Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-03

feated in the immediate object sought. they
nave awakened q new conscience IN the
American people, and win contribute more
to the thorough organization Of the wage
workers Of our country than hundreds Of
meetings, speeches or pamphlets. The
81 eatest copQuering armies In the history Of
the world have had their reverses, and
labor cannot expect to be an exception to
that rule. Each defeat acts as a trenchant
warning to the toilers Of America that err
ror must be avoided. that Intelligence must
prevail, and that no success can come to
them unless 1t Is through our own efforts
and their own organization. and by their
presidency manifested.
Pessimism results In Indifference, leth-
argy and fmpotency, and this in turn
simply permits the corporations and trusts
and the entire capitalist class to filch from
the Ioiler rights which have been dearly
bought.
The organizations Of labor must be thor
ough and complete, and, above all, must be
permanent Those organizations which
arise Ike flash in the pan only go TO show
how arduOus Ii the struggle before the
toiler. in order to overcome the antagonism
Of the wealth-possessing classes of our
country.
nize how essentially they are thrown Upon
their own resources; that they have few IL
any outside Of their own ranks who SYM
pathfze with them in their effort for the
emancipation OF MANKIND.
Toilers, organize. Let us carry on the
good work. and In a few more revolutions
Of the earth upon its axis we shall have a
better world, better mankind. Waiting
win not accomplish 1t; deferring till another
time will not secure 1t. Now Is he time for
the workers of America to come to the
standard of their unions. and to organize as
thoroughly, completely and compactly as is
possible. Let each worker bear In mind the
words Of Longfellow:
'In the worlds broad field Of battle.
In the bfvouac Of life.
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!"
Labor Organizations and Trusts.
Edward Atkinson, in the September
Forum" writing on present Industrial
Problems In the Light of History" says:
Our present difficulties are not to be at
tributed to organization Of labor, but rather
to lack Of organization of labor. II am
rightly informed, the total number regis
tered In all the trades-unions is but q rev
hundred thousand. The organization known
as the knights Of Labor in its palmiest day
reached a considerable number. but 1t has
almost faded out. There are now at least
eighteen to twenty million men and two to
OF labor. by far the greater part Of whom
are working on In isolation. What il most
needed is that the representatives of each
OF the different arts shall be organized, In
order that through organization each union
may come to comprehend the terms Of its
own existence ard the conditions under
which Its own work must be done. l even
welcome the Farmers Alliance and the
Changers, and all that; anything better
than stagnation or inertia. The farmers
are learning the true lesson. The cheap
jacks who first misled them are being
thrown out of the ranks. The strong men,
who for long time were themselves at
first deluded as to what they could do, are
learning how to lead. Step by step the Or
sanization of labor Will proceed. The terms
Of admission to the trades-unions will be-
come, as they were In the guilds. the pos
session Of skill, aptitude, character and
merit. True unions will cease to attempt
to reduce all their members to the dead
level Of mediocrtty, or else all men above
mediocrity win leave them and form new
organizations. by which the inferior ones
will be beaten out of existence.
If We explore the deeper currents now
actuating great bodice OF men, we may see
that these forces of intelligence are surely
working either to the destruction of the
labor organizations that are trying to work
against the nature Of things; or else by
development they are bringing the labor
organizations to a true perception OF what
the rights OF labor really are. On the other
hand, I think there Is a rapidly growing
7 perception on the part Of the possessors of
property as to what the duties Of capital
are.
Nor have any fears of trusts. They are
OF two kinds. One Is q mere combination of
very able men, who. having obtained the
control Of certain enterprises, combine and
hold 1t by doing the work for society at less
cost than II was ever done before, and at
less cost than 1t could be done except by
such combination. And yet even these
Standard Oil Company has worked so ef-
fectually that light is furnished us at less
cost than any other important article Of
living, and. as have said. a man can cook
his weeks supply Of provisions with two
cents worth Of Standard Oil: yet even with
that expenditure of energy l do not suppose
ore than per cent-even II as much-of
the real potential of the oil is converted in
to the work Of cooking. There are other
trusts and companies which are merely Of
a selfish order. often a fraud upon the COM
munity. Such combinations contain the
seeds OF their own dissolution. and may
even promote-as strikes also often promote
the completion Of important inventions
which might have been delayed for many
years except for this incentive. / know Of
no textile art in which the mechanism is SO
crude or so far behind that of others as the
making of cordage. trust which would
undertake to limit the products Of that art
and to confine 1t to existing inventions
could have no permanent existence. There
are many other trusts too numerous to
mention; but I venture TO say that there is
not one from which any excess of profit
il or can now be derived that Is not at the
mercy of some one. or perhaps Of a hun
dred, inventors. by whom every process
that the trust controls will be Invented out
Of existence within the next ten years."
Condition of the Masses Improvins.
In the current number Of the North
American Review is an article by w. H.
Matlock on 1.-The Significance Of Modern
Poverty" in which he combats the general
proposition. made the basis Of socialistic
appeals. that the rich are growing richer
and the poor are growing poorer. Now, as
to America in connection with this mat
ter" writes Mr. Matlock. II am not quail
fled to speak with sufficiently precise knowl-
edge; but as to the chief countries of
Europe, and England in particular, 1t may
be said with the utmost condolences con-
fidence derived from the most authorita-
tive and various information-that the
above belief is altogether wrong, that 1t is
not only not the truth. but an absolute in
version of the truth. In England the aver
sge fortunes Of the rich are distinctly,
even II not greatly, decreasing; persons
with moderate fortunes, of from ESQ to
1000 year. are increasing faster than
any other class; while so far as concerns
the increase Of the individual income. the
average increase has been greatest among
the labOring and wage-earntnH masses