THE CHARLOTTE NEWS, CHARLOTTE, N. C, SATURDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 25, 1921.
The Charlotte News
Published By
THE NEWS PUBLISHING CO.
Corner fourth and Church Sts.
W. C. DOWO ... Pres. and Gen. Mr.
JVLIAN S. MIIXKR Ed trr
JASPER C. HUTTO City Editor
W. M. BELL Advertising Mpr.
Telephones.
Business Office . 11
Circulation Department 2793
City Editor
Editorial Rooms 36.
Printins House w 1530
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS.
The Associated Press is exclusively
entitled to the use for remiblicatlon of
all news dispatches credited to it or
not otherwise credited in this paper
and also the local news published
Alrights of republication of special
dispatches herein also are reserved.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
By Carrier.
One year $1r n!
Six months J
Three months
One month -
One week
By Mail.
One year ?J?
Six months 4.00
Three months " JJ
One month
Sunday Only.
(By Mail or Carrier)
One year J.fiJJ
Six months iQ
TIMES-DEMOCRAT.
(Semi-Weekly)
One year
Six months
SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 1921.
THE SIMPLICITY OF GOVERNMENT
Mr. Harding remarked during his
campaign that "government is a very
simple thing after all", which it seems
entirely to be so far as he is concern
ed and his party. It is the simple pro
position of much promise and little per
formance. That, at least, is all the evi
dence of government that the present
administration has brought to light so
far- It was loud-mouthed in the cam
paign and almost anything was prom
ised that looked like it might be a bait
for the votes, but after the votes were
procured, the party memory has suffer
ed a lapse.
It was one of the promises of Mr.
Harding that taxes must be reduced.
My, but how that caught the fellows
who had been making their barrels of
profits and who were forced to take
the bung out for the revenue collectors!
They forsaw a time when, under the
time-honored republican custom of es
pecially protecting those wrho protect
the party, they would be able to soak
their barrels of profit and keep all their
resources for their own use. They grab
bed viciously at this bait and went down
the stream with 'it.
Well, so far taxes haven't been re
duced so anybody can tell. In truth,
they have been increased if present ap
propriation bills are carried through.
These bills carry $6,000,000,000 for this
year and the same for 1922 which means
that the administration will spend three
times as much on the army, for in
stance, as was spent in 1916 and more
than three times as much on the navy
as was spent in 1916 when nearly all
of Europe was at war. And the ex
tremely ludicrous feature of this parti
cular appropriation is that it is being
ordered by an administration which
thought "government is a simple thing"
and that the making of permanent
peace was merely a matter of saying
the word. It must have been discovered,
on the other hand, that it is such a hard
job to bring about an effective peace
status that the administration is forced
.into this extravagant appropriation for
armaments.
Well, there were other things, too,
that made government very simple. It
was a simple matter, we were told, to
bring the soldiers home from the Rhine.
They had no business over there, the
epell-binders said, and they ought to be
returned to their native heath instead
of being imprisoned in their duties on
the Rhine- Let the Allies do their
own guarding! America's boys must
come home, but the boys are still over
there, still walking along the Rhine,
still helping the Allies enforce the
terms of the peace treaty.
Government was simple, also, in the
formulation of a peace program. An
association of nations was all necessary
to meet the emergency and that would
be easy, as simple its' falling off a log.
But the months are trooping by and ob
jectionist Senators are daring the Pres
ident to make a, move in this direc
tion while the President himself lingers
and languishes in the valley of indecis
ion. How Indefinitely might such instances
be multiplied, instances indicating that
government is not as simple as the Am
erican people had been ledto believe!
THE SITUATION AMONG THE MILLS AND THEIR PEOPLE. III.
Appearing in The News this afternoon is a communication from a mill
worker. Mr. C. P. Lockey, a weaver in one of the North Charlotte mills, a
native North Carolinian and an experienced man at his job, which gives an
intiriistu glimpse of the state of mind prevailing among the average mill
workers in this community, and, for that matter, throughout the South very
probaMy.
Mr. Lockey's communication may be regarded as containing typical evi
dences of this state of mind. Speaking for himself and others who think the
same thoughts with him, he indicates a critical attitude toward the cotton
manufacturers, and directly charges that they are not as approachable as
they might be, not as much concerned about the wellbeing of .tn'eir employes
as circumstances would demand and that they are disposed to return to conditions
fprevaiJing before the war in cotton mill communities-
Mr. Lockey is very much in earnest in his contentions, Dut witn nis senti
ments we can not bring ourselves into agreement. It would be suicidal to the
cotton mill employers to attempt lo enforce conditions prevailing n 1914. It
is a new world that has been made since then. Every condition has undergone
an upheaval. Social, industrial, economic conditions are alL changed and mod
ern methods can not, therefore, be gauged by the methods oBtaining so far back
as 1914. The employers of labor generally seem to recognize this fact. He
is on exceptional employer who will undertake to argue in favor of a low
wage era. Tile vast majority of them are decidedly in favor of higher wages,
of an ra of h.'gh prices all-round.
