davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Uncle Sans School
Has 5000 Graduates

Upton received his discharge few
days ago, and in a few days, after
he returns from visit to Springfield,
ne expects to go to work at the job
of salesman he learned, and also
earned, while selling war savings
stamps for Uncle sam.
The story of the success of this
one graduate Of "Uncle Sans School
for Statesmen suggested that others
might have had similar experiences.
Investigation showed there were many
analogous cases and plenty of evidence
that all Of the $1,000 or more people
who sold war savings stamps in Man
haitian must have gained valuable
training as statesmen from the work.
This training the amateurs have in
reserve in case they ever want to fall
back on selling. The professional
statesmen are already turning to ad-
vantage the additional experience and
training gained in Uncle Sans great
school for statesmen, the war savings
stamp campaign.
Business authorities agree that the
man who can sell is the man who is
of the most value to firm, because
he is the man who directly brings
in the profits. This increase in the
number of trained statesmen and i'm
provement of the training of many
others are bound to be reflected in
business.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
''Let England Worry
about Settling BaI0nces''

There is a strong opinion in Amer
ica," | said, that the state Of the ac-
counts between England and America
will make it necessary for US to leave
our interest money abroad or we shall
be swamped by too much money. With
English investments withdrawn, the
balance is very heavily against you,
is it not? ?"
"Why do you not let us worry about
that? Or worry about the money
which other countries owe you? | am
not at all sure that we owe you any
thing. Of course, we have sold great
amounts Of railway end other secur-
ties, but then again other very large
amounts were loaned to the govern
ment in order to pledge against loans
n your country to regulate the fore ign
exchanges. The government took these
securities at scheduled prices, which
are mostly above the present market
rates, and they may buy them or re-
turn them to the owners; in either
event the Indebtedness is owed by you
and the interest payments check
against the payment cf interest by us
on war loans. But there is another
large investment which has not been
pledged and of which very little has
here been sold, and that is our invest
menis in farm mortgage companies. |
think there was some special arrange
ment that these should not be included
in the collateral for loans because it
would not do to run the danger of
selling the collateral and putting your
farmers IN a bad position.
"Thesc farm mortgages certainly are
in excess Of $1,000 900 900, 900. | do not
lmaginc that we shall owe you more
than $4,000, 100000 in all, and our in
vestments being mostly at higher
rate Of interest than the war loans,
will yield an annual sum which will
just about balance tho payments That
is, when things settle little; every
thing is upset just now, for although
we are out Of fighting we are both at
war and at peace, and one hardly
knows how to act"
"Have you any fears for the future
of England financially? Will the war
debts be 100 great a burden?"
at would not be right to say that
/ have no fears. I do not know what
will be the ultimate effect of the
money waste as represented by the
munitions and other property de-
stroyed, but that is really not so great
an amount after all, for the bulk of
the expenditures has been in food and
property that only substituted, extrav-
agantly, of course, for things which
we would have required in peace. For
people must eat and wear clothing
anyway, and it does not make a sub
stantia difference in the national
wealth whether the state or the ndi-
vidual does the paying
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Labor Market
Functions Simply

1t is argued on the other side that
the case is by no means so simple
as have stated it. That I
deny fatty. The case is exactly as
simple as l have stated it. Thev
who try to introduce complications
and subtleties into the argument
are only trying to confuse the ar
gument and lead astray those minds
that have not enough economic
training to enable them to keep
their bearings in the midst of the
wind and noise of political contro-
versy. Every. counter argument that
has ever been urged is easily un-
derstood and easily answered.
1t is said, for example, that since
labor produces everything, there
fore there cannot by any possibility
be too much labor until there is too
much of everything that labor pro-
duces. To begin with, one might
ask, why then is it ever necessary
for labor to move from one place to
another, why should it come here at
ALL or when here, why should any
Of it move West? The answer is
that there may be too much in one
spot. Again, there may be too much
of one kind to balance up the other
kinds that have to be used with it.
For example, it may be possible that
there could never be too many hod-
carriers, but if there we're in one
place more than were needed to wait
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
By /. N. Carver,
Professor Of Economics IN HARVARD
University

Professor Of Economics IN HARVARD
University
TIME FRIENDS of the American
wage worker fall into two
u classes: first, those who flat
ter him and cultivate his friend
ship by telling him what he likes to
hear; second, those who are trying
TO create conditions under which he
can prosper and still retain his in
dependence without help from any
one They who favor the restric-
tion of immigration fall into the
latter class.
Every known economic law that
hears on the case at all leads to the
conclusion, first, that a restriction
of immigration will put the Ameri-
can laborer in a better position to
bargain to his own advantage and
TO secure good wages for himself !;
second, that unrestricted immigra-
ton gives the employer of labor an
advantage in the bargaining proc
ess and enables him to hire labor
on somewhat better terms for him.
self. The writer will undertake to
defend both these conclusions
against all corners.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Best Record Made
BY PosfoM flee Cierk

