Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-08-27
Wednesday. August q, 1918.
Work Il Out BY Work.


The stock demand Of labor has
been more pay and shorter hours.
Step by step labor has won for itself
better conditions in pay. in hours. in
surroundings and in standards of life.
American labor has much to be
thankful for and to be proud Of.
But it is in danger Of making the
fatal mistake Of not knowing when
to stop. There is still reason in all
things. as was said of old. and there
is lint.
The demands for shorter and still
shorter hours. the hve-day week. and
the six-hour day are beyond reason.
They are simply an attempt to trifie
with the national welfare for the
beneft-so-c classes of la
borers. Any laborer who is capable
Of working at all is capable Of doing
eight hours work. at least. and he is
capable of working six days a week.
Short time production is an I'M
mitigated evil. economically. Cur
tailed production means that the
sum-total of goods is less. that the
demand is correspondingly greater
and that prices necessarily advance.
This fact has been known to econo-
mists and business men for centuries.
1t Is not SO we'll known by the work.
ing man. II he understood that his
refusal to work full day were re-
sponsible in large measure for the
advance in the cost Of his shoes and
clothes he would ind it possible to
put in smother hour or two without
prospect Of a physical breakdown.
When men understand the simple
fact that II they put forth no effort
they get nothing. much of the
problem will be on the way to solu-
ton.
Short time Is equally disastrous for
the laboring man himself, especially
II he makes large wages. A shoe
worker said to the writer recently:
II make from s. to SO a day on
piece work. get out almost every
day at half-past three or four.
could work longer. but what's the
use? I'm doing well enough"
Another man who is an excellent
brick-!ayer is very fond of fishing.
He was on job which paid him 80
cents an hour for an eight hour day.
He decided he could not afford to let
the hsh get away from him. but that
be could afford to take a day of and
never miss it. He went. The boss
eumed, other workmen were held up
the Job was delayed by just so much
the contractor swore he would put a
bigger allowance for lost time into
the next bid he made, which would
put up the cost of the building. and
perhaps lose him the job. 1t might
even prevent the work from beins
done at all. For Jim was not the
only workman who took days of. no,
was this his frst offence, and the
contractor must make up to himself
on the next job what he lost on this
one. He couldn't afford to lose
Jim allowed he could.
Many Of the mills In a certain city
are working the, nve-day schedule.
From o'clock Friday until Z o'clock
Monday the workers and their fami-
lies have their own time and our in
formant tells US that they blow in
the weeks pay and come back tired
and broke Monday morning. They
are saving nothing because they see
no need. They confidently expect to
be able to earn as much or more than
they get now and why shouldn't they
spend It? So they do.
This sort Of reasoning and action
Is one OF our greatest dangers. We
shall do we'll to take a lesson from
the Italian railroad men who told
their premier that the need was for
greater production, and volunteered
to work longer hours toward that
and.