Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1912-09-27
SHIFTS BLAME TO TAFT
PERKINS ON CONDITIONS IN
HARVESTER WORKS.
AoeseVelt's Financial 6acker Admits
Employees Are Imposed on 6pt
Throws Responsibility on
Government.

The facts made public by the state
factory investigating committee re-
garding labor conditions In the mills
Of the Harvester company at Auburn.
N. Y. are Of a character which would
seem to invite immediate and indig.
nant comment from the candidate Of
the Progressive party. 1t was admit
ted. in the superintendent's testi-
mony. that $50 women we're working
at night on q ten-hour shift; that
some OF the working rooms were
dark. even In daytime; that the WON.
en- workers had to haul to their ma
chimes piles Of hemp weighing 100
pounds, and that. contrary to law. no
exhausts ere operated to clear the
atmosphere Of the dust with which It
was charged. Such conditions are
unhappily too familiar in certain man
u~facturing centers Of the country:
but to Mr.. Roosevelt. this opportun-
ity for denouncing by name the In
dividuals responsible for them, In
one striking instance, ought to be
something for immediate and effec.
tive use, For the superintendent also
testified that orders as to labor con-
ditions emanate ultimately from the
board of directors OF the company
which owns the mill, and the Progress
sive platform insists on "the general
prohibition OF night work for women
and the establishment of IN eight
hour day for women"
Unfortunately, that company Is the
International Harvester, and one OF
those directors Is Mr.. George W. Per
kins. Mr.. Roosevelt's chief financial
hacker and chairman Of the third
party's executive committee. While
awaiting the comment Of his candi'
date, Mr.. Perkins made his own re
marks on the factory committees
statements promptly. To inquiring
reporters, he explains that the night
work Of the women has been rem
dered necessary largely because OF
the governments perfectly unreason'
able attitude toward large corpora.
tions." That Is, It Is really Mr.. Taft
who Is responsible. This provides a
new and interesting example Of the
familiar reasoning whereby, to GER
tain minds. Government" especial.
ly government Of the party to which
n does not belong) Is responsible
for everything that Ia wrong with
business, including our own mis-
takes. Mr.. Perkins, however is glad
the state Of New York is making
these things public, and Is sure thai
such results will be helpful to the
cause" That. at all events. Is ar
unselfish point of view. We are n
the habit Of doing wrong, but W.
want the government to stop us. I,
merely repeats the conclusions sci
forth by Mr.. Perkins to the life In
urance Investigating committee OF
1905, when, after describing how he
and his colleagues on the board OF
the New York Life contributed $50,
900 Of the policyholders' money to
Mr.. Roosevelt's campaign of 1904. he
added that this was "a very, very
bad practice" and that the govern
ment ought to do something about It
It is not eveery chairman of a polit
ical party's executive committee who
is ready 30 cheerful to pose as the
terrible example which necessihtes
legislation to curb the misdoings OF
"the interests."-New York Evening
Post.