HUMAN COGS IN THE PROFIT MACHINE
Human Cogs In The Profit Machine Technical Revolution, Mokes Workers Automatons, Gives Fabulous Power aim Riches To Owning Class JJHE rapid changes being made by the technician, the inventor,...
...OUR LIVES FOR THEIR DOLLARS "Should a government of a nation where "our" dollars have been placed prove unstable will "we" fight in the army and navy to make that government satisfactory to "us...
...No one is in Jail...
...It is scrapped as a* old tool is scrapped when the interest of the purchasers require it...
...A man with no higher sense jgapamnsllisisl Justice naturally has no kein iPM** tor K at home...
...In 1920 it was still close to this figure with 31,614,269 persons living on the farms...
...Quarter of Rail Workers Average Under $1000 a Year Ask one of the 385,000 railroad workers whose 1928 earnings averaged under $1000 what he thinks of the American standard of living...
...reelected Carl Hampel as Justice of the Peace, and administered aa overwhelmrng defeat to the non-partisan group in the...
...To make his meaning clearer Senator Jmwcn assumes "a rich individual surroundef sy his prosperous neighbors" in the same .flik who feels the disparity of wealth keenly, .^aagtae," says the Senator, "the suggestion 'BJB the grave concerns of the rich one should - teasnnitted to a forum presided over by his JyR*Y1a*£ fn> gjrnnlssry what we should like IHiaaa— may jjjppaa hj domestic justice, qflafiSt in totoraattottal affairs is downjp^Jp|t-aaBf;aiuaB anarchy...
...It is useless to cite a sentence in a Federal law declaring that "the labor of a human being is not a commodity...
...Then if governments where the dollars of this class are invested become "politically unstable" what of it ? "We must be concerned...
...ths people presumably have forgotten -halm the hypnotism of Jimmy's radiance and Istoara noise...
...They then turn in the whole calculation, with a report that during the week the man or woman who operated the machine inspected by stop-watch had loafed on the job so many hours, which should be used in furthering individual productiveness...
...But beginniag...
...Tmely Topics Bv Norman Thomas jSgje Unemployment Sftoe same day the newspapers reported: Eft) that the Pennsylvania Railroad made JMaa in operation" resulting in a saving in Hpfe tUS of S3S,000,O0O—this by reducing 3j5wllila fores...
...The State-wide effort of the Socialists to repeal the State prohibition enforcement act, initiated by State Senator Thomas Duncan, Socialist, was sac/ ceasful...
...The present age will test the power and intelligence of the organized workers and farmers...
...The As"*i*tiohs statement is based on a recent survey of the National Manufacturers' Associawhich stated that age limits imposed by **"Ptoyers of labor range from 25 to 70 years *W unskilled workers, and from 35 to 70 for •tailed -qn'-Less Wages, More Profits Is Steel Trust Record The biggest profit per employe since the war is revealed in the U. S. Steel corporation report for the year ended December 31, 1928...
...Alex C Ruffing was elected slSsl1 man of the 7th ward by a vote of almost two to one over his non-partisan opp ansat, despite a concentrated attempt further to weaken Hoan's support in the common osSJBCtt...
...Hoan wiln isliiai Warn The principal fight fa* the city centered on the Aldcrmanic Board's - acUoa daprivtng, MayBrHoan of his power to SB vacancies by appointment After toe municipal election tost year, when Mayor Hoan was reelected by o larger majority than was ever given a mayoralty candidate in Milwaukee, but when four Socialist aldermen failed of election by a total vote of less than 200,i the non-partisan group in the Board decided that the time had came to sheer Mayor Hoan of' his powers, lb* diminished strength of the Socialists In the sldemanic chamber enabled them to aabpt'a resolution to that effect .,.£ Mayor Hoan announced that he would carry the fight to the people by Initiating a referendum...
...Efficiency clerks, with tuaeclocks in their hands, go into mill departments aid make a study of the amount of work done bjeoperators on the machines tended, and then retire to -an 'office and figure the number of seconds in each minute that the operator stopped to breathe, went after a drink of water, or went to rest room when necessity demanded it...
...The status of the working class in industry becomes more and more degrading...
...Young, keeps them in jail Bfcgto their proved innocence...
...Our emigrant dollar," says the author, "is in the expanding industrial machinery situation jot Europe, Australia and Canada, the match monopoly of Sweden, the fertilizer industry of Norway, and the street railways, telephones and telegraphs of Spain, Cuba, Mexico and...
