The morning times., 1896-02-12

| A subcommittee of the Senate Commit
| tee on District Affairs gave a hearing TO
a committee from the Federation of Labor
| yesterday afternoon.
| The Senators present were Messrs. Nc
| Milan Baker, and Proctor. The commit
! tee-from the Federation was composed
| Of Messrs. L. NJ. Blake ard j. j. Mccarthy.
Mr.. Blake read his argument and it was
| listened to with much attention.
| The bill for which the argument was made
was one providing that the contract sys-
| TEN OF doing work in The District he done
away with On this the Commissioners
| have reported unfavorably.
| Mr.. Blake at once took up the discussion
| and showed the wastefulness the contract
! system. he claimed that against the bin
| would appear paid attorneys and lobbyists,
while in favor OF it ale only the working
| man today.
THE AQUEDUCT TUNNEL.
As an evidence of the scant work OF
contractors he evidenced the aqueduct
| tunnel, and Mr.. Mcmillan agreed with
him. In the District, MIR. Blake claimed,
| the contract law exists by Congressional
| law.
| oHuNi i0mf dBdii MI
Mcmillan, 81 believe all government work
over a certain amount must be done
| by contract All dredging in the lakes is,
know. used TO talk with Gen. Poe on
this subject and many of the Officers
! thought they could do it better, but the
law would not permit"
Mr.. Blake then held that careful con-
| sideration OF the bill would show it was
cheaper, would rid the service of scandal,
| and would improve the service. He cited
| the history of the London county council
to show how well it worked. He called
attention to the 'fair wages clause and
| what led the council to do away with
! contract.
Mr.. Proctor came in just then and the
speech was interrupted TO tell him what
was going on
"Didn't John Burns have something to
do with this?" asked Mr.. Proctor.
"Yes," said Mr.. Blake.
~ came over with him on the same ship"
was the reply, land he told me a great
deal about it,.
LONDON CoUNTY's EXAMPLE.
Mr.. Blake then presented tables showing
the savings of the county council OF Lon
|
to be about per cent. He compared es-
| Inmates OF contractors with the work
done to show the saving in the works de-
partment. on this calculation the works
department had saved at least 4 per
| cent.
He then quoted from a report OF the
work committee last November. 1t
showed 1854 men in the work depart
ment and large saving according TO the
best authority. The same authority claimed
that many of the cities throughout England
were throwing away the contract system.
Mr.. Blake further claimed that if not
on the plan of cheapness on the plan OF
morality the system should be adopted.
when the contractor makes a great
| profit" he continued. "elther the work
men or the public lose
Mr.. Blake called attention to the fine
| pieces of workmanship in the State. War
and Navy Department and the new library.
1.-The municipal authorities hire their own
clerks" he said, ''wby not do the same
with workmeD?
'Since the government has been doing its
own printing" he continued, lit has saved
nearly $1,O00.o00 year" He produced
| figures to prove this.
This is a strong argument" broke in
Mr.. Mcmillan.
| NOT THE BEST POLICY.
Mr.. Blake claimed it was not the best
policy to give all work over 81 900 out by
contract. He lnstanced this in the sewer
| pipe purchase, the bidders paying much
| more. The Commissioners, under mistake.
made purchase in the open market and
bought pipe at 80 per cent less than the
price bid. He then quoted from Gen. Casey.
One of the objections to contract labor
was the bringing of cheap workmen here.
When their job was finished they were
stranded and the community had to sup
! port them.
What is done by contract" asked Mr..
| Mcmillan.
Everything over ST. 900. The result is
| that seven-tenths of contracts are given to
| outsiders, who import their laborers. at
less than District prices, and afterwards
have to be supported by charity
| lied ccENGEuS ApDTUEn