EDITORIAL-COMMENT
I
Released by Calvin's News Service
On the treadmill of capitalism workers have to
run hard to stay where they are. Take the New
York elveator operators. As the cost of living rose,
they tried to bridge the widening gap by working
longer hours. Opeators in skyscrapers and lofts
have been getting $30.15 (minus deductions) for a
46-hour week. Now the employers and the regional
War Labor Board want them to take a $2.10 cut
and work 42 hours a week. The elevator operators
say they can just scrabble along on $30 and they
can’t skip meals just because they work 4 hours less
(They demand $30 for a 40 hour week.) Their
dramatic strike was called, therefore, not to im
prove their living standards, but to prevent them
from falling. (They have now gone back to work,
at an increase in salary and shorter hours).
What is true of the elevator operators in Gotham
is also true of the loggers in the Douglas Fir Coun
try in the Northwest Pacific, and the oil workers in
Texas, and the industrial workers in Detroit. The
strike struggles in which these workers are now
engaged and in which they are showing dauntless
courage, solidarity and capacity for sacrifice are
really rear-guard actions against a decline in living
standards, not frontal attacks for improvements.
This is a fact, a sobering fact, and I think work
ers should ponder it soberly. Throughout the war
the would-be postwar planners talked endlessly a
bout raising living standards so we could use the
out-put of our expanded plants. The former At
torney General, Francis Biddle, said in 1942 that it
was ‘<»ne of our major problems.to learn to use,
to live in, the immense productive machine which
for war purposes we have built up.” And last
June 30 the present Secretary of Treasury, Fred M.
Vinson, told Congress^.
“The American people are in the pleasant predic
ament of having to learn to live 50% better than
they have ever lived before. Only the defeatist can
scoff at this inescapable fact that we must build our
economy on that basis.”
Now instead of raising living standards, employ
ers, by cutting wages, are causing them to fall. In
fact, some of the employers who declaimed the loud
est over the need to ‘‘raise living standards” are the
most determined to cut the wages of their own work
ers.
One’s first impulse is to blame employers, and ac- '
cuse them of being greedy and shortsighted. But
if we follow this impulse, we lose sight of the fact
that employers are under the compulsion of extern
al, coercive economic laws inherent in the capitalist*
system. Some employers, perhaps a majority, are
greedy and shortsighted. There are others, how
ever. who would like to be more generous in their
treatment of labor. The point is that both the
greedy and the would-be generous employers are
subject to the same economic laws. The worker
whose wages are slashed while living costs are ris
ing can get small comfort from the fact that his em
ployer may have done the slashing reluctantlv.
The real malefactor is not the individual capital
ist, but the capitalist system. The capitalist sys
tem is prevented from bringing the promise of a
bundanee for all to fulfillment because of inherent
economic laws. And we can no more repeal these
laws without “repealing” the capitalist system
than we can repeal the law of gravitation. In con
firmation of this indictment, I point to the follow
ing pertinent facts:
1. To enjoy higher living standards under capit
alism, wages must rise.- They must not fall. They
must not even remain where thev are. Thev must
RISE.
2. Labor power is like any other commodity.
When the supply of workers exceeds the demand—
especially when it exceeds the demand by many
millions—its price (wages) falls.
3. When demobilization rf war-workers and ser
vicemen is complete, the supply of labor will great
ly exceed the demand.
4. What this adds up to is not the higher living j
standards our postwar planners forecast in such
glowing terms, but unemployment, depressed wag
es and depressed standards. Right now workers in i
scores of industries are resisting these effects of
capitalism. Some may be partly or wholly success
ful in blocking wage cuts. But even if they are
successful, the fact remains that they are still
fighting effects, not the cause. Yet they are fight
ing. To one who believes a Socialist Industrial
Democracy is the only solution to the problems of
unemployment, poverty, racism and war, this rebel
lious spirit is heartening. Were the same energy
courage and devotion the American workers now
display in resisting encroachments on their living
standards to be used in a frontal attack on the
cause of their misery and insecurity, we could soon
enjoy a world of happiness, brotherhood, peace and
boundless abundance.
