The Connecticut labor news., 1923-03-02

1 CT importance, increased the length Ot
 their lives and vastly improved their ] physical condition and general health. The Cigarmakers' International Union
 has long ago furnished proof through it's vital statistics, which have been
 the inauguration of the eight-hour
 working day, May Ist, 1888, has
 brought about wonderful improve
 ments in the length of lives of the
 members and in their general health, l having increased the length of life i from 3I years to 46 years-an increase
 of I5 years, and reduced the number
 of those who die of tuberculosis from 5I per cent to 24 per cent a decrease l of 27 per cent.
 The Federal Government, a few years ago, printed a report by Pro- lessor Fisher of Yale University, who insists and clearly proves that the short-hour work day gives the best
 industrial results, and clearly proves 7 the further claim of the pioneers of the shOrt-hOur movement, that re- i ducing the hours of labor to eight per day has also increased the general productive capacity and efficiency of
 the worker, showing as he does that in all cases investigated the workers
 
 they did formerly in n1n~, ten and
 eleven hour working day. According
 to the government report, the prvfes-
 SOr says:
 "The present working day is strik
 ing example of the failure to con
 serve national vitality. In order to
 keep labor power unimpaired, the
 working day should be physicologi cali. e., it should be such as would enable the average individual to com pletely recuperate over night Other : wise, instead of simple daily cycle, l there is progressive deterioration. A reduction in the length of the work ' day would be chief means of inn ! proving the vitality of workmen, as well as the worth of life to them.
 "The fatigue of workmen is largely traceable to their long work day and serves to start vicious circle Fatigue puts the workmen in an ab- i, normal frame of mind. He seeks to deaden his fatigue by alcohol, tobec- co, exciting amusements and excess of various kinds The momentary re- lief which he thereby obtains is pur chased at the expense of an increas- ing susceptibility to fatigue resulting sooner or later in complete depletion of his vital energies and i'll the con- traction of tuberculosis or other fatal diseases The decrease in the length of the working day has not diminished the total output.
 "An instance in which the eight ' hour day superseded the nine-hour day with entire success Is the case of the Stafford Iron Works of Mather & Platt, at Manchester, England, which to the eight-hour day in 1895 As the firms products were subject to keen competition in both home and foreign markets, it was obliged to look carefully after the labor costs, and it's conclusion that such cost did not Increase in consequence ot the reduction in working hours was reach ed after extremely, accurate comparl- son by accountants, who, of course, ook into consideration the savings in wear and tear, fuel, etc. The Bureau of Labor inquired of Messrs. Mather and Platt if they were ( still on the eight-hour basis, and re- { ;eived a reply dated May 24th, 1904, Il which they stated that: Our exper- ence since the first year in which 1t the eighthour system) was tried has ully borne out the conclusions then lrrived at, and we are fully satisfied \ hat as regards the comparison be- ween eight and nine hours per day, [ he balance of the advantages IS Tn ; avor of the shorter period. In 1894, he hours of labor of about 43,ooo vorkmen in British government fac | ories and workshops were reduced to 8 hours per week. Of this number s 9 o,6oo received reduction Of five and . hree-fourths hours a week, and 24,3oo I ad their time reduced two and one ', alf hours a week. With no change s n piece rates the men were able to arn as much as>formerly. Day work rs received an increase hourly rate 9 f pay to make their earning per week f. f 48 hours equal to those per week V f so hours It was not found neces- ary to increase the number of day fl workers. a In 1880 the owners of the great i( 'eiss Optical Goods factory at Jena, = iermanv, introduced the eight-hour f, ay and then made careful records of b he results Tn 1905, 1t was announced II hat although the aggregate humber C f hours had decreased Is per cent, u he output per hour had increased I6.2 il CT cent. a
 At Leige it was found in su1- a huric acid establishment similar to oundry that shortening the working il av from II hours to 10, from 10 to a inc, and so on gradually down to |. even and one-half resulted, in each ase, in an increase of the output.
 The Solvat Press Company of Syra- use, installed in 1892, a system of hree eight-hour shifts in place of two revious shifts of II and I3 hours re- pectively It was stated by the ssistant general manager in 1905 hat the change had considerably les ened the wear and tear on the men, nd that they could be called upon I" o their work at their highest state f efficiency, which had not been ossib1e on the two-shift basis. Presi-