The San Antonio Light (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 233, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 9, 1919 Page: 6 of 20
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6
J THE SAN ANTONIO LIGHT.
tFoOtdrfl Jvum* ?•_
R9^^^HMDprl» Th*
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H| AJMoMo. Tex unco t . a t of C ’ cre-a M i'.
Publication OHc*: • • t'MH T a*:a Stutu
between Avenue* C and D.
M BSCKIPTION KATES.
DpVy end Sunctj. 1 tn<»mh * *»-*•
DaL* <nd Sunanj. * *"
^HlDtry and Sunday. maH. 1 mon tn..... *'
Daily and Sundaj me.. 1 year » n r._'.i: f ' »> ^
H^Kl DaLy and Sunday man. 1 year. Mexico in advance M.uo
Dally and SuUbj. m-i; i uipu'.i. Memo 'n a>!' n e • *'»»
K Suaday. carrier. ] year
Bm4«>. mail. 1
Bia. i. eot». dally or Sunday 04
ISRI It la Important «hm dralrlns i‘» addreM • »" J[
||Msß payar C&angrd. to zl». br.ih old and nan addrors.-a
Mwuld d«ll»«ry be tr«su:»r. i.-av b''H> i
TaUpßon. Crockett 1741.
HH The San Antonie Light la or. «al« «■ tote a■■!n " >■
atanda throughout th. United State..
■E „* TORE OFFICE—ia-A L । 5 ‘
■H CHICAGO OFFICE—PiuI B. Inc.. B S
|||||| I BOSTON OFFICE—PauI Etc.. Inc.. Little B’dK.
jS*: DETROIT OFF.CL—For: 8.. a. Inc.. Kt ’. B «
BUFFALO OFFICE—Lewie Building.
member of the associated press.
Saji: The Aaaoclatea Pre. Is etCullrely entl’.ed to the
W Motor republication ot all r.« .e dlrpatcre. c-rdn.d t
■K •« not otb.ru:« credit.! in tbta paper and also the
■| local nene published herein. Ail righto ot republic.-
UM Of weclal dispatches herein are also reserved.
SIMPLE WONDERS.
b Not all the wonders born of the war
f were discovered in laboratories. Nor were
1’ all of them revealed to the world or
• even known to the highest officials
1 while the war was in progress. Some of
I them came to light far from the work-
i shops of science and are just now being
J revealed to circles of the learned. „
An item from London says that as
a men dribble back home from the ends of
j the earth they bring strange stories of
j devices resorted to for cheating starvation
? and thirst and disease." While millions
I of men were fighting upon the old fields
[ of Europe with the greatest weapons
I and most ingenious devices that science
I could evolve there were bands of men
| in the remote places of the earth placed
| there for precautionary purposes in some
I cases who underwent hardships of a
I different kind from those experienced by
. the soldiers in Europe but no less severe.
Whereas the fighters in Europe were
I backed by every facility and resource
[ that money and science and brains could
I procure some of those in the obscure
I spots of the earth far removed from the
I advantages afforded the great armies
I were sometimes dependent upon their
| brains alone. With no great laboratory
•; or other facilities such as may be ob-
I tained in the more civilized lands they
were often confronted with problems for
j whose solution they were compelled to
. rely upon their native ingenuity.
Unfortunately only a few of the dis-
I coveries thus made were mentioned in
j the London dispatch. Particularly re-
| grettable is the omission of facts con-
I ceming the methods employed by soldiers
far from home to cheat starvation and
■ thirst. Some information regarding the
I treatment of diseases that make their
appearance under such circumstances
however is given and this information
may be more important because of the
fact that the same kinds of diseases have
appeared in the thickly populated parts
of Europe as a result of abnormal con-
i' ditions created by the war.
For instace. as is often the case with
men faring forth upon expeditions to
' remote regions the British soldiers in
I Mesopotamia had no great variety of food
i They had to live largely upon peas and
' beans in the dried state. Scurvy beri-
i beri and pellagra developed. It was found
that the dried peas and beans acquired
[ anti-scorbutic properties if they were
i soaked in water and thus made to sprout
1 before being cooked.
