Evening Star Newspaper, November 11, 1923, Page 35

MILKMEN'S LEAGUE HERE | STEP TOWARD MONOPOLY Example of What Washington May Face Afforded by Growth of Dairymen’s Organization S Washington facing the possibility of a powerful monopoly gaining control of one of its essential foods? The first step, though perhaps Tot meant for this purpose, has been taken toward that goal. The Mary- land-Virginia Milk Producers’ Asso- clation, in seeking to enforce the buy- ing of all milk from the association ! rather than from the individual farmer, has pointed its way along the course that led the farmers of several states to the present Dairy- men's League Co-Operative Associa- tion, one of the strongest of farmers’ associations developed in this country. Originally the Dairymen's League sSought only to guarantee a fair price to the farmer for his milk. Revolt- ing against vears of being told what the price should be, dairymen from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and’ Connecticut gathered in Middletown, N. Y., in 1915 and laid the groundwork for thelr campaign against the so-called milk trust. The aim then. like the aim of the Ma; land-Virginia Association, was simply to seek a fair price. Farmers Join Movement. Farmers by the thousands stream- ed to the banner of the association, and by 1917 had so increased the strength of the group 4hat when the | price question came up they were in | a position to demand rather than to plead. The big distributors of New York city, the principal buyers, sur- prised by ‘the strength of their oppo- nents, refused the demanded terms, and the first milk strike was called. This strike failed signally, as _the farmers were yet to realize their strength, and the price was arranged at a figure somewhat below what they asked, but nevertheless higher than would have been obtained under the old conditions. The farmers lacked a “war chest,” and finding that dues were difficult to collect, managed to have inserted in the contract for milk a provision that the dealers should deduct 1 cent per hundred pounds for all milk received from league members and pay this amount over to the league. In other words, _the ‘“check-off” system was inaugurated. Call Second Strike. Laying plans for another rebellion, the league called a second strike in January, 1919. This time funds were avallable to help farmers who might need financial assistance. Every- thing pointed to a successful strike, and for nineteen days league milk was withheld from the markket. The generals of the league erred in their plan of battle, however, and weather conditions, demand of the market and dairying season all worked for their downfall. Much of the territo the league is of the so-called “winter dairy” type. That is, the flush of milk came during the latter part of the winter and early spring. The farm- ers were therefore faced with enor- mous amounts of milk when the covered by strike was called, and its use in sub- | stitutes was greatly hampered by the quantity. They were forced to “dry up" their cows, and once this process has started it is difficult to again stimulate production for the balance of | the season, Naturally the consumption In win- ter is lower, and the surplus is ordi- narily manufactured info condensed | milk, butter, cheese and other prod- ucts. The ‘lower demand for fluid milk militated against the farmers. The third ally of the distributors was the weather. The low tempera- tures permitted the transportation of milk from distant sources, and no shortage occurred. | [sources of the fluid. The requirements in New York. ¢ As the days went on, defection from the ranks of the farmers became com- mon, and peace was made and deliv- §rles were resumed on the twentioth Contract Drawn Up. This brought before the league offi- clals the one plan vital to an un- broken fight, and a pooling contract was drawn up. The contract is of great similarity to that now being | pushed by the local association. It provided that a1l milk should be sold through the league, that the dealers |should pay the league for the milk, that the league should deduct a stated amount and such additional amounts as might be necessary for the opera- tion of the league's business, and, | most important of all, that any mem- |ber selling his milk other than through the league should be subject to heavy penalties. The contract cov- ered a specified period, and a fairly long notice was required at the end |of that period -before the farmer {might withdraw. | In other words, everything was paid lover to the league, and the farmer |was given what was left after the 1league had deducted the needed funds. The dealers, seeing the possibilities of the signing of the contract, as thousands of farmers accepted it, re- fusad to further deduct the 1 cent & hundred pounds from the farmers’ | milk check, and manufacture of con- {densed milk was stopped by many | of the big companies. The reason given for the cessation of manufacture was that the stores of condensed milk were too great. At |any rate, their action precipitated the (fight, and the pooling contract was put over. | Disposition Pressing Problem. The association was faced with | enormous quantities of milk, and the i disposition of the product presented an immediate and pressing problem, on the proper solution of which hung the future of the whole plan. Butter and cheese factories were established, shipping stations | for cream and fluid milk, and then con- denseries. The work was continued until now more than 100 plants are operated by the league, and the trade name of the products is becoming na- tionally known. One of the largest of the condensed milk companies has practically withdrawn its activities from the territory controlled by the league. That much has been accomplished. The next step would be the operation of retail deliveries and sales. This is not at present contemplated by the farmers, but neither were the manu- facturing activities when the league was first broached. Speculagion Raised. This example and the similarity be- tween the steps taken locally raises speculation as to how far nearby farmers will go. Their pooling con- tract {s being attacked by the pro- ducers tooth and nail, and by private citizens in letters to the dealers. Opinions widely differ as to the ad- visability of the step, just as they did {in the development of the league. |, One thing stands out as a vital fac- tor in the local situation. The milk must come from tuberculin-tested cows, thus restricting the available of the New York market