Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1930-07-24

Four years ago | was in Los Angeles
when they were opening big tire
factory. Then went up to San Fran
cisco and saw a truck taking load
of spokes to an automobile factory in
Oakland. Across the bay / went out
to refinery and saw scores of men
making oil, gas and grease. At the rail-
road terminal | saw six Pullman port
ers drive up one at time in their
automobiles, get out and turn the
wheel over to their wives who drove
away in the cars. Then the next day
! read something that at first didn't
seem to amount to much, but later as it
sank in, | began to realize the deep
truth back of it.
Porters and Prosperity.
1t was that the foundation of the So
called Coolidge prosperity was the fact
that a considerable number Of Pull
man porters could drive to work in
their own automobiles
| thought of that load of spokes, Of
those millions of tires being made in
Los Angeles, of the army of workers
at the refinery and I realized that by
8 o'clock each morning they could
make enough automobiles and acces-
series to supply all the millionaires in
the world But that it was only when
Pullman porters and other plain peo-
pie could drive their own cars that
jobs could be created and maintained
for these other workers in the auto
motive industry. Prosperity is based
on making money and on spending it.
The other morning | was driving to
the gulf club with four fellows stu
ated just about as / am. Someone said
something about business and then the
dirge began. just sat and listened
until they asked why | didn't say
something. Then told them that there
wasn't any one of us four fellows who
needed to spend a nickel on clothing for
ourselves or our families for five years
We might not keep in style but we'd
be able to keep warm at least And
we'd all be able to drive our machines
for five years, too. And | told them
that each of us could cut our house
hold expenses in half and then halve
that and not go hungry.
Loosen Up; Play Came
But at the end of that five years we
certainly would be in pretty bad shape
If we didn't spend a nickel for cloth
ing and If we cut our household out
lay. And l told them the reasonable
thing for them to do was to loosen UP
ON q reasonable basis and play the
game and quit moaning
Then the other day / heard where
two big firms in Seattle had cut wages
81 a day / called up the heads oil
these organizations and they just
laughed at me over the phone. They
not only hadn't reduced wages, but az
far as they could see around the corn
err they weren't going to.
Then someone else told me that big
factory had laid off lot of white mer
and hired Filipinos. checked that UP
and found it untrue.
Then I met wholesaler friend in
the South End and I asked him how
business was. He said it wasn't very
good, that it was behind last year, anc
that he could easily lay off four mer
and get along. But he said he didn',
care If he didn't make any money thi.
year, he was going to keep those -four
men on the payroll as his contribution
to stabilizing conditions, rather than
fire them and pour kerosene on the I'M
settled employment situation
Young Graduate Gets Job.
The other day young fellow, grad
uate OF one OF our Northwestern uni
yersities, came to my office and sale
he'd worn out his shoes tramping The
town looking for job 1t had SO af-
fected him that he feared he WOULD
90 cuckoo" If he didn't get something
to do. The next day his wife came il
and with tears in her eyes begged me
to get something for her husband te