The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-04-28
RIGHT SORT OF SERMON
Rev. John L. Scudder's
Endorsement of the
Eight Hour Move
ment.
REST MAKES MORALITY.
Sleeping, Working and Recreating
Should Evenly Divide the
Day in an Ideal
System.
NEW CHURCHES DEDICATED.

INHU Ou n " IL u y bLUlOAlEUs
The Rev. John L. Scudder prefaced his
Irregular Sunday evening sermon at the
ETabernacle yesterday with discourse of
the "Eight-Hour Labor movement.
nThere were many prominent labor men
IN the audience who thoroughly appre-
4 1ciated the remarks of the wide awake
minister Mr. Scudder said
Il "In the early part Of this century ii was
not an uncommon occurrence for the La
borer to work fourteen hours day.
With the development of machinery,
1 however, accompanied by the increasing
1 Intelligence and humanizing influence of
our age these tiresome hours have grad
ually been reduced in number, until to-
day there is very general demand, both
in this country and across the water, for
work day of eight hours. We are fast
approaching the ideal division of the
twenty-four hours, which is eight hours
for sleep, eight hours for work and eight
hours for domestic and social life, which
latter include such miscellaneous occupa
tions as eating. reading, visiting and rec
reating.
This affirm to be the ideal division of
time, the goal towards which society
should advance as rapidly as possible; but
am sorry to say that few have reached
this goal as yet, except men OF indepen-
dent means. should like to have only
eight hours work day myself, and [
hope it will come some time; but just
now / am putting In between ten and
eleven / believe as q ma ion we are too
much devoted to business and fail to give
sufficient time to rest and recreation.
This is as true of the merchant, the
editor and professional men generally. as
of tke driver of the horse car, or the man
who handles the pick. Eight hours of
any man or woman in the country.
care not whether the labor be Of brain or
Drawn.
MANUAL LABoP FIRST.
att seems as if IN the truggle for eight
hours, manual iaDorer would be the first
to reach the goal, and it is very proper
that IL should, for physical toll Is the
most uninviting and fatiguing. The first
great benefit coming to the laborer from
work day of eight hours should be the
improvement of his family life and tie
enlarged opportunity for mental culture.
When man is compelled to leave his
house by half past six in the morning or
earlier, and does not reach it again until
haTf-past six or seven in the evening, his
family life must be meagre indeed, and
his inclination to study and develop his
intellectual powers phenomenally weak.
He is almost q stranger in his own
house. and he is too tired to indulge in
much mental exertion. When supper is
over it is about time for the children to
90 to bed, and between their bed time
and his bed time nothing seems SO at
tractive to him as simple relaxation and
a pipe full of tobacco
.sfwo hours less of labor and two hours
MORE of leisure, other things being equal,
wotld make quite change IN his life
and aspirations. He would have more
tinle to enjoy his family and greater
Willingness to cultivate his intellectual
powers.
A FALLACY.
fThe common argument against in-
creasing the leisure of the laborer, namely,
that he will spend his extra time in dissi-
patton, is, in my judgment, invalid and
misleading. The history of labor shows
dinclusively that the amount Of drunken
Iess decreases as the hours of labor be-
come fewer in number. Half century
oh more ago. when British workmen
labored fourteen hours day, they were
drunk, for the most part, on Saturday
night and Sunday, and on Monday they
were almost worthless to their employers
With fewer hours of labor, however,
there has been less drunkenness and a
corresponding improvement in their in
telligence and character 1t is fact that
no one can deny that fatigue is an incen-
tive to drink. When man is tired out
glass of whisky will make him feel strong,
whether it really accompitshes this result
or not ...+ ~, ,,o.a
ing Ito say nothing of the economic bene-
ft) for all the unemployed in this county,
who are really looking for work to find it,
and such exist by thousands. Between
labor-savfng machinery on the one side
and unrestricted emigration on the other,
the honest, industrious laborer often finds
himself begging for q situation. and yet
unable to find it. Now, 1t takes very
slight knowledge of arithmetic to perceive
that IL the work day in America were re-
duced from ten to eight hours, and yet
the same amount OF business or were
transacted there would be an Immediate
call for more laborers. The manufactory
now employing forty men would need
fifty. lam aware that such change would
involve the readjustment OF wages.
delicate question scarcely proper for the
pulpit to discuss and to be determined
by the common sense and temper of both
labor and capital am treating the sub
iect only from the moral standpoint
From this point of view 1t is better for
the great mass of workingmen to be en-
ployed both for themselves and the COM
munity.
zone word as to the manner of secur-
ing this workday of eight hours. 1t
must come through intelligent discus
sion and not by indiscriminate strikes
throughout the country, accompanied by
clamor for still higher wages, as in
Chicago among the gas filters during the
last week. Fanaticism and riot only re-
tard the progress of the laboring classes,
whereas calm and dignified agitation OF
these great questions never fails to do
good. The world Is moving in the direc-
tion Of less toll and larger opportunity
for the laboring classes, and any one
who loves his fellow man is interested in
this movement, and will rejoice to see its
ultimate consummation."