The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1885-11-27
THE EIGHT HOUR QUESTION.

In dema Bding shorter time for labor moth
ing is SAID about reduction in wages
und the presumption is that the same pa.
will be expected for eight hours worl
that is now received for longer period
The proposition to limit the hours of la
Dor in each day to eight is not new. Year
ago, persons who proposedto bring abou
certain social. educational. and moral re
forms among the laboring classes suggest
ed that the day should be divided into
three equal parts, one of which should b'
devoted to labor, one to study and recre
alton. and the remaining one to sleep
This distribution of time it was thought
would result in elevating persons intel
lectually as well MS morally, while i
would insure better health and Longer
life. 1t was argued, and probably believe
y 10y the persons who advocated this dlvis-
ion of time, that the extra hours saved
from toll would be devoted to pursuits
that would elevate and refine tho whC
had the benefit of them Many predicted
that, when the hours of labor were short
ened, mechanics and Others would I'M
prove their leisure by engaging in intel
lec,ua pursuits Till they became highly
cultivated. 1t WAS believed that the m
formation they gained by reading and
study would result in making them more
skilled in the arts in which they were en-
gagged, more intelligent in the perform.
ance of their political duties. and better
citizens. Some earnestly believed that
crime would be reduced and the death
rate diminished by shortening the time
devoted to labor.
In presenting arguments in favor of re-
ducing the hours of labor to eight, some
| have contended that men will work much
more diligently if they know they will be
released from toll earlier in the day. Res
Gently new argument has been put for
ward in favor of reducing the hours of
| labor. Some state that there are now
more laborers than can find constant en-
| ployment. BY reducing the time that
each shall work, they find u way for the
employ ment of laborers who are now out
of work This new argument in favor
of the eight hour system requires partic-
ular attention. 1t is admitted that the
eight hour system is not applicable to all
kinds of labor. The most strenuous ad.
vocates of limiting the hours of labor to
eight would object to. having the person
who prepares their daily food delay com
mencing to get breakfast till precisely s
" Cluth III tHt WI
having the supper dishes washed and put
away before 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
They will demand their breakfast early in
the morning and their supper late in the
All agree that the hours for
farm laburers. gardeners, coachmen. sails
ors, and BARRIERS cannot be reduced to
eight. 1t is admitted that dairy cows
would be ruined if sixteen hours were al
lowed to elapse between milking times.
The food crops of the country would be
reduced at least one third if the farm las
borcrs worked during the season OF
blowing, planting, cultivatng and har>
vesting but eight hours in the twenty~
four. No person would like to take pas
sage in vessel or steamer where the
sailors worked exactly eight hours in each
day and then gave themselves up to rest,
recreation and sleep. The eight>hour
system, if practical at all, could only be
applied to persons working in shops or in
some department of organized labor out
of doors.
Should certain classes of laborers sue.
coed in reducing their hours of labor to
eight, they would find that their ranks
would increase very fast. Men would
give up following the sea" and join the
craft of bricklayers; dairy farmers would
abandon the keeping of cows to become
house painters; gardeners would stop rails
ing onions and cele.y and seek some en-
ploymcnt in which men worked hut eight
hours per dry, Labor would be de NOR
allied in every part of the country, Near
ly every man and woman would seek an
occupation in which the hours of labor
were limited to eight. The recruits to
these select armies of workmen would
not all come from this country. Persons
more or less skilled in every craft that
had secured a reduction of hours would |
flock here from every part of Canada and
from every country in Europe. There
would be more men out of employment
than there are 40 present, and another re. |
duction of hours would be necessary in |
order to give all a chance to work part of
the time. This second reduction OF hours
would produce an additional number of |
workmen.
The beneficial results to workmen of |
reducing their hours to eight, as has been
done in some occupations-as stone cut
ting. glass blowing, and steel making,
as well as in works carried on by the gen
eral gOvernment-have not been very
apparent. The report is general that the
men do not make good use of their leis-
urc. They do not lay down their tools
to listen to lectures, read books, or spend
time with their families. They arc more
likely to 60 to the public house than to the
public library when their days work is
finished. They do rot spend any more
time with their families than they did
when hey worked a greater number of
hours. Their advance in learning, culs
ture, and refinement is not very marked.
After the eight hour system had been
on trial for some time in the United
States mandatory of fire arms at Rock
Island, the superintendent made report
on the results. He found that as large
of the men were tardy in the
when work commenced at us
when it began an hour earlier. The
moral and social habits of the men did
not improve. The time saved from work
was not generally improved by reading.
study. or doing work at home. No more
work was accomplished in an hour after
The time of the working day was re-
1uCed than there was before. This
mas apparently been demonstrated
N other places and IN manv kinds
If work The truth appears to be that
heu, Inc hoi ses' ha'e s'ht VI hhturai
speed, which they can not get out of for
my great length Of time without injury
to themselves or the work on which they
are engaged, Much of the work now
lone in shops and manufactures of all
kinds is performed by the aid of ma.
hines The machines can no, be hurried,
md The men who tend them can only
work as fast as the machines do There
S II limit beyond which machinery Can
not be upeTated with safety