The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1906-01-20
SOME THINGS HARD
TO COMPREHEND
Louis Nash Gives His Views
on Opposition to Eight j
Hour Day.
AS a Purely Business Propo-
sition 1t Appeals to
Everybody.
BY Louis Nash,

I 1t has always been beyond my power
of comprehension why any man, be he
a captain Of any industry, professional
man. retail merchant. artisan or me-
chanic, should oppose the establish
ment Of the eight-hour day in every
avocation. AS a purely business prop
osition it should appeal to everybody.
and more especially to those who are
dependent on the patronage of the
working masses for their success.
Take for instance, the crafts that are
still working ten hours a day and lop
off two hours of each mans work.
would 1t not require 20 per cent more
work in given time? This would alb
sorb the surplus labor, known as 1.-The
| great army of unemployed" and which
has ever tendency " keep wages
! down to the existence level, at which
point they are unable to purchase any
thing more than the absolute neces-
saries Of life. Immediately the present
army of unemployed become normal
consumers OF tho good things of life,
10 that extent they do improve bust
ness conditions in every line of human
endeavor. With the added hours Of
recreation and social enjoyment will
come desire for better homes and bet
ter furnishings, better clothing and
| more of 1t. What are now considered
luxures would be then necessities. so
that the opportunities for the manu-
facturer, the jobber and the retailer to
do profitable business would be en-
! HANGED hundred fold
Besides all this the drain on the re-
sources of those at present profltably
employed to keep up the work of the
numerous charitable organizations and
eleemosynary institutions would be re-
duced to minimum, as only those
physically and mentally incapacitated
would have to be supported at public
expense
With every willing worker perform
ing some useful service to the society
and being self-supporting, the peneten-
tlaries and other pathological institu-
tions would receive their populations
from among those who are naturally
depraved and Of inherited criminal ten
denotes and not as at present, from
that class, who are driven by force Of
circumstances in many instances to
life of crime. OF course the eminently
respected element of society known as
"Frenzied Financiers," would contribute
Its quota to the treadmill squad.
The present gulf between poverty
and affuence would be narrowed con-
stderably under such a regime as I have
outlined, but those who have now too
much would then have enough, and
those who have nothing would begin to
realize that we are all the children
Of One Father, and as such were at
last becoming interested in each others
moral and physical welfare.
The average business man is too
much absorbed in keeping the details
of his business where he can see at a
glance if both ends are going to meet
to interest himself in the great social
and industrial problems that are de-
handing a solution, which accounts for
his being found upon the wrong side of
these questions, as he invariably is:
and l want to assure him right here
that ninety-nine per cent of those who
are advocating a universal eight-hour
day are better friends of his than he is
to himself