Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-01

Had the restrictive act not passed,
with a ship carrying capacity Of a mil
| lion year, what would we do now with
| the 9 900 900 that would have come since
the time Of the enactment Of that law?
Today immigration is limited to 10000
a year from Europe. Yet with the lock-
| ing of the front door to the immigrant
coming from Europe, the back door has
been left Open and since the passage Of
the restrictive act more than 100000
aliens have come in from Mexico. They
are still coming at the rate OF from
10000 to 10000 a year. Most of 1t Is
cheap labor. We have enough cheap
labor in America now. In other words,
we have enough poor in America now.
We need to raise our standards. Cheap
labor means the long day and the long
week.
We have made great inroads on the
| long day and the Seven-day week. even
in Industries where managers said the
shorter day and week were out OF the
question. In the steel industry, for
example, they said they must run "a
hours day and seven days week.
How, they asked, could the eight-hour
day fit in But the long day in the
| steel industry was practically abollShed
at the conference called by President
Harding at the White House, and I
doubt very much If the industry would
now 60 back to the old long-hour day
If 1t could.
In every kind of industry the day of
| the hard-boiled man is past, whether
1t be in labor, among manufacturers or
| business men. In some sections of the
country the appeal Is being made to
manufacturers and business men to
move their plants there because of the
low wages and long hours Of production
offered. Where that prevails the peo-
pie do not earn enough to buy the
products made and business Is fiat.
The system defeats itself. A low-wage
community is always poor commu-
nifty. AS prominent manufacturer
once said to me: I'VE employers ought
to band ourselves together and ostraciZe
the employer who insists on long hours.
the long week and low wages. He
! Is spelling business for us all. He
is barnacle on Americas ship of
prosperity"
| Age Limits Are Passing.
The three Fates Of industry and
American prosperity are the long work
day, the long week and low wages
l Where the worker is SO employed he
has no time to buy, no money to buy
and If he did have he would have no
| ampltlon TO buy.
Another hard-boiled habit that I am
| glad is passing is that of arbitrarily
dropping men as unfit for further serv-
| ice at certain age. Some fixed the
limit at so years, some as low as 40.
i These employers thought they were
popping up industry in line with the
youthful spirit of the day. Some
were afraid of overlooking their pension
system. Whatever the motive, the prac-
tice had gained some Roadway. They
have not yet applied this system, so
| far as management is concerned If
they did, industry would be in poor
way. Even three of our distinguished
men on the Supreme Court of the
United States are past 70. They are
entitled to $4,000 a year retirement
pay, but they want to serve. and they
serve we'll.
Now our employers are waking up
to the folly of this discharging of men
at a certain age. Nobody grows old
| in this youthful age, and. with ma
| chinery now SO easy to operate. the
man of 20 is as productive as the
youth of 20. Moreover, the man of
ripper years has gained in steadiness.
He sticks where he Is. with his &C
cumulated skill and sensible experience.
Employers now are more 10th to lose
these men at the very peak of their
value to a working organization.
While I was at Sunbury, Pa, last
Monday I met a man more than 70
years of age who was operating one OF
these big engines on fast train, and
he said, Il am good for Is years more. "
He looked 1t.
A few days ago the proprietor of a
great department store In the East paid
a splendid tribute to the services of his
older employees by dividing a million
dollars among them. That was a fine
example. I am sure others will follow
it. In one of the great manufacturing
plants there is an association of vet
eran employees numbering 3,4G0 men
and women who have been in the en-
| ploy of that one concern for periods
another splendid example which will
spread.
Spirit Of Partnership.
If we go on In this splendid spirit Of
| partnership now prevailing between
worker and employer, with constant SCI
entific improvement in business meth
| DDS and manufacture Labor day in the
future will be glorious day. have
seen the great change come about In
the steel mills. started to work as a
boy of 10 and one can hardly recog-
niZe them now as the place where ]
worked, the method of manufacture Is
so advanced. The same progress occurs
in every line. AS Secretary of Labor
/ am chairman of the Federal Board for
Vocational Education, and during my
term of Office under three Presidents
We have rehabilitated in round num-
bers 10000 men and women who have
been manned by accidents or otherwise
helpless persons. Now some of them are
making more money than in their for
mer occupations We are doing great
things in these days; We are going to
do still more.
The country is contented. Worker
and employer are locked together In a
partnership of goodwill which neither
would care to break. It has brought
them too much prosperity for that. !
believe we are due to go on and develop
still further this mutual respect, to the
advantage of all.
These are some Of the thoughts that
come as have watched the procession
of Labor days, year after year. as we
come to this one. Let us rejoice in our
present blessings and seek to deserve
| them. Let us also plunge into new eff
1 forts, so that when this occasion rolls
| around another year we may have still
other advances in peace and plenty to
| cheer our hearts. Above all, let us pro-
tect America and develop our own in
dustry and help our farmers reap their
due. We should ever keep In mind that
we cannot live the American way on
poor profits, low wages, long hours and
the long week. Strive with all your
heart to raise the standard Of the
American people and abolish poverty.