cent or over, in 58 establishments the increase amounted to 10 or under 11 percent; in 13 to 11 percent, or under 12 percent; in 18 to 12 percent or under 15 percent, and in 15 establishments, to 15 percent or under 20 percent. Equally interesting are the figures showing the effect of reduction in hours per week upon quantity of product. It is shown in this official statement that out of 334 establishments covered, 31 or 9.3 percent reported no decrease in quantity of product as the result of the reduction in hours. On the other hand, in 303 establishments, or 90.7 percent, a decrease in product did result. Of these establishments the decrease in 23 instances was under 10 percent, while in 145 other cases it was 10 percent or more. The following table shows the situation clearly: Effect of Reduction in Hours per Week Upon Quantity of Product (In all 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: Under 3 hours: With no decrease in quantity of product. 3 or under 4 hours: With no decrease in quantity of product. With a decrease in quantity of product of 5 or under 6 percent.... 6 or under 7 percent... 10 or under 11 percent.. 4 or under 5 hours: With no decrease in quantity of product.. 5 or under 6 hours: With no decrease in quantity of product... With a decrease in quantity of product of 5 or under 6 percent... 8 or under 9 percent.. Number of Establishments a 5 9 or under 10 percent.. 10 or under 11 percent.. 4 16 11 or under 12 percent.. 1 6 or under 7 hou s: With no decrease in quantity of product. With a decrease in quantity of product of Under 3 percent. 4 or under 5 percent.. 5 or under 6 percent.. 6 or under 7 percent.. 7 or under 8 percent... 8 or under 9 percent.. 10 or under 11 percent... 11 or under 12 percent.. 12 or under 15 percent.. 15 or under 20 percent... 20 percent or over... Reduction in hours per week of: 7 or under 8 hours: With no decrease in product..... With a decrease in quantity of product of 10 or under 11 percent..... 11 or under 12 percent.. 12 or under 15 percent.... 8 or under 9 hours: With no decrease in quantity of product. With a decrease in quantity of product of 10 or under 11 percent.. 14 2 1 9 1 5 5 122 12 3 6 2 2 4 1 1 1 9 or under 10 hours: With no decrease in quantity of product.... With a decrease in quantity of product of 15 or under 20 percent. 10 hours or over: With no decrease in quantity of product.. With a decrease in quantity of product of 5 or under 6 percent..... 10 or under 11 percent.. 11 or under 12 percent.. 12 or under 15 percent.. 15 or under 20 percent.... 20 percent or over... Total establishments reporting reduction of hours: With no decrease in quantity of product...... With a decrease in quantity of product of Under 3 percent...... Number of Establishments 2 1 5 31 8 2 8 2 1 2 10 a31 2 1 1 19 3 or under 4 percent... 4 or under 5 percent.. 5 or under 6 percent.... 6 or under 7 percent. 7 or under 8 percent.. 8 or under 9 percent... 9 or under 10 percent... 10 or under 11 percent... 11 or under 12 percent.. 12 or under 15 percent. 15 or under 20 percent... 8 20 percent or over... Rate percent not reported... Total with a decrease in quantity of product.... 9 16 5 159 47 5 16 12 3 308 a-Including 1 establishment in which there was an in crease of 2.5 percent in the quantity of product. Thus we have official figures showing that the decreased working day resulted in increased cost of production, and also in decreased production. There is a further table which shows establishments reporting it necessary to increase the number of employes or days of running time to offset the decrease in quantity of product: Establishments Reporting it Necessary to Increase Number of Employees or Days of Running Time to Offset Decrease in Quantity of Product Out of 396 establishments investigated in regard to the reduction in hours of labor which they had made, 226, or 57.1 percent reported that in consequence of a decrease in output under the shorter workday it had been necessary to increase the number of employes. A reduction in the quantity of product per employe means of course a smaller output for the establishment, and a smaller business unless offset by an increased number of employes, a larger number of days of running time at the reduced hours, or some other method of increasing production. It will be noted that these tables of this investigation deal with only 396 establishments in the United States and less than 150,000 employes. There is no doubt of the significance of the facts. But the Department of Commerce, through the Bureau of Census, has just completed a census of manufactures in the United States as of 1914, and it shows that there are 275,793 establishments engaged in manufacturing, and that 8,265,426 persons are engaged in these manufactories. Take the figures of increased cost of production, decreased output, and increased number of workers, to offset decreased output, as shown for the 396 establishments and less than 150,000 workers investigated in 1904, and apply these to the 1914 figures and some idea of what the total increased cost of production, total decrease in output, and total necessary increase in workers, would mean at the present time if an eighthour day, either theoretical or basic, was applied to the industries of the United States. The Department of Commerce is preparing at the present time a very elaborate analysis of prevailing hours of labor, but its findings will not be known for some time to come. It is both desirable and necessary in view of the insistence in high quarters that the eight-hour day is a social concept, to understand how far the eight-hour day enters into the industry of the United States, or particularly the manufacturing industries. That which is or may be a social concept should have a substantial basis in fact as well as in imaginative possibilities. The figures of 1914 census are not available, but the figures of the 1909 census of the manufacturers are available, and it will be admitted that while there have been increases in the number of industries granting the eight-hour day, the percentage is not substantially greater than it was in 1909. Data as to prevailing hours of labor in 1909 for the United States as a whole are summarized in volume VIII of the Thirteenth Census |