The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-01-25
ARTICLE ".

California Washington and Oregon
are faced with the most terrific labor
problem of modern times. The Mexi-
can poems swarm into California, SICK
ly OF constitution from generations OF
starvlings behind them, to drudge
as we'll as feebleness, and mental in
ertia allow, or $l.l5 per man per day.
When no longer able to earn that,
charity does what II can. but the poor
creatures die OFF like flies and other
swarms take their places.
The orient has. despite efforts at
restriction, sent in steady stream OF
Mongolians. The sad-eyed Hindoo,
trussed up in his filthy rags, wanders
the street. looking for God knows what
but, primarily, something TO eat.
Cheap labor? There's a glut OF II.
The unskiled work is done by poems
and such other men as In other places
do the ha"d manual work. The Jap
takes naturally 10 lines heretofore sup
posedly the province OF the female
menial--he makes neat dish washer,
tidy waiter. agile bellhop and all-'round
maid The Chinaman occupies him
self wI;h his laundry, his lottery and
his tong wars. Now the new flood
gates are TO be opened and millions
OF tax-ridden people, good, bad and In
different--Italians, Roumanians. Ar.
menians, Syrians, Spaniards, Portu-
glIese, Greeks-even to the farthest
tribes that border the Mediterranean
excepting, doubtless. the industrious
and prosperous French, are TO stream
through.
Ask any employer In the west now,
and he will tell you he has from b
a dozen TO so or "A 100 applicants for
every vacancy. That being true now,
what must happen within the next "A
months?
Union labor cannot cope with the
situation, Notwithstanding such lead
ers as Andrew Furuseth, Walter Mac
arthur OF the Coast Seamen's union,
Andy" Gallagher, John |. Nolan and
many others, have, aside from their
own ranks a strong following among
the army of professional people. stu
dents and organized workers OF all
kinds The dykes will be cut and the
unions simply drowned by overwhelm-
ing competition.
Philanthrophy cannot cope with IT,
though institutions multiply and char
ity double its dole in each.
The federal authorities cannot. or
will not, cope with IL, except TO the
limited extent OF excluding tie physi-
cally unfit governmental or unselfish
institutional employment agencies,
similar to those in Australia and that
proposed BY the Salvation Army,
where the manless job is connected
with the iobless man, are still acad-
emic propositions here. Native and
naturalized American labor is not
helped to 90 upon its own soil. The
government is not doing for the resi-
dents of these United States what it is
doing in the Philippines while con-
seryation and reclamation and all such
projects are still TO b. worked out
against all the obstacles that Spe-
cial Privilege can place in the path
OF such men as PinChot, CLAWS, Bran
deis and others.
II takes little imagination to picture
organized labor's last stand against in
,eyitable defeat and in its fall to carry
unorganized labor down with 1t. When
men must fight each other for the
chance TO gain a pittance, sufficient
under such a system scarcely for their
own support, what must become OF
the women and weaker children? The
eight-hour law will bear heavily
against the weaker sex then. for
wages being equal, what employer
would not prefer a man, whose hours
OF toll were unlimited, TO woman
whose time is fixed? Neither mini
mum wage. nor maximum hour laws
can, in a condition OF terrific compe
tition, operate 10 really protect the
workers. The one law would break
down under the very necessities OF
the case and the other, If il held good
would cause women TO be altogether
replaced industrially by men. without
corresponding protection of the true
home What can follow? The white
slave traffic now seeks It's unwilling
victims az considerable risk and ex
pense In a nation of mixed races
black. white and yellow, what will bt
the effect upon future generations o.