Charles f. Plumridge, jr.. who di-
rected the sales at the theatre in
Times Square and at other outdoor
booths, found that the reputation he
had gained in the campaign led him
into q good job. He had been a mil
hnery salesman before he got into
the war savings work. but the job in
that business that his stamp work
has won for him is worth far more
than his former position.
Geotf Wiler was anoGher profession
al salesman who found that his war
savings work led to better things in
his own line. During the campaign
he put in a lot of time organizing
the "salesmen's drive" This brought
hlm in contact with all of the live
wire statesmen in the city. He proved
such an exceedingly live wire him
self that he received half dozen
offers of exceptionally good Jobs.
The one war savings stamp sales
man who made the best individual
record of them all is still holding
down non-selling job. He is Ed
ward Nadel, q postoffice clerk in the
Times Square postoifice station. Ma
dels record of sales, all made in odd
moments and in his own time in the
evenings. totallcd more than 81 900 900.
He made his great sale to the crowds
In Times Square. DESPITE all the other
crack statesmen who worked this rich
spot, he, an unframed man, set a record
that none of the others cai.u within a
mile of. Needless TO say he had plenty
OF oilers of selling jobs, but postoifice
WORK with war savings stamps selling
on ihe side stilt satisfies him.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Higher Wages Bod
For Socialist AgitatOrs

Every Socialist agitator knows
perfectly we'll that Socialism will
never have a ghost of show if
wages become so high and working
conditions so good as they will be-
come in this country if immigration
is restricted. His only chance is to
import such masses of cheap labor
and to make working conditions so
bad as to create dissatisfaction.
Every social uplifter knows that he
will have nothing to uplift if i'm
migration is effectively restricted.
When the labor market is properly
balanced up, that is, when laborers
are as hard to find as employers now
are, wages will become so good as
to enable the whole laboring popu-
lation to uplift itself. The social
uplifter will then be out of job.
Even so, the wisest of them are
frankly and whole heartedly in
favor of restriction.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Conceires Nothing
u. s. Cannot DO

Robert Fleming is not a well-known
figure to the American public; but
there is not banker or railroad man
who does not know him. for he has
directed the bulk of English invest
ment in America for more than forty
years He is said to know more about
American railroads than any man in
through the panic years he has slipped
quietly into the country. conferred
with a few bankers, and then started
on inspection trips which have in their
entirety covered probably every loot
Of the United States.
Mr.. Fleming is the English authority
on American investments and has d-
rccted billions and billions of capital
into American stocks and bonds. II
would be hard to find railway re-
organization in America that was put
through without his counsel and as
sistance. There are international bank
ers who have their names more talked
about (Robert Fleming never gets into
the newspapers, and | think this is the
first time that he has ever talked for
pubication), but there are none who
carry more weight. Because of his ex-
pericnce and position he is a member
OF the committee appointed by Parlia
ment to report on the financial condi-
ton and facilities Of the British En-
pirc-~on the financial preparedness for
peacc--and therefore what he says, al
though unofficial. probably represents
the best financial opinion in England
- have always expected" he said
to me, that some day America would
pc creditor nation. ! did not aec
now 1T was possible long to postpone
that condition. | have been going to
america since 1873 going every year
and travelling about to look nj rail
ROADS and farms, and each year ! have
bcen more and Inogoy impressed with
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
B0lSheUists viii Seek
Escape From O.rn Creations

Now suppose that, in addition to
the released soldiers and munition
workers who are to be thrown on the
labor market, we should import
few hundred thousand additional
workers, how will that affect the sit
uation? Does one need to be an
economist to venture a prediction?
Not only is there likely to be con-
siderable immigration, but it is
likely to be from those parts of the
world where labor has the lowest
standard of living. Bolshevists in
particular will have to leave the
country of Bolshevism and 90 to
some country where they can earn
an honest living. The Bolshevist's
own best chance will be to get away
from Bolshevism and go to some
country which has kept it's senses,
and where productive industry is
encouraged and rewarded. He will,
if he can, come here to get an honest
job, but in so doing he will be MAX
ing it harder for our own people to
get jobs. Besides, he will, after he
has got the job, do all he can to
destroy the very conditions which
gave him his job, and to create the
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Normal Balance a
Goal for Educators

