The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1923-06-20
A DAYS WORK

A great deal of discussion if the twelve hour day has followed
Judge Garys dictum that a twelve hour day is necessary to the
steel industry. 1t is noticeable that none of the newspaper dis
cussion has agreed with the steel, aster. The conclusion is that a
twelve hour day is inimical to development of the class of citizen
ship the U. S. aspires to create and maintain.
That is the general conclusion as to the twelve hour day in
industries where men work. at full speed the year round. None
have as yet found fault with the farmers twelve hour day.
Yet the twelve hour day was common of comparatively recent
years, Farmers always had it and still retain it. In fact they
can't get away from it. Time was not long ago that the ten
hour day was a short day so considered. The trades all worked
ten hours. Factories all ran ten hours. Some of us remember
protest when the ten hour day for wage workers came IN. 1t was
the custom to pay by the day and not by the hour and a day ran
from the time the boss said "come on" to the time when he said
Lets quit work" Carpenters held to the ten hour day in town
where they boarded themselves but ignored it when building
operations took them to the farms and the farmer fed and lodged
them. Then mostly they got busy after a 6 o'clock breakfast
and worked an hour or two after a $50 supper. Wages? an ap-
prentice got a dollar a day. A good carpenter perhaps 1925 to
$3.50. Saw and hammer men SIPS to $3.50.
1t was a long day on the farm then, A common rising hour
was 4 to 4:30. Common quitting time was 6 to 6:3O. But that
applied merely to field work. The morning hours before break
fast were occupied by "hOrse chores" milking, feeding hogs and
cattle and other duties. We went afield promptly after break
fast. Later folks got to getting up a little later, quitting for
noon at II 80 and taking an hour and a half for the incoming and
coming in at 80 from the fields of evenings. But then as now,
field quitting time simply began a long of chores. Improved
machinery helped the farmer and the farm hand out. 1t has
aided other workers to shorten the hours of labor.
After all it is a question of getting the work done whether
in factories or on farms, of production needful to keep things
going and leave a surplus. When the insensate machine helps one
man to produce as much as five did before it ought to ease the
stress of living for both producer and consumer. And when he
looks it over those. who work and those who produce and those
who consume are one and the same for the most part. Production
however, is the vital thing. The result counts. So much worl
is to be accomplished. And whether It's eight hours or ten hours
returning to the farm as an illustration again, it is a plain ques
ton of so much production rather than so many hours.
Which we seem to forget in so many of our wage and length
of day and week demands and discussions. The length of tn
day and OF the week depends on the production possible and re
quisite. Not on the desire or the demand of those who pay o
those who receive pay. After all it is simply an exchange O
service between workers. A days work or a weeks work or
years work or the work of a lifetime can't be measured by hour
or days. The only measure is production results.