The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1901-07-20

unemployed who trend to compete with
those who have employmnet..s r..
"Viewed from this standpoint: alone
the situation may look formidable for
trade unionism. But this leaves out
most important -consid-
erations which cause me not to fear
the threatening attitude of the trusts.
Indeed, because Of these circumstances
do not fear anything that the trusts
can do. For the trust monopolies have
arrived at that stage of industrial and
economical development where their or
ganization is, and Of necessity, must be,
of the most delicate nature, where there
Is the closest interdependence Of parts.
"The concentration of productive and
monopoly powers has been accompanied
by two movements. One of these was
among the workers, who, realizing that
what formerly were separate plants
and separate industries had now come
under one management, and become the
mere division or departments, as It
were Of one vast enterprise, quickly
saw the desirability, the necessity, to
unite the separate unions into one large
ASNSA ess~A OO~JS oo s~S W AAAoEAO N1ASVA
movements Of offense or defense.
ION the other hand, as President
Schwab of the United States Steel and
Iron Corporation, in his testimony be-
fore the Industrial Commission, showed,
the trust gathers in a lot of plants
which had before been Independent and
able to manufacture in all the depart
ments of that industry. The trust
changes this. 1t specializes the indus
try; that is, devotes the respective
plants to special work, and to that work
only, so that this mill is set to pro-
ducing one small part or division Of the
general steel product, another mill to
another branch, and so on. Probably
there is greater, economy III this pro-
cess, and the end, therefore, justifies
the means. But with'tf1is classification
and differentiation, with the division
and subdivision. huge and complicated
machine is produced, 80 interdependent
in its parts that the least disarrange-
ment at any point may clog or stop
the whole mechanism. y. r.. y
1T this be so-and it seems to me to
be absolutely so-then, in a machine so
cumbr0us and complex, the labor or
ganizations have new strength. La
Dor tends to specialize under the trust.
In this way labor's productive power
may be Increased. Doubtless it is. But
it also acquires another power against
monopoly, since the withdrawal Of these
specialists would reduce the trust to q
mass Of silent and inert machinery.
"Of course, this new power Of labor
in it's own behalf is predicted upon one
thing, namely organisation. Unless the
men in the various departments Of q
trust get together, to act under disci-
pline, their specialization as productive
units will mean their weakening As
workingmen, for the man who works
in one branch or division Of an industry
has far less independence that the old
fashioned workingman who could with
equal facility apply himself to q num-
Der Of branches. 5 ..s 81
''The men at the head Of the large
organisations realise this, as, doubtless,
the more thoughtful among the rank
and file do. They perceive It, and they
do all they can to have others see Il.
Fortunately, the era Of prosperity. the
delnand for labor 81 III hslds of indus