It was also found that lemons possess
' somewhat the same preventive and cura-
[ tive properties and it is related that the
I periodic shipment of large quantities of
। lemons to British troops in remote re-
gions whenever they were threatened
with epidemics of the kind mentioned
; explains what was long a mystery to
customers in the London markets. Some-
times the markets were glutted with
lemons; at other times there was hardly
a lemon to be found there. The food.
| controller was blamed.
K What the soldiers in the far-distant
lands learned about lemons and sprouted
peas and beans is now being employed
in the treatment of diseases which have
sprung up in various parts of Europe as
a result of improper or insufficient food.
Thus the world seems to make progress
in spite of itself. ’
» — oo ——
OUR MONETARY PUZZLE.
’ Continued increase of prices seems to
have gained greater popularity for Prof.
Irving Fisher’s scheme for the creation
of a "composite" dollar. As is usually
the case when a plan for the solution of an
economic problem is offered it is not
clear whether some persons who have
endorsed the Yale president’s scheme are
thinking so much of the means as of the
end. With some of them it may be a
case of the wish being father to the
thought. As is likewise usual if not
inevitable. Professor Irving may find that
too enthusiastic endorsement by persons
of this class is more of a handicap than a
help.
It appears bouexer that some who have
TUESDAY.
a greater claim to expertness are con-
sidering the scheme more seriously now
> than they did when in the earlier stages
of the *scent of prices it was first pre-
-1 sented. At first some critics said that it
. savored of the Populist scheme of the
। early ’9o’s—and that criticism Was enough
■ to dispose of it in the minds of men who
think in captions with a sort of mental
. pigeon-hole for each subject without con-
sidering the inherent qualities of every
। proposition as it appears. But although
' the theory of the Populists was doubtless
i ! fallacio'tts it was not so ridiculous as the
' wits of the time made it out to be.
While the Populists proposed that
. money be issued against the products of
the soil held in sub-treasuries —and the
ridiculous nature of the proposal was due
largely to the incongruity between sub-
treasuries and agricultural commodities —
Professor Fisher proposes that the gold
dollar be made variable in weight and
fixed in purchasing power. Thus accord-
ing to the theory instead of buying so
much or so little of a commodity with a
certain amount of gold we ftould in
effect buy s« much or so little g\ld with
a fixed quantity of that commodity.
Whether or not the theory would work
out in practice is a question which does
not alter the fact that the conditions now
existing are similar to those which gave
rise to some of the schemes that were
devised about thirty years ago. Of course
there are important differences between
the conditions of that time and those ot
today. One of them is that money is
more plentiful now than it was then.
But there is a striking similarity between
the two sets of conditions in the rela-
tionship between money and products—-
or rather in the effect of that relation-
ship—in the two periods. As a matter of
mathematical fact the relationship has
been reversed; the similarity is- seen in
the effect.
Then the value of gold was increasing.
One could buy comparatively large quan-
tities of goods with a small amount of
gold—if one had the gold. The rub came
in getting the gold.
Now the value of gold as compared
with that of commodities is low. The
rub comes in getting the commodities.
Moreover the present ratio between
silver and gold is again almost sixteen
to one—as it was prior to 1873 when the
nation had a bimetallic standard and as
Mr. Bryan wanted to have it in 1896.
But the situation of the ‘9o’s was re-
lieved by the discovery of gold in large
quantities in Alaska and South Africa
so that the disaster predicted by the
“Great Commoner" could not materialize
even if the theory had been sound.
If the present relationship between gold
and commodities is just the reverse of
that which existed thirty years ago and the I
effect upon living conditions is substan-'
tially the same. Professor Fisher and (
the advocates of his scheme may say that
nothing is lacking to prove that the solu- j
tion of themonetary puzzle is the crea-'
tion of a dollar based upon standard
commodities.
I
— oo
FROM CENSURE TO PRAISE.
