Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1916-10-20


remarks in full on the Adamson law
as given in his speech at Pocatello
on Tuesday night of last week. There
is much food for thought in the
Senator's statements: Read them:
Nov, my friends, in the first
place, IL you will permit a personal
reference, l had the honor to put
thru the eight-hour bill for all pub
lie works carried on or constructed
by the United States government, or
for which the United States govern
ment contracted. When l went into
the senate 1 had the honor to be ap-
pointed chairman of the committee
on education and labor, and intro
duced a bill providing for an eight
hour daylight hours to constitute
days work for all men employed
upon any work in which the United
States government was interested.
whether it was public works, such
as putting up a building, or whether
1t was contract work wherein the
government employed the United
States Steel company, or any other
company, to construct a certain piece
of machinery. Under that bill any
one working for the government un-
der contract could only employ their
labor for eight hours. That bill was
passed, as the working men of the
country know, and became a law
Now, refer to 1t for this reason,
that bill provided a punishment or a
penalty for the individual who en-
ployed men to work over eight hours
IL men actually worked more than
eight hours, the man who had the
contract was penalized for permit
ting them to do SO. and that is an
eight-hour law. In other words. il
limits the actual hours work to the
number OF eight. and you can not
work beyond that. That is what I
suppose to be an eight-hour law
AS you know, this bill does not
limit the hours of work, and a man
may work ten hours or may work
longer. 1t is simply a basis of estl-
mating the wages.
Now, 1t may be, my friends, tina:
these men, and there are no finer
class of men than those who handle
our trains, were entitled to higher
wages, but l did not know So There
was not a scintilla of evidence before
me, offered OF suggested, as to what
their wages were, what they were
In comparison to other wages, on
what they were as compared with
other employees.
AS / say, investigation might
have established the fact that they
were entitled to that wage. and
want to take this privilege of saying
what 1 said upon the floor of the
senate, when we were told that IL
we didn't pass that law by Saturday
night that the men who run the
trains of the country would have
stopped all transportation and left
the country at the peril of starva-
ton. took the liberty upon the floor
or the senate to say that in my iudg-
ment IL was absolutely untrue, ano
SAID II the congress of the United
states will today pass a resolution
promising an investigation and full
consideration of this question, and
consideration OF the facts, will ven
ture TO say that the men who run the
trains will run them until we shall
nave mad an opportunity to know
what the facts are. applause
You need not tell me, don't care
what any representative of labor
says, you need not tell me that the
men who are entrusted with these
trains and millions of dollars of
property, who associate in their
neighborhood and community with
the best people of the country. would
not have given congress an opportu-
nifty to know the actual facts. And
therefore, / say, let us investigate
and have a full hearing, and ascer.
tain all the facts.
Now. my friends, IL this was an
elght-hour day, ii was a question OF
principle. wasn't It? Tell me how you
can apply question of principle tc
~ per cent of the men working IN
ciple or act of humanity. il apnIies
10 the men in the machine shor
Just the same as the men who oper
ate the trains. lApplause.
And when you bring a bill int
the congress where have the honol
TO sit. and say to me that this is an
act OF humanity. that the men shouIf
not De permitted to work over eiRh
- nours. the strain is too great thay
viii say to you to include the othe,
so per cent of the men. because hu
manfty Is not limited to a few
Was Il question of wage? II i
was a question of wage. the sam.
rule applies. How can / say wftbou
single -fact before me that thee,
men in the machine shop are give,
enough wages while the men oper
ating the trains are not? They are /,
the same industry, connected Wi
the same transportation system. An,
Wnether II was an act of humanit,
or an act OF principle. or a questtol
of wage. ] take the position her
tonight before the working men q
TINS community. as I took IL In IN
senate. that every man engaged 4
that industry was entitled 20 q heaT