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Show (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) U. S. LABOR AND CLOSED SHOP LAST SPRING, W. O. Hart, editor edi-tor of the Orange (Calif.) Daily News, under a heading "The Fifth Freedom," wrote and printed an editorial which has attracted nationwide nation-wide interest and has been reprinted reprint-ed from the Pacific to the Atlantic seaboard. In that editorial, Hart demanded for American workers the right to employment without the payment ol tribute' to labor racketeers; the right to join or not to join a union, as they chose. He insisted the right to work was the basic right of all freedoms, free-doms, that without it all other rights were valueless. The "closed shop" principle, for which labor racketeers are contending, contend-ing, is a violation of the constitutional constitu-tional privilege of the more than 50 million American workers now employed, of which only about one-fourth one-fourth are members of unions. Labor racketeers would say to the other three-fourths that they could not work to support themselves and their families without paying tribute such amount of tribute as the racketeers may levy. We have been suffering from minority rule. Congress has listened to these organized blocs in the matter mat-ter of legislation. Congress has failed to realize they are but minorities minori-ties and do not represent a majority major-ity of the American people. Congress Con-gress will find a majority of the American people will vote out oi office any group of senators or representatives rep-resentatives who attempt to impose upon them any law that deprives the worker of "Bill" Hart's "fifth freedom" free-dom" the right to work without the payment of tribute to union racketeers. racket-eers. ADDING 'GADGETS' TO GOVERNMENT SINCE 1913 they have added many new gadgets to automobiles thai have made of them better machines which are more easily operated, more pleasant to ride in, and the improved cars sell at a much lower price than those made in 1913. Automobiles Auto-mobiles are a product of private enterprise. en-terprise. Since 1913 many new gadgets have been added to the national government. gov-ernment. New departments, new bureaus, new commissions have been added, but the machine is not more easily operated and it does not provide any additional pleasures for us average Americans. But government govern-ment does sell at a much higher price. In 1913 the national government govern-ment cost for each man, woman and child in the nation the modest sum of $7.17, or a total of $692,000,000 for all of us. By 1939 the new gadgets brought the cost for each of us up to $69.76, a total of $9,142,000,000 for all of us. In 1939 we were not paying for any war preparations, as we are now. The cost has been multiplied up to 10 times what it was in 1913. It congress really wants to reduce the cost of civil activities of government, govern-ment, it should study that old 1913 model which we, the people, liked. FARM PRICES IN WAR TIME THE WORLD WAR I price of farm products, with wheat at a top of $2.97 a bushel in 1917 and other items proportionately high, harmed more farmers than it helped. Such prices encouraged them to buy land at exorbitant values and the mortgage mort-gage holders closed them out when neither principal nor interest could be paid as prices dropped to normal, nor-mal, or below, after the close of the war. In this war Americi does not have the problem of feeding the greater part of Europe, as it did from 1914 to 1919. Now our one customer is England. But war does make a difference. dif-ference. Top price of wheat in 1939 was 72 cents. In 1941, top price was $1.28 not enough to encourage encour-age high land values. t CHANGE IN ATTITUDE OF BRITISH IN 1918, in company with Sir Evelyn Eve-lyn Wrench, then a major in the British army, I walked down the Strand in London. Just in front of us, walking in the same direction, was a distinguished member of the British house of lords. Coming towards us, and towards his lordship lord-ship were four British tommies, arm in arm. As they approached, his lordship stepped off the sidewalk to let them pass. "That," I said to Major Wrench, "typifies the England of the future. The common man of England has found that he 'rates.' He will no longer make way for the nobility. He has defended England and he knows it." The recent visit to this country of Jenny Lee, the Joan of Arc of the Welsh miners, reminded me of that incident. As an aftermath of the present war, she is demanding for the English working classes such opportunities op-portunities as the American workman work-man has always enjoyed the chance to advance and a standard of living that is commensurate with his value to the nation. She and her followers will get much of what they are demanding. de-manding. The dominance of English Eng-lish nobility is passing. Being an earl or a lord will soon be rather meaningless. |
