The Butler County press. [volume], January 12, 1923, Image 1

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VOL. XXII. No. 39
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THE
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New York.—"No Egyptian Pha
raoh,rearing for his glory a towering
monument, ever drove his slaves hard
er than these minesr were driven. No
czar was more autocratic than this
big business."
The above is part of a report of a
committee appointed by Mayor Hylan
to investigate labor conditions in the
Berwind coal mines in Somerset and
Cambria counties, Pennsylvania,which
supply the interborough rapid transit
company with coal.
The report stateB that E. J. Ber
wind, president of the Berwind-White
Company, as chairman of the board of
directors of the interborough, controls
the coal supply policy of the transit
company, which has made it possible
for him "to purchase from his own
company coal mined under unfair and
heartbreaking conditions and reap
therefrom enormous profits, amount
ing in 1921 to over $1,600,000, with
corresponding financial detriment to
the tax and rent payers in the city of
New York." The report recommends
that the government take over the
coal fields.
"Instead of receiving assistance to
get the truth," the report said, "the
committee met insults at almost every
turn from the Berwind-White Mining
Company. The officials of the com
pany refused the committee's invita
tion to attend the hearings, but en
deavored to entrap it behind closed
doors, the favorite method of soulless
corporations.
"The committee heard harrowing
tales of suffering and deprivation, and
saw in tents, hen houses, stables and
in other improvised homes, women
and children whose feet were bare and
bleeding and whose bodies were thinly
clad.
"It did not take long to learn that
the Berwind-White Company officials
treated their employes as beasts of
burden and sacrificed the lives and
limbs of thousands of men and the
happiness and future of thousands of
women and children to build for
themselves an industrial autocracy.
"Sad as it is, the charges of under
paying, short weighing and overcharg
ing for food and clothing against the
company by its striking employes are
only too true. The dejected condition
of the miners, the wasted bodies of
their wives and the sad faces of their
undersized children testified in the
strongest terms to their helpless and
poverty-stricken condition.
"The stories of these poverty
stricken people were such as would
melt any heart except that in the
stony bosom of a coal baron.
ENGINES NEED REPAIR
Pittston, Pa.—In answer to a query
from striking shop men regarding the
condition of motive power on the Le
high Valley railroad at Coxton, A. G.
Pack, chief inspector, writes from
Washington:
"On November 8, 9,13 and 16, there
were 35 locomotives inspected at that
point, 32 of which were found to have
defects approaching or constituting
violations of the law and rules, and
24 were ordered withheld from ser
vice, as provided in the act.
"I regret that, due to our limited
office force and the vast amount of
work before us, we cannot send you
a detailed report covering the defects
found on specific locomotives, but
hope that the above will serve your
purpose."
AUTOCRACY OUTDONE
BY BERWIND-WHITE COAL COMPANY, WHOSE
MINERS' AWFUL PLIGHT IS REVEALED IN
MAYOR HYLAN'S INVESTIGATING
COMMITTEE REPORT
Says Egyptian Slaves Were Treated Better Underpay
ing, Short Weighing, Overcharging For Food and
Clothing, Some of the Charges
Bllllllllillllllliilllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!
"At all the mines which the com
mittee visited, it found most of the
women and children barefooted and
scantily clad. The feet and limbs of
most of these unfortunates, particu
larly those of the children, were
scarred and bleeding from walking on
hard ice, through underbrush and over
stones.
"It appears that the company main
tained a force of armed guards at
each of its mines, and the miners
complained that these guards would
come over to the camps daily and en
deavor to pick quarrels with the strik
ers and treat their women in a dis
respectful manner. Your committee
was informed that two days before its
arrival these guards disappeared.
"It is sad, but seems true, never
theless, that once a miner is brought
to work in one of these mines he is
unable ever to leave again. A proper
motto at the entrance to the various
hollows where their mining camps
are located would be, 'Abandon hope,
all ye who enter here."
"According to the tales of horror
recited before the committee, the liv
ing and working conditions of the
miners employed by the company are
worse than the conditions of the
slaves prior to the civil war."
STOCK DIVIDENDS
Worked Overtime By Reac
tion to Avoid Income Tax
New York.—The stream of stock
dividends continues as corporations
strive to protect themselves against
a possible legislative attack on their
surpluses and undivided profits. The
new congress will not convene in reg
ular session until December, 1923,
but privilege is taking no chances
that a special session is forced on
the agents of reaction, who now op
pose the plan.
