The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-04-22
FACAN'S FOLLY
His Laborer Be Damned
Policy Was a Fail
ure in Newark.
WRONGED THE WORKINGMEN
Contractors the Only Ones
Who Reaped Any Benefit
From the System
MAYOR SEYMOUR'S VIEWS
Tells of the Evils Which
Caused Him to Have the
Pernicious Practice
Abolished.
rsneclal 10 orbe jersey city News II

Especial to 1.-THE Jersey City News
NEWARK, April %. 1902.-Mayor Mark
Fagan's '.The Laborers be Damned"
policy has attracted considerable atten-
ton here and the officials about the City
Hail are discussing it in its various
phases. The reason that this new de-
parture of Jersey City's Mayor has at
tracted attention out here is that the
same system which he has introduced
into the city government of his city, was
in operation in Newark some years ago
and abandoned because it was shown to
be vicious.
Away back in the early eighties, when
Mayor Seymour entered the Aqueduct
Board the predecessor of the present
Board of Works, he found that all the
work of the board was done by contract.
1t soon occurred to him that this was
not a good system and he determined to
look into it carefully and If, after an IN
yestigation, it was made apparent that
the system was pernicious, to break it
up.
The Mayor soon learned that the city
saved nothing by the practice of having
the work done by contract or was Dene-
flied in any other way while the laoorer
and workingman were materially injured.
The contractor was the only one who
was being benefited by the system. A
committee Investigated the matter and
found that the cost when the work was
done by contract and when it was done
by day labor was about the same and
the contractor was getting rich at the
expense of the laborer, without the citys
deriving any advantage therefrom-
The contractor, who obtained a piece
of municipal work, it was found, paid
the laborer the lowest possible wages.
The consequences were that the laborer
was unable to properly care for his fam
ily with the result that it suffered
Mayor Seymour found that this system
was one of the most potent causes of
child labor and its consequent suffering
and misery. the laborer who was com
nelled to wors Oar the small wages which
the contractor saw fit to give him was
obliged TO put his children to work as
soon as they were able to earn a dollar.
The mere pittance which they received
made it simply Impossible for them to
keep their children from the workshop
and send them TO school.
Another evil which the system was
found to be responsible for was meas
ure of political corruption. The immense
profits which the contractors made by
robbing the laborer of his just due it was
discovered enabled the contractor TO make
large contributions to the campaign funds
of his party, which, az can be seen al
glance. opened the door for many out
rageous abuses.
AS soon as these facts were made plain
Mayor Seymour introduced in the Board
a resolution to the effect that this work
LII
should be paid per diem wage equal to
the prevailing rate instead of by contract,
as previous thereto, and that competent
and reliable persons should be appointed
to supervise the work and see that it was
properly done. The Republicans, who
were prodting and beneiting to a large
extent by this system, as was to be ex-
pected strenuously opposed the Mayors
resolution, but with that perseverance
and steadfastness to what he believes to
be right, which has always characterized
Mayor Seymour, he fought for his reso-
luton until it passed and became opera
tive.
Jersey City's Mayor is making great
mistake in this matter said Mayor Sey-
rnour Yesterday when the details of Mr.
Fagan's 1.-THE Laborer be Damned" policy
was told to him eve tried that same
system once but we abolished it when L
was in the Aqueduct Board. We foul
that the city derived no particular benefit
from the method of having the city s
work done by contract while the laboIer
suffered materially. Contractors never
bid much lower on piece of work than il
would cost the city to do that work by
day labor, but always paid the laborers
lower wages than they would be paid had
they been employed by the day by the
city. This caused much distress and hard
ship among the working people without
any compensatfng benefit to the taxpay-
ers. Very little If any money was saved
to the city treasury, and the only person
who gained at all by the system was the
contractors.
.I have always claimed that If you want
to make good citizens you should pay
the day aborers and working men the
highest possible wages. IN this way you
enable them to give their children proper
care and send them to school, where they
are trained to become good men and
women and useful members of society. If
you keep the laborer down to a mere pit
tance such as this contract system tends
TO do you force the working man to send
his children to the factory and workshop
as soon as they are able to perform any
work which viii add a cent to the scanty
family income. Nothing is so detrimental
to a child's future as taking it from
school and placing it in factory or
workshop before its character begins to
mould and when It has scarcely learne
the barest rudiments. The evils Of child
labor are well known at this day and
every effort Is being made TO abolish it.
But this will never be accomplished SO
long as any municipality fosters system