Evening star., 1918-04-04
BORLAND LONG DAY
PAssESFROM BILL
Action by conferees of House
and Senate Sounds Death
KneIt for Amendment.
REJECT EIGHT-HoUR IDEA

| The Borland eight-hour amendment
has been stricken from the agriculture
| appropriation bill by the conferees OF
| the Senate and House. Under the
| amendment the employees of the De-
| partment Of Agriculture would be COM
PEELED to work a minimum OF eight
hours a day, with no pay for overtime
\ work.
This action on the part of the confer.
ees is believed to sound the death kneIi
of the Borland amendment. It Is wen
understood that the Senate cornmittee
on appropriations, which has before II
/ the legislative executive and Judlciai
appropriation bill, will eliminate from
| that measure the Borland eight-hour
amendment also, and that the Senate,
| which voted 40 to 23 against the Bor-
| land amendment in the agriculture ap-
preparation bill. will sustain the action
of the committee.
The overwhelming vote in the Senate
against the proposal of Mr.. Borlano
was the compelling factor in causing
the conferees to discard the Borland
amendment in the agricultural bill.
There seems little prospect OF the
confereeS reaching an agreement over
the Senate amendment providing for
$3.50 wheat, increasing the government
guaranteed price from 50 a busheL 1t
is expected this matter will have to go
back to the House for separate vote
May Demand Separate Vote.
It is possible that the House may de-
amendment as well as on the Wheat
amendment, or it may turn down the
conference report entirely. But this is
not believed to be probable.
Representative Borland' of Missouri,
the author of the eight-hour amend
ment, has striyen for a long time to
have provision enacted into law COM
pelling the government clerks to work
a minimum of eight hours day.
After the House inserted the amend
ment in the agricultural appropriation
bill and that measure was reported to
the Senate by the committee on agri-
culture, containing the Borland amend
ment, it was believed that the Senate
might approve it.
But as soon as the senators had be-
come acquainted with the facts of the
case the tide began to swing in the
opposite direction. 1t was pointed out
that, instead of establishing the stand
ard eight hour day, the Borland amend
ment compelled the clerks to work for
eight hours and no less, and that it
made no provision for any extra pay
for work over time, although the heads
of departments under the law may
work them sixteen hours instead of
leight if they desire.
Borland Alone in Demand.
It is pointed out also that none of the
heads of departments or of the bureaus
had asked Congress for the eight-hour
amendment. Mr.. Borland alone had
made this demand. 1t has been charged
on the floor of the Senate that Mr.. Bor-
land was seeking political advantage in
his effort to compel the clerks to work
not less than eight hours a day.
When the Borland amendment first
came up for consideration in the Senate
efforts were made to amend it so that
it would provide for overtime pay for
the clerks. But these failed. On the
first vote a motion of Senator Sheppard's
to strike out the Borland amendment
was defeated, % to %. The final vote
by which Senator Sheppards motion to
strike out prevailed, did not come un-
til several days later. In the meantime
the sentiments in the Senate had devel-
oped more strongly against the
amendment of Mr.. Borland. and when
Senator Sheppard reviewed his motion it
was carried by an overwhelming vote.