NOR 
H Se HO Rei 
BREEZE 19 
corporation control and the other of 
tariff reform, it will be with the 
express intent of presenting these 
issues more torcibly in special mes- 
sages. 
the President will not play polli- 
tics with the issue and he has 
shown consistently throughout his 
career as President that he has been 
strong enough to override any per- 
sonal political reasons tor the 
stands which ne has taken. He has 
a hard session betore him with mal- 
contents within the party and an- 
tagonists without. lt is matter for 
thought to ati that the opposing 
party is against the president. ‘his 
is a tavorite political connivance 
that is resorted to generation aiter 
generation. We have long ceased 
to be hero worshippers, but it is 
more than evident that the President 
does not please the opposing party 
in the Congress. ‘There is a reason. 
The state legislature will open 
with Senator wLevi H. Greenwood 
of Gardner as president and Gratton 
D. Cushing as the speaker of the 
house. Governor Foss will have in 
his council tormer representative 
Luce as the republican lieutenant 
governor. There will doubtless be 
the usual amount of law-making in 
the state. There is a growing con- 
yiction, however, that the state is 
making altogether too many laws. 
The provisions tor biennial elections 
and biennial sessions would not be 
an unmixed blessing, but it certainly 
would present many advantages. 
The Social Basis of Wages 
This is the subject of an article 
in the editorial columns of the Bos- 
ton Common and it tells in a para- 
graph or two the sentiment, inclina- 
tions and social interests of the 
paper. 
“There were dramatic elements 
in the colloquy which took place at 
the hearing of the Commission on 
Minimum Wage Boards, between 
Mr. Strickland, of the Shepard, Nor- 
well Co., and the chairman of the 
‘Commission. Mr. Strickland, with 
the unconscious conservatism of the 
average employer, suavely, and with 
some ‘humor, explained to the Com- 
Mission that $6 a week was all that 
sales ladies were worth to the de- 
partment stores, and that it was an 
unthinkable proposition to ask them 
to pay more. He gently reminded 
the Commission that he and his 
associates had spent years and years 
upon the complicated task of adjust- 
ing wages, and that there was a 
slight element of presumption in the 
attempt of the Board, excellent as 
were its motives, to settle the matter 
thus off hand after a few hearings. 
: 
He made it very plain that to a man 
of sound business principles such a 
proposition was, to say the least, 
chimerical, 
‘“Thereupon the Chairman of the 
Commission, leaning slightly for- 
ward upon the table, and smiling 
pleasantly, asked Mr. Strickland a 
tew questions. ‘Is it not true,’ he 
asked in substance, ‘that every busi- 
ness which wants to be considered 
legitimate should charge enough 
for what it sells to afford a living 
wage to every worker engaged in 
it?’ Mr. Strickland perforce agreed 
that if it did not do so it was a para- 
sitic industry. ‘And if,’ continued 
the Chairman, ‘an employee can live 
on his wages only by receiving sup- 
port from home, is not that indus- 
try, so to speak, parasitic upon the 
home of its workers?’ Again Mr. 
Strickland assented, although plain- 
ly the argument was new to him. 
‘What,’ continued the questioner, 
shifting his tactics, ‘would happen 
to the department stores if the State 
were to forbid the employment of 
any worker at less than $9 a week?’ 
‘We would shift the increased cost 
upon Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones, 
who buy the goods,’ was the quick 
reply. ‘Well, then,’ said Mr. Le- 
Favour slowly, ‘since our investiga- 
tions seem to show that neither $6 
nor $7 is enough to support a wo- 
man independently, is it not right, 
in justice to the homes, that the in- 
dustry be forced by the State to 
bear the cost of adequate living 
wages?’ This last question, how- 
ever, Mr. Strickland refused to an- 
swer without consulting his business 
superior at the store.’’ 
Just think this over and consider 
who pays for the few cents off you 
obtain in a ‘‘bargain’’ purchase. 
Is there not a subtle force at work 
making social slaves of your ‘‘sis- 
ters and brothers.’’ To whom is 
given the moral right to gain at an- 
other’s loss. Is there no place in 
business from the purchaser’s side 
of the counter for brotherly love, 
fine grained honesty, and true social 
justice ? 
A Generous Public Service 
Some one or more than one has 
done Beverly Farms a good turn. 
The work has been done so quietly 
and unostentatiously that the value 
of the gift has been enhanced by the 
reticence of the giver or givers. It 
is said that in good season all shall 
know of the movement which has 
ended in the public benefaction 
which has been made so evident to 
the beholder in the open hollow, 
unwholesome, unhealthy and unin- 
viting spot that was, which has been 
gradually transformed into a desir- 
able and much needed playground. 
lt 1s evident that the movers of 
this project have preferred not to 
let the left hand know what the 
right hand was doing. In a sense 
the public is interested to know 
more about the benetaction but it 
can nevertheless enjoy the benefits 
Which have come by the improve- 
ment to the Ward. 
Beverly Farms has long needed a 
suitable playground and that the 
plans for one are to mature at last 
1s a cause for rejoicing, not alone to 
the lad and lass who can enjoy its 
benetits, but to the mothers and fa- 
thers of the lads and lasses who will 
have a place of their own for youth- 
ful sports and outdoor recreations. 
The public recognizes and appreci- 
ates the public service of Mr. John 
L. Saltonstall, and all who may have 
helped him in consummating the 
playground plans. 
A Progressive Sheet 
The Boston Common is a Boston 
Weekly which ought to be more 
widely known and read than it is. 
It has in its make up the possibility 
ot a great weekly journal and is al- 
ready covering with a degree of ac- 
curacy, discrimination a field need- 
ing such a journal and with a sense 
of public service which is refreshing 
in these days of greed, prejudice 
and sectarianism. it calls itself a 
Journal of Cheerful Construction, 
meaning doubtless that they intend 
to take up an optomistic construc- 
tional program in sharp contrast 
with the destructive influences of 
the Muck Raking journalists. Its 
foreword is a unique announcement 
and serves also as a challenge to the 
management of every publication. 
A number of citizens have sub- 
scribed the capital for publishing 
the Boston Common on a basis of 
one vote each in the affairs of the 
company regardless of the amount 
of stock held... the primary pur- 
pose of which is public service, ete. 
This is noble clarion and may The 
Common live up to its ethical note 
so nobly sounded. It is a matter of 
satisfaction to learn that some of 
our North Shore Folk are interested 
in this commendable enterprise. 
Blessed be work! It gives us the 
chance of making strong, capable 
men and women of ourselves. 
Let your Christmas presents be 
something useful. Thousands of 
dollars are worse than wasted on 
useless things every year. 
When in doubt ask your wife. 
