4 SATURDAY -THE LABOR WORLD NOVEMBER 24, 1917.

THE LABOR WORLD William E. McEwen, Publisher.

Advertising Rates Mad*. Known on Application,

Entered at Postofflce at Duluth, Minn., as Second Class Matter.

Published Every Saturday. Established in 18D6 by Sabrie G. Aikin.

Business Office. Suite 610 Manhattan Building:,

Duluth, Minn.

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Henry Dworschak, Jr., Editor.

likewise the manner in which other •war problems were handled. The rank and file of the voters, however, are heart and soul behind the presi­dent in his war policies, but are op­posed to the element of personal pro­fit and aggrandisement taking pre­cedence over the welfare of the na­tion.

The sovereign power Is vested in the citizens, who must undergo the sacrifices of. wartime,,foot the bills and «do the actual fighting, and to take from them the basic right of electing their representatives in the supreme law-making body at a time when the forces of humanity are concentrated in a war against autocracy, would be nothing less tban sheer folly.

The surest way of disrupting the country is to denv the masses n -.nice in their government.

I NIVEKSAL MILITARY TRAINING

The Commercial club this week experienced another of its spasmodic hallucinations—this time in the form of an indorsement of the principle of compulsory military training and the recommendation to congress that the Chamberlain universal military training bill be enacted into law.

Now some would have you believe that when this club of business men goes on record in favor of some proposition, its action is representa­tive of the sentiment of the com­munity. it DOES represent capital, but not the rank and file, or those who constitute about 90 per cent of the population.

It is common knowledge that the present war was brought on because of the confidence of the German war lords in the ability of the Prussian war machine to sweep away and en­gulf all resistance. This grave menr ace which is now causing world chaos was fostered by the system of military training in Germany. It was inevitable that the high degree of military efficiency attained would sooner or later seek an opportunity to express itself, and it is only too well known how this expression has been made to the balance of the world.

The present war is being waged by the allies with the object of mak­ing it the final great conflict; to ban­ish militarism from the face of the earth, and establish a perpetual peace. The proposal to foist a dras­tic imitation of Prussian militarism upon this country by war-mad re­actionaries is incompatible with the ideals of American democracy and is conceived by a distortion of logic with sinister motives.

Organized labor, as loyal as any element of our citizenship, always has been, and still is, opposed to compulsory military training as sub­versive to the principles of genuine freedom and civil liberty.

If the Chamberlain bill is to be j given any consideration, then the | voters should be given an opportun­ity to express themselves through a referendum.

IiABOR IS LOYAL!

One of the outstanding and most significant features of the annual convention of the American Federa­tion of Labor being held at Buffalo is the whole-hearted indorsement given Samuel Gompers and his pol­icy of co-operating in every possible way with President Wilson in a vig­orous prosecution of the war.

Organized labor, led by Mr. Gom­pers, realizes the importance of j pooling all the resources of the na- j tion in an effort - to bring the con­flict to as early conclusion as poss- j ible. And the solid support of the i labor forces is no mean cog in the i fighting machine. i

j

When the time comes to negotiate I terms of peace, it is very evident! that the spokesmen of labor will i have far-reaching influence in the deliberations which will result in designating the conditions under which the future generations will live. And it is no fantastical dream to expect that many reforms long advocated by organized labor will receive universal recognition and adoption.

The patriotism of labor is not a subterfuge to gain material ends; It is patriotism that involves real sac-•'.fice and unwavering devotion to the cause of freedom.

The action of the Buffalo conven­tion dispels any doubt as to the sen­timent of those who toil in regard to the war.

AN INCREDIBLE PREDICTION.

The recent attempt of Governor Philipp of Wisconsin to appoint a successor to the late Senator Hus-ting, instead of calling a special election and permitting the electors to express their choice, a right guar­anteed by the constitution, causes a great deal of speculation as to 'just bow brazen will be the war profit­eers in their eagerness to stifle a voice of protest by the people.

A few months ago, prediction that the reactionary forces and the war profiteers will soon launch a movement to prevent the holding of congressional elections next year, de­spite the requirements of the Consti­tution of the United States, was made to a Washington newspaper­man by one of the foremost Wis­consin Progressive Republicans in congress.

