davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1920-08-19
Railroads and Waterways.

ANY discussion of the question Of
food supply leads very quickly to the
closely related matter of transporta-
ton. There Is no one thing which
brings us so Internationally to critical
conditions than the lnsuiliClency OF our
transportation facilities. Both the
railroads and the public are TO blame.
There has been no material addition
to the total mileage In the last ten
years. and the Increase In terminals
has been much less than required. At
the beginning Of the war the rolling
stock was sadly reduced and made
Quate. The public had not given In
pay for service sufficient revenues on
which credit could be allowed by the
Dunks. moral assistance was Withheld
because of railroad policies that did
not bring approval. Many of these
corporations had made themselves r.
part OF political activities, local, state
and national. Then there were more
or less sporadic instances OF stock wa
tering operations, ind the exploitation
of utility properties for personal gain.
abuses were not general, but they
were sufficient to bring the entire rail-
road systems of the country in dis
repute. The good suffered with the
evil. When the transportation lines
were taken over by the government,
they were barely able to limp through
the task OF the day. Unity In opera
ton, the elimination OF the long haul,
and the merging Of every mile Of track
and terminal and every car and en-
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03

what the radicals are saying about
fundamental change being necessary
to meet radical" or fundamental
problems. s*t!1ptIR
The real radical then is not a bomb
thrower but one who sees things
more seriously than the general pub
lie and advocates serious remedies.
Every one knows, for instance, that
the dissolution of the Standard Oil
trust and several others was q SUPER
fetal joke on the public, but only
the radical protests or has a serious
remedy for the trust problem. The
superficial politicians, on the other
hand, try to make all advocates of
serious solutions appear as enemies
of law and order. They apply the
worst features Of a few desperate
thinking individuals. to the whole
class of serious people.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
Why Not Pass Law TO Hang Hungry
W0rkinQmen and Be Done With il

OF the totl1ng masses to secure better
working conditions. With the de-
claration Of hostilities in Europe, a
great industrial boom struck the
United States. All industrial life
felt it's impulse. A great. demand
came from employers for men and
women. A scarcity of labor took
place which caused wages to ad-
vance in many instances. Labor
sensed Its power: and seized the OPP
portun1ty to right many wrongs
which it had been unable to do up
to this time. Large numbers joined
the organized labor. movement. This
! movement was growing by leaps and
bounds when the United States en-
tered the World conflict.
! The organized labor movement.
realizing that the country would
sooner Or later become involved.
through its executive officials,
pledged the government it's full sup
port and this action was proclaimed
throughout the world as great
and patriotic act and great praise
was sung, of the American Fedora
ton of Labor.
The work of organizing contin-
ued apace and with it followed de-
mands that more wages be granted
to meet the continually. increasing
cost of living, and for more democ-
racy in industry. Some Of the de-
mands were granted with little or
no trouble, while in other cases the
men were advised to remain at work
as thu country was at wal and it
was their patriotic duty to do all in
their power to furnish uninterrupted
the boys" at the front with supplies
and that when the war was over what
ever grievances they had would be
| adjusted satisfactorily. The workers
took the word Of their leaders and the
word of the men representing the
Government as bona fide and contin.
ued to work under unfavorable con-
ditions. They bought liberty bonds,
! war savings stamps. contributed tt
the. Red Cross, the Y. M. G. A. anc
other agencies to the fullest of theil
means, and it is we'll known fact that
Thousands and thousands of men and
women deprived themselves of many
necessities of life in order to be able
to help win the war, for which they
were held up before the world a.
patriotic men and women. Little OF
nothing was then said about being
undesirable aliens' and "fomenter'
Of trouble" Oh, no, they were thu
highest type of men and women.
Throughout the war they continued
to make sacrifices. With the termin-
alton Of the struggle they naturally
commenced to look around for the
promised redress for the wrong; and
as the days and weeks went by, and
there was no apparent move made to
grant the things promised they com.
menced to grow restless. Authorized
! and unauthorized studies began to
break out and soon thousands Of men
were on strike to enforce higher wage!
and better working conditions, the
good things which were promised Of
implied they would get when the wal
was over.
I (To be continued in next issue.)
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
Dec. 18th Declaration Is Labor
Renewed AvOWal AmericaniSIn

