The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-10-29
ORGANIZED LABOR HIS. !. .
FIGHT OF LIFE ON HAND
Now Is Time for Laboring Peo-
pie to Act-0ur very
Liberty at Stake.
The Remedy Is Wholly In the
Hands of the Working
Class-Au Should Read.

| Organized labor has at present on it's
hands, besides the struggle for its very
life with the Parry gang, a contest for
the legal establishment of two prin-
ciples of primary Importance. These
are the eight-hour workday and the
anti-intunction bill. There Is a third
demand which labor will soon be forced
to make in self-defense. This is the
demand for the CLOSED shop, but this
does not require legislation and must
| be obtained by agreement between en-
ployers and workmen.
! The first of these three, which is also
of prime Importance on account of the
great opportunities it will yield for
| general improvement OF the laborer's
condition, socially, mentally and mo-
rally. will, we believe. be most easily
! gained. It is a humanitarian move
ment which appeals to the feelings and
has the sympathetic approval of the
great majority Of mankind, who are
naturally generous and desire to see
any measure for the benefit of any
large and useful body of their fellow
citizens brought to successful issue.
1t has already been put in operation
enterprises, and in every instance, 80
far as we have information, the exper-
1ment has justified itself to the salts
faction of employer and employee alike.
1t is the rule in all work done by direct
employees Of the national government,
IN the departments, in the navy yards,
military parks, postoffices and the
public printing office. Trial of the
system proves that better work is
done under eight-hour rule with little
or no decrease in quantity, than was
realized under the ten-hour workday
system. The arguments made against
its general. and legal adoption are the
same that were made not more than
seventy years ago against reducing the
Workday from the daylight to dark
system to that of ten hours, and they
Will give way now, as they did then,
before practical demonstration of their
fallacy and humane public sentiment.
While it may be FASTENED as a legal
enactment by the earnest and persist
ent advocacy Of the representatives of
| organized labor, we believe it is bound
to come in time through it's own in
herent merit. The work to hasten its
coming should, however. be kept up
without rest or weakening
The anti-injunction bill will be more
difficult to obtain, as it is a legal prin-
ciple, pure and simple, Of which the
underlying humanity is not so appar-
ent to the general public, and is de-
pendent for it's enactment into law
upon the rather cold-blooded and I'M
sentimental gentlemen who compose
the national Congress. With large
number of the representativ eof SIM
dustria1 capital organized against it
and actively engaged in Washington to
procure it's defeat, gentlemen of the
House and Senate will not fall over
each other to vote for it at the re-
quest of labor until they have made
a guess satisfactory to themselves
whether the act Is going to jump to-
wards or away from them. II they
are made to fear for the future the
antagonism Of the labor vote. as they
already do fear and conciliate the Cd
pital1stic vote, there will be a lively
spr1nt1ng match among them to lead
IN advocacy and support of the bill.
Now, industry counts IN politics full
~ as much as 1t does in laying brick.
showing jack-plane, pounding a limo
type or pulling WAx-end, and indus
try from bottom to top OF labor's Or
ganization in favor of this anti-in-
junction bill is going to have it's sure
reward In its passage into law by the
next Congress. On the other hand.
sloth Or Indifference in regard to it's
passage will leave the laborers of the
United States just where they are to-
day, with their rights of free speech
and free use Of the public highways at
the caprice of the federal judge near
est them. They may at any moment
be denounced as criminals, and as
such punished by fine and imprison-
men tor the exercise of either of these
fundamental rights If the presiding
Judge sees fit to disregard the legal
maxims that O citizen can: be held
guilty of crime only by the verdict of
jury rendered upon indictment and
after fair trial in open court; that
ca innocence is always to be presumed
and guilt affirmatively proved beyond
reasonable doubt: that 60 when the
facts justify construction of innoc-
ence that construction NUT be given;
that az all the proof must be viewed
not with the carnal mind ever open to
suspicion, but strictly with the legal
mind devoted to the discovery of truth
and the procurement of justice. Ev-
cry federal judge who has granted
and every federal judge who shall
hereafter grant, the ordinary anti
strike injunction has either forgotten
these four fundamental principles OF
the criminal procedure, put them in
allegiance or held them in absolute
contempt. The sole object of the anti
injunction bill is to prevent such wrong
use of the civil writ Of injunction for
the purpose of discriminating innocent
men engaged In the lawful exercise OF
their undoubted rights.
Work must be done to procure the
enactment into law Of the anti-intunc-
ton bill, which is designed to put a
stop once for all to this mistaken OF
corrupt or tyrannical--and 1t must be
one the three-abuse Of federal tl1f1icia