The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-09-26

cal invention To work wonders fc- -N~
wage earners. They are he-a
practical turn Of mind PATIENT.
gagged in a piece Of business. n.
they sentiment Aye. in it p.a-.
Hope? Certainly, to its definI,e r4
its Idealism? Truly. as toned 49,
to experience But emotional inSr.-,
ton to action are rarely worked ..
on the convention floor. An assam
ton that governs the speakers Is ,t-.
their fellow-delegates have all ua~s..t
through the primary stages OF ear-
v%iction.' conversion" change .r
heart from sim and 'determInatf,u
to live up to duty" Their
fore the arguments are mostly mus
terings of fact germane To the pend
ing question. Now and again. uatrs--
ally, a misplaced reformer declares
his radicaliSrn, or a fresh recruit dis
plays his aWkwardneSS in the drit .-
a braShy youth talks as wildly as A
one-term member of a l~egiSlat.re
but toward the performances OF these
Irreguiars the attitude OF the conyen-
ton is that OF the giant To the child.
There may be a wave OF amused
laughter, and the incident is over
The gallery spectator may have the
usual run of initial inquiries q gard
ing trade niOnism answered in the
development of the proceedings uu
the floor. Why, he viii ask. orgariz-
ed labor?
Why organized labor? After Two
days in the gallery, the spectator may
we'll be inclined to ask, Why NOT or
ganlzed labor in the absence OF me
union, who could speak with any
force to the individual employer or
the employing class on behalf Of the
employed, as their delegates 30 nv
eason of their Office Who could
render la Dor laws affarriNa VIVA
could ever present the complaints %
the non-unionists, either to employ
ers or society? Who could tell the
world that there IS a labor question
In the statements of delegates, from
any OF the occupations represented in
the convention, made not necessarily
for Justification OF unionism. bat
rather in explaining everyday work.
is convincing testimony that in the
conduct of industry in general labor
is treated as a commodity in the mar
ket, the item of labor in the book
keeping of IN employer runs along
in the column with the items Of raw
materials or other supplies. All things
equal, the business man buys in the
cheapest market. He exercises his
choice in buying from one dealer ~
another in coal or ore, lumber or
Gather. Similarly, he plays off labor
against labOr-the stock of unempioy-
ed labor against his own employed Ia
Dor. notwithstanding the waste OF
this process as a general thing the
dealers in materials survive through
foresight, management. judg-
ment, of the average market prices,
and their being able to wait. Bat the
W~age-WOrker as a seller of labor,
usually cannot wait. Standing alone,
his labor is usually on a forced mar
ket, he com peteS for employment with
his fellows, his wages tend to fall, and
if the conditions under which he
works are bad he cannot afford to
demonstrate. In this situation, where
can he find succor? In reply TO TINS
question the genius of this age has Of
fered two solutions. The first Is. to
reform or revolutionize social condl-
tons Unhappily, the multiplicity OF
this solution BATTLE the masses. put
in office" the doctors say, so mat
| may compel society to AXE my
medicine Verify, the result, thus far,
not remedied that defect in the
labor market whereby the excess or
the seekers for work over places Tor
them puts in jeopardy the security OF
W-aSe-earner at work. Hearty.
the worker must try the other
which modern times have de
veloped-the mastering of the labor
market by the Wage-workers, mandG-
the sale of their labor in comb
nation. The New York Labor liu-
reau reports from year to year six
per cent. or three. or perhaps light,
Of the organized workers as Gnem-
When insured by the solid
arity Of their labor organizations
low wages when their time
shall come to get work, tn idle
union members refuse to sell their
labOr in the market at the buyers first
bid. Besides, in a progressive degree
years see the trade union mem
insured also against sickness,
accident. death, and unemployment
Further, the union not only enforce5
akin of law prescribing condl-
tons conservative of the health and
Of the workers. u injects Itte
into such laws. That all these state
nents are facts not to be c~ontradicted,
and vitality the