The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-03-29

ROCKVILLE, March %, 1873
- The Editor Of the woRRISoSA>'s ADVOCATE
EIGHT HOUR PHILOSOPHY
There has always been much doubt III
the minds of some, about the Eight Hour
law or custom, benehttng the hereling
laborer, while they are quite sure it would
mjurc the employer The qredt objection
to the measure 80 hippantly urged by its
opponents. and So readily conceded by
the thoughtless, is that with fewer hours
labor there must necessarily be less wages
wages, and the employer is shortened IN
production, which viii enhance the price Of
ms products. and the consumer will be in-
iurcd to that extent So nothing but loss
and injury Is seen from that standpoint.
That this would be the first, and imme-
diatc effect | admit But that reasonable
reduction Of the hours Of labor viii tend to
amelior;,te the condition of laborers. il
proven By the fact that laborers receive bet
ter wages since the general adoption Of the
ten hour custom than when longer hours
prevailed There l. a plain reason why long
holrs will ultimately reduce, and short
hours increase wages, though it IS not at
first apparent.
Let us carefully examine its working in
detail, and analyze the process by which its
ultimate effect il reached Let rs take for
an example, factory that can employ one
hundred operatives, and that by working
them ten hours per day 1t can supply the
demand Of it, particular market BY rum
ming eleven hour, Per day, ninety one La
borers could do the work of one hundred
al ten hours, ana supply the demand, and
throw nine lahorers out Of employment, 70
become strong competitors against som, ot
the ninety-one for place to toll If the
factory run twelve hours per day, - opera
tives viii perform the work az one hun
dred at ten hours, supply the market and
turn seventeen out ~ employment, "a BE-
come desperate competitors for seventeen
If TIE places occupied by the eighty
and ! guarantee that when twenty per cent.
Of the operatives are competitors for
place, and an existence, wages viii fall
much more than twenty Ter cent
John Stuart Mill well SAYS, in substance,
that very little excess of supply over de-
maud. makes greater per cent. of colnpe-
utiun. than the excess Of supply u Of de-
mand This Is doubly true Of competition
among INDECENT laborrrs.
Turning the scale the other way, and
running but nine hours per day, ana assn
ming that laborers will produce the same
amount per hour, for any time worked. it
would require one hundred and eleven op-
eratIves t. perform the work Of one hun
drcd at ten hours, and supply the demand.
Here then is demand for eleven more op-
sratIves. If running only eight hours per
day. 1t will SECURE one hundred and TWEEN
ty-hve operatives 20 perform the work Of
one hundred at ten hours. Here again is
demand Tor twenty-five extra labor,rs. Is
IL not clear that wages will 60 up with such
demand Such was the effect OF the
change from twelve to ten hours, and such
1t must ever be- do not pretend that IN
any individual case this would be strictly
the mathematical effect, but if adopted all
over the nation At once, 1t would tend to
the results here gwen, IN spite Of all mod
flying circumstances.
Will tins be lust to the proprietors In
individual cases it might not but taking
the nation over, if statistics can be relied
on, do not hesitate to say it would, at
least be just to the operatives, and not
unjust to the proprletors. God only knows
when a rural citizen will be able to have
access to the census Of 1870, but the cen
sus Of 1860 showed 123, O25 manufacturing
establishments in the nation. The capital
employed was 1913 245, Sol The whole
number Of hands employed was 9J1 059
The amount paid these for the year was
S236. 100. 464 The cost of the raw mate
nal was S55J, l23, S22. The value Of the
annual product was 81 ,0l9, log, 6l6. De
Quoting the cost Of labor and raw material
there remained a profit of 1927 227 $50
or ~ 6-lO per cent. profit on the capital
invested, while the laborers employed IN
producing this value were paid only an
average Of S247 .O6 each, for the year. If
the foregoing figures are t. be relied on,
the proprIetors can well afford to allow the
operatives to work only eight hours day,
and all that will logically grow out Of it.
Some results naturally grow up OF them
selves, while others have to be forced. 1t
Is naturnal for the strong to overpower
and Cypress the weak, and for the rich to
lmpoverlsh the poor. The natural tend
ency is to lower wages as population in
creases. The upward tendency Of wages
is the result, generally, Of intelligent com
binations hence the necessity and justin
cation Of Trades Unions among the labor
ing population. But for these, American
labor would soon drift to the level Of Eu-
ropean labor-in dollars and cents-and
lower in its power to purchase the neces-
saries Of life and luxury.
1t would be amusing, if it was not alarm
ing to witness the National and State
Legislatures, after voting themselves an in
crease Of pay, meditatihg statutes punish
ing conspiracy" which is really aimed
at Trades Unions, who are compelled to
strike for their share Of the protection
given to their employers by tariff against