Montana labor news., 1939-09-14

affairs.
The significance of what has just
been said lies in the fact that Ameri-
can labor is, in a sense, the inheritor
of many of the European ideas.
Furthermore, the same results,
though differing somewhat in final
form, were achieved, and popular
government advanced because of
these activities. Labor always has
been, still is, and will continue to be
the good right arm of democracy.
I mentioned the introduction of
the machine which in the beginning
was a blessing but which in time
turned out to be a monster. None
of us is against the machine as such
but many of US are fearful of it
because of chronological unemploy-
ment-unemployment caused by the
introduction of new labor saving7de-
vices.
For awhile new industries came
into being because of the machine
and consequently the slack in en-
ployment could be taken up, but in
the end the machines came too fast
and new industries came too slow.
The result is that we are going 10
have a tremendously larger group OF
unemployed. These people must be
taken care of and will be taken care
of regardless of what some of our
cold-blooded business analysts, in
dustrial barons, and the like, think.
If big business is so anxious to use
more and more machines and less
and less men, then it must be pre-
pared to pay its share to support
the unemployed.
It is ironical that we should have
in this country 1900, 900 unem-
ployed. America has the natural
resources and the men and women
necessary to produce everything
essential for the subsistence and
comfort of our entire population
Yet there are millions in the depths
of poverty and people r starving
Right here in Butte your papers g
short while ago carried the story
of lust such a case. If our system
allowed production for use instead
Of only for profit and if wealth and
income were not so concentrated as
to destroy the purchasing power Of
millions, we could do away with the
CHASTITY insecurity Of our people.
It has been estimated that l pei
cent of the people own SO per cent
of the wealth in the U. S.; Is pei
cent of the people own 80 per cent
of the wealth in the U. S.; 81 per
cent of the people own only 10 pei
cent of the wealth in the U. S.; rs
per cent of the people own practi-
cally nothing. Remember these fig
r null them over in your mind.
digest them; and come to your own
conclusions.
Just as organized workers have
secured reforms during the last one
hundred years, so, I believe, that a
more solidified and earnest endeavor
on the part of labor today can Sc
cure some lessening of the terrible
inequalities which these figures
show. No one should starve in this
land of plenty. 1t is up to our legis-
lators to enact the necessary mea-
sures for a more equitable distribu-
ton of our wealth. Don't forget
that we live in a democracy and
don't forget that we r our broth
er's keeper. The dole is not the
answer. We need shorter hours,
better wages, more education for the
young to keep them from entering
industry too soon, pensions for elder
ly people so that they will not have
to work until they drop, and a long
range program of public works and
improvements.
Labor and democracy are synony-
nous. Organized labor has been
the driving force behind almost
every worthwhile advance in this
country of ours. AS a teacher I can
say truthfully that nobody can claim
a greater degree of credit for estab-
fishing our present public school
system than can labor. Labor was
also the driving force behind the
woman suffrage movement, and it
was also responsible for the 18th
amendment to the Constitution which
gave the people the right to vote
for their senators and took away
the privilege of appointing them
from the state legislatures.
Labor has accomplished all this
and much more and that is why
repeat that labor and democracy are
synonymous. Democracy means the
rule of the people, not the rule of
a single individual or a relative few.
OF course democracy is not perfect;
but contrast this country of ours
with other countries in the world