were much similar to those of other cities giving a supply outside the usual territory that was diverted to New York when needed. Such a blow against the farmers would hardly be possible here if the vast majority of the members of the association withheld their milk from the market. The future is a question, but with the example of the Dairymen's League as a basis of comparison, the possi- bilities are plainly indicated, Russian Children Now Are Food Choicy, Showing Famine Period Is Past One of these days Joseph A. Dris- | coll of Marine Corps headquarters will be returning to his old haunts. Mr. Driscoll has been a marine for more years than he likes to remem- ber. He roamed the world with them and helped fight the war in France. But, though the “devil dogs” may boast a spectacular life at all times, | Mr. Driscoll contends he has seen more in the past year and a half in Russia than he ever saw as a mem- ber of the corps. During that time r. Driscoll, a: a member of the American Relief Ad- ministration, has seen life as it was lived in America perhaps before Co- lumbus ever landed. He xas stationed in Tzaritzin, a district thai coverel 800,000 square miles of territory and included at least thirty-four nations. He knows they were nations because they all talked distinct languages, Surely there can't be better proof than that? Get Fassy About Food. Some he knew by name, such as the Kuban Cossacks, .the Kalmucks, the Khirgiz, the Circassians, the Kaghes- tanese. At one time he was helping to feed 1,400,000 of them in the really bad days of the Russian famine. When he left, only 170,000 of their children were depending on the American Re- lief Administration for their meal Even they were getting fussy about their food, Mr. Driscoll said with & smile, . remembering the day when they were glad to eat “lebeda,” a Russian weed. g “When a child begins to say: ‘Td rather have cocoa than rice again | please; you know it's in no danger of starving to death” he declared.! “Last year those kids used to devour: their meals like little animals. This summer they're glad to get it, but| they're beginning to realize it is often the same. What more proof do i you want that the famiue is over, and they're getting supplementary food at home?" Food Prices are Lower. ' It proof were lacking the A. R. A. food package supplies it. Once it was priceless on the Russian market, and the American $10 worth went as high as $65 there. Now it 1=| worth $6, and only that, Mr. Driscoll | coontends, because the sugar and cocoa it _contains are not yet obtain- able in Russia. “One of the best crops in_Russia this year will come from the Kuban,’ he said. “Of course, you mever saw anything so primitive as their meth- ods of plowing and reaping—wooden blades on the plows, hand flails in- stead of reapers and binders. But they can work, those people, and they're doing nothing else just no Even more primitive ‘than the Kuban Cossacks are tribes like the Ehirgis and Kalmucks, who are nomads. Their houses are hide tents, and their towns the best spot avail- able at the moment on the steppes. Cattle raisers before the drought, they had to kill their stock in the bad year, and before even the Rus- sian = government heard of their . plight thousands of them were wiped out. An absolutely primitive people with no more hold on the earth than an American hobo who helps with the crops at harvest time, they are being wiped out now, not by the march of civilization, but by the press of circumstances. Famine Killed Thousands. *“The famime probably cut the Kal- \muck nation in half, Mr. Driscoll sald. Foeding them was no easy task. They were hard to round up In regu- " aar kitchens, and not even the Rus- sian knew the language they spoke at times. So difficult was the task for the Amerlcans that they had to intrust it to the local President of Daghestan, who, strangely enough, was a graduate of Paris University. “One of the most zealous, appre- ciative, consclentious men I ever met,” said Mr. Driscoll. Mr. Driscoll. before leaving, was stationed at Rostov, capital of the Don, one of the newer cities of Rus- sia and a great distributing center. “You might take Rostov as sum- ming up the difference between Rus- sia now and Russia a year ago,” he said. “Then it was a dead town, choked with refugees, flying from the famine regions on the east. Now it is @ busy place. The railroads are re- stored, life is becoming normal. It is not yet as it once was, but, if it pro- gresses in the next year as it did in the last, it will be as good a place as | any I know of to visit.” Electric Roads Run at Saving The decision announced a short time ago by the Paulista railroad of Brasil to extend the electrified section of i line, an order being given the Inte: national General Electric Company for new electrical equipment amount- ing to about a million dollars, has led railroad men to observe the success of electric operation on this road thus far. During the seven months from June to December, 1922, inclusive, the electrified part of the road, twenty- seven miles of double track between Jundiahy and Campinas, was operated at less than half the operating cost of the rest of the road, which is still equipped for steam locomotives. The cost of electric power to the railroad, under the contract entered into with the power company, for a long-term period, will be less than 1 cent per kilowatt hour, whereas the road has been burning wood for fuel at a cost equivalent to 1% to 3% cents per kilowait hour. Moreover, there are definite indications that the period from 1910 to 1926, inclusive, will show a possible reduction in the total cost of fuel ranging from ap- proximately 40 to 85 per cent, owing to the existing price for electric power. Decision Justified, This makes it apparent that this South American railroad will find its decision to electrify fully justified by the saving in fuel which will follow, notwithstanding the comparatively heavy initial cost of installing an electric system. Some of the factors involved are peculiar to South America. Brazil produces practically no coal or fuel oil, and both of these commodities are very expensive when imported. Con- sequently the Paulista railroad began making use of its easily accessible sources of wood s ly, and equipped its road with wood-burning locomo- tives. But today it is almost as much of a problem and as expensive a proposition to keep up the wood sup- ply as it would be to use coal. Hence the decision to use “electric power, which is produced by the streams