St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1914-06-19
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We understand that a stree

assertion I0aJ Jtle DL. JOUllS hG-
view is controlled by the st.
Johns Water Company and the
st. Johns Lumber Company.
This is news to the editor, as it
must be to the two companies
named. How the speaker ar
rived at that conclusion is a mat
ter of conjecture, but the prob
abilities are that he assumed such
was the case because the Review
has refrained from abusing the
two companies. He might as
we'll have stated, with as much
truth. that the Review was con-
trolled by every other industry
in st. Johns. AS a matter Of
fact the Review is controlled by
no one but the editor and a
spirit of fair play. The speaker
evidently believed, from the
trend of his remarks, that the
Review should berate the lum-
ber company because foreign
labor is employed at the mill.
There are two sides to that ques-
tion, as we happen TO know. Be
fore the foreign element secured
work at the st. Johns Lumber
company. and when times were
fairly good. it was with the
greatest difficulty that the COM
pany could secure and retain
laborers. There was ever three
crews one coming one going
and one at work. The rough
work at a lumber mill does not
appeal to the average American,
and he' will only labor there
when he is out of funds and has
nothing else TO do, as a rule.
The labor is hard. the hours long.
the wages only fair, and little
chance for advancement. There
fore. the white labor would work
a few days ana then lay oil. for
a rest or to look for q better job.
o. course there were exceptions
TO this rule. but the lumber COM
pany was kind of up against il.
Many Of their employees could
not he depended upon, and the
company had 10 fulfll their con.
tracts on time. The result was
that foreign labor was secured.
While not so efficient yet they
could be relied upon 10 he at work
every morning and every day in
the week. il physically able to
do so. They are not worth as
much as white men as a rule.
and il takes more of them than
il would of white men 10 do the
same work, but they equaliZe
this by accepting less pay, in
some instances at least. How
ever. ii any one believes that
only foreign labor is employed
at the mill. he should watch the
body of laborers leaving the mill
when the whistle blows in the
evening. and he would discover.
that quite an army of white.
laborers find employment there.
The toughest work is done by
foreign labor for the reason
stated above, But il the speak.
er who seemed so embittered
against the company should ap-
ply for a job at the kind of work
performed by these foreigners,
we have no doubt that the COM
pany would at least give him a |
trial. But il is safe to say, we
believe. that the speaker was |
not looking for work. He finds |
il easier and more profitable TO |
commercialize his uncalled for
attacks against corporations that |
are furnishing men with en-
plOyment who do want to work, |
As TO the Water Company, we
have refrained from abusing il |
because. from the viewpoint of
fair play. we could not see where |
II deserved abuse. As far as the
price of water is concerned il has
never charged more for water
than the price stipulated by the
city council that gave the fran
chise, and now the price stipu-
lated by the Railway Commits
sion. We have no reason 10 be-
iove that the company will not |
comply 10 the order of the Rail-
road Commission TO the letter.
No instance has been shown |
where il has violated any pro-
visions of its franchise SO far as
We are cOgniZant of. II is safe |
20 say that there is not am agita-
or or scarcely any one else for
hat matter who ii he owned the |
water works would not charge
ust as much as ne was entitled
,r permitted TO charge. Ii there /
s any fault TO find it is not with F.,
he water company but with the
body that stipulated the prices
% be charged. And yet we are
willing to venture that the coun-
Ill which gave the company its
franchise believed il had done a
zig thing for st. Johns, with {
as they were then.
( the latter company has yio-
ated any of its obligations or {
upon the rights of {
thers, there is a proper channel S
or recourse, and it is not by 4
iring every petty trouble be- {
ween the company and patron {
through the newspaper. There 4
5 no complaint. at least by the c
against the telephone a