Considering the testimony offered re- :
cently before the Senate committee on •
agriculture no little of which has been in 1
opposition to the Kendrick and Kenyon !
bills one is likely to wonder what has
happened to the cattle raisers lately or
whether the popular impression regarding 1
their attitude toward the packers has been <
correct. For not a few of the witnesses <
have praised the packers so highly and in
some instances so fulsomely perhaps that
the paid press agents of the latter might ]
well have been put to shame. We had ‘
been given to understand down here in ■
Texas that the cattle raisers had a deep <
and abiding grievance against the pack- 1
ers. Yet it was a cattle raiser from this '
state it seems who sounded the first peal <
of praise for the packers which the in- •
vestigators have heard from the side of ;
the producers. ’
Hence it is difficult for the public ‘
which has so often been solicited by both! i
the cattle raisers and the packers to be-l^
lieve their respective stories to “get heads i
or tails” of the actual situation. It is hard-11
ly likely that the cattle raisers as a class |j
have completely reversed their former':
position. What the hearings before the J
Senate committee are revealing if they!
are revealing anything is probably that'
there has always been a difference of
opinion among the cattle raisers concern-
ing the packers.
Heretofore the public has heard only
one side of the producers’ story —and
naturally so since persons who are satis-
fied with conditions do not feel called
upon to express their views. It is only
those with a grievance who make a noise.
This unexpected praise of the packing
industry coming front such an unexpected
source may also indicate that the authors
of the bills under consideration have not
hit exactly upon the defects of that in-
dustry as seen by so many of the pro-
ducers. It may be that those who have
praised the packers foresee in the Kendrick
and Kenyon measures an effect more ad-
xerse to their interests than the conditions
which those bills were designed to remedy.
In other words they might welcome some
changes in the relationship between them-
selves and the packers but would rather
have the present relationship continue in-
definitely than to have the business of the
packers interfered with in the manner pro-
posed by Messrs. Kendrick and Kenyon.
Such a situation has frequently been
the result of one-sided agitation—and thus
far the agitation certainly has been of
that nature. Now there is a great hue and
cry about something and when Congress
or some other law-making body starts
in to apply a drastic remedy evidence is
presented which purports to show that
conditions were not so bad as they had
been painted. It may be ironical but it is
nevertheless human that some of this
evidence should be offered by the very
class that has been making the complaints.
HIGH COST OF IDLENESS.
Besides the fact that they stand to
lose control .over labor through unauthor-
ized strikes union officials may have
come to realize that under present con-
ditions strikers whether acting upon
union authority or not run the risk of
defeating the very object which they
would gain. As expressed by Mr. Stone
in his statement to Congress it is the
desire of organized labor to have the cost
of living reduced rather than merely to
obtain higher wages.
That statement is jone of the most
sensible and fortunate yet made in be-
half of organized labor and should repre-
sent the sentiment of non-union workers
as well. For it should be plain that the
problem which confronts not only the
L T nited States but the entire world as
well is largely one of production. Of
course there are various elements in the
problem but there is none other which
appears as such a common factor as
does the inadequacy of production.
Every time a man quits work there-
fore he is aggravating by just that much
one of the greatest factors in the problem
of the high cost of living. And when
thousands or millions of men quit work
at the same time in any one industry
the effect is tremendous. Nor is the effect
limited to the particular field in which
those men were engaged.
Of course the problem will not be
solved immediately if every worker re-
mains at his post. But such loyalty will
assuredly make the problem easier of
solution. AVhereas cessation-of work on
any scale large or small cannot but
aggravate the shortage of production and
thereby augment the cost of living.
Victory for strikers under such con-
ditions can be only an empty victory at
best. What though they gain all of their
demands for higher wages shorter hours
and so on. they will find upon resuming
work that their advantages thus gained
are advantages no longer—their increases
in wages being offset by increases in the
cost of living and although it may ap-
pear ironical to them if they realize it
they will find that the very process
through which they sought higher wages
has been instrumental in boosting prices
of commodities which they must have.
oo
The Shah of Persia has decided not to
I visit the United States after all. Oh
Shah!
oo
German marks have depreciated great-
ly in value sjnee the war. So have German
easy marks.
