Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-03-16
LABOR HEARING.
Bridgeport Man Again Opposes a La-
 bor il at Washington.
(Special to Democrat.)

Washington, March 1S.--The senate committee on education and labor had hearing yesterday afternoon on the eight hour bill. It was an- nounced by the chairman of the meet ing that these hearings will be con- tinued from day to day until the question is disposed of One signifi- can't fact at this hearing was that not a single labor representative wished to be heard One was present, but he stated he was only there as a spectator. The impression down here is gaining ground that the labor unions are no longer as much inter- ested in this bill as they used to be. The opponents of the measure are still very active and are presenting arguments.
 Daniel Davenport of Bridgeport was the principal speaker before the senate committee. He made practi- cally the same argument he used be- fore the house committee few years ago, and also brought out "a few new facts. He read the program adopt ed at the recent meeting of the Bos- ton Eight Hour league, which, among other things, demanded that the pat ent laws shall be so amended that a patentee cannot require more than eight hours work per day from the employees In the manufacture of his inventions.
 'tThe adoption of such socialistic principles by the government" said Mir Davenport, is only the beginning of condition, the end of which no man can see. If the United States government is to exact condition which requires it's contractors to work their employees only eight hours per day, 1t can exact from dts patentees a like condition MT Davenport de nied the right of congress to interfere in either case.
 { He was asked by the chairman if he understood the pending bill to pro- hibit man from working more than eight hours per day, if he wanted to. MT Davenport replied that if the bill did that in so many words, it would undoubtedly be unconstitutional, but this bill, which he said had been most skilfully drawn to avoid that, made 1t impossible for a man to work more than eight hours 9 day, by making it a crime. punishable by fine and i'm prisonment, for anyone to compel or permit an employe to work more than that.
 MT Davenport spoke for nearly an hour and presented the case of the manufacturers thoroughly.
 A bill which has been introduced in the senate and is being, considered by the committee lon interstate com merce. is liable to revolutionize the shipping as well as manufacture or explosives. It prohibits the trans mission of any kind of explosives by any common carrier except under cer- tain regulations. These regulations provide for government inspection of all such explosives before they are packed. 1t is also provided by the bill that these explosives must be packed in a certain way and be la belled plainly what they are.
 Under the head of explosives are included all kinds of cartridges and all kinds of ammunition. in which the materials necessary for firing are all contained in one piece. The Connec- tieut manufacturers Of cartridges are objecting to this provision of the bill, claiming that their cartridges have been proved to be harmless in ship ping. Hearings may be given on thiS hill Iadpr ar,