Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-04-29
ARE We, AS A PEOPLE, OYER.
PROSPEROUS.
Is Our Prosperity the Cause of Rail-
road Disasters! Has Independ-
ence Bred IneapaCity! Is Too
Much Attention Paid to The Box
Office, not Enough to the STAGE?

1t Is not To be denied that this country
IS prosperous; nor that it has been TO
for number OF years. l, is probable
that prosperity will continue for some
time. though there are those who profess
to believe that business has commented
to slow up at the present time. This is
because OF tghtness that has appeared
In the money market, and it is possible
that business will not be done on SO
oroad'a scale or at so rapid a pace during
tue current year as it has been during
the past TWO or three years. It's possi-
be that the pace has been getting a little
too last. When the vehicle commences
to crowd the wheel horses, the momen-
tum Is too great for the locomotive DOW.
er, and it is time to put on the brakes,
and that may be what is the matter with
the country at the present time. Aside
from that it is not apparent that disaster
is Immediately impending, and although
Wall street and some of the railroads
are making show of conservatism, rail-
road gross earnings for March were sew
en- per cent larger than for the same
month Of last year. This latter fact in
dicates that the volume OF business is
greater than the great record OF last year
and would seem to preclude the idea
that the real business OF the country is
suffering from even a slight stroke of
paralysis.
Nevertheless, it does appear that the
wheel horses are being crowded. Capac-
ity in general, and the capacity OF tie
individual are being overtaXed, and too
often it is evident that potential capacity
is not as great as it was. Either from
actual inability, or from indsposition,
men are not dol g as much AS they used
to do. This has been evident in the op.
erations in the woods. Labor has been
scarce and it has been poor. The same
number OF men have not done as much
work as that number did in past years,
and 1T is, in a measure, due to the great
call for service. Independence has bred
incapaCity, and many industries are suf-
fering because laborers are too independ.
ent to exert themselves. Only day or
two ago the report came from the Ca
madam rthwest that coal miners are
quitting work-nOt because of demand
for higher wages, that would be granted
by their employers, but merely because
they felt like taking a rest. The fact
that employment is seeking labor as
never before, has made labor independ-
ent to the verge of impertinence. Men
are careless of the quality OF work they
PEI form because they are assured that
if they quit one job they can easily get
another. Employers cannot be too crit
ical for they are, as never before, depend
ent on labor.
That capacity is being overtaxed is
apparent in other directions. Railway
disasters have multiplied during the
past few years, and one of the chief
reasons therefor is that too much is be-
ing attempted with inadequate equip.
ment. Perhaps the desire to make the
best showing on the least expenditure is
at fault. Heavier equipment and larger
loads are being hauled on roadbeds that
were constructed for half OF what they
are being subjected to, and the growing
demand for speed has gone ahead OF the
demand for safety. Haste is national
characteristic and tits being overworked.
Overwork causes strain and the result of
continual strain is rupture. \ railroad
man has said that the country is suffer-
ing from too much prosperity, but it is
not certain but that a part of the suffer-
ing is due to too little preparation on the
part OF the railroads themselves. Evil
dence recently adduced might easily lead
to the conclusion that too much atten-
ton has been paid to the box office and
too little to the stage, and this applies to
individuals as we'll as to railway and
other corporations. The laborer thinks
more Of his daily wage than OF his daily
work. The performance is not on a par
with the price OF admittance.