The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1906-05-24


further cncroachments by unscru-
puIous employers.
The extra five minutes ut the
end of the day in order to '.iinish a
job" became Il regular thing. and
soon heightened into Il quarter of
IN hour or longer, while frequently
Il protest brought only abuse.
Hence. the apparently arbitrary
ruling that under no circumstances
must ii man work beyond the time
limit.
MORAL AND ETHICAL VALUE
The labor union has an ethical
value which is rarely appreciated.
Labor halls have become social
centerS. Frequently helpful lee
turc courses are given. Social
features. uplifting in character, are
often supported. The labor press
cdicatcS the trrdcS unioniSt in
technical matters, presents higher
ideals and urges better living.
There is Il moral virtue in the
regular meetings of the union. \
man soon realizes that he cannot
force Il particular measure upon his
;lSSoci:ttcS. He must POSSESS the
facts and present them. Every
man has IL fair chance to present
his views. no matter how unpopu-
lar he or they may he. He learns
the lesson of Subor,Iination to the
will of others, which is always IL
good discipline. He learns the
value of brotherhood. of cu-opcrl
ton. of .'tc:im- work. He * some
times called upon To make real
sacrifices for the sake of his fellows.
IL frequently happens when it be
comes known that Il member of Il
labor union who has run into debt
desires To skip the town. that
his union will withhold his travel
ing card until his debts are paid.
Very little has been said to the
public about the millions of dol
lars which have been expended in
sick and death benefits by trades
unions. Rarely docs IL trades
mnioniSt apply to the charity
organization society, or any other
society for aid.
Organized labor has done much
for the cause of temperance among
workingmcn. There is probably
no purely philanthropic organiza-
ton which has done more in this
direction. In many instances
there is Il prohibition clause in the
contract with the employer The
rules of the union declare that an
/ injured man will not receive the
weekly sick benefit if ther lniury
/ WAS Sustained while he WAS intoyi-
Gated. More and more labor lunion
meetings are being held in halls
/ which ar" free from saloons.
/ Rarely do they meet on Sunday.
TRADES UNIoNIsM AND ri lie
IMMIGRANT.
Trades unioni>m is doing tnroIp
To AmericIniZe the immis rant
than amy other institution. m{,t ex-
ccpting the church. according to
tn" United States Labor CoInmiS-
Sloner in the bi-monthly report is
sued january. 1908. 1t is trae hing
him the nature OF the American
form of government. In the old
country the word governments
meant oppression. He soon I'M
dcrSt;rndS that here it means
"irirnd. : In the labor union he
gets away from his clannish in
Stinct. which even his religion has
not heretofore been able TO accom-
pliSh.
Organized labor has done much
for the abolition of child labor. for
the doing away of the SwcatShop.
unSanitary conditions in the shop
and tenement. and the long hours.
which left the nottingham no time
for mental or moral improvement.
We realize that isolated cases may
he cited which seem to diSpruve
some of the above statements. but
the principles presented are those
for which organized labor us a
whole stands.
For these reasons we ask for. Il
fair consideration of our cause. and
we earnestly seek YOUR GO opera,
ton i'll our desire To improve the
condition of the toilin@ masses. br-
cause we nclieve that in these
things we have much in common