, 1922-09-18

lcklllo MS DISCUSSION DIV SAVING
yer and the wage worker is not
the ultimate price OF commodities in
general represents the labor costs In.
cident to production. manufacture,
distribution. etc. Il ought to be
obvious h a wages and prices are in
the same boat and must float or sink
together. Thus when markets.
sfumped and prices fell. wages were
started on the down trend and there
upon workers in many industries fell
back upon the strike as a Weapon
against wage reductions.
Economic Laws I~nexorabls
The law OF supply and demand
calls for a return 10 normally. and
wage workers. while aiming blows at
employers. are really bucking up
against inexorable natural laws. These
laws permitted high wages for workers
and high interest rates for capital
during the war period. Since then
these laws have forced the interest
rate down. and they will not permit
tho retention OF wartime wages.
"It may be a hard pill for both.
Capital and Labor to swallow, hut the
fact remains that they are subject to
the law OF supply and demand and
they cannot escape IL. Regardless Of
outside interference. wage Garner
employer" difficulties will always be
settled in accordance with the require.
mcnts o. natural laws and all the ills
and hnrdships OF the struggle between
the two factions result from resistance
OF these laws.
at seems to me that the Tins has
come when we. as a nation. should
take steps which will enable the ma.
tural laws to operate without tic
painful and damaging struggles which
are now the rule. and which are not
productive or permanent good TO either
employer or employee.
Panaceas Disregard Laws
"Panaceas for em-ployer<wage work.
er Ills have always been on the mar.
ket hue in practically all cases they
have been designed to produce some
effect other than that which would
come from the normal working out
Of 1.-The law OF supply and demand,
They have sought to keep wages up
while cutting prices, or to force wages
down while maintaining price levels,
or have otherwise disregarded the
normal and natural relations between
wages and prices. Therefore. these
panaceas have rot worked and never
will work. The sooner IL Is recog-
nized that natural laws will prevail.
the sooner viii we find the solution
for our troubles. The proper soIu.
ton must bring the same result that
the normal working Of the law would
bring. but must avoid the evils and
Ills and damages incident thereto.
Dividing the Profits
The fight between employer and
wage Garner has been described as
having TO do with a division of the
! rcofits. II that were true. the prob.
lem would be much simpler this II
really is. Division OF the profits is
merely a phase OF the matter: the big
problem is to make the profits in the
first place. II is astounding how
much ignorance there is relative to
the profits OF business. The lay mind
assumes that the margin between the
original cost and the ultimate selling
price is profit. The part that operat
ing costs and overhead expenses play
in wiplng out this margin gets scant
consideration.
When a business pays a dollar for
raw material and sells the finished
product for $2.00. tho layman says
there is a dollar profit. but as often
as Hhot such n margin between cost
and price means a loss. 1t may cost
considerable TO turn the raw product
into the finished article since the
labor involved and the equipment
used may be n very big expense. On
top of that there will be storage
charges and freight bills and sales
costs. There are a dozen charges that
enter in and conspire to wipe out the
margin. and not the least of these Is
represented by the taxethat the busl.
ness pays.
THE sum total of all its operating
and overhead charges may easily wipe
out what appears to be a wide margin
between raw product costs and lin.
ished article prices. Men work for a
livelihood and Capital works for IN.
~terest. and there always viii be room
for difference OF opinion as to what
constitutes a good livelihood and a
good interest. but there need be no
question about this fact-neither men
nor money will work without a return.
THE PROBLEM OF WAGE EARN
Err AND EMPLOYER THEN. is
NOT TO DIVIDE PROFITS BUT TO
ASSURE PROFITS, FOR CERTAIN