Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-10-16

the cars the company introduced So
called first class cars in addition to the
service, charging exactly double the
fare charged for second class passen-
gers. While exacting from its en-
ployes, says a correspondent of the
American Federation, sixteen long
working hours per day, this monster
corporation pays out so little in COM
pensation that its employees are having
hard time to exc out their existence.
1t is regulated by rules of the company
that compensation of driver and con-
ductor are to be determined by the re-
ceipts of the car they are assigned
mote, the company is actually putting
premium to crowd carr. The rate
thus allowed to a driver or conductor
is 4 per cent. of the gross earnings, or
cents On every dallar. Daily earn
ing of an employe thus determined is
entered In book of the company, and
at the end of every month it is paid out
minus % cents as a monthly charge for
the uniformed hat and clothes lent by
! the company to each of it's employees.
Under this arrangement driver and
conductor is able to earn only $6 per
month on an average. The railway s
only rival is the "jinrikisha "a cart
drawn by man, with seat accommoda-
lions for one or two passengers, but
the city council has decided to run its
own street cars by electric power
The experiment of an eight hour day
has been subjected to a test of the most
severe description by Sunderland Eng
land shipbuilding firns-Messrs. Short
Brothers-whose yard is situated on the
Wear in the district known as Palion.
1t is now seven years since Messrs.
Short commenced the eight hours Sys-
tenn with view of reducing the hours
of labor from SO to AZ; and now, at the
expiration of that period, they express
| themselves as having every reason TO
be satisfied with the result. But those
who have advocated the general adop-
ton of an eight hour day in shipyards
on the plea that more work would then
be found for the employed need not
look for any confirmation OF their the
Dry in the experience of this firm. On
the contrary, it has been demonstrated
beyond all question at these works that
under the new system the men do not
lose so mudh time and really work
more hours under the short than they
did seven years ago under the longer
hours system. Briefly put, the exper-
fence Of Mr.. ]. Y. Short as to the work
ing of the eight hours day is as follows:
His firm have found that instead of the
production being less from the APP
parently shorter hours of work it has
on the contrary, gradually increased
since 1891 Messrs. Short took up the
system in the belief that they could
get the same amount of work out OF
thlaif employees by a better method than
that which then prevailed. OF the men
working On time wages is or 20 per cent
lost the first quarter of the day, while
the piecemen scarcely ever started be-
fore 80 under the old method. The
men started at six O'Clock, stopped al
eight for half an hour for breakfast
had another interval of an hour at noon
and the days work was finished at five
The conditions under which the old sys-
tenn was carried cut were such that
many workingmen We're physically in
capable of maintaining the long hours
1t was, in point of fact, then quite COM
mon for a man with 24S a week to
lose, on an average, three-quarters per
week simply because ne was made to
rise every morning at six O'Clock and
| work full time. Under the system
| which then obtained in the yard from
Is to 20 per cent of the employees never
started till after the first quarter had
been lost. Under the 4S hours system
the men start-after breakfast-at Z: sc
and go on with only one break until
O'Clock, and they are, on the authority
of Mr. j. Y. Short able to do more work
this way than under the old system, and
at the same time more work is got out
Of the machines, the results of the eight
hours system being an increased output
and a decreased cost. Under the SO
hours the men did not average anything
like eight hours per day; indeed, some
of them did not average five hours ow-
ing to the time they lost. The men
work better and more hours under the
Shours system than under the other,
while the machinery is also kept run
ming more regularly, and for greater
number Of hours. So thoroughly do
this Sunderland firm believe in the
eight hours day and so satisfied are
they with its working in their yard
that-to use Mr. Shorts own express
sion-'they would not go back to the
old fashioned way" The seven years
experience, the results of which have
thus been indicated, is worthy of the
consideration of all employers OF labor.