^ I McGill Library, McGill University, Montreal, Que. F Cana man Vol. 2, No. 51 _P| MONTREAL, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1920 10 cents a copy, $3.00 ayO| (Christmas (Enntes fin t Once a Ifear llts spirit ^ltnags J^tynnlft %t pttxt * 4 The cynic has a few strong shots in his locker for Christmas. But he misses some important particulars. For instance , it is a time when most children are particularly remembered in an unselfish way. It is a time when the Weak and the needy are more thought of than at other times. It is a time when there is, generally, a more thoughtful and more kindly spirit abroad. It is a time with defects and inconsistencies, yet a time, also, with unusual virtues. If its unusual virtues could be maintained for all the other days of the year, this would be a much more pleasant world to live in. A Merry Christmas, and may the Christmas spirit live amongst all of us not only to-day and to-morrow, but next day and the days thereafter, till Christmas Eve comes round again. KENNEDY CRONE Official Organ, Fifth Sandav Meeting Aetociar THE CANADIAN RAILROADER December 25, 1 Makegood Canadian stoves S Cooking utensils. The British Columbia Mills, Timber & Trading Co. C t it* Deg VANCOUVER, B.C. December 25, 1920 THE CANADIAN RAILROADER Swiss Adopting Social Reforms \FoIlowing Last Year’s General Strike Country Passed Propor- . \ tional Representation and an Eight-Hour Working Day. Bermv Switzerland. L AST year, in November, a wave of revolution threatened to engulf Switzerland. A uni- versal strike broke out which kept the country in suspense for some days. Even the railwaymen and postal officials stopped work. The government, however, kept calm and refused absolutely to enter into negotiations with the men’s leaders while at the same time it announced its perfect willingness to introduce any necessary reforms, political and social. After the capitulation of the revo- lutionary elements the federal coun- cil stood by its promise. The most important of political reforms, the introduction of the proportional sys- tem of electing the People’s Cham- ber, was put into force. The most important industrial reform, the eight-hour day, followed, and quite recently, on October 31, this was suc- ceeded by a popular vote confirm- ing the parliamentary adoption of the eight-hour day for -all workers in the railway, postal, telegraph and telephone services. The new law referring to this re- form had been unanimously passed by. both houses of the Legislature; however, more than 30,000 Swiss electors having demanded that it should be submitted to a referendum, it could not be put into force im- mediately. During the three months preceding the referendum an un- usually violent controversy raged throughout the country. Again it was proved that the unanimous adoption of a bill by the Swiss cham- bers does not always convey the opinion of the nation. Six months ago, a new labor law was even re- jected outright by the electorate, al- though it had been unanimously voted by Parliament. This time the decision of Parliament was confirm- ed, but by only 57 per cent., which is less than three-fifths of the votes cast. A 48-Hour Week. To these arguments the author of the “bill successfully put forward the following argument at a meeting of w the Bernese Liberal Party: “The time is past for the employers to fix wages and working hours ad libitum, without taking into consideration the wants and wishes of Labor. Nowa- days the workers desire to have their say, and they claim a working week of 48 hours, or less, precisely as a proof of their right of self-determin- ation. We may, or we may not, ap- prove of this modern spirit; but it would be foolhardy and in vain to deny its existence. It is not impos- sible that in course of time Labor itself will be inclined toward longer hours, but at present it is no busi- ness of ours to fight the eight-hour day.” If the referendum on the indus- trial eight-hour day had taken place now instead of last year, probably the dislike to a reduction of the working time would have caused the rejection of that measure. As it is, justice demanded that the transport workers should not be left in a posi- tion more unfavorable than that of the. factory hands. Moreover, the eight-hour day had already been put into practice for the railway, post office, telegraph and telephone em- ployees, and thus the new law meant only the legal confirmation of a fait accompli. Opinions Divided. Anyone who reads the discussions on the subject in the Swiss press, and does not know how independent the Swiss citizen is in forming his own opinion, could hardly believe in the uncertainty of the bill’s fate up to the last moment. Like all the members of the legislature, all the political daily newspapers of the country — From the Communist Zur- ich Volksrecht” to the Conservative “Journal de Geneve” — supported the law. As a rule, the “Journal de Geneve” dislikes the uniformed and centralized handling of things by the Federal Council, and is generally very sceptical about social reforms; still, it hailed the bill with enthus- iasm— partly because the Washing- ton Labor Conference, an outcome of the League of Nations, had created an international convention introduc- ing the eight-hour day in factories, trades, and means of communication. For the same reason other Swiss friends of the League of Nations went in for the new workirtg-time bill. The leaders of the radical party of the Canton de Neuchatel declared in a public appeal: “This law is a confirmation of a principle proclaim- ed in the Covenant which the Swiss people has signed with pleasure.” The fate of the bill was regarded with anxiety.. The majority of the peasants disliked it because of its pretended advancement of “idle- ness,” while large numbers of mid- dle-class citizens voted against it out of inherent opposition to social reforms. Many others rejected it as a measure when the necessity of an increase in production was so im- portant. Ultimately, the law was adopted by a majority of about 100,- 000 votes, 369,000 being in favor and 271,000 against, and by 13 cantons as against nine. Seeing, however, that in the cantons of Berne and Lucerne, with their large labor popu- lation, only 54 and 51 per cent., re- spectively, of the voters declared in favor of the law, anxiety as to the fate of the bill appears to have been well-founded. The bourgeois press hailed^the re- sult with great satisfaction, more es- pecially as a means of promoting social class conciliation. But pre- cisely for this very same reason the satisfaction of the Socialist press was far from being unmixed; al- though this part of the political press had unanimously recommended the law, some of its organs said that a rejection, too, would not have been without advantage, “for it would have accelerated the advent of revo- lution.” Number of Hours Limited. The new law f^xes the working day for the staff of the postal, tele- graph, telephones and railway ser- vices at eight hours. But it is rea- sonably flexible in special circum- stances. For instance, persons em- ployed at small postoffices or rail- way stations ought to work nine hours, because plenty of leisure makes their work easier. Where work is heavier, employees are free to work overtime, but not over 150 hours per year; and they are en- titled to an additional wage of 25 per cent. Besides some provisions concerning night work and shift work, the law contains regulations about days of rest and annual holi- days. There are to be 56 days of rest per year, at least 20 of which ought to coincide with Sundays and general holidays. In additions, every employee must be granted between 7 and 28 days annual vaeatioi rura * cording to age and years of sei From the age of 50 an annual le. of 28 days becomes obligatory i everybody. Seeing that the best judges of Eu- rope’s present economic and finan- cial situation consider increased pro- duction to be the sovereign remedy > for the evils besetting the worlc^ it is no wonder that the law in quf a Y tion met with vehement oppositi more especially on the parf^Q* ^ i re “ middle classes and peasantry. e< ^ en ~ opponents’ chief argument ■w^e the effect that the Swiss ought to show to the work 1 ' mem- earnest willingness to do ganized work and to set an example ii^he ping the prevailing and incr e k us *" tendency toward shortenin£ sacted hours devoted to work. Last it is argued, when the eight-fc m P. day was introduced, the opposit kept silent, because people had r. yet fully grasped the gravity of tl economic situation. TRAOt MARK Railroad Gauntlets Made of Genuine Chrome Tan Railroad Stock BEST VALUES IN CANADA OUTWEAR ALL OTHERS SOLD EVERYWHERE IN CANADA MADE BY ACME GLOVE WORKS LTD., MONTREAL -M Use the Paint that’s Guaranteed y^LWAYS remember that good quality means^greater durabil- ity as well as better appearance B V w English 70% Pure White Lead ■ U _ . (Brandram’s Genuine B O PAINT 30% Pure White Zinc VS0% Pure Paint |T is manufactured according to the approved formula for our Canadian climate and it never varies because it’s guaranteed over our presi- dent’s signature. Specify B-H if permanence is THE CANADIAN RAILROADER December 25, 1920 T~jminion Will Contribute Share I For Unemployed . Senator Robertson Announces Government Policy in Emergency Cases T HE unemployment policy of the Dominion Government was announced on December The gist of the announcement his: ^situation should be met to the possible extent by providing .nstead of relief, but should ncy relief measures become by reason of utterly un- le shortage, the Federal Gov- t will be willing to co-oper- the following basis: “The or- cion for-determining where re- ast go and for distributing the 5 shall be provided by the muni- *1 authorities, and in each case ore relief is given and as relief is jntinued a certificate must v be ob- \!ned from the Government employ- hit service, showing that the ap- int cannot be given employment, general system and details, and safeguards adopted, must be ap- proved by or on behalf of the Fed- eral Government. “If this is done the Federal Gov- ernment is willing to contribute in places where relief on any substan- tial scale appears to be necessary, one-third of the amount actually dis- bursed on this relief, provided the other two-thirds is either paid by the municipality or paid by the municipality and \ the province jointly.” fuT announcement of the Govern- ment policy is embodied in a letter addressed by Senator Robertson, Federal Minister of Labor, to Hon. Walter Rollo, Minister of Labor for Ontario, — ~A--copy of the letter handed to C. G. MacNeil, Dominion secretary-treasurer of th6 G.W.V.A:, as indicating “the Federal Government’s attitude toward and policy in connection with unemploy- ment.” + Senator Robertson’s Letter. The text of Senator Robertson’s communication to Mr. Rollo is as follows : Dear Mr. Rollo: I beg to refer to our conversation of last week respecting unemploy- ment. The views I then expressed have been since submitted to my col- leagues of the Federal Government and have been approved. I communi- cate with you for the purpose of placing them in written form. The situation should be met to the utmost possible extent by the pro- vision of work instead of the pro- vision of relief. In this respect the ^Federal Government is doing and J:he utmost within lh the auth- fcent. As *h our nee, This will give employment to some- thing like four hundred men, who, so far as practicable, shall be taken from the city. It has also been de- cided to continue the Welland Canal construction work