Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-05-22
HOW NOT TO HELP THE CITY

milo itself, able to 90 It's own way TeSdIuioo u SShNi"
standards and conditions elsewhere is sadly mistaken. To
.roue along sucb lines or to attempt to make things different
here from what they are in other parts of the country is to
ATTEMPT the impossible and is only injuring the city.
Utopia with its ideal existence may come some tme'
but not in this age or generation. The nearest attempt 10
establish such a condition at the present time is to be 1ound
in Russia where a great experiment in the soviet form OF
government is being tried under the leadership of the Bosh
eyiki. But who wants Perth Amboy to represent among ue
cities what Russia represents among the nations?
Perth Amboy is a great industrial city. The resources
oud natural advantages are here making possible a wonder
ful development. All that is needed is sound reasoning and
careful business planning along progressive lines. But Perm
Ambov cannot do the impossible. This city cannot DO "h1l
no other city is even attempting to do. Our progress mas so'
to be in accordance with the fixed standards. Inc "orld
advances slowely. The industries here have got to com
pete with other industries and the competition at the present
time is most keen.
~ Conditions in Perth Amboy will compare very FAVOR
ablv with the conditions in any other city of its size and char
acter. The wages paid here are the equal, II not Detter'
,bon wages maid the same class of labor elsewhere under
similar conditions. The cost of living here and the conditions
,nder which the people live compare favorably win otner
similar places. The industries of Perth Ampoy are "loe
Sawake and progressive. They have shown d 'ehuehcy 10
give their employees every consideration that employees III
plants located in other cities have. There IS no denying tha'
conditions generally might be better, but Perth Amboy can
not expect TO tackle any SuCH pIoPoohuoh "NH'
movements come through general and concerted effort such
as President Harding is now putting forth II nave II '"eiNe
hour day abolished in the steel Industry.
Here is where Alderman Clark and those who think
with him make their mistake. They rail against our INDUS
iries as if they were an object of contempt and a detrnmeht
to the city. Yet the industries of Perth Ampoy "heh II
comes to wages paid, general working conditions ana the
consideration shown for employees, are the peer oil the hduS-
,ries 10 he found anywhere. Conditions are far better than
800 on1 vba fbev advance still fur
ther it will be found that the Perth Amboy industries Will De
up with the leaders in every progressive move.
Alderman Clark is particularly bitter against the Stan"
dard Underground Cable Company, which is The largest en-
plover of labor that Perth Amboy has. He says the city would
be better off without this plant. The alderman is given to
much loose talk. Most of the people can readily discount
what he has to say. But occupying the position that he does
as one of the officials of the city, his remarks cannot help
but attract some attention.
Take the cable works out of Perth Amboy and 1t would
leave a tremendous vacancy. Hundreds of houses would
he EMMY and business generally would receive a staggering
blow. Men who own their homes and are comfortably set
lied would be up against the necessity of pulling up stakes
and moving elsewhere.
The cable works, the dry docks, the chemical works
and other local industries that mean so much to the pros
perity of Perth Amboy deserve assistance and co-operation
rather than such bitterness and a%ntagonism as Alderman
Clark is showing toward them. He may deceive himself into
thinking that he is the friend of the working man, but, III
reality, he is the working mans own worst enemy as Tar as
those working in Perth Amboy are concerned.
And where would the working man go to better him
self? Will he go into the steel mills of Pennsylvania and
Ohio? Will he go into the textile mills of Passaic or Law
renee, Mass? Will he go into the coal regions OF West Vlr-
einia. or into the great cotton belt of the South?
The condition of the working man may not be ideal OR
even what it should be, but the condition of the working mar
in Perth Amboy is as good, if not better, than IN almost any
place he could go. There is no harm in trying to better the
condition of the laborer, but it is a mistake to try to make
Perth Amboy do it alone. And when Alderman Clark per
sists in his campaign of villifcation and abuse stirring up
class hatred and arousing a dissatisfaction with conditions
that are as good as they can possibly be under existing cir
eumstances, he is only stirring up trouble to no good pur
pose and is trying to block progress and the industrial de-
velopment of The city. His is a work of destruction rather
khaa eQpstnpcuon and can doths city 10 possible sosdz-