New-York tribune., 1917-12-16

,....rt stringencies in coal and
~. s.-,ine in many Of the most
'n' .iogs and industrially important
''pa'l -s. have s particularly untimely
ca, .5 and a doubly sinister meaning
i'. ssaa onlv @Ir have industries 100 per
". essential to making war and
fa' .a.;oc battles been checked in their
- force to curtail and even act
s9lr' %, abandon large activities which
-, :, ,-eouired by abnormal needs and
'Is ..,t ant insatiable demands, but en-
80 who are now out Of constant
NY .s out Of pay, also, perhaps out
80 ans in the fields to which they
= hsst adapted, may be perma-
= .,sv lost to these war industries
/, ., ,iroes Of active, persistent bid
Z for services in an underfed
- S market. that might easily hap
Labor is much more mobile
tbat wage rates grow fatter
.-y dav than it was in normal
.-.s, s..s 1t IS easy to shift to employ
..,. with which the worker IS not
.milisr because the cry Help
s,ntsd!!7 becomes more frantic every
s'v and employers are not eXacting
heir requirements. 1t is scarcely
,vscceration to say that the man
sbo knows the difference between a
-a,tev wrench and a hammer is
I...ise5 as a skilled mechanic these
avs. and has only to change his
n 70 get higher pay.
View York. Philadelphia. Pitts
.-,gb Baltimore. Boston, every
.bsre that industry centres: ships,
,1,itions. public utilities, electric
,,ver light. heat, everything using
,,,rgv in ouantity-all are heavily
,,5 undesirably affected. In Balti-
,or. 70 cite q case. men dropped in
s,eral shipbuilding plants by the
,soussnd TO date have been taken
t,,k bv only hundreds or dozens.
,,8 all attributed and justly blamed
d lack of coal. II war industries
rent on. ard only individuals suf-
.,rd. the suffering and inconven-
sr,e might be borne with some
,usnimity and not too much Of ma
to1al loss OF setback. Striking war
rork full in the stomach, as 1t does,
Il gives a heavy body blow. Let US
cpe. and meantime pray, for at least
halfway and, if need be, incom-
te,e recovery before too many nee
e,ary branches, lacking coal, work
md labor. will be counted altogether
oy, IN the arena Of American armed
rrepsration. The coal situation IS
,,pical Of the situation other lines;
+. is more prominent merely because
is more acute and because it is be-
irg brought home TO the individual
D.; actual physical suffering. Shiv-
rjng stimulates the imagination. 1t
Is plain that the necessary readjust-
nents Of business are proceeding
,.infuIly and with infinite slowness.
Essential industries are starving, or
faring thinly. and while unessential
businesses may be faring thinly, too,
tie vital problem facing the country
viii never be solved until the latter
ere absolutely starved so that the
former may grow fat. Everybody
knows that, though the matter Is
thought Of and spoken Of in as many
different terms as there are indus
ties. The trouble is that too much
tenderness is being shown, for fear
that some one or some industry may
be harmed. Well, the country can
rot be put on a war footing without
farming many industries and many
Individuals. Business men know
nat The other day the president
Of the National Chamber Of Com
nerce emphasized that very thing in
addressing the members Of his or
ganizstion. The government knows
+, TOO.