The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1906-11-29
Defeats Strengthens the Cause and Spurs the
Workers on for Future Battles.
THEY PROFIT BY MISTAKES OF THE PAST
Faith IN Common Cause of Unonism Increas ssd b Stoo Il
has Tor Existence and Toilers Realize that Victory
Often Lies Beyond Temporary Defeat.

ut is conviction" the settle
'ment worker said.
1T is class consciousness, the
professor of sociology said:
The question asked them was thn
same: "How is it that unions live
on and are even stronger after n
strike IN which they have been de-
How has it been in the past !,
Have unions, which lost their
strikes, been killed?
a very wise man said wears npo
that the only way to judge of the
iuture is by the past. If this cri.
terion be adopted, is there reason
TOR believing that, should a union
lose its strike, will it be dis
rupted, or, at least, ineffcctualY
IT. is the principle of trade-un.
lonism which enlists the devotion
OF the men who seem to be defeated
VI course, there are always men
who desert the union when il has
lost in a contest. Not all men are
steadtast in any line of endeayor or
work. But the desertions are so
few as to cause the unions no
serlotS loss or support. There is n
shor period when disintegiation
seems probable. This comes i'm.
mediately after the defeat. IL is
hard to be adjusted again. The
Thought may come that conditions
are no better tiIan they were before
the strike, and, in addition, there
has been loss of wages. There is
an expectation Of hostility on the
part OF the management which NAV
snow Itself In an early discharge,
and there is much resentment
the small s'bosses" who often are
sarcastic in their speech and com.
mands. 1t is during this time that
the leaders of the union are dcpos-
ed on the general principle of lack
OF faith i'll the leader of the lost
cause, and new ones are chosen.
Still the union itself lives on. and
from losing it's strength seems to
gain.
The conviction is what does it
The workingman believes that the
rich men, the employing men, are
III league against him, and that he
must fight the organization of capi
tai with the organization of labor.
The fact that he, through his un-
ion, has just been defeated but
strengthens this conviction. He
has lost what he believes to have
been a Just cause. If he is to win
what he demands in the future il is
necessary that he shall build up
his organization until it is more
powerful than the organization
which the rich men. the EMPLOYING
men, have to oppose it.
One reason why the unions are
strong after a defeat, however
crushing it may seem, is that they
profit by their mistakes. The wise
men of the unions realize that they
are to accomplish their ends not bv
means of open warfare, but by
sound business principles. When
the warfare has been tried and has
not availed, the instinct is to try
other and quieter tactics
This protiting by mistakes is "A
rule that works both ways. The
employers are more open to Sugges-
tions; for although they may have
won the strike, they are not
anxious for another. Every strike
hurts their business not only in
loss of actual profits, but in the in
terruption of routine and discip-
line and the loss of prestige. If
the defeated union is officered bv
men wise enough to seek to put il
on strictly business basis and the
employers realize this, the likeli-
hood of warfare a second time is
greatly reduced. 1t is the men who
stand between-the stsmall bosses,
who are most irreconcilable at
this time. The men at the head of
large concerns, are usually men of
democratic ways and generous
hearts. The great trouble is that
exigencies of modern business are
such that they and the working
men in their employ do not come
together. In between are the men