The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1886-02-03
Labor Examinations.

million members, and is still increasing at the |
rate of $4,000 per month. 1t is evident that an |
organization Of this magnitude wields an inn |
mense power for good or for evil, and the ma
tcria prosperity OF this country must be greatly
influenced thereby. This power is welded by
the executive board of the general assembly of
North America, and this board of five men has
the complete control ofthis half million men and
their families, amounting to at least two and
half millions of people, and they can by their
simple say So not only take the food from the
mouths Of this large number Of working people
DIRECTLY but also stop all the manufactures in
which they are engaged and entailing general
stagnation in the business Of the country.
The President of the United States and his Cab
met are considered rather an influential body of
men, bu they are absolutely powerless to affect
the interests Of this country compared with the
executive committee Of the General Assembly Of
the Knights of Labor Of North America.
Now, is il good thing for this eountry-com-
monty called free cOuntry-to be ruled by
power more absolute than that of any monarchy
on the face Of the globe say no, and for these
reasons:
Finsr: 1t makes a slave ofthe laborng man.
| When man joins one Of these assemblies he is
obliged to give up his freedom of action and be-
come tool.
II belong to no such order can set my price
| on my labor as free man, and If | am worth
| hiring can get such price as the employer can
afford to pay. can work for any man choose;
| can regulate my hours of work as employer
and can agree.
On the contrary, il am mislcd by the specious
reasoning Of some smooth-tongucd demagogue.
who never did day work in his life, and JON
some labor organization, my liberty 20 do as
please with my own labor is gone, and IT must be
controlled by the ma jority vote of the members,
| no matter how ignorant or unreasonable that ma
| jority may be.
There is always large class of lazy and
| shiftess people who are always complaining
that wages are too low--arc always in fcrment,
| al, 10 lp "a az
same These men do the talking and have
more influence in the assemblies than thoughtful
and industrious men.
| Through the influence of such members the
word goes oat that the operatives shall not work
over time. Of course, |, being member, must
give up my profitable overtime work by which
nave been laying by for rainy day ten or
twenty dollars month, and fall back on the
ordinary work which viii, perhaps, support my
| family we'll but which wholly stops my little in-
creasing bank account from farther growth.
| This also causes the mills to refuse orders and
makes general depression IN the business OF
the town. Then the laborers feel poor, general
strike is ordered for higher wages, the maufac-
turers cannot accede to it without ruin--the
strikers 20 out, among them, and non-union
men are put in their places, and the little ac-
| climulations which have been hopefully put by
| are used up. Still the strike continues ind we
become beggars-begging enough from the as
scmblies to keep body and soul together, but the
children cry for bred. Hundreds of such eases
are occurring all over the United States and we
read of them in daily papers every day. One OF
two things only remains: Resurning work at
the old prices or order n boycotting OF the man
nfacturers which results i'll the ruin of manufac-
turcrs, stoppage of all works, failure of all the
| traders and closing of the stores, and dead
town where once was thriving one. with peo-
pie moving out to places where the blight has
not reached.
This is not an ovcrdrawn picture. On the
third day of last March, the miners in Manon-
gahela Wales went out strike, and for ten
months the thousands of laborers with their fam
lilies have suffered everything but death in this
long struggle, and now, when reduced to famine,
have been Obliged to go back to work for the
same price that they were getting Mt the time OF
| the strike, and the price was as large as the
proprietors could pay without ruin
The direct loss Of wages to the laborers in this
disastrous strike was more than million and a
half of dollars and the loss to the mines and
| capital was immense, and ruin was cntailed on
the surrounding country. What was gained in
this case by listening to demagoguesf This
case was submitted to arbitration but they broke
| the agreement and would not abide by the ind
ing of the arbitration with the above result
SECONDLY: 1t ruins the prospects of towns.
Gardiner, on the Kcnnebcc, has of late years
been very thriving city. 1t has an excellent
water power, and many paying manufacturing
enterprises have started up there. Two years
ago the citizens subscribed a large sum ofmoney
and built n large building for shoe shop, and
gave the use OF it flee to a firm, and they fur
nished work for large number of people and of
course helped the business of the place much.
An Assembly of the Knights of Labor was
| formed there and become very strong, and
strike was ordered, which came very near driv-
ing the company from the town. But by great
cxertions of the citizens so disastrous thing
was averted for season. But the effect did not
stop there. A wooden company was being form
| ed there with stock nearly all subscribed, but
the strike seemed to paralyze the capital, and If
the enterprise is not dead it is now i'll a state
| very much resembling it.
| No class of capitalists will start new enter
priscs in town, and risk their money, where
| ignorance is banded together to oppose capital,
| and no man who has any pecunlary interest IN
town in which he is living, or has any desire to
see its development, will in any way countenance
| any organization whose tedency is to drive away
capital and stop the progress of the place.
Only a few months ago one of the largest shoe
manufacturing establishments in Lynn moved
their whole business from that city to the town
Of Norway, in this State, as the knights OF
| Labor, in Lynn, made it impossible for them to
manufacture there at profit. Is it possible
that the citizens Of Norway will permit the same
| influence to drive their new enterprise to some
other town, 1t is to be hoped that they have
more sense.
Another of the beauties of Labor Organizations
is shown by the following which l condense
| from the Herald
.'On Jan. 6, the Executive Baard of the Set
tiers and Lastcrs Union Of Brocton, ordered the
foreman or Burt's factory, to discharge one Jos,
was refused, and all the Union men were ordered
to leave the shop. Nolan, being u Knight of
Labor. that orgaization determined to support
him and ordered their members Comprising
most of the crew to leave the shop, which they
did in body"
In this strike one labor organization was fight
ing another, There was no disagreement with
the proprietor as to price, and this shop-the
largest in town-was closed, throwing 300 per-
sons out of employment, and the proprietor had
no more to do with it than the man in the moan,
except tina. he was one of the greatest sufferers,
and one of the most inocent in the lot.
Members of these societies ought to realize
that these associations not only injure its men,
bers but society at large has to suffer. In many
of the States when foreign labor is largely enI- =
ployed, the tedency is 10 incite riots III winch
non-union men are <e$en from their labor, often
beaten and; murdered, and subject others to the
same want and misery entailed on the members,
and the tcdency is to inaugurate a reign OF ter
ror in this country rivalng the bloody scenes OF
the Commune in France.
Now in place of all these, and hundreds of
other bad features, what are to get i'll return
Certainly the enhanced pay is eaten up al
hundred times over by enforced idleness during
the strikes that are not successful, and when it
has been a success for the strikers, it has been
such loss to the proprietors as to disgust them
with the business which will sooner or later re-
act on the inhabitants of the locality. The tax
on poor people to support these societies and
assessments to pay strikers in other localities
must, ofcoursc be burdensome on the members
As far as Pittsfed is concerned l can not
think that any thinking man would be drawn
into this thing, though the project has been moe
or less asitated, and the promoters of the scheme
were asked, "What if the owners of the mills
refused to hire Union men :" The reply came
promptly tive must organize secretly and not
let them know anything about it, So we do not
know but that We have smoidering volcano
now under our feet, and our industries liable to
be blown into some other locality any moment.
If there is bright side to this matter ! hope
some of its friends will enlighten us, for it is
part that have never been able to discover by
the light of its workings published from day
to day.