The Labor enquirer., 1883-02-24

Organize, if you want to settle it by
force, organize at once. There isno time
to lose,
That nondescript thing, that white
blackbird, that conservative reformer,
that miserable sychophant who is asked
to assign a reason why he forces his
littleness into labor organization would
be lost for a reply. That boulder, how
ever, will roll itself up, stand erect in
imitation of a man. pull down its vest
adjust its cud of tobacco in III
mouth, deposit its mouthful of tobacco,
juice on the carpet, and proceed to adj
dress the chairmansthus Mister Chair
man-NowPm just as radical as Brother
Jones on all questions that effect the in
terests of labor. But-but-I can see no
conflict between capital and labor capi-
tai and labor should stand hand in hand,
their interests are mutual and identical.
/ would like to see us strong enough and
powerful enough to nominate our men
for Office, and then bring force to bear
on the democratic or republican parties
to compel them to place our men on
their tickets and then if we had our
own men in office we could have
laws passed which would lessen the
hours of labor, and compel the capital
lists to G We the laborer affair days wage
for fair days work. 4 like to see men
who are in earnest<and ho understand
the labor problem, but-but-Ne must
not expect too much at once. I Let us be
practical for once. If we cannot get the
whole loaf, let us take half" And with
a aself-satisied air he smiles approvingly
to the audience. who do not return the
smile. They have had this half loaf
trick played on them before, and regard
his smile as that of dough faced hypo-
crit. So it is y.
Let us examine this stereotyped argu-
ment which this would-be "reformer'
has presented. Capital and labor's in
terests are identical and mutual, he says.
Yes, very mutual, are they not?
Just imagine the robber and the poor
devil he has robbed out Of his last penny
for rent of land which was created for
the use and benefit of all, or robbed out
of two.thirds of his earnings, the other
third being grudgingly given him as
wages, when his labor earned it all i'm
agine them standing "hand in hand"
A nice picture, is it not? He demands
"a fair days wage for fair days work, y
but he fails to tell US what fair DAVIS
wages means. he desires to lessen the
hours of labor, but how he is going to do
it he does not say be and others of his
kind have talked this rubbish for the
past twenty years, and ten hours toll is
still enforced.
All, | forgot. He. wants to be super
visor, legislator or anything the old
parties will give him as trades unionist
and not as politician. Then he would
make the laws wanted, or rather pro-
pose them with a view Of having them
defeated--the same as all his kind have
done before.
"Half a loaf is better than no bread"
Yes, provided you are begging bread
from some one who has earned it by his
own toll Then you should be very
thankful to receive even aocrust. But,
on the other hand if you have earned
the loaf, and it is held by one who claims
it unjustly, one who is. weaker physically
and mentally than you, and who will
only concede YOU one-third of it after
considerable bluster on his part, as to
how he is keeping the bread in your
mouth, by giving you work-then | say
you would be cowardly whelp if you
did not demand the whole loaf and COM
pei him to drop it at once. If he wants
bread let him earn it as you have done,
This whining hound who sneaks into
labor organizations because he happens
for the time being to be a wage-worker,
who although lacking brains, intellect,
honesty of purpose or courage, makes up
for, it in his supply Of low, sneaking
cunning and chicanery, is sought for by
the political bosses and encouraged by
the promise, of an Office, to be ever
watchful and on hand to defeat any man
or measure that might be likely to bene-
fit the interests of those he associates
with