The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-10-22

$3.50 a month. The man whom they
| send is guaranteed to be skilled work.
| man and union man.
His trick is to join union and make
| 80 much trouble that it falls to pieces.
| The firm is called the Corporations
Auxiliary" and claims to have the
clans In the country.
From what 1 have known of trade
| unions in the last twelve years,
| would say that such firm as this is
| totally unnecessary. Why pay man
| do for nothing?
Cleveland firm is a bluff. used to
get money out Of corporations that
| are fighting the unions. There are
| not many spies in the labor movement,
| and the majority Of the men at the
| head Of it are rot to be influenced by
! brides or detectives.
| Few unions are broken up by hired
sneaks, but too many of them are dis
rupted by the action of the members
| of the union. Here are few thumb
| nail pictures of some Of the men who
| disrupt their unions:
~ The politician. Sometimes he is
a republican,; sometimes he is a demo-
crat; sometimes he is socialist. But
| he is always a nuisance.
| If he is a republican or a democrat,
his purpose is to get political job.
The union is to him only a ladder to
| Gimp up to Graftdom. The moment
that he gets up, he kicks it down.
If he Is g. socialist, he is sincere.
honest and red-hot. But he Is also
fanatical, abusive, rash and inexperi-
enced. The socialist Is not trying to
| get any political jobs or any kind Of
reward for himself, but 1t is as unwise
to put him in charge OF a union as it
would be to let a five-year old kid run
a $4,000 automobile.
| A republican or democrat treats the
union as If it were primary or a.
caucus. He disgusts the sensible
members by introducing all the tricks
and points of order that are used in
some AK to grind.
The socialist treats the union as ii
it were a mass meeting. He is eter-
nally and Internally eloquent. He has
! words, words, words on every oc-
casion. He has logic. He has facts.
He has glorious dreamland to in
sptre him. But he has no sense.
He Is like the man who would not
eat pork because he could not swallow
a hog. He wants heaven on earth,
and he wants it right away. He WON'T
be happy till he gets it,.
Now, I do not want to be under
stood as saying anything against So
cialism. 1t is a subject which should
be studied by every trade unionist. 1t
is a new and untried theory. but II
promises a far better Industrial sys-
tenn than we have ever had.
+ But. / do not believe. in: sWrecking
trade sunionism to build q UP q title
! gang OF political socialists, who know
as much about recognizing our indus
trial system as q woodchuck in Sulli-
van County knows about the Railroad
Trust. II socialism is ever established
1t will come through the political
development Of unionism, not by an
outside party.
OF course, union men should unite
at the ballot box. But why start 8
third or fourth party to split them VI
worse than ever? Political questions
|
mess meetings of the union, and the
man who starts political wranglef
during business discussions is q dis
rupter. The Cleveland spy corpora.
ton may not pay him salary, but he
is doing good work for it just the
same.
(2) The Parliamentarian. In many
union there is a man who is 80 anx-
1ous to get business done properly
that he puts stop to it altogether
Points Of ORDER" is heard from hi.
corner so often that it gets monot-
onous.
! Nothing makes the parliamentariar
so happy as to confuse the chairman
! His aim Is not to straighthen thing.
out but to tangle them up. He is no,
happy unless he sees himself tower.
!; ing above a confused audience, hold.
! ing up a point of order as If he were
the statute of Liberty Enlightening the
World.
60 The Orator. Plenty of unions
have been talked to death, and every
union has trouble with members who
were, once told that they were elo-
quent, and never recovered from it,
Some union mel have fatal fluenc3
of language. Whether they know any
thing about question or not, they
are bound to make speeches. If they
can only get some applause they are az
\ happy as miser In golden heaven
These orators rarely have any prac.
teal suggestions to make. They have
j no knowledge Of details. They de.
moralize and tire out any committee
that they are put on.
Especially when strike is being
considered, the orator is dangerous
: He prevents the question from beine
considered on all sides. He rouses
the passions and stirs up the preju.
dices of the members.
The orator never see more thar
one side OF question. He always ad
vocates extreme measures. II HI
didn't, how could he be- eloquent? L
he didn't denounce, and advocate war
and hurl epithets at the bosses, how
= cOu16 he h,lild I'M hfS ora toriol %opon2