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Show Saturday , Feb. 10, 1917 UTAH LABOR NEWS Page Twelve BILLS BEFORE LEGISLATURE 'o. 3i Dy Bean. For the establishment of a state prWing office for the publication of school text books and printing public stationery. Several states already have established similar plants with considerable saving in cost besides giving accurate information of things at home which many of the books compiled by eastern educators do not We have here in Utah many do. educators who could compile text beeks for our school children as easily eliminate more than half of the misinformation contained in the books THE STORE AHEAD ADVERTISING ONLY the TRUTH If. B. . now in use. There is no reason that we can think of at present in paying roj'alties to some eastern educator for his forethought In copyrighting such sentences as Can the cat run? The Utah is inhabited cat Will scratch, by roving bands of Indians, etc. We would like to. see House bill No. 31 pass when properly amended and elaborated. 11. No. 12 Ily By water. To protect employees on trains. A reading of this bill by the average layman will not bring out many of the salient features that would stand out were it possible to listen to the discus-slo- n and have pointed out the abuses It will correct. One shipper told of e sixty-threcars of cattle a train of destined for Los Angeles which broke in three parts because of its heavy strain on couplings, necessitating putting the train on a siding and losing much time in order not to delay other trains. A train of fifty-fiv- e freight mile long, each cars is just one-hacar has n'ne and one-hainches of slack. If the train were stretched out to its full length and traveling at a speed of twenty miles an hour, which is not unusual, and the front end was brought to a stop abruptly, you can easily imagine what would happen to the man in the rear car that is taking up this forty-thre- e and one-ha- lf feet of slack. Even if brought to a gradual stop, the rear car would come up with a crash when the slack is all taken up. This smashes draw-heaand kills live stock and destroys goods in the train, for which the company must pay, and sometimes injures and kills employees whom the courts have held assume the hazard of their employment. Shorter trains will save all this loss and mofe than pay for the necessary help to move a greater number of trains with fewer cars in the train. The only argument that could he advanced that . would carry'. truthful conviction against this bill is that it wrould employ more men and because of the greater opportunities for employment better ages might have to be paid. To allay these fears of higher wages we need but point out "that there would be more than enough in savings on repairs to meet hese demands and the increased purchasing power of the extra employees would increase the demand for goods, thus making more profit for the The trouble transportation lines. seems to be that efficiency experts have a theoretical rather than a practical knowledge of the business they are trying to direct. We contend that forty-thre- e and one-ha- lf feet of slack Is enough' for safety in one train. The enactment of this law will conserve life and make larger profits to the If. nn fn 9 IP. II 11 UU 9 All odd lots of Mens Suits ami Overcoats arc priced very low to effect a quick clean-u- p. In the lots are full selections of models, sizes and materials, and every man and young man may profit largely by these heavy reductions. CREDIT OR CASH AS YOU PREFER May w have your name on our books I The Store The Store That Made That Made Your Credit Your Credit lf lf ds railroads. If. B. No. 13 By Bywater. Provides for semimonthly paydays and for payment of earned wages under certain other conditions. In another portion of this Issue this bill is discussed and the argument advanced there will suffice. We dont share in the profits,, why should be furnish any of the capital? II. B. No. . By Currie. .Providing for one days rest each week. This principle was enunciated, unless wre have been imposed upon, quite a long time ago. And by one Is Good Is Good Famous! Famous! whom many good people accept as an authority on right conduct. How-eve- r, when some of our greedy neighbors decide to worship the face on the dollar, such a small matter as paying such niggardly wages as would compel men to work seven days each week in order to earn a living was considered just the proper caper. As an argument against the passage of this law, one bright and shining light who appeared before the committee considering this bill said that it would work a serious hardship on the corporation he represented, for they would be, compelled to employ 2400 more men for one day and he did not believe 6uch a thing could be done unless they were paid a weeks wage1, and that he did not believe it possible to reduce the wages of those now below what they now receive for seven days. lie knew better, but he has been doing business with a lot n of foreigners who are almost when someone wearing a white collar speaks to them and posthat the committee sibly Imagined that would give serious consideration to such a measure and the representatives of labor who would argue in favor of it would also be awed by his presence. He was quickly disilluThis bill will no sioned, however. doubt be classed by the daily press as "freak legislation, but. some twenty years ago two newspapers in Salt Lake opposed changing from a five-da- y y week for employweek to a ees and advanced about the same argument that working men advanced before the committee on labor the other day. Odd, isnt It, that It makes so much difference whose ox Is gored? One days rest In seven might easily be advocated as a necessity, for all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, but the duller some of the boys are the easier it is to get them to work seven days for what they should receive for six. Whats the matter with em-ploy- ed panic-stricke- six-da- the church people? Surely they still believe In the Biblical admonition about resting on the seventh day. But we have heard It said that because this rotation would only slightly increase the number who would he off on Sunday that It wouldnt Increase their receipts much, and for that reason little interest by them is displayed. Tes, without doubt the producers of wealth ought to be allowed a little time to play even If the church people wont advocate it for any day other than Sunday. When churchmen begin to advocate the principles of their religion that are favorable to the workers, more of us might not feel so out of place in the house of God. Consider the high cost of dying and forget for a few minutes the high cost of Ihing. Each year more than 1500 persons die in Utah from preventable causes. The cost of these 1500 unnecessary funerals alone probably amounts to more than $75, 000, or about four times the annual appropriation to the state board of health. Most of these deaths sure preceded by long illnesses, which must be added to the high cost of dying. The people of Utah probably pay out each year on account of these unnecessary deaths at least $250,000. We must take account also of the value to the community and to the state of these lives about which we seem so indifferent. What is the life of a man or woman or child worth in figures of dollars and cents? A conservative estimate puts the value of an adult workman at $5000. That means that every able-bodiworkman Is worth on an av of $5000 to the state for the erage wealth he can produce. Since many of these who die through our neglect are not producers, it is estimated that the average economic value of these lives Is $1700. This amounts to more than $2,500,000 waste. Thus It appears that the people of Utah loses each year about $3,000,000 through needless deaths. And this cost of dying is only a cold-blood- ed ed part of. the toll of preventable disease. There are probably about ten cases of disabling-case- s of sickness for each death from preventable causes. Probably $500,000 is spent each year in the care of these cases. We must take intoraccount also the loss of productive labor due to needless disease. Every day that a workman is idle on account of sickness he and his family are the poorer by the amount he should have earned that day. Also the state is the poorer by the amount he should have produced. An investigation of this subject was recently made In the city of Milwaukee, which has a population about equal to the population of the whole of Utah. It was estimated that the workmen of Milwaukee lose annually more than $3,000,000 in wages alone on account of sickness. There are no statistics on this subject for Utah. But $1,000,000 wage loss annually through preventable sickness would be a conservative estimate for this state. The y'early money loss to the people of Utah from preventable sickness and death Is probably more than $5,000,000, more than $10 for every man, woman and child in the state. Far' greater even is the cost in suffering and sorrow which cannot be expressed in figures and for which no money value can compensate. There was a time when men might fold their hands and say, This is the hand of Providence, we are helpless and blameless, but not so today. This terrible toll of sickness and death, more than one-thithe total amount of sickness and death in the state, can be prevented. Do you want to stop this tremendous loss of wealth and human welfare? It can be done. Some day it will be done. Why not do it now? Succeeding articles of this series will tell how It can be accomplished. rd DUBIOUS OUTLOOK. , understand you have a new neighbor. Do you expect to be friendly with him?" I hope for the but he has five jest,library little boys, and my windows are in an exposed position. BirmingI ham t Age-Heral- d. . |