The sun., 1904-08-31
LABOR UNIONS AND TRADES
UNIONS.
The Subject Treated by an Experienced
Man Who Knows All About II.

M8n VINO AnOWB All hUVuS At'
To THE EDITOR oP THE suN-Sir: TIE
SUNS recent editorials concerning the labor
situation are throwing much needed light on
a subject which to the lay public If most
confusing SO confusing Is II. In fact. mat OF
those who are in the game very few under
stand the cause OF the trouble. and It ls aues.
ton whether the few who do understand "
have any interest In explaining It,
The experience OF the Kirk company Win
its employees, mentioned In your editoriai
Of to-day, Is an example Of what might pe II
agitators were understood BY their unfortu-
nate dupes-the individual members OF the
trades unions
In the light OF present day experience In
the large cities the Kirk episode looks like
step backward thirty years to the days before
walking delegates had come into existence.
but 1t really is a harbinger OF the dawn; ana
1t is right and logical that the beginning OF
new things should come with the building
trades. whose members are the highest PAID
OF all the manual workers.
The building trades are holdovers from
ancient conditions, and trades unions
called trades unions to distinguish them from
labor unions which have sprung into existence
in recent years-while they have been the
victims Of n monstrous deception that mas
been practised upon them BY walking dele
gates, have been will O. the wisp" TO lure
the labor unions on TO unhappiness ana ois-
content.
That they have been the victims of decep-
tion Is proved by the fact that their high
wages have not brought them prosperity. NO
matter how willing an employers assocla-
ton may be to agree to O wage scale of say.
81. so per day. when 1t comes to applying the
rule these employers make the poor devils
work by the hour, they lay them OF when-
ever work is slack: they arrange their work
so that it will be punched, and jobs whlch
used to last for season now last two weeks,
and the deuded mechanic is constantly NOV
ing around hunting for work. He accumu-
lates no surplus in the long run. because II he
has steady employment for two months. Tor
example there Ia so much money in the iamiiy
treasury that the wife, " he is married. buys
all kinds of useless luxures In the way OF
plush covered albums and worthless orna-
! ments for the house. which have to be sacrl-
feed az soon as he gets out Of Job. IL the
mechanic is IA bachelor, the big money he
gets at the end OF a weeks work goes in
riotous living. The members of the unions
see that they are not laying UP anything. and
If they complainingly question their leaders
as to the cause they are regaled with stories
of the bosses cruelty. and the Foundation
is laid for demands for higher wages ana
schemes are studied for reducing output to
make the jobs last longer
That the trades unions are a will o the
wisp" for the labor unions is shown by the
fact that the members of the labor unions
hear of the big wages that are paid in the
trades and not knowing the unfortunate
conditions that actually exist. are filled with a
growing discomfort The beef packers who
work in the stock yards in Chicago average
81. 40 per week and some OF them have to sup
port families ON this income. Many members OF
the labor unions in the employ of the railroads.
L.ul. btt h.s