and water falls in which Brazil is wealthy. The decision was not brought about by the presence of tunnels, or by terminal problems, or because of sharp grades—considera- tions thus far largely governing the trend of railroad electrification in the United States. It is purely a case where the only reasons were economy in operation and the general improve- ment of me( service, - THE [ v BY HENRY W. BUNN. HE following is a brief summary of the most important news of the world for the seven days ended November 10, * ¥ % * The British Empire—The imperial confer- ence of premiers and the imperial economic : conference have ended. The most important proceedings were behind closed doors, so that we have least Information of what one most desires to know. Presumable, however, a sufficient full official report will appear in due time. Chlefly one hould like to know what is done pursuant to tanley Baldwin's recommendation that the premiers formulate a program looking to the economic self-sufficiency of the empire. Did the premiers approve the idea, if s0, did they draft an outline, or at least reach an agreement on the main considerations? And did they then arrange for committees of experts to carry on the work? Or did they drop the idea as unde- sirable or fantastic; or what? Certain hints in dispatches suggest that the idea was found impracticable, and that the premiers did not go much farther than to recommend certain specific applications of the principle of im- perial preference. - Britain is a-buzz with discussion provoked Dy certain statements by the prime minister. DGid Mr. Baldwin mean only that he intended to apply the safe guarding of industries act up to the very elastic limit of permissible in- terpretation thereof? This act was intended to protect certain specified industries against the dumping on the London market threatened by reason of the stimulation to export from cer- tain countries by depreciated exchanges. Or was he giving notice of an intention to go be- fore the country with a full-bottomed policy of protection? Mr. Baldwin considers himself bound by Ronar Laws' declaration that he would make no fundamental fiscal change without the prior consent of the country ex- gre-sed at the polls. Perhaps some extension, y amendment to the safe guarding act, of the ko bepaes vl that act to industries not named therein, might be considered not to violate Bonar Law’s pledge. But Mr. Baldwin will . have to go warlly in that conection, or he might give a fatal lead to Lloyd George or another. * ¥ x ¥ Germany.—The coup, for which all have been walting was “pulled off* on Thursday night. In Munich's gréatest beer hall, von Kahr, the Bavarian dictator, is making a speech; Ludendorft and Gen. von Lossow (commander of the Bavarian contingent of the Reischwehr in mutiny against Berlin), are sitting by, drawing solace from ‘The tender child of hops.” Suddenly a commotion outside—cheers, shouts, fusillades. Hitler rushes in, mounts the rostrum, announces the coup. He tells how the von Knlilling government has been overthrown; the formal link with the Berlin government thus broken. But it is not a sepa- ratist movement; ro, the new Munich govern- ment *supersedes the Berlin government as the government of reich. von Kahr is named; “national protector”: Ludendorff, “commander in chief of the national German army"”; von Lossow, minister of war, and Hitler himself, “national adviser” as who should say, “German Warwitk.” Obvicusly the real powers in the new scheme of things are Hitler and Ludendorffl—cheers and infinite Muenchner. But it seems that of the big fellows there in the hall, only Luden- dorff had preknowledge of the great enter- prise, dnd the others were not pleased. von Kahr is as hot a nationalist as Hitler, but of another school, and von Lossow is von Kahr's man. Se the two, von Kahr and von Lossow, managed to leave amid the hubbub and they SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ttraightaway took order to mip the coup. Within a few hours, and after some exchanges of shots between the reischwehr and Hitler's irregulars, Ludendorff was in quod along with the most important of Hitler's followers, and the fantastic episode was over. Hitler unfortunately escaped. Presumably von Kahr will proceed to dissolve the Hitler organizations and we shall cease to hear of ralds across the Thuringian border. The “pala-~ tinate republic” is not absolutely defunct; it occasionally gives a faint wheege. The reds of Saxony and Thuringa seem to be cowed by relschwehr detachments. The threat of dis- ruption of the reich seems, perhaps, & thought less serious than it seemed a week ago. The Stinnes and Thyssen industrial groups of the Ruhr were to sign agreements with the occupying authorities on Monday, or at latest, by the middle of the week. They have not yet signed. They claim that the French terms are too steep for the capacity of ful- filment unless the workmen will consent to a ten-hour day. They have been conferring with the chiefs of the workmen’s unions try- ing to get that consent. But the workmen's leaders are sullen and suspiclous. They as- sert that the employers could make a profit on the French terms, but in their rapacity, wish to recover from the workmen what they must pay to the French. The emplovers ask the French to use persuasion with the workmen, but the French observe that they didn’t go into the Ruhr to exploit the workmen, but to put pressure on the indusrial magnates. Some of the Paris newspapers put the blame for the hitch on us, in a manner of speaking. They say that the attitude of the Washington government towards Poincare’s limitations on the proposed committee of inquiry, is inter- preted by the Germans as indicating approval by our government of the British reparations attitude, i. e, disapproval of the Ruhr occu- pation, and that the German industrial mag- nates are hoping for French relaxation out of fear of antagonizing America, One way or the other anyway, whether by consent of the workmen to be further exploited, or by French wakening, they're hoping to wiggle out of the hole they are in. Like bold gamblers they are, they're taking heavy chances by postponing resumption of operation ingredients of a violent explosive mixture are all there in ample quantities among the work- men—hunger—distrust consclousness of power if only they knew how to apply it, hate de- pair, and are being fast compounded. A spark, and only the wreckage of the greatest indus- trial plant in the world. Not the least interesting aspect of the