; 00
Two thousands wrist watches have been
। stolen from the army supply base in
Brooklyn it develops. What decadent
times these are when our burglars will
stoop to such things.
oo
The city has asked for a reduction in
the gas and electricity rates charged
consumers in San Antonio. Crude oil has
done something for San Antonio.
oo —
The Land ot Tears.
Went back “home’ last week to see
If things were the same a* they used to be.
Got sort o’ tired of city life—
Noise and crowding and ceaseless strife —
Yearned to look at the old gray town
Out at its elbows and running down.
Thought it would seem good ’cross the years
Found instead ’twaa a land of tears’.
Gaps in the ranks of the boys I jtnew
<Jiris mostly widows: only a few
Seemed to have lived and made their way;
Nobody nigh who cared to play.
Weren't even glad to have rne come —
There just in time to remind of wmp
Grief and rare that had grown between
।Them and me since Time was green
JUack the color mixed with blue
Where I had looked for a rosy hue:
My mind teemed with memories bright
They saw only the. darkest night.
I’a st full of gloom no future at all
[Just setting 'round to await the call
I From the Angel of Death who'd paused next door.
' Sighing and sighing of ‘’Nevermore.”
। Came straight back to the crowd and noise
The seething city and its joys.
| Where life stays young despite its years
' Leaving forever the Land of Tears’.
—Don C. Seitz in the New York Sun.
—oo
The Small Boy’s Trouble.
Before they had arithmetic
Or telescopes or chalk.
Or black boards maps nnd copy-books—
When they could only talk.
Before Columbus came to show
The world geography
What did they teach the little lw»y
Who went to school like me?
There wasn't any grammar then;
They couldn't read nor spell.
For books were not invented yet—
I think Twas just as well.
There were not any rows of dates
Or laws or wars or kiugs
Or generals or victories
Or any of those things.
There couldn’t be much tn learn;
There wasn't mndi to know
'Tuas nw-e to be a boy
Ten thousand years ago.
For hfetory had not begun
The world was very new
And in the school I don't see what
The children bad to do.
Now always there is more to Darn —
How history does grow!
And every day they find Dew things
They think we ought to kaou.
And if it must go on like this
I'm glad to live today.
T'or boys ten thousand years from now
Will nut have time to play!
—lrish World New York.
THE SAN ANTONIO LIGHT.
Represents Members
of National Grange
A. M. Loomis who represents
the farmers before thejointed ses-
sion ot the agricultural committee
of the two houses ot Congress vot-
ing the Congressional plan to com-
bat the high cost of living. Mr.
Loomis is a Washington represen-
tattvo of the National Grange
which claims an enrolled member-
ship ot more than 700000.
Letters to ihe Light
All letter* to this paper that are fn«
tvuded for publicstion mut<t be siKtied
oy the ivrlter. The name of the writer
will not be published uniea^ It is de-
alred. No attention will be on Id to
anonymous Communications Tj pe-
written signatures and those made
ullb a rubber stamp are ciaased as
Anonymous. The publication ct a let-
ter does not necessarily mean that the
policy outlined therein is endoised by
'be publishers of The Light.
HOBBY'S WAR.
To the Editor:
I saw in the paper a few days ago
that the governor of Texas wants tne
United States to intervene in Mexico.
I went through the Spanish-American
war. the PhilinpiDo hr urnytion. the
punitive expedition into Mexico nnd the
: world war and I for one have seen
I enough war.
Did the governor ever hrtp bis coun-
try? When it was in trouble how many
miles did he ever hike through heat and
cold wet and dry? H<rv much hard
tack did he ever eat? How mauy times
did he ever go to sleep with an c/< ty
stomach ?
1 doubt if he ever helped his country
out when it was in trouble. I volunteer-
ed for all tbo above wars and I don't
want to any more. The men who
have to do the fighting do not want to
see any intervention. The governor
knows he would not have to go; while
i the poor roldiors were sleeping upon the
ground he would be living in luxury
and having a fine time. Ai’ben it was
over he would probably get upon a soap
box nnd tell the people how he licked
them.
