He spoke of "the custom union labor has of limiting a day's work
AND OTHER DISHONEST PRACTICES."
By limiting a day's work, the reverend gentleman referred to the
rule existing in certain unions regulating the maximum day's
labor.
That rule does exist, and sometimes undoubtedly--labor union men
not being angels or cherubim--the rule may be pushed to extremes.
But on the whole the rule is necessary, and it works for good.
We shall tell this clergyman and other citizens one special
reason for limiting the day's work.
The contractors want to make all the money they can. When the
unions forced them into recognition of certain hours of labor as
constituting a day's work, THAT was looked upon as a dishonest
practice. It was felt in the old days that a workman should be
only too glad to get out of bed at daybreak and work until dark.
Now even the stupidest and most selfish have come to recognize
limited hours as a feature of American industry. And the
enlightened gladly admit that the well-paid, well-rested,
independent worker usually does more in his eight or nine hours
than he used to do in his twelve or fourteen.
After the inauguration of the limited-hour day the contractors
invented what is known as a "rusher."
The "rusher" is a young workman, in his prime, marvellously quick
in his work as compared with the ordinary, good, capable workman.
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