Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-11-23
The Communication

! The Communication
Senator Bailey's communication says
in part:
81 have read some of the severe
criticisms directed against you on ac
count Of what you said about President
Wilson in connection with the eight
hour law. and / would have written
! you before this, except for the fact
! that was unwilling. with the election
. pending, TO say anything which could
! furnish any man a pretext for charg-
: ing that / was giving aid and comfort
! 70 the enemies of the Democratic
party. But now that the election is
over and the question can be viewed
apart from its effect upon men or par
. ties. 1 think it my duty to send you
| word Of approval.
Discrimination Against Farmer.
mo man has ever advocated more
indefensible proposal than that under
which all other classes shall count
their days work done at the end Of
eight hours, while our farmers are left
TO lOll Ten, Twelve, VI even fourteen
hours. If it is a wise arrangement to
limit days labor to eight hours, l
can see no reason why the men who
cultivate our farms should be exclud-
! ed from its berefits. l am a Demo-
Crat, and do not believe that the gov
eminent should bestow special favors
on any class; but I insist that our
farmers are the last people in this
country against whom the law should
discriminate.
J 100000 Hour Loss.
Il am opposed to an eight-hour day,
because I do not believe that the
! American people can do a full days
/ work in eight hours, and it would be
difficult to compute the economic waste
which must result from the adoption
of that system. If 100000 people now
work ten hours a day, reduction in
their time to eight hours would with
ORA " from the productive processes Of
this country 30.Coo.000 hours every
day. That would be equivalent to hold
ing 5000. 900 people at ten hours day,
or $3.50. 900 people at eight hours day
in absolute idleness. and would dim'n-
ish our production Of wealth to an eS-
tent which would make its evil con-
sequences felt by all of our people. l
understand, Of course, that there are
some employments to which man
cannot advantageously apply himself
for more than eight consecutive hours,
but nv Judgment is that man can
work ten hours at any labor which Is
both safe and wholesome without un-
duly taxing his strength.
The Farmers Work.
But even If 1 am wrong in thinking
that. outside of certain exceptional en-
Payments, it is better for each OF us
as individuals and for the country at
large to work ten hours, I cannot be
wrong IT. thinking that If other men
can work only eight hours. the farmer
ought not to work more than that.
Indeed if there should be any differ
ence. farmers should have the shorter
hours. The artisans, clerks mechanics
and unskiled laborers in our towns
and cities do much Of their work under
shelter where it is reasonably cool in
the summer aind comfortably warm IN
the winter, but our farmers do most
of their work in the open. subjected to
the burning rays of the sun in the
sleet and the rain in winter.
Not only do the conditions under
which they work give the farmer 81
better right to the shorter hours. but
the disparity in wages strongly accen-
tuates that right. The average wages
paid to those who work in our towns
and cities Is more than double the
wages paid to our farm laborers, and
/
farm owners, after deducting fair
price for the use Of their land. obtain
much. il any. more for their own labor
than mere farm wages.
Work Every Day.
I'm the towns and cities none work
on Sundays. many work only half OF
Saturdays and all take legal holidays:
but the farm laborer is compelled to do
at least some work every day in the
year. He does not, it is true, work in
his fields on Sundays. except when
weather conditions make it necessary:
but he must feed, house and water his
stock on that day as well as on other
days.
y Upon what principle Of justice or
Humanity can any man contend that
those who work under the best condi-
tons. who work fewer days in the year
and receive the highest pay. shall have
shorter hours than those who work I'm
der less favorable conditions, work
more days in the year and receive
| lower pay" Certainly that discrimina-
ticn cannot be justified by any argu-
ment which has yet been advanced
and it is CONDEMNED by every consid-