In short, industries must be bal
anced up, just as the soil of the
farmer or the nation of a man must
be balanced. Possibly we have never
had too many cranberries, but when
sugar was scarce last winter people
did not care to buy many cram
berries. That situation has pre-
clsely the same effect on the cram
berry market as though there had
been absolutely too many cranber-
ries. A nation needs a balanced
population. If there is more of one
kind of labor than is needed to
balance up the other kind, the kind
that is relatively too abundant will
be as badly off as though there were
absolutely too much of it.
Our whole system of popular ed
ucation is and ought to be designed
to redistribute our population occu-
pationally so as to create a normal
balance. 1t should aim to reduce the
number Of unskilled laborers as to
make them somewhat scarcer and
harder to find than they now are. 1t
should also aim so to increase the
number of highly trained mental
workers, business men, captains of
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Ehen Wagcs ARE Up
Factory Products Are High

The same influences which affect food
affect cotton and wool, and when food
and clothing go up, of course wages
must go up, and when wages 20 up, all
manufactured goods must go up.
venture the opinion that in the last
twenty years the greater part of all
the gains that have been made in the
manufacturing industries, by inven-
ton, by discovery, by new methods, by
improved organization, have been Off
set to the masses Of the people by the
hlgher cost Of food, clothing and
shelter.
This is grave situation. 1t looks
On the surface Of things as though we
were losing out in the contest with
nature. We know it to be true that
as population grows more dense it is
more difficult to extract living from
the resources Of nature, unless the
disadvantages of greater population
are Offset by improved methods Of
productlon. About 100 years ago, be-
fore the effects Of the Introduction Of
machinery were fully appreciated, the
outlook for the masses of the people
was thought to be very gloomy. The
command of man over the resources
OF nature did not seem to be equal
TO providing even miserable living
to the population, to say nothing Of
ameliorating their condition. Maithus
published his famous essay in which
he seemed TO prove that population in
evitably increased faster than the food
supply. People seriously discussed
starvation and plague and war as in
cytable and perhaps benefcient means
OF limiting the population.
But The development Of the steam
engine and the locomotive changed the
conditions rapidly. 1t opened up tho
Mississippi Valley and other fertile
regions, and with the self-binder and
other inventions brought relief to the
world. But relief for how long? The
rise of prices since 1900 shows that
the old problem was only pushed
back. 1t never can be permanently
solved 20 long ns the population of
the world continues To increase. IT. can
only be met by continuously de-
yeIoping agriculture. SO while / say
that the outlook for farming az q
calling is better than Tor genera
tion, / urge the Improvement Of ngri-
culture for the very salvation Of 80.
! ciety.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Fears No Scarcity
H Supply OF Money

i do not fear money shortage.
The companies which will need money
may be divided into three classes. The
first consists of firms which started in
war business shortly after the BEGIN
nlng of the war and they have been
able to accumulate reserves sufficient
Tor all their needs or have tangible
property upon which to make advances
The second class comprises those firms
work and, the taxation rate being high
er, have not had the opportunity to ac-
cumulate reserves. But their extern
sions have largely been written down
at a favorable basis and the changes
which they will require are not extern
sive, although the writing down does
leave the owners with most of their
property in bricks and mortar. And
finally come the firms organized purely
for war work and without an estab-
lished market for any pre-war product.
1t has been urged that these should
not be allowed to peter out and that
state assistance should be given. Our
committee was not in favor of taking
the state into the finance of private
industry because that would be un-
fair to private investors in unaided
industry and might lead to incalcu-
liable lengths. l think that these in
dustries will have to stand or fall
upon their respective merits; if they
are sound they will be able to get
capital; if they are unsound it is in
the national interest that they be
wound up.
MANY other matters are bound up
in these requirements. and chief among
them is the early settlement of a ma
tonal fiscal policy, the rationing Of
raw materials, the satisfactory termina-
ton of the war contracts, and the
disposal of the state owned factories
and surplus war materials both raw
and finished.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Future Of This
Country Called Bright

"There cannot we'll be a conflict be-
tween New York and London; the world
is quite big enough for two great mar
kets, and it ought to have at least two.
The Americas form SO Dig q field that
all OF your resources can prof taby be
put there. it is not really our field at
all, for geography must in the end de-
termine such matters. Here in London
we serve some 400 100000 people in
Europe, not to speak OF the Orient; we
are on the trade routes and they are
accustomed to trade with us. We own
their securities
Just look at the securities traded in
in New York and then look at the Lon
don Stock Exchange. Your list is short:
ours covers daily sixteen closely printed
newspaper pages, with q supplement of
TOUR pages That means that these
people come naturally to London for
money. And we have it for them and
will continue to have it. But just as
they naturally come here for money,
South America should go to New York,
and so perhaps should parts of the Far
East. cannot see any reason for
comparing or contrasting London and
New York, for both have their spheres
and the world Will become better as
each of them grows larger.
we SHoulu not De IN WOfld trade II
we knew any other way to live; we are
in from necessity and not from choice,
and that makes great difference.
think you will go into that trade
largely from choice, whereas there is
a great market Mt home which never
can be exhausted. Your home market
is bigger and has greater possibilities
than all the markets OF Europe put
together
"lf | were IN American | should not
worry much about the future"
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Time of Good
free Land rs Gone

