The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1867-05-11
The Eight Hour Movement.

leading points in this State for week or two
in reference to the movements of the working
men to give practical efficacy to the enactment
of our last legislature, making eight hours a
legal days work. There has been more or
less rioting, and if the statements of such pa
pers as the Chicago "Times" and Tribune
are to be believed, more or less incendiarism
and bloodshed. We cannot see, however, on
cursory examination of the evidence, that any
of the alleged incendiarism in Chicago is di-
rectly traceable to the strikers, although it is
undeniable that good deal too much of the
mob spirit has been shown for the public
or their own good. We also believe that a
very powerful stimulus to this spirit has been
found in the course of such papers of the
..Times" and "Trbune" towards the working
men. For once these papers have laid aside
their political differences and joined shoulder
to shoulder in an attempt to do that towards
the laboring classes which has been especially
their ''forte" in politics-to overawe, bully,
and crush out all opposition to their pet no
tons and theories. The "Tmes" has always,
as political journal, been as great harm as
advantage to its party, on account Of its DOM
ineering, dictatorial spirit, and the ''Tribune"
has been noted for the same peculiarly as a
republican journal. Their success as leaders
in the movement to crush the workingmcn
promises to be no greater than it has been as
leaders of rival political organizations.
The PRINCIPLE, that the day naturally di-
vides itself into three equal parts-eight hours
for labor, eight hours for sleep, and eight
hours for mental and bodily improvement and
REFRESHMENTS at least as old as treemasonry,
and one in which we religiously believe. 1t is
one which, however, we are afraid will not
be fully realized much this side of the mllen-
mum. Suppose all men should honestly and
industriously devote themselves to manual Ia
Dor eight hours each day then, devoting one
hour to each meal, spend five hours in earn
est effort for mental improvement, and thus
having spent the day, give themselves eight
hours to wholesome sleep-such state would
leave little more for millenial improvement.
AT least, in the present organization of socie-
ty, it is the last thing that is thought of. The
strife between all men is for superiority over
their fellows. The lawyer can only attain sue
cess by proving himself superior to his rival /;
one merchant succeeds by showing superior
tact and management over another one me-
chanic attains success over his fellows by his
superior skill. The result of all superiority is
LABoR-more LABOR. Genius is but another
word for hard work. Daniel Webster became
II greater lawyer than ninety-nine out of
hundred Of his school fellows only because he
worked harder than they did. Is it imagined
that Webster ever limited himself to eight
hours OF work day, whatever he may have
been engaged in! Did Stewart succeed as
merchant or Hoe as Il machinest by working
eight hours a day!
Let us not be misunderstood We are not
opposing the eight hour movement. But we
would have the workingmen place it on prop
'cr grounds. 1t is not a question whether s
hours are enough for Il days work-no man
can attain to eminence or excellence in any
thing by working hours a day and loafng
the balance of his time. The question is, how
much Of their daily time shall the working
men sell to their employers and how much re-
serve to themselves ,....
Nor can it justly be made question of
wages. 1t il folly to pretend that man
can do as much work in hours as he can in
ten hours. Where the labor is heavy and
exhaustive of physical strength,---as in hand
ling the sledge hammer or shoeing horses, or
generally in handling the axe, the shovel or
spadc,--takc it day in and day out for weeks
in succession, and it is more than probable a
man would do more work in eight than by Ia
boring ten hours day But most mechanic
al employments are not of that nature. r
In our machine shops, for instance, the chief
employment of the men is to attend machines.
Take as an illustration, the printing press. A
Hoe press, attached to steam engine, makes
about 1900 impressions an hour. There is a
man to attend and feed it. If the press runs
10 hours day it makes $4,000 Impressions
il but hours a day, it makes but $4,000.
There is clear loss of 20 per cent to the EN-.
ployer of that man. And such is the case with
most of the employees of our machine shops
The buz saw will cut so many feet Of lumber
in ten hours and SO many in 8 hours. .''"'
The workingmen, therefore, who have made
the strike for Shours labor Tor 10 hours wages
have made n mistake. in ninety-ninc coses ~,