davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
RETAIL FOOD PRICES
NOT BEING LOWERED

Inc United States bureau of labor
statistics reports that claims of lower
food prices are not sustained bv its
statistics, The bureaus figures show
That the retail cost of % articles of
1000 in December was the highest
ever attained, being &c per cent higher
than III December, 1918, and 50 Der
cent higher than in December, 1913.
During the six-year period from De-
cen1ber, 1913, to December 1919, rice
increased 1O3 per cent; corn meal. 113
per cent; lard, 121 per cent; potatoes,
l26 per cent; flour, al per cent and
graduated sugar 1853 per cent. In
the remaining articles in the list of
"a food modities. an increase of
81 per cent of over is noted. The two
exceptions are tea, which increased
~ per cent. and plate beef which in
creased 43 per cent.
Based on the average price for tho
year 1913 as 100, the retail price in
dex number for 20 articles of food
for the United States was 1872 for last
November and 1877 for December.
During the year period from De-
cember, 1913, to December, 1919, the
three cities showing the greatest in
average family expenditure for % ar
tlcles of food were: Minneapolis IA
per cent; Omaha, IL per. cent. and
Mobile, 10 per cent.
AS compared with the average ex-
penditure in the year 1913, the follow
Ing cities showed an increase in the
family expenditure Of 100 per cent
and over: Richmond and Providence.
100 per cent each; Buffalo, 101 per
cent; Atlanta, 102 per cent; Milwau-
kee and Washington, 1913 per cent
each; St. Louis. 1O4 per cent; Charles
ton, Memphis and Minneapolis, 1o5
per cent each; Detroit, 106 per cent;
Omaha, los per cent, and Birnling-
ham, 100 per cent
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
DID NOT GET ONE TRADE
uMoNIST MRED RAIDS

ION the occasion Of the recent raids
for the purpose of catching bolshev.
iks," says the Seamen's Journal, 1.-THE
reading public was told by some news
papers, among them the New York
times; that it was the intention Of the
reds to extend the steel strike and the
coal strike until they became a revo-
luton.
Mot the slightest bit of evidence to
this effect has found it's way into
print. We have been given only the
bare allegation. If there were any
truth in such a charge, then it would
naturally follow that numerous influ-
entail trade union members would be
ganization, and it is natural to expect
that they would be taken in the raids.
: mo trade union member Of any in
fluence at all has been listed as among
those arrested Lists published so far
make no mention of trade Union affE-
iations of those arrested. Now, it ie
entirely possible. that some Of those
arrested communists were members of
trade unions. It, is absolutely certain
that their influence as union members
was exactly zero( and that whatever
plotting they did was entirely. outside
of trade union; halls.
= Newspaper headlines and newspa-
per stories about communists plotting
in. the steel and coal strikes were
.gratuitous, silly and perhaps tinged
sonewhere in the background with a
bit of 1nendacity: Probably, however,
rank ignorance was mostly to blame.
"The average trade union offers
about the most unstable ground for
american, anti-demicratic' plot
ting that exists in this broad land
1.-THE American labor movement
didn't give up its devotion to democ-
racy the day the armistice was
signed
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
h1ilitarism Run Mad; Proposed
Law Scored by u. S. Senator'S

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12.-The pro-
posed compulsory military training
DILL Is ''militarism run mad" declared
Senators Mcclellan (Tenn.) and Shop
pard (Texas) In minority report filed
IN the senate. A majority of the SEN
ate military committee favor the plan.
THE minority Of the committee SUBJ
m1t," says the report, that the pas
sage OF this bill carrying appropria-
tons which must come, will be to in
stltute In this country a military sys-
tenn OF the first order Indeed, it will
ne mll1tarism run mad, O. militarism
of the ultra German type, a militarism
never dreamed of by our forefathers,
a militarism that is wholly unneces-
sary, militarism that may be sub
versive of our democratic institutions,
militarism that can not be defended,
mfl1tarism that is wholly uniustifia-
BILE when we look at our history and
at our future.
1.-THE enormous war powers granted
in this bill to the president, nominally,
but to the chief of staff, actually. are
such powers that no good president
and no good chief Of staff ought to
want, and that no bad president and
no bad chief of shaft ought to have.
They are such powers as are entrusted
only to dictator in times of great
national emergency
Friends of the bill claim that it
will cost "only' $6o0,000,O00 annually
The minority report puts the cost at
over 314,0OO,0O0.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
Old Order Changeth Not
At the National CAPITAL

