Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-02-07

washington, d. c., Feb. g.
What are We going to do for ser
vants,7
People who complained about the
servxnt problem a few years ago
now realize that their troubles in
that lire had only just begun. The
cost of a unit of human power is
going higher every day. And it
seems as though human power ap-
piled to manual tasks rises in
price much faster than human
power applied to intellectual work.
Ten years ago in this country a col
lege professor might be able to hire
a cook. Now a competent cook
might we'll hire a college profess
sor if she had any use for him.
It's the same way in many other
instances that might be cited. The
thing can be stated briefly by
saying that wages are going up so
much more rapidly than" salaries
that the salaried class can no
longer afford to hire the wage
earning class. You have to be a
capitalist in order to be able to
hire anyone these days. and even
some capitalists regard their pay
rolls with growing aversion.
This is no doubt due in part to an
abnormal state of affairs, but there
does seem to be tendency to
equalize alk human. rewards. 1t
is doubtless a wrong which will be
righted in due course that brick
layer in this country can make
more than the average professor
of mathematics. The professor has
spent more money getting his train
ing, his work requires higher
grade of ability, and his sresponsi-
bilities are greater. Also-and this
is perhaps the most important part
his actual wants are larger than
those Of the average bricklayer. He
may need no more to eat than the
bricklayer, but he may we'll need
more in the way OF books and opera
tickets.
At any rate the Utopian social
lists, and other so-called dreamers
and idealists, have always con-
tended that the rewards should be
equalized, SO that we would all get
about the same amount, the differ
| ence depending on our differing
needs and capacities for enjoyment
rather than on our differing luck
and ability. Whether you like it or
not, something of the sort seems to
be happening. OF course, the rich
like the poor, are always with US
And it does seem as if some movie
stars, prize fighters, and barefoot
dancers are getting a little more
than their fair share Of the Doodle
But there is no denying that for
the great mass of us who toll six
days a week and draw a pay envel-
ope on Saturday night, the content
of that envelope is coming always
all of us. AS the wife of a young
professional man observes, hel
children used to give candy and
apples to the janitor's children, but
now the janitor's children are Civ.
ing candy and apples to them.
Those who jeered at the pipe
dreamers always said: IF rewards
Ebecome approximately equal, who
is going to do the dirty work? Who
is going to shovel coal and wash
dishes?"
And that question does seem tt
have arisen. An answer to it is
suggested by DR.. o. P. Hood, who
is chief engineer of the bureau o.
mines. He says that machiner,
will do the dirty work.
Engineering, he admits has al
ready done lot for Ahe home; but
| he says that it has not done a titht
Of what it can do. 1t has just begun
to invade the home. There is hardly
a monotonous, disagreeable, me
chanical job that could not be done
by machinery if scientists would
put their minds on the problem O