Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-12-25
SENATE WILL TAKE
WHACK At 8
HOUR BILL
COMMITTEE REPORTS. RADICALLY
MODIFIED FORM OF BILL
PASSED LAST SPRING y
HY THE HOUSE.

WASHINGTON, d. c., Dec. PA re-
port on the eight-hour bill, which the
senate committee on education and LABOR
has been considering since last May, was
submitted to the senate today by Chair
man McComas. With the exception that
this bill deals with an eight-hour day on
government contracts, there Is very nttie
difference in common between 1t and the
bill passed last spring by the house.
A large number Of amendments were
made to the house bill in the committee
so that aside from the principle involved,
the two bills are radically different In
making the report reference Is made to
those highly objectional features OF the
house oil which in almost every instance
the senate committee has changed to
meet the views of the opponents Of the
bill. So that in its amended form the
scope of the bill is limited until it AFFECTS
only a very few Industries, and the pri-
mary objects of the promoters Of the bill,
in case the senate bill becomes law,
will be defeated. IA. A.
AS sent over by the house, the bill con-
templated the limiting of the hours OF
work for any men Engaged on government
contract work to eight hours day, re-
CARELESS Of whether be proposed to spend
the extra time for himself or on private
contract jobs. Contractors and sub-con-
tractors were made responsible for. acts
or omissions by their employees and
agents even though such acts or onlis-
sions might be authorized unknown, or
even forbidden by, the principals The
house sought to reach down to the very
foundations of government contracts and
to effect sub-contractors as far down as
the men who furnished the raw material,
such as stone and lumber. The house
bin provided the crudest form possible OF
collecting the penalties by stipulating
they should be imposed on the report OF
amy officer or person designated as in
spector Of the work to be performed I'M
der such a contract" and should be arbi-
trarily withheld by, the officer or per-
son whose duty it shall be to pay the
money due under such q contract Thus
the contractors and sub-contracters were
to be left to the mercy of any inspectors
assigned to their work together with the
disbursfng officer of the department let
ting the contract.
The senate committee proposes a much
more conservative bill than that passed
by the house, the report referring to 1t
saying, "a majority of your committee
favor a practical and reasonable extension
of the eight-hour law to work for the
United States, and therefore favor the
house bill as amended. They believe this
measure to be not radical but conserva-
tive"
In order to protect the thousands and
thousands of manufacturers who are en-
gagged in supplying materials to the gov
eminent from the oppressive operation of
the law as it passed the house of repre-
sentatives, the senate committee has ex-
cepted articles" and supplies" as well
as materials on the ground that it was
not intended i'm the house bill to effect
any such manufacturers. Liberal quota
tions and citations are made of opinions
by judicial officers of the United States
and by the state and federal courts in
support of the constitutionality of the
proposed bill
The history of the eight-hour labor leg
islation, state and national is reviewed
and remarks of the late President Nc
Kinley and President Roosevelt on the
general subject of Excessive hours of
labor are quoted literally.
AS framed by the senate committee the
eight-hour bill will affect principally the
steel industries and the shipbuilding in
dustries have insisted that should this
bill become law they will be compelled
to abandon government contract work,
on the ground that certain parts of it
cannot be completed within eight hours
successive labor. Consequently the atti-
tude of the labor leaders, who have been
promoting the eight-hour bill, toward the
senate bill as reported has not yet been
determined, for apparently even in such
a conservative measure as. that proposed
by the senate committee. the effects of the
labor leaders to strike a blow at the
shipbuilding and steel industries and to
accomplish by means of federal legislation
what they have been unable to do through
their unions. have been successful.