The Washington herald., 1916-04-30

oiCot iilouotiiCS vi LiilptiC
Necessary as Well as Over
hauling Of Her Army and
Navy Personnel.
a French senator who has been active in
speeding up the output, that our people
are working to the extreme limit of en-
durance, that as you say their healths
will be ruined, that they are Inadequate
ly paid, that private contractors are max
ing fortunes despite efforts of the state
to take part of their profits. But what
would you?, We are at war. Scores of
thousands are dying in the trenches, and
they are paid five cents a day for giving
their lives. The workers know this. It
II not just that they. too. should work to
the utmost of their strength, regardless
of the consequences to themselves, when
their work is just as vital as that of the
soldiers? If an employer makes money
out of their work, they remember that
his son has died for the country, and
consider that they are toilng not for him
but for the country. If any one else prof
its by their efforts, II is regrettable, they
do not like IL; IL would be absurd to pre-
tend that the breaking up Of their unions
by dilution OF labor. the long hours, the
higher cost of living. have not caused
discomfort. But to sacrifice his brothers
in the trenches and betray his country
by restricting output, whatever his pri-
vate grievances may be. that never oc-
ours to any FrenChman"'
Now it would be idle to pretend that
this feeling exists in England to anything
like the same extent. The men do not
pretend that 1t does. Most Of them are
not willing to work themselves to death
for the sake of cnriching their employers
and, incidentally. beating Germany. This
may be because England's isolated posi-
ton makes 1t impossible for the mass of
her population to feel the war as French
men and Germans feel 1t, rather than be-
cause the British workman is less pa
triotic than his Continental brother, but
the fact is indisputable.
Serious Labor Troubles.
Serious labor trouble has been taking
place on the Clyde, and elsewhere in
England and Scotland, but the primary
cause of the failure to turn out all the
munitions wanted is not these sporadic
strikes. which are promptly suppressed
by the united efforts of the government
and the responsible labors leaders The
resistance in a hundred trades to the in
PRODUCTION of unskilled, non union labor
at high rates of wages, to the enforced
overtime which. under the munition law,
can be legally exacted by employers, to
the abolition of the thousand and one
concessions and privileges. big and little,
extorted from employers in years Of
struggle and bargaining before the war
Lloyd George has promised, and re-
nRatn1 nj 1,,N
when the war ends the status OF en-
ployer and employe shall revert to what
1t was in August, 1914. This promise is
not accepted by workmen, or indeed by
leading economists, who point out that
with the best will in the world it will
be impossible of fulfilment. The govern
ment also has passed a law taking prac-
tically all the excess profits Of all firms
engaged on government work whose en-
ployes come under the compulsory pro-
visions of the munitions act. which prac-
ucally make 1t impossible for a man
to change his job without the permission
OF his employer. and make him. in the
language of labor radicals, a "serf." The
difficulty about the taking of profits by
the government is what the workmen
are inclined to believe that by bookkeep-
ing juggling the employers, aided by
ineptitude or insincerity Of government
is universal and has been strengthened
by an unfortunate revelation of the new
budget The chancellor of the exChequer
estimated that he would receive 81, eco 900
from this source up to the end of March,
and had to announce that owing to de-
lays in collection he had taken in only
100000
I could give a hundred examples to
show how the refusal of British labor to
sacrifice itself as French and German
labor has done prevents the same pro-
portionate production in this country.
One may suffice. The government has
instituted a school to teach men how
to perform a certain extremely delicate
operation on an implement of war, work
the delicacy of which may be compared
to the finest lace making My informant
is in general charge OF this work, and
attempted to introduce female labor. His
foreman few days later came to him
in despair It's these women" he said.
You must get rid of them"
Too Easy for Women.
Cant they do the work." asked the
official in surprise. Can they do it?"
groaBed the foreman. It's as easy for
them as sewing. One of them learns
all about it in twenty minutes, where it
takes man four days. The men won't
stand 1t. Women when they are put on
the job work twice as fast. Have to get
rid of them" l was told that the re-
moval of the offending female experts
would probably prove inevitable, as
otherwise the trouble would spread and
tie up a whole factory.
So much for labor. There is a serious
situation confronting the military au-
thorities, who are unable to get all the
men needed to keep the army up to the
standard of seventy divisions in the field,
seventy reserve divisions to replace
casualties. and the requisite home de-
fense force. If our seismic disturbance
connected England with Belgium, general
eonscription would be adopted without
delay, just as the working classes would
forget their private grievances and set
tie down to make munitions as their
brothers in France have done But as
things stand tndaX the recrIlitir,- ruo.-