South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-06-03

of % years instead Of 90 years is
economically more valuable TO
community, just as an engine is
more valuable TO a manufactures
the more years it produces power.
Drastic Industries
Alcohol. however. does impair eff
cheney, and industry should be con-
cerned about this today as never be-
fore. Society has decreed, through
law, that the employer must be re-
sponsible for the injuries received
Ey his wOrkmen. No longer does
the laborer assume the risks OF the
occupation ne enters. If the work
man Injuries or loses an eye, leg, or
arm, the employer, or agencies paid
by him to assume the risk, must pay
compensatory amount. Safety ap-
planes have been installed TO re-
duce this expense. IL alcohol, as the
evidence shows, counteracts the
watchfulness of the best superinten-
dents, and the effects of the best
safety appliances, then il is loss tc
industry, and through industry, a
loss 10 society.
But let us suppose a still better
situation for alcohol Let us sup
pose that alcohol neither impairs
nor shortens the productive capacity
of the individual. Let us put It in
the position that, while nothing can
be said for il, nothing can be said
against il. Could industry then toll
crate II?
In economics we speak of parasite
industries. A cotton mill is estab-
lished in a town of steel mills. The
cotton mill labor supply comes
from the families of steel workers.
A wage is paid which only partially
supports the worker. the remainder
of the support coming from the work
er in the steel mill. To me extent
that the cotton industry does not pay
wages sufficient to support its work
men, il is a parasite on the steel iE-
dustry In the same class is a large
part of those enterprises employing
child and sweat-shop labor. And In
the same class, too, must be put the
liquor industry. Even in the capa-
city we have now assumed for IT, it
is a parasite on other industry.
An employer pays a workman 81
a day-just sufficient to buy food
clothing, shelter. and recreation 10
make him the most competent pro-
Queer. But he takes so cents of the
50 and spends il for alcohol, sup
posedly doing him no evil OF go0c.
He may as we'll have thrown II IN
the ocean so far as any personal
effect is concerned. But now he can
not buy enough beneficial things 70
MAKE HIM a competent workman
and the industry 10 which he be-
longs suffer. The industry TO which
he pays the so cents lives of the one
which pays il TO him. A standard
of living high enough TO provide a
competent workman does not depend
on the wage paid. but on how that
wage is spent. 1t makes no differ
ence how high the wage is, if part
of it goes for materials which in no
way help the spender. And the
maker of worthless materials is a
] parasite on other industry. Here,
I then is seen that which has not
been seen-that industry cannot be
AT its best and tolerate the institT-
/ ton of alcohol
No OnSetting Compensation
The evil effect on i1dustry could
perhaps. be tolerated if cOmpen-
/ satine characteristic were found in
some other field. And il seems that
We partially find this in the employ
ment which the liquor industry
gives to a large number of men ana
i'm the market made for large
amount of agricultural products
Prohibition would no doubt destroy
this employment and this market
The same situation is also true oil
the society woman who gave ban
Quet for the poodle dogs of all her
Iacouaintances. This made work Tor
the chefs and maids who prepared
and served the delectable dainties
and il made "A demard for the ma
terials that went into them. u
made work for the laundry en-
moves that cleaned the soiled linen
exc can we justify these situations
because they demard labor and ma
terials? They simply transfer labor
and materials from one held 10 an
other. And they take them IRON
fields that would have given u'
somethin. additional TO what We al
ready have il these situations had
mot arisen.
Society does not condemn pro
gress for destroying a craft II is
only condemned from the craft OF
individual point We did not con
denim the linotype. although II al
most destroyed the typeseJtin.
trade. The typesetter condemned i
because II took away his Job al
| typesetter. But the change in th'