Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-05-06
PUBLIC OPINION
STRIKE THOUGHTS
ENEAINn MLWG.

stuIlu uIG-Nd al pbCAiSSS
oh, that's easyi' somebody ex-
claims. slash wages. That VIII
fix everything in a hurry" and every
MAJ who is advocating it knows IN
the bottom of his heart that 1t Will
not fix anything. Every cut in wages
that has been made or will be made
Is only adding to future lanes
The w~age-cutting cure for nation
al disease was bound to strike Mid
dlesex county. Quack medicines
with nice bright colored wrappings
have a wide range as stepping stones
to undeserved wealth. Wages OF
unorganized labor have been cut
and will continue to be cut. Wheth-
err organized labor, like a good little
boy, is going to take mothers sui
phur and molasses remains TO be
seen. The chances are h a 1t VIII
and a spanking besides to settle the
dose. Why? Because when we SOW
the wind a whirlwind is the crop.
No exceptions to this rule. Both or
ganized and unorganized labor, they
stand and fall together, sowed the
seed good and plenty during the war
and for some time after it ceased.
Iryas quite a spell before they real
lied the band had stopped playing.
All wealth of every sort and de-
~scription Is result of labor. Capital
is stored-up labor. Labor is king in
a limited monarchy. Don't forget
"limited.' This wonderful war Tor
democracy hat was Matched ana
foisted upon ar innocent world 1of
the further intrenchment in power
of a few political European shysters
Taught labor its importance. But In
these days If you wish to stay KING
he kingly. go easy. The woods are
full of CromWells.
our American king labor got top
heavy. Kaiser-like 1t thought II had
the world by the tail. During the
war and after thousands loafed ON
the job. Men who had sold snoe
strings all their lives, who didnt
know a rip saw from an automatic
hair /clipper, secured them meat
sawE and toothpicks and posed as
camenters, the unions upholdlng.
Anything that wore pants and was
able to sit up for a few hours each
<ay posed in the other trades. Some
Iewivel-chair patriots still ntnus
over the wonderful efficiency attain
ed during the war. Those who know
know there was no efficiency. 1t IS
safe to say that for every dollar
spent efficiently four were thrown TO
the wind, and the great mass or the
people today, not knowing what TO
dn nor WHtIe " tulii " ttA'~
blindly denouncing labor and de-
manding that labor not only a the
penalty for the little mite that they
wasted, but also pay for the billions
that were raked off, you might say,
from the bodies of our soldier dead,
by as an INSCRIPTIONS click or
scoundrels as ever drew the breath
OF life. and some of them still have
their hands in Uncle Sans money
drawer.
But it Is going to help labor not
one particle to blame the cost-pius
system. We did a certain amount or
dancing. The fiddler, the public, has
us by the ear and we'll have to pay.
The fellow that did an honest days
work. the Stacker and he who wasn't
there are all out In this shower
without an umbrella. If you don't
believe it go study the growing soup
lines. visit the places where charity
Is feeding hundreds of little children
30 that they may have strength TO
attend school. The m~iscreants who
are largely responsible for tins state
of affairs might also study THESE
things with profit.
There is a black stain of greed on
capitals garment, and likewise a
stain on labor's kingly robe. Both
must be eradicated.
yS1sen labor grew fat 1t developed
a parasite, the profteer. A year ago
when presidential candidates were
afield the then administration spoke
Interestingly concerning these gem
tlemen. 1t spent five hundred thou
sand dollars, arrested a few push
art men and gracefully withdrew.
Last fall the now administration de-
clared that Sir Profiteer's head
would lie in the basket March fifth.
Living cost has declined slightly, you
can figure it out If you're good at
fractions, but no n will contend
that the administration has had
much to do with the reduction in the
price of coal or in the remarkable
shifting of war taxes from the shoul-
ders Of the plebians to the backs or
the war- lords where President
Harding last October told us 1t be-
longed. 1t was all hat ~full-dinner
pail slush that Ramses the Second.
king of Egypt; invented three thou
sand years ago, and the parasite is
Z still with us despite mothers sui
yphur and molasses. In Russia they
shot a few hundred thousand of
them. In France, we read, they are
falling them and selling good Amer
lean coal for nine dollars per ton.
Over in London we've heard one can
buy a Diston saw cheaper than n
can in Amboy. 1t wouldn't surprise
us a bit If over in london a fellow
could get the EVENING NEWS for
a cent.
But first labor must clean its own
skirts. get rid of slackers. Unions
must either GUST or educate the fell
low that never learned his trade, the
fellow thai continually needs watch
ing to get anything like a days work
out of him, the fellow that lounges
Jaround dance halls half the night
and will not turn his finger over 10
make himself proficient in his chos-
en- trade, but, nevertheless, holds his
hand out for the same money that
the honest industrious worker is
getting. If unions continue the high
handed policy of putting incompet-
ency on a par with proficiency they
have something worse coming than
sulphur and molasses.
The profiteer-we don't want to
shoot him. We want to make a
good American citizen u of him.
We have a perfectly working ma
chine for the purpose of making him
over into what he should be, but we
will not even use it TO put Amboy on
a commission form of government
basis. a step in the right direction.
Except on payday we like to dance
8 to the prohteer's half brothers
music, the professional politician.
who never has and never intends TO
do anything for labor. Can you ex-
pect a man to kill the goose that IS
laying him golden eggs!
We thank you,
VIM. B. WOODRUFF.
AVenel, n. j..