...American dollars are going into investments all over the world...
...And fcl icsiHi more organisation...
...Thomas' talks have been arranged by the Young Men's Christian Association as part of the "Y...
...Half that amount added to the' wages of all rail workers would still have left the owners more than $600,000,000...
...Americans are carrying on manufacturing in some 25 countries, constructing public works |n 16 others, operating railroads and utilities in 30 and minijg in 25...
...The workers are a human sacrifice to the change...
...par Factory ¦pi congratulate the rayon workers in ElirJpemtown, Term., on winning wage increases...
...HPal credit for breaking the strike was ilPy** Go*- Ooolidge, who used the notoH§E*f get the vice presidential nomination ms Republican national convention which WSm °hio gang into the White House...
...As old methods in industry are being scrapped old economic and political ideas have become useless twaddle in this age...
...The March number of The Textile Worker devotes a few pages to what is happening to fhe workers in this industry...
...The remaining lectures are to be: Monday, April g, 4.30 p. m. Subject: "A Better Nation...
...Whether a human being, a horse, or a brick, is a commodity is a matter of itsyplace in the system of production and exchange, not of legal definition...
...Age limit on Labor "«*e practice of manufacturing' industries *f.setting up arbitrary »«»»Trimiim age limit •t winch workers are to be hired is applied •teost universally in the United States, it is ***** by the American Association for Old A*»8ecurity, in its April Bulletin...
...The result of the wet and dry HtniilSiai' lk Milwaukee city and county shows particularly the Influence of The Milwaukee Leader la matters political...
...American capital and American expert skill are conducting oil enterprises and concessions in 20 different countries, from Venezuela to Argentina...
...The Milwaukee Lsafiir was the only paper that came out opswhy aad strongly to its editorials to fwvor^ot ttm-Uw> whelmmgly oae by a vote of seven to one, and another by a veto of eight to one...
...Common dividends brought the owners $49,813,645 in cash and $39,140,453 was added to the huge accumulation of surplus profits by which stockholders are guaranteed against hard times in years of depression...
...P»tts Back Bay and Brookline poured in i^Ma& to snow their appreciation of work':g_*ho betray their fellows...
...That is, capitalist control over other nations carries with it "our" political domination of those nations...
...It means a crusade to obtain social control of the great industries...
...FOURTH, Carl nsmpil was returned as Justice of the peace over Ms nonpartisan opponent by a top heaey^sato Of 44,080 to only 25,601...
...no one is contosd...
...While this minimum falls $1000 short of the sum necessary to support a worker's family in decency it will be impossible to push the wages of more skilled railroad workers to levels corresponding with America's wealth...
...For employes exclusive o'f the general administrative and selling force the average was $5.85...
...Thus Senator Hiram Johnson of Cal(kaaa in opposing our adherence to the World IfljpC aa any formula or with any reserva;jjja...
...Capitalism and Socialism are two fundamental programs...
...The new capitalism makes it more and more clear that labor power is merchandise .and is so regarded by those wlxo buy it...
...For the toiling millions it is a struggle to democratize the vast productive powers of the nation and to distribute the savings of inventions and new processes on a basis of equity...
...The MILWAUKEE LEADER to a front page editorial says: "The election yesterday was a day of triumph for the Socialists...
...Machinery and imgpmssnts in its use can't be stopped: it can jfra—linnnrl for *** common good...
...The weakness is his essenJsWuW im New York— W£mw of you old folks with long memories BBpgif the Rothstein murder that Jimmy Wktoer and Grover Whalen were going to clear Sa> everything Is lovely...
...In no other nation is it more necessary...
...It must be understood that in a very large proportion of cases the efficiency expert, with his timeclock, has as much humanity in his system as the timeclock he carries about him...
...The economic consideration involved in purchasing labor power or dispensing with it is the same as that involved in purchasine raw {materials...
...Timothy Shea, Hp5t-fi lajaaat of the Firemen, said that bss fewer transportation workers were emEar kt 1927 than hi 1820...
...3775 in 1927 to $4115 in 1928...
...The textile industry has a history of Wood and dirt and tears since its inception in England and the United States...
...The only other contest of local interest was the election of a Municipal Court Judge, fat which the Socialists were supporting former Socialist Senator William F. Quick...
...Be a fixer...
...In 1928 the railroads could have added $500 to the pay of each of these underpaid workers wtihoat cutting their enormous profits below $1,000,000,000...
...They might INgJalBaaa's "rich man" by their agitation...
