rv. Pi Cornell University P Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924007709383 UiS .f FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL WAR LABOR BOARD MEMORANDUM ON THE EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY SUBMITTED BY THE SECRETARY, JULY 20, 1918 WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRrNTINQ OFFICE : I8I8 CONTENTS. Page. Part 1. Recent applications of the eight-hour day 5 Part 2. Application of the Federal Eight-hour Law in war time 9 Part 3. Effect of the reduction of hours upon output in various industries. ... 31 Appendix A. Cases of reduction of the working day to eight hours, 1915 to 1918 35 Appendix B . Legislation limiting hours of labor for men 41 Appendix C. Experience with the shorter workday 49 Conclusions of the British Health of Munition Workers' Committee 49 Commonwealth Steel Co., Granite City, 111 59 Work-wearinesB and a three-shift system. A letter from John E. Grant, England 61 Effect of the reduction of hours upon output in the granite industry 62 Output in battleship construction 63 Output in relation to hours of labor in a shoe manufacturing establishment 67 Effect of reduced hours in the boot and shoe industry 69 Productivity of labor in the anthracite coal mines 71 Effect of reduction of hours upon production in a tool manufacturing es- tablishment 76 Keduced hours and the output of steel forgings 77 Hours of work as related to output in cotton manufacturing 78 Actual results of production under reduced hours of work in various man- ufacturing establishments 80 The Zeiss Optical Works, Jena, Germany 87 Engis Chemical Works 87 .Salford Iron Works 88 Cleveland Hardware Co 88 Cloth Crafts Shops, Cleveland, Ohio 89 The case for the shorter workday. A summary ' 90 ^ Compiled under the direction of Leifur Magnusson, United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 'Commissioner of Labor Statistics generously detailed several members ol the staff of the Biireau of Labor Statistics to assist in the work. Maj. F. J. Kosensohn of the War Department furnished the basic material ifor the part on the Federal eight-hour law. 3 THE EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. PART I. RECENT APPLICATION OF THE EIGHT-HOUR DAY. SUMMARY.i During the war period past movements for shorter hours have con- • tinned and have been greatly accelerated by the fact that Government contracts have required the eight-hour day. The actual eight-hour day has regularly been v^aived and overtime work required at in- creased compensation. The eight-hour movement gained headway before the United States entered the war. As an instance of this fact may be cited the movement for the reduction of hours in the machine trades, which began late in 1915 and continued in 1916. Before our entry into the war, railroad employees secured the so-called basic eight-hour day and the anthracite- coal agreement was also signed be- fore that time. Industries which as a whole have gone on an eight-hour day with additional pay for overtime are contained in the following tabulation. This does not contain industries in which numbers of wage earners have secured a reduction in hours to eight from time to time as a re- sult of sporadic agreements affecting only small numbers in certain localities. The number of wage earners who have secured shorter hours in that manner is contained in the summary table immediately following this tabulation. During 1917 and the first six months of 1918 about 926,000 workers have gone on an eight-hour day basis. 1 Further details are given In Appendix A. EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAT. INDUSTRIES WHICH HAVE GONE ON AN ACTUAL OE BASIC EIGHT-HOUE DAY SINCE THE ENTRY OF THE UNITED STATES INTO THE WAR. Date. How accomplished. Number affected. Industry. Establish- ments. Employees. Shipyards Various dates. May 1,1918.... 1917 133,000 Slaughtering and meat Federal arbitration award 100,000- packing. Garment trades 178,000 News-print paper industry. July 1,1918.... June 19, 1917... Aug. 3, 1917... Mar. 1, 1918, and later. Award National War Labor Board. Agreement between the Secre- tary of War and the presi- dent of the American Fed- eration of Labor. 19 W Government construction 2 108,463- work. Harness and saddlery in- 100 manufac- turers signed agreement. Unknown <}) dustry (so far as engaged on Government work). Lumber and saw mills of Washington, Oregon, and •California. Action of employers and ad- vice of Aircraft Production Board. 50,000 1 Unknown. 2 This niimber not included in table below, as the trades and occupations affected are not known. All Government contract work, by act of 1912 and Executive order of May, 1917. Because of the possi- bility of different interpretations of the law, no statement as to the number of industries included or the number of employees affected can be made. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES REPORTED AS HAVING WORKDAY REDUCED TO 8 HOURS IN 1915, 1916, 1917, AND THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1918, BY INDUSTRIES. 1915 1916 1917, Jan.- June. 1917, July- Dec. 1918, Jan.- June. Total. 275 1,471 24,000 560 275 Bakers .".... 1,471 "RnnfR anc\ Rhnp.tj 24,000 "RotftrifT's a"(i •^r'''WprR 40 2,060 100 70O 2,060 28,676 610 1,000 1,800 31,086 32,085 Carriages and automobiles rVnipnt aril] r.rmo.rpt.(\ 31,085 46 46 45 C}^p.m^ca^Fi 82 128 2,000 1,500 3,500 13 Cooperage is 852 3,94i 4,000 8,793 "Rlflntrin anrt fras liVhtiTip 1,500 1,500 300 114,090 354 300 88,300 Foundry and macliine shops . . Furniture i9,336 314 67,625 3,185 40 96, 600 2,463 816 11,760 2,036 178, 010 100 Glass workers 100 Hotel and restaurant workers . 125 125 300 30O 3,000 3,000 35 35 Leather workers 4,600 1,620 4,600 53,661 600 Lumber. . . , 66 1,875 500 2,000 50,000 Mining 184,000 4 6,000 54 350 485 24,000 4,000 214, 000 i Municipal and State employ- ees... MnnitinTip is, 666 7,500 7,180 24,000 7,654 300 2,500 10,000 17,830 2,985 106 300' Pfi.ppr iT)n.Tinfpr",tiiT-iTig Packers . 300 106,000 1,134 l'l34 102 31 6,600 2,000 133 jPriTitiTig n.TiH publishing 6,600 432, 200 1,692 134 370 1,300 1,500 1,250 400,400 28,600 Hubber goods . .- . . 192 120 Ship and boat building 133,000 2,300 324 25,000 27,300 574 250 800 75 1,000 1,200 2,075 1,150 150 Total 171,978 342, 138 612,587 91,208 322,621 1,440,532 EIGHT-HOtm WOEKING DAY. 7 The recent eight-hour movement began with the railroad brother- hoods in 1916-17. As a result of a threatened strike certain adjust- ments were made in pay on the basis of an 8-hour day instead of a former 10-hour day. This change was secured by the Adamson law of September 3, 1916. The new day has been termed by the rail- road world the basic eight-hour day. This change in the railroad day has affected approximately 400,000 workers. The eight-hour day has been in force in the Government navy yards for many years, and time and a half has been paid for over- time work. The Federal Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where mostly women are employed, has always been an actual eight-hour establishment, but in periods of rush increased hours have regularly been worked. Only recently was the eight-hour day introduced with time and a half paid for overtime. This has affected approximately 6,600 employees in the bureau. The eight-hour day has now become almost universal in the ship- yards, in which approximately 133,000 employees are engaged. Coal mining has very largely been an eight-hour industry, at least in the organized bituminous coal fields. The anthracite coal fields had since 1903 operated on a nine-hour basis, but in 1916, by agree ment, the eight-hour day was accepted. This now affects at least 180,000 employees. The slaughtering and meat-packing industry has always been classed as a 10-hour industry. Beginning May 1, 1918, it became -i basic eight-hour industry by an arbitration award handed down by a Federal arbitrator. This award has affected, roughly, 100,000 work- men. The machine trades, beginning in 1915, witnessed a rapid move- ment for the reduction of hours, chiefly firms having Government contracts, though not exclusively restricted to such plants. Roughly speaking, this movement now affects 116,000 workers. Another group of workers who have benefited recently by the eight-hour day are the garment workers. Large numbers of these during the latter half of 1916 and the first half of the year 1917 secured by agreement the eight-hour day. Approximately 178,000 garment workers now have a prevailing eight-hour day. This is an industry which has usually been considered a nine-hour or more industry. Lastly, there may be instanced the placing of the news-print paper industry upon an eight-hour day, with time and a half for overtime, accomplished by an award of the National War Labor Board. This award affects 19 establishments in the news-print paper mills of the United States. PART 11. APPLICATION OF THE FEDERAL EIGHT-HOUR LAW IN WAR TIME. While the provisions of the Federal eight-hour law have regularly been suspended during the war, it has been done with the under- standing that such suspension is temporary and that overtime of time and a half is to be paid for all work beyond the eight hours per day. The act of 1912, provisions of appropriation acts, and presi- dential orders under authority conferred by Congress are here repro- duced in full. There are also reprinted the suggestions of the War Department for the administration of the act, and the report of the special committee of the War Labor Policies Board of the Depart- ment of Labor appointed to investigate the general application of the act. FEDERAL EIGHT-HOUR LAW, 1912. The eight-hour law, approved June 19, 1912, is as follows: AN ACT Limiting tlie liours of daily service of lal)orers and meclianics employed upon work done for the United States, or for any Territory, or for the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That every contract hereafter made to which the United States, any Territory, or the District of Columbia is a party, and every such contract made for or on behalf of the United States, or any Territory, or said District, wliich may require or involve the employment of laborers or mechanics shall contain a provision that no laborer or mechanic doing any part of the work contemplated by the contract, in the employ of the contractor or any subcontractor contracting for any part of said work contem- plated, shall be required or permitted to work more than eight hours in any one calendar day upon such work ; and every such contract shall stipulate a penalty for each violation of such provision in such contract of $5 for each laborer or mechanic for every calendar day in which he shall be required or permitted to labor more than eight hours upon said work ; and any officer or person designated as inspector of the work to be performed under any such contract, or to aid in enforcing the fulfillment thereof, shall, upon observation or investigation, forthwith report to the proper officer of the United States, or of any Territory, or of the District of Columbia, all violations of the provisions of this act directed to be made in every such contract, together with the name of each laborer or mechanic who has been required or permitted to labor In 9 10 EIGHT-HOXJK WORKING DAT. violation of such stipulation and the day of such violation, and the amount of the penalties imposed according to the stipulation in any such contract shall be directed to be withheld for the use and benefit of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Territory contracting by the officer or person whose duty it shall be to approve the payment of the moneys due under such contract, whether the violation of the provisions of such contract' is by the contractor or any subcontractor. Any contractor or subcontractor aggrieved by the withholding of any penalty as hereinbefore provided shall have the right within six months hereafter to appeal to the head of the department making the contract on behalf of the United States or the Territory, and in the case of a contract made by the District of Columbia to the commissioners thereof, who shall have power to review the action imposing the penalty, and in all such appeals from such final order whereby a contractor or subcontractor may be aggrieved by the imposition of the penalty hereinbefore provided such contractor or subcontractor may within six months after decision by such head of a department or the Commissioners of the District of Columbia file a claim in the Court of Claims, which shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide the matter in like manner as in other cases before said court. Sec. 2. That nothing in this act shall apply to contracts for transportation by land or water, or for the transmission of intelligence, or for the purchase of supplies by the Government, whether manufactured to conform to particular specifications or not, or for such materials or articles as may usually be bought in open market, except armor and armor plate, whether made to conform to particular specifications or not, or to the construction or repair of levees or revetments necessary for protection against floods or overflows on the navigable waters of the United States : Promded, That all classes of work which have been, are now, or may hereafter be performed by the Government shall, when done by contract, by individuals, firms, or corporations for on or behalf of the United States or any of the Territories or the District of Columbia, be per- formed in accordance with the terms and provisions of section one of this act. The President, by Executive order, may waive the provisions and stipulations in this act as to any specific contract or contracts during time of war or a time when war is imminent, and until January first, nineteen hundred and fifteen, as to any contract or contracts entered into in connection with the construc- tion of the Isthmian Canal. A'o penalties shall be imposed for any violation of such provision in such contract due to any extraordinary events or condi- tions of manufacture, or to any emergency caused by fire, famine, or flood, by danger to life or to property, or by other extraordinary event or condition on account of which the President shall subsequently declare the violation to have been excusable. Nothing in this act shall be construed to repeal or modify the act entitled "An act relating to the limitation of the hours of daily service of laborers and mechanics employed upon the public works of the United States and of the District of Columbia," being chapter three hundred and fifty-two of the laws of the Fifty-second Congress, approved August first, eight- een hundred and ninety-two, as modified by the acts of Congress approved February twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and six, and June thirtieth, nine- teen hundred and six, or apply to contracts which have been or may be entered into under the provisions of appropriation acts approved prior to the passage of this act. EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. 11 Sec. 3. That this act shall become effective and be in force on and after January first, nineteen hundred and thirteen. Approved June 19, 1912. NAVAL APPROPRIATION ACT, 1917. The naval appropriation act approved March 4, 1917, contains this pertinent proviso : That in case of national emergency the President is authorized to suspend provisions of law prohibiting more than eight hours of labor in any one day of persons engaged upon work covered by contracts with the United States. Provided further, That the wages of persons employed upon such contracts shall be computed upon a basic day rate of eight hours' work, with overtime rates to be paid for at not less than time and one-half for all hours worked in. excess of eight hours. SUSPENSION OF FEDERAL EIGHT-HOUR LAWS. EXECUTIVE ORDER. Under authority contained in the naval appropriation act approved March 4,, 1917 (Public, No. 391, 64th Cong.), whereby it is provided — " That in case of national emergency the President is authorized to suspend provisions of law prohibiting more than eight hours labor in any one day of persons engaged upon work covered by contracts with the United States : Pro- vided fuCrther, That the wages of persons employed upon such contracts shall be computed on a basic day rate of eight hours work with overtime rates to be paid for at not less than time and one-half for all hours work in excess of eight hours ;" it is hereby ordered that the provisions of the act approved June 19, 1912, limiting the hours of dally service of mechanics and laborers on work under contracts to which the United States is a party are suspended with respect to all contracts for ordnance and ordnance stores and other military sup- plies and material, contracts for building under construction or to be con- structed at the arsenals, and contracts for fortification work during the pending emergency and until further orders. This order shall take effect from and after this date. WOODEOW WmsoN. The White House, 2Jtth March, 1911. EXECUTIVE ORDER. Under authority contained in the naval appropriation act approved March 4, 1917 (Public, No. 391, 64th Cong.), it is hereby ordered that the provision* of the eight-hour act of June 19, 1912, are suspended with respect to per- sons engaged upon work covered by contracts with the United States, made under the War Department, for the construction of any military building or for any public work which, in the judgment of the Secretary of War, is im- portant for purposes of national defense in addition to the classes of' con- tracts enumerated in Executive order of March 24, 1917. 12 BIGHT-HOUR WOKKING DAY. It is further declared that the current status of war constitutes an" extraordi- nary emergency " within the meaning of that term as used in the eight-hour act of March 3, 1913 (37 Stat., 726), and that laborers and mechanics em- ployed on work of the character set forth above, whether employed by Government contractors or by agents of the Government, may, when regarded by the Secretary of War as necessary for purposes of national defense, be required to work in excess of eight hours per day, and wages to be computed in accordance with the proviso in the said act of March 4, 1917. This order shall take effect from and after this date and shall be operative ■during the pending emergency or until further orders. WooDEow Wilson. The White House, 28th April, 1917. SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE EIGHT-HOUR LAW. (War Department.) INTRODUCTORY. The following information and suggestions for the interpretation, administration, and enforcement of the eight-hour law, approved June 19, 1912, the naval appropriation act proviso, approved March 4, 1917, and the Executive order of the President dated March 24, 1917, is published, in pursuance of the request of the Secretary of War, for the assistance of all officials and agencies engaged in mak- ing contracts or purchases for the War Department or in inspecting work being done or materials being, made under such contracts or purchases. The problems arising under the eight-hour law have been intensi- fied and multiplied by the Executive order of the President suspend- ing the provisions of the law, and thereby bringing into operation the naval appropriation act proviso which requires that wages of persons employed on contracts of the sort formerly within the eight- hour limitation shall be computed on a basic date rate of eight hours, with overtime rates at not less than time and one-half for all hours in excess of eight hours. Thus, in addition to questions formerly arising concerning what contracts fall within the statute, there are new problems relating to the meaning of the requirement of over- time pay and the enforcement of the same. The great increase in contracts and purchases incident to the pres- ent war conditions has made numerous decisions on specific eight- hour questions necessary, and that at a time when pressure of busi- ness often interferes Avith their adequate consideration by the pur- chasing oflioej's without assistance. To deal with the problems thus arising the Secretary of War has issued the following order: In order to settle conflicts and to avoid confusion and delay it has become necessary to secure better administration and enforcement by the War Depart- 13 14 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. ment of the provisions of law requiring time and a half for overtime work Tinder certain classes of Government contracts. To accomplish this end I have detailed Mr. Felix Frankfurter. It will be his ■duty: 1. To keep informed as to every phase of the administration of the laws deal- ing with the eight-hour limitation and time and a half for overtime work. 2. To advise as to these laws any officer or agency of the department engaged in making contracts or purchases. 3. To make rulings, in cooperation with the Judge Advocate General, on any matter which is part of the administration or enforcement of these. Specifically — (1) What contracts are affected by the laws above mentioned ; (2) The interpretation to be placed upon any of the provisions of these laws ; (3) The methods of securing the enforcement of these laws. The existing contract-making agencies will retain the powers they now have subject to the control above outlined. It is expected that the necessary better- ment in administration and enforcement will largely result from thf cooperation of the contracting, purchasing, and inspecting officials of the department with Mr. Frankfurter in the exercise of the advisory powers with which he is charged. A copy of the foregoing should be read by every official and agency making contracts or purchases for the War Department and by the chief or other head of every inspection division or branch making inspections for the department under any of the said contracts or purchases. Newton D. Baker. This pamphlet is issued in an attempt to make uniform and accu- rate the administration of the law in the various purchasing and con- tracting bureaus of the War Department. The material of which it is composed is based in large part upon past rulings and the formu- lated experience of the department.^ In carrying out the order of the Secretary an endeavor will also be made to be ready to give in specific cases any information, advice, or recommendation that may be needed ; and to this end the coopera- tion of all contracting and purchasing officers is desired, both in fur- nishing information and in submitting eight-hour questions upon which aid may be required. Of course, the present officers will con- tinue in their administration and enforcement of the law in the great majority of cases. Opinions and determinations in accordance with the Secretary's order will be offered only in those exceptional in- stances in which it may seem necessary, upon the request of a con- tracting officer or otherwise, in order to obviate conflicting or inade- quate decisions. 1 The formulation of this pamphlet has been the work of Mr. Julius H. Amberg, of the Grand Rapids bar. EIGHT-HOUR -WORKING DAY. 15 THE PROVISIONS OF lAW. (a) The law governing eight-hour administration depends upon acts of Congress and an Executive order of the President. The original enactment extending the eight-hour day previously enjoyed b}^ persons employed directly by the Government to those engaged upon Government contracts in general is that of June 19, 1912. This statute provided that a stipulation should be inserted in every con- tract prohibiting the employment of any laborer or mechanic for more than eight hours in any one calendar day upon the work con- templated by the contract. The act set forth fully a method of en- forcement of its provisions, and also excepted therefrom certain con- tracts enumerated in section 2 thereof. This eight-hour law of June 19, 1912, also provided that the Presi- dent by Executive order might waive the provisions of the law during time of war. But this was limited to a great extent by a proviso con- tained in the naval appropriation act approved March 4, 1917. Although the power of the President to suspend the provisions of the eight-hour law was retained, it was provided that in the event of such suspension the wages of persons employed upon Government con- tracts should be computed upon a basic day rate of eight hours, with time and one-half for all hours in excess of eight hours. This naval act proviso was brought into operation by the Execu- tive order of the President dated March •2i, 1917, which suspended the provisions of the act of June 19, 1912. The full text of the eight-hour law, the naval appropriation act proviso, and the President's Executive order appears in the appendix. (5) The eight-hour law, approved August 1, 1892, as amended, is expressly said not to be repealed by the act of June 19, 1912, and also falls within the scope of the above order of the Secretary. But as the former act provides an eight-hour limitation solely as to laborers and mechanics directly employed by the Government or by any contractor or subcontractor upon any of the public works of the United States, its provisions are not so difficult of interpretation and its considera- tion is not within the scope of this pamphlet. CONTRACTS IN GENERAL COVERED BY THE XAW. (a) The coming into operation of the naval act proviso has not altered the scope of the eight-hour law of June 19, 1912, in so far as it prescribed the sort of contracts covered and the mechanics and laborers included within its provisions. The same contracts, labor- ers, and mechanics come within the naval act proviso, the only change 16 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. being that the present law, instead of limiting work to eight hours a clay, permits work beyond eight hours, but in cases subject to the prior limitation provides for the rate of pay for time in excess of eight hours. Therefore the words of the act of June 19, 1912, must be referred to in reaching a conclusion upon the scope of the naval act proviso. (b) It will be noted that the eight-hour law of June 19, 1912, and therefore the naval act proviso as well, covers every contract to which the United States, any Territory, or the District of Columbia is a party, or made for or on behalf of the United States, any Terri- tory, or said District. Section 2 of the law names certain exceptions to the above. From this it appears that