The flood of stock dividends recall
the wail of distress by those who
urged the present congress to repeal
the excess profits tax. "The law is
hamstringing business and deadening
business," said the wise men, who
predicted a revival of prosperity, if
excess profits were not taxed.
Although the law did not operate
until profits became excessive, con
gress repealed the act.
Industry, of course, was not stimu
lated by the repeal and the men who
claimed it would are again posing as
prophets as they sing the praises of
their latest gold brick—the ship sub
sidy.
With excess profits protected, the
next move by privilege was to protect
its excessive incomes. This is done
by taking advantage of the supreme
court's 5-to-4 decision that stock divi
dends is not income. The one ma
jority was a narrow escape for priv
ilege, but that one vote served its
purpose, and means millions of dol
lars to those who are surfeited with
wealth.
Certainly there is nothing in greater
demand than a good talcum powder.
Our line is very complete and includes
all the best and most popular kinds.
We have plain talcum, borated talcum
and scented talcum. Talcum for men,
women and children
Dargue's
The stock dividend wave was start
ed by the Gulf Oil Company, which
had a surplus of $112,00,000. This
company is controlled by the Mellon
family of Pittsburgh, of which Sec
retary of the Treasury Mellon is a
member.
Since 1918 prices have dropped 10
times and gone up 11.—T. S.
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Enchanting Talcums
242 HIGH STREET
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Minneapolis, Minn.—One year and
a half after hearing evidence in the
strike of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Typographical Unions for the 44-hour
work week, the state industrial com
mission of Minnesota has filed its re
port in which it declares that the
unions were justified in expecting the
shorter work week on account of the
agreement made by the national or
ganizations of employing printers and
the printing trades unions, which was
repudiated by Minnesota employing
printers.
The state commission regrets that it
has not the power of authority to en
force its awards and suggests that
"stipulations and agreements result
ing from collective bargainings should
be construed and enforced by some
impartial agency, whenever a dispute
arises relating thereto."
James Fullerton, business agent of
Local No. 20, of the Pressmen's Union
of Minneapolis, declared that the com
mission had purposely held up the re
port until after the election in the in
terest of the republican administra
tion. He said that the release of the
l-eport on the eve of the meeting of
the legislature, with a recommenda
tion for an "impartial agency" to en
force decisions was for the purpose of
creating "propaganda" for the enact
ment of a law in Minnesota similar to
the Kansas industrial court law.
The report of the commission con
sumes ten typewritten pages, in which
the events leading up to the strike
are reviewed. Considerable space is
devoted to answering criticism direct
ed at the commission for its failure to
make formal findings of the facts dis
closed at the hearings with its conclu
sions and recommendations.
"In view of the fact that there is no
power vested in the commission to en
force any judgment of conclusion with
STIFF OPPOSITION
Looms Up For President's
Tax Plan
Washnigton.—A proposed constitu
ional amendment based on the presi
dent's suggestion that the issuance
non-taxable bonds be prohibited, is
liaving rocky traveling in hte house.
One of the arguments of excess
profits opponents is that wealth is
taken out of industry and invested in
non-taxable bonds when excess pro
fits are taxed. In his message to con
gress, December 6, the president said
non-taxable bonds are increasing the
public debt because of the tendency
of wealth to seek investment in them,
and that this condition justified "a
proposal to change the constitution so
as to end the issue of non-taxable
bonds."
Debates in the house bring out the
point that under the amendment the
federal government would have the
power to stop the issuance of every
state, county, city, or school bond by
the simple expedient of placing a
high tax on same.
The plan is also favored by Secre
tary of the Treasury Mellon, which
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member
PRINTERS WERE RIGHT
IN THEIR CONTENTION AND JUSTIFIED IN STRIKING, HOLDS
THE MINNESOTA STATE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION
AFTER YEAR AND A HALF'S INVESTIGATION
Charge Employers' Organization Deliberately Violated Agreement Union
Representatives Say State Bureau Was Influenced By Politics
reference to the relative rights of the
parties in a controversy of this char
acter," the report declares, "it will sel
dom, if ever, serve any useful pur
pose for the commission to aggravate
the local conditions resulting from a
national movement involving employ
ers and employes in any particular in
dustry."
