The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1910-06-30


wildering maze of conflicting ideas ant
divergent doctrines. Such a man, unles.
he has special interest in the subject
is liable to have his opinions formed
from disJointed, scattering and often un
trustworthy information. At one time
he reads of trade unionists attemptiue
to raise wages or reduce the hours OF
labor, or demanding recognition of the
UNION, or urging a sympathetic strike
or resisting or denouncing Federal in
junction. AT other times the trade un
lonlst seems to be taken up with such
questions as whether the foreman should
or should not belong to the union; whe.
ther the unlonist shall or shall not work
with the non-union men; whether par
tlcular factory is in sanitary condition ;
whether II certain machine is sDeeded IN
too much or not enough; whether the
temperature of given factory is such
as to endanger the health of the opera
tives; what differential should be paid
for new machine, and SO on.
In some instances the unonist seems
to be insisting upon pay by the piece
and IN other cases refusing absolutely to
nave anything to do with the piecework
system. At one time the unionists ap-
pear TO be at war with one another or
with employers, and at other times they
are meeting amicably in gigantic feder-
atlons or legislating in conjunction with
associations of employers for the conduct
and management of great industries.
In the hundreds of national trade I'M
cal groups into which these organiza-
tions are divided, various problems ar.
encountered and various measures taken
in each exigency. The result is per.
fectly bewildering series Of rules and reg.
ulations in which the ordinary man sees
neither rhyme nor reason, except. per
haps, that he observes in vague outline
the ever-present desire on the part of
the workingmen to improve their con
ditions and to raise the standard of life
and labor.
The cOmplexlty of trade uniouism.
however, is merely the complexity of
human life itself. No matter how sim
pie and fundamental the principles of
an organization, its rules and regulations
necessarily become complex as soon as
they encounter the diverse conditions that
characterize the modern life.
In its fundamental pr1nclpie. trade
unionism is plain and clear and simple.
1t starts from recognition of the fact
that, under normal conditions, the indi.
vidual, unorganiZed workman cannot bar
gain advantageously with his employer
for the sale of his labor. Since the
workingman has no money in reserve and
must sell his labor Immediately; since,
however, he has no knowledge of the
market and no skill of bargaining; be-
cause, finally, he has his own labor to
sell, while the employer engages hun
dreds, or even thousands of men, and
can easily do without the services of anv
particular individual, the workingman, if
bargaining on his own account and for
himself alone, is at an obvious disadvan-
tage.
Trade unionism recognizes the fact
that under such conditions labor becomes
more and more degenerate, because the
labor which the workman sells is, unlike
other commodities, a thing which is of
his very life and soul and being In the
individual contract between a powerful
employer and a single workman the la
borer will secure the worst of the bar
gain. lie is progressively debased be-
cause of wages insufficient to buy nour-
lShlng food, because of hours too lono
to permit of sufficient rest because of
conditions of work destructive of moral
mental and physical health and finally
because of danger of accident and dis
ease, which kill off the workingman OF
permanently age him.
The individual bargain or individual
contract between employers and mer
means that the condition of the worst
and lowest man in the industry will be
that which the average man must accept
From first to last, from beginning to end
always and everywhere, trade unionisn
stands unalterably opposed to the indi
vidual contract There can be no con
| cession or yielding upon this point. NJ
temporary betterment will permanent,
! compensate workingmen for surrenderins
in any part this fundamental principle
To find a subSt itute for the individua