The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1910-12-30
The SHORTER DAY
Why Eight Hours Should &c the
Limit For Toll.
BENEFITS ALL MANKIND.

Results Prove That Grief Work Pero3
Is Economically Wise as W-u as 6
Boon to Humanity--The Foremos,
Demand Of Organised Labor.
Why an eight hour day: Why not
a four hour day? Why-the frivolous
query was once put to representative
of labor appearing before Il cungrca
sional committee why work at ulIt
The reply. in soberness and earnest
ness, is that, whatever may bc ,he fiji
ture workday when mans command
of the forces of nature shall have
reached its limit and the Instruments
of production been carried toward per
lection, it is the consensus of opinion
first, that today's production in indus
try is amply sulii lent to yield in
wages what will permit our wage
workers to support their families al
the American standard of living. and
second, that eight hours are as many
as a man of average strength and
health can keep up the eXertiOn of his
. physical and mental forces, doing jus
tice to his work, and retain his powe.o
during the full possible working period
of a lifetime
1t is to be kept in mind that the
workday for men usually governs thu
length of the Workday for the child
labor and the women's labor in amy
given industry.
At the present stage of the discussion
of reducing the hours Of the WOrkuu!
it is no longer necessary to set out IT,
prove the benefits TO mankind gained
everywhere in Industrial life through
cutting off all the hours of employ
ment above ten. On the shelves OF
every public library in our cities are
books and reports by the score telling
of communities made more healthy.
more sober, more happy, more enhght-
ened, by removing the burden of the
intOlerably excessive toll to which the
workers generally were formerly driN-
en-. To lop off the two, three ami
even four hours above ten was long
step toward substituting humanity for
brutality. More than that. ecouomi
cally nothing was lost. At the end Of
the year the worker on the average
yielded as much output ut ten hours
as at the longer day. He worked
more days, be applied more muscle TO
his task, and he rose from an automa-
ton drudge to an intelligent mechanic.
With the progressive intensity Of
application under modern methods and
speeded up machinery workmen by
daily experience know and with hard
ly an exception the trained and care
full Investigators of working class life
employed by either the government or
sociological agencies are by diversified
observation convinced that ten hours
in an industrial pursuit strain the
nerves and weaken the general ply
sique of even strong men. the total
result being a deUimeut to the race.
The labOrer's strength diminishes
gradually in the course of the day
The last hours count against him
most Bodily ailments then develop in
his weak spots The quality Of his
work then falls off.
The testimony as TO what the wage
workers who enjoy the eight hour day
have done with the two hours now
their own which once We're given TO
the employer is TO- bee seen I'm uuu-
Der of calliugs in many parts Of the
country. one effect is beyond doubt.
Their new found time they have EN-
ployed ia such q way as 20 decrease
the death rate and hence obviously