Mr. GOMPERS. You said it to one of them, and the record will bear it out.

Mr. PAYSON. The record will not bear it out.

Mr. GOMPERS. If the judge will, after consulting the record, find that he did use the word "exorbitant"

Mr. PAYSON. Then I withdraw it.

Mr. VREELAND. I remember a word about that length.

Mr. GOMPERS. However, my memory serves me absolutely accurately.

Mr. PAYSON. Treat it as though I did; let us hear what you say. Mr. GOMPERS. We will treat it as though the judge said it, and I want to repeat that he did so. Conceding, for the sake of the argument, that the demands which labor makes in respect to pay for overtime are exorbitant, it proves our contention; in order to make it prohibitive, the demand is exorbitant. Unconsciously, the judge by the form of the question, and the language employed in putting the question, bears out our contention.

Mr. PAYSON. Before you leave that subject, now, may I ask you a question?

Mr. GOMPERS. Yes, sir.

Mr. PAYSON. Can you name a labor union in the country affected by the operation of this bill that does not have a provision for overtime work in every trade agreement that it makes? Can you name one?

Mr. GOMPERS. I can not, sir.

Mr. PAYSON. Can you name any where, in any agreement, except as stated by this plasterer this morning, the pay for overtime for ordinary day work is double time?

Mr. GOMPERS. No, sir; I can not name them.

Mr. PAYSON. But you assert that there are some?

Mr. GOMPERS. Yes, sir.

Mr. PAYSON. Is it not a fact that the general provision, the almost universal provision, is simply 50 per cent extra?

Mr. GOMPERS. Yes, sir.

Mr. PAYSON. In business emergencies in ordinary times, Sunday and holiday work, double time?

Mr. GOMPERS. Yes, sir.

Mr. PAYSON. That is all I want to ask you.

Mr. GOMPERS. You will also find, as stated by Mr. Fletcher this morning, that in some trades, in order to penalize it out of existence, the pay is not only double time for overtime, but sometimes treble time.

Mr. EMERY. Can you name any such interest?

Mr. GOMPERS. No, I can not do that; but Mr. Fletcher referred to it himself.

Mr. HOLDER. That applies to all the metal trades, Mr. Gompers, in New York.

Mr. GOMPERS. I do not know of my own knowlege as to any particular trade, but I know that it exists. I know, too, that there has been a steady tendency toward penalizing it still further. I know, for instance, that ten years ago it seldom occurred where the pay for overtime, or for Sunday or holiday work, was more than pay and a half or 50 per cent over ordinary time. But the steady progress has been to penalize it out of existence except in case of an actual emergency.

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I do not want to occupy more of your time other than to say it seems to me that the exigencies demand a shorter work day. I trust that this committee will report and Congress will pass and have enacted into law an effective eight-hour bill.

May I ask, Mr. Chairman, in view of the fact that I notice there is a considerable bulk of testimony here-when I say "bulk" I say it in the most respectful sense a large amount of testimony, that has been presented to this committee in opposition to this bill, and in view of the fact that those who ask this legislation have occupied but two hours of your time, that the committee would permit the incorporating in the present printed proceedings and hearings of some of the statements that have been adduced before at two or three former Committees on Labor of the House having this legislation under consideration.

Mr. VREELAND. The statements of those appearing in the affirmative? Mr. GOMPERS. Yes, sir; and instead of taking up your time, by submitting orally before you, and we could do that with the millions of workmen in this country who are with us both in our organizations and those who would support it, we could, I think, bring a crowd of men who would come as the advocates of this bill; instead of that, we did not want to take up your time and do not want to do so, and we ask that at least side by side with all this testimony and argument against this legislation we may be permitted to submit some of the matters which we would like to have made a part of this record.

Mr. HASKINS. Everything that has been reproduced from former hearings and brought into this record by any of these gentlemen representing the manufacturers has been pointed out to us before it went in.

Mr. VREELAND. Mr. Gompers points those out, that they shall be statements made to the Committee on Labor in an argument on a similar bill at some previous time.

Mr. GOMPERS. I trust that each man, every one in his own way, both as Members of Congress as well as private citizens, may do what may be his duty in the premises. I do not think that we can afford to be indifferent to conditions as they exist, and the progress of industry. It will not do for any of us to assume the position of "After me the flood.".

Mr. RAINEY. As far as I am concerned, I do not think that request is unreasonable.

The CHAIRMAN. There is no objection to it.

