The Lakeland evening telegram., 1922-07-20
Fully Fifteen Hundred
People Heard Col. Ed
win Spencer and Rev.
Ben Yeargin On Mon
day Evening

Ben Yeargln On Mon-
day Evening
MAY we realize that the teachings
of the blessed Saviour provide the
only solution to the great problems
of life and especially the pressing
problem of today. May we all learn
to obey the Divine command that
we believe in and worship God and
love our neighpor as oursef so that
selfishness may be destroyed and
Christ's kingdom come into the hearts
Of men!"
That was the substance Of the rev
erent invocation uttered by Rev
Holmes Logan, pastor of the Myrtle
street Methodist church who was call
ed ON to lead in prayer by Chairman
G.. T. Clark at the opening Of the
great mass meeting of Lakeland citi-
zens to the estimated number of
500 that filled The Auditorium on
Monday night. S. A. Helms acted
as song leader, directing the Sing
ing of America" by the entire audi
encc.
In his few Introductory remarks
Chairman Clark said that all the
shopmen and other workers wanted
at the hands of their employers is
a living wage so that their children
may grow up to be useful citizens
in the community and able to enjoy
all the reasonable comforts of the
average American.
Col. Edwin Spencer, Jr., was the
first speaker of the evening and fol
Almost an hour he eleoquently set
forth the righteous cause Of labor
in this present fight. He paid elo
quent tribute to the men who make
it possible for the millions of people
every day in the year to travel about
the country in safety and comfort
men who risk their lives and theil
health in hazardous occupations that
the commerce of the nations may
continue without interruption. He
traced the history of the railroads
from the period just before the enter
ing OF the United States into the
world war to the present day, refer
, ring to the breakdown of the trans
) portation system and how the ralroad
men came to the rescue. making il
possible to transport men and muni
ticns and raw materials for the pur
poses to effectively prosecuting the
war. AS a result of government
operation the country had food anC
coal and raiment. Then came the af
ter war conditions and the passage
of the Esh-Cummins bill which the
speaker denounced as the most dam
! nable piece of legislation in the his
tory of the world. Wall street saiC
Write" and congress wrote. There
has since followed famine and suffer
ing and misery. He told of the or
ganization of the United States Rail
road Labor Board, supposed to ad
Just disputes between capital and la
Dor. He dubbed it the tool of Wal
street and menace to the peace OF
the country One of its recent deci
sions is the new wage scale Of 2;
cents an hour or S1.S4 cents a day
: for common labor. He asked how il
can be possible for a wage Garner
drawing that small pittance to feet
and clothe his children, let alone edu
cate them.
Dealing with the contention CT the
4 lcapitalistic class that labor is a com
modify Colonel Spencer waXed elo
quent as he traced the progress oi
man from the stone age on down
through history to the days of the
: Romans and then to the later period
| If serfdom in Continental Europe and
; still later to our own slavery days
Said he: THE labor board declares
chat labor is a commodity subject tC
the law of supply and demand. There
was a time when human beings were
sold at auction, when slavery was in
demand, but that time has passed. Ye'
today who ever dreamed an official
board of the United States govern
ment would have the nerve and eff
frontery to declare that labor is a
commodity to be hawked about and
sold to the lowest bidder? That is
indeed treason to humanity. The
clash between capital and labor viii
last only so long as greed lasts. This
is not struggle against the govern
ment and the flag but struggle
against organized avarice."
Colonel Spencer concluded his ora
ton by asking the biblical question:
"Am | my brothers keeper" and he
| dnaWGISu II HOu1Sdlly do lnC ibOutil
piece of greed by answering: "Yes,
am. l keen him hard at work, keep
tho fruit of all his labors and that
of his children"
The Matter OF Apprenticeship.
Before introducing the next speak
er, Chairman Clark took advantage OF
the opportunity to mention one phase
Of the old national agreement which
contained a clause providing foc a
four year term for apprentices where
as the new agreement cuts the term
to three years and specifies that ap-
prentices must have technical educa
tion with the idea in view OF making
these apprentices foremen as soon
as possible. He asked how tho work
ers of today could ever be expected
to provide a technical education for
sons on the wage scale provided by
the Railway Labor Board. .,
Rev. Ben .Yearain.
Full OF vigor and thoroughly well
posted on all the aspects OF the labor
question. Rev. Ben Yeargin Of Tam
pa held the close interest and atten-
tion of his audience throughout an ad-
dress that was marked by brilliant