...What the :Hsm*aoods will demand is what one should ¦Mot Nevertheless, as doubtless they will Sm, O. will be hard for them to win and ''¦'f/MZm shorter week unless the week"can be gSjsasd tor the great mass of workers...
...The author writes: "As long as we are interested in governments we must be concerned with their political stability...
...Farm Population Shrinks To New Low Level The trend toward a top heavy city civilization riding on the back of an exploited agricultural minority is clearly pictured in the U. S. Department of agriculture report on farm population in 1928...
...If they recover something of the lost ground it requires years of struggle...
...Bit hiss lfijaa sad M^^woa»m^aj...
...Our capitalists and bankers regard the world as a ripe apple to be plucked within the next few decades...
...Unemployment for six years, said a union official, "has certainly been hitting us between the eyes," and a fight must be made for the 6-hour day...
...Not one banking or capitalist investor will be included in the "we" who fight...
...About 7,000 shyaatorai wars required...
...This industry is also feeling the impact of the industrial revolution...
...Such a shift of profits into wages, with the resulting increase in demand for goods, would go far toward solving the problem of business stability...
...The average/ yearly earnings for all employes amounted to $1865 in 1928 compared with $1861 in 1927...
...the petition for a referendum...
...In no other nation is industry more ripe for nationalization...
...Altogether the 1928 report reveals more intensive exploitation of the employes than ever before...
...Private long-term American investments abroad at the end of 1927 amounted to over 12 billion dollars in Latin America, Europe, Canada and Newfoundland, Asia, Australia and the rest of the world...
...Socialists elected three m of the Board of Directors In charge of th* sehasls, gaming one over their previous representation...
...Less workers are employed and more values are exploited from those who remain at work...
...By his own AmM|;'MBBjbob, Iks ex-progressive, gives his SB* SMSaxrre...
...FIRST, the Socialists elected three of their five candidates to the school board...
...M. C. A. Hours...
...in the latter half of 1920 the terribja^deflation oT'SgTT...
...Which explains why ¦ Jaam Johnson baa never spoken out for rifaasy and Billings and why his political HHiaam, Got...
...The "loyal polS^**snght the entire Judas reward was to gyha, ¦* the rate of Sl,0O0 per strike^» trustees, however, in handing out the Pf* have included some 5,000 militiamen sK—a forced into service...
...As a result the gross profit available for depreciation, depletion, interest and dividends increased from $164,324,376 to $193,304,927, a gain of 17.6...
...INDUSTRY RIPE FOR NATIONALIZATION The tragedy .of the capitalist system is that the, new methods and processes in industry automatically transfer the gains to the owning class without any difficulty...
...Practically all of these low paid railroad workers art able bodied men...
...1m weakness of the Senators case is not •at toe court has neither the powers nor the stagers he fears...
...The victory of Mayor Hoan and Ms Socialist supporters has heartansd local Berts...
...Tonnage of trains had increased in the same period from 838 to 1,028...
...5yaB means the proper way to meet this was "technological unemployment" is to gSStan the working week...
...They are the base on which the railroad wage structure rests...
...Not since 1916 and 1917, when war profits exceeded wages, has the average steel trust worker produced such a generous income for the parasites who live by his labor...
...Or be the Scab Cops Loee Out On Judas Money PlilUsV—"Loyal" Boston policemen who .****** on their fellow workers during the poBWji of 1919 are hot under the collar fol'¦**!** the discovery that most of the S500,jJysslSBd *T reactionary interests to reward jBtP^jhmbaen given to national guardsmen etrlke called to enforce an increase in HMNg* months- of futile negotiation while aWaacsatmoed skyrocketing, threw comfortjgpBoston coupon clippers into a panic...
...Employment deadlines on account of age V« confined to the employers of large num! workers, the Bulletin asserts...
...It is a matter of economics, not law, and it is the new capitalism that brings out the more revolting aspects of human labor power as merchandise in modern industry...
...But $150,000 ¦"gms, and the major portion of that is *° the national guardsmen...
...Aldermaalc Chamber by repudiating the non-partisans' attempt to deprive Mayor Daniel W. Hoan of his appointive powers...
...tats, who feel that their efforts to pisraut the non-partisans from making a nod oa the Mayor's powers win bring thousands of voters to their support In future elections...
...Oh, yes, •'las poor wsUiom is still held as a witness...
...The press that carried'tiiis report also gave publicity to the report of the Pennsylvania Railroad for 1928...
