East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-09-05
TEDDY TALKS
TO LABORERS

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its normal progress. The public SYM
pathizes cordially with any movement
for a good standard Of living. Il per-
sonally, for instance, cordially believe
in an eight-hour day, and in one day
in seven for complete rest.) Where
men and women are worked under
harsh and intolerable conditions and
can secure no relief without a strike,
or, indeed, where the strike is clear
ly undertaken for things which are
vitality necessary-and then only as
last resort-the public sentiment
will favor the wage-workers; but it
will not favor them unless such con-
ditions as these are fulfilled. There
fore it is becoming more than ever
important that the labor movement
should combine steady, farseeing lead
ership with discipline and control in
its ranks. Dishonest leadership is a
curse anywhere in American life, and
nowhere Is it a greater curse than in
the labor movement. II there Is one
lesson which 1 would rather teach to
my fellow Americans than any other.
it is to hound down the dishonest
man--no matter what his condition
and to brush aside with impatient
contempt the creature who only de-
nounces dishonesty when 1t is found
in some special stratum. There are
dishonest capitalists, dishonest busi-
ness men; dishonest men of great
wealth and dishonest poor men; and
the man who is a genuins reformer
will decline to single out any one type
for exclusive denunciation, but will
fearlessly attack the dishonest man
as such, whenever and wherever he is
to be found.
Labor Leaders.
For many years have been more
or less closely associated with repre-
sentative leaders Of labor unions.
Some of these men are among my
close friends, whom respect and ad-
mire as heartily as I do any men in
America. They are some of them to
whom 1 go as freely for assistance and
lOI dlu anu hCip' iiioh-
ing up my mind how to deal with our
social problems, as I go to the lead
ers of any business or profession. 1
cannot pay too high a tribute to the
worth and integrity of these men
to their sincerity and good judgment
as leaders. But no movement-no
adership-however earnest and
honest. can endure unless the rank
and file live up to their duties, and
search for such leadership, and sup
port 1t when they find it. If the best
men in a labor union leave its man.
agement and control to men of
poorer type, the effect will be just as
disastrous as when good citizens in
city follow the same course as regards
city government. The stay-at-home
man in union is just as much re
sponsible for the sins of omission and
commission of his organization as the
stay-at-home man in a city is for the
civic conditions under which he suf-
fers and about which he complains.
All that can be properly done
should be done by all of us to help up
ward the standard of living and to
improve the ability of the average
man to reach that standard. There
are still in the United States great
masses of skilled and unorganized la
Dor. whose conditions of work and
living are harsh and pitiable. 1t is
a shocking indication of our industrial
condition to be told in matter-of-
course way in a government report
that thousands of workers in this
country are compelled to toll every
day in the week. without one day rest
for wage of s45 a month. Such
condition is bad for them, and, in the
end bad for all of us. Our COM
mercial development should be heart
lily encouraged; but it must not be al
lowed to commercialze our morals.
1t is not merely the duty of the
wage-earner, but it is also the duty
of the general-public. to see that he
has safe and healthy conditions un-
der which to carry on his work. No
worker should be compelled, as a con-
dition of earning his daily bread, to
risk his life and limb. or be deprived
of his health, or have to work under
dangerous and bad surroundings.
society owes Ine worker lllS DtCduSt
it owes as much to itself. He should
not be compelled to make this mat
ter of contract; he ought not to be
left to fight alone for decent condi-
tions in this respect. His protection
in the place where he works should
be guaranteed by the laws of the land.
In other words, he should be protect
ed during his working hours against
greed and carelessness on the part of
unscrupulous and thoughtless en-
ployers, just as outside of those work
ing hours both he and his employer
are protected in their lives and prop
erty against the murderer and thief.
This opens a vitality important field
of legislation to the national govern
ment and to the state alike. 1t is hui
initiating to think how far we of this
country are behind most of the other
countries in such matters. Practical
ly all civilized countries have, for
more than a decade, prohibited by the
strictest regulations the poisonous
match industry; yet we had not done