y indi- viduals, firms, or corporations, for or on behalf of the United States • * be performed in acconlance with the terms and provisions of this act. This proviso clearly acts as a limitation upon the foregoing exceptions and makes what is equivalent to an exception thereto. ( i In order to determine whether the Government has performed work of the same class as that contemplated in any contract, the facts as to Government manufacture up to the time of making the contract must be known. That the Government may have discon- tinued such manufacture is immaterial. If at the time of the contract or at any time in recent j^ears such work has been or had been per- formed by the Government for a sufficient period of time to indicate that the work is or was ordinarily being performed up to an appreciable amount of the then Government requirements, the con- tract is within the eight-hour provisions. If the work performed by the Government is or was only up to a limited extent of its requirements, or for a short period, or merely experimental, then if 22 EIGHT-HOUR WOBKIXG DAY. the articles or materials fall within the exceptions mentioned in divi- sion III of this pamphlet the contract falls outside the law. (c) Xo absolute rule can be laid down as to what constitutes an appreciable amount of the Government "s requirements. It is sug- gested that in the neighborhood of 25 per cent would be sufficient to bring the article within the operation of the law. It makes no difference what governmental department or bureau has performed the work or what ratio the Government manufacture bears to the amount of the product prepared for other consumers. It may be that, due to present war conditions, a very great proportion of the total Government requirements of any particular material are now being met by outside contractors. However, if prior to jpresent abnormal times the Government manufactured an appreciable amount of its then needs, a contract for such material must contain the eight-hour provisions. Thus small forgings, cast iron, steel castings, rifle and cannon powder, ammunition for small arms, and the like, have been regu- larly manufactured by the Government in quantities forming an appreciable part of the total required each year, and therefore, if con- tracted for, the contracts must contain the eight-hour wage provi- sions of the naval act proviso. That is true even if, due to present extraordinary needs, the Government may no longer be making an appreciable part of its total demands for any of such articles. On the other hand, the manufacture of Colt pistols is an example of Government manufacture that was not sufficient to take such pistols, which are articles of the sort usually purchasable on the market, out of the exception to the statutory provisions. The Government did for a time make parts of such pistols up to perhaps 30 per cent of its requirements, but discontinued the manufacture while the same was still substantially in the experimental stage. (d) In determining whether or not the product contracted for in the particular instance belongs to a class of work previously per- formed by the Government, there is the same difficulty in drawing class line.^ that arises in determining wliat articles may usually be bought in open market. The establishment of too broad a cla^^ in this case, however, increases the application of the eight-hour law instead of diminishing it. The same rules for determining the class should therefore be used in both cases in order that the law may be fairly administered. (See Division III of this pamphlet, sec. /.) (e) In interpreting this proviso as to Government manufacture, it may be said that its purpose was to prevent the officials of the Government from evading the requirements of the eight-hour law EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. 23 as to mechanics and laborers directly employed by the Government, by causing work of the general nature ordinarily performed directly by the Government itself to be done by outside contract. This is in a sense true, and certainly any such attempted evasion would come within the law. But it is not the sole test. The most recent opinions of the Attorney General state that the purpose of the statute was to extend the policy of the eight-hour laws. This being the case, there can be no doubt that contracts for articles which the Government has ordinarily manufactured to an appreciable extent are within the law, whether or not Government officers have tried by making the contract to evade eight-hour provisions. Another incorrect test, not authorized ))y the statute, would be to exclude from the operation of the law all patented articles or articles made on licensed machines. If the Government has in fact ordi- narily made such articles to the necessary extent, contracts for their manufacture come within the law. THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW. (a) Under the naval act proviso the eight-hour law of June 19, 1912, has been changed in effect from a maximvnn hours' limitatibn to a provision necessitating a basic eight-hour-day rate, with time and one-half for overtime. In other words, the spirit of the law is still to encourage the establishment of an eight-hour day, but, due to the present exigency, this is not done as heretofore by an absolute limitation. Instead, work in excess of eight hours is permitted, but only on the condition of payment to the workers of time and one- half for such overtime, the intent being thereby to discourage over- time except where required by war-production needs. But no change has been made in the fact that the decision in each instance as to whethei' the eight-hour wage provision should be placed in a con- tract, lies with the contracting officer as an administrative matter, subject, of course, to such supervision as the chief of the bureau may deem expedient. In doubtful cases a call may be made, in pursu- ance to the Secretary's order, for assistance in such administration. In deciding questions arising under the law, the general intent of Congress to extend eight-hour provisions should be borne in mind,, with a view to making determinations, in carrying out that intent, that will be fair to both the laborers and the contractors. An administrative decision demands a consideration of facts. Many factors enter into the situation. The records of past and pres- ent Government manufacture and trade and market conditions need 24 EIGHT-HOUR WOEKING DAY. to be examined and understood. In order to do this it may often be advisable to hear the views of both the contractor and the representa- tives of labor. (h) The eight-hour law, approved June 19, 1912, provided for a penalty of $5 for each violation of its provisions. The naval act pro- viso and the Executive order of the President have probably in- corporated this penalty as applying to violations of the wage provi- sions of the naval act proviso. There is, however, a possibility of a difference of opinion upon this. In order to obviate any necessity of having the question determined, a provision for liquidated dam- ages is suggested to be inserted in the contract. (See Division II, sec. /. of this pamphlet.) (r) Section 1 of the eight-hour law of June 19, 1912, provides for a method of enforcing the law through the Government inspectors of the work to be performed under the contract. "Wholly apart from this, the "War Department, of course, is empowered to adopt such a method of enforcement of the provisions of the na^al act proviso as may be necessary. This enforcement should continue to be in the hands of the inspectors, as they offer what seems to be the best means of making certain that the law is observed. The contractor should be required to make proof of his compliance with the law and the inspector should, so far as practicable, add his own comments before sending in the proof to superior officers, the degree and manner of proof depending upon the nature of the particular case. (d) In the event of any labor disputes arising because of the en- forcement or nonenf orcement of the eight-hour provisions in any con- tract, that dispute may be settled by the Secretary of War in the same manner as other labor disputes. (e) A question which may often come before inspectors is whether or not a piecework method of paying mechanics and laborers answers the requirements of the law. The naval act proviso requires " a basic day rate of eight hours with overtime rates * * * at not less than time and one-half * * *." This does not mean that piecework is not permissible. The proviso e^-idently means to inhibit overtime work, except such as is sufficiently required, in consequence of national emergency, to justify time and one-half pay for over- time. Only such a method of paying employees as sub.^tantially complies with this intent and bona fide approximates time and one- half pay for all work done in excess of eight hours is satisfactorv. The means of accommodating piecework to this basis must neces- sarily vary in different industries and factories. It may be feasible in a particular plant to pay one and a half times the regular piece EIGHT-HOUR WOEKING DAY. 25 rate for units made during the overtime period. Although tecli- nically, as a greater or less number of units may be produced per hour during overtime than during the regular day, this may not always exactly figure out as time and one-half for overtime, it seems to be a substantial compliance with the law. Another permissible method is to average a pieceworker's earnings per hour over a jDeriod of time and then j^ay him for overtime a 50 per cent increased time rate for hours in excess of eight hours. If practicable, another way to meet the law is to establish a bona fide basic eight-hour clay rate with time and one-half for overtime and give the worker the option of taking each day the time rate of pay or his earnings as a piece- worker. The foregoing enumeration of methods is not intended to be exclusive of others which actually afford the worker time and one- half for overtime. A flat increase in the general piece rate propor- tioned to the number of hours worked per clay in excess of eight hours "will not ordinarily be in accord with the law's provisions. It is a question of fact in each instance as to whether the wage arrange- ment adopted actually gives the increased overtime rate, so that work in excess of eight hours can be carried on solely at increased wage cost. Felix Frankfurtee, For the Srerrfi/rt/ of lV.TI>;G EIGHT-HOUB LAWS AND EXECX'TI\'E OKDEBS. Prior tu March 24. 191T. there were two different laws containing provi^inus limiting the hours of wnvk of laborws and mechanics tu pi^ht hours. (a) By the act of JIarch •). I'.ti:', (which amended the act of Aug. 1, Is'.i^i, the service and employment of all laborers and mechanics who are now r.r may hereafter be employed by the Guveniment of the United States or the District of (',iect to the pi'ovisioiis of the Executive order. This has given rise to a series of diflicult questions as to whether the articles contracted for are usually purchased in the open market or whether the (iov- ernment itself has l)een or is now to any substantial extent manufacturiug these articles. Furthermore, different rulings were made by the Army and A'avy with respect to the applicability of the Executive order of the President. ((■) Difficulties in standardizing wages. Overtime v.'ork is one of the re<'og- nized methods of increasing wages. Unless uniform jirovisions are made for overtime no standard scale of wages fixed by any board will produce the result desired, since a manufacturer paying time and one-]ialf for overtime for the ninth and tenth hotir is in fact paying a 10 per cent higher wage that one who pays straight time for this work. If we are to effectively standardize wages we must also staiKlardize overtime, and we can not. without creating new diflictU- ties with labor, require an employer who is maintaining the 8-hour liasic day to change to the 10-hour day. This can probably be overcome liy taking this fact into account in standardizing wages. 3. THE EFFECT OF IXCO.N s 1 STEXT KFl.IX(;s. In many cases workers in the same factories engaged on different articles needed by the Government were treated differeutly. In more numerous in- stances workers in ad.ioining factories engaged on Government work, by reason of the nature of the articles manufactured, were treated differently. These rul- ings, which in the light of present conditions would seem arliitrary to the work- ers (whatever historical .lustiflcation they might have), have created in the workers a sense of injustice and of unfair discrimination which has been re- sponsibk^ for a great many labor troubles. 4. From the point of view of the Government no reason exists at the present time for distinction between the different classes of Government work. The policy underlying the act of .June 19, 1912, was that of persons employed by contractors doing work especially for the United States, weiv indirectly in the employ of the United States and were to be treated in the same way as employees working directly for the (Government. With respect to articles that 28 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. were usually purchased in the open market the Government was to be like any other purchaser. At the present time all open market purchases have largely been done away with and every contractor is in effect manufacturing articles especially for the Government. Furthermore, the exception contained in the eight-hour law is important where contracts are awarded as a result of competitive bidding. To require compliance with the eight-hour law under such circumstances would have so narrowed the field of competition as practically to do away with the pro- visions requiring competitive bidding. To-day, where the problem has become one of manufacture, and hardly any articles are purchased ready-made, it is no longer necessary for the protection of the Government to except articles that are usually purchased in the open market from the eight-hour law. 5. OBJECTION TO POLICY OF APPLYING EIGHT-HOTJE LAW AND THE EXECUTm; OBDEB TO ALL GOVEENMENT CONTEACTS. The objection made by manufacturers to the imiform application of the Executive order is twofold. The first objection is that the Executive order recognized eight hours as a basic day. Manufacturers are unwilling to give to the eight-hour day this recognition for fear that it will form a precedent for conditions after the war. The other objection urged by the manufacturers is far more serious, and should determine our position at the present time. It can not be doubted that if the eight-hour day is established as to Government work a manufacturer doing both civilian work and Government work will be compelled to pay the same rate of pay to those engaged on private work. Since a great many con- cerns are doing both Government and private work, the application of the provisions of the Executive order to the work done for the Government will have the effect of disturbing the conditions in their factories, upsetting the well-developed organization of some of the most important factories of the country, which are now at their maximum of efficiency, and thus interfering with the iiroduction of the articles needed by the Government. 6. KECOilMENDATION". No remedy that can l)e suggested to-day is without its attendant difficulties. Rarely do we have a clear-cut issue between what is right and what is wrong or between what is beneficial and what is detrimental. In nearly all cases the problem presented calls for a balancing of conveniences and inconveniences which will r(-sult from a proposed solution. On the one hand it is desirable to elimiiiare a t'reat cause of labor trouble, put an end to a sense of injustice in the workers resulting from what must to them appear to be an arbitrary dis- crimination, and finally make possible and effective any action of the Policies Board standardizing wases of different classes of workers employed upon Government work. On the other hand, it is very important in this crisis not to interfere with the normal and effective flow of the production of the sup- plies needed by the Army. The committee therefore recommends — (1) That as heretofore all mechanics and laborers employed by the Gov- ernment directly should be paid upon a basic day rate of eight hours, with overtime paid for at the rate of time and one-half. EIGHT-HOXJR WORKING DAY. ■ 29 (2) That mechanics and laborers employed upon work of construction shall be paid in the same way. (3) (a) While a uniform application of the wage provisions of the Execu- tive order of March 24, 1917, to all work done by the Government will tend to eliminate one of the most serious causes for labor trouble, such action, if taken at the present time, will seriously interfere with and hamper the Government departments in securing- the supplies needed in the prosecutloh of this war. (6) That conferences be had between this committee and the manufacturers engaged in producing Government supplies to consider to what extent during the pendency of this war the adoption of the basic eight-hour day principle of determining wages is feasible. (c) That pending such conferences the vs-age provisions of the Executive order be applied as heretofore to all cases where existing law requires it. {d) That in cases where the Executive order is applicable a clause be inserted in the contract requiring compliance with its provisions. The clause should be in the form hereto annexed. This will definitely inform the contractor whether he is required to comply with the Executive order or not ; and (e) In order to secure uniformity of the decisions among the different departments of the Government the present committee be continued and all departments be directed to refer to this committee all communications calling for the construction of the eight-hour law of 1912 and the Executive order of March 24, 1917, or complaints with regard to the applicability of the Execu- tive order to any particular contract. Samuel J. Roseusohn, Counsel to the Committee. EIGHT-HOUR CLAUSE. EIGHT-HOUR BASIC DAY, TIME AND ONE-HALF FOR OVERTIME — DAMAGES FOR VIOLATJON. Wages of laborers, operatives, and mechanics doing any part of the work contemplated by this contract in the employ of the contractor shall be com- puted upon a basic day rate of eight hours' work, with overtime rates to be paid for at not less than time and one-half for all hours in excess of eight hours. Compliance by the contractor with the provisions of this article shall be of the essence of the contract. PART III. EFFECT OF REDUCTION OF HOURS UPON OUTPUT IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES. SUMMARY. The material submitted lieiewith shows the experience of various establishments and industries relating to the effect of reduction of hours of labor upon output and cost of production. The data sub- mitted ai-e by no means exhaustive, and possibly important expeii- ences have been overlooked. It is believed, however, that the ex- amples cited are representative and are a fair indication of the effect reduction of hours has upon output. The data covered which appear in Appendix C and are summar- ized in the statement immediately below, giving the name of com- pany, industry, and source, include the following cases : Munitions manufaftiu-ins (Great Bi-itainV Great Britain ministry of muni- tions, health of munition worlvers committee, memoranda Xos. 5, 12, 7, 20. Great Britain Home OfBce, investigation of fatigue by physiological methods. Commonwealth Steel Co., iron and steel. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, report on conditions of employment in the iron and steel industry in the United States (S. Doc. No. 110. 62d Cong., 1st sess., v. 3). John E. Grant (Enslaud), iron and steel. Letter from John E. Grant pub- lished in Engineering (London), October 22, IMo. Anthracite coal, mining. Monthly Review of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, August. 191T. AVilliam J. Crawford Co., granite. Letter from ^^'. J. Crawford published in the hearings on the eight-hour bill (H. R. 27281) before the House Committee on Labor, January 30 to February 6-12, 1913. United States Nayy Yard v. Newport News Shipbuilding Co., battleships. The eight-hour day and Government construction by direct labor, by Ethelbert Stewart. In Commons, May, 1905. Paper manufacturing industry, paper. United States Tariff Board. Report on pulp and news print paper industry, 1911, pages — . AA'. H. McElwain Co., boots and shoes. The Survey, May 12, 1917, reprinted in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Review, June, 1917. Boot and shoe industry, boots and shoes. National Industrial Conference Board. Hours of work as related to output and health of workers : Research report No. 7, June, 1918. 31 32 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. Payette R. Plumb ( Inc. ) , tool manufacture. Monthly Review of the Unltefl States Bureau of Labor Statistics, June, 191T. J. H. Williams & Co., iron forgings. United States Industrial Commission Report, 1901, volume 14. Cotton manufacturing, cotton. National Industrial Conference Board. Hours of work as related To output and health of workers, cotton manufacturing. Re- search report Xo. 4, March, 1918. Manufacturing (general), manufacturing. Eight-hours for laborers on Gov- ernment work.- Report by Y. M. Metcalf, Secretary Department of Commerce and Labor, on H. R. 4064 (eight-hour bill), 1904. Zeiss Optical Works, Jena, Germany, optical goods. Abb§, Ernst. Die Volkwerbschaftliche Bedeutung der Verktirzung des industriellen arbeitstages. Jena, 1901. Digest in Goldmark's " Fatigue and Efficiency," 1912. Engis Chemical Works, Liege, Belgium, chemical goods. Fromont, L. G. Una ex- perience industrieUe de rMuction de la journ6e de travail. Brussels, 1906. Digest in Goldmark's " Fatigue and Efficiency." 1912. Salford Iron Works. Manchester, England, iron and steel. Eight hours for laborers on Government work. A report of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to the House Committee on Labor, 1905. Cleveland Hardware Co., hardware. Survey, February 2, 1918. Joseph Feiss Co.. clothing. Survey (New York), February 2, 1918. In addition to the abore sources a summary has been made of " The Case for the Shorter Work Day," brief of ^Ir. Felix Frankfurter in the Oregon ten-hour ease before the Supreme Court of the United States. 1915, giving name of establishment, industry, date, reduction in hours and result in each case. EFTECT OF EEDtCTION OF HOUBS LPON OUTPUT IX VAEIOUS IXDUSTBIES. Commonwealth Steel Co., Granite City, 111., iron and steel, 1912, 12 to S hours. Under the S-hour system, in spite of the increase in hourly rates, there was a slight decrease in the cost of production, owing to the higher efficiency of the workers. Also the quality of the product was very much improved. John E. Grant Co., England, iron and steel, 1914, from two 10-hour shifts t'GT0^, DEL. Vogel Machine Co. CHICAGO, nx. Automatic Electric Co. Stewart Warner Speedometer Co. Western Electric Co. BATON KOUGE, LA. Standard Oil C„. BALTIMORE, 5ID. Pool Engineering Cu. Universal Machine Co. LOWELL, MASS. Heinze Electric Co. United States rartridge Cu. .SPRINGFIELD, MASS. Barley Muchine Co. Barney & Berry (Inc.). Bausch Machine Tool Co. Bay State Corset Co. Blake Machine Co. Bosch Magneto Co. Duckworth Chain Co. Gilbert & Barker Co. Hendee Motorcycle Co. Kibble Candy Co. Knox Automobile Co. Knox Motor Co. National Equipment Co. Package Machinery Co. Rider Bagg Co. Russell Machine Co. Stacy Machine Co. United States Saw Co. Westinghouse Co. TAUNTON, MASS. Call & Carr Co. Mason Machine Co. Miekle Printing Press Co. DETKOIT, MICH. Siewek Bros. The Studebaker Corporation. CAMDEN. N. J. Victor Talking JIachine Co. GAKWOOD, N. J. Bell Electric Co. Hyatt Roller & Bearing Co. PEBTH AMBOT, N. J. American Smelting & Refining Co. Annes-Potter Brick Co. Barber A-sphalt Co. Lyons-Flyn Co. Perth Amboy Dry Dock. Raritan Dry Dock Co. Raritiin Copper Works. R. >!i H. Chemical Co. Shantz & Exkert. Standard Cable Co. Union Lead Co. United States Cartridge Co. Patrick Whites. EIGHT-HOTJR WORKING DAY. 39 PLAINFIELD, N. J. Bosch Magneto Co. Manganese Steel Safe Co. Pond Machine Tool Co. Potter Press Co. Sauer Motor Truck Co. Scott Printing Press Co. Vitaphone Co. Hall Printing Press Co. SOTJTH PLAINFIELD, N. J. Spicer Manufacturing Co. TKENTON, N. J. .T. L. Mott. Harry Stahl. E. Wilkes. NEW YORK CITY AND VICINITY. Adriance Machine Co. Acme Die Casting Co. Auto Press Co. Blair Machine Co. Bliss Manufacturing Co. Cameron Machine Co. Carpenter Tool Co. Hoe Printing Press Co. Doehler Die Casting Co. W. W. Kellogg Co. Notham Manufacturing Co. (49 hours). Rockwell Engineering Co. Shroeder Machine Co. Sperry Gyroscope Co. Wappler's Electric Co. CI>'CINNATI, OHIO. United States Printing & Lithograph- ing Co. United States Playing Card Co. CLEVELAND, OHIO. Cleveland Automatic Co. F. B. Stearns Auto Manufacturing Co. Sewer & Morgan Co. SPRINGFIELD, OHIO. Springfield Machine Tool Co. TOLEDO, OHIO. American Can Co. Bock Bearing Co. Bunting Brass & Bronze Co. City Machine & Tool Co. Consolidated ilanufacturing Co. Du Pont Powder Co. O'Neill Machine Co. Toledo Machine & Tool Co. Willys-Overland Co. YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO. William Todd Co. PITTSBUBGH, PA. Pittsburgh Jlaehine Tool Co. PROVIDENCE, R. I. Providence Engineering Co. MILWAUKEE, WIS. Milwaukee Die & Casting Co. (44 hours a week). RALEIGH, N. 0. Raleigh Iron Works. The following firms have established a 54-hour week, reducing hours from 55, 58, and in soma cases 60 per week : SPRINGFIELD, MASS. Hendee Motorcycle Co. TAUNTON, MASS. Bell & Dyer Co. Evans Machine & Stamping Co. Lincoln & Williams Twist Drill Co. Vans Machine & Stamping Co. TOLEDO, OHIO. Acklyn Stamping Co. Advance Machine Co. Toledo Electro Plating Co. DERBY, CONN. Dairy Machine Co. 40 EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAY. EAST PITTSBUEGH, PA- TOEEINGTON, CO>"N. Hendee Machine Co. Westinghouse Co. The following firms have granted reductions in hours, althougn the hours are still somewhat in excess of the straight 8-hour day : DEEBT, CONN. Birmingham Foundry & Machine Co. JEESET CITY, N. J. Wlckes Bros. TEENTON, N. J. J. A. Roebling. NEW TOKK CITT AND VICINITY. Davis Bourville Co. FOBTY-NINE AND (JNE-HALF HOUES PEE Week. COLUMBUS, OHIO. Hearne Manufacturing Co. Rudd Manufacturing Co. Shiriner Co. Modern Tool & Die Co. Fifty Houes pee Week. BEISTOL, conn. New Departure Roller Bearing Co. APPENDIX B. LEGISLATION LIMITING HOURS OF LABOR FOR MEN. The first restrictions of hours of labor of adult male employees related to hazardous occupations, such as mining and related em- ployments. These laws were upheld as constitutional partly on the ground of individual health and safety rather than public welfare; that is, were regarded as health rather than labor laws. Railroad laws, the next important class to be enacted, find their justification largely in the safety of the traveling public, though of course that of the employees themselves is also a factor. The general laws defining a day's labor " unless otherwise stipu- lated by contract" have a value more sentimental than practical. However, the later enactment of eight-hour laws of this class in place of those specifying 10 hours shows the tendency toward a shorter work day. The same is true of the enactment of eight-hour laws with regard to public roads and public works generally, though these stand on a different footing from private employment, since the State has a right to fix the conditions under which work for it and its subdivisions shall be done. Another tendency to extend the restriction on hours, which had been confined to the labor of children and women and to the dan- gerous occupations and others depending on special reasons as noted, to the employment of men in general occupations, has recently be- come manifest. Mississippi and Oregon have 10-hour laws applying to all manufacturing establishments, the former containing an abso- lute restriction to 10 hours, while that of Oregon permits not more than 3 hours overtime work, to be paid for at the rate of time and one-half. The Mississippi act has been held valid by the supreme court of the State, while that of Oregon, after being upheld by the State supreme court, was also sustained by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Bunting v. Oregon, 37 Sup. Ct., 435. On account of the provision for overtime the contention was raised that the act was more a regulation of wages than of hours of labor. The Federal Supreme Court said that it was not possible or neces- sary for that court to " know all the conditions that impelled the 41 42 EIGHT-HOTJK WOEKING DAY. law or its particular form," but quot«d with apparent approval the statement of the State supreme court that " it is clear that the intent of the law is to make 10 hours a regular day's labor in the occupataons to which reference is made." A stiU further step was taken by the Legislature of Alaska in 1917, acting in response to an initiative vote of the people of the Territory. This act limits absolutely (except on proclamation of the governor on request of the Council of National Defense or the Secretary of the Interior in time of war) the hours of labor in all employments to eight per day. LEGISLATION LIMITING THE HOURS OF LABOR FOR MEN. I. m CEETAIN PEIVATE BrSINESSES. A. Mines. 