The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-09-20
Pensacola. Fla. Sept. 10, 1919.
Editor, Journal,
City.

Pensacola, Fla. Sept. -, 1919.
| Editor, Journal.
City.
Dear Sir:
Please allow this space in your
valuable paper.
The city council of Mariana was
not guilty so much of i'll manners in
denouncing organized labor and the
Plumb Plan in the resolutions of Au-
gust 10 as 1t was guilty of stupidity.
In the first place the pay of SOL
diers is compared with the demands
of labor for higher wages during the
war. This means that the city council
| believes that soldiers served as mer-
cenaries in return for money and that
| a dollar a day was all that was neces-
sary to recruit the army. Or it means
that the city council believes that the
soldiers were patriots, making sacri-
flee, hence all who were not soldiers
should have made equal sacrifices.
The argument could have only one
OF these two interpretations, and it is
only fair to assume that the city coun-
ell intended to imply that all who
were not soldiers should have made
the same sacrifice as the soldiers.
This is a pretty unsubstantial claim
for it holds not only labor but every
one engaged in the occupation of pro-
duction of any sort. The economic
expense of waging the war was only
obtainable through an initiation of
credits and of currency. We paid for
the war not in gold but In symbols.
The rise in prices was not due to
labor or to capital. nor to unfair de-
mands; 1t was due to the fact that
money lost it's value, and for labor
to demand an increase in wages was
not only right, but necessary in just
the same way that was necessary for
capital to increase the price of goods.
We believe it would be just as
stupid for labor to claim that an in
crease in price is wholely unreason-
able as for capital to claim that labor
is WIDELY unreasonable. We do, how
ever, believe|rhat the increase n
prices has also been accompanied by
an increase in profits which has not
in all cases been legitimate. In bring
ing forward the Plumb Plan the rail-
road leaders have announced this quite
simply. They say, We do not wish
more wages, we wish more value for
our money and they are trying to re-
continue this endless process of in
flation.
Insofar as the railroad men have
had it within their power they wish
to contribute to get a reduction in the
cost of living in America. The ele-
ment of transportation enters in prac-
tically every necessary OF life. At
present the railroads are operated at
more than cost in order to invite cap
ita1 to build and operate them. How
ever, the function of taking care of
highways, that is building and main
tanning them, is state function
granted by the Constitution. The
state merely has delegated it's own
power to the private railway CORPORA
tions. There are two ways of run-
ming the railroads. The state either
can delegate the function to private
corporations, or it can furnish the
capital itself By the present system
we must pay at least 6 per cent and
oftener more to provide capital as an
inducement to operate the railroads.
II the state furnishes the capital II
can obtain it at a much cheaper rate
and it can operate the railroads in
such a way as to retire all the bonds
and so have the property free OF debt.
This is the first step of the Plumb
Plan
Under the Plumb Plan railroad
transportation is furnished 1t cost