, 1921-08-15
THE BIG WAGES OF YESTERDAY.

at is rather difficult to tune the. mind to the sob
stuff that is going around in the interest of the great
mass of ship workers who are complaining because
they are having some short time" observes the And
over Townsman. "To be sure all of US regret that
such is the case. All of US feel sorry that business is
not good. that curtailment has come, that men must
be out of employment; and there are few employers
who are not making every move they Gun to relieve
the situation 50 that labor shall be given every DOS
sible opportunity.
But what has become of the ninety dollar, hun
dred dollar, and hundred and twenty dollar a week
income of these very same ship workers who for three
years held up the government, gave as little work as
they could unless they were put on piece work, and
had enormous wages, placing the debt burden upon
this great country that it will take generations to dis
pose of? What did they do with this money? Why
is it that they should be in such hard shedding at the
present minute, and why are they deserving of so
much sympathy if in the days of prosperity, such as
no people in the world ever before knew, they failed
to lay by for the very definite rainy day which every
body with any sense knew was to come about? Why
should the country be further taxed in order to pay
a premium upon the improvidence of thousands of
working men and women who absolutely held up the
country at large in the emergency conditions of 1917,
1918 and 1919?
Perhaps this is a raw comment; it may not be
wise comment IN the minds of some; it is tremendous
1y important comment If it leads even one man Of
those many who were proiteers during the fat years,
to realize the enormous economic blunder that was
committed by the Inflated conditions of that period.
at is not the ordinary laborer alone who is to lie
considered in connection with this comment. The
same comments apply just as definitely to the fat
tened bank balances of all of the great business lead
ers, who also swelled the burden which the children's
children of the present generation must contribute to
the relief of. The world is full of pity at this time
for the rich men of 1917, 1913. 1919 and 1920,
whose fortunes are now crumbing, but again why pity
here? Did they ever earn the money they accumu-
lated, and did they ever get it except because under
the stress of the times the public had to pay? No
body need fear about the adjustment of all of these
conditions, as time does its work. History tells us
that of the great fortunes made in the Civil war, hard
ly a single one could be found five years after, the few
exceptions being SO few as to prove the general state
ment.
Probably no people are suffering so much in the
present depression as those who have been looked
upon as very rich. In some cases genuine ~hardships,
undeserved. serious, worthy of pity, are to be found.
In many cases, alas, the very rich, and those who be-
came members of the new rich, silk shirt, limousine,
modern profteering type-all are today reaping ex
acty what they sowed. 1t is a pretty tough crop, but
it does not require quite as much maudlin sympathy
as is SO easily INDUCED in when a big man tumbes or
a big group becomes idle"