throughout the winter. The furtherance of other projects as well is under considera- tion. The Government has taken up with large employers of labor the great desirability of doing everything within their power to aid, and I am glad to see evidences of the success of our efforts. The manufacturers in Toronto have, I believe, adopted as a general policy the practice of reducing working time instead of reducing staffs. I feel sure the pro- vincial and municipal authorities will join in to provide a substantial amount of employment and in this way the situation should be materi- ally relieved. Every possible effort should be made to avoid the neces- sity of any other form of relief. . Should, however, emergency relief measures become necessary by rea- son of utterly unavoidable shortage of employment, the Federal Govern- ment is willing to co-operate on the following basis: Basis of Relief. The organization for determining where relief must go and for dis- tributing the same shall be provided by the municipal authorities and in each case before relief is given and as relief is continued a certificate must be obtained from the Govern- ment is willing to contribute in places where relief on any substan- tial scale appears to be necessary, one-third of the amount actually dis- bursed on this relief, provided the other two-thirds is either paid by the municipality or paid by the municipality and the province jointly. In this connection I may again emphasize what I stated to you per- sonally, that in normal times those problems are dealt with wholly loc- ally. The Government of Canada, however, under present circum- stances feels justified in co-operat- ing to the extent set out above. It is in some degree correct that the numbers of the unemployed at the present time are increased by reason of the general contraction in indus- trial activity following upon a period of abnormal prices during the war. Under extraordinary circumstances the Federal Government has co-op- erated as well at other times in the provision of relief, notably. in re- spect to those in need on account of drought conditions in portions of western Canada. In such cases, of cdurse, the local authorities have joined in the sharing of the burden. ^The above is necessarily, as you can understand, a statement of gen- policy. _G. „ ^ERTSON t _ *ster of Labor. MUNSEY WOULD CUT HEART OUT OF UNIONS. At a dinner celebrating his pur- chase of the Baltimore “American” and “Star,” Frank A. Munsey, own- er of magazines, newspapers and a big block of United States Steel Cor- poration stock, devoted more than an hour of his speech to an attack upon organized labor. He suggest- ed that the tariff and other issdes be disregarded and that a coalition of business interests be formed to destroy organized labor, “as a sur- geon would cut deep to remove the malignant roots of a cancer.” Among those who heard this bit- ter tirade was Henry F. Broening, president of the Baltimore Federa- tion of Labor, who at the last meet- ing of the Federation took Munsey sharply to task for repaying th loyalty of his workers with the b? coin of ingratitude. He charged publisher with being unfair^rd^bor, and suggested 1 he might better serve the public if he would use the resources of his publications “to find out the truth about labor organiza- % tions and then let the readers be the judge.” LOST AND FOUND. “Look at the lost ball I found on the links, daddy,” said Bobbie. But daddy was suspicious. “Ahe you sure it was a lost ball, son?” he asked. “Surest thing you know,” replied Bobby with conviction. “I saw the man and his caddy both looking for it.” / 'cD fMTE r MITCHELL — let Xmas mark the turning point. Give a “MITCHELL”— the most wonder- ful gift of all. Release her from the drud- gery of old fashioned house cleaning — every day of every year. Can you think of a gift to compare ? Certainly not ! And how “THE MITCHELL” is preferred — a tribute alike to its perfect never-fail- ing performance — and its Canadian manu- facture. * Of correct design, of light yet sturdy con- struction — an electric vacuum cleaner that pays tremendous dividends in labor saving, health and comfort. ON THE EASIEST OF terms and a free trial to suit your convenience. Just phone Up- town 6990. Jlcleaner { xi&el Q&51IICB CATHERINES! 'H* .MONTREAL THE CANADIAN RA ILROA DER {anal Work- *ave Better Standard of Living ( From our own correspondent) Glasgow. A S I indicated in my last article the professional workers are in revolt. The fact has been forced upon them that their only hope lies in combination. In proof of this I desire this week to tell you something about the Architects’ and Surveyors’ Assistants’ Profes- sional Union, Its short history and its objects speak volumes for the in- terest and determination of those who have led the movement. This Union was founded last year to meet a long felt want in the allied professions of architecture and surveying and in the building indus- try. Architects, surveyors, quan- tity surveyors, not in practice for themselves, and designers, tech nical ex- perts and as- sistants in the ^ various branches of the great James Gibson Building Indus- try, had been too long exploited by government departments, local gov- erning bodies, industrial concerns and, it must be sadly admitted, by many of their more fortunate pro- fessional brothers in practice. A few bold spirits felt it high time for their state of affairs to cease. They founded this union and, though not relaxing in any way the code of eti- quette due from one professional man to another, threw open the membership to all those in the building industry whose employment demanded a high level of artistic, technical or scientific knowledge, and who are engaged on the office staffs of the industry, thus forming a strong craft fellowship of all those employed workers who design, sur- vey, measure or control building. The Union is not concerned par- ticularly with architecture as an art or a profession. It desires to raise the general standard of the design, construction and craft detail of building, and to ensure to the worker who produces these a standard of living compatible with his technical acquirements and skill. The objects are worth noting: — 1. To provide a common organiza- tion for salaried architects, surveyors, quantity surveyors and technical assistants, and to protect their individual in- terests. 2. To watch over and secure ef- ficicient training of its mem- bers. 3. To abolish unpaid and under- paid assistance, to establish a minimum wage and proportion- ate upward minimum rates, and to establish proper payment for over-time. 4. To secure “open” references to assistants. 5. To form an up-to-date employ- ment bureau. 6. To assist members, where ne- cessary and possible, in the execution of their private com- missions and in commencing practice. 7. To assure the direct representa- tion of its members on the governing councils of all pro- fessional bodies and to encour- age co-operation with them and practising architects and sur- veyors. 8. To provide opportunities for social and professional inter- course. The union aims at a 100 per cent, membership. It has been founded little more than a year and it has already gone a long way to achieve this. It is appealing to the highest motives of those eligible and not to the lowest. It makes its stand for a just price for the labor of its mem- bers and none the less for the high- est standard of work, which means the higher the standard, the higher the price. It calls to those at the top as well as to those at the bot- tom. The state of the professions at present is one of chaos; recon- struction and consolidation must be from the bottom upwards to the top; the process, however, requires the co-operation of all. The union is the only body in ex- istence to watch over the interests of the “black-coated” workers of the building industry. It should have been founded long before. Unfor- tunately this class of worker was so “respectable,” or, more truthfully, “snobbish,” that a previous attempt came to nothing. Hence a few have sought protection of their interests in organizations chiefly composed of clerical workers. The union has every respect for the latter class of workers, generally much underpaid. It denies, however, the capacity of such organizations to represent the skilled professional worker; it is as ludicrous as for a general union of unskilled laborers to represent the skilled craftsman or mechanic. One such body catering for all sorts of workers, places municipally employ- ed architects and surveyors in the same category as school attendance officers. The others allow a small bonus on the basic wage of a clerk; in other words the designer or sur- veyor of buildings or parts of build- ings is graded as a slightly superior clerical worker. This is not good enough for the A. S. A. P. U. Its first national convention of dele- gates from all parts of the country recently instructed its executive, not only to proceed with its minimum wage proposals at present before the leading professional institutes, which proposals were unanimously ap- proved, but to draw up a scheme of organization within the union so that the particular interests of the vari- ously employed (i.e., according to class of employee) may best be furthered. For the purpose of internal or- ganization Scotland has been divid- ed into branch areas, the members in each area to form a branch, the unit for purposes of business, voting, social and professional intercourse, etc., it being felt that all such should be adapted to the special local needs of its members. The scheme gives, as nearly as is humanly possible, the opportunity to every member to take an active part in the affairs of the union, the largs~ industrial central not being favored above the rural districts. James Gibson . “FIRST AMERICANS” FORM A LABOR UNION. A real Americanization movement has reached fulfillment at River- bank, Calif., where J. B. Stovall, secretary-treasurer of the local lodge of Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, has organized a lodge of the International Brotherhood of Fire- men and Enginemen, composed en- tirely of Laguna and Ascomite In- dians. There were thirty charter mem- bers when the lodge was organized and many admissions since. The of- ficers are all Indians and the busi- ness of the lodge will be transacted in the tribal language. This is said to be the first attempj to organize the aborigines. The w. R. Brock company. Limited DEALERS IN DRY GOODS, WOOLLENS AND CARPETS WHOLESALE MONTREAL Cor. Notre Dame West and St. Helen Streets Cor. St. Helen & Recollet Sts. TORONTO CALGARY 60-68 Bay Street 41-47 Wellington Street. Cor. Eighth Avenue and Second Street West. (f 1 !tj|i ir ''Happy Evenings at Horn* *' inon&s w* T 1 ^ In 1, 2 and 5 Pound boxes. Ask for the “ Dele cto ” Box. THE'* CANADIAN RAILROADER others Pensions— Their Aim and Administration {By J. HOWARD T. FALK , Director, Dept, of Social Service , McGill University) . V A PENSION is a payment for service rendered; it is a term which is not applicable to payments made to dependent mothers in civil life, unless we con- sider that the service rendered by the mother in bearing children justi- fies the payment of a pension. In this case there is no reason why every mother should not have equal claim upon the state irrespec- tive of the ability or willingness of the father to support his wife and family. In some countries, maternity is pnporarily endowed in the interests k the child, but that is essentially Rerent in conception and practice fiti. the more