The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-01-12
FALLAUOUs RE-
SRICTIVE POLICIES

;, Northw, stern brick layers, plast-
b erers and stone cutters in convention
at Spokane decided to raise wages
to 81 day for eight hours and pay
and half for overtime.
Result of this will be to restrict
building operations largely to lumber,
steel and concrete construction where
machinery Is employed and machine
made MARTIAL is used.
Refusal of unions to allow young
men to learn trades at brick laying
plastering, stone-cutting and similar
trades reduces numbers following
these trades to a minimum.
Stonecutting as a trade is becom-
ing extinct because unions have
raised wages SO high that artificial
stone and machine products take
their place.
Present scale of wages in these
building trades are 81 day, and
when demand exceeds supply as high
as 81 to SO day are paid
Artificial and arbitrary demands
for higher wages restrict employment
in hundreds of smaller places and
ranchers no longer have any brick or
stone building done.
Condemn When Necessary but Give
Credit When Due.
The past week the following four
very important items appeared in the
daily papers; Southern Pacific and
Santa Fe each grant 10 per cent OF
yearly salary as bonus to employ
\ As not in faur brotherhoOds, Stand
2ard Oil grants increase per cent
to employees receiving less than $3.50
per month and establishes minimum
daily wage of unskilled labor at 50,
this is in addition to 10 per cent in
crease made to same class of employ
es last May and the Bell telephone
Company will distribute $6,0OOO,OO
among employees.
In addition to the foregoing, many
other large concerns have made SIM
liar and even larger increase Where
business justified 1t.
In none of the above mentioned
instances have we seeen one OF the
items given more than inches space
in the big daily papers.
Yet in the same papers when a
I. w. w. or rabid labor agitator
threatened to tie up an industry or
call a big strike, scare headlines and
columns of space would be devoted
to the incident.
In other words, an affirmative con-
structive act benefitin thousands and
bringing Joy to many homes is barely
noticed, while a negative, destructive
act, putting men out of work and dis
tributing industry is played up as an
important event.
This policy of magnifying injuries
and often imaginary wrongs and
minimizing meritorious acts orignor-
ing them entirely simply stirs up
hatred between classes.
Condemn where necessary but also
give them credit when due.
let Congress Break the Fuel Famine
The high price of coal and the coal
famines in some states ought 10 IN
teresst people in water power oe-
velopment.
The seizure of oil lands by the
government and federal prosecutions
to restrict oil production adds to the
high cost of fuel.
Water power development in the
west is also held up by the failure
of Congress to provide legislation to
allow capital to enter the nelo.
Conservation policies dictated by
eastern theorist sseem to have
strangled hold. on the west and the
whole nation.
The presidents of four transcontln-
entail railroads have just been In
specting the electrified mountain d.
visions of the G. M. & st P. railroad
with an eye to electrifying the roads.
Congress should release the electric
mower. heat and light in the wasting
water powers---that would be real
conservation of coal and oil.
The Shields bill applies to many
parts of the country and parts OF the
west.
The Ferris bill as amended in the
Senate has many objections but would
be better than no legislation on water
powers.
State and Federal Regulation
II is wonderful that we have any
railroad development in our country
in present state of affairs, with, fed
eral government fixing rates, estab-
fishing service, with 4S state COM
missions introducing discordant local
issues. with another helter-skelter
investigating mody leaving wages
and hours up in the air, with con-
gress occasionally issuing DEGREES to
meet special situations, 1t is hardly
remarkable that we have railroad
problem.