Omaha daily bee., 1908-09-08

side of its members because the in
creased wages and improved conditions are
shared by nonunion men as well as by
union men.
do not understand me to say that a
labor organization is perfect; the king can
do no wrong can no more be spoken of a
group than of individuals. The labor or
ganizatioh is composed of men; its affairs
are controlled ny human beings, and hu-
man beings are not perfect. All that man
touches is stained with mans lmperfec-
tons and his frailty can be traced through
all his works. But, fortunately for the la
boring man, the judgment pronounced
against his mistakes must be tempered by
the fact that those with whom the labor
ing mai comes into contact are also likely
to err. When the employee deals with the
employer he is dealing with one of like
passions with himself. Each is likely to be
i~nsistent upon what he believes to be right,
and the opinion of each. as to what is
right, is likely to be colored by selfish in
terests and affected by incomplete infor-
nation as to the facts. II the employee has
sometimes resorted to violence to enforce
his wishes, the employer has sometimes
employed his position to secure an unfair
share OF the joint product. 1t is the prov
ince Of the law to place limitations upon
both, and the security OF our government
is found in the fact that both employer and
employee. in their calmer moments, will join
in the enactment of laws which will re-
strain them in moments of temptation.
some assume that labor is lawless and that
to settle the labor question permanently
we need only enforce the law vigorously.
I yield to none in inslstence upon obedl-
go. - a. L. -. l. L. -.
man society, and its enforcement is essen
tial to peace and order, but we must rem
edy abuses by law II we would insure re-
speot for, and obedience to, law.
"The important lesson to be learned by
the citizen in a government like our is
that the ballot is both shield and sword
1t protects him from injury and e~nforces
his rights.
Handicap to Labor.
THE labor organization has been seri-
ously handicapped by the fact that It has
heen-and en- not sure that it has not
been done unwittingIy-yoked up with the
Industrial combinations known as trusts.
The pronenoss of trust defenders to use the
labor organization as an excuse for COM
binations in restraint OF trade has aroused
the suspicion that they have been classed
tOBelheI lVI the PURPOSE Oh sulelolnk the
combinations OF capital. As the result of
eighteen years OF antitrust legislation, only
one man has been given penal sentence for
violating the federal law on this subject,
and that man was a member of a labor
organization rather than a trust magnate.
The laboring nan is justified in his de.
mand that a distinction shall be drawn be-
tween the labor organization and the In
dustrial monopoly.
1.-The trust and the labor organization
cannot be described I'm the same language.
The trust magnates have used their power
TO amass swollen fortunes, while no one
will say that the labor organization has
as yet secured for Its members more than
their share OF the profits arising from their
work. But there are fundamental differ
ences. The trust is a combination of dol
lars; the labor organization Is an associa-
ton Of human beings. In a trust a few
men attemtp to control the products Of
others; in a labor organization. the mem
bers unite for the protection OF that which
is their own, namely, their own labor.
which, being necessary to their existence,
Is a part OF them. The trust deals with
dead matter; the labor organization deals
with life and with Intellectual and moral
forces. No Impartial student Of the sub
tect Will deny the right OF the laboring man
to exemption from the operation OF the ex-
isting antitrust law.
IF the labor organization needs to be
regulated by law, let IL be regulated Ly a
law which deals with man as man. and not
by a law that was aimed to prevent he
cornering Of a commodity OF the forestalliug
Of the market
The Injunction Issue.
After discussing the injunction issue. Mr..
Bryan said:
There are two questions. however, intI-
mately connected with the labor problem
upon which the democratic and republican
parties do not agree, and 1 not only feel
AZ liberty 70 discuss these, but. under the