The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-06-02
SOME FACTS.

Right now, before the hurry and hustle of tho open navigation period is upon them, some people Of Nome manifest an inclination for gener- al stock taking. This has been more clearly manifested in the activities of late undertaken by the Chamber Of Commerce and the tentative sug- gestiors of candidates for the city council ct the recent elections.
 Nome is facing conditions which have long ere this been faced else- where, conditions of high prices for all commodities, and unlike other places, Nome has literally no pay roll wherewith to meet that in- creased cost of living. Without danger of contradiction it may be stated that there gre more people depending upon actual producers in this community for subsistence than any spot of it's size in America.
 And that there have been so many who depended upon the productive activities of others for their living hero has helped net little to de- ceive many as to the actual eco- homie status of the cGmp. But throughout the past winter there has been a searching of heart upon the part of the business and other interests The lack of p2y roll has struck home as never before and some, more energetic ordinarily than the rest, have become alive to the fact that the bottom has drop ped out of things and they have fiopped to bed rock with an un- pleasant thud.
 In addition to that prospects for the future are not alluring. The certainty that prices will be raised on almost all commodities shipped in is very positive. The steamship compGnies will charge higher rates and with those higher rftes the men who ships in his freight will when disposing of it try to recoup himself for tho higher charges by passing it clong. That has always been done and always will be done. Every increase to the retailer moans an increased price has to come from the wage worker. His labor will produce the wealth for that He must take it out of the ground to pay for tho higher freight rates, the higher costs of living. The grocer is not going to lose over it; the clothier, nor the shipping com .pany-none of these will accept their toll as final. It is passed to tho consuming public.
 As it is right now the miners in the Nome district are standing ali the traffic will bear and then some. The values are not in the ground. They are only abstracted by taking it out of the workers hide; by mak- ing the miner work ungodly long hours a day, by making him violate in alleged partnership agreements the eight hour day and by exploit ing him to the most intensive limit They certainly have got efficiency and speeding up down pat in tho mines of this camp.
 Looked at from the wage workers standpoint, unless the wage worker wants to be the perennial goat, it would be much better if every dinky two-by-four law-violcting company" in this camp were com- boiled to close And when we con- slider the number of men who have throughout the past winter taken leases and operated ground of their own who have not only not made wages but hardly cleared expenses, it would have been much better for themselves who did that labor if they hunted up another field ant. got somewhat where they would at least make something for them- selves and not all of it for the other fellow.
 The camp that cannot pay livins wages, work the men decent hours per day, end provide proper ana adequate camp accomodations is best. wiped of the map and closed down sine die.
 Now what has actually been hap pening in this camp isi this. Nome has, been living on just such propo-