Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-03-07
THE LABOR PROBLEM
HOW SHALL THE CAUSE OF STRIKES
-. BE. REMOVED

Horace Mann Analyses the Impor-
tant Declarations In the Report OF
the Industrial Commissioned Key
to the Solution. "a. :
| The problems of civilization, govern
mentally and industrially, are those OF
| association and freedom. The earlier
forms assumed were those of govern
mental despotism and Industrial slav-
cry. These forms have been changed,
sometimes by the gradual and almost
| imperceptible process of evolution, and
at other times when the natural proc
| ess of evolution has been retarded by
| the opposition Of those enjoying mo.
nopoly of governmental or Industrial
! position and abusing their privilege
! the changes have been so sudden as to
| be known as governmental revolution
or industrial emancipation. The found
ing Of the American nation was a revo-
luton to establish political equality,
and our civil war was an industrial
revolution to abolish the ownership of
human beings as property" The mod
ern '.labor movement is to- establish
equality Of economic opportunity or to
abolish the ownership of the working
mans opportunity to work as prop
| erty," and as it progresses it assumes
an ever increasing public Importance.
Recognizing this fact, congress passed
an act, approved by the president on
June Is, 1893, authorizing the ap-
pointment of nonpartisan commission
to collate information and to consider
and recommend legislation to meet the
problems presented by labor, agricul-
ture and capital" This act defined the
duties Of the commission specifically
Ito Investigate questions pertaining to
immigration, to labor, to agriculture,
to manufacturing and to business and
to report to congress and to suggest
such legislation as it may deem best
upon these subjects" and also "that it
shall furnish such information and sug-
gest such laws as may be made basis
for uniform legislation by the various
states of the Union in order to harmo-
| nize conflicting interests and to-. be
equitable to the laborer, the employer,
| the producer and the consumer" The
final report of this commission was
| submitted to congress in February,
strikes and lockouts in this report the
commission says: 1.-THE fundamental
causes Of labor disputes lie deep in the
present organization of society.
So long as the classes Of employers and
employees exist there will be strikes
and lockouts. Those two SEN
fences contain key to the solution Of
the Tabor problem" Observe there are
two "classes' named, with the asser-
ton that as long as they exist there
will be strikes and lockouts." The i'll
| evitable conclusion Is that in order to
make an end to all strikes it will be
necessary to remove the cause which
is, as stated, the present organization
| Of society," into these two "classes.''i
Granting that the above diagnosis of
the case by the commission is the true
one, it is evident from a further perus-
al of their report that they devoted
much time and space to discussion
largely irrelevant. For example, in dis
cussing the economic effects Of strikes
the report says, '"The most powerful
Indictment that can be brought against
strikes is that which charges them
with being economically wasteful and
injurious to society,"" But evidently
this is not an indictment against strikes
at all, but an indictment of the present
organization Of society into Glasses"
the cause of strikes. To call it an in
ing the innocent purchaser Of stolen
goods and letting the thief go unpun-
ished. Or, to use another illustration,
il man discovered that the water of
a we'll contained typhoid germs and
then used it for drinking purposes and
bewailed the outbreak Of fever in his
family we would almost question his
sanity, to say nothing of his sagacity.
What opinion, then, must we hold con-
corning those who, having discovered
the cause of a social disease, enlarge
upon the seriousness of varied aspects
Of the malady instead of counseling the
avoidance of the cause? -
Lie AdUOI pIOUAcu1, Iucus Is, 1O"
shall the cause of strikes be removed?
Let US inquire first what are the 'eon-
flicting interests that the legislation
specified as a duty Of the industrial
commission to suggest is to "harmo-
nize?" We find the answer in this sub
division heading their report profits
and Wages Over these is the ire
pressible conflict between capital and
neutrality-suspicious. until labor wins
the day or until ownership of the OPP
portunity to work as we'll as ownership
Of the worker has ceased to be means
:of obtaining the workers product for
his subsistence. The discussion Of this
subject In the commissions report is
very superficial It says: '"The prob
lem Of profits and wages must be con-
.sidered under two separate and wholly
distinct aspects. The first question has
to do with the share of the product of
industry going to labor as compared
with the share going to owners Of CAPT
tai, land, monopolies, etc. 1t is evil
dent that the larger the .sshare', going
- 1nHo, ~ sxs,o <prusS thu, l1o,, .xr11lS4n