com- plicated German situation relates itself to the disarmament clauses of the treaty. That ever since the beginning of the Ruhr occupation those clauses have been flagrantly violated, is patent. Hitler's boys, the red “centuries” the nationalist bands of varied designation, the Bellicose singing societies, etc., etc., either openly armed or with ample caches, are all forbidden by the treaty. It is reported, and probably with truth, that manufacture of arms has been resumed on a considerable scale. Sections of aircraft, one hears, are stocked at various points in’ Ger- many' or just across the borders ready at the signal to be brought together and assem- bled within a few hours. The interallied com- mission of military control in Germany has not functioned these many months. The Ger- man government has withhek facilities and protection. To a first protest from the con- ference of ambassadors, it replied evasivel to a second, likewise: {o a third, it did not reply at all. The fourth—an ultimatum—called for “an answer yesterday. The allies—even Britain—have their backs up. A thorough in- vestigation (the personnel of the military com- mission to be greatly increased for the pur- pose). is to be made. If made without support of allied troops, some of the allied inspectors are likely to lose their lives whence, obvious- 1y complications. If made with ample allied military protection—also complications, no doubt. The German financial chaos grows daily. * X X ¥ Jugesiavia and Bulgaria.—Last week some persons unknown called at the office of the C, NOVEMBER 11, 1923—PART 2. The Story the Week Has Told Jugoslav military attache in Sofia, Bulgaria, and beat him up, At once the Bulgarian gov- ernment fell al] over itself making apologies to the unfortunate officer and his government. But that wasn't enough, for Belgrade. The occasion was was one calling for an ultimatum. Mussolini seems to Have set the fashion of ultimatums. Coups and ultimatums are all the rage this year in Europe. Well, here was a sure enough opportunity and an ultimatum was duly dispatched, demanding all sorts of abasements and salutes and suchlike proofs of regret. As Jugoslavia has a big army and Bul- garia hardly what you could call an army at all, Bulgaria complied, But no doubt she chalk- ed’it up for futyre reference. * ¥ *x Xk Greece.—They have their own way of doing things in Greece. The other day manifestos were posted all over Athens, signed by the commanders-in-chief of the Greek army and navy, and demanding that a plebiscite be held to determine whether or no the throne should be declared vacant, on the alleged ground that members of the royal entourage had been in- volved in the recent royallst insurrection and that the king had expressed sympathy for the insurrectos. It seems, however, that the new national as- sembly, elections to which are to be held shortly, is to decide whether the government in future is to be a republic or a monarchy; and, if the latter, what's to be done about the present king and dynasty. King George will probably be glad to quit, as he has been prac- tically a prisoner since he mounted the throne, Mr. Morgenthaus has gone to Greece to take up his work as chairman of the committee ap- pointed by the league of nations to supervise the settlement of 600,000 Anatolian refugees on lands set apart for them by the Greek govern- ment in Macedonia and western Thrace. A loan of 6,000,000 pounds is being raised under league auspices to be expended by the com- mittee} Since the Smyrna disaster Greece proper has received -about 1,200,000 refugees, including 180,000, from eastern Thrace, i. e., an addition of 28 per cent to the population. Of these about one-fourth are self supporting. Greece has dealt generously with the refugees, albeit they have been an almost insupportable burden. Greece is agriculturally poor and her foreign trade, formerly so thriving, had a terrible set- back from the Turkish war and settlement. * ¥ Xk % China.—Tt is reported that, following the de- feat of his forces by those of Gen. Chen Kwang-Ming, Sun Yat Sen h3s again fled from Canton. It will be recalled how in the latter part of 1922, following Wu Pei Fu's victory over Chang Tso Lin, Chen Kwang-Ming ousted Sun Yat Sen from Canton, abolished the Can- ton republic and reunited the southern prov- inces to their sisters of the north, and how Sun Yat Sen made a “comeback” in January of this year and ousted Chen Kwang-Ming in turn. Chen Kwang-Ming, however, remained in the fleld and ever since fighting of the casual celestial sort has been going on between his forces and those of Sun Yat Sen. Chen Kwang- Ming is a fine fellow of Wu Pei Fu's type. One wonders what may be his attitude toward Tsao Kun, and whether he will again abolish the Canton republic. * ¥ % ¥ Notes.—Premier Mussolini announces that he is going in strong for military aviation; that, in fact, the number of Italian military air- planes will be trebled within the next twelve months. American capital has organized the Italian Power Company, to finance hydro-electric de- velopment in Italy. AS A UNION MAN SEES IT {was ten hours and more while to- | ¢ay eight hours is the rule in indus- BY JAMES M. LYNCH. [ (Former Prexident of the International | Typographical Union: Former New York State | Industrisl Commissioner.) Article IV. HE recent agitation over the twelve-hour day in the steel in- dustry and the pledge of the men who_control that industry that there will be established as rapidly | as may be the eight-hour day in substi- tution for the longer period has aroused much interest in the standard workway on this continent. It i3 not so much the object of this article to deal with the present status of the eight-hour day as it is to trace as fully as space will permit the struggle to establish it, a struggle that goes back more than a century and that made its gains so slowly as to be almost indefinite, and then suddenly proceed with strides so rapid that yesterday the workday | try, both where the wage earners are organized and where they are without organization. The steel industry was the great bulwark of the long trick. Movement Misunderstood. In the early days of the movement for the s orter workday, it was often charged that the unions were not so much concerned in securing eight hours for health, educational and recreation values as they were with providing additional opportunities for work for their members. There ‘was also the frequent intimation that the unions felt that the eight-hour day would create a