Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-21
Circular to Non-Unionists.

peCted, by the grievance committee next
week.
Circular to Non Unionists.
In reply to the leafet published by the
Employers Assoca ton. copies of which
were placed in the pay envelopes of the non
union mechanics. a circular letter has been
issued by the grievance committee of the
building trades. The circular is signed by
10 Evans, international president of the
Stone Cutters Union, and member of the
grievance committee, and copies will be sent
to all n-union workmen employed by the
Employers Association. 1t is said. The cir
Cular which is derisive in character, says:
You are now. l believe, what you term
a free man. You have cast off the snackles
of unoinsm; you are no longer dictated to
by labor organization, telling you what
hours you should work and what wages you
should receive; you are now in position to
assert your rights of manhood, you know
you are free now; your boss has told you
so: in your pay envelope you find a little
tract to remind you of your freedom. il, per-
chance, as sometimes happens. there should
be no pay envelope at the appointed time
yet you can always get your little tract
You set your own hours and wages, now
that you free, don't you? What! The
boss does that? Well that is a small mat
ter as long as you are free, and to be con-
sistent you should deal only with people who
are as free as yourself. For instance, if you
should break a limb, your wife was
about to join the No. =. you would employ
doctor. being now an employer yourself.
or course you would set his wages, pay
him what you thought he was worth. In
fortunately for you. die belongs to union
a very closed shop-and his union fixes his
wages. Should he cut the price or cut the
a association. he becomes d quack!
You are Quack!
should you employ a lawyer you must
get a member of the Lawyers Association
a closed shop. You don't fix his wages, do
you?
IF you go outside of his association you
must get a shyster!
You are ShySteri
congressman and senators fix their own
wages.
Continues in Sarcastic Vein.
Should you save a little money and decide
to become a contractor you would not have
TO become a member of the Employers AS
ISOLATION or the Master Builders, would
you? You are free man. you know. You
could go 1t alone. You could get all the ma
terial you wanted, couldn't you? Stone
from the Quarrymen's Union. lumber from
the Iumbermens Union, brick from the
Brick Manufacturers Union, and so { l. all
down the line. You could get money, too
from the Bankers Union. These people
call their unions associations trusts etc.
You will find them all the closest kind of
shops
Your employer tells you of the injustice
those union fellows liHlCI upon the employ
er and the union slave. The unions he
says fix one rate of wages for all; you may
be twice as good and faster than that other
fellow but the tyrannical union insists on
you both being paid alite Is that SO? The
union does insist a minimum rate of
wages below which wages shall not descend.
Il is based upon the capacity of the average
man the poorest man In a given craft
Now if you are better and faster than the
average man. there is nothing in the world
to prevent the boss from recognizing and
rewarding your ability. The boss claims that
in some Instances there are men twice as
good as others: did you ever know him to
unload on that account? He sticks to the
minimum. don't he? He weeps over the
superior workman. But he sticks to the
minimum.
The superior mechanic is satisfied; don't
weep for him. He is generally superior in
other things. too and fixes this minimum
himself He don't want to be free. like you
are.
My poor. deluded friend. look about you
YOU are the only open thing In sight. You
are like a tunnel-open all the way through
Empty,
Read the story of The Prodigal Son
and come home.
In the same book You will read of man
who sold his Inheritance for a mess of pot
taGe.
Have you done that?
If so. do you get your pottage? Get
wise!''