The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1914-10-15
OPINIONS BY
PRACTICAL MEN
Just What the Eight-Hour law
Will Do to- Bust
ness.

Chas. Perry, Hotel Manager: La
Dor with us means service. Our first
duty IL to our guest. Many emergen-
cies occur In this business-the uncers
tain arrival and departure Of guests
delays and congestion Of trains and
boats and other circumstances that
cannot be met with when the hours of
service are fixed by law without an
improbable amount Of labor. Few
hotels are financially successful. One
Of the direct causes being the neces-
sity Of carrying an excess Of space and
help to meet ordinary demands Of the
travelling public. The strangers first
impression Is the most lasting. A
city is known by the character Of its
hotels. The traveller does not COM
pare us with our neighbor, but COM
pares US with the hotels of other
places, and II we are lacking in &C
parison is bad, comments severe and
our city condemned"
Chas. H. Goodrich, Salmon Gamer:
IAN Eight-Hour Law, II strictly en-
forced, would have a most disastrous
effect on those engaged In the bust
ness We are. Our product is perisha-
Bile and unless cared for promptly the
result is a waste Of food fish which
would not only mean large financial
loss to US personally. but loss to the
public generally through an unavoid-
able loss of food product. We will
cite another instance. Our pile driver
was 81 days driving one trap. During
that time 1T actually worked not to ex-
coed fifteen days. The rest Of the
time the men did nothing. This was
unavoidable on account of the wealth
OF. When weather permitted the crew
worked long hours, In some cases
fourteen hours. Had it been compul-
sorry to work not to exceed eight hours
even when weather permitted 1t would
have nearly doubled the expense. The
law would also make double crews
necessary on all our small launches
and would render many lines OF work
impracticable altogether"
Mr.. H. j. Bailey, Lumberman: "The
writer's personal observation con-
vinces him that a compulsory Eight
Hour Law would not only greatly
handicap the employer who has to
compete with labor across the line In
British Columbia, but would act as
boomerang, and strike the wage earn
er himself like lightning bolt, for
this law would not give him more than
eight hours pay for his eight hours Of
service. which would mean a material
reduction in his income, and this In
the face of steady advance in cost
Of living would constitute an irrepar-
able injury to him."
Mr.. H. C. Henry, Pacific Creosoting
Co.: what the operation Of this law
would cost our company is difficult to
say, but for additional clerk hire. su-
pervision, additional equipment and
men, delays and difficulty in handling
output, 1t is safe to put this increased
cost at from 10 to 20 per cent. We are
in competition with plants In other
states and British Columbia not sub
feet to such restrictions and would
find ourselves unable to meet their
prices and keep alive. To the Creo-
soting Industry and the employees OF
same, the Universal Eight-Hour Law
would be calamity"
w. w. DeForest, Shoe Manufactur-
or: 1--WE operate our factory almost
entirely on piece work basis. When
ever q department is behind on Its
product we have the operators work
longer and thus give our regular en-
ployees the benefit of the increased
earnings. This we would not be Ike