WHAT IS A LIVING WAGE?
By James H. Maurer.
Pennsylvania State Legislator.

The only LIVING WAGE for the workers is all the wealth that their toil produces. Taking the figures of production published by the government, this would mean that after the cost of the raw material is deducted from the product of the worker, the equivalent of $40 per week would be the just share of the toiler. This would be the least amount and many would produce much more. For those who refuse to credit this statement I would call attention to the fact that Henry Ford, the manufacturer of automobiles, is now paying a minimum wage of $30 per week and makes a frank statement that he IS NOT PAYING THE WORKERS THE FULL SHARE OF THEIR PRODUCT. How can other employers explain away this statement of Ford's? When the majority of the workers of this country determine to use their organized power to secure this LIVING WAGE they can get it. In the meantime we can use what power we now have to compel legislation to improve our condition so that we can fight with more efficiency for our ultimate goal, which is the LIVING WAGE that I have defined. Our opponents know what our ultimate goal is, and that is the reason they are straining every effort to fool the workers that they may continue to rule and rob them.

THE PARCELS POST.

By S. B. Davidson.

The parcels post should be enlarged. The government should not stop at the eleven pound mark. It should not until it has completely absorbed the express companies. If the government can carry a letter from your door to the country at cost, why can't it carry a bushel of potatoes at cost from the country to your home? If it can carry a newspaper from the newspaper office to the farmer's home at cost, why can't it carry a case of eggs from the farmer to you? It is the business of any government to look after the welfare of its people. When it fails to look after your welfare, then it has no reason for its existence.

This government cannot do its best toward you so long as it allows a few men at the head of the express companies to amass great fortunes in handling the things you need. Yet this is what the government has allowed the express companies to do to you in the past, and is continuing to do today. Sixty years ago they started in carrying packages you sent and received with no assets other than favorable contracts with the railroads.

After paying the railroads for handling their goods, and paying their employes their wages, after paying all expenses in every department, they have in the short period of sixty years extracted from you nearly two and one-fourth hundred million dollars.

Or every year three and one-half million dollars. These figures are still so large that the mind can't grasp their meaning, so let us reduce them to terms within our understanding. The average wage of you working people in this country being $518.00, the express companies have taken from you every year a sum equal to the wages of seven thousand men, for which they have rendered no useful service to mankind. For, remember, the ones to whom this inconceivable amount is paid, do not in any way work to carry on the business. Not one of them have ever handled a package of express, never acted as bill clerk, never drove an express wagon.

Not one of them ever does even so little as to sweep the office floor! All they ever do is to rake in the money-your moneyand spend it in idle luxuries such as butterfly balls, monkey dinners, and lewd dances which would put to shame the Sultan of a Turkish harem. All they ever do is to demand that the wages of seven thousand of you working people go to them each year so by that they can make beasts of themselves, while you work and strive and toil to try to feed and clothe yourself and those who are dependent on you.

Is it any wonder that you are never able to get any thing ahead? Is it any wonder you cannot afford to take a much needed rest, when you have these parasites continually sucking your life blood? It is time you demanded the government to enlarge the parcels post until it has completely absorbed the express companies. It is time for you to throw off of your back these bloodsuckers and let them do as you have to do; work or starve.

With these people out of the way, life will take on a different meaning to you. You will be put in close touch with the rural districts where the farmer sang while he worked in the fields plowing, sowing, planting, growing and harvesting; where he gathered and stored the things which nature in her lavish abundance has given to make you happy and strong, that you may help her in making life beautiful and pleasant for you. With the parcels post thus enlarged, you will be one step nearer to economic and industrial freedom.

much reference to how, the manner or the means; individual rights were then the chief considertion and personal liberty was paramount to property.

In still more primitive times the purely accidental never happened so as to relieve the doer of responsibility, and man had to flee to the cities of refuge in event of any fatal casualty.

In later development the common law, looking mainly to the cause, under the term negligence, the how, the manner and by what means an act was done or omitted, became the determining factor as whether a wrong was actually done.

