The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-06-23
LABOR AND THE RUM QUESTION

Independence.
The past quarter Of century has
been noted, so far as the relations of
labor and capital are concerned, by an
immense growth of labor organizations.
While these are euphemistically de-
scribed as being for the improvement
and advancement of the working
classes, the only line upon which this
improvement and advancement is
pushed is in the direction of higher
wages. And they have been, in this
respect, largely successful.
1t is lamentable fact, however, that
with many workingmen any increase
in wages inures to the benefit of others
rather than of themselves. They wear
no better clothes, eat no better food,
live in no better houses, provide no bet
ter for their families than they did be-
fore. They use the increase in wages
to increase the amount of liquor they
consume, and become mere vehicles
for the enrichment of saloonkeepers, in
stead of bcttering their own condition.
There is a very large number of peo-
pie in the community who, unfortunate
ly, judge of all workingmen by this too
numerous class of improvident drinking
men, and whose sympathies are thus
not enlisted in behalf of labor union,
no matter how just its grievance, in
case of difficulty. "What's the use of
granting an advance in wages?" is the
argument often heard. "All that it
will do will be to enable them to get
drunk oftcner." This judgment is fully
as wrong as that which takes the side
of labor in any and every dispute with
capital, without the slightest reference
to the merits or dement's of the cause
There could be nothing done for the
prosperity of labor unions which would
be of more real benefit than to estab-
lish a rule excluding drinking men from
mem bership. And it is step which
must be taken if the unions ever expect
to realize the hopes of those who estab b.
lished them, and of those who are now
the recognized leaders of the labor
then no longer judge a whole organi-
zation by the "bum" element without
it. Nor would a strike against injus-
tice or for better wages: on good
grounds, fail of popular sympathy
through the drunken rowdyism of the
unworthy few within the order.
The only reason we ever heard as
signed for admitting drinking men to
membership was the assumed necessity
of getting every man of certain trade
within the union lines in order to be in
a position to enforce just demands. We
believe the reason to lie a wrong one,
1,,t+ o. "a /
sooner and more certainly reached by
the assurance that the employer who
depends entirely upon union labor can
be certain to have only sober and COM
petent workmen in his establishment
instead of drunken and incompetent
ones. But, however this may be, the
time has certainly come when the
unions can take the step of wedding
out the incompetent, the unreliable,
the dissipated, from it's membership.
If all the sober, steady, competent
workmen were embraced in a union
and only drunken and incompetent
ones on the outside, there would be far
less difficulty in securing monopoly
of labor in any given line to union
men. No employer could afford to en-
ploy the offscourings outside the pale of
the union.
This is a matter that has, as yet, had
far too little attention given it by labor
leaders. 1t is well worthy their atten-
ton They must divorce labor from
the saloon if they expect to succeed. 1t
is bad logic to rail at capital as desiring
to make virtual serfs of workingmen,
and not raise a voice against the real
! slavery to rum under which so many
workingmen are. No thinking work
ingman doubts that the drink habit ex-
ercises far worse dominion over the
laboring classes than "capital" ever
did in this country. Either these men,
bers should be delivered from their
slavery, or be excluded from the bene-
fits of the order. We believe this will
eventually be done; and when it is
done, a tremendous impetus will be
given to the effort to pulverize the rum
pow er.-Toledo Blade.