The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1944-09-28

James /. 2. Sofacto laid down his
| Morning Bugle and gave forth with a
! long, low whistle of thOughtfulneSs.
| This was a rare thing for Jimmy
Sofacto, but he had finally read a
| bellyful of stories about demands for
wage raises and stoppages of work.
The story this morning made him want
to howl but he contended himself with
whistle. He wasn't an unduly demon
strative person, as Mrs. Sofacto had
more than once remarked.
What wanna know" he said, with
something of an approach to heat in
tones, sis who the hell thinks this
country is run on the one-way street
plan.
"They seem to think that every time
work stops it's the workers that are
to blame. They seem to think that it's
a crime to want to keep the old pay
check in speaking range of the grocery
bill and the rent bill.
"They seem to think the Army and
the Navy and the Marines don't want
to come home to decent working condi-
tions and decent pay. They seem to
think the men in the battles want us
to present them with jobs that won't
pay their keep when they get back to
the home front"
Jimmy SOfactO took another look at
the Morning Bugle, threw it against
the wall and started on the run to
catch an over -jammed bus to get to his
job stamping out parts for brand
new weapon of warfare.
Now take that jigger l spend my
time making" he muttered to himself
as he edged into a thin stand-up space
on the jollywhacker they called a bus.
I'm supposed to keep those things
pouring out and that's what l wanna
do. Sure they need 'em = hell, don't
they think l know it?
but why are we guys supposed to
be the goats for everything? / don't
see anything wrong with profits and
what little l read about dividend rates
don't look like Hoover was president
| could stand to own a few stocks my
self, but there just amt anything left
over to buy 'em with"
James got off the jollywhacker and
went himself straight to his time clock,
which he punched. Then he got busy.
But he kept thinking.
Now you take me, amt missed a
day." he ruminated. II don't wanna
Io prrf ;,,ly
a picnic to keep on this grind every
gOlldarned day in the year except
maybe Sundays, he's nuts
"Some smart guys tell us the cost
of living amt gone UP more than so
and so many cents, but l can tell em
one thing for sure, which is, to wit,
that when you tote it up in figures
madeup from reports, it's one thing;
and by the great horn spoon when you
go to the store with your money and
try to get few things it's dOggoned
well something else again.
Il wish some of the guys that make
up the guvment reports would 90 out
with market basket before they tell
us what's happened to the cost of liv-
ing Yea, but we amt supposed to
know anything about figures"
A foreman came along and James l.
2. Sofacto forgot his train of thought
for while. But he got back to it. 1t
kinda had bored into him.
",They got something they call the
Little Steel formula" he thought.
why the hell don't they lay it away
and get bigger one. ] don't know
rightly what formula is, but maybe
it's something like yardstick. Well, a
yard stick is all right for measuring
that don't change none. But
when you got something that's chang
ing all the time, like maybe growing
BOY, you gotta tigger things in more
inches than you used to.
Course maybe I'm just nuts, or just
,ranky today but l got a buck or two
o bet on the proposition that when the
soldiers come home they will darned
we'll raise hell if wages don't let 'em
i've decently. They'll wanna know
what for did we let things go to pieces
''They tell us-and they sure do rub
t in-that soldiers don't earn much,
,ut what they forget so easy is that
he Army is one thing and factory
'un privately is something else again.
You gotta remember that, chums."-
INV.