The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-12-21

of the state centers Affiliated with this
central body are a large number of in
! dependent branches, forming strong
confederacy for mutual benefit, that is
one of the most effective forms in which
labor displays it's strength. The SILVER
Bow Trades and Labor assembly Is the
! central body within whose council con-
verges the local labor unions and all their
| interests. Here plans are mapped out.
| new departures arranged and settle
| ments effected between conflicting in
terests. The mechanism of this body,
| like that of the Western Labor Union,
| works without a hitch and is one of the.
marves of its kind, typifying strength
and simplicity in its form and accuracy
and safety in working to the desired
end.
| Among the we'll known men who take
| part in the work of organized labor in
Butte. Michael Mccormick is conspic-
uous. He is an ex-president of the Min
! ers Union Clarence Smith, secretary
of the Western Labor Union, is also we'll
known. So is Luke kely-@A hundred
others might be named-al good,
| staunch defenders of the cause of labor
| and worthy of a place on it's scroll of
-, fame.
Clarence Smith, secretary of the West
/
day by an Inter Mountain reporter con-
| corning labor matters in the West. He
said:
/ We are living in an age of organiZa-
tion-the organization of labor and the
organization of capitalism Capital
lists have accomplished wonders with
the organization of industry. Trusts
! have clearly shown that production can
be revolutionized-is being revolution
iaed-by the concentration of energy
| and the elimina ton of waste that is
| afforded by intelligent organiza ton OF
industry.
| We seldom hear nowadays the rampant
howl of the erstwhile popular politician
for the obstruction OF the trusts."f5
The more thoughtful and more Sen
sible student of industrial economy has
long since abandoned this theory of de
structon. III 81
He is now engaged in the construc-
tive work of evolving a system of lin
| dustry where every saving devices Of
! consolidation can be utilized; not for
! individual benefit, but 70: all the peo-
re
So has labor progressed in the mat
| ter Of organizat ton. The time was, and
not so very long ago, either when to
| be union man meant not only to be a
man marked by employers, but to be
regarded as "crank" by many honest
and well-n1eaning people,
| Time has not lessened the terrible
! terror of the blacklist in the possession
Of MISCONCEPTIONS corporations, but the
! years have greatly changed the public
J mind regarding organized labor.
The best men everywhere now declare
! that the organization of labor is not
! only logical and right, but that it is an
| absolute necessity if the workers are to
preserve their rights and protect their
! interests.
Many claim that labor has not kept
| pace with capitalism in the matter of
| organization. Be that as it may, it is
| certain that the progress made in or
ganizing the working people has been
so great during the last few years as
! to be simply marvellous, both in point
of numbers organized and the far
! reaching influence exerted by unionsm.
| Without reliable data from all labor
organizations it is impossible to state
accurately the increase during any
given time. 1t is safe to say, however,
that IN the United States today there
| are 50 per cent more organized work.
! ingmen than there were two years ago.
| While 1t is gratifying to note the
progress made by organized labor in
! every part of the country of late years,
it is in the West that We see the great
| est and the most substantial gains.
Nowhere has organization proceeded
| so rapidly; nowhere has unlonism ac-
complished so much for the working
people. and nowhere is organized labor
so strongly and permanently en-
trenched as in the inter-mountain and
Pacific coast states and territories.
A faint idea may be formed OF the
| gains made in point of numbers when
| we consider that the Western Labor
Union, including the Western Fedora
ton of Miners, now has a membership
more than double that Of two years
ago.
We can appreciate to some extent the
practical benefits achieved by tac West