The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1922-06-01

vetoed by President Wilson at the re-
quest of federal employees unions and
the American Federation of Labor.
The motive back Of the employees in
fighting the increase of the working
day to eight hours is obvious. The
motive back of the American Fedora
ton Of Labor has been publicly eX-
pressed by the officials of that body
upon several occasions. Although they
have made a fight elsewhere in the
country for an eight -hour day and al
though that was one of the main things
they demanded for railroad labor in the
Adamson act when put on record as
to the reason for their opposition to
making eight hours the legal work day
for federal employees in Washington
American Federation officials frankly
state they want to keep the work day
for federal employees in Washington
shorter than elsewhere in the country
in order to set an example Tor a shorter
work day to which the rest of union
lied labor can work. The federation
officials state that SO long as 40 or
41-hour week schedule is maintained
for federal employees in Washington
the federation can wage a campaign
throughout the rest of the country for
"a similar schedule in all Industries
The federal employees unions
through their organizers and their Of
fetal publications, openly threaten the
political life of any member of con
gress who attempts to lengthen to
eight hours the working day of en-
ployes in the Washington departments
and bureaus. The members of the fed
eral employees unions. protected as
they are by civil service in their def
ance of superior officers in the various
departments at Washington and in
their threats against members of con-
gress are a tremendous power in var
ious parts of the country. 1t is the
boast of the federal employees unions
that in several of the states, in the
middle west especially, they have more
people active at work in their organ
ization than either of the old parties. |
and that any member of congress who |
does not do their bidding will be
promptly marked for defeat either at
the primaries or at the election mas
much as they have succeeded in max |
ing good this threat on two or three |
occasions. naturally, many congress
men are timorous about standing for |
longer hours for employees in Washing
ton.
Immediately after the presidential
campaign in 1920 in which the republi
cans promised to reduce the number of
employees in Washington and get rid
of incompetent and useless help, or
ganizers for the employees unions con-
Quoted drive among federal employees
who were still out of the union and
spread the promise that the entire in
fuence of the unions would be exerted
TO prevent any reduction in the number
Of government employees. Employees
were also promised that the unions
were strong enough to prevent an
eight hour day being established for
in Washington.
Conservative estimates by those who
have made a thorough investigation of
the situation show that by increasing
the workday of federal employees at
to a minimum of eight |
hours the same amount of work that
now is done could be done by force
of 10000 to 10000 fewer employees. In
addition to this if the work day were
increased to eight hours and the work
speeded up, the government service
would get rid automatically of the
least efficient employees and the slack
ers. The introduction of business
methods in the selecting and handling
Of the personnel in the departments at
would net a saving to the
government of not less than $25,OOO,OOO