Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1918-04-18
Seeking to Eliminate
Waste in Distribution
Necessities Of Life

Necessities of Life
Washington, April 16.-Regardless
of theoretical discussions as te
whether government ownership should
be a permanent policy or simply a
war measure, Secretary McAdoo is
daily adopting measures that tend to
nationalize the railroad systems. Uni.
fed operation, the dream of railroad
men for years, has been given a great
impetus by the announcement that
after May l, goods may be shipped
across the country, on one way bill, no
matter how many railroads may han
die them in transit. In the past. a
car of goods from New York to San
Francisco might be shipped by four
different railroads and on four diff.
ferent waybills. That meant when a
car arrived at a railroad terminal
point it had to be held there until it
was checked in on the old way bill
and checked out on a new one that
had to be made. During a period of
freight congestion that system often
held up cars for days and ever weeks.
Mr.. McAdoo, who has already or
dered the discharge OF all lobbyists
and legal departments that could not
show legal reasons for their existence
is now moving to discharge useless
officials and useless branches Of rail
road STATS. These useless persons
include chairmen of boards of direct
tors, traffic solicitors and attorneys
who negotiate contracts with the gov
eminent. In short, the upper strata
Of railroad society is to be pruned
for the benef of the stockholders and
the public.
Government Recognizes Labor.
Another big factor toward unifica.
tion of the system is the recognition
by the government of the four broth
erhoods of train operatives in all
wage and labor disputes, and the pro
viding of boards for the REIMBURSEMENT
of all differences. This means abso-
lutte solidarity between the govern
ment and 100000 railroad employees
In the debate in the house on the
Baer bill, the fact kept o~utcropping
that it IA the farmers organization
that was feared rather than the pre-
cedent for loaning money for agricul-
tural enterprises.
Particularly was that part of the
bill appropriating 81, 500,000 for eX-
penses for transporting agricultural
laborers from n SECTION 20 anotherl
opposed by those who want to keep
lheir farm workers %contented. This
was brought out by Stevenson of
South Sarolina, who said:
Everybody knows that our labor is
largely colored labor, and a PROPOSE
tion to give them a free ride to Kan
sas or Montana or elsewhere would
denude the cotton and corn farms of
their labor in "a hours His voice
was simply the conscience of the
South expressing itself, for the bill lis
s~afeguarded SO that transportation Of
labor would help rather than hinder
production.
Profiteerine and Waste.
Never was the waste OF our pres
emit system of distribution SO well IL
Illustrated as they have been by an
article in the April Outlook byJ i. ID. !
Dean, a farmer of Watervilie, Maine.
According to figures given by Mr..
Dean from the New York department
of foods and markets, the consumers
dollar Is divided SO that 35 cents. goes
tosssthe producer and 65 cents to the
various agencies of distribution. lust
how much of this 65 cents is required
TOR needed labor and how mucin of it.
gees tn the profiteers the report toes
not say. nor does Mr.. Dean contend
that the average individual in the
system OF distribution gets too large
pay for his labor.
The entire scheme of distribution
issNto0 cumbersome and expensive, for
The service that iii renders, There is
transportation. With high
charges, and the goods 30 through an
unnecessary number Of hands, before,
they set to the retailer,
Duplicate Labors Costly.
THE Outlook article oceassoned con.
siderable comment at the naiienal
capital. 1t was made the subiert OF
8 a9gscartoon By Congressman j M. Baer.
md OF comment BY many others who
~raTaarked that the fundamental pro-
gram OF the @nonpartisan League, The
eliminationgaf the useless middleman,
and the organization of a distribution
based On service. was taking
NJ $t&ASt tsst0 pNtl NituEinl0uu III lllSsIaF
eaSteTnstatas.
Mr. Dean declares that TIE expense
MISREPRESENTATION is responsible fof much
as0f@the land I'M the East being kept
ESaOH reproduction. With prices that
Npuld pay q fair return for labor, the
aMNfiter thinks that with the Same
limits now III operation the produc.
aSssss 800 the eastern suites could be
zs~sA8creased from four to ten fold and
1 t66eg East would be able to feed itself
Release the Parasites.
4 Mil Dean points to another adyan,
that would come BY cutting
1oMn the cost of marketing. IA large
E1Ngny of parasites retained now b
eSA6oAsof the 65 cents out OF the con
g0f6efseadOilRr.cO be released 10,
IA lahOr insthe Industries so necas
making War work effective
Desnr0aches the conclusior
thAssgoyefnlnent ought to rear
thie gystamsand make it better
H6x xa~N0N4&648G4Ant He advorpfna Al