The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1917-10-17
.SIx-HOUR DAY
NOT AN ISSUE
Gompers Says Toiler Is
Concerned in Fight
ing War.

New York. Oct IA six-hour work.
day.
It sounds attractive-and II IL pre-
dieted for England after the war.
What about the six-hour day In
America after the war?
The other day there came over the
cable this fash:
Lord Leverhulme, head Of the larg-
est soap manufacturing concern In
England, has declared he favors a
six-hour day after the war"
II England has a six-hour day. what
about America:
Gompers Thinks Of winning.
G asked Samuel Gompers. president
of the American Federation of La
Dor. He said this:
I'VE are not concerning ourselves
greatly about problems after the war.
We are concentrating every effort on
winning. Labor realizes when peace
Is restored there will be many new
problems to face. Just as war con-
ditions were q violent reversal OF
what we had known. so peace condi-
lions VIII be another violent reversal
I'VE shall not shut our eyes to
after-the-war problems; We do not
intend to let them come upon US I'M
cwares. but our concern now Is TO
win this war and make certain a last
ing peace in which to work out the
new problems.
II can no more tell you whether
we shall have a six-hour work day
after the war than. can tell you
II We shall have a five-hour work
day.
But I can tell you the labor move,
ment continually strives for more and
more for the workers and less and
less for those who do not work.
Position of Labor.
''Labor's position has been strength
ened fmmea surably since America
went to war. This Is because Ameri-
can labor showed its determination
to make every wise sacrifice to win
the war. Labor showed itself truly
American. I do not imagine labor's
position will DO weakened after the
war.
The six-hour workday Is not an
Issue now. Lord Leverhulme prob
ably is not predicting 1t for Eng
land without some idea of what the
working people of England are go
ing to want and Of what they will
be entitled to.
In America we are trying to ex-
tend the principle that eight hours
work shall constitute a day. This
principle has been greatly extended
during the war.
Policy In England.
AT the outset there was an effort
a. 80 IanOfhan the WOrkdav.
This policy soon proved wrong.
America had England's mistake to
go by and the mistake was not made
here.
But In America at this juncture
the six-hours workday Is not up for
debate. 1t is merely a subject on
which persons may speculate. And
there are before US now so many
lives, throbbing issues-issues we
must meet and settle-that pleasant
speculation Is too much Of a luxury
for US to indulge in.
First of all we must unite all
of our resources, all Of our talents,
all of our labors. to win the war.
Democracy Il at stake. II democ-
faey goes down we will not have
the privilege. Of debating about tie
length of our workday. An auto
cratic fat will fix that for US.
I'VE must save and extend to the
whole world the spirit of our tnstt-
tutions so we may settle dsmorratl-
cally whatever issues may arise We
must make the world the natural
abiding place for democracy. We
must remove the sinister Teutonic,
militarist and autocratic menace TO
democracy.
I'VE shall not peri any Of our
democracy to be lost in winning the
war.
Decades ago men. worked 10 u,
IA hours a day. We have convinced
the world that such workdays are
not In the best interests of society.
Now. In the midst of the greatest war
history has known, no one clamors
for more than an s-hoUr day. What
peace win bring may be left to
naaCp"