The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1916-11-03
PLACE DOLLARS
ABOVE The MAN
What New York Traction Com
paniaS Are Fighting For.
CONTROL OF THE WORKERS

Employees Have Been Battling For the
Right to Organize and Against Low
Wages and Long Hours of Toll
Every Victory of Wage Farmers
Means Welfare of Humanity.
During the past few weeks we have
| been hearing "A great deal about the
rights and the interests of the public
The term public" is used in an indis-
eliminating. battling manner that i'm
mediately raises the question, Who
what is the public; of what elements
III society is the public made up?'
When the street car strike of New
York city forced thousands of peo-
pie to walk the New York Times
solemnly declared, AS the general dis
comfort rises it becomes clearer that
one side is trying TO serve the public
and the other side is seeking the vic
tory by the peoples inconvenience"
This is a very serious charge If 1t
has basis in fact What new reason
is there for thinking that the traction
companies Of Now York city have de-
yeloped diSintcrested desire to fur
ther the convenience Of the strap
hangers Of their crowded cars? Ac-
cordiug TO The New York Times, the
frantic efforts Of these companies to
maintain service DESPITE the efforts of
workers to make tbe comnanies realize
they cannot operate their cars without
proner regard 10 the rights ana de-
mands Of their employecs is . service
to the public
Consider for j minnie who me nub
lie IS rho -oooooo people living in
New York city MAY be divided into
rvo classes those who n,nnloy and
those Who aro nauloyad Those two
,IaSseS ioolz aI aIj in,IaSfl.iaI probIems
from o,noei1 .glo- The cmployad
have tha ,iewpoiuf ol rhp wage earn
o,. tbo.p vho ern3e nave the view
noini &c tla owners az managers Of
hrei,cee r.l - tbn lafter
croup l,non+ tbat y.l.e. a,.o,. it's cortou
lions or y.aea9fI ra STRENGTHENED
ana maintained ia do. iug With au in-
| ar,.tlial pfohlc.l ftl.t.i,s tbat il viii
he easier for him a. aa individual to
! secure his point in daaling with his
own o,npiotaas
On the other hand. every contest
! that results i'm favor of wage earners
| grounds more nrmlr in the institu
tions of our country the rights and
the interests Of wage carners ii de-
/ yelops an appreciatfon of the purposes
of the wage earners in making their
contest and secures for them favora-
/ bic and sympafhetic understanding
which make ii impossible that social
4 and political institutions shah be used
1 TO defeat strikes ana efforts of wage
ealners to secure better conditions.
In sense therefore. every strike
and effort of wage carners TO establish
higher standards and better conditions
Is fight OF every other wage Garner
I'm a particular contest it is the work
4 ers Of single trade or industry who
4 are on the firing line. but they are
fighting for the whole group Their
J victory means the progress of the
4 whole group 1t means the progress
and welfare of humanity.
Theodore T.. Shonts ana Frank He'd
lev have cmphatically declared i'm a
pnblic statement that they are fighting
/ for the welfare and best interests of
tha nnbIic ana .heir "loraI employees"
To understand for what Shonts and
/ Hedlpy are really fighting one has only