Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1910-08-04

WHEN TO STRIKE; HOW
TO STRIKE
BY Oscar II. Crosby, G. p. Pntnam's
Sons, New York. Cloth $1.25.

Sons, New York. Cloth $1.26.
While Mr.. Crosby does not pretend
to offer any formula by which endless
contest may be avoided" he has ap-
preached his subject seriously. and ex-
pains modestly that "any error" of his
should be ascribed to lack of under
standing, rather than to want of ex
perience or sympathy" and this ought
to mollify all of the rest of us who
are so sure that we have the only pat
ented plan of progress.
One important conclusion reached
by Mr.. Crosby is that workers have /
right to boycott, which, he says, is the
actual practice of the few" In thes
DAYS of damages and dungeons fo'
Labor boycotters, this is refreshingll
close to contempt of some our courts
He thinks the boycott will last as lon,
as competitive system, though he sug
gests that changing the word tore
fusal" might divest it of its inherite.
terrors and leave it it's value. He find
strikes both moral and legal, and con
cludes that we should strike for what
ever we may desire, If it cannot other
wise be more easily obtained; and i
the, thing desired be not wrongful!
THE final definition is left to the gene
raj conscience He does not look =
arbitration as the cure-all, for, thong
"the cheapest medicine, it may kill In
stead of cure" He sees two contend
ing forces in production, the privat
and the general, and that both wan
all they can get, but his idea of CAPT
tails part in production is faulty, TO
he believes it only exists as a directin
force and apparently does not 'conside
the coupon clippers and watefed stock
manipulators as worthy of attentio.
He fixes arbitrarily the return of cap
tai at 4 per cent. and thinks tool Xxi
a carpenters capital.
Now, nobody has any objection 7
the kind Of capital that Mr.. Crosb
sees, the trouble comes when those VIII
work must pay the dividends on tn
capital owned by those who do n
work. The labor of direction is a
necessary as the labor of operation.
brain-labor as necessary as Drawn
labor, and we must have the natura
resources to change, by labor, int
forms of use to humanity, but whe
a giant carpenter owns a kit of gian
tools and rents them to a million pig
mics and charges them, as ( rental
three-fourths of all they can produc
by their labor, applied to the natura
resources, and using the tools, thei
capital becomes burdensome and tn
million tool users may well ask them
selves if their contentious with thu
tool owner may not be ended by them
| selves owning the too1s and, instead o
paying portion of their product t.
him, retain for themselves all tina
they themselves produce. He would
like to see the workers all become littl
capitalists; yet this is impossible fol
| to be a capitalist means that you mus
have someone to work for you, and =
we reach the happy end where We al
| work for each other, then we have
something far different from capital
| ism.
Yet, with all, Mr. Crosby sympathy
with the workers is evident in ever,
| line, though he does not offer the ''cure
ALL We believe that he will not pu
an obstace in the way of one who ca.
convince him that he has the ''cure
| ALL" He says that we will not have
accomplished much until every one
who is willing to work shall be pro
vtded with a full belly, warm body
/ a seperate room and good book
"And he believes that if there should
Z come a system of society where there
would be less individual gain for tht
few, there would be less product anG
more happiness.
The book is well worth reading.