The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27th, 1926, THE NEW SOCIAL REVOLUTION.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 January 1926, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27th, 1926, THE NEW SOCIAL REVOLUTION.

AcconniNC in late comments, a remarkable social revolution is in progress in the United Stales, where American men and women in steadily increasing numbers are entering the capitalist class, by means of thrift, and securing control nl industrial undertakings. It is a new move hv Labor, a sane move, and is referred to by a contributor in the Forum. ‘‘What Professor Carver calls an e oimmie re-

voluliotl oln imi-ly I- not ‘tin - coming revolution’ of radical I item lure, ’ writes Richard Boeckel. “It is not a movement promoted l»v communist nuclei in industrial plants taking direction from Moscow. It is quite the opposite of a movement to overthrow the capitalist system by force and violence. It is a revolution in the status of the worker, being brought about through saving and investment and education; a revolution which holds out to American labour a real promise of a very substantial share for the future in the control of industry. Indirectly, the wage-earn-ers of the United States already provide a considerable share of the money and credit resources necessary to the functioning of the nation’s industry, through their deposits in commercial and savings banks and their premium payments of life insurance policies. During the last two years hank savings in this country, which may lie credited principally to the wage-earners, have increased by more than ten per cent., amounting at present to 18,373,000.000 dollars. The largest volume of life insurance ever sold in any single year, approximating 11,1710.000,000 dollars and exceeding the sales of the previous banner year by more than ten per cent., was sold during 1923. The increase was mainly in industrial insurance. Afore than two-thirds of the life insurance policies at present in force in this country are held by wageearners. 'While steadily increasing their indirect contribution, American workers, since the war, have begun to make direct contributions toward the capital required in industry through purchases of industrial securities. Since there appears to be no lack of capital for productive enterprise, notwitbstamlng Secretary Mellon’s showing that largo investors generally are placing their wealth in tax-exempt .securities, it is reasonable to suppose that a consderahle part of the funds being invested in industrial securities is the money of the wage-earners and other investors of small means. Unfortunately, it is not possible to estimate the amount of such securities 1 purchased by the workers during the last few years with any degree of accuracy. Could such an estimate he secured it would he of the highest value as measuring the actual progress of the economic revolution in this country. Working-class hi vestment is cine to present high wages, following upon the lessons in saving and investment taught by the government in the Litierty bond campaigns during the war period. The first investments of thrifty workmen generally are made in homes and in life insurance. Security investments come later. If the present condition of prosperity and high wages continues, therefore, it is logical to expect a rapid increase in stock and bond investments by working men hereafter. Most American corporations have made it easy for their employees to become stockholders. through the deduction-at-the-pay-window system of partial payments. Employees’ stock subscription plans were widely adopted following the war, and in practically all cases the workers have taken the fullest possible advantage of these plans. Tn-dav there are many corporations in which the combined stock-holdings of the employees are worth from 0.000.000 dollars to 10.000,000 dollars, and a few in which these holdings represent larger amounts. The labour hanking movement has been called the most significant development- in the field of labour since the formation of the Ame-

ric-an Federation of 'Labour. Its principal significance for the future may be that it provides the starting point for an organised investment movement l>v the working class. To date the principal effort of the labour banks has been to build up their resources. In building up their resources they have sought to conserve trade union funds in ,their care by throwing their influence against all unnecessary strikes. At the same time they have taught many thousands of working men the importance of systematic saving. Lately they have turned their attention to the possibilities of systematic investment. Professor Carver's observation that ten cents a day—the price of a glass of soda water—set aside by every worker in a shoe factory will buy that factory or another one like it in a very few years applies with equal force to other trades. AVhat the whole body of wage-earners organised and unorganised, could do with a five per cent, saving on an annual wage income in the neighbourhood of 30,C00,000 dollars. would exceed the most extravagant hopes of any promoter <>l ‘the coming revolution.’ The development of the labour banking movement during it sinitial stages was slow, but recently it has been very rapid. Ton of the twenty labour banks now in successful operation in the United States have been established within the last twelve months. Twenty additional banks are being organised, most of which will be opened for business during the next twelve months. Present indications are that there will be one or more of these institutions in operation in every important Industrial centre at the end of the next five years.”