Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-05-28
o MANY HOURSo

- CAo INCSOtu tdNSS
issue with President Wilson on his
assertion that the judgment of society
approves the cight-hour day as the
basis for fixing wages. 1t suggests,
among other things, that if Mr.. Will
son had confined himself to eight
hours work a day he would never
have been president. The Record
closes its criticism with the question
whether the president intended that
the, eight-hour day should apply to
all workers, or that it should apply to
Industrial workers only, leaving farm
workers to labor IL or Is hours. In
Guided in the article is the statement
that a mar cannot produce as much in
eight hours as he can in ten, and this
alleged fact is advanced as a reason
why the shorter day should be adopt
ed.
This is a fair sample of a good deal
OF current argument or industrial
questions. Sweeping general asser-
tons are made, and facts arc dragged
in which have no bearing on the SUBJ
ject.
How many hours a day can a man
work. or should he work? Obviously
1T depends on the man, the occupation
and the attendant circumstances,
There are two great classes Of people
who do not and cannot observe stat
ed hours in their regular work. These
are the professional and the agricul-
tural classes. The lawyer, for instance.
may ave stated office hours, and
these may be very few, but at certain
times he takes his books home with
him, or returns to his office at night
and digs into his cases until the small
hours of the morning. The physician
has but a few office hours in the day.
but when the occasion demands he is
on the job the entire "a hours. The
farmers occupation calls as a rule for
the performance Of some work ear
ly in the morning and other work late
in the day. but what must be lone in
the hours between fluctuates with the
season. There, are periods Of hard.
intensive work, and other periods Of
leisure. Moreover, usually the farmer.
like the professional man. is conduct
ing his own business, and shapes his
course according to his own conyen-
fence,
When the length of the working dav
is discussed as a basis for fixing wa
ges. it is invariably the day of the
wage worker That is meant, and US
ualy the day Of the man engaged in
industrial tasks. Whether or not a
man can produce as much in an eight
hour day as in a ten-hour day .has not
been definitely determined, notwith-
standing some very positive asser-
lions on both sides of the question. 1t
goes without saying that the charac-
ter of the employment is an import
ant factor, as there is work so exact-
ing that even eight hours is too long
Tor human endurance. But generali-
cations can be made only on the or
binary run of occupations. About the
only concrete fact that we have on
this is hat in a number of factories
where the eight-hour day has sup
planted t~he1onSer one, the output per
man per day is actually less than be-
fore the change was made. That NAV
mean that the eight-hour day in such
establishments is economically un-
sound. 1t m a mean. on the other
hand, that there has been a yielding
to a very prevalent tendency to slack
up on work.
1t is true that where the output is
regulated by the speed OF the ma
chine, the longer e-individual re-
mains at work the greater will his
output be-barring accidents. which
have beer shown to be more frequent
where the endurance of the individual
is taxed to the limit.
Here enters also the human element,
the right of the individual for such
time for rest and recuperation as is
essential to wholesome living. It is
often sound economy to crowd a ma
chine wear it out, land hasten it to
the scrap heap. This must not be
done with a man, no matter what the
production sheets show.
v