And now it is proposed not only to diminish that breathing-place, but to disturb it by the smoke of steam-engines, and to confuse it by the perpetual din of locomotives. I hope no such thing will be done. There is a place for all things; and this I know, the place for a railway-station is not a public park.
HOURS OF LABOR.
Letter to the Convention of the Massachusetts Labor Union in Boston, May 25, 1872.
Senate Chamber, May 25, 1872.
GENTLEMEN,—I cannot take part in your public meeting, but I declare my sympathy with the working-men in their aspirations for greater equality of condition and increased opportunities. I therefore insist that the experiment of an eight-hour law in the national workshops shall be fairly tried, so that, if successful, it may be extended.
Here let me confess that I find this law especially valuable, because it promises more time for education and general improvement. If the experiment is successful in this respect, I shall be less curious on the question of pecuniary profit and loss; for to my mind the education of the human family is above dollars and dividends.
Meanwhile accept my best wishes, and believe me