Show THE EIGHT HOURS BILL MAYOR BABKIN has vetoed the eight hour labor bill this has occasioned some excitement in labor circles it has exposed the mayor to much criticism it to is very easy to arouse sympathy for the poor working man and to call everything oppression slon which appears to be opposed to his interests or his bis demands we are not among the great admirers of mayor baskin but we do not think it right to join in any unreasonable attacks upon him nor to find fault when he performs what he believes to be his duty we therefore ask the public including the working people the mayor has done wrong to carefully examine the bill and the veto before they condemn the course he has taken the bill has been published before but we reproduce it here for re perusal A bill for an ordinance making makiej F eight hours a legal days day to work on public contract work section 1 be it ordained by the city council of salt lake city territory of utah that in all contracts made by the city of salt lake for the erection of buildings or repairs on public buildings bridges viaducts street paving or grading ana and all work on waterworks water works or sewerage there shall be incorporated the express agreement between said city and contractor or contractors that the said contractor or contractors shall not require or permit any employed or laborer between the hours or of 6 a m and 6 p m each day to work more than eight hours upon any such building bridge or viaduct or street or other public work and that the said eight hours shall bea be a full and legal days work the provisions of this section shall not apply to work required aired under said contract to be done at tl the e factory foundry or shops of the contractor or contractors but shall apply only when employed emp loyes or laborers are engaged directly at work upon the premises where eliere such public work is in being constructed ted see sec 2 any such contract shall also provide that in the event of any contractor or contractors violating the provisions of said contract that he or they shall forfeit to the city of salt lake territory of utah for each and every day that he or they shall violate the provisions of said paid contract this ordinance shall be in force from and after its approval i the text of the veto will he be found in our report of the city council proceedings proceeding ce it will be seen that the mayor is ia not opposed to the eight hour system su so far as it makes eight hours a full and legal days work but he does not think it proper by ar ry legislation to interfere with the natural right of a workman to labor more than eight hours if he wishes to do so BO nor of a contractor to engage men to work extra time if he wishes or it becomes necessary further farther the mayor objects to limiting limiti rg g work to eight hours in the day and leaving it unlimited as ae to time in the night now what to is there in all this that Is ie unsound in law or reason or to the workman or the employer if the city should ordain that eight hours boure shall be counted as a full day days dayis is work entitled to a full days pay making proper provision as to night work also aioo would not that be all sufficient Is it necessary to prevent any man from laboring longer than eight hours if he desires to do so eo and can get the work if a contractor is under obligations to finish a job by a certain time and he finds it necessary to engage his work men for overtime would it be right to fine him a hundred hendred dollars or punish wish him in any way for doing so no we we do not believe that any luch inch restriction and penalty would be good law jaw even if the ordinance had been signed by the mayor foras he says it would deprive men of a natural right and laws are made to protect and secure not destroy such bights we are tin in sympathy with the eight hour labor movement we have been for many years in favor of the theory that eight hours for work eight hours for sleep and eight hours for improvement and recreation make a fair division of the day of twenty four hours if the law was wall so framed that tha eight hours s should bould be a legal days work entitled to a full days pay on all pub to lie work we think that would be a good thing but we do not believe in such legal restrictions as an would destroy liberty or interfere with the freedom of the laborer or the employer nor do we consider any enactment sound in law or in principle which infringes upon any natural right working people may combine and pledge themselves of their own free will not to work longer than eight hurs hours in a day but they have so no right to say tt that at other persons who do not choose so to bind themselves shall conform to this limit any attempt to compel others to do so is ie tyr tyranny auty and should be resisted just as ae much as the oppression of employers the tyranny of labor combinations ought ough t to be fought by working men as well as the tyranny of capital men of independence should be careful not to barter their individual liberty for a deceptive mess mesa of pottage the great tr troubles cubles that are coming upon this nation will have their source in the lawlessness of labor combinations and their disregard of individual jon s on the one hand and the grasping I 1 heartlessness artlessness be of moneyed corporations on the other it is not always the itie necessities and sufferings of work ing people or the injustice and oppression slun of their employers that are the occasion of strikes it is in too often a disposition to take advantage of an AD opportunity to demand higher compensation for labor regardless of any question of equity or justice and that usually originates with crafty men who do no manual labor but manipulate the organizations to which laborers surrender themselves there is no doubt that lator labor has gained advantages by union of effort organization is is nece necessary seary to the amelioration of working people they have hated a right to combine and it is good policy polio to do so BO while capital and lator labor continue to hold their relative position of antagonism Oc cleties for the promotion of labor interests and for resisting the encroachment of capital will lie be needful but the danger in them la 19 in ila I 1 that hat tyranny which Is ie ai always ways worse in a mob than in a person or a gov govern ernt ment and in that disposition to effect by force what cannot be accomplished by reason the liberties of mankind are of paramount importance they must be preserved at any cost they must not be trampled upon under any Prete predence pretence pre tence nob labor abor associations have ave no more right to say may that men who do not belon belong K to them shall not work for a certain price or a given time than capitalists hare h to say may they shall do so have not the right to limit mews mens liberties in this respect municipalities KO beyond their powers when they attempt it mayor baskin is in right in his rea reasoning salm and in our opinion has done hta julig duty in vetoing the bill under consideration erat era tion iori and no matter how much some demagogues may denounce hab 3 act we do net nef believe there Is a think ing workman in this COY city who studley the situation and the bill but will say JA iri his heart the veto is right after all |