Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1933-04-13
MORE ABOUT GOVERNMENT
SALARIES

express their opinion OF our economic
conditions and the remedy from diff
ferent point of view than mine. 1t all
helps to clear the view. would be
more than glad to agree with them
if | could be convinced that the rem
edy would be possible. That is, that
we by law can raise the price OF. agri-
cultural products to the level OF l9Os
IA. by the Allotment Plan or any
similar plan. better today than when
we attempted to raise the price OF
wheat and cotton by buying large
quantities of these commodities, ana
as for maintaining the much praised
high standard of living" in the
United States. What had become OF
it? Yes. some of it is down in Flor
ida yet, according to a letter received
recently from Adolph Jordan, Palm
Beach, he says that the winter resorts
are crowded as never before, by
NOrtherners who are spending money
on a larger scale than ever before.
In my letter to Governor Olson, |
drew a parallel between the mail car
riers' and the school bus drivers
earnings Not because | think that
$500 to $4,000 is too much for any
man or family for IA reasonable stan
dard of liying.-But in the first place
| wanted to show that the government
employed two men where one man
could easily do it and ut salary fer
each approximately four times as
high as our bus drivers. This mems
that our mail delivery service costs
our government about eight times as
much for motion or unit of work done
as our bus drivers get while these
same bus drivers with an earning of
$1,000 per month are supposed to pay
by taxes. direct and indirect. the
wages of the mail carriers.
Let us suppose that our school
board here in Askov, hire outright
bus drivers at an average of $50 a
month for nine or ten months year
The work certainly is worth as much
per unit motion or hour as any ruraI
mail carrier. Can our school district
pay it? Or would the state pay it
or the difference between sac arc
$50. 1t was the contrast between the
two wage scales | wanted to call at
tent ion to- | would not be in favor
of cutting wages on any government
employee earning less than $1,000 OF
S1,500 a year, according to where 10
Gated. There are plenty above tina
) level from which it can be cut and
: f,,o no ,,.t,
ing or accommodating an annual in
come above the wages we pay tn
, president of the United States Oush
to be taxed 1000, because the ma
we elect to president is, or should be
7 considered the wisest and best ma
we know and consequently should b
entitled to receive the largest net in
r come of any. | don't think we pa
I our representatives either in Wash
ington or in the state legislature an
! governors enough, nor in our count
t or township. No man can afford t
do honest and efficient work in an
S of these branches for the cOmpenSa
A ton they receive at present, neglect
: ing his own business.
D Our aim should not be to rails
d prices or wages. The world is to
: small today to keep up artificial star
+ dards over and above any other coul
e try in this world. 1t cannot be don
any more now than it could year
/. ago. We have created and maintaine
n an industry by protective tariff an
y subsidy, as in our mail carrying cor
n tracts by rail, ships, and airplane
: which cost the United States million
y extra. Protective tariffs at first wer
a created for infant Industries, whici
o however, up to this time have neve
n grown up, but crave higher and higl
II err stills and now gradually we hal
arrived at point where agricutul
o demands stills just as high as IN
S other artificial stills supported
= government subsidy. | am afraid
$ will create farmers bloc at lea
IS as dangerous as any tariff or We
1t Grams bloc.
n 1t does not matter whether | g
l. SO or So day for 6 or 10 hou
work if ! can buy as much for
under normal conditions as | can bl
. for SO under artificially created co
! dtiOns by protective tariffs!
. There is another good reason wi
le we should cut wages for public Ell
e ployes and support to Veterans n
e. disabled in the service until we in Il
agricultural field and the common
E. bOrer can maintain reasonable sta
;" dard of living for our labor. As lol
as these hundreds Of thousands
perhaps millions are well support
RI they can not understand nor symp
~ thize with lis and our, predicame
until they get on the same level. T.
:, few that do, mostly do so in the spill
~ Of charity. | believe it is safer a.
as saner for everybody to walk with /
feet on the ground than on stills.
What is the use of writing and d
cussing and talking of these topic
SIS | am convinced that it helps to u
w derstand and to think about these m;
a tiers. 1t does not matter whether I
e. opinion or your opinion wins approx
ne there is generally more than one sic
to case. We tried to have taxpaye
meetings Last year for the same pu
lie pOse-to educate ourselves by Swa
II. ping thoughts and ideas.
an