The diamond drill., 1918-03-09
THE INJUSTICE OF MIsINFoRMA'
TION.

IHE l1L w
TIoN.
Editor The Diamond Drill,
Crystal Falls, Michigan.
Dear Sir: The injustice that Of
ten results from misinformation
is illustrated in your editorial OF
February %, wherein you credit
J. Ogden Armour with express
ing the belief that $2.75 day Is
wage enough for the average Am
erican family to live upon.
Mr.. Armour made no such state
ment. The court record shows
that Mr.. Walsh asked him IL he
thought the $275 which the men
are now getting, plus the $l.Oo in
crease which they are now ask
ing, would constitute a living
wage. Mr.. Armour replied. Yes
and perhaps a little more.
We note that you conceded the
right OF the employer TO profit
upon his production, upon the
brain power he possesses and up
on the capital employed-all OF
which leads us to believe that had
you been properly informed re-
garding Mr.. Armour's statement.
the conclusion OF your editorial
would have been different.
Very truly yours,
ARMOUR e. COMPANY.
The editorial referred TO appeared
in these columns three weeks ago. il
was written upon information OBJ
tanned from the daily press reports
which were commonly understood to
represent fairly the attitude OF Mr.
Armour upon the wage question. We
are pleased to give this correction
space, and to be able to state that
the reply credited to Mr.. Armour was
not made by him.
We understand from Mr., MacManus
letter that the reported utterance does
not square with Mr.. Armour's person
nj attitude. We sincerely hope not.
More than that we are pleased to
note the attitude of the Armour com.
pany In the matter and Il is the poll
cy that Is quite generally beina
adopted by other large concerns--oI
getting right before the public The
remark OF Col Vanderbilt "The pub
lie be d" did more harm to legitim.
ate corporate industry than whole
Carnegie library full OF conciliatory
utterances could possibly cure. Witt
some that utterance was taken as TN,
guiding principle and they conducted
their business accordingly until az
era OF political exploitation caused
them 10 sit up and take notice. Will
many Of the poorer and laboring class
It acted as stimulant towards soc
ialism and FASTENED the trend towards
radicalism.
Big business men today have takeT
stock and they invariably find tina
they are mp against big debit bal
ance OF popular prejudice that threat
ems not only their personal standing
but the financial support OF the In
vesting public in their enterprise al
so, for big enterprises are more an,
more dependent as the years roll b,
and their scope extends upon the lit
tie partners who hold small interest
the small investor.
II makes little difference with ]
Ogden Armour or the Armour com
pany what country paper like th
Diamond Drill thinks about his or II
actions. They could probably liv
along without any great qualms Q
conscience over our criticisms. Blu
that isn't the thought that lies deep
est. They realize that upon them,
a great degree, rests the responsible
Ivy for the trend democracy is goin
10 take in the near future. A SAT
and sane public opinion Is the mair
stay against Bolshivikism. Conf
dence In the moral intentions OF th
captains OF industry Is recognized I
be az necessary as confidence In theI