The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1916-07-07
WOULD ABOLISH
IDLEnESS EVIL
Organized Labor In California
Plans TO Stop Unemployment.
ADVOCATES BASIC REFORMS
Proposes to Shift Burden of Taxation
From Industry to Privilege and Mo-
nopoIy-Reduction of Hours of La
Dor Would Eliminate Many Abuses of
the Industrial System.
BY PAUL sHARREN5ERG, Secretary
San Francisco Labor Council.

BY PAUL sHARREN5ERG, Secretary
San Francisco Labor Council.
The organized workers of California
regard unemployment within our state
as wholly unnecessary evil.
1t may be contended that it Is very
difficult and even impossible to do
away with unemployment In the
thickly populated industrial centers.
But somehow no one has been found
who can show good reasons why un-
employment has become an issue In
our own rich and fertile state which
by her comparison with other countries
should comfortably support many,
many times her present population
To eradicate this unnecessary evil in
California organized labor has for
years advocated certain fundamental
reforms
First, III order OF Importance, is the
proposal to Shift the burden Of taxa
ton from labor and industry to priv
ilege and monopoly other words, to
make it Improbable for the land specu-
lator to hold on to thousands upon
thousands of idle and unimproyed
acres.
Second, but perhaps equally as i'm
portant as freeing the land is the
reduction Of the working hours
Working hours have been reduced 6y
organizations ana by legislation. Cali
fornia has done well by enacting the
eight hour law for her working women,
but much remains to be done in reduc-
ing the daily hours of our male work
ing population.
The organized workers in California
demand a reduction Of the hours of
labor because it would give a due share
Of work and WAGES to the reserve army
of labor and eliminate many OF the
worst abuses Of the industrial system
now filing our poorhouses and jails
The movement for the reduction of the
hours of labor is contemporaneous with
the introduction of labor saving ma
chinery aud has been the most faithful
Of all reformatory attempts Of modern
times, since Ii has clearly revealed the
power of the working people to realize
an improved Industrial system and
raises the hope that we may yet be
able to stem the tide OF economic, so
cial and moral degradations robbing
those who work Of a great part of their
natural wages and keeping the whole
Of society within a few months of des-
titudon
Finally organized labor believes that
there should he greater restriction Of
immigration. 1t is very well to talk
about America MS the haven Of the op-
pressed For all know it may be
quite true that America is big enough"
to provide homes for all the teeming
millions of Europe, but the fact is that
we seem to be unable to properly care
for those now here SO it is submitted
that greater restriction Of immigration
is one Of the important and essential
steps that must be taken for the solu-
ton of the unemployment problem of
our country.
At present organized labor in Cali
fornia proposes to abolish all employ
ment agencies operated for profit
Many years ago congress passed a law
which made it illegal to collect a fee
for furnishing employment to seamen
This drove the climps out Of the bust
ness And in view of the fact that in
this state upward of 100000 is now
paid annually into The Golfers of the
employment agents by men who can
least afford it, because they are out Of
work, it seems evident that We badly
need legislation which will drive these
land crimps out Of business.
California state employment bureaus
as they are now operated and conduct
ed have accomplished great deal, but
as long as private bureaus exist they
will never receive the patronage Of a
large number of employers
AS a pleasing contrast to this beg to
call your attention to the fact that in
the shipping business on the Pacific
coast men have been hired for a great
many years without the aid of any
bureaus, public or private, The en-
ployment bureaus for the shipping In
dustry of the Pacific coast are main
tained by the seamen's organizations
to the satisfaction of workers and en-
ployers. Neither side pays fee for
this service, and If this state Of affairs
is possible for 10000 men in one of the
principal industries of the Pacific
coast then we may we'll apply the same
system to the other industries in our
state.