United States Steel corporations and
the bituminous. coal mine operators
It must be remembered that arbitrary
restrictions. have never in the world s
history stilled the voices crying 70,
justice or halted except for moment
the march Of progress
task. In this she can succeed only IS
those ideals that were give nsuch vi
tally during the war are carried eff
fectively into our industrial and So
cial life today and tomorrow.
The solemn warnings and the con
structive policies set forth are mea-
sures conceived by a most practica.
craftsmanship in responce to the ex-
periences and needs of those who
serve in the hard reality of the world
of work.
Broad purpose and deep patriotism
underly every word written into this
declaration. There is in it no thought.
Of gain except for freedom and hui
mainly and justice. We have the right
to call upon all Of our countrymen
for support and helpfulness in the
furtherance of such principles: =
The war we have fought together
has brought us a victorious peare, the:
problems of which can be solved only
by united and unselfish effort.
We declare ourselves unrelenting
in condemnation Of malpractices in
| our democracy. We cam t and must
not tolerate autocracy of any charac-:
ter in our land. Those who would
defy the ethics and the law and the
morality of civilization we can know
only as foes Of humanity.
( The warning of labor is sincere and
the product Of understanding.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
'1SMS" CAN'T SOLVE
INDUSTRIAL UNREST

The pronouncementso of idealists will
have no effect on industrial unrest,
says Editor Hilton of the Wheeling
Majority.
THE main business of industry to-
day. says this labor editor, lis to
make money. So long is that concep-
ton prevails, idealist advice will not
be taken seriously. and the only re-
forms having any chance Of accep-
lance will be those showing promise of
being profitable. Therefore, it is nec-
essary, in the interest of social good,
to teach that it is profitable to serve
society usefully and Improbable to
carry on industry for the mere pur-
pose of making money.
1T can all be adjusted, of course, if
that one fact is faced. But nobody
faces it except enthusiasts borne up by
a religion or an ism. and they cry
Peace! Peace into an industrial dis
cord where, by the very nature of the
struggle, there can be no peace It can
be adjusted; not permanently, for a
settlement made today would not tit
tomorrow's need; new invention, the
discovery Of a new mineral, and there
would be another dislocation. Rather
the machinery can be created, and
through which a continuous readjust-
ment can take place. That machinery
must be the units Of industry them
selves; the. organized units Of manu-
facturers and employees, bankers and
brokers, statesmen and distributors.
These can function. and they are the
only factors that can function. ANY
other method is waste of time.
''That is the ultimate. We will come
to it some day, and give up the fiction
Of q geographical government IN an
age of industry.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
UNIONS FAILED ToASk;;.
N0N:UN|oN men DENIED:

The Dayton and xenia traction line
is strictly non-union. The Dayton
Labor News prints this story on one Of
the free and Independent" motormep
employed by this concern:
During a recent rainy day a mo-
:torman was standing on the wet
boards and complained that he would
have to buy a mat on which to stand.
Asked whether the company wouldn't
provide this protection, he replied:
Company, hell! Them damned
union men on the other lines failet to
ask for the mats when they had a
settlement, and now we have to stand
in water, or buy our own protection.
Them unions amt no good"
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
PEACE IN INDUSTRY
THROUGH MUTUALLY

