The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-04-28
GERMANS HEAD
OTHER NATIONS
IN PRODUCTION
Schluab Attributes II
To LolUer Cost of
Labor.

New York, April 2s.-Germany,
through the economy and sacrifices
of her working people, has settled
down to real production and is
outstripping the United States and
allied nations in the fight toward |
Charles M. Schwab de-
clared today in an address before i
the chamber Of commerce of the
state Of New York
of steel in England at a price $50
a ton cheaper than England can
make it." he said, land is selling
pneumatic tools in Detroit, where
formerly we shipped such machin-
cry to Germany and sold it cheaper
than she could make it.
'~The difference is solely . mat
ter Of labor costs.
"It is estimated that 5000, 900
men are out of work in this coun-
try. 1t is accordingly of supreme
importance that the working man,
as well as the capitalist, to restore
our prosperity.
Never before was the need for
products so great; never before
was such valuable producing ma
chinery and facility available;
never before was there so much
that needed to be done.
Il have just returned from Eu-
rope, and l came with renewed ad-
miration for the courage, the enter
prise, the determination displayed
in Italy, Belgium, France and Eng
land. Germany was ahead OF all
Of them in production.
at is possible that, after having
won the war, we Of the allied ma
tions with everything in our hands
will allow Germany to win the
peace through the efforts Of her
labor.
Refers to Steel
Labor on the whole can be paid
only what labor as whole earns.
and if some sections of labor exact
more than their share of the cur
rent produce Of the world, other
sections are going to suffer. un-
aerstand that our railroads today
pay to labor over sixty cents out
of every dollar received. The labor
cost of making a ton of steel today
is S5 cents out of each dollar of
total cost.
Labor cost underlies our rail-
road difficulty. They are the cause
of the excessive railroad rates. We
formerly sold pig iron at profit at
about $14 a ton. Today the total
freight rates involved in making
ton of pig iron are more than $14.
But the railroads cannot give
service even at present rates with
their existing costs.
Railroad costs must come down,
and it is in the interests Of nation
al prosperity that our government,
acting through the railroad labor
board and every other agency. shall
reduce railroad wages and bring
costs down to a living point.
"The same situation confronts
our merchant marine. In opera
ting, building and repairing ships,
labor costs are hopelessiy high.
That this is true is shown by the
millions of tons OF shipping now
,ying idle, the great number OF
shipyards with no work to do. and
the hundreds of thousands of idle
shipping and shipbuilding work.
men.
insofar as our people in Amer
lea are prepared to 60 to work at
reasonable wages, insofar as we
are prepared quickly to abandon
the artificial extravagances Of the
war, will we lay the foundations
for a new prosperity such as we
have never enjoyed before.
"This is the route through which
not merely America but the people
of our allies can find out. and tri-
umph in peace as they did in war"
The chamber presented to Mr..
Schwab a bronze tablet. at the top
of which was inscribed words ut
tered by Iachimo. a character in
Shakespeare's play, "Cymbeline." ]"
The quotation reads:
Here's a voucher stronger than
ever law could make"