New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-12-01
EIGHT HOURS A DAYS WORK.

A FRIEND writes to ash our cooperation in al
effort TO r, ouce the usual hours Of labor per day
to eish ard have that number establishei as con
shutting a regular days work. We ars consd-
eripg the matter.
Mankind, with regard 20 work, are divided
into tso classes, one of which works too little
az d the other too much. And there seems to be
a growing percussion among the latter class that,
if II ey cut down their days work to eight hours,
the other sort will have to work more than
ths now DO Perhaps they will, but We don't
feel at all sure Of it. For instance:
There is a pretty large class who live on fixed
incomes rents, interest on stocks, bonds, mort
cages, &c, &C. We don't see how the pro-
posed retrcnchment will reach these, unless i!
increases the cost Of production and the price Of
labor. Ii the workman were paid no more for
ten days labor than he now is for eight-snd
this is the more natural yesult-it would not az
feet the capitalist class in the least But if it en-
HANGED the workman's pay by giving him the
same for eight hours labor that he now receives
for ter, why, then. the price of every product of
labOr-Gran, Cloth, Lumber, Fuel, Ac.-must
be enhanced twenty per cent We don't see
that the laborer would gain anything more by
cutting piece off this end of the blanket than
off the other AMI besides, the impulse to ex-
cessiye portAiiOn-the very evil which is now
eating out the life Of the country-would be inn
m,nsely increased The rise in the price Of our
own products would not be paralleled by rise in
the price of European products, beoiase they
would continue to be produced ler the old or
long. hours sJstem-sud so Foreign Wares and
Fabrics would supplant our own to far greater
extent than they now d0-shutting up our fur
naccs foTgos, factories and founderies, and run
ming us deeper aud deeper in debt to Europe, un-
,il--al We have being mortg' ged-she would
trust us no longer
Still, there are poor people in the world-mi
Ii )ns of ihem-whO work even less than eight
hours per osy yet keep alOag. We believe he same
result could be secured in this country-not. per-
hsps, 10 the great cities-by taking the proper
steps and paying the memorable price. Ia short,
it can be done by general resolve to live far
more frucally, and in no other wsy. T9illustrste:
Friend Eight Hour you smoke occasionally
"Well, yes" sO-you must quit that aud
never again consume the filthy we in asy shape.
of course, you drink tea aud coffee why,
" certainly" So-yOu must put them both over
board deierminedly and cOnclusively. Perhaps
you take something stronger-todjy, for instance,
or pure old Cognac "No-very seldom
Well, YOU must mt take anything OF the sort al az
now do mt say word about sickness, for If
you live as am telling you and work no more
than eight hours per day, you viii never be sick.
You eat meat, probably -" No mistake in
that. II see Well. you must stop il entirely,
and send butter, on. spice, pepper and all man-
ner Of chicken filings after meat. Yes, Sir;
GOOD wholesome bread is excellent food, aud
man can live on il if be tries. NOa may add some
vegetables when not too dear, (bu. OF course no
potatoes when they are 80 per barrel, and some
fruits when they sre dead ripe and very cheap.
But you must lean mainly on ":he staf Of life, -
including boiled rice, bommony, oat-cake, aud
other such nouriskng fodder. BS.ter still, when
YOU have journey to make 20 a-ioot, having
hlled your pockets with raw wheat and parehed
corn, chewing first one, then the other slowly
and deliberately, whenever you are hungry. A
these times of dear food; and yoa can live on il !
day aud 10 eight hours good work. A quart o.
corn would cost no more; and this, pound
cd in a mortar and well boiled. would be 4
generous allowance for a day. Aud If you are
willing to live in that way, with very coarse but
thoroughly warm and serviceable clothes cloth
cap costing two slilliHgs instead Of four-doilar
hat, aud ,yep thing else to MATCHBOX eau live
on eight hours work per dsy.
But ifyou have an affection for roast turky and
broadeloth, oysters and PrincPes-abo7e al, If
you have VIDE sud daughters who prefer silk to
lirsey wcolsty, china to brown earthen, piano
TO a coal-sereen-we guess il isn't worth while to
waste much breath on eight hours per day. The
times are inaaspieious.
However, friend, your idea 10 not bad one
essentially. We work too much, good many Of
US, and spend our lives in providing the where
withal 10 live. Ii is losing business, and we
mean to reform our part Of it. BE it therefore
unanimously
R,e'rcd Ths, We sost vosk'heresfeg more th.s
ftttta boa, per day.