSh-priced preachers and pro-
fessors while its real violators ignored or
lightly prosecuted and allowed to compromise
suits for nominal sums. We bespeak not only
the passage of this law. but an earnest and sim
cere administration OF 1t.
ADJUSTMENT OF EIGHT-HoUR ACCOUNTS.
The bill H.R. 1l120 comes TO the Senate as
an evidence that the eight-hour law of 1868
has been ignored. INSTRUCTED and violated by
hostile administrative officers. The intent of
the law was that the usual or normal days pay
should be given for eight hours work, but en-
ployes OF the gov :nment were repeatedly told
that they must accs1t a reduction OF pay or
work ten hours or leave the government serv-
ice. The question is whether they shall have
what the law intended full days pay for
eight hours work, with additional compensa-
for extra labor enacted hy
officials IN violation OF law.
Assuming that the Senate will give them
that, we call attention to the last proviso in
the bill, lines Al to SO, page 4. The
bill may as well bs ignored or defeated as to be
passed with that proviso. We know by ex-
perience what to expect from Anticipated judges
seeking Iaboriously to discover implied con-
tracts to bar claims growing out of the viola
ton of the eight-hout law. The presumption
that men who arr entitle to days pay for
eight hours service voluntarily gave the gov
ernment two hours more work every day for
the fun oft, seems irresistible to many judges.
but 1t Is pure poppy-cock to working men not
learned in the law.
II these just claims are to be paid it will be
necessary TO strike out the proviso on page
Of the printed bill. We therefore urge the
passage Of this bill reported to the Senate
from the committee on education and labor.
THe EIGuT-HoUR LAW.
The eight-hou- law of 1868 was passed be-
cause, in the opini5a of the working people and
the Congress thai enacted il, the time had
come when our prod.I i've agencies enabled a
worker to prod I;e as much in eight hours as
formerly in tea " twelve hours. 1t was be-
heyed that cons -. ations of phy. ;cal and men
tai welfare demani 81 a reduction of the hours
of labor. II was seen that such a reduction
was needed to 81 &c employment to those whose
labor would otherwise be supplanted by ma
ehinery. 1t was hoped that the action Of the
government would prompt private employees to
adopt the same rule and that public eight
hour day would incite all workers to successful
efforts 10 establish a similar day in private en-
ployment.
These good results have not been realized,
because:
l. Administrative officers and federal courts
havo held that the law gave no right to
q full days pay for eigh. hours work: that il
permitted employees to contract to work as
many hours as were demanded for as little paw
AS was offered. and that government officers
could exaet such length of service as they
pleased and permit employees to work as long
as they liked.
2 Administrative officers have, in nearly
all cases where possible, placed public work in
the hands Of contractors, whose relation with
their workmen was regarded as a private and
not public one.
IL follows that an eight-hour law is needed
which can neither be violated nor evaded with
IMMUNITY by .'ecutive officers or their agents.
and which will provide in substance:
l. 4uaI elgnt hours snail DC much as any
individual shall be employed per day.
That for eight hour work the government
shall pay at least the rate of wages paid per
day for similar labor in the vicinity where the
labor Is performed.
That government contractors are govern
ment agents; that their employees are employed
BY and on behalf of the government, and that
contracts shall stipulate for the employment
and payment OF laborers and mechanics in ac-
eordance with the eight-hour law
That appropriate penalties shall be in
uicted FOR violation OF the law
The bill II. X. y59l will do all this when il
shall have been passed with the amendments
berein suggested.
In line 2, section l. after the word "Colnm
ola, Insert the words land no officer of the
government OF the United States or the Dis
trlct OF Columbia shall require or permit any
Iaborer, workman or mechanic to work more
than eight hours per calendar day." This ia
necessary, because, though tho bil! defines a
DAY WORK. and IN section prohibits con-
tractors from requiring more. it nowhere. ex-
cept by inference, fOrbids government officers
from requiring or permitting men to work
more than eight hours. This prohibition must
not De LETT to inference, for II will never be in
TERED by our courts and administrative officers,
as past experience has demon strated
In line ID, section !, after the word ssvapes"
insert the words for similar services"
Strike out all after the word ''subcontractors"
IN line q, section l. to the end Of the section
These words were not in the bill as reported IN
the House from the COMMITTEES ON labor and
ought TO be stricken out because they conflict