After discussing various phases of
the controversy as it applied locally
to St. Paul and Minneapolis, the board
continued as follows:
In addition to this and other cir
cumstances it appears that there ex
isted throughout the United States a
movement on the part of the printing
crafts to change the basic week from
48 hours to 44 hours. A meeting was
called of representatives from various
organizations of employing printers
and representatives of the interna
tional bodies of the employes' organi
zations which became known as the
international joint confei-ence council.
This council adopted resolutions or
agreements to the effect that in the
renewal of existing collective bar
gaining agreements between employ
ing printers and the employes' organ
izations, the basic week should consist
of 44 hours instead of 48 hours, and
that in effect the 44-hour week pro
vision should become the law of the
trade after May 1,1921.
"Notices were sent out by the joint
council of the agreement upon a 44
hour week basis and both employers
and employes understood that this
matter was settled. After this agree
ment was thoroughly understood, a
number of employers in many of the
large centers, including Minneapolis
and St. Paul, organized a 'National 48
hour League of America' and refused
to abide by the agreement reached by
the joint council.
"Through the activities of this
league the employers and their organ
izations were quite generally advised
would indicate that bankers will not
oppose the amendment.
Congressman Garner, of Texas,
challenged advocates of the proposed
amendment to select any five lawyers
in the house, and if he could not con
vince them that the proposal took
from the states and municipalities the
right to issue bonds he would retire
from the fight.
It was also stated that the amend
ment would increase by 10 to 15 per
cent the value of more than $11,000,
000,000 of state and municipal bonds
now held mainly by banking interests,
insurance companies and other cor
porations.
Friends of the proposed amendment
say money could be used "for other
purposes" if these bonds were not is
sued. This is answered by the claim
that no "other purposes" are more
important that schools, roads, sewers,
etc.
DIVIDENDS FAIL
Minneapolis.—The anti-union Great
Northern railroad has brought woe to
its stockholders because dividends
are not forthcoming. The road's
locked-out shop men suggest that they
be put to work that the public be
served and dividends be issued.
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that the action of the international
joint conference council was not bind
ing, either morally or otherwise, on
employers' organizations not repre
sented in that council. This informa
tion, however, seems never to have
been given to the local organizations
of the employes. Accordingly, when
negotiations were opened to renew
the existing agreements and wage
schedules in St. Paul and Minneapolis,
which contracts generally expired on
May 31, the local organization of em
ployes, acting upon definite instruc
tions from the national headquarters,
advised the employers and their or
ganizations that the 44-hour basic
week must be included as a part of
the new agreements. The employers
objected to this provision and insist
ed upon the 48-hour week basis, and
the strike followed.
'We felt that the facts disclosed
ought to induce the employers to un
derstand the honesty of purpose of the
employes' organization in insisting
upon the 44-hour week basis. After a
reasonable time for reflection upon the
actual situation we hoped for a satis
factory settlement which, however,
was not effected. The commission then
attempted to get the parties together
but were unsuccessful."
"In conclusion," the report de
clares, "the commission feels justified
in stating that the stipulations and
agreements resulting from collective
bargainings should be construed and
enforced by some impartial agency,
whenever a dispute arises in relation
thereto, to the end that the essential
industrial activities shall not be in
jured or destroyed or the regular
wage income of willing workers be
suspended or lost entirely. We be
lieve that the solution of this ques
tion is one which deserves the imme
diate and serious consideration of
legislative bodies, both state and na
tional."
RAILROAD BLAMED
FORWRECK
Washington.—Defective equipment
of the Pennsylvania railroad is re
sponsible for a wreck near Cincin
nati, November 7, which caused the
death of one employe and the injury
of 61 passengers and employes, re
ports safety inspectors of the inter
state commerce commission.
"Reports had been made by engine
men concerning various air-brake de
fects on this engine," the report said,
"and work reported on the day pre
vious to the accident had not been
performed, although the foreman had
signed the report to indicate that the
work had been done.
"There is no excuse for permitting
an engine to be operated with air
brake equipment in the defective con
dition which existed in the case of
this engine, and in view of these con
ditions the operating officials are open
to censure.
"Furthermore, the time-table sched
ule provided in several instances for
higher rates of speed than would be
possible without violating prescribed
speed regulations. Proper adjust
ment of the schedule should be made."
