The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-04-30

6eneveS mat limitation IL EnectlVe
Opposition.
San Francisco, CAL, April 2S-The'
Coast Seamen's Journal, in a lengthy
editorial takes splendid fall out OF
the Citizens Alliance of this city. It
says:
Whatever the Citizens Alliance may
be in other places, in San Francisco it
is nothing more nor less than great
big bluff. -
Whatever feelings have been aroused
by the advent of that body, it's present
performances create only amusement
and contempt.
The Citizens Alliance Of San Fran
cisco is farce; more than that, it is a
fraud. It exists solely by the arts Of
which is a gall compared to which all
ordinary standards of impudence pale
into insignifcance.
Adapted to the circus business, the
methods Of the Citizens Alliance
might be successful as corrective of
the aggressions, real or fancied. of the
trade unions; these methods are fall
ure, abject and absolute.
The profs Of humbuggery are visi-
BILE in every act Of the Alliance. In
the first place, it is clear that the Alli-
ance itself is fiction, that it has no
existence except in the forid press an
nounce1nents of its promoters. It is
quite in keeping with the absurdity of
the whole situation that the disproof
Of the Alliances pretentions should
lie naked upon the face Of it's own acts:
The Alliance sandwich who
parades the secret sign in front of
Johnson's open shop restaurant, on
Market street is an instance in point
The pothooks depicted on the Alliance
| sandwich board convey no meaning
to anyone not in the know; obviously,
the sign is intended for the information
of the supposed members of the Alli-
ance. OF course, if the membership
existed in fact the secrets would be
impaired in meeting. The Alliance
method Of appeal proves that its men,
bership is a myth.
The promoters of that outfit have
evidently taken leaf from the book
of the man who discovered the weak
ness of human nature for the nnysteri-
| GUS. They are going upon the principal
that. like the boy who ripped the bel
| lows to find where the wind came
| from, many persons will join an Or
gonization in order to learn it's secrets.
As in most other cases, the greatest
secret of the Citizens Alliance is con-
tanned In the fact that it has no Sc
crets at all. 1t is an unmitigated
sham.
| The union card and the *label" are
additional eVid erce:. OF an !. attempt to
! deceive the publ IA. N It'll ts
| somev tSsurprist nat saII url ani za-
/ tor formed Tor the purp sof combat
l'ing: trade unionism should initiate tie
latter In these essential matters Of card
and label.
I OF the Citizens Alliance to trade I'M
ionism, Is that the latter insists upon
recognizing only the worker who car
! ries a union card and the product that
| bea.s union label. Apparently, the
Citizens" Alliance itself insists upon
doing exactly the same thing. Thus 1t
is shown that the Alliance is, after all,
not an opponent of cards and labels
is not proponent of individual liberty
In such maters-but is merely a body
designed to substitute it's own card
and label for those Of the trade unions.
The pretext Of the Alliance is that
imitation is the most elective form of
oposition-that is necessary to meet
the enemy with his own weapons.
However, the fact remains that the
Alliance card and label are frauds
Both are intended to convey an idea
similar to that which >underlies the
original device, I. e., the idea or a union.
The fact is that the Alliance union
card proclains it's holder to be either a
fool or liar, or partly BOTH. The man
| who carries that card processes himself
a union man; whereas, he is strictly a
non -unionist. To the credit of the
Alliance mans intelligence. if not his
morals;a be. it said that he fully real
ICES his real status.
X Concerning the Alliance label, It need
not be said that that device is. clearly
an infringement Of law. BY it's SINH
/ larity to the well-known label of the
Allied Printing Trades Council it is in
| tended to mislead the friends and en-
courage the enemies of organized labor
into giving business to Alliance con-
Germs. Primarily, the bogus label is in
tended to- encourage the weakened
and hostile employers Of union printers
i to declare for the "open shop" If the
pproper. steps are taken by the Allied
Printing Trades Council the first actual
effect of the bogus label should be to
land some Of the Alliance ,fakirs in the
"closed shop maintained by the state
for the accommodation Of thieves. :.
Looked at from the Il distance the
4 Citizens Alliance. may he, a thing: to
tremble at; surveyed at close quartz
ers, 1t is mere Hath painted to look
like iron"-a thing to: scare children
! with. .-..- ~:
! Now that: they have been put to the
test, the Wanted professions, Of that
body amount simply to an attempt to
offset the unwise atts Of a4few trade
unions by policy Of VIII lesale sdespot-