The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-18
.THE %
TrSdes OrgahIEatons' Dcclared . Social
Necessity end BoSn. -

. 10 IHE FnTTUu ~ i HE ~ y -fNIFs y AINuNNNaA
n now being written hostile 10 thetrade union
dea by aelf-coastItned savlors OF society.
S0me pretend n, TecogpiEe the w~eTktnsnnep =.
Right TO oTkapize Gut In the Same sentence
Lnslst that the, union he emAsculated BY oom-
pellln9 its members to fraternizA with those
pefhons who Though lack OF ooIfptehRpsion
or Of common honesty refuae % maintain the
body which acciirrs short hours apd decent
wages. Notable among these Il the receRt
statement Of the good Bishop CharleA q
McCabe. who declared that the Methodist
Episcopal Church Ia the friend Of all the work
ing people. not Of ~ par cent. hut OF i0e per
cent. Of them" And yet the pubDcatton
house Of that Church In this city, along with
certain other firms. has locked out its en-
ployees for the crime Of seeking to make eight
hours the maximum of e days work. Uni
versal establishment OF the eight hour day
would tend to insure the employment Of a
much. larger past' of the 100 per cent. than
can find work under present condlHofs. II
the good Bishop ia sincere in his profession OF
friendship for labor ! commend this state
ment to his prayerhIl-eOnsideratIOn. ~'
What relation do the unions bear 10 the
best interests Of the community Are the
unions an evil Or do they benefit the COM
munity? NV down the proposition that
80 far from being an evil the unions are abso-
lutely necessary to the existence OF q major
ity Of the small business men. Before a man
can work he must have two things-a place 10
sleep and something 20 eat. The landlord
furnishes him a place to sleep; the butcher and
grocer supply him with food. This trio must
be satished-will be satished-because they
supply necessities. A workin gman IL pinched
may wear last year's1suit. he may go without
a collar and tie. he may revamp his old shoes.
but he cannot show up in condition to do a
days work without paying tribute TO this
three. II the standard Of wages IN any COM
munity is 50 low that this trinity takes all the
head of a family can earn-and soctologists
recognize a tendency in that direction IN
what Is called rthe iron law Of wa~ses"-where
will the small business men come inF The
minimum wage established by the majority
Of the unions Is more than double the average
paid outside Of them. and this notwithstsnd
inc the fact that by raising wages within
their own ranks they have been a lever In
raising wagcsAlsewheTe, because wages. ike
water, tend toward a level.
If the small business men thoroughly under
stood this fact-and it ia incontroSertlole-
they would not meet our committees with IN
difference, or even hostility, a. some OF them
have done, but would become positive adj
vocates Of the trade union principle, for in
truth they are vitality interested.
The GROWING fallacy OF the anti-union lit
erary campaign il the contention made for
freedom Of contract. To the average Amer
lean mind these words have a glorious ring
Some of the arguments advanced under this
head have been plausible, but they should not
for a moment deceive the thinking. A con-
tract presupposes. the equality OF the parties
thereto. This is so thoroughly recognized
that 70 show that any condition in a contract
was obtained under duress will annul 1t in a
court Of equity. What IL the position OF an
ordinary non-union printer looking for a job'
The employer owns the types and machinery;
| the printer has only his brain and his dex-
ferrous fingers. The employer offers him
a certain wage-smaller than he pays to any
one else. but he knows this mans necessities
are so great that he will accept almost any
terms: besides. business ethics advise buying
AZ cbeaplv az possible. and TO him a working
man is a commodity. The man Is free to ac-
cent a wage at which his sense Of Justice
rebels, or to decline Il and-starvel This IL
typical, and II il is rot an agreement under
duress then do not comprehend the term.
On the other hand let us examine the col
J lective bargain made by virtue OF the union
The representative OF the union meets the
employer or his agent; each knows THOR
ouRhly his own resources and in a genera
wav the limitations Of the other. All the sur
rounding circumstances are weighed and entel
into the agreement and the conclusion arrived
I at is based on business principles and ia un'
doubtedlv "a nearly equitable as may be
under present conditions, This Is the true
freedom of contract 49,
The contempt which the union man enter
tains for the scab seems to give these "sa
yiors OF society" much concern. II is de
plorable. Of course. but when nthe history o
the world has a traitor inspired amity in th'
breasts Of those he had betrayed? The eS
eoration of the scab by his former associate
il mild compared to- the punishment one
the portion Of a traitor. Do not iorget Una
the world Of industry is in a constant state o
war. Notwithstanding the twaddle about tn
identity OF interest Of employer and employee
The higher the wage. other things being eaua
the smaller the dividend. and vice versa; tines
factors are irreConcilable.
The question OF closed or open shop nat
urally follows. Any one can see the absurd
ity Of asking a Colonel to 20 into action VIII
a regiment compoaed Of a battalion OF en-
list ed and drilled men. another composed q
men who had deserted to the enemy on
former occasion and a third composed OF RAJ
recruits without drill and each At liberty t
retire from the field az his own discretion
The case is paralIeled in the open shop. tn
ore is as absurd M the other. The man VII
writes that he believes in unions and cor
tends for the open shop ia a liar. he Is stat
binR the union man In the back. lie
obtaining a hearing under false pretences,
The courts uniformly declare statute law
that prescribe no penalty FOR violation nu
and void. and the trade unions would hav
small consideration in the open court OF pub
lie opinion II they had no penalty for the OF
preston Of their members. Happily the
have one at hand, a natural and effective one
the Withdrawal of that support which haN
before shown 10 be vital to the welfare OF N
tradesman. The legitimacy of this read
weapon Of defence, as old ss humanity itsel
was never questioned until a bunch of patr
otto Irishmen, who never lay down., shove
the astonlshed world that II was eHectlN
against the agents of leaalized robbery g
well "a against other forms of oppression.
The Intelligent use of the boycott and u
ballot will enable the American unions.
spSe Of the injunctions Of trust owned Judge
to accomplish in our State legislative hal
what Hercules did for the AuEean stables.
FREDERICK T.. MARTIN,
Member typographical Union No. 9.
BROOKLYN, September II.
5000 D--a