GIVE*
VICTORY FUND AND COMMUNITY CHE5T
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
DECLARED OLD IDEAL
WASHINGTON.—Although the full
■ employment bill is being pushed
i through congress into law by a pre
ponderant favor for it—and there is
no objection to the basic hopefulness
of its theory—no one seems to know
what it means, or even where it
! came from. By great odds, it is
the most uncertain and unclarified
piece of legislation of my time here.
I have been calling it a CIO
bill because the CIO has cam
paigned for it in the usual ex
pensive and prepossessing man
ner which obscures other back
ing and monopolizes the publi
city. But CIO planners did not
write it.
ine numerous senators whose
names are attached as co-authors
will give you little satisfaction if you
inquire where they got the notion of
passing a law proclaiming the right
to wofk which has always existed,
legally, constitutionally and by cus
tom. The original draft of their bill
was probably composed, as nearly
as I can ascertain, by the Farmers
Union, farthest left of the three farm
ers lobbies and often called the
farmer branch of the CIO. But of
all things the farmers need right
now, a law declaring their right to
work must run behind help short
ages, equipment shortages, price
fears and practically every other ex
isting agricultural consideration.
The Farmers Union people will
say they got the idea out of a speech
Mr. Roosevelt made in which he
mentioned a lot of rights, including
the right to work. But Mr. Roose
velt did not say there ought to be
a law, and before he mentioned the
matter it had gotten into a resolu
tion of an international labor office
meeting in Philadelphia. Sir Wil
liam Beveridge, whose vast social
security hopes were swamped in the
last election, was an ardent
champion of legislation to declare
the right to work. Going behind and
beyond him, an investigation will
bring you to the fact that such a
right is declared in the Soviet Rus
sian constitution.
There it has some meaning
because under a dictatorship fix
ing salaries, controlling hours,
renting homes and even cooking
and charging for the workers’
meals, while restraining the i
worker from freedom, a law
promising to share whatever
work the government gives is a
realistic right. But this is ail
far behind American ideals and
rights which already go much
further, promising among other
things, freedom of work at one
place or another and the right
not to work.
fc-ven this would not be so perplex
ing except that both sponsors and
amenders of this right-to-work bill
agree it carries no legal rights. Co
author Thomas of Utah may not
have been pinned down on that point
yet, but Co-author Murray and
Amender Taft, and all the others,
seem agreed no citizen could sue
an employer or the government for
a job or get out an injunction, or
that a labor union could sue, or get
the courts to make someone estab
lish jobs or wages, hours or any
thing. This, they all say, is just a
declaration of policy by congress,
no matter how it is worked. Its
authors particularly deny that it is
a trick to establish a legal basis for
a whole new conception of law in
which the unions or individual work
ers could build up decisions through
this new Supreme court to indict
the government or employers and
perhaps establish criminal penal
ties.
If it does not do this, then
what does it do? Well, its spon
sors rather frankly indicate they
look on it as a political propa
ganda step, establishing a pol
icy-peg upon which they can
hang future legislative demands.
Particularly they want big
spending appropriations made in (
the future, and they will then |
say: “The policy of every man
a job has been established so
this appropriation must be made
to give him a job.” Or they can
build up a demand that the Alu
minum company be broken up
for that reason, or that all black
hair be made white because it
would create jobs in the hair
dyeing industry.
This makes it seem unimportant
because congress retains the right
to appropriate or not appropriate
regardless of this undefined declara
tion of an unagreed policy. Frank
ly, then I do not know what it
means, except that everyone will
ask for government funds.
A decline in work-week is another
provision. Plans to cut the govern
ment work-week again from 40 (it
was 48) to 30 have already been pro
posed in bills. This keeps salaries
where they were and prevents nor
mal utilization of the talents, abili
ties and aptitudes of the nation's
manpower. It does not increase pur
chasing power or create more em
ployment opportunities; it merely
shares-the-work. less work for the
qation as a whole, therefore less pro
ductivity and less tax revenues to
sustain a high economy, needed for
full employment.