permanent payments have been wrongly called "tit rs’ Pensions, made to a mother int* as her children are under xKmg" age. It is of the utmost importance that the mother herself who is to benefit by these payments should recognize the difference between a pension and a salary or allowance. The former is a payment which as a rule cannot be refused to those who qualify in respects which have no bearing on their future behavior; the latter is a payment which is only made to mothers who are “fit” (I n§e~the language of the Ontario Act) to perform certain services, the performance of which has a very di- rect relations to their future be- havior. From thi^ jye^- shall understand TiTiportant it is that the mother should have a right conception of ~~ the intent of the legislation. The intent or aim of the allow- ance is based on certain principles or facts, some general and some ^particular in character. We say in the first place that the future of our nation depends in large "'-measure on the children of each suc- cessive generation; “the children of to-day are the fathers of to-mor- row,” “the race marches forward on the feet of little children,” nice phrases which come glibly from the tongues of professors and profes- sional philanthropists, sentiments which are always met with cheers and clappings from wealthy audi- ences, but sentiments which are poor ^b6d-fellows for such as “Business is business,” “the survival of the fit- test,” and “each man is Master of vision Federal Governments**^ true, we the utmb^oes not ‘ h theS back- ent.''jner, h oili- * December 25, 1920 Montreal BUTTER GOOD THINGS ing of the Federation took Munsey sharply to task for repaying tb loyalty of his workers with the hr SWEET CREAM 10*4- H^ivl - Babylon, Rome, and St. Petersburg repeats itself. It is, then, the knowledge that the future of our Dominion depends on the care of the children of to- day which has given us such legisla- tion. But there are other ways in which children can be cared for and have been cared for. In 1800, the French Minister of the Interior reported to Napoleon that there were 63,000 children in Foundling Asylums in France, and that they died like flies in these institutions. What did Na- poleon do? He saw in these boys and girls potential armies of fight- ers and workers. I doubt not that it was more his militarism than his humanitarianism which prompted his famous decree of 1811 which sent these children up to the age of 12 to the farmers’ families of France, and which caused him to appropriate 5 million francs a year for payments to these farmer foster- parents. But though his motive was differ- ent perhaps, the reason for his ac- tion was the same as ours; he knew that the family home reared health- ier and more capable children than the best institution the Nuns and Sisters of Paris could devise. Our action, then, is based on our belief in the family ^as the unit of society which in spite of all its limi- tations and its failings, is better than any artificial grouping which society has offered in its place. But we have gone further than that. The English Poor Law Au- thorities in 1868, recognized this principle and boarded out the chil- dren of one mother in another moth- er’s home; we have omitted this stage in Canadian history in the case of dependent mothers who are considered “fit” to bring up their children, and we are boarding them out in their mothers’ homes instead. For we believe that the ideal unit of society is that in which parents and children of mixed ages and sexes live together bound together by the ties of blood relationship, a relation- ship so knitting the mother to the child that it prompted Kipling to write: “If I were hanged on the highest hill, Mother o’ mine, 0 mother o’ mine! I know whose love would follow me still, Mother o’ mine, 0 mother o’ mine! If I were drowned in the deepest sea. Mother o’ mine, 0 mother o’ mine! Vfc know whose tears would come can i*^oy/n to me, 1 policy. "'le, O mother o’ mine! G. If I were damned of body and soul, I know whose prayers would make me whole, Mother o’ mine, 0 mother o’ mine! These, then, may be considered the general principles and may be sum- med up by saying that we, in this particular social problem, have re- cognized the importance of the child to the future of the nation and the importance of the family as the basic social unit. In so far as private or public agencies have in the past given out- door relief to dependent families it may be said that they have in the past recognized these principles. Is the difference between relief from a public or private agency dif- ferent from the allowance w r e pay by cheque month by month merely a difference in form and perhaps amount tending to vary from a mini- mum amount of material relief in kind without any intelligent service accompanying it, as found in out- door relief at its worst to a fully adequate monthly cheque with the highest type of service as found in Mothers’ Allowances at their best ? Is it merely a difference which right” to relief and in the second case, they have a “right” to an al- lowance? In actual fact, wherever out-door relief is administered by a public department, as for instance in Win- nipeg, or where private agencies are subsidized by public funds, as in Cal- gary, there is as much “right” in the one case as in the other. The difference must be something more than that. In actual fact, I suspect that we have everywhere felt that allowances were necessary as state payments because private agencies had not sufficient funds and municipal bodies had not the will to give cash allowances. If we have merely shifted the re- sponsibility from one shoulder to another or if having drained one source of relief we have decided to tap another and larger one, we have accomplished nothing good and may have paved the way to doing much harm. The history of the English Poor Law has taught us how easy it is to sap the roots of independence by offering the barest necessities of existence in an English Work House as the right of all people. I prefer to think that we have removed the problem of certain types of dependent families from public and private relief agencies to Mothers’ Allowance Commissions, because we recognize certain prin- ciples and aims: 1. That the normal development of the children in the family re- quires that the family life shall be as near normal in every respect as possible, that the mother and the children shall have all the responsi- bility of buying, spending and sav- ing, and later, as the children one by one grow older, of earning as exist in other families. 2. That the status of allowance . families in the community shall be, in course of time, the same as that of any other family drawing its sal- ary from the government of the pro- vince, and shall not be the status of a “family under relief” with the stigma which however much we may wish the contrary, has and al- ways will attach to the family cared for by relief agencies. 3. That we believe that poverty, inadequately cared for, perpetuates itself from one generation to an- other and that we hope that the ser- vice attached to our payments of adequate allowances will prevent the occurrence of poverty in the families of the second generation except in so far as poverty may be caused by their own abpse or misuse of the opportunities fortune gives them. The normal life which we desire depends upon the ability of the par- ents or parent to satisfy certain*^ needs: 1. The material needs (ade- quacy of food, shelter and clothing); 2. The human needs which develop intellect and character. Of the first, let us say that adequacy of allow- ance alone is not sufficient — the mother must have the knowledge and the will to make proper use of the allowance. Of the second, let us says that an allowance which is only adequate when supplemented by the additional earnings of the mother, as is so often the case in the United States, may deprive the mother of the leisure, the strength, and the freedom from anxiety which are three essential factors in rendering her able to satisfy the human needs, and even the material needs of her children. The absent mother, the tired ' mother, the anxious mother cannot “play” with her children. Play is the work of the child, for years its entire education comes through play and for years after adolescence, play and the use of spare time is a potent factor in the development of char- acter. The mother must be. able and free to play with or guide the play of her children. Five Provinces in Canada have passed Mothers’ Allowance Acts; of- ficials are at work who are charged with the responsibility of deciding whether a mother is “fit” to receive an allowance. No investigation of a cursory na- ture will decide the fitness of a mother. If we conceive her duty to be that of maintaining a normal standard of life for her children, ^nd if we agree with Dr. Devine that normal- 'THE CANADIAN RAILROADER FurthermTT^BI^Rfiother, who, as the wife of a ne’er-do-well husband of uncertain income and intemperate habits may have failed in her duties to her children, may under the friendly care of a visitor and in re- ceipt of a regular allowance show herself fully capable of and willing to maintain a high standard of fam- ily life for the same children — as his widow. We must rely on the neighborhood sources of information to decide whether to try a mother in her new position. Investigation of the mother’s fit- ness was resented in 1916, in Mani- toba* by a representative of organ- ized labor, who had but recently congratulated the writer on helping to secure the passage of the Moth- ers’ Allowance Act. I met his criticisms with a ques- tion: “Do you believe a Civil Ser- vice Reform?” “Yes,” he said. “You believe that a Civil servant should give reasonable evidence of fitness for the particular service he seeks to perform and for which he expects a salary from the Govern- ment?” “Yes,” he said, “I do.” “And you believe that if after ^appointment he does not make good he should be discharged?” “Yes,” he said. “And you will agree with me that a reasonable degree of supervision of his work will be necessary if the Government is to know whether he is making good or not?” “Yes,” he said. “I think,” I said, “you approved of our calling these mothers who are to benefit by the act, ‘the new civil servants.’ ” “Y-e-s,” he said, rather hesitat- ingly. “Well then, you didn’t really mean what you said just now about abolishing all investigation and sup- ervision just because we have taken these mothers away from the muni- cipal relief systems?” He smiled, and from that time on, I had no more complaints from that quarter. Inasmuch, then, as for one reason or another, it is impossible for us to decide definitely as to the fitness or otherwise of a mother for an al- lowance, I suggest that the Govern- ment ought in practice to engage these mothers on probation for a period of six months. At the end of that time it should be possible to decide by examining carefully certain criteria whether she has proved herself “fit” for her position; such criteria as: The health of the children. The attendance of the children at school. The progress at school. Their behaviour in and around their home. Their tidiness and the tidiness of the home. r attitude to the mother, uld like to see some simple attached to the placing of after six months on the anent staff of the government. Lastly, in connection with the original investigation, I would urge that certain essential facts, such as ages, proof of marriage, death, etc., should be required of applicants as a matter of form; just as they are required under certain circumstances in other phases of life. The actual contact between in- vestigators and applicants should not make the latter look upon the former as inquisitors into their private affairs. The mothers should rather look upon the social workers responsible for the investigation as people who are employed to instruct them as to the nature of and condi- tions of their new employment. If the mother’s standards of moth- ercraft have been in the past in- ferior to the standards adopted by the Commission, then the social worker must explain the difference and win her to the belief in the de- sirability of the higher standard. This must be done at the outset, not after the allowance has been paid for several months, when it has been found that the children go to school when they please and to the movies when they don’t please. Mothers’ Allowances must be ade- quate to enable the mother and her children to live a full life. The amount of each allowance will vary according to the number and ages of the children, the locality in which the mother lives and the sources of income over and above the allow- ance. If the allowances are adequate, a problem at once confronts those re- sponsible for the administration. This problem is suggested by the question: Is the State justified in maintaining families through gov- ernment allowances at a higher standard of living than is possible for the unskilled laborer’s family which lives perhaps next door? In England, in 1836, two years after the reform of the Poor Law which resulted in the establishment of separate workhouse schools for workhouse children with instruction at the hands of more or less qualified teachers, the Bedford Board of Guardians appealed against the ord- er from the Local Government Board by which the Guardians were compelled to teach the Poor Law children to read and write. They asked that they be allowed to teach their children reading only, saying that the Poor Law School children educated at the expense of the rate payers were going out into the world better equipped to compete for a living than the common laborer’s child who learned nothing. The Local Government Board refused the request; compulsory education of all children followed not very long after. If we, in Canada, can prove that a certain social result with children can be obtained by paying a cer- tain salary to dependent mothers, shall we not then, through unem- ployment insurance, sickness insur- ance, adjustment of the use of pub- lic and private capital and in other ways, endeavor to make it possible for all independent workers who are willing to work to secure an income which will be sufficient in size and regular enough to secure the same social result? Therefore, without hesitation, I say let us decide on the minimum amount necessary to maintain an adequate standard of life for a family of a given size and age, and give that amount whether it be $50 a month or $200 a month, even though it be in excess of the income of her neighbor, the inde- pendent laborer. In conclusion, at the risk of criticism, I suggest that perhaps we are plunging too rapidly into enor- mous expenditures of public money without being quite sure that the expected results are being achieved, and of even more importance, with- out utilizing the experiences of this type of dependency to strike death blows at the causes of unnecessary and preventable deaths of the men who should be wage earners. We ought to know in every Pro- vince exactly why such a man died and whether a wrong social or eco- nomic condition was in whole or in part the cause of his death I have a suspicion that tuber- culosis and industrial accidents as causes would be high up on the list. The governments which will spend a half a million dollars a year on Mothers’ Allowances and refuse to spend a tenth of that sum on anti- tuberculosis propaganda, housing form and factory inspection are go- ing to over-burden their citizens with taxation, and reduce the num- ber who are able to pay those taxes, for it must not be forgotten that not only is the dependent mother not a producer of wealth, but she is also a consumer of wealth. Five years is a short time in the history of the Dominion. If the five Provinces granting allowances at the present time would standardize their work, limit its operation and study the effects in comparison with other groups, say an equal number of in- dependent workmen’s families, and of working widows families, and of families in receipt of ordinary out- door relief, for a period of five years, then they might have accurate data on which to justify their extension of the principle to all mothers children who through no fault their own were unable to main an adequate standard of living. i — — MASSON Dental Co. Dental Scientists Teeth extracted without pa — Novo-Codine 152 PEEL STREET Uptown 5602 860 ST. DENIS STREET St. Louis 4613 OPEN EVENINGS The Young Man’s Best Recommendation A Saving Account is more than a start towards financial independence— it is a mark of character. One of the strongest recommendations in the world of business that a young man can present, is a Merchants Bank Pass- Book, showing a record of consistent savings. A Savings Account may be opened with SI. 00, which shows how highly we regard the accounts of those who desire to save. The Merchants Bank THE CANADIAN RAILROADER he Open Shop Crusade This article on ‘The Open Shop Crusade/’ taken from the New Republic, New York, largely follows, but in much greater jietail, the views stated in an editorial in the Railroader last week. Most trade unionists will agree with the article in the main, though there may be some difference of opinion on the references made to the Plumb Plan and to responsibility for pro- duction : — s. I N Chicago, at a business men's U convention, one of the speakers assures his colleagues that “in a little while the union labor man will be eating out of his employer's hand." In New York a semi-public employment service reports that while jobs were plentiful two months ago, “now we are lucky if we place one-fifth of those who are seeking work." In Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland, every other industrial a re in the country, organized ^ is excitedly whipping together I * sort of defence against an ex- assault by capital. Every p 1 * *n the wind indicates that a n€ *£’oup of dissatisfied employ- r Sg advantage of a moment * nt v.profi table to suspend pro- action rather than dump goods on a falling market, are preparing to launch against union labor perhaps the greatest offensive of the last dozen years. Locally, in this struggle which seems to be impending, the issues may be varied and complex. Na- tionally, one issue will overshadow all the others. Away with the auto- cracy of labor! will be the battle- cry. Give us the Open Shop! Al- ready this cry is raised. In a state- ment that has rallied all 'those em- ployers who want “a show-down," the chairman of the Republican Pub- licity Association in Washington brands the c lose^ shop as “exclu- aaftnop dTistic and domineering." t is “rule or ruin." It destroys "“the independence of the individual," spells disaster for production, tran- scends, in short, “anything dreamed of by rapacious monarchs." A Paper Menace. J If an attack upon the unions is in fact impending, it will be the most ~tratural thing in the world for em- ployers to dub it a crusade for the open shop. That battle-cry will be used again, just as it has so often been used in the past, because it is the most effective anti-union weap- on. It can be so phrased as to ap- peal to something Americans have been taught to esteem, though not always able to attain: freedom of choice for the individual man and \ banish an autocracy that actually exists, it is worth while to run the risk of substituting an autocracy that is still largely theoretical. Moreover, argue these leaders, the risk is never great: since the trade union, unlike the factory, is capable of control by popular referendum of its personnel. From this starting- point the argument branches off in a hundred different ways. Turn from that argument for the moment: how integral a part of labor's fight- ing programme has the demand for a closed shop ever been? If “the men- ace of the closed shop" is much more than a paper menace, a bogey to be raised at a convenient moment, then the record of industrial con- flict in American will show that foremost among the causes of great strikes has been the demand of labor for the closed shop. Examine the Record. As a matter of fact the record shows nothing of the sort. The his- tory of conflict between the union and the modern “trust" dates, per- haps, from Homestead (1892). Was the closed shop the issue of the Homestead strike? No. Carnegie Brothers and Company simply warn- ed the unions that if they did not accept its wage scale then Cargenie Brothers and Company would pro- ceed to deal with its employers as individuals. Preservation of the union was the definite issue upon which the strike began. It lasted five months; ended with the unions defeated and the strong-arm tactics of the employer justified. Three other great strikes marked that troublesome year, and in none of them did the issue of the open shop figure any more substantially. The miners' strike in the Coeur d'Alene district of Idaho, still the most spectacular of all industrial struggles in America, was a strike against periodic wage reductions. The switchmen's strike in Buffalo aimed at a ten-hour day. The coal- miners of Tennessee struck in pro- test against the competitive use of convict labor. Of four great strikes in 1892, strikes still fresh in the memory of employers and of labor, not one was for the closing of a shop. A Vs Wman. Why should any man be obliged to “join a union" for the privilege p^^Ning to work where threat against the life of one union, A — - — . periodic wage reductions for an- other, a workday of more than ten hours, the use of convict labor — these were the causes, none to creditable to capital, which provok- ed strikes that tied up industry for many months. Against Cut in Wages. p^Tough the history of industrial can years which have policy. J y i s muc h the same. G. vision is the Federal Government T^-ione auto- the utmtt^of an- * ‘ h the v ent. ^ad- n h oh- The Mine Workers' strike of was directed not towards a shop but against a further wages. The Pullman strike cago, which led to the arrest oi" Eugene Debs and other leaders, and to the calling out of federal troops by President Cleveland, was a strike for the restoration of wages that had been paid the previous year. Where was the closed shop issue at Lowell or at Paterson, or in that anthracite coal strike which brought President Roosevelt into the con- troversy? Long hours, attempts to reduce wages, attempts to destroy every vestige of union labor power — these, and not the issue of the closed shop, have been the most fruitful causes of industrial warfare in America. We have, in the last year or two, had threats of strikes on the part of the railway workers. Never has the closed shop been the issue. In one instance it was hours; in another, wages. We have had a strike of coal-miners. The issue, again, was hours and wages. We have had a steel strike, four months of misery for many thousands of men and women; nowhere among the demands of the strikers was there an ultimatum for the closed shop. It was, in fact, for an open shop, in the sense that union men might work alongside non-union men in blast-furnaces and rolling-mills, that so many workmen downed