The news-democrat. (Providence, R.I.) 1906-1909, 1906-08-03
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 1906.
THE CASE OF THE WoRKINGMAN

Laboring men in this city are too keen and in
tellgent to realize that their sincere and honest
efforts 10 shorter hours for certain classes of
municipal employees have been seized upon by
some designing persons who seek to turn them to
partisan advantage. Indeed the opinion is freely
expressed among labor men that the delay in set
ting the eight-hour question in sensible and busi-
ness like way is the result of deliberate purpose
to use that issue as club with which to drive the
wage earners among the electorate to the support
OF Braytonisms candidates at the coming election.
The exhaustive opinion of the city solicitor,
holding that only through legislative action can
eight-hour day be legally secured has in way
altered the conviction of wage earners that at
tempt is being made to deal with their reasonable
and just demand in such way to make it at once
bait and bludgeon for the corraling OF labor
votes.
Putting the eight-hour question up to the as
sembly they regard purely political move clev-
erly conceived and dexterously executed i'm the in
terest Of Braytonism. To their minds there is alb
solutely no warrant for such course in dealing
with what they believe to be purely business mat
ter. Befogging simple proposition to increase
wages by reducing the hours of labor in legal quib-
bles and questions of constitutionaty they regard
as part of the general scheme to make them an
adjunct to the Republican machine.
And this belief is strengthened by the action
yesterday by the city council i'll taking steps
to from the legislature authority TO grant
Saturday halfholiday for all city employees during
the summer
This particular movement initiated by the
mayor, who asked the opinion of the city solicitor
as to the authority of the council to grant such
half-holiday. The city solicitor following the
policy exploited in his eight-hour opinion, replies
that the council has no such power at present and
must secure it from the general assembly.
AS was remarked on a previous occasion, this
may be good law, but it isn't sound sense. AS the
lay mind conceves it, the only question involved is
one of the expenditure of money and with all such
one he citv has IN dea1
Custom and the prevailing market rate fix
the scale of wages OF municipal employees; at least
they did in the past and do now in other cities and
towns in this country. If the prevailing market
rate is per cent higher than the municipal rate
does it seem reasonable that the city cannot grant
a 20 per cent. increase without getting permission
to do so from the general assembly?
1t certainly does not yet just such an increase
Is involved in the demand for eight-hour day for
the outside employees of the public works and park
departments.
And the same argument holds good in the case
of the Saturday half-holiday 1t is question sim
ply OF increasing wages by decreasing the hours OF
labor.
The laboring man who has read the city soci-
tors painstaking but unsatisfactory and unconvnc-
ing opinions finds himself wondering how ii is that
when he asks for an increase in wages the city
council is poweress TO grant it, while when other
municipal employees, including the city solicitor and
his assistants seek increases of salary there is no
question as to the councils authority to grant them.
He wonders also how it happens that when it
k proposed to give him Saturday haf-hoiday
during the heated summer term the project is held
ND until authority can be obtained from the general
assembly next January He can find no record that
the general assembly invoked to obtain either
an eight-hour day half-holiday every Saturday
in the year for those who enjoying both.
Therefore he has concluded that deliberate
attempt is being made to use the eight-hour and
Saturday haf-holiday issues means of securing
the labor for the candidates of the party re-
sponsble for Braytonsm.
He has concluded also that his vote will be
against party that resorts to such nujust and
tricky methods and against Braytonism, which
hopes to profit by them.