I
ASK POLL TAX EXEMPTIONS
FOR V LI, \ KTEHANS
I
New York_Poll lax exemption
for ail veterans* regardless of race
t-oi >: or creed, asked by the Minne
apolis American Legion Po§t, is a
hopeful sign in the Legion's rela
Gioi s with Negro veterans, accord
ing to Julius A. Thomas, National
Urban League Industrial Relations
Dire-tor. The Minneapolis Minne
sota Johnny baker Post No. 2iJl has
DECORATED FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS WORK
MAJOR H'." B. ROBERTS
MAJOR HOMER B. ROBERTS
IS DECORATED FOR MERIT
ORIOUS PUBLIC
RELATIONS SERVICES
Major Homer B Roberts, since
August, 1043, Chief of the . Negro
Interest Section, Press Branch. War
Department Bureau of Public Rela
tions, received the Legion of Merit
for ‘‘exceptionally meritorious" ser
vices in "the establishment and main
tenance of effective Public Relations
on behalf of Negroes in the Army,'
the War Department announced
Major General Alexander D
Surles, Director of Information,
presented the award to Major Rob
erts at a brief ceremonv held in his
offices in the Pentagon Building.
Washington, DC
Following is the official citation:
“Major Homer B- Roberts per
formed exceptionally meritorious
service while assigned to the War
Department Bureau of Public Re
lations from August 1943 to Sept
ember 194.-) As Chief of the Ne
gro Interest Section, Press Branch
he ably contributed to the estab
lishment and maintenance of effect
ive public relations on behalf of the
Negroes in the army and renderea
service of great value to the War
Department through the institution
of adevuate publicity on the per
formance of Negro troops.
Major Roberts displayed an out-J
standing knowledge of the problems |
of the Negro soldier and exercised I
sound judgment in meeting these
problems, with favorable results in
the pri ss, on the radio- and through
other media, resulting in assistance
of the greatest value to the war ef
fort-"
A veteran of the World War, Ma
jor Roberts first enlisted in the
Army as a private in December, 191?
and served overseas with the 92nd
Infantry Division where he was el
evated to a first Lieutenancy in the
Signal Corps At the conclusion
of the war he returned to his auto
mobile business in Kansas City,
Missouri, which was considered as
one of the most successful busin
ess ventures in the city
Reporting for duty as a captain
in ctober 3, 1942, Major Roberts
was assigned as Public Relations
Officers and Commanding Officer
of the Military Police Detachment
at Fort Huachuca, Arizona- While
in tihs capacity with the Corps of
Military Police, he prepared and
distributed to the press many news
releases on the activities of Negro
soldiers at Fort Huachuca
In recognition of his efforts in
this direction he was ordered to the
Bureau of Public Relations in Wash
itigton- DC , where he set up the
Negro Interest Section in the Press
Branch of the News Division- The
Negro Interest Section provides a
weekly press service for interested
newspapers
In maintaining close liasion with
just passed a resolution to be pres
ented to its National Convention in
Chicago in November, demanding
that ‘'all honorably discharged vet.
fans of World War It, regardless
of race, creed or color, be exempt
ed from all poll tax payments
Grandfather's clauses, and all o:ber
local restrictions and requirements
to the end and purpose that such
honorably discharged veterans be
enabled hereafter to exercise their I
voting franchise under the intent'
and provision of the Constitution.”'
This action came after the Fifth ]
District American Legion, Depart
ment of Minnesota, took the m it
ter up with State Legion officials,
the Minneapolis Spokesman report-1
ed. With presentation of the resolu
tion to be made to Minnesota state
caucus delegates .1* the Noli .nal
Convention.
LEAGUES READi TO «riTOUT
"Fifty-one loc.il Leagues throut
the country,” Thomas stated, "are
ready to cooperate in supporting
this anti-poll tax action.” The In
dustrial Relations Director emphas
ized that the Urban Leagti,. nad,
several months ago ret or.imended
to American f «;<:•>: officials lhat
its constitution be changed to per
mit Negroes to become members of
the Legion in the seven southern
states which not only exclude them
but which do not even permi' them
to organize separate posts. ”he
League also proposed that Negro
officials be added to the Legion's
national staff.
the Negro press and covering act-’
ivitieg of Negro soldiers. Major
Roberts traveled more than 46,000
miles in the continental United Stat
es and more than 17,000 air miles
over Europe and North Africa.
