The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1919-04-03
KaIeF'S Kurrent kOmmGntS
Ollapodrida

IL mas long Decll INC uOhIooi dIlO
party's contention that labor is
the first thing to go down in price
and the last thing to go up. This
contention is in a fair way to be
substantiated. A recent news
item says: "The factor of labor
costs enters largely into proposals
for the sterilization of industry
and lower prices. " There you have
it. The mere mention of the
high cost of things necessary to
mans existence being in the least
responsible for the increased cost
of living, is preposterous.
In the last twenty years there
has been an increase, approx
mately, of 1863 per cent in the cost
of the necessities of life. In that
time there has been, approximate
ly, an increase of fifty per cent in
the wages paid labor, skilled and
unskilled. Prove that | am
wrong, if you dare and can. In
some lines there has been less than
SO per cent increase.
This scare was evidently start
ed by capital to make the public
stand for cut in wages. How
long the working people of the
United States, the real producers
of the wealth of the country, will
stand for being made catspaws Of,
is beyond my ken, If they have
the backbones of jelly fish, they
will reach the limit of their pat
fence soon. You can prod a rat
tier at a safe distance and keep
on prodding without much dan
ger. You can prod him at close
range a time or two, but don t
make the mistake that he won It
fight back. My faith in the in
telligence Of the American work
ingman is such that | believe it is
as safe to continue to prod a rat
tier at close range as it is to con-
tinue to make him the dupe and
the catspaw of the big interests.
Talking of labor reminds me-
Billy Sunday labors, and he is
supposed to labor in the vineyard.
The Tampa newspapers even
showed a picture of "The Rev.
Billy in motion" That Sunday
is very successful in getting con-
verts, is true. The Bible says that
there shall be anti-Christs in the
latter days. | do not say that
Sunday is an Christ, but | do
affirm that his methods were never
used or taught by Christ or his
apostles. 1t is said, "Let every
thing be done with decency and
IN order" God never intended to
make a vaudeville stage out of the
pulpit. You may say that it takes
something like this to reach a GER
tain class. | read peculiar SER
mon from a New York preacher
one time. He commended that
heaven and hell is all in one place.
lie said that playing on a golden
harp and singing praises to God
would make it hell to thieves,
gamblers, saloon keepers and such
people. | suppose it is the Sun
day idea to make the church a
stage to attract those who would
not be otherwise attracted. Both
OF these gentlemen MAY be right
are far more likely to be
wrong. If it wasn't true that
Billy finds more money in preach
ing than in ball playing, | wonder
just how long it would take him
to Ego back to his first love. "
Talking Of first loves
My first love was not a suffra-
gette. My first love was my
mother, and her main idea was to
make a good home for her hus-
band and children and to try and
fulfill the biblical injunction,
"Train up child in the way he
should go and, when he gets old,
he will not depart therefrom. u
Did she do this, her boys would
vote her sentiments and thus she
would be represented at the polls