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Now, under our compensation acts, both the wrong and the negligence have been practically eliminated, and we consider mainly the damages, the compensation.

Property or value or money has now become everything, having almost supplanted the importance of the human relations; the moral element among men has been nearly eliminated; man is practically now only a part of the machinery of the business.

The effect on the race must eventually be as between man and a machine, but, humanely considered, the change was necessary.

In practice, however, the change became imperative by reason of the failure of justice; justice failed by reason of the rules established by the courts to determine the negligence as a conclusion from the evidence; the validity of the evidence for this purpose rested upon the credibility of the witnesses; the credibility of the witnesses was merely an opinion for the jury; and this opinion was controlled by the law (the instructions) given by the court.

From the court, through a chain of dependent eventualities, back to the court, the circuit was completed. Such a system must necessarily have fatally failed.

While making this circuit, we have been unconsciously describing another returning us to the primitive state, where results predominate. Seriously I am led to philosophize that the ultimate end of civilization may yet mean the adjustment of changing relations to primitive conditions. Such, at least, has taken place here.

THE EXTENT OF LAND MONOPOLY. Slowly, but surely, facts regarding the extent of land monopoly in the United States are coming out. The latest report of the United States Commissioner of Corporations shows how concentrated is the ownership of timberlands.

In the southwestern part of the state of Washington, 49 per cent of the timberlands is owned by two holders.

In the western part of Oregon, five individuals own 36 per cent of the timberlands. In northwestern California six individuals own 70 per cent of these lands.

In the redwood district, ten individuals own more than half.

In the north central part of Idaho, four

persons own 59 per cent of the timberlands.

One-twentieth of the entire land area of the United States is owned by 1,694 proprietors of timberlands; that is, they own 105,600,000 acres. Sixteen individuals of the 1,694 own 47,800,000 acres.

Since much of this timberland is suitable for agriculture, or can easily be made so, it is not only that industries in need of timber which suffer from the monopoly, but the spread of agriculture is checked, and the process of inflating farm land values -chiefly responsible for the high cost of living is thus intensified.

It was recently shown by W. B. Northrop, in the Single Tax Review of New York City, that the railroads are owners of 200,000,000 acres of land. Perhaps some of this land is included also in the 105,600,000 acres of monopolized timberlands, but more of it is not so included, so that the railroads, together with the 1,695 holders of timberlands, must own at least one-eighth of the area of the United States. When to these are added such monopolists as Miller and Lux, with their millions of acres, the oil monopolists, mining land monopolists, large owners of city lands and the owners of rented farm lands, it will be evident that a lion's share of the nation's resources is held by a much smaller number than the average man is accustomed to think.

This process of concentration is steadily going on. To what it must finally lead, if left unchecked, can be seen by taking a look at Mexico.-From the American Economic League, Cincinnati, Ohio.

TIME TO MAKE WAR ON WAR. The American Federation of Labor, the National Grange, the national woman's suffrage organization and various peace bodies have, within a few weeks, announced their intention to work for national disarmament at the close of the war. These bodies are representative of the sentiment of organ ized labor, the farmers, the more intelligent women and the idealistic portion of the capitalist class.

These divisions of the population form far more than a majority of the whole people. Left to do their own thinking they would speak almost unanimously against the efforts of the war trust to load upon the United States the burden that first crushed Europe to the verge of bankruptcy and has now driven her over the brink into blood soaked ruin. But the mass of the people will not be permitted to make up their own minds. The material out of which any opinion is formed is always supplied to the brain by the way of the senses.

The largest supply of this material comes through the press and other instruments which are largely controlled by the forces powerfully interested in war preparations. So closely are these interests united internationally that every time a "big Bertha" fires a shell into a French or English forti

fication not only the German Krupps, but also the English Armstrongs and French Cruesots receive a profit, while our own patriotic Bethlehem is not forgotten. Today these traders in death are reaping the richest harvest that ever fell to their lot. They see, in the rising tide of resentment against the horrors of this slaughter the destruction of further opportunities for plunder.