1. EiGHT-HoiTE Laws. .\laska: Acts 1913, ch. 29, sec. 2, amended 1915, ch. 6, sec. 2, and 1917, ch. 4, sec. 2, Arizona: Rev. Stats. 1913: Civil Code, sec. 3108; Penal Code, sec. 713. Includes hoisting engineers. California: Acts 1913, ch. 186, sec. 1. Colorado: Constitution, art. 5; Acts 1913, ch. 9.5, sec. 2. Idaho: Rev. Code 1909, sec. 1463. Kansas: Acts 1917, ch. 242, sec. 1. Missouri: Rev. Stat. 1909, sees. 7813 and 7814a, added by Acts 1913, p. 399. IXontana: Constitution, art. 18, sec. 4; Kev. Code 1907. sec. 1734, and see. 1736, amended by eh. 21. Acts 1911. Nevada: Rev. Laws 1912, sees. 1941, 6.5.54, 6.55.5. 6557. Includes me- chanics, engineers, blacksmiths, carpenters, topmen and all surface employees. Oklahoma: Rev. Law< 1910, sec. 4005. Oregon: Lord's Oregon Laws. 1910, sec. 5058. Pennsylvania : Acts 1911. p. 102, sec. 1. Hoisting engineers only. Utah: Comp. Laws 1907, see. 1337. Washington: Codes and Stats., 1910, see. 6.583. Wyoming: Constitution, art. XIX, see. 1: Comp. Stat., 1910, see. 3499. 2. Tex-Holt! Laws. Maryland: Pub. local laws. 1888, art. 1. see. 194. (Allegany and Gar- rett Countie'.: only.) B. SmELTEBS, REDtCTION WORKS, ETC. l: EiGHT-HoTjK Laws. Alaska: Acts 1913, ch. 29, sec. 2, amended by Acts 1915, ch. 6. sec. 2. Ai-izona : Rev. Stats. 1913, Civil Code, sec. 3108 ; Penal Code, sec. 713. California: Aets 1913, eh. 186, sec. 1. Colorado: Acts 1913, ch. 9.5, sec. 2. EIGHT-HOUR WOEKING DAY. 43. 1. EiGHT-HouB Laws — Continued. Idaho: Rev. Code 1909, sec. 1464, amended Acts 1909, p. 4. Missouri : Rev. Stat. 1909, sec. 7813. Montana: Constitution, art. 18, sec. 4; Rev. Code 1907, sec. 1739. Utah: Comp. Laws, 1907, sec. 1337. Wyoming: Comp. Stat., 1910, sec. 3.500. Miscellaneous Private Businesses. 1. EiGHT-HouE Laws. (a) Electric light and poirer plants: Arizona : Rev. Stat. 1913, Penal Code, sec. 713. (6) Coke ovens: Alaska: Acts, 191:^. ch. 29, sec. 2. amended b.v Acts 191.5. ch.,6, sec. 2. Arizona: Rev. Stat., 1913, Penal Code, sec. 713. Colorado: Acts 1913, ch. 95, sec. 2. (c) Blast furnaces: Arizona : Rev. Stat., 1913, Penal Code, sec. 713. Colorado: Acts 1913, ch. 95, .sec. 2. (fZ) Plaster and cement mills: Arizona : Cement mills only. Rev. Stat., 1913, Penal ( 'ode, sec. 713. Nevada: Rev. Laws, 1912, sec. 6559. (e) Plate glass irorks: Missouri: Rev. Stat. 1909, sec. T814a, added liy act, p. 399, Acts 1913. (/) Rolling mills, rod mills, stamp mills: Ala.ska : Acts 1913, ch. 29, sec. 2, amended by Acts 191 .5, ch. '6, sec. 2. Arizona: Rev. Stat., 1913, Penal Code, sec. 713. Colorado : Acts 1913, ch. 95, sec. 2. ( Stamp mills. ) Idaho: Rev. Code, 1909, sec. 1464, amended Acts 1909, p. 4. (Stamp mills.) Wyoming: Comp. Stat., 1910, sec. 3500. (Stamp mills.) (g) Tunnels: Arizona: Rev. Stat., WVi. Penal Code, sec. 713. California : Acts 1913, ch. 186, sec. 1. Montana: Rev. Code, 1907, sec. 1736. (ft) In high air pressure: New .lersey : Acts 1914, ch. 121 . New York : Consol. Laws, 1909, sec. 134b, added by ch. 291, Acts 1909, amended cii. 528, Acts 1913. Pennsylvania: Acts 1917, No. 364. (In each of these States the limit is 8 hours when air pressure does not exceed 21 pounds to square inch ; shorter hours in higher pressures.) (/) Irrigation loorlos: Montana: Rev. Code 1907, sec. 2250. 2. N'lNE-HouB Laws. (a) Telephone operators: Montana: Acts of 1909, ch. 75, sec. 1. (In cities of 3,000 or over.) 44 EIGHT-HOUB WORKING DAY. 3. Tex-Houk Laws. (a) Sail: and planing mills: Arkansas;: Acts 1905, Xo. 49, sees. 1, 2. (6) Bakeries: New Jersey: Acts 1912, ch. 127, sec. 7. rxot more than 60 hours in one week.) (c) Brickyards: Xew York: Consol. Laws, 1909, ch. 31, sec. 5. (Owned by cor- porations. ) id) Drug stores: California : Codes, 1906, Gen. Laws, Act Xo. 266-5 as amended by ch. 224. Acts of 190T. sec. 2. New York : Consol. Laws, 1909, ch. 45, sec. 2.36, as amended by ch. 514, sees. 1 and 2, 1914. (Not more than 70 hourS in one week.) (e) Cotton and woolen mills: Georgia : Code, 1910, see. 3137, as amended by act, p. 65, Acts 1911. (Not more than 60 hours in one week.) Maryland: Pub. Gen. Laws, 1911, Art. C, sec. 1. (Except in con- tracts for work by hour.) South Carolina: Criminal Code, 1912. sec. 421, amended by Acts 1916, ch. 547. 4. Eleven-Houb Laws. (o) Factories: North Carolina: Acts 1915, ch. 148. (Not more than 60 hours in one week.) (6) Grocery stores: New York: Consol. Laws, 1909, ch. 45. art. 11, amended by Acts 1915, eh. 343. (Not more than 70 hours in one week.) D. A Dat's Wobk Defined, Unless Othekwise Stipulated. 1. EiGHT-HotTE Laws. California: Political Code, 1906, sec. 3244. Connecticut: General Stat., 1902, see. 4692. lUinois : Kurd's Rev. Stat., 1917, ch. 48, sec. 1. Indiana : Annot. Stat., 1917, see. 7977. Missouri: Rev. Stat., 1909, see. 7812. New York: Consol. Laws, 1909, eh. 31, sec. 3, amended by ch. 494. Acts of 1913, and by ch. 152, sec. 1, Acts of 1916. Ohio: Gen. Code, 1910, see. 6241. Pennsylvania : Digest, 1894, p. 1158, sec. 1. Wisconsin : Stats., 1911, sec. 1729. 2. Tew-Houe Laws. Florida: Stat., 1906, see. 2641. JIaine: Rev. Stats., 1916, ch. 87, sec. 61. Michigan : Comp. Laws, 1897, sec. 5454. Minnesota: Gen. Stat., 1913, sec. 3831. amended 1917, ch. 248. Nebraska: Rev. Stats., 1913, see. 3561. New Hampshire: Pub. Stats., 1891, eh. 180, sec. 20. Rhode Island : Gen. Laws, 1909, ch. 249, see. 24. EIGHT-H0T7R WORKING DAY. 45 E. A Day's Wokk Limited, Regakdless of Contract. 1. EiGHT-HouE Law. Alaska. Acts, 1917, ch. 55, sec. 1. Applies to all employments. (May be suspended in war time by governor on request of Council of Na- tional Defense or Secretary of tlie Interior.) 2. Tbn-Houb Laws (Manufactuking Establishments). Mississippi: Acts, 1912, ch. 157, amended by Acts, 1914, ch. 169, sec. 1 and by Acts, 1916, ch. 547., Oregon : Acts of 1913, ch. 102. (Employee may work not more than three hours overtime per day, with pay for time and a half.) II. KAILROADS. A. Telegraph and Telephone Operators, Dispatchers, Signal Men, etc. 1. Eight-Hour Laws. Arkansas: Acts, 1907, Act. No. 282, sec. 1. Connecticut: Acts, 1909, ch. 242, sec. 1. (Twelve hours in stations open only by day with one operator. Maryland: Pub. Gen. Laws, 1911, Art. XXIII, sec. P,2.'>. (In 12 hours.) Nevada : Acts of 1913, ch. 283, sec. 2. New York : Consol. Laws, 1909, ch. 31, sec. 8, amended 1913, ch. 466. Texas : Rev. Civ. Stat., 1911, Art. 6586 ; Itev. Crim. Stat., 1911, Art. 1555. West Virginia : Ann Code, 1913, sec. 3023. Wisconsin: Stat., 1913, sec. 1816m. 2. Nine-Hour Laws. Missouri: Acts, 1913, p. 187, sec. 1. (Railroad towerraen only.) Nebraska: Rev. St., 1913, sec. 6088. (Not more than 13 hours in sta- tions operated by day only.) North Carolina: Acts, 1911, ch. 112, sec. 2. (Not more than 13 hours in stations operated by day only.) Oregon: Acts, 1911, ch. 137, sec. 2. United States: Acts, 1906-7, ch. 2939, sec. 2, amended by Acts. 101.5-16 (64th Cong., 1st sess.), -\ct, No. 68. (Not more than 13 hours In stations operated by day only.) B. TRAI^;MEx, etc. 1. Eight-Hour Laws. United States: Acts, 1915-16 (64th Cong.. 1st sess.). Act, No. 252. 2. Ten-Hour Laws. Michigan: Con. Laws, 1897, sec. 5459. (Within 12 consecutive hours.) New York: Con. Laws, 1909, ch. 31, sec. 7, am. 1913, ch. 402. (Within 12 consecutive hours.) 3. Hours op Rest Required after Specified Hours of Labor. (a) Eiglit hours of rest required after 16 hours of labor. Arizona: Acts, 1903, Act 34, sec. 1. (Nine hours rest required.) Arkansas: Digest, 1904, sec. 66.52. Florida: Gen. Stat., 1906, sec. 2643. (After 13 hours of labor.) Indiana: Annot. Stat, 1914, sec. 5304. Kansas: Gen. Stat., 1909, sec. 7129. (Hours of labor must be consecutive. ) 46 EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAY. 3. HoTiBS OF Rest Reqtileed after Specified HorBS of Labok — Continued, (o) Eiffht hours of rest required after 16 hours of labor — Continued. Michigan : Comp. Laws 1897, sec. 5458. (After 24 liours of labor, trainmen only.) Minnesota : Rev. Stat., 1913, sec. 3835. (Hours of labor must be consecutive. ) Missouri: Rev. Stat., 1909, sec. 7818. Montana: Rev. Code., 1907, sec. 1741. (Hours of labor must be consecutive. ) North Dakota : Acts 1907, ch. 207, sec. 1. Ohio : Gen. Code, 1910, sec. 9007, amended acts 1913, p. •j57. (ft). Eight hours of rest after 16 consecutive hours of labor; 10 hours of rest after 18 aggregate hours of labor. California : Acts 1911, ch. 484, sec. 1. Nebraska : Rev. Stat., 1913, sec. 6088. Nevada : Acts 1913, ch. 283, sec. 2. New Mexico: Statutes, 191.">, sec. 47.!i.j. New York : Cons. Laws, 1909, ch. 31, sec. 7. North Carolina : Acts 1913, ch. 112, sec. 2. Oregon : Acts 1911, ch. 137, sec. 2. (After 14 hours of labor.) South Dakota : Acts 1907, ch. 220, sec. 1. Texas : Rev. Civil Stat., 1911, sec. 6584. Wisconsin: Stat., 1911, sec. 1809e. (All employees.) United States: Acts 1906-7, ch. 2939, amended by acts 1915-16, Act No. 68. (c) Ten hours of rest after certain specified liours of labor. Colorado: Rev. Stats., 1908, sec. 5515. (After 16 consecutive hours of labor.) Georgia : Code 1910, sec. 2693. (After 13 hours of labor. ) Iowa : Code 1897, Suppl. 1913, sec. 2110-a. m. STBEET RATLWATS. 1. NnvE-HorE Laws. Massachusetts: Acts 1912, ch. .533, sec. 2. (Within 11 hours.) 2. Tex-Hol-b Laws. Louisiana: Acts 1886, act 95, amended acts 1902, act No. 122. (Within 12 consecutive hours.) Michigan: Com. Laws 1897, sec. 5459. (Within 12 consecutive hours.) New York : Consol. Laws 1909, ch. 31, sec. 6. ( In cities of first and second class hours must be consecutive.) Rhode Island: Laws 1909, ch. 218, sec. 1. (Within 12 hours.) South Carolina: Acts 1916, No. 544. (Interurban railways.) Washington : Cudes and sttits.. I'llO, sec. tl.'pTs. 3. TWELVE-HOLK L-\WS. California : Political Code 1906, sec. 3246. Maryland : Acts 1898, ch. 123, sec. 793. New Jersey : Comp. Stats. 1910, p. 4990, sec. 57. Pennsylvania : Digest 1894, p. 1829, sec. 268. South Carolina: Code 1912, sec. 431. (Interurban railways, 10 hours" see above.) EIGHT-HOUB, WORKING DAY. 47 IV. WORX DONE IN PRIVATE BUSINESS TOR NATIONAL, STATE, OR MTTNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS. 1. EiGHT-HouB Laws. United States: Act of Congress, August 1, 1892, amended by ch. 106, acts 1912-13, sec. 3738 ; acts 1911-12, ch. 174. Alaska : Acts of 1913, cli. 7, sees. 1 and 2. Arizona : Constitution, Art. XVIII California : Penal Code 1006, sec. 653c ; acts 1917, ch. 52. Colorado : R. S. 1908, sec. 3921. Hawaii : Bev. Laws 1915, sec. 161. Idaho : Acts 1911, ch. 131, sec. 1, amended 1913, ch. 165. Indiana : Annot. Stats., 1914, sees. T977, 7978. Iowa : Acts of 1917, ch. 183. ( State printing and binding ; number of hours fixed by typographical union.) Kansas : Gen. Stats., 1909, sec. 4643, amended ch. 220, Acts 1913. Kentucky: Stats. 1915, sec. 2290b. ' Maryland : Pub. Local Laws 1888, art. 4, sec. 31a, amended Acts 1910, cb. 94, p. 642. (Applies only to Baltimore.) Massachusetts : Acts 1909, eh. 514, sec. 37 ; Acts 1911, ch. 494, amended by Acts 1916, ch. 240. Minnesota : Rev. Stats., 1913, sec. 3832. Missouri: Acts 1913, p. 420, sec. 287. Applies only to cities of second class. Montana : Constitution, art. 18, sec. 4 ; Rev. Codes 1907, sec. 1739, amended 1917, ch. 30 ; Acts 1917. ch. 172. Nevada : Rev. Laws 1912, sec. 6778 ; Acts 1917, ch. 205. New .lersey : Acts 1911, ch. 243, sec. 1 ; Acts 1913, ch. 253, sec. 1. New Mexico : Constitution, Art. XX, sec. 19. New York: Consol. Laws 1909, eh. 31, sec. 3, amended by 1913, ch. 494, and by 1916, ch. 152. Ohio : Const. Amendment, 1912, Art. II, sec. 37, Gen. Code 1910, sec. 17-1, added by Acts 1913, p. 854. Oklahoma : Constitution, .\rt. XXIII, sec. 1 ; Rev. Laws 1910, sees. 3757, 3758. Oregon : Acts 1913, ch. 1, sees. 1 and 4 ; ch. 61. amended by 1917, ch. 98. Penusylvania : Brightly's Digest, 1893-1903, .\ct. No. 379. Porto Rico : Rev. Stats. 1911, sec. 1658 ; Acts 1913, Act No. 140. Texas : Acts 1913. ch. 68, sec. 2. Utah : Constitution, art. 16, sec. 6 ; Comp. Laws 1907, sec. 1336. Washington : Codes and Statutes 1910, sec. 6573. West Virginia : Ann. Code, 1913, sees. 713, 714. Wisconsin: Stats. 1911, sec. 1729m. Wyoming: Acts 1913, eh. 90, seel V. PUBLIC EMPIOTMENT. 1. BiGHT-HouB Laws. United States: Act of Congress, Aug. 1, 1892, amended ch. 106, Acts 1912-13, sec. 3738. Alaska : Acts 1913, eh. 7, see. 1. Arizona ; Constitution, Art. XVIII. 48 EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAT. 1. EiGHT-HoTJE Laws — Continued. California : Constitution, art. 20, Penal Code 1906, sec. 653c ; Acts, ISIT, ch. 3.5. Colorado : Rev. Stats. 1908, sec. 3921. Connecticut : Acts 1911, ch. 282, sec. 1. (Mechanics in State institutions.) Hawaii : Rev. Laws 1915, sec. 161. Idaho : Constitution, art. 13, sec. 2 ; Acts 1911, ch. 131, sec. 1 ; amended ch. 165, Acts 1913. Indiana: Annot. Stats. 1914, sees. 7977, 7978. Kansas : Gen. Stats. 1909, sec. 4643, amended by ch. 220, Acts 1913. Kentucky: Stats. 1915, sec. 2290b. Maryland : Pub. Local Laws 1888, art. 4, sec. 31a ; amended ch. 94, p. 642, Acts 1910. (Applies only to Baltimore.) Massachusetts : Acts 1909, sec. 37 ; Acts 1911, ch. 494, amended by Acts 1916, ch. 240 ; Acts 1914, ch. 623. Minnesota : Rev. Stats. 1913, sec. 3832. Missouri: Acts 1913, sec. 237. (Applies only to cities of second class.) Montana : Constitution, Art. 18, sec. 4, Rev. Codes 1907, sec. 1739, amended by Acts 1917, ch. 30 ; Acts 1917, No. 172. Nevada : Rev. Laws 1912, sec. 6778, Acts 1917, ch. 205. New Jersey : Acts 1911, ch. 243, sec. 1. New Mexico : Constitution, Art. XX, sec. 19. New York : Consol. Laws, 1909, ch. 31. sec. 3 ; amended by ch. 494. Acts, 1913, and by Acts. 1916, ch. 152. Ohio : Constitutional amendment, 1912, Art. II, sec. 37 ; Gen. Code, 1910, sec. 17-1; Acts, 1913, p. 854. Oklahoma: Constitution, Art. XXIII, sec. 1; Rev. Laws. 1910, sees. 3757, 3758. Oregon: Lords Ore. Laws, 1910. sec. 5060; Acts, 1913, ch. 1. sec. 4; Acts, 1913, ch. 61, amended by 1917, ch. 98. Pennsylvania: Brightly's Digest, 1893-1903, Act No. 379. Porto Rico : Rev. Stats., 1911, sec. 1657 ; Acts, 1913, Act No. 140. Texas : Acts, 1913, ch. 68, sec. 1. Utah: Constitution, Art. 16, sec. 6; Comp. Laws, 1907, sec. 1336. Washington : Codes and Statutes. 1910, sec. 6572. AVest Virginia: Ann. (3ode, 1913, sees. 713, 714. Wisconsin : Stats. 1911, sec. 1729m. Wyoming: Constitution, Art. XIX, sec. 1; Acts, 1913, ch. 90, sec. 1. APPENDIX C. EXPERIENCE WITH THE SHORTER WORKDAY. CONCLUSIONS OF THE BRITISH HEALTH OF MUNITION WORKERS COMMITTEE.i In the preparation of the memorandum on '"Honrs of work in munition factories" (Memorandum No. 5) the committee seem to have been influenced by consideration of what is immediately prac- ticable regarding the health of the worker in relation to a maximum • output, in view of exceptional conditions entailed by the war. It is suggested that an increased number of hours may be obtained by overtime or by a system of shifts and that the committee greatly prefers the latter, although recognizing that it is impracticable to establish shifts universally. The committee's objections to overtime, briefly stated, are : (1) It is liable to impose too severe a strain upon the workers, which adversely affects the rate of production and qual- ity of output during the whole period of work as well as during the hours of overtime; (2) it frequently results in a large amount of lost time, which is attributed to workers becoming exhausted and taking a rest, and also to sickness; (3) it imposes a very serious strain upon the management, the executive staff, and foremen, since they can not take days off, like the ordinary worker; (4) it is liable to curtail un- duly the period of rest and sleep available for those who have to travel long distances to and from their work, a matter of special im- portance in the case of young persons: (5) the fatigue entailed in- creases the temptation to men to indulge in the consumption of alcohol. Admitting that overtime must continue, the committee suggested definite restrictions to govern it. For adult male workers the com- mittee recommends: 1. The average weekly hours (exclusive of meals) should not exceed 65 to G7, including overtime. Hours in excess of 65 should only he worked for short periods and to meet sudden and unexpected circumstances. It may be de- sirable to differentiate to some extent between different kinds of work, and to fix a rather low limit of hours for work requiring close individual attention. iBuUetin 221 of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. 72310—18 4 49 50 EIGHT-HOXJB WOEKING DAT. 2. Where practicable, the overtime should be concentrated within three or four (lays in the \\eek, which should preferably not be consecutive. 3. \\'here overtime is worked, It is specially important that there should be no Sunday work. As respects women, the committee expresses the belief that the strain of long hours is serious and that conditions of work in excess of the normal legal limit of 60 hours a week ought to be discontinued as soon as practicable, although little objection is seen to such mod- erate overtime during the week as can be compensated for by an earlier stop on Saturdays. The committee feels that the need for overtime among women and girls is much less pressing than it is for men, and that wherever practicable the system should be aban- doned in favor of shifts. Although it is recommended that boys should be allowed to be employed overtime up to the maximum suggested for men, it is thought that every effort should be made not to work boys under 16 more than 60 hours a week. Although work on shifts involves night work, the committee makes it clear that night work is not to be regarded as a good thing in itself and offers the following objections to the system : 1. It is uneconomical. Though wages are paid at a higher rate, the rate of output, more particularly during the last two or three hours of the 12-hour shift, is generally lower. 2. Supervision i.< frequently unsatisfactory. 3. Conditions of lighting are seldom as good as in daytime and make fine work more difficult. 4. Workers experience great difficulty in sleeping by day. 5. The unfamiliar meal hour makes it difficult for tlie workers to consume substantial food, and their digestion is liable to become deranged. In its special study of " Output in relation to hours of work " (]Memorandiun Xo. 12) the object of the committee was to ascertain the hours of employment most likely to produce a maximum output over periods of months or even years. It held that output can not be maintained at the highest level for any considerable period if the conditions were such as to lead to excessive fatigue and to deteriora- tion in the health of the workers. The committee's investigations covered operations of distinctly different character, some demand- ing heavy manual labor, others of a light, more or less sedentary, nature. It was found that the time schedule producing the maxi- mum output varied with the character of the operation. The committee found that for men engaged in very heavy labor the maximum hours of actual work yielding the most effective re- sults appear to be 56 or less per week, for men engaged in mod- erately heavy labor probably 60 per week, while for men and youths EIGHT-HOXJR WORKING DAY. 51 engaged in light labor, such as tending semiautomatic machines, probably 64 hours per week should be the maximum. As a method of speeding up production, the conunittee recom- mended the careful regulation of rest pauses. It was found that the operatives; if left to themselves, took rests at irregular and often unsuitable times, hence it would be much better if the rest pauses were chosen for them. For instance, a 10-minute break in the middle of the morning and afternoon spells during which the operatives remained at their machines, but took tea or other nutriment brought them by boys or by traveling canteens, has been found a valuable aid to output. Some types of work need longer and more frequent rest pauses than others, and the best time can only be determined by ex- perience. After being fixed, they should remain compulsory and rest pauses at other times be checked so far as possible. The committee's study of "Industrial fatigue and its causes" (Memorandum No. 7) is closely related to its three memoranda deal- ing with hours of labor. The committee had the benefit of studies of fatigue made by the home office and by a committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and the committee's report may be regarded as the summing up of these various studies of fatigue and its own studies of hours of labor. The committee again emphasize the importance of the regulation of hours and of daily and weekly rests, made with due consideration of the char- acter of the work performed. The committee in recording their conclusions say : The committee are bound to record their impression that the munition worliers in general have been allowed to reach a state of reduced efficiency and lowered health, which might have been avoided without reduction of out- put by attention to the details of daily and weekly rests. The signs of fatigue are even more noticeable in the case of managers and foremen, and their practical results are probably more serious than in the case of the workmen. It is of great importance to note that a special and strenuous voluntary effort in labor, if it be maintained under a badly arranged time-table of work and rest, does not necessarily bring increased output over a long period, how- ever praisevk'orthy the intention of effort may be. Under wrong conditions of work, with excessive overtime, it is to be expected, indeed, that some deliberate " slacking " of the workers might actually give an improvement of output over a period of some length by sparing wasteful fatigue, just as the " nursing " of a boat crew over a part of a long course may improve their performance. It can not under such circumstances be said that a workman so restraining him- self, consciously or unconsciously, is doing more to damage the output, on the whole, than the employer who has arranged overlong hours of labor on the base- less assumption that long hours mean high output. 52 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. RECENT CONCLUSIONS OF THE BRITISH HEALTH OF MUNITION WORKERS COMMITTEE ON THE RELATION OF HOURS OUTPUT. HOTJES OF LABOR IN REXATIOK TO OUTPTTT Df BRITISH MimiTIOK FACTORIES.! In Memorandum Xo. 20 on "Weekly hours of employment."' is- sued under date of October, 1917, by the health of munition workers committee of the British ministry of munitions, it is urged " that the time is now ripe for a further substantial reduction in the hours of work."' In view of the importance of this subject in connection with labor conditions in the United States, the text of this memorandum is giren herewith in full. WEEKLY HOURS OF EMPL0T3IEXT. Memorandum >.'o. 20. 1. The committee have had under consideration the recommendations made in regard to the maximum weekly hour.i? of employment of men, women, and young persons, which were set out in their Memorandum Xo. 5 on " Hours of v.ork" (issued January, 1916). When the committee commenced their labors, two years ago, they were faced with an almost complete absence of any scientific data as to the relation of hours of employment to output. They had accordingly to rely upon the general evidence of employers, workers, and other persons of experience. A'; explained in Memorandum No. 1 on " Sunday labor," this evidence was practically unanimous as to the need for a weekly period of rest. There was. however, revealed a marked divergence of opinion as to the limits within which weekly hours of employment should be kept. It was a matter of urgent Importance that some guidance on this subject should be offered forthwith. On the other hand, it was clear that in the absence of exact and reliable data any recommendations put forward at that time must necessarily be tentative and provisional in character. Moreover, if they were to be of practical value and to secure any wide measure of acceptance it was necessary that they should satisfy two essential conditions. First, they had to be such as would be regarded as reasonable and moderate by the great mass of employers and workers, and in the second place, while taking account 1 Health of munition "workers committee, ministry of munitions. Memorandum No. 20. Supplementary to Memorandum No. 5 (hours of work). Weekly hours of employment, October, 191T [Cd. 8801]. 