The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-01-14

country Is fuIl or thousands OF 1die
men at the present moment is fact
iwell known to every reader of news
papers-for hardly day passes that
the press is not full of comment
about the hungry thousands who
stand in the bread line" and patron
large center of population. Nor is
this state of affairs due to the policy
of any particular political party. but
rather the outgrowth of conditions
which have been slowly but surely
crystalizing for number of years.
! In the first place, the Corn Belt-the
great bread basket of the nation
has had series of slim crops in
most sections, and this naturally has
had depressing effect upon bust
mess conditions. Again, we have been
passing through period of industrial
lreadjustment-of changing from the
loose methods which prevailed doz-
en- or so years ago over to policy OF
strict government control OF public
service corporations and a sharp in
lquiry into the conduct of all other
large corporations in trying to
stamp out the abuses of the past, the
pend has swung so far in the
other direction that SO far as the rail-
roads are concerned, at least, 1t threat
ems to precipitate the most of them
which are not already in the hands Of
receivers upon the rocks OF financial
wreck and ruin
I hot f,ton
ton of the railroads is largely re-
sponsible for the great army of I'M
employed was yividly demonstrated
lby prominent st. Louis newspaper
recently when it showed that nine ST.
Louis manufacturing establishments
which deal in railroad supplies en-
ployed 1853 men one year ago,
whereas now they employ only 4,503.
with a reduction in their pay rolls
amounting to $5ss,7o0 per month, or
over seven million dollars year. 4
the effect upon only nine enterprises
j is as far reaching as this, what would
the figures show If they were avail
able for similar industries and the
/ hundreds of other enterprises affected
| in a greater or less degree throughout
the country? Nearly all of these con-
Germs have on hand hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars worth of finished
equipment which was ordered by tho
railroads a year or so ago, but which
they have not been able to pay for;
lin the meantime, not being able to
pay for goods already ordered, the
railroads are not placing any new
contracts, and unless they receive
speedy assistance from a nationwide
standpoint the tendency will be for
labor conditions to grow worse rather
than better
] In last weeks article we referred
to the fact that the railroads are the
largest employers of labor II the
United States and that during the last
fiscal year they paid out over thirteen
hundred million dollars in wages to
1.-THE army of men and women who
conduct their business. We also re
Iferred to the fact that they paid out
almost a thousand million dollars for
steel, coal. lumber and other sup
plies OF which they are the largest
consumers in the country, and there
fore the chief support of the hun
dreds of thousands employed in these
igreat industries.
In view of these facts, is It not
plain tc any thinking man that it is
of tremendous importance to the
whole country that the railroads be
permitted to earn reasonable IN
come If the millions Of American
llaboring men are to be kept profit
ably employed?
Does not any man know that Il
the thousands who are this moment
hunting for work in Chicago. St
Louis, New York, Pittsburgh. Cleve-
land and other large cities were profit
ably employed that it would mean d
higher Price for what the farmer has
| to sell and that II would be reflected
in the receipts of every merchant and
the output of every factory in the
nation?
+! In view of such serious state OF
affairs. can the average farmer or
business man afford to oppose the
small increase in rates which is nee
essary to once more put the rail-
roads upon a sound basis? Is not the
amount of passenger fare or freight
which the average farmer or other
citizen pays out during the year
mere bagatelle when measured
against the lucrative employment and
the buying power of the millions OF
American laboring men2
! ANOTHER SERIOUS PHASE.
Important as is the employment OF
labor, there is another very serious
phase OF this problem which calls for
profound thought at the hands Of all
thinking citizens, and especially the
farmer. In last weeks article we
cited the fact that in their desperate
efforts to make both ends meet many