OF its own autocracy, insincerlty and
;; shallow appraisal OF the situation.
General Wood. the chief shouter of
the former, says it's no time for po-
litical or economic issues. Law and
order is the beginning and end OF the
philosophy of this excellent soldier,
which is natural enough in a%man
| more at home with bayonet than brain
and innocent as Adam Of economic or
political knowledge. Palmer, for the
moment lead-mule of Democracy, be-
lieves that unrest can be smashed by
indictments and the policy Of the full
Jail. He stands forth our Twentieth
Century exemplar of the rawhide
craftsmanship Of Simon Legree.
What is the good Of fooling with
| the old parties? They don't mean
business. Equally they are controlled,
supported and operated by the money
and grains Of our privileged govern
ing class. This class owns the coun-
try and the government, because it
owns the basic natural resources and
our transportation system. It holds
i out ofhuse vast quantities of land, coal,
iron ore, Oil, water power, ETC., keeps
them beyond the reach of labor and
capital in order to kill competition
and raise prices. These are facts
which the old parties leaders do not
see. They cannot afford to see them.
No honest man cali see them and go
on talking the buncomb he has to talk
to get nominated on an old party
ticket.
|. Here is test of party which
means business and is for the public
interest. II it stands openly, unequivo-
cally and in way it can't crawl out
of, for taking out of the hands Of the
privileged classes and into the hands
Of the public the railroads and the
basic natural resources, it means bust
ness and is for the general good. If
it does not, it is a class party and I'M
worthy of support by serious people.
President Wilson, before too much
foreign affairs had du1led his vision,
said:
"Our government has been for the
past few years of great allied cor
porations with special interests"
Again he satd:
Don't you see that they must cap
ture the government, in order not to
be restrained too much by it. Must
capture the government? They have
already captured it,
. The job Of patriotic Americans is
to recapture their government, or
rather to set it free again. And the
way to do this is to take into their
own hands the things which mean
power.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
SOFT WORDS NO CURE.
FOR PROFIT COUGHING

Soft words nor promises made by
cabinet members is no solution for
profiteering, writes Pr sident Com
pers, in American Federationist, cur
rent issue.
THE profiteer 5 creature who
lives by moral if not by legal cor
foe to society,"" says the trade union
list. There must lie .-ctlon of kind
that goes to the root of the problem.
The conference of representatives of
the American labor ovemen:, meet
ing in Washington en- December IS,
placed before the nation the remedy
for the profiteer: evil-a remedy
that will remedy, a p.escl :ption that
/ will cure. Read again the words
pro.4ounced. by that gathering:
"'Credit is the life blood of mod
ern business. At present under the
+ control Of private finanL:er: it is
administered, t primarily to serve
the needs. of pl oduction hut the de-
sire of financial agencies to leTey
a toll upon community activity as
high as the traffi will BEAR
"'Credit il inherently social. It
should be accorded in proportion to
confidence in production possibilities.
Credit as now administered does not
serve industry but burdens It. It in
creases unearned incomes at the ex-
pense of earned incomes. It is the
center OF the malcvolent forces that
corrupt the spirit and purpose of in
dustry.
1--WE urge the organization and
use of credit 10 serve production
needs and not to increase the in
comes and holdings Ct financiers
Control over credit should be taken
from financiers and should be rested
in public agency, al lie to admin
lister this power as a public trust in
the interests of all the people,"
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14

is that running a sO-called "open
shop" which is a closed shop to
union men, is an expression of 10y
atty. They want people to think it
is disloyal in some peculiar fashion
to belong to a union. So they write
down creed which declares for the
"open shop" one language, one flag,
one loyalty, all of which are patented
by the Merchant Tailors' society.
Thus, is the constitution revised.
Thus are the Stars and Stripes re-
placed by the flag of the employing
tailors. 1t is to be hoped that the
employing tailors have not neglected
to inform Uncle Sam of his dethrone-
ment and of the revision of the con-
stitution.
The declaration is signed by such
good old American names as Weiss,
Spero, Petronio, Carlstrom, Lasorow,
Berg, Calm, D'Andrea and Mueller.
The new liberty which the declara-
ton proclaims, in half-page adver-
tisements in the New York papers,
is, we are informed, backed up by a
sweeping and permanent injunc-
tion," which of course, settles every
thing and leaves nothing to the work.
ing people except the complete and
continued enjoyment of the blessings
ordained by the employing tailors
and the court Injunction.
Progress comes to the plain people
in wondrous ways-but it surely
does come. The thing to do, evil
IDENTIFY, is to recognize it when it
comes!
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14