...Too bad recognition jp ths union did not accompany the victory, ^pst wul* came sometime...
...The defeat of the curb aimed at Major Hoaa was coavtactog...
...On Monday, April 1, Thomas spoke on "Better Cities...
...The multi-millionaire is evolving into the billionaire...
...Socialists of Milwaukee Win ImportantGains Party Elects Additional School Board Member-...........Hoan Referendum Triumphs r MILWAUKEE, Wis.—Hopes of oh party politicians that the Boris Met grip aa tots city was weakening received a fatal btow Tuesday when the SodaUsts emerged from the local elections victorious aad ¦tiuagsi than they were before...
...Though the time of the broadcast, 4.30 p. m., is not a convenient one for workingmen, every effort should be made to tune in...
...The average number of workers had decreased 15,264...
...IliHSitfil another one based on the Mew TorkJaw lot WonieB^arty ^JuUi''i'i'J mmTl -saisafHisrina" of women...
...The number of workers on the big corporation's payroll fell from 231,549 in 1927 to 221,702 in 1928, a drop of 4.3...
...And in addition, heart' -breaking insecurity...
...Ttjptr school board representation now hi six nsea*bers...
...In 1928 the steel trust did a bigger business than in 1927 with fewer workers...
...The farm population of the country reached a peak in 1909 with a total of 32,000,000...
...elected Alexander Ruffing to the Board of Aldermen to fill a vacancy created by the resignation last year of Alderman Dosrffier...
...It will be a *t*cJ» man's war and a poor man's fight"- ....._ w " - - Turning to the working class whose lives are chips in this international poker game, we observe some light dawning in their rinks...
...an increase of one over what it has been...
...What is going on in textiles is going on in many other industries...
...Tammany is safe...
...We have cement plants in three or four countries, notably Canada, Cuba, Uruguay and Argentina, and sugar and fruit plants in a dozen more, from the Azores, in the Atlantic, to the Philippines in the Pacific...
...After all detractions $88,954,098- remained for the common stockholders in 1928 compared with $62,677,159 in 1927, a gain of 43.5...
...SECOND...
...Sates per worker, however, show an Jncrease of $340 from Tune In on Thomas Norman Thomas, one of the foremost spokesmen of American Socialism, and the party's candidate for President last year, is delivering a series of radio lectures over Station W O R. Since W O R is one of the largest stations in the country, Socialists within a radius of hundreds of miles should be able to tune In...
...Life in a box car, shack or unsanitary tenement, insufficient nourishing food, shoddy clothing, no surplus for comfort recreation or the education of children, these are among the penalties exacted of unskilled railroad workers...
...The pmmffltia was called in, retired policemen jgtoateaaered in, and the strike was broken...
...Monday, April 22, 4.SO p. m. Subject: "A Better Worm...
...JMt*aY serves her right.- Under Tammany, jaaft fe a witness...
...gfc OooUdge and others caned for a pub?jjfy*a*ription fund to reward the police scabs...
...The old capitalism before the World War was a pigmy compared -with the productive powers of today...
...Socialists and ncm-Socialists flocked to the various Socialist headquarters to sign...
...and (2) that the transporBrotherhoods announced in Boston that jg ouuUI seek a six-hour day to meet the Baa* of unemployment...
...Profits per employe went up f rom$709 in 1927 to $872 in 1928, a gain of 23...
...Wmm Johnson Gives IjHifc-nation* should not submit itself to SKbfbonal presided pver by a foreign judlIShb...
...Socialist women who own radios may find it possible to arrange small house-parties for the purpose of having their friends hear Comrade Thomas...
...Only in those 2 years has the 1928 profit per worker been exceeded...
...Big locomotives have thrown thousands of firemen out of work and a proposed merger of 1,700 roads into 18 or 20 systems will scrap the jobs of another 20,000 firemen...
...Two New England conferences of railroad unions last Sunday sounded a fighting note...
...The following excerpt from a leading editorial gives some idea of what is happening: X-RAYING THE LABOR COMMODITY "There is at the present: time a plan known as the Barnes' Labor Specialization Plan being put into effect in some of the miOs, of New Bedford, Mass...
...American unions cannot picket these overseas industries and in the nations with^little or no trade union organization American capital becomes a slave driver of cheap labor and weak \aborcrs...
...The struggle is one by great capitalists and bankers for complete supremacy or American economic life and for economic and financial dominion abroad...
...Meanwhile any ahga increase in the South is of tremendous MajMeance in face of the advertisements of PpEaaan of Commerce inviting industries to .awfctfce blessings of cheap and docile labor...
