Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1916-10-20
BORAH GIVES HIS VIEWS
OF THE ADAMSON BILL
It is not an Eight-hourr Law, but Wage Law
Senator Says He is Opposed to Congress
Fixing the Wages of Working Men.

ing as to whether or not he was be-
ing Disseminated against.
Il was passing thru the state OF
Maine-you heard from Maine CAP
plause.) l was passing thru the state
OF Maine few weeks ago. and upon
the Kennebec rver they throw the
train across the river with ferry.
| was walking on the deck when the
three gentlemen who were running
the ferry addressed me. / said to
them: MY friends, are you included
in this law which we have Just pass
ed?' They said No. | said Il don't
see why, you are moving the train. :
They said. We are not. that is why
we called upon you. Why were we
not included?' and l said, My dear
fellows, | do not know why you were
not included. Your wages may be too
low. You may not be able to sustain
your family and educate your child
rem. You might have been included,
If we had had time to investigated
and that, my friends. is the objection
to this law. II didn't give us an op-
portunity to either deal with 1t as an
act of principle or humanity, or
question of wage.
Let me say another thing to the
working men who are interested in
this question. You know the presi-
bClAL VI thC 1hlNGd OldlG6
MS this proposition: First, increase
Of wages. That we passed. Second.
the increase OF the interstate COM
merce commission. Now. all the tele-
grams | received from these men in
the first instance were begging me
not to refer this to the interstate
commerce commission, and / replied
to them very promptly that l would
not vote to refer ii TO the interstate
commerce commission and will tell
YOU why in q few minutes. I was with
them upon that proposition for a
very good reason. The second teIe-
grams which / received were to vote
against compulsory arbitration law,
and / am with them on that propo-
sition, but as you know that when
you pass a law by which the con-
gress of the United States fixes your
wage or creates a tribunal by which
your wage is fixed that that is the
first step towards compulsory arbi-
tration, and you are bound to get to
it just as sure as the man is to go
to the bottom when he jumps over
Niagara falls. The president submit
ted to us the third proposition. to-
wit: Making 1t a penal offense, a
criminal offense, for a man to strike
/ during the investigation, and second
| iy after the investigation is had to
make the Judgment OF the tribunal
| a judgment of the court and enforce
| IL by injunction or decree. What is
that but compulsory arbitration ?
And yet, my friends. say to you
| II is logical. The president Is abso-
lutely right. II you start in to fix
ing wages by the government, the
/ government will see that these wages
| are lived up to. and for that reason
i | should have voted against any fix
ing of wage by any government tri-
| bunal whatever because 1t leads In
| eyitabiy to an enforcement of the
wage as the government fixes it, and
the president said at Shadow Lawn
the other evening, and / have his
statement here upon the desk. that
when congress met in December he
proposed to see that this provision
with reference to making it a Grim
| tnal ofense to strike. and making
the decree of the tribunal a decree
of the court. Is carried into effect
and made a part of the law | don'i
know how you think about it. | want
to say to you that | am just as much
opposed to compulsory arbitration al
was opposed to the government oil
the United States fixing the wages
and II the working men OF this eoun,
try are entering upon the PROPOSE
tion of the government fixing the
wages, either thru congress or a tri
bunal, they will take the next steI
which the president OF the United
States has outlined In his messag,
to congress.
In the first place, therefore, 4
is not an eight-hour day, hut a wag,
question. In the second place, Il ii
fixing the wage by congress, which In
my judgment is dangerous In tn,
third place. il leads to eompulsor,
arbitration. In the fourth place. com
pulsory arbitration leads to involun
tary servitude, all of which is un
American and contrary to the bes
interests of the working men of thi
country. (AppIausel
But. my friends. this law expire
of its own force a few months afte
the election. Why should 1t be neces
saTy, IL you are establishing a prin
. ciple as an eighf-hour day, a princi
| pie Of humanity or justice, as al
) eight-h day, for it to expire with
in few months2 VIII II be any les
an act of justice or humanity In min
months as il is now? You will be pre-
i cisely In a year from now where yol
were at the beginning. with this ex
: / eeption that you will have establish
j | ed the precedent of a government
z fixing wages. which venture 70 "a
( the working men Of this eountr
g yill never accept when IL Is ffnalI
a understood in all OF its eonss
= auencea."