Evening journal., 1920-10-26
'TFFf1 Flfgls LOST 0f s'12IiNlFS
Chapler n
SlriAes md IL.sA Cest 9f c.osa.ng
BY MARSHALL OLDS
Copyright 1920. New York Tribune Inc.


cut the production for the year 1919
almost 100000 sulls OF clothes below
the production Of the year before, or
nearly o,OOO,OOO suits below what we
needed and knew in advance that we
would need, And il was this tremen-
dOus shortage - neXcusable because
entirely foreseen by both manufac-
turers and labor and deliberately pre-
clip tailed by Tabor which sent the
price Of an ordinary. suit Of clothes
up TO 500. 500 and SO during 1919 and
the early part Of 1920
But this shortage and consequent
immense advance in price is only the
ilrst half Of the result. The shorlag
became so acute and the prices went
so high that the clothing manufac-
turers yielded 10 the demands OF the
strikers and not only pad the class
OF labor $50 10 $50 a week. In other
words. with this new wage scale plus
this now lower scale Of production,
due TO the fOrly-fOur-hOur week. this
class Of labor which had never been
able 10 earn more than Si2 TO Si5 a
week under normal labor competition,
even for the old rate OF production,
no wreceived $50 TO SS5 a week for the
new scale Of production, which is
equivalent TO about 500 a week per
worker for the old rate OF production
On the basis OF this immense in
crease in costs. the manufacturers
then started in TO try TO catch up
with the demand. But prices had al
ready been forced so high that by the
spring OF this year the public refused
TO pay themAthe manufacturers and
retailers have had to dispose Of i'm
me use stocks at less than cost and in
| lIIlN lI Tho hnfnhN nf fh.a nrnHnR ~ .
season, over 80 per cent OF all labor
in the industry was out Of employ
ment.
This Ponzi get-rich-quick idea
which was the basis OF the clothing
strike In the spring Of 1919 had not
only cost the general public, includ-
ing millions Of the labOr public, from
$40 to $50 apiece on every suit they
have had to buy, but it has now for
several months been costing over half
| the entire clothing workers Of the
country themselves the $50 a week
double what they had ever been able
to earn before, or perhaps even $40
or Si5 a Week-Which they might still
be earning steadily and indefinitely.
Moreover, the end is not yet. The
scale Of living OF American labor
ought TO go steadily up. Wages ought
to go steadily up. Labor believes this,
and is right in believing il. But
wages cannot be doubled one year
and doubled again TO four times the
/ original wages the next year. The
public. including the labor public,
cannot pay four times as much, in
cluding the 35 per cent seduction in
enlc.ency-actually six times as much
10 any special group OF labor for
making any absolute and UNIVERSAL ne
cessity. That the public, including
the rest Of labor, will not pay such
rates has been amply demonstrated in
/ the last six months in the clothing
field. And when the clothing workers
see their get-rlch-quick bubble hope
lessly burst. there is sure TO be much
| bitterness and recrimination, and per-
7 haps further strikes. which can only
mean still further needless cost Ia
both the workers and the public
Change the words suits tC
shirts" and the figures in proportion
and the story Of what has happened
in the suit industry will tell almos
word for word what has happened il
the shirt industry also
There were the same 100000 col
diers. and as a man probably buy
4 about four shirts 10 one suit o
u clothes this means that about 5000.
the American market than werl
needed that last year Of the war A
a matter OF fact, series Of strikes
in the shirt and allied industries ac
tually cut the production Of shirt
by i5,SS6. 500 below that OF the yea
before, which meant a total OF abou
81 600 600 shirts fewer than Americl
needed. or course, under such crcum
stances the price OF shirts went 5
to 100 per cent higher than the in
creased cost OF labor or material o
any other legitimate factor woul
have sent IL. And this is the amour
that strikes cost you on every shir
you bought.
Again. change the word "suits" 0
) "shirts" 10 "overalls" and make tn
! figures a little different and you hav
the story OF the present eXtremel
/ high price OF overalls.
I In this case the lessened production
e ldue TO strikes. was, according to Bah