"~c 4:
HAMILTON, OHIO, FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 1923 ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR
WEIL fOft FITV6 SAKE,
ARE 700 EVfcR ?0MlN6
|N fo PINNER
eVEfc'fHIN6S 6£TTlNC
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Washington.'—The United States
supreme court's recent annulment of
the federal child labor law is recalled
by the announcement that hearings
will be held by the senate judiciary
committee on a proposed constitution
al amendment that is intended to
legalize child labor prohibition.
This decision, delivered by Chief
Justice Taft, is a marvelous exhibi
tion of how the legal mind can glide
over decisions by the same court
which run directly counter to the child
labor decision.
The court outlawed the child labor
act on the ground that the 10 per
cent profits on child labor products
was a penalty and not a tax. The
court also ruled that the provisions of
the act which permitted inspections
of factories, so the act could be en
forced, was an invasion of state's
rights.
These two points constitute the
court's major objections to the at
tempt to check child labor by taxing
the profits of child labor.
The decision is contrary to many
other decisions by the same court. In
the case of Veazie Bank vs. Fenno
(8 Wallace, 538) the court held that
the power of congress to use a tax to
destroy cann ot be questioned. That
case revolved around the right of con
gress to tax state banks out of ex
istence. The supreme court said this
was legal. In the child labor case
the same court held a 10 per cent tax
on profits was a penalty and not a
tax.
The court also upheld the tax on
oleomargarine, which was intended to
outlaw that commodity.
In upholding the federal narcotic
drug act, the court ruled that federal
officials have the right to inspect drug
stores. This, said the court, is a rea
sonable relation to the enforcement of
the tax and is, therefore, valid. In
the child labor law, however, the court
held that inspection to enforce that
act is a violation of state's rights.
In a former decision (Evans vs.
Gore, 253 U. S., pp. 255-256) the su
preme court, in upholding the exemp
tion of state securities, said:
"This court has repeatedly held, the
power to Lax carries with it the power
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CHILD LABOR DECISION
HANDED DOWN BY HIGH COURT IS MONUMENT
TO LEGAL SIDESTEPPING WHICH DOES
CREDIT TO EVEN TAFT'S ABILITY
Outlaws Act on Ground That Percentage Profits On
Children's Products Was Penalty and Not Tax
lIBBUlilMMHB
YOU WILL APPRECIATE ONE
OF THESE HEATERS NOW
SALE OF
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$
WS.S.
to embarrass and destroy may be ap
plied to every object within its range
in such measure as congress may de
termine enables that body to select
one calling and omit another to tax
one class of property and forbear to
tax another, and may be applied in
different ways to different objects so
long as there is geopraphical uniform
ity in the duties, excises and imposts
imposed."
If the court applied that reasoning
in the child labor case, it would mean
freedom to hundreds of thousands of
children.
Probably no decision by this court
has made such a wide and complete
depai'ture from former decisions.
This has meen accomplished by a dar
ing that seems to have silenced all op
position.
The child labor decision stands as
the perfect type of legalistic jugglery
and is the best proof that the power
of this court should be confined to its
original purposes.
APPLES_WASTED
Thrown in River Because Of
Car Shortage
Washingtno. Senator Jones, of
Washington, stated on the floor of the
upper house that he would not be
surprised if 6,000 carloads of apples
were dumped into the Columbia river
because of car shortage. He said these
apple growers are receiving 100 cars
a day when they should be receiving
three times that number.
This indictment of i*ailroad "effi
ciency" was followed by Senator
Stanley's suggestion that an investi
gation be made "of the national fruit
company, or whatever agency it is
that gets western apples, and is pre
paring to throw them into the sea on
one seaboard and is selling them on
another part of the continent at exor
bitant prices."
HIGH RA DE
KS
Senator Jones said apples that are
retailing in the nation's capital for
10 cents apiece are the same brand
which the apple grower in his section
is selling at a profit of 5 cents a box.
Selling Out All
KREBS
GRAND
and
HOME
Heaters
Now is your chance to
save money on a good
coal heater.
Our stock of high
grade Grand and Home
Heaters are to be sold
at a great saving to our
customers.
NOTICE OUR
WINDOW DISPLAYS
"TURNS HOUSES INTO HOMES"
New Location, 107 South 3rd St.
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VOTED STATE*
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