Congress has not yet displayed any anxiety to carry out the plans set forth by President Harding in his message for a Federal system of industrial courts and laws making strikes an offense against the public. The present Congress stands well down toward the foot of the list of all Congresses when judged as to its social intelligence, but it knows enough to hesitate at the Harding program. It knows that Judge Gary made a similar proposal in his report, last April, to the annual meeting of the stockholdes of the United States Steel Corporation. And every politician is aware that Gary and Governor Allen, of Kansas, are poor material on which to build a winning congressional campaign in 1922.

Mr. Harding asks Congress to safeguard the "public" against the "actual distress" which strikes may cause. He says that strikes and lockouts and boycotts are modes of warfare, and that it is time that the country maintained industrial peace. He recommends that a system of laws, regulations and courts for the prevention of industrial war be created and maintained. He suggests that this must be preceded by the drafting of a set of principles deñning the rights of the employers and the workers, which shall constitute the basis for the legal and judicial measures that shall govern industry henceforth.

Organized labor has treated this proposal with intelligent hostility. It wants nothing of industrial courts chosen by enemies of the whole program and spirit of labor. It has indicated that a Federal scheme of industrial courts will be as completely boycotted as has been the Kansas industrial court. The anti-picketing decision of the United States Supreme Court, which fits in with the President's views, is looked upon as merely a preliminary attack on the labor movement by the Federal judiciary under Chief Justice Taft's inspiration.

Samuel Gompers, Wm. H. Johnston, James Lord, Santiago Iglesias and a group of other labor spokesmen called on the President last week, and presented to him three matters. They asked him to appoint a trade unionist from the railroad labor group to the Interstate Commerce Commission; they asked him to send a commission to Porto Rico to investigate and report upon the reasons for the starvation wage prevailing in that island; they asked him to read a protest sent by Luis N. Morones, president of the Mexican Federation of Labor, against the exclusion of Mexico from the Conference on Pacific and Far Eastern questions.

Iglesias, speaking for the workers of Porto Rico, gave to the President a memorandum dealing with wages, normal standard of diet, and other issues involved in the

Postmaster General Hays, whose industrial outlook is the one refreshing thing about the Harding administration, says in his annual report: "To treat a postal employe as a mere commodity in the labor market is not only wicked from a humanitarian standpoint but it is foolish and shortsighted even from the standpoint of business. . . . . . If we can improve the spirit and working conditions of these 326,000 men and women, that in itself is an accomplishment, and it is just as certain to bring a consequent improvement in the service as the coming of tomorrow's sun. That honest and efficient labor should have a voice in those phases of the management of a business which concern working conditions and a living wage commensurate with the service is but common justice."

J. J. Tigert, of the United States Bureau of Education, who recently distinguished himself at San Diego by a bitter and ill-informed attack upon working-class radicals in the schools, celebrates "Education Week" by declaring that "Whereas no child has ever been denied education in this country, yet opportunity is by no means equal," and then goes on to argue that the country boy and girl do not get as good schooling as do the boy and girl in town.

Here was a situation in which a casual observer would have imagined that even a Tigert would have been unable to escape the truth about American education-the tragic truth to which tens of millions of living persons are witness-that it is the economic opportunities of the parents that govern the kind and period of schooling which the American child may command. City and country have nothing to do with it; the country child, if its parents have enough

money, goes to a good school in town, and then goes away to normal school or agricultural college or university, as his ambition may direct. If the parents are poor, his chance of getting any schooling beyond the "three R's" is exceedingly small. And the advantage which the city child has in this respect is so small as not to be worth mention.

Children of wage-earners in the cities have the privilege, if adequately clothed and fed and supplied with leisure to attend school, of going to schools which are overcrowded and in which the teachers are overworked and underpaid. But it is only the very small group whose parents are getting good wages, or whose parents have few dependents and a special eagerness to give their children an education, that gets the leisure to go through high school. College is a privilege of the select from this small group, won only by great exertion and sacrifice of playtime.

Education, the most precious property in America and the most often counterfeited, is reserved almost exclusively for the winners in the economic struggle. For the Commissioner of Education to pretend that educational opportunities are open to all children in this country is merely to demonstrate that he is pitifully unacquainted with the field over which the whim of politics has so unfortunately placed him in nominal power.

Tigert knows nothing, apparently, of child labor in the textile industry and its influence upon schooling. He knows nothing of the struggle which the "radicals" in the labor movement are making in all parts of the country to provide night schools for their younger men and women. He knows nothing of the chances of a coal miner in West Virginia, in western Pennsylvania, or in Alabama, to provide his children with a decent education. What is still more humiliating to the national intelligence is that the national administration is well pleased with his stupidity.