Let some of these people take a gun
and help to do some of the fighting in-!
stead of wanting the other fellow to do
all the fighting. G. W. B.
“INJLSTICE BEING DONE.”
To the Editor:
I am 3!) years old now was born and
raised right here in Bexar county and .
have seen many bits of legalized injus-1
tice. but the one going on now knocked
me out some time ago. but the second ep- (
isode to the Alamo National Bank rob-'
bery brought me around to where for 1
the sake of fair play I had to protest
through your valuable newspaper.
It does not take an expert lawyer to '
see who was to blame but did you see ■
who got the punishment?
The case is this: H. J. Brown was
Wor.der Wkat the Sphinx Thinks About
k CO.VRICHT CLI’UOIh.T W.
a messenger for the Alamo National
Bank; on August 7 be had iu bis care
$36000 belonging to said batik; be met
A. J. Clements by agreement or other-
wise; Brown told Clements that be bad
i enough to make it worth tile while or
words to that effect so they both went
together through the central streets of
J the city with officers at almost every
corner right at about noon when sidc-
| walks and streets were crowded with
I people and still Brown and Clements
kept on going to a camp yard on Flores
Street where Brown let Clements tie and
gag him midget away with the'money
^^J.OOO; it was all within Brown's pow-
er* to say yes or no and the robbery
i would take place or not. .
But did you see the result of the trial?
j Brown two years Clements six years
। and not only this but 1 see in the Light
1 Brown's friends including the bank of-
I ficials and the district attorney are go-
ing to try nnd get the governor to par-
don Brown.
But how about Clements? Ho is a
working man with a wife and family
just as dear to him as ours are to us
will some good Christian do something
for him.
1 do not object to Brown being imr-
i doned along with Cl -meatu list it looks
■ awful to sec him go free being the real
: criminal and Clements going for six
years when lie was only helping Hrown
1 would like to hear from the readers
of the Light something in regards to
this case.
t V- A. CIIL'Z.
ICELESS REFRIGERATOR.
Dnuid L. Caddy who writes in vtv-
of New England ways find in New Eng-
land dialect for The Burlington (Vt.)
Free Press tells of the sultry weather
in Mid-July and adds “That’s wh^n w^
used to put the cream way down inside
the well.” We did. It may have been
an old custom at the time of the Revolu-
tionary War and one holies the practice
is common now in tilt smaller towns
where cream and farm house wells are
to be found.
No poet could do justice to the topic
within the space which a newspaper
would be willing to devote but the men-
tion of the practice brings many mem-
ories to the mind of on£ who was coun-
try-bred says the Hartford Courant
Even as late ns 1889 in days which
seem leisurely now but which did not so
appear then the housewives of Connecti-
cut were ignorant of the direful work
of bacteria but they knew that cream
should be kept in a cool place so when
even the farmhouse cellar failed to come
up to the specifications the well was re-
sorted to.
The well might be equipped with a
pump the cucumber pump was much
iu vogue in those days in which rase
the cream went down only as a last
resort but if th# well had two buckets
attached tft a chain run over a wheel
' or had the primitive wellsweep the task
was easy. A rope was attached to the
1 pail of' cream which was lowered to
I within a foot of the water when the
' upper end was carefully made fast to a
' S nike o: — 1 in the corner of the well-
' carb. Tin n the cream was in a cool
! place for the night or Sunday.
1 There were certain perils and dangers
1 botli to the cream and to the well as
■ care had to be taken when the water-
| buckets were lowered into or hauled
I from the we!! else the "kiver would
Ibe knocked from the crenm-pnil or
I worse vet. a bucket on its upward trip
! would-upset it altogether nnd its eon-
: tents would be poured into the well. This
was a tragefly. not only because butter
j sometimes sold as high as 20 cents n
pound but because six quarts of cream
! poured into the water contained in an
average well forms a mixture which
i lacks much of being cnti<<ng and this
result was always one of the possibilties
of lianging the cream-pail in the well.
| Other tilings were cooled in a like
' manner for it was frequently possible
for the housewife to cook more succo-
tash than the family could eat at one
meal incredible ns that may seem. so|
what was not consumed off-hand went (
down the well in a pail of its own but ।
was subject to the same hazards ns those
■ to which the cream was open.
