The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1916-02-23
Means More Than Bare
Necessities Of Life.
THE AVERAGE OF HUMAN LIFE
Could Be Made Longer By In.
creased Stipend To the
Wage Garner.
TRADES UNION A GREAT HELP

ton. That Is to say, it Is not sc
much a question of what the labor
of a man is worth or what HE is
entitled to in return as it Is a ques.
ton of how much cheaper one man
can be hired than another or how
far the wage can be reduced by put
ting wage earners in competition
with each other to bid for work at
the lowest price. Obviously this is
entirely contrary to the real living
wage. This is purely competitive
wage based upon the idea in the
mind of the employer of taking ad-
vantage of the necessities of the
workers to the very last extremity.
The living wage recognizes the
right of the wage Garner to life. lib
erty and well being. The competi-
tive wage condemns him to sacrifice
an his own life and the lives of those
dependent upon him. The one aims
at the conservation of the human
race and the other at its destruc-
tion. The one will produce superior
generations of men in the future,
while the other can have no other
effect except to produce future men
lower in physique and in mental
power.
The living wage must not only
supply the necessaries of the family
while the wage Garner is employed,
but it must be high enough to pro-
vide against seasons of unemploy-
ment and against accident or sick
ness. In other words, there must
be surplus above the requirements
for the bare necessaries and even
reasonable comforts of life, so that
the family may not be destitute un-
der ordinary conditions of employ
ment or of sickness or accident. In
every respect living wage that is
in truth living wage must provide
for the well being and comfort of
the wage Garner and his family, as
of course, that the expen-
ses of the family are not profligate
and that the earnings are not wasted
on vicious habits.
A living wage has got to be I'M
derstood as providing for the edu-
cation of the children and keeping
them at school until they have ma
tured. The idea of immature chill
dren being forced into the mills and
workshops at tender years and with
out education Is becoming more and
more repugnant to the best thinkers,
who agree that the surest way to de-
stroy the future of the human race
Is to dwarf the minds and the bod
les of the children by condemning
them to hard labor when they ought
to be at school.
There is another factor of th6
living wage that, deserves especial
and earnest attention. The liv-
ing wage in its broad sense will pro-
long the lives of the wage earners.
In statement published in the Chi
cago Herald, Major General William
c. Gorgas, conceded to be one of
leading sanitary experts
and who converted the Panama ca
nal zone from pesthouse into a
health resort, said: add to the la
boring mans wage from $1.25 to
$3.50 day and you will lengthen
the average Americans thread of
life by 10 years at least"
The average human life Is now
said to be AZ years.. BY simply ad-
ding to the living wage, General
Gorgas. who. by the way, is surgeon
general Of the United States army,
says the average of human life can
be increased to SO years. and DIR.
Victor C. Vaughn, of Ann Arbor,
Mich, late president of the Ameri-
can Medical Association. makes the
further important statement that
III every city would install rules
and regulations for health. such as
c. Gorgas might give. the
lives of our children could be
brought up to the average of 65
years."
One other factor in regard to the
living wage should always be kept
close to the heart and mind of the
wage Garner. and that is that It Is
the trade union movement that does
more for the living wage than all
other human agencies combined. We
are Indebted to the scientists for
their knowledge and for the sympa-
thetic opinions they express; but.
after all. It is the wage Garner in
with other wage earners
In their trade unions that must &C.
cure the living wage for himself. and