The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-12-28


Demand Of Organized Labor.
Why an eight hour day: Why not
n four hour day? Why-the frivolous
query was once put to representative
of labor appearing before congress
sionaI committee-why work at ala
The reply, in soberness and earnest
ness. is that. whatever may be the fu-
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 i'll indus
try is amply sufficient TO yield III
wages what will permit our wage
workers to support their families at
the American standard of living, and.
second. that eight hours are as many
as man of average strength and
health can keep up tue eNertion OF his
physical and mental forces, doing jus
tice to his work. and retain his powers
during the full possible working period
of lifetime.
| workday fer men usually governs the
| length Of the workday for the chile
| labor and the woneus labor in any
| given industry.
| At the present stage of the discussion
| Of reducing the hours Of the workday
| 1t is no longer necessary to set out to
| prove the benefits to mankind gained
every where in industrial life through
cutting of all the hours of employ
ment above ten. On the shelves or
| every public library in our cities are
! books and reports by the score telling
| Of communities made more healthy.
more sober. more happy, more enlight-
ened. by removing the burden of the
intolerably excessive toll to which the
workers generally were formerly driv-
en-. To lop off the two, three and
even four hours above ten was long
step toward substituting humanity for
| brutality. More than that, economi-
cally nothing was lost At the end Of
the year the worker on the average
| yielded as much output at ten hours
as at the longer day. He worked
| more days, he 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
" 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
siuue Of even strong men. the total
result being Il detriment 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 of.
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 were given to
the employer is to be seen in a num-
Der of callings in many parts Of the
country. One effect Is beyond doubt.
Their new found time they have EN-.
ployed in such a way as to decrease
the death rate and hence obviously
the lost time through illness in their
occupati tons. Every trade union which
pays a death benefit shows from its
books a decrease in payments per
thousand members since it has had
: the eight hour day. In this fact alone
, the body Of the argument for an eight
. hour workday on the score Of health
Is carried to the point of conviction
Men who are living longer than their
; predecessors at the same calling are
obviously living better in all the i'm
plications of the word. They and
their families are housed better. dress
cd better, fed better. educated better
in all respects. as a whole, are hap
pier. This truth is to be seen in many
industries and communities.
In proposing an eight hour day the
first question to be settled is economic
1t is whether the total output will
warrant the possible lessening Of effec
tive toil--in other words, can society
sustain itself and progress on eight
hours work? To this query the indus
trial wageworkers reply: There has
been no diminution Of output by rea
son of the reduction of hours of labor
from ten to eight. In not a few occu
pationS the output has not varied from
the results of ten hours, the number
Of human workers remaining the Same
, in proportion. Workers with the aid
of new machinery within the period OF
} the present generation have in nearly
all occupations vastly increased prod
uct. The eight hour day has giver
; more. not less. of material things te
5 the world. 4 whole continent. as is
the case with Australia. may have the
eight hour day and mankind be tbs
richer
1t is clear that the eight hour day i:
not only a boon to the men. womeT
and children who toil-to humanity
but that through it when 1t shall have
! become general the presen. total pro
duction Of society will be increased.
: The foremost demand Of the organ
izeti labor movements is for shorter
workday. 1t is in the interest Of Ia
Dor. It must necessarily be in the in
= terest of progress.-Salnuel Gonper.
l In American Federa,ionist.
= A CRUSHING BLOW