Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1916-09-03
Remarkable Progress To- ward Shorter Day and
 Better Conditions.
UNION MEN HAVE
 RIGHT TO CHEER
Lab0rs Holiday Should Be One of GladnesS for Thousands Benefiting Thru OrganizatiOn--Dem
 Get Credit for Their Part.

1
 pers, president of the American Fed eration of Labor. made public tonight i a statement on "Labor's Achieve ments and Issues" for 1916, in which he characterized the past year as a remarkable one in the progress of the i labor movement, especially in the shortening of the working day and in general labor legislation. The state | ment, in full, is as follows:
 "Labor Day 1916 brings to the workers of America the right to cheer and confidence in the trade union movement. There have been tests and crises that have proved it's funda- mental principles; there have been opportunities that have tested it's prac- tical efficiency. Through them all the trade union movement has made sure progress and gained in confiden, vision for the future.
 "Every national and international, every local union affiliated to the American Federation of Labor has made definite progress in Securing for it's members greater advantages in those things which are fundamental of betterment in all relations of life. In some organizations the success has been phenomenal.
 "Taking the labor movement as q whole there has been greater progress in securing the eight-hour day or the shorter workday than in any other similar period of time. The mean ing of these victories can be interp- reted only in the light Of full under standing of the meaning of the eight hour day. The shorter workday is something more than an economic demand. It is demand fir opportun- ity for rest, recuperation, and develop ment; things which make life more than mechanical drudgery.
 Short Hours Make Better Citizens.
 "The workers whose whole periods are short are essentially different from those who are so worn by toll that they have neither energy nor mind for other things in life. They become more energetic more resource full workers with keener mentality and greater producing power. It inevit- ably follows that the short-hour workers are the best paid workers. With every reduction in hours there is always corresponding increase in wages. Wherever demands for the shorter workday and higher wages have been presented and urged by or ganized workers during the past year, they have met with success. These economic gains have potent relation to the social side of life.
 shortening the period of work lengthens the period of development and for all of the other activities that belong to the normal individual. h. creases in wages give the workers the means for taking advantage of the increased opportunities of the shorter workday The workers of short hours and better wages become very differ ent citizens from those who are so ex- hausted by the daily grind that they have neither the time nor the energy for thought or aspiration. These gains mean better homes, better food, better clothing; time and opportunity for the cultivation of the best and the highest that is possible in the life of man.
 "Economic achievements are the basis upon which the workers can se- cure social and political progress. The power which secures these achieve ments is the power that will secure justice for them in every other rela- tioon. Shorter hours and higher wages give the opportunity and the means to live better, more purposeful lives.
 'fPower through economic organiza- tion means political power. There must be an economic basis in order to give political activity reasons for existence and a program. By organ izing it's economic power to secure political protection and by adhering strictly to a non-partisan political program, the American Federation Of Labor has won glorious legislative victories.
 Aim of Organized Labor.
 "The object of legislation which organized labor has sought to obtain is always to establish larger and bet ter opportunities for life and freedom. Organized labor does not seek through legislation to do things for the workers that they can do for them selves. It only seeks to establish for
 (Continued on page fIve.)