: WASHINGTON, Feb, 12.-Compul-
sorry military training sis just the"
same in republic as it is anywhere
else, as we have found out" said
United States Senator Borah. in an
nouncing his opposition to the uni
versal military training bill.
Universal military training and
CONSUMPTION in time Of peace are the
tap roots of militarism. They are the
foundation upon which all military
autocracies are constructed and both
these propositions are now being
urged. I am opposed to both.
Il should like to see greater at
tention given to physical training in
our schools and colleges, and every
thing that need be done could be done
there, without the militaristic feature
of it,. But I do not want to see the
young men of this country put into
military camps. under the harsh and
sometimes brutal dominance which
characterizes militarism.
when the time comes. and the real
facts are known with reference to
our court martial proceedings and the
demoralizing effect of our camps,
think the mothers and fathers of this
country will come to the conclusion
that they do not want their boys in
military camps. There isn't in this
war anything more cruel and intoler-
able than the treatmen which the
court martial proceedings of this war
disclosed in our armV'
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
COAL OWNERS Benefit:
MINERS RECEIVE LESS

BY statistics presented to the COM
mission by the president to adjust
dl1ferences between them and soft
coal owners, the coal miners showed
that their share of the dollar paid by
the public to the coal owner is con-
stantly diminishing, while the coal
owners share is increasing.
In the central Pennsylvania field,
FOR example. the miners share was
IS cents in 1915, and in 1918 it de-
creased to SIS cents, or 1877 per cent.
During the same period the coal
owners share increased from cents
to rs cents, or 1857 per cent.
The coal miners claim that in 1918.
when large war taxes and government
control of prices served to cut down
earnings, the coal owners total net
income was almost twice as large as
the average for the five years before
this country entered the war.
In the light of all these facts
the coal miners say, lit is absurd for
the operators to put forth the claim
that if the mine workers are paid a
living wage the public will suffer
further advance in the cost of coal
and a resultant further increase in
the cost of living.
while the mine workers, during
our great national emergency. were
working every day possible to main
tain production, and were receiving
wages far below their pre-war pur-
chasing power, which was below a
level of actual subsistence, and at the
same time were sending members OF
their families to France and straining
their inadequate resources to the ut
most in the purchase of liberty bonds
in order to aid our common cause,
the coal mining companies were help
to win the war by taking extortionate
profits from the government, from
our war industries and from domestic
consumers, and were telling our har-
raised people, when they protested
against the price of coal, that the high
high wages by the wine workers."
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14

plan OF the vacation" were doomed
to failure.
The book and job printers of "Big
Six' rebelled at what they termed
the tyranny of their international
union officers. Led by certain radi-
calls, they seized the opportunity of
a break in the pressmep's union
ranks to teach the International a
lesson. They quit work.
The result of their illegal strike
for such it was in all but narne-is
this: Through the agreement just
signed they get the 44-hour week
on May 1, 1921, which is exactly
the date on which they would have
got it anyhow. For a wage increase
since last October, they get So, re-
troactive from January /. The only
concession gained is the privilege OF
revising the wage scale next fall, and
every six months thereafter, in &C.
cordance with the cost of living. But
they can never bring back the print
ing business which New York lost
during the strike, nor the salaries
they spurned.
The trade union agreement, so de-
tested by the radicals, thus finds new
vindication as the cornerstone of re-
sponsible trade union tactics. And
the RADICAL the 'insYrgent," has
again demonstrated his superior
ability to run the ship on the rocks.
For that is where the vacation"
was headed.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
BEHOLD, LIBERTY!

Come all We who grope in dark
ness and listen to the new gosba,
as laid down by the Merchant Tail
ors' Society of the City of New York,
for it is some revelation. Here are
three stanzas:
AS in the past. the workers will
be paid literally and in accordance
with present living conditions. Due
regard for proficiency will be rec
ognlzed, and ambitious men will be-
given every opportunity to better
themselves.
AS good American citizens let us
rally round the standards Of free.
dom and social order. Let US show
a united front against those forces
Of sedition and disloyalty which aim
at the destruction of our established
government and it's time-honored in
situations, the mainstay of our life
and liberty.
I'VE endorse the action OF the gov
eminent in Furnishing and deportine
all undesirables, Bolsheyists. Soviets
and l. W. VS.. There is no room
for them in free America. We de.
mand the OPEN SHOP, LAW AND
ORDER, A SQUARE DEAL FOR
ALL; one LANGUAGE, one LOYAL.
TY. one FLAG'
There you have it, capitals, gram.
mar, punctuation and all. Try it to.
night on your either, and if you don't
have any luck that way try it or
the dog.
These employers declare for the
open shop" Their national organ
ization, meeting in Atlantic City, al
the same hour declared also for thu
open shop. These employers believe
the open season is at hand for thu
hunting of trade unions and trad.
unionists. Loyalty to the flag i,
classed right along with the "ope1
shop The idea of these employer
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
PHOTO EkGRAvERS GET
FoRTy-FOUR HOUR week

