The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1900-10-13

The eight hour day may fairly be de-
scribed as the present ideal of the An
glo-Saxon worker. He has doubtless
been inspired by the example of Aus
ltralia, where labor has succeeded in es-
as an incontestable indus
trial rule that the laboring day shall
consist Of eight hours.
What is the actual position today?
While the nine hour day applies to
many trades the miners are approach
ing the eight hour rule. And here has
arisen an interesting renewal of the
old conflict between the laissez faire
opinions both of our politicians and of
our workmen and the new collectivist
view, which Is, on the whole, steadily
gaining the upper hand with all these
classes.
The miners of Durham and North
cumberland have already by their own
efforts obtained less than an eight hour
day for themselves. But the boy work.
ers who help them underground work
ten hours a day, while the west and
the Yorkshire miners have not yet sue
ceeded in fixing for their trade the
daily term Of eight hours from bank
to bank" The Miners Federation
therefore, yearly promotes an eight
hour bill In the house of commons and
has nearly succeeded in earring it.
TO my mind it is inevitable that SOON
er or later an eight hour bill for miners
and possibly some selected trades will
be carried, for it is impossible any lon
ger to maintain the fiction that parlia-
ment can have nothing to do with IT,.
regulation of adult labor. Mr.. Glad
stones last government did, indeed,
pass brief and not very conclusive
law to amend the hours OF laho: for
railway servants. Under this act the
board of trade can intervene between
a railway company and it's servants
when 1t is represented to them that the
hours of labor are excessive or do not
provide long enough periods of rest be-
tween duty or fail to allow sufficient
Sunday rest.
The board may then order the COM
pany to submit to them a schedule of
time such as would in their opinion
bring the hours of work within reason
able limits. If the company disobeys
such an order, there is an appeal to TIN.
railway commissioners, and if their
intervention fails the company is liable
to a fine of $500 for every dav of it's de-
fault.
The language Of this act is vague
enough, and I cannot say that it's Ell
feet has been great. but it is another
hin on6 If he o,,1
England, though it may proceed IN
curves, does not as a rule lose it's d.
ERECTION. .: & b Ss ST /
The sphere Of actual law is not, how
|ever the only direction in which the
Estate is able to act for the protection
of Dor. There is the second great
sphere of administration. The state
may not only enforce its rules on pri-
Hate employers, but may also sci an
example to them. In other words, ti1t
slate itself should be the model EN-
r!oyer, the "antisweater' par excel
.eMce.
Ills view was strongly pressed ly
TIE Daily Chronicle upon the govern
ment of 1892, and not without result.
Sir Henry EMBELLISHMENTS then
the minister OF war, and now the lead
err of the opposition in the house of
commons, determined to initiate the
|eight hour day in the great government
arsenal of Woolwich.
The experiment proved to be a COM
plete success, and, though it has not
been followed up, the eight hour day
for the whole English engineering trade
is not, think, distant development.
Probably, however, the Immediate
struggles of the future will arise over
the question of overtime. The habitual
working of overtime not only destroys
the virtues of regular working day.
but it tends to depress the rate of
wages.
Trade unions. therefore, are more
and more hardening their hearts
against it and endeavoring to eliminate
it from labor contracts which they are
able to control.-H. w. Massingham in
New York World.