The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-17
PRESIDENT TAF I
 SPEAKS TO GREAT
 CHICAGO CROWD
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1.)


 forts to secure higher wages have &C., complished.
 Opposition Element.
 T know there is an element among employers of labor and investors of cap ital, which is utterly opposed to the or ganization of labor. 1 cannot sympathizc with this element in the slightest de- gree. 1 think it is a wise course for laborers to unite to defend their inter ests. It is a wise course for them to provide a fund by which, should oc- casion arise, and strikes or lockouts fol- low, those who lose their places may be supported pending an adjustment of the differences. I think the employer who declines to deal with organized la Dor and to recognize 1t as a proper element in the settlement of wage con- troversies is behind the times. There Is not the slightest doubt that if labor had remained unorganized wages would be very much lower.
 There is a higher standard of liv- ing among American laborers than In any country in the world, and while there have doubtless been a good many other reasons for this certainly the ef- feet of the organization of labor has been to maintain a steady and high rate of wages, making such a standard of living possible.
 No Criticism Meant.
 Nothing I have said or shall say should be construed into an attitude of criticism against or unfriendliness to those workingmen who for any reason do not join unions. Their right to labor for such wages as they choose to &C., cept is sacred and any lawless invasion of that right can not be too severely condemned. All advantages of trades unionism, great as they are, cannot weigh feather in the scale against the right of any man lawfully seeking em- ployment, to work for whom and what price he will And I say this with all the emphasis possible, even though the fact is that if I were a workingman, should probably deem it wise to join a union for the reasons given.
 ''The effect of organized labor upon such abuses as the employment of child labor. as the exposure of laborers to undue risk In dangerous employments, to the continuance of unjust rules of law, exempting employers from liability for accidents to laborers, has been direct, immediate and useful, and such reforms in these matters, as have taken place, would probably be long delayed but for the energetic agitation of the questions Dy tHe TcpTebcntdtiVeS or organized la- bor Of course, when organized labor permits itself to sympathize with violent methods, with breaches of the law, with boycotts, and other methods of undue duress, it is not entitled to our sym pathy. But it Is not to be expected that such organizations shall be perfect and that they may not at times and in particular eases show defective tenden- cies that ought to be corrected.
 Good Points Noted.
 "There is one thing to be said in re- spect to American trades unionism, that its critics are not generally alive to. In France the trades unions are intensely socialistic. Indeed, In some of the late difficulties 1t was plain that there was 8 strong anarchistic feeling among them and that they opposed all authority of any kind. It is also plain that the ten dency toward socialism in England and Englands trades unions is growing stronger and stronger. I need not point