Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1915-01-20

That every city Of any size lin the
country is full OF thousands OF IDLE
men at the present moment Is fact
WelI# known 70 every reader OF news
Lapers-tor hardly a DAY passes That
.Ine, press Is not fun OF comment
apoalt the hungry thousands who
stand in the bread line'' and PATRON
ize the tree soup houses" In every
large center OF population. Nor Is
thu state ot affairs due 70 the. policy
OF any particular political party, but
rather the outgrowth Of conoqlions
which have been slowly but surely
chrystRlkin& for q number Of years.
In the first place, the Corn Belt-the
great bread basket OF the nation
has had q series OF elm crops IN
most sections, and this naturally has
hal depressing effect J upon Dusi-
ness conditions. Again, we have
been passing through q period OF In
dustria1 readju6tments-Of changing
from the loose methods which pre-
vailed = dozen or SO years ago over
to policy Of strict government con-
troll ct public service corporations
and sharp inquiry into the conduct OF
all other large corporations and, In
trying to stamp out the abuses OF
the pest, the pendulum lhas swung so
Tar In the other direction that so far
- the railroads are concerned, at
least, It threatens to precipitate the
most OF them which are not already
In the hands OF receivers upon the
rock OF financial wreck and ruin.
That the depressed financial condi-
ton Of the railroads Is largely re-
Bponstble Tor the great army tof I'M
employed vac wildly demonstrated
bya prominent st. Louis newspaper
recently when 1t showed that nine
St.. Louis manufacturing establish
mentH which deal 8 in Il railroad sup
pltes employed IA, 673 men one year
ego, whereas now they employ only
1868, with a reduction lin their pay
rolls Z amounting to $588, 200 per
month; or over seven million dollars
Z year. II the effect upon only nine
enterprises is as far reaching rs this
what would the figures show il they
were available for similar industries
affected IN greater or less degree
throughout the country? Nearly all
& these concerns have on hand hun
dreds Of thousands OF dollars worth
Of finished equipment which WAS or
dered by the railroads year or
soago, but which they have not been
able to pay for; in the meantime,
not being able to pay for goods al
ready or 'ered, the railrade are not
placing any new contracts, and UNI
less they receive speedy assistance
from Z ). nation-wide standpoint; the
tendency win be tor labor conditions
To- grow; worse rather. than better.
In last week 3 article we referred
to- the tact that the railroads are the
largest employers Of labor in /, the
United States and that during the
last fiscal year they paid out over
thirteen hundred million dollars in
wages to the army Of men and
women who conduct their business.
We referred to the fact that they
paid out almost a thousand million
dollars tor steel, coal. lumber and
other supplies OF which they are the
1rgest consumers in the country,
nd therefore the chief support OF
The hundreds of thousands employed
y these great industries STD
ysIn view of these facts, is it mot
plain to any thinking man that it Is
Of tremendous imp to the
whole country that the railroads be
permitted to earn q reasonable In
come II the millions Of American
aaboring men are to be kept profit
ably employed tglS
the thousands who are this moment
hunting for work In Chicago, st.
Louis, New York, Il Pittsburg Cleye-
land and other large cities were
prOfttab1y employed that 1t would