shortage of labor, and that in the effort to secure a suf- ficient supply of work people by em- ployers wages would rise. There may have been such underlying aims on the part of some.of the supporters of these earlier moyements, but it is & safe assertion to say that the men ‘who were the resl leaders of the agi- tation harbored no such false philos- ophy, and that they were guided solely by the conviction that labor- saving machinery justified the change, that the needs of the people could be satiefied and that the shorter day made for the promotion of health, education and morals, a better standard of llving and consequently for a better citizénship and a better country. Suggested by Employer. Yet John Rae, in a work on eight hours published in 1894, says that in 1833 there was a movement for an eight-hour day fostered by employers who were experiencing an over- stocked market. It was proposed to bring good times back again by a great masterstroke of combination. If the employers and employed in each trade could be gotten to agree together to work only elght hours a day Instead of working twelve, they would diminish their production of commodities so much that the prices of those commodities would necessarily rise very high, 25 per cent at least, and with these higher prices the empioyers would begin to set eyea on profits again, and still be well able to pay thelr work-people the twelve-hour wage. The idea took root and the agita. tion proceeded for some months. Rob- ert Owen became one of its disciples. He prepared a catechism early in No- vember of that year in which it was asked why -eight hours a day as the lmuxmum and the answer was: Because it is the longest period that the human race—taking the average of strength and allowing to the weaker the rights of existence as well as the stronger—can endure of physical exertion 5o as to be healthy, intelligent, virtuous and happy. Because of the modern discoveries in chemistry and mechanics, which render it unnecessiry to require & longer period of physical exertion. Because by eight hours labor under proper arrangements a superfluity of | wealth may be created for all. Because no man has the right to require his fellow men to be em- ployed longer than is beneficial to so- clety merely that he may grow rich by making many poor. Because it is to the real interest of every human being that every other human being should be healthy, intel- ligent, contented and wealthy. Movement Shert Lived. The movement lasted for a few months, and then died out with no practical effort to make it effective. It was one of those follies which even | in these days catch and hold the pop- ular imagination and then disappear. Mr. Rae begins his first chapter with the statement that “the eight- hour day is no new thing in Eng- land; it was common in some of the greater employments only a hundred years ago” and this was written in 1894. In his opiulon the very long working day seema to have been a gradual fruit of the factory system. “Those who laid down expensive ma- chinery grudged seeing it stand a moment idle, and they lengthened the period of work first to twelve hours, as it was in Arkwright's time, and then to thirteen, fourteen and some- times sixteen hours a day. They grudged even to pause for a.meal. In Manchester at the time of the reform bill, the mills ran from 5 in the morn- ing’ till 9 at night without any stop- age but an hour for dinner and the nds had to breakfast as best they could while standing and attending the machinery.” Mr. Rae's investigation covered a number of individual plants that had established the shorter workday and some vocations wherein eight hours was the rule, as to the effect on the employes and on production. His conclusion as expressed in his preface is: “The available evidence is unex- pectedly coplous and its teaching is unexpectedly plain and uniform. In the course of the investigation I have found it impossible, personally, not to grow a stronger and stronger be- liever in the eight-hour day. Shorter work hours have left every nation that has chosen them at once health- fer, wealthler and wiser; and the shortening to eight seems, if I may say 50, to be blessed above its prede- cessors. According to positive ex- perience of it, the eight-hour day has been almost invariably fair.” Origia ia Britain. Great Britain, which is the country of origin of modern capitalism, is also the country of origin of modern labor legislation. The first important fac- tory law here was passed in 1802 and is known as the “Health and Morals Act” This act forbids the employ- ment of children under nine years of age, restricts the .working hours of ckildren to twelve a day and pro- vides for sanitary conditions and edu- cation for them. The act was not en- forced and like a similar act in 1819 remained a dead letter. It was not until 1833 that an extensive and strict factory law was passed through par- liament. It applied to all textile establishments and provided ‘for a system of inspection by a specially trained group of men. It again for- bade the work of children under nine years of age and limited the number of hours for children under thirteen to nine a day or forty-eight a week, and for persons under eighteen to twelve a day or sixty-nine a week. Night work was entirely prohibited and schooling was provided for. The laws of 1844 and 1847 first extended protection to women and established a ten-hour day for children and ‘women. Up to 1824 in England labor unions ‘were illegal under the common law and the statutes of parliament. Result of Machinery. Stll another authority makes this comment: “With the introduction of steam-driven machinery in England in the early part of the last century, together with the factory system, manufacturers gained almost auto- cratic control of the hundreds of thousands of mrktn at their dis- posal and the length of a day’s work reached the limits of human endur- ance. Twelve and fourteen hours were the average, while women and children were often compelled to work sixteen and eighteen hours & day. These and similar evils led to the organization of the workers for protective purposes. Through their efforts, both by economic and politi- cal action, the working day was gradually shortened. Tha first de- mand for an eight-hour day was voiced in England as far back as 1833, and the British Trade Union Congress at Birmingham, held in 1869, presented it as one of its funda- mental principles. In Great Britain the record shows that the progress of the eight-hour movement was