New Britain herald., 1916-09-26
HUGHES RESUMES
 8-HOUR ATTACK
Makes Reply to Wilson's Speech
 at Shadow Lawn

Dayton, O., Sept. 26.-Charles D. l Hughes last night replied to the ad- 1 dress delivered at Shadow Lawn on 1 Saturday by President Wilson. De- l voting most of his time to an attack upon the Adamson eight law and 1he presidents assertion that the prin- l ciple of the eight-hour day was not l arbitrable, he charged that the ad- r1lnistration in much of it's legislation 1 had bartered for votes and that the esta blshment of dictatorship was no ! worse than the course pursued. T have long stood," he said, flor proper definiteness in legislation. I
 think it is an ideal which we should
 endeavor to obtain. There has been too
 rnuch, there has been a great deal in this administration of compromise phrases in the statutes apparently in-
 tended to mean one thng to one set Of men, to get their votes, and another thing to another set of men, to allay their fears"
 MT. Hughs asserted that the Adam
 son bill was called an eight-hour bill with the direct purpose of confusing
 the public mind. He charged also that 1 the passage of the bill was a surrender ! Of the principle of legislation, adding: If the principle of legislation is abandoned, you might as we'll wind up your republic and appoint dictator,
 letting him be appointed who has the greatest force to compel obedience to
 his demands
 Of the Adamson bill he said That
 was a blow at business in this coun- try, a blow at labor Nothing can atone for the surrender of the very prin-
 cjpes of government" MT. Hughes cited his investigation in the eight cent gas bill cases as evil dence that the reference of the ad- ro1nlstration to that law in connection with the Adamson law was ridiculous.
 In his speech MT. Hughes said:
 Not Eight-Hour, But a Wage Bill,
 Our friends on the other side be- tray the weakness of their position by the failure to call things by their right names. The bill to which I refer is spoken of as the Eight-Hour bill. It does not deserve the name It does not provide an eight-hour workday; it does not limit the hours of labor. It leaves to railroad companies the priv llege to employ men for just as long a tune as they were employed before
 What do we mean by an eight hour day? It involves the principle of affording opportunity for recrea- tion, for refreshment and for educa- tlon, by limiting the hours of actual work, except in case of emergency. The very theory of an eight-hour workday bill is a limitation of the hours of employment upon the con- SI0er9tiOn fat y,il ho of benefit to all concerned
 Tt is said that the principle was not arbitrable. It Is very extraordt- nary statement, for, eighteen years ago, l believe, in the passage of the act to promote conciliation and arbi- tration with respect to disputes be- tween interstate commerce employees and carriers, there was provision made for arbitration with respect to hours of labor and conditions of employment US well as of wages. And in a bill,
 which, I believe, was signed during this administration in July, 1913, the same provision, in, I believe, substan- italy the same language was re-en- acted in the law providing for arbi- tration with respect to wages, con- ditions of employment, and hours of labor.
 Of course, the question whether in a particular case conditions exist
 which should provide for a certain
 number of hours of labor is a question
 requiring the most earnest cons1dera- ton But no one, in this controversy to which I am now referring, had any idea of establishing an eight-hour
 v orkday. The principle of the eight hour workday is not in any way in volved.
 DepIores "Hasty Legislation"
 'I have stood from the time I en- tered upon my public career for req sonable hours of service, and no one
 m ere than I desires to see every op- rortunity to every workingman to es- cape an undue severity of strain and for the opportunity which American
 manhood should have. But I protest gainst any endeavor to confuse the thought of America by talking about an eight-hour workday when nothing of the sort has been enacted, nothing Of the sort has been proposed, and the only thing that was proposed or en- acted was a change in the schedule of wages. Men may work just as long as before.''
 When legislation is hastily enacted some unpleasant difficulties occur