The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-02-09

They have less than a third of the
rolling stock necessary to meet normal
requirements. The demand for trans
portatiOn facilities will necessarily in
crease during the period of reconstrue
ton. l have seen locomotives sneez-
ing, coughing, expiring every few |
miles. Old, broken-down engines, the |
kind one expects to find in museum
| was on q de luxe train, diplomatic |
express. / commented upon the con |
dition of the locomotive, which came |
to a full stop every once in a while. |
commented upon the condition of the |
coaches. The chief of the train looked |
at me, smiled and said: eff you |
think this one is bad you ought to see
some of the others"
The war disarranged plants and fac.
tories. The demand was for muni-
tions. Peace gave way to war and
plant equipment efficient for peace
production gave way to plant construc.
| ton necessary to manufacture the
weapons of war. Plants were com
mandeered. Machinery was torn out,
new machinery put in. A complete re-
/ construction and reorganization was
effected. Now that the war is over and
the demand for everything is great, II
is necessary to change these plants
back and fit them for the production
needed. 1t is expensive, it takes time,
it retardS production.
1t is strange that, while everyone
can see and understand the difficulties
and delays incident to reorganizins
and rearranging machinery and plants,
many people cannot see or understand
The problem of rearranging mems
lives, who for four years have been
living abnormally. The effect of the
war upon plants and equipment is con
coded by the very man who refused to
see any effect of the war on the men
who were in it.
Women in Labor World.
During the war women answered the
roll call. They left their homes and
went TO work There is hardly kind
of work that | can think of that have
not seen women doing in Europe.
have seen them loading boats, shovel
ing coal, washing windows, driving
wagons, cleaning streets, conductors on
trans Many of the women who went
into the industries were young women.
Now that the war is over and the men
have come back there is demand on
the part of the men that the women re-
tire to their homes. This Is imposSi-
BILE in many cases, for these women
have grown dependent upon their jobs
for their living. Then. too, there is
shortage of manageable men. Some
employers of labor have taken ad-
vantage of this situation. They pay
woman less money than they pay a
man for the same work. This makes
both dissatisfied The woman has the
sympathy of the working man. He
doesn't want her 10 compete with him
to the extent that his wages will be
lowered neither does he want the boss
TO sdiscriminate against her.
Women have come into the world of
work TO stay. If there is any meaning
in the phrase "class conscious" they
are living examples of 1t. They are
more outspoken about their demands
than men. They sense a wrong long
before a man can see it. They have
brought their intuition into the labor
world. They are more radical than
men, and they stimulate men to action.
They have brought TO the labor prob
lem a new and Interesting angle
The key TO the future is in the hands
| OF these men and women. Production
is the. door that must be opened. Men
/ | and women must work, or winter and
| want will make No Mans Land OF
Europe before the sun of 1920 thaws
the frost from the ground.
, Children crying for bread. shivering
> | in the cold these bleak winter nights
are praying that men will work when
: | they pray to God for good and warmth
: Their help cries are smothered by 8
3 great blanket-unrest. viii men hear
| them?
: SO sought to find the causes of un
e rest, knowing it would bring me close
i to the heart of the trouble.
, | Copyright, 1920 western Newspaper Union,
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