Mr. GOMPERS. I thank you, gentlemen.

APPENDIX.

ARGUMENT OF MR. SAMUEL GOMPERS, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR.

Mr. GOMPERs rose.

Mr. McCAMMON. There is one point in that statement of Judge Payson he referred to some time ago that he wished to repeat before this committee, and that relates to the mail, or the service over the railroads, the carrying of troops and provisions for the United States, and the carrying of mail.

The CHAIRMAN. That is in his argument before the Senate committee?

Mr. McCAMMON. That is in it; yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. The judge insists that the bill applies to the contracts for the carrying of the mails.

Mr. HERBERT. I do not think that is denied, is it? I did not say anything about that for the reason that Judge Payson was to conclude the argument here. Certain transportation is excepted, and all other transportation, including railroads, is not excepted.

The CHAIRMAN. I can say that there would be no question about the bill applying, only this: The committee had a considerable amount of information that it thought was reliable, which went to show that nobody on the railroads made a longer run than eight hours a day, but other gentlemen have appeared before this committee who have given testimony to show, perhaps, that there are runs of longer than eight hours in some cases.

Mr. McCAMMON. And Judge Payson would say, as to his railroads, the same thing. Mr. GOMPERS. May I say right here, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, that we have no intention that its provisions shall apply to the railroads. I intended to say that in the course of my remarks, but in order to save time I just refer to it now.

Mr. MCCAMMON. Before you proceed on that I should think Mr. Herbert should have opportunity to state his position in reference to this.

Mr. GOMPERS. You have consumed some nine hearings now and some two months and some thirty hours of the attention of this committee.

Mr. MCCAMMON. That has nothing to do with this question of railroads. I merely assert that Judge Payson, in addition to the testimony given here, intended to show, so far as the railroads he represents are concerned, and I recall he said he represented 10,000 miles of railroad, that the law would apply, because they did not work as little, on an average, as eight hours a day-the employees of the roads work longer than that. That is all, and I am through.

Mr. GOMPERS. Of course if the honorable committee is of the opinion that further time shall be given to the opponents of the bill, I see no reason that I should, or even that I have a right to, interpose any objection.

Mr. HERBERT. I said I was through.

Judge MCCAMMON. I have nothing more.

Mr. GOMPERS. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I congratulate the committee that we are arriving at the close of the hearings. There have been, just as I intimated a moment ago, nine hearings before this committee upon this bill, covering a period of nearly two months, and more than thirty hours have been devoted to the consideration of this bill before this committee-perhaps a longer period of time devoted to committee hearings than on any other measure that has been introduced in recent Congresses. My only regret is that I shall be required to take up some little time of the committee in considering some of the things that have been adduced, some of the arguments which have been made. I am not sure that the committee have heard or have seen the letters which I referred to as being desirous of submitting, and shall therefore proceed to read them. They are not very long. [Reading:]

BROTHERHOOD OF BOILER MAKERS AND IRON-SHIP BUILDERS,
Kansas City, Kans., March 8, 1900.

DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: Your favor of the 5th instant received this morning and noted. And the best way I can answer your question is to inclose a notice that will give you all the firms in Chicago that are working eight hours. That is the only city that we have made the demand in. And now, besides this, we have a kind of an agreement in New York and vicinity on all repair work, where all the firms have agreed to work eight hours on the outside, which you will find on page 37 of the February Journal of the Boiler Makers.

Hoping that this will be satisfactory and conclusive, I am,
Yours, truly and fraternally,

SAMUEL GOMPERS,

WM. J. GILTHROPE, Grand Secretary-Treasurer.

President' American Federation of Labor, Washington, D. C.

GRANITE CUTTERS' NATIONAL UNION,
Boston, Mass., March 13, 1900.

DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: Replying to your letter of recent date, I have the honor to report that one-third of the contractors in the granite business have recognized the eight-hour day in the United States for the past ten years, and the other twothirds have adopted the eight-hour day by commencing March 1 of this year, so that from now henceforth all granite cutting done from Maine to California and from the Canadian line to the Gulf will be done on the eight-hour day, by mutual consent between the employers and the employees in the granite business. It is not, therefore, necessary for me to enumerate the names of firms or the cities following this custom, as anyone who knows where granite cutting is done can stick a pin into that part of the map as being an eight-hour locality so far as granite cutting is concerned; and this applies not only to the cutting of stone for public or private residences and buildings, but to cemetery and monumental work on granite, or for whatever purpose it may be used.

