The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1901-11-09


all labor disputes outside their own
organizations, because the policy of
leach union for itself" is a. practical
denial of the fundamental principles
which form the basis of trades union
ISM, r....-..
If it is proper and logical for work.
ingmen in any branch Of labor to Or
ganize for the protection of craft in
terests and the advancement of the in
terests of the Individual workers, why
is. it not logical. and proper. that the
various labor organizations federate
their powers fon the general advance
meerrlt men. sofs the elfaEs q trades uutontsln?
To say that the engineers are capa-
BILE Of taking careSof themselves with
out assistance from others only holds
good SO long as loyal and true union
men occupy the other side of the cab.
That magnificent organization, the
Brotherhood Of Locomotive Firemen,
has contributed greatly to the strength
Of the Brotherhood of Locomotive En-
gineers, by holding in line the only
body Of men who were competent of
hlling the places Of engineers when a
strike was, ordered by that organiza-
ton. -.
And when Chief Arthur makes the
assertion that the Brotherhood of Lo-
connective Engineers has fought it's bat
ties alone, he unintentionally neglects
to do proper honor to the. loyalty of
that great army Of toilers which comes
next in rank to that noble specimen of
trades unionism of which he is the
honored leader, e., -:
True, such assistance on the part of
the firemen can scarcely be called a
sympathy strike, but on the contrary
a strike forced upon the f1remen. But
the fact is down to their credit that
their organization has Invariably pre-
vented the filling Of the places of strik-
ing engineers with the vast army of
firemen who are competent of fulfilling
the duties Of an engineer. Hence, the
engineers have not always succeeded
without assistance from others"
In commenting on the federation of
railway unions which is permitted on
any railroad system by vote Of the va
rious organizations interested, Mr.. Ar
| thur says: II do not favor it. For
thirty years we kept aloof from en-
tangling alliances, and I never could
understand why 1t should be neces-
sary to depart from this tried and
proven policy"
Right in this vicinity we will have
an opportunity of seeing whether or
not federation Of unions is a good
thing for railway employees because
the railroad men employed along the
Lackawanna railroad have recently
put this system into operation after
many months consideration of the sub.
ject.
At the close OF the interview Mr.. Ar
thur gives advice which could be read
with profit by every workingman in
the land, in which he said:
Let workingmen deal honestly with
each other. Conduct the business Of
the unions upon business principles.
Refrain from violence. Win the SYM
pathy Of the people by straightforward
methods. Labor organizations, to be
successful, must ever keep in view
the fact that other people have rights
that they must respect. They must
always be willing to concede to others
the same rights and privileges they
claim for themselves. The Golden
Rule governs all. Amicable relations
between employer and employe must
follow an earnest attempt by both to
settle disputes without resorting to ex-
IRENE measures. And mutual benefit
must accrue from such peaceable
settlement az surely as the dawn
drives away the darkness" 5s
There 10 q great diversion Of opinion
among labor leaders as to the advisa-
bility Of combining the forces Of labor
by q system Of federation, with q
view Of controlling the strike ques-
ton, or at least with the purpose Of
strengthening the chances by this sys
tenn Of contention with the moneyed
power Of the country. III hi (. & 4 ss
That the sentiment sis gaining ground
however. IN shown BY the fact that the a
railroad orr anixat IONS ir various great