Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-07-11

tue CHORUS OIL Inelr voices sounding
forth in unison their wishes and de-
proclaiming justice and great
er equality-has resounded over hill
and dale from the Atlantic to the Pa
cific and from the lakes to the gulf
like the mighty symphony of nature.
This universal, harmonious. concerted
effort has moved to action legisla-
lures, congresses, men and kings, and
the commercial world has been made
to listen to the voice of labor's hosts
at intervals during various periods of
industrial activity in the days of other
years.
But when the animated hum of in
dustry has abated and the whistles of
factory, mill and mine grow irregular
discordant notes Immediately become
audible in the universal anthem of
workers and with a rapidity. some
times in excess of what was witnessed
during the constructive period, the
song of organization has grown weak
attracted the attention of the capital
istic mariner as he sailed upon the
high seas of commercialism.
Comparatively speaking, organized
labor is at present enjoying an era of
perhaps witnessed the greatest activ-
ity among trade unions in the history
Iof the world. In this instance. as in
all others. a rising market has been ,
the chief incentive to organize and the
greatest agency in promoting organi-
cation. Unions have sprung up as if
by magic throughout the United
States, Canada England and other for
eign countries within the past three
years and at present are iiourishing
like the proverbial green bay tree. Els
tablished unions have witnessed phe-
nomenal growth during this period, so
that now the anthem of trade union
ism is being echoed by the chorus of
voices such as the world has never be-
fore Witnessed
Wendell Phillips on Shorter Workday.
Here is the truth in nutshell, Mt
tered by Wendell Phillips years ago:
How to make the laboring man work
! less and have more will have to be
considered. For, in spite of all social
science and all the dry theorizing
which is flung at us from the different
churches and societies in the course
of year, still maintain that the ideal
civilization which is to come, and
which is the effort of every man to
hasten. is all wrapped up in that one
principle, and that the mass of man
kind work less and enjoy themselves
more. Every thirty years since Christ
died-every thirty years have advanc
ed toward that end-every thirty years
of the last 200 has been as advance SO
marked that any one can see it. Eu-
rope is treading. toward the day when
the mass of men shall work less and
enjoy more; and that is the goal at
which we aim, and our only object in
this movement is to hasten the pro-
gress of humanity in this direction.
Saving Wages and Making Tramps.
j. Pierpont Morgan informed his
partners that Schwab could make five
million dollars per annum for the
| company. How? By producing lin
| ished articles in iron and steel? No.
| By consolidating the different Offices
and eliminating useless employees by
| applying the most improved methods
4 of production and dispensing with as
many Individual workers as possible
BY these methods $5,0O0,000 in wages
| could be saved" which would appear
! as dividends to the idle and useless
! stockholders. But what about those
! whose wages have been saved" by
i this process? How about the office
| help who will now be looking for a
job, and the skilled mechanics who
1 have been displaced by the more gen
eral application of improved methods?
They will enroll themselves in the
army of the unemployed, and most OF
them will ultimately find employment
elsewhere, which will certainly be less
remunerative than the position from
which they have been ousted. But
before this happens and while they are
still searching for employment the
majority of them will have ample
] leisure to read in the capitalist papers
| of the unmistakable evidences of pros.
1 perity, as illustrated by the increased
! dividends declared by the steel trust.
Workers Call, Chicago.
Result of Labor Organizations.
That the conditions of labor in this
country have improved materially as
| the result of the organization of labor
is clearly shown by the most cursory
examination of industrial statistics. 1t
is true that there have been abuses by
organized labor, but organized capital
has vastly more to answer for in this
same direction. And not the least en-
couraging feature of the times is the
growing conservatism and good sense
with which most labor organizations
are controlled. Organized capital
might well learn something from or
ganized labor in this respect What
organization on the side both of labor
and of capital should clearly and per-
sistently bear in mind is that equality
and fair play must be the basis Of the
permanent and substantial advance of
either.-Boston Post.
The Carpenters Union.
| What the carpenter has done for
himself by organizing in this city can
be accomplished by the followers of
any craft if they think well enough of
their trade and the time spent as an
apprentice in becoming perfect. Three
years ago the carpenters of this city
were working at all kinds of wages
and hours, the wages being small and
the hours long. In fact, among some
of the contractors a system had been