Prior to 1900 the cities in the United States recognizing an eight-hour day in our trade were:

New York State: Albany, New York City, Brooklyn, Troy, Buffalo, Tarrytown and vicinity, Goshen and vicinity, White Plains and vicinity, and Suffern.

Maryland: Baltimore City; Washington, D. C.

Texas: Galveston, Llano, San Antonio, Burnett, Marble Falls, Paris, Fort Worth, and Austin.

Missouri: St. Louis, Kansas City, and Graniteville.

Minnesota: Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud, Mankato, Rockville, Big Stone, and Pipestone.

Wisconsin: Amberg, Granite Heights, and Wapaca.

Wyoming: Cheyenne.

Nebraska: Omaha.

Colorado: Denver, Silver Plume, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Cripple Creek. Montana: Anaconda, Butte, and Helena.

Oregon: Cascade Locks, Portland, and Snake River quarries.

California: Sacramento, San Francisco, Raymond, Rocklin, and Los Angeles.

Those places form the principal granite centers in their respective States, and the adjoining country is subject to the rules governing those places; hence it is a fair statement that in each of the States mentioned the rules applying to the cities above referred to apply equally throughout the limits of the State.

Fraternally, yours,

Mr. SAMUEL GOMPERS,

JAMES DUNCAN, National Secretary.

President American Federation of Labor, Washington, D. C.

NORTHERN MINERAL MINE WORKERS' PROGRESSIVE UNION, Ishpeming, Mich., March 13, 1900. DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: Your letter addressed to William Mudge, Negaunee, asking information relative to what mines are being worked on the eight-hour system, received yesterday. In reply would say that the mines now working eight hours are as follows:

Lake Angeline, two mines; Lake Cleveland, Salisbury, East New York. These three are owned by Cleveland Clipp Company. Cambria and Lily mines; also Negaunee mines, Negaunee. That is all I know about in Marquette County.

Fraternally, yours,

Mr. SAMUEL GOMPERS,

President American Federation of Labor.

EDWIN HARPER, Secretary,

418 East North Street.

BRICKLAYERS AND MASONS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF AMERICA,
Cohoes, N. Y., March 6, 1900.

DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: In response to your inquiry of yesterday, asking me to furnish your office a list of the cities and towns in the United States in which the building trades at present work but eight hours per day, I report to you the following cities and towns wherein the bricklayers and masons work but eight hours per day, as per official reports to December 31:

California: San Francisco.

Colorado: Denver, Pueblo, Canyon City, Colorado Springs, Florence, Cripple Creek. Connecticut: Hartford.

Illinois: Quincy, Belleville, Peoria, Springfield, Jacksonville, Rock Island, Alton, Streator, Joliet, Chicago, Danville.

Indiana: Indianapolis, Terre Haute.

Iowa: Des Moines.

Kansas: Topeka.

Kentucky: Covington.

Massachusetts: Holyoke, Springfield, Boston, Brockton, Lynn.

Michigan: Grand Rapids, Detroit.

Minnesota: St. Paul, Minneapolis.

Missouri: St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Joseph.

Montana: Butte.

Nebraska: Omaha.

New Jersey: Jersey City, Newark, Hoboken, Orange, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Kearny, Morristown.

New York: Brooklyn, New York, Albany, Cohoes, Kingston, Staten Island, Yonkers, Syracuse, Stapleton, Buffalo, Rochester, Long Island City, New Rochelle, Flushing. Ohio: Cleveland, Hamilton, Cincinnati, Zanesville, Columbus, Dayton, Carthage. Oregon: Portland.

Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Newcastle.

Rhode Island: Newport.

Tennessee: Memphis.

Texas: Galveston, El Paso, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Waco.
Washington: Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Olympia.

Wisconsin: Kenosha, Milwaukee.

District of Columbia: Washington.

I am very confident that before the 1st of May that agreements will be signed adopting the eight-hour workday rule in over fifty other cities, where our people have made demands for same, all present indications being very favorable.

It should be borne in mind that in this list thus given a number of the cities named contained more than one of our unions. Thus, in New York proper there are 9 unions; in Brooklyn, 7; in Boston, 3; Cincinnati, 3; St. Louis, 3, and a number of others

2 each.

Fraternally,

Mr. SAMUEL GOMPERS,

THOS. O'DEA, Secretary.

President American Federation of Labor, Washington, D. C.