The Conference on Limitation of Armaments drags on, its days marked by successive rumors and denials that one or another big militarist power has agreed to lead the others in some degree of self-sacrifice. The "Big Three"-Hughes, Kato and Balfourhold many secret sessions, as the Big Four did in Paris. Presumably they will cook up a dish for the working class of all countries that will smell much like the mess of Versailles, which Lord Bryce belatedly declared to be the worst compact ever drawn by secret diplomacy in the history of mankind.

China is not to be permitted to run her own affairs, nor to be free of foreign troops on her soil, nor to administer all of her own territory, until the three big foreign powers agree that she is fitted to do so. She is just where Egypt has been since 1884. Except, perhaps, that her 400,000,000 people

may make more protest, and more trouble for the outside world will result from her protest than has been the case with Egypt and the British guests.

In this connection the relation of India to China and the Conference comes to light. India takes 80 per cent of the cotton goods manufactured in Lancashire, England. Wealth taken from India some 200 years ago by British exploiters was used to establish the Lancashire cotton goods industry. British rulers then crushed out the textile industry in India, and forced India to buy from England. Now India is on the verge of a vast revolt.

China is the world's choicest dumpingground for surplus industrial products of the "civilized" nations. India is Britain's choicest market. With India in revolt, Britain is more than ever anxious to keep a hold on Chinese buyers. British industries must continue to pay dividends, or British power will decline, and British labor will be forced to emigrate. Before it is driven from home, British labor may take desperate political measures.

Patrick O'Brien, associate to Andrew Furuseth in the executive offices of the International Seamen's Union, was walking past the White House the morning after Christmas, when he ran plump into 'Gene Debs, who had just been to see President

Harding and ask for the immediate release of all the remaining political prisoners. Debs was swinging along on the arm of his brother Theodore, with a dozen reporters and camera men on either side and in the rear, his eyes sparkling with fun and his face lighted up with the thrill of liberty after his three years in prison.

'Gene met Pat like a long-lost brother. They held hands, recalled old days, and reluctantly went their ways. This was the first meeting of 'Gene with a trade union officer in Washington. It was typical, however, of a long series. Gompers came to his hotel to see him, and Morrison and Johnston of the Machinists and Tom Egan of the Weekly News Letter, and many more. Debs wanted to visit with them all, to thank them for what they had done for the prisoners' release, and urge them to keep at it until every political convict is freed. They were all willing; indeed, there appeared nothing that they were not willing to do and say at the suggestion of this strangely gentle and eager spirit, who gave them so unwonted a sense of the beauty and dignity of service to the common man. Try as they would to feel purely "practical" in his presence, they ended by telling themselves that here was a mighty fine and tremendous soul, turned loose to do a big job in the world.

From Samuel Gompers to the last Socialist, the movement which has kept up the pressure upon Harding to release the political prisoners will now be concentrated upon the opening of prison doors to every man still held in punishment for the expression of political and industrial opinions.

How slowly, even under the best conditions of official supervision and education, the problem of industrial accidents is being solved, is shown by the annual report of the California Industrial Accident Commission, of which Will J. French of the San Francisco Typographical Union is chairman. For the calendar year 1920, California reported 592 deaths from industrial accidents, as compared with 586 in the previous year. Based on the increased population total, this means a reduction of 2.60 deaths in 1920 over 1919.

Permanent injuries in 1920 numbered 1,929, as against 1,714 for the previous year. Temporary injuries were 131,587, as compared with 105,952 in 1919. This indicates an actual increase in the number of temporary injuries per thousand of population.

There were 490 deaths out of the total 592, for which compensation was paid under the State law. The remainder occurred in employment outside the scope of the Compensation Act. Manufacturing led to 115 of these deaths; railroad, vessel and stevedoring operations, 104; construction, 89; public utilities, 66; mining, quarrying and oil producing, 60; agriculture, 59; and the remaining 99 deaths were under various other

classes of employment. Three women were killed at work in 1920, as compared with 9 in 1919.

Going back into earlier years of the work of the Industrial Accident Commission and its attempt to reduce the casualties of industrial production in the State, we learn that the death list in 1914 was 691; in 1916 was 657; in 1918 was 706; in 1920 was 592. Yet French and his associates are among the ablest and most tireless workers, on this subject of the reduction of industrial casualties, in the entire world. They are demonstrating that modern competitive industry cannot be harmonized with safety to the lives and limbs of the workers, except at greater sacrifices of established customand of profits-than the employers can now be forced to concede.

