Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-01-21
WAGES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE


The editor finds on his desk a page
from the American Engineer, date
not shown, contributed, containing
an article under the caption, Should
Wages Be Reduced" In the first
paragraph the writer sets himself
right with the wage worker.
'Tn a country where practically
everyone earns his living by working,
and the majority of workers are
wage earners, a proposal to reduce
wages could just as well be described
as a proposal to reduce the number
of customers; it could just as we'll
be described as a proposal to reduce
business. For that is what 1t
amounts to-
This explains the line of thought
developed in course of which the
employer, who tries to reduce wages
is treated as follows:
But there is a type of business
man who will never see this except
as a form of words. To him business
is not science but a foray. To
him labor is not social partnership
composed of human beings in all
stages of lifes romance and exper-
fences, 1t is a nuisance, a drain to
be decreased at all costs. He Is in
business to make money for himself
alone; he is not in business to make
money for the employees who have
houses to build and sweethearts to
wed and children to rear and educate.
None of these aspects of life, as
they run through and vitalize BUSH
ness have any meaning for him."
''When pressure comes his first
thought is not to go over the ship
and stop the leaks, overcome OBJ
stacles by managerial resource, tap
new centers of strength. No, his
first thought is to reduce wages!
What he should take out of his own
energy and genius for leadership. he
takes out of his mems pay envelope
instead"
1t concludes that wages is more
O. question for business than it is for
labor. 1t is more important to bust
ness than it is to labor. Low wages
will break business far more quickly
than it will labor. For labor can
support life under conditions that
w liz 1OI IIltdil lIlc SIlS llSSL support
for business as a whole" The con-
clusion leads to reducing anything
rather than wages.
This sounds good to us wage
workers, who comprise the bulk of
the population. 1t would lift from our
shoulders the dread of that ancient
formula that half loaf is better
than none and, instead, insist upon
q whole loaf regardless of the size
of the wheat crop. But, as we under
stand it, the employer should be
expected to see that there is enough
wheat for a whole loaf. Managerial
resource" what multifarious duties
are comprised therein! Really it
would almost seem that the manag-
ing genius SO could make out a good
case for increased share in the prof
its-only that it becomes his duty
to forego all that so the wage may
be kept at a high or higher level.
Increase production so that wages
may be kept up, and in some lines
of industry production already ex-
ceeds consumption.
OF course, If the profits go to the
wage worker they are likely to be
expended in variety of ways in
stead of going directly through
the channels of capital into COM
peting enterprise. But there is
enterprise, not competing, await
ing capital to develop it, and there's
that. We guess we wage-workers
better stick to the formula:
"The pay envelope does as it is done
by and leave to time to find the
solution, meanwhile keeping in the
back of our minds the possibility
that managerial resource" may stub
its toe, in which event we can con-
spent all the contents of pay en-
velopes in our efforts to maintain the
demand for more of our labor.
This much does appear sufficiently
plain for present needs, and there
are. indications that it is receiving
attention: the employer and the en-
ploye are really mutually interested
in working out the problem. Certain
great Egyptians built the pyramids
with slave labor. No one wishes to
go back to those conditions. 1t is
inconceivable that any normal person
Of intelligence would wish to build
pyramids, now that we know there
are so much better achie8ements in
which all may share and from which
all may profit.
Already labor and capital are talk
ing things over like rational human
beings. In this country the light is
being seen by them. The employee
is concluding that effort to restrict
his productive capacity is good
neither for him nor for his employer.
And when labor is convinced of that
and acts accordingly every effort
should be made to see that it gets its
share of the earned increment; that,
the laborer shall be wisely directed
into enterprise that needs him: that
his conditions there shall be favor
able and encouraging. Working
along in that spirit would seem to
pc the best way Of arriving at the
wage workers rightful share.