comparatively slow up to 1914, but from then on it made rapid strides, until at present com- petent investigators and authorities assert that it is practically universal, | Here again we have the reward of patient and determined quest of an | objective that in itself was sound and feasible. Here again we have the most careful conduct of & great move- ment and dependence in the main on | the education of the people, and espe- cially of the employer, to gain the objectlve. Its present status is summed up briefly as follows: Hours Net Restricted. ‘Working hours of adult males, ex- cept in the mining industry and in certain dangerous trades, ‘are not re- stricted . by law in Great Britain. They are fixed in the principal trades by agreements, under whose provi- sions the forty-elght-hour week or less is almost universal, according to a bulletin on hours of labor in Great Britain issued by the interna- tional labor office at Geneva in Octo- ber, 1922 Under the collective agreements the week generally consists of five and one-half days, and in those in- dustries in_which forty-seven hours constitute the normal weekly period this_involves more than eight hours on the five full days to permit of the half holiday on Saturday. In some cases arrangements have been made under which a working week of forty-four to forty-eight hours is spread over five days, no_ work being done on Saturday or Sunday. On the other hand, a few_ industries, owing to. the nature of the processes, work 18 continued through the week end, the men working seven eight-hour shifts. The hours fixed by the agreements are those _constituting a normal week’s work, exclusive of overtime, but in the majority of the agreements provision is also made for overtime in excess of the specified hours to be palid for at special rates, ranging gen- erally from 25 to 50 per cent above the usual rates, with higher rates for week-end work, and in some cases for unusual periods of overtime work on any one day. The trades boards have also in most, cases declared the normal hours of work, after the com- pletion of which overtime rates are to be paid, to be forty-eight in the unorganized trades. In several cases the boards have made provision under which the length of the day may be extended where the employers re- quire attendance but five ~days a week. The decisions of the trades boards affect approximately 3,000,000 workers and if approved by the min- ister of labor have the force of law. Lack Force of Law. Industrial agreements in Great Britain \have not the force of law, but they have been effective in re- ducing the hours of labor in nearly all industries. R The factory and workshop acts o 1901 and nrg'l and the employment of women, young persons and chil- dren act of 1920 regulate their hours of labor in factories and workshops, and to some extent have had the effect of reducing the working hours of adult males whose work depends upon that of the workers covered by law. Under the provisions of the factory acts the legal hours of the employment of women and young people are limited to twelve on week days, except Saturday, inclusive of meal times. In certain industries & limited amount of overtime is al- lowed women over eighteen years of age on_workdays other than Satur- days. The act of 1919 made the working day in coal mines one of seven hours instead of eight hours and nine and one-half hours. The report on hours of labor in industry includes -those fixed as late |as 1920 by collective agreements in | the important trades and industries in Great Britain, and shows that the working week of adult males as thus established is generally forty- | eight bours or less. | Benefit of Leisure. | According to the British factory | inspector's report for 1921 the forty- | elght-tour week was then almost | universal, and was seldom exceeded. | Moreover, it had been found that | where the reduction in hours was continued over a considerable period | “output tends in the majority of cases to attain the old level, and | that the beneficial effect of increased | liesure on the workers is making it- self apparent.” In 1922 the eight-hour day or less | obtained in baking, building, coal | mining, cotton spinning, engineering, furniture making, pottery, printing, | transportation, including railway em- | ployes, dock laborers and carters, and in wool textiles. The evidence seems to indicate that the elght-hour day is firmly esta lished in Great Britain, and that in many vocations the work week is of a lesser number than forty-eight hqurs. Progress was made slowly, and then, as with all these move- ments for a great objective, 0pposi tion gradually lessened until it h: almost reached the disappearing point. Because of the fact that the prog- ress upward of labor in Great Britain has to a more or less extent affected the status of labor in the United States and Canada, this article on the eight-hour day has been given over to its brief review in the British Isles. The next article will be devoted to elght-hour history and progress on the American continent. (Copyright, 1828, by the McClure Newspaper Byndieate.) Sees British Victory In Trade of World (Continued from First Page.) “How do you actount for the de- crease?” “Partly by the closing of the pub- lic houses during part of the day, partly by the example set by the upper classes. A few years ago no banquet was complete without the inebriation of a certain percentage of the guests. Today such a thing will not be tolerated.” “Is it true that British industrial- ists in order to increase the efficiency and regularity of their workmen are favoring prohibition?” I confess that I asked this question expecting to draw forth a volley upon the eighteenth amendment. I was par- tially disappointed. “Not for ome minute,” Arthur's decisive answer. And then crouching ~his powerful shoulders over the desk, he expounded what I gathered was one of his favorite doctrines: “Nor shall we for one minute allow government interfer- ence in_ our habits and lives. We have had enough of government con- trol during the war. Perhaps it was necessary then, but now we realize that so long as the government in- terfered between the employed and the employer no settlement was ever reached. Now that government con- trol has been relaxed, capital and labor have come together and begin to understand each other. Trade and industry in order to thrive must be kept as free as possible from gov- ernment or political interference. Our experience is that government h“AlIlA'llnl' of industries :fifikflllfl t‘:dr ime “any notions exis nationalization.” 