Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-02-12
Park City Man on Eight Hour Law.
He Opposes it and Will Con- tinue to Fight Bill A Waterbury Man See- ing Sights at Washing ton.
Special to the Democrat.) )


 arrangements made last week Daniel Davenport of Bridgeport appeared be- fore the house committee on labor this morning. and for an hour and a half spoke in opposition to the enactment into law of any of the eight hour bills. MT Davenport commenced his. argu- ment by stating that he was the ex- ecutive agent of an association of manufacturers. who were organized to enforce the law especially aganst the boycott This is understood to be a. Connecticut organization. He alsb said he represented the association of architects, the structural iron con tractors, the tile manufacturers, the master builders, stone contractors, cut stone manufacturers, marble manufac- turers. master carpenters, master painters and decorators, metal con- tractors, all of Chicago, who consti- tute the members of the Chicago Building Contractors association, with membership of 1900.
 Mir Davenport said in part: Tt was generally thought that when the law of 1890 was put on the statute books, making it unlawful for any contractor for the United States or the district of Columbia to compel or permit an em- ploye to work more than eight hours g. day, the high water mark Of social istic legislation had been reached, but now congress is asked to carry this still further and make the sub contractors liable to heavy penalties, $5 per day for each man employed, for -s01r 4S.or~ %1,4e Snx f1~ a fN- claration of principles which is attach ed to the constitution of most labor unions to show the socialistic and rev olutionary character of these organiza- tions which declare that the police, militia, press and pulpit are united enemies of the laboring classes. He said that the leading labor men were socialists and were using the or ganizatiOn to further their principals. They taught disregard for law, instil- led hostility in the minds of working men against those who control all the machinery of production, they would prevent freedom of contract between employer and employe. put premium on disloyalty and crime and attacks ina courts of law. He said the boy colt was designed to deny and para lyze the fundamental rights of citizens. MT Davenport told how Danbury hat manufacturer came to him and related how his business had been ruined Dy the boycott placed upon his products by the unions He told how he had travelled all over the country i'll the Ill., terests of the associations he repre- sented. how he had visited factories Ill all lines of industries and had talked with the men employed. He said there was no demand for such legislation from the workman himself. He did did not find in all his travels single man who favored a law that would prevent him from working more than eight hours per day. if he wanted to. He challenged the members of the committee to go before the people of their districts next fall with plank in their platform advocating such a law, and predicted defeat to any one that tried it. And if my young friend here," turning to Congressman Hearst. who is member of the. com mittee, should be nominated for the presidency on such plank-"at this point MT Hearst who sat at the elbow of MT Davenport, plucked at his sleeve and said something to him in an un- dertone, and MT Davenport said: ''I beg the committees pardOn,I ought not to have said that and I hope the of1 cial reporter will strike it out of his report"
 MT Davenport said he had been a democrat all his life but had been obliged to vote for MT Hill twice.
 He read the proposed bill and ar gued that it was unconstitutional in that it denied the sub-contractor his day in court"
 When MT Davenport had used up one hour and fifteen minutes of the hour and a half allowed him by the committee, he yielded the remaining fifteen minutes to President Gompers who said he was leaving for Porto Rico this evening and desired to reply to some of the statements of MT Day. export.
 Against the Metric System.
 Henry R. Towne of the Yale-Towne Manufacturing Go of Stamford this morning appeared before the house committee on. coinage, weights and measures, in opposition to the bill to establish the metric system in this country. Mir Towne showed the com mittee how this change would cost the people of the country millions Of dol lars, as all gauges and Welgnts Wouio have to be changed. His company alone would have to spend several thousand dollars should the change be made. He stated that only a number of cranks and theorists were ill favor of this measure. It would work no practical good and the manufacturers were very much opposed to 1t It is not probable that the bill will pass congress.
 Senator Latimer Back.
 Senator Latimer of South Carolina returned last night from his visit to Hartford. It was the first time the senator has been i'll New England and this morning he expressed himself as greatly pleased with his reception. T was much interested" he said, sin seeing the industrial activity of New England, and enjoyed my visit very