The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-02-13
CATHOLIC WhR COUNCIL MAKE
 RECOMMENOATiON TOLbBOR BOARD


 ure of the comforts of life? Such q policy s not only very questionable morality, but Is unsound economical ly, The large demand for goods which is created and maintained by high rates of wages and high pur- chasing power by the masses is the surest guarantee of a continuous and general operation of industrial es- tab. .-Shments. IL is the most effective instrument of prosperity for labor , and capital alike"
 The bishops advocated assurance to workers of incomes adequate for decent family life" by legally en- forced minimum wage schedules and a system of social insurance inaug- urated with state aid and eventually supported by industry. This msur- ance, they declared, should be util- l2ed merely to bridge over the years until a workers earnings are sui ticient to make possible savings for protection of himself and famil! against sickness, accident. invalidity and old age.
 The several states should enact laws" the report stated, providing for the establishment of wages that vii. be at least sufficient for the de- cent maintenance of a family, in the ease of male adults, and adequate to the decent individual support of fe- male workers. In the beginning the legal minimum for male workers should be gradually raised until 1t is adequate to future needs as well.
 Until this level of legal m nimum wages is reached the worker stands III need of the device of insurance. So far as possible the insurance fund should be raised by levy on indus try, as is now done in the case of ac- cident compensation. The industry in which a man Is employed should provide him with all that is neces- sary to meet all the needs of his en- tire life. Therefore, any contribution to the insurance fund from the gen eral revenues of the state should be only slight and temporary. For the same reason no contribution should be eXacted from any worker who Is not getting a higher wage than is required to meet the present needs of himself and family. Those who are below that level can make such a contribution only at the expense of their present welfare. Finally, the administration of the insurance laws should be such as to interfere as ht- tie as possible with the individual freedoom of the worker and his family. Any insurance scheme, or any administrative method, tha, tends to separate the workers into a distinct and dependent class, that of fends against their domestic privacy and independence, or that threatens 1 individual self-relance and self-re- | spect, should not be tolerated. The | ideal to be kept in mind is a cond1- | ton in which all the workers would 1 themselves have the income and the responsibility of providing for all the needs and contingencies of life, both present and future. Hence all these | forms of state insurance should be regarded as merely a lesser evil, and should be so organized and admin l istered as to hasten the coming of i the normal condition"
 l AS a means of reducing the cost i of living the committee favored pre- vention of monopolistic control of commodities and adequate regulation l of such public service monopohes as remain unCer private operation, and elimination of middlemen by estab- | lishment of cooperative stores to
 deal in the essentials of life.
 Abolition of child labor, if neces-
 sary by taxing it out of existence in
 "stagnant states" extension of voca-
 tionaI training and elaboration of the
 present experiments in municipal
 housing and medical attendance were
 urged as steps toward eQualizing the | living conditions of the employing and employed classes.
 Upholding the right of labor to or
 ganize and to deal with employers
 through representatives. the report
 urged a gradual recognition of the
 workers in the management ant
 ownership of the industries of which
 they are a part.
 As a first step it suggested admis
 sion of employees to the industr1a
 part of management through forma | ton of shop committees to coop
 crate with owners of plants. Th'
 next phase, participation in owner
 ship, the committee conceded wa
 not of general value in a program
 for immediate social reconstruction
 It classed private ownership as pre-
 ferable to a collectivist organization
 of industry which it characterized a
 a state of Socialism which woult
 mean bureaucracy political tyranny general social ineffiency and decad ence. but asserted that the presen , system, producing insufficient in ! comes for a great majority of wag 5 earners and unnecessarily large in } comes for a small minority of priv ileged capitaIsts,'' needed modified
 ton and improvement
 ! "It seems clear" said the commit ! tee, that the present industrial sys $ tenn is destined to last for a long tim l in its main outlSes, but the full p0e r abilities of increased produc"i"n wi = not be realized so long as the ma $ iority of the workers remain mer I wage earners. The majority mus [ somehow become owners, or at leas