their tools and fought the most powerful trust of modern times. The Real Factors. In short, those employers who at- tempt habitually to focus the atten- tion of the public on the issue of the open shop, and upon that issue to the exclusion of every other, are neglecting in their enthusiasm those very factors which have steadily been the cause of trouble in the past. It is not hard to see why this should be the case. Workdays that run to twelve hours; shifts that sometimes keep a man on duty eighteen hours at a stretch; wages that do not match the government's own fig- ures for an income necessary to maintain a decent standard of liv- ing; a policy of discharging able workmen simply because they are members of a union, and of keep- ing them out of future jobs by vir- ture of the “black-list” — these are factors productive of industrial war- fare, but factors which the reaction- ary employer cannot easily justify in the public's eyes. Result: to shift the issue, to conceal his real fears and hopes, the reactionary em- ployer dwells upon the closed shop and the peril it will bring. Merely Smoke-Screen. The issue of the open shop, nine times out of ten, is a smoke-screen behind which the reactionary em- ployer can mass his guns for a totally different sort of attack. That is the first fact to be remembered as we approach the conflict which is threatening to-day. And the sec- ond fact is that responsibility for the struggle, if the struggle comes, rests on the side of capital. December 25, 1920 ing of the Federation took Munsey sharply to task for repaying tb loyalty of his workers with the hr Could Not Sleep Mr. Earnest Clark, Police Officer, 338 King St., Kingston, Ont., writes: “For three years I suffered from nervousness and sleep- lessness. I believe my condi- tion was brought about by overwork. I had frequent headaches, neuralgic pains and twitching of 3 nerves and muscles. I had indigestion, was short of breath and easily tired. I commenced a treat- ment of Dr. Chase’s Nerve Food, and seven boxes of this medicine cured me of all my symptoms. I am now feeling one hundred per cent, better than I was, and have to thank Dr. Chase’s Nerve Food for the good health I am now en- joying.” Dp. Chase’s Nerve Food, 50 cents a box, 6 for $2.75, all dealers, or Edmanson, Bates & Co., Ltd., Toronto. DrChase’siJ^, Nerve Food%S#' Consider the situation. A com- bination of special circumstances has indeed produced in many of our larger cities a closed shop in the building trades — and the same set of special circumstances, we believe, rather than the fact of the closed shop itself, has turned those build- ing trades into a disgrace to organ- ized labor; but in no other industry has the closed shop gone equally far, or followed the same set of ethics. The railway brotherhoods, with power to fight for a closed shop, have preferred the open shop, trusting to the good sense of non- union workmen to join the brother- hood once they witness what it can accomplish for its members. That is generally the case wherever union labor is established. Is there one instance to-day, in the whole coun- try, of a single important union, threatening to strike for the closing of a shop? Labor is nowhere taking the of- fensive. That fact, perhaps, seems too obvious to-day to be worth re- cording. But later on, if the battle is begun, the powerful engines of the press will be brought into ser vice to prove the whole war was willed by union labor. \ THE CANADIAN RAILROADER OUR LONDON LETTER 'i lie has accepted the principles of trade unionism. No doubt the pub- lic’s response would be heartier had the leaders of union labor shown more interest in that factor with the public is most interested in. This factor is production. And while the old-line chieftains of the American Federation of Labor have regularly declared themselves interested in production, they have never pro- posed labor’s willingness to under- take part responsibility for it. They have, in fact, done their best to beat down proposals like the Plumb Plan which aimed at just that responsi- bility on labor’s part. Organized capital would, of course, have fought bitterly against such a change in labor’s status; but by broadening the base of their pyra- mid so as to represent in larger measure the interests of the un- organized public as well as the or- ganized workers, trade union lead- ers would have entrenched them- selves more strongly for the battle which they face to-day. Assault on Unionism. Those employers who want to “go to the mat with labor” are in an odd position. After inveighing against labor for more than two years for its failure to increase production, here they are — now proposing to cut down production not because the world has less need of goods but because they want to safeguard prices. Meantime many of these employers are preparing to don armor and upheld the “open shop.” What they really mean — had they the courage to say it — is that they are preparing for an assault upon trade unionism. It will be a mis- fortune if they succeed in breaking union strength. Trade unionism is a necessary safeguard against ex- ploitation, the one adequate means of organizing a supply of labor. When the unions have the privilege of coming into any industry on a preferential basis (i.e., neither a “closed shop” nor a “non-union shop”), and when these unions are open to any working man or woman who wishes to enlist, a promise is established for the growth democra- tic power. But when that promise has been challenged, when the reaction ary employers of the country seek a chance to crush the unions, then the fight becomes the public’s fight as well as the cause of union labor. Horse Radish Young Lady (on first visit to Western ranch): “For what pur- pose do you use that coil of line on your saddle?” Cowpuncher: “That line, as you call it, lady, we use for catching cattle and horses.’’ Young Lady: “Oh, indeed. Now may I ask, what do you use for bait?” — Los Angeles Times. Lights on Convention of International Federation of Trade Unions London, November 26. T HE most important event qf. the week from the Labor standpoint has been the meeting in London of the Interna- tional Federation of Trade Unions. A hundred delegates assembled, representing 18 countries, and 24,- 000,000 organized workers. It was a remarkable event to have German and Austrian trade union leaders sitting beside those from Bel- gium, France, Italy, as well as the representa- tives of Canada Ethelbert Pogson and Britain. The first thing that happened was somewhat in the nature of a bomb- shell. Mr. W. A. Appleton, the Fed- eration President, resigned. Now Appleton, although not wielding any conspicuous power in this country — he is secretary of the General Fed- eration of Trade Unions, which should not be confounded with the more powerful Trade Union Con- gress — has a considerable European reputation and the breach is of real importance on that account. It was not without significance that Appleton first notified his in- tention to resign to Mr. Sam. Gomp- ers, president of the American Fed- eration of Labor. The United States is standing out of this conference on account of the advanced attitude of some of its prominent men. Ap- pleton is Gompers’ close friend and has an admiration for him akin to hero-worship. Those who know this are not in the least surprised to find them standing together. Why He Resigned. The reason Appleton gave is this: “Had it been decreed that my elec- tion to the presidency of the Inter- national Federation involved my ac- ceptance of Socialism or any other political “ism,” I should most em- phatically have refused nomination I stand as a trade unionist, not as a politician, and by a trade unionist I mean one who has asserted and practised his right to combine with his fellows for the purpose of selling his labor at the best possible price. “My resignation does not mean that I have lost interest in the poor or the down-trodden of any country, but it does mean that I shall resume my personal freedom to work in my own way and without having to bend my efforts to the promulgation of theories that appear to me to be out of date and fundamentally im- practicable, nor shall I be involved in the advertisement of any par- ticular school of politics. “I shall be free to preach peace within the nations as well as peace between the nations; to consider re- construction problems scientifically, and to devote a greater portion of my time to studying and helping to combat the serious industrial condi- tions which threaten my own coun- trymen.” It may be explained that Appleton has for some time been condemning direct action for political purposes and other “extreme” tenets of cer- tain sections, and has been condemn- ing Bolshevism and those over here who coquette with it without stint. As result he has made not a few declared enemies, though not among the more reputable element, and was himself severely trounced at the last British Trade Union Congress. Mr. Thomas as President. The railwaymen’s leader, Mr. J. H. Thomas, was unanimously chosen as the new president and he put the British position in a nutshell. “We are,” he said “looked upon as yellow trade unionists but we desire a world free, we want liberty and jus- tice for our class, and we want to remove all the ills from which our class suffer, not by a bloody up- heaval, but hy the scientific applica- tion of our minds to those problems. “That is the only difference be- tween ourselves and those who have attacked us.” Even the German delegate, Grass- man, did not favor communism which he described as “the worst form of reaction,” and there was a good deal of criticism of the Rus- sians on the ground that all ap- proaches had been replied to by at- tacks. “It is now for the Russians,” declare Edo Fimmen (Holland), “to come to us, for we cannot indefinite- ly run after them.” The main discussion terminated in a wordy, if weighty, resolution which protested against all open and cov- ert attempts of the dominant class throughout the world to suppress freedom of organization and action by the workers; it raised emphatic protest against the military and commercial war still carried on against Russia; declared that it is the primary duty of all national trade union centres and of all work- ers to use every means to fight the world reaction which threatens the growth, existence and very life of the trade union movement. The opinion was voiced that, both nationally and internationally, v the movement, besides systematic pur- suit for better conditions of labor, must join issue against capitalism and imperialism; that militarism must be combated in every form, and, “The trade union movement of all countries should resort to gener- al national boycott as a stern and effectual weapon in the fight a ga^ reaction and for progress.” An urgent appes co-operation “to working classes the necessity ternational mass action in the as^ sault on reaction, in declaring war against war, and for the realization of a new social system.” Canada, Italy and Norway voted * against but the resolution was car- ried by 21,906,000 votes to 2,710,000. Unemployed Demonstrations. In London the unemployed con- tinue to have processions and de- monstrations and to form commit- tees, but very little of real value is being done. The Government in discussing it in its charming desul- tory way states it has a scheme for arterial roads, which cannot with the greatest speed be ready before next year, while hundreds of thou- sands of men, chiefly ex-soldiers and sailors, are without work. The Camberwell district, which has 