The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1922-03-10
Poison Gas and Poison Pens
-Compensation's Foes
Grow Desperate.
AN E.X-SERVICE
MANS AFFIDAVIT
From American Legion Weekly
By Philip Won Blon

BY Phlflp Won Blon
For two and one-half years | have
been employed by .., Exchange
Place, New York City, dealers in
stocks, members of the New York
Stock Exchange.
On Wednesday, February S, 1922,
at about 4:45 p. M, the head of the
department in which | was employed,
requested that each employe write
four letters in opposition to the Adj
juster Compensation Bill now pend
ing in Congress. He requested that
one letter be addressed to President
Harding, one to each of the United
States Senators of the State in which
the employe lived and one to the Rep
resentative of the Congressional dis
tfict in which the employe lived. A
typewriter form Of the letter he de-
sired written was passed around
among the employees. This typewrit-
ten form letter was an ordinary bond
paper and not on the firms letter
heads, as most other memoranda
usually were The name of the firm
did not appear on the form letter
The same action, | learned later, was
taken in the other departments of
Each employe was advised to write
the four letters and to hand them in
ON the following morning to the de-
partment heads. Each employe was
told to leave his letters unsealed, as
the firm would seal them, put stamps
on them and mail them. For the con-
venience of employees, it was announc-
ed, the firm would look up the names
of the Senator's and Representative
of their respective districts.
/ heard one of the department
heads remark, while employees were
discussing the instructions, "You fell
lows had better write these letters
tonight if you want to keep your
jobs" Naturally after these orders
We're given out there was a lot Of
comment and many arguments among
the employees, and from expressions
I believe that fully sixty percent con-
sidered it was unjust and unfair TO
ask them to write any such letters
in the way it had been done. They
considered they had been deprived of
their rights, as they realized that if
the firms wishes were not complied
with they would be discharged, if not
Immediately, at the first trivial of
fense they committed. Despite their
feelings, however, most Of them fgur-
ed they could not afford to disobey
the implied command. Many of them
were married and felt that it would
be hopeless to try to refuse to write
the letters under the circumstances.
Out of approximately $50 employees,
three did not write the four letters
requested of them. [ am one of the
three. l openly declined to write the
letters, and, to be consistent, offered
my resignation to take effect at the
end of the customary period of two
weeks. The reply was that my "0f-
fer of the two weeks notice was not
appreciated and "that I might go
when | wanted" The firm made no
effort to ascertain the reason for my
refusal to write the letters.
Sworn to and subscribed
before Joseph T. Cooney,
Notary Public, New York
Registers No. 2298, Feb
ruary II, 1922.
(Who will help the man who made
this affidavit get another job? Offers
to help him may be communicated in
confidence to the editor of this maga-
Zine.)
For more than three years the sell
fish financial and business interests of
the country had been speaking softly
and kindly, and even regretfully,
against any adjustment of conpensa-
ton for the ex-service men of the
World War. 1t seemed best to them
to pursue this policy toward the "gal-
liant boys" because they felt reason
ably certain that by chicanery and
pressure at the right spot they could
prevent adjusted compensation for ex-
service men from becoming seri-
Gus issue.
compensation, including the pocket
book patriots, the profteers, main
tanned an air of dignifed detachment,
while the Adjusted Compensation Bill
was being anesthetized last July. How
easy it was! Rip Van Winkle legis-
lation! Simply put it on a shelf! No
hard feelings, you know.
But the Adjusted Compensation
Bill refused to stay on the shelf. The
conscience of the nation has been
bringing it day by day nearer the
exact center Of the stage of our ma
tional life. That development con-
tinued until even President Harding
took cognizance Of overwhelming
public sentiment and let it be known
that he regarded his administration
as pledged to pass a compensation
bill, qualifying his stand, however,
with stipulations about taxation and
revenue
As the issue neared the center Of
tie stage the foes of adjusted COM
pensation woke up The pesky I.e-
pion bill could he killed by KINDNESS
kissed to death-after all. Very
we'll" they said, "we'll kill it IN cold
blood"
The result has been, in the last
ncnths, "a tremendous lisplay of
force, of organized opposition to the
adjusted Compensation RIl, which