The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-11
THE LABOR EXCHANGE OFFERS TO
TAKE STOCK AND BUILD THE
S. j. AND S. F. R. R.
A PLAN. TO PUT ALL TO WORK.
PROPOSITIONS TO EMPLOYERS, THE
SUPERVISORS AND THE BOARD
OF EDUCATION.


own protection.
The exchange will guarantee all business
men against bankruptcy and will guarantee to
! every workingman steady job at good pay
! after he has been q member for one year.
| Poverty, misery and crime must go!
| The foregoing is from circular calling a
mass meeting Thursday evening at 1859
| Mission street, under the auspices of the
association.
The Punishment of poverty, misery and
crime is a consummation devoutly to be
wished. A guarantee of a steady job to
every workingman is very desirable and
something unheard Of. The question of
living interest is, then, the responsibility
of the guarantor-can it be done and how {?
Something about what the Labor Ex-
change is was given in the CALL a few days
ago through an interview with the Cali
fornia organizer, Carl Gleeser. The ques-
ton was put to him yesterday; "By what
right and how?"
''The association is growing so rapidly"
he said, in answer, sit is reasonably GER
tain that within year we will have Sc
cured such members and such variety in
the number of tradespeople that steady
employment to all may be guaranteed.
That is the only if there is in our propo-
sition. With numbers and variety to sup
ply each others wants the thing is done
The first great purpose of the Labor Ex-
change is to get employment for the unem-
ployed. In that we should have the SYM
pathy of everybody, should we not?
'Now we are practical men and come to
our purpose with long experience and
study. We have plan. 1t is simplicity
itself No vagary or illusion of any kind
is attached to it. With our great end in
view we are, at least, entitled to hearing,
are we not? Our plan is simply this: To
exchange labor for share of its product.
Money, therefore, becomes unnecessary.
| Our association offers to build the sewers
! of San Francisco or perform any other of
| its public work. We will build the San
Joaquin Valley road, or we will string
irrigation bitches through the arid regions
of California and change them into market
| gardens-all without asking cent OF legal
tender money from anybody.
For city improvements we will accept
warrants that shall bear no interest, but
| simply represent our labor; for building
the railroad we will accept its stock made
| out in such form as to make 1t negotiable
| or eXchangeable for other goods. Let our
offer DE accepted and the subscription to
the competing road is almost doubled in a
| twinkling. There need be no anxiety as
| to a labyrinth of cumbrOus details, for we
can show in half an hour how it all could
| be perfected without trouble. We still
! have hopes that the proposition may be
taken up-we submitted it to the Traffic
Association--and if SO it could be carried
further than [ have indicated, even to the
| building and equipment OF the entire road.
| This IS not fancy, mind you. We mean
exactly what we say; we know what we
are talking about, and we have practical
and successful illustration in railroad build
ing now going on in Oregon by one of our
| branches.
Our fundamental principle, as I say, is
to get the unemployed to work. We do
! not sickle just now about wages, although
on such work as the building of the rail-
road or other competitive work we would
| demand the market price. But our system
once in amplitied operation would secure
| the best possible results to every body.
The labor union as body is not friendly
! to US, at least the union having employ
ment for the reason stated, but the results
we aim at and are certain to attain will
benefit every workingman, and merchant
as well~ Take the vast body of the unem-
plOyed out of the problem and it don't re-
quire much art to describe the result, does
| it?
With all men employed, the ball and
chain slips off society and business, does it
not2 and that half the community which
now preys upon the other half, because it
| has nothing itself, becomes a consumer and
producer, and all the world grows richer
by leaps and bounds. Because there are no
unemployed and consumption has doubled,
wages go up, of course.
NOW that is just what we are work1n e
toward, and no man can offer one good
reason why, under our system, we may not
reach 1t IN good order very shortly.
Education is the measure OF our adj
vance. The hesitancy with which the
workingmen themselves accept the invita-
ton to enter the promised land is our
greatest trouble. But that only reminds
US of how hard we, as teachers, must keep
| working. 1t does not surprise US, for the
entail of prejudice that has come down to
them through years is not easily overcome.
"Our efforts in this are also approved by
most of the employed, who, in no distress
themselves, refuse to think and only see in
persons willing to work without money
something to be feared. | was before the
| Changers at their meeting in Oakland, was
referred to the cooperative committee and
explained our plan, which certainly should
have appealed to every farmer on sight.
And it did so to individuals, but the chair
man of the committee, seeing something
in it to conflict with his individual inter-
ests, did not report upon the matter at all.
We meet with such receptions in almost
every case of an organized body, but with
individuals we never fail to find favor once
our system is understood.
"Our methods have everything to recon-
mend them to the good citizen. They
stand directly opposed to those of compe-
tition, that impels to strikes, strife, misery,
waste, loss, poverty and starvation.
''They are also at variance with the COM
munity or colony idea although colonies
are even now being started to work on our
principles. What [ mean to say is that
colonization is not at all necessary to the
workings of our plan, its perfection being
more rapidly effected in large city where
all the machinery for the creation of
wealth is already at work.
"We welcome labor-saving machinery
and all progressive elements in whatever
shape they present themselves, for it all
means quicker results, shortsr hours of
labor, more leisure, comforts, ease for all.
'"The Labor Exchange, in word, is the
only association that combines the best of
socialism with the breadth, freedom and
independence of individualism.
at is all done by simply going to work
instead of waiting until some one can Dor
row money enough to employ u.s. There
is only fraction of the money in the world
necessary to keep everybody employed,
and the little there is is panic-stricken half
the time and held out of circulation by