The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-06-04

| But It's Labor Leaders Are Politically
! Active-They Believe That England
IL More or :. Democratic Country
| Than the United Sfates-UnionG Wa
. ges Govern Municipal Bodies, and
! Fair Results Follows. s<t: "a ~ -
| -. - 4 .-----------.:.-t ~ -.
I CBy Judson Grenell, Special for the
Labor Worldly
| LONDON, Eng, May 25.--Walking along
| Victoria street a few days ago., with II.
M. J. Williams. a member Of the National
| Liberal club, who was kindly showing me
some of the sights Of the metropolis of the
world, he pointed to the name CORNWALL
staring us in the face from sign.
| What does that word suggest to you?'
he remarked
| "Tin mines and Miners I answered
having in mind industrial Europe as seen
through American eyes.
1T suggests to me ," he continued, In
explanation, ''the Prince Of Wales. the
next king Of this empire.'@ When a. prince
of Wales is born, he becomes, by virtue CT
that accident, or incident, as you please
the heir apparent, and the possessorof an
! income Of at least E25O, 600 year"<
| II understand now" I remarked, "why
| these Wales miners rejoice at the birth Of
a prince. While they live in humble cot
tagset" with scant wages to furnish them
the means OF existence, and with an alb
!
| help to make people contented, they are
happy to know that some 81, $4,000 of the
! wealth they are helping to create goes to
| feed and shelter and educate and. a1nuse
some one who produces nothing himself
except possibly another duke Of Cornwall
| who will IN due time also suhsist Off their
! exertlons.''
! "That is one American way Of looking
at it, he laughingly expostulated. II
hardly think, however, that the miners of
| Cornwall or, in fact, the workers of Great
| Britain generally, think it out at all. They
| take things as they find them. The social
customs OF their day seem the right cus-
! toms. They follow In the footsteps Of the
| generations that have preceded them, and
| do not inquire too closely into the why
and wherefore of things in general
My own observations coincide with those
| of Mr.. Williams. The average British
workman is still a long way from serious
| ly considering the real cause Of his hard
| lines. He is content with endeavoring to
secure palliatives for his economic ills
rather than looking for the medicine that
will remove the diseases.
Britain Content With PaIiatives.
| Two months in England which is all too
! short a time for any thorough investiga-
! ton of economic conditions, yet which is
| long enough to discover economic tenden-
! cies convince me that a. social revoluti
| which will abolish kings and queens and
hereditary aristocracy is many decades
| away in Fair Albion. Reforms will con-
! tlnue to be made in the future, as they
have been in the past, in that slow and
methodical manner which makes the Eng
| lish worker, after all, the possessor of
| more real freedom than has his brother
! worker on tn continnt, who occasionally
fairs up in the way OF a revolution only to
lapse into his former-or worse-state
| (which do you prefer, a king or apresi-
| dent? is a question I have put to scores
| of officials of labor organizations, and the
answer has almost invariably been in
effect:
| "Our Edward hasn't near so much pow
er as your Teddy. The king, is just a nice
| sort Of ehgurehead who usually keeps but
of politics, and just acts as. q, balance
wheel .tes prime ministers who in sist: on
going TOO far He has his uses;#he lays
our cornerstones and opens our great ex-
POSITIONS; or; If he doesn't, then some OF
| his children or others whom he designates
do. Such officials are necessary, and it's
just as well to have someone permanently
| selected to do these things as to be jump
| Ing around after new president every
| four years. No, the king isn't so very OBJ
noxious, after all. Besides, from what we
read, it pretty evident that there is as
much democracy in Great Britain as there
| is in the United States"
Distributing Burdens Of Government.
| There is truth in this defense of a con-
| stitutional monarchy such as prevails
here. There is very large amount Of
real freedom in England. In dealing with
| the fiscal problem in parliament, there. Is
I greater consideration given to distributing
| the burdens of government equttably than
in the United States. Even the last bud
get divided the Increased taxes between
the poor and the rich, the poor paying
more for their tobacco and tea and the
| rich paying a larger income tax-one of
the taxes that cannot be shifted.
So the citizens of the United States must
uot be too swift to condemn the people of
Great Britain for honoring royalty, and
being willing to bear the burden of its
support.
Every Labor Leader a Politician.
| London should be the grea test organ
lied industrial center in the world, as it
is the greatest city in the world. It is no.
thing of the sort. No statistics are In ex-
istence giving the exact strength Of the
labor movement here. If London were as
we'll organized as is Chicago, it's trade co.
cieties would contain a membership Of
$4,000. At the best can count only 135,
00N The LondpnTrades council has a
membership Of 57,601, with an income OF
50, 357 of which $3.50 was last year spent fol
I the aid of, labor candidates and abou,
$1,000 for officers salaries. But London IL
divided into two cities and u .borougas
and some of these have trade councils OIL
their own. Active political centers Of in
fluence are these trade councils, and II
sometimes seemed to me that the politica
side Of the labor movement had create
attractions for the members than did thu
Every prominent London labor mar
has his eye on parliament. He desires al
official position in his union, for 1t is TIT
natural stepping stone to become a council
man or an alderman for a borough, from
which he naturally steps into an ofticio
position in the county council. Then h
Is ready to stand for some parliamentar,
! district, which need not be- the one II
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