The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1918-06-07
Washington Letter.

4
A. Kennedy, of Iowa, is the ranking
Republican member of the Committe,
on Rivers and Harbors, and when tn,
House again becomes Republican h,
will succeed to the Craftsmanship. But
even though his party is in the minor
ity he finds plenty to do in matters
connected with the improvement OF
our waterways. The Speaker of the
House has appointed Mr.. Kennedy one
of the conferees on the River and
Harbor Bill to adjust the differences
in that measure as it passed the Sen.
ate and the House. Mr.. Kennedy is
the only Republican to represent the
House at the conference, but he will
insist on fair consideration for those
items in the bill in which his col
leagues are interested.
Representative j. M C. Smith, of
Michigan believes that the country
has had quite enough of temporizing
with the spies and German agents
that almost daily are causing destrua-
tion of supplies and hindering in one
way or another our war preparations.
Every red blooded American will get
a thrill when he reads bill that Mr..
Smith has introduced in the House.
Without mincing words the Congress-
man provides means of disposing
| of plotters against the Government
that will bring the hearty endorse
ment of all who have read of the out
RACES that have been perpetrated dur
ing the past few months. The hill is
| as follows:
"Sec. /. That all persons convicted
of being spies shall be shot.
"Sec. 2. That all persons convicted
of treason shall be hanged.
"Sec. 8. That all persons convicted
of blowing up or setting fire to a mu-
milton plant, railroad bridge, or pub
lie building shall be executed.
"Sec. 4. That all persons convicted
of intriguing against the Government,
willfully disabling ships or any ma
chine or machinery used in the manu-
facture of munitions, or willfully US
ing and purposely putting poor ma
terial in the construction of any kind
of aeroplane, truck, vehicle, guns, or
any implements, powder, or explo-
sive to be used for war, with view
to cripple or impair it's usefulness,
shall be imprisoned for life"
Senator Hiram w. johnson, of Cali
fornia is taking a lively interest in
the bill pending in Congress for the
rehabilitation and industrial reduc-
cation of crippled soldiers. He is so
much in favor of the idea that he be-
lieves the policy should be extended
so as to include those injured in in
dustries. Mr.. Johnson states that he
is ready to vote to extend the scope
of the present bill so as to include
that unfortunate class of our citizens,
or give his support to separate
measure drawn for that special pur-
pose. The attention that Senator
Johnson and his friends are giving
the matter insures legislation in the
near future for the relief of indus
trial cripples.
In Manchester, England, 250,0O0
operatives have presented claim for
80 per cent advance in wages. In
this country, since the beginning of
the war, our cotton operatives have
received increases, step by step, until
they aggregate, in some instances as
much as so or 60 per cent. For pur-
poses of comparison, suppose the
average weekly wage of the Manches-
ter cotton operative, machine print
er, for instance, before this 80 per
cent increase, was $3.50. Now he
will get $16.25 week. Before the
war the machine operator in the New
England States received from $28 to
$33 weekly-say an average of $50.
With his present increases he would
now get not less than $45. Before
the war the difference in wages of
the machine operator in England and
iii New England was on an average,
$1750 a week, under present condi-
tions the difference would be $28.75
week. In short the wage differen-
tial between the two has increased
SLIPS in favor of the British manu-
facturer. Now wages after the war,
in both countries, will likely decrease
somewhat, but wages in England will
fall much faster than in the United
States because of the hundreds of
thousands (Mr. Cutler, of the bureau
Of foreign and domestic commerce,
estimates 3,000,000) of men released
from the army and thrown on the cir
cumscribed area of the British Isles in
search of employment,-men disciplin-
cd to the highest efficiency and quick
tc get the hang of things in the mills.
This will mean competition of the
keenest, perhaps the bitterest, sort
for us, under the Democratic tariff
policy, for. while the present law
even before the war, was drafted
without thought of the cost of pro-
duction argument, and the wage
scales of various nations, thus Great
ing in the short space of ten uninter-
rupted months an astonishing amount
of competition, after the war it would
be a greater menace to American in
rlustry measured at least by the in
creasing disparity of wages, to say
nothing of the present mobilizing of