The Washington herald., 1918-12-02


\ concessions IL has
3 z won through moral
y ~ "# suasion or through
S "a force from capital
c,ruIoo o,,,,, Today in America,
tsNS labor gets a return
beyond any il ever expected. The ad-
vance since 1914 has been unequal In
various branches II is artificially high
owing to the pronounced shortage OF
workers and the urgent need to speed
production in wars necessities. In
others. particularly in regard to sal
aried employees. IL has been less than
the increase in the cost of living.
To bring about revision of the
scale without disturbing the relations
between capital and labor will require
delicate handling.
Capital, Too. Must Thrive.
II is to the interest of all classes
of society that labor should receive
a full and just reward for its toll
There can be no enduring prosperity
unless labor prospers. BY the same
token there can be no continuing
prosperity unless capital prospers.
Through organization. labor has
won most OF " hat it has obtained
from capital. Organized labor is a
great power for good. 1t has wiped
which labor suffered. II has reduced
the hours of toll II has raised the
status OF the worker.
At the same time. II has gone be-
yond the limit Of reason in various
instances. Where II has stipulated
that a man must not do more than
hnT
il measures the output OF all men by
the capacity of a poor or slow work
er; where It demands more than is
legitimate 1t crTs gruevously against
itself and the nation.
II there is anything this war has
| brought out viyidly. it is there is nc
profit in injustice or wrong
We want no aftermath of war in
the form of labor trouble in America
/ There is no need or warrant for Il.
Gradual Transition Wise.
The government has done a wise
/ thing in providing for the gradual
reduction. rather than the abrupt
stopping OF work on war contracts
| This makes the translation OF la Dol
. from war work TO peace work much
! simpler
/ Two things more are necessary:
! First. except where the wage is
I cXtravagantly high. reduction OF thc
/ wage scale should follow. and not
! precede. the reduction that is com.
! ing IN the cost of living.
Second. production should be in
creased.
Production is wealth. Wages dc
not come from capital but from
! what labor produces. Capital is bu
| the tool. the connecting medium oil
"a gent between production and labor
| The larger the production tn,
/ greater should be the reward for
capital and labor. To limit produC.
tion is to limit or reduce wages.
Good wages can be maintained
| only by good production. Coal
gold. copper. anything or every.
| thing buried in the earth is value.
| less until brought to the surface
| Then il adds to the wealth of tht
world.
Work Means Wealth.
Raw material has small value com.
pared with the manufactured article
| \ pound of raw cotton may be worth
\ 20 or 80 cents. Woven into good:
it has a value ten or twenty time:
| as great. A pound of iron ore has
! little value. \ manufactured articl.
which contains one pound of stee
may be worth hundreds of times a:
I much. The mere raw material W.
produce and the more manufactured
goods We make the more money there
\ is for distribution.
The money We handle. the gold ol
7 G.; 81
note is but token. The basis o
money is the goods we produce
There was a time when capita
thought the road to prosperity wa.
| by the eXplofta tion of labor. 1t ha!
| seen its mistake. Capital never cat
prosper except by being Just to labor
| There have been times when labo
has thought its way to success wa!
| through crushing capital. That wa!
! folly.
working together.
The employer who is not fair Il
| labor is not a good citizen.
| Shirker His own Enemy.
I The employe who proceeds on tn.
basis that by doing little work anC
getting good pay he is getting
square" with capital is as much o.
an enemy to labor as he is to CAPT
! tai
/ An eight-hour day of labor is &
proper day. But it is not a proper
day unless the worker givez the full
production of which he is capable.
The war has opened wide the dooI