We can neither conceive that the mill owners are as indifferent to the
welfare of their workers as Mr. Lockey thinks, even though he is one of these
workers himptlf and has been for many years. There are evidences which
indicate definitely that the manufacturers have realized the tremendous impor
tance cf creating a higher tone of citizenship among their employes and help
ing to make them satisfied and contented in their labors. Some of them, per
haps, arc: more so than others, but the majority of all of them have completely
changed frm the attitude of the average industrial employer of the years ago.
Public .sentiment has forced the change as well as an application of common
sense to the- industrial problems of the age.
Nevertheless, it is obvious that the feeling prevails among the workmen
that the manufacturers are complacent and unconcerned about their wellbeing
and this t eir.g the case, the big task ahead of the manufacturers is to eli
minate tnis feeling and to change this attitude.
Until that, has been accomplished, there is no such thing as permanent amity
in the relat ors between the mill owners and the mill workers. They might get
together today on a pay basis which would be eminently satisfactory to both,
ut tomorrow's changing fortunes might bring about a renewal of the same
t illVrenees of opinion and the same clash of interests.
No employe can possibly live a satisfied life and do an efficient job so long
as he, harbors the idea that the man he is working for is a heartless baron of
wealth, merciless in his methods, and slave-driving in his industrial policies.
Neither w'll it be possible for any employer to be satisfied withhis labor if he
is of a notiC n that such labor is more concerned about the size of its pay envelope
than about the efficiency of the job at hand.
Mutual confidence and respect is primal in the relationships which must ob
tain between him who hires and him who is hired, otherwise it makes no dif
torence hew capable a workman or how generous the employer, maximum effi
ciency wiU never be consummated.
Here, therefore, would seem to be the pivotal chasm that must bespanned
hr mediate.' it this community and if the whole South is to surge forward to
ward industrial supremacy, toward that attainment which will bring better times
tor the workmen as well as the employer: the chasm, too, that must be span
ned befoie there is social restfulness among our citizenship. The leadership
that will develop such a spirit of amity and such an attitude of confidence is
that which H'&y make itself immortal.
COUNTY FAIRS
. Premier lists of the Mecklenburg
County fairs and home-coming events
Which have come to hand show versa
tility of gifts awaiting those who pro
pose to have exhibits at these town
Bhips fairs and remind us, in the mean
time, that these events have developed
extensively and are now rated as fea
turesome attractions of the fall months
in parts of the county where they are
held. The county organization having
these fairs in hand is .composed of Mr.
Ray Lee, president: M. M. Knox, vice
president: Mrs. Lindsay Parks secretary
&nd Miss Pearl Caldwell treasurer.
Fairs this fall are to be held at the
Observer school house: Beach Cliff
school house: Huntlrsville community
bouse: Back Creek school house: Dixie,
Park Road and Sharon community
ftouses.
THE MERCHANTS
The merchants of North Carolina con
cluded during the week their annual
convention and Charlotte has been es
pecially honored by the organization for
the election of one of its foremost citi
zens, Mr. B. F. Roark to its presidency.
Mr. Roar is not merely one of the
prominent merchants of Charlotte, but
the zeal he has always taken in the
State organization and his popularity
among the merchants generally in
North Carolina paved the way for hi3
selection to this high and honored post.
The annual convention of the mer
chants seems to have been somewhat
epochal in the character of program
presented and in the number of dele
gates on hand. The citizenship of the
State may well rejoice with them that
they had such an important and forward-looking
meeting, for the mer
chants of North Carolina are among
the State's most progressive citizens
and the people have every right to be
proud of them. They are a bunch of
men who believe in merchandising
ethics and whose business conduct en
titles them to popular applause. Some
of them, of course, may not have lived
up to the standards fixed by the ma
jority, but when we come to look at and
assize any big body of men, of any
class and in any undertaking, we can
always afford to judge the whole by
some of its parts.
