The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1915-04-02
THE BEST WAY TO
HELP THE NEEDY
Pay Workers Enough Money
to He'll Themselves.

sion ON Industrial relations, In
an address before the east side
forum. New York city, said In part:
lam great believer In agitnters and
agitation. l believe with the person
who defined an agitator as man with
. strong voice who did not have a par
e. to save or a living to make. but tried
to tear every question open to the
heart 50 that the light might fiow free
ly in.
Now, 1 want you to understand why
l SIN talking to you. the people. while
I am serving ms chairman OF the indus
trial relations commission. IL Is be-
cause the commission 10 made up Of
various elements Some members rep
resent the capitalists-the employers.
Some members represent the labor I'M
ions. represent the people.
1T Is serious business for the people
when the capitalist gets In fight with
the labor union over the coal A baby
of the peeple-the consumer-may
freeze to death while labor and capital
quarrel and the supply Of coal is shut
of. For that reason am in favor of
taking over the coal mines and putting
them under public control
Now, they say In criticising me for
speaking while | am chairman Of the
industrial relations commission that
ought to maintain judicial pose.
Well, say that the two greatest foes
to the bringing about of an enlightened
understanding of our economic rotten
ness are the judicial pose and the
trimmer attitude of so many of our
public officials. | mean the attitude OF
those who dodge the whole economic
issue.
II would like to see every school
house thrown open for public forum
meetings of the people and a ballot
box In every schoolhouse on election
day so that they may educate them
selves on their economic plight. for
at bottom all our evils are due to low
wages. A great employer who knows
this is true testified that he would
just as soon take every prisoner out
of Sing Sing and put him to work and
trust him. This man knew that If he
put into the hands Of those men more
money than enough to keep them to-
gether body and soul they would for
the most part be normal human be-
ings.
my topic for tonight is the best
way to help the needy. The best way
TO help them is 70 pay them enough
money to help themselves Give them
a chance to work and enjoy the prod
uct OF their toll. l am accused of say
ing the charities do not help. OF
course they help. If there was not
something that helped we would be
in the midst Of revolution.
III you want to know what embeZ-
zled fortunes we should take back go
to the reports of the department OF
commerce for 1918 and read the whole
shameful story OF coal and timber land
embezzlements. II am to be called a
'confscationist' for urging that such
fortunes be refunded to their rightful
owners, then III have to stand for
that designa ton. l am opposed to all
violence. but when you try to push
the worker of the life raft then you're
bound to get violence. 1t Is inevitable.
II am for the minimum wage on
railroads and for telephones merely be
cause we have public commissions
with power to order in minimum rates
Of wages. The real thing to do, OF
course. is to take over the railroad and
poStalize the telephone service, but
until that is done the public commits
sions can do the next best thing-they
can enforce minimum wage DEGREES
1t is only one step from regulation tc
public ownership, and of course that
step will be taken at the proper time