The labor world., 1903-08-22

Hh0Hy OIL the ledulnS Center6. Suprem-
acy Of law and order has sustained not
only many severe shocks but the ma
tion also has lost millions Of dollars by
the organized idleness of thousands OF
men. This loss must fall heavier upon
the men who depend on their daily
wage than upon those who have some-
thing to fall back on.
1t Is time that the workingmen Of this
country were learning that for the mil
lions Of dollars they pay in salaries to
tho agttators. they are getting In re-
turn nothing but ceaseless trouble, en-
| forced idleness, and less Of the COM
forts of life. They also are bidding for
the destruction Of their most precious
possesston-that Of industrial liberty
Thelr investments in mobocracy are
mighty poor Investments.
kidd's Defense Of Unions.
Mr.. Kidd vigorously defended trade
unions. He showed that Parrys union
man was a bogey that had no existence
and that the manufacturer was not at
lacking the average trade union, but
some freak that may have arisen in a
night only to disappear with daybreak.
He said in part:
so much has recently been said re-
garding rioting on the part of the
trades unions. bribery on the part of
their officers and tyranny in their poll
tics, that a few words in their defense
are In order. When riots occur they are
usually precipitated and participated
IN by those who are recent converts to
untonism, the great strikes of practic-
ally unskilled men who have belonged
to the union less than a year.
1t Is not to be wondered at that those
men who have for years toiled uncom-
platninglys should, when clothed with
power, overstep~ the law. There are
thousands OF well-meaning workingmen
VINO believe society to be arrayed
against them. and who look upon the
militia and police as tools Of capital to
Keep them In abject submission.
Accusations Of bribery have been
| brought against union officers in New
York and I may say that one has been
found guilty. No one rejoices more than
1-unless it be my fellow officers in
unionism-that he has been sentenced
| II there are others let the same pun
ishment be meted out to them. How
ever II We punish the bribe-taker let
US not forget the bribe-g -giver. One Is as
guilty as the other, and both are equal
~ dangerous to the organization they
represent and to society in general.
The leader Of an association of en-
ployers who makes serious charges
against our movement does not repre-
sent the employers of the country, for,
Fthank God. the trades unions here have
the support of many wealthy men who
hire labor and who are anxious to see
| its wrongs abolished.
Who hired the Pinkertons or others
to go into our meetings during the coal
| strikes to incite violence, 30 as to
create a sentiment In favor Of calling
upon the authorities to break up the
7 stf1Ke! The self-same men who are de-
no"nctng the unions. Who are guilty of
| mobbing and lynching in the Southern
states and sometimes in the northern
states? Usually those opposed to union
ism. It will not do to charge the union
with the guilt and wrongdoing of a few
Of the members. The sins of unionism
will diminish with time until they have
entirely disappeared. 49,. ...'.*., -
A. TO Cancellation and Arbitration. I
The repeated declaration by trade
conventions in favor Of Cancellation and
arbitration are justified, according to
my experience of twenty-three years.
Few know the number of strikes that
are prevented by Cancellation. The
Woodworkers Union Of Chicago settles
nearly all the difficulty in joint dis
cussion and concession. A recent strike
IN which $500 men took part was un-
no ~ foA h1,
verts to untonism are usually RESPONSE
BILE for such riots as occur, as is illus
trated by the recent Chicago strikes of
teamsters and freight handlers.
Approaching the. question impartialy
we find thousands Of workmen embit-
tered against employers. The slavery
OF child labor is incomprehensive to the
little toilers, who are the continued VIC
Tins Of greed as they grow older. With
extortion and the power of the era-
ployer arrayed against him little WON
der II man Of limited education should
| lose control Of himself and violate the
law when provoked by the strike-
breaker.
Thousands of well-meaning working
| men believe society to be arrayed
I against them and consider the military
and the police to be the subjugating
tools of capital. Knowing that labor
war and riots mean the arraying of
workingmen against workingmen, the
union aims to bring about that peace
between all classes for which the dec
laration Of independence provided. Dur
ing the agitation, of the Venezuelan
boundary trouble the trades union con-
gress of Great Britain passed stern res
olutions declaring that workingmen
would refuse to shoulder a gun to
butcher American workingmen on ac-
count of capitalistic questions in which
they have no interest.
| Comparatively Little Riotina.
| With Henry Demarest Lloyd believe
the safety Of this republic depends on
organized labor more than upon any
other institution. But, after all, are
there many riots during strikes? Out of
the $4,000 strikes involving 2,000, 900 per-
sons in seven years not even 1 per cent
were accompanied by riots. Will the
same percentage hold regarding politi-