One of the most pertinent and sensi
ble tributes to the merchants that has
fallen under our observation appeared
editorially in The Greensboro News
upon the occasion of the late conven
tion and an officer of the National asso
ciation was so impressed with it that
he proposes to have it put in pam
phlet form and sent generally over the
country. The editorial in question pre
sents an incisive analysis of the mer
chant, his standing in the community,
the community's claims upon him his
response to the needs that are constant
ly arising, his community value, in
a word and in "part, it follows:
"The merchants are the picked men
of large capacity for work, of large
courage, of peculiar business equipment,
in their various communities. In ordi
nary times, one year with another, the
percentage of failures in mercantile life
is so great as to be appalling, to the
faint-hearted. The survival of the fit
test in a constant process there. Un
til a year ago there had been a brief
period in which anybody could sell
goods, profitably; a rising market on
which one could not lose, a public cla
morous for goods and indifferent as to
price. It was such an experience as
no merchant had ever gone through be
fore. It was demoralizing. The temp
tation to unwise expenditure sought
out the merchant as it did everyone
else. . Salesmanship became a superflu
ity The sales force lost its skill; the
merchant's own art by which he had
lived was unusued, and languished.
"They are the survivors of trying
conditions. To this one the long train
ing of caution whispered that fair weath
er might not endure forever." That one
awakened in the nick of time and trim-,
tned his sails. If the prudent among
them seized the opportunity to fortify
themselves to the utmost during the
days of eAsy profits, so that they have
been enabled to keep things on an even
keel for the past year, it was the first
time such an opportunity ever present
ed, and in all probability the last time,
in the lives of the merchants of to
day, that it will present.
"The merchant Is on the commercial
firing line. He looks out for his own
Interests, or" they are not looked after.
He is expected to answer every civic
call, ordinarily with a check. The
works on formal psychology may be seal
ed to him, and Freud only a name, but
he must have a practical working know
ledge of the quirks of human nature.
In the midst of a community of care
less tongues ever ready to accuse the
JjRerchant of fraud and trickery, he must
maintain a reputation for honesty and
square dealing as hi3 best asset. And,
blow fair or foul, he must wear a
stout heart and keep a cheerful coun
tenance. Such are the tests and con
ditions that are met by the born mer
chant. He is not to be commiserated;
for having been born a merchant, he
would be a misfit in other employment
Your true merchant finds merchandis
ing a fascinating game; but success
at its implies the possession of a com
bination of qualities worthy of the high
est admiration."
COTTON PRODUCTION OUTLOOK
A very able authority on all matters
pertaining to cotton, Mr. Arthur R.
Marsh of The Economic World, has
taken the government's estimate of cot
ton conditions in June, together with
acreage statistics and, figuring a reduc
tion of 30 per cent this season in cot
ton planted, he has arrived at the con
clusion that the probable production this
season will be approximately 8,000,
000 bales.
That will be a decrease of 25 per cent
from an average production and a de
crease of 50 per cent from the high
water mark so far reached in cqtton
production in the South. Mr. Marsh
says, concerning this report and these
calculations that the government esti
mate of cotton condition is 66 per cent
ot a normal, that the acreage last year
was 37,000,000 and on this basis, with
the estimated-: 30 per cent reduction in
ocreage, he makes his interesting cal
culation. "Naturally", he concludes,
however, the element of uncertainty in
this calculation is very large indeed,
owing to the lack of definitive infor
mation with respect to the extent to
which the farmers will actually reduce
their cotton acreage this year, but in
default of any other working hypothe
sis, the trade will probably proceed for
the present upon the assumption that
the commedcial crop of American cotton
in 1921-1922 will be not far from 8,500,
000 bales, and that the total supply of
American cotton for 1921-1922 will be
this crop plus the 'carry-over, visible and
invisible, from the crop of 1920-1921 (and
previous crops). As regards this carry
over, opinions are decidedly divergent,
but the fact may be mentioned that
the Bureau of Markets io the Depart
ment of Agriculture has issued an esti
mate making the probable total carry
over, visible and invisible, of American
cotton in all countries on July 31, 10,.
B48.000 bales. If this estimate b assum
ed to be provisionally correct, and if the
prospective production of American cot
ton and linters for the season of 1921,
1922 be taken for the time bein a 8 .
.500,000 bales, we arrive' at a total
worlds iupply of American cotton for
the new cotton year of a little fcer
19,000,000 bales. What this supply
snouw mean in terms of price it is
very difficult to say, since all depends
upon the course" of consumption, now
running at a rate under rather than
over 10,000,000 bales per annum."
COMMUNICATIONS
WHAT MILL WORKERS ASK. .
