Evening star., 1923-11-11

proper arrangements a superfluity of
wealth may be created for all.
Because no man has the right to
require his fellow men to be en-
ployed longer than Is beneficial to So
ctety merely that he may grow rich
by making many poor.
Because 1t Is to the real interest of
every human being that every other
human being should be healthy, INTEL
ligent, contented and wealthy.
Movement sAsrt Lived.
The movement lasted for a few
months. and then died out with no
practical effort to make 1t effective.
1t was one Of those follies which even
ular Imagination and then disappear.
Mr.. Rae begins his first chapter
with the statement that 1.-The eight
hour day is no new thing in Eng
land: 1t was common in some Of the
greater employments only q hundred
years ago" and this was written in
1894. In his opinion the very long
working day seems to have been a
Those who laid down expensive ma
chinery grudged seeing 1t stand a
moment idle. and they heightened the
period of work first to twelve hours,
as it was In Arkwright's time. and
thse times to aese sos dam AND
grudged even to pause for a meal. In
Manchester at the time of the reform
bill, the mills ran from 5 in the morn
ing till at night without any stop
hands had to breakfast as best they
could while standing and attending
the machinery"
Mr.. Rae's investigation covered a
number of individual plants that had
established the shorter workday and
some vocations wherein eight hours
was the rule. as to the effect on the
employees and on production. His
conclusion as expressed in his preface
Is: THE available evidence is unex-
pectedly copious and its teaching is
Unexpectedly plain and uniform. In
the course of the investigation have
found it impossible, personally, not
to grow q stronger and stronger be-
lever in the eight-hour day. Shorter
work hours have left every nation
that has chosen them at once health
Ter. Weather and wiser; and the
shortening to eight seems, IL I may
say SO, to be blessed above its prede-
cessors. According to positive ex-
perience Of 1T, the eight-hour day has
been almost invariably fair"
Origin In Britain.
Great Britain, which is the country
of origin of modern capitalism. is also
the country Of origin Of modern labor
legislation. The first important fac
tory law here was passed in 1902 and
is known as the Health and Morals
Act" This act forbids the employ
ment of children under nine years Of
age, restricts the working hours of
children to twelve a day and pro-
vides for sanitary conditions and edu-
cation for them. The act was not en-
rereed and ks dssd 'st1ar similar act in 1879
until 1888 that an extensive and strict
factory law was passed through par
lament: 1t applied to all textile
establishments and provided tfor a
trained group Of men. It again for
bade the work of children under nine
years Of age and limited the number
of hours for children under thirteen
to nine a day or forty-eight a week,
twelve a day or sixty-nine a week
Night work was entirely prohibited
and schooling was provided for. The
laws Of 1874 and 1847 first extended
protection to women and established
q ten-hour day for children and
Up to 1924 in England labor unions
were illegal under the common law
and the statutes Of parliament
Result Of Machinery.
Sti1l another authority makes this
comment: with the introduction Of
steam-driven machinery In England
in the early part Of the last century.
together with the factory system,
manufacturers gained almost auto
cratic control Of the hundreds Of
thousands of Hrkers at their dis