The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1894-10-20
The Eight Hour Law.

One of the appeals made in behalf
of Anaconda IS addressed to the
working men of Montana, and espec-
tally miners, and is based on the pro-
position that Mr.. Marcus DAILY is pc
culiarly and prominently the friend
of that class of citizens. 1t would
seem that this bold assertion is suffic-
iently refuted by the fact that he
pays fifty cents less per day for some
kinds of labor and one dollar less for
other kinds than the rates that OBJ
tain at Butte; hat he has imported
and employed droves of aliens when
many residents of the state were in
great need or employment; that he
has arbitrarily closed down the works
and denied his men credit as his
stores when their families were suff-
ering for food, and by other facts no
less fatal to his pretensions of friend
ship for lahorers. But our present
purpose is to show from the record
the part that he performed in de-
feating the eight-hour law in the
Legislative Assembly of 1891.
At an early stage of the session, a
bill was introduced entitled ga bill
for an act entitled an act to regulate
contracts for underground labor, and
to provide for the enforcement of the
same" Having been read a first and
second time, referred to a committee
and reported back, it came up for
consideration by the House in COM
mittee of the whole. The debate oc-
cupied n entire day. It was led
on the part of those who favored the
passage on the bill, by Hon. Peter
Breen, of Jefferson, and Hon. r. H.
Howey and Hon VIM. Wallace.
The opposition was represented in
discussion chilly by the late Mr.. Pen
rose and Hon. John r. Toole.
Now it is hardly necessary to state
who Mr.. Toole is. His name will be
found at the top of the list of men,
bers of the Anaconda capital COM
mittee who signed the dispatch to
the Helena committee. He is
Mr.. Macus Days confidential agent
and henchman-in-chief A man of
considerable ability, he has for years
past subordinated himself wholly to
his employer and represented his O.
pinion, wishes and interests with un-
questioning obedience. When, there
fore, he led the opposition to the bill
for an eight hour law, 40 one can doubt
that he was acting under the direct Or
ders of Mr.. Daily.
The committee of the whole reported
the bill back to the House with a rec
concentration that it do not pass, and the
vote that determined the fate of the bill
was taken on the question of adopting
That report. Among those who voted
for the report, that is, against the bill,
were Hon John II. Toole, Hon. T. M.
C%rutchtield, then and now a retained at
torney of Mr. DAILY and Hon. Sylvan
Hughes, of Anaconda, another of Mr..
Days employees. These three votes
were absolutely controlled by Marcus
DAILY. Among those who voted a
gainst the adoption of the report, and
for the bill were Hon. Alex. F. Burns,
Hon. John Hersky, Hon. r. H. Howey,
and Hon. VIM. Wallace, of Lewis and
Clarke county. Hon. ii. r. Comfy
would have voted in favor of the bill,
but was absent on account of ILL
ness.
This record, page 2S4 House Jour-
nal), supplemented fly indisputable
facts that are within the knowledge of
all, shows co~nclusively that the bill to
limit underground labor to eight hours
per day owe its defeat to the active
and unrelenting opposition of Marcus
DAILY.