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

ting from 81 TO Sf5 week, and the
average income when they work full
time is around $40 week IN the best
paid occupations II is not hard to
understand why a professor who gets
\ reasonable wage and does not face
Unemployment every year fails TO get
~ ~ wssksss -, = ~ ss's'''.' w. !.
Here Is another beautiful PROPOSE
tion which MIR. Davenport put up to
the farmers, because he understood
they did not know any better He
blames Gompers and organized labor
for the break between the city and
the country. Absolutely falsel The
total number of organized workers in
this country is about six millions,
which makes about 20 per cent of the
number that can and will be unionized
when we find il necessary 10 fight such
enemies as Davenport. Some day we
are going to have at least twenty-five
million unionized workers in this land.
But how can a minority Of 20 per
cent cause the breach between city
and country folks2 The Review
just received figures from the census
bureau at Washington which shows
that whereas several decades ago 70I
per cent of our population lived in the
country, now over 30 per cent live IN
the city. Did organized labor cause
this? OF course not We men who
have to work for living are human.
We must 20 to the cities because there
we find work all the year around, and
we are interested not IN a harvesting
job that lasts only three months, at the
end of which time the farmer gives us
our walking papers, but in q regular
job that will feed our families every
day. The dean talks about the miners
of Illinois refusing to harvest crops.
Did the dean harvest the eropsi If
the miners leave their own occupation
to help the farmer in the summer,
what about the job in winter2 The
miners would work, il they had the
chance. Although some kinds of coal
costs from $3.50 to $1.00 more than
in 1914, the miner receives only AZ
cents more on the ton, and he works
only an average of three days week.
Ii is Mr. Davenport and his kind who
cause a break between farmers and
city workers by preaching class
hatred. We don't believe breach ex
lists except in the imagination Of the
venerable dean.
But the dean refutes his own
groundless statement. He says s'The
withdrawal from the markets Of so
large a share Of our population has
led to a vast amount of unemploy-
ment Exactly, except that the dean
puts the cart before the horse. IL Isl
unemployment and the unwarranted
reductions in wages that make it inn
possible for the millions of worker. TO
buy food, clothing and other things.
Within the last year this country has
had from four to six million uBem-
ployed, and millions more employed
only a part of their time. Give these
men purchasing power and they viii
set the wheels Of industry going. We,
unionists don't understand why col
lege professors talk such cOnfonnded
nonsense. You will find the cause
of unemployment, Mr.. Davenport, inI
the contemplate serfishness of prof
iteering capitalists who refuse 70 run
industry except on huge prott
basis. You forget to mention that
American industries have been MAX
ing anywhere from 100 10 500 per
cent profit in recent years.
Here's another gem that the dean
hands the farmers. He tells them
that they could cut themselves off
from the city folks and become self
sufficient as did their forefathers.
How could the farmer live independ-
ent Of the city workers and maufac-
turers? The farmer could get his
bread, butter, eggs, and meat, but
how about his gasoline, clothing, ma
chinery, and thousand other things
which he needs Some more foolish
ness. Mr.. DayenpoE ..1ay know bit
about agriculture. but what he knows
about wages, prices, unions, and un-
employment doesn't amount 70 e.
tinker's--you know what We mean.
There IS one consolation for US union