The Marshall republican., 1908-01-31
BAD FOR THE WAGE FARMERS
Judge orosseup Says Municipal 0ss.
srship Would Lower Wages.

Judge 0rosseup Says Municipal 0Wo.
srship Would Lower Wages.
Government control and operatisa
would also be found, I think, to .havs
a disadvantageous effect upon the spe.
cIal interest Of the laboring man. Ia,
Dor sometimes gets less than the en-.
terprise employing can AFFORD to pay.
but labor never gets more, at least for
any length Of time. than the enterprise
al AFFORD to pay. Lowered efficiency
therefore means lowered wages. And
public ownership always has been and
always will be on this account attend.
Cd by lower wages. The men who are
motormen on the municipal street rail.
ways Of Glasgow, for instance, get a
little less than ~ cents an hour: the
motormen Of Chicago get from 81 TO
"A cents m hour. The locomotive en-
gineer Of q German government rail.
road gets $50 per month; the American
locomotive engineer makes easily three
times that much. And through the
whole schedule Of wages paid by pub
iic and by private enterprises the same
difference runs.
But there Is still another side TO this
objection, what may he called It's per-
sonal side. the effect OF public owner.
shiSAoa organized labor. Much MS la.
bsr0Mmpjzations have been abused
ksD063 there by opposing interests
Dad mHph Al here and there labor or.
1hnIza Tons have abused their privi'
Ieges, II II IN labor organizations that
the iaborlng man finds and Will con.
tinue 10 md the source Of bettered
conditions.
Asking for higher wages the one
IL unheard. But the many speak.
mas one make themselves heard. SO
that the labor organization II the L.
borcrs' Industrial protector.
But the many speaking a. one must
have some one 10 whom 20 speak. some
concrete party with whom 20 deal.
Under government ownership that par
" would he the whole public. Let not
the ready sympathy OF the people for
alternative measures such as factory
legislation aud the like he given too
wide Significance. for even thers
the task was long and hard, nor the
readiness OF the public 10 side In nj
times OF labor strikes with the en-
ployees. In those situations the pub
lie II an outside party. not the othci
party. Until In some public controlled
| enterprise there IL q demand by the
employee for higher wages or changed
| conditions, some demand that will di
rectiy cost the public something In dol
lars and cents. the laboring man Il
without proof that the public can b
more easily reached than private en-
terprisc.
Something In this line. however, w
already know. Government servants
from the highest 10 the lowest. ARE th'
poorest paid people In America. Put
man for man. against correspondent
grades I'm private enterprise. the pres
dent OF the United States against th'
presidents OF the great corporations
cabinet officers against tho manager
Of corporation departments. posta
clerks on the railways against expires
clerks. laborers against laborers, IN
advantage In every use is with tn
employee OF the private enterprise
And this We know. too-that. thoug'
the matter has often been urged, III
people at large Will not listen TO an,
proposition for increase OF pay In tb
government service. Given then
private employer or the public as en-
ployer with whom to deal, the n
thousand times more accessible and ir
hnttely prompter TO reach results tina
the other, to my mind nothing Is cleal
er than that employment by the publ
would be followed by Q severe impail
ment OF the influence aud efficiency q
the labor organization and OF the goo
Il has done for Its membership.-HoI
Peter 8. Grosscup In American Mag
zine.