7 pp. Price, Id. net. Of the previous memoranda on the subject of hours of labor and output, the following are reproduced In Bulletin 221 of this bureau : Memorandum No. 1, Sunday labor ; Memo- randum Xo. 5, Hours of work ; Memorandum No. 12, Statistical Information concerning output In relation to hours of work (report by H. M. Vernon, M. D.) In Bulletin 230 are reprinted portions of an Interim report (February, 1917) of the Health of Munition Workers Committee, which relate to " The comparative efficiencies of day work and night work in munition factories " and " The causes and conditions of lost time," the latter by Thomas Loveday, M. A. A summary of Memorandum No. IS, " Further statistical Infor- mation concerning output in relation to hours of work, with special reference to the influ- ence of Sunday labor," is given in the Monthly Review for November, 1917, pp. 61 and 62. EIGHT-HOUR WOEKING DAT. 53 of the probable duration of the war, they had to have regard to the immediate urgency of output at the time. Any recommendations Avhich might involve even a temporary diminution of output would have been doomed to failure. It was evident, in fact, that any reduction of hours proposed must be gradual, and the committee accordingly based their recommendations on what appeared to be immediately practicable rather than on what «as ultimately ilesiral)le or might be defensible on a physiological basis. Further, they found it neivssury to confine themselves to suggestions as to the maximum limits within which employment should be restricted, and they did not endeavor to set oat rhe extent to which, in their opinion, it was necessary or desirable to reduce these limits to meet varying industrial conditions. 2. The committee are of opinion that their cautious action and advice has been justified by events, and they are glad to take the present opportunity of recognizing the sympathy with which their recommendations wore r(veived, as well as the active and continuous efforts which have been made by the de- partments concerned to secure their general adoption. The limits of tlie weekly hours of employment then suggested were — (a) For men, that the average weekly hours of employment should not ex- ceed 65-67 (exclusive of meal times), i. e., a 13-14-hour working day. (6) That boys under 18 should be allowed to work the same hours as men, provided that — (1) The hours of boys under 16 should be limited to 60, so far as possible. (2) Substantial relief at the week ends should be insisted or. (3) Night work should be limited, as far as possible, to boys over 16. (c) That for women and girls employment should be restricted within (he normal legal limit of 60. i. e., a 12-hour working day, though withiji these limits moderate daily overtime might be allowed, and that the employment of girls under 18 at night should be limited as far as possible. 3. Tlie committee are of opinion that the time has now come when these rec- ommendations may properly be reviewed in the light of the following facts: First, the experience gained and the new evidence collected during the past two years ; secondly, the strain involved by three years of war conditions, a strain which is likely still to continue for a considerable period ; and, thirdly, the rapid increase in the number of women workers and in the varicTy cf processes on which tliey are employed. 4. From the commencement of their work the committee have attache I the highest importance to the collection of exact data affecting the proijlems at issue. The field to be covered is a very wide one, while the proiess of col- lection is slow and laborious. The committee, however, consider that the data which have already been collected on their behalf by Dr. Vernon -md others are of great practical value and merit the most serious attention. The re- sults of these investigations are the more valuable in that they have been un- dertaken solely in a spirit of scientific investigation and with no preconceived opinions. The selection of factories for inquiry was based solely on The like- lihood of reliable data being forthcoming. Further, in none of the operations studied was there any change in the nature of the operation or the type of ma- chinery during the period under review. The data were so chosen as to elimi- nate any possible disturbance due to increasing skill. There is no reason to suppose that the data quoted below were vitiated by any artificial restriction of output. 54 EIGHT-HOUB WORKING DAT. 5. The results of Dr. Vernon's Investigations, which covered a period of over a year, are set out in memorandum No. 18. Although that memorandum lias already been submitted to the ministry and published. It appears desirable shortly to set out again the principal results of his investigations in so far as they concern the relation of weekly hours of employment to output. Tlie following are the four sets of data which bear on this subject : (A) WOMEX TURNING ALUMINUM FUSE BODIES, First period. - . Second period. Third period.. ATcrage weekly hours. I ^^^^^^^^ hourly Nominal. Actual. I ""«?"»• 74.8 61.5 54.8 Relative total output. 66.2 54.8 45.6 100 134 1.58 100 111 109 During the first period Sunday work (eight hours) was done on five out of six Sundays; during the second on three out of eight, the nominal weekly hours in these three weeks being 66.-5 instead of 58.5, an average of 61.5 ; during the third period the timekeeping was bad, the normal weekly hours of work averaging about 55. Dr. Vernon accordingly suggests that with good time- keeping a nominal 50-hour week ought to yield the same actual hours of work (namely, 45.6) ; that is to say, that for women engaged in moderately heavy lathe work a 50-hour week yields as good an output as a 66-hour week and a considerably better one than a 75-hour week. (B) WOMEN MILLING A SCREW THREAD. Average weekly houis Nominal. First period Second period. . Third period . . 71. S 64.6 37.3 Relative hourly Actual. »"*"'■ Relative total output. 64.9 54.8 48.1 100 121 133 100 102 99 Dr. Vernon explains that the reason why a reduction of hours did not lead to an improvement of total output similar to that in the fuse-body turning operation is that for four-fifths of the total time required to mill the -;crfw thread on the fuse body the operative had no opportunity of quickenin? litr working speed, since .she had merely to stand Idly watching her machine, whereas the lathe worker had to apply seven different cutting and boriim rools in succession to each fuse body, and could quicken up her speed of work at almost every stage. (C) MEN ENGAGED IN HEAVY WORE. Average weekly hours. Relative hourly output. Relative ; total i output. Nominal. Actual. First period . . . . 66. 7 38.2 50.5 51.2 100 122 139 100 ' Second period Third period ...1 62.8 56.5 1 106 122 EIGHT-HOUB. WORKING DAY. 55 It should be noted that during the third period the nominal weekly Jioui-s were about 5-6 less than during the second period. Owing to the cessation of Sunday labor the timekeeping was so much improved that the actual hours of work were greater than during the previous period. (E) BOYS BORING TOP CAPS. Average weekly hours. Relative hourly output. Relative total output. Nominal. Actual. 78.5 61.5 60.5 72.5 54.7 54,5 100 117 129 100 88 97 Second period Third period Increase of output in this process, which is largely automatic, could only be attained by a more continuous feeding of the machines throughout working hours. 6. The above data show that a reduction in the weekly hours of actual work, varying from 7 to 20, in no case resulted in more than an insignificant diminu- tion of total output, while on the average it produced a sulistantial increast'. As Dr. Vernon points out. the classification of the oi>erations nrcordini; to the possibility they offer for speeding up proilui-tion deuionstrafes anew the splf- evident fact that the alterations of hours may have very different effects in dif- ferent operations. The e.xact measure of such alterations can not be pre- dicted ; it can only be ascertained by observation and experiment. It appears evident, however, that for processes similar to those e.xaiiiined by Dr. A'ernon the weekly hours can advaiitagedusly be reduced to a total of from .')(( to ",. and he suggests that even lower limits might give an equally good output. 7. Two further points of importance emerge from consideration of these data. In the first place the rate of production changed gradually, and frequently four months elapsed before an equilibrium value was reached. This gradual change appears to nullify the suggestion that the effect upon output of the change of hours was a mere consequence of the desire to earn the same weekly wages as before the hours were shortened. The explanation is rather to be traced to the worker fludin;,' uncdiiscioiisly and .crradually by experience that he can work more strenuously and quickly for a short-hour week than for a long- hour week. In the second place, the evidence suggests that a considerable in- crease in the average hourly output is possible, quite apart from any increased rapidity of working. Thus, as the result of special investigations. Dr. Vernon found that in the case of the first body of workers mentioned above the time lost in commencing and stopping work during the first period averaged 37 min- utes as compared with only 26^ minutes during the third period. 8. Prof. Loveday, in his memorandum on the " Causes and conditions of lost time," which is included in the committee's interim report on " Industrial eflS- ciency and fatigue," ^ also supplies valuable data of a somewhat similar char- acter. In the first place, he points out that the proportion of lost time that is due to sickness and other unavoidable causes is, as a rule, grealy under- estimated in factory records and the proportion due to slackness consequently overestimated. In the second place, he expresses the view that long hours, 1 Co. S.jll. 56 EIGHT-HOTTE WOEKIlirG DAY. much overtime, and especially Sunday labor exert a pernicious effect upon health, particularly of persons occupied in heavy trades. In paragraph 33 (5) of that memorandum he gives two tables, the first dealing with a body of about 180 men and the second with between 300 and 400 men employed on heavy work, their normal hours being from 65 to 70. In both these cases, when comparison is made with the figures of lost time for June, 1915, and for a year later, the fact emerges that there was a material increase in the amount of lost time and that by far the larger portion of the increase was due to recorded sickness. In both cases throughout recorded sickness represented a noticeably high propor- tion of the total amount of time lost. 9. Prof. Loveday also devoted considerable space to the examination of figures concerning the amount of time lost before breakfast. He concludes : (a) That if early hours be worked, the loss is likely to decrease if the start be later than 6 a. m. (6) That when the total hours of the day-shift week are the same, there are likely to be more hours actually worked without than with work before break- fast, other conditions being similar. (c) That a reduction of hours may be compensated for or even outweighed by the abolition of early hours, partly owing to reduced absences, partly owing to reduced waste of time, and partly to the greater vigor of work after taking food. He quotes figures for ;i number of difEerent factors which confirm these conclusions. He strongly presses the view that food should precede work. He points out the undesirabllity of hunger work, its bad effect upon health, and the temptation to lose time in the short early spells. 10. There can be little doubt that there is an increasing recognition on the part of both employers and workers of the broad fact which emerges from the investigation of Dr. Vernon and Prof. Loveday, namely, that substantial reduc- tion of hours can be effected without any reduction of output. Whereas at the beginning of the war there was a general belief that longer hours neces- sarily produced larger output, it has now become widely recognized that a 13 or 14 hours' day for men and a 12 hours' day for women, excepting for quite brief periods, are not profitable from any point of view. Few. probaWy. would disagree with the statement contained in the summary prepared by the Right Hon. G. X. Barnes, M. P.. of the recent reports of the commissions on industrial unrest that — " There is a general consensus of opinion that Sunday and overtime labor should be reduced to a minimum, that holidays should not be curtailed, and that hours of work should not be such as to exclude opportunities for recreation and amusement." It must be obvious that any reduction of hours which can be accomplished ■n-lthout loss of output is in-ofitable not only to the employer, in that it re- duces running expenses, but to the worker, since even if his or her daily meas- ure of work involves the same amount of fatigue a longer period is left for recovery and for the enjoyment of adequate sleep and recreation. 11. It must be recognized that the conditions are not the same now as they were in the early days of the war; not only have large nimibers of the young- est and strongest workers been withdrawn for military service, but those who remain are .suffering from the strain inseparable from a continuous period of long hours of employment. To this must be added the strain caused by familv EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. 57 and other anxieties arising out of the war. While mucli has been done to improve conditions of employment they are still in many cases far from ideal, notably as regards housing and transit. Further, large numbers of women are now employed on heavy work and on skilled operations involving constant thought and attention, which were considered two years ago to lie quite beyond their capacity. It may be true that no serious breakdown of health has as yet been observed among the great mass of the workers, but it can not be assumed that this condition will continue indefinitely. The effects of the strain may even have been already more serious than appears on the surface, for while it is jpossible to judge roughly the general condition of those working in the factory to-day, little information is available concerning the large number of workers who for one reason or another, and often because they find the work too arduous, are continually giving up their job. This is an important point which is liable to be overlooked, since the supply of labor has hitherto been adequate to flu their places. The irritability and nervousness mentioned by the com- missions on industrial unrest are moreover well recognized symptoms of fatigue, while it must not be forgotten that the effects of fatigue are accumu- lative. 12. After careful consideration of all the circumstances, the committee are convinced that the maximum limits of weekly employment pnivisionally sug- gested are too high except for quite short periods, or perhaps in eases where the w.ork is light and the conditions of employment exceptionally good. In the great majority of cases, however, the hours of work should now be re- stricted within limits lower than those quoted in paragraph 2 aliove. It is impossible to lay down a single rule as to the best hours in all cases ; the best scheme can only be determined after a careful consideration of a number of different factors, e. g. — (a) The strain involved in the work, its character (heavy or light, contin- uous or intermittent) and the mental demand which it makes upon the worker. (&) The extent to which the pace of the work is governed by the machine. (c) The factory environment — temperature, ventilation, etc. (d) The Individual physical capacity of the workers, and their age, sex, and experience. (e) The organization of the factory (including welfare supervision.) (/) The sufficiency and suitability of the worker's food, canteen accommo- dation, etc. (g) The arrangements of the hours of work (spells, breaks, and pauses.) (7() Conditions outside the factory— e. g., housing and transit. In arranging the hours of work for a factory, allowance should be made, as far as discipline and organization permit, for the fact that the best hours of employment will not be the same for all processes, even in the same factory. 13. In conclusion the committee desire to urge the view that the time is now ripe for a further substantial reduction in the hours of work. If this be effected with due regard to the varying conditions prevailing in different branches of industry, they are satisfied that reductions can be made with benefit to health and without injury to output. Signed on -behalf of the committee. Geokge Xewmajs", II. D., Chairman. E. H. Pelham, Secretary. Octohek, 1917. 58 EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAY. FATIGUE AND OUTPUT.i Where the factory day consists of four working periods output is low during two of these, viz, the early morning period and overtime. During the middle periods of the day output is normally high, but is lowered by the working of overtime. This diminution is often so great that the total daily output is less when overtime is worked than when it is suspended. Thus overtime defeats its own object. The lowest output of the day is often found in the early morning period at the beginning of the week and in the period of overtime at the week's end. The change appears to be due to the accumulation of fatigue and to the wearing off of the Monday effect (described above). The Monday effect * * * is not without a definite influence on output. It should be recognized and controlled where maximum output is desired. In cases where the early morning hours are not worked the unsatisfactory output commonly found in this period appears to be transferred, or not to be transferred, to the succeeding period, according to the particular day of the week concerned. On Monday the suspension of the early morning hours will, as a rule, lower output iu the succeeding period. On Tuesday also a lowering will be noticed. On the remaining days of the week the suspension of work during the early morning hours is followed by an improvement in the output of the morning period. The change is due to the greater Influence of practice (through restored coordination) early in the week and of rest (through less- ened fatigue) later on. A worker may occasionally show a very high output in the early morning period. Psychical influences affect output. The output on Saturday, in spite of great fatigue, is often high owing to anticipation of the week-end rest. Workers may be so greatly fatigued at the end of the week that an extra period of overtime Is beyond their powers, and should this be insisted upon an unsatisfactory ouput may be expected. A similar condition may exist on Friday. Great variations may occur in the output of individual workers at different times. The causes of such variations may be purely personal and temporary, or they may be general and affect groups of workers. The rmsatisfactory output of the early morning period is due partly to loss of coordination. It appears to depend also upon lack of rest, lack of food, and general discomfort. These things arise indirectly from excessive hours of labor. The unsatisfactory output of the overtime period is due to fatigue. The early morning period may be regarded as bearing a similar relation to the day as Monday bears to the week. In both cases abstinence from work has produced a disinclination for labor and an inability to carry it out effectively. This is due rather to loss of coordination than to fatigue. Examples of similar loss of coordination may be found in knitting, in typewriting, and in similar processes. Where no overtime is worked output during the different periods of the day is more equal. I From sei:ona interim report of the British Home Office on an investigation of in- dustrial fatigue by physiological methods. EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. 59 A worker employed for 10 hours per day may produce a greater output than when employed for 12 hours, the extra rest being more than sufficient to com- pensate for tile loss of time. A worker employed for 8 hours per day may produce a greater output than another of equal capacity working 12 hours per day. A group of workers showed an absolute increase of over 5 per cent of output as a result of a diminution of 16i per cent in the length of the working-day. Another group increased their average rate of output from 262 to 276 as a result of shortening the day from 12 hours to 10, and to 316 on a further short- ening of 2 hours. A group of pieceworkers increased their earnings considerably as a result of a diminution in the length of the working-day. The suspension of overtime affects especially the output of the morning period. The suspension of the early morning period increases the rate of output, even after overtime has been suspended. The time " lost " by factory workers may approach an average of 10 per cent of the working-day. The amount lost varies with the length of the work- ing-day and appears to depend upon fatigue. Under the conditions studied, neither rate of working nor total output attains a maximum when a 12-hour day is adopted. Rate of working and total ouput are limited by fatigue rather than by other conditions. Total dally output may be diminished by the introduction of overtime. COMMONWEALTH STEEL CO., GRANITE CITY, ILL.i The workmen in the open-hearth department and boiler room were chan^-ed in 1912, from a system of two 12 -hour shifts to one of three 8-honr shifts. To do this required increasing the number of men in the open-hearth department from 22 to 33, but in the boiler room it was necessary to increase the number of men only from 8 to 10. The hourly wage rates of all the men concerned were increased an average of 20 per cent. Exactly the same products were made under the two systems of working hours. Undei' the eight-hour system, in spite of the increase in hourly rates, there was a slight decrease in the cost of production, owing to the higher efficiency of the workers. There were very considerable reductions in the amount of pig iron charged and in the amount of fuel oil consumed. Also the quality of the product was very much improved. 1. The open-hearth department of the Commonwealth Steel Co. consists of four 25-ton basic open-hearth furnaces, three of which only are operated at any one time, and which directly require for 1 Eeport on conditions of employment In the Iron and steel industry In the United Stales. S. Doc. No. 110, 62d Cong., 1st sess.. Vol. Ill, p. 187 et seq. 60 EIGHT-HOTTE WOEKING DAT. their operation 22 men for two 12-hour shifts, or 33 men for three 8-hour shifts. The plant, as a whole, employs 2,300 workmen. 2. The system was changed on February 5, 1912, from a 12-hour, 2-shift, system six days a week, to three shifts of eight hours each. 3. The number of men on each shift (11 men) remained unchanged in the open-hearth department, while in the boiler room only 10 men were employed on the three 8-hour shifts in place of eight men on the two 12-hour shifts. 4. An increase in the hourly rates for the men employed ranges from 14 to 22 per cent, averaging about 20 per cent. 5. Under the new arrangement, there was a slight decrease in the cost of production, owing to the higher efficiency under the 8-hour system, in spite of the increase in the hourly rates and the number of men employed. 6. Eeductions in the amount of extra pig iron charged and in the amount of fuel oil consumed obtained under the new system. These reductions were almost enough to pay for the additional labor em- ployed. 7. Also more accurate results were obtained in the quality of the castings. The phj'sical and chemical specifications were more ac- curate mider the 8-hour system and the percentage of cracked cast- ings was decidedly decreased. S. The workmen were satisfied with the change, although their earnings were about 20 per cent less under the 8-hour system as compared with the 12-hour sj'stem. The superintendent, in his address before the Foundrymen"s Asso- ciation, made the following statement : Therefore, viewed from any conceivable angle, I claim the change Is justi- fiable, and you will do well to make it, so far as your open-hearth furnaces are cmcerned. As to your boiler firemen, each operating head must decide for hini^elf. In our particular case it appeared to be, and finally proved to be. advisable from every standpoint. Conditions in certain other boiler rooms are very different from ours, practically the entire evaporation taking place during the daylight hours in many of them. Since the results are of some interest, however, I have included the comparisons made in our power plant. Reverting finally to consideration of the *teel maker, whose performance under both SI liedules is made the burden of this argument, the basic principle is absolutely sound, and rests on the incontrovertible fact that you can not expect any man t'l crive you the best that i* in him when you keep him employed without inter- mission for 12 hours per day, seven days per week, at work making a heavy demand upon his mental and physical powers, under conditions of high tempera- ture such as obtain on a furnace floor. To expect the best results under such circumstances is folly, and to continue operating under them, spells, not the title of this paper, but the costly side of the 12-hour shift. EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAY. OPEN-HEARTH FURNACES. 61 Twelve-hour shift. Eight-hour shift. Average amount of extra pig iron charged per heat Average amount of fuel oil consumed per heat Average amount of fuel oil consumed per ton of metal charged. Average number of craclred castings per heat Average of longest intervals between reversals of burners during 12 hour periods. Average of chemical analyses of all heats: Carbon Phosphorus , Sulphur , Manganese SiUcon Maximum phosphorus in any heat Maximum sulphur in any heat Average physical tests of all heats: ' Yield point per square inch Tensile strength per square inch Elongation in 2 inches Reduction of area Minimum physical tests of any heat (not combined re- sults of one bar, but individual minimum? of results covering all bars): Yield point per square inch Tensile strength per square inch Elongation in 2 inches Reduction of area 556 pounds 1,275 gallons 55 gallons 0.49 26 minutes Correct percent... 0.011 percent 0.022 per cent 2 points under 1 point over 0. 022 per cent 0.025 per cent 13 per cent over... 5.9 per cent over.. 4.6 points over 7.9 points over 2. 5 per cent under. 4. 7 pel" cent under. 5 pomts under 8. 3 points under. . , 424 pounds. 1,138 gallons. 49 gallons. 0.37. 28. 7 minutes. Correct per cent. 0. Oil per cent. 0. 022 per cent. Correct per cent. Correct per cent. 0. 018 per cent. 0. 025 per cent. 15.5 per cent over. 5. s per cent over. 4.1 points over. 7. 2 points over. 7. 7 per cent over. 1.4 per cent under. 3 points under. 