The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-04-29
LABOR UNIONS HAVE
ADMIRABLE RECORDS
Herbert 0asson oomparesTh Their
History With That of
Capitalist Kinds.
If Lawson, Folk and stefens
Keep up the Race Only
Onions Will Be Pure.

Keep up the Race Only
Onions Will Be Pure.
II Lawson and Folk and steffens and
Miss Tarbell keep up the race, the only
clean, respectable institution left in the
country will be trade unionism.
BY the time Miss Tarbell got through
with the Standard OIL Trust, it hadn't
a shred Of decency left. The criminal
word, 'plunder," was written all over
1t. She proved it to be gigantic pyr-
mid Of loot and *wreckage. The pop
ular opinion Of Rockefeller today is
not that he is an organizer, but a con-
! spirator.
Where she has dropped the story,
Lawson has picked it up. He doesn't
write from the outside like Miss Tar
oeh' He is an insider and knows more
about the tricks Of monopoly Accord
Ing to him. the whole gang of Wall
street millionaires, from Morgan down
to Addicks, is nothing but a crowd of
sure thing" gamblers and gold-brick
Swindlers.
Even the demi-gods Of insurance. who
have been sitting in the top-mast peak
OF respectability. wearing halos and
pretending to be the protectors Of wid-
ows and orphans. are accused of being
! concerns.
Folk and Steffens are busy painting
the word graft" on the leading busi-
ness men of American cities II what
they say is true, our corrupt politicians
| are only hired burglars Of our Chamber
Of Commerce. They are sent into pub
lie offices to hand out special privil-
| lges just as boy is sent into a back
the silverware.
Now, what do you think would hap
pen If all these charges had been
against labor unions? Give Gompers
the reputation Of Addiclxs. and how
long would he be left at liberty? Give
John Mitchell the black record of John
D. Rockefeller, and what would the
! coal trust do to him in it's righteous
| wrath?
If what is now being proved against
the Standard OH crowd were against
the American Federation Of Labor,
congress would hold special session
and wipe it out Of existence. Every
pulpitser in our forty-seven states
would roar his indignation, and the
w. C. r. u, would. send in petitions
against unionism ten miles long.
Ess lainAle hosa sre
dus up N 81. Louis BY Folk had al
been trade tniot, o4ciiaials. do you think
that they would have. escaped punish
ment 30 easily? Everyone Of them
would be today behind the bars.
Suppose that the death-ship, Cen
eral Slocum" had belonged to the Ship
builders Union, don't you think that
someone would have been punished for
those 1920 deaths? Suppose the Iro-
quois theater had belonged to the Car
penters' union, do you think such a
tragedy would have ended up in a gen.
eral white washing?
The fact il that trade unionists have
to live up to higher standard Of mo-
ralfty than any other class Of citizens.
They are under the law, not over it.
like the trusts and the judges and the
lawyers and the politicians. If they
make one slip, down comes the net and
they are caught. You may be sure that
when labor leaders are at large, it ts
because they have a right to be let
alone. The same cannot be said Of
many milltonaires.
Do you know that union officials
handle millions Of dollars every year.
yet how seldom do you hear Of any
dishonesty. The Moudsrs' union alone
last year had an income Of over $780,
900 and everything right to a penny.
The present treasurer OF the Brick
layers union has held the Job, since
before most Of the members were born,
and never had cent to go astray.
These are not exceptions, but simply
show the general rule.
In money matters tho record Of trade
unionism ID better than that of the
banks Of insurance companies. Did
you ever hear Of q union losing its
funds by backing q Wall street game?
Do you know one labor organization
that lost money in '"steel Preferred"
or "Amalgamated Copper7'' Did you
ever hear Of . trade union c.pital,.inr
itself at $4,000, 900 and selling the
stock to its members? Can you name
one prominent labor leader who has
ever been caught in such dirty and
disreputable finance az the shipbuild-
ing Trust, promoted by that anti-union-
list, Charles NJ. Schwab?
In all the probing of political cor
ruption that has been going on in the
past few years, have you heard Of any
trade union that has been bribing leg
islatures and stealing franchises? Not
one. There isn't a church In the United
States that has q cleaner reputation
In this respect. Have you ever read
of a divorce scandal in true union cir
cles? |
There is no cleaner. or more honor
able piece Of cardboard in the country, |
than paidup union card. No corpor-
alton charter or professional diplomat |
can compare with 1t. The man who |
belongs to a union can hold his head |
high and say: II belong to q straight |
crowd Of. men who want nothing but |
what belongs to them.' -.,