A native of Wellington, Kansas,
Major Roberts attended the State
Agricultural College at Manhattan,
Kansas where he majored in elect
rical engineering. At the beginning
of World War II he was co-owner
of an automobile sales firm in Chi
cago, Illinois
Major Roberts plans to return to
civilian life within the next few days
as head of the Detroit, Michigan
office of a national advertising a
gency• I
“YOU CAN’T CATCH
CANCER!”
(bv DR JOHN E. MOSELEY)
Assistant Radiologist at Mt- Sinai
and Sydenham Hospitals—Chair
man Harlem Committee, Ameri
can Cancer Society—
Contrary to the
belief of most peo
ple cancert is NOT
an inherited or con
tagious disease.
Many persons in
whose families there
has occurred a can
cer death, live with
the quiet fear that
sooner or later a
similar fate will Dr- Moseley
overtake them
It is believed at present by the
best medical authorities that a per
son may inherit a predisposition or
weakness to cancer, but not the can
cer itself- Some other factor or
factors must operate in addition to
this weakness to produce the disease.
One such factor is thought to bet
chronic irritation.
For instance, if two young men
started the habit of pipe smoking at
the age of 20, one at the age of 50
might develop a tongue cancer or
lip cancer at the exact point of con
tact with the hot pipe stem or the
irritating smoke- The other might
go on smoking until he reached the
age of 106- He right in fact list
pipe smoking as one of the causes
of his good health and longevity.
On the other hand, had neither of
these men started smoking, neither
would have developed a mouth can
cer. The unlucky fellow who die*
develop this disease did so because
he had inherited a predisposition or
weakness to it to which he added a
source of chronic irritation. The
other smoker was subjected to a
chronic irritation but was rcsistent
to the development of cancer.
Obviously we cannot change our
inheritance, but we can control ir
ritations. We can see that dental
plates are properly fitted, that the
mouth is kept clean and hat all
sources of chronic irritation in the
body ore eradicated- Venereal in
fections should be cleared up immed
iately and not permitted to linger ov
er a period of years. General pers
onal hygiene and cleanliness are si
lent but effective partners in the
fight against cancer.
After having babies, mothers
should always stay under the doc
tor's care until they are discharged
Many women feel that once the baby
is bom nature will adequately take
care of the healing processes. As
a result many such women carry the
unhealed injuries of childbirth with
them year after year and this acts
as a dangerous source of cancer ir
ritation.
The belief that cancer is contag
ious has NO foundation in truth- j
Doctors and nurses handle cancer
patients daily with no protection
whateevr. Cancers are handled
w ith the naked hand in routine ex
aminations and there is no case on
record of a human being catching
cancer. As a local wit put it re
cently “You do not catch cancer,
cancer catches you”. ,
For further information apply to
your local American Cancer Society
or to the national office at 350 5th
avenue. New York City.
^JlteeMcum
Jin WASHINGTON
IBy Walter Shead
S VVNU Corrmtoondmnt
A World Department
Of Agriculture
i
rVERY farmer and rancher, every
person connected with the food
and agricultural industry in these
United States from producer to
processor, and citizens generally,
should watch with deep interest the
meeting of the food and agriculture
organization of the United Nations
in Quebec, starting October 16.
This is the first of the permanent
new United Nations agencies to be
launched after the end of hostilities,
which marks the importance at
tached to its deliberations by our
government and the governments of
all the 44 United Nations. As this
is written, the list of American dele
gates to the conference has not been
announced. It is likely, however,
that the delegates from the United
States will be headed by Howard
Talley of the department of agricul
ture, who has acted as the United
States representative on the Interim
commission of the organization.