Editor of The News:
There has been appearing in the pa.
pers considerable criticism of the inter
national officers of the Textile Workers
of America in their relation to the
strike of the cotton mill employes here
and elsewhere which seems to me to be
unfair and uncalled for. The fact is
that the mill people, after having been
reduced time after time in their vage$,
appealed to these officers of the union
earnestly to come down here and do
something to relieve the situation which
was fast becoming critical. The mill
workers found themselves unable to
make a living on the basis of pay they
were receiving and the situation was
getting so desperate that they called
aloud to the officials of the union and
they came at our request and insist
ence. The reason we had to call upon this
outside aid was that we were being
continually reduced in our wages to
such a point that living was becoming
a problem. We have been ' getting
starvation wages, wages as low as pre
vailed before the war and we were un
able to take this reduced wage and buy
those things which are necessary for
everyday existence. Mill men them
selves admit that the cotton mill wage
of 1913 was too low and yet today's
wages are not far removed from the
scale prevailing then, and it ought to
be common know-ledge that it is not pos
sible to live as cheaply today as it was
then.
It was this condition in which the
mill workers found themselves and
from which they sought escape. We
feel that while reductions in wages are
necessary, it is indefensible for the cot
ton manufacturers to try to drive their
labor back to a condition of servitude.
Cotton mill people want a decent living
and they want to provide their children
with some opportunities to better them
selves. The average cotton mill la
borer is not as he is pictured by some,
of a low degree, a bunch of illiterates
without ambition and with no interest
in public affairs. On the other hand,
it is the desire of the better element
of cotton mill prople to live as comfor
tably as their wages will permit and
then to give their children educational
opportunities so that their lot in life
will not be as hard as that of their
parents. We Want to give them a de
cent chance.
Under conditions which have existed
in the past, and which were relieved
only for a short while during the pros
perous times of a year ago, we have
not been able to earn enough to care
for our families as we should. There
are men working in the mills of Char
lotte who have been forced to take their
wives away 'from young children to
work at the looms and spindles in order
to help make enough to buy bread and
meat and coal and pay house rent.
A year ago cotton mill wages went
high when the American Congress said
to the manufacturers that their profits
were excessive and that the govern
ment would take all they made over a
certain percentage. Then the mill
men became very kind and considerate
toward their labor" and cotton mill
wages went up. Is it not a fact that
the cotton manufacturers have in times
past lined themselves up against any
legislation tfiat was designed to make
the working conditions more lucrative,
such as shortening hours of tedious and
burdensome toil in great shops, or the
child labor legislation, the 'weekly pay
bills and the income and inheritance
taxation measures for the benefit of
the widows and orphans" pension funds,
free school books for the working peo
ples' children? Have they not spent
thousands of dollars in paid lobbyists to
defeat such measures as would be bene
ficial to labor and then when protests
were made, they would designate those ;
protesting as fanatics or agitators or
otherwise undesirables.
The feeling, therefore, that has been
put into the hearts of the working peo
de in the mills is that the manufactur
ers are not interested in their well- j
being and are not, sympathetic with
their efforts to get something out of
life in addition to long hours of work
and a meager wage. The cotton mill
laborer of this community and of the
South is not a foreigner, without ambi
tion, without interest in his commu
nity, without a sense of obligation to
society. He wants not only to enjoy
life, but he wants to give his children
an opportunity to get enough educa
tion to make them skilled and useful
citizens and not have to grind away in
competition with illiterate foreign la
bor. The laborers in the mills would like
for the public ta know the facts and to
appreciate the circumstances in which
mill operatives find themselves at this
time. They are not demanding more
than their share of anything when they
demand a decent wage and the oppor
tunity to live a decent, constructive life
for themselves and for their children.
They feel that the manufacturers
ought not merely to deal more gener
ously with them in the matter of wages,
but that they should take an interest
m their social and physical and educa
tional wellbeing and show themselves
to be interested in the .better develop
ment of their workmen.
I. am a North Carolinian by birth,
born in New Hanover county and I
have lived 40 years 3n this Southland
and for 16 year? have been a weaver
in the mills. I want to say that the
working people of the South, those who
take the raw material and convert it
into the finished products fcr the mar
kets, are not now and havei never been
satisfied with conditions . under which
they have been forced to live. And
their object in promoting a union or
ganization was merely for the right
eous purpose of bettering their condii
tion. That was all. The . employers
of labor band themselves together, con
cede to themselves, the right to orga
nize and to bargain collectively and yet
when the workers follow their example,
they refuse to deal with them at all
and it is only after a severe struggle
against them that we are able to set
up our organizations.
