The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1914-01-15
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OFTEN
FEAR TO VOTE ON SUCH
LEGISLATION.
FORCED BY PR0GREsSIvlsM
Present Administration Seemingly 10
In Full sympathy With the Eight
Hour Movement-views of
Secretary Redfieid.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

vote for such legislation as the labor
leaders ask, they will be sure to get
the support Of labor at the polls. In
this respect therefore 1t may be said
that chance to vote for labor legisls-
ton Is popular, but there are times
when representatives and senators are
SO convinced the legislation asked is
not eminentiy proper that they make
up their minds to vote against 1t and
by so doing they feel they may lose
votes, and therefore in this respect la
Dor legislation at times may be said
to be unpopular.
In Washington, officials In congress
and out of 1t recognize. no matter to
what party they belong. that progress
sivism is the order OF the day in legis-
lation and the progressivism and hui
manitarianism frequently are insep-
arabic. II took congress a long while
to pass an eight-hour a day labor law.
All government work done by the gov
eminent itself was put ON an eight.
hour basis long time ago, but it was
only recently that the federal eight
hour law was made to apply to gov
eminent work contracted for by pri.
Sate corporations.
II Is apparent that the present ad.
ministration Is fully in sympathy not
only with the eight-hour movement,
but with the plea that eight hours
for work, eight hours for play and
eight hours for sleep constitute the
proper living day for man. Secretary
Redfield of the department of COM
merce probably would not have ex-
pressed himself so freely as he has
on the eight.hour matter II he were
not sure of the sympathy of his chief.
Mr.. Redfield's Position.
At meeting of the American Asso-
citation for Labor Legislation held re-
Gently Secretary Redfield said:
Il believe that when our factories
are run so that the workmen go home
without being fatigued from overlong
hours, and not till then, will we be
able to compete successfully against
all corners in the markets of the
world. could not afford to employ In
a factory men who are half sick who
come to work after having had bad
breakfasts, who are partly poisone6
They would be economically unprodt.
able. And yet fatigue Is part poison"
Improved conditions for labor, 50
far as the United States government
can bring them about without inter
fering with states rights, have been
gradual growth. The Republican
when they were in power did a good
deal for labor, and since the Demo
Gratis have come into power they have
shown q disposition to continue the
work Of the Republicans, and in some
cases to do little better. Congress
men say it Is the natural growth Of
favorable legislation fostered by the
spirit Of progressivism of the times.
The eight-hour law which Is at pres
ent on the statute books and which
forbids private contractors doing
work for the government to make
their men work more than eight hours
a day, was passed by congress only
after years of contest.
1t was held by the men who were
opposed to the legislation that the
government had no right to interfere
with private business. Some men
went so far as to declare that such
legislation was unconstitutional But
the friends of the measure finally tri-
umphed, probably. 1t is said, because
the spirit of the times had changed.
How Eight-Hour Law Was Fought.
The year that the pure food and
drug act was passed, an act which. by
the way, Is said to be the most salu-
taTy one on the statute books, an
eight-hour bill was introduced into
the house and was promptly sent to
the committee on labor. II unques-
tionably was planned that the commit
tee should keep hold of the bill and
refuse to report 1t to the house either
favorably or unfavorably. II the bill
was not reported, of course. the mem
bers would be saved from the neces-
sity OF voting on II, and not many OF
them cared to vote on il because ma
tortty of apparently were opposed to
1t and yet did not care to show by
their votes that they were opposed.
One day when a meeting of the la
Dor committee had been called il was
found that three or four Of the mem
bers who we're opposed to reporting
the legislation favorably were absent.
All at once member who was In IA
vor of the bill. but who had been alb
sent for long time, appeared on
the scene and forced vote on the pro-
position to report the eight-hour bill
fayorably to the house, His PROPOSE
ton was carried by majority OF one
After the measure had reached the
floor the leaders were put to it to pre-
vent II from coming to vote. They
used the pure food law as q buffer.
saying that the eighthour measure
could not be discussed until the very
important food bill was out of the
way They dragged the debate on
pure food along through the weeks,
finally passed the bill and then said
Il was too late to consider the eight.
hour measure The bill, however. was
passed BY = succeeding congress-.