The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1919-09-19
MERELY ONE BOLsHEVIsT
FALLACY

Perhaps, in the course OF hu
man evcnrs, it may come to pas
that men may live on the lat o.
the land by working only 1--WE
hours day, one day in the week
Not being possessed OF the gilt
of prophecy, we don't presume tC
state positively whether this sort
Of thing will mark the millennium
of which mankind has dreamed,
but, reasoning from what we now
know Of the nature of the human
animal, we don't hesitate to pre-
diet that if the time ever comes
when a man can live comfortably
with no more exertion than that,
it won't be long before said hui
man animals won't be good Tor
anything but soap-grease.
We stand on the literal truth
of this statement, basing our
opinion on one of the simplest
principles Of science. The classic
illustration is the eyeless fish,
which in perpetual darkness OF
Mammoth cave, have lost their
sight through disuse. That phys
ical degeneracy would be the in
eyitable result Of continued in
dolence, is not to be questioned
and mental decay would likewise
attend it. Having no longer ne
cessity as a spur to eXertion, the
human race would become soft,
flabby, and impotent; stagnation
of civilization and eventually the
destruction of all the things
achieved through struggle would
be the final chapter of the story.
The bolshevik notion Of five
day working week and a six-hour
day would not Immediately bring
about condition of human de-
generacy but it logically points
in that direction. We doubt
whether a single instance could
be found in recorded history of
a man who accomplished anything
of consequence in the world by
working no more than six hours
a day, five days out Of the week.
The men who have won what is
called success and have left their
mark on the progress of mankind
have been interchangeable workers,
whether they were scientists, in
ventors, business men or manual
laborers. 70 suggest to Thomas
Edison, for example, that he re-
duce his working hours to the boil
shevist standard would be to of
fer him an insult. Man grows
physically, mentally and morally
only by activity and the major
portion Of his activity must come
through pursuing whatever he
chooses for his life work. That a
certain amount of leisure is nee
essary for human well being, is
not open to question. Eight
hours for labor, eight hours fol
recreation and eight hours fol
sleep, the division of the day thai
has come to be generally recog
nized, makes ample provision foi
the normal development of mar
and it is very doubtful whether
the working day could be mucl
reduced without diminished eff
cheney, with attending degenera
tion. There never was NOR,
preposterous fallacy than the the
/ ory that work is a curse. Work j
man 5 greatest blessing; it is onl.
through the exercise of his moral
mental and physical powers tina
he rises above the brute.
Curiously enough, the l. W. W
demand that the working day b
reduced by more than one-thiro
comes at time when the worl
is suffering from shortage Q
the things necessary for huma
welfare. Instead of speeding II
production in order to supply tn
needs Of humanity, the bolshevis
would diminish the quantity c
commodities. thereby increasin
the cost of living which is alread
cansing acute suffering. It
clear that the adoption of the