The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-02-25
HAVE NATION
BY THE THROAT
Capital and Labor Charged by
Senator With Being
Anything but
Patriotic.
|SLACKING IN SHIP YARDS
Woriemen az BoIshevlkI W1liIe Hog
island Shows How CaPl-
tai Has Been
Acting.
|SLACKING IN SHIP YARDS

HIeSS LGdScU WiC 1SA 'ASS'J
WASHINGTON. Feb. 25.--Deciaring
the "Bolsheviki of America, profit
eerA"- and lapor-have the
nation by the throat In its hour OF
need, Senator McCumber. North Da-
kota, today urged passage of his Ia
Dor "conscription" bill in the senate
McCumber declared that this profit
eering was encouraged and acquiesc-
that unless steps were taken to cor
rect the evil, the American people
would be heard from"
The "saturnalia of extravagance" at
the Hog island ship yard was cited as
the "crowning instance Of Bolsheviki
sentiment in America" which he de-
clared as standing for more, still
more and always more"
The attitude of ship yard labor, par
ticularly on the Pacific coast, which
he declared was Stacking In most
shameful and disgraceful manner he
gave as an example OF "Bolshe vikism"
OF the workingman.
Never before have we SO needed
Ships" said McCumber. Never be-
fore has the cause Of democracy, the
cause Of these very laborers needed
ships az they are needed today. The
very life Of the cause depends upon
ship construction.
'But what IS labor unionism doing
In this battle? In our ship yards it is
Stacking in q most shameful and dis
graceful manner"
Declaring that everything connect
ed with the Hog island ship yard from
the time Of the purchase OF the land
on which 1t is located, down to the
present time, exemplified the "hog
nature" OF the man, McCumber said:
AFTER this land had been purchas-
ed and the foundation laid upon graft,
it was but natural that the superstruc-
Fture should be in harmony with the
foundation and every act, every con-
tract, every expenditure for material
or labor had been wildly extravagant.
"The hard earned dollars OF the in
dustrious people Of America, exacted
by the heaviest burden Of taxation
have been burned in wild saturnalia of
extravagance."
Turning to labor, McCumber chang
ed that labor in specific ship yards,
particularly riveters, were stacking.
He asserted that where it used to cost
the government four hundred dollars
to get 10000 rivets driven, it was now
costing $2,175. Samuel Gompers, he
declared, was unable to handle the
men. They were in the grasp OF un-
scrupulous leaders. he said.
Every man who holds up the gov
ernment in this time Of danger, COM
mits a crime and every government
official who stands by armed with
power to prevent such acts and al
low. them to continue, is partici-
pant in that crime" McCumber suid.
Just how long the American people
will submit to being robbed first by
the material man, then by the labor
er and then to having both robberies
en- couraged and acquiesced in by the
government, the Lord only knows
He asserted that this plundering
element constituted about one tenth
of the American people.
1--WE are facing the supreme test OF
democracy" he said. Cannot self
governing people impose upon itself
that labor, that sacrifice. that sub
version to the necessities OF war
which an autocratic government can
enforce by mere word of command? !?
If it cannot, it Is doomed.
IT have faith that it can.
"We have human energy to win
this war, and win 1t quickly, but that
energy needs mobilization. At pres
ent three-fou1-ths of it is being vast
ed"
He asserted that there are over six
million men in the nation who are not
engaged in remunerative labor and
that six hundred thousand more could
be obtained by substituting women in
certain lines Of employment which
they can easily perform.
McCumber declared that proper at.
tention had not been given to getting
ships to American troops in France
and to supply them. He quoted Sec.
retary Baker as saying that 1,5O0, ,OOo
men were ready to go across If we
had the transportation facilities.
Addressing himself to Baker Nc
Cumber said:
''If you say that shipping board
had been created to supply the ships