Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-06
1t Will be One of Eight Hours, Ac-
cOrding to DR.. Gladden's View.
HIS COUNSEL TO WORKINGMEN.
At Present Ask Only for Nine Hours and a
Half Holiday Saturday.
APPLAUDED IN HIS OWN CHURCH

DR.. Gladden's reputation as a writer or
social problems renders his words on the sub
ject which he had chosen, of notable inter
est, and many strangers were present to heal
him speak. During his sermon. the preacher
was frequently interrupted by applause.
Columbus, DR.. GLADDEN. observed, took
no part in the Labor Day demonstration; moi
because Columbus workingmen do not en-
tertain views similar TO those urged by the
workingmen of other cities, where strikes
are frequent and imminent, but because, he
believes, Columbus citizens are more pros.
porous, more fortunate and the relations
with their employers are more pleasant. He
could recall in his seven and half years
residence here but two small strikes,
both of which were pleasantly adjusted,
the street railway employees and
the boxmakers. This condition is not the
result, he thinks. of a lack of intelligence,
but the Columbus workingmen are better
off and their employers more conservative.
The air is full of noises of labor troubles,
and the city that hears only through the
newspapers is fortunate. There is no diff
Guilty that cannot be settled within reason,
and no trouble was ever settled right with
out reason. Neither side can afford to set
tie by force. Labor and capital are part
ners, and no arrangement can be perma-
nently maintained without the support Of
both.
THE DEMANDS REASONABLE.
Dr. GLADDEN. congratulated labor, that the
demands of the workingmen on Labor Day
were moderate and reasonable. In the Old
World and in some places in the New ma
tionalism was declared to be the aim and
object, and this, he held, the laboring men
have right to work for by peaceable meth
DDS; it must be considered and discussed,
and many philanthropic people and others
not laboring men are seriously thinking
about it. A great deal can be said in its
favor. The horrible misgovernment of the
cities, the encroachn ats of capital and
other ills are preparing many minds for a
radical change. Men of intelligence and
wealth haven't time, and politics falls into
the hands of those who make a business of
politics. What wonder that thoughtful
men are casting about for relief.
Speaking for himself, DR.. GLADDEN. did
not think nationalism the remedy, but there
should be thorough and free discussion, and
the workingmen have as much right to have
this inscribed upon their banners as we to
have inscribed protection, high license or
tariff reform. Nationalistic sentiment was,
however, rather the exception last Thursday,
and the demands of the workingmen didn't
reach this. What they desire most is the
reduction of the hours of labor to eight, and
this was urged with so much reason that it
is evident the workingmen are learning to
be moderate.
LESS HOURS DON'T REDUCE PRODUCT.
~ i
ment that if the hours of labor are reduced
production is reduced and wages conse-
quently decrease, for the obvious reason that
it can be figured that a man could work "a
hours when production would stop alto
gether. He would produce less in "a hours
than in ten because of the inevitable ex-
haustion of mental force.
There has been of late years a steady re-
duction in working hours, until in England
the average working day is nine and half
hours. The population has increased 80 per
cent and production has increased 300 per
cent-ten times faster than the productive
power. The average increase of wages is
50 15 a week, though the hours are reduced
from 72 to 81. England is much more ad-
vanced, however, than France or Ger
many.
1t was insisted by some that prices must
rise if the hours of labor were reduced and
wages increased, but the statistics show that
the prices in all manufactured goods have
fallen an average OF "a per cent. This means
that the workingman works fewer hours and
gets more money, but he gets "a per cent
more for his money than when he worked
more hours and got less pay. The number
of persons who can read and write has in
creased 33 per cent faster than the increase
- ,oo--lofiar Tn 1870 4 in 6T ~ fbo
population of England was unable to read
and write; in 1885 there was only 1 in 9; in
in 1850 in IS was a pauper; in 1885 there
was but in 46. The decrease in the use of
intoxicants has been only IA cents head
for the upper classes, who drink wine and
high priced beverages, but the beer drinkers
have consumed on an average 81 IL less per
head. There is no country in the world
where the hours of labor are so short. and
no country where the morals and intelli-
gence grade higher.
IMPROVEMENT IN ENGLAND,
This is not saying that it is better than
our country, but it is history that the i'm
provement has been wonderful. Short
hours have not done all this, but they have
done much. The reduction of hours and
increase in wages were fought by many,
among them John Bright Another argu-
ment was that it must affect disastrously the
commercial interests of Great Britain, but
now nobody believes this, for the reverse has
been proven. In this country production
has increased with marvellous rapidity,
Wages have not increased so rapidly as in
England, for the reason that here they
started at much higher point. A legisla-
tive act reduced the hours of labor in the
factories of Massachusetts, in 1869 to 10
hours and the result was soon felt in all the
adjoining States.
1t would not be right to argue for re-
duction, Dr. GLADDEN. held, if it crippled
production and enhanced prices. We are
bound to maintain unimpaired the condi-
tious of material welfare. There is no
room to doubt that reduction from ten to
five hours would be injurious, cfippling
production, but how do we know that it
would not be,unwise to reduce from ten to
eight hours? One argument against the re-
duction is that as class the workingman
might abuse the two hours more of leisure.
DR.. GLADDEN. did not speak from personal
knowledge, but from report, that as a class
miners did not know how to use their
leisure, and there are other classes of whom
this is true. 1t cannot be argued that the
reduction would be advantageous to all.
LIBERTY A CURSE TO MANY.
Liberty is curse to many. The reduc-
ton would result in injury and self-degra-
dation to the few, but not to the majority.
Those who oppose the proposition forget
that in many industries the workers are idle
three months in the year. Statistics show
that in Massachusetts one-third of the wage
workers are out of employment one-third of
tba time the cause of this il the great in,
provement in machinery; the markets are