The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-10-29
THE FIVE-DAY WEEK
BY N. ID. Cochran

The National Manufacturers Association is OPP
posed to the veday week. just it was opposed to the
eight-hour day It's president, John E. Edgerton,
makes the following argument:
six days shalt thou labor and do all they work.
So reads the fifth of the great commandments, and
for sixty centuries has been accepted the dvinely
prescribed standard Of economic effort II per-
fectly fixed basis Of human achievement and social
contentment. 1t has served America, admirably in
building the greatest political social and economic
system known to history. And all through the Great
Book the importance and sacredness of work
emphasized lifes first and continuous obligation"
President William Green of the American Fedora
Of Labor looks the ffve-day from differ
ent viewpoint. He says:
Industries are revolutionizing their whole pro-
cedure with greater productivity per worker because
of higher and higher Industrial efficiency. AS
workers productivity increases his wages of
ALL must increase in production, in order that they
may help absorb the increased output There must
also be progressive reduction of the hours OF
Dor that and may have time to re-
build exhausted physical energies With these two
safeguards the physical resistance Of the workers
can be conserved and the foundation laid fer the
higher development Of spiritual and intellectual
ers.
LAS their leisure time increases men and women
develop numerous and discriminating wants
They buy of the worlds goods and therefore
purchasing power is increased"
If these two men represent the respective views
of their organizations then the American Federation
of Labor is looking forward and the National Manu-
facturers' Association looking backward-yes sixty
centuries backward when there factories and
focks and herds.
President Green is dealing with today, when NIL
lions of men, and children work indoors all
day long-many Of them doing creative work
than putting nut after nut in its particular place
piece of machinery
But the amazing thing about the manufacturers
argument Is that he tries to place all of the raspon-
sibty God and makes rules governing human
effort have all the sanctty of divine command
though they were laid down six thousand years
Sngulary enough, Judge Gary Of the Steel Trust
is reactionary President Edgerton Among other
arguments he advances is this 1.-THE command
ment says Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy
work The reason it didn't say seven days is that
the seventh day is day of rest and that's enough"
Only a few short years ago Judge Gary was ire
mendously offended when the Federal Council of
Churches made survey of the steel industry and
protested against Judge Garys policy of working
twelve hours day and seven days a week. He
didn't say anything about that commandment then
He didn't quote God authority in whom the
steel industry had implicit confidence He and his
associate captains of industry simply down their
contributions to the Federal Council of Churches But
now in sudden and surprising fit of pety, Judge
Gary goes back sixty centuries for divine guidance
Fortunately neither Gary Edgerton represents
unanimous opinion Of American capital There are
among employers in this country who have
vision and who looking forward, not backward
Henry Ford is of them His argument on the
veday week is not materially different from that of
President Green. And he is piacticing what he
breaches.
1t win be interesting to see whether the Garys
and Edgertons enlist the churches their side
this fight for shorter week assuming that God
is their side. Only generation ago a Pennsyl-
vania coal operator by the of Baer the
country by announcing that he and his
the chosen of God and ruled by divine right.
The trouble with him he didn't get away with it.
Gary and Edgerton must put up a better argument
than Eaer did if they to build up public senh-
ment against the fve-day week.