Peace in Industry cannot be main
tanned unless there is first recognized
the right Of collective bargaining"
said Secretary Of Labor Wilson in his
annual report.
The remedy for Industrial discord
the secretary finds is in mutual cOun-
sci. But this is not possible" no said,
unless there is first recognized the
right Of collective bargaining. In the
past this right has been conceded by
some employers, but vigorously CON-
bated by others. The public interest
demands that it be universally recog-
nized, for the primary interest OF the
public is in peace.
1.-THE denial OF organization is a de-
NAL Of the only means Of peaccable
settlement that wage earners have.
THE right Of any man to cease work.
ing for another for any reason that is
sufficient to himself is the basic Gle
| ment of human liberty. The right OF
any person to refuse, to operate his
! plant at any time he desires to do so
is the exercise of property right
guaranteed by the constitution 1t
OoC0 4AOI Ao1AO" IlIdC OCCduoS l1lcSC
rights exist it is necessary to exercise
; them. They must nevertheless be safe
guarded. Having done that and having,
! devised the machinery by which JUS
tice can be secured and by which
everybody at interest has the oppor-
tunity OF knowing that justice has
been secured, it is not likely that the
right to cease work will be exercised
by sufficient numbers Of the right to
cease operating industrial plants will
be carried to such an extent as seri-
ously to affect the welfare Of the rest
Of the people"
Secretary Wilson urges the rc-es-
tablishment Of the working conditions
service and the United States training
service, both Of which were disccn-
tinued with the end of the war. The
working conditions service had set up
machinery for investigating working
! conditions and where advisable recon
mended standards for their improve.
ment, The training service provided
educational training for the workers
| The secretary stated that 100000 OF
the 100000 wage earners now enl.
ployed in American factories have nc
| education suited to their needs
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
PUBLIC MORALITY.

Civilized man makes much pre-
tense of acting on, moral principles,
but it is doubtful if his public con-
duct measures up to those principles
any better than does that of the
savage who makes few pretentions
OF the kind. The old saying that
fundamental human nature does not
change probably contains more truth
than our claims to be guided by
certain moral principles.
The English and Americans felt
great indignation when German aero
planes dropped bombs on English
and French towns. 1t was explained
by the phrase, Hun barbarity. The
Germans were assumed to be outside
the limits of civilization. But now
England is doing the same thing In
northern India. Instead Of meeting
revolving tribesmen with an army in
the field the government sends aero
planes to drop bombs on their little
villages of matched houses. And the
English have always made such pre-
tentions at craftsmanship and fair
play, too.
Or to come nearer home, the inter-
ests which are talking most of de-
Tending pure American principles,
are doing the most to overthrow
them. They would not hesitate to
steal an election from the progress
sive element either by misrepresen-
tation or by the mora gross means
OF vote buying and ballot box stuff
ing. They praise the Constitution
and at the same time do their best
to destroy free speech and free az.
.semblage. They Drag about popular
rule; yet they will set aside popu-
lar verdict at the polls il legisla.
tive tricks and court procedure can
be bent to that purpose. Working.
men are guaranteed the right to
strike and at the same time are ar
rested and beaten up for doing so.
And yet the average man, even the
average man of great wealth, does
privately make moral distinctions,
Perhaps this seeming conflict can be
explained by the fact that the i'm.
portant acts of the rich man are per.
formed through corporations. These
as the law states, are artificial per-
sons and they have only. one con
trolling motive-immediat self-in
terest. And these artificial person.
are stronger than all the natural per
sons in the control of the modern
state. The man of wealth or thu
politician who tries to act on mora
principles in the face of this corpor
alton self-interest quickly becomes
an outcast. We thus give the devi
dominion over our public affairs.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
1000 PER CENT PROFIT.

