, 1892-01-07
THE PRESS OF LABOR.
A FEW PLAIN WORDS ABOUT THE
WoRNNeMAN's PAPER.


The DIctators Who Don't Pay-Thoughs.
on Several Current Matters.
At a recent meeting of some of the or
ganized w~orkingmen in Chicago Thomas
J. Morgan, in the course of an address,
said:
We have no labor paper in Chicago. We
need one-not one like the labor papers OF the
past which dictate the policy of the Labor
party. but one which shall be the mouthpiece.
not the head, OF the movement. Workingmen
can be, and often are, just AS tyrannical rs
capitalists
Those who remember that l was the
publisher of one of Chicago's labor pa
pers of the past" will excuse my MOTTO
ing Mr.. Morgan's remarks, and, besides
l want to say something on this subject
anyhow. My experience as a labor
editor has been the experience of scores
of others, and only those who AVE been
through the mill can thoroughly under
stand the full significance of the Chica-
goan's remarks.
. Some one has said that the pathway Of
the labor movement is lined with the
slabs which mark the graves of nee Wig
orous and prosperous labor papers. Men
Hke Mr.. Morgan say that these papers
died because ''they attempted to dictate
the policy of the Labor party" but those
who are better informed know that In
nine out of ten cases they were killed
because their editors found it impossible
TO obey the dictates of would be leaders.
This is especially true of those who have
attempted labor journalism in Chicago.
Men who have striven honestly to estab-
lish and make influential papers devoted
TO labor's interest have been opposed
bitterly by narrow minded and jealous
cranks, who. while making no sacrifices
toward the success of the paper, have
presumed to mark out its course and lay
down a line of conduct for its editor in
and out of his sanctum.
Outside of the papers which are de
voted exclusively to trade interests, and
which, while immeasurably useful to
their organizations, cannot serve as
propagandists of laborism, the labor pa
per, like every other publication, must
bear to a great extent the imprint of its
publisher. Experience has shown that
where the control has extended beyond
a single individual the influence of the
paper has been slight in proportion as
the persons having a voice in shaping
its policy have been few or many. With
the exceptions of a few German papers,
/ anne now call to mind one labor
journal conducted by an association of
individuals or organizations that has
lived long enough to feel its legs under
it. 1t has always been the old story of
TOO many cooks spelling the broth.
AS before said, the papers started by
men willing to sacrifice have been de-
stroyed, because every labor man in the
community who had q following, large
or small, or who had acquired promi-
nence in the movement to any extent,
got a notion that he was the inspired
"m~outhpiece," and that the things he
wanted said must be put into the paper
and said in his way. Occasionally one
of these men Is n support to the editor
for a time, but sooner or later the little
help he gives is discounted by the oppo-
sition of his rivals in the movement, and
the unfortunate editor soon discovers
that he is furnishing the ammunition for
another mans war. If he attempts to
conciliate the other side he only increases
his difficulties, and with every effort in
h "a direction he swells the army of
malcontents who will finally assassinats
his paper-if not himself.
1t has been my experience that the
men who are loudest in their claims to q
right to dictate the course of the paper
are those who pay least toward its sup
port. They are generous in the matter
of advice, but very retiring when it
comes to coin. | nave known some of
these fellows when a year behind in sub
scription to propose in their organiza-
lions resolutions of condemnation of this
paper because they didn't like a certain
article or objected to a particular adver-
tisement. And | have frequently found
hat those who wanted a "mouthpiece'
wanted it more for themselves than for
the movement. Chicago has been espe-
cially cursed in this manner, and SO has
New York. If John Swinton would tell
his experience in full it would furnish u
complete reply to Mr.. Morgan's remarks.
1 do not want to be understood as
holding that the editor of a labor paper
has the right to assume before the pub
lie that he Is always voicing the senti-
ments of the movement, and l do not
know of one who does SO; but i do hold
that he is entitled to the same consider
alton as is accorded to editors of other
papers. In his editorials he expresses
only his WI views, and there is not, nor
was there ever, a paper that allowed such
freedom in its columns for the presenta-
tion of opposite ideas as the labor pa
per of this country. Only those who
have ''been there" know of the hard
ships the men who are striving to main
tain a labor press have to endure; the
~sleepless nights and the days of worry
and scheming to make both ends meet;
the ~jealousies and chickering's met with,
and the indifference, which is worst OF
all. But in spite of all these handicaps
not one well informed person will hest
tate to say that one of the chief factors
in the building up of the present power
full organizations of labor, and the wide
spread interest manifested in the cause,
has been the struggling and unappre-
ciated labor press. So while l wish that
every industrial center, every town and
hamlet, may have its paper voicing the
r-,a - Al --