They have all got to be fed and
iocd and clothing and shelter depends
upon the land and the supply of nat
aFa1 products. The area of land is
united, and the cheap supply Of nat
ufai products is depleted. To the first
se'tlers lumber was an incumbrance
oi the soil; it was cut down and
oarned or girdled to be rid of it. Now
s'nosr Is scarce, ard we are not grow
ing 1t as fast as we consume it.
and 10 unit! few years ago there
vas always an abundance of good cheap
'@hds further West. beyond the settle
A'snss' TO which the population con-
sanity oyer6owcd. That time has
s'ns by. The free lands are gone.
me cheap lands are gone. The in
s'sasea production Of the country must
spae Row from lands upon which a
considerable expenditure must be made.
f'sHsr Tor irrigation, drainage or clear
and BY more scientific methods Of
ssssiyas'on. Between the census Of
4 ~ and that Of 1910 the population Of
i ~ country increased u per GENT and
~ ares in farms increased 1B per cent,
~ mHcn Of that Is per cent was far
= rs'sw the average OF productiveness
: = hesuaes a great amount Of land in
Is sne belt Of uncertain crops, and
s.,ssse 49, q y Is land Of poor quality that
besn passed over heretofore
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Why Not Import
Employers Of Labor?

The principle involved here is
simply the old rule that when la
borers are scarce and hard to find
wages tend upward, and when they
are numerous and easy to find
wages tend downward. A restriction
of immigration, even more, an eX-
clusion of immigration to this coun-
try, tends to make laborers scarce
and hard to find. Unrestricted i'm
migration tends to make them
numerous and easy to find.
If we could import fifty thousand
ready made employers, with the
technical skill, managing ability and
accumulations of capital that would
enable them to start new industrial
enterprises at once to compete with
our native employers, that kind of
immigration would be worth while
from the laboring mans point of
view. That would greatly increase
the demand for laborers. Each en-
ployer would then find that labor
ers were scarce and hard to find.
Employers would then have to bid
against one another to get laborers
to work for them. This would not
be so very pleasant for our native
employers, but it would be i'm
mensely pleasant for the native la
borers.
The immigrants into the Philip
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

can be sold. l have been hoping that
the example Of your working people
would have some influence here and we
might get a better basis of coopera-
ton. You know we are very far from
being dead!
GAS far as money is concerned, we
have plenty of it. 1t is inflated money
but in that respect we are no differ
emily off than you. Your Federal Re
serve banks have been issuing money,
too, 1t is highly important that the
nations cooperate in considering the
question of international imitation.
"We shall need great deal of money
to reconstruct industry. Manufact-
urers will require advances to change
their plants back to a peace basis and
they will also require larger working
capitals, for goods and labor have so
risen that the same working capital as
before the war will not produce the
same volume of output. In addition
the engineering manufacturing and
puts to large extent and we shall
have to find money to finance their ex-
panded capacities and hence their ex-
panded markets. The money needs of
England are:
"(a) For a considerable period after
the war a greater demand for work
ing capital, owing to the increased cost
of labor and materials, the necessity
for giving longer credit and the an
tcipatcd expansion in the volume of
trade.
"(b) A greater demand for EXTENDED d
credits for the purpose of replacing,
at higher costs, machinery and plant
which have fallen into disrepair on
account Of the war.
"(c) Requirements for reconverson
of plant and works which may in
many cases be on the border line
between working credit facilities and
new capital requirements in respect of
permanent outlay.
"(d) New fixed capital requireme nts
IN respect of permanent outlay.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Shutting OFF Cheap Labor Supply From
Abroad to Hurt Business of Spreader
of Discomfort, Professor Holds

portion as men were harder to find
the reward had to be increased.
We are now facing a time when
not so many men will be needed.
The soldier and the munition work
ers must find places in other indus
tries. 1t looks as though laborers
would be much more numerous and
much easier to find than in war
time. The laborers show by their
actions that they anticipate hard
er time in maintaining high wages
than they had during the war. They
are preparing to resist any tendency
70 reduce wages. Why all this wor-
ry? They know that there is need
for worry on their part.