The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1916-10-28
ECONOMY Of THE.
. .. . EIGHT. ! HOUR LAW
BY SAMUEL GOMPERs.

BY SAMUEL GOMPERS:
The discussion and prominence re-
Gently given the eight-hour weekday
principle has given the world the
benefit of many experiences that
! might otherwise have never been
! made public. Among many convinc-
ing statements setting forth the eco
! nomic advantages of the shorter
workday is the following by Arthur
L. Sardy:
From 1901 to 1905 I was Pacific
Coast manager Of the Armour Fer
tflizer Works, owned and operated by
Armour and Company. of Chicago.
when took charge the laborers
in the plant worked ten hours daily
| for $1.75. I raised thistle 50, short
ened the time to nine hours, then to
eight hours without increasing the
cost per ton.
Furthermore, while my men were
all Mexicans of small stature the cost
| labor per ton in the California
plant was no higher than in the
southern plants where stalwart ne
groes worked ten hours for $1.25, and
where the latest machinery was used,
while our mixing was done with hand
shovels and screens. This experience
proves that increasing wages and
shortening the hours Of labor do not
necessarily increase the cost per unit
of work accomplished"
We reprint the statement of til,
Ford Motor Company upon 1.-The Ad-
vantages Of the Eight-Hour Workday
| Over the Nine and Ten" 1t is as fol-
lows:
"a certain group of men working
nine hours under the old system as
sembled $50 radiators. The same
group working eight hours under the
new plan assembled 1900 radiators
A group Of men working nine hours
under the old plan turned out 80 fen
ders. Under the new, working eight
hours. the sane men turned out so
tenders. A group of IS men working
nine hours under the old system
turn ut 500 gas tanks. Unler the
new. working eight hours. the so men
turned out 1900. Hours were re-
duced. wages increased and cost went
down."
In addition, it may not be uninter-
esting to recall statement which
Mr.. Henry Ford made in Detroit,
August 81, 1916, in a conference with
Judge Henry Neil, father of the
mothers pension system. Mr.. Ford
said that if he had control of the rail-
roads he would cut the freight rates
to one-third the present rate, double
the pay of the railroad workers, and
by cutting out the iniquity of the rail-
road management, make more profits
for the stockholders than are earned
at present.
What happened in the Armour
plant and the Ford Company has
been duplicated in many others.
Whatever element in the processes Of
production is expensive or demands
particular consideration becomes the
pivotal factor with reference to which
other factors are adjusted. When the
workers force consideration for the
indispensable human labor power.
then the workday, mechanical and
material equipment, sanitary provi-
sions and arrangements are all made
to conserve human life.
When the workers have made
human labor more costly than ma
chinery, then the latest and best ma
chimes, the best management of ma
terials will be provided in order to
secure the best results from the lesser
hours of human labor.
Managerial skill car accomplish
much but It is never invoked until
workers present and force demands
The New York Times, in commenting
upon the proba BILE attitude of the rail-
roads toward the eight-hour law, con-
cedes this fact:
"Betwee1 now and Jan. I, when the
eight hour-day law takes effect, the
railroad men of the country will give
a great deal Of thought to their new
problem. Officers in charge of oper-
alton will not depend entirely on the
outcome of the work Of the railroads
legal departments. They will con-
slider the possibility that the eight
hour law will stand and will consider.
how it can be met. New incentive is
given by this law to eliminate all
waste TIM, for tho wv which can
complete its run of 100 miles or less
within the eight hours would not get
any more under the new rule than the
old. Possibly there are many runs
which are taking more than eight
hours now which railroad ingenuity
and it is very great-can contrive to
complete within that time. Possibly
there are ways of coming MUCH
nearer to giving the members of the
railroad unions an eight-hour day
than they think possible or want"
A valuable and authentic contri-
button to the eight-hour day discus
sion is the announcement that the
United States Navy Department an
lnounced on September. Is that the
superdreadnaught battleship Arizona
was completed on schedule time and
that notwithstanding the eight-hour
workday prevails in the government
shipyards and that nine hours gener-
ally prevails in private shipyards, the
cost Of construction of the Arizona
was 100000 less than the lowest
bid Of the privately owned shipyards.
This fact is of significance with
reference to both humanitarian well
fare and economic progress-the
Ieight-hour workday. now universally
Iapproved, would never have been es-
tablished> without the organized labor
movement. It was the labor move
ment that advocated and fought for
ieight hours when the principle was