The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-10-21


snt by assuming an attitude Of frownine
lefance as regards the nebulous future,
that the American people must be made "a
partner in the settlement Of disputes that
interrupt the life Of the nation" that Il
must enforce the partnership and see to
il that no organization is stronger than
that organization TO which we all belong,
our own Government" and that we, the
people, must say to any outside organiza.
ton that IL must not interrupt the Ma.
tional life without consulting u.s." These
are fine words about the future. They are
intended to cover up, but as a matter Of
fact, they furnish the strongest condemna
ton Of Mr.. Wilson's deed in the present
In these words Mr.. Wilson exactly de.
scribes what he ought to have done with
the Brotherhoods, and explicitly condemns
the action which he in fact took. II the
| principles he laid down we're good for
the future, they we're good for the present
Do IL now, Mr.. wilson, Do not use fine
words about what somebody else ought Il
do in the future in order to cover your own
shameful abandonment Of duty in the pres
ent
Mr.. Wilson has adroitly maintained that
the question at issue was the eight.houI
day. This is not all fact. The question AT
issue was the question Of wages The law
does not say that there shall be an eight.
hour day. II says that eight hours shall
''be made the measure Of days work for
the purpose of receiving compensation.
In other words, it was primarily an
increase of wages and not a dimnu.
ton of hours that was aimed at.
believe in the eight-hour day. Il Is
the ideal toward which we should trend
But ] believe that there must be common
sense as well as common honesty in achlev
ing the ideal. Mr. Wilson has laid down
the principle that there is something sa
cred about the eight-hour day which makes
it improper even to discuss il. II this is
so, il il is applied universally, then Mr..
Wilson is not to be excused for not apply
ing it Immediately where he has complete
power, and that is in his own household
II the principle Of the eight-hour day is
sacred and not to be changed under any
circumstances, then the housemid, who
in Mr.. Wilson's house arises at seven must
be left of at three in the afternoon; and
if Mr.. Wilson's butler is kept up after a
State dinner until ten, he must not come
and no hired man on a farm must get up
to milk the cows in the morning unless he
quits work before milking time arrives
that same evening, OF course, the simple
truth is that under one set of conditions
an eight-hour law may be too long OF at
least may represent the very maximum OF
proper work; whereas there may he other
conditions under which a man working
more than eight hours one day gets one
or two days of complete leisure following.
or where the work is intermittent through
out the day, or is of so easy or varied
type that no exhaustion accompanies it, or
where a rush of work for a few days will
be compensated by complete leisure on Ger
tain other days. II is ridiculous to say
that an engineer Of high-speed train nm
der especially difficult conditions, an en-
gineer of a low-speed train, under very
much easier conditions, a farm laborer in
harvest time, man engaged as watch
man through the quiet work of the night,
OF man engaged in the exhausting work
of steel puddler in a continuous seven
days.a-week. night and day industry,
should be governed by precisely the same
rule, or by the same rigid application in
detail of sound general principle.
heartily believe in a proper limitation
by law Of hours Of work in the railroad
service, and | recommended legislation to
that effect when | was President. | be
lieve in the wages in any industry being
just as high as it is possible to make them
without injustice TO the capital invested
and to the public which is served. But
il is mere truism to say that il is inn
possible to get this ideal achieved unless
an honest and dispassionate effort is first
made by the proper commission to ascertain
the full facts in the particular case. As
regards the railroads, we have TO consider
the wages paid to the different classes of
employees, the interest on the investment.
the earning power of the road, and the
kind of service that must be rendered to
the public 1t is impossible to secure a
proper solution of the problem unless all
these factors are considered Mr. Wilson
absolutely declined to consider any of
them. He declined even to ask what they
we're. We have not at this moment one
particular of Trustworthy information
which will enable us to decide whether
the demands of the men we're just or not.
] wish il distinctly understood that | am
not trying to pass judgment upon the jus
tice Of the case. regard the engineers,
6remen and enginemen and trainmen gen
orally as doing peculiarly responsible and
arduous work, and entitled to particular
consideration as regards both hours Of
labor and pay. hope that they are fully
entitled as a matter of justice to what they
will receive under the Adamson bill and
IL it so appears shall heartily support IT,
But protest against the far-reaching evil
OF the precedent set in the method which
has been followed. We are denied knowl.
edge. We see Congress forced to act under
threats. protest against any law passed
under such duress | protest against the
case being decided without giving each
party its day in court, and above all with.
out giving the public its day in court. |
hope the demands OF the men were just,
and would have been proved so to be, Il
investigated before a competent body But
! explicitly protest against any action by
the Government when no investigation has
been held TO see whether the claims are
or are not just, and when they are
granted through fear and not as . matter
Of right.
Remember II is the public that in the
end will pay. You do not have to take my
assertion for this Take the assertion Of
Mr.. Wilson's master in this matter The
Union leaders, through their Chairman,
Mr.. Garretson, announced that they
would steadily refuse to arbitrate and that
in their action they were supported by
the President Of the United States" They
stated their case in nutshell as follows;
"ln times like this, men go back to primal
instinct--to the day Of the cayeman with
his half-gnawed bone, snarling at the over
l.. A. IL