7,000 out of works, has the commandeering of a couplq houses by the unemployed, and these they .carry on their opera j In Islington, on the other the metropolis, the men havq possession of a room in thg library for headquarters, a drama in these things,! much practical good. Delight figures are issued from time to time by Government departments to prove that the percentage of un- employed is less than at some stated period before the war, but it is go- ing to be a hard winter for many thousands of people. It is part of the irony of things that the chief industrial controversy just now should be as to whether women and young persons should be employed in factories on the fwo^| shift system. The Lancashire cotton lords plead that unless they can get more labor time out of their mach- inery they cannot make both ends meet, but the workers are more than a little suspicious of the proj Mr. Henry Boothman, general sec^ retary of the operative spinners,! says flatly that if the proposed bill passes it will not be worked. The male workers in the industry do not want their wives and daughters to go back to the bad old system of starting in the mill at 6 a.m. and the women’s organizations are equally emphatically against. Strikes are comparatively few and of relatively small moment, but there is more than a likelihood of fresh trouble in Manchester, where" the tramwaymen are demanding a $5 per week advance. The tramway committee which, only a few months ago, was forced to concede a $2.50 increase, is not likely to grant this without putting up a fight. Ethelbert Pogson You never can tell, low forms shallow THE CANADIAN RAILROADER Safety First Co-operation Between Employees and Railroad Managements W T HAT there is a conflict of in- terests between employers and employees in railroad ser- vice, as in any other industry oper- ated under our present economic sys- ' tern, few, if any, will question. One issue, however, in which railroad em- ployees and railroad officials can wholeheartedly unite is that of Safe- ty First, and it is immeasurably to the advantage of the employees that they give their full support to the work, of the official safety organi- zations on their respective lines — so long as such work is confined JpLona fide safety efforts. Ve have heard it said that official t ty organizations on some rail- are looked upon with suspicion Lti/.any employees and hence that nefe' .mployees fail to become en- "it * n this work, as the mo- \nt 7 * the management in the ^^esTare not quite clear. Now we don't believe there is a railroad official on the North American con- tinent who is not solicitous for the physical safety of the men under his jurisdiction. But entirely apart from all humanitarian sentiment in the matter, it should be apparent to any- one who will give the question just a little ordinary consideration that ever since the fellow servant and contributory negligence doctrines ■^ceased to obtain and railroad em- ployees have full right of action against railroad companies for per- sonal injuries sustained while serv- ing in that capacity, it is greatly to the interest of railroad companies to Red uce to th^^lowest possible mini- i mum the number of damage suits c they have to fight. Damage suits are costly, particularly when they carry big awards for the plaintiff, and under the new order some very large awards have been granted rail- \ road employees who have suffered ^/Hphysical injury while on duty as such. But no matter what the motive may be that actuates railroad man- agements in maintaining safety or- ganizations on their respective lines, it is but logical and reasonable to t recognize that the employees have everything to gain and nothing to lose by co-operating in the work of such organizations. ^ Physical safety is the great prim- r ar^-consideration, for in the final ^ Mialysis no amount of money can adequately recompense for the loss ib, or f or becoming otherwise vision the wealth Federal Government i§^. le stricken the utmdi^out 0 f the % the ent.% ? r- "h ofr-i ce^v of accidents to the lowest possible minimum and the conservation to the highest possible maximum of life and limb amongst railroad em- ployees — the averting from the rail- road man's home and family of the heartbreaking bereavement resulting from his death or the misery to all concerned arising from his serious personal injury. To accomplish this purpose employees should co-operate earnestly and unstintedly with the work of the company's safety or- ganization. With a view to picking up, cor- relating and co-ordinating the safe- ty efforts of the various railroad managements being put forth by their respective safety organiza- tions, a meeting including twenty- four railroad safety officers, the edi- tors of the official publications of the 0. R. C., the B. of L. F. and E. and the B. of R. T. was held in Chi- cago on September 25th. In a letter dated October 13 di- rected to all railroad safety officers Isaiah Hale, Safety Superintendent of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, states that one of the objects of this meeting was to determine in what way and to what extent the railroad safety departments might be of service in co-operating with the said editors and the Editor of the Journal of the Switchmen's Union of North Am- erica, who is also in accord with the movement, in maintaining a safety department in their respective mag- azines the better to permit of their keeping constantly before the minds of their readers the importance of safety in railroad operation. To make such department as. “interest- ing and practical as possible" Mr. Hale has requested the safety of- ficers to mail each month to these editors a statement setting forth brief but exact details of avoidable injuries to employees on their re- spective properties without mention- ing the name of the employee or State wherein employed, the publi- cation of which may keep other men from the consequences of similar ac- cidents. Mr. Hale suggests “Any little heart story featuring safety or the lack of it." Amongst in- stances of this kind cited during the course of the meeting was one wherein a section man got one of his fingers injured under conditions that were calculated to develop septi- cemia, or blood poisoning. His fel- low workers urged him to see a doc- tor and have the wound dressed, but he insisted that it wquld be all right in a few days and he would not both- er going to the doctor with it. Had he done so the physician in treating the wound would have applied v^Une or some other antiseptic, thus infection. But what really blood poisoning 1 P ° 1Cy * ss than three weeks the man died. Now if the dJ of this case in brief form coj brought to the knowledge of er men liable to be similarly it would undoubtedly tend to un- saying of lives and the prevention of physical and mental suffering, and so with other cases of prevent- able death or injury. It was proposed at the meeting, and the proposition met general ap- proval, that occurrences of this kind should be reported to a central med- ium and there assembled and sent out to the various employees’ or- ganization journals, and that each such occurrence would carry its own lesson by which all readers would be warned in all such cases to take the proper safety precautions against dangerous results. How- ever, until such central medium is designated Mr. Hale has requested the safety officers to send direct to the editors such matters as they may have available. The editors of these publications feel that it is an imperative duty they owe the men of their respective organizations to co-operate in this work. Hence matter of this kind as will, when given publicity, prove helpful ii!* conserving life and limb amongst railroad employees will be given space in our columns. The first contributions of this kind we have received to date appear in part elsewhere in this issue. Any attempt at propaganda other than real bona fide safety propa- ganda on the part of the safety de- partments of the railroads, however, is sure to militate against, if not defeat, the primary purpose of the existence of such departments, for it will create suspicion as to the sincerity of such purpose. We would urge that al safety meetings of any and every kind whatsoever be kept free from ul- terior efforts of this kind — that such dissembling be excluded absolutely from the safety movement in its every phase, for where it is intro- duced, no matter how indirectly or adroitly, it will be sure to shake the confidence of the employees therein. If successful co-operation with the employees is to be maintained, then the safety departments of the December 25, 1920 ing of the Federation took Munsey sharply to task for repaying th loyalty of his workers with the b ? r % ^ . vjcti at this time because oi what we regard as an enormous psychology in the premises on the part of some safety officers. Thus, for instance, from such an officer — a man who is ac- tive in the general Safety First campaign, of whose sincerity there is in our mind absolutely no ques- tion, whose earnest zeal in the cause we believe to be inspired by none but the highest, most genuine, bona fide Safety First motives — we re- cently received a “paper" on Safety CARBIDE GIVES More Gas Per Pound 0 Manufactured by CANADA CARBIDE CO. LIMITED Works; SHAWINIGAN FALLS, Que. Head Office; POWER BUILDING, MONTREAL. maMsm FIVE ROSES FLOUR FOR BREADS — CAKES PUDDINGS- PASTRIES Y OUR neighbour, famous for her baking — maybe she uses Five Roses. ‘ ‘ 'I if r* I * THE CANADIAN RAILROADER giving it puoTWfflTrTwe found it to be largely a lecture to employees on deportment. It is replete with scriptural quo- tations and suggestions bearing on same, which, of course, are abso- lutely all right in their place, but have little connection with the phy- sically safe operation of railroads. The thought is injected of the sub- limity of the sight of a long freight train rounding a sharp curve going down grade and just one man — the engineer — controlling it with the atmosphere we breathe. The grouchy conductor is pictured, the engineer criticized for putting oil on his en- gine at every stop, and all in all from the view point of the man eag- er to inspire the fullest co-operation between the employees and the com- pany^ safety organizations the paper has practically no value at all. An engine, the number of which is given, is described as a bad steal*- er, causing delay to other trains as well as her own, and in one instance actually having to give her train up. On one night, so the paper reads, when a conductor asked for right over the train this engine was haul- ing, the dispatcher assured him she x wouldn't lay him out that night be- cause a certain , engineer was run- ning her, and sure enough, so says the paper, the said engine was “right on the dot.” Further observation of that engineer, the paper informs us, disclosed the fact that he “loves to talk to his engine and listen to her purr” — that he is always happy in his work and invariably has good trips, and if anything goes wrong he doesn't get profane, but ^is pleasant and makes the best of it, and the contention clearly is that with an engineer of such personality operat- ing a locomotive mechanical defects that affect steaming, etc., count for nothing. The paper contains this de- claration, “Treat an engine well and she will readily respond; let her know you are afraid of her and she will make life miserable for you.” There is a gleam of enthusiastic optimism throughout the paper sug- gestive of the idea that railroading is one sweet dream and the men