The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-28
UN|ON|STS URGE
WILSON s DEFEAT
Denounce Him for Stand Taken
Against Organized
Labor.
FEDERATION TAKES ACTION
Calls Upon All Union Men to
Assist in Preventing His
Nomination.
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Especial TO The Times-Dispatch.

Especial to The Times-D ispatch.1
New York, August 27.-Henry F. His
fers. secretary OF the New Jersey Fed
Grafton of Labor. sends to the newspa-
pers the following communication
which he says is drawn out by the
''conslde cradle Misrepresentation OF the
attitude OF the federation toward Dr..
Wilson since the adoption ten days
ago Of It's resolution condemning him
for his course toward trades unions:
1T seems to me that DR.. Wilson Is
wrong on the labor question. 1t must
be understood that the 'shiftless and
incompetent workmen' are here and
must live and that the competent and
able workmen' must protect themselves
and everybody else from the weaknesses
of what DR.. Wilson pleases to call
.shiftless and incompetent workmen.'
Labor is like sugar or any other
commodity. It Is subject to the law
OF supply and demand. II the work
men are plentiful and the Jobs are
scarce, labor is cheap; II the jobs are
plentiful and workmen scarce. labor ia
dear. Under the economic conditions
In this country. with free labor mar
COMPETENT able and Industrious
workmen, we must treat this question,
knowing that those workmen are here
and must live
Anxious to Buy Chenp.
employers who buy labor are anx-
ious to buy 1t as cheap as possible. II
often happens that there are five work.
men looking for three jobs. with an
iemployer seeking to employ three OF
the five at the cheapest price. Sup
pose he employs three competent men.
leaving two 'shiftless'' and incompetent
men out of employment.
DR. Wilson speaks OF unions as II
they, are detr1ment or as II they
are an obstacle established for mere
trouble. In this he Is wrong. Unions
are the outgrowth OF the necessity OF
the workmen who must sell their labor
70 live and the desire of employers to
buy their labor as cheap as possible.
Unions are the result and not the
cause OF economic troubles. They are
erected and maintained to save human
beings from the vices OF the law Of
competition of labor between tnu
'shiftless and incompetent workmen' on
the one hand and the able and Indus.
Unions are the inevitable result of
able and Industrious workmen's de-
sire to have condition higher than
that demanded by the 'shiftless ana
incompetent workmen
IF DR.. Wilson would examine the
conditions found in any trade in this
country before 1t was uniontzed he
would find that these conditions spell
misery and degradation for the human
beings who worked thereat. and then
compare the conditions with what he
found after the union controlled the
particular trade, he would find i'm
provement on every hand which Is due
to unionlsm
DR.. Wilson, In June 1909, while dis
cIssing labor. said that labor unions
make improbable servants. The facts
show that he Ia mistaken. The only
fair way to judge the value OF q
workman is by looking at the amount
he produces and the share he receives
| for producing II, If DR.. Wilson Will
examine the statistics of the world,
and take tho number of men engaged
III such industries as steel and other
general commodities, he Will lind that
| III this countrysa given number of men
| in q given space of time produce more
and get rs large a share Of that which
| they produce as In any other cpun-
| try Of the world. In other words,
taking into consideration the wages
the workmen receive, which represent
their share of what they produce, and
the amount tho workmen produce, our
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