The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1919-01-03
POLITICAL ARISTOCRACY
is DEAD, BUT WHAT OF
CAPITALISTIC ARISTOCRACY?

Autocracy is the rule of an auto
crat, be it political, religious, finan-
cial, or whatsoever.
That the world has seen the de-
struction of the political autocra-
cies" of the old world goes without
saying, but it stands appalled, when
it witnesses the destruction that was
left in its trail, in it's destroying, but
will that happiness and contentment,
that should follow in it's wake, be
realized, until the principles of true
democracy maintains in the affairs of
men otherwise than political?
Since the autocrat has been de-
throned in Europe, must he still re-
main uncrowned and unchecked in
America?
That one species of autocracy rules
here supreme and unchecked is be-
yond question, and that it is not the
autocracy of labor, as a great many
claim, is upheld by the testimony.
After revealing, undisturbed, for the
last four or five years in the most I'M
precedented profits the world has ev-
err known in its industries, just as
soon as the restraining hand of our
Uncle Samuel was removed, the hy-
dra-headed monster of Capitalistic
Control, seizes the helm and steers
straight to the "palaces of wealth"
One Of the strong, if not the strong
est, citadels of these great wealth
powers, with its retinue of attorneys,
guarding its every avenue of APP
proach, has its abode in st. Fran
co.'s county, Mo-, with its principals
residing in New York and other cities
of great pomp and splendor, sitting
with one hand on the throat of labor
and the other manipulating the lead
markets of the world. This may APP
pear to many as a strong indictment,
but when the fact is known that the
Guggenheim interests regulate the
lead market of this country absolutely,
the surprise vanishes.
All of the lead producers of the
country know this fact and dance to
the music of the Federal Lead Co..
which seems to be all-powerful and
omnipresent.
Did the recent depreciation of the
lead market cause the stocks of these
lead companies to slump any" on the
market? Not that anybody has heard
of. 1t was simply stunt pulled off
by these ledgerdemains to Cypress la
Dor and at the same time attempt to
give their action to semblance Of ne
cessity.
During the last four or five years
these companies have required the
greater number of their employees to
work seven days each week. Under
the new plan, five days constitutes a
weeks work, thereby losing to labor
two-sevenths of its former wage,
amounting to something more than
nine dollars less on each bi- nonthly
pay check, or twertN ,d"" LIS less wage
each month, 9Th e.. ~ lifting in their
own tills something in excess of one
hundred thousand dollars monthly,
that priority went to labor.
1t is nothing short of disloyalty to
thus treat labor under the stress of
the still high cost of living. 1t will
cmbroil strife and discomfort.
Great employers of labor like E.
H. Gary of the great Steel Industry
of the United States says, that until
there is an appreciable decrease in
living cost, operators of the vast in
dustries throughout the country
would better operate at some loss than
to cut the scale of wages prior to a
reduction in the cost of the necessi-
ties Of life, which might entail a
greater loss later on. What care these
lead lords for labor's dire needs, so
their own incomes pile up?
Yes, there is one class Of en-
ployes that these companies are deep
ly concerned in, and upon whom they
lavish freely, and they are those who
look after the legal end of their bus
mess.
The lead market never reaches that
point of depression which in any way
disturbs their pay envelope, thereby
enabling these legal lights GU to
sport Limousines of the greatest pre-
tentions, to "wine and to dine" on the
best that the country affords, at la
boris expense. A new vision may
come to these later on. X. Y.