Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-28
consent to a consequent reduction of wages
to meet the decrease in working hours.
Tho Cosf of Living Incre,spd

consent to consequent reduction of wages
to meet the decrease in working hours.
The Cost Of Living Increased.
''The cost of production will increase, and
the cost OF living will have to advance in
the same proportion. For year there may
not be any change, but after that it will cost
laboring man more to live than it does
now. The increase in the rates for labor
and cost of production will certainly in
crease the cost of the necessaries of life.
Two dollars day and nine hours work will
not 60 farther than the same amount when
q man is working only eight hours 1t is a
well-known rule that when wages go up the
cost of living advances in the same proper
ton.
Gas far as the manufacturing interests
are concerned, do not see why there should
be any objections, In outdoor trades /
think the artisans are committing suicide by
striking for the enforcement of the short
day. With the carpenters, bricklavers and
others engaged In the building trades it
should make great difference whether the
men work eight, nine or ten hours. If L
was working outside and could find employ
ment only when the climate was favorable,
it seems to me that 1 would put in as much
time as possible in the time at my command.
The men in the building trades can only
work on an average about eight months in
the wear. Many of them are paid by the
hour, and 1 think they would want to put
in as much time as they could. Their trade
means wealth during the building season
and idleness during the winter months.
81 do not think this agitation is going to
benefit business generally. Agitation Of
any kind, especially labor troubles, always
has an adverse effect in business circles.
Whether any trouble will result or not from
oritofiop I oould MT yradiof -
Thinks Eight Hours Enough.
Assistant Postmaster General James S.
Clarkson was seen at the Seventh Avenue
Hotel last night. He is an enthusiast on
the subject. 'I am in favor of the move
neut," said he. Eight hours is enough
for any man to work. ] approve of the
manner in which the movement has been
made. / think it has been made at the
right time. The country needs it; the con-
dition of the laboring class demands a
change, and 1 hope they will succeed
Mr.. Henry Schenck, the contractor and
builder. of Erie, was at the Seventh Avenue
Hotel yesterday. Talking of the reduction
in the hours of labor, he said: Tam placed
in a somewhat singular position in that re-
gard. My men here in Pittsburg are work
ing nine hours, and my men in Erie are
working ten. A great many builders are
opposed to the eight hour movement, but
can't understand why they should be. As
] look at it, it is a reform that is bound to
come to pass, though not at once. / believe
in two years from now, all mechanics will
be working under the eight-hour system.
but 1 also believe that the more Intelligent
mechanics do not consider that the times
are yet ripe for the reform. So far as the
builders and contractors are concerned, it
will simply be a matter of their charging
fUn-feY1fhS in their cif1oafioue than
they do under the present system
New Proposition TO Make.
E. 3. Gawthrop, of Hughes & Gawthrop,
Pittsburg agents of the Thomson Houston
Electric Company: 1--WE are about to make
work nine hours per day and we are so
rushed with orders that it is necessary to
work them longer. We will ask them to
work ten hours and pay them for
the extra hour. 1 do not think
they will object to the extra work as long as
they get extra pay. I think this eight-hour
agitation all over the country will have a
bad effect on general business. No wonder
there are strikes. An employer now paying
s. per day for nine or ten hours work should
not be expected to pay the same rate and
only receive eight hours labor. Such a pro-
ceeding on the part of employees is unnatural
and seems to me 10 be unjust. 1 do not
think man.. health is impaired by work |
ing nine hours DAY. I work 10 and IL
and very often more than II, and think 1
manage to enjoy life as we'll as anybody"
Mr.. Atterbury, of Atterbury & Co., glass |
manufacturers was reticent on the subject
at all. 1.-The subject is simply a matter of
figures" said he, ''that anyone could work
out. There are few men now employed by |
US who work over eight hours"
George A. Macbeth & Co. said it would |
not affect them at all, and that the same |
would be true generally of glass houses.
Wouldn't Work Mt All.
A member of wholesale bedding firm in
,ghe city, who requested that his name be |
omitted, said: THE eight-hour system |
would never work in our business 1t would |
not be possible to get through with |
our business during the busy season,
and if we increased our forces we |
would be obliged to decrease them again |
when the rush passed over. There are other
lines of trsde that would meet with the same
difficulty. would be in favor Of paying |
my men by the hour. During the dull |
season we could do our work in eight hours
and sometimes less. When a rush would /
come they could make over time"
Superintendent Patton, of the B. & o.
road, said: cit is strange, but 1 have al
ways noticed that when times are good |
there are plenty of labor movements
looking toward one thing or another
If the market should suddenly drop,
where would they be? All these move
ments would be dropped and forgotten.
An Official Favors the Move.
Assistant City Controller John j. Davis
thinks eight hours is long enough for any
man to work. "When the people become
accustomed to the change they will find that
just as much, if not more, can be accom-
plished than what is done now. At best the
life of the workmen is hard, and they ought
to have some time to enjoy themselves and
improve their minds. 1 remember when 1
was boy had to work 16 hours day, but
that was barbarous. We don't do that now.
The stores were generally kept open until a
late hour, but now they are closed at
o'clock"
Superintendent J. c. Dysart, of the Char
tiers Block Coal Company, expressed him.
self as follows: "If the men want shorter
hours it will mean that more lnen will be
required to do the work and less pay must
be expected. The labor market is con-
trolled by the law of supply and demand.
Miners generally complain that the work is
divided among too many men and they
don't have the opportunity to make as much
as they like, but in advocating the adoption
of eight hours they favor the very state of
affairs they object to-"
LABOR LEADERS VIEWS.