New-York tribune., 1918-02-15
6TNHE idea of a sixhour wurxtng day."
said Lord Leverhulme at the outset,

said Lord Leverhulme at the outset,
us by no means new or modern
1t is as old as the dawn of the Christian era
There is evidence to prove that ST. Paul, who,
as is we'll known, was, like Omar Khayyam, a
tentmaker by trade, worked regularly at his
trade from o'clock in the morning till IL,
after which he had the rest of the day to de-
vote to study and evangeistic work But for
his adoption Of the six-hour day there would
probably have been no Epistle to the Ephe
slams or the Hebrews, or, indeed, any of those
wonderful letters of his now enshrined in the
Bible.
"Now, in considering the possibility Of
making a six-hour working day an integral
feature of our industrial SYSTEM" Lord Lev
erhulme continued, "it is wise to study the
lessons of the past and profit by the expert
ence of the last century, when factory acts
first figured in the statute book. People who
have given only superficial attention to the
subject inclined to dismiss the idea of a
six-hour working day Utopan dream
an utterly impracticable scheme. It's adop-
ton, they argue without knowing the facts,
would strike fatal blow at our manufactur-
ing industries and play into the hands of our
already formidable foreign competitors. 1t
would inevitably, they declare, handicap us
out of the race for home as we'll as foreign
trade.
Old Predictions
"These people speak without their book
Precisely the same fallacious arguments were
used, precisely the same gloomy predictions
made, many years ago when it was first pro-
posed to reduce the working hours in our fac
tories from twelve to ten. And these argu-
ments and predictions were again resusci-
tated in Parliament and press and on the
platform when the movement in favor of all
eight-hour day was started
but what have been the results of these
practical reforms, these alevations of the
workmans lot? These arguments, these pre-
dictions, have one and all been entirely falsi-
hed!" said Lord Leverhulme emphatically
"The results have been the exact contrary,
not only in Great Britain, but in that vast
home of industry, the United States where
mechanical appliances utilized to three or
four times the extent they are in this country.
ut is simple, ncontrovertble and highly
significant fact that both in the United States
ana Great Britain every reduction in the
working hours and every increase in wages
has been Immediately followed by increased
production at lower cost and increased
efficiency of the workman who has also en-
Joyed greater spending power and fuller op-
portunlties for thrift and enjoyment of life
There is world of economic wisdom and
truth in the old familiar saying, 'All work
and no play makes Jack dull boy 1t is as
pplicabe-perhaps more applicable to fac.
tories than to schools. We know what disas
trous social and industrial consequences fol-
lowed the attempt of the French Revolutions
lists century and more ago to abolish the
SABBATH and institute seven-day working
week. They were forced to abandon the in
sane innovation. Somewhat similarly we have
found in this country that the constantly
growing mental and physical strain of mod
ern factory conditions made it absolutely i'm :
peratlve that the workman's hours of labor
should be shortened, so that he might have
more leisure for relaxation, recreation and if
so minded, study and self-improvement."
The Question of Recreation
Lord Leverhulme attaches very great i'm
portance to the question of recreation and of
multiplying the workers. opportunities for
seif-improvement, and at Port Sunlight he
mas put MS principles into practice with
highly satisfactory and encouraging results
better housing accommodation is another re-
form which, in his opinion, is jnsenarab]v
linked with shorter working hours and hipber
wages.
Give the workers shorter hours" he said.
and higher wages, and you will not only in
crease your output and decrease the cost of
production; you will also increase the pur
chasing power of the workers and so stimu-
late production, thus automatically reducing
the cost, and at the same time afford them
opportunities for mental and physical re-
cuperation, thus increasing their efficiency.
and OF adding comforts to their homes And
a mt, contented man is always better worker
than one who is unfit and dscontented
What is the position of the EMPLOYER in
regard to this proposal of a six-hol1r ,ua.,x