The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1913-06-20
HOURS OF LABOR.
What a Thinking Employer Says
of the Short Workday.
AID TO HIGH EFFICIENCY.
Head Of Granite Works Discovered
That Men Accomplished More Work
In Eight Hours Than They Did In
Ten-FaVers Further Reduction.

In Eight Hours Than They Did In
Ten-Favsrs Further Reduction.
William J. Crawford, president of the
company bearing his name, which was
established in Buffalo, n. Y, in 1855,
has written the following letter to
James Duncan, president of the Gran
lite Cutters International association:
There are few granite cutting firms
in the country that have kept a COM
prehensive cost system extending over
period of more than thirty years
Just thirty-two years ago, in January.
1880 we commenced to keep this rec
ord of the value of each man and the
exact cost of each piece of work, and
we have kept this ever since. In the
part of this work which will interest
you we have page for each granite
cutter, and following each entry of the
work he takes up is the day and hour
commenced, the Gay and hour finished.
the entire time consumed, the wages
we have paid, tie quarry bill and a col
umn for loss and a column for gain
In this way we are able to raise a
mans wages from time to time as he
proves his worth. We do this without
request from the men, and in this way
we obtain the highest efficiency. and
we cannot remember when a man has
asked us to raise his wages.
Now about the fact that / think will
be of particular interest to you. This
cost system extends back to the time
when the day was ten hours, and it
shows that the same man under iden-
tically the same conditions accom-
plished more of exactly the same kind
of work when he was working nine
hours than he did when he was work
ing ten hours, and again when the
hours were reduced to eight hours this
same man accomplished still more in
an eight hour day than he did in a nine
hour day, or a considerable amount
more than he did when the day was
ten hours long.
My observation of the conditions, and
I am with our men from a. m. untsl
) p. M, is this-that as men work today
at the granite cutting trade an eight
hour day is too long. and | believe that
any good granite cutter land / mean by
this a man who uses his brains as well
as his muscle every minute) could do
just as much work in seven or even
six hours as he does in eight. This
may sound radical, but from close
study l find that sixteen hours for
rest and refreshment" to a granite
cutter are not sufficient to make him
approach his work in the morning in
perfectly rested condition
We are glad to watch the efforts of
a Mathewson, Johnson. Joe Wood or
any of the other star baseball pitchers,
and we would think McGraw, Griffith
or Stahl beside himself to put any
one of these men in the box for two
consecutive days, of about two hours
each day. Now. what granite cutter
does not put as much of his brains
and muscles into his work every day
as these stars exercise? The shrewd
manager knows he can get the best
results from a man whose brain and
body are not fatigued. We employers
of granite cutters can learn a lesson
from them. Once in awhile there is
an Edison who can work long hours
profitably but they are conspicuous by
their rarity. The short life of the
granite cutter is due not to the dust
alone, but to the hard work incident
to the trade.
Again, what are the hours of the
men whose salaries soar into the five
figure mark? Few if any are at their
offices more than four hours each day.
Let the union and the employers get
together on this question. l am going
to try this experiment on one man in
the near future. | am going to tell
him that | have his record for the past
year, we will say, at eight hours, and
am going to pay him the same wages
for a month or six weeks and wish
him to commence at $50 instead of 8
and quit at 4 80 instead of 5, and I do
not wish him to exert himself one
whit more than before and | will give
you the record of the result.