The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1912-08-30

when piqued, or
at q loss for an argument TO support
their contentious, have at times
thoughtlessly charged trade unionists
as being thoroughly materialistic' i'll
possessing mo ideals or sentiments"
and Influenced by no great "sou-mov-
ing forces"
Sentiment in Organized Labor
Such expressions can only come
from those who are not informed, or
such as are burdened with prejudice.
In order that those who run may read
and understand, few facts are here
with unfolded so that cynics, critics.
opponents and friends may obtain
glimpse in a condensed form of what
these same trade unionists have ae-
complished-because of great soul.
moving force burning within them.
Conserving Men and Women.
The farther the American people ad-
vance in this direction in the future
the more surely will they observe true
economic principles-that is to say,
the conservation of human resources
and human energy Of the toilers
means the ultimate safety and well
being of the nation and while 1t is
only too true, and pity It's It's true, .
that the greatest form of waste from
which our people suffer at this time is
the terrific waste of human energy,
due to uneconomic methods. The aw-
full slaughter of the workers whose
bodies are manned. or whose lives are
unnecessarily destroyed In some in
dustries and in transportation, is gen.
orally caused by long hours, ignorance
incompetence, haste or greed.
Still, while it is true that these
grave charges are daily substantiated.
yet, if it had not been for the con.
slant vigilance and heroic persistence
of the workers in providing remedies
for such awful possibilities, every
trade and occupation would be equally
subject to as frequent casualties as
now occur in the mills and blast fur
naces of the iron and steel industry
where organization of the workers
has been slow to develop. as we'll as
in those coal fields, where the mine
workers are still subjected to serf
like conditions by agencies of preda
tory wealth.
1t is, therefore, perfectly appro
pirate to draw attention to such 6
comparison before enumerating the
legal measures of prevention ant
safety already established in the sew
eral states.
The first subject covered is natur
ally the Conservation of Time" o
1.-THE S-Hour Day" Without time t,
recuperate, observe, study, reflect
the workers are rendered hopelessl,
unable to act either In their own be
half or in cooperation with others 70
the public good.
Shortening the Working Day.
| Observe the communities where tn
steel trust, the sugar trust, the core
age trust an dthe rubber trust ar
dominant, and, where greed Is all pow
erful, where the workers grind out
miserable existence twelve hours De
day, and In many cases seven day
per week, never less than seventy-tW
hours, frequently eighty-four hour
per week. In such places race sricid
runs rampant, sickness, vice, diseas,
drunkenness and deaths, by violenc
are the rule rather than the exce]
ton.
i Boarding house shacks, corner s,
looms and squalor abound; home
schools and libraries are conspicuou
; ly rare or absent.
L Human life is held cheapest, |
I Pennsylvania, where the long and til
many work days are prevalent. Blu
Ter loses 374 out of every hundre
thousand of its people by viole,
3 deaths in industry; Pittston, 359, M
KEGS Rocks and MeKeesport 20
!. Shenandoah 279, Pottsyille 276 and th
4 large city, Pittsburg, with its divers
| fed population, reyels In a violel
81 death rate Of 1911 per one hundre
< thousand people. according to Il
mortality statistics of the Unite
States census bureau in 1906.
The average age of these deaths |
/ accident Is thirty-three and a ha
D years. This fearful drain occu
$ among men doing the work OF Il
world before they have reached Il