The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-08
in THE FIELDS OF LABOR
RECENT GREAT STRIKES AROUSED
PUBLIC DISCUSSION.
Negro Competition n FhctOr I'm the
s~oufh-News OF General Inter-
est To Union Men.

Sociology. economies and labor are ques-
lions that have attracted more attention in
the last year. perhaps, than any other
topics OF public interest. The great an
thracite coal strike in Pennsylvania in the
fall OF 1900 drew out more Ommen from
the press OF the country, aside from the
actual conflict between the two opposing
forces than any strike I'm the history Of
this country. and was perhaps the first TO
receive anything like an Endorsement from
the press and public. The condition Of the
miners in the anthracite district and their
grievances were considered, rather than
the mere fact that they were striking
against their employers. Close on TO this
strike came the strike OF the machinists.
This strike was not commented on so eX-
tensiveIy as that OF the miners, nor did the
machinists receive the extensive indOrse-
ment. but the cause of the strike was dis
cussed in the newspapers and magazines.
Both organizations were successful. Fol-
lowing these came the steel strike. In this
the press took an active part, but there
was little sympathetic comment, and the
strike was lost. Sentiment was divided and
on this account the steel strike was dis
cussed more than either of the other two
industrial contests.
These three great industrial uprisings
have caused the newspapers TO enter into
discussions Of the cause and effect of labor
unions. economics and sociology But even
before the anthracite strike. magazine
writer's. authors and thinker were becOm-
Ing Interested in the social and industrial
conditions OF labOring men. An unpre-
cedenteG number of books have been
printed in the last year. touching on these
subjects. some advancing theoretical solu-
tions, others presenting mere facts and his
tOrical data. The subjects of sociology,
economy and labor are so closely related
that they cannot be discussed without
merging one into the other, as may be seen
by a review OF books published on these
subjects, all Of which tend the same way.
XXX
william Hannibal Thomas's The Ameri-
can Negro" presents the negro problem in
a new phase. 1t is sociological. but the in
dustrial part of the negrO's life is given
consideration. Himself OF part negro blood,
he feariessly expOunds his views. He seems
10 think little OF the Tuskegee work and
goes so far as to suggest the advisabilty
OF depriving the negro Of his franchise until
he is able 10 exercise IL with more lnteli-
gence. His book has aroused much oppo-
sitiOn, but its Importance is apparent when
II is considered that negro labor, In the
South, is fast becoming a competitive fac
tor in industrial life.
The books Of w. II. Dawson. German
Life in TOwn and CITY, p. NJ. Hough.
Dutch Life in Town and Country Chas.
Milford Robinson, Improvement OF Towns
and Cities" and Raymond Calkins, Sub
stitutes for the Saloon" present auxiliary
movements tending toward a solution OF the
labor problem. Mr.. Robinson's suggestions
regarding the Improvement Of cities, If
carried out. would mean the elevation.
morally and socially, of every dweller in
a municipality Mr.. CdlkinSs book is in
direct line of the work of the famous
committee of fifteen" that has done so
much toward purging Greater New York
of its many evils. Open air gymnasiums,
concerts. public libraries, free lecture
courses. public theaters and similar resorts
for recreation and wholesome enjoyment. TO
say nothing of the educational features. are
substitutes for the saloon that would di-
rectly affect the laboring classes
XXX
Trusts have necessarily been dealt with
and several later publications view them
from the industrial side. 1.-THE Control of
Trusts by John B.. Clark. suggests as a
remedy more freedom i'm competition and
state legislation to suppress illegal meth
DDS. Competition strikes at the vitality
OF the wage scale of the wOrkingman. To
intensity or suppress competition is a pro
and con argument between those Interested
In labor. This Is seen by Edmund Kelly's
..Individualism and Collectivism." He began
the work as an indiVidualiSt and finished
"A convert to cOllectiVism. This principle
means the abolition of competition. He
also advocates the government acting as
ar agent In equaliZing production and prof
Its, and the tendency is to drift to So
cislism. Edward A. Ross's Social Con-
trOI espOuses commonwealth control from
an economic point of view. Other books in
this line are Custom and Competition
by Richard T. Ely, and "MonOpolies, Past
and Present" by ]. r. RossignOI-
Xxx
Other books which have been published
the past year or to which have been added
new chapters are ontemporary Social
ISM by John Rae; American WOrkmen."
by Z. Levasseur; Newest England
by Henry ID. Lloyd; THE Play OF Man." by
Karl GrOOS; The Child: a Study I'M the
Chamberlain; Science and PenolOgy,' by
Henry n. BOieS, and Back to the Soil. !"
by Bradley Gilman, the latter not being far
away from the thought in Henry Georges
Our Land and Land Policy" Grimm
ologists have also woven a thread of indus
trial economy in their treatises of race
conflict and crime. so, as a whole, much of
the literature in the past year has been
toward a solution OF the labor problem.
Public Opinion in discussing these ques-
tons says:
"The most encouraging tendency to be re-
marked in looking over the books of the
year that have to do with things sociolOg-
zeal and economic is the increasing inter
est OF the popular nina IN SuCh subjects.
IL Is coming TO be realized more and more
that the most urgent and difficult problems
of the day are the social and Industrial
and the writer who has something 10 say
that is worth hearing about these questions
Is assured in advance of the attention of a
wide circle OF readers. While there have
been no epOch-marking deliverances dur
ing the year. the writer's have one and all
shown a commendable appreciation Of the
practical nature OF the situation I'm which
we find ourselves in the social and economic
world"
The growing interest in the labor problem
has also eXacted comment in magazines
and contemporary publications in the last
year to an extent that Is unprecedented.
Negro labor In the South IS now the para
mount question confronting trade-unionists
The bitter race prejudice hat still pre-
dominates in Southern States is a barrier
in solving the problem. but the white man
IS realizing that the negro is his competitor
and that something must be done 10 induce
the black man 10 raise his wage scale. As
long as the negro confined himself TO man
Ual or common labor he was shown the
same contempt as in the times of slavery.
but as he began 10 learn skilled trades and