The Irish standard., 1914-04-04

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hands and work the mat least eight
or nine or possibly ten hours a day
on the average. If we were to work
them only four hours day under
Socialism, then we should have to
add 100000 hands to the railway
workers, and If we paid these two
million men only five dollars q day
this would add to our transportation
cost the huge sum of more than So
600, 900, 900 year.
Now we come to the manufactur-
ing industry. in which over 100000
people are employed. The average
workday is over eight hours; II We
cut it to four we shall employ an ad-
ditional 100000 hands. and If we
pay these hands only three dollars a
day. which is less than half what
the Socialists propose to give us, we
will add $21,000.00O to the cost Of
manufacturing in this country, for
the added help. and abuot $4,000
day in addition to those already
employed. or total Of $4,000, 900
day. or the vast sum of $s.400.0o0.-
900 a year. The profits in the man
ufacturing industry in 1909 (last
census) was only about $2,000.00O.-
900. SO that If we absorbed all this.
we would still be out more than six
billion dollars a year; that is, six
billions worse off than now. The
more than a million miners would
under Socialism be more than two
millions, another extra cost Of five
million dollars day. Would coal be
any cheaper, think you? As a mat
ter of fact, coal would cost more than
double Its present price and SO would
everything else. Then we come to
the farmers, by working them only
-four hours a day food would cost
more than twice as much, sirloin
steak would cost 20 cents pound.
and other things accordingly. The
wealth producers of the land would
be the very ones who would have to
pay these bills. Unless we paid
everybody alike, under Socialism. we
should have to employ several mil
lion bookkeepers. bosses. experts.
clerks. and SO on, in order to keep
an account of the quantity and quail
ity OF each mans production; and
on the other hand, If we paid all
alike, everyone would soon degener-
ate to the level Of the lowest and
the slowest, and this means that the
four-hour workman would produce
only two hours of production, and
where do you think this would land
us?
You could not pay all alike with
out force. because you could never
make plumber believe that he was
! not worth more than a clerk in the
store; you could never make the ex-
pert mechanic think that his labor
was only equal to that of a section
hand on the railroad; you could not
make the skillful doctors work with
Joy at the same income that you gave
70 a shoemaker. Leaving aside the
question of whether one man g labor
is OF equal value with every other
man. the fact is you could not make
many men believe this and you could
make it workable only by force.
mus you would destroy liberty.
mere is waste an dinefficiency under
tnls system and a whole lot of II.
out there would be double and treble
under Socialism.
so that in place of having a four.
nour workday and two or three thou-
sand dollars year, Mr.. Working
man. you would have much less than
you enjoy at present. Under the
present system. working with a s,,-
perlor organization. having the best
laoor-saving machinery. and an or
sanlzat1on that selfishly guards
every leak and waste, we are able
to produce only about $500 to s85o
per worker per year. with a workdav
'nat averages at least not less than
nine hours a day. Can any Sane
nardheaded workingman suppose for
moment that the Socialists can
make good their promise of a short
workday and two or three thousand
ooliars year? Isn't it ridiculousq
Ism u 1t fraud and isn't It q cr;ma
against the working class itself?