The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-06
Rights Of Incompetent
By DK. FRANK CRAM

T know" said the Methodist bishop, after the conference. that young Smith would have done better in that city church than old Brown, but Smith is young and Brown is old 50 I gave Brown the appointment. Smiths time will come, he can wait.''
 ''To think" exclaimedsthe wife of pen sion office clerk at Washington, ''that they promoted that young Jones right oyer my hus- bands head, and my husband has been in the service ten years longer than he 70 ''Why do you keep that incompetent old woman among your high school teachers?" I asked member of the board of education of certain, middle-sized city. "Oh, couldn't drop her, you know. She has been teaching thirty years here"
 You would naturally suppose that work man would be chosen solely on account of his fitness to do the required work. But if that is your innocent idea you will be surprised, when you come to real life, to find how wide spread and firm set is the conviction that the workman's position, tenure and pay depend rather upon his own personal needs and feel ings.
 This is the curse to business. To follow this system is to fill your ranks of workmen with incompetents.
 This is the weakness of ecclesiastical sys- tems, public schools, government bureaus, and all our organizations where the "seniority" or reward" idea is prevalent The only rule that is fair to both employer and employed is to give the job to the man who can do it best. So doing you make your business prosper and you give your workers self.respect.
 To place person in position merely be- cause you are sorry for him. or because he has been with you long time, Is to insult him, to make him an object of charity, and not an honest wage-earner. It discourages unb RA nuts on mediocrity.
 Here is weak point in civil service It is doubtless better to give an applicant a place because he stands higher than others in a competitive examination than because he has political "pull," but to keep him in position or to promote him for any other reason than efficiency is destructive of good results for the business and of manhood in the worker.
 Here lies also the weakness of the labor union, in that 1t fayors the incompetent man.
 The one inalienable right of man is to reap the reward of his ability talents skill and thrift.
 The world has lived 50 long under the pois- onous influence of tho theory of the right to unearned goods. under the unjust privileges of inheritance and endowment, that we are all infected with the sickly dream of holding our jobs and drawing our wages no matter how indfferently we may do our work There are two principles: one is to pay n man in proportion as he makes good, the other is to pay him according to his notions, his seniority, his influence. or his member ship in an organization,
 The first is justice, the second seems hn- mane, but in the long run it is always jus tice that is most humane,
 The worlds workers don't want pity, nor consideration, nor kindness; what they want Is square deal,
 Why should we tell young man to wait when he can do the thing better than the old man? The latter may deserve q pension; if SO, give 1t to him. But the inalienable right of youth Is opportunity the deepest wrong is to rob him of that.
 The plague of the earth has always been the alleged rights" of the incompetent, The burden of earth Is the sinecure. Kiplingls verse is sound to the corO;
 Creations cry goes up
 From age to cheated age, T
 Give us the men who do the work
 For which they get ths w6sst