The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1912-06-07
ONE RIGHT OF man
The Privilege of Living His A.
IOtte5 Life.
INJUSTICE TO THE WORKMAN.

DR.. Ryan Says That Instead of Look.
ing on the ToiIer as Being of In
trinsic Worth the Employer Regards
Him as a Human Machine.
Have you read Dr. Ryans Living
Wage?" 1t makes no difference whether
you are an employer Of men or simply
Il man working for a living, it is
book that you ought to read To the
employer it will bring home the great
truth that, as the privilege of living
his allotted life is the inalienable right
of man, any offense against this law
is crime for which there can be no
possible excuse. To the employee, on
the other hand, it has just as impor
tant message of sanity and safety
1t points a sane goal for endcavor
and indicates the safe road by which
progress may be made.
The great value of this book is that II
insists that there should be no room
for dispute regarding the living wage
between employer and employee And
this is true. The very foundation Of
the wage system should be the Golden
Rule and Christ's precept of brotherly
love, for if a mans wage is made.
quate to permit him to enjoy the bless
ings Of life the principles laid down
in the Gospels are shattered beyond
repair. To reach this basis Of agree
ment will do more than anything else
to promote the ideals Of industrial
peace toward which all just men are
working.
And this basis of agreement may he
found easily, for DR.. Ryan points tho
coad very clearly. He shows that the
trouble between capital and labor IL
and always has been, based upon the
lust of greed. Instead of looking upon
the laborer as a being of intrinsic
worth, the employer has conceived
him as a human machine whose duty il
was to perform such services as might
be assigned him, often regardless of
the matter of remuneration. AS re
suit labor has often been forced into
contracts that failed to take anything
more than the mere question Of sub
sistence into account
1t is here that we commence to reai
ize the importance of Dr.. Ryan's study
of this great economic problem. 1t is
here that we begin to see the necessity
Of taking it out of the purely economic
Geld that we may make it a matter OF
alty-humanity-as well.
Ii. the first place, we must know that
there is q vast difference between a
living wage and bare "subsstence
wage" The latter implies that a man
is an economic factor to be treated
like horse-given enough fodder to
keep breath in his body and sufficient
protection from the elements to assure
the maintenance of reasonable health.
For such a rate of wage the moral
law can find no justification. If man
is more than an animal he has the
moral right TO something more than a
Bare living, and to take from him the
privilege or the opportunity for the
proper development of his personality
is an injury to society as well as Il
crime against the individual.
Moreover. as DR.. Ryan shows, the
injury to society is not offset by the
saving in the expenditure for wages.
although this may appeal to tie avar'
ice of the individual. The moment you
put a worker upon q merely "Subsist-
once" plane you begin to affect his
productive capacity. Through loss Of
food there is lack of strength and vi
tality: then come sickness and prema-
ture death. In addition to this il is
also necessary to take into account
all the degeneration and crime that can
be traced so logically to the sins OF
the employer in Withholding proper re
Enumeration for services rendered.
UnqueStionably the trades unions are
right in demanding a fair days pay
| for a fair days work. If there ever
was any doubt as to the justice of this
demand DR.. Ryan has evidence enough
in support of the contention to con
vince any man who is willing to be
| convinced, and, as he also shows con-
| clusively, if all the workers who are
now compelled to accept wages made
quate to a decent livelihood had their
remuneration raised to a living wage
! level all the remaining industrial prob
| lens that now threaten the nation
would be within measurable distance
| of soution.-Graham Hood in New
! York Globe.