The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-28
THE EIGHT
HOUR DAY
Contractors Will Give Canal
Commission Much Trouble
on This Score.
LABOR MEN ARE INTERESTED
e,rro., our REGULAR CONSEQUENTLY

the questions which MI giVo tne fh'' ''
Canal Commission more trouble tnai'
almost any other is whether the e'Eht-
hour law, which provides that employees
or government work shall work ot'yi
eight hours day, shall apply N tns cor
s,ruction OF the ca,,h. The thousahus
OF contractors and subcontractors' as Wen
az the public, including the whole Wct.u,
are vitality Interested az the aprlcn,'u, -.
81 The present law, which was rssscd III
1So., Or tho ciglt-hour bill. nov pendlhs
IN Congress, would extend the time "
construction hy at least two years.
n ia understood that the Amerlceh
Anti. Boycott Association, which Includes
In its membership mary Builders ana
dredgers, who will perhaps 30 d'rectly
Interested In the construction OF ms
canal viii cndcavor TO securs fr:7',' the
nroner onlcinls a. decision as to whether
tie cight-hour law will apply. In tins
event Daniel Davenport, OF Bridgeport,
Conn. the executive iyont Of the assoc
citation, who took such 4 prominent Part
in opposing the eight.hpur bill intro
duced at the present session. VIII have
charge Of The case
LABOR MEN IN'r1RTsTED
The leaders OF organized labor are also
looking into this matter carefully, for
ssSN'~SN"
from the United States. 1t Will be dug
on American territory, or territory under
the Jurisdiction of the ljntad states
and be constructed and owned by the
government and the application Of the
cight-hour principle to a government
work of this magnitude would not only
be a triumph. but have tar-reachlrg
and, they believe. wholesome moral Ell
feet. on the other hand. those who Ike
Mr. Davenport, regard the present eight
hour law as vicious and the BIZ for us
extension as socialistic, hold that under
no circumstances SHOULD either be SO
applied
port said: "In opposing the eight ht.lr
bill I spoke for the allied interests when
I represented npart and incidentally 1or
the great interests which are concerned
In doing public work for the govern
ment in the nature Of dredging ard har-
bor work, and also those people who
viii have to do probably with tho build
ing Of the Panama canal. In JEW Com
eress passed Il law which made II u'lla"-
| full for any contractor or subcoiitractor
| doing work upon the public works to re-
auire or permit any laborer or mechanic
| to work more than eight hours III any
calendar day. and further imposed the
savage penalty upon any contractor or
subcontractor who Intentionally permitted
| any man to work moro than eight hours
| or any such work in one calendar day
OF making him liable to a fine of s1.Oo0
! or Imprisonment for six months, or both.
at the option OF the Judge before whom
he was tried. But the pending eight-honr
! bill piles on the agony far beyond tnal
4 under the law as 1t stands to-day. Any
| contra tor who Intentionally violates the
/ present law is liable to penalty any sub
! contractor who violates the law Is sub
pect to that penalty. But tho eight-hour
| bill leaves that law still In force, and
| proceeds further and makes the contrac-
tor Tia BILE TO a heavy fine: that is, a
penalty OF s. for every man employed.
| whether no does It Intentionally or not.
/ not only for himself. but for the subcon-
! tractor. and whether the subcontractor
| is Intentionally violating the law or not
! In other words IT is proposed by act OF
! Congress- 10 make the contractor re-
! sponsiale for IS per day for every man
whom the subcontractor may permit 10
! work more than the allotted time Now,
| the question is, whether the cight-hour
| law and the eght-hour bill, If 1t passes.
| with all these severe penalties. are to be
| applied TO the construction OF the Panama
| canal"
MATTER RESTS WITH CANAL CON-
| MISSION.
1t Is argued by some that as the canal
zone Is entirely under the contrib OF the
canal commission, acting, Of course, I'M
der the supervision OF the Secretary OF
War. and by the direction at the PreSt-
dent, the eight hour act OF 1892 does not
Tex proprio vigore'' apply TO tho zone,
and that until Congress shall determine
otherwise the matter rests entirely win
the commission. 1t Is further represented
that as the canal will necessarily be con-
structed SO largely by labor other Khan
from the United States. the commission
will not restrict such labor to eight hours
a day. But while 1t is not probable that
the commission would undertake TO en-
force this law should the canal be con-
structed directly under its supervision,
what the prospective contractors want 70
know is whether they would be exempt
IL the work should BIO done under con-
tracts and they should be fortunate
enough to secure some OF them. In the
absence of an authoritative opinion IN
advance they fear the question might DO
raised at a later time BY the labor organ
izations al home, and they might, be hcav-
ily mulcted.
OF even greater consequence to the
members OF the Anti. Boycott Association
is the matter Of the application OF the
eight-hour bill. That provides for the
| employment Of labor on all kinds OF
government work for only eight hours a
day and the question Ia whether It Wouln
apply to the manufacturers of engines,
dredges. rails. spikes. picks. shoyels
steam shoves. cotton duck. stone, ce-
ment, carts, wagons. derricks. ~indlasses
and the thousands and thousands Of ar
t!cles which will have TO be supplied for
| the canal. These articles must be manu-
featured In the United States under con-
| tract or snbcontract and while labor on
tho Isthmus may be exempt from the
operations OF tho present act the impress
| sion prevails that the pending bill VIII
cover all contracts for materials FUR
ntshed from the United States, as Inc
| first clause specifically includes every
| contract hereafter made for or on bellaii