These war-makers are always alert to their interest. They are hastening to turn back the public opinion that shrank in horror from the results of the armament trade. This accounts for the sudden change in sentiment on the part of the press, which three months ago was calling for disarmament, and is now pleading for an "adequate army and navy."

The forces of peace should be no less slow to mobilize. Unless action is taken quickly the outposts of public opinion will be captured by the war-mongers. Then it will take a hard battle to dislodge them.

Now is the time to make war upon war, while no argument is necessary as to the terrible effects of war.-The Milwaukee Leader.

MAN OR BEAST.

By A. A. Graham, Topeka, Kas. For two long days I noticed an old man cutting away at the grass on lawn in my town. A strong man could have run a lawnmower over this space in a couple of hours; but this old man was so weak he had to take a lunge by throwing his weight against the handlebar, then pull the mower back, make another lunge, and so on. At noon he would sit down on the ground against a tree, and eat a spare, dry meal. His drink was water from the hydrant.

His employer offered him nothing, although I have seen many functions "pulled off" at this house, and "spreads" too, entertainments, parties, fetes galore.

This old man had no business to be poor; he should have been rich; if not, indeed, a millionaire, he ought to have had a competency for his old days. Being a laborer all his life, and working for an average wage of $1.50 a day, raising and educating a family, he has nobody but himself to blame for his poverty. At least, he should have been sufficiently rich, when old, to make him attractive to some young girl in her teens.

And, by the way, that reminds me that the madam of the house where he was cutting the grass, as a girl in her early teens, married a rich old man, who died on their wedding tour, and this property represents her venture. Later she married a bachelor.

In New York City, I read, a few thousand people die every year from starvation, and a few hundred freeze to death. So, to a less degree, elsewhere.

Everywhere cows are well fed for profit; nobody dares drive a lame horse on the street; and, if you lick a mean dog, one of

your neighbors will telephone the police to arrest you. Howling dogs and squalling cats that nobody owns have a prescriptive right to keep us awake all night, and we cannot help ourselves. If we try to drive these animals away, the humane officer is after us; but, if a night worker hums a tune to keep up courage, as he walks by, we complain, and have him silenced. Man or beast, which?

WAS IT GOD OR GOLD?

A Pathetic Sketch That Appeals to All.

The accident was tragic and unspeakably pathetic. The chief actors were a little four-year-old boy, a big shepherd dog, and a train of freight cars. The little boy had tied a stout rope to the dog's collar and the big shepherd, in great glee, raced ahead of the little fellow, whose short, chubby legs worked hard and fast to keep up with the dog. Directly in front of the two a long train of freight cars was passing. The dog ran up to the track, paused a single second, then like a flash shot under a car, dragging the child with him. The dog escaped to the other side of the train in safety, but the boy fell under the awful wheels and fifteen cars went over him. A very few minutes later the conductor, white-faced and trembling, was removing his coat and tenderly wrapping it about the maimed little figure in which life still lingered. brakeman, likewise white and broken utterly, took off his sweater and reverently placed within its folds the chubby bleeding stumps, with the feet still encased in the scuffed shoes. In answer to the conductor's inquiry where he lived, the child was able to point weakly toward a cottage next to the railroad track, and thence the conductor and brakeman stumbled, reeling along like drunken men.

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The child spoke a few intelligible sentences to his mother and actually raised himself up and kissed her before he sank into unconsciousness, from which he soon passed into death.

The undertaker who took charge of the body, the coroner who held the inquest, and the men who composed the jury, were without exception moved as men are moved only when frightful tragedy strikes down a little child at play.

The day of the funeral witnessed the usual crowd drawn together by such an accident. The little house so meagerly furnished was full to overflowing. Two ministers took part in the service. A young clergyman but a few years out of the seminary, and lately come to the community, moke first and briefly. He was a cleancut, handsome young fellow, and the falter of his voice and the tears that trickled down his cheeks spoke well for his heart. In substance he said:

"My friends, the sorrow that has come into this home is the sorrow of us all today. Our hearts bleed for this father and mother

in the loss of their beautiful boy, but they have a great High Priest in Jesus Christ who loved little children and said: 'Suffer the little children to come unto Me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.' The child is safe. Moreover, it was God's will that the child should die. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge nor His Will. We must learn to say, "Thy will, Father, not ours, be done.' The little life, short as it was, had a beautiful ministry. But God willed that it should come up higher. Our times are in His hand. Walk by faith. Trust on! Pray God that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The God of all comfort bless and keep you. Amen."

