The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-04-08
BY
RAYMOND
ROBBINS

While organized labor fought its bat
! ties on the industrial field. we made ad-
vanccs. You know that struggle init
matcy. You know that when labor with
It's committee met with the committee
Of the employers and sat down at the
table and discussed the demands of labor
we made advances. We made advances be
cause the great human values in our con
tentions carries us on in spite OF the
| forces. But there came a time in this
country about ten years ago when a
great number of employers began to form
into more or less secret organizations.
They were called manufacturers asso-
Citations in some cities, employers asso-
Citations iu some states citizens alliances
them all, regardless of the fair promises
and fair-spoken words. the definite and
organized and powerful purpose was to
break down trade unions in every in
dustry in this country. How did they
go about it? Not by discussing it in
t he open. They went about it by form
ing Hobbies i'll various legislatures by
forming lobby in the Congress OF the
United States by engaging the services
of lawyers who were friendly to spe-
cial Judges who had the pull as it
were of friendship and past favors upon
benches in state and federal courts. Let
us speak the facts as they occurred.
Organized labor then found itself con
testing on the industrial field with the
more or less fair manufacturers of the
country-and | wish to say there are
some manufacturers who are as fair
and reasonable and decent men as can
be found anywhere, and we are mighty
glad to have those men. We found our
selves dealing with them, on the one
hand in the industrial field, while the
other group, the employers of scab la
/ Dor, the labor SINNERS, the labor crush
ers, were organized and bringing their
power to bear upon the Legislature and
courts Of the country. In Illinois, where
it has been my privilege to live for
some time, we have a good many men
and women working today in occupa-
| tiOns that may be called dangerous
| trades by reason of the machinery used
and the condition of the industry There
| is not one word on the statute books of
Illinois which really protects those men
and women from crippled hands and
lost limbs, from crippled bodies and lost
lives in those industries. As matter
of fact tonight the men and women in
Illinois in dangerous trades are less pro
tected than men and women in Finland
and we think Illinois is civilized
community!
Now what happened? Organized labor
bore the burden of the struggle, Just as
organized labor has been the power be-
hind the passage of child labor laws and
all laws that really save the life of man.
They took up the struggle and present
ed reasonable and fair bill in the legis-
laturo in the state of Illinois. 1t was
about to be passed. The Manufacture
er's Association OF Chicago and Illinois
sent to the legislature its secretary, an
able and clever man, who is not too care
full of the truth when he makes state
ments about labor men. He established
lobby and had one or two very able
and clever lawyers at his shoulders all
the time. He began to make arguments
to the legislators and they were not all
addressed to the mind; some of them
were addressed here touching his peck
et.) Some of those legislators built nice
houses when they went home, although
they did not have any money when they
went to the legislature and they were sup
posed to get only $1,000 for their years
service. That bill was lost. Is there
any fair-minded man of any political
persuasion whatever who can bring him