Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-12-07
: Hiring Help by the0 Hanr..

4, y QORRESPONDENT writes: : nave trltu
The system of hiring help on the farm by
the hour, recommended by you. md
it pays. keep three men-usually one
by the month. The men hire BY the day
usually have families to support When
i paid them by the day, without any I'M
derstanding as to the length of the day,
they arrived late or early, as was most
convenient for them. Now that pay by
the hour, they generally want TO work
full as many hours as need them; but if
they do not, they know that they will get
paid for only the work they do; and if
they do not regard my wishes somewhat,
working until the work is accomplished,
they feel very certain that will hire some
one who will stick by me; and L find men
are more willing to accomplish all the
work, regardless of the number of hours,
if they are sure of being paid proportion
ately, as they are by the hour system. ]
think We shall adopt the same rule in ref
erence to household help. IT, requires n
little time to break in and make laborers
understand it; but when they do, they like
it better, and so do j. ~ -
This system of employing by the hour
is being adopted in many industries which
have hitherto been ruled by the adherents
of the ten-hour or eight-hour system. A
farmer hires carpenter alta given price
per day He works eight or ten hours
only, When he might work twelve. The
work is pressing but he knows that if lie
puts in two or three extra hours work the
farmer will not expect to pay for it but
if he is paid by the hour he makes more
hours wages per day, accomplishes the
work in fewer days, saves the farmer the
extra board, and is off, out of the way,
doing job for some one else. 1sD. t5Ii-
A laborer is worthy of his hire" So
he is but the employer who pays money
for labor is also entitled to his moneys
worth at market rates. The days are now
short, and the evenings long Hired men
who pick apples all day, or dig potatoes,
etc., are not always willing to go into the
barn after supper and husk corn two or
three hours But if they know that each
hours labor adds to the cash they will re-
ceive they will work as late as the employ
er wishes. ,rgi
So it is said n woman's work never
ends-especially on farm. And this is
one reason why girls object TO doing
housework there. But if a girl who rises
at five in the morning and works till nine
or ten O'clock at night, knows she viii be
( paid for that work, she viii do 1t more
cheerfully and if! she knows that the
time she spends fashioning, washing and
( ironing her own frills and furbelows, will
be taken out of her wages, she will spend
/ less time at them; or, if not, know. that il
Z is her own. .sfa t-e|.t- -..i'- --t
The more man aeeomplishes for an
other in an hour, the more the employer
/ can afford to pay him. Ii is as easy to
regulate the rate of wages per hour as pei
| day. And, of course, it can be stipulated
what number of hours a man Sb0R work il
necessary. This hour system, therefore
equalizes things more justly. If man
chooses to take two hours for ms dinner
he must lose two hours wages. The eat
ing is for his own. benefit-to enable him to
do an hours work and earn the money of
fered him, just as a man buys tools in or
der to be able to build house for another
And this system will apply to the MAJ
who works by the month, as well as tC
others. Let the number of days, of a Ger
tain number of hours each, that shall con
stitute a months work, be agreed upon
but let it be stipulated that if extra hours
work are required, they shall be performed
and paid for pro rdtd. There is no nee(
of confusion or discord Let the day
time be recorded every night after mutua
consultation. So as to the work of tn,
house servants. 1t is not difficult sys
TEN to adopt, nor to follow after it i
adopted, when it becomes thorough,
comprehended- Ne,c Yorker.