The Monticellonian. [volume] (Monticello, Ark.) 1870-1920, 1918-06-28
Cermany's
Treatment of the
orkingman
=.
BY DANIEL LOUIS HANSON
OF The Vi9iidnfeJ

/ beautiful homes for them, pay widows
i pensions; also pension for old age,
sickness, loss of work and increases in
families. pay high wages, limit work
ing hours, make loans easy to farmers.
l have no slums as do America and
Great Britain; l adiudicate all strikes.
Mine is the land of the care-free and
happy workingman."
That is the boiled-down-to-a-few -sen-
fences propaganda that Germany COW
cred the whole world with before the
war with the ostensble purpose of
weakening the morale of her enemies
In the war she then was planning.
Great credit is due to Chairman Eas-
ley of the National Civic Federation in
his published refutation of Germany's
claims; just a few items from that
valuable document will prove ilIumi-
mating:
Widows pensions in Germany dur
Ing series of years averaged 80 cents
week sick pensions % cents week;
invalidity pension the same; orphans
pensions 81 cents a week. Wages
averaged per day for carpenters $1.45;
plumbers $1.25; railway employees
engineers and conductors on state rail
ways, 20 cents; shop workers S102;
male farm labor - cents female farm
labor IL cents.
And this in a land where govern
ment statistics placed average cost of
keeping families at over $500 per year.
How did they make both ends meet?
RV h
second woman in Germany worked dur
Ing the before-the-war period-nearly
100000 all tod-and as the writer
can testify from an extended trip
throughout the empire, at the hardest
labor.
As to hours those of skilled labor
ran about IS per week. in textile and
other lines from Il to IA per day. In
1911 the big stores of Berlin kept open
till 1T night and some hours on Sun
days-thoush that last was remedied
the following year. The smaller stores
We're even worse as to hours. \ bank
Ing concern across from my hotel
worked from in the morning to at
night
Regarding strikes which Germany
claimed to always adjudieate; that
year saw the beginning of such a
disturbance in the Meabit section Of
Berlin-and the end. for the authorities
settled ii in true Homestead fashion
by shooting down the ringleaders. II
lasted only two days and the press
was allowed to say nothing about it.
However, the Norwaerts referred to it
and was suppressed for three days as
punishment According to Mr.. Eas-
ley.s statistics. more than two=thirds
the strikes in 1912 We're unsuccessful
and labor unions only allowed to meet
under government supervision.
As to slums-whoever has smelled
the horrible odors in CoIogne-until
1914 the filthiest city in Europe in
some of its residence sections. will
laugh at Germanys claim to being slum-
less. And what about the foulness of
Madgeburg and DantZig? East London
is Paradise alley by comparison. Ber-
lin, the show city of the empire, looks
like a town of palaces with the streets
lined by stuceo-fronted houses, but
back of them-and this condition IS
much worse in Hamburg, Cologne,
Frankfort and other large towns
stand the serried ranks of poverty's
tenements. row upon row. Berlin has
more one-room tenements than any
other city in the world Families of
six and seven herding in one apart
ment and hall bathroom doing serv-
ice for half a dozen such families.
As to land distribution: over a third
of Germany's farms are less than III
acres in size; 22,6 per cent betweert
] Il and ; acres 17.5 per cent, TO u
acres; 1876 per cent Z to 30 acres:
while 1886 junkers, the land barons
own nearly 25,0Oo000 acres, running
from $50 TO 500 acres and more each.
The above is only a small part Of
the picture which Germany actually
presented to the world in Che befoSs
the-war period Not of course what
she claimed, bGt nevertheless collated
from her official recorGs-all except
the filth of her large cities. 1t sounds
inviting 20 an American workingman,
does 1t not And since then. of course,
conditions have gotten even worse with
women uolnI WOTh lIEtt WOulu Stoop
the shoulders of the strongest man.
Oppression of farmers, underpaid
workers, enSa$eSnsns OF women ana
children indhstrialiy, shocking housing
conditions, chronic underfeedieg with
resultant fearful infant mortality.
counterfeit Social fns1rance- few
counts in the indictment mada, by Mr..
Easley against Germany bafore the
war.
German efficiency goes to appalling
lengths. whether IL is breeding German
subjects from the enslaved young
women of France and Belgium or in
issuing lying propaganda with which
to break down the morale of the
worlds democracy. Nothing Is too low,
nothing too awful for the Potsdam
spawn not to attempt
Yet fools in America still mouth.
"Peace. peace at any priee.
Can man make peace with hell