3 was Sir U. S. BUSINESS PASSES INTO CALMER WATERS Federal Reserve System Plays Large Part in Piloting Manufacturers ' Through Crisis. MERICAN busigess has quietly weathered a ‘severe dlsturb- ance without allowing the public to be alarmed. This is the best possible proot of the value of the federal reserve system, and it carries a “moral” of especial perti- nence at this time when tax revisions are being discussed. The manufacturing industry of the United States, which creates and multiplies wealth by mutation of raw materials and natural products through the processes of manufac- ture, has without sounding the tom- toms been digging Into reserves to save the whole country from the throes of disturbance that would in- evitably result from a general recog- nition by the public of the extreme financial stringency. Revealed by Incomies, This is disclosed in the statistics of incomes for 1921, which have just been compiled and made publle by | the Treasury Department. They re- veal that the manufacturing indus- tries went from a net income of 4.12 per cent to minus 1.23 per cent, or a real decrease of 5.35 per cent. Only three kinds of manufacturing ! show a net increase—textiles and textile products, printing and pub- lishing and stome, clay and glass products. Study of these statistics brings the conclusion, which is confirmed by the National Association of Manufac- turers, that practically all mXnufac- turing corporations would have gone broke in 1921 if they had not dug deep into their reserves. The statistics of incomes for manu- facturing in corporate form for 1920 show a total net income, after de- ducting the tax of 412 per cent. It must be remembered that most of the manufacturing is done in corporate form, so that this gives practically the whole story of the financial stand- ing of manufacturing in the United States. This is confirmed by the census of manufacturers for 1919, which show that about 90 per cent of the total value of goods manufactured is found in those produced under the corporate plan, while only 10 per cent is found produced by partnerships and individuals. That is 4.12 per cent on the gross income. So let's take a look at the gross income figures in 1920, which show a total of §56,649,233,006. There were 78,171 manufacturing corpora- tions reporting. Of that number re- porting in 1920, 49,425 had some net income on which they paid taxes. There were 28,746 that had no pet in- come in 1920. Now we take compavuble figures from the 1921 statistics just availuble. There were 79,748 manufacturing corporations reporting. The increased number represented those which had changed over from partnerships or individuals to corporate forms, rather than the establistment of new enter- prises. Of these 37,030 had a net in- come as against 49,425 the year previous. There were 42,718 that had no net income as compared with 28,- 746 the year before. Gross Income Shewn. ‘The gross income of the manufac- turing corporations that had a net income in 1921 was $24,422,077,076, ‘while the gross income of the corpora- | tions that had no net income was $14,019,846,713. Add these together and we get the gross income from the manufacturing corporations in 1921 as something less than $38,500. 000,000. The gross income of the manufacturing corporations that had a net income in 1920 was $45,217,317,- 892, while the gross income of those that had no net income was $11,431,- 915,114. Add these and we have the gross income in 1920 for all manu- facturing _corporations as approxi- mately $57.000,000,000, as against less than $38,500,000,000 in 1921, with more conoerns reporting. ‘What saved the country when this | overloa |you i undoubted depression was at its worst? Nothing but th pctsng o Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve Board saw the slump coming along in April and May, 1920, about eight months before it hit. The hoard began to prepare for the depression by developing the resources of the system and warning the banks to be ready to carry the manufacturers and dealers who were 0 80 that they could read- Just gradually and not a)l at once. The Federal Reserve Board thus held the situation together and gave in- dustry time to work out its salvation, The federal reserve system reached the peak of demands about November, Practically all Masses of manufac- turing in 1920 had a net income after Vleducting the tax Thers was a slump ia leather and leathor products and it. rubber and rubber gonds in 1920— that's all; but in 1921 we have just the reverse—only three classes show- ed a net income, textiles and textile produets, printing and publishing and stone, clay and glass products, All of these fizures check up closely with the census of manufactures for 1921. All manufacturing corporations -‘um‘rah;d at 56.8 per cent of capacity n 1921 Taxes Collected by U. S, Now it must be remembered: that the manufacturers in both years— 1920 and 1921—pald heavy portions of the collections under the income tax law. The manufacturing corpora- tions alone in 1920 paid 34.9 per cent of all the income and profits taxes collected byethe federal government. In 1920 the total taxes collected from corporations and all other sources was $2,700,288,329, of which the manu- facturing corporations paid $944.960,- 573. In 1921 the total taxes collected was only about one-half the total in 1920, or $1,420.962,538; while the manufacturing corporations (because of their serious falling off in incomes) paid only a little over one-third of what they did the year before, or 51 - is 2 moral behind all this as seen by Federal Reserve Board officials, by administration and busi- ness leaders and by the thinking men in Congress. who search out the causes and effects and strive to legis late 80 as to safeguard the publi interests, It does no good to let folks know now what a narrow squeak this coun- try had in 1921, unless the experience teaches something. The lesson found in these statistics is something like this: Lesson to Be Learned. The popular conception of a “rich manufacturing corporation” that should be made to disgorze s a mis- conception, because if all of its sav- ings goes for taxes it will have noth- ing for increasing the plant and im- proving machinery by which to de- crease price of product. While on the other hand, as the counter proposi- tion, if it has a bit of a surplus it can tide over these years of depres- slon. If the tax collector is always standing around to grab whatever net profit there may be the