The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-09-12
THE NEW REPUBLIC--H.

10 our last we refuted the statement in Mr..
Resvis' pamphlet that a reduction Of the
hours Of laborwould be productive Of idleness
and prohigaeY and insisted that experience
had ProueE the absurdi.y Of his prediction
We nov propose 10 examine the equally
reckless assertion taat mans physical
strength will endure more than eight hours
work." accepting il, Of course, in the sense
meant to be covered We % 80. sImrly
lsE esskeo o afepment however, to meet
the gentleman on his own ground, and not
because it possesses either originality or
force, beinr based entirely o. d selfish, one
sided, dolll nd cent principle, from which
the aim of Tie true refOrmer-the advance
ment Of the human race--is entirely exclud-
ed. The truth of the MATTER is,-,.nd it may
as well be told,-tbat most Of the essays
Published on the question Of labor are the
production Of the he0rif the man who abb
soluseiy knOtos nothing Of the subject upon
which be has undertaken to enhghten 9TH
ers, and which the practical experience and
common sense Of the intelligent mechanic
can explode into a thousand fragments.
But to the proof.
If Mr.. r had taken the pains 70 examine
the mortuary tables " the labor organic a.
tons Of Great Britain, that Of he Amalga-
mated Society Of Engineers and Machinists.
for example, be would have found that the
average age Of its $40 members, who died in
1867 was but Mirty SIR years, while be would
have found BY a similar process that the
men OF leisure-the stipendiary magistrates
average the ripe old age of serenity four.
Thus, we see the statement that mans phy
steal strength will endure more than eight
hours consecutive labor, during the course
OF bis natural life, exempli6ed BY the ex-
baustion of the vitality Of those who labor
ten hours, before The prime Of manhood is
r. cd, or in less than half the time Of those
wLo are perDisted TO follow The teachings of
nature.
But again, let Us take the experience of
nine out Of ten unprejudiced foremen. those
in position tc know the capacity ane quail
fcatioDs Of a workman, and what is their tes-
timonv. Of course we are not speaking OF
the mechanic whose duties are simply auto
matte That as much is accomplished from
4 O'Clock till 6, as from O'Clock till 4.
By no means,-and why? Simply because
nature Is unable to supply the demand, and
none, we think, viii dispute her claims as
mentor. Nor is this matter Of conjecture.
The abiest medical testimony, both in Eng
land and America, have declared again and
again that ten hours labor rs an over tax on
the physical frame.
Blu. We have other and more positive data
upon which to base our assertion. A few
weeks since We published the testimony OF
the employees Of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. to
the effect that one Of the largest frigates in
the American navy-the Wampanoag-wa
housed over under the eight-hour law, in |
precisely the same number Of DAYS and |
by the same number of workmen. "a the /
Madawaska--a sister ship--under the ten |
hour rule. 10 Australia, also, where the /
eight-hour system has been adopted for tn
past twelve years, the opinion Of the enplov.
er and employees are unit in its favor. II
may be asked, however, What does this all /
60 to prove9 II men can do az much in /
eight hours as in ten hours, il there not the
same exhaustion of the physical enereies.
We answer no, beca lse that feeling Of lasai-
tude, Of total exhaustion, is seldom, IL ever.
experienced under the one system az undsr
the other.
The Question, so frequently asked, that IL
this theory BE cerect, why cannot as mucb
labor Be performed n ak a. in eight hours.
amonnfs 70 nothing, 20 there ID q saisimum.
beyond which demonstration fails, aud when
that point has ben reached, and the AZ
lsanF clsinh i presented, Is ID time enoueh
. allow iisabsurdisy. We might follow shis
a1kjest To- m almost indsHnite lenesh, busi
" foshesr We carnot conclude, boweysr. /
aisAaai rei~rings . 10 squally unfortunass