The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1907-07-13


public men, to vote or refuse to vote
for candidates for public office?
What about the lobbies of the man
ufacturers at the, national and state
capitals?
What about their efforts to defeat
labor legislation? What about their
position pro or con regarding tariff
legislation and numbers of other ques-
tions?
When manufacturers appear before
executive, or legislative bodies, they
are within their rights as citizens. but
when union labor does this 1T is guilty
of seeking to "terrorize the govern
ment," and great outrage is COM
mitted. so that a million and a half
dollar fund becomes necessary in order
to attack the terrible evil! Such hypo-
crisy in nauseating.
Newspapers Against Them.
No wonder, as wo have said, that
even daily papers that are not at all
generous. Or even decently fair, as a
rule, in their treatment of organized
labor, could not swallow the sickening
cant and rubbish of the convention,
and criticised the Van Cleave address,
the fund scheme, and the whole spirit
Of the proceedings. Even the Wall
Street Journal said this about the fund:
This is the wrong way to grapple
zzfttss.s tina prohl sCQsape not
war, should be the program. It.were
better to adopt the suggestion, of Sec
retary Straus and invite the leaders of
organized labor to meet with the man.
ufacturers for joint consultation and
action. Organized labor is here to
stay, as organized capital is"
But the convention was not only
reactionary on the subject of organized
labor, but proved it's fanatical bourbon
ism by declarations on several other
matters. Mr.. Van Cleave wanted free
importat tion OF contract labor and OBJ
jected to certain rulings Of the Depart
ment Of Commerce and Labor On recent
southern immigration cases-rulings
made under the present law. He wants
protection for his goods, but a free
market in cheap labor. He also OBJ
jected to child labor legislation and
alleged that the so-called evils of child
labor are greatly exaggerated by med
dlers and reformers. The census sta
tistics, he claimed, were inaccurate and
misleading, and as a matter of fact this
country. including the south, is a. para
disc for child workers.
Secretary Straus' Futllity.
To this sort of convention, Secre-
tary straus preached the gospel OF
high wages, Of reason, of Justice to
labor, of conciliation and trade agree
ments. Before whom was he casting
his pearls? He was treated politely,
but we would wager the Van Cleave-
Post-Parry gentry consider him a dan
gerous radical, an agitator, an enemy
Of capital and vested" interests.
But, after all, is there not something
concealed behind the scheme to raise a
war fund Of a million and half of dol
lars-something beneath even the pre-.
tended cause given by Van Cleave and
endorsed by his capitalist Organization?
Is it not true that there turks in his
mind, and in the minds of those who
approved his plan, the thought,
prompted by the hope, that the organi-
cations of labor may be crushed out OF
existence within the next three years?
Surely, the bitterness Of the TRADES
indulged In by Van CIeave. by Parry,
and by other Van Cleaves and Parrys.
with other names, gives good ground
for the suspicion that union crushing
is their dream and their goal. And
justified, as we are, in discerning this
as their real motive and purpose, 1t
might not be amiss for the would-be
union crushers to bear in mind the fol-
lowing:
Labor Grows Stronger.
With every attempt to annihilate it
Labor has emerged more intelligent.
more thoroughly organized, and better
equipped to contend for its rights
Union n-haters ought to study the his
tory of industry and the historic devel-
opment of the labor movement, not
only of this country, but of the whole
world. They would then learn that
in the early days
When a workman undertook to seek
another employer, he. was regarded by
the: law as q thief W no robbed the em-
ployer of his labor. 49,
He was branded with hot irons. i'm
prisoned and put to- death for that
offense.
Rulers, employers, and. merchants
were in league to tyrannize over the
Slaborers and prexent any realization by
the worker Of his ownership Of him-
self M # .GS5 ;SS ss N, *5s 81
IL Up to recent times the term master
4. (continued 'on page lo.1
81 EE SFztr| Z