"While there is no evidence of such a plan," he said, "there is every indication that the fellows who are making huge war profits, and j are dodging the burden of war taxa-Hon they should carry, are terribly j afraid of the expression of the mind | of the voters next year. They will ' prevent the holding of an election If they can. Their cry will be that there should be no division of public sentiment on the war program while our army is in the trenches in Eu­rope, and that just as European elec­tions have been postponed, under constitutional forms, so our congres­sional election should be put off, re­gardless of our constitution."

It is the height of pessimism to believe that the reactionary forces

.would flaunt their audacity and ar­rogance by attempting to deprive the people of the sacred right to vote.

It is needless to say there is & great deal of dissatisfaction because of- the failure of the last congress to adequately tax the profits ot wai* industries and munition makers, and

REAL OR SUPERFICIAL?

The publicity department of the National Wholesale Liquor Dealers' association is giving much promin­ence to the action of that organiza­tion at its recent convention at Cin­cinnati, when it pledged its support to the government in the condnctrof the war.

Such action on the part of any in­dividual or organization is certainly commendable, but when the manifes­tation of loyalty is by a body of men engaged in the liquor traffic, an ele­ment of duplicity becomes evident.

The urgent demand of the nation in this time of war is efficiency; with efficiency at its highest stage, considering boA the man and money resources, the war will be won— and only then.

Despite the restrictions put on the liquor traffic by the Lever food bill and other legislation, a much too large amount of liquor is disposed of, not only to civilians, but to sol­diers in uniform, an example of the latter case being furnished at the Twin Cities, where in is said that the soldiers stationed at Fort Snelling have little difficulty in being served.

One thing is absolutely certain; the consumers of liquor are ren­dered incapable of giving the best that is in them to their country, be they either the workers in the vari­ous war industries or the actual fighting men. Then there is the fearful financial loss, for who would deny that the money now spent for liquor could be far better invested in Liberty bonds or donated to the Red Cross?

Here is a little suggestion to ,the patriotic Liquor Dealers' association: if the resolution adopted at Its an­nual convention were intended to have any more than a superficial significance, let it impress that fact upon the public by agreeing to sus­pend the damnable traffic in liquor and human souls, so that Uncle Sam will be unhindered in his efforts to muster all possible strength in the conflict for world freedom.

The union label is doing more than any strike to gain a living wage and an eight-hour day. All that is required of you is to ask for it on the goods you buy, and insist upon getting It. Many a merchant Bays there is no demand for the nnlon label, and he has the nerve to tell you that to your face. In such case; show just as much nerve as he does, walk out and go to another store where you can get it. Repeat the operation and you will be rewarded by finally finding that all the stores Will carry union-labeled goods and be eager to sell you what you want.

WHAT OTHER PAPERS SAY VIOLENCE SHOULD BE STOPPED.

Superior Telegram: There is no rea­sonable excuse for lawless violence in this country, where' we are all sup­posed ty live under the law. If our rights are lawlessly violated we can put in motion all of the powerful ma­chinery of government for our protec­tion, and for the arrest and punish­ment of those who are guilty of the wrong. The law is wide in its provi­sions, comprehensive, inclusive and as ample as the law-makers ejected by the people can make it.

Hence violence ig strictly out of order and should have no standing anywhere. Just now the press dis­patches tell us that at Tulsa, Okla., a mob took 17 I. W. W. members under arrest from the officers who had charge of them and whipped and tarred and feathered the 17 men and ran them out of that locality, firing hundreds of gunshots in the air as the men fled in the darkness.

This mob violence should be pun­ished the .same as any other kind of mob violence ought to be punished. There was no reasonable excuse for it. The 17 men were under arrest and were not trying to escape. The processes of the law were not being hindered in any way, except by the mob itself. Such doings should not be tolerated, and are not likely to be in any really civilized community. The people of this country prefer to live under the protection of the law, but mob violence, no matter by whom, promotes disregard of the Iftw. Let that sort of thing be stopped.

