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Show SES DANGER IN UNEQUAL WAGES ALLOWED LABOR Representative Keating of Colorado Fears Economic Chaos Will Throw War Machine Out of Gear. DECLARES QUICK ACTION NECESSARY Equalization Imperative if Men Are to Be Prevented From Leaving Trades to Scramble for More. j By JOHN C. MELLETT, Intar national Hews Service Staff Corrfiapondent. TVASHINrjTON. Dec. 3WEconomii! rhos will tlirow the. whole war machine tint of gear (f something is not dona in vegnrd to thn general labor situation, ae-I'ordlnsf ae-I'ordlnsf to Representative Keating of ("ilnrarlo. Mr. Keating, a member of the house committee on lahor, today declared f.ome action must be taken immediately toward equalizing and leveling wage htHnditrdN. If thin i not done, ha said, worKnien will be leaving' their trades an1 vrumbMnp for positions in industries col. lterJ to the war programme. I "The coal mines, shipyards, railroads and the farms of the country are th j nuclAUH for what may, tn a very few: month, comprise a veritable blockade' sguinfct war progress," Mr, Keating paid, i Mines Get Many Men. "CoaH miners received handsome increases in-creases In wages a few weeks ago, at the fame lime coal prices were advanced. The result was that in many cases the .supply of manual labor available for rail- j roadinff. farming and other businesses was drained. -The mines got manv men from, th rnilro.vlN especially. j "Sljipya i ds, w oi king virtually under ' government control, are paying high wages for all kinds of labor, pa 1 ticularly for skilled nuH'hank-y. O ther t rades suffer because of the shifting of men to the shipyards." Mr. Keating is taking an active part in the move to increase wages of govern trim t employees. He lias Introduced a bill providing a system of bonuses to employees, em-ployees, to enable them to meet the advancing ad-vancing oosl of living. Senate's Attention Called. The senate will have its attention called to the labor problem when the commerce 1 and mamn'fictureK committees report on their shipbuilding and coal and suarar investigations. in-vestigations. Members of the manufactures manufac-tures committee intend to point out that while hlul) wages have boosted the prices of coal, they have not been entirety nene-ft.-Mnl to the industry. They base their oontonti rn on the testimony of h- A. Hnead, fuel ad ministration expert. High wukcs. Snead told the committee, hurts i r ducti'in because the men will not work! !'i ill time when making so much money. This same fact was brought to the com- i iiH i'cn committee by I. B. Stevens of the shipping board. 1 te said the board hud . been forced to give the men workjms in , shipyards a 10 per cent bonus to induce , ;bftm to work full time and thus hasten ship production. YVayes in the shipyards 1 were high even before the bonus was I planted, he said. |