The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1928-04-06
PROPAGANDA
Against Five-Day Week Misses Fire---Answer
To Editorial
BY ARTHUR H. PHILLIPS


Journal recently uncorked barrage
against the five-day week.
1t says, "a five-day working week
-. means the sacrifice of older men
-. less keenly alert men, victims of
past industrial accidents, everybody
who could not stand the swifter pace
1t means fewer jobs /. To maintain
present production on a shorter work
week, is to make no new jobs :. To
cut production along with the cut in
hours, in order to give new jobs, is
to increase costs to everybody; des-
perate hazard, almost certain to de-
stroy any industry that tries it."
The father of this cheerful philoso-
ply would have us believe that, with
the fve-day week, we must burn up
the earth with action to exist; that,
under such arrangements, only the fit
test would survive. But how he ar
rives at these conclusions would be
hard to guess, for, in this particular
respect, he leaves all to the imagi-
nation.
One does not have to be finished
product in the school of economics,
however, to perceive the fallacy of
such doctrine. These same argu-
ments We're used against the 8-hour
day many, many years ago. But who
at present, even among the greater
industries, would return to the 12-
hour day if they could?
1t is not question of maintaining
our present standard of production
with the same number of workmen
with fewer hours but one of adjust
ing our industrial system to meet the
present-day requirements. This ad-
justment has partly been accomplish
ed with the shorter day, but, owing
to the progress of industrial evolu-
ton, the situation constantly requires
new attention.
With the advent of modern machin-
cry which increases production many
times over, the consequent decrease
in production costs and smaller de-
mand for man power, some sort of
method must be devised to keep down
the overproduction which would in
evitably follow. And what paralyzes
industry more, what is a greater him
drance to prosperity, than a clogged
market? This is not merely a labor
problem but one in which our whole
economic and social structure is in
volved
The public, in this more enlighten-
ed age-an age when precedents are
established and traditions are upset
daily-is not extremely amenable to
such propaganda as the above. 1t
has seen, and is now seeing, success
full demonstrations of the shorter
work-week. 1t knows that many
great and successful industrial heads
are now in accord with the movement.
From the standpoint of industrial
efficiency let us quote recent finan-
cial item Announcement by r. B.
Jackson, president of Hudson Motor
Company, that plant operations had
been placed on five-day-a-week ba-
sis, seems to have discouraged many
of the company's followers. But
President Jackson pointed out that the
new schedule was adopted because it
was found to be more economical than
the fve-and-a-half day week, and he
also said business was running far
ahead of any previous season"
Or who would question Henry
Ford's judgment in adopting and ad-
vocating this policy? He was one of
the first to support the five-day-week
idea, yet the many doleful and often
repeated prophecies were not follow
ed by the promised disaster.
The same sheet that carried the
above editorial published its own re-
futation two days earlier March 14),
in which it said: Production costs
decrease as machinery replaces human
labor. As production costs go down,
the earning power of the nation in
creases, and as earnings increase con-
sumption increases. Thus the loss Of
jobs in one industry through the use
of power machinery means gains in
other ways. Greater earnings of la
borers means creation of new indus
tries. The sentiment in the two ar
ticles are as far apart as the poles.
So let's not get undlIly excited over