The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1916-11-03

tello are as much interested as any
other of the people whom have the |
honor in part to represent. am going
to discuss with you what is known as
the wage bill, or eight-hour law, which
was passed in the closing days of this
session. As you perhaps know, with
out my telling you, voted against the
passage of that measure. / am not
here simply to Justify my vote, because
l am not candidate before the people
of the state, and do not know that /
will ever be, but I do want to discuss
with you the merits and dement's of
that measure, and see, If possible,
what 1t is advertised to me, and what
its consequence may be, not only to-
the country, but / want particularly
to discuss 1t as to its effect upon the
laboring men whom it is supposed to
have served.
Now, my friends, in the first place,
II you will permit personal refer
ence, / had the honor to put through
the eight-hour bill for all public works
carried on or constructed by the Unit
ed States government, or for which the
United States government contracted.
When went into the Senate, | had
the honor to be appointed chairman
of the committee on education and la
Dor, and urged the bill providing for
an eight-hour daylight hours to
constitute a days work for all men
employed upon any work in which the
| United States government was inter-
ested, whether 1t was public works,
such as putting up building. or
| whether it was contract work wherein
the government employed the United
| States Steel Company, we will say, or
any other construction company, to
construct a certain piece of machinery
Under that bill any one working for
/ the government under contract could
only employ their labor for eight
hours. That bill was passed, as the
working men of the country know, and
became law.
| Now / refer to it for this reason
that bill provided a penalty or a pun
ishment for the individual who EN-
4 ployed men or permitted men to work
over eight hours. If men actually
worked more than eight hours, the
man who had the contract was penal.
lied for permitting them to do SO, ane
that is an eight-hour law. In othel
words, it limits the actual hours worl
; to the number of eight, and you cal
!, not work beyond that.
: AS you know, this bill does not limi
, the hours of work, and a man ma.
work ten hours or may work longer
Tt is simply basis of estimating tn
/ wages.
1t may be, my friends, that thes
men-and there is no finer class Q
: men than those who handle our train
were entitled to higher wages, but
did not know so. There was not
; scintilla of evidence before me, offere'
: or suggested, as to what their wage
: were, what they were in comparison
} to other wages, or what they were a
: compared with other employees.
AS / say, investigation might hav
, established the fact that they were en-
4 titled to that wage, and I want to tax
, this privilege of saying what | sal
!, upon the floor of the Senate when W
i were told that If we didn't pass tha
: law by Saturday night that the me
: who run the trains of the countr
d would have stopped all transportatio
r and left the country at the peril {
v starvation. / took the liberty upo
: the floor of the Senate in saying thf
e in my judgment it was absolutely ur
r true, and | said If the Congress OF IN
# United States will today pass resolt
# ton promising an investigation an
!. full consideration of this question, an
: a hearing from all parties, and col
e sideration of the facts, / will ventul
e to say that the men who run the trail
e will run them until we shall have ha
t, an opportunity to know what the fac
1t are. (Applause.)
You need not tell me, don't cal
, what any representative of labor say
- you need not tell me that the men WI
) are entrusted with these trains ar
,, millions of dollars of property, WI
- associate in their neighborhood al
!, community with the best people of Il
! country, would not have given Co
gress an opportunity to know the &C
q ual facts. And, therefore, I said,
: us investigate, and have a full hea
n ing, and ascertain all the facts.
A. Now, my friends, if this is an
8 eight hour day, it was a question
t. of principle, wasn't it? Tell me
how you can apply question or
at principle to twenty per cent OF
IN the men working in an industry
ct If it is an act embodying prin-
r. eiple or act of humanity, it should
NJ apply to the men in the machine
IS shop just the same as the men
GU who operate the trains. CAP
&C. plause.)
nd And when you bring bill into
Is the Congress where ] have the
If honor to sit. and say to me that
.at this is an act of humanity; that
the men should not be permitted
re- to work over eight hours, the
n strain is too great, then l will say
nd to you to include the other eighty
lid per cent of the men, because hu-
he mainly is not limited to few
he (Applause.)
les was 1t question: Oh WdBS l.
,rn 1t was a question of wage. tn,
"a same rule applies. How can
T. say without single fact befor'
are me that these men in the machine
of shop are given enough wage
we while the men operating TIN
int trains are not. They are in tn
int same industry, connected with tn
ow same transportation system ant
nal whether 1t was an act OF hu
MT mainly, or an act of principle, o
I'd a question of wage, l take the pc
the sition here tonight before tn
re- working men of this community
q as / took it in the Senate, tina
ichl every man engaged in that indus
is try was entitled to hearing a
arv to whether or not he was bein
ce Disseminated against.
rn. I was passing through the State
ted Maine-You heard from Maine. &
pie plause.) I was passing through
an State of Maine a few weeks ago,
upon the Kennebac River they TIN
OF the train across the river with fel