, 1906-08-10

work benefit for their members.
A Fundamental Principle.
The principle that in union there is
strength is fundamental in all union
organizations and is much depended up
on in negotiations with employers. In
the matter of imposing restrictions on
competitive work and of hostility to
the Introduction of labor saving ma
chinery, the unions in the United
States wer~ held to be uncommonly
liberal.
Reluctance in Strikes.
Strikes, said Mr.. Spafford, are enter
ed into with reluctance, the indirect
methods of restricting competition
proving generally more effective and
less harmful to the unions. Thus, in
a large majority of cases, disputes are
settled by agreement between the par
ties. The large unions have adjust
ment" committees whose business it is
to negotiate for the peaceful settle
ment of disputes. Subordinate unions
striking without the approval of the
principal officers forfeit all right to
share in the strike benefit fund.
Narrow and Selfish Policy.
The general policy of the unions was
held to be narrow and selfish, as evil
denced by the antagonism of the Typo
graphical union to the application Of
civil service rules to employees in the
government printing Office. The oppo-
sition to speed contests seems chiefly
due to a desire to restrict output and
thus to maintain wages.
AS to Wage Level.
Mr.. Spafford contended that it was a
mistake to say that the union sought
to place good and poor workmen on
the same level as to wages. At any
rate, he was sure that in the Typo
wage was set, there was no Limitation
of the more capable workmen demand
ing and receiving higher wages. The
Typographical union does not seek to
prevent the discharge of workmen for
neglect of duty or for violation of of
fee rules Or for any other cause at
fecting his efficiency as a workman.
Trades Unionism to Be Favored.
Touching the question of whether
trades union are beneficial to society,
Mr.. Spafford held them to be certainly
beneficial. They have enabled work
men as a class to secure higher wages
and more respectful consideration from
the capitalist classes. He admitted,
however, that a complete organization
of all employees would be quite as OBJ
jectionable as a similar organization
of the moneyed classes; but insisted
that such organization was impossible
and that, on the whole, trades unions
were to be favored.
The general discussion on this topic
was engaged in by Messrs. Q~uaintance,
Corthell, Moudy and Holiday.
The Greeley Colony.
In his discussion of THE Organiza-
ton and Development of the Greeley
Colony Mr.. Holiday told of the trip
of Mr.. NJ. C. Meeker, an editorial writ
er on the staff of the New York Tri-
bune, to this country in 1869 and of his
resolution to organize a colony for set
Element. His idea was to organize a
village farming community of about
fifty families. With this end in view,
he issued an invitation through the
columns of the Tribune for all inter
ested parties to meet him at the Tri-
bune building in New York City on the
morning of December %, 1869. The
response was more hearty han he eth.
er expected or desired, but he proceed
ed to take care of the company, and,
under the patronage and with the as
sistance of Horace Greeley, he organ
lied a society and agreed TO provide
a working constitution.
First Organization Ineffective.
The organization effected at this
time proved impracticable, and later
on, when the settlement was actually
made at what is now Greeley, Colora-
do, a new schedule of organization was
provided for and adopted by the execu-
tive committee. The early settlers
who followed in the spring of 1870
seem to have been filed with a notion
that crops needed only to be irrigated,
but they failed to provide sufficient ir-
rigation and neglected almost wholly
the matter of cultivation, with the re
suit that, in that year, they raised
practically nothing.
Forgot the Golden Rule.
The early settler appear not to have
been very observant of the golden rule,
for, according to Mr.. Holiday, when
he would work pretty much all night