The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-09-13
DEVOTION OF LABOR.
It's Loyalty to the Cause Must
Accomplish Results.
SACRIFICING FOR PROGRESS.

Gives Freely the Best That 10 In Il
That Mankind May 30 Benefited.
Growth Of the Movement In Intsili-
ssnes-Lsadsrs Of Higher Type.
Writing In u recent number Of the
American Magazine under the title
The Old Order Changeth" and CON-
pairing the creation Of public sentiment
with the achievement of its ends as
against public clamor and its eventful
collapse and failure. William Allen
White has this to say OF the American
labor movement:
One of the most ominous shadows
casting itself before some coming
event In our national life is the Ameri-
can Federation OF Labor. And it Is i'm
portant not because it affects SO many
people. though probably 10000. 900
Americans are directly affected by the
life Of the federation; it is important
because Of the way these 100000
people are affected. for all Of them
men who work and their wives. sisters.
children. sweethearts, fathers and
mothers and sympathizing friends
make the federation or some OF Its
component parts their religion. They
are willing to sacrifice not only their
comfort for 1t. but time and again
they do sacrifice their necessities for
it. Their conduct. which is nine-tenths
Of life. is regulated by the federation,
and their creed in religion and politics
is more or less biased by 1t.
The material results Of their altru-
istic faith In the federation may be
seen in the fact that the members
paid $1,257.244 In death benefits last
year and So93,54l in sick benefits.
sos, 254 in unemployed benefits and
81. 594, 759 in strike benefits. Here Is
a grand total Of four and a half mil
dollar means more than a hundred
dollars means to the forces these men
are contending with. And when one
considers what vast amount Of time
and thought and service have come in
proportion to this cause one must rec
ognize that eventually the men who
devote that sacrifice In money and
that time aud thought and personal
service to the common good must &C
COIuplISu real IcSuItS. AoI "udtCSct
error now is impending them. whether
error in their own demands or error in
the claims of their opponents. must 60
down before such an organized force.
For this is not a material world. In
the organization Of this thing We call
civilization there Is no force so resist
less as kindness. and this vast kind
ness of the workers to their brethren.
whatever Of cruelty. whatever Of
meanness 1t may call forth. either on
their own side or on the side OF their
antagonists. in spite OF the evil the
reward in the end. Laws may be
temporarily denied them. courts may
check them and executives keep them
within their legal restrictions, but IL
the end whatever there Is Of unselfish
justice in the demands of labor for
a living wage. will come to them un
der national law. for wien one con
siders how far labor has come in fift!
years in this country. how large has
been its actual as we'll as its compare
tive betterment as the result Of or
ganization. the future becomes some
thing more than Il guess. for today
the organization is Of a higher type
the leaders have broader outlook
and the devotion OF the men and wo-
men inside the organization Is Of
more intelligent kind than ever 1t was
before.