WASHINGTON, Feb. -. 49, The
presidents Industrial commission has
resumed it's sessions, and announce
that it will hear the views of all per-
sons interested in its preliminary
statement
This statement was issued, the COM
mission said. to stimulate discussion.
The plan succeeded as far as organized
labor is concerned, for it has been bat
tered to pieces because Of an absence
of any form of collective bargaining
Or recognition of the right Of workers
to associate for mutual benefit.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
LABOR WAS FIRST TO
| DEMAND FREE SCHOOL s

In a press bulletin issued by the
federal board for vocational education
attention is called to this declaration
at a meeting of mechanics and work.
ing in Philadelphia, in 1929:
Next to life and liberty we con-
slider education the greatest blessing
bestowed upon mankind" The meet
ing then adopted this resolution:
THAT the public funds should be
appropriated Ito a reasonable extent)
to the purpose of education upon a
regular system that shall insure the
opportunity to every Individual of OBJ
tanning competent education before
he shall arrive at the age of matur-
ity."
AT that time, says the federal
board for vocational education. the
only free schools were pauper schools.
mo system of education which a free
man can accept has yet been estab-
lished for the poor" declared a meet
ing of Philadelphia working men in
the same year 1929.
In tracing labor's fight for educa-
tional opportunities, it is stated that
in 1850 almost all northern states had
established unsupported, publicly
controlled and directed, non-sectarian
schools. The south, with it's widely
scattered agricultural population, had
a different educational problem.
And labor is not through" con-
tinues the board 1T is now eagerly
awaiting the passage of the bill pro-
viding, for the rehabilitation Of per-
sons disabled in industry. Both
branches of congress have passed this
legislation, but there are minor differ
ences between the two bills which
are awaiting adjustment in confer
ence" y
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
TAFT AND THE LEAGUE.

Those who had the good fortune
to hear William Howard Taft at the
First Methodist church Tuesday eve.
ming discuss the League of Nations
and the proposed senate reservations
came away from the lecture with a
better understanding and clearer
conception of the covenant and the
effect the reservations will have upon
it than they had before.
1t was a treat indeed to listen to
the former president. in his char
acteristic and happy vein, as he
fully end carefully analysed every
proposal passed by the senate. He
pointed out that no reservation serl-
ously affected the covenant or the
treaty. and that after all was said
and done the senators favoring the
treaty with and without reservations
we're not very far apart.
Mr.. Taft held that at least six of
the reservations were entirely un-
necessary as the constitution of the
United States clearly defined the
powers of the President and Con-
gress, and no League of Nations COW
enant could supercede the basic law
of the land. He had reference to
such provisions in the covenant as
committed the nation to certain obi
cations and the senate wanted reser-
vations made to give Congress the
final word in determining the course
OF the United States in any inter-
national undertaking, a power al
ready enjoyed by Congress in the
constitution. He thought it silly to
write such reservations into the COW
enant
Indeed. when Mr.. Taft had con-
cludcd his speech it was evident to
every person in the audience thot no
reservation had been presented in
good faith, and it was either passed
to ham-string the League of Nations
or to belittle President Wilson.
The applause from the audience
during the course of the speech indi-
Gated beyond doubt that sentiment
in Duluth is overwhelmingly in
favor of the. immediate ratification
OF the treaty, and the acceptance of
the covenant Of the League of Ma
tions without a single unnecessary
reservation. Mr.. Taft is performing
a great service to the nation and to
mankind. He is an American above
everything else, and we wish him
God-speed in his present work Of
educating the people on the way to
permanent peace.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
"VACATIONING" Is OVER.

The printing industry of New
York recently had to deal with q
new element in trade unionism, the
vacation A vacation" be it said
for the benefit Of the initiated, is a
makeshift for a strike. Members of
big Six Typographical union en-
ployed it to cripple the book and iob
industry because they didn't dare
call all official strike,
The vacation" business has inst
been ended by an agreement signed
by officials of the union and the
United Typothetae of American. The
terms of this agreement prove con-
clusively that the whole purpose and
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
OPEN SHOPPERS WAIT
TO GET .SHIPYlRDS

Writing in the New York Times on
the so-called "open" shop movement
in Seattle, Charles A. Selden quotes
Frank Warehouse, the head of this
movement. as declaring his neutrality
on the question of trade unionism.
when I asked him." writes the
newspaper man, If the shipyards
were in his organization, he made this
apparently inconsistent reply:
No, we have not asked them to
come in yet, because it would en-
barrass them, for they still have con-
tracts with the unions"
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-02-14
TEST ANTI-PICKETING ACT.

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. IL Trade
unionists have appealed the Indiana
polls anti picketing ordinance to the
state supreme court. The act was
passed last September by the common
council and makes It illegal to picket
plant. s.1ss# u sss rs s H