West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1905-10-05
OUR washington LETTER.
The State Department Has Trouble
Over Some Of Our congressman
TELLING TALES OUT OF SCHOOL.
Our Labor Unions in Favor of
Acting the Fool Like They
Do Abroad.
Regular Correspondent OF The Argus

Regular Correspondent OF The Argus.
WAsHlNGroN, Oct, 3, zoos
The State Department has about
the same trouble on its hands re-
garding the American Congressman
who recently visited the Kaiser that
the French Minister had with the
ttenchman Richard who purported
to have interviewed the President
after the Portsmouth Conference.
There is all sorts OF trouble i'm the
big building, and Second Assistant
Secretary Adee, who is the enoyclo-
pedia of dillitonti diplomacy for
the Department, is scratching his
head TO know how to square the
Congressman with the German Gov
ernment in the person OF Ambassa-
dor Spec Won Sternberg when the
latter next calls. 1t really appears
from the dispatches that reached
Washington both official and other
wise, that the Kaiser, like the par
rot in the fable, talked too much.
He was called on by Congressman
Littlefeld of Maine, McNary Of
Massachusetts, Bartholdt OF Miss
our, Waldo OF New York and
Harchfeld of Pennsylvania. The
Kaiser according to the story, tried
to do little missionary work and
talked TO the Congressmen at some
length about the "yellow peril" of
which spook by tne way the Kaiser
is the creator. Now in Germany
there is the same unwritten law,
that the Kaiser shall not be quoted
any more than shall the President.
Whether this was explained TO the
Congressmen before they were adj
mitted to the audience is not known.
1t is to be hoped for the honor of
the American Congress, which can
not even keep the secrets of the ex-
ecutiye sessions, that il was not.
Anyhow when the Congressmen got
through with their heart to heart
talk, they told the story of the
Kaiser's remarks. This was cabled
at once to the Japanese newspapers
and the japanese Government was
incensed. The Kaiser's missionary
work was rendered of non effect ow-
ing TO the publicity and to square
himself, had to repudiate the whole
interview. Consequently the Con-
gresslonial party is going to cut
short its stay in Germany and the
State Department will make what.
ever amends it can, unoficially of
course, for this breach OF interna.
tional etiquette.
The Bureau Of Labor has Iust IS
sued a report that is going to cause
a lot Of disturbance in labor circles.
1t is to the effect that the labor un-
ions Of this country arc in favor OF
the restriction Of individual output
as practiced abroad, and that in the
last rwo years, while wages in the
meat packing business have adj.
yances I2H per cent, the time
taken 90 the work has increased
from thirty to fifty per cent. This
is bad hearing for the people who
heretofore looked upon the Ameri-
can laborer as the swftesl and most
skillful in the world and who boast
ed that there was no such thing as
restricted output in America. II
was said that whatever else might
be charged against them, the labor
er unions here had never adopted
the foolish foreign policy Of scaling
down the speed Of an entire lot Of
men % the pace Of the slowest in
the party This has been the ac-
knowledged rule abroad for years
past and 1t has gotten so bad in
England as TO make the work of
the building contractor almost inn
possible. There are even different
scales Of speed for the workmen on
Government and private Jobs, and
the system in London reached It's
logical conclusion on one piece Of
OF Government work where the mum
Der Of bricks laid by a man in a day
were reduced to 800 on coarse
brick work where the normal rate
Of speed was 800. It is claimed
10 the department report just issued
that The restriction Of output exists
10 The packing and glass making
trades, the latter being very highly
organized, in the cigar making
trade and in several others where
in spite Of the installation Of inn
proved machinery and labor saving
devices, the cost of production has
increased out Of all proportion 10