The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-09-10

Roosevelt's remarks at Chat
IL tanooga to the Brotherhood
of Locomotive Firemen will
commend itself to the approval of all
wholesome Americans. There was none
of the cheap flattery so familiar in the
average politicians platform attitude
toward organized labor; no attempt to
make the trade unionist believe that
in the badge of his union there is some
talismanic virtue putting him in a
privileged class apart from and high
above his fellows. and licensing him to
set up as superior to law, order and
equity. The presidents praise, on the
contrary, was truthful and discrimi-
mating; and he will never have to take
word of it back.
"I believe emphatically," he said, 'in
organized labor But"-and this needs
to be noted as the essence of his whole
speech--"I feel that we must always
keep before our minds that there is
nothing sacred in the name itself. To
call an organization an organization
does not make it good one. The worth
of an organization depends'-let all la
Dor unionists mark this-"upon its be-
ing handled with the courage, the skill,
the wisdom, the spirit of fair dealing,
as between man and man, which am
glad to be able to say your Brother
hood has shown" And again: "You
in your organization as railroad men,
I,
the benefits of organization and you
also teach the indispensable need of
keeping absolutely unimpaired the fac
ulty of individual initiative. The
Brotherhood has developed not by
crushing out individual initiative but
by developing it," And yet again:
Much may be done by the Brother
hood, but it still remains true, in the
Brotherhood and everywhere else
throughout American life, that as
last resort nothing can supply the place
of mans own individual qualities.
Much can be done by the association.
A great deal can be accomplished by
working each for all and all for each;
but we must not forget that the first
requisite in accomplishing that is that
each man should work for o.sers by
working for himself; by developing his
own capacity"
1t is true that these 'generalities,
but they can easily be applied to spe-
cific circumstances. The spirit Of fair
dealing as between man and man"
oil ho
murder of fellow workmen because they
do not belong to the union; neither
does it practice or sanction in others
the systematic ostracism and persecu-
tion of women and children. No man
who thinks that the union label is an
public order can find any ray of en-
dorsement or encouragement in the
presidents endorsement of labor organ
izations, for the organizations which
inculcate or wink at this mistaken be-
lief are not among those which he COM
mends. The president, Furthermore,
does not believe in trying to make all
men come to dead level. If one work.
man has more capacity than another, he
does not believe in holding him back.
The type of unionism which attempts
that is not wise; it ignores funda-
mental principle of our American life
the right of every man to unhampered
opportunity consistent with law.
There is one additional point in the
presidents speech which is of timely
interest for the coal fields. 1t showed
how much the Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Firemen had done in the way of
insuring Its members and their depend
ents against disability or death-more
than six and half millions thus paid
out since the insurance feature was
adopted. The Brotherhood sometimes
strikes, but very rarely. 1t prefers to
ciliation and the moral force of a Just
cause ably presented and it also pre-
fers to save its money to help the sick
and the afflicted instead of using it to
bring hardship into members homes
The president might also have said
that unions conducted on these conser-
yative lines and returning to their
members substantial benefits for dues
paid in have very little trouble in gain
ing recognition from employers and
have no need to employ terrorism and
violence in their search for recruits.
-
The Pittsburg papers. of course, at
tribute King Edwards attention to
Andrew Carnegie to the fact that the
great philanthropist was once a resi-
dent of the Smoky City.
1t is a pleasure to note that though
there is difficulty I'm arranging some of