7.6 points under._ The situation is summed up with the following sentence from vol. 3 of the steel report (1910) of the Bureau of Labor Statistics: The ti-ial of the 8-hour system in the steel foundry shows tluit the chief imme- diate results are secured through the fact that the men work together better and give much closer attention to their work when working eight hours than when working 12 hours a day. WORK WEARINESS AND A THREE-SHIFT SYSTEM. A LETTER FROM JOHN E. GKANT. Some months ago, before the war, I substituted a three-shift system in place of a two-shift system on account of shortasie of some special machinery. It was so successful that it was retained and. extended. The original two-shift system was made up as follows : A day shift from 7 a. m. to 5 p. m., with an hour's break — 12 noon to 1 p. m. On Saturdays the w^eek ended at 12 noon, and the total normal day-shift week was 50 hours. The night shift ran from 6 p. m. until 7 a. m. next morning. There was a supper hour from 10 p. m. until 11 p. m., and a breakfast half hour from .3 a. m. to 3.30 a. m. The total night-shift week was normally 57^ hours. Also shop production was paid for on piecework and bonus plan, and it was found that the output per man per hour on night shift was 15 per cent to 20 per cent less than on the day shift. The three-shift system which dis- placed the two-shift system was made up as follows: "A" shift from 7.30 a. m. until 4 p. m., with meal half hour from 12 noon to 12.30 p. m. ; " B " shift 1 Engineering, Vol. C, No. 2599. London, Oct. 22, 1915. Shorter Work Day, pp. 652-653.) (Taken from The Case of the 62 EIGHT-HOTJE WOEKING DAY. from 3.30 p. m. until 12 mianlght, with meal half-hour from 7.30 p. m. to 8 p. m. ; " C " shift from 11.30 p. m. until 8 a. m. next day, with meal half hour from 3 a. m. to 3.30 a. m. The shifts for the week finish : " A " shift, 4 p. m. Saturday. " B " shift, 12 midnight Saturday. " C " shift, 8 a. m. Sunday. Any worker may obtain leave away on Saturday afternoons by obtaining a substitute willing to take his place from one of the other shifts, and we ha%e no trouble from what appears at first sight to be a formidable obstacle. There are thus three-shift weeks of 48 hours each, a total of 144 hours, com- pared with the two-shift weeks of 50 hours and 57i hours— a total of 107^ hours ; or, in other words, we obtain an increase in the normal weekly working hours of 34 per cent. In actual fact it is worth more than this, as the output per man-hour is greater, and we soon found that each man in his 48-hour week was doing as much as he did before in the 50-hour day-shift week, and the output has increa.sed 50 per cent in view of the better value obtained from the night hours. In the three-shift system we have each shift lapping over the other to the extent of half an hour, or equal to the meal half hour. The half hour is occu- pied in this way. During the first 15 minutes the incoming worker gets all his work and tools ready and clears up all obscurities before he begins. He then takes over the machine, and for the remaining 15 minutes of the half hour the outgoing worker books in his work and attends to the various small duties necessary to be done before he leaves. In changing the shifts at the end of every week, " A " shift becomes " C " shift, " B " shift becomes " A " shift, and " C " shift becomes " B " shift. The shift itself therefore is run at high pressure, and the machine is kept running every possible minute. There is no time to think of weariness, and the workers are cheerful and energetic. » * * Apart from the benefit of increased output, there is also a gain in economy, due to lesser overhead charges, even when increased maintenance cost, because of more machine hours per week is taken into account. EFFECT OF REDUCTION OF HOURS UPON OUTPUT IX THE GRANITE INDUSTRY.i I desire to bring to jour attention a letter which a large employer of labor has written to the president of a great international union, because it splendidly demonstrates the results of the movement to shorten the working day. It is by William J. Crawford, president of William J. Crawford & Co. (Inc.) , one of the leading firms in the granite industry. It is addressed to Mr. James Duncan, interna- tional president of the Granite Cutters' International Association. Quincy, Mass. It says [reading] : 1 Hearings on 8-hour biU (H. H. 27281) before House Committee on Labor Jan '0 and Feb. 6-12, 1913, pp. 32-33. EIGHI-HOUa WORKING DAY. 63 Buffalo, X. Y.. December 19, 1912. Mr. .Tames Duncan, Iiiternotional President the (Iraiiite Cutters' International Association. Quincy. ^[a■<:.'i. Dear Sik : For several months the writer has wished to write to you to explain some facts which M-e are sure will Interest you and your fellow members. There are few firms in the country who have kept a comprehensive cost system extending over a period of more than 30 years. .Just 32 years ago, in .Tanuary, 18S0, we commenced to keep this record of the value of each man and the exact cost of each piece of work, and we have kept this ever since. In the part of this work which will interest you we have a page for each granite cutter, and following each entry of the piece of work he takes up is the day and hour commenced, the day and hour finished, the entire time con- sumed, the wages we have paid, the quarry bill, and a column for loss and a column for gain. In this way «e are able to raise a man's wages from time to time as he proves his worth. AVe do this without request from the men, and in this way we obtain the highest efficiency, and we can not remember when a man has asked us to raise his wages. Now, about the fact that I thinlt will be of particular interest to you. Tliis cost system extends back to the time when the day was 10 hours, and it shows that the same man, under identically the same cimditious, accomplished more of exactly the same kind of work when he was working 9 hours than he did when he was working 10 hours ; and again, when the hours were reduced to 8 hours this same man accomplished still more in an 8-hour day than he did in a 9-hour day, or a considerable amount more than lie did when the day was .10 liours long. My observation of the conditions, and I am with our men from S a. m. until 5 p. m., is this : That as men work to-day at the granite-cutting trade an 8-hour day is too long, and I believe tliat any good granite cutter (and I mean by this a man who uses his brains as well as his muscles every minute) could do .lust as much work in 7 or even 6 hours as he does in S. This may sound radical, but from close study I find that 16 hours for " rest and refreshment " to a granite cutter is not sufficient to make him approach liis work in the morn- ing in a perfectly rested condition. * * * Very truly, yours. AVrLi.iAM .T. Ceawfoed, Prenirleiit WUIiani ./. Crairford rf- Co. (Inc.). OUTPUT IN BATTLESHIP CONSTRUCTION.! In the building of the two battleships, the Connecticut and the Louisum-ct, we have a concrete case offering opportunity for the study and comparison, not only of contract versus direct labor, but also of the 8-hour day versus the 10-hour day. The former battleship is 1 The 8-hour day and Government construction by direct labor, Ethelbert Stewart. Commons, vol. 10, May, 1905. (Taken from the Case for the Shorter Work Day, pp. 670- 681.) 64 ' EIGHT-HOL'E WOEKIIfG DAY. being built by direct labor in the United States navy yards in Brook- lyn under the 8-hour day and by union men. The battleship Louisi- ana is being built by contract by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., of Newport News, Va., employing its men 10 hours a day. In chapter 3 of a report to Congress by the Department of Commerce and Labor we find a comparative statment of the work on these two battleships up to November 1, 1904. The information for this chapter was gathered and compiled by ^Ir. Frank J. Sheri- dan, one of the most accurate and painstaking agents of the Bureau of Labor, and his figures may be depended upon- Mr. Sheridan says in his report : " No other factor is considered than the productive ability of the two bodies of men doing exactly the same kind of work, using the same kind of tools, and the same kind of material. It is practically all handwork, as the output of the automatic machines, with their speed limitations in production per hour, does not enter into this work." The keel of the Lryuiskaui was laid February 7, 1903. She was launched August 27. 1904. On the date of launching, the percentage of the hull work completed was 54.5. The keel of the CoivMHvMt was laid March 10, 1903. She was launched September 29. 1904. Percentage of hull work completed was 53.59. This is by far more rapid work than has ever been done by contracting firms building battlesliips heretofore, as it is well understood that there is to be a race between the direct labor in the navy yards and contract labor at Newport News. For instance, the elapsed time between the lay- ing of the keel and the launching of the ship is 568 days for the Loimw.na and 570 days for the Connectumt, whereas in the three battleships nearest the size of these two, the Georgia was 1,135 days from the laying of the keel to the launching, the Nevj Jersey. 957 days, and the Vii-gima 684 days. These ships have a displacement of 14-948 tons, as against 16,000 tons of the two battleships under discussion. At the date of launching, the gross weight of the structural material worked upon the Loumana, the contract ship, was 14.295.965 pounds. The net weight worked into the hull was 12,216,154 pounds. The aggregate hours of all employees engaged upon the work was 2,413,888. The structural material worked into the hull of the Con- necticut, the direct labor ship, at the date of launching, showed a gro-s weight of 14,173,894 pounds. The net weight of finished material worked into the hull was 11,391,040 pounds. The aggre- gate hours of employees engaged on this work was 1,808.240. In other words, the number of pounds worked in per hour was, for the EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. 65 Louisiana 5.0608; for the Connecticut 6.2995. The average number of pounds worked in for 10 hours or one day, in tlie Louisiana was 60.608, while the average worked into the Coniwcficut in a day of eight hours was 59.396 pounds. The daily average of men working full time of 10 hours on the Louisiana was 500.8. The number of men working full time of eight hours on the Connecticut was 470.9. This shows that the average production of a man per hour on the Cormecticut exceeded by 24.28 per cent the average production per man per hour on the Louisiana; which explains why the progress on the Conii.erticut, as shown in the report of percentage of work com- pleted to the Bureau of Construction, has kept pace with the work completed on the Louisiana, namely: Xo^.gj-^^jjgj. i^ 1994, the Loui- siana reported 60.7 percentage completed, while tlie percentage of completion of the Connecticut on the same date was 63.9 (pp. 284- 285).. So far, the claim of labor leaders that the eight hour day is pro- ductive of better work and just as much of it in the skilled trades as the 10-hour day, seems to be amply sustained (p. 286). FOURTH REPORT OP THE NEW YORK STATE FACTORY INVESTI- GATING COMMISSION.! Statement of IST. I. Stone, former chief statistician United States Tariff Board : The United States TaritT Board made an exhaustive study of the cost of pro- duction lu the paper, woolen, and cotton industries. Tlie reason for the creation of the Tarift Board and the object of Its investigations was to iind the cost of production of various commodities as compared with that in foreign countries, in order to furnish Con.sress witli a measure of protection for American Industries against the competition of the clieaper labor of Europe. In every Instance, the Tariff Board found that there was no such thing as a cost of production ; that costs varied not only in the same industry and In the same eity, but in the same plant ; last, but not least, that neither the total cost, nor the labor cost varied in a direct ratio with the rate of wages paid. HIGHLY PAH) 11E>; WOKKIKO 8 HOVES PEE DAY ARE CHEAPER THAN LOWER PAID MEN WORKING 12 HOURS A DAY. Thus in the paper and pulp industry it was found that the labor cost of making a ton of news-print paper In the United States varied from $2.19 to $7.26 per ton.^ 1 Fourth report of the New York State Factory Investigating Commission, vol. 8, Feb. 15, 1915. (Taken from The Case for the Shorter Work Day, pp. 797-800.) = T'nited States Tariff Board Kpport on Pulp and News-Print Paper Industry, 1911. 72310—18 5 66 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. The most iPiuarkMhlf fact about it was that tlje mills paying' the lowest wases and having ii ]:i-hour aid to the machine tenders in each case.' P.ut important as the machine equipment is in d( terniining the efficiency of laljor, the human eQuation is sub.iect to no less variation Ui ler certain con- ditions. When the agitation foi- the removal of the import duty on news-jjrint paper resultetl in an inquiry by a sjiecial committee of Congress, a representative of one of the largest ijajier mill ciimi)anies in the country ]ioinled 1o the fact that rhey had recently reduceil the hours of labor from ^^2 to s. without re- ducing the weelxly rate of wages, with the conseiiuent increase of :« ))er cent in their labor cost. The figures secured by the 'I'arilT Board from the Ixioks of several mills, inchldinu those to which refereui-e was made before the commit- lee of (Vjngre-.s. showed a leduction in the labor cost pel- ton of iiajier from .•^4.8.") to .•<:>. 7H iu 10(19 inider the s-lioui- system. In other words, an in- creasi- in the hourly rate of wages to the e.\.tent of 33 ]ier cent not oiHy failed to result in a corres|ionding in." in Itlds hapiienerl to be the higliest In 10 yeais. there was not ii sinijle year in that decade under the lli-hour system which showed as low a cost as in ]9f)i) the mills were idle, owing to the strike for shorter liour~ and that costs are usually above normal when a ]jlant is starled up .Lfter a long jieriod of idleness, there is every leason to believe that the labor cost was still further reduced after 190f). Vet it lan not be said that there wa- a radical change in the e'o new factories were in process of organization. 7. No material changes were being made in the character of the product. S No new machinery or processes tending to increase per capita output ma- terially were being installed'; what few changes were being made would tend to increase slightlv the productive difficulty of the product. i) St.-mdard' production load was such that •■going out early'" was almost unknown: here and there a few special departments were working overtime occasionally. ^T^^r^thly Review of United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, June, 1917, pp. S41-S44. 68 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. Our system of factories may be divided into two general classes : 1. Supply factories where material is cut or prepared and fed to the shoe factories. 2. Seven shoe factories where the product is assembled. As the seven shoe factories are operated under a standard system, the condi- tions are comparable with those of sister ships in the Navy. Production is routed into and through these factories in what we call "sheets," each sheet constituting a half-day's and 11 sheets a week's production. When the hours of labor were decreased in December, 1916, it was decided to make no reduc- tion in the standard sheet or half-day quota. The plan was to determine after trial what reduction, if any, would prove necessary as a result of the shorter hours. We have operated under the reduced hours for four months. It has been found unnece.ssary to reduce standard production; actual production has not decreased. The following table shows the changes made in standard production since the first week in December. Date Production i „ changed— ' IZTJ I Bea.=on. symbol. ; From- To— I March, 1917 i W I 212 | 200 ! To offset increase in a difficult port ion of production. April, 1917 1 MC 20O ' 212 ; Former production resumed. March, 1917 ' ME 2S-S 27.5 , To facilitate improvement of product. "" ' '" "" ~"~ Factory gaining in actual production. To offset an increase in more difficult part of product. Increased production. Xo change. Do. Do i ML February, 1917 MD fMN December, 1916 .^MP [ 212 200 20O 212 2KS 275 250 262 ) i 2SS 275 23« 250 1 175 175 108 108 Under the production .system in use any department falUng behind standard production to such an extent as to be one-half day behind schedule would auto- matically cause what is called a 'dropping of sheets" and a reduction in the standard production for the particular factory involved. This event has not occurred ; in fact, the writer, who has been in general charge of the production system in this company for over 10 years, believes that at no period in its history have we had so little trouble with the production system as during the winter of 1916 and 1917 ; this, too, in spite of the fact that we have had more difficulties arising from outside our plants than heretofore, namely : 1. Shortage of material. 2. Railroad traffic disturbances, re.sulting in unexpected delays in materials. Our organization would regard the above data as ample to justify the general conclusion that we have lost no production as a result of shortening hours. To reduce it to an absolute certainty, however, we have taken from our actual records data for the two months preceding and the months following the re- duction in hours, namely : 1. Actual number of employees on the pay rolls. 2. Actual production shipped. 3. Comparison in the unit representing the productivitj- per employee per working-day. These figures cover the combined production of the seven shoe factories (sister assembling plants) and re-sults as follows: EIGHT-HOUK WORKIl^G DAY, 69 Period. Otober and No\eraber, 1916 (working 55 hours) December, 1910, and January, 1917 (working 52 hours). February and March, 1917 (workins; 52 hours) Total number of employees. Productive imit per em- ployee per dav based on pairs shipped. 3,986 4,105 4, 170 S.91 9.00 9.02 (0.) Number of employees includes both productive and non productive: nonproductive pay roll, how- ever, is carefully standardized and changes in it durins this period were inflnif esimal. ib) Of productive pav rolls 95 per cent plus is piecework. (c) Employees classified by sex: Male, *iO per cent ; female, 40 per cent (based on previous estimates, but percentages fluctuate only sliEthtly). (d) During the winter months there were sca oral bad epidemics of colds and grippe, tending to increase production losses from absence. (e) A shortage of a\ ailablo labor made employment conditions diffleult. The writer is firmly convinced from tliis and otlier similar experiments that long working hours are not only an economic loss to the community as a whole, but that there is ample evidence to indicate that even inside factory walls there is no net profit in running on m schedule niucli over eight and one-half hours per day. There are so many complex factors entering into the production of the individual employee and particularly into the production of employee groups that the old theory of proportional production per hour is absolutely untenable. Our experience has been that overtime w(irk is decidedly undesirable as a method of increasing production. Our policy is to discourase it in all depart- ments. Toward this end we have made it a rule for several years to pay 5U per cent extra for all piece-work done during overtime hours. We permit overtime work ordinarily only under the following conditions : 1. To quickly offset breaks in continuous production. 2. Where only a small number of employees are affected. 3. For short periods. To sum up, our whole experience tends to justify the shorter-hour move- ment. ^^■e are absolutely convinced that it is right for the community as a Avhole, because we feel sure it would increase the net productivity of societj-. AA'e believe it is right for the individual factory unit because we have come to realize that even in an individual plant the real problem is to get the maxi- mum amount of work done by a given thousand people, not in a day, in a week, or in a year, but in a lifetime. EFFECT OF REDUCED HOURS IN THE BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTRY.^ The following data is based on an investigation of 190 establish- ments employing 98.170 -workers. Of these establishments, 94. or 50 per cent, had reduced hours of work in recent years, and 77. or 40 per cent, reported the effect on output. The prevailing hours of the establishments studied ranged from 48 to 60. The followino' table gives the important data submitted by those establishments which reported the effects on output accompanying reduction in work hours. For convenience the information is 1 Xatlonal Industrial Conference Board. Hours of work as related to output and health of workers : Research Eeport No. 7, June, 1918. T6 pp. 70 EIGHT-HOXJR WORKISTG DAY. assembled by hour groups and the establishments classified accord- ing to the effect on production. It should be noted that in se\eral cases companies reporting a decrease in production for the estab- lishment a> a whole, nevertheless stated that the output of piece- workers, who on an average constitute about 68 per cent of the working force, was either maintained or not seriously affected. In examining the data given in tlip column "Change in wages" the distinction between total wages and rates of wages must be kept clearly in mind. The .-statement that there wa.s no change in piece or hourly rates when hours were sliortened means that the weekly total was reduced for dayworkers and also for pieceworkers unless these increased their output. Kummanj comvariMjn of esiahlwhiiifut^ and i iniAuijerx, hy hour riioupx. ai-nn, with a lesulting increase of production. In 1!)01 the hours were reduced to 8, with resulting decrease of output. With regard to this company the report points out that "since the cc>iiipany made its experiment with an 8-hour day. many changes in processes of manu- facture have been develo])ed, so that the results above outlined are not necessarily representative of those olJtainable under a similar schedule at the present time." The report draws the following conclusions from tlie data pre- sented : coNci.rsu)Xs. 1. A 54-liour week is long eiuai.gli lo niaintaiii pi-oiluctiou at a practical luaxi- luuin ill the boot and shoe industry as a whole, even under lavsent work con- ditions. 2. Several well-equipped and well-mana.ued establishnieiits have obtained av large an output from a .')2 or ."i^l-hour week as from a liaiger one. 3. While a .'lO-liour week may be feasible tor a limited numlier nf establish- ments, the weight of experience was so unfavorable as to indicate clearly that under present conditions it is not an economic work-week for Ihe industry as a whole. If all such hindrances as inefficient management, irregular hours, short time by iiieceworkers. and arbitrary restriction were eliminated, and a genuine spirit of cooperation were .secured, it is po.ssible that a .'i(l-liour week would be as productive as a lon.ger one. 4. -V 4S-hour week will not maintain production at a niiiximnni under present conditions nor without radical dianges in operating methods. The.se conclusions relate only to factory production, and "do not take account of the question as to wliether a work- week v'liicli will not maintain such factory production at a inaxinium, at least for the time being, may nevertheless be ju.stifiable cai broad social grounds." PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR IN THE ANTHRACITE COAL MINES.i BY PAVI, F. HRISSKXDEN. By the terms of the wage agreement entered into on May 5. 1916, the workday in the anthracite coal fields was reduced from nine to eio-ht hours. This change, which constituted an 11 per cent reduction I Monthly Review. Bureau of Labor Statistics, August, 1917. 72 EIGHT-HOUR WORKIKG DAT. in working time, went into effect on Maj' 9, 1916. The eight-hour workday, was, therefore, in effect for 7 months and 23 days and the nine-hour workday for 4 months and 8 days during the year 1916, and the nine-hour workday during all of the year 1915. During the months inmiediately following the adoption of the eight-hour day there was a considerable reduction not only in output but in the number of men employed in and about the anthracite mines. In fact, there were fewer men employed in the anthracite fields in 1916 than there had been at any previous pei-iod since 1904. Making use of figures furnished by the Federal Trade Commission the Department of Labor has prepared the following table showing the relative production in this industry during the calendar years 191.-. and 1916: AntliriirUc coal ijioiliirtion. XiiniliPi- of wm-kmen eiuployeil : lOlo. 1916. Cuntnict miners 41,757 .39.390 Contraft mlner.s' laboi-ers ' 32, ."95 24,9.57 other inside labor 44,m> 4U, 806 outsifie labor 40.230 37,756 Total 1.59,.391 142,909 PfotUiction of foal in gross tons 72.279.944 71.248.807 Average number of (lay.- worked 230 2.53 Man-days worked by miners and miners' laborers 17. 067, 087 16, 180, 303 Man-days worketl by all labor 3.5, .599, .300 34. .524. 266 Output per man-day for miners and miners' laborers, ^'ros< tons 4,08 4.20 Output per man-day for all labor, gross tons 2.03 2,06 Per r-ent of increased inciduftion per man-day, 1916 over 191.5, for miners and miners' laborers 2. 