The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1916-09-30
ASK CAND|DkT ES
WHAT THEY FAVOR
Committee on Real Preparedness
Holds Conferences In Many
Large Cities.
WAGE BATTLE IN BEHALF
OF WHOLE POPULATION
Questions Vital to Labor Put Up
to Men Running for
Congress.

L
mittee on Real Prepared .ess y OF
which Amos Pinchot is chairman, is
conducting a series OF conferences
| throughout the eastern half of the
United States. Fourteen have already
ben held in industrial centers such as
New York, Chicago, st. Louis, Kan
sas City, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh
| and several more are to be held this
month in southern cities a:1d in New
England. Committees are being or
ganized in nearly every state of the
union to ask all Candidates for con-
gress whether they favor anG will, ii
elected work for the following pro-
tosals of the committee:
Proposals Suggested
Meeting the cost of local govern
ment by heavier taxation of land
values and untaxing Improvements
and all products of labor. Rapidly
progressive taxation Of large incomes,
especially unearned incomes, to meet
the cost of the federal government;
and rapidly progressive inheritance
tax for federal and state govern
ments.
Federal acquisition of all natural
mopopolies, the present owners to be
paid onl the value they have given
thereto plus the present value of i'm
provements therein and thereon.
Social insurance against sickness
and accidents.
Benjamin c.. Marsh, executive Sec
retary of the committee, who has
spoken at all the conferences, cites
the following facts as showing the
need for this fundamental program
of preparedness for peace-and to
prevent war;
One-half of one per cent of the
population Of the country receive
nearly one-fifth of the national in
come;
At least $4,000 people in the
country die unnecessarily every year;
An overwhelming majority of our
industrial population are more or less
seriously injured physically. Only.
about one-tenth of the applicants for
enlistment in the United States ma
rine corps in 1915 were accepted;
and most of the rejctions were due to
physical defections;
About two-thirds of the country's
population have no wealth, except
the clothes on their back, and little
furniture or personal property.
AN hereditary monarch, says Mr..
Marsh, with the slogan: After me,
the deluge, could not have fostered
conditions more melting to revolu-
ton than obtain in our country"
Organized labor has achieved we'll
nigh a miracle in shortening hours
of work and increasing the number
Of dollars paid the proportion Of
the workers of the country now or
ganized. The future task is 20 keep
present gains. but to raise the general
we'll being of all workers. This in
wolves two fundamental changes:
Eliminating the raids govern
the workers, through our present
system of securing revenue for gov
purposes, which costs
eve~y family in the country ON the
about $3.50 a year. This can
be done by the triple tax, urged by
the committee, on land values, on
large inhcritances and on large un-
earned incomes.
Elimination of Parasites.
Eliminating parasites who charge
heavy prices for natural sources and
services necessarily monopolistic in
nature, such as transportation and
all public utility undertakings. This
will be done by government acquisi-
ton thereof, as urged by: this COM
mittee. and cannot be done in any
other way. LAS Mr.. .Delos, F. Wilcox,
franchise expert, points out, govern
mental regulation Of. public utilities
is a. complete failure. These corpor-
ations now insist upon having regu-
lation. AS Mr.. Wilcox says: ''They
are so enthusiastic over it that they
help write the laws (creating pub
lie service commissions)@ and appoint
the commissioners" ..>*
Government Ownership.
Government ownership. Of rail-
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