Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1916-07-07

laSe, the former editor for yea
News, and at one time an emp
is in a position to know what he
appeared in last Sundays Salt
A few years ago, the employees of
the Utah-Idaho Sugar company's Lehi
factory had dreams of an eight-hour
working day For many years they
had worked, sweat, been manned and
been scalded--for the good of the beet
sugar cause, plus disgraceful wage
under the twelve-hour system; and, as
eight-hour legislation was being en-
acted for the benefit of many of their
fellow laborers in other lines of en-
deavor, they could see no reason why
they themselves should be forced TO
remain twelve-hour slaves instead of
eight. And in order TO express the
desire to have their hours of toll
shortened, they signed and addressed
a petition to that effect to the mem
bers of the Utah legislature.
In America, the right of petition.
theoretically speaking. has always
been, and is still one of the sacred
rights of American. citizenship I'm.
der average or ordinary conditions
men who would have the audacitv TO
tell American citizens the right of
petition is not an inalenable riyht
would Immediately be considered fit
subjects for the bars or the "bug
house." But listen
No sooner had the news of this
workingmen's petition reached the ears
of the sugar factory magnates, than
another petition began to wend it's
way. hither and thither, throughout
the Lehi factory. And, 10 and behold.
this second petition was naught but a
hammer-and-tongs notification of the
first. And with it went the command
the COMMAND, mind you-to every
employee of the Lehi factory to make a
poor little puppet of himself, by sipni-
flying his desire to keep on being a
twelve-hour serf.
And did they do it? Yea! Veal near
ly all, nearly all. Two or three did
not, would not So of course. that dav
proved to be pay dav for them.
81 would not have signed away nv
first and riehtful signature" did you
say? Oh, yes, you would have-had
you been giving your life's Drawn and
blood to the Utah-Idaho Sugar com
pany for fifteen years. with a family
on your hands and nothing else on
Gods earth to look forward to for
bread for the kiddies, nest for the
wife and an occasional overalls-and-
jumper for yourself. Oh, yes, you
would have done exactly as those su-
gar factory fellows did a few years
ago-you, also, would have signed
away your birthright.
Those sugar tramps" had actually
consecrated their lives to the beet
sugar industry. They had endeavored
to learn the business; and they had
succeeded fairly well. They had "stood
by" the corporation which always has
taken, and still takes, delight in ex-
plotting its benefactors. And they
had "stood by" that corporation so
long that they could never hope to en-
ter new fields of labor successfully.
What few of earth's blessings they
possessed were riveted, unalterably, to
Lehi. What could they do? WHAT
COULD THEY DO?
The Dream Ended.
Well the eight-hour dream vanished
in twinkling; the officials of the
Utah-Idaho Sugar company smiled a
knowing smile, and Satan continued to
raise hell In the Lehi factory.
Last Sunday morning there APP
peared in two of Salt Lakes morning
papers an article entitled "Facts About
the Sugar Industry" written, dictated
or fathered by c. w. Nibley, an abnor-
NAL stakeholder in the Utah Idaho Su-
gar company. It is not my purpose to
"pick that areticle TO pieces" for any
intelligent reader who will take time
to peruse it. However, there are two
or three hocus pocus phases, woven to-
gether In "Facts About the Sugar In
dustry," which are actually shouting
for the sunshine. So will raise the
blinds.
In the article referred to, the labor
ing man, the man of the mill, the
sweater, the "inside" serf is not once
referred to. In the eyes of the author
Tor father of "Facts About the
Sugar industry" this working crea-
ture has, apparently nothing whatever
to do with the beet sugar industry.
Doubtless he is supposed to have given
up the ghost during the period of that
double petition. And there is, indeed
food for thought in the supposition.
So l, also, will leave the beet sugar
laborer for the nonce, leave him just
where he s-patching, pushing, wheel
ing, dragging, climbing, falling, lift