St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-12
TEN HOURS A DAY.
There Will Be No Eight-Hour
System With the Pres
ent Council.
Hellpern's Trial Begun--Some
Sensational Developments
Hinted At.
Judge Young Receives a Hand
some Testimonial From
the Bar.
How Some People Seem to
Make Money by Los
ing 1t.

| The eight-hour question In city work
is practically settled in Minneapolis for
the next two years. The special COM
mittee. consisting of an alderman from
| each ward, met last night to consider
Alderman Rand's resolution. The Re-
publican aldermen had previously eau
cused and resolved to defeat the
resolution, and voted according to
! programme. Aid. Grimes was the only
member of the committee absent, those
present being; Aldermen MCGOWAN,
Burrows, Durham, Loye, Brazie, Rand,
| Peterson, Blichfeldt, Rollins, BradiSh,
Reeves and Gray. Aid. Gray presided.
Aid. Bratish moved to take up the mat
ter of ward work first, but finally
changed his mind and offered the fol-
| lowing.
Resolved. That we recommend to the
| council that the rate of wages paid to the
men engaged upon city work be the same as
| paid by private parties and firms for similar
work, and that ten hours shall constitute
days work. except upon such work as bucK-
laying. The number of hours recognized by
| the trade as Il days labor shall be so consid-
cred by this council, ana that the hours of
| days labor and the pay therefor On all
ward work be fixed by the aldermen Of the
| ward.
Aid. MCGOWAN amended the motion that
the men employed by the city shall receive 20
| cents per hour during the six months of sum-
mer. lie thought that they should receive
this much because of the fact that many who
! make their living by outdoor work are forced
| to remain idle during the winter
Aid. Rand moved as a substitute that eight
| hours shall constitute a days work for city
employees. These three motions represent
| the phases of the question in which it was
discussed. The stock arguments pro and con
were used, and neither side handled the sub
Jet IN a very capable or brilliant
and the reporters constituted the
audience Aid Rand TOOK up the
cudgel in behalf of eight hours, and conse-
quently became the target for the Republi-
cans, who sat facing him with the appear
ance Of men who had already decided what
they were going to do,and only tolerated him
for the sake Of the appearance of allowing
the matter be discussed. AS a consequence
Aid: Rand did not even get enthused
while Aid. MCGOWAN, who was his
main supporter, seemed even subdued
by the feeling that 1T was waste OF time to
talk when everything had been cut and dried
beforehand. Aid. Burrows made his usual
stand as the avowed friend of the working
man, whom he is determined to protect by
giving low wages and long hours, 30 that no
one will try to get his job away from him.
Aid. Loye would like an eight-hour system
if II was for the best interests of the working
the rule. If it was left to popular vote now
he did not think that it would be sanctioned.
st. Paul has recently come back from ten to
eight hours, and such move as is con-
templated by Aid. Rand is at present mex
pedient. He was in favor of ton hours at
SITS day.
Aid Rand replied that it did not matter
much which way the question was looked at.
By curtailing two hours the number Of men
given employment will be increased. From
the laborers standpoint, more of them will
be hired, and the opportunity of getting work
will be greater, while from the business
mans standpoint, there will be more people
receiving money with which they can patron
iZe the merchants.
Aid BarrowS wanted to know if it was fair
to those workingmen not employed by the
city, that the city should pay its employees
more than current wages.
Aid. MCGOWAN believed that the eight
hour theory is correct. There has been
gradual reduction of the hours of labor. and
eight hours work is the natural division Of
time. Years ago men used to work sixteen
hours day, but just as much work is now
being done. The only effect is that the work
ingmen get little more time to themselves,
and little more pay. The law of supply
and demand Is the regul9 tor. Men did not
get more for sixteen hours work than
they do now for ten hours. He did not think
the question OF wages was at issue. The
wages will be regulated by the demand for
labor. He hoped to see the city set the ex
ample, Wnlcn VIII soon De followed py lnQl-
vidualS and corporations.
Aid Bradish claimed that he did not know
of a single Workingman in the Ninth ward
who wants the eight-hour system. 1t will be
time enough to establish this when the
workingmen ask for it. He thought
the city could not afford. this year.
especially, in view of the financial
condition, TO increase the expense of hiring
day laDor one-ffth. He regarded Aid. Rands
motion as simply scheme to get the council
10 appropriate one-fith of the peoples money
to make political capital for the Democrats
The discussion progressed i'll this desultory
way until vote was taken on Rand's substi-
tute. The vote stood:
Ayes-Rand, Peterson, MCGOWAN, Bitch
feldt and Rollins.
Nays-Barrows, Brazie, Bradish. Reeves,
Durham, Gray and Loye.
The eight-hour matter being out of the way
McGowan's twenty hour amend
ment was similarly disposed of. Then AL
derman Loye offered another amendment to
Alderman BradiSh's motion that $1.75 be
paid for ten hours work. Alderman Brazel
offered a substitute that heads Of depart
ments grade the price of wages, and that not
less than $l.75 be paid for days labor. This
was quicker and neater way OF getting at
the desired end than Alderman's Bradish's
cumbersome motion, and it was adopted
despite the fact that it would lead to discrim
nation and corruption.