, 1904-05-26
CANAL
QUESTION OF APPLICATION OF
LAW OF CONGRESS TO con-
sTRUCTloN OF DITCH.
Thousands Of Contractors and SUD
Contractors vitality Interested in
Settlement of Problem - leaders
of Organized Labor Taking Hand
TO Be Settled by Commission.

Washington. d. c., May 2G.-One OF
the most important questions with
| which the Panama canal commission
will shortly have to deal is whether
the present eight-hour law, act OF Au'
gust |, 1892, applies to the construc'
ton of the Panama canal, and wheth-
err. if passed. the eight-hour bill now
before congress will so apply. Not
only are thousands of prospective con
tractors and sub-contractors vitality
Interested in a decision on thes"
points. but also the public at large,
as the application of either the pres
ent laws or the pending Dill would
| extend the time Of construction at
least two years m increase its cost
by nan millions of dollars. 1t is I'M
| derstood that the American Anti-Boy-
colt association, which includes in its
membership many builders and dredg-
ers and others who may become dl-
rectly or indirectly interested in canal
contracts, will undertake to secure a
decision from the proper officials. In
this event, Mr.. Daniel Davenport of
Bridgeport, Conn, the executive
agent of the association, who has been
so prominently identified with the OPP
position to the eight-hour bill, will
have charge of the case.
The leaders of organized labor are
also looking into this matter care
fully, for although the canal will be
located far from the United States, it
will be dug on American territory, or
territory under the jurisdiction of the
United States, and be constructed and
owned by the government, and the ap-
plication of the eight-hour principle
to a government work of this magni-
tude would not only be a triumph, but
have a ~far-reaching and, they believe,
hand, those who. like Mr.. Davenport,
regard the present e~ight-hour aw as
vicious, and the bill for its extension
as socialistic, hold that under no cir
CNi1lSlduCeS StlDulu eiliel bt 81 ap
piled.
1t is argued by some that as the
canal zone is entirely under h CON
troll of the canal commission, acting,
| of course. under the supervision of the
secretary of war, and by the direction
of the president, the e~ight-hour act of
1892 does not ex proprio givore apply
to the zone, and that until congress
shall determine otherwise the matter
rests entirely with the commission. 1t
is further represented that as the
canal will necessarily be constructed
so largely by labor other than from
the United States, the commission will
not restrict such labor to eight hours
a day. But while it is not probable
to enforce this law, should the canal
be constructed directly under its su.
pervision, what the prospective con
tractors want to know is whether they
would be exempt if the work should
be done under contract 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 be raised at
a later time by the labor organizations
at home and they might be heavily
mulcted.
OF eve greater consequence to the
members OF the Anti-Boycott associa
ton is the matter of the application
If the e%ight-hour bill. That provides
for the employment of labor on all
kinds of government work for only
eight hours a day, and the question is
whether it would apply to the manu-.
%facturers of engines, dredges. rails
spikes, picks, shoveis. steam shovels
cotton duck. stone, cement, carts, wag'
ons, derricks. windlasses and the thou.
sands and thousands of articles which
will have to be supplied for the canal,
These articles must be manufactured
il the United States under contract
or s~ub-contract, and while labor on the
isthmus may be exempt from the oper.
ations of the present act. the impress
sion prevails that the pending bill will
cover all contracts for materials fur.
nished from the United States. as the
first clause specifically includes "ev-
cry contract hereafter made for or Oh
behalf of the United States etc.
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