The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-10-30
WOrking1b en's Associations and Cooper.tive
Stores b, Fe been successful in Germany

"orking1en's Associations and Cooperative
stores n re been successful in Germany.
THE :" vORLD'' w. THE LATE CON.
GRESs.
The Nfw York World, during the sitting
Of the Nftional Labor Congress, published
more ia and accurate reports Of its pro-
ceedingsH Khan any other paper in the coun-
try, and tlOng with its reports, it has in its
EDITORIAL given some sage advice, al Of
which \ h are disposed to estimate Of is
true With. The World, with the best
wishes ia the world for the labor cause, fears
very littA good will come out of the Phila-
delphia congress, for the "obvious rea-
sons" u u this Congress does not, after the
pattern IF the English trade unions, ignore
all pohI heal action. The "World" says
these Rfitish uni ons embrace not less than
nine hui dred thousand of the very cream of
the vol king classes Of that country. Nor
are nerd numbers to be taken as an estimate
Of the leally prOdigiOus power which these
organic ItionS WELD, because two hundred
picked ben, acting in unison might, and do
lay dow the laws chSgovern the rest OF
the track, including even the non-uni onists.
1t says
The strength of these British associations
lie not il numbers, but simply in the fact that
they all sternly practical. The trades re-
solutely refuse to NEEDLE with politics, and
decline N be drawn into any side issues which
do not atect their organizations Their action
is directs all they care for Is the establishment
Of their organizations upon substantial bases,
and eucI incidental benefits as are to be de-
rived frCkn the accumulation and proper use OF
funds dekroted to the relief of the sick and dis
abled orhhe carrying on of strikes. All else is
beyond lie immediate purposes of these bodies
Then, ID the trades-unions, which at hrst were
local had now become national, and are strictly
classed, 1he separate interests by themselves, SO
that thief amagamated engineers, the amslSA-
mated carpenters, and other combinations work
each in Nleir own direction and there has been
M atteukpt in England, as there is here, TO as.
semble dl the differing trades in one general
oonrreslor convention. If anything approach
ing sucbkac:ion has occurred at ALL it has been
the mer1 informal gathering of q few leading
delegated from different unions to settle trade
dsputeslor to look after the general interests
which al trades-uniOns have in common, but
never tdagitate political reforms. When our
trades uki ions learn to follow the English eX-
ample i'll tn csc respects, they may expect TO at
tain something approaching the English sue
cess.
The American Trade Unions are as far
as possible pursuing the cause indicated by
the Bril- sh Trades Unions, but when me
reason leaseth then the law ceases. Now
the British is compact and homogeneous
uation.I It's working classes are huddled
togethef in a small space, have no voice IN
the govIrnment which eau be heard, and
withouAsuch negative combinations must be
trampldl into the dust beneath the iron
heel Of lesrotism. Hence an aggressive move
ment like that one is not possible there.
But III America, ou- diverse nation
alities, large dominion aud sparse popu-
lation 9Enders our Trades Unions as yet not
as efft,:ive a. the European. Bssid es we
have atarge maj ority of independent farm
ers VIII have a common interest WITH all
other asses Of labOrers 10 an equitable dis
tributiI Of the products Of labor, according
to the tbor or service rendered in the pro-
duclng land distributing thereof and whose
assistsh pee in behalf Of the labor cause will
secureko US, as a matter law, not only all
that VII could obtain through the most strn-
gent Execution of the rules of the trades
II IL
remoyfl of those financial class laws, which
in spiiI of all that trades unions have been
able I'd accomplish, even in Europe, dIstri-
butes We eighths Of the productive indus
trv ofkboth countries to the financial and
rulinglclasses thus only leaving the
door ben under the jurisdiction Of trades
unionI to secure merely an equitable dis
tributbn of tn three-eighths of the annual
prohibitions among the producing and bust
ness classes. We have, therefore, the very
best a reasons for carrying out, as far IS We
can. s1l that the World claims as the result
Of thd action Of the European trades unions.
But VIZ have a purpose which We understand
as web as as the World does, and it is the
purpcls of destroying the long continued
usurr Ltions Of the financial and ruling class
es above northumberland which the
Word, and the classes it intends to protect
BY til arguments, take shelter; and We tell
theI 'OrId plainl y, that what it denOunces
as ut plan we shall yet render practicable at
the ballot box. We have, therefore, the
very aest reasons 10 the world for taking
our OH PLAN, sober, common, sense course,
which, are now pursuing, instead OF lis
teninI any longer to the cOnsummate wisdom
of thk World, and Of the whole financial
cIassd AMI we tell them further, that We
knowIthat our action is anomalous and ag-
gress 1e, and such we intend it shall ever be
until I've shall obtain our rights. With this
we 81 hi be satisfied, and with nothing lees.
,rUEE nEnnV ESs TICKET