LABOR AND THE LAND. The Public: Organized farmers and

organized wage earners are, fast com­ing to realization that they are com­mon sufferers from our system of land tenure. In California another strong coalition of farmer and wage earner has just been formed under the name of the California Union of Producers and Consumers. Paul Scharrenberg, secretary-treasurer of the State Federation of Labor and a member of the State Immigration and Housing Commission, is secretary of the new organization. In an editorial in the Coast Seamen's Journal, of which he is editor, Mr. Scharrenberg points out that the new organization can serve both farmers and wage earners by working for "reform of taxation, exempting improvements from taxation and placing more of the tax burden upon privilege and big interests," and for "land fo? the land­less; government aid and encourage­ment in opening land to any person able and willing to cultivate it; this to include taking land from speculat­ors and the reclamation of unculti­vated land."

Mr. Scharrenberg is one of the best executive officers serving state feder­ations of labor in the country. Aud he is also the most ardent champion, among labor men. of the taxation of land values as a remedy for our eco­nomic ills and the best means of achieving economic freedom.

•t' • HELPING HIS BOSS.

The Steel Plant News: George M. Peterson, senator by grace of votes of the people, but special representa­tive in the legislature of the Retail Merchants' association, scolds the far­mers of this district for failure to market their produce at once and says that if they all hold as they threaten to do there will be a marked scarcity of vegetables throughout the winter and consequent starvation.

What the senator probably really means is that the Michigan Street hog should have the sole monopoly of stor­ing and holding vegetables and other produce for higher prices, as he has had in the past. Mr. Peterson is afraid that the market will be glutted in the spring and that many of the vegetables will rot and be wasted as a result of improper storage. The probabilities are that the farmers know as much about storing vegetables as Mr. Peterson, senator, etc., and if they want to take a chance that is their loo"kout, not his.

Recently a farmer called attention to the fact that farmers of other counties are barred from selling their products in this county because of a state law exacting a license fee, and when an effort was made to amend this law in the last legislature in the interests of free competition the bill was indefinitely postpohed by the com­mittee of which Geo. M.x Peterson, senator, etc., was chairman.

It is plainly evident that Mr. Peter­son is working for hia boss, and that said boss is not the people ,who sent him to the legislature but the whole­sale trust of this district, who put him over onto the public. What fools these mortals be.

A THREAT FROM THE RICH. Nonpartisan Leader: Professor

Seligman's arguments against taking from the rich to fight the war what the rich can well spare are remark­able, to say the least. One of his strong cards is the statement that if swollen incomes are taxed too heav­ily "the sources' of charity will be dried up." in other words, the rich will have a few less crumbs to throw to charity. Thus arguqg this profes­sor. many charitable institutions will no longer have a revenue to support the poor, the sick and the needy. This from a man rated as an eminent economist! Another argument of the' professor is sinister. He says that the tax machinery of the country would probably break down under the strain of collecting a tax from the rich that would amount to confiscation or near-confiscation of a large part of their swollen incomes. Now. what does the professor mean by this? Does he mean that the rich would refuse to disgorge and that the resulting at­tempt to enforoe the law would be a "breakdown" of the taxing machinery? Does he mean that the rich would forcibly resist conscription of wealth? No other conclusion can be reaehed by studying his argument. The rank and file of the people have willingly sub­mitted to the selective draft to fill the army. Organized resistance would be treason. Yet here is the mouthpiece of Big Business-apparently threaten­ing an organised rebellion of the rich if their dollars are drafted. Do the war profiteers want it understood that they will resist with force efforts to take their profits to fight for democ­racy in Europe?

"•t

L Helping Labor Find a Way j What we need is clear brained and

warm-hearted men who will direct the labor movement unselfishly. Soqie of those who are outside the trade unions could help us, but they are so interested in statistics, that they haven't quite gotten hold of the big human . side of the question. The beautiful schemes that look so well in bopks and magazines, and'that sound so fine when they are presented from the lecture platform, go all to pieces when applied to flesh and blOod men, because they leave out altogether the element of human nature.

It's all well enough to tell us what we ought to do during^a time of strike, and when we are getting ready to strike. It's a mighty easy proposi­tion to nicely balance the arguments for and against, and subject the whole thing to the test of an elegant system of ethics. But this labor busi­ness is no Sunday school picnic, nei­ther is it a matter that can- be set­tled right off the bat. There are too many things that don't appear on the surface, and that It's hard to put into so many words, so that the outsider will understand.

