The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-10-01
IDLE RESOURCES
!, AND HIGH PRICES
n" Relief While 20 Per Cent of Labor
and so Per Cent of Land nrd Raw
Material Are Unused


Washington, Sept. 2S--That the high
cost of living cannot be dealt with
permanently unless the problem of un-
! employment is solved at the same time.
ana that the Increased production
necessary. TO solve both problems can
not he obtained without making idle
lands and natural resources more ac-
cessible to labor Is the conclusion
reached by report issued today by the
department Of labor on Employment
and Natural Resources" written by
Benton MacKaye. an expert in the Of
nee OF the secretary of labor.
NO appreciable decrease in the cost
of living can be expected so long as
superficial factors only are death with.
High prices of manufactured products
generally reflect either high prices for
raw materials or lack of rganization
IN transportation and distribution. An
effective policy must start with the
land from which the "extractive" in
dustries draw raw materials and must
follow the subsequent Industrial pro-
eesses clear through to the consumer.
Coupled with this must be changes in
tho "distributive" industries SO that
products will flow smoothly from land
to men"
substantial increase in production
is unlikely, says the report SO long
as the average wage Garner Is I'M
ployed 20 per cent of his time. and
30 per cent of our land and natura |
resources are unused.
Generalization Plan.
scheme for bringing together
these potential productive factors ia
presented The main points involved
in this scheme are the following:
l. Unemployed labor should wherever
possible. be diverted to farm commu-
mites established under public super
vision, thus relieving unempioyme Mt
and increasing the supply of food
stuffs. These communities should be
organized so that they do not consist
of isolated farmers. They should be
concrete organisms and not as
som blages of conflicting interests ="
They should he thoroughly equipped
for cooperative marketing and buying
Not only should organization be ap-
piled to new communities but the
government should extend assistance
toward organizing already existing
communities
,. Economic waste can be minimized
by proper organization of forests
and mines The lumber industry is
not yet one of forestry or timber cul-
ture,' as 1t is in Europe; it is still
one of timber mining" II Is tramp
industry and therefore a breeder of
tramps. The migratory }umberjack, or
timber wolf" must remain a hobo
until the logging camp is supplanted
by the forest community Forest and
agricultural communities can often be
organized together; and the report
goes into some detail in showing the
possibilities Of developing such a COM
| bnation in government national for
ests both In the East and in the West.
}. Power resources must be or
ganiZed under public control. water
power must be co-ordinated with coal
power. Wherever possible the white
coal" of falling water should be sub
stituted for the black coal of the I'M
derground, In this way vast en-
ergy requiring insignificant labor eff
fort can be placed at the service of the
people.
Transportation and Marketing,
4. Transportation and m arketin
systems must he organized under
public control. The farm community
should be linked with the city market.
Railway. waterway and motor truck
services should be effectively co-or-
dinated Staples such as eggs milk,
poultry, fruit and vegetables can on
10 per cent Of the farms be carried in
small containers and sent directly
into the cities by motor truck thus re =
Heving the railways in the work OF
supplying the urban popn lation. Such
shipments when retaiied to the city
consumer through the parcels post
could go directly from farm to tabla.
>. The construction of public works
must be more effectively organized
The plans worked out in the report
cali fpr a large program of road build
ing to be followed by farm building
outside the cities. To carry out such
of this work as is done under the fed
eral government, a public construction
service is suggested, to be run under
proper standards of. labcr. Temporary
employment in such "A construction ser
vice would lead to permanent employ
mant on the land being opened
In prefacing the report Secretary of
Labor Wilson SAYS that the primary
requisite of any scheme of public land
deVe fopfnent is the elimination of
, everything esernblirg-even remotely
the speculation in, or private appro-
priatton OF. natural or community
made values The report therefore
urges the necessity for the adoption of
the conservation principle Of retaining
in public hands the ultimate control
of all natural resources. and for such
prevent speculation. The adoption of
the perpetual leasehold Is recommend
cd as guaranteeing the right to use
land without including the right to bar
ter II