The Ten Hour Movement.

exist, throughout our broad domain. But while this is a general history of this excellent and most highly important law, there are many incidents connected therewith, and the chief actors engaged in the work of bringing it about, that should not, in the interest of the present generation as well as those which shall succeed it, be lost entirely in oblivion. It is not to be expected that a measure, even of much less importance than this, entirely in the interests of labor, but at that time supposed to be in antagonism to capital, should be brought to completion in so short a time without opposition. The antagonism to it was persistent and strong. We impugn no man's motives. It was undertaken in the interests of humanity, and the result has proved the justice of the cause.

At the above meeting, in addition to the appointment of the committee alluded to and other routine business, a most inspiriting address, written by the late John Wilde, was adopted, and ordered to be printed. It was also inserted in the Upland Union and the Delaware County Republican, and signed by Thomas Ashworth as president, and Joseph Holt as secretary. The address was extensively circulated, and followed by a series of meetings at different points contiguous to the various mills and factories in the county. At these meetings speeches were made and other legitimate means used to concentrate public opinion to the importance of endeavoring to obtain a law to restrict this then great and growing evil.

In the Delaware County Republican of Nov. 19, 1847, appears the following editorial: "The press is taking hold of the ten-hour system now about being petitioned for by the factory operatives in good earnest. ... Let those who oppose it just drop into a factory and work among the dirt and grease for fourteen hours each day for a twelvemonth, and tell us at the expiration of that time their opinion of the matter."

The next general public meeting of the operatives was at the old Providence Inn on Saturday evening, Nov. 20, 1847, when the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

"Resolved, That the persons composing this meeting have been long and practically convinced of the injurious effect of the great number of hours now constituting a day's work in factories, upon the mental and physical powers of those subjected to such long-continued toil and confinement.

"Resolved, That this meeting hails with a lively satisfaction the increasing interest manifested by all the producing classes, and more particularly the expressed sympathy and support of the public press in aid of the present movement to ameliorate the condition of the factory operatives.

"Resolved, That we will continue our united exertions to procure by constitutional and legal means the passage of a law reducing the time of labor in factories to ten hours a day, or fifty-eight hours per week."

These resolutions were urged in stirring addresses by Messrs. Webb, Cotton, Ashworth, Walker, and Fawley.

A meeting of operatives and workingmen generally was held at Sneath's Corner on Saturday evening, Dec. 4. 1847. Dr. Jesse Young having suggested some doubts about the constitutionality of a law regulating the hours of labor for adults, a spirited debate arose between him and Messrs. Ashworth, Fawley, and Walker, which continued for more than an hour. Hon. Joseph Engle (one of the associate judges for Delaware County) being present was solicited for his opinion, and stated that be believed the Legislature had power to pass laws to promote the moral and physical well-being of the citizens of the State, and as the present object of the operatives appeared to him to be expressly designed for that highly commendable purpose, he had no doubt of either the right or justice of such legislation.

The following Saturday evening, Dec. 10, 1847, a meeting was held in the school-house at Hinkson's Corner, which was addressed by Messrs. Ashworth, Holt, F. Pearson, and Greenwood. The following resolutions were adopted:

"Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting the present system is more particularly injurious to children employed in factories, depriving them in a majority of cases from ever acquiring the rudiments of a common education, so essentially necessary to enable them to perform the duties devolving on them as citizens of this Republic.

"Resolved, That we believe that the confinement of female operatives for twelve or fourteen hours in a day is highly injurious, depriving them of the opportunity of acquiring the necessary knowledge of domestic duties to enable them to fill their stations in we11-regulated households, and deprives them of the means of acquiring a practical and useful education."

Similar meetings continued to be held, and petitions forwarded to the Legislature, and all other legitimate means used to obtain the passage of the much-desired law. On the 25th of March, 1847, the Senate passed the bill making ten hours a legal day's work in all factories in this State. It afterwards passed the House and became a law, to take effect on and after the 4th day of July, 1848.

As showing how the law was received at the time, we copy the two following editorials from newspapers contemporary with its passage:

"The Ten Hours' System. - The proprietors of Fairhill Factory, in Philadelphia, have already extended the benefits of the ten-hour law to the operatives in their employ, and we understand that most, if not all, of the manufacturers of the city and county will comply with the requisitions of the law immediately after the fourth day of next month."¹

Again, -

"We understand that a portion, if not all, of the manufacturers of cotton goods in this county (Delaware) have determined to close their factories for several weeks after the 4th of July next. It is said that most of them have a large stock of goods on hand, and failing to effect sales, they have concluded to await until the market becomes better."

Such were the differences of opinion among those who were supposed to be more pecuniarily interested in the future effects of the law. The actual effects of it I now proceed to show. The late John P. Crozer, who at that time was generally supposed to be the leading spirit in opposition to the new system, after a few years' trial when established, generously admitted the errors under which he had labored, and afterwards became one of its most friendly advocates.