HOUSE....No. 80 . eromniontoealtlj of JHafissacijusetts. House of Representatives, Feb. 15, 1855. The Committee on regulating hours of labor in incorporated establishments, to whom was referred the Petition of Joseph Morrill and others, for an act restricting the hours of labor in incorporated establishments to ten hours per day, have considered the same, and submit the following REPORT and Bill:— Your committee, who were instructed to take into con¬ sideration the subject of regulating the hours of labor in incor¬ porated establishments, beg leave to present a few facts to the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives, showing reasons why. in their judgment, the number of hours of labor in said establishments should be reduced by law to ten hours per day, or sixty hours per week. We believe that the time has arrived when every friend of human advancement should calmly and deliberately consider the evil tendencies of our present system of manufacturing. Wherever the question of a decrease of the number of the hours of labor has received proper investigation, it has been 'KVW hJ 2 HOURS OF LABOR. [Feb. followed by a strong desire on the part of the operatives of all classes to meet and investigate the evil so far as possible. Ever since the first introduction of cotton and woollen mills into this country, the hours of labor have been excessive. Eleven, twelve, twelve and a half and thirteen hours have been, and still are, the number of hours which the operatives are obliged to labor. „^four committee are well aware of the fact that a large proportion of the operatives work but eleven hours per day at the present time ; yet at the present time there may be a disposition on the part of some of the mills to return to the old system. To prevent this, and to further protect the rights of the laboring classes, petitions have from time to time been presented to this honorable body, praying for a “ law ” to the effect that the hours of labor shall be reduced to ten hours per day. The ** competition ” of other countries has been used as an argument in opposition to such a reduction; but now this argument is without force. In very many of the manufacturing countries in the old world, a reduction in the hours of labor has already taken place. England has almost universally adopted the ten-hour plan ; and if report is correct, the kingdom of Prussia, the Swiss Confederation and several of the German States have followed the example^ In our own country, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and many other States have wholly, or in part, adopted the same plan ; so that to-day the cry of competition is of ho avail. The question is occupying the minds of the great and the good of the present day ; and the result of their investigations has already, as before remarked, accomplished much good in many places. In England the question was discussed pro and con , by in¬ terested and disinterested men, for years; objections were raised and answered until the truth could be concealed no longer; and finally the legislature of Great Britain granted the prayer of its oppressed operatives. And now, at this late day, we ask the legislature of old Massachusetts to pause and look for a moment at the interests of her own sons and daughters. It has been our boast that, as a State, we stand first and foremost in every good word and ST-/ 6 Ta^Xov ,3 5" HOUSE—No. 80. 3 U 0 1855.] v work; yet, even while we boast, our men, women and chil¬ dren have been confined to almost incessant toil. From morning D until night, day in and day out, week after week, month after month, year in and year out, they have toiled on. Legislation has been had to protect the capitalist, resolves have been presented and passed in favor of the slave of the south, the great and good men of the day have spent their ener¬ gies in the black man’s behalf; and while we would not complain of this action on the part of this honorable body, yet we beg to submit to your consideration the fact that past legis¬ latures have allowed the men who raised them to stations of trust and emolument to remain almost forgotten, and they have been compelled to toil on, unnoticed, uncared for, by those in power, with a few honorable exceptions—remembered only when their vote was necessary to the office holder’s welfare. Spring, summer, autumn and winter are all alike to them, each bringing with it the same eternal round of unmitigated toil. And now they appeal to this honorable body again, knowing that you have the power to ameliorate their condition; and knowing that this legislature is made up of men whose inter¬ ests are the same as their own, they appeal to us with a degree of hope amounting almost to a certainty. /4fn argument is presented in favor of a long-hour system, by some, from the fact that in most factories there are some who are willing to work from daylight until dark the year round. The experience of those who have been engaged in manu¬ facturing is, that all such persons are gifted with very narrow conceptions of the good and noble, and are possessed of but one idea—which idea is derived from, and centred in, the almighty dollar—taking no interest in the great movements of the day or in the maintenance of our glorious institutions; while, on the other hand, those who ask that the number of hours of labor may be reduced to ten hours per day are those who not only feel, but manifest, a deep interest in the welfare of oJ our country, in the education of our children, in the support of our churches and in the perpetuity of those glorious insti¬ tutions and great blessings bequeathed to us by our fathers— intelligent men and women, who ask for time to attend to their intellectual pursuits, time to gather food