Lower coast gazette., 1909-03-06
SATURDAY MARCH 9Th, 1909.
The Conservation of Labor.

our natural resources we have had our forest lands, our coal mines,
pr waterways and our vast areas of cutivable land under con-
sideration and have been told that we are generally wasteful and
that unless we reformed disaster was sure to reach us in the end.
ALI that has been said OF our Wastetuness has in a general way
s-peen true, but there is an even. greater waste that has not as yet
had much consideration and that is our waste Of human labor.
Ebert Hubbard, the distinguished patriarch of the Roycrofters at
East Aurora, New York, tells a story of the complaint Of an Eng
lshman to him that we seemed to have no leisure class, Or in other
words, gentlemen; men who did not have to work with hand or
brain for a}iving. The great Royerof5er responded that we GER
tainy had just such a leisure class, men who got their living with
out physical Or brain labor. but that in America we did not call
them gentlemen, we called them tramps.
Ebert Hubbard tells this story himself, bnt whether it be true
or made up to suit the occasion, it is true in principal. In America
every man except the tramp, expects and is expected to work.
From this we may see at once that we in America are more inter-
ested in the conservation of labor than are the people of any other
country. Human labor is the foundation of all wealth. Accunqu-
lated capital represents the labor Of previous days, our own or that
of others which has come under our control We may have all the
natural wealth of the world at our command. but if we won't work
and avail ourselves Of them our labor is lost by our idleness.
There are several ways of wasting human labor and the chief
among these the loss of labor to the unemployed. Such losses
come from business derangements and just now, while the situa-
zion is said to be improving, thousands of willing men are unable
TO find employment in their usual occupations and find it difficult
# not impossible TO adapt Intensely to other employment. After
the loss Of labor from the lack of employment comes the loss that
arises from the improper employment Of men: A dry goods clerk
does not make a very good longshorenan, and an unemployed
lawyer couldn't PROBABLY do very much in the way of ditching.
Labor has its highest value where it's greatest skill and longes
experience can De aVditeu pr. we may name as the next source OF
Joss of labor those who are imperfectly employed. Should 9 good
farm hand drive one horse if he could drive two and do double the
blowing or hauling? So much now depends upon high grade ma
ehinery that we can readily see that a poor workman wastes his
iabpr and his principals capital when he is allotted to a higher
plsss teaH his experience and capacity justify. Those who are
voluntary idle are perhaps the most wasteful of all in their waste
of human labor, Fortunately in America we have but few other
than professional tranps who are voluntarily idle.
Torevew these four great wastes Of human labor, that of the
unemployed, of the improperly employed, and of the voluntary
idle, we see that we come right down to the basis of civilization.
Man may live wild or nearly wild in the tropics, or as Adam did in
the garden of Eden, but such are at the beginning only of civiiza-
ton. In cur own community which is devoted chiefly to asricul-
ture, horticulture and fisheries there is an ample supply Of work
the year around and there seems here to be no place for the unem-
ployed, st least there is here ample employment for all and for
every working day Of the year. 1t would seem that those of US
who can work and don't work should be classed as voluntary lie
the worst of the four classes of waste labor:
The improperly employed people are counted among the wastes
of labor and this is made to include those who are not producers
put speculate around endeavorng to make money out of their fell
low men without adding an ioa to the wealth OF the community.
Such shrewd, sharp fellows are a parasite living on the community,
producing nothing and yet living at the top Of the heap. Theirs
is waste labor; their brains or their muscles are improperly en-
ployed.
The improperly employed represent a large fraction of the
waste labor in every community. In agriculture the comm0nest
waste lis from the use of poor tools or poor animals. If one man
can drive two mules or four oxen tits a waste of labor for him to
drive 2ewer, unless the work to be done is only practicable with the
fewer animals, In this parish we believe that it is a FREQUENT
practice for one man todrive four oxen and aaye another man hold
the plow, Probably this wastes one mans labor. Many sugar
planters use two men to handle a fou:mule riding cultiyator or
disc pow when one man could readily dothe whole work as we'll.
Such is the imperfect employment Of labor. The best results are
not got because of the misuse pr msappicaton of the labor. Many
bitches and drains are cut in the wrong place and the result is
waste of labor; urgent work is not given the precedence that the
urgency demands and 50 we might multiply reference to conditions
Of labor waste, which ~unhapply for us are two frequent.
There is another phase Of labor waste that is sometimes found
in this parish. It comes from the improper division of labor and
Of not allottipg to every man his specially. In New Orleans a
plumber. painter or a printer may be out of employment and dis
ifess may be closing in on him; He seeks employment in New
Orleans Of elsewhere in bis own specially, but someway dosen't
look for other employment Our own rice planters cultivate acrop
that is presumed to mature four months after planting, A pre-
urinary month for preparation and an additional month for bar
yesting would complete the whole work in six months and yet
many rice planters do not seek other employment for the other six
months Of the calandaar year, This seems to be a frghtful waste
Of labor by its unemployment.
We can't we'll got around it The Adamic curse is upon US
al, by Che sweato thy brow thou shalt earn thy daily bread
the mandate Of the Holy Writ and it is as true now as when it
was delivered p Adam in the garden Of Eden. President Roosevelt
was alright in his urging the conservation of our forests and our
mines, bVt the wealth Of this broad land Of which southern Louisi-
ana is the most favored section, lies in the brain and the Drawn Of