90 Per lent of increased production per man-day, 1916 ■ iVHr 1915. for all labor 1,40 The figures for a nnmljer of woi-kmen employed are based upon reports furnished by 11 railroad coal companie.s and "24 of the so- called independent coal compa,nies. which together contribute about 90 per cent of the total output of the anthracite field. The average number of day,s worked is based upon individual reports of the •3.5 companies considered and the product of this average and the number of workmen employed gives the number of " man-days "" worked. The output per " man-day "' is obtained by dividing the nunil)er of pross ton- produced by the number of "man-days" worked. The number of employees of the 11 railroad coal companies in 1916 was s.s per cent les- than it was in 191,5. and the total labor EIGHT-HOUR WOEKIXG DAY. 73 toict' of the 24 independent companies was 19 per cent less in 1916 than in 1915. The whole force of labor employed in the anthracite fields Avas 10.3 per cent less in 1916 than in 1915. This is a greater proportionate reduction than tlie reduction in output, which con- stituted 8.9 per cent for the V2 railroad coal companies. The figures show that the output for the 35 largest anthracite operators, pro- ducing over 90 per cent of the entire output, was 7-2379M4: gross tons in 1915 and decreased to 71.248,807 gross tons in 1916, showing a decrease of 1,031,137 gross tons, or 1.4 per cent as compared with that of the previous year. For the 11 railroad coal companies this decrease for the whole year constituted only 158,181 gross tons, or (1.3 per cent of their 1915 output, while for the other 24 operators it was 873,056 gross tons, or 7.1 per cent of their 1915 output. As would he expected, the loss in number of laborers was made up in part by an increase in 191<; of the number of days worked. The 24 independent companies operated their mines 254 days in 1916, as compared with 248 days in 1915, and the railroad companies oper- ated their collieries 246 days in 1916. while they worked only 223 days in 1915. The independents' operating time was thus increased 2.4 per cent in 1916 and that of the railroad companies 10.3 per cent. Among the railroad coal companies there is a wide difference in the percentage of increase in number of days worked. In the case of the Lehigh Coal & Xavigation Co. there was an actual decrease in days worked, that company operating in 1916 only 225 days, whereas in 1915 it operated 244 days. All the other companies show an increase in nvimber of days worked, ranging from 3 per cent for the Pennsylvania Coal Co. to 26.1 for the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Ii'on Co. In spite of the hea^y decrease in the labor supply (8.8 i^er cent for the 11 railroad coal companies and 19 per cent for the independents) , the number of " man-days '' worked in the col- lieries decreased only 2.3 per cent for the railroad coal companies and 18.5 per cent for the independents. The closest approximation to the productivity of anthracite labor in 1916 may be reached from a study of the output per " man-daj'." The 11 railroad companies had an output per " man-day " for miners and miners' laborers of 4.14 gross tons in 1916. as compared with 4.12 gross tons in 1915. The 24 independent operators show an out- put per " man-day '" of 4.41 gross tons in 1916, as compared with 3.93 gross tons in 1915. This indicates that there was an increase in the output per " man-day '' of 0.5 per cent for the 11 railroad coal companies and 12.2 per cent for the 24 independent companies, tliese two groups representing at least 90 per cent of the total anthra- 74 EIGHT-HOUR WOKKIKG DAY. cite output. The coiiesponding figures for output for all laborers are not quite so favorable. The output per •' man-day "" for the 11 railroad companies was 1.'.»h gross tons in l'.>l(i and ^M gross tons in 1915, indicating a (U-crea>e in output per "man-day" of 2.9 per cent. The 2-1 independents. howe\-er. sllo^^• a considerable increase, their output for 1916 being 2.17 gross tons and for 191.".. 1.97 gi'oss tons, an increase for 191G over 191.") of 10.2 per cent. Four of the railroad coal companies had an increased output per •' man-day " for 1916. as compared with 191.3. i. e.. 7.9 per cent for the Delaware. Lackawanna & AA'estern Kailroad Co.. .j.S per cent for the Penn- sylvania Coal Co.. 7.."i per cent for the Susquehanna Coal Co.. and 3.-3 for the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co. In view of the fact that the miners" workday w:is shortened by 11 per cent in all collieries on .May i>. 191<'i. tlie increased output ])er man-day is all the more remarkable. It has been noted that there was a decrease of 2.'.i per cent in the total per man-day output of the railroad coal companies. .Seven of these companies .showed a decrease and four an increase in per man-day output. Only in the case of Coxe Bros. Co. did the decrease in output per man-day reach the 11 per cent decrease effected in the length of the workday. The bulletins of the United States Ceological Survey on "The Mineral Eesources of the United States " report the average coal tonnage per anan per day. by years, from 1890 to 191."). inclusive. The section of their tabular statement on this subject which pertains to antliracite is reprinted herewith. ANTHRACITE COAL PRODLCEIl PEK MAX EMPLO'iEL), lsgo-191.5. [Source: V. S. Geological Survev. Mineral Resources of the Uniled Slates. Coal in 1915— Part A. Produc Uon, p. 36.3.] Year. ' ' ' i ' \f ,.„ Average , Average I tl Day- I tonnage ' tonnage : I ni/«-ori "nrke'l.ipermanl per man ; I P'°^ '"■ per day. per year. ; Men em- ployed. 1890--.. 1891.--- 1892.--- 1893-..- 1*94- -.- 1893.--. 1896.... 1897.--- 1898.-.- 1899...- 1900 ■ 144;206 ; 1901 ' H.3,309 i 1902 14S,H1 126,000 128,3.50 129,050 1.32,944 131,603 142,917 ' 148,991 149,884 145,504 139,608 200 203 ' 198 197 ' 190 I 196 174 i 150 i 132 j 17:f 166 ] 196 116 1 1.83 I 1.9s 2.06 2.06 2.08 2.07 2.10 2.34 2.41 2. .50 I 2.40 2.3T 2. 4M 369 I 1903 1.50,483 401 1; 1904 1.5.5,861 407 , 1905 165,406 406 i 1906 1*2,3.55 .395 I 1907 167,234 406 I 1908 174,174 363 I 1910 169,497 :i.51 I 1911 172,383 367 i 1912 174,030 433 : 1913 175,745 398 ! 1914 179,679 464 1 1913 178,5.52 279 ' [.Vverage ! .Vverap*. Days > tonnage ] tonnage ivnrke'l. ; perman t per man ' per day. I per year. 2U6 200 : 21.-. 195 I 220 200 229 I 248 I 231 237 245 I 230 1 2.41 2. 35 2. l^ 2. 23 2.33 2.39 i 2.17 2.13 2.10 : 2.02 2.06 2.19 496 469 470 439 .512 498 324 485 .520 505 .504 EIGHT-HOUR WOBKING DAY. 75 All examination of tlieso figures sliows that more than once since 1890 the tonnage per man per day has decreased from one year to the next by an appreciable ainoimt. Without any change in the work- ing day the tonnage per man per day decreased from 2.35 gross tons in 1904 tf) 2.18 gross tons in liJO."), again from 1908 to 1910 the ton- nage per man per day decreased from 2.39 to 2.17 gross tons, and this decrease continued in 1911, 1912, and 1913, being 2.13, 2.10, and 2.02 gross tons, I'espectively, in the years mentioned. The foregoing evidence in regard to the effect of the eight-hour day upon the productivity of the mines is reinforced by the testimony of the anthracite operators. At a recent conference with the Fed- eral Trade Commission they testified that it was their belief that the efficiency of the anthracite mine worker had not been diminished, but on the contrary had probably been increased to a slight extent since the introduction of the eight-hour day. They said, however, that it could not be inferred from this increase in production per man-day that there had been a corresponding increase in erticiency, because the increase in producti\ity per man-day was very largely due to the fact that the miner in 1916 did his work under much more favorable conditions than in 191."). Because of the shrinkage in the labor force and the unusually strong demand for coal it was necessary to confine operations as far as possible to the thick veins, and in gen- eral to work chiefly in those veins from Avhich the greatest amount of coal could be taken in the shortest jiossible time. It is interesting to note that the total anthracite production in 1917 is materially in excess of the production for 1916. According to figui'es furnished by the Anthracite Bureau of Information the production in May of this year was 6.917..V25 tons, as against 5,547,899 tons for May of last year, and the production in 1917 up to and including May was 30,618,056 tons, as against 27,784.690 tons for the same period last year. In conclusion, the evidence seems to be decisive that such decrease in productivity as did occur during the months following the intro- duction of the eight-hour day was due to a marked falling off in the number of employees and not to the shortening of the workday. Judging from the figures given it appears that no gain in pro- duction would result from increasing the hours of labor in the anthracite mines at the present time. If greater production is to be obtained it would seem that some other method than increasing the number of hours per day must be devised. 76 EIGHT-HOTJB WORKING DAY. EFFECT OF REDUCTION OF HOURS UPON PRODUCTION IN A TOOL-MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENT.' The experience; of a tool manufacturer, making high-grade tools, in reducing labor turnover, eliminating lost time, and, with a reduc- tion of hours of about 9 per cent, securing an increase in production of 10 per cent, has been told by John M. Williams, secretary of Fayette E. Plumb (Inc.). of Philadelphia, in an address entitled " An Actual Account of What We Have Done to Reduce Our Labor Turnover," delivered before the Philadelphia Association for the Discussion of Employment Problems, March 5, 1917. Before pre- senting the results of the experience of this company, it is necessary to say, in order to afford opportunity for properly judging the results, that the firm is over 60 years old and has been engaged from the beginning in making high-grade tools. A cost system had been installed in the factory at great expense and was regarded as most efficient in securing results. It is stated that such changes as were brought about were not due in any degree to the fact that the employees were low grade or underpaid. Of the several results accomplished by the establishment, only the second relating to the effect of the reduction in hours upon output is here reproduced in the words of the secretary of the firm. Seconil. — Rp/liir-tioii in lifiurH from .574 hours to 521 hours. During the period wlien men were so liard to get we tried to analyze the cause for men eitlier not hiring witli us or not staying with us and the em- ployment department made the following report as to one of tlie contributing causes, viz : " Our work from its very nature is hard and laborious, tiring men out, compared with work in the average factory. " We figure that in order to hold our men, and make our plant attractive to new men it is necessary to reduce our week from 'ill hovirs to o2J hours, with no reduction in pay. " Vi'e figure it will not decrease our production, but will raise it." After some discussion their report was adopted, and on Decemljer 4. 1916. all day rates were raised so that the jiay equaled or slightly betterecl on a 52i-hour basis the old pay on a .57i-hour basis. All piece rates were carefully analyzed and adjusted in every case where the shorter hours affected the pay of the producers. The results sfteak for themselves. The men felt better and appreciated our action. It is nnich easier to hire men than before. The weekly production is one of our worst departments in spite of the shorter hours has Increased 18.4 per cent and in the entire plant 10 per cent. 1 Monthly Review of L'nlted States Bureau of Labor Statistics for June, 1977, pp. 844- 845. BIGHT-HOtm WORKING DAY. 77 REDUCED HOURS AND THE OUTPUT OF STEEL FORGINGS.i On January 2 last, after consultation witli the leading woi'kuien, notice was given that the worlds would, on March 1, be rut on the basis of a 9-hour day with 10 hours pay, running 54 hours weekly for the wages theretofore paid for 60 hours. This concession, made voluntarily and unasked, was received cordially by the men, who have shown their appreciation by working closely up to the full 9 hours. Experience thus far has shown the 9-hour day to be profitable, for the output of the works is slightly larger than before. A com- parison of a large number of orders executed on the 9-hour basis with the same number of orders for the same goods executed under similar conditions on the 10-hour basis shows a slightly average gain in favor of the 9-hour day. There is a slightly larger average output for the 9-hour day than for the 10-hour day, though in every other respect the work was done under similar conditions. There is throughout an increased rate of hourly output and a total output somewhat larger for the shorter working time. The 9-hour day has been a gain and not a loss — demonstrably so where exact data can be had, satisfactorily so even where the full details can not be secured. This result is believed to depend in large degree upon the willing iiud helpful spirit that exists in the works i- * *. J. H. Williams & Co. believe that such success as has been obtained arises largely because and not in spite of the high and continuous wages paid to their working force, and recognize thoroughly the intelligence, efficiency, and, last but not least, the good will of that working force. While none can estimate exactly the difference in production in the same works between a force of men justly treated, earnest and zealous in their work, and a similar force working , merely because they must live, the writer believes the difference between these two, under conditions otherwise similar, may be that between ruin and dividends. Again, it should be said that the things above suggested are done not as charity, but as matters of justice, as privileges, and as sources of profit. The course thus far taken will be followed because it is both a pleasant and a profitable one. It pays because a man is more than a machine, and the policy which treats him as a machine ignores one of the greatest factors in produc- tion, viz., human nature. It pays because the rate of wages is not the chief factor in' cost, but the rate of production. A clean man produces more in the long run than a dirty man. A well-informed man produces more than an ig- norant man. A justly treated man produces more than an unjustly treated man. A contented man is a better and cheaper producer than a discontented man ^i- well-paid man is a more economic producer than an ill-paid man. It would often be well, when seeking to economize, to give less attention to the pay roll and more in other directions. . Rpnort of the United States Industrial Commission, Vol. XIV. 1901. Mr. William C. Redfield ti^asurer, I. H. Williams & Co. (Taken from The Case for the Shorter Work Day, pp. 677-679.) 78 EIGHT-HOUB WOBKING DAY. HOURS OF WORK AS RELATED TO OUTPUT IN COTTON MANU- FACTURING.i The. Xational Induwtrial Conference Board (Boston, :Ma^s.), an organization maintained by certain employers' associations, made an investigation in 1917 into the effect of reduced hours upon output in cotton manufacturing. Infonnation was obtained from 166 estab- lishments employing 116,000 workers : 109 establishments employing >:2,036 workers are located in the North, and 57 establishments em- ploying 31,347 workers are in the South. In addition to these, six factories in the Xorth which did not file schedules were visited by field workers. They employed, approximately. il.OOO operatives, maldng a total of 103.036 Northern workers, or about Is per cent of the total for this section as reported by the United States Census of Manufactures (1911). Many of the figiue> given relate to tht^ period 1911 and 1912 when conditions were wholly different from what they are at the present. Schedules returned by manufacturers show that the prevailing hours of work in the Northern cotton mills are 54 and under 56 hours per week, while the prevailing work week in .Southern cotton mills was 60 hours. The Saturday half-holiday was foimd to be al- most universal. Cotton mill work, it is pointed out. is automatic; high speed ma- chinery is employed: many women and minors are engaged in it; and the nationality of the labor force is somewhat shifting. HOURS AND OTTTPUT. The report notes a number of difficulties encountered in securing comparable data— great range in size (counts) and strength (twists) of yarn and the great variety of weaves in cloth; idleness of many of the looms because of lack of worlf or change from one weave to another: atmospheric and climatic conditions affecting the cotton fiber: and the fact that changes in the hours of work in many of the Northern mills were made early in 1912. making it quite out of the question to compare figures of output in 1917 under a 51-hour 1 Hours of work as relatPd to output and henUh of workors. rotion manufacturing. Re- search Report No. 4. :\rar(-h. mis. Xational Industrial Conterpnre r.oard. Bo'-ton. 191.« ft* PP. The Xational luilustrial Conference Board '■ is a cooperative bod.v composprl of repre- sentatives of national industrial associations and organized to provide a clearing bouse of information, n forum for constructive discussion, and macbinery for cf.ojiei-attve action oil matters that vitally nffect the industrial development of the Xation," EIGHT-HOXTE WORKING DAY. 79 schedule with those in 1911 under ii ()5-hour Nchedide as si measure of tile effect of the reduction in hours on output. It is not generally stated what effect such factors as changes in efficiency and speed of machinery, changes in efficiency in management, and changes in the cliaracter of the working force during the period under investigation may have had upon output. These factors have not been segregated or considered in their effect upon the output, except in those in- stances where it was found that output was maintained or increased under reduced hours; if output was decreased under reduced hours it is not stated whether the factors mentioned played any part in that resuh. Of 95 Northern mills (7:5.-117 workers) reporting a reduction in hours, only six (5,(140 workers) stated that production was main- tained when hours of work were reduced, while 64 (43.545 workers) indicate a falling off in output. The report calls attention to the fact that even this rather exceptional showing as r('si)ects mainte- nance of output may be explained by si>ecial considerations broiiglu out in statements from the employers, namely, that several of the mills were manufacturing special lines of products, that in one case there was change in management, and in two cases the reduction in hours was very slight. As to the 64 establishments reijorting a de- crease in output under shorter hours, it appears that in most cases the reduction in output was stated to be about proportional to the reduction in hours. ^A'hethcr. as alreaily explained, the number and character of the employees I'emained the same; whether the management remained equally efficient or was in any manner changed during the period of the experiment is not stated in this connection, nor the effect wliich tliis would have upon the cost of production. In -20 Southern mills reporting on reduction in hours, four (1.707 workers) stated that production had been maintained, while 16 (13.162 workers) stated that there had been a decrease in output un- der a reduction in hours from an average of about 63. S to 59.4 per week. The effect on output accompanying a reduction in hours in both northern and southern establishments is set forth in the follow- ing table as given in the report: 80 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. EFFECT OF REDUCTION OF HOURS ON OUTPUT. Efloct on output accompanying reduction in hours. EstablL Number. ] hments. Per cent of total. H. :i 67.4 26.3 Emp Number. loyees. Per cent of total. 59! 3 33.0 Average hours per week. Before reduction. .57.3 .-.7.2 .56.5 After reduction. Nortlieni mills: ( 6 i 84 - 25 ; 5,640 43, .545 24,232 .34.0 53.4 Effect not reported 54.1 95 1 100.0 73,417 100.0 Soutliern mills- 4 1 16 , 15 11.4 45.7 42.9 1,797 13, 162 7,083 S.2 .59.7 32.1 65.5 l>3.8 64.7 60.0 Output decreased 59.4 69.7 Total 35 1 100.0 22,042 100.0 Reduction in hours of work in northern cotton mills from 58 or 56 to 55 or 54 have, according to the report in a great majority of cases, resulted in " an approximately proportional reduction in out- put." Because of the large number of influences involved, a precise measurement of the effect of any one is almost impossible, but the evidence establishes that the reductions in hours were largely respon- sible. In some instances a part of the loss, it is stated, was promptly made up by increased efficiency of workers, but this experience was not general. Eventually improvements in equipment, in methods of management, and in other respects, often brought total output per employee up to that previously attained under a longer week. This^ however, necessitated a material increase in investment. Such limited data as are available for southern mills indicate that hours in excess of 60 per week do not necessarily yield a materially larger output than do 60 hours. Reductions below a 60-hour sched- ule, however, it is stated, usually resulted in substantial decreases in output. At the same time it is observed that " the margin of lost time appears to be considerably larger " in the southern than in the northern cotton miUs. But what effect this may have upon the cost of production is not stated. ACTUAL RESULTS OF PRODUCTION UNDER REDUCED HOURS OF WORK IN VARIOUS MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS.! The portion of the investigation which was especially directed to an examination of the results of the operation of manufacturing estab- 1 Eight Hours for Laborers on Government Work. Report by the Hon. Victor M. Met- calf, Secretary Department of Commerce and Labor, on H. E. 4064 (eight-hour bill) 1904 pp. 61-109. BIGHT-HOTJR WOEKING DAY. 81 lishments which had within recent years made a reduction in hours of work and could make a definite comparison of results after the re- duction with results in the same establishments before reduction covered in all 396 establishments. The schedule of inquiries used in securing data for this comparison has already been given and need not be repeated here. The main points of the comparison, it may be said, related to cost of manufacture and to quantity of product per employee, and whether, where the quantity of product fell off, a greater number of work people was employed or an increase was made in the number of days in the year on which the work was carried on. It was the purpose in the -investigation to seek manufacturing establishments operating on the eight-hour basis in whatever indus- try they might be found and to ascertain the effect in actual practice of the decrease in working hours upon such matters as wages, cost of manufacture, quantity of product, number of employees, and days of running time. Such establishments were known to be numerous in cigar making, stone and granite cutting, and the building (and allied) trades. But the number of establishments, outside of the industries named, which had adopted the eight-hour day was linown to be small. Manufacturers generally do not accept the result in these industries as fairly representative of manufacturing. Condi- tions, they claim, are quite different in the factory, the machine shop, the blast furnace, the shipyard, and in manufacturing generally. Competition in both home and foreign markets is more severe — the margin of profit in most industries is small. The number of eight-hour establishments being so small, data for comparison were also sought where a reduction from 10 to 9 hours per day or any other substantial reduction had been made and a definite statement could be given of the results under the shorter day and under the previous. longer workday. A reduction, such as from 10 to 9 hours per day (or 60 to 54 hours per week) , could not, it was real- ized, be looked upon as indicating accurately the results to be ex- pected from a further reduction to eight hours per day. At the same time in the absence of a considerable number of establishments which had tried the eight-hour day, such instances were considered as worthy of study. In following out the investigation as above indicated 396 estab- lishments were found in which a reduction in hours had been made and a statement of the results as compared with the results under the 72310—18 6 82 EIGHT-HOUR WOBKING DAY. longer workday previously in force could be given. These were engaged in 83 different industries. The reduction in hours affected 129,102 employees, while 17,039 persons employed in the same estab- lishments had no reduction in hours. Of the 83 industries the more important are given in the following table : Indmtry. Bituminous coal mining Boots and shoes Building trades Clocks and watches Electrical apparatus and supplies Foundry and machine-shop products Shipbuilding Total Number Number of em- of estab- ployees. lishments. 3,496 4 8,944 11 6,175 25 7,150 3 9,201 5 35,598 119 9,425 7 79,989 j 174 Of the 396 establishments, 47, or 11.9 per cent, made a reduction to the eight-hour day (48 hours per week) , 57, or 14.4 per cent, made a reduction to less than 48 hours, and 292, or 73.7 per cent, made a substafetial reduction, but still had a workday longer than eight hours. The greater part of those working less than 48 hours per week were in the building and allied trades, and the very short day is due to the Saturday half holiday which is so common in the larger cities. Thus the 44-hour week is the eight-hour day with a Saturday half holiday. The 54-hour week (nine-hour day was reported in 216 establishments, or 54.5 per cent of the whole number, a shorter week in 154 establishments, or 39 per cent, and a longer week in but 26, or 6.5 per cent. The number of establishments reporting a reduction to the nine- hour day (54 or 53 hours per week) are practically all in two classes, from 60 to 54 per week, 175 establishments, and from 59 to 54 per week, 30 establishments. The 216 establishments represent a great variety of industries. The following table permits a study to be made of daily wages as affected by the reduction in hours of labor. It shows for the estab- lishments classified, according to the amount of the reduction in hours of labor per week, the number of establishments reporting no change in daily wages, the number reporting a decrease in daily wages, and the number reporting a decrease in daily wages of the same per cent as the reduction in hours, the number a smaller per cent, and the number a larger per cent. EIGHT-HOTJR WORKING DAY. 83 CHANGES IN DAILY WAGES ACCOMPANYING THE REDUCTION IN HOURS, ACCORD- ING TO THE AMOUNT OF THE REDUCTION IN HOURS. Establish- ments re- porting no change in daily wages. Establishments reporting a de- crease in daily wages. Establish- ments re- porting an increase in daily wages. Reduction in hours per week of— Same per cent as reduction in hours. Smaller per cent than re- duction in hours. Larger per cent than re- duction in hours. Total es- tablish- ments. 2 8 13 43 183 8 2 40 1,7 2 1 1 2 7 1 1 3 24 2 1 7 3 10 4 or under 5 hours 1 1 5 16 3 1 52 220 10 8 or under 9 hours 3 47 10 hours or over 1 14 1 36 Total . 