The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1919-03-18
~ WILLIAM ,. WILSON,
Secretary Of Labor.


lad broken through the western front,
md there was nothing between them
ind Paris but thirty miles Of space,
/ was the boys that we feared we
could not mobilize. that we could not
rain. transport or equip, that step
ped into the breach at Chateau Thier-
y, stemmed the tide Of the German
FORCES, turned them backward toward
Berlin, restored the morale Of the
French and the English armies, and
won the victory for our forces.
Surely IL we can take a peace-time
organization and transform 1t almost
overnight into great military ma
chine, we can by the exercise of the
same intelligence and the same ener-
~ take military organization trans
form 1t into a peace-time machine.
Before the Federal Reserve Act
came no provision had been made for
financing our foreign trade; we had
not developed any large foreign trade
In proportion to our domestic trade,
and one of the reasons was that we
bad not found method of providing
Ehe proper credits. except through the
banking institutions of other coun-
tries. The Federal Reserve Act gave
to our financial institutions, under
certain restrictions, the opportunity
II establishing branch banks In for
piSn countries, thereby laying the
foundation for the extension of cred
10 In the development of our foreign
trade.
Biu chipping Program.
The necessities of the war compel
ed w to engage In @ tremendous
Ihipbuilding program. We have a
Fery large tonnage now af1oat and
more ships under construction for
merchant purposes than any other
country IN the world.
We have, therefore, already provid-
I'd the three great elements necessary
Tor the development Of a foreign
rade, and when we get our domestic
Industries into proper operation, and
pur business men begin to look abroad
br market for the surplus products,
hey will find the means of vitalizing
hose agencies that are already in
Ixdstence.
So that our problem resolves iself,
tor the time being, into one Of de-
pobilization, and the starting of our
business on = postwar basis.
1t has been stated by statistical 9x-
perts that even during our periods Of
Industrial activity we had in the
peighboghood of million workers I'M
employed.
We estimate the total amount Of
unemployment at the present time Is
100000. That In itself, based upon
~ experiences Of the past, is not an
alarming amount Of unemployment
The cause for alarm, If any there be,
b the fact that the number is con-
hnually increasing, because the men
who are engaged in industry find
themselves in an uncertain situation.
There Il a disposition to hold off on
the part Of the employers In the hope
Of prices coming down. There is a
possibility of prices coming down |
without there being an effect upon
the wage rates. The manufacturer |
realizes that II he undertakes to cut |
prices and his neighbor does likewise,
there is possibility of the whole
structure tumbling and the prices GO
Ing down below even a normal profit. |
Wages at Top Notch.
During the period Of the war our
workers received more In actual, In |
real wages than they had ever receiy- |
ed at any previous time. The cost |
of living had gone up, but the hourly |
wage rate Of the workers had gone |
up almost In the same ratio. There |
were some Instances where the hourly |
wage rate had gone up In excess Of |
the increased cost Of living; there |
were other Instances where 1t did not |
20 up quite o. far as the cost of liv- |
Ing, but the average was very close
10 the increase In the cost Of living. |
However, the workers had steadier |
employment then they had been In the |
habit Of receiving; they worked over
time with time and half for the ex- |
ira time they worked. and they work |
Sundays, in many instances. So the |
aggregate they received was greater |
than they had ever had before. Many |
Of them have some of that in reserve |
now that can be utilized and win be |
utilized, against any general attempt |
to reduce the wage rates; and because
Of the disposition on the part Of labor,
because Of the fact that any period t
OF depression that may confront us
must Of necessity be a short period, /
and that the reaction into postwar ac- |
cyities, giving US period Of indus
trial prosperity, must come in a very
brief period Of time, It would be folly /
10 engage in the conflict necessary
TOR the reduction In the wage rates
when so little return is to be had for It.
The wage workers and the farmers
have reserves In hand that will be
used In the maintenance Of their fam
dies, and Ia addition to the equipment
That means that when we get into a
real postwar period, In the aggregate
tremendous amount of additional
purchase win be made.
We are short In our normal supply
of labor somewhere between three MIL
lion and five million workers; so II
we could engage in our pre-war ac-
tivities on a postwar basis immedi-
atsly, there would be q shortage of
the supply Of labor.
1t Is not very generally known. but
It is nevertheless a fact, that the
strikes that took place at Seattle, at
Butte, at Paterson, at Lawrence, and
ct a number Of other places recently
were not Industrial, economic disputes.
In their origin, no matter how much
economics may have been involved In
the dispute. A deliberate attempt was
made to create social and political
revolution that would establish the
Soviet form Of government In the
United States and put into effect the
economic theories of the Bolshevik Of
Russia. It failed because for two
years the Department of Labor and
other agencies Of the government have
been fighting that false philosophy,
not by the utilization Of force, but by !.
appeal to the judgment, to the reason
Of our people.
Interests Are Mutual
Employers and employees have a 8
mutual interest; not an identical In
|ereet marx you. but . mutual inter