St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-11-13
WEEKLY PAYMENTS.
Speeches of Representatives MoIoHe-
Proctor and EMERSON.

|
bill was discussed all last week We'd
nesday. Below are three of the
speeches.
House bill 5, providing for weekly
payments by corporations, was taken
up as a special order, the general
committee having reported the bill
adversely and Mr.. Moloney of Rut-
land who introduced the bill
addressed the House. He said:
| am aware that a great many
consider it an established rule to
abide by the decision of the COM
mittee reporting a bill. But in topics
of general interest the rule ought
not to apply. Mr.. Moloney quoted
from Gov. Pages message, which he
characterized as one of the ablest
documents in the archives of the
State, advocating weekly payments.
| The question of weekly payments is
one of progress, one of the hour,
and the practice is in vogue in nearly
all the adjoining states. The views
of other legislatures ought to have
weight Is it fact that the work
men of this State demand weekly
|
| they do not Mr.. Moloney said he
was present when a certain dandy
book-keeeper testified before the COM
mittee that the workmen did not
desire weekly payments. When
pressed to answer the question how
often he drew his pay he replied
every week. The testimony and
petitions of the wOrkingmen them
selves ought to have more weight
than the testimony of these kid glove
fellows The workingmen of this
State have asked and seriously desire
weekly payments. Now will such
payments benefit the workingmen
The speaker quoted from the testi
monv of Hon. A. ID. Valentine a large
manufacturer who has long paid
weekly, and read a letter from
| Charles p Harris, the only large
manufacturer in Rutland who pays
weekly, giving reasons why they SO
paid.
Mr.. Maloney did not believe the
statement advanced that men would
save more money if paid monthly,
| because in that case there would be
a tendency to run up large bills. He
did not think the proposed system
would drive manufacturers out of
| the State. There was no place for
| them to go to and the Inconvenience
alleged amounted to nothing more
| than the hiring of an extra clerk.
| No Rutland manufacturer appeared
against the bill because none of them
ran q corporation store. That was
where the shoe pinched in the case of
many of those who opposed the bill.
| When a man S wages are earned they
should be paid and - days the
amount allowed by this bill is as
long as the wages ought to be with
held. The only real argument
against the bill is one of selishness
in some sort. Mr.. Moloney pointed
to the manufacturers of Bellows
Falls, where thrift and industry have
! followed in the wake of voluntary
weekly payments. He did not believe
| q single manufacturer III Rutland
| Monthly payments result in bad
debts for merchants which some one
else has to make up. Weekly pay
ments will do away with the infa
nous credit system. 1t is not too
much to say that 90 out of 100 peo-
pie in Rutland hope for the passage
of this bill The workingmen can
not send a powerful lobby here i'll
their interests. The only rewards
that legislator can expect who
votes for the passage of the bill, are
the consciousness Of duty we'll done,
the gratitude that will go out to
him from thousands of firesides that
will be made happier by the passage
of this hill.
Mr.. Proctor of Proctor, chairman
of the committee, said:
1t would be far from me to ask this
House to support the report of the
committee simply because the report
has been made But the committee
has carefully considered the question.
Most of the petitions asking for q
passage Of the bill have been circu-
lated by those who do not have the
interests of the workingman at
heart, and signed as a rule by an
uneasy class of workingmen. The
signed petitions of this sort. 1t is
true that some corporations pay
weekly for reasons Of their own but
there does not seem to be sufficient
reason for the passage of a law COM
pelling all manufacturers to pay
weekly. There is not that antago-
nism between capital and labor in
this State that exists elsewhere. The
bill is class legislation and if it is
good thing why not extend its pro-
visions to railroads, firms and part
nerships. Mr.. Proctor was glad to
see that the gentleman from Rutland
approved of Gov. Pages excellent
message but couldn see why hehad
not quoted all that Gov. Page said
on the subject, which was for the
Legislature, coming fresh from the
people, to carefully consider the sub
ject and act as the best interests of
the state demanded. That the COM
mittee had done with the result
shown in the ma ority report.
Mr.. Emerson of Peacham said it
required a good deal of courage to
get up and speak after the long
array of eloquent lawyers and doc
tors but he was of the opinion that
the question at issue was one to be
settled between employers and
employees The members of the
House were here to leg1Slate Tor the
int crest of the State and there was
real business enough to occupy their
time.
The bill was defeated by vote of
125 to 90. OF the Caledonia county
delegation all voted against weekly
payments except Representatives
Coe of Burke, Daniels of Stannard
and Eastman of GrOton
FOR THE BLUES.