industrial activity of the country is declared throttled. On the other hand, if you let manufacturing industry expand crease the wealth of the coun- , try, and the central government profits not only by general prosperity, but directly through increased taxes paid on a greater income by these corporations. A thought should be given, too, to the human side of the Groups of men will not invest largely in a manufacturing enterprise unless they see remsonable hones of profit. If manufacturing plants are not es- tablished and maintained, where will the people work? The profitable con- tinuation of manufacturing corpora- tions is even morc essential to the many who work i the factories than to the man who merely invests his capital in such enterprises. For one it means bread and butter and the necessities of life. for the other profitable investment. Both must co- operate for their common interest, and the government must co-operate by refraining from taxing beyond what the net income warrants, question. Advertising Proves Value to Farmer Who Markets Crops Co-operatively That advertising pays in co-opera- | scciation marketed approximately tive marketing of farm products is| 800,000 quarts of berries at & gross shown by reports just compiled by the United States Department of Ag- riculture, which also testify to a re- markable increase in selling associa- tions among the producers. Take apples as an {llustration. Twenty-six farmers’ business organi- zations handling boxed apples sold more than 6,000,000 boxes of apples of the 1922 crop, valued at approximate- 1y $8,000,000. Sixteen of the associa- tions advertise their products, the ad- vertising assessments ranging from one-half cent a box to 4 cents a box. Some of the larger appropriations | | for advertising the 1923 crop are $35.- 000, $30,000, $22,700 and $7,200. In { the last ten years more than $750,000 has been spent to advertise one well known brand of apples alone. Pooling seems to be another of the secrets of success of the apple co- operatives, the department says. Of the twenty-six organizations report- ing to the department, twenty-four associations pool the returns for sim- ilar varieties and similar grades. The pools are for periods ranging from two months to a year. Dairy Products Paying. With the United States producing one-fourth of the milk supply of the world, and consuming practically the entire amount it 1s interesting to note that the farmers are finding it more and more profitable to engage in the retall distribution of milk. Forty-one farmer-owned associations are now serving 138,000 customers with ap- proximately 126,000 gallons of milk a day. Twenty-three of the organiza- tions were formed since 1920. The forty-one associations are located in twenty-two states. There are also six regional milk-marketing associa- tions that operate over large areas and perform all activities connected with the marketing of milk, such as collecting at country stations, oper- ating creameries, cheese factories, condenseries or ice-cream plants, sup- plying milk dealers on a wholesale basis, and operating retail distribut- ing enterprises. There are also thirty or more farmers’ assoclations primar- ily engaged in collecting and distrib- uting milk at wholesale, in addition to twenty or more price-bargaining associations formed by milk produc- ers for bargaining collectively with dealers. - While it has taken the American farmers many years to realize the ue of co-operative marketing and co-operative advertising some of our newer citizens are showing a de- cidedly progressive spirit in work- ing out their economic freedom through co-operative marketing. The Cape Cod Strawberry Growers' As- sociation, which Is a band of one hun- dred Portuguese farmers, is an il- lustration of this. The members can neither read nor write English, yet they understand the true principles of ‘co-operation. Here is the record made by these Portuguese farmers: In 1916 the as- value of $49,000. The next year their output was only 334,000 quarts, but the gross price received was $38,000. In 1921 the return for 569,000 quarts, was $128,000, or nearly 200 per cent more than was received for a larger crop in 1916. This year the crop was 1,045.000 quarts and the gross return | $138,000. The secret of success of the associa- tion is a high quality product, care- fully graded and packed. Each day's shipments are pooled and sent to Bos- ton on consignment. A demand has been created that takes practically all ;he berries the association can mar- et. Nearly one-half of the total tobacco crop last year, or, to be exact, 600,000, 000 pounds, was marketed by eight producer-owned-and-controlled, asso- ciations. The total membership of these eight associations is 259,840. The larger of the tobacco organizations are the Burley Tobacco Growers' Co- operative Association of Lexington, Ky., with 90,607 members, which mar- keted 197,000.000 pounds of tobacco last year; the Tobacco Growers Co- operative Association of Raleigh, N. C., comprising 90,226 members, which marketed 163,000,000 pounds, and the Dark Tobacco Growers' Co-operative Association at Hopkinsville, Ky., hav- ing 64,000 members, which marketed 175,000,000 pounds of tobacco. Other associations are at Madison, Wi Hartford, Conn.; Baltimore, M Baldwinsville, La, and Convent, La. Seeking to Preserve Canadian Pulp Woods Conservation will pmlong for cen- turies the life of northern Ontario’s stand of woods used for pulp paper or lumber, according to the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, which calls the mining possibilities of this area almost limit- less. % “The forest area of Ontario,” a statement by the institute, prises 150,000 square miles. standing timber on crown lands, not counting freehold, is: Pine, 10,000~ 000,000 feet; pulpwood, 200,000,000 cords. Provincial revenue from for- ests in 1920 was $2,700,000. “Every summer an average of 425, 000 acres of forest is burned over. The forest protection at present con- sists of 1,000 men scattered over 100,000,000 acres at a cost of $500,000 per year. Still greater fire protection is being widely advocated and will save millions of dollars annually.” More than $100,000,000, it is said, is invested In the pulp and paper in- dustry of northern Ontario, the third most important in Canada in exports and in revenue to the government. ‘What is claimed to be a world's air record for women was made recently when Mme. Adrienne Ballard, French aviatrix, looped the loop ninety-eight times within fifty-elght minutes -