New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1923-07-20
ENGLAND'S GARY IS
5 HR. DAY ADVOCATE
Baron Of Steel Industry Says It
Is a Blessing

London, July 20.-"The eight-hour
day In the steel industry OF Great
Britain is not a theory nor day
dream. 1t is fact.
ut is not a failure. 1t is sue
cess.
ut has helped the men. 1t has
helped the employers.
Few, If any, of the employers
would revert to the old barbarous H.
hour day. And certainly none of the
men would. The eight-hour day has
not injured the standing of the Brit
ish steel industry in the worlds In
dustrial activities.
ut has helped 1t because of IN
creased production, satisfied workmen
and an absence of industrial disputes
at period in the worlds history
when In so many places employers
and employees are at loggerheads"
No Professor, Either
The man who said this to me was
no college professor celebrating
thesis he had worked out. Nor was
he lawyer employed by stockholders
to preside over the fortunes of a steel
plant. He was one of tho outstanding
figures in the great British steel in
dustry-Sir Robert A. Hadfeld.
He Is head of the we'll known firm
of Hadfield's, Limited, He is the in
ventor of manganese steel and low
hysteresis steel of navy alloys, steels
and metallurgical improvements And
he is interesting to Americans be-
cause he has an American wife.
He Is the winner of various medals
given by the Franklin Institute of
America. Also the medal for high
scientific achievements. BY his prac-
teal knowledge of the steel business
by his vision and also by his humani-
tartan impulses, he has seen his COM
pany become one Of the large con-
Germs of Britain.
More than a quarter of a century
ago." said Sir Robert, II put the
eight hour day into effect in our
plants 1t was voluntary on my part
1t was the result OF what I had seen
and observed.
Il watched my men. 1t was sad
dening to me to think of them going
home from work so tired they had
neither the zest nor desire for any
recreation.
"A WORKOUT man Is an irritable
man. The oxygen has been burned
one of his system to such an extent
that he has been poisoned by his
labor for his daily bread.
Can't Market Men.
Now think what it means when
such a man goes home to his wife,
who herself has been taxed almost
beyond endurance by the mob of
rearing a bunch of noisy children
and of doing practically all the /
chores herself Is there
any wonder that there are quarrels
and domestic discomfort and unhap-
piness?
bad work in factories often
springs from domestic discomfort |
And domestic discomfort is often a |
direct result of the utter fatigue of
the bread winner.
THE more I studied the subject,
the more I became convinced that |
human labor is not marketable |
like a pound of tea or
half dozen eggs. The man working
a lot of expensive machinery in a
steel mill is not himself machine.
He is flesh and blood. The ma
chine under strain wears out, but |
there is, no pain. The man under
strain also wears out, but there is |
pain and sorrow and suffering.
And They're More Contented.
That's why introduced the eight
hour day In my plants. It was met |
with storm of criticism. You know |
there are always employees who
preach the old doctrine that the |
longer and harder you work your
men, the more profits you take.