Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1925-04-03
WAGES PAY
BIG RETURN TO CAPITAL
IN INCREASED BUYING

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, April a.
Relations between Capital and Labor
are rapidly approaching new phase
in the opinion of James M. Lynch,
president of the international Typo
graphical Union.
"The welfare of the active business
man depends on general prosperity,
which means a higher standard of
living" said Mr.. Lynch. 'The time is
not far distant when proposal for an
attack on the institution Of trade
unionism will be coldly received in
nearly all branches of trade and in
dustry.
"The reason is easily found. Take
the case of the automobile manufact-
urer: The saturation point in that
trade, supposing present trade con-
ditions continue, is not far distant.
About 24,O0O,OO0 cars in all this coun-
try may be expected to remain in
service. Editors of The New Repub-
lie estimate the replacement need on
that number of cars at 100000 year
ly. The capacity of American motor
ear plants is more than 4,750,O0O
cars a year.
"As a plain result in arithmetics
those figures indicate ruin for many
great plants. The possibilities of
foreign markets for many quite OBJ
vious reasons are of little Importance.
Hope for the industry's future lies
in the likelihood of continued improve
ment in wages and agricultural COM
pensation. In this situation the
Automobile manufacturer who con-
tributes to funds for campaigns
against labor unions is plainly blind
Quoting The New Republic, ANY
project which tends either to greater
equalization of income or to an in
crease of general productivity ought
to be of vital interest to automobile
manufacturers. They could invest in
the future of their industry to no bet
ter purpose than by heavily subsidiz-
ing the American Federation of La
Dor for an organizing and wage rails
ing campaign, and by backing to the
limit every program for the elimina-
ton Of economic waste. The auto
mobile industry is an interesting
sample of capitalist culture in gen.
eral.'
"In all probability no subsidy of
the sort suggested will be either Of
fered or accepted, but it is highly
probable that a better spirit of CO.
operation between Capital and Labor
will develop as a Natural phase of
trade evolution.
ut will be a bitter pill for some
capitalists to allow place in their
thoughts for general prosperity
alongside of personal prosperity. 1t
is bromide to observe that business
is essentially ruthless and unemotion-
al, but the fact must be remembered
in any attempt to foretell a future
social development. Combination of
employers in varied industries to
hold down wages and save on labor
are uneconomic and could only be
continued by stubborn and costly adj
herence to the Dawes ideal Of much
wealth for a few of US, little for the
rest. Competition viii not permit
loyalty to such an ideal.
Money in the common mans
pocket means a market for Amer
lean products. The world market for
such Injuries as automobiles, vac
cuum cleaners, talking machines and
the like may as well be left out of
calculations. The living standard
and distribution of wealth in other
lands offer little encouragement to
hope for a production outlet of much
consequence abroad.
1.-THE automobile maker stands to
profit immensely through increased
incomes for the masses. The sum he
might save through low wage scale
in his own plant is trifing compared
with the amount he might garner
through generally increased wages
throughout the land.
"A correspondent in Detroit for
the Wall Street Journal writes that
this city has the highest per capita
income and the highest per capita of
property valuations of any city in
the world He attributes this happy
situation to Henry Ford's So mini
mum wage policy. Other Detroit
employers were bitter against Ford
at first because he compelled them to
almost double their payrolls, but the
result differed from their expecta-
tons. The 1aborer' became an anto-
mobile owner, a home owner and q
valued customer of the city's mer-
camille establishments. Tenement
districts disappeared. General pros
perity had struck Detroit and BUSH
ness was fine. This review, appear
ing, strangely enough, in the Wall
Street Journal, contains corrobora-
ton of labor's contention that Union
ism aims to iniure no one but to bene-