Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-06-12
UNIONS AND CORPORATIONS.

LHtSc pfpHf1H6IfL E6DOF leaders, says the New York Journal, in the Music hall at Yenkers Tuesday night, in an swering sixteen questions submitted to them by John c. Havemeyer, ex- pounded the cause of labor unfonis1n, and the conditions which led up to and made imperative the formation of la bor unionseas we'll as the present req sons and conditions on which the vast spread of the labor union movement are based. "A
 The three men who spoke for the unions in answer to MT. Havemeyer's s public challenge to them were: J. T. WindeM, President of the Yonkers Fed eration of Labor; D. l.. Russell, a com mercial telegrapher and a leading member of the great organization of commercial telegraphers; and Benjamin Hanford, a compositor and member of the Big Six Typographical union.
 The music haM was crowded to the doors and roof when Theodore Fitch, of Yonkers opened the meeting. MT Havemeyer and large number of his friends occupied the boxes of the thea- tre
 After reading the sixteen questions submitted by MT Havemeyer, MT Fitch introduced MT Windell, whose task it was to answer categorically as far as possible the questions seriatim.
 While all of hhe questions and ans swers were of, the greatest interest to trade unionists perhaps the tenth has created more comment in Connecticut than any of the others owing to the fact that one union has recently been incorporated in the state and several others have had the matter under con temptation. Following is fhe question and reply:
 Tenth Will labor unions become incorporated so that if a union enters into an agreement with any class of employers it will be under the same legal and moral obligation to fulfill 1t as in the case of an agreement between inTfividualsY
 'This is a question which many en- pIoyers put. It amounts to this: Will labor unions consent to put themselves in such a position that they can be sent to jail or deprived of their pro perty dn case an employer can find a iudre willing to do the work. The forming of a corporation is simply a matter of convenience. But the eofpor- ationatfon is an institution which ap= piles to dollars, not to men. The cor ooration is a union of dollars, and It IS fornaed usually to enable the man back of the dollars to escape responsibility and to act through dollars only. The labor union is not 8 union of dollars, it is a union of men, and fhere is no f. self in tiIe same class with the dol lars. I do not think it will do so. l believe that at this moment money, as represented by employers, is very ln- fuentiai in laws, I know that they controd the great lawyers, and that these lawyers know how to influence the judges. I think the labor union men would be foolish to put their Sin= diyidual rights in a lump at the mercy of some legal decision.
 Another matter which perhaps would not infreest MT Hayeneyer is this: The unions deal very strictly with their men. demanding faithful fulhlment of all their agreements, including good work and sobriety. AS an independent organization, the union can compel in
 
 As, a corporation, the union could be brought into court by every member and subieseted to endless annoyances by the member, or perhaps by body of employers through member anx- io,ls to effliyarrass the union at crit1- cal moment For instance, suppose a great union was about to strike and a great majority of the members appfov- cd of the strike Union men as have said are dlunnan. In a country where presidents, judges. cenators and con- gressmen are bought and sold, it is oujte thinkable that a union man might be hired Suppose -on the very eve of the strike, some purchasable member of the corporation labor union were persuaded to go into court and get out an injunction against the es+7s