The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1901-07-19
Il FIGHT or ORGANIZATION

| FIGHT or ORGANIZATION.
The prevailing struggle between
the management of the steel trust
and it's employees had not been ex-
pected to take place thus early. But
that it would come sooner or later
was inevitable. The struggle is a
vital one. The outcome will deter
mine the future policy not only of
this but of most of the other trusts
toward employees. It is a fight of
organization against organization.
The capital stock of one of the con-
tending organizations is labor; of
the other invested capital.
Those who have watched with any
great degree of care the progress of
events have noticed the disposition
on the part of those who represent
organized labor in official position
to discourage opposition to trust
organization. The purpose of these
men, whether or not they may be
said to represent the sentiment of
the rank and file of organized labor
is to secure all the concessions thew
think possible from the opposing
organization, and disregard all 9TH
er considerations, public and pri-
vate, save alone the pecuniary in
terests of the organization which
they represent.
1t is merely an organiza ton fight.
The organization which is the
stronger in resources will win. It
would be comparatively easy
matter for the steel trust to grant
all that the labor organization asks
and charge the resulting cost of
production to the public in the
form of increased prices. But the
consideration remains constantly
in sight, that there is no limit which
can be applied to the future de-
mands which that and other labor
organizations may put forth in case
the needed concessions are made in
this case. We assume, and we think
there is nothing unreasonable in
the assumption, the labor people
would not give moments scdnsid=
Grafton to any other interest involv-
ed, either public or private, if they
, could secure the concessions they
seek.
In this view there Is not much of
a choice to be exercised by the dis
interested citizen between the two
contending forces. But the public
sympathy will of course go out to
the men. They occupy the attitude
of combating monopoly backed
by the power of unlimited money
and favored by the laws of the Unit
ed States to the extent of destroy
ing all possibility of foreign COM
petition. Their struggle is to have
their organization placed on equal
footing with the trust in the rela-
ton between the two. This the trust
will not submit to unless it can't
help itself. And if it does submit
it is not difficult to believe that the
consuming public will pay the full
cost of it's submission.
The .machinists have struck for a
ninehour day. The workers of the
steel trust have struck mostly for
recognition of their organization
by the trust. The air is filled with
the smoke ofiindustrial battle. The
fight will go on. Suffering will
probably be entailed on the men
and their families before it is clos
led; but the proba bility is very
strong that no matter how or where
the several contests end, they will
leave the interest of the general
public in the subject matter of the
controversy precisely where it was
at the beginning.
Every student in social and eco.
nom1c subjects must watch this
struggle with the most profound
interest, since it involves the settle
ment more or less decisively, and
must greatly influence the final set
Element, of many of the gravest
problems which the domination OF
organization in industrial life has
briught upon society.-St. Paul
Globe.
The famous original Gentry Shows
composed of the largest herd OF
handsome dogs, Intelligent ponies
comical monkeys andsagacious ba.
by elephants ever seen, will soon