The Washington herald., 1908-08-17
Crowlev,s Letter Commanded.

Edita- The WastiuE-au Herald
Mr.. John A Crowley IS 10 be cOngrat-
ulated upon the clear. concise, and inter
esting contribution that ne has given TO
the trust and labor questions in his ar
ticIe appearing in the issue Of your pa
per Of August 10 last There are one OF
two points. however. which might have a
little elaboration
The writer makes the statement that
all the wealth Of the world Is the product
Of labor. A little later on he asks TO
what proportion Of its produce is work
enritledg" Is there any conceivable rea-
son why labor should not have all that il
produces2 II the worker should not have
ali that he produces. who should have it
some one who does not work.
The statement Is made that the p0pu-
lation OF the United States is separated
into two classes-the comparative few
who contend for wealth. and the many
who struggle for existence" Il IS GER
tainlv true that the population OF the
United States consists OF two economic
classes. but if is equally true that both
contend for wealth The many are fool
ish enough 70 contend for wealth by pro-
ducing for some one else. and the com
uarativeIy few sre wise enough 10 con-
tend for wealth by taking Il after Il has
been produced by some one else.
The writer suggests that these two
classes should be bound together with
Christian principles. brotherhood. SYM
pathy. and common interests Where are
the common interests2 There IS a fixed
amount ot wealth n this country at any
given tins What one class receives the
other loses. and both want all they can
get. Hence there IS constant friction be
tween these two classes as they come n
contact with each other IN their struggle
% SCI it-and get Il they must. or die.
To connect Christian principles with a
life ana death struggle Of this sort is
next door 70 sacTilege- Christian prin-
ciples should not be called upon 70 act as
referee At a prize fight
The writer goes or 10 say that the
living wage OF wOrkmen should never be
irterTered with This IS very true, but
has no bearing on the question under
discussion Whether living wages should
BE- iuterfered with OF not is a question
that belongs to the realm Of the theo-
reticel and altruistIc- The important
/ question is can they be interfered
withg' The writer implies thst the living
wage Of the worker might be interfered
with but for the trade unions. That the
( trade unions have been q great service
10 the working class fs-trle. but they
/ have not solved the problem In time Of
panic. such as the last one through
which we have passed. the living wage IS
seriously interfered with. In fact. fol
many months many OF Us had no wage
{ at all To prevent this. the labor union
Is Inadequate. IN cases Of strikes cl
/ lock-outs. the living wage is interferet
with. yet the labor union cannot prevent
i them except by foregoing the purpose for
] which IL was Intended. Many Of the NOS
Z important tactics upon which labor lead
/ ers have depended heretofore In thet'
( efforts 10 safeguard the living wage have
I been tested In the Supreme Court OF tn
I United states and found TO be contraT1
I to the principles OF our forefathers a
Z laid down in the Constitution This verl
4 seriously hampers the unions in the1
I fight for better living II is evident ina
3 something further IS needed TO accom-
/ ulish the desired result IRE trade unioI
Z is powerless. Many Of my feIlow-workeri
/ have expressed a desire 10 hear mor'
+ from Mr. Crowley on this subject.
f 1914 Irving street 2 H ShlNNEE