The Connecticut labor news., 1922-11-10
EIGHT HOUR DAY IS EQUITABLE, SAYS
 ROCKEFELLER, R.
Also Declares That the Six Day Week Is Morally and Eco
 nomically Right.

Commenting on an article appear
 ing in the November issue of the
 Survey Graphic" based on study
 made of working conditions in the Elk Basin crude oil producing field in Wyoming, John D. Rockefeller, IT,, in
 a letter to Paul Kellogg, editor of
 the Survey Graphic said: =
 "1 greatly appreciate the editorial courtesy which has permitted me to read and to comment upon MT. Lynd's article in advance of publica- ton. The conditions described have caused me deep concern. The first intimation months ago that such a situation existed in the Elk Basin field led me to institute prompt inquiry, with the hope that any just grounds for criticism might be removed forth with. That these efforts, long since under way and still in progress, have not been more quickly effective has been and is a disappointment.
 While 1 recognize the tolerance and restraint of the article, I should regret if the omission of safeguard ing references might lead readers to infer that the Elk Basin situation is typical of the oil industry as a whole or of the policies of the Standard Oil Companies in particular, for quite the contrary is the fact.
 Elk Basin a Difficult Location.
 'It is hardly necessary for me to call attention to what has long been very generally conceded among em- ployers and employees alike, namely, that the Standard Oil Companies have always paid full wages and treat ed their men with justice, friendliness and consideration. think it will be recognized that the Elk Basin is peculiarly barren, isolated and difficult location in its physical setting.
 According to information from re- sponsible sources, have reason to stances apparently surrounding this single field are in marked contrast with those in other branches of the industry, and especially those in less difficult producing areas.
 Having, however, thus pointed out that these conditions do not pertain widely, I certainly have no wish to defend or extenuate this particular situation in itself. On the contrary, I am glad of this opportunity to set forth with all frankness and emphasis my own position in regard to matters of this kind. ss
 "The circumstances described by Mr. Lynd have to do in part with hours of labor and in part with living conditions. On the basis of the facts in the matter, trust there will be no misunderstanding either on the part of the responsible executives in the companies to which 1 may be related or on the part of the public at large as to my position on both of these questions. -,t....
 Twelve-H Hour Day and Seven-Day
 -. Week Unjustihable.
 "I believe that generally speaking the I2-hour day and the seven-day week should no longer be tolerated in industry, either from the viewpoint of public policy or of industrial efhc- iency; I believe that both have been proven to be unnenecsary, uneconom- ic and unjustifable.
 "As a matter of general policy, subject only to the demands of occasional emergency, modern indus try Is justified in accepting the eight hour day and the six-day week, as a labor standard toward which all the parties interested should steadily press. Even in those industries where the continuous process is an inevitable feature, the routine should be so adjusted that the employees can have at least one days rest in seven, and can obtain that share of leisure for self development which accom- panies the work day of approximately eight hours.
 ."Whi1e the adoption of these stand ards may and doubtless will at first entail increased costs of production, I am confident that in the long run greater efficiency and economy will result, and that from the outset pub lie opinion will support any industry which installs them. The same senti- ment will eventually bring into line the less scrupulous and less enlight- ened elements in every competitive industry.
 With regard to living conditions there be even less room for argu-