Their statistics show that 717 dependents were left by the victims of 329 fatal accidents; 94 partial dependents were left in 52 fatal cases, and in 45 fatal cases the degree of dependency was unknown. The average age of the widows was 36.9 years. The dependent children averaged 7.9 years. The killed averaged 37 years old and were earning, on the average, $31.78 a week.

Announcement is made by the British and French delegations that their army experts and aircraft experts are going home this week, thus ending all hope of a discussion by the Washington Conference of the problem of reducing armies and limiting the use of aircraft in war.

This points to the probability of a European conference on land armament during 1922, to which the United States may be a party. In the meantime the Washington Conference will have reached an agreement as to some sort of limitation of big naval ships, and may perhaps have agreed upon the limitation of the building of submarines. That is the utmost limit of the probable achievement of the gathering of diplomats in the American capital.

But if the Conference has been as futile, in most respects, as have been all similar secret meetings of international politicians and militarists, it has been a tremendous success as a stimulant to hard thinking. Everyone in America and throughout the world who is capable of thinking about wars and taxation and militarism and diplomacy has been given a great deal of light on the process of government and on the science of preparing peoples to kill each other. For two months the whole respectable world has been declaring the wisdom of peace and the folly and crime of international quarrels. People who have to do the paying and the suffering and dying have listened, and have taken notes. It will be harder to finance armies and navies from this date forward. That, at least, is a victory for the working class.

Johnson's Artistic Wood Finishes are manufactured under ideal working conditions in three fine plants-one at Racine, Wisconsin, one at Brantford, Canada, and one at West Drayton, Middlesex, England. All three factories are exceptionally light, pleasant and well-ventilated. Rest rooms and shower baths are provided for the comfort and convenience of employees, and nothing is used but improved machinery equipped with the latest safeguards to protect workers against accidents.

Johnson's Artistic Wood Finishes are manufactured primarily for the use of the painter and interior decorator. They are made by careful, expert, contented work

1st A Liberal Wage Scale has always prevailed at the Johnson factories, and for the past four years the profits of the business have been divided between capital and labor. Up to the present time there has been no reduction in wages and the Johnson plants are working full force, full time. This policy can be continued if union painters and decorators will insist upon being furnished the Johnson brand.

2nd An Eight-Hour Work Day has been in force for many years-in fact, S. C. Johnson & Son was one of the first manufacturers to take this step forward. During the entire depression period the Johnson plants worked practically full force, full time with no reduction in wages.

3rd-10 Days Vacation On Full Pay is granted every employee of S. C. Johnson & Son, whether they work in office or factory, whether on a salary, day work or piece work. This is a step slightly in advance of vacation policies followed by most manufacturing institutions.

4th-Full Pay During Sickness or Accident is allowed the employees of S. C. Johnson & Son, and this manufacturer even pays for operations and hospital care in many cases. This policy can be continued if union painters and decorators will insist upon the Johnson brand.

5th-Life Insurance Policies up to $1,000 are carried for all employees of S. C. Johnson & Son, the premiums being paid by the Company.

6th A Liberal Pension System is in force for employees who are unfitted for further active work after twenty years of continuous service.

7th-Stock in New Branches Is Sold to employees on exactly the same basis as to officials. The Canadian and English factories have been organized within the past two years and new factories will undoubtedly be put up from time to time as business warrants. All employees of S. C. Johnson & Son have the privilege of purchasing stock in these new corporations on easy terms.

This ideal relationship between owner and employee creates in every worker a sense of personal interest in the quality of the Johnson products and the lowering of production costs. That is to say, every member of the Johnson organization, in office and factory, give back their best in full measure to the firm. This tends to keep the quality of the Johnson products up to the highest point at the lowest cost per unit.

This spirit of co-operation, coupled with the use, in all cases, of the very best raw materials, accounts for the fact that Johnson's Artistic Wood Finishes stand strictly on their own merits-merits that are recognized by union painters everywhere. This line now includes: Johnson's Prepared Wax, Johnson's Wood Dye, Johnson's Paste Wood Filler, Johnson's Crack Filler, Johnson's Electric Solvo, Johnson's Perfectone Undercoat and Enamel, Johnson's Varnishes, etc.

Johnson's Artistic Wood Finishes are made for the use of the painter and interior decorator and the manufacturers endeavor to place this line only in the hands of distributors who will serve the painters promptly and at right prices. Union painters and decorators are asked to co-operate with the liberal policy of S. C. Johnson & Son by using their products wherever possible and insisting upon their distributors supplying them. Do not accept brands manufactured under you-know-not-what working conditions. Consistency demands that you favor, in every possible way, products manufactured under the best conditions.-Adv.