We need some folks who can ex­plain these matters better than we cap do it ourselves, and since it's hard to do this unless you've been in the game, we aren't making the pro­gress that we might. It's one thing to make a study of the workingman's problems from above, even with sym­pathy and sincerity of purpose, A man may even* tramp it, or go into the shop or live in a tenement, but he ddes it knowing that at any moment he may leave it if he wants to do so. Anyway, he misses a good deal of the joy and happiness of working people, because of their appreciation of many things that come to them, and about which pleasure your student knows nothing.

Lots of good people get impatient with us because we don't seem to ap­preciate what they are doing for us. To be perfectly honest, we'd rather do these thinks for ourselves, in just the way that we think best. It may not be the best way, but it's our way, and there's a good deal in that. We'll appreciate having them show us how the things may be done, but we want a hand in doing them. We'll work with these folks and we'll be glad to have them work with us, but the whole thing must be on the level, like the big democracy in-which we all be­lieve.

I can't help feeling that there are a good many folks who, if they weren't so indifferent or lazy, so comfortable and easy-going, really could mend matters, I suppose it would be hard for the bosses to make the move. There's so much in the way. Busi­ness dealings are too mixed up.

But there are some people who can do it, and some of them are bosses, too. They can get busy creating a sentiment in favor of a squarer deal all around. If I understand the church, that's a good share of its business. There's nobody that can do more in getting matters set right than the churches, if they will only start in on the job. There are millions of church-members in this country, more folks than there are Socialists and trade»unionists, combined, by a good, deal, and probably more than there ever will be. It ought not be very hard to map out a policy for them to follow, if the teachings of Jesus are ever to be applied to every­day living.—Rev. Charles SteJzle in "Letters from a Workingman."

THE PRICE.

It's another cent on the price of milk And a cent on a pound of tea,

And a con', on this and a cent on that To be paid by you and me— To be paid by you and me, my man,

But it oughn't to make us rage, Or to makt us mad if they'd only add

A cent as well to our wage.

It's only a cent on a pound of neat, On a loaf from the flour of the

wheat And a cent en the clothes we've got

to wear. And.a cent on all we eat.

Oh,, they haven't forgot a thing, my man,

From your shoef. and your coat to your hat,

Excepting the pay you earn each day They've added no cent to that!

But every cent they add, my man Is a cent they've go* to pay

When a 1 alt we call to their greed and ail, ,

And that time will come some day. And the cent that you pc.y today, my

man, Today when you're sore oppressed,

Will be yours when due—and it's up to you

To collect '.t with Interest! —New York World.

n tm itu t ;» •» •>"»< i > '> i

THR0U6H THE PERISCOPE. [ The Midvale Steel company reports

earnings for ths last quarter equiva­lent to $4.02 a share of the capital stock, or at the rate of 33 per cent per annum.

Horace Lowry, head of the Twin City Rapid Transit company, has sub­scribed to the Rockefeller conception of trade unionism. At a hearing on the strike situation recently, con­ducted by the' Public Safety commis­sion, Mr. Lowry said he had no ob­jection to the men forming a union provided they would elect him presi­dent of it and permit him to name the secretary..

When a campaign is put on by the local chapter of the Red Cross an appeal for contributions is made to all classes of people. At the annual elec­tion of officer? this week not a single person even remotely connected with a labor union or the working class was honored with an, qffice. Seems kind of queer.

The secretary of state of Ohio has officially announced that the voters of the Buckeye state defeated the dry amendment by a majority of 1,723.

It is said that the first United States soldier captured by the Ger­mans in General Pershing's sector was Harry' Loughman, who, prior to his enlistment in the army, carried a card in the Chicago local of the Amal­gamated Association of Street Rail­way Employes.

The New York state assembly is to be invaded by ten Socialist assembly­men, and the New York eity council will have seven 'Socialist members for the first time in history, as a re* suit of the recent election.

The acceptance of the penalty clause in the Southwest bituminous coal fields is expected to prevent an inter, ruption in the production of that kind of coal because of labor troubles.

The New York Call, a Socialist daily, has been denied the second-class mailing privilege.

• • *

Warren K. Billings, convicted of murder in connection with the pre­paredness day bomb explosion in San Francisco, has been removed from the county jail to the state's prison to begin a life term.

•

William Jennings Bryan recently addressed a huge meeting in Wash­ington in celebration of the fact that 24 hours had passed for the first time In American history without a single arrest for drunkenness in the na.ion's. capital city.

