St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-08
THE EIGHT-HoUR system.

Mayor SMITH has signed the res0iu-
ton of the council making eight hours
days work for the city after Aug. Is.
In signing the resolution the mayor
frankly admits that his sentiments upon
the wisdom of the measure are not in
favor of its every feature. He says he
signed it because the labor platform,
which he Endorsed during the spring
campaign, contained sections which en-
bodied the principles of the resolution.
He does not think. however, that in
adopting the resolution the city binds
itself TO pay as much for an eight-ho,lr
service as it does for ten; if it did, he
would have vetoed it. This is fair
way to leave the issues open to the
public which. by its council. has adopted
a measure which i'll itself appears to be
incomplete. If it does not bind
the city to pay for ten hours,
it is yet an unsettled question
what the municipality is actually
directed to do under and by virtue Of
the new measure. In the amendment
offered by Aid. SANBoRN the provision
was forcibly expressed that those work
ing under the eight-hour system should
be paid for eight hours work, or four
fifths of the compensation for services
under the ten-hour day. This amend
ment was pressed and the measure
is now borne into effect on the 18th
inst. with seeming ambiguity. The
principles of organized labor in
this city have been strongly in
favor of the eight-hour system.
The propositions deducted from those
principles were to the effect that
where the time per diem was reduced
one-fifth to each individual, the wages
were reduced in equal proportion and
the time and capital thus contributed by
the laborer constituted that economic
capacity which should provide for and
reduce the great army of idle men. The
virtues of such system are we'll estab-
lished where it is practiced, and if by the
new measure the city employees be the
factors in exemplifcation Of such sys-
tenn, then the new bill will at once be
the boon of the employed and unem-
ployed alike.
But if the old salary shall apply to
the new system, then an unjust and ex-
travagant favor has been extended to a
certain class of wage earners at the cost
and distress of the laboring and tax
paying masses OF this city. In such a
case the measure will prove abortive
and entirely destitute of beneficial or
economical qualities. The same fund
will be diSburSed tor four-fifthS of the
labor performed, and for the remainder
there will be required additional men to
whom will be paid a fund in addition to
the maximum. This extra draught
from the municipal Golfers will consti-
tute an amount which is an excess tax
upon the citizens, and an eXtravagant
compliment to the few which compose
the laboring force of the city. 1t has
always been the boast of labor circles
that they preferred the short hour sys-
TEN, with compensation in proper
ton, because it would give employ
ment to one-ffth more workers, and
thus eliminate to that extent the COM
petition under which wages always suf-
fer. They haye expressly stated that
it was a fight for system and not for
more pay and less work, and that it
was for the influence of precedent that
they desired such municipal system.
With this idea, the GLOBE takes it the
laboring classes will be satisfied with
the mayors conclusions.