The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-11-12


ton that organized labor isalearning
a very valuable lesson in economics:A'
Mr.. Parry, himself, deserves congratu
lation for the rapidly i, with which
he: is learning form his own study Of
economic questioIls.* He has discover
ed that low wages. are not a benefit to
society at large. In making this dis
:eovery he has: learnedwin: a.; COMPARE
lively brief time a truth that has been
attained by economics only after
thought and discussion covering sew
eral decades The old theory was that
low wages caused low prices for pro-
ducts, and that :their: tend ency was
consequently beneficial to the entire
community. That theory was long
ago abandoned by economic students
in favor of what Is known as the doc
trine Of "the economy Of high wages
the doctrine that in the modern age
OF machinery the highest wages are
paid In those factories which turn out
the cheapest products. Mr.. Parry
shows that he has graduated from the
old notion when he announces his con-
viction that high wages are bless
Ing, not a. curse"
Mr.. Parry has still to learn that his
wholesale and indiscrinMnate opposi-
ton to the closed shop can not be
sustained. He declares it to be his
belief that the day must come when
no Industry will be allowed to run on
the closed shop plan," and again,
that the closed shop is against pub
lie policy With these propositions he
ofof .A,j1
Of this country in material welfare and
in general intelligence are traceable to
the freedom Of the individual" and
declares that "all classes. profit by the
free dom Of the individual to do as he
pleases with his time, labor and prop
erty; so long as he does not infringe
upon the equal freedom of another
In my opinion, the. application of the
theory of the open shop to all indus
tries is impracticable. This is ques-
ton upon which no sweeping decision
can be reached, supported by sound
reason, from the exclusive point Of
viey Of one side. Nor is it question
that can be answered by an indiscrim-
mate conclusion Of universal applica-
ton. The question of open shop and
closed shop must be considered in it's
application to different crafts.
The theory Of trade un1onism is that
it tends to elevate the workingman of
lowest earning capacity above a rate
OF payment which is less than the
minimum wages necessary to sustain
decent living. Its purpose and it's &C.
tual tendency are to help in establish
ing an average minimum payment for
labor that will be adjusted for the
general good of all workingmen, and
indirectly therefore of the whole COM
mun1ty, since the worlingnlen form
politically the mass of. the voters, and
economically the mass OF: the consum-
ers. It must be conceded that this
theory involves a"certain sacrifice Of
that "liberty Of the Individual (which
Mr.. Parry regards as zof: SUPP linz
portance, his cory st =iulnr ionis11ni
traverses, also, the general proposition
with which President Eliot, of Harvard
university, has approached this subject
If ne has been quoted correctly in the
daily press, he regards the surrender
of personal freedom to an association
as almost as great an obstacle to
a ruling GLASS;"
Now liberty is indeed a precious
thing. Liberty is in one respect the
fruit and flower Of modern civilization
Yet there are some things even more
valuable than the freedom of the in
diviiual. Liberty must be regarded as
means, rather than as an end in
Itself. Liberty implies equality. But
in the economic life the equality in the
parties to a. contract is not always
present. The liberty Of the strong
may become the license Of the oppres-.
sor; the liberty of the weak may prac-
t1cally come to mean the subsection of
the oppressed. 1t is, therefore, some
times highly important to make par
tial sacrifice Of individual liberty in
order to secure the maintenance of a
greater equality. and thus the condi-
tons for the restoration Of an ultimate
and enlarged liberty. This is what
unionism seeks to do; this is it's es-
sential principle, and it is a principle
that should command general public
sympathy and approval.
In some respects the theory Of the
union is parallel to the political theory
Of democracy. The theory is based
upon the proposition of human equal
ity. In certain and fundamental i'm
portant sense, the statement that one
man is as good as another Is true.
The carrying out of that political idea
has proved Of tie greatest benefit in
our political system that has had it's
Influence in making the average Am
erican citizen in many respects an
admirable: type. But in that very pro-
position lie the difficulties Of demo-
cracy. For in another sense one man
is not as good as another. Men are
differentiated into classes by oppor-
tunity. by education and by efficiency.
The real ideal OF democracy must be-
to level up. not to level down; and in
this leveling UP the true natural lead
ers must be given ample scope. But
the end must be a democracy, not an
aristocracy. ::
To transfer the illustration from