The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-05-23
OPPOSES CONTROL
BY GOVERNMENT
Magazine Writer Attacks Atti-
tude of Some SO-Called Re-
form Politicians.

Government control OF the railroads is
an attack on the payroll of the railroad $
employees. according TO II. \. Adams, NJ.
A, noted magazine writer and speaker
on economics, who In an interview grant
ed recently, made the following state
ments on the subject Government Con-
troll OF the Railroads and the Wage
Farmers Interests"
This question" said Mr.. Adams, lis
not Il question as between railroad men
and their employers, the railway com
panies. Such questions arise at times
ana must be settled. like AL family quar-
res, by the members OF the family, But
this is not family quarrel; 1t is a
question as between the employers and
certain so-called reform politicians vino
are just now seeking 10 get into power
and 10 keep in office by attacking the
employers interests. Therefore, 1t Is
up To yoU, as railroad employees. 10 pro-
tcct your own interests by resisting this
| unreasonable attack upon the general
prosperity OF the business which gives
you living. Some foolish political
economists would like us TO believe that
the interests of the employer and the
employee are Identical. Every working
man, however, unless he Is food, knows
| that the interests OF the wage-earner
and those OF the employer are not ideu-
| IDEAL. because their interests are like
those OF any buyer and seller. The en-
ployec wants TO sell his labor power as
| high as possible; and naturally the en-
| ployer wants TO buy IL as cheap as pos
slble That is simply common sense.
| And when such an issue arises II is a
| family quarrel and must be settled IN
| the way all wage questions are settled:
| But this issue-of attempting 20 control
| the business of "A railroad by commits
| sion of politicians-iS quite another mat
| ter. 1t is Il fight in which your inter
| ests as wage workers are precisely the
same as the interests OF the employing
| company. Let me show how.
Division of Earnings.
"Out of every dollar that the railroads
earn, A. cents goes at orce into the
pockets of the employees in the shape
| of wages. Another 10 per cent goes To
workers in other branches OF industry:
| such as mines, steel mills and coal and
| oil production. So, YOU see. 81 cents
out OF every dollar received by the rail
| roads belongs Immediately 10 the work
| Ing class. Last year the railway EN-
poyees In America received over one
| billion doilars-much more that is. than
| either the bond holders stock holders
or anybody else received, IL IS perfectly
plain. therefore, that the more the rail-
| roads earn the more finds its way into
the hands Of the working class OF
| course. some ranting demaSogGeS ask
you to believe that anything which re-
duces The earnings OF what they call the
robber corporations mus, be good for
| the people, Good for which people? Ger
tainly not for the 100000 railway en-
ployecs in the United States. Look at
|
| men who do your own thinking and who
know how To safeguard your own inter
| csts If the Santa Fe had earned only
| one half what it earned last year, who
| would have been the first TO suffer?
| why. YOU. of course! Rccoliect that YOU
| men get only about half Of the earn
| lnes. Ii the earnings increase. you get
more. il they decrease. the workers ne
| cessarily get just so much less that
year.
And now let me point out To YOU
| what all this 'insurgent' talk against the
railroads really means II is the middle
! class mot the working class that de-
| maudS reduced rates. The small mer-
chant class. realizing that it Is being
squeezed by the operation of what
| political economists call the law OF in
! dustrial evolution means the
gradual but inevitable tendency for al
| business to pass into bigger and strong
| er hands with n consequent elimination
| OF little business this small merchant
class | say naturally sGueals as II feels
| the screws of evolution and shrees Tor
| any old legislation which will force the
| big corporations to give up As much as
| possible of their earnings. Then comes
| along the so-Called rcformer, the foxy
| Insurgent politician. and he secs at once
| that the easiest way Tor him TO climb Into
office is TO set up "a yell for control OF
| the rnbbev corporations That's Just
what is happening all over the country
right now,