78 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



Second, his privileges should embrace as short hours of labor 

 as prevail for the times. He now averages fully 25 per cent 

 more time at labor than industrialists average. If now nine 

 hours per day is the average time of others it should be his. 

 This time, too, should include such chores as becom.e necessary 

 in prosecuting his business. Why not? Can mortal" tell? 



]\Iy propositions and others immediately following in this 

 connection are for the purpose not only of getting at fair values 

 in milk production but to aid in creating a sentiment that shall 

 end in a new and modern point of view as to the relation of 

 farmers to public life from a public point of view. Farmers 

 tell me that they could not make the farm pay in case they 

 should work but 10 hours per day. But do they not know that 

 if as a body they adopted the short day now prevailing and cut 

 three hours from their average day's labor they would 

 almost immediately get more for a nine hours or nearer ten 

 hours day than they now get for 12 to 13 hours work? Pro- 

 duction would be reduced and prices would rise. However, it 

 might turn out that 10 hours in the work harness and the keener 

 thinking that would follow m.ore energy left over for thinking 

 in the short day would result in approximately the same pro- 

 duction in the process of moderate time. Let us prepare for 

 shorter hours, and the demand for the world's pay for short 

 hours. 



Third, let us expect the same pay as the world gets for labor. 

 The carpenters of some of our cities get 50 cents per hour for 

 designedly languid work and work but 8 hours. The farmer 

 works, chores and all, 12 to 15 hours and receives but 14 cents 

 per hour for only ten of the longer hours he puts in. We, too, 

 must come to think of ourselves as professional men and expect 

 the pay of professional men. Our industry involves a far wider 

 knowledge of the reign of law in a far wider domain of the 

 sciences than any other industry and demands keener observa- 

 tion accompanied with the use of both the executive and mer- 

 cantile talents. It is evident that the wealth producer does not 

 get for his services what those secondary classes that deal in 

 his production and handle his general interests do. This condi- 

 tion bv everv law of fitness should be reversed. 



