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Show j COMMUNICATION 1 I Editor. Tho Stnndar.l-P.Minilnor Purlng the present depression it interesting in-teresting to note th- various menu 11 6d Whereby the financial powers of the eonntrv ln.pe t., l.rlnK about n.-Ul. d conditions con-ditions and, nt th same time, guard Un'lr own Interest a feat donlod the worklifg man. If the situation did not bold so much of tragedy for that great majority of United States citizens, the i laboring classes, tho Inconsistencies of their methods would he amusing With their powerful machine built "T their control of the courts of law. and their strangle hold on the financial Interests of every business of any Sifee, indirectly If not directly, together with their string or newspapers to continually pour the oil, they succeed In putting across many things, but. once In a whll". the moehlno slips a cog which mnkex Its weakness apparent oven to the dull Worsting in.n who has only tho strength Of hla two hands and brain with which to combat com-bat them, and who H f.ist being denied tho right to use tho latter through laws forbidding him freo speech and tho refusal re-fusal of the same Interests to permit him to establish a paper of his own through which to express himself or exchange ex-change Ideas with his fellows for fear he mlirht open the eyes of the public to some of the Inner workings of the machine ma-chine (Ask any labor or other llbernl organization which has attempted to start a newspaper, what obstacles were placed in their way.) Consider the late drive for the benefit of the starving- children of Europe which future drives would be unnecessary If all tho Individuals contributing to that cause Were to combine their Influence to bring pressure on thoso agentK of big business, diplomats, politicians, scoundrels scoun-drels call thein what you will to whom the untangling of International nffalrn I Is entrusted lor supposed to be entrusted though sometimes It may be necessary for them to steal a few votes In order to have that trust Imposed on them), ami who nevt-r consider the "starving : children of Europe'1 in their deliberations but scheme and devise always with an eye to what certain agreements may m.-an In relation to big business, or how they may affect the stock market, the while the great bulk of the people of all nations nr.- denied the right to a part In tho regulation of their own llvs and the "starving children of Europe" und America continue to Starve. (Will sny of the money obtained In the late drive r;o to feed the starving children of o ii i Russia, or will the fact that our government govern-ment refuses to recognize theirs, for fear that renewed relationship might assure our own worklngmen continued work without a wage cut. or the bringing In Of raw material upset the market muke tho starvation of a Russian child an easier death than that of a child of another nation?) Probably ine. kficwl- ' edgo of the Russian people that they are attaining a really free government does not make death easier and feed llielr souls if not their stomachs. Consider also the money spent every I year by large corporations in to-called ' welfari work, lighter work room:-', better bet-ter heating, more air, etc.. ruid yet. strange to say the argument necessary to Induce employers to make these changes is that they will result In inot e efficient and greater production, never the l r-'onal welfare of the .mpo,. Think of th millions ami millions of dollars to keep up charity Institutions, children's homes. Insane asylums, county hospitals, etc., which. If used In the first place by the donors In their business busi-ness to pay their workmen enough to provide their families a comfortablo living liv-ing and educate their children would strike at the root for tho need of those Institutions and they would finally become be-come practically unnecessary. How long will whole nations continue to doctor the effect and Ignore the cause '' Consider the lawmakers who pass laws refusing working tnon tho right lo ult tin Ir Jubs If they find they cannot earn enough to support their families. Do tin ) pass oilier laws forbidding corpora-lions corpora-lions or smaller businesses to make moro than a certain per cent on the capital invested? Government reports, afters'. after-s'. .1 ids suppressed, showed that many firms and corporations m&do as high its five and six hundred per cent profit and some even mjro, while urging tne working people to be patriotic, and yet no laws restrain them. Why should wages bo forever measured with the price of bread and butler as the standard? The audacity of such organizations or-ganizations as tho I'tah Associated Industries In-dustries for Instance, (which by the way has Its own organization which irees to It that any business which does not Join them suffers for It though they are strong for the "open shop" for working men), waving a loaf of bread over the heads of the working classes and shouting "90. wo ve lowered the price of bread down with wages." What of rent and coal and shoes and clothe! and Insurance and taxes, etc and c- I caslonally a doctor, for do. not our patriotic pa-triotic advisers, especially thoso militarily militar-ily Inclined, Insist that the stork Bhnl! visit the home of the working man often In order that our country shall properly thrive? No fear of there being too many