San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-02-26
Sabotage
By II. kddinatnn Bruce.


Sabotage is an ugly word with an
ugly meaning. 1t used to be a rare
word. Nowadays it is in frequent
use, as every newspaper reader is
aware.
Briefly it may be defined as the de-
liberate destruction of property, by
persons engaged in the making or U.s.
ing of that property, with a view 10
attaining some advantage greatly de-
sired by the destroycrs. Thus it is a
form of misbehaviSr actuated by thor
oughly selfish motives.
And it is n form of misbehavoir
which testifies to a curiously irraiton-
al mode of thinking
For sabotage inevitably results in
losses which have to be borne by some
body. and the economic inter-rela-
tiOnships of society are such that,
even if they gain their ends, the de-
stroycTs of property have themselves
to share the burden of the losses they
c..use. Usually, moreover, they are
tie chief sufferers from their sabOt-
age.
To be more explicit. I would recall
an actual instance of the fruits of
sabotage coming under my own OBJ
seryatiOn a few years ago.
There had been a change in the
management of an industrial corpora
ton. The new executive head. for
various reasons, had become cordially
dislikCd by the factory workers. To
show their dislike for him, and as an
aid to getting rid of him, they began
to resort to sabotage.
Machinery unaccOuntably broke
down, materials in process were
strangely damaged, finished products
were increasingly below standard
Cunningly the sabotage was pressed
Talk was even heard that Before we
get through, the workers will be IN
complete control of this plant"
What really happened in the end
was that the corporation went out Of
business. Then, instead of controlling
the plant, every employee had to go
hunting a new job, many being out of
work for months.
Consider, too, what results when
sabotage invadcs 4 corporation rem
dering national service, such as n
large railway company. Soon, IF
course. transportation becomes more
or less delayed and disorganized, with
the effect, not merely Of causing much
Inconvenience to the public, but of
making life more difficult for every
body.
If goods cannot be properly dis
tributed, their production is neCPS-
sarily checked This means disparity
between supply and demand, with ris-
ing prices. 1t also means decreasing
employment, because of the useless
ness of producing goods in excess of
available transportation facilities.
So that however gleefully partici-
pants in railway sabotage may OBJ
serve the immediate consequences of
their destructive work on rolling
stock. they can hardly feel so cheer
full when it comes to buying coal,
food. clothing and other essentials for
themselves and their dependents. Yet
the woes Of which they thereupon
complain are dcmonstrably woes of
their own making.
Similarly in the case of nOn-induS-
trial devotecs of sGbotage-as, for eX-
ample, food producers who let crops
rot on the ground or perhaps destroy
them in storage as means of keep
ing prices UP. How can they be SO
foolish rs not to perceive that if they
make others pay unduly high prices
they will in their turn be mulcted for
commodities of which they are not
producers but consumers?
For the workers who have TO pay
dearly for their foodstuffs, as a re-
suit of the deliberate food destruction,
will insist on wage inCreascsItO meet
the increased food costs. The wage
increases will be added to manufacture
ing costs, and these higher manufac-
turing costs the Sabotaging food pro
ducers will have to meet. else lower
their personal standards of living.
Sabotage, in fine. is one of the most
foolish rs we'll as one of the most
despicable Of human activities. The
sooner it falls into complete disuse
the better off everybody will be, in
Guiding those who nowadays seem to
regard sabotage as an instrument Of
Z progress.
Copyright. 1923, by The Associated
NCwsEapersD
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