The labor world., 1906-09-01
LABOR IS ENCOURAGED
BY PRESENT OUTLOOK
Tide in Trade Union Movement
Still Continues to Move
Onward and Upward.
All Union Men Should Encour-
age and Support the En-
ployers Who are Fair.

ployers Who are far.
1t has been said that "there Is
tide in the affairs Of men which, taken
at its flood, leads on to fortune" AS
it is "in the affairs of men," so it must
be In the affairs Of organizations Of
men, for as In every other realm or
nature, these organizations are sub
ject to her tmmutable laws, and must
rise or fall as they are observed or
violated. The labor organization is
no exception to the rule, and can pro-
fit by a study Of her moods and Of
how to take ADVANTAGE OF them.
During the past few years trades
unions have been started to such a
great extent as to tax to the utmost
the capacity Of the movement to
assimilate them. This has been an
effect of existing. conditions rather
than a cause. Monopoly had raised
the price Of the necessaries Of life to
such an extent that the wage workers
who had been given an increase In
wages OF. 10 per cent and&a consider
able augmentation Of working time,
actually found that he was less able
to make both ends meet, thar. during
the panic The time then became ripe
for organization; and 1t viii be con-
ceded that the harvest wa4a large.
Unions were formed in crafts that had
never known the advantage OF fpa
certed action, and wages were, In, most
cases. materially advanced = = ss@@.z - - r =
In a large majority Of instances the
positions taka1t aVe5s s1besna Il
In those where a retrei.t has had to
be made the result can almost Ilusf invarf=
ably be laid tos;a alack sso6 Judgment.
or lack Zof thorough orsanizat don.
When the union was new. everybody
was enthusiastic,- the meetinks 5were
largely attended, members were con-
stantly on the lookout for new re-
cruits, and the tide was .sat It's dood.''
However, as soon az the novelty Of
the situation wore away the enthus-
fasm began to flag, attendance de-
creased. and finally 1t was sometimes
impossible to -secure-3:a quorum. 81
Some unions; and some unionfsts
seem to think: that as, soon as their
requests have been granted they can
hibernate, like a bear In, fhe Polar
legfons, for more than. q haN year.
They forget that eternal vigilance is
still the, price Of liberty Z. Those who
did not make large gains forgot that
it does not take much to be an equiva--
lent to q years dues. and the enort:
to attend an 8 ociasiopa ameetinEs IN.
short they did not g ne. .tide at.
tts Hood IgF e2sId hes,st lei TO
reap any lat ia &
/ IL may sba stated here that. the tide
qf trades uniouis 10. ttats the present
/ time, funquestionably aon the rise
careful" perusal 1ofs ther labor papers
from all parts Of the country Will dis.
close. the fact fhat:sthere isca feeling
Of optimism everywhere. Those who
fell by the wayMde, more or less SER
iously wounded, ! are being picked up
by the, hospital corps (the a: F. OIL
| Lorganizers) and resusttated into re-
.newed1 1hfes lands vigor. The true and
tried warriors are still right Oh the
firing line and numerous hitherto I'M
.pregnab1e positions are being captured
from "the enemy: ~:2. = =,
+ There Is every. reason In the. world
to feel encouraged at the, present OUT
look, and the: labor movement should
place itself in shape to take the next
tide 'at its flood" In the meantime
the order should be to "close ranks
and forward march, 1t is necessary,
however, to have a full quota. of scouts
in the field in order to ascertain the
location and strength of the opposing
forces; so that the traps Of the willy
antagonist may be avoided.
For the fair employer we cannot
say too much In his favor. and It is
the duty Of every unionist who has
the welfare Of the movement at heart
to treat him with all the consideration
that may be his due, and we can
afford to throw in an occasional slice
for good measure. We must remem-
Der that he has to sell his goods in
competition with the shark that runs
the "scab shop" Many times he
would do more for us If he could.
The worker who has good en-
ployer should take good care of him.
This is one Of the best ways in the
we have got 1t. The fair employer
Is human being as we'll as the rest
or US, and Is simply doing the best
ne can under existing circumstances.
What we have got to show his COM
Detitor is that he is losing money by
not being good" 1t is barely possible
that in the not distant future all shops
will be fair" Let unionists start the
ball rolling by becoming fair them
selves. fair days work for a fair
days pay" and that days pay spent
for union-labeled goods. Is it not
possible that this would hasten the
rising tide, which, taken at its food.
leads on" to pure and perfect brother
hood?
Suos@rioe :or the Labor World, .11.QQL
Smoke Puradora Cigar. Clear Havana