The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-12-04
. COMMENT ON WORLD
EVENTS


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The people of Holland are facing a
grave menace of undernourishment
This country, once one of the chief
dairy exporters Of the world, today
has only small amounts of skinned
milk; an egg ration of one month
and cheese an ounce month. AS Ger
man occupation is extended, rations
are diminished, the quality of goods
reduced, and prices skyrocketed.
More than half million pigs have
been illegally slaughtered. The Nazis
steal the good Dutch potatoes and
hand out small supply of what the
people call Polish potatoes"-black
outside, rotten inside. More than 130,-
1000 Dutch workers have been trans
ported to Germany. Any worker re-
fusing to go, loses his ration card and
dole to begin with-and then may
lose his head
AT the same time, Nazi Big Busi-
mess continues to gobble up Dutch
wealth. The Deutsche Bank has
grabbed up Albert de Barry & Co. of
Amsterdam; the Dresdner Bank has
set up the Handelstrust West; the
Commerzbank has founded the Ri
jnsche Handelsmij About 10000
Jewish" firms have been "Aryan-
Iized"-or just plainly filched by Nazi
lplunderers. And this is not the end
the Dutch people are paying about
Isl 100000 a year for maintaining
la Nazi army in their country, an army
Whose sole job is to protect the de-
spoilers and to crush the defenseless.
No wonder Dutch determination to
resist Hitler's aggression in every
way possible grows daily stronger
X 4 x
In their steady progress toward the
total enslavement of the German
workers, the Nazis have now taken
the long expected and dreaded final
step, the international Federation of
ITrade Unions says. An order of the
Reich Minister of Labor has intro
duced the principle Of payment by re-
suits. Under this system, the wages
Iof any workman may be slashed ac-
cording to the employers estimate of
his performance.
This measure is Of course joyfully
acclaimed in the press organs of the
German industrialists. Fixed rates
and agreed wages are alleged to have
! Involved injustice for the employer as
long as he possessed no power to re-
imunerate performances below the av-
ierage at proportionately lower rates.
Iienceforth any enterprise will be
entitled to carry through an "assimi-
lation" of wages according to its rate
Of employment and profits. In the
building industry this procedure has
already been applied in practice with
the object Of bringing down the alb
normally high costs of building. TIC
offset the excessive basic costs there
is no question of curtailing the fan
tastic profits of the employers, but in
stead the workers wages are to be
cut.
The application of the payment-by-
results order will require the consent
of the authorities, but assurances
have already been given that they will
proceed on "broad lines" This regu-
lation, Na2i authorities and employ
Iers contend, has special Importance at
time of shortage of manpower, in
order to obviate the alleged dangers
of uniustihabe wage demands and of
,intOIerable decline in production.
"Tho principle of free agreement on
the political regulation Of wages, with
fixed minimum rates, is now eX-
changed for the principle of payment
Iby results, which opens the door to
Ievery kind of injustice" the Interna-
tonal Federation Of Trade Unions
comments.
Nothing" it adds, "can more
plainly stamp the social order of the
Nazis than this substitution Of pay
ment at the employers pleasure for
wage agreements"