Industrial freedom. [volume] (Edison, Wash.) 1898-1???, 1899-04-01
OTRGiA MIA 7TI0No

Mr.. w. Y. Powell,
Grand Chief Photographer,
Peoria, Illinois.
Dear Sir and Brother:
Great pressure is being brought 70
bear upon your office to have you
push with the utmost vigor and dis
patch, the work of organizing the
Pacific Division of the O. X. T. which
embraces the Southern Pacific Com
pany's lines That is well, | am an
earnest subscriber to the doctrine of
organization: that way lies the goal
of labor's hopes, and organization can
not well be pushed with too much vi
gor.
But it is represented that the or
ganization of this system can be so
pushed as to be ready to convene the
general board OF adjustment at the end
of another month. and make a de-
mand for schedule, and, of course,
obtain it.
This is not we'll 1t is error Our
comrades should not be deluded with
the hope of an issue so short, sharp
and successful as that.
Possibly, the seven incomplete div
isions might be organized in that time:
but organized how? What do the
brothers mean by organization? Or
ganization for action means some
thing more than persuading men to
join an order and enrolling their names
on its registers. 1t means much more
than that. 1t means so converting
them to a principle that they will
cheerfully risk their hope of promo
ton and personal advancement that
is not shared by the whole order en-
dure self sacrifice and suffer modern
nlartyrdom flor that is what loss of
employment is today for the sake of
its success. We arc told that unless
some decisive action is taken soon,
the organization can not be held" to
its present status. There is the ker-
mel of the nut exactly. Membership
that has to be held" does not repre-
sent organization. Members whom
we must "hold" are not the ones for
decisive action. They waver and fall
ter when the test is made. There is
the weak point of all labor "organiza-
tions." We all like to see results, GER
tainly. Schedules are very desirable
things: but they are not obtained by
hasty Organization organized for
hasty action. Membership that takes
hold and holds on is what we must
have: not membership that needs to be
drawn in with the bait of schedule
and having obtained it slip out again
unless they are "held". Such men,
bers are the garfish of the industrial
sea every where; better let them go at
once.
Membership that stands for prn-
clple is what organization means for
US, and the principle must be more
than obtaining a schedule; that. GER
tainly, but more than that 1t must
mean the Responsible Administration
of the industrial power exercised over
us, and that in its finalty means, CO.
ownership by the workers responsible
to patrons, l. e. the public alone, for
just operation. Co-wOrkers conioin-
ed on some such fundamental principle
i'll an "order" are 'Organized', other
wise not, call them what YOU will
Let us then remember that, or like
Gideon be prepared to see our "thous-
ands' scaled down to "three hun
drcd" when the time for decisive ac-
ton comes. Practically, perhaps in
the enforcement of our principles, the
securing a schedule is the first step
necessary, But before we can make
successful demand for a schedule of
wages on this road we must be pre-
pared to enforce that demand and to-
day we are not ready. Neither will
we be next month nor the next. Adj
ding few members to our rolls is not
being ready. To be ready to en-
force n demand for Justice Tor a
schedule as justice is supposed to be
expressed and as it is interpreted by
many labor agitators of the times, J
those who make the demand must be
ready to enforce the demand i'll the
last extremity by quitting the service
or temporarily suspending work; but
even this in my opinion is not "being
ready either. Organized labor is on
" ready" when it's membership hav-
ing made demand are ready toleave
the service for life as wage workers,
and take up their occupation again
only when they can do so as co-own-
ers and cooperators. | do not wish
to be understood as saving that the
man who strikes must not go back ex-
cept rs q cooperator; | mean h must
be "ready" to stay out until his de-
mand is conceded even if he never goes