Evening journal., 1920-11-03

The Senate investigation further
showed that the average more skilled
miner, II he worked steadily eight
hours a day every day his mine
worked could earn from S2500 to $1,000
a year, and II he worked overtime
that much more in proportion. But
IN order to give work to some hun
dred thousand or more extra men and
keep them in the union paying some
10000 or more every month into the
union treasury-which al present col
lects about si0OOO,OOO a year - the
miners are so discouraged from work
ing more than part time that few OF
them dare or care to do IL. So prev
alent is this practice that in some dis
tricts any man is branded as a "scab"
who works more than three days a
week.
II the coal miners had not won
their strike and the union leaders
who perpetuated this strike had been
totally defeated, IL the hundred thou
sand or so extra men who are no.
needed in the coal mines should go
back TO the farms and the other IN
dustries from which they came, and
where they are vitally needed, and
the average skilled coal miner were
mus permleted 10 work regularly, he
would become one Of the best-paid
workers in American industry.
The coal strike got "a per cent raise
for all miners. 1t helped maintain a
system under which the union is get
ting 100000 to Si,500,000 extra dues
every year. But this can scarcely be
said to compensate the skilled miner
who, but for this abnormal system,
could work steadily and make from so
to 60 per cent more.
or course, from the public point OF
view, 100000 men kept in the coal in
dustry who might be cutting down
production costs on the farm and in
other industries is net and perma-
| nent economic leak that makes the
partial victory" in the coal strike not
only very expensive but a contin-
ually very expensive victory"
In other ages. when education was
| FAR less widespread, the man who
| could read and write and figure 1ccur-
| rately was so much less common than
/ the man who produced things with
| his hands that the man who merely
wrote out the reports or kept the
| books or records OF what labor did
/ and produced received a far higher
wage than the men who did the pro-
| ducing.
But the man OF today who. with
| his hands and his head actually pro-
/ duces Is far more valuable TO society
/ than the man who merely makes flg-
ures or reports about that produc-
| tion.
The man who produces Is today
having the value OF his work recog-
niZed on a new scale in his pay en-
velope. And every broad-minded, in
telligent American knows that this is
a good thing for both the economic
and social advancement OF the whole
country.
The war, with its upsettlng OF old
| standards and It's readiustments OF
many things on a basis OF greater
| fairness, and particularly in the way
/ 10 brought home 10 all the people the
importance OF labor, is primarily, re-
spOnsible for this advance in wages
| Strikes are not Strikes, on the con-
trary, have gone a long way toward
| taking away from labor the biggest
advantages which the war brought.
One hundred and thirty-four million
days Of labor Is only part Of las,
years strikes plus other hundreds Of
| millions OF days Of labor lost because
OF those strikes;
eight hundred and FIVE million
dollars worth Of wages lost by strik-
ers plus billions Of dollars Of wages
lost because OF the str kes.
two and one-half billion dollars
worth OF production lost through
strikes alone plus other billions o
dollars Of production lost because oi
these strikes;
less than , per cent OF these
strikes even claimed TO be primarily
about wages and only about half o.
them even mentioned wages;
the most conspicuous strikes ina
pretended to be for wages were eithcl
hoplessly beaten or brought merely
temporary fictitious advance that lef
the average worker worse on than h
was before;
then, why in the name OF labor
as well as the long-suffering public
have the great proportion OF thes
strikes been called and fought witt
such staggering losses to all OF us?
The answer TO this question Is tn
most astounding indictment OF al
, against strikes and the way the strik
weapon has been used since the wal