The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1865-11-08
Muscular Labor.
An English stage-horse used 70 y ork eight

An English stage-horse used 70 work eight
miles per day, which he ran in about one
hour-the average speed, stops locihded'
being seven and half miles per siohr. a
wagon horse travels 90 miles per day, anu
works eight hours. These rates we're found
by experience to be the most economical.
| An engineer, a few years ago. tired the e.
| feet Of increasing the work of horses from
about 10000 to 1900 his. lifted foot per
minute; the result was that in less than q
months out of 80 horses 81 died. Watts
I finding that the best horses working hours
! per day could lift 23 900 lbs. ! foot per min.
ute, adopted that as the horsepower; but
| the general Practice is to work hours and
/ lift $1,000 lbs. foot per minute; and this
| is all that ordinary horses cn do without
wearing out so fast as 10 make an increase
Of work moro costly than this rate
The rate at which mon can work has not
/ been SO carefully ascertained. lut re have
| had sensational reports, that in Cuba, slaves
! and coolies have been worn out in seven
! years. Il would be service 10 science and
! humanity If the medical officers OF armies
and navies would Keep careful records Of the
| labor Of men under their charge, and report
! to the Smithsonian Institute; and II railway
! companies and great industrial establish
ments would employ physicians TO watch
over the health Of their people, and attend
gratis, and employ their leisure in keep
| ing such records, it might help to build
up reliable hygionic science, on which an
! improved practice might be founded.
Tho Introduction Of machines 10 relieve
! men from the expenditure of muscular pow
er has already done much TO increase the
| duration Of their powers. A man at a
II - - ~ tnIr,
| pared with the man that Clipped and filed
! to produce plane surfaces, within forty year ;
! or less The small steam hammers. now
/ muscles Of forge-men; and there is rapid
| increase of machines to substitute lie power
Of steam for that of muscle.
Tie fatigue and exhaustion Of power, and
| the wear thu. tends 10 shorten life are now
very much less than they were when we
first saw machine shops. Then men had to
do work like horses; now they do little
more than superintend the working ma
chine-tools. Then they were more worn
in two hours than they now are in ten
/ hours, upon lie main operations Of finishing
Thus there is constant dimination Of
hard labor. But still we have much more
to do in this way Men at the vice have
often hard work with the chise! anl f!e,
which ought to be done BY shaping tools,
and probably will be. Forge-men still WORK
hard. In fact, somc men in machine
establishment, really do three or four times
as much hard work as others. A man at
a lathe or planer, on light work. can en-
dure IA hours work per day with less effect
on his constitution than 8 hours at forge
would have.
There is no good reason why men
should not use seats more than they do
when attending machine tools Froprie-
tors would do we'll 10 provide good seats,
to be used freely whom there is no necessity
TO stand.
horse that is run too fast, or too much
loaded is soon worn out, and dies; three
years is the average in stage service; but
one that is moderately worked will last ten
years; 30, if a man works with n his encr.
~ many hours per day, he will soon wos,
ont. Laboring men in England, accor riding
to statistics, do not sustain nearly 70 the agt
Of professional men and men Of leisure
But if too much work shortens life, too lit
tie or insufficient exercise is generally sup
posed to have the like effect. What We d
not ye, know is the approximate amount o
labor which is bes. for health and longevity
Perhaps il might be six hours for the mar
enc who does lgh, work,
But the question is not an distracted one
applicable to men who can work little O
much, as they choose; it 10 . practical ques
ton to men who have to earu their living
and in the solution Of it We have to consid
er whether it is best to labor moderately
and live in an unhealthy tenement house,
or to labor up to the maximum power con-
sistent with health, land earn enough to live
in healthy house and region, and buy good
food. clothing. and other means Of health,
Probably, a man with three OF four dollars
additional wages earned by working more
/ hours, and spent in additional means Of
health, viii preserve his own health aud
that Of his family and live longer and have
more enjoyment than he could have had with
!, less work. This we must consider We
have constant complain; from the news
papers-which echo the voice Of the neore,
so far as We know--the condition Of our
cities and towns is so bad that vast amount
i Of time is lost in sickness: and the deaths
in some locations is more than double what
| 1t is in others. Now it will cost extra work
to make this condition better and we have
to consider whether TO lessen the hour. o.
work, and be slow In improving the cleanli
ness and heslthiness of the place we live in,
OF TO keep up or increase the hours Of work,
80 that We may earn mean. 70 avoid the
! causes OF sickness and premature death.
And this is the only way that men can get
only what they earn no continuance will
] long enable any class TO get high wages for
little work while others are moi doing as we'll.
We have simply to inquire how it will do for
all men TO shorten their work. There is a
time Of work which will give maximum
product--a maximum Of enjoyment, If men
| work less they will, on the whole, fall shor,
Of the greatest good.
Some may make up by gambling in va
rious forms, and many more may hope to dc
50; but those who are not gamblers b. trade
will be the losers by this method Of making
up FOR lack Of industry.
But one thing IL certain, mechanics tina,
work twenty hours will earn nearly twice as
a. much IS those those that work ten hours.
. And if we get plenty Of machines. they will
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