Keeping an open well in good con-
I dition was alwajs something of a task.
Inquisitive fowls would roost precarious-J
I ly upon the curb; now nnd again a
; toad would fall in to^be discovered long;
' after it had outlived its usefulness but I
Ins has been said bacteria and germs |
1 had not then come into their own. The ■
! well out on the farm though is more;
likely than not to be covered over sc-;
I curely 'in these days nnd the cream is;
' cared for in other ways.
COAL AND TRANSPORT CRISIS
IN GERMANY PLACES NATION
ON VERGE OF CATASTROPHE
—
Farbman Says Chief Difficulty Is the Unwillingness of
Men to Work in Mines or on Railroads—Un-
der-feeding Is Contributing Cause.
By MICHAEL FARBMAN
London Tiniea neriice.
Special Cable to The San Antonio Light
and tiie Philadelphia Public Ledger.
Copyright im. by The Public Ledger Co.
Berhn Sept tf.—For the firm time in
several months there are again joyful
comments in the German press. The
Germans are happy first because of the
decision of the peace conference to send
home the German prisoners and second-
ly because the powers have agreed to
curtail the size of the coal indemnity
demanded of Germany. They agree to
accept 20000000 tons instead of 43-
000000 certainly a great concession
but unavoidable. For 20000000 tons
is indeed the utmost that Germany can
deliver and even that can be shipped
only under the most favorable economic
and political conditions.
Without being an alarmist one can
subscribe to the opinion that the Ger-
mans are on the vergv of a catastrophe.
But the post-war economic situation iu
Europe is so involved that the coal crisis
of Germany becomes by necessity a Eu-
ropean coal crisis. The concession made
by France* to Germany in the coni in-
demnity is highly symptomatic prov-
ing that economic necessity is more pow-
erful than the strongest national aver-
sion. Whatever may be the share of
responsibility for the piesent European
calamity of any nationality misery is
common to all nations and only by mu-
tual help can there bo hope of over-
coming the European misery.
Not Purely Coal Crisis.
The crisis iu Germany is not purely
I a coal crisis but rather a combined coal
and transport crisis. It is highly iu-
structivc to analyze the cause extent
and features of this crisis because thi
same causes with identical results are
at work in all European countries in
some even with greater intensity than
in Germany. The calculation of the
coal indemnity was based not only on
' the uccds of France but on the pre-
I war output of German coal mines—-
' over 191000000 tons. Germany ex-
I ported in peace-time 20000000 tons
I and in spite of losing the coal mines of
i Alsace with au output of over 3000000
tOM aunually nnd those of the Saar
Basin with about 14000000 tons’ out-
put Germany in the eyes of France
could easily deliver the 43000000 tons
demanded because her own needs for in-
dustrial purposes had considerably di-
minished. in 1913 Germany used al-
together 61000000 tons for railways
gas water utilities electricity shipping
agricultural needs small industries and
households so that for the major indus-
try there remained over KXIJIOO/XM)
tons. This amount was needl'd whrn
German industry worked at full speed.
Under the present conditions of indus-
try and considering the smaller Ger-
man population Germany weds about
20 per ent lees coal but the output
has decreased over 40 per ceut aud in-
•teaO ~f getting the 1734)00000 tone
which Germany should have when the
oiitpnt of the Alsatian and Saar mines
are subtracted Germany now gets only
just over 100000<HX) tons. If Ger-
many had delivered 43000000 tons
she would have been left with less than
60000000 tons for all purposes.
Working Hours Reduced.
The latest and must economical esti-
mates of Germany's needs for railways
gas water utilities electricity shipping
small industries households and agri-
culture amount to 43(MM)000 tons so
that for the largo industries there would
have remained only about 17000000
tons. It is the concensus of expert
Opinion that even 20<MM>000 tons as a
coal indemnity is beyond the present
German output and impossible unless
the output is considerably increased.
