New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-12-20
PRESENT WAGES ARE
LIKELY TO KEEP Up
No Permanent Revision Down.
ward Expected in America

economic outlook, =. W. StrauS of S.
/ W. Straus q Co., says:
Future dcVelopm ents in the build
ing and construction industries as
we'll in all lines of trade. must Of
necessity shape themselves according
to labor conditions. There is a dis
position IN some quarters to look for
drop IN wages and corresponding
recession in the prices of cOmmodi-
ties. AS u result, some hesitation ex-
lists i'll general business.
All fundamental conditions. both
economic and political. point to q con-
! tluatlon Of the present levels for
for wages and tho cost of living Fear
that American business will be placed
at disadvantage owing to the more
cheaply paid labor abroad. does not
seem to be we'll founded. While there
VIII be no pertinent revision down-
ward in American wages there Will
| be steady revision upward in Eu-
rope
Labor conditions of the near flu
ture will most likely be based on a
universal eight-hour day in all coun-
tries. both European and American.
There will. of course in isolated in
stances, be reductions from present
prices where the profiteer has forced
the public to pa yabormal costs Now
that the war is over, there is no long
er need for the bonuses and excessive
overtime charges that were paid to
labor in munitiOn plants, shipyards
and industries where conditions were
acute, but t seems improbable that
the general average scale of wages
will permanently recede from present
levels
Rebuilding tasks, both in Europe
and America, are prOdibiOus Secre-
tary Redfield recently reported that
there was immediate need for one
million new buildings in England,
France and Belgium, while in this
country there are everywhere evil
dences of prospective building pro-
jects on a larger scale than ever be-
fore approached.
In addition to these concrete evil
dences of abnormal activities and
continuation of present prices, it m asst
be borne in mind that the war has
brought revolutionary changes in the
mental attitude and political status of
the masses of the people in all ma
tons. The tendency of all huma nity
is toward a higher state of develop
ment and better standards of living |
which will ever continue as the pro- |
cesses of education fulfill their work. |
Another definite result of the war
is that the practice of thrift will be |
a fixed feature in the economic ex- |
istence of all countries. Not only |
must every man practice thrift, but |
his condition of life must be such that |
he can practice it. If the world goes
on just it did before the war, with J
great numbers of people in all cou1-
tries living in conditions of deplor-
able p0verty-cOnditions that make
upbiulding difficut-then we cannot
1
have been rightly settled. But our
victory has been glorious, and the
progress it means in the larger inter
national affairs will be reflected in
better living conditions everywhere. |
Unless the triumph of America aid
the Allied nations means the anchor
ization of living conditions for the
millions of those in all countries who
have been u1derpaid, underfed and |
undercIothed; who have been given
little or no educational advantages
and to whom life has meant nothing
more than daily fight for food and
shelter, we cannot say we have reach
ed the age of rea democracy
The world long has witnessed the
cruelty and arrogance of autocracy,
and it now has come to understand |
that the day of the autocrat is ended |
be he the ruler of Il nation the en-
ployer of labor, the custodian of |
great wealth, the labor leader, or the
iwelder of political power The ideals
for which the war was fought are
those that must rule in politics. in
business and in personal affairs. And
there can be no democracy where
there is no thrift, for reckless waste |
and extravaganza by the strong sim
ply means a shortage of the necessi- |
ties of life for the weak. What is
wasted by one ma1 is needed by an
other If humanity is to experience |
the permanent benefits of it's sacri-
fees and translate into the deeds of |
it's daily life the lessons it has learned
in the war, thea the practices of
thrift, both national and individual,
must become a lasting factor.
Any analysis which has for it's OBJ
iect the probable economic develop
ments of the immediate future, also
must incorporate the fact that the
war is developing a better under
standing and a closer utilization be-
tween capital and labor than ever be-
fore Among all men there has been
fostered a broader, more tolerant AID
more humanitarian viewpoint. The |
lines of social caste and class dis
tinction are becoming less definitely
defined Mankind at last has set it's
lace toward IIlS Sodl VI real pTuIheI- |
hood and it is moving swiftly to that
end. This is the age of the league of
nations, the era of broad internation- |
al politics, the wireless and the aero |
plane, all of which are bringing the
peoples of the world into conditions |
of closer relationship. ,
If one is to Judge correctly the ,
trend of future business events these | I
conditions must be accorded signif-
canoe. ,
c1,o,,1J hn o1co |