Arizona republican., 1916-11-26
g. HOUR SYSTEM
 IN AKRON TEST.
(By R. w. EMERsoN)

(By R. w. EMERSON This Is not d political story. It is simply record of facts as l found them in an investigation Of the work ings of the elght hour workday in Akron long famed as the Rubber Citv," now qualified for new celeb ritv as "Ohio's Eight Hour Town My visit to Akron was immediately inspired by a casual report that the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, employing 10000 men and women, had inaugTateG the eight-hour system in it's plant and was experiencing gfati- flying results. was not prepared, however. to find. as l did that not orly the Firestone but other con ccrns If national importance in Akron. including the Goodrich and the tioodYvar Rubber companies. had adopted the eight hour system with satiefac, ion to themselves and to their employees.
 Effects On Industry To anticipate and summarize: The reports of its workings ranged from ap increase in cost of production so slight that i, was characterized as about an even break" compared with the cost under the ten-hour or twelVc-hour Workd2v systems. to d statement that in some departments of the rubber industry the eight hour Nf&ttDt list6 'iOl SAAt Nitli II ssli III crease in production of IS per cent as compared with an increase in wages of only 10 per cent, while wOrkmen ara averaging the same pay per week that they did under the longer hours But that is only the dollars and cents side Of it. The speed of it's comiGg, it's rapidly broadening ap- piica tio,I the economic reasons which manufacturers give for it's adoption, trfb net susceptible of presentation in figlres-but which are none the less actual-these constitute significant and startling phase of the great change that k coming over American neustrv and quickening the puse1 beat of Inc world.
 Malufact Irins and merchandising methods are changing overnight The Akron idea is merely a conspicuous example.
 Akron Plunqcs Ahead Fourteen years asO. when I first visited Akron 1t was quiet little manufacturing city of about l2.000 fn the autumn of 1916, | found the population multiplied ten times. Mod ern sky-scrapers ioomed up from the rows of ola dngy buildings that still stand as relics of the Akron Of old. Street cars fairl- eNuded an over flow of passengers and scores of "jit- neYs' iammed with passengers in ! OVeralls threated their way through
 traffic as congested as Chicago g
 "loop or New York's Broadway
 Towering chimnevs stained the sky ! with pillows of smoke. while giant scaffoldinss that spread out over
 what a year or two aco was cornland, bespoke more great industries to come
 was told that the building permits
 issued in 1915 represented an invest ! ment Of S6,0CJ.000 and for the first nine months Of ;he present year.
 ss.SQ0 GOO
 Faith In Advertising { Close associates of Mir. Firestone aserihe the amazing growth of tn i. great business of which he is the head. and which is representative Of ? Akron 60 his genius for organization. [ coupled with persistent use of news ! paper advertising II Is a cherished r relniniscence in the Fircstone annals ! that Onty ten years ago. Mir. Fire ! stone. recognizing the necessity of
 advei tis.ng yairly sought to induce |, | q pri inter to accept S4O0 m stock in payment fJr catalogue Had the printer accepted and held the stock. it would new be worth s35.000 to say nothing of dividends
 Mr Firestone at the time was en- gagged Tn making rubber tires for buggies in room about the size Of an ordinary blacksmith shop Today the Firestone plant covers forty acres. Mr. Firestone received me in his private office. where he is said to labor at times for twenty hours out of the twenty four. in contrast to the eight hour day enjoyed by his men. He is small in stature. deliberately alert in manner and keen and kindly in Il expression.
 Strictly Business Question Has yoIr adoption of the eight