Mayor Michael Boylan of Virginia has announced that he will defy the. order of the State Public 8afety com­mission providing for the closing of poolrooms and dance halls at 10 p. m. Mike certainly has some backbone.

• • • In a brief submitted to the inter­

state commerce commission in the railroad freight rate case, counsel for the shippers suggests that the com­mission recommend that the govern­ment operate the - railroads for the duration of the war,

! A WIW1INE NECESSITY n

THE DEMON OF WORRY.

The demon of worry seems to in­vade almost every home, and more frequently seeks out as its victim the mother of the family, with all her cares and vexations. Worry leaves the system exhausted, and the mind suffers loss of vigor. The habit, how­ever, may be cured, if only one has the will power to assert the fact and then keep to it.

There are many practical ways in which this can be done. One is to re­strain the outward expression of the feeling itself. We may not be able at once to say). "Peace, be still," to every anxiety that wella up within us, but we can by effort repress its exhibition. We need not pour out our fancied woes into another's ear; we need not carry a dismal countenance with which to* afflict our neighbors; we can at least keep our worries within our breasts, and as a plant that is shut out from fresh air will sbon wither, so these anxieties and fears, if denied an outlet, will I6se much of their in­nate force. •

Let us encourage the cheerful smile, the frank, clear look, the hearty hand grasp, the cordial interest In those we meet, and while shedding brightness upon others, we shall find many >ot our own worries Slipping ftway. '

Pleading for more general organiz­ation of wage earners, The Public of New York says:

With signs multiplying that this is to be a long war, the necessity of look­ing far ahead in our industrial mobil­ization becomes more apparent. The president's commission has effected what looks like a satisfactory solution of the labor troubles in the Arizona copper mines. Any such solution must involve machinery for real collective bargaining, and the Arizona settlement does this. But copper is only one of a dozen commodities in the produc­tion of which we cannot afford inter­ruption. There is first of all steel, and there are also oil, meat packing, tex­tiles, and automotors, trucks and air-planes. In none of these great indus­tries is the labor force organised. We know not what days of food shortage, intensive production, and privation lie ahead of us. Certainly if the in­dustrial population is to be tested, the men employed in these industries are to be. A great labor upheaval in any one of them might cripple us at a crucial moment. In England a com­mission on labor unrest has just com­pleted" its report. It insists on 100 per cent organisation of both employers and employes, and the application of the principle of collective bargaining. Mr. Gompers, the government and the great employers cannot look too far a)tead or move too firmly in applying this lesson of English experience. The commission now in this country, headed by Sir Stephenson Kent, must be heeded in its insistence upon or­ganization and the establishment of adequate machinery for continuous negotiations between workmen and their employers. The professional agi­tators who have made a fat living by cultivating the resistance of our large employers to industrial democracy# and organizing, them "in such bodies as the National Association of Manu­facturers .can no longer be permitted to stand in the Way. They are already years behind the employers who make up the membership of their various associations, men for thfc most part too busy to realize into what a bog they were being led. Any innova­tion must be cautiouslyapplbpd. it is a situation of infinite difficulty. In the steel industry we have the same problem that confronts a political organization like the old Russia. The working force has been so long con­trolled through spies, guards, and ar­bitrary poorer of discharge that the employing corporations are afraid to abandon the iron hand. Responsible labor leaders shrink from the respons­ibility of trying, to control vast num­bers of men newly admitted to a vole* in determining their working condi­tions. But it is better to begin now than to ,vwalt until conditions are less p l a c i d * . 4 . 1

The Labor Paper As An Advertising Medium

' Printers' Ink the highest authority on advertising mediums, makes Jhe following statement:

"A labor paper is a far bitter advertising medium than any ordinary newspaper in compari­son with circulation. A labor paper, for exafmple. having 2,000- subscribers, is of far more value to the business man who advertises than an ordinary paper with 12,000 subscribers."

*

Many business men do not stop to think that every line, both of news and advertising, that enters a labor paper, is read more closely by its subscribers than those of any other form of publication. The people who read the labor paper are laboring men, men who patronize only those merchants who conduct themselves fairly toward labor.