The young man sat down, and a quartette sang "Asleep in Jesus." The other minister then arose. He was a familiar figure in the city, and long had his ministerial labors been in and for the community. He was tall and thin, and his hair was streaked with gray. His face was furrowed with lines that were deep but not hard nor cynical. He spoke in a low tone, but everyone present heard him, so distinct was his articulation. In substance his words were these: "My dearest friends," he said, "my young brother has told you to trust in God, and he has advised you wisely. We must walk by faith, since there is no other way to walk, and the Lord Christ has given us a great example of the life of faith. My young brother has also told you that this little boy is safe forever, and so he is. You have given him back to God as God gave him to you, innocent, blameless, a little child unhurt by sin and in a large measure acquainted with suffering.

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"But my young brother here will pardon me, older and more experienced as I am, if I take a different view of the cause of the lad's death from that which he has set forth in good faith and sincerity. I do not believe that it was God's will that this little boy should die when and as he did. I cannot believe that, nor need anyone so believe. God is in better business than killing little children. It was man's will, not God's, that caused this child's death. It is God's will that human life should be safeguarded and protected, but man finds that human beings are cheaper than devices that protect life and limb.

“God, through Christ, has shown us that the life of a single child is priceless. If men did God's will they would make every railroad in Christendom enclose their tracks through villages and cities against such chance passerby as this little lad. If men did God's will it would not be necessary that any man should have to live for economy's sake so close to the railroad track and rear a family midst daily dangers. No, it was not God's will that this dear little boy should die so tragically, it was man's will. If the responsibility may not be placed specifically anywhere, society as a whole is to blame, and some day society as a whole will awake to its responsibility

and opportunity. Let every man and woman here today, not in bitterness nor hate, but in tenderness and love, seek to make God's will as revealed in Jesus to be humanity's standard."

There was another hymn and shortly the procession was on the way to the cemetery with the brougham carrying the two ministers leading. "My brother," said the older minister, soon after the procession started, "I hope I did not offend you by my taking issue with one statement you made. I am older than you and I have seen more of men and the world's ways are better known to me." The older man paused a second and flecked a piece of line from the coat sleeve. He seemed to be expectant of a reply, but, receiving none, he continued:

"Besides, I know the lives of many who were at that funeral today, and their lives are hard, but not unworthy. The idea that God wills that some shall have abundance, while others starve, the idea that God wills that certain children shall live in luxury and others die so horribly as this lad died, has driven hundreds into atheism and outand-out hostility to the church. And such a teaching is not true, never was, nor can be true if God be the God that Jesus revealed. I thought it was better, my brother, for you to suffer a little now than that a score of men and women present should go on hating God, and all because they believed Him to be a respecter of persons. You will not hold it against me, my brother?"

The younger man made no reply other than to lay his hand on his companion's arm very softly and gently.

The carriage wheels crunched upon the cemetery's graveled driveways, and after many windings and turnings stopped by the tiny open grave about which a crowd had already gathered.

It was the young minister who pronounced the benediction, and his voice was quite steady and strong.

"Our Father," he prayed, "bless these dear hearts so broken and hurt. Help them and all of us to take the words of Thy servant, our brother, to heart. Forgive us when in our ignorance of sin we ever try to fasten on Thee actions that we ourselves are responsible for! Thou art good and Thy will is perfect. But our wills are stubborn and often evil. By the memory of this little life, so precious, so full of joy, may this father and mother, these friends, yea, all of us, seek to do ever Thy will as revealed in Jesus Christ, in whose name we commit this body to the earth and its spirit to Thy good keeping until the day break and the shadows flee away. Amen!"

