Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-11-21
ADVANCE OF LABOR.
THE DAY OF SERviLE TOLL Is PASS
 ING AWAY FOREVER.

Trade Unions the Potent Power
 Which Has Qpickened the Spirit of
 the Workers-A Peaceful RevoIu-
 ton Against FeudaIism.
 George E. McNeill, writing in Amer
 ican Federationist, says that trade unions stand for the opening up of op- portunities for men to exercise their right to labor" MT. McNeill continues
 "The trade union is an organized, peaceful revolution against feudalism
 ''The capitalists and the laborers are living in historic feudal relations to each other and to society.
 Trade unions are the most potent power to interrupt the historic success sion of the feudal spirit and to awaken the democratic spirit latent in human ity.
 Capitalists cling to the feudal habit through selfish interest and class pride.
 'In the first half of the nineteenth century the spirit of our free institu- tions acted upon the native born to stimulate them to protest against wage labor conditions. Complaint was often made that the American wageworker were too independent. It was said of them, as it is said of all people when they begin to assert their rights, They do not know their place.
 'sThe almost unlimited opportunity for emigration from the older to the newer states and territories provided a way of escape from servile to more fa- vorable conditions, sometimes to free labor and self employment The cheap CT laborers of Europe flowed in as the native born flowed out. The Ameri cans who remained as foremen and overseers were more independent and better paiG than the foreigners. Soon the inflow of foreign peoples greatly exceeded the outflow of the natives in to the other states. The natives found cheap laborers as competitors at many of the doors of opportunity.
 Occupation after occupation was de serted by the American born workers and after a time was again deserted by the other English speaking peoples who took the places of the natives. The order in some industries was about as follows: First, native em- ployees; second, English, Scotch and Irish; third, French Canadians; then, according to locality and industry, came the Armenian, Italian, Bohemian and in some instances the Polish and Russian peoples.
 "The first trade unions were com posed almost wholly of American workmen Their ideals were American and their methods true to their ideals, When the avenues of escape were be- coming marrow the foreigners came in- to the. unions, following about the line of their introduction into the occupa- tions and industries.
 To-day the trade unions include near ly all of the races and languages that inhabit the country, yet nearly all of the officers of the trade unions are Eng fish speaking.
 "The high ideals of the trade unions have not been lowered. The president of the American Federation of Labor Is a close student of. the ethical and economical philosophy of the labor His ideals are high, bis in- tegrity is unchallenged and his intel lectual ability undoubted. The labor literature, however 1t may be lacking In scholarly diction, is as virile as vir- tue and as high in it's ethical spirit as the literature of any other class or 
 "The trade unions have spoken in tongue easily understood except to those who will not or who cannot un- derstand the history of human develop ment or the revolutions of the industri- al conditions.
 ''Its leaders understand that, their ef- forts against the feudal system have not fully emancipated the white wage workers any more than that the proc amation of emancipation to the black race in our own country has yet made that race entirely free.
 'The trade unions do not seek re- ,risals for past losses. They seek, first, to secure freedom of contract; not only the right but the power to make and xeep contract. They are sane when hey say the individual laborer is pow erless to make contract; that con- :racts ought not and practically can lOL sDC AldS1S WILL ulOU. ulSOTSdlllL- I'd, undisciplined, unassociable body of people.
 Union is not only strength; it is or fer; 1t is discipline.
 Trade unions furnish an orderly method by which the feudal spirit may ,e eliminated from the industrial world without destroying past achievements ,r retarding future progress. They eek better distribution of opportuni- les and things for today, tomorrow md forever. They do not seek re- 
 "They seek liberty and peace, not by he sword, but by increase of wisdom.
 "The day of seryile labor is passing rom English speaking people. Ger many and France will follow when the 1 confusion of theorists shall be re- placed with the order of true trade lnion movement"
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