Arizona republican., 1922-02-26

of the money as far as doing Phoenix
any good. Yet isn't this exactly what
we have been doing with our money?
When the four million dollar road
contract was let the suggestion was
made that we manufacture our own
cement Let us say that what we
bought cost us So barrel and II We
had put in a cement making plant It
would have cost us 81 a barrel.
Would we have lost 81 a barrel? No.
we would have indirectly made SO a
barrel.
The money we would have paid out
for the making of cement would have
mostly gone for labor. The work
ingman spends 90 cents out OF every
dollar he makes on the average, so
this money would have found it's way
back to the merchant, grocer, land
lord, farmer and other taxpayers who
originally paid it out. Instead il is
making business good in Riverside,
Cal.
The same applies to the Verde pipe
line. II the pipe had been made Of
home made cement ard cost one
third more than redwood pipe, we
would have saved two thirds. And
the same holds good of city paving.
We are about to let another big
contract and whether the white" or
the black interests get II a large
amount of cement is going to be used.
The state will require large amount
and the people Of Maricopa county
will have to pay for large share of
il. And the city Of Phoenix has yet
to have most OF her streets paved.
believe it was Roger Babson who
said that the difference between good
and hard times was a matter OF 15
per cent. The 200 empty houses IN
Phoenix represent the Is per cent
that is making business poor here.
There are probably n thousand men
working on the streets OF Phoenix.
About 500 OF these are Mexican poems.
| In using the word peon" I refer to all
the lower classes Of every nationality.
When speak of a white man I mean
men of every color who believe in
| living in a good home, educating their
children and encouraging and enjoy
| ing the higher things of life.
These poems live out on the canal
| bank In a tent or several families
in. some hovel. The single men half
dozen in one room in some cheap
| lodging house. The need little, buy
little and send what they save 10
| Mexico.
n the poems were displaced by high
class workers and these men paid 81
I a day, which is required these days
| to keep a family respectfully. every
desirable house in the city OF Phoenix
| would be filled. This would mean an
/ increase in business that would re-
| duire hundreds of employees In this
| line. They would need houses that
would bring in hundreds OF mechanics
| who in turn would have to be sup
piled with homes. Then there would
be the transients attracted by good
| times here.
But It will be said that to pay such
wages would increase an already un-
bearable expense. / do not think
there is a man in the city OF Phoenix
who knows how to handle PICK ana
shovel who would not be willing 10
wager all he has that he can do as
much in one day and not work cx-
ceedingly hard as the average street
worker is now doing in three days.
He can do twice as much with ease
and accordingly we would save
money by paying him - instead OF
the present worker $3.50. Every SELF
respecting man would rather work
for a wage that would enable him 10
give his family the advantages TO
which they are entitled, than lean on
a shovel for pay that made him deny
them even the necessities.
There are thousands or men IN
Arizona who would be glad OF the
chance to prove this, and II there
were a shirker his place could easily
be filled.
Nothing "cheap" in this world is
ever any good, no matter il it be q
nation, q state. a county, city or a
piece OF cloth.
Let us make Phoenix first class
town in every way.
/ want to say in closing that | 40
not work for wages, so this is no brief
for myself.