Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-09-06

of the west side OF Whitfield county. he
is survived by two sisters and four
Edwards, being a respected citizen of
Dalton.
The funeral services were conducted
at Donegan Sunday afternoon.
help. in making up my mind how to
deal with our social problems, as I go
| to the leaders of any business or pro-
| fession. I cannot pay too high tribute
| to the worth and integrity Of these men
to their sincerity and good judgment
\ as leaders. But no movement-no lead
| ership-however earnest and honest, can
! endure unless the rank and file live up
| to their duties, and search for such lead
: ership, and support 1t when they ma
It, II the best man in a labor union
leaves it's management and control to
men of a poorer type, the effect will be
/ lust as disastrous as when good citizens
| in a city follow the same course as re-
cards city government. The stay-at-
/ home man in a union is Just much re-
sponsible for the sins of omission and
commission of his organization as the
; stay-at-home man in a city is for civic
I conditions under which he suffers and
| about which he complains.
| HELP Standard OF LIFE.
All that can properly be done should
be done by us all to help upward the
standard of living and to improve the
ability of the average man to reach that
standard. There are still in the United
States great masses of skilled and I'M
organized labor. whose conditions OF
work and living are harsh and pitiable.
It is a shocking and indictment of our
| industrial condition to be told in mat
ter-of-fact way in a government report
that thousands Of workers in this coun-
try are compelled to toll every day in
the week without one days rest, for a
wage Of s45 a month. Such a condition is
bad for them, and in the end for all OF
u.s. Our commercial development should
be heartily encouraged; but 1t must not
be allowed to commercialize our morals.
1t is not merely the duty Of the wage
Garner, but 1t is also the duty of the
general public, to see that he has safe
and healthy conditions under which to
carry on his work. No worker should be
compelled as a condition of earning his
daily bread, to. risk his life and limb or
| to be deprived of his health, or have to
work under dangerous and bad surround
| ings. Society owes the worker this be-
cause ii owes as much to itself. He
should not be compelled to make this a
matter of contract; he ought not to be
left to fight alone for decent conditions
in this respect. His protection in the
place where he works should be guaran-
teed by the law OF the land. In other
words, he should be protected during his
working hours against greed and care
lessness on the part of INSCRIPTIONS
and thoughtless employers, just as out
side of those working hours both he and
his employer are protected in their lives
and property against the murderer and
thief
This opens a vitality important field of
legislation to the national government
and to the state alike. 1t is humiliating
10 think how far we of this country are
behind most of the other countries in
such matters. Practically all civilized
countries have, for more than a decade.
prohibited by the strictest regulations
! the poisonous match industry; yet we
had not done anything at all until very
recently to protect the laborers against
this horrible danger. The national gov
eminent made an investigation a year
ago into this Industry, which showed a
condition of things unspeakably shocking
and revolving. Legislation to prevent
these abuses was introduced in congress,
which was not passed. Since then the
companies in fault have ostentatiously
announced that they have done away
with the Objectionable conditions. I hope
| so; but whether they have or not a law
should be passed in stringent form to
prevent any possible backsliding
INJURIES TO EMPLOYEES.
So IT is in the matter of injuries to
employees. In what is called employers
liability" legislation other Industrial
countries have accepted the principle
that the industry must bear the moment
airy burden of its human sacrifices, and
/ that the employee who is injured shall
have a fixed and definite sum. The Unit
| ed States still proceeds on an outworn
and curiously improper principle, in ac-
cordance with which il has too often been
! held by the courts that the frightful bur-
den of the shall be borne in it's entirely
by the very person least able to bear
it. Fortunately, in a number of states
/ in Wisconsin and in New York, for in
stance. these defects in our industrial
life are either being remedied or else
are being made a subject of intelligent
study with view to their remedy. In
New York a bill embodying moderate
| compensation for accidents has already
been passed. Other states will undoubt-
" follow in the same path. The fed
eral government has, so far as its own
employees are concerned, been the first
to recognize and put into shape this
principle. However, this pioneer law
was not made comprehensive enough; it
does not convert all the employees of
! the federal government that ought to
come within its provisions, and the
amount paid for permanent disability or
death is entirely inadequate. Neverthe-
less 1t was a great step in advance TO
have this principle of workingmens COM
pensation accepted and embodied in fed
! eral statutes, and the recent action of
| congress in providing for a commission
to study and report upon the subject
gives promise that the same principle
will soon be applied to private firms that
come within the jurisdiction of the fed
] eral government.
J Women and children should, beyond all
question, be protected; and in their cases
there can be no question that the states
should act. They should be particular
objects Of solicituue, and they should be
| guarded in an effective fashion against
the demands of a too greedy CONNER
cialism. On my recent trip in the neigh
borhood of Scranton and Wilkesbarre
every one I spoke to agreed to the
immense improvement that had been
wrought by the effective enforcement of
the laws prohibiting children under the
age Of IA years from working, and pro-
lhibiting women from working more than
ten hours a day. Personally, 1 think
ten hours too long; but be this as 1t
may. ten hours a day was great adj
vance.
]