The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1920-09-17
WORK.

tlce. He represents a dozen or more
of the largest manufactures in AM
erica. He took orders for approx
mately one million dollars of Ameri-
can goods. These orders were to be
paid for in Italian lire at the rate of
fourteen lire to the dollar. Before the
war the Italian lire was good in ex-
change for one dollar in American
money. At the time of which we
speak it took fourteen lire to buy
a dollars worth of American goods.
All this mans orders were taken on
that basis.
But from the time he sailed from
Italy until he reached New York the
exchange had advanced to nineteen
lire for one American dollar. This
meant that the Italian buyer would
have to pay five lire more, or nine
teen lire for every dollars worth of
goods he had ordered if he took
them at all. In other words, based on
the pre-war value of the lire, he must
pay four dollars and eighty cents for
a dollars worth of goods.
Of course this mans buyers would
not pay the price. When asked what
he considered the solution to this in
flated rate of exchange, he said: at
is spelled with four letters, WORK
work. When the people of Italy calm
down from the excitement of war,
when the Fiume question is settled,
and the people realize they must
work if they cat, then conditions will
improve.
And that is true! Not only. for It
ally, but for all the world. Pick up
any newspaper, and you will find on
the front page such headings as the
ones herewith taken from today's pa
pers: POLICE QUELL RIOT. COM
PERS' SELECTION AROUSES Ia
Dor MEN" ITALIAN WORKERS
AIM TO CONTROL ALL FACTOR
les" BRITAIN FACES GREAT
TIE UP" SMITH FAILS AS ARB
TIER IN B. R. T. STRIKE" And on
it goes!
The pendulum of Capital and La
Dor has swung to the farthest ex-
IRENE under the domination of Soc
ialistic and greedy labor leaders. 1t
has come to the point where the un-
ions are trying to do the very things
they have damned Capital for doing.
Still the ignorant union man calls
down curses on Capital because of
high prices. He is so dumb, or else
so bloated with propaganda from his
socialistic labor leaders, he does not
realize he is indirectly responsible
for those high prices. He does not
know as soon as he demands and re-
ceives more pay for the thing he
makes that the price of it must 90
up in order to get the money with
which to pay him his advance. Then
some other union man has to buy the
thing that the first man makes, and
of course has to pay more for it. He
in turn complains of the high cost, so
demands more money from his own
employer. Then the thing he makes
goes up. Some other man has to buy
1t, and he in turn grows rampant. He
demands more money. In the mean
time the first man who started the
whole mess, finds that his raise is
doing him no good. Because he has
to pay the prices brought on b ythe
man who had to- pay the prices HE
had brought on. And so runs the end
less chain.
But the high price is not the worst
of it. If men would WORK for what
he gets there would be a remedy.
But the more money they get, the
less they want work. The coal miner
had the nerve to ask for a six hour
day! And the farmer, the backbone
of the country works twelve and fiji
teen hoursl'
The manager of a great plant in
the middle west said: After all it
is not the exhorbitant price the I'M
ions want, it is the fact that it is no
longer possible to get an honest
days work out of the average man"
That is significant! And the of the
whole mess began when Wilson tyr
anically to force union demands on
the employer, by the appointment of
so-called Boards of Arbitration
These boards could know nothing of
the actual conditions surrounding a
plant. They merely secured reports,
and rendered their decisions on them.
And their decisions were tainted with
favoritism in accord with Wilson's
desire to secure the labor vote. This
sort of thing was plainly indicated ir
the Adamson bill which he forced
tFru Congress in 1917 The rail men
threa+rned to tie up transportation
AT critical tim- Il their demands
were rot granted. Ycu are having to
pay the price now in rail road rates.
And so, when other unions saw how
the rail workers got increases by
threats they concluded to do it also.
And so miners, steel workers, steva-
dores, garbage collectors, and what