The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1889-05-17
THE EIGHT-HOUR DAY.
The Agitation for Reduced Hours OF La
bOr in Europe and America.

labor Is creating quite stir among
working classes on the continent. In
Belgium. whore IL has gained ground
wonderfully Of late, the only objection
seems 10 be that working men are so
poor that tho reduction OF wages
which must, for time at least, follow
the shortening OF hours will reduce
them 10 starvation. TO guard against
this tho Bclgian5 have joined TO their
cight-hOur movement an agitation In
favor Of "minimum rate Of wages"
A noteworthy feature Of the present
movement toward an eight-hour day
Is the apparent desire on the part OF
the men who are conducting ii TO avoid
every appearance Of scnsationalism or
violence. There Is TO be no sudden
Ghangc by strike; no industry Is TO bo
mcnaccd; no harm done TO property or
commerce; no threats are TO be cm-
ploycd. Tho measure is TO be effected
by gradual change OF public sentiment
and tho voluntary and deliberate de-
cision Of both employers and employed
that IL will be TO their common inter
est
Discussing tho question OF shorter
hours, tho Philadelphia Times says:
"ln many industrial callings eight
hours are quite enough for men TO
labor; i'm others it Is n practical inn
possibility TO place any arbitrary re-
striction upon employers and om-
ployed, and IL must not bo forgotten
that the majority OF working men and
womcn-which includes tho workers
in field, forest, mino, factory, count
ing-room, store. and shop-are beyond
the reach Of any statutory regulation
US TO working hours. This fact must
suggest cxtrcmo caution in moving for
shortened hours Of labor by law"
"Ihe oight-hour rule says tho
Now York Tribune, "will doubtless
como eventually, though it must bo
remembered that the process OF
shrinkngo in the length OF the working
day, which has gono very far IN the
last fifty years, must end somewhere.
Tho argumcn. in which the movement
seems to find it's chief support Is that.
If the lcngth of tho working day is cut
down onc-iifth, the number Of those
who can be employed will bc increased
one-lirth. Probably not many of those
who are influenced by such assertions
stop TO reflect that the reduction in tho
amount OF labor working man would
do would be inevitably followed, at
least for n considerable period, by
reduction in the amount OF money ho
would receive. Not even the authority
of the National Government over its
employees has been ablo to arrest the
operations OF this natural law"
In England the cight-hour question
Is even more vcXcd than in this
country. The fearful congestion OF
tho labor market there has invited
the attention of all parties Conserva-
tive, Liberal, Radical and Socialist
alile-and tho feeling Is strong that
the present situation demands tho
adoption ofnow and effective measures.
1t is thought that If railway servants
in Great Britain worked only eight
hours tho railroad companies would
have to employ about three hundred
thousand extra hands. This might
play havoc with the dividends, but
it would certainly materially re-
licyo tho pressure on the labor
market. If the same rule were
extended TO other occupations
there would be in England an immcdi-
ate demand for about million moro
workers. AS there are only about
seven million workers in England,
this would represent very large pro-
portion of extra hands wanted. Thus
it is that the oight-hour day agitation
Is gaining ground.
Herr Won Bovcrcn, n Belgian who
has made considerable reputation in
his native country as political
economist, thinks that an intcrna-
tional treaty fixing the days work in
all countries at eight hours is neces-
sary and urgent In support OF this
theory he advances six reasons: O
Tho trades unions are not strong
tUONkn 10 llilll universally INC nOuIS
Of labor; (2) IL they only reduced tho
hours in some trades, this would pro-
duco an injurious and anti-fraternal
irregularity among workers; (S) with
out law TO fix the hours OF labor
those who work at homo or in small
and unorganizod trades would still be
overworkcd; (D without such law
the struggle between employers and
their men would be perpetuated-it
would break out again and again at
every nuctuation OF the market; (5)
such n law is practical, for il has ex-
listed for ten years in Switzerland. and
when. recently. IL was renewed. the
employers made less opposition than
when IL was first introduccd (G) that
IL was pure utopia TO count on tho
goodness OF cmploycrs-some among
them might bc actuated 10y the best
and kindest motives. but the keenness
OF competition placed on them the inn
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