The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-03-04
ISOne Examples Of the Lib
erty"
The SYSTEM PROMOTES.
Poverty and Degradation tile Price Of
SO-called Independence--In
the sveatshops and Makes
Slaves of Children

The falslty OF the claim that the
open shop means liberty and indeDend-
ence is illustrated BY the following ex-
amples:
lin indianapolis one OF the most prom.
lnent advocates Of the open shop en-
ploys three boys to every man. The
wages Of the men are given as $3.50
week. That's open shop. Where Is
the independence at that price,
In a hat factory in Philadelphia I'm
ion men wepe gradually discharged and
boys hired. Now 500 boys make from
So to SIS week when d boy becomes
proficient and demands fair wages be
doesn't get them He is at liberty 10
Co. That's open shop.
a coremaker in Detroit was paid So
week. he had his daughter assist
ing hin. Soon she learned how to
make cores. Then he was discharged
The girl was given his place at $4 a
week. He became free to seek anoth-
er job. That's open shop.
In a union pressroom In Chicago a
nonunionist was put al work. Then a
second, third and fourth. The un-
ion men quit They didn't wish to
wait until they We're discharged. The
Intention to get rid Of them was very
plain That's open shop.
In the government printing office at
Washington tifty-six refused to pay the
assessment for the eight hour struggle
BY doing 80 they broke solemn pledge
Of honor That comes from the open
shop. 1t encourages dshonor and
makes men contemplate,
An employer in Milwaukee said: Il
don't know what we are going to do.
We cannot get enough young help. The
competition Is SO sharp we must EN-
! plUy children, who DO not demand big
wages Moro open shop,
The tobacco trust employs over 1G,-
900 children at an average OF less than
IS cents day. The work Injuries their
health. Again open shop.
In Milwaukee a boy fourteen years
old worked as high as fourteen hours a
day for $3.50 a week. His employer
was fined $40 and costs. Liberty TO
hire whoBi be pleased and to work
4 them as many hours as he chose was
I thus denied the employer, lie should
have had an open shop judge TO decide
/ the case. ae tss
Imagine Methodist bishop assign
ing clergymen OF other denominations
| TO Methodist churches, then refusing to
listen to any objections, That would
1 be open shop.
/ Ought the United States to allow all
foreigners to dwell here without pay
ing taxes or being subject to its laws?
That would be open shop, with its free
dom and independence. ---
The anthracite miners had open shop
under the most favorable conditions
possible. Many Of the members Of the
/ union saw no reason to continue to pay
dues. The organization dwindled rap
idly. When the time came to make am
other agreement the union had no real
strength, The open shop ~ death to la
boris power. 1t makes men into crlng-
| ing slaves.
| The garment workers Of Chicago had
the open shop forced upon them two
years ago. Sweat shops have increased
enormously in consequence. Wages
have fallen very low. Trousers are
made for 10 cents a pair, and only six
pairs week can be made at the most
\ by the one doing the work One won
an who sews trousers Is able to make
95 cents a week. Another gets cent
apiece for underyests and does about
fifteen a day. A crippled man and his
wife finish coats for cent piece. Be.
ing slow workers, each can only make
| about % cents a week. Where the
clothing Is made sanitary conditions
| are so awful that contagious disease is
likely to be In every garment coming
from there All who buy clothing 81
mlngle with others are thus endnnger-
ed. The lives of such toiiers must be
short and miserable. Where are the in
dependence and freedom of the open
shop2
Fifty thousand children work in the
textile mills Of the south. The average
life OF the child after 1t enters the MIL
is four years. That's open shop and
yawning graves Does liberty mean
license to commit murder?
The tyranny Of greed, both indlvid
uai and organized, is given full rein by
the open shop. Misery, degradation
crime and death are its inevitable
outcome. Therefore organized labol
opposes 1t.
Whose aids by word or action this
bringing about Of such awful results
as follow the open shop Is crlmina
before the bar of morality and Justice
4 Alexander Spencer in Typographical
Journal,
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