Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1920-04-03

ton, The principal item in the cost of
production is the labor charge. the
wages of the men. The employee man
ager set himself to his task. one oh
iect, one thought, was always before
him-keep down wages. He drilled
this idea into his staff, his supcriu-
tendents, his foremen. The first com
mandment of Big Business to him was
make dividends or quit"
Evil in DISQUALIFICATION.
Frequently these large Industrial
corporations were greatly overcapital-
lied. 4 corporation representing an
actual investment of S1OO,OOO,OOO was
organized for $50OOOO,OOO. 1t didn't
take financier to see that $400, 900, po0
of its capitalization was wind. water.
fake-a lie. The law that gave the
corporation a right to exist forgot to
keep it under control. The stock
was sold, shares representing fiction
as well as those representing value.
The Captain Of Industry spoke Of thv
$4OO, 100000 of overcapitalization as Il
melon" The law should have writ
ten it down larceny. The selling Of
this stock was nothing more or less
than obtaining money under false pre-
lenses. When a working man OBJ
tanned bread under false prctcnScS lr
was sent Ia jail. When honest ucr
cried out against this grand larceny
they were called muckrakcrS. a.ta-
tors, and charged with provoking m-
rest. disturbing business. II this did
not silence them, paid publicity told
the world that the stock was held 10y
widows and orphans; that the attacks
upon it were efforts to rob them
The state, the law, the governments.
had given dollars the right to organic
\ corporation is a union Of dollars, cN-
actly as a labor union is an Orgaui2a-
ton of men. The men organized MS
matter Of self-defense They knew The
individual no longer had chance To-
register his complaint with the owner
and that as an Individual the worker
was utterly meaningless in such
he was told, Take things as they are,
stop whining; if you don't like your
jobs, quit. There are thousands of
men waiting to step into your shoes"
One Of the first things the corpora
ton did was TO deny to men the right
the law gave 1.-THE right TO organize,
In defiance of their attitude the men
did organize and forged the strike as a
weapon with which 10 fight for their
rights. The law had not kept pace
with the times. It failed TO furnish
protection. 1t failed TO provide a rea-
SOnable control over these powerful
big combinations. The men asked for
the privilege Of collective bargaining.
1t was a simple request, Just one;
its meaning is clear. The men wanted
the right TO appoint a committee to
represent them and discuss with the
men who hired them the terms of EN-
pIoyment. The directors, generally
men who never saw the plant, tele-
graphed the employee boss, the man
ager, a direction to refuse the demand
for collective bargaining. There was
only one reuy the men could make.
They made 1t was force-the
strike. The > renty-f1ve years
-aave<Ssjs o, - - st=i,.as.- (which
created waste an caused hate, which
grew out of the fusal of Big Bust
ness to concede Z pen right the law
conferred on II. fdt right TO organize.
Capitalists Duplieity.
When the cost Of living forced men
TO ask for an increase in wages they
were often met with the answer, 1--WE
can't afford IT," The men could not
afford to work longer for the wages
they were getting, because they were
unable to make both ends meet. The
pay envelope was not large enough.
The men pointed to the fact that the
answer given by capital was not true.
To show their good faith the capital
lists told the general public. eve are
only making 3 per cent on our capital;
men who loan money get 5 per cent"
They did not tell the people they were
receiving per cent on $500.000,000,
while the real capital invested was
only s1OOOO0.00O. The sweat of men
was being used to pay dividends on
$400.000,000 II the dividends earned
were distributed over the capital actu-
ally invested, slO0OOO,OOO, the profits
would have been shown In their true
light. The reasonableness Of the de-
mand of the men would have been dis
closed. 1t was case Of crooked capt.
talization, lying to protect its ill-got-
ten gains. Big Business needs ethics
Captains of Industry need ideals.
Let me repeat. the law left the men
helpless. They had only one course
Fight. Strikel Strikes cause great
public Inconvenience. The people
smarting under hardships condemn
and blame the strikers. Strikes have
another effect that is even worse
They harden hate into concrete class
feeling. Strikes are responsible TOT
the attitude of mind of many WORKING
men today who say, 81 will do as little
work as possible for the money get
1t is vicious circle of hate. Cooper
alton is made impossible, confidence Is
destroyed, trust killed; the chasm De
tween employer and employee IS WIZ
ened and deepened. A final coise
quenee of these physical and pSycho-
logical effects Is. the tendency t0Wafas
riot. The strike is training schoot.