The food and agricultural or
ganization ratified by the 44 na
tions at San Francisco is part
and parcel, and a most impor
tant function of the United
Nations organization, it Is not
a relief agency. Its aim ts to im
prove world agriculture and to
inc. .are ,e'-d production; to
provide a higher standaru of diet
and raise the levels of nutri
tion and the standards of living
throughout the world ... all of
which is intended to contribute
to an expanding world economy.
The organization will likely set up
machinery which will function for
world agriculture and production
much like our own department of
agriculture functions in the United
States ... in an advisory capacity,
passing along scientific development
. . . the dissemination of agricul
tural knowledge . . . technical in
formation and the results of sci
entific agricultural research ... to
aid in setting up agencies in all the
44 countries for combating soil ero
sion, to improve soil and crops, to
develop better livestock . . to
take into consideration reforestation
. . rural electrification . . . farm
to market roads . . exploration of
new sources of food ... to provide
better tools for primitive farmers
to increase production . . . attention
to surplus crops and a better dis
tribution of these crops and many
other subjects necessarily attendant
to the huge and complicated task ol
providing more and better food for
a world and its population ravished
by years of total war.
Not Enough Land
There are now about 2,200,000,000
human beings populating this old
world on which we live, and the ex
perts predict that at present rate
of increase there will be a billion
more by the end of the century
These experts further point out that
there are at present only about 4,
000,000,000 acres of arable land in
use, which is less than 2M> acres
per capita. Even in our own coun
try there is only a fraction more
than seven acres per capita in farm
lands, including woodlands and pas
ture lands. If we would take into
account only the crop lands har
vested, approximately 321.250.000
acres, our per capita acreage would
just about equal the world aver
age.
So without an expanding acreage
of arable lands, without basic re
sources in India, in China, in Rus-.
sia and many other countries, such
as we have in this country, the ex
perts say that the world will con
tinue to produce insufficient food to
feed its billions of humans.
What the representatives ot
the#e 44 nations . . . what our
own delegation does at Quebec
to commit this country to a pro
gram of world agricultural re
habilitation will determine in
large measure whether we as a
people were honest when we sub- \
scribed to the Atlantic charter
and the charter of the United
Nations at San Francisco.
For with this charter in exist
ence and binding upon us . . . with
our nation emerging from the war
as the most fortunate, the most pow
erful . . . with a new conception
and in a new position as the lead
er of the world . . . the time has
passed when we can watch the peo
ple of India, China or any other
nation starving, and salve our con
science with a check to some relief
society
Two-thirds of the people of the
world are farmers. These hundreds
of millions are striving to raise food
on worn out land.
And from the selfish few comes
the comment: “Why should we help
the rest of the world raise food
when there continues to be surplus in
our own crops?’’ And the answer, i
of course, is that with proper dis
tribution; that with the rest of the
world eating and living on a par
with our own diet; there would be
no surplus, with a continuing ex- ■
panding world economy calling al
ways for increasing production.
RAYALTON—OIL TREATED
Stoker Coal $9.50 "on
• Blackstone lump .$11.60 per ton.
• Large load of Sawed Kindling Wood $4.50
per load.
—♦CITY WIDE DELIVERY SERVICE—
JONES FUEL 8c SUPPLY CO.
_2520 Lake St._Telephone AT 5631
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IS NOW
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.Watch for the Announcement
for future delivery service.
Phone JA-9293
L. Glenn, N. Johnson, Props.
We wish to Announce
THE OPENING OF THE
G & J Smoke Shop
2118 NORTH 24th Street
Everything in the Line of
CIGARS, CIGARETTES, &
SOFT DRINKS
Jackson & Godbey, Props.
Johnson Drug Co.
2306 North 24th
—FREE DELIVERY—
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TELEPHONE JA-9175
ggal
I STUDENTS DEMONSTRATION IN
BUENOS AIIIES_ Buenos Aires
f
Argentina, (Soundphoto) A shower
of leaflets ghower upon Moreno
■ Street in Buenos Aires from stud
| ents atop the Engineering Building
i of the University during one of the
1 recent demonstrations which led to
j Juan Peron'g resignation.
j -
NORTH 24th STREET
SHOE REPAIR
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