The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-05-16
IN TODAY'S MAIL
This newspaper responsible opinions it's readers Anonymous communications the writer's address notb be accepted.

and to raise wages and shorten hours in order to increase employ ment.
 Sources of Two Antagonistic Ideas
 All of these proposals have a com mon source in the planned econ- omy" of Socialism. Take, for in- stance, the plan that we can arti- ficially raise wages and decrease hours of employment. Two ideas, as to what determines wages, are here battling for recognition: The first had its origin in the individual necessity for work that society measures our value by what we pro duce on our own initiative to meet it's needs. By it society, subject to the memorable laws of supply and demand, measures the amount it will pay us at a given time and place by the products of our labor.
 The second has existed as long as there have been groups of dissatis- fled men and women, but it was per- haps first clearly stated by the founder of Socialism, Karl Marx, in the slogan, ito each according to his need," - meaning that society re- wards US in proportion to what we need to keep body and soul to- gether. It starts from the Commun- istic assumption that society owes us all living, irrespective of the value of the service rendered; the first, that we are here to serve society and are rewarded in the measure we accomplish that end
 An Impossible Straddle
 The proposed straddle just will not work. Whenever an inflexible divid- ing line is fixed between those at the bottom and the rest, there will be more millions of dissatisfied men and women insisting that the state owes them better living because they have contributed more than those at the bottom-and they will be right. They will demand that if the wages of one group are fixed, it is fair to fix the wages of all groups. Just as wages are fixed, so must the price of all goods and services be fixed. This is exactly what the New Deal tried to accomplish for the farmer, the employe, jne industries and utilities: it has been trying to fix the price of their several services to society.
 What Is Behind the Straddle?
 Perhaps nothing could have illus trated better the political forces it is now proposed to put behind wages, instead of the economic forces which have hitherto controlled them. Why 25 cents per hour Be- cause the South is now the controll- ing influence in Congress and the South is paying Negro women even less than 12 cents per hour and Negro men even less than IS cents per hour, and working them 10 hours per day. It was realized that 40 cents would be politically impos- sible of enforcement in the South, and yet the setting of 8 differen- tial between the North and the South would make the bill politi- cally impossible in the North.
 So the politicians adopted this straddle, knowing it was wrong, but hoping that once established, Con- greSsmen could use the method of amendments to the law to further their future election. Consequently it is now up to us to decide wheth- CT we wish our wages made politi- cal football by which sections may be arrayed against section, trades against trades, unions against unions and producers against con sumers. It tends to make votes the measure of your wages, instead of what you produce.
 State Regulation the Way Out The obvious way to prevent the exploitation of employees in sweated industries, which are paying less than the fair value of the work produced, is through State Minimum Wage Boards, such as are now functioning in Connecticut, Massa- chusetts, New York and a number of other states. Such boards, know ing all of the local conditions should prevent exploitation more equitably than can either inrexible fedora laws. or federal boards. It is per. haps significant that these board! have been recommending minimum wages for women of 30 to 35 cents as against the proposed fedora floor of % cents.
 1 CONNECTICUT ECONOMIC