When William G. McAdoo said
that the government ought to make
public the exact profits of coal COM
panies, the coal barons got call het
up with righteous indignation-and
fright. Mr.. McAdoo said that coal
profits ran as high as 1000 per cent
on capital stock; and he said he
knew because he had seen the income
tax figures.
Promptly the members of the
Profiteer Family began to, call Nc
Adoo names. They intimated that
he had broken the rules of the game
and talked out of school.
But McAdoo hadn't broken any
rules. He had quoted from a report
made by him to the United States
senate in compliance with a senate
resolution asking for just such q
report. This resolution was adopted
on June 6, 1918. The report was
printed in the government printing
office. 1t was entitled corporate
Earnings and Government Revenue
and is known as Senate Document
ESQ. You can't get a copy because
it. is out of print. Such documents
usually are out of print quickly.
This report shows two interesti>r
things:
First: The highest coal mine
profit in 1918 was 7,S56.41 per cent.
Second: In that year 1854 coal
corporations made profit of 100 per
cent or more, which means that in
that one year 1854 corporations made
in profit sum equal to or more
than their entire capital stock!
These two facts are decidedly in
teresting. The McAdoo report gives
the earnings of $50 coal mining cor
porations. OF these only "a made
profit of less than Is per cent.
Pity the poor coal baron!
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
.FA|TAlESS TO IDEALS
Of AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2.-Speakins
through the central labor union the
trade union movement in the ma
TONS capital has declared that the
public press is faithless to the ideals
Of democracy. These views are ex-
pressed:
'Whereas the same great news
papers have shielded and encour-
aged faithless public servants in the
failure Of the latter to prosecute the
profiteers whose greed Is driving the
masses to despair and daily violat-
ing the laws: which are now being
employed to imprison working men
who ask for: wages suffics<4,t to
support themselves: and their fam
ilfes'' ,.<' -,.5, a.. 8: zsss i g.@ =.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
BY BEN GOGGIN

; Organizer International Union of
Mine, Mill and Shelter Workers.
j In the great industrial unrest
which is today prevalent throughout
the world, it is amusing to listen to
and read of the frantic appeals that
are made for. it's suppression, the:
various reasons assigned for its
cause, and the remedies proposed to
! cure it. From every corner OF this
great nation, through the press and
; other agencies, we are daily re-
; minded of the terrible. menace that
| threatens the government" and the
danger of the downfall of American
| institutions. Lurid tales are told and
fanciful pictures are drawn to create
and inject the fear into the hearts
and minds Of the people. that unless
they awaken to-. the situation that
confronts them there is going to be
and unlnerciful 'reds'' will get them
if they do not look out.
1t is rather surprising that in this
supposedly enlightened age that
there IS such stupidity among people
who are credited with intelligence,
and especially among the molders of
public opinion, and the so-called
statesmen at Washington. All of
them, with few exceptions, seem to
have little or no conception Of the
causes of the unrest they pirate so
much about, and seem to thing that
all they need to do is to deport a
few aliens and put others in Jail.
after which everything will be easy.
Having lived in an environment
far removed from the conditions
(which surround the average toiler,
! they know little of how he lives or
Of what he is thinking about, and
are, therefore, entirely lost as to the
cause, and what remedy to propose
to solve the problems.
The present unrest is the culnina-
ton Of years of oppressive laws and
industrial despotism which have pre-
vailed and still prevail in many
parts of the United States. 1t is the
outcome of the policy pursued by
the industrial lords. who for years
have been drunk with power and
riches and who have ruthlessly sup
pressed, with an iron hand, any and
all attempts OF their employees to
secure reasonable wages and better
working conditions.
And now that the workers are
manifesting a desire for what is
called the american standard of
living" great shrieks are heard.
There is great wailing and gnashing
of teeth, and all persons not in
accord with present conditions are
branded as Dangerous reds, ''ene-
mics of the country and are called
other names too numerous to men
ton. But with all this outcry the
underlying causes remain and will re.
main SO long as such an autocrat
as E. H. Gary. head of the great
steel trust, is permitted to be greater
than the government Of the United
States, which he and his kind pro-
TESS to love and revere.
UP to and prior to the war there
was 4 perciptable move on the part
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
IGNORE SUGAR H0lD-UP;;
CONDEMN COAL MINERS

