El Imparcial. (San Juan, P.R.) 1918-197?, 1918-11-30
CHEAP LABOR
A FALLACY

FALLACY the trouble between the motor
.Tpx ---------- men and conductors of the San
sS' Juan trolley line and the Porto
Rico Railway, Light and Power Co. The result in the
difference Of opinion between these two parties is that
the people of San Juan who have to use the
few thousands greatly In our Dusl
ness say nothing about comfort and personal sa
fey Yes, may quickly to San Juan, thanks to
those very gudguas which the ridiculous pretenons
of the Company wanted to put out OF business we can
travel but entirely without danger to life and limb
Who can blame the guagua drivers for wanting to make
as many trips possible in the shortest time! Surely
not the Porto Rico Railway Light and Power Co.
Whether the demand of 40 cents hour pay made by
the workmen can or not be met by the Company,
we are not in position say We have something call
ed Public Service Commission and perhaps this Com
mission which is paid by the Porto Rican people, is in
position to tell it certainly must have full statistical
data at it's disposal
What we can say, what any reasonable person be
Of is that the present OF the mOtormen con-
ucOrs and shop hands of the Company poorly
paid The Company itself claims in it's advertisements
that the cost of operating the has increased consl
erably and therefore the OF the cars Will not
feel surprised when told that living expenses in San
Juan have gone up at least hundred cent since
two years ago. We have put that increase very moder
aely at hundred per cent the actual increase could
be found to be considerably more.
1t has always been mistery to people, why con-
tinentals working here doing the amount of work
done by natives, invariably paid higher wages than
those paid to the Porto Rcans Then if the native
ains he is not hustler he is said to be good,
zy The trouble is that these corporations to
OrtO Rico attracted by the low wages that WOrkmen
mand here, by what is generally called CHEAP
ABOR and instead of cheap labor they got-a lemon.
lev certainly not obtain efficient labor for the
fields for fifty cents day. they not get efficient mo-
tormen and conductors for twelve, fifteen eighteen
cents an hour, at the present time There is such
thing cheap labor; you may pay low wages but the
quality Of the workmen you hire is ow and the product
he turns out is correspondingly low.
AS far as the Porto Rico Railway Light & Power Co.
is concerned they may pay low wages to their motormen
and conductors but by doing it they simply endanger
ing the lives of the people who travel in their They
the p r. r. L. P. Co., will make the difference that the
people, the passengers pay with their personal safety
except in those when the company is actually
peeled to indemnify for the killed injured because of
that stngly policy Remember the other day. when
number 27 against steamroller in Puerta de Tie
IRA, and about twenty-five people nearly killed
MANNED. Now that in the morning or In the
previous day child in Santurce. Can any fair
person blame the underpad mOtOrman for it? The moral
ths that trolley should not be put in charge
cept of highly efficient and properly paid motormen and
conductors. This policy would certainly be adhered to
by the Company, if it possible to compelled to
pay heavily for damages to passengers in it's cars.
Before closing we wish express deep regret at
the Indifference shown by the other newspapers in this
important question. To any thing happening in Ger
many Russia China, big space and plenty of pre-
cious time is given much interested Porto Ricans
in those far away countries and in those dubious
events But for the strike of moormen and conductors
right in home town. simple passing comment is
sufficient. Why should time be wasted in Investigating
mparcially the difference, and show how justice should
be done? Were it to happen election day. perhaps
would be different but just let the thing be taken
pN I'D EN- CC ADJ e ~