Connecticut workman., 1901-10-24
One of the Foremost Thinkers in America Reviews the Situation. Claims That Labor Has
 It's Sacred Rights and Dignity.
ARBITRATION IS THE ONLY
 ULTIMATE SOLUTION AT PRESENT.
When Method Ending Betwe Labor Shall FaveBe
 Worlm Mus tbe nd a

We are indebted to the New York Journal for the following:
 Are the interests of employer and employed mutual and if so how can this mutua1ity of interest be made eff fectiye?"
 Cardinal Gibbons suggests and au- thorizes as his answer the following from Our Christian Heritage:" Labor has it's sacred rights as well as it's dignity. Paramount among the 1 rights Of the laboring classes is their privilege to organize, or to form them i selves into societies for their mutual protection and benefit.
 It is in accordance with natural 77rIght that those who have but one comuo1 interest should unite together fo; it's promotion.
 < Our modern labor associations are the legitimate successors of the anc- ient guilds of England.
 In our days there is d universal ten dency towards organization in every department of trade and business. In
 
 cal, moral and social world; and just as the power and majesty of our re- public are derived from the political union of the several states, so do men | clearly perceive that the healthy com bination of human forces in the eco homie world can accomplish results which could not be effected by any in dividual efforts.
 Throughout the United States and To jct to i uous network of syndicates and trusts, of companies and partnerships, so that every operation from the construction !, of a leviathan steamship to the man i ufacture of a needle is controlled by 8 eorpcI ation.
 1 When corporations thus combine, it is quite natural that mechanics and 1 labo1e should follow their example. 1 It would be as unjust to deny to ] working men the right to band together because Of the abuses incident to such l com binaticns as to withhold the same light from capitalists because they unwarrantably seek to crush or absorb weaker rivals. Another potent reason for encourag- ing labor unions suggests itself to my
 lu. ' -----'-- -
 Secret societies. lurking in dark ptaces and plotting the overthrow of eristing governments have been the hane of Continental Europe.
 -tThe oppressive policy of these Gov ernments and their mistrust of the in telligence and virtue of the people have given rise to those mischievous organizations; for men are apt to con spire in secret if not permitted to ex- press their views openly.
 The public recognition among, us of the right to organize implies conh- de1ce in the intelligence and honesty of the masses; it affords them an op- portunity of training themselves in the school of self-government and in the alt of self-discipline; it takes away from them every excuse and pretext for the formation of dangerous socie- ties; it exposes to the light of public scrutiny the constitution and laws oe the association and the deliberations of the members; it inspires them with a sense of their responsibility as citi- zens, and with a laudable desire of meriting the approval of their fellow citizens.
 "It is better,'' as Matthew Arnold observes, that the body of the peo- pie, with all it's faults, should act for itself, and control it's own affairs than that it should be set aside as ignorant ] and incapable, and have it's affairs managed for it by so-called superior class.'' LABOR AND CAPITAL CONFLICTS.
 God forbid that the prerogatives l which I am maintaining for the work ing classes should be construed as i'm plying the slightest invasion of the ] rights and autonomy of employers.
 There should not, and need not, be l any conflict between labor and capl- l tai, since both are necessary for the ! public good, and the one depends on 1 the cooperation of the other.
 A contest between the employer and ! the employed is as unreasonable and l as hurtful to the social body as war l between the head and the hands would 1 be to the physical body.
 Such an antagonism recalls the fla I bled conspiracy on the part of the 1 members of the body against the stom- ach. 1 Whoever tries to SOW discord be-f tween the capitalist and the laborer is an enemy of social order. Every m.asure should therefore be | discountenanced that sustains the one ] at the expense of the other. 1
 Whoever strives to improve the ] friendly relations between the proprie- 1 tors and the labor unions by suggest I ing the most effectual means of di- minishing, and even removing. the causes Of discomfort, is benefactor to the community.
 With this sole end in view, I ven ture to touch this delicate subject, and if these lines contribute in some small measure to strengthen the bond of union between the enterprising men of capital and the sons of toll, shall be amply rewarded.
 THE GOLDEN RULE.
 That ''the laborer is worthy of his t hire'' is the teaching of Christ as we'll I as. the dictate of reasoni itself. He is | T ? x+a N