Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-06-01
business future. The one hopeful siga

business future. The one hopeful sig
able leaders of the labor union move
ment are beginning to see this them
selves. Andrew Il. Adair, leader in thu
Chicago Typogra phical Union, recent
lily writing in the Record Herald give!
| 1t as his opinion that there are alto
gether too many unjust demands being
made by newly organized labor union:
land too many strikes precipitated by
men and organizations ineXperience&
in the union business
| 1t has long been recognized that the
Typographical unions have been among
| the most conservative and reasonable
! of labor unions, for the two reasons
that they are the oldest in experience
! and comprise trade possessing a SUI
perior degree of intelligence among its
members. Adair points out that the
demand for labor has produced a boom
lin the union business, that many a
newly organized union IS making in
temperate and unreasonable demands
just to try its newly found power He
says that for years theirs has been con-
slant exploitation of our prosperity,
done largely for political purposes, but
that every time a marvellous array of
figures is given the wage worker be-
where his share is coming from. Lead
ers have been agitating for the sake of
increased membership and labor papers
have been appealing to prejudices for
circulation support. All these things
have contributed to the unrest appar-
ent.
This prominent labor leader then ad-
vises his fellow leaders in the union
movement to become active in opposi-
ton to the imperative demands for the
recognition of unions which have not
demonstrated their ability to guarantee
security and stability to the employers
who recognize them. Speaking from
a strictly trades union standpoint" he
says, these new and undisciplined
unions, which have not yet shown that
they can handle themselves, have no
right to require employers to recognize
them as unions until they can give the
in return sore assurance of
security and stability in his business"
Another mistake" Mr. Adair contin-
ues, is in demanding that none but
union members be employed in their
line Of work. This demand has been
made here by unior.s which coull not
furnish enough men to do the work
awaiting. Under such circumstances
the demand is unfair
If all unions were controlled by lead
ars of such broad ard conservative
views as are expressed by this leader
among printers, there would be much |
ess trouble in the industrial world ana |
ar less prejudice among employers |
iSaihst iaDor unions. 1t is true that the |
lin raised about prosperity has made |
abor restless, but Il is also true that I
abor has received repeated raises in
is pay since prosperity began. The /
.rouble has always been that labor is !
aking the same advantage that all 9TH
II men take when they find demand i
n excess of the supply: they spring
he price. The greas question with la
'or, the same as with the railroad mag
late, should be. How much viii the
rattle bear?'" and for fear that inexpe-
fenced. reckless unions will overstep
he bounds of prudence such leaders as
Andrew Adair are coming to the front
Nth their words OF caution. 1t is
opeful sign.