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Show , UTAH LABOR NEWS Saturday, April 7,1917 Moses is often spoken of by labor men as the first "walking delegate" in industrial history. And there is pretty good Justification for this state ment. His chief task was to secure the emancipation of 2.000.000 slaves Who for generations had been serving the rulers of Egypt under, the most unendurable conditions. But what kind of a labor leader was Moses? Where did he come from and what kind of training did he have and what were Vis outstanding char acteristics? In the first place we remember that he came from the peoThis ple and knew their problems. is one of the chief essentials In a modern leader in the industrial world. Furthermore, he never got away from the people simply because he held office, nor did he forget the struggles of those whom he represented. When Moses began his work enthusiast. It he was a required forty years of solitude to transform Moses into a modest man whose name has become a synonym for meekness you have heard it said, havent you, that somebdy is. as meek as Moses"? This was an acquired characteristic and apparently it did not minimize the influence of this wonderful leader of men. If ever Moses was a glib talker he forgot how to use this weapon of the spellbinder, for when he was called to his work, we are told that he himself protested, saying that he was "slow of speech." Perhaps both his modesty and his inability to speak fluently were in his fayor as a labor leader, for his task was one which demanded not brilliant orations, but patient endurance principally be hot-blood- - N cause of those whom he represented. For of all the things that try labor leaders souls the impatience and Ingratitude of those for whom they are sincerely fighting Is the hardest burden to bear. Moses was a successful leader because he was sure of victory. This feeling was based upon the consciousness that his cause was Just. Furthermore, he was confident because be came In the spirit of & strong moral faith. For this emancipation which he was about to witness was more than an economic deliverance dependent upon brute strength he had back of him the Omnipotent God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, the forefathers of the afflicted Israelites. It was the religious element in this movement that made it The modern labor leader, in order to win the greatest measure of success, for those whom he represents, must have a larger outlook upon his task than one that sees only material interests. He must understand that he is fighting a great moral battle. Therefore, he himself must.be. familiar with the deeper, truer things of life. He must depend not bo much upon his speech as upon his character. He must have the power which can come only through the consciousness that his cause Is Just and that back of him, as there was back of Moses, stands the God of the common people who is saying through him: "Let my people go. FARMERS SHOULD ORGANIZE. Organization is the only salvation of You are in an or- the Utah fanner. ganization age. All organizations and public movements must have their own chosen, Page Eleven by his g of clear mountain water and drawa his bucket full of sediment from the distant swamps or the mud flats of an Industrial Inferno. This subject Is deserving of your best attention not only In this convention, but also In your local councils and unions and for that reason It is herewith submitted for your consideration and action. well-sprin- directed Journalistic and edited if mouthpiece they expect to advance and succeed in their missions. The executive council of the American Federation of Labor has regularly and emphatically Impressed this fact upon the general membership of the federation.- "Each year brings Increases In the power and number of the labor papers," says one of these TAX AMENDMENT reporta "They are tremendous dynamic forces, giving publicity to the TO CONSTITUTION cause of human welfare and the strugfrom Page 1.) (Continued gle of the workers for Justice and & tng the expenses of broken down and better life. They herald abroad the dissipated noblemen who know nothnews of labor the Ideals which touch of Utah except perchance that It Is the things of dally life and make them ing source of the income brought to the glow with the glory of humanity. The them by their American wives, they labor papers by bringing about undercan get from under by voting in fastanding of conditions are a powervor of the tax amendment to the state ful element in helping to unify and at the next general elecconstitution give direction to the labor movetion. ment." This fact having been so thorFurthermore, Utah Labor News beoughly recognized and well establieves that property used for farming lished by the American Federation of and residences Is as much entitled to Labor, the individual members and pay taxes on "net proceeds" as is minlocal unions and councils would profit or more bo, for the reaing property, in knowledge by their substantial sup. son that the owners of such port of the labor press and at the are doing much more to buildproperty up the same time bring their great cause state. correctly before the world. We favor an exemption of at least "Literary laziness" Is the symptom 22000 worth of property from taxaof a thoughtless time; the energy and tion of any kind, and in placing the vitality of labor union organizations burden on those who own more In the are and will be measured by the abilexact proportion of the value of their ity of their members to do analytical holdings. and logical thinking. In this way those who own the Good reading is food for thought. It wealth that will need the protection Is to be found In your official paper of the state will pay their Just proand the labor press. Members who portion of the taxes necessary to afneglect their own papers to read the ford that protection and those who privately-owne- d dailies and monthlies own nothing will also pay their are like the foolish fellow who passes filth-cover- - ed Policy of Company Pretty Well Outlined in the Following Excerpts From an Address Made by Edward Cudahy, Jr., at the Kansas Live Stock Convention Held in Wichita, Kan. I would say that there are not any prospects in sight for a lower level two years at least, based on the assumption that of prices for live stock-fo- r the war will last another year. There may be breaks in the market, due to numerous causes, many of which we cannot anticipate at this time, but, generally speaking, T would say we wnll have high prices for at least two years. This is brought about by a good many causes. Comparative figures of the Department of Agriculture for the years 1907 and 1917 show' a decrease in the number of all cattle in the country of 10 per 10,000,000 head, or 20 per cent; sheep, a decrease of 5,000,000 head, or cent. 24 or per cent, and hogs, an increase of 13,000,000 head, You will see from these figures that hogs only have shown an