The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1908-02-01

side sof our ranks are Recognizing the
charitable IN dealing with our short
cOmings %$ b 4 1871 ~*4ts a.a RI ~ D
May 7 ask your Indulgence while, I
connrm this statement by quoting from,
the language Of at least two widely
d1nerent men, one famous preacher
ana the other lawyer and jurist Of
Quotation From Prof. Smith. -'"
In a book recently published by
KeY. s. G. Smith of the Department OF
Sociology Of the University of Mime
sofa | read the follow1n: -, y.
mas right to stay. Its voice must be
heard: It. is the only form Of labor
mat has any voice. Apart from Or
g Geak aoa. labor Is a as dumb and as
trembling slave beneath the lash Of
Its master.
TT is sometimes said that labor
unions would be all right if they were
that a form Of social and industrial
organization which is recent in time
and and which is essentially new in func-
many and gross mistakes. 1t is asking
too much. Political. religious. and
economic organization. and every other
I survival of uncounted plumbers. The
only thing to ask is whether the labor
union union has promise of enough useful
the cost of it's development. The legal
| battle for labor unions has been al
ready fought out: They have a right
| to exist. The ethical battle will yet
spect, Of society because they Will be
found to serve society we'll"
~ Quotation From Mr.. Tafe.
The next is from the Cooper union
| speech of the Hon. w. H. Taft. score
| tary of war. and usually not In accord
! with the labor movement, but whose
utterings on this occasion are worthy
| advice to employers of labor:
| What the capitalist. who is the en-
ployer Of labor. must face. is that the
is permanent condition in the indus:
the employer must consult his own in
ttterests he must admit this and act; on
| IT, Under existing conditions the
blindest course that an employer OF
| labor can pursue is to decline to recoE.
n1ze labor unions as the controlling in
huence in the labor market and to in
| s1st upon dealing only with his par
| t1cular employees.
The time has passed in which that
attitude can be assumed with any hope
of successfully maintaining it, What
the wise manager of a corporate enter
| prise employing large number of la
| borers will do is to eceive the leaders
| Of labor unions with courtesy and re-
spect and listen to their claims and
arguments as they would the managers
of any other corporate enterprise with
whom they were to make an important
fween them the business IS. BE-
are intoxicated with the immediate
power that they exercise In represent
ing thousand Is of their fellow workers.
of arrogance. Dealing with them is
trying to the patience Of the employer
so, too, propositions from labor unions
sometimes are SO exorbitant In respect
70 the terms of employment as liter
ally to deprive the manager of the con-
troll which he ought to retain over the
iiaoQrers employed In his business. This
a ground for condemning it,
I On the other hand, the arrogance is
not confined to one side. We all Of us
| ployers who have the spirit of intoler-
| ance and sense of power because of
t thei,: i a44ft resources, and that
of difference. The wise among the
employers of labor and the labor lead
! ers are those who discard all appear
| attempt by courteous and calm discus
| sion to reach a common ground.
! These thoughts are not from labor
agitators. but from thoughtful stu
| 1Q.
trust that Duluth employers will see in
them a reasonable ground for an ad-
| Justment of the difficulties which now
divide u.s.
Open Shop Philosophy False.
I'm the heat Of the contest our mis-
! lakes nave been greatly magnifed
| we are not guilty of all the wrongs
| charged against u.s."
There is whole lot of false phi
losophy on this question of the "onen
shop and in order to appeal to the
suggestive mind. they have used the
| words "closed shop" as the opposite Of
open shop, with inference that the
union shop. which is closed to union
| men. The union shop is the most open
! OF an. because we welcome into our
wha vo eNery M man and every woman
| shop is not a closed shop. The most
! dangerous closed shop, outside of the
nioaad 10 shop is the trust which is
| is exclusive; the union is inclusive. In
our desire to maintain the union shop
we hnd 1T necessary as matter Of
self representation. which is the first
| law Of nature.
Union Shop Necessity.
Listen to what DR.. Smith has to saw
about the necessity Of the union shop
Tor the projection of labor:
~, The employer magnanimously saws,
III have - no : objection to the labor
i1kely for man to belong to it, but I
40 not propose to recognize union or
union men in my business. GER
ttaainly will not discriminate against
me union man, but neither will 1 dis
criminate against anyone else. I will,
employ 41,lG the man who can do the work
want done, and I intend to be nv
own judge of his fitness for the task
! All ALT this is sounds highly reasonable and
| until one has thought about it. it
! would seem as though there could be
no no. argument ,g u on the other side. and yet
| fighting for it's life when it demands
! the union shop. 1t is not simply
| question. Of whether an employer Shall
| nave liberty to employ whom he viii:
| Tor the workingman it is a question as
! to whether his labor union has any
| reason longer to exist Unless the
iaoor union includes the men engaged
| IN the craft, Or at least so MANY of
| them as shall form a eecessary part
| OF the labor without which the bust
ness cannot be carried on, it is power
| ie The attitude of the labor union
y: If P per-, ely defensible when it says:
not work for you" The labor union