Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1899-05-12
FEDERATED TRADES.
Another Highly Successful Meeting, and
Prospects Continue 20 Brighten.

hunftnneh were maue ny ElOns To- H.
Flagg, Capt. John O'Brien and City Re-
corder n. j. Judah.
Mr.. Flagg spoke about fifteen minutes
on THE necessity for Labor Organiza-
ions their Objects and Aims" Refer
ring 10 the Wardner trouble, he depre-
Gated the violence used there; but he
warned his hearers that they had heard
only n side Of the story, and this was
not sufficient ground for unqualified con
domination Of the striking miners, before
we hear their side.
Capt O'Brien spoke about twenty
minutes on, "What the Typographical
Union has done for Printers.
Judge Judah's subject was Trades
Unionism and GOod-C Citizenship" and
his address was a thoughtful and con
~servatiye study Of the relations Of the
two. From his remarks we make the
following extracts:
'"The very act Of allying one's.self
with a Trade-UniOn, the assumption Of
ite duties under specific rules and reg
ulations and the voluntary pledge fer
their Observance, Is a tacit admission Of
the efficacy and necessity Of those re-
strictions, that discipline Ia essential 30
individual and collective success, that
LAW II a prerequisite 10 all composite
human action, and It's Observance at
once potential and salutary, for all con
cerned.
This acknowledgment Of the lesser
code Of the Union pre-supposes an
equally honest and manly appreciation
d the greater codes that are imposed upon
organized society for the general control
and protection Of the people. And this,
briefly stated, IL the universal predicate
upon which rests that essential and hon
orable phase Of civic existence, b"goOd
citizenship"
The contention IN perfectly justifable,
therefore, that Unions and Union work
ers, island for what IL RIGHT, in which
term IL involved all that il LEGAL 30
far az the purposes Of this discussion
are concerned. Nor does the conclusion
carry with II any claim that the greater
code Preferred to, the law Of the land, IL
altogether equitable in its ordinances ;
that there are not, among its provisions,
edicts palpably unjust and Onerous.
But, cOnfessing, rather, the %inequali-
ties that exist there and bear burden
somely upon the hosts of toll, We are
face 10 face with the merit Of the ques-
ton before us; the true relation Of the
Unionist, ~ a citizen, 10 that unjust law
and its operation.
To what or TO whom does a man owe
his best and greatest duty ?
To the state ? To the family? To the
UniOn2 To himself YFhe problem is in.
deed a grave one, and especially when.it
has 10 be solved in the midst Of the tur-
mOil Of adverse and pressing influences,
and he II a man In the largest sense of
of the word, who can sacrifice the minor
TO the paramount demand Of such an
hour, and / sincerely believe that the
vast majority Of Trade Unionists are ca
pable Of the supreme test, and that the
state, ~ the embodiment of the highest
type Of human organization, is sure OF
their first aud truest allegiance. Any
choice Is fraught with ~portentous
evil to society, and to himself and his
NJ members Of II.
The creed Of destruction, that even up
Ia this time, has been employed in seek
10 right the wrongs OF the labOring
has proved liz utter impotency,
and has been abandoned by every reform
of the day, finding expression,
only, In the mad unrest of o few OF the
least capable and responsible, Of the
craftsmen facing and fighting a deplor-
able exigency. The grievance may be
mOnstrouH, but one evil never justified
another since the hour when mankind
first sought Ia balance the incOngruities
and injustices of life. IL IL u repellent
doctrine, look at IL as one may the Odor
Of evil attaches % IL, $40 matter what the
of the motive In AN abstract
moral sense, and the conscientious cit
izen, In or out of the Union, must, in
cool and deliberate aiter-thought,
deprecate the wretchcd mistake.
Advance thought demands other al
ternatiyes, and the modern fraternities
fast becoming the vehicles for the
and expression of the nobler
and more potential tenets OF a propa-
far more peaceful and quite rs
radical.
This propaganda, ~ exercised by the
Trade Unions, embraces the following
The banding of tradesmen in a cohe-
siye autonomy, that stands, primarily,
for their individual advancement a.
workers, for more intelligent methods OF
working, for fewer hours, for better
compensation, for a broader status ON
the industrial plane and u better ap-
probation la the business world, than
they have ever enjoyed.
For the mutual education Of the
members In matters not wholly incl
10 the craft, such as an enlarged
Wow of their political responsibility, n
SENSE of the law aud It's relation
to them and "a their families and their
Union, and the proper use OF both pre-
negatives IN the performance ut the
duties of the citizen.
For the cultivation oi the mind along
np-to-date lines, aud the wedding out oi
and discrcdited methods ia the
handling ni the Union itself, putting il
upon a plane Of usciulnecss, IN a local
sense, that shall make Il the exposure Ut
The thoughtful aud hopeful and intelli.
gent, in all walks OF life.
For the achievement oi u place In the
community that shall he commanding at
times, Ia politics, i'm commence, aud
IA society; that shall give 10 the union
prestige Tor good, enjoyed by other
.%raternities, and render il, az ouce, "A ~
aud seryiCable factor ia every
Nay involving the expression of a safe
crcditable public spirit.
To reach these approved attitudes, ,
.he Union, AS whole, must keep It's
clear of the repruaeh attendant