Can SPECTATORS corner the sugar
marEet and escape censure while coal
miners are condemned because they
demand relief from living standards
that former Fuel Administrator Gar
field ackn owledges are lower than in
1918?
Car loads of white paper have been
used to convince the public that the
miners demands were Outrageous
but no word of censure is heard
against sugar profiteers, whose living
standards are not involved and whose
greed for excessive profits is costing
the people millions Of dollars.
Next years sugar consumption in
this country will be about 5,O54,QOO
tons, or 90 pounds per capita. This
includes sugar for household. manu-
featuring and all other purposes. 1t
was stated in the senate that every
time the price of this commodity is
advanced 1 cent a pound it costs the
people an additional $101, 100000.
The Cuban raw sugar crop of last
year, which approximated 100000
tons, was bought for II cents a pound
and the governments sugar equal
ization board set nine cents a pound
as the retail price for the finished pro-
duct in the United States:
Four months ago the board recon-
mended that next years Cuban sugar
crop be bought for ~ cents a pound.
One member of this board, DR.. Taus-
sig, recommended that the 'law of
supply and demand" be permitted to
operate. This policy was adopted by
the government and the price jumped
to 10h cents and it is stated that it
will 90 to 1871 cents. The difference
between the two. latter figures mea,is
a. loss to the public of nearly half a
billion dollars.
DR.. Taussig is an economist He Is
a member of the presidents industrial
conference which is now discussing
methods to settle industrial questions.
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
WHAT is A RADICAL?

- A long-haired, low-browed, evil
eyed person armed either with a
torch, bomb or bundle of propa-
ganda tied up in a red flag-such is
the picture which the editorial writ
ers, as we'll as the carteonists of the
city papers and magazines, give us
of the radical. But at the same time
they will indicate that this is not the
meaning Of the word at all by apply
ing it to any men or organizations
urging some fundamental change.
: The term originated in England
many years ago when new party,
called at first Independents, criticized
both the Wings and the Tories as be-
ing too superficial. The Independ-
ents declared that the problems OF
the day could be met only by getting
down to the roots Of these questions.
The English word radical comes from
the Latin word meaning root. Thus
these Englishmen who differed with
superficial policies became known as
radicals.
! Few will deny that most people
are, or at least have been. superficial
in regard to public matters. They
allow those who have some special
reason for taking an interest in pub.
lie affairs to manage them. These
managers get what they want and
let things in general slide along. The
public pays the bill for superficial
management. But every generation
pr two the bill comes too high-low
wages, starvation, farm tenancy and
farm abandonment Cause the people
g become more serious and; they be-
gin to believe there is . good deal in
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
THE SENATE'S BLINDNESS,

The senate haa passed the Cum
Minis bill, containing the anti-strike
provision. This is unfortunate. It
indicates that the senate is, in some
things at least, afflicted with blind
ness.
! The senate, in the Cummins bill,
seeks to legislate as the old Ger
many would have legislated. "Ver-
boten" was the national watchword
in old Germany. Government was
forever putting ''verboten" signs all
over the place. This, that and the
other was forbidden.
But Germany found out that ma
lions cannot live by "verboten"
alone. There has to be something
/ else. 1t was "verboten" that de-
mocracy should win the war, but it
did, just the same. Progress and
justice and liberty go right along
winning over blindness and stupidity
and arrogance and reaction, in spite
, Of signs on which is written thou
shalt not"
The Cummins bill anti-strike pro-
vision is piece OF arrogance and
injustice. It is undemocratic. It is
wrong-and it won't work.
Labor doesn't demand the right
to strike because it enjoys striking.
1t demands the right to strike be-
cause it finds that at times the strike
is the only means of securing JUS
tice. The Cummins bill ignores fun
damental facts, as we'll as elemental
justice.
The Esch bill, adopted in the
house, omits anti-strike provisions
That gives promise of failure of the
Cummins bill provision ultimately
However, the recent conduct of the
senate in this and other matters
makes the utmost vigilance neces.
sary.
The right to strike must be main
tanned for the sake OF human prog.
ress and for the reason that this is
a democracy, maintained until now
at some considerable cost and pointed
to with some considerable pride by
something like 100000 persons
The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-01-03
LABOR IS LOYAL"

= General Leonard Wood has just
issued a statement in which he says:
. 1--WE have been attrtbuting much
Of our unrest to the ranks OF LABOR,
but during my recent travels
throughout the riot zones I have
learned that IS per cent Of Ameri-
can workingmen are straight
General Wood doesn't overstate in
the least. American. workingmen
ARE "straight"-straight American
There have been a good many
proofs of this assertion and it is
about time that statements to the
contrary lost currency.