Graham guardian., 1920-07-30
A STRIKE FOR HIGH PRICES7

vexatious strikes on the part of
working men. So much incon-
venience has been caused by
these walkouts that 1t has been
seriously proposed to limit the
right to strike. and Kansas al
ready has such a law which it is
attempting to enforce. Ii it is
a punishable offense for labor to
throw down its tools, how are
we to deal with the employer who
acting in the same spirit. closes
his shop?
The American Wcoltn Com
pany, which has shut down most
of its mills, is in politics as well
as in business. Its industry is
founded on the protective tariff,
and its political faith has always
been that of the party whose
first object is to safeguard and
and enrich big business The
present suspension of operations
is explained by an alleged can
collation. of orders for cloth, but
men in the trade deny that such
is the fact, and already associa-
tions of producers of clothing for
men and women are announcing
higher retail prices for the fall
and winter and justifying them
on the ground that the supply of
woollens is to be short.
Practically every discussion of
remedies for high prices ends
with a demand for increased pro-
duction. Besides the complaint
against strikes, it has been held
that labor is dilatory and that,
notwithstanding generous wages,
its product has diminished. This
is the grievance of such manu-
facturers as have been accused of
profiteering. although no proof |
of it is found in their books or in
the excessive dividends they |
have been earning. One thing,
however, is plain. A labor strike !
does not necessarily stop produc-
tion. A strike by capital is GER
tain to do so.
The American Woolen Com
pany escaped prosecution not
long ago by judicial ruling that
cloth is not clothing in the mean
ing of the Lever act. On this
technicality a case carefully pre-
pared by the Department of JUS
tice came to naught. There is
an intimation that the New Eng
land shutdown throwing tens of
thousands of people out of work,
was vengeful in its inspiration
and intended as a warning
against further interference.
Perhaps more powerful consid-
GRAFTON was the purpose alleged
by the American Designers Asso-
citation, which is to create a scar
city and thus check the tendency
everywhere manifested of late
to reduce the cost of clothing.
Such policy would come prop
erly under the head of a conspir-
acy against the public. We have
had several outlaw labor strikes
that is, strikes entered upon in
violation of contracts and union
rules and without any well-defin-
ed purpose. If the American
Woolcn Company's shutdown is
intended to intimidate the gov
ernment and perpetuate extor-
ton, 1t also is an outlaw strike.
The people are the principal vic
Tins. The locked-out mill opera
tives may find work at big wages
elsewhere, but with a prearrang-
ed scarcity of cloth the consumer
will pay the new levy or practise
self.denial.
In regard to this situation it is
well to remember that most of
the convictions for profiteering
have beer of dealers in clothing
for men and women. Outrag-
eous as the methods thus dis
closed have been, they need
cause no surprise when conditions
n the basic industry are as they
now appear to be, N, Y, World.