...Note that in the excerpt above even the time taken by the worker to breathe is recorded...
...Late returns Indicated that Quick made a valiant fight to dislodge the old party incumbent, but failed by a narrow margin...
...From many sources the evidence is mounting of die revolution and its impact on all phases of American life...
...Hell probably answer, it's hell, if you're trying to raise a family...
...half a dozen countries of South America...
...Either a class shall own it and be enormously enriched or the people of the nation shall own and operate it for their own welfare...
...Just as ominous are the political consequences of this economic Caeserism...
...By 1925 the farm population had fallen to 28,980,693...
...The average number of freight cars pulled on that road had increased from 40 in 1922 to 55...
...48-Hour BID Lost By Federated Press HARTFORD, Conn.—Obedient legislator*, harking to the rote* of the powerful Connecticut Manufacturer* Association, hastily voted down bills for the 49A* and 4S-hour week for women and children in industry, and rejected the idea of authorizing a commission to look into the old ago pension question...
...The number of persons on farms, the department announces, has fallen to 27,511,000, the lowest figure in 20 years...
...This is only a part of the story of the gradual conquest of other nations and peoples by our ruling classes...
...Observe that it is "our" dollar and that "we" have these investments and that "we" are interested in the wirt of governments where "our" dollars have been spnt- I*1S assumed that the interests of a small but powerful class is the interest of all...
...Human Cogs In The Profit Machine Technical Revolution, Mokes Workers Automatons, Gives Fabulous Power aim Riches To Owning Class JJHE rapid changes being made by the technician, the inventor, the organizer, and the efficiency expert in industry surpass all other revolutions in xtr history...
...This remorseless X-raying of the labor power purchased by the mill masters, the charting and indexing of the worker's every movement, shows that human power is regarded the same as raw material...
...In torn than a week more than double the ——*»—' required were attached to the petitions...
...The only suspect is sat sa bau...
...Workingmen and women, organized and unorganized, who do not appreciate the profound revolution that is altering the whole basis of industry, politics and government are living in a fool's paradise...
...Their dollars also pour across the frontiers and across the two oceans and establish mastery over mines, railroads, docks, oil fields and manufacturing industries...
...Since 1923 the company-has reduced its force by about 39,000...
...culture caused a veritable trek of farmers to the cities*/ They hoped to find in industrial employmenf a chance to provide a bare existence for their families...
...We must think and be willing to venture upon new programs and methods for this is the course that has brought power and prestige to our American masters...
...Steel trust employes averaged $6 a day in 1928 or almost exactly the same amount as in 1927...
...It reports a bigger gross income and a bigger profit but a smaller wage total...
...In the 5 intervening years it is estimated that more than 5,000,000 left the farms, but a part of this loss was made good by excess of births over deaths and by the drift of unemploved city workers to the country...
...Oamey, sue of toe bitterest assailants of Daa Hoaa, dectoedty rebuked Its alderman and voted XSto to UT*4 for Daa Hoan...
...In the meantime the owners of industry reap other gains...
...To fight the first and support the second is the duty of those wlio understand the danger of a nation ruled by an oligarchy of concentrated finance and capital...
...Such low standards on railroads which boast themselves the finest in the world would be hardly credible were they not revealed by the interstate commerce commission...
...jp 1—1,1 ¦tiHifr the United Textile Workers j&aS part in the fight...
...Hie Connecticut Federation of Later hswmV tha'il^bour^bul, whfla to* Coasaaaanr' League, m favor of the iilSati...
...Labor is a commodity...
...They include 207,174 section men whose 1928 earnings averaged only $874, 70,198 other maintenance of way laborers with $933 and 52,598 common shop laborers with $974...
...IVe'' who will have to faht consist of tlte masses who produce the dollars for the glory of our Caesars...
...It is also a struggle to avert a conflict in support of American dollars invested abroad...
...The latest survey of the foreign investments of American capitalists and bankers appears in Current History for April...
...Gross sales to customers outside the steel trust organization increased from $870235,942 in 1927 to $912,575,768 in 1928, a gain of 4.4%, but the total amount paid out by the corporation iu wages and salaries declined from $430,727,095 to $413,699,720, a drop of 4...
...THIRD, the attempt to deprive Mayor Hesm of his appointive powers was beaten by mere than 3,000 votes...
...Even too Sad ward, the home ward of AM...
Vol. 8 • April 1929 • No. 12