It was the younger minister who spoke first on the way back from the burial. As the brougham passed between the pillars at the cemetery entrance he turned to his gray-haired companion and said, as though in answer to a direct question:

"You are right. It was not God at all, it was GOLD."-Edgar De Witt Jones, in The Public, Chicago.

BENEFITS SECURED THROUGH TRADE

ORGANIZATIONS.

The tremendous amount paid out by trade unions through their beneficial features are not known to the average person. These features of our movement play a prominent part in its activities and have done much toward relieving the distress of its members.

For the ten years ending September 30, 1913, the organizations affiliated with the American Federation of Labor paid out to their members in sick and death benefits the sum of $20,076,226.51. During the same period enormous sums were paid out as tool insurance or traveling and unemployment benefits. In addition to the sums paid out by the international unions, there was also an uncomputed sum, probably running high into the millions paid out in local benefits by the local unions.

Through the trade union movement the workmen have secured the cheapest and safest form of sick and death insurance.

Yet the beneficial department is but one feature of our movement which may quite properly be called a wage insurance association and the wages it has protected and the increases it has secured for its members would, if they could be accurately computed, form a stupendous amount. One thousand men receiving an advance of 25 cents per day and working 300 days in the year would give them a total increase of $75,000 for that year. If 1,000,000 workmen secured an advance of 25 cents per day and worked 300 days in the year it would give them an increase of $75,000,000.

Just what the increase in wages has been to trade unionists during the last ten years there is no way of computing, for the figures are not obtainable, but there are over two million workers affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and while many may not work 300 days in the year, and some did not secure a 25 cents per day advance, there were a large number whose advance in wages amounted to more than that amount.

It is probably well within the actual amount, when the statement is made that the wage earners of America secured $100,000,000 in additional wages as the direct result of their trade union movement in 1913. -International Molders' Journal.

POTENCY OF THE UNION LABEL. The union label upon your garments is the best expression of devotedness to good union principles you can give to those who are engaged in making label goods. The same is true about anything else used that carries with it a union workman's label. We should all cultivate the union label habit, for it is the best expression of the Safety First habit we know of. Not only should this subject receive earnest attention at every lodge meeting of every labor organi

zation, but in all federated and open meetings conducted under the auspices of labor organizations as well. In addition to this, it should be a prominent subject of discussion at home; also when we meet our friends who are not affiliated with labor unions. There is less excuse all the while for not purchasing label articles of wear, since most of them can be found in equally as good quality and style, and at as reasonable prices as those not bearing such badges of honor. The average union man, or woman, has but little conception of the potent effects the purchasing of union-made goods has toward obtaining union work conditions. All workers are anxious to enjoy the good conditions obtained in union shops and factories. The only means the workers have to insure the retention of such conditions where they now exist, or to extend their scope until they include every workshop and factory, is to always insist that the label appear on their purchases. It matters not about the degree of enmity the maker of goods may cherish toward union labor, he will soon realize the advisability of conceding to the proposition of unionizing his plant, whenever he finds no market for his non-union goods. The union purchasers spend enough union-earned money each year to keep union factories and shops working full blast all the while, as they would be, if they all made proper use of that most effective prerogative they possess-insistency to see the union label upon their goods.— Switchmen's Journal.

DUDES IN WALL STREET WAKING UP TOO LATE.

By Max A. Hayes.

Now the dude bookkeepers, clerks and typewriters of Wall Street, who have always displayed considerable scorn toward the very common persons who work, are up against the real thing.

Hundreds of the snobbish crowd have been laid off or discharged outright on account of the closing of the Stock Exchange, the bankers, brokers and other manipulators having little or no work for office servants.

It is only a few months ago that unemployed meetings were held in the Wall Street district for the purpose of impressing the moneychangers with the fact that there were unfortunate people in the world who deserved to be treated justly.

The nasty little satellites of the bankers and brokers created much amusement for themselves and each other by pelting the speakers with orange peelings, apple cores, peanuts, etc., accompanied by hoots and sneering remarks to display their great wit (and long ears.)

Now they are getting at least a partial dose of their medicine. A New York paper says large numbers of office men and women flock around the buildings in the financial district and make anxious in