The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-01
WORKINGMEN'S PROBLEMS
THEY ARE MACHINERY, DIVISION OF
LABOR AND THE TRUSTS.
Prof. Commons Thinks ORGANIZATION
Necessity-The Difference Be-
tween Old and New Unionism'

The serious problems which face the
workingman to-day are machinery ulVl-
sion of labor and trusts. Machinery ana ol-
vision of labor affect him in two ways
they drive him to overexertion ana they
c,,t his wages. Formerly when a skilled
tailor made the entire coat, he changed
about from basting TO machine sutchlng'
10 hand-sewing. to pressing, and not only
was each change a relaxation, but IL was
impossible for him TO get up speed IN any
OF his operations. Now one man does the
stitching. another the basting, another the
messing. and so The man at the ma
chine gets an amazing skill In narrow nm
its, which amounts merely 10 the sAlh
necessary 70 drive his work through at
high speed. True, the price of ready-rnade
coats has come down. but the man can no
longer earn wages after he is forty-hve
years Of age. This effect Of division Of Ia
Dor and machinery extends to all trades
Even bricklayers in New York have in
creased their speed 30 per cent. in the past
ten years. and a German bricklayer lays
10 per cent more brick than he did In Ger
MANY weaver now operates twenty 10
twenty-five looms, where by hand one was
enough.
But the main effect Of machinery is not
that il intensifies exertiOn, or even that IL
dfsplaces labor, but that it cuts wages.
certain tannery introduced a machine 10
take the place of men at SIS per week. The
rren were forced to work for 50 a week,
and then the proprietOrs threw out the ma
chine because labor was cheaper. Almost
university employers hold it absurd that
they should be asked 10 keep three-dollar
man on the dollar-fifty machine which
takes his place If such a view succeeds,
then machinery does not stand on its own
merits. America exceeds in the introduce
ton of machinery, because American
wages are so high that employers must
seek machine substitutes. But. plainly, if
the machine is used to cut wages, then the
economic reasons for its introduction are
gone and il becomes mainly a club TO COW
labor. Contrast the tannery machine above
mentioned with the typesetting machine.
The compositors, when faced by this ma
chine saw that boys and women were
likely to take the places of men, and their
wages likely 10 be cut and hours length
ened. On the contrary. at the present time,
these same comDositors who formerly set
type by hand ten 10 twelve hours day
at whatever they could make, paid by the
piece, are now operating the machines six
to nine hours a day at a minimum of SIS to
$50 per week, according to locality, paid
by the day. At the same time the cost Of
composition TO the employer has been re-
duced two-thirds. Here, it is plain, ma
chinery stands on its merits. 1t has bene-
fitted directly both the workman and the
employer. 1t has not been a club. but an
economy. But notice, the only condition
that made the effect of the typesetting
machine different from that of machinery
in other trades was the strength and wis
dom of the printers trade union.
LABOR ORGANIZATION.
II may be stated as automatic that labor
without organization will be reduced to the
lowest wages, longest hours and hardest
exertion that physical strength can endure.
Lack of organization is the essence of the
sweating system. Apparent but not real
exceptions TO this rule are members of
those highly skilled trades or those indi-
viduals Of extra gifts who advanced
experts or as supervisors or pacemakers
for the less gifted mass, and those non
union workmen in trades where a union
exists. Setting aside these exceptions.
which prove the rule there is no substitu-
ton for organization for the great major
ity of workingmen and workingwomen ex-
cept legislation, and in proportion as or
ganization fails the demand for legislation
increases.
While organization is essential. 1t cannot
succeed If not rightly directed. For this
reason the old-tine trade union is gradu-
ally giving way to the industrial union. AS
a manufacturing establishment grows and
enters a trust, il can subdivide it's opera
lions and substitute automatic machinery
until it eliminates trade skill. Therefore.
the union, based on trade skill, controls a
smaller and smaller proportion of the en-
ployes. although on account of the growth
of the business the absolute number Of
skilled men in the country may not be re-
duced. This is the reason why the largest
establishments in many industries are non
union To an outsider it seems unfair that
10 or % per cent. of the workmen-thOse
who are skilled-should be able 10 stop the
work OF an entire industry in order that
they alone may get an increase Of wages
or the recognition of their union.
Another point where the old trade-union
theory is giving way is in its theory of re-
striction of output. These restrictions place
union shops at a disadvantage in competi-
ton with nonunion shops where machinery
and division of labor are carried to their
limits. This disadvantage is obscured for a
time by the device Of the label, which has
enabled employers of union workmen in
er prices than those received by employers
OF nonunionists. But the label cannot be
considered a feature of organization-it
produces dollhouse kind of unionism: il
Is only substitute for billboard advertis-
ing, and is limited in scope.
A NEW UNIONISM.
First-As a result of these changes a new
unionism IS springing UP, which bids fair
to do more for the workingman than any
thing that has been done in the past. This
is sometimes called industrial unionism in
place of trade unionism. 1t takes different
forms, all the way from amalgamation. as
in the case of the mine workers, to a close
federation, as in the case of the United
Garment Workers and United Hatters. The
mine workers union is no longer a union
OF miners alone, but it includes day labor
ers. top men. drivers, carpenters, black
smiths, hremen, hosting engineers-in fact
everybody who works for wages in or
about mine. The United Garment Workers
in New York city are now conducting for
the. first time, a general strike under a
central council, in which ten or twelve
unions take part. covering the entire trade.
except the Italian women who work at
home. This new form of alliance is not