Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1923-08-31
LABOR DAY 1923
~ JOHN H. WALKER President Illinois Federation of Labor

polls, SO that the people by their
votes, may choose the men Who ever.
else these powers.
This Is about the only way in which
this matter can be changed under
our constitution and under opf laws
as interpreted BY these courts in the
past, because they have proven thai
no matter what kind Of amendments
may De made 10 the Laws of our
nation, If they interfere With this
power which they have usurped, they
VIII declare them unconstitutional and
VOID, and the process Of amending
the constitution TO rectify this evil.
the circumstances surrounding il. are
such as to make il almost impossible
To rectlfy this evil in that way. Il
seems to me that the simplest way
out Of ii, as we'll as the way which
seems To be the one that will enable
Us to reach this evil most quickly and
effectively, is by pursuing the course
above outlined, and, until such change
has been brought about, either
through the election and appointment
OF honest judges who are responsive
TO the basic laws of the United States,
and TO the needs and desires of our
people, or through amendment to the
constitution, prohibiting the exercise
OF this power (and it is question of
whether these judges and the influ-
enees behind them. would even recog-
nlze that kind of remedy.
Ours so far as the working people
are concerned, will not be a Republci,
will not be a democracy, because in
their most vital aspects of life, the
workers are subject to the will of ir-
responsible individuals, perhaps in
fluenced by sinister reactionary in
fiuences, and there is no surety that
even smaller calibre men, with less
conscience and scruple, by some hook
or crook, will not be appointed to the
position of judge, and through this
usurpation of power, abbrogate all
law and constitutional rights and lib
critics, and substitute their own in
dividual wishes, may impose even
worse things on the American people
than has been imposed.
Among the many other things that
they can discuss with profit to them
selves, think there is none of more
vital Importance than the fact that
fifty-four appointees, hand picked
representatives by the financial inter
ests of this nation, along with other
appointed representatives of the
Treasury and Agricultural Depart
mento four government, on May 2Sth,
1920 met behind closed doors, and de-
creed that the industries in the
United States should be Debated.
Interpreted, that means that the
amount of money being used in the
operation of those industries should
be reduced. Applied, it worked out
that the amount of wages or returns
paid to the workers ufor the services
they performed, should be reduced.
IN order to accomplish this, they de-
cided to restrict credits and to raise
interest rates. One of the things they
di dto accomplish this, was to agree
among themselves that the financial
interests of this nation should refuse
to accepts liberty bonds of the Amen
can Government, as security for loans.
They also increased the rates of in
terest on money borrowed, and by
their action, secured an increase in
the freight and other rates charged
by the railroad and other transporta-
ton corporations in the United States.
The result of it was that farm pro-
ducts decreased in valeu over night,
better than fifty percent. The farm
ers. were already carrying mortgages
to the amount of $500, 00O, 10000,
and were paying rent on farms valued
at $23, 1893, 1884, 605.00. Hundreds OF
thousands of farmers were bankrupt
ed. Every farmer who was procuring
a living for himself and his family
by selling the products Of his labor on
the farm, had his income reduced more
than half. The agricultural industry
was ruined. Many of these farmers
committed suicide. Over five million
workers in the modern industries, ac
cording to records published by re-
liable newspapers, were thrown on the
streets idle. Practically every in
dustry had its working time reduced;
the purchasing capacity of our people
was more than cut in half. That OF
course also meant the shutting down
of productive industry, because the
people could not buy their products.
Where the workers in the modern
industries were not organized, their
income was reduced in half, as was
the farmers, and it was only where
they were thoroughly organized that
they were able to prevent their wages
being reduced.
In this process, according TO the
most reliable information we can get,
the profits formerly made by the en-
ployers and merchants, the high rates
of interest formerly charged by the
money lenders, were continued. So
that the only ones in all OF our
whose wages or income
was reduced, were those who worked
for a living on the farms, and In the
modern industries.
No such power has ever been exert
ed by a similar number of men In any
nation with resources and population
such as ours, in the history of the
world No such power should be per
mitted to rest in the hands OF any
number of men either of small OF
large numbers, except where they
have been elected by the people for
that purpose and the people them
selves who are to be affected by their
action, have a voice and a determln-
ing influence in deciding what that
action should be.
The labor movement is fighting 10
restore the income of the farmer; TO
organize the unorganized worker IN
the modern industries and to restore
his American standards of wages, OF
life and living for himself and his
family as well.
Those who profiteered on our gov
eminent during the war, and who
caused this disaster to the industries
and the people of our nation, are
striving with might and main to de-
stroy the labor organizations, so that