The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1909-04-17
ONE EVERYBODY COLUMN
..' -. '.I FIT; $UNIONISM. ~ =. -,

| Tne trade union should receive
! the respect and forethought of all
! men, the only exception to this
rule that we can grant is, that we
cannot expect respect from the side
of the Misrepresentation OF man,
those. who IN: the worlds industry,
are misfits, those who are the pos
SCISSORS of deformed minds; those
who are possessed with the belief
that they are the pOssessors of all
the knowledge that should fall to
the lot of mankind, the unscrupu-
lous, unbridled, untrammled and
those who have no larger knowledge
of the ways of the world, than to
hold to the belief that what they
can become the possessors of be-
longs without question to them
selves, and no power on earth is
strong enough to say Nay.
| Such beliefs are predominant to-
| day in the field of industry, and
the person who has the moral cour-
, age to question such beliefs, are
recorded upon the mart of con-
tempt, radicals of the first water,
blasphmer of all that is pure and
|
debaucher of honor, the vilifier of
truth, and the murderer of justice,
and should be placed in the frail
bark of contempt cast upon the
ever tossing sea of an egostical be-
lief that I am better than you.
Were it possible for this to be
true, then we could expect but
little from. complete organization
of the workers, if we could drop
our petty beliefs, and try to con-
serve our interests under the head
of economic need or necessity could
we but come to an understanding,
that we must pool our interests I'M
der one head, we must work as one
man for the common cause to which
we are pledged, we must become
conscious of the fact that the in
&erests of one are the interests of
all, we must become: conscious that
the members of the working class
are doomed to remain members,
that our chances to raise ourselves
out of our ranks into the ranks
of the exploiters have passed, and
we who are the slaves to the con-
ditions and our environment, are
doomed to pass our lives in the fu-
ture, In a: more .deplorable, more
unjust, and many thousand times
more inhumane conditions than we
have in the past. ..s- 90.
What must we do. In order to
seek relief from such conditions,
what do our inner most thoughts
finger of fate seems*to point? Is
L kerH fe
it not an reorganization Of fntelH-
can combat: the" fiendish organiza-
ton of power a power that has
derived it's rights, by practicing by
hook or crook the receptions that
have robbed us Of honor, and as
present indications point will weld
the letters of an unbridled tyranny
that will compel us to answer the
brutalized call of the master, wheth-
er we be men or women.
Let us become class-conscious, let
us understand that the interests Of
all workingmen are alike, that
brothers of the common cause of
the better humanity, to which call
no higher aim has ever been d.
rected, we must build an organiza-
ton that can withstand the bombs
hurled at it by the manufacturers,
we must teach them that We, the
workers who produce the wealth
that they receive, must have a right
to state upon what terms we will
work, we as unionmen are the
scientific expression in the indus
tries in which wealth is produced,
and for the sake of argument we
may allow that the Intelligent ex-
preston comes from the ranks of
the manufacturers, what would be-
come of them were it not for us,
could they live as manufacturers,
while upon the other hand could
we live and have our being with
out them.
We must become conscious that
our doom as workers is sealed, we
must become consciou sthat labor is
virtue and not a curse, we must
become conscious that it is not a
crime to demand the rewards of our
labor, we must become conscious
that morally we are right, we must
remember that Moses let the slaves
out of the fields which belonged
to Pharaoh, and that Christ taught
that the laborer was worthy of his
hire.
P. G.. PHILLIPS.
| TAKING LAND VALUES.
l. N11c1a Colorado Anril 1Q0o