316 8 25 5 42 396 It will be seen from the above table that of the 396 establishments investigated 316, or 79.8 per cent, reported no reduction in daily wages resulting from the reduction in houis of labor. In 25 other establishments the reduction in the daily wages was a smaller per cent than the accompanying reduction in hours, while in only 13 cases was the wage reduction proportional to or greater than the reduction in hours. In 42 establishments, or 10.6 per cent, an in- crease in daily wages wrs made at the time of the reduction in hours of labor. In the table above these facts are given arranged according to the amount of the reduction in hours. The effect of the reduction in hours per week upon the cost of manufacture is shown in the following table, the establishments being presented by the hours of reduction classified. Under each group are also shown the number of establishments in which no in- creased cost resulted and the number in which there was an in- creased cost, with the per cent of the increase. In this table are in- cluded only those establishments in which the result was said to be due entirely to the changes in hours and wages, and not in any re- spect to such modifying causes as higher speeded or improved ma- chinery, changes in methods of work, etc. According to the statements which were made by manufacturers, in connection with the reports relating to the effect of the reduction of hours of labor in their establishments upon cost of manufacture and the quantity of product per employee, it appeared that about 40 per cent of the manufacturers based their statements upon care- ful keeping of cost figures both before and after the change, while 84 EIGHT-HOUE WOEKING DAT. the remainder of the manufacturers spoke from a general familiarity ■with their business. EFFECT OF REDUCTION IN HOUES PEE WEEK UPON COST OF MANUFACTURE. [In all cases here given it was reported that the result was due entirely to changes in hours of labor, or daily wages.] Eeductions in hours per week of— Number of establish- ments with no increase in cost of manufac- ture. Number of establish- ments with increase in cost of manufac- ture. Under 3 hours 3 or under 4 hours. . . 4 or under 5 hours. . . 5 or under 6 hours. . . 6 or under 7 hours. . , 7 or under 8 hours. . . 8 or under 9 hours. . . 9 or under 10 hours.. 10 hours or over Total- 4 , 16 2 35 leg 1 45 23 ' Including 1 establishment in which there was a decrease in cost of manufacture . It will be seen from the above that, out of 334 establishments covered, 37., or 11.1 per cent, found no increase in cost of manufac- ture resulting from the reduction in hours and such changes in wages as in a few cases were made at that time, while 297, or 88.9 per cent, found that cost of manufacture was increased. The 297 establishments having an increase in the cost of manu- facture are classified as follows: Those having Increase in cost of manufacture : ^'"™t'er ot establishments. Under 3 per cent 15 3 or under 4 per cent 13 4 or under 5 per cent 14 5 or under 6 per cent 25 6 or under 7 per cent 12 7 or under 8 per cent 17 8 or under 9 per cent 8 9 or under 10 per cent 6 10 or under 11 per cent 81 11 or under 12 per cent 47 12 or under 15 per cent 22 15 or under 20 per cent 23 20 per cent or over . 14 Total with an increase in cost of manufacture 297 In similar form is the following table showing the effect of the reduction in hours per week upon quantity of product per employee. As in the preceding table, only those establishments are included in which the result was said to be due entirely to the changes in hours EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. 85 and wages, and not in any respect to such modifying causes as higher speeded or improved machinery or changes in methods of work, etc. EFFECT OF REDUCTION IN HOURS PER WEEK UPON QUANTITY OF PRODUCT. tin all the cases here given it was reported that the result was due entirely to changes in hours of labor or daily wages.] Reduction in hours per week of— Number of establish- ments with no increase in quan- tity of pro- duction. Number of establish- ments with a decrease in quantity of produc- tion. Under 3 hours... 1 1 2 15 14 2 1 8 11 35 *> oviiTidAr 7hours 168 7 or under 8 hours 6 s nr finder 9 honrs 1 2 4 45 25 '31 300 > Including one establishment ia which there was an increase of 2.3 per cent in the quantity of product. This table does not include 3 establishments in which the change in the quantity of product was not reported. In 1 of these establish- ments the reduction of hours was 5, or under 6, and in 2 other estab- lishments the reduction of hours was 6, or under 7. It appears from the above table that out of 334 establishments cov- ered 31, or 9.3 per cent, reported no decrease in quantity of product as a result of the reduction in hours and the accompanying changes in wages found in a few instances. On the other hand, in 303 estab- lishments, or 90.7 per cent, a decrease in product did result- The 303 establishments having a decrease in quantity of production are classified as follows : Those having a decrease iu quantity of product Under 3 per cent 3 or under 4 per cent 4 or under 5 per cent Number of establishments. o or under 6 per cent ^^ 6 or under 7 per cent 7 or under 8 per cent S or under 9 per cent !) or under 10 per cent 10 or under 11 per cent 11 or under 12 per cent 12 or under 15 per cent 15 or under 20 per cent 20 per cent or over Itate per cent not reported 9 16 5 159 47 5 16 12 3 Total, with a decrease- SOS 86 EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAY. Reduction in quantity of product per employee means, of course, a smaller output for the establishment and a smaller business, unless offset by an increased number of employees, a larger num- ber of days of running time at the reduced hours, or improved machinery or methods. Those establishments in which, as a result of the reduction in hours, it was necessary to increase employees or days of running time or both in order to keep up the output, are shown in the following table, classified according to the amount of reduction in hours : ESTABLISHMENTS REPORTING IT NECESSARY TO INCREASE NUMBER OF EM- PLOYEES OR DAYS OR RUNNING TIME TO OFFSET DECREASE IN QUANTITY OF PRODUCT. Per cent oJ decrease in quantity of product caused by reduction of hours. Establish- ments increasing number of employees, also dajs of runnmg time. Establish- ments increasing number of employees but not increasing days of run- ning time. i Establish- I ments increasing ! days of t running time but i not increas-i ing numberi of em- ployees. Total. 4 or under 5 per cent . . . 5 or under 6 per cent . . . 6 or under 7 per cent . . . 7 or under 8 per cent . . . 8 or under 9 per cent . . . 9 or under 10 per cent . . 10 or under 11 per cent . 11 or under 12 per cent . 12 or under 15 per cent . 15 or under 20 per cent . 20 per cent or over Total. 16 1 12 4 6 12 3 108 37 I o 8 14 1 210 i 1 13 4 7 14 3 120 39 5 9 16 232 The above table does not include 24 establishments l-t of Avhich made no report as to whether or not it was necessarj' to increase the number of employees or the running time after the reduction of hours: f> others reported an increase in the number of employees, but' failed to give the rate of decrease in the quantity of product ; and 4 establish- ments, in which there was no change in the quantity of product after the reduction of hours, also reported an increase in the number of employees. Of the 14 establishments making no report as to whether or not it was necessary to increase the number of employees or running time after the reduction of hours, 1 showed a decrease of 7, or under 8 per cent, in the quantity of product: 3 a decrease of ^. or under 9 per cent : 1 a decrease of 9. or under 10 per cent ; 4 a decrease of 10, or under 11 per cent; 1 a decrease of 12. or under 1-5 per cent; and 4 establishments reported that there was no change in the quantity of product after the reduction of hours. EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAY. 87 _ It ^-ill thus be seen that out of the 396 establishments investigated m regaixl to the reduction in hours of labor which they had made. 226, or 57.1 per cent, reported that in consequence of a decrease in output under the shorter workday it had been necessary to increase the number of employees. This includes 16 establishments in which It was necessary to increase, not only the number of employees, but tlie number of workdays in the year as well. In 6 other establish- ments it was necessary to increase the number of workdays, but not the running time. In the table above these facts are shown, arranged according to the per cent of decrease in the quantity of product. ZEISS OPTICAL WORKS, JENA, GERMANY.i The operation of these works was changed from a 9-hour to an 8-hour basis in 1900. In studying the effect of this change upon efficiency, comparison is made between the earnings of pieceworkers during the year preceding the change and the year following. The compai'ison involves 233 workmen. All were excluded whose out- put might have been affected by special causes, such as ill health, and also all who had not been in the firm's employ for at least four years and who were not at least 22 years of age. Piece rates re- mained the same. lender the 8-hour system, as compared with the superseded 0-hour system, the hourly earnings of pieceworkers increa.sed l(i.2 per cent. This represents a greater daily output than before, inasmuch us a pieceworker, piece rates remaining the same, need only increase his hourly earnings 12J per cent in order to produce as much, and thus obtain the same earnings under an 8-hour day as under a 9-hour day. iloreover, the increase of 16.2 per cent referred to was fairlv imiform for different occupations and for workers of different age groups. ENGIS CHEMICAL WORKS, NEAR LIEGE, BELGIUM.-' Engaged in the manufacture of zinc blend and sulphuric acid. Principal employment of labor, oven tending. Started in 1888 with system of two 12-hour shifts. Changed four years later to the plan of three S-hour shifts. Under the 12-hour shifts there were 10 hours 1 Abbg, Ernst. Die. Volkwerbschaftliclie Bedeutung der Verkiirzung des Industriellen arbeitstages. Jena, 1901. Digest in Goldmark's " Fatigue and Efficiency." New Tork, 1912. pp. 155-166. = Fremont, L. G. Une experience industrielle de rSduction de la Jonrnge de travail. Brussels. Leipzig, etc., 1906. (Institut Solvay.) Digest in Goldmark's "Fatigue and Efficiency." New York, 1912. pp. Ii4-15.1. 88 EIGHT-HOXJB WORKING DAY. of actual work. Under the 8-hour shifts there were 7J hours of actual work. The furnaces were thus operated 22| hours out of the 24, as against 20 hours previously. Within six months after the change was effected the workers had equaled in 7^ hours the previous output of 10 hours, and the daily earnings for 7 J hours' work, equaled the amount formerly earned in 10 hours. The total cost of production was reduced 20 per cent and the quality of the output improved. Also it was noted that the morale of the workers, as well as their physique, was raised to a much higher level. SALFORD IRON WORKS, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.i Engaged in the manufacture of steam engines, pumping ma- chinery, electrical machinery, etc. Xumber of employees, 1,200, about one-third being pieceworkers. For the six years prior to 1893 the hours of labor had been 54 per week during the first part of the period and 53 during the latter part. In 1893 a 48-hour week was intro- duced and careful records kept of costs and output for a year. Xo change occurred in the character of the work done, and the wages remained the same as before. At the end of a year's time it was found that the amount of output for the year was slightly greater than the average of the six preceed- ing years. Savings were affected in " wear and tear," fuel, etc., which balanced an increase of 0.4 per cent in wage cost. The reduction of hours also led to a rearrangement of working time. Previously it had been the custom of employees to have two-meal periods at the plant, breakfast and lunch. With the shorter day the men had break- fast before coming to work. This was regarded as beneficial to the men and to their families as well as to the work. CLEVELAND HARDWARE CO.2 Tlie Cleveland Hardware Co.. a concern employing several thou- sand men, had a regular working day three years ago of nine hours. For years the company had experienced a busy season in the middle of the winter, during which it was customary to work one hom- over- time. Three years ago when the time came for going on the 10-hour schedule, the management, which had been studying the matter, de- cided to run straight through the busy seas9n on the old nine-hour schedule. Superintendents and foremen were horrified. They ex- ' " Eight Hours for Laborers on Government Work." A report of the Secretary of Com- merce and Labor to the House Committee on Labor. Washington, 1905. pp. 78-81. 2 From the Survey (New York) for Feb. 2, 1918, pp. i'.n-V.i'u EIGHT-HOUR WOEKIKG DAY. 89 pressed the belief that the compiiny would not be aljle to fill its orders. Nevertheless, the rule was adopted and overtime was abolished. At the end of the year when they checked up results, they found that It had been the year of largest production in the historv of the com- pany. The next year when the time for the busv season arrived, in- stead of trying to meet it with the regular working schedule, the man- agement took an hour off, and the whole force went on the eight-hour day. Again, foremen and superintendents expressed their misgivings and again the workers produced more goods than ever before, exceed- ing their work of the previous year. Last winter the Cleveland Hardware Co. carried its experiment one step further. There is a large steam hammer in the plant, which proved inadequate for the handling of all the work to be done. It was decided to install another hammer of similar type. While it was being installed the work was piling up and the men proposed that they work in shifts of six hours each, instead of eight. Only two men are employed on the hammer, so it was not an extensive ex- periment. It is interesting to note, however, that after taking two hours more from their working day, each team of men working six hours so greatly increased their eificiency that they' were able to turn out very nearly as great a product in six hours as they had formerly done in eight. From the men's point of view, the experiment was not entirely satisfactory, for on a piecework basis their earnings were not quite as great as before. After the new hammer was installed, they went back to the eight-hour schedule. The experiment did show, how- ever, that at least in that kind of work the maximum of human effi- ciency is to be expected in a working day somewhere between six and eight hours in length. JOSEPH & FEISS CO.'S CLOTH CRAFT SHOPS, CLEVELAND, OHIO.i At the Cloth Craft Shops of the Joseph ct Feiss Co. in Cleve- land, the standard working day is eight hours, and the weekly hours up to January, 1917, were 44. At that time the management pro- posed to the employees that the shop shut down on Saturday alto- gether, and that the four hours formerly worked on Saturday be dis- tributed through the other five days of the week. The idea was based on the known fact that the employees — or at any rate the girls, who are in the majority — frequently do housework in addition to their work in the factory, and are, consequently, imder an added physical "■From the Survey (New York) for Feb. 2, 191S, p. 495. 90 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. strain. Some, even if they have no general housework to do, make their own clothes or do their own laundry work. It was believed under the circumstances that two full days of freedom from the fac- tory would react favorably on individual efficiency in the shop. The result has more than justified the expectation. It was not long before the workers were accomplishing as much in five days as they formerly did in five and one-half, and doing it within the eight-hour limit, too. Advantage can now be taken of the week-end as never before. Some of the employees go to the country on Friday night and return refreshed and invigorated late Sunday afternoon. CASE FOR THE SHORTER WORKDAY. The brief in the case of Bunting v. The State of Oregon, in the Supreme Court of the United States in 1915, is an exposition of the experience with the shorter workday. The following pages are a summary of that brief. GENERAL SUMMARY. Certain health hazards in modern industry require the -;Uorte«ing of the hours of worli. The speeding up of modern industry, the monotony of machine operation, the unnatural stimulus of piecework constitute the strain of modern industry. Bad air, humidity, extremes of temperature, noise of machinery, ex- posure to dust, gas, fumes, and poisons are all elements which indicate a need for lengthening the hours of rest. Fatigue is a chemical process, and an overtired person is literally a person poisoned by his own waste products. Worli performed after fatigue has set in increases the hazards to health. Hence there is need to shorten hours of labor in order that the worker may maintain himself in a state of full efficiency. Additional reasons for limiting the hours of labor are the increased danger of accident arising from the effects of fatigue, general loss of moral restraint and increase of intemperance due to the same cause. Finally family and com- munity life are sacrified by excessive hours of labor. Neither leisure nor energy are left to the worker of long hours to share in the family and community life. , On the other hand, shorter hours of labor bring physical and moral benefits, strengthen the growth of temperance, inipvide a margin of leisure and recrea- tion, which are real tests of an advancing ci\ilization. laises the seueral stand- ards of living, with a ronseiiuent benefit to society and a iireater inclination on the part of the worker, liecause of increaseil periods of leisure, to take ad- vantage of opportunities for self-impro\enient and legitimate enjoyment. The welfare and safety of democracy rest upon the character and intelligence of its citizens, and for the development of morals and intelligence leisure is necessary ; hence it is essential to limit hours of labor in order that the worker may not be too exhausted to enjoy and make use of that leisure. Sliortening the hours of lalior is in the interest of the more rapid Americani- zation of the Immigrant. The " whole program of Americanization is impossi- ble unless sufficient leisure is provided after working hours to enable tht- workers to take advantage of the opportunities offered." EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. 91 The only pi-otfttion to the worker lie;? in the shorter work day hecaui^e " industries not Intrinsically dangerous and conducted under good sanitary con- ditions may become harmful through sheer lengthening of the working hours. Even the lightest worlt becomes totally exhausting when carried on for ex- cessive length of time." The universal experience of those manufacturing countries which have the longest and the short working day indicates that commercial prosperity is not hampered by the curtailment of hours, but, on the contrary, the increased effl- ciency of the workers, due to shorter working hours, together with general im- provement of industrial communities in physique and morals, reacts favorably upon output. An abundance of testimony, covering experience in the United States, tends to show that shorter hours heighten efficiency, which springs from improved physical health and energy, together with a change of attitude to- ward Mork and employers. The curtailment of hours acts as a stimulus to heightened efficiency on the part of employers, leading them to lessen or elimi- nate " lost time " by securing a steadier flow of work and materials through the factory. In view of the impression held by some that the short working day has tended to increase the cost of production, two facts may be stated : First, the labor cost is only one item, and often a small item, in the total cost of manu- facture; and, second, heightened efficiency of both employers and workers un- der shorter hours stimulates output and thus tends to equalize or even decre:i*t. the total costs. Short hours bear a -deflnite and favorable relation to waives, which tends to show that wages in industries in which the short work day has been established are almost universally higher than they are in wholly unregulated trades. " Moreover, even when the shorter daj- has resulted in a slight temporary de- crease in wages, the majority of workers have willingly suffered the reduction, in order to gain the increased health and leisure con.-iequent upon shorter hours of labor." Regularity of employment is another benefit derived from shorter hours, for " in place of alternating periods of intense overwork and periods of idleness, employers have found it possible to distribute work more evenly throughout the year." (Considerable statistical evidence is available showing that in cer- tain important manufacturing industries a trend toward shorter hours of labor is manifest, and the spread of the tendency to reduce hours in the United States during 1915 is indictaed by reference to the many establishments which have inaugurated the eight-hour day. MENACES TO NATIONAL VITALITY. The stress and strain of modern industry contain menaces to the A'italitj' of the Nation. These menaces are observed in an increase in the so-called degenerative diseases of the heart, blood vessels, and kidneys, in cancer, and in the apparently weakened power of re- sistance to such diseases in the middle aged. This increase is not confined to anv particular occupation, but is confined to the middle years of life, the period of greatest industrial activity. While the death rate of children and young persons is being cut down, the rate 92 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. for those who have reached middle life is increasing unduly: the difference is not improbably due to the greater strain and stress of modern life, tacluding under that term, hours of labor, environment, dust, fumes, and vapors produced by the work and lowering resist- ance to disease. The authorities can not be mentioned in detail. It suffices to quote from a few of the more prominent. Mr. F. L. Hoffman, statistician of the Prudential Life Insurance Co., in a study of mortality statistics of four leading cities from 1815 to 1914 notes the increase of mortality from heart disease from 103.7 in 100,000 of population (1864r-1888) to 164.6 (1889-1913) ; from nephritis, from 78.7 to 131.7 — in the four leading cities of Xew York, Boston, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. Dr. L. I. Dublin, statistician of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.. presents statistics to show an increase in death from cancer be- tween 1900 and 1910 of 30.6 per cent ; from diabetes, of 60 per cent : organic diseases of the heart, 39.3 per cent; disease of the arteries, 396.2 per cent. The factors contributing to middle age mortality " are the effects upon the body of the habits and conditions of work." " It requires no very extensive investigation," llr. HofCnian also states. " however, to estalslish the fact that a very considerable amount of the pre- vailing sickness is strictly preventable and due in a large measure to un- hygienic conditions of factory life or trades generally." An analysis of the general mortality statistics for the registration area of the United States as presented by the Federal Bureau of the Census shows the following for the year 1909 : MORTALITY AMONG OCCUPIED MALES. Those in agricultural pursuits (of all deaths). Those in 131 trades and callings (olaU deaths). Deaths from preventable causes (6.7 are diseases) Deaths from degenerative diseases (under 70 years of age) Total deaths after 70 years of age Per cent. 27.4 Per cent. 43.0 31.0 13.4 DANGER OF LONG HOURS. Eecent investigations show that not only in dangerous trades but also in all industries a permanent predisposition to disease and pre- nuiture death exist in the common phenomenon of fatigue and ex- EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAY. 93 haustion. Says Dr. Kober, in Bulletin 75 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Industrial Hygiene : One of the predisposing causes to disease is overworli or fatigue ; * ^ =' statistics of the morbidity and mortality of various occupations * * * indicate that persons habitually engaged in hard work are more frequently subject to disease and present a higher mortality rate than persons more favorably situated ; * * * that industrial workers pay a heavy tribute to the so-called " white plague " * * =1 " a typical succession of events is first fatigue, then colds, then tuberculosis, then death. Prevention to be effective must begin at the beginning." (Bulletin of the Committee of One Hundred on National Health, Washington, 1909, p. 47.) "Industrial in- surance companies," states Dr. Rubinow, formerly statistician of the Ocean Accident and Life Insurance Co., " show a very much higher mortality rate than ordinary insurance companies." Overfatigue predisposes to the infections as well as to general dis- ease. ■' It has been shown experimentally," states Dr. Kober (p. 79), "that of two groups of animals, the one resting and the other fatigued by muscular work and both inoculated by pathogenic Ifac- teria, the fatigued animals * * * succumb to the disease in larger numbers." Fatigue predisposes workers to nervous diseases. The Federal Public Health Service finds that nervous aiiections, particularly neurasthenia, are comimon among garment workers. Employers also testify to the injurious effect of long hours upon general health. William B. Dickson, former vice president of the United States Steel Corporation, states: " In my judgment a large proportion of the steel workers, who from early manhood, work 12 hours a day, are old men at 40." In the rules of its pension de- partment the American Steel & Wire Co. provides that "no in- experienced person over 35 years of age and no experienced person over 45 years of age shall hereafter be taken into the employ of the company." This rule may be suspended in the case of profes- sional services. This shows that the company had expectation of physical deterioration on the part of mill workers at an age when professional men are considered capable of discharging their duties. HEALTH HAZARDS XS MODERN XNDTJSTRY. It is hardly necessary to cite the authorities who have pointed out the new and varying forms of hazards which are features of modern industry. It should suffice to mention the well-known dangers, characteristic of industrial life. These are not matters of statistical tabulation, but of common observation. Machinery is increasingly speeded up, the number of machines tended by in- 94 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. dividual workers grows larger, processes become more complex, and more operations are performed simultaneously by the workman. Says Mr. Dublin, statistician of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. : " The unceasing whirl of high-speed machinery, the persistent noises of the shop and the necessary nervous accommodation to the rapid movements of the machines result after long period of time, in distinct psychoses," which in turn " may result ultimately in dis- tinct lesions of the heart and kidneys." Declares the Xew York Bu- reau of Labor Statistics: "Even the 10-hour day * * * has now become too long a period of work on account of the increasing intensity of application." Monotony in industrial processes is growing, and is greatly in- tensified by the piecework system; " I have in my clinical ex- perience," says Dr. Schwab of St. Louis