The cause of the enormous diminution
of the output at first seems very
strange because the numbers of miners
has rather increased. In 1913 the Ruhr
district had 391000 miners; Upper Si-
lesia 114000. Now the Ruhr district
has 420000 and Silesia 160000 miners.
The real cause is the decline of pro-
durtivity which is generally but wrong-
ly taken to be the result of the revolu-
tion but ns a matter of fact began
SEPTEMBER 9 1919.
even before the war. Only the rate of
decline of productivity has been greater
since the revolution. According to care-
fully made statistics the productivity
of the average miner in the Ruhr dis-
trict iu June 1914 was .98 tons; iu
August 1918 it was .73 tons aud iu
June 1919 it was .57. The only new
factor since the revolution is the reduc-
tion of working hours from eight and
oue-half to seven aud the definite re-
fusal of the meu to work over-
time.
iTbriug the war. especially under the
so-called Hindenburg program the
miners were compelled to overwork uu-
der the threat of being sent to the
trenches. The result was au average
of 1600000 rases of over-time a mouth
but already in August 1918 this had
declined to 800000 and iu May 1919
to 200900 whereas at present there are
practically none. This growing aversion
to overwork is the result of the great
strain aud under-feeding as is evi-
dence from the enormous increase in
sickness and absence from work. In Oc-
tober 1916 the average absenteeism was
two shifts a man iu a month. Iu July
1919 it was four shifts a mouth.
Six-hour Shifts Planned.
The exact reduction of working hours
iu the miues after the revolution wgs
17L per ceut. This reduction how-
ever painful it may be from the
economic viewpoint is considered abso-
lutely necessary from the viewpoint of
national health and a government com-
mission is now discussing the possibility
of the further reduction of working
hours to six hours. Whether the six
hour shift will allow continual work
of four shifts is very doubtful because
it will demand au increase iu the num
ber of miners to 50000 men which is
considered impossible if only because of
the lack of houses.
Unproductivity cannot be explained
merely by the curtailing of the working
hours because the hours have decreased
17 per cent and the output has gone
down 40 per ceut. The explanation is
chiefly in the unwillingness of the men
to work in mines railways and indus-
tries of Germany and other countries of
Central Europe. That is the central
problem. Europe’s salvation depends
exclusively Upon the solution of the
problem of work. It is not only a ques-
tion of more work but chiefly of willing
work. The lack of a fervor to work
may partly be explained by tiie under-
feeding. Indeed the present German
raticus and the additional allowance for
hard labor make only 1900 calories
while ir pneHimn the rvtrago German
worker was getting 7hl
best proof that under-feeding is one
of the causes of the decline of
productivity is seen from the re-
sults to the output in the Ruhr
district when food became better
nnd more plentiful. In July it was
G500090 tons compared with 5333333
in June. The average productivity for
a day increased in July to 231(MX) as
compared with 223(MM) in June and 210.-
000 in May and yet it would be wrong
to aay that the unwillingness to work is
due entirely to under-feeding. Workers
arc longing for a new status in industry
nnd they are determined to get whit
they call the “mitbest-immungsrerht” er
share of control on the democratic b^-
sis.
IF/iere to Go
Maiestic Theater —Vaudeville. Bnrnes
and Crawford in ‘‘A Package of Smiles”
and six other acts.
Grand Opera House—Motion pic-
tures. “The White Heat hr-.” n Drury
Lane melodrama produced by Maurice
Tourneur. v
Pi^acc Theater — Motion pictures.
Queen —Motion pictures.
Penrl—Motion nfetures.
League Park—Baseball: Fort Worth
vs. San Antonio 4 :30 p. m.
—MHtrr I’m in trouble nnd—”
FriJestrlnn—Don’t bother me. I've got •
Meond-hand automobile too. —Judfe.
#y BRJGI
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Diehl, Charles S. & Beach, Harrison L. The San Antonio Light (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 233, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 9, 1919, newspaper, September 9, 1919; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1615234/m1/6/: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .