Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1922-01-20

Mr.. Davenport, dean of the college
of agriculture at the University of
Illinois, has again given one of his
prejudiced talks against the labor
movement, about which he knows very
little and Il willing to learn less.
III his sensational utterances. which
an okviousI Vi sQsppfAetured for dis
tribution BY the react tiJnafyy pfesS NJ
Davenport has shown strong liking
to disregard facts. Judging from
press dispatches and pamphlets dir
tributed by farmers organizations the
farmers of this country have many
problems to solve, and they are try
ing to solve these problems by means
of cooperation. Yet the scholarly
gentleman who is supposed to know
something about agriculture spends
his time in making groundless state
ments about organized labor rather
than giving his time to help solve the
problems of cooperative marketing. Is
he afraid that in backing the grain
growers organization among farmers
that he will invite the wrath of the
packers who control the grain dealers
unions? He knows too well the power
of organized capital in the state of
Illinois would not let him de..ounce
the spectators and profiteers, and it
is only the fact that we workers
haven't got a punch that he makes his
factless condemnations of our unions.
Now, let us look at the speech that
the venerable dean made before the
convention of the Illinois Agricultur-
al Association at Springfield last
week. The present bad conditions of
the farmers, he says, is due to "the
vicious circle of a prohibitive wage
defended by the high cost of living"
We have heard great many profess
sors talk before organized workers,
but we do not remember that bad busi-
ness was blamed upon a prohibltive
wage scale. Even we worklngmen
know that in times of rising prices
and general prosperity the cost of llv-
ing always goes up faster than the
wage scale, and we have TO fight to
get the employers to adjust our wages
to prices in order to live. How, then,
can high wages be the cause of high
prices? In fact high prices make
high wages necessary. They have
some economists over there at the
University who ought to be able TO
tell the uninformed dean of agricul-
ture that the purchasing power of the
dollar was 100 cents in 1914, as cents
in 1920, and is still only 81 cents.
These gentlemen could also probably
explain, if they are not asleep, that
the retail prices Of food in 1922 are
still 55 per cent higher than in 1913.
Even in the best paid crafts the wages
did not catch up with prices until 1919.
We were just reading a study by a
professor at the Chicago University
in which it is stated that at the ter
mination Of the great war the Amen-
can workman received from 10 to 20
per cent less in real income-commo-
dities and services-in 1919 than he
did in the ten years between 1890
and 1909, and from z to II per cent
less than he did in 1915. This scholar
says: american labor as whole,
therefore, cannot legitimately be
charged with having profiteered dur
ing the war" Can the same be said
for the farmers and the capitalists,
Mr.. Davenport? Farmers were able
to buy more high priced land, and
this is one reason why many OF them
are in bad fix today. But here's an
OINeT UP on Tie CoSI VI HNlie. NJ
cording to government figures it took
$l,954 to purchase in 1919 the food,
clothing, fuel, light, furniture, shell
ter, and other essentials which could
be bought in the same amounts for
81 900 in 1914. Outside of the skilled
crafts how many workers received
$1,000 in 1919, Mr.. Davenport?
How about the fall in the cost of
living? Everybody knows that while
wholesale prices have tumbled, the
break In retail prices is only Just be-
ginning. Rents are even going higher
IN the Twin Cities and other places:
The wages Of some of the skilled
crafts have been sliced from 10 to 40
per cent. What about the unskilled 2
Wage Gaming women are still get