children, for. If it becomes impossible to care for them at home there arc always al-ways the charity Institutions aiter which they can tako their places In the mills and shops and help feed the machine. All sorts of societies and clubs are supposedly devoted to the desire to see that the American children are educated why not put It In the way of the Amer-P Amer-P an workman to keep his children In school and buy the clothing to cover and tho food to nourish their bodies while they attend? Why Is a working man not supposed to have figured In his wago allowance al-lowance sufficient money to give his hlld a musical or other special education. educa-tion. If they display that talent or so desire? Even the plainer and coarer foods, 'aid to be best for the man who must develop hts muscles, will not prevent lh rood of a dentist as tho examining physicians of the public schools can testify. tes-tify. Why not a little ahead for a acation? (True, a good many laboring men hero In our own cltv were able recently, through the kindness of their employers, to take a vacation, but. not knowing In advance that it was coining and having 1 1 occur right at the Christmas time tended to make It less pleasant than vacations va-cations are wont to bet. What of other recreation or enJoment? I once read' the outline of a monthly budget prepared by a social worker, the wife of a mll-i mll-i .lire, as an example of the wago necessary nec-essary to enable n working girl to support sup-port herself, In which was listed "Recreation, "Rec-reation, fifteen cents. Are working men s families not supposed sup-posed to need such things or do their, linen closets miraculously replenish themselves'' Whoever heard of such an Hem as furniture mentioned in figui Ing lh wnge of laborers? There are dozens of other things as necessary to tho welfare of working people peo-ple and their families which aro never thought of or considered when the cry goes up that the railroads, factories etc . ore headed straight for tho wall unless wages axe reduced. One tool of Wall strcot explains that i he laboring clauses ate now living on the "fat of their wages" earned during the war and that rxtra discipline will be necessary before the maihine will be able to reduce them to thn hoped-for ! condition where they wlU be willing to go ha k to work at any wage. ' Fat of their wages!" What Idiotic nonsense! W hile there are no doubt some Individual I I cases here and there, possibly single men 1 or men of small families who were able. by working long hours to save a little ' money or buy an automobile (and why I shouldn't they?) tho average working man with a family has never yet In tho I history of the United Stales caught up ! with living expenses and I dery anyone : to prove it. Even If he Is able to pay his bills and keep square with the world. ! he Is being made to deny himself and family not luxuries, but the necessities of life. Even If the cost of living were reduced. It would not Justify a general decrease In wages and. for that matter, the cost of living has not declined What family's expenses are less than they were a year ago'' Po you pay less for rent, coal food or clothes? True, there aro occasional sales Juat as there I. as iiIwuvn L..tn and alwuys will he, at certain times of the year, and when eggs and vegetables are plentiful they will naturally be a little cheaper but what guarantee has the worker that living liv-ing expenses wlU bo lower, or. If lowered will remain so? Do not retail merchants explain ihat their present prices are far, far below the present market wholesale price and that everything will be much higher when the new goods arrive? Once In a while some government report re-port slips out untensored. such as Julia Lanthrope s from Hie department of child Welfare, placing low wage n first ir the list of causes for tho high rate 0 infant mortality. Big business of Utah has its agents Ir and outside of our own state leglslaturi now trying to practically do away wilt the Industrial commission because with 1 out It they can better regulate the prle of labor, workmen's compensation, etc to say nothing of the effort to rendei I nil the women's eight-hour law by ar I amendment whereby "mutual agreement' I the hours may be lengthened Indefinitely I How long will it bo before every stor j and factory In the state will be worklnc their women employes nine or ten 01 twelve hours and at the same or los pny more profit for business and lest regard for tho health and welfare of th present und future mothers of American citizens. And Introduced by a woman When I look around at tho tired and worn men and women of the worklnfl classes struggling to make a living fot thHr families and bring up and educate their children In the hope that the- may enjoy a better existence then Is theit lot, and then see the manipulations ol tho money machine to grind them down to Industrial slavery, I wonder, not sc much why they sometimes run amuck, as how men and women with red blood In their veins can stand for what the do, and I say, Uet together! Organize' Anf If, after Just and fair demands, ou cannot get a living wage, money enough to care for your families and raise your children as the children Of American citizens citi-zens should be raised, then use the only weapon you possess: act as one and strike laws or no laws. ALICE SNELL, MOYEK. 2913 Grant Ave . Ogden. |
