The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-06-22

hNAC dlC lAiQlNdliOHS lIdL DOln
railroad magnates and organized
workers in train service are going to
settle their difficulties without a re-
sort to force. Readers of the Gem
Worker will remember that l have
predicted this result. The railroads
have made more than a billion dol
lars in net profits and they were never
in better shape TO meet the just de-
mands of the employees than at pres
ent. They also were never in weak
er position to resist when consider
ing business principles. To allow a
general strike would mean an enor-
nous loss of immediate profits to
themselves in addition to moulding
public sentiment toward demanding
purchase by the government of all
transportation lines. The crisis be-
tween the people on the one hand and
private natural resource monopoly on
the other cannot long be postponed
however, regardless of this matter of
difficulty between employer and EN-
ployee over wages and hours. The
important question of over-capita1i-
zation, rebating, etc, is certain to
call for more radical action in the
near future. Railroads should always
be publicly owned and operated be-
cause they are distinctly public prop
erty the same as any wagon road or
street. The United States has been
backward in adopting the idea prin-
cipally thru the corruption of the
press which has stood behind all pri-
vate interests and checked the natural
growth of reasoning power among
the masses by false education. keep
ing form the general public evidences
of improvement in other countries
thru adoption of public ownership
If European results in dealing with
the transportation problem had been
plainly put to all our people there
would only be such opposition as is
not influenced by reason but by some
thing else altogether.
The railroad ownership of the coun-
try is so closely connected with fnan-
cial, banking and the control of cred
it that the struggle between the peo-
pie and The Interests over the right
settlement of the problem will be a
tremendous one when it arrives. The
Interests demanding privilege of un-
loading billions of fictitious values
for real ones and the public demand
ing a dollars worth of tangible assets
for every dollar expended.
Among the many "pointings with
pride, viewing with alarms" prom
ises and piff1e, we take pleasure in
noting that all political parties are
silent to remarkable degree on the
question of the high cost of living
and are making no specific prom
ises. The soaring price of both ne
cessities and luxuries must have swept
all the politicians with confusion in
fear that the desire for lower costs
on the part of the buying public has
become so burning that to refuse the
suffering. people specifications for i'm
dNAAOh III NilOiNSdlN ANhuS-
tions would be cruelty that even hard
hearted politicians cannot refuse, that
is if they really know remedy.
Most Republican politicians are per-
fectly we'll satisfied with high and ris-
ing prices because the contributors to
their campaign funds profit by all in
creases; most Democratic politicians
do not know the first step toward
general reductions. One says: ere
store the tariff because the manu-
facturer must be protected in his prof
it" and the other says: "We have
lowered the tariff and should have
lower prices, but the war, etc. has
changed conditions" Up to date both
great parties present nothing tang
-~-~-~-~-~-~~~-~-~~~~-~>~~