The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-12-08

organization; that the identical per-
Sonal interests of all the members made
the union permanent and solid. Those
Who founded the Federation planned
therefore, to unite all unions and at
| the same time leave to each absolute
authority over trade affairs. In other
words, the Federation was based on
the lines Of 8 republic-lines greatly
Similar, in fact, to the lines of the fed
Grafton of the different states in our
general government. The Federation
is then, just what its name implies-a
federation of national and international
unions for general purposes and OBJ
Jects that can best be secured by the
united efforts of all combined, chief
among which are the education of all
the people as to what the trade union
stands for, and the creation of a clearer
public opinion on questions of vital in
teTest to labor-such as the reduction
of hours of labor, the increase of school
advantages for the children of our
country, restriction of the employment
of women and children in workshops
and mill, factory inspection and regu-
lation, improved sanitary conditions in
the construction of homes for wage
earners, etc. In this work it has become
! an exceedingly great power; through
its officials ON the rostrum and by
means of its publications. the masses
| have come to realize that trade unions
stand for the best interests of the peo-
pie, and while prior to the formation
| outside the unions all were enemies,
now many of the best members of the
American public through the educa-
tional work of the Federation have be-
come staunch friends of organized la
! Dor.
From a small beginning in 1881, the
federation has grown to its present
membership of half a million. and the
near future gives great promise OF IN
| crease of influence and membership.
From its organization until January,
| 1895, Samuel GomperS was the CHIEF
executive and to his ability and jul
dicious management were due in no
small degree the rapid growth and
steady prosperity which have so
changed the attitude Of the publiS to-
wards trade unions, and their objects,
that today the solution of the indus
trial problem is an absorbing question
to many grades of men from the col
lege professor to the poorest paiu Ia
! borer.
Realizing that the present status is
! largely due to the work Of the fedora
ton / feel safe in assuming the role
of a prophet and venture the predic-
ton that the organization and its at
|
! the threshold of the greatest era OF
prosperity they have ever known.
JOHN 3. LENNON.
The Proposed Eigbt-Hour Movement
That which is known as the eight
hour movement would be more cor
rectly described as a movement to
reduce the hours of labor since, while
| for the present all efforts in this di-
rection are and properly should be eX-
erted to achieve the eight-hour work.
i day, the general plan is to so diminish
the working time each day and eventu-
ally entirely to relieve the burden of
the over-worked and find employment
for the voorhees, workers. Since the
formation of the Federation of Labor
the cardinal point of its activity has
been to secure the reduction of mans
working time. AT no convention or
other gathering has this been lost sight
of or even subordinated to any other
feature of labor's demands.
In 1884 at the convention held in
Chicago the declaration was made for
the enforcement of a general eight
hour work-day at some date in the
near future. At the following conven-
ton held in Washington, d. c., in 1885,
the demand was reiterated to take ef-
feet May !, 1886, and requests were
sent to employers generally to meet
the wish of the workers by granting
II without the cessation of work-in
other words a general strike. Weeks
before the date named reports reached
the office of the Federation that large
numbers of employers had conceded
the demand. 1t is well known that the
bomb thrown at the Haymarhet square
in Chicago. May 2, 1885, was the death !
blow to the movement that year. But |
Notwithstanding that setback, the boon |
of q shorter work-day had been won |
for hundreds of thousands. !
Tn 1896. at the St Louis convention, |
the demand was renewed for May l,
1890. At the Boston convention OF 1889, |
however, it was decided to select one |
craft at a time to make the demand |
and struggle if necessary, the best Or !
eanized and best prepared craft to be |
the first. The carpenters were chosen |
and won a splendid victory, establish
ing the eight-hour day in fifty-nine
cities. and nine hours in over three |
hundred others. At their own request |
the miners were chosen next, but, ow-
ing to unfavorable industrial condi-
lions. they withdrew from the field Oh
the very day they were to make the
demand. 1t should be stated that as
the result of the movement the eight
hour day was generally brought about
in the building trades, and that there
was a general reduction in the work
day of the toiIers in many other indus
tries and callings, such as street car
employees, the railroad workers, men
in the iron and steel industries, print
ing establishments, mills and factories,
and even clerks in stores. Since the
movement of 1890 there has been no
concert of action on this line due no
doubt to the industrial and commercial
crises of the past two years, but this
has not deferred many Independent
and isolated movements which have
met with a considerable degree of
success.
At the Denver convention of the Am
erican Federation of Labor 1 recon-
mended in the following language that