Arizona republican., 1914-08-31
HERE'S ADVICE
TO GOV. HUNT
The Phoenix Trades Council
Makes Suggestion of Ways
and Means for Convert
ing Arizona into Hive Of
Industry

Hunt for the relief of the unem-
pioyed, so far as it goes, but the
council does not think that he has
gone far enough, not nearly half
way, according to the following open
letter addressed to him:
To the Hon. George w. P. Hunt,
Governor of Arizona:
You say in your letter of August
81 relative to the deplorable indus :
trial conditions existing in this coun-
try, and especially in this state. that
it would, doubtless, be highly desi-a-
BILE to secure some plan of action
whereby public officials may coop
crate with one another and with
labor and commercial bodies in ar
irving at true understanding of eX-
listing conditions, and in devisins
such measures as may afford partial
relief for those who have been unex-
and at the same time contending
with seemingly unwarranted rise
in the prices of foodstuffs.
1t is our earnest desire to lend our
aid to any movement having for its
purpose the amelioration Of the con-
dition of the working class. With
this end in view, we address you on
this subject and trust that our re
marks may be considered worthy of
your favorable consideration. Realiz-
ing, of course, that you are not pos
sessed of the necessary power to
bring about a change in the existing
order of society, we nevertheless be-
l:eve- you are clothed with sufficient
power TO carry out the following sug-
gestions:
Before entering upon discussion
of the present serious conditions,
however, we wish to call your at
tention to the fact that unemploy
nent In Arizona, like all other states,
is not intermittent or periodical, but
is chronic, and that under normal
conditions there are several thousand
men unable to secure work to gain a
livelihood, and any remedy that may
be suggested, to be at all effective,
must have this point in view.
We wish especially to address you
on some of the suggestions you Of
fered in your communication, and in
passing we will say that we heartily
endorse and will co operate with you
on all of them.
We wish at this time to call to
us it seems that the function of any
government in a democracy is first
tc look after and protect the rights
CT its citizens to earn a livelihood,
and second, to protect property
rights; and in this connection may
say that to a worker, with nothing
but his labo. power between his fam
lily and starvation, the most impor-
tant thing to him is his job, and
that should be made as secure to
him as the corporations property is
to it.
At this point it may be pertinent
! to suggest that the mining corpora
lions of this state, who have been
1.-THE first to discharge the workers
from their jobs and close down in
dustry, have, on the investment of a
few million dollars, taken out in
dividends ten times the amount ORR
ginally invested, and still have mil
lions in undivided profits, which they
have made through the natural
wealth of the mines of the state and
the labor of the miners and other
workers.
At this point we are going to take
the liberty of suggesting to you that
we urge you to use the power in
vested in you to call the Legislature
in session and send a message to il
recommending that they pass, as an
emergency measure, law to give
the mining corporations five days
time in which to put their mines in
operation, the state to purchase the
copper at the cost of production
plus depreciation charges.
In the event they do not comply
| with the above action, the state seize
the mines under the right Of EN-
inent domain, and operate them IL
the interest of the people of the state
We have the constitutional right
| to operate them, and we believe thai
IN an emergency such as exists al
this time, with thousands of men un-
employed and hungry, and onl!
about SO per cent of the people o.
the state profitably employed, that t,
avoid condition of anarchy, some
drastic action is necessary.
If there is any question of wheth
err we would be doing the corpora,
tons an injustice in doing this, W.
would suggest that Rudyard Kiplin,
has answered that for us in hi
poem:
If blood be the price of all you
wealth.
Great God! we have bought it fair.
| We would also suggest to you tina
you further recommend to the legis
Ilature that they authorize the build
ing of saw mills and the cutting AM
marketing of the states availabl
timber resources at cost to the peopl
of this and other states.
We would also suggest that tn
states establish herds of cattle
sheep, goats, ETC., to put into us
the states grazing land.
We would also suggest that sew
eral thousand men might be EN-
ployed in clearing the farming land
owned by the state, drilling wells TO
the irrigation of the same, and put
ting them in condition to be plante
and made producing lands, instead G
desert wastes
II Relative to our last suggestion, tn
only reason we can adduce in favo
of capital punishment is, that
. might be applied to those who ad