Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-16
TESTIFY
Speak Against the Proposed Eight
Hour Law.
HEARING BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEE
Claimed That the Law Would Be
Disastrous.
W RK IN SHIP YARDS

The Senate committee on education and
labor held a hearing today which lasted
until nearly . o'clock on the subject of the
bill pending before Congress to make it an
offense punishable by fine for contractors
for government work to work men over
eight hours day On such work
The room OF the committee on education
and labor was crowded with some of the
most distinguished employers of labor in
the United States, q half dozen of whom
have in their employ today about $4,000
men. These gentlemen argued against the
passage of the bill and gave numerous
reasons why any attempt to enforce the
eight-hoGr law on government contracts
would be disastrous to their industries and
impossible of acoomplishmeG. "heir ar
guments were listened to Dy lnvInbers Of
the subcommittee of the committee on edu-
cation and labor having the bill in charge
and also by representatives of the leading
labor organizations of the country.
Senator Kyle, chairman of the subcom-
mittee, and Senators Perkins of California
Gear of Iowa, Penrose of Pennsylvania
and Mantle of Montana all members of
the subcommittee. were present.
There were also present, representing
large manufacturing interests Mr.. Nc
Cannon and Charles H. Cramp the for
mer attorney and the latter president Ct
the William Cra mp & Sons Ship and En-
CINE Building Company; eX-Representative
Payson. for the Newport News Shipbuld-
ing and Dry Dock Company; ex-senator
Higgins of Delaware, representing the
Harlan & Hollingsworth Company and the
PCSey & Jones Company of Delaware; Rob
ert p. Lindinan and Mr. Davenport of the
Bethlehem Steel and Iron Company; Mr..
Corey, president of the Carnegie Com
others
were represented by Samuel Gompers
president of the American Federation of
Labor; Frank Morrison, secretary IF the
American Federation of Labor; James Dun
can frs, vice president of the American
Federation of Labor; George Chance and
Andrew Fureseth of the legislative COM
mittce OF that organization William Silver.
Milford Spohn and r. II. Lewis of the Cen
trail Labor Union and William Marsh of
the Building Trades Council.
AT previous hearings conducted before
this committee, representatives of labor or
CARNATIONS had been given hearing on
the BILL today being devoted to hearing
what representatives of the big corpora
tons had to say upon it. Representatives.
of labor organizations will probably be
given an opportunity to reply to statements
made today.
impossible to Conduct Business.
Mr.. McCammon opened the hearing with
a general argument against the bill, and
the Newport News shipbuildns Company is
concerned, it would be impossible for that
company to conduct its business If the bill
enforcing the eight-hour law in regard to
all work done under contract for the gov
ernmant was passed. He sail that this
eiSht-hour restriction wCul. apply to sub
contractors. and it was a question to be de-
cided whether it would Apply to material
purchased in the open market by contract
ors. He said that it would be impossible for
q shlpyard to employ men ten hours Il day
WHEN they worked On private contracts and
eight hours day when they We're working
on government con tracts. He said that
such an attempt would simply result in
making 1t necessary for contractors doing
work for the government TO employ all ot
their labor eight hours Il day, ana IN the
close competition dat Is now going on in
Industrial circles he SAID that such 4
change would result III Irving he fms en-
gagged in it out of the III lrket
Ex-senator Higgins of Delaware. repre-
sentinS the Harlan and Hollingsworth
Company and the Pussy and Jones Com
rany of Delaware, gave numerous in
stances to show that the law would pro-
and would be impossible to execute. He
said that if such a law We're to go into
erect that in the case of the Delaware
breakwater now being built not only would
all the stone have to be quarried by men
working eight hours d day, but even the
sailors on the ships transporting the stone
could not be worked over eight hours a
Cay without making Il criminal of the Ship
owners and Of the men themselves, as the
law applied not only TO employers, but to
the workngmen themselves.
Senator Gear of Iowa inquired whether
such law would make it necessary that
wheat when sold to the government should
be raised by farm hands working not over
eight hours a day.
MIR. Higgins replied that such would be
the case where the wheat was contracted
Tor by the government.
In the Cramp Yard.
Mr.. Cramp of Cramp & Sons said that in
his ship yard if such a law were to go into
effect it would be necessary to organize
two forces in separate plants one to do
government work for the United States
and the other to do work for individuals
and Tor foreign governments. He said thai
MS company was building men-of-war for
RUSSIA and Japan. In the case of the con-
tract secured from the government of Rus
sia, the company had bid in competition
WIN English, French and German ship
builders, and Were they working under
an eisht-hour law it would be impossible
Tor lhem to nave secured such contract
ana they would have gone to foreign ship
builders He said that even in The case of
the coal used by his company in connection
with DONG work for the United States gov
eminent the enactment of the bill under
ccr sideration into law would make it nee
essafy that such coal be mined by men
working eight hours day
Robert +. Lindiman, president of the
bethlehem Steel and Iron Company. said
that ne had already received letters from
the company furnishing him COAL and also
from another subcontractor, saying that if
the bill under consideration We're passed by
Congress they could not undertake to fur
nish him with coal
More Than Eight Hours Necessary.
Mr. Davenport of the Bethlehem company
gavs instances III which 1t is absolutely nee
essary for men to work more than eight
hours day in his company. He said that
in heating of steel it often requires ten or
twelve hours for the process to be COM
pleted, and that it is absolutely necessary
that the entire work should be done under
the supervision of a single man. who would
have the process under his control from
the beginning to the, end. II such were
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