en- gaged in it can be oh, so sublimely happy — that, in fact, they are a privileged class to be permitted op- portunities that afford such terres- trial felicity. The paper has much of the al- legorical and sentimental and leans heavily on psychological impossibili- ties for the support of its conten- tions. It contains but little of the practical thoughts that suggest phy- sical safety anS it winds up with a paragraph in which is expressed a longing to see the employees and the officials on the author's road “or- ganized into one real fraternal brotherhood.” The paper, in fact, is mainly a lecture to the employees in which they are admonished to be right thinking and cheerful and good so that they can thus get over the by sheer force of a sunny, tic, tolerant mental attitude on-steaming, leaky or defec- after engines operate with and alacrity. But it is so lacking in real safety inspiration that we cannot give it publication as a safety document, even in part, and we beg to notify all safety of- ficers that it is useless to send us matter of this kind for publication in the interest of safety. ► Other contributions, however, re- ceived from safety officers possess- ing value from the common sense, plain, practical safety viewpoint, we are glad to publish. We would respectfully suggest to the safety departments of the vari- ous railroads that the less extrane- ous propaganda that is mixed up with their safety efforts the more successful will such efforts be — particularly in the matter of inspir- ing the employees with the honesty and sincerity of their motives. No- thing that we say herein is intended as a criticism but as frank, honest matter-of-fact advice actuated by an earnest desire for Safety* First co- operation between the employees and the safety departments of the rail- roads along the most practical, the most effective, the best result-get- ting lines. Should the employees find any- thing in the safety departments of the various railroads which they feel merits criticism we will be very pleased to publish their views in the premises without revealing their names, as our purpose is to utilize all that is useful and meritorious in the safety organizations of the dif- ferent railroads in promoting the physical safety of the men engaged in train service, and insofar as the influence of the magazine extends of all other railroad employees as well. Samuel Untermeyer, the committee’s counsel, who has stated that he is the largest stockholder in the Beth- lehem corporation. Charging Mr. Grace with “fenc- ing” and evading his questions, Mr. Untermeyer several times dunJ examination appealed to Senato? Carson, acting chairman of the com- mittee, to order the witness to an- swer his questions. PUTTING IT ANOTHER WAY. A T the Commercial Travellers’ banquet in Montreal on Mon- day evening of this week, Hon. J. D. Reid, Minister of Railways and Canals, and Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King, Leader of the Opposition, were amongst the speakers. At one point in his speech Hon. Dr. Reid spoke briefly of the nationalization of railways, and expressed a fear that the National Railways would not show the same surpluses as the Canadian Pacific, and the position might be difficult until mat- ters got back to normal. The Leader of the Opposition in his remarks said: " Dr . Reid regretted that fhe surplus of the Canadian National Rail- ways was not equal to that of the Canadian Pacific, but let us thank God there was no deficit on the C. P. R. equal to that of the C. N. R.” ■and Seal Brand Coflee — xS Nothing else will do No other can compare with Seal Brand, Made only from the finest mountain- grown beans, which haye developed slowly, absorbing goodness from the air, the sun and the luxurious soil of the cool wonderful Tropic Uplands. Perfectly Blended and Roasted, the rich aroma and rare flavour sealed into the Tins. 7 In x and 2-lb. sizes. Whole, ground, and fine-ground. At all good grocer*. Write for "Perfect Coffee — Perfectly Made”, Mailed free on request. CHASE <a SANBORN, MONTREAL. BETHLEHEM STEEL FAVORS OPEN SHOP The Bethlehem Steel Corporation will refuse to sell fabricated steel to builders and contractors in the New York and Philadelphia districts to be erected on a union shop basis. This policy was disclosed by Eu- gene G. Grace, president of the cor- poration, who testified on Dec. 15, before the joint legislative commit- tee investigating the alleged “build- ing trust,” replying to charges that his concern was sponsoring the “open shop” movement by withhold- ing steel from builders employingj union men. “I think it is a proper thing to protect the open shop principle,” declared Mr. Grace, who explained that his stand would not be changed even if building operations in New York were to be suspended because steel could not be obtained by unioi erectors. Whether the corporation will ex- tend its policy to other parts of the United States, the witness said, de- pends “entirely on what effect I should expect it to have on our gen- eral labor situation.” The steel magnate, who was on the witness stand nearly an hour, was subjected to a severe grilling by MCDONALD! PRINCE of WALES CHEWING TOBACCO ^2 Size£ ^ 15^ O Qo<? X v MANUF^ W. C. MACDi THE CANADIAN RAILROADER Cl jc Canadian 3K.atlvoatier WEEKLY The Official Organ of The Fifth Sunday Meeting Association of Canada ORGANIZED SEPTEMBER 1916 Incorporated under Dominion Letters Patent. April, 1919. J. A. WOODWARD, President J. N. POTVIN, Vice-President W. F. BERRY, Scc.-Treasurer C.P.R. Conductor C.P.R. Train Dispatcher G.T.R. Conductor EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:— S. DALE, C.P.R. Engineer; D. TRINDALL. G.T.R. Locomotive Engineer; J HOGAN, C.P.R. Asst. Roadmaster; ARCHIE DU- FAULT, C.P.R. Conductor; E. McGILLY, C.P.R. Locomotive Fireman W. T. DAVIS. General Yard Master; . W. FARLEY, C.P.R. Locomotive Engineer; M. JAMES, C.P.R. Engineer; S. PUGH, G.T.R. Conductor; Wm. PARSONS, C.G.R. Agent; The Canadian Railroader was founded by railroaders, is "largely supported by railroaders, and is issued in the interest n *y of railroaders and all other workers by hand or brain. \ tt — Yearly subscription: $3.00; htr/ij* Single Copies: 10 cents Published weekly by THE CANADIAN RAILROADER LIMITED rat mt LAGAUCHETIERE ST. W., Corner Beaver Hall Hill, MONTREAL Telephone: MAIN 6222 S§lfe> 17 December 25, 1920 GEORGE PIERCE, Editor KENNEDY CRONE, Managing Editor Vf; Consider the <( Open Shop” T here is alarm in some' Canadian unions that the “open shop” drive in the United States will ,be transferred to Canada. Suspicious local circumstances are pointed to, and the alarm has already had the effect of drawing kindred - trades more closely together than they have ever been. Many unionists will consider that the effect is welcome, whatever they may think of the cause. A condition with some unions has been that when they got into a strong position, they have as organized bodies become somewhat indifferent to their weaker brethren. They do make ^ m ore or less of^an effort to meet the claims of brotherhood, but ^n alProuncT, firm, definite alliance is wanting. In periods of , real distress no doubt they would draw from their treasuries to help. Yet that continuous spirit of co-operation and support which is not measured in terms of money, is weak. An ingenious argument for this state is that the stronger unions had to fight unaided for many years to get to their present position, that it is hardly fair to pull them, perhaps, through /the furnace again merely to protect others from what they them- selves have suffered, and that, in any case, no union is worth its salt that cannot produce enough fighters and martyrs of its own. The general argument against it is that brotherhood is brotherhood, that anything which stands in its way is unbroth- erly, and that nothing should be allowed to stand in its way. Getting down to concrete cases, however, it is often found difficult to take sides on arguments such as these. Economic and other factors enter in, and there are criss-crossings of fact and opinion that cannot clearly be lined up on one side or another. What appears at first look to be a simple question of ethics is really a highly-involved subject that no sweeping declaration can coyer in any one direction. Some of the wisest heads in the union movement steer a cautious course through it. However, there occasionally comes a point where interests J & t he strong and the weak, and the middling ^Fe deral Government il*£^y er ge from outward rather than inward Ahe barriers of sectionalism and up shows the 4 reached when a blow is aimed at the Ignt.'C generally, and the heavier the blow sh ofej the front against it. An “open- 2 ceK- ac tice a “non-union shop” cam- ' s %tyong enough to line up the can en ough in its imme- |i policy. ^strengthening of unionism. It brings abori unions that many moder fs\ the attack can be throvf gP ing of the Federation took Munsey extreme unionists, andJ^S. sharply to task for repaying th would also be on the joL?" r - loyalty of his workers with the br „ attackers. Their view is that the stronger theaLoubn. on unionism the better. They hope that it will be strong enough to put a bad dent in unionism as we know it, which is also the hope of the attacking employer, but the two hopes reach out to different conclusions. The attacking employer hopes that when unionism is dented he will be able to dictate terms to Labor. The ex- tremist hopes that when unionism is dented he can step in to take leadership of the maddened and disorganized masses of unionists, swinging them behind his own plan of campaign, which is to make short shrift of the present system of society, be- ginning, ironically enough, with the employers whose campaign he first gave his best wishes to. The extremist’s hope is the more accurately-reasoned of the two. The alarm referred to amongst some Canadian trade unions is based on this very theory. It is not fear of a dent in unionism of itself (bad enough, to be sure) ; it is not fear of a revival of autocracy in industry (which is only a suicidal notion some employers may have) ; it is fear of an ensuing chaos which would doubtless take its revenge on the would-be autocrats (and serve ’em right), but which would also be likely to spell disaster to the workers themselves and the community at large. Up to a certain stage, attack strengthens unionism. Past a certain stage, it weakens it and rears something infinitely worse in its place. Trade unionism at the present time is a balance-wheel between the extremists at the top and the extrem- ists at the bottom, and he who puts it out of kilter doe& so at his peril. Personally (I give the personal opinion just for what it is worth), I doubt if the alarm about the “open-shop” is justified in Canada. Canadian employers generally are not as far back in the Middle Ages as American employers, in relation to the work- ers. There is, after all, more real liberty, more tolerance, more genuine democracy, and less spasmodic effervescence, in Canada, than across the border. Canadians would not permit an octopus'" like the Steel I rust, or the system which allows employers to ™e Pnvate armies of gunmen and control municipal and state officials for unscrupulous private ends. The British spirit gets a lot of raps at home and abroad, but it stands up fairly well in all weathers. It usually bungles through. It is, therefore, hard tor me to conceive of anything so un-Canadian as a con- ceited move to destroy Canadian trade unionism either openly or under screen. Surely men thinking of such a thing, if there are such men would be advised by their friends that this is about the last country in the world to try it on. The reaction m ° ve here would be speedier thah in the United States, where it will come speedily enough if the attack is maintained — Kennedy Crone W orders’ Heal Interests UTT is not wages or hours that the wage workers are inter- 1 once said Mr. W. B. Wilson, U. S. Secretary of coir a 4 1 ’ . JU ^ ia ther they are interested in self-preservation, 2'q n P S?