The sun., 1919-04-18
PARSONS REBUKES
WAGE REFORM FOES
Republican Leader Assails
Legislators at Meeting Of
County Committee.
CITES EUROPE'S LESSON
Lieutenant Colonel, Back
From Front, Would Help
France Financially.
CITES EUR0PE's LESSON

Lieut-Col Herbert Parsons, member
OF the Republican National Committee
for New York State, delivered q singing
rebuke last night to the Republican Leg
islature for its failure to pass the mini
mum wage bill. He expressed the hope
that when the time came the Rcpubli-
can Congress would not spit hairs too
finely. but would accept q reasonable
League Of Nations covenant, declaring
that 1t was vitality necessary to preserve
the peace Of the world.
These declarations were made by Col
Parsons. who was on the staff OF the
American Expeditionary Forces as an
intelligence officer and who has recently
returned from France. at the monthly
meeting Of the Republican county COM
mittee. over which he once presided as
chairman.
TT is q regrettable thing to find," he
said. shat the Republican Legislature
here Is responsible for failure to pass a
minimum wage bill. For these are the
things that bring Bolshevism. Is the Re-
publican party willing to say We believe
that 1t Is moral for men and women to
be required to work for long hours with
inadequate pay7 Is the Republican party
willing to say this is moral? II so. not
many will agree with them
Declaring that the time would come
when this law would be in effect, "as
sure as the sun rises" he asserted that
the people would say they were going to
try to change conditions that kept them
from such benehcent law. The speaker
had been referring to the conference Of
the International Socialists at Bern
during the time he was there, where they
had decided that they would get the
things they were fighting for either
through legislation or through organized
labor and strikes.
'Party's Responsibility Great.
Things that were done in Europe" he
said, fare going to have their effect here.
There Is q tremendous responsibility on
the Republican party IL 1t Is to continue
see what Is to be done and how 1t is to
be done"
Col. Parsons said the revolution in
Russia was caused by the old extremista.
who held to the old order until the other
extremists swept over them with an or
ganisation which was little understood
in this country.
The men who were coming back from
France had a responsibility. the speaker
said he felt, to tell the people here these
things. The Republican party would
have to be both thoughtful and pro-
sressive As for the big national prob
lem the League of Nations. to US here
IL might seem largely a theory. but In
reality we were almost as much inter-
ested In It as Europe.
I'VE are the one nation that can give
Europe q helping hand" he declared.
Arc We going to do TT It Is no answer
to say I believe In a League OF Nations,
but not In this one 1t Is now or never.
America must prove its sincerity now or
never. I hope when the time comes the
Republican party will be found backing
up the best agreement among the ma
lions that can be made"
Should share Frances Losses.
Speaking of the terrible financial
losses that France has suffered. Col
Parsons said:
"In my opinion we must share in
those losses, because. while We were long
n coming in. when we did It was to
fight the same fight that they had been
nShting. to say that no nation could
gain power by mere military force"
It was the general testimony Of all
como back, Col. Parsons said, that all
Europe east of the Rhine Is starving
that the countries are PROSTATE indus
tr1ally and that most terrible condi-
tons exist. He spoke of his expert.
ences with the Fifth Division, to which
he was assigned for q time, and paid a
high tribute to the fighting qualities OF
the American soldier.
The County Committee suspended the
rules and passed q resolution condemn
ing the "present disgraceful conditions
in the postal and wire SERVICE" which
win be forwarded to the President, thu
Postmaster-General and the new Con
gresa
Resolutions empowering the executive
committee to act as a unit In tho wori
of the Victory Loan, demanding that the
War Department permit the Seventy
seventh Division to parade and In homo
Of william Henkel, formerly United
States Marshal and district leader
who died recently, were passed.