The purpose we have in mind, though
these organizations, is to promote our
wellbeing and gain for ourselves all
the priv ilexes of citizenship and we
contend that we are certainly entitled
to these rights as human beings.
C. P. LOCKEY, JR.,
Belmont Avenue.
It's not the brainy man today who
rises in his line. It Is the Slick and
cunning jay who seems to be benign,
but really has a greedy paw in every
thing he ever saw and barely stays'
within the law. There's nothing hVil t
decline. The man who gets wide edu
cation will be humbugged sure by som
slick guy of lower station who seems
to be demure. The clever gink is kinc
today. It's he who gets the greatest
pay. The age of brains has passed
away. Well read men arp fewer.
When you hit the storms of life you'll
bellow with surprise to find the spoils
of daily strife are not won by the wie.
Business heroes flitting by with slices
of the business pie have cut their
slices on the sly with twinkles in th jir
eyes. While wise men read Napoleon's
deeds, the sly guy leaves his bed and
rakes among the business weeds to fin J
some meat and bread. Action is his
middle name. Cleverness will win the
game. Education's not his aim. Goii
is in his head. Day by day the slick
gink looks for business enterprises and
does not care a rap for books some
famous man devises. He is not sure
he can spell cat but he can sell a
shoe or hat and get more money in his
vat. The slick man always rises. You
can get him much dismayed on points
the wise men know but stick him in
a business trade and you have rights
to crow. He never heard of SocraU-3
but still he sneaks around with ease'
and gfts the biggest hunk of cheese.
The slick boob has the dough.
Time may never change the riddle.
The wise men always will go on to
play the second fiddle and slide back
down the hill. With wiles and guiU.s
and cunning smiles the slick men dally
make their piles and live their lives
in splendid styles. The wise man pays
trje bill.
Copyright 1921, by NeTr Publishing Co.
As Thin as the Law Allows
Warm Weather
eweiry
STERLING SILVER
HAND-PAINTED CHINA
CUT GLASS
We are sure our showing will of
fer many helpful suggestions.
In workmanship, quality and beau
ty, every article we display will be
found genuinely pleasing.
B. F. ROARK
Jeweler, Diamond Merchant
Silversmith
10 North Tryon St.
N
An Unforgetable Monumental
Spectacle,
"LYING LIPS"
BROADWAY
Mon., Tues., Wed., Thnrs.
F
A HEADY FRIEND IN TIME OF
TROUBLE
ATTESTED BY" LONG RECORDS OF
"MONEY FOR ASHES'
ALEXANDER'S
i
- V
F. D.THOS. L.
Insurance.
Always Protects rNever Sleant.
SEE OUR
SPECIALS
FOR
TODAY
SHIRTS
NECKWEAR
Union Suite
The Men's Storo
34 So. Tryon
Wear
For Men
Young men's Worsted Suits, made of Serge ,
and the new striped material. Values up
to $45.00 at . . $251!
Men's Serge or Fancy Worsted Suits, con
servative models at $16-
Men's Genuine Palm Beach' and Mohair
. Suits, light and dark colors, made in regu
lars, slims, stouts $J2J0 (j $X6
Men's Tropical Worsted Suits, made in
blue and grey colors . . . . . . $25 $29
: HATS
2,000 Men's Straw Hats, South American
Panama. Values up to $6.00. Special $2 J
Toyo Panama Hats, all shapes and sizes,
.at $11
SHIRTS V
Men's Fine Dress Shirts, made of fine Per
cale and Madras plain and fancy pat
terns. Special . ... . .... . ... . . $jjfi
Men's $2.00 Madras Shirts, well made and
made of the newest patterns. Special
NECKWEAR
25 dozen Men's Knit, extra quality, regular
$1.50" value. Sale price 95(
50 dozen Men's 75c Four-in-Hand Ties
made of good grade silk and made of new
est patterns. Special 3 for $ J0
HOSIERY
Men's Cotton Sox, all colors Qq 15 C
Men's fine Lisle Sox . ... . . . . 25c 35c
Men's fiae Silk Sox, all colors 50c, 75c, 80
WASH SUITS FOR BOYS
Big lot Boys' high grade Wash Suits,
slightly soiled, marked down to about one
half price ...... 98c, $1.25, $1.48 and $1.98
UNDERWEAR
Men's Nainsook, Union Suits, made by best
manufacturers and cut full size-75c 9gc
Men's Elastic: Seam Drawers, -made for
.United States government. Special gc
Eelk
Ml VUQO
BELK BROS SBU, IT FOR LESS