° n ’ self-respect! When employers grasp this fact out ht mdu ; stry as J° enable the wage worker to work the niipstlnn *; serva t lo n, self-reproduction, and self-respect, then o nS ™ f w age n and 1 ? 0Urs wil1 soIve itself - We talk about and “ j ° y Li® week? RaSder f r ° m Governm ent statistics in last workers was ? the avera |? wage earned by Montreal worxers was slightly less than $60 per month covering all liafcazetTe^taT d TbT earne / s - A recen t notice in the Mont- leal Gazette stated that out of 9,355 male employees over 16 years of age engaged in the manufacture of rubber goods in this o°r U o n ve7 T S l y r’ 0nly ^ Were in Possession of $?0 pe^ek or over. The average was around $20 per week. Other Govern- ment figures show that gold mining is the most profitable of all mining from the miners’ point of view. The averse wale earned in Canadian gold mines in the year of grace 1919 was around $27 per week. On these allowances men a?d women L?e expected to develop self-preservation, self-reproduction and self- lespect. My Lords and Gentlemen — it can’t be done Kn+ Vo another ^ ose unpleasant facts that most of us dread -but facts nevertheless It is quite impossible to preserle S If, to reproduce oneself, and to respect oneself in these times J JS lisiii 4 tt } re US V to ite its e! re, fr Jy ; R ^ fl , L r and kickers are simply of our promising young tich and getting so little) denied the means of 'self-respect. And they constitute suffMlung like 99 per cent, of the community. “With the $125 per month I am being paid,” a married man said to me not long ago, “I can just get along and no more with the present scale of prices. It is a struggle to pay my life insurance when it comes round each year. Practically nothing can be laid aside for old age. It is the blessing of God that I have no children. I dare not have any now.” He is apparently allowed self-preservation minus self-reproduction. I did not like to ask him about his self-respect. Yet the average for rubber workers last year was $20 per week and for the gold miners $27 — and they raise families ! Still we are a wonderful people. Montreal is one of the richest cities per capita in the world. Income tax officials hint coyly at the fact that we have in our midst certain persons whose incomes are in the neighborhood of one million dollars per annum. Not many — but some. Likewise a sprinkling at half a million per annum. And a glance at the society columns of our papers almost any day in the week will reveal weddings and functions where the cost of the flowers alone would pay for many a child’s entire education. And there is alarm about the falling birth rate. And the Montreal Gazette assures us that we need expect no improvement in the general situation till wages are cut down. It is all very strange and seems to raise the sinister suggestion that employers, having taken away the wherewithal to self- reproduction and self-respect, are now casting longing eyes on the self-preservation fund. One wonders if there is a breaking point and when it will be reached. —George Daniels. Secrecy That Isn ’t I N most trade unions there is a rule that particulars of union proceedings must not be divulged except to other members of the unions intimately concerned or to trade unionists generally. In many unions the rule is a part of the initiation pledge. The rule has always seemed to me to bejfirgely useless, and sometimes dangerous, as it induces a feeling of security from the wrong sort of listening ears, a security that does not exist. News of union meetings nearly always leaks, one wav or an- other, into the ears of the parties it would be most desirable to keep it from, if it should be kept from anyone at all. There may be a traitor in the camp. There may be a man present who means well enough but who simply must pass confidences on to someone else, or who can be easily “pumped” by an agent of any party desiring information. The whole record of a union meeting might be pieced together by an “outsider” from a series of casual and apparently disconnected remarks picked up in a shop or factory. Anyone starting out to learn what happened at any particular union meeting could learn it without much effort. This leakage is not a peculiarity of private meetings of unions alone. It is found in connection with meetings in all walks of life. Experienced newspaper reporters know this very well. Quite a number of labor leaders know the chances of leak- age from union meetings and make it a personal rule not to say anything at them which they would regret to have repeated any- where else. One. when he is organizing a union, specifically warns the new trade unionists not to trust to the supposed secrecy of their meetings. Another talks in meetings on the assumption that what he savs will be repeated to employers who fancv thev are getting a “direct line” on him. He savs he gets a lot of fun out of it. For myself, having been bitten several times in greener days, I never say in meeting what I would not freely say anywhere else. As a fact, there is practically no such thing as a secret union meeting, and it would be better to get rid of the camouflage that there is. Reason No. 1 is that there is developed a false sense of security. Reason No. 2 is that strength is not in sec- recy, in any case, but in unitv. Reason No. 3 is that rarelv do union meetings deal with matters of such a sort, or in such a way, that thev need fear the widest publicity. Reason No. 4 is that the air of secrecy arouses doubt and suspicion amongst un- informed “outsiders” generally. Reason No. 5 is that there is practically no labor news for publication except news of strikes and other disputes, giving non-unionists the erroneous impres- sion that unions do nothing but talk of strikes. If the circum- stances leading to strikes and other disputes were made public as they developed, there would be fewer strikes. — Kennedy Crone A Modern Parallel jT is a strange and paradoxical fact that the great Divine 1 1 Event which is now being celebrated with mirth and joy is in reality the anniversary of a birth which exemplied the homeless and the maternity problems of ancient Judea. In obedience to the edict of an autocrat, the Holy Family were on a journey to Bethlehem, and although there must have been some hundreds of healthy men and women in the best hotels that offered, the mother who was to be accouched, was left to take her chance in a stable. Fortunately, in those days the race was hardy, and still is in certain countries where lives are lived beside nature, so that no physical harm resulted. The fact remains that in this twentieth century there are two problems which Christian civilization has not yet solved: that of housing of the worker — of which Joseph was a type — and that of looking after the mother of the family, of which Mary was the other type. The housing legislation of the Dominion Government has been declared “a dead letter” by the local labor leaders, and they are asking the Provincial Govern- ment to begin de novo for Montreal and the Province. The year 1921 should see a serious effort to once more tackle this, problem. As far as maternal assistance goes, it must be admitted that some very strenuous efforts have been made during the currant year by the child welfare societies and the Charity Organizaij Society to bring much-needed relief to women who have far^ responsibilities. The C. 0. S. through its “Mothers’ Bra^j has done a work of which the public scarcely realized the v<j and benefits; but the one thing now needed to sustain life for such women is the introduction of the “Mothers’, ances Act” which Ontario is now operating and whid provinces in the West have also introduced. Ontario 'vil perhaps the best test of this Act, because it has more big cn and industrial centres than the Western provinces. The more one reads and studies the sacred history of the past, the more is one convinced that many phrases such as “no room in the inn” and “massacre of the innocents” still apply to the twentieth century. — Caedmon. The Unemployed A S things stand, it is not possible to state the precise number of unemployed from day to day, or even from week to week. Only the wildest of estimates can be^nade of the number of unorganized workers out of work. CloserCSJculauoiT can be made in regard to organized workers who are unemployed, but even with these only a rough estimate can be made. While most individual trade unions have an exact record of their own unemployed, daily or weekly reports are not made to any central compilation office, and, indeed, a number of unions do not even make the monthly report on unemployment to the Departr ' of Labor. In the organized trades hardest hit by unemployr some effort is made at reporting to the Trades and Councils. The number of unemployed in Montreal is variously stated at from eight to twenty thousand persons, a variety of state- ment which is a hindrance to impressing the urgency of the situation. The only obvious measure of acute distress is afforded by the increase in the demand on charitable and philanthropic , agencies, and it is also far from accurate, probably under-repre- j senting the actual state of distress to a considerable degree. What is needed is some way of daily or weekly registration of the unemployed, a comparatively simple matter so far as organized labor is concerned, though perhaps not so simple in relation to unorganized workers, who probably constitute the majority of the unemployed, if past experience means anything. At present the charitable and philanthropic agencies are con- fronted with more than they do. Organized labor makes no pre- tence that it approves of charitable or philanthropic agencies as a permanent means of dealing with distress caused by unemploy- ment, but is glad that they exist in an emergency in which they^ are the main forms of amelioration. Where unions have func available for the purpose or can raise subscriptions amongst their members they generally turn these funds anj over to help the unemployed. Most unions, being able to properly take care of thcjf a period of general depression. No rejj by the city, on the score that resource! conserved. No money to save m<*j starvation! Were we not told qj is a rich city which demands cj men to protect its riches cold and hungry through brother’s keeper THE CANADIAN RAILROADER Great West Electric COMPANY, LIMITED WHOLESALE ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES Eden Washing Machines K Heating Specialties " Ker ki/' ^ Motors, Wiring, Supplies, Lamps. unek he- f at L4na int V \ 1 ===== , ^ oh-A 61-63-65 Albert Street WINNIPEG, Man. December 25, 1920 ; All ing of the Federation took Munsey twS. sharply to task for repaying th MFr 'uir- loyalty of his workers with the b? FEWING TYPE “A” CAR REPLACERS for 85” Rail & Under. FEWING TYPE “B” for 100” Rail and under. GILMAN BROWN EMERGENCY KNUCKLES ■ ■ ■ The General Supply Co. of Canada, Limited Ottawa Montreal Winnipeg Toronto Vancouver North Bay ' tf-T- reai b' tiy \ ' CRAIN PRINTERS LIMITED ROLLA L. 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