University. " sufficient evi- dence, * * * to suggest that the piecework system is in some instances a very direct cause in the production of a neurasthenic condition in the worker" in the garment industry, while another doctor characterizes it as " one of the frequent factors in the pro- duction of excessive industrial fatigue." and states that '" its evils are most potent when combined with long hours." Injurious physical surroundings constitute a hazard in some in- dustries. These include bad air, humidity, extremes of heat and cold, noise, bad lighting, vibration, etc. Each of these hazards is not confined to any particular dangerous trade; any one or even all may be found in so-caUed nonhazardous trades, as for example, cotton spinning. Workers in cotton manufacturing are exposed to the danger of inhaling dust and fluff; they are subject to heat and humidity, great noise, lack of ventilation, vibration of machinery, and nauseating odors. A recent report of the Public Health Service notes that " these conditions are so obviously causing disease and are so prevalent in many industries and causing so much direct injury to the workers that the general public have come to consider these as the full extent of the damages for which industrial conditions are responsible." NATURE AND EFFECTS OF FATI&TTE. The new and accepted theory regarding fatigue is that it is a chemical process, the natural result of bodily and mental exhaustion becoming abnormal when excessive or resulting in exhaustion. The onset of fatigue may be thus described : Two processes are continually carried on in rlie living body : assimilation or building up; dlsasslmilation or breaking down material into simpler chemical EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAT. 95 form, ultimately expelled as waste products. Upon these two processes to- gether, known as metabolism, life itself depends und to this fundamental basis of life we must turn for an explanation of what fatigue is. During activity, the products of chemical change increase. An overtired person is literally a poisoned person, poisoned 1iy his own waste products. These wastes are poisonous impurities arising from the chemical processes of cellular life. They circulate in the blood, poisoning brain and nervous system, muscles, glands, and other organs until normally burned up by the oxygen brought by the blood, removed by the liver or kidneys, or eliminated through the lungs. ■ When these waste products accumulate in the blood, fatigue ensues. When they exceed their pliyslological or normal amount, exhaustion results and health is impaired. After excessive labor there is also a consumption of energy-yield- ing material, essential for activity. The processes of disassimilation are in excess of those of assimilation. The need of limiting excessive hours of work is also emphasized by recent medical research, which asserts that fatigue is due not only to actual poisoning but to a specific poison or toxin of fatigue. When this fatigue toxin is injected into animals in large amounts it even causes death. In order to repair the energy expended as a result of muscular and nervous fatigue, rest is absolutely essential. When an individual has worked to exhaustion through excessive hours of labor normal rest does not suffice for repair. He has literally " used himself up." Emphasis is laid upon the need of limiting excessive working hours because of the increased danger from accidents arising from the different efl'ects of fatigue. BAD EFFECTS OF LONG HOTTRS UPON MORAIS. As early as 1850 a special committee on the limitation of hours of work in Massachusetts declared that " excessive labor not only de- bilitates the body, and thereby exposes it to disease, but also tends to exhaust the mental powers and thus expose the whole moral and intellectual character to undue and dangerous depression." When the working day is so long that no time is left for a minimum of leisure and recreation, relief from the strain of work is often sought in alco- holic stimulants. Among industrial workers the desire for drink is often due to the physical incidents of factory work, such as exposure to extreme heat, or the inhalation of dust or fluff in the many trades involving such hazards. In- temperance often results also from the worker's craving for some stimulant or support for exhausted energies. It seems hardly necessary to quote extended authority in support of these assertions, so obvious do they seem. However. John Fitch, in writing of the steel workers in 1910, notes that the only men whom he found in a state of intoxication when looked for at their homes were blast furnace men, "men 96 * EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. who had been working for months without a holiday or a Sunday."' The Bureau of Labor Statistics of New York declared in 1900 that "excessive work and long hours are the causes that have powerfully promoted the use of stimulants and Intoxicating liquors." Dr. Nathan Schwartz, of the Xew York Department of Labor, notes (September, 1915) that workers naturally and inevitably resort to liquors to overcome the sense of drowsiness which becomes chronic with excessive fatigue. BAD EFFECT OF LONG HOURS ON GENERAL WELFARE. What it means in an economic sense to preserve the health- of the citizen on the part of the State may be set forth in the following facts presented in a study by Mr. Hoffman of the mortality from consump- tion in the dusty trade- for the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (1908) : Since the average age at death of persons 1.0 years of age or over dying from consumption In the- regi:^tration area of the United States is 37.4 years and probably not much more than 32 years for persons employed in strictly dusty trades, and since the normal average age at death in the mortality from all causes for persons l."i years of age or over is 52.8 years, there would be an average expected gain of at least 15.4 years of life for every death from con- sumption avoided by rational conditions of industrial life. Such a gain would represent a total of 342,46.j years of additional lifetime, and by just so much the industrial efficiency of the American nation would be increased. If we place the economic value or net result of a year's lifetime at only .?200, the total average economic prr.in to the Xation would be $3,080 for every avoidable death of a wage earner from consumption, representing the enormous total of $68,493,000 as the aggregate annual value in the probable saving in years of adult human life. With such results clearly within the range of practical at- tainment, nothing within reason should be left undone as a national, State, and individual or social duty to prevent that needless, but now enormous, loss of human life from consumption due to unfavorable conditions Ln American industry. Not only, therefore, is there an economic loss to society in shortening the life of its industrial workers, but there is also a social loss. Family life, es- sential to the welfare of the Nation, is destroyed. This must necessarily react disastrou.sly upon the community as well as upon the individual, for the de- terioration of any large portion of the population inevitably lowers the entire community physically, mentally, and morally. One of the largest paper manu- facturers in America, Jlr. Charles Sumner Bird, declares that long hours of labor are intolerable, and, in many ways, "as dangerous to the welfare of the Nation as was the slavery of the black race; the men employed for such long hours are taxed beyond their strength and the physical exhaustion, day after day, week after week, soon results in a lower standard of life. No time or energy is left for the development of the healthy home life essential to the wel- fare of the Nation." EIGHT-HOUK WOKKING DAY. 97 BENEFITS OF SHORTER HOURS. Abundant evidence is presented to show the benefits of the shorter work day in reducing intemperance; in raising the standard of liv- ing; and allowing phiy to leisure and recreation. Prof. Taussig, now chairman of the Tariff Commission, wrote in 1904 : Shorter hours of work are a natural and beneficent outcome of the forces of civilization. The great mass of men need not only an increase in income but an increase of leisure — ^leisure for rest, for play, for education, for happier and higher living. No doubt leisure is sometimes abused ; but in the main it is a needed means of raising the sum of happiness. Therefore, the .short-hour movement should have the sympathy of every friend of humanity. The greater opportunities for self-improvement and legitimate enjoyment are evidenced in the rapid increase of large expenditures for public recreation and of new opportunities for popular education, evening lectures in connection with the public-school system, and ex- tension classes of the large universities. This is emphasized by Marcus M. jNIarks, president National Association of Clothing Manu- facturers : There is another consideration which prompts tlie demand on the i)art of labor for a shorter worlv day; it is the greater desire for self-improvement. This has been encouraged by the advance in the public school of the system which affects our younger woi'kmen in particular; also by tlie multiplication of popular free lectures, jmblic libraries, cheap liooks and newspapers, etc.,. that have awakened in the workmen's minds the ambition to lead a batter life.^ possibly (iidy in the enjoyment of ■■' reasonable amount of leisure BENEFIT TO CITIZENSHIP AND MILITARY STRENGTH. Not merely is leisure necessary that the workmen may take an in- creased enjoyment from life, it is essential to his mental and moral equipment as a citizen of the United States. Leisure Ijecomes, there- fore, a prime requisite for good citizenship. Hence it is to the in- terests of the State that individual labor should be limited, first, that leisure may be provided, outside of working hours; second, that workers shall not be too exhausted to make use of this leisure, " By a. reasonable conserving in the strength of the working population to- day may we be assured of a healthy, intelligent productive citizenship in the future," are the words of the committee of stockholders of the United States Steel Corporation, This interest of the State in added leisure for good citizenship finds immediate and forceful application in the Americanization of the foreign born who come to this country to be Americanized — that is. give them opportunity for acquiring: 72310—18 7 98 EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. the ability to speak the English language and to become acquainted ivith American institutions. Ignorance of the English language Is tlie greatest olistatle to industrial advancement. It prevents the distribution of congested immigrant populations. It increases the dangers nf industrial accidents, injui-ies. and occupational diseases, owing to the inunigrant's inability to understand orders or hygienic regulations printed or orally given in industrial establishments. ' * * This whole program of Americanization is impossible unless sufficient leisure is pro- vided after working hours to enable the workers to take advantage of the op- portunities offered. The task of teaching adult foreigners a new language is rendered almost hopeless unless! they c:in come to be taught with some fresh- ness of mind. The pro.iect of Americanization is defeated when working hours are so long that no evening leisure is left or the immigrant workers are too much exhatisted to make use of it. The State is dependent upon the quality of its citizens not only for its development in times of peace, but in the last resort for military defense. Former Secretary of War George W. Alger cites statistics showing that in 1916 in the United States Marine Corps only one applicant out of 11 examined was accepted as fit, and that in Xew York City about 3 per cent of the 11,012 men making applica- tions, were found fit for service. He continues as follows : The notion that prejiarednes.s Is a mere military thing "• "■ * is a de- lusion. «• * * Sweatshops, child labor, Industrial anarchy held in check by martial law, the exploitation of the worker * * * all these and a hun- dred others are true i)roblems of preparedness which are to-day ignored. SHORTER HOURS THE ONIY POSSIBLE PROTECTION. The policy of shorter hours is the only protection to the worker, because " industries not intrinsically dangerous and conducted under good sanitary conditions may become harmful through sheer lengthen- ing of the working hours. Even the lightest work becomes totally exhausting when carried on for excessive length of time," and a de- crease of the intensity of exertion in industry is not believed to be feasible. " It is certain that any program for reducing this intensity of exertion must fail," stated the Industrial Commission of 1900. ECONOMIC ASPECT OF REDUCING HOURS. The Industrial Commission of 1900 -stas able to state that those in- dustries where the highest wages and fewest hours prevail are those in which the United States excels in marketing its products in for- eign markets- Hence, it can not be said that commercial prosperity is hampered by the curtailment of hours. The increased efficiency of the workers due to shorter working hours reacts favorably upon out- put and heightens rather than impairs prosperity. The commission EIGHT-HOUB WOBKIISTG DAY. 99 continues : "A further reduction in liours Avill increase the efficiency of this labor and raise its intelligence." Equally significant as is the benefit to commercial prosperity is the effect of reduced hours of labor upon production. While an abun- dance of evidence to this effect is found in the industrial experience of foreign countries, it is the testimony of those manufacturers in the United States who have reduced the work day that it reacts favor- ably upon output. This effect has been found to be true in the United States in the steel industry as well as in cotton manufactur- ing where the experiment of the shorter work day was first tried, in shoe manufacturing and flour milling, in woolen mills, in commer- cial establishments, in Government ship construction work, and in granite cutting. The experience in the steel industry may be cited at some length. The Commonwealth Steel Co., Granite City. 111., furnishes one of the few instances in this country in which an 8-hour shift has been substituted for a 12-hour shift- 1. The open-hearth department of the Commonwealth Steel Co. consists of four 25-ton basic open-hearth furnaces, three of which only are operated at any one time, and which directly require for their operation 22 men for two 12-hour shifts, or 33 men for three 8-hour shifts. The plant, as a whole, employs 2,300 workmen. 2. The system was changed on February 5, 1912, from a 12-hour, 2-shift, system six days a week, to three shifts of eight hours each. 3. The number of men on each shift (11 men) remained unchanged in the open-hearth department, while in the boiler room only 10 men were employed on the three 8 -hour shifts in place of 8 men on the two 12-hour shifts- 4. An increase in the hourly rates for the men employed ranges from 11 to 22 per cent, averaging about 20 per cent. 5. Under the new arrangement, there was a slight decrease in the cost of production, owing to the higher efficiency under the 8-hour system, in spite of the inci-ease in the hourly rates and the number of men employed. (\ Reductions in the amount of extra pig iron charged and in the amount of fuel oil consumed obtained under the new system. These reductions were almost enough to pay for the additional labor em- ployed. 7. Also more accurate results were obtained in the quality of the castinos. The physical and chemical specifications were more ac- curate under the 8-hour system and the percentage of cracked cast- ings was decidedly decreased. 100 EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAY. 8. The workmen were satisfied with the change, although their earnings were about 20 per cent less under the 8-hour system as compared with the 12-hour system. The situation is summed up with the following sentence from vol- ume 3 of the steel report (1910) of the Bureau of Labor Statistics: The trial of the 8-liour system in t!ie steel foundry sliows tliat the chief im- mediate results are secured througli the fact that the men work together bet- ter and give much closer attention to their work when working eight hours than when working 12 hours a day. The experience of Ballard & Ballard, of Louisville. Ky.. flour mill- ers, is that their men turn out the same quantity and quality of out- put in 8 hours per day as they formerly did in 1-2 hours: " in dollars and cents — the change has been a profitable iuA'estment." The experience with the reduced hours of labor has been of signifi- cance in the coal mining industry of the United States. The Indus- trial Commission of 1900 noted its occurrence in the bituminous coal mining industry as " the most important instance in recent years of the adopton of the 8-hour working day." The commission continued as follows: There is a general agreement that the fewer hours in the roal mines have increased the energy of the .workmen, aud that there has been little or no de- crease in the amount of work turned out during the day. The men are stimu- lated " to clo a good, honest eight hours " work ; the foremen do not find them asleep, as they used to, or lounging around or smoking. During the two years 1895 and 1896, imder the 10-hour system, the average output per working man per day in bituminous mining was 2.9 and 2.72 tons; while in 1897. during the latter three months ot which the 8-hour clay prevailed, the corresponding output per man was 3.03 tons per day; and for 1898. 1899 and 1900 during three years of the 8-hour clay, the average output ranged from 2.98 to 3.09 tons. " Each year of the 8-hour day shows for the country as a whole a larger output per day for each workman than the highest output of the 10-hour day." This increased productivity of workers under shorter hours of labor is due to heightened efficiency. This efficiency arises from im proved physical health and energy, from a change of attitude to- Avard work and employer. There is greater promptness in starting in the morning and at noon, more interest and application on the part of the Avorkers and the elimination of "soldiering" and lost time. Secretary of Commerce Eedfield stated in 1911 that " long years ago, before the agitation for the reduction to the 9-hour day. my EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. , 101 associate in business came to the conclusion tliat there was what he called ' a tired hour,' that it would be, in his judgment, undesirable and unprofitable to continue running the factory as long as it was then run." Instead of reducing their output by one-tenth, Mr. Sedfield's company found that it had increased its output more than one-tenth. Mr. William B. Sixon. former vice president of the United States Steel Corporation, believes that " the adAantapes to be (leri\-ed from more efficient, because less exhausted, workmen, will, to a great extent oifset whatever additional cost may be involved." Xot only is the efficiency of the worker increased by the introduc- tion of the shorter ^vorking day, but it has heightened the efficiency on the part of employers. Management of industry ll:l^ been im- proved by a new scrutiny of methods in organization and manufac- ture. In order to maintain output under shorter hours, improved machinery and new processes of manufacture have been invented. The Industrial Commission of 1900 notes " that the shortening of the working day in the mines has strengthened the motive to greater economy of time and better use of machinery and labor-saving devices." The Wisconsin Bureau of Labor and Inckistrial Statistics states that the enforcing of a certain stan(_lard in regard to hours of labor, wages, and .sanitary conditions compels employers continually to seek more improved machinery and metliods of production. RELATION OF SHORT HOURS TO COST OF PRODUCTION. The introduction of a shorter work day has not in the long run led to an increase in the cost of production, first, because the labor co.st is only one item and often a small item in the total cost of manufactur- ing, and second, because of the heightened efficiency of both employers and workers under shorter hours as ah'eady pointed out. This has been the experience in the paper, woolen, and cotton industries as revealed by the investigation of the United States Tariff Board ; also in the paper mills and probably also in the iron and steel industries, as investigated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the paper and pulp industry, former Chief Statistician X. I. Stone, of the United States Tariff Board, states that it was found " that the mills paying the lowest wages and having a 12-hour day had a higher labor cost per ton of paper than those paying the highest rates of wages and having an 8-hour day.'' In the iron and steel industry the Bureau of Labor Statistics dis- closed after a careful investigation that a change from the 12-houv to the 8-hour system would mean an increase of 2.6 per cent in the 102 EIGHT-HOTJR WORKING DAY. total cost of procliiction per ton in blast-furnace products. This estimate is, however, made on the as.sumption that efficiency would not be affected by the change. It also rests on the assumption that each workman in continuous jiroeess earned the same amount for eight hours' work that he received for 12 hours. If it were assumed that the workman would accept 10 hours' pay for eight hours' work, the increase of the total cost of production per ton would be only 1.3 per cent. The following table is presented to show the estimated incre&,ses in rates of wages per hour, cost of production, and selling price neces- sary to introcluce the eight-hour system in the blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling mills, on the basis that each workman in con- tinuous processes earned the same amount for 8 hours' work that he now receiA'es for 10 hours and that productive efficiency was un- changed. Amount Amount vinder under Ketjuired 12-liour 8-hour amount. system. system. SO. 22 SO. 26 $0.04 4.22 4.95 .73 24.79 25.52 .73 34.24 35.27 1.03 Increase, per cent. Average hourly earnings Labor cost of production per ton Total cost of production per ton Average selling price per ton $17.4 17.4 3.0 3.0 LONG HOURS REDUCES EFFICIENCY. While shortening the hours of labor does not decrease output, nor materially increase the cost of production, long hours on the other hand, reduced efficiency and result in inferior output. Overfatigue results in spoiled work, and it is generally found that the output in last hours shows a steady and marked decline. SHORTER HOURS IN RELATION TO WAGES AND REGULARITY OF EMPLOYMENT. There is no evidence to show that reduction in the hours of labor has meant a decrease in wages. On the contrary, all the evidence tends to establish the fact that wages are higher in industries where the short work day prevails, higher than in wholly unregulated trades. A niovement for the reduction of hours in machine trades late in 1915 was accompanied by no reduction in wages. In many cases there were increases in wages. Wherever hours of labor have been shortened employment has tended to greater regularity. Commons and Andrews in a recent EIGHT-HOUR WORKING DAY. 103 volume on the Principles of Labor Legislation emphasize this fact as follows : Shorter hours likewise tend to steady employment. When no restrictions are placed on hours of work in a seasonal Industry, the tendency is to concen- trate the work in brief, busy season with long hours of overtime. Hour regu- lation except in the case of perishable products and those subject to change in fashion, forces a more even distribution of the work over a longer period. When the women's eight-hour law was in force in Illinois factories inspectors noted " a greater uniformity of work and rest " as one of its results. The investigation of the iron and steel industry by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1910 called attention to the large amount of overtime work and irregularity of operation in the industry, an irregularity greater than that of any of the larger manu- facturing industries whose demand is not seasonal. Both the over- time work and irregularity of operation are the result of running at top speed and under the heaviest pressure while there is an active de- mand for the particular products of any mill. The writers of the report of the bureau note in this connection that " Some of the best managers assert that the losses from these causes more than coun- terbalance the gains secured during the months of rush work, and they are confident that they could make a better showing in economy of production for the year as a whole if the mills were operated regu- larly at a moderate pace." PROGRESS OF THE SHORTER DAY. During the latter part of 1915 and the first of 1916 the machine trades of the United States made a notable gain in shorter hours of labor. This movement in the reduction of hours affected mainly firms having contracts for the making of war munitions. The eight- hour day was also established among the clothing manufacturers of Chicago and in the shops of the Victor Talking Machine Co. Other industries have felt the reflex movement of shorter hours. INSTANCES OF EXCESSIVE HOURS OF LABOR. While there has been a trend toward shorter hours in some im- portant lines of industry, other industries are still operating 12 hours a day or more. The investigation of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that in 1910, 63 per cent of 31,000 men employed in blast fur- naces worked 84 hours and over per week ; that is, a 12-hour day in a seven-day week. Nearly 43 per cent of 173,000 employees in the iron and steel industry were employed at least 72 hours per week. 104 , EIGHT-HOUE WORKING DAY. CONCLUSION. Secretary of Commerce Redfield in emphasizing the State's need to preserve health, preventing the loss of human energy due to exces- sive working hours, states, that " The cry for shorter hours of labor * * * is a normal protest against the fatigue that destroys." The way to crime and chaos lies plainly In the exploitation of our men and our women as if they were coal or oil. In our free America there is to be industrial and social freedom. Out of the ferment of unrest there has already begun to come a truer sense of human values ; a better adjustment of law to those values ; a keener conscience as to the treatment of those values, and a conservation which shall not stop with saving water or wood, but will mat^ Its gteatest and most fruitful task the conserving of our people themselves^: c Cornet! University Library HD5123.A4 1918 Memorandum on the eight-hour working day 3 1924 007 709 383