302 THE TIM BUNKER PAPERS. 



shalt thou labor. Eight hours was not a day s work un 

 der this law, whatever the civil statute might make it. 

 The average length of the day was about twelve hours. 

 Men were able to work more than eight hours, and did 

 generally, without injury to health, and with much advan 

 tage to their fortunes. That was pretty good evidence 

 that they ought to work more. Some people, he supposed, 

 worked too long and too hard, but there was a far larger 

 number who were ruined by idleness, and the vices that 

 grew out of it. He thought the great want of the coun 

 try now was more labor. If this measure was made a 

 practical thing, it would take one-fifth from all the labor 

 in the country, and that meant, when we come to sift it 

 down, a deduction of one-fifth from every man s income. 

 It was labor that gave value to capital. Men who had 

 money could not loan it unless its use could be made pro 

 ductive by labor. The country was not ready for any 

 such reduction of production and of income. The agita 

 tion of the question he thought was mischievous, and 

 would only tend to embarrass the relations of capital and 

 labor. 



Last Sunday, Mr. Spooner preached a Sermon from St. 

 Paul : &quot; Neither did we eat any man s bread for nought, 

 but wrought with labor and travail, night and day, that 

 we might not be chargeable to any of you,&quot; in which he 

 laid out the eight hour law in its grave clothes. Paul was 

 a gentleman and believed in paying his way, which the 

 eight hour folks don t. If we are going to have any thing 

 besides victuals and clothes, we ve got to work more than 

 eight hours for it. Quitting work the middle of the arter- 

 noon in haying time wont go down. Even Jake Frink 

 can see the bearing of that nonsense. 



Yours to command, 



TIMOTHY BUNKER, ESQ. 



Ubokertown, June 15, 1867. * 



