Evening star., 1926-05-30
BIG BUSINESS FINDS
HIGH WAGE SCALES PAY
Worker Is Worthy of His Hire When
Paid for What He Produces,
Leaders Hold.

1--WE are long way on the road
to new conceptions. The very essence
Of great production is high wages and
low prices. 1t depends upon q widen
ing range of consumption from high
real wages and increasing standards
Of living. Today the majority of en-
ployers in times Of desperation ex-
haust every device to make ends
meet before resorting to wage reduc-
ton. They turn to labor-saving ma
chinery. to constant research for bet
tive methods.
I'm turn, the pressure of high
wages is forcing labor-saving devic~s
and better administration to an extent
which ofttimes reduces labor costs
per unit Of production below even
those of the cheaper labor abroad
There Is no more profound proof Of
labor saving than the fact that we to-
day use roughly 55,000,000 horse
power in industry where we used 49,
100000 quarter of a century ago.
and even that omits the increase in
the power for transportation. Nor
are these labor-saving methods de-
veloping harder conditions of labor.
for the hours of labor have been stead
lily lessened.
mo one will doubt that labor has
always accepted the dictum- of the
high wage, but labor has only grad
ually come TO the view that unre-
stricted individual effort, driving Of
machinery to its utmost and elimi-
nation Of every waste in production
are the only secure foundations upon
which a high real wage can be built,
because the greater the production the
greater will be the quantity to d.
vide"
New Field Opened.
Mr.. Hoover's thoughts have opened
up an entirely new field In the minds
OF some business men. who see i'm
them possibility Of lowering Of the
tar1n wall on some manufactured
articles in whose production American
labor, aided by machines, could meet
cheaper European labor on the same
production cost basis. While the
Commerce Secretary gave voice to no
such thought, there remained the
possibility in the minds of business
leaders that mass production and
high wages in this country might en-
able American manufacturers to
meet European competition on an
even basis without protective tariff
on some merchandise or manufac-
tured goods.
Still another Of the foremost bust
ness men Of the Nation, Julius H.
Barnes. former president of the
United States Grain Corporation, the
largest grain exporter in the country
and a man whose opinions are given
ear whenever he speaks, has outlined
the same thought. Here is the
Barnes creed of the present labor
conceptions:
I'VE have learned that national
wealth is only the aggregate of indi-
vtdual possessions
I'VE have learned that national
wealth in the last analysis means the
conversion Of natural resources by
mans hands and mind into things of
daily use.
Social Service Lesson.
I'VE have learned that methods
which quicken and enlarge this con-
version are the greatest form of 60
cial service, the surest ways to put
shoes on the children of the poor.
I'VE have learned that increasing
production In the days work means
increasing earning and buying power.
I'VE have learned that modern in
dustry, with its volume production.
under free competitor, can create the
magic Of higher wages, larger divi-
dends and yet lower priced products
when we seek for the causes
which maintain the wide divergence
Of living standards in the world today,
and when we study the forces which
raised or destroyed the empires Of
history we reach the conclusion that
the place In the social scale of pro-
gress by any people at any time Is a
reflection Of the degree to which that
people possess three major factors
These are: l, the possession of natural
resources; 2, habits of industry; 3,
stable and sound government
Big Business Listens.
Coming from the man who, with
Owen d. Young, had the largest part
among the American delegation in
formation Of the Dawes plan for re-
habilitatton Of Europe and straighten-
ing out the reparations mess, big
business gives Barnes its ear. Some
call him q zealot, seeking for an ideal
world. peopled by altruists, who would
think only Of others and q world de-
mocracy. But among business men
Barnes Is looked upon as q man of
shrewd, sound judgment, and a
pioneer In that leadership which en-
courages higher standards Of wage
and living conditions.
. Mr.. Young himself, fresh from Eu-
rope, warns the business men that
taxation creates nothing; that hard
work and high wage are the only
means by which the world can re-
habii1tate itself; that the State may
tax, but cannot create. and that the
worker himself is the final factor
which determines the fate Of nations.