for their minds, in 4 HOURS OF LABOR. [Feb. order that they may be worthy children of patriotic sires. There is another fact to which we would call the attention of this honorable body. If the large manufacturing companys reduce their hours of labor, all the smaller corporations immediately follow their example. The reason for this is found in the fact that the most intelligent portion of the operatives invariably seek em¬ ployment at such places as run their machinery the least num¬ ber of hours; and as the intelligent operative is the most profitable to the company, hence the fact, if the smaller corpo¬ rations wish to retain their good help, they must conform to the same rules adopted by the larger ones. This fact, which has been proved by repeated experiments, is a strong argument in favor of the short-hour system, show¬ ing at once that, if the masses are consulted in regard to their wishes, the ten-hour law will be immediately placed upon the statute book ; and as the laboring classes are the people , we feel that their request should be granted without delay. Another objection has been made to the short-hour system : which is, that the wages of the operatives would be reduced. This has not always proved to be the case, although in some cases it may have been; yet, admitting such to be the result in all cases, still we find that the operatives, fully understand¬ ing what the result will be, continue to ask for a reduction in the hours of labor—thus showing that they are willing to bear their portion of the pecuniary burden, if in return they can receive a corresponding amount of leisure time which they can devote to other pursuits. There is one other objection used by the manufacturer in opposition to this measure ; which is, that there would follow a reduction of the hours of labor a corresponding diminution in the amount of production. This we believe to be fallacious. Such an assumption is not only contrary to our own experience, but it is at variance with the opinions of some of the most intelligent manufac¬ turers in this and other countries. But these are not the only arguments in favor of the short system: we feel that there are others of as great, if not greater, importance. The head of a family wishes time to attend to his house- a 1855.] HOUSE—No. 80. 5 hold duties—time to store his mind with knowledge, in order that he may train up his children in the path of rectitude—to instil into their minds a love for the land that gave them birth, and thus prepare them to receive and perpetuate those great institutions which we enjoy. The young woman needs time to be trained in other duties than those of spinning and weaving: they are to be the mothers of the coming generation. Much is said of the bad effects of fashion upon young women, and they are advised by the journals of the day to leave the piano, throw French and German out of the window, and to. turn their attention to the spinning wheel and loom ; but we submit for the considera¬ tion of this honorable body the fact that, where one young woman is disqualified for her proper sphere in life by a piano, by French or German, a hundred are rendered unfit for the duties which await them in life by a too close application to this same spinning wheel and loom. In regard to the children who are employed in these mills, your committee deem it useless to say any thing in their behalf, believing that each and every one will perceive at a glance that a child from ten to sixteen years of age ought not to be confined to any labor for so long a duration of time. Medical men unite with one voice in pronouncing it an incalculable injury; to both mind and body, and your committee ask the gentlemen composing this honorable body to take into candid consideration the above facts; and, as the result of our careful deliberations, we beg leave to submit the following Bill. AUGUSTUS C. CAREY, Chairman. BAKER, of Middlesex, • LIBBY, of Suffolk, | Senate. CAREY, of Ipswich, CHANDLER, of Duxbury, CLIFFORD, of Lowell, BOYNTON, of Westboro’, ELLIS, of New Bedford, House. 6 HOURS OF LABOR. [Feb. ©ommoutoeaWfj of JWas®; utymtUx. In tlie Year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty- Five. AN ACT Concerning the Hours of Labor in Incorporated Estab¬ lishments. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa¬ tives in General Court assembled , and by the authority of the same , as folloivs :— 1 Sect. 1. From and after the first day of July, in 2 the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, no 3 person shall be employed in laboring by, or for, any 4 company incorporated by or under the laws of this 5 Commonwealth, more than ten hours in any one day, 6 except in the cases provided for in the second section 7 of this act. 1 Sect. 2. There shall be excepted from the fore- 2 going provision of this act the following cases, to wit: 1855.] HOUSE—No. 80. 3 The employment of persons in the running of rail- 4 road trains, the employment of persons in making 5 repairs necessary to prevent the stoppage or inter- 6 ruption of the ordinary running of engines, mills, 7 machinery or railroad trains, and the employment of 8 persons in doing labor of charity or necessity. 1 Sect. 3. Any company incorporated by or under 2 the laws of this Commonwealth which shall employ 3 any person, or have in its employment any person, con- 4 trary to the provisions of this act, and also any agent, 5 superintendent, overseer, or other employee of any 6 corporation who shall employ any person in laboring 7 for any such corporation contrary to the provisions 8 of this act, shall, for each and every offence, forfeit to 9 the use of the person prosecuting the sum of fifty 10 dollars, to be recovered in any court competent to try 11 the same.