The ordinary newspaper is taken to the home, read and then cast aside and never touched again. The labor paper is saved by the housewife and its advertising columns con­sulted when she wishes to make a purchase.

THINK IT OVER OaU for Bolioitor—Grand 65; Melrose 1288.

HERE'S TO THE EDITOR. By Rev. Charles Stelzle.

He is a man of our flesh and our blood. Most of us have idealized the editor to such a degree that we imag­ine him to be an ethereal creature whose living among us is a dispensa­tion of divine providence, but for whose- existence we are not at all re­sponsible. And as with all of God's gifts, we have become so accustomed to their beneficence and their comfort that we rather take them for granted. We become conscious of their exist­ence only when they are removed from us, or when there seems to be an oc­casion for raising a mighty howl.

When the paper comes with regu­larity, when our names appear, in con­nection with current events, when we agree with the editorials, when there is no demand for the subscription price—then all is well. But if the postman misses out on a delivery, and if our names are mis-spelt, and if the editorials indicate some original think­ing which shocks our conservative feelings, and if the business end of the paper is pressed home upon us,— then, "Oh. cut it out!" comes the dis­gruntled verdict toward an institu­tion which has served us faithfully year after year, and without Which the labor movement could scarcely exist.

To the labor editor we owe a debt of gratitude which a dollar or two a year tannot possibly repay. He fights our battles. He expresses the aspirations ot the toiler as the toiler himself eannot express it. He is in­deed the voice of the people who wan­der in the wilderness..

For all this, and much more, those of us who believe in his job should stand by him. He cannot alWays do it single-handed. Sometimes the pressure becomes too great for mortal man to endure. There's a limit to human strength, no matter how full of purpose and power.

Thereforer—when the editor does well, tell him about it, and do it right away. When he asks for his day's wage because he has served you, pay it to him. You'd boycott the fellow who treated you as you do the editor in this respect. In a word— do to the editor as though you were the editor.

When the minister quits preaching about how much the Asiatics are in need of a great and glorious salvation and begins to talk about some of the heathenish things that are being done every day in his own community, it is really remarkable how many people there are who stiffen up with indig­nation and resentment, wondering where op earth he got the inside in­formation in regard to their individual lives.—Ex. '

[ Very Suggestive Statistics. We quote the following passage -

from the October number of th^ Monthly Review of the U. S. Bureai of Labor statistics:

"This little summary reveals ; shocking state of economic indecency Just how much is needed for the sup_ port of a normal family in modei'ati comfort is difficult to estimate. Pre vious studies indicate that, in a larg« city, the barest minimum upon whi'ci existence for a normal family can in maintained upon a level of commoi decency can not be less than $900 o $1,000. Such a sum. moreover, i estimated to permit of nothing mor> than the mere creative necessities. Tr maintain a real family life upon thf much eulogized "American standarr of living' would certainly demand < considerably larger sum.

"It is startling, therefore, to lean that in the capital of the nation, in 3 year of unprecedented high prices 807, or 38 per cent, of the 2,110 ?am ilies investigated had yearly incomes pf less than $900; and 1,295 familie?. or 6.1 per cent, had incomes of less than $1,200 a year. As noted above, some of these families were of small size, but the averages were not ab­normally low. Thus, for families re­ceiving less than $900 per year, the family household averaged 44 mem­bers, and the net family (i. e„ exclud­ing boarders and lodgers) averaged 3.4 members; for families receiving less than $1,200 the corresponding: averages were 4.6 and 3.5.

"The negroes fared worse than the whites. Out of 629 negro families 180, or .nearly 29 per cent, were obliged to try to keep body and soul together on less than $600 a year, and 472. or no less than three-quar­ters of the total, lived on less than $900. Among the white families, con­ditions were better, but not vastly so.

"Nor in all cases dicl the family incomes referred to represent merely the earnings of the male head of a household in which the wife was at home and the children in school.

"The pinch of economic distress among a large proportion of families is also clearly indicated by the fact that almost one-third of the families, both white and negro,N finished the year with deficits."

So far as our knowledge extends there is no reason for supposing that other large cities are in better condi­tion than Washington. No comment that we could add could increase the effect of the bald statistical state­ment;

. Notwithstanding the. ingenious mis­representation of real-estate profiteers and mortgage-holders, there is no justice ih Withholding-taxes from land values.

French

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