increase, while cattle and sheep, particularly the former, have shown large decreases. This compares with an increase in the population of our country of 18 per cent. During this same period of time there have been increases in farm values, as compiled by the Department of Agriculture, on cattle other than milch cows, from $17.10 to $35.88; on sheep from $3.84 to $7.14; on hogs from $7.63 to $11.73. These values have shown increases of from 50 to 100 per cent, and d of to one-hathe Departments farm values Will figure only from the stockyard quotations. the extent of The stockraiser has not, of course, increased his profits tohave increasea these appreciations in values, as lands and all kinds of feeds no doubt but what there has been an is there Still same the period. during increase in biff returns on the money invested. but it is necessary Big strides have been made in the live stock industry, of increasing its supfor this country to look to the proper and best means inplies of live stock, as it is a very serious condition to have our population crease in ten years 18 per cent and the number of cattle and sheep in the country decrease 20 and 10 per cent, respectively. A helpful sign is the greater interest being taken by bankers in cattle live stock man to finance his operations. loans, which makes it easier for the of them This is especially true of eastern bankers. There are a great many who are cattle not paper of think would handling ago, not very long who, now anxious to get it. It was only a few years ago that it was thought impossible to accomplish can be the feeding results that are now obtained. A demonstration of what done along these lines is now on exhibition at the stockyards here, and ought to be of interest to everybody. This was also exemplified at the International Live Stock Show', held at Chicago a short time ago. when the Grand Champion Steer was only thirteen months old, weighed 1120 pounds and dressed out 68.75 per cent beef. This, of course, was exceptional, but merely shows what Is possible. This greater interest the past few7 years in increased' live stock production the country is due, of course, largely to the increase in values, throughout not onlv influenced the breeder and feeder to increase his herds which has Increase In values has also but also to protect them from disease and exposure. awakened the state and federal authorities to the needs for better control of live stock diseases, and a new interest is being taken by the country genhandling of live stock, and while much has been erally in the more scientific clone, the possibilities are yet large, yet the principal factor for increasing our live stock production, which does not seem to receive very much consideration, is the conservation on the farm of breeding stock and calves instead of sending them to market. one-thir- lf of the present values, the next few years are likePrincipally on account in live stock raising, and what influence the increase in ly to see a big boom numbers will have on values is rather difficult to say. The present prosperity of the live stock and packing business is due to the general prosperity of the country and the large demand fromIs abroad on account of the war. At the present time, while the production everlarge, the indemand for manufactured arknown the history of the country, ticles of all kinds is the greatest and we are all profiting by it. While the population of our country has increased 18 per cent, relatively the demand for food products shows a larger proportionate increase, because the demand is not only dependent upon the number of people, but is multiplied when they are all well and profitably employed. Present values will be maintained just as long as the present demand lasts. Whenever that slacks there is bound to be a recession from the present prices, so that one might say that the best barometer and guide for both the live stock producer and the packer is the extent to which capital and labor are employed, for the demand is largely measured by this. There Is no business in the world conducted on such a small margin of statements of small earnings by the packers generally have profit. .Suchbeen oftentimes questioned and the assertion made that they are untrue or that the figures have been manipulated in some way to hide the real results large salaries paid themselves by the owners, and so forth. It is, of course, important to the packing business that the live stock inbe conducted on a remunerative basis and it is also to the interest of dustry the live stock men that the packer receive a fair margin of profit. The in- terest of the live stock and packing industries are mutual, and neither one alone can be conducted unsuccessfully for any length of time without severe injury to the others. Unless we can both make a fair return on our invest- ment we both will be seriously affected. I think this is appreciated by all of us, and there is not any doubt but what there should be a closer between the two interests, which would be a great help toward solving our many difficulties. We all have them, but I think the packing business has some that are peculiar to itself. On one hand, we have a responsibility to our customers and the consuming public generally. On the other hand, there is the live stock man who must receiver fair return on his Investment. When you consider our profit for the service we rendered last year was less than per pound on our entire volume of meat business we surely received no exorbitant return and cannot be accused of either paying the live stock pro- ducer less than the market justly affords or charging the consumer more than a legitimate profit. I might mention that we also slaughter all live stock and operate all g t.he departments of our plants under the supervision of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture, in which service in our plants are employed 125 government inspectors, who inspect all meat and supervise all methods of preparation. Besides these responsibilities we have our own internal problems and difficulties of purchase, manufacture and sale to solve, as well as extensive financing and complicated transportation conditions, with chances for loss existing on every hand, and I think from a hasty review you will agree with me that a packer has his work cut out for him. The past year has seen the development of closer between the larger packers and the live stock interests than has ever been known before, and it is a very good indication of the trend of affairs. There is a that can be done by both parties in acquiring a more intimate great deal of each others business, and with mutual tolerance, forbearance knowledge and friendly assistance. It is only in this way that the Industry as a whole can progress. I am sure that the foundation already laid is substantial, and with properly directed efforts we can all add to the strength of the structure which 13 in the building. j ; i , , f i l-- 4e ' meat-hanalin- J |