The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1907-12-21
WORDS Of .EL0QUEhCE !.
BY CATHOLIC PRIEST
Rev. M. J. Riordan of Baltimore
Says That All Men Who
Toll
Should Become Affiliated With
the Trades Union Move
ment.

livered before a mass meeting of car
penters at Baltimore, by distinguish
| ed divine of the Catholic church-The
Rev. M. J. Riordan-is we'll worth pc
rusal. We specially commend it to
the Duluth open shop advocates. The,
| reverend gentleman spoke in part as
follows:
| 1.-The labor problem demands the at
| tention of clergymen because it is a
| question OF justice.
Excepting wage-earners and SAL
| aried men, few persons give even an
| approximate equivalent for the wealth
| they receive from society. An Edison,
| Paderewski, an Osler and, in some
instances, captain Of industry, may
| be justly entitled to a million or more
dollars as a monetary equivalent for
their services, but the vast majority OF
men who accumulate riches do not rem
der as much service to society, as a
| carpenter or school teacher. There
are few rich men whose retirement
! would lessen the community's supply
of wealth or needed service. The death
of one carpenter by eliminating his
| W withdrawing power would involve
| prospective loss of thousands of dol
lars.
IF the precepts and spirit of Christ
| dominated commercial and public life
as profoundly as they do private con-
| duct there would be little Injustice or
clashing between labor and capital.
But to be effective their Transforming
power would have to reach every en-
ployer, as the best employer, owing to
| the stress Of competition, cannot at
| ford to concede more than his meanest
| rival Since even the most sanguine
| opt1mist does not hope for such a COM
plete regeneration among the employ
| ing classes in the near future, the de-
| velopment of your union until 1t en-
| braces every workman becomes duty
| and necessity 1t Is the only club
| that will subdue the few unspiritual
| and recalcitrant employers, and thus
permit those employers who have tho
| spirit of Christ in their hearts to put
| It into their deeds also. Only this
morning priest from Allegany coun-
ty told me of Catholic youth VINO was
killed in the mines there last month.
He was not over 10 years old, and had
been in this country but a short time
On the morning of his death he plead
ed pathetically@ against the extreme
danger Of his work place, but, never
theless, he was obliged to enter the
deathtrap-a thing that would not
hav. occurred had there been a min
ers' union to back up his protest. La"
Dor and capital can bargain on an
equal footing only when the working
men are unfonized. iH->.f-:se cc ~
:; Labor. unions like religious asso-
|tt*ciations, should be- Judged: by their
ideals and best men, and not by their
worst products Occasionally they
have resorted to tyranny and crime,
but so have employers, benevolent Or
ders and respectable communities. In
% years we have lynched $500 per-
sons and legally executed only $500.
1t is not the unionist, but the employ
er. as Professor Ross says, who picks
pocket with a railway rebate. murders
with an adulterant instead of a blud-
geon, burglarizes with a rake Off In
stead of Jimmy, cheats with COM
pany prospectus instead Of deck OF
cards. and scuttles his town instead
Of his ship All the crime attributed
to labor unions is as molehill to noun
tain compared to the human carnage
resulting from the criminal use Of de-
fective machinery, spurious life pre-
| servers. impure air in mines and from
the failure Of RAILROADS to use impoved
couplers and safety signals. Let US
be as tolerant toward unionists as to-
ward others. But now, as ever are
Shakespeare's words true:
"Plate sin with gold, and the strong
lance of Justice harmless breaks
Arm it in rags, pigmy's straw doth
pierce it,
MEN become sick because they
don't use their brains, and especially
their power, to reason as regards cause
and effect. Workingmen stay out OF
the unions because they have not ar
adequate understanding Of their true
interests Like the people in Hosea:
time, they ARE destroyed for lack Of
Knowledge Even though wages were
always to be satisfactory. your self
respect would require organization tt
protect you from the arrogance ant
arbitrainess Of manages and overseers
Look at the joint stock companies, thu
trusts, the local Improvement assoc1a
lions and government Itself and learr
the value Of coop Grafton. AS PROBES
sor Adam of Wisconsin Universit.
says, 'non-union men are parasites OF
the world of organized labor, reapinf
= where they have not sown, sharing
the rewards, but not the burdens o
combination
\ "A close nalogy exists between un
! ionism and patriotism. Some short
sighted foreigners refuse to becom