The Washington herald., 1916-09-15
'REFUTES PRESIDENTS
S-HOUR DAY ARGUMENT
Technical Publication Quotes 0hcial
Figures for Many Trades.

| The Railway Age Gazette, in an
editorial in its current issue, takes issue
with President Wilson's statement in his
recent address to Congress that "the
preponderant evidence of recent econom-
ie experience spoke for the eight-hour
day." by citing statistics to show that
the etght-hour day has by no means been
generally adopted in other Industries,
even under conditions where IL would
be physically possible TO do so. and that
II does not have the sanction OF general
acceptance even in the trade union
scales.
| Whatever economic Justification there
may be for an eight-hour work day in
some kinds Of work" the Railway Age
Gazette says, "Is no argument for its
introduction in railway train service,
where, as every one knows. il is impos-
sible TO divide the work into fixed Pc
RODS OF time. Train employees must re-
main with their trains from one terminal
! to another: they cannot be released
wherever they may happen to he at the
expiration of a certain number OF hours,
and different kinds OF trains naturally
require different lengths OF time to COM
plete their runs. A local train with many
stops to- make for loading or unloading
| freight may take ten or twelve hours TO
make run that a passenger train will
make In three hours and a through
freight train in seven hours.
Not Generally Adopted.
But. as a matter Of fact, everyone
also knows that the eight-hour work
| day has by no means been generally
adopted in other industries. even under
conditions where II would be physically
possible to DO So A bulletin recently is
sued by the United States Bureau Of
Labor Statistics. gives the hours Of labor
per day fixed by the union scales in eleven
trades and in forty-seven cities located
in thirty-two States, a total OF B,54s scales
or contractors. This shows that eight
hours is the prescribed day in only 1892
or 53.7 per cent OF the whole number Of
cases reported. In 20l6 cases the pre-
scrtoed working day Is nine hours or over
and in 64 cases Il Is ten hours or over
This would seem to demonstrate that the
e!ght-hour working day does not have the
sanction OF general acceptance even in
the trade union scales
The eleven trades mentioned are;
Bakery trade, brewery and bottling house
"orkmen. building trades. chsu1eurs
teamsters and drivers. freight handlers
granite and stone trades, metal trades
mill work printing and publishing, book
and Job. and printing and publishing
newspaper, and soft drink establishment
employees
'Other published reports of the same
bureau show the hours of labor In eight
different industries, covering the work
| Of 3l7OO5 employees, for 1913 and 1914 A
compilation OF these reports shove that
OF the total only s,2Ss. or Zs per cent
worked only forty-eight hours or less per
week; while 8l2s, or ll.5 per cent, worked
over the forty-eight hours and less than
ffty-four hours; u4442, or 81 per cent
worked ffty-four hours; o. ~, or 2Ss per
cent worked over nfty-four hours and
less than sixty hours; 1870, or 1916 per
cent. worked sixty hours, and 2o.s1s, or
60 per cent, worked over sixty hours.
Eight Industries Scheduled.
The eight industries included in
these reports are cotton msnufs ctur-
ing. wool manufacturing. SIX manu-
featuring, mems clothing, boot and
shoe industries. hosiery and under
wear. iron and steel. and building and
repairing steam railroad cars These
data are not for union abor alone, nor
for non-union labor, but apply to the
idustries as a whole, including both
union ana non-union labor
The available State reports on the
hours OF labor also indicate that the
eight-hour day Is by no means an es-
tablished feature of industry" the
Railway Age Gazette says The sta
tistics available would seem 20 indi-
cate that the eight-hour day iE pre-
sumption OF the unions rather than Of
economic pressure. In any event, in
view OF these facts. II setns peculiar
ly strange that anyone should contend
that the question Of establishing
either an eight-hour work day or an
not an arbitrsble one"