The Cairo bulletin., 1911-01-05
union PRINCIPLE.
Should Not Be Sacrificed For
Temporary Benefit.
COLLECTIVE BARGAIN VITAL.

ne Ohiy 5asls upon winch Com.
mon Standard o. Wages Can Be Sc
cured by Workers--Labor oraaniza-
ton Must Be Recognized,
| The Dallas Morning News takes the
view that 1t Is not surprising that the
striking express drivers Of New York
rejected an overture that conceded ev-
erything but the demand for the recog-
milton of the union. This is the only
common sense opinion to hold, for
without some organization Of the work.
ers who is to see that the terms Of
! even the more favorable agreement
would be enforced and thus d lasting
peace insured? The News says fur
| Their that the occasion for surprise is
rather In the making of the overture
and continues MS follows
Even IL Il did not involve renun-
citation Of the vital principle OF union
| ism Itself the teamsters would have
good reason to question whether the
advantages thus purchased would be
enduring. Concessions made TO indl-
yiduals are easily Withdrawn after
strikers return Go work and are re-
stored to pacific mood. Gradually
the men find themselves being dis
f, charged, always for cause but ac-
tualy as a punishment for having
struck and as q means Of substituting
other men willing to work for wages
and under conditions which provoked
the strike, Thus the price offered for
the sacrifice of the union principle Of
ten, IL not In 4 majority Of eases, turns
out to be dead sea fruit. The men dis.
play only ordinary prudence in refus-
ing such an overture.
"Wc suppose the legal right Of cor
lpoeaton 70 decline TO enter into a col
lective bargain with its employees il
,indsputable But II ethical principles
impose the duty Of concedlug the same
privilege which one himself exercises
then corporations have no moral right
to decline making collective bargain.
Every act Of a corporation Is itself
collective. Five or six officers of the
United States Steel corporation act for
10000 or more stockholders The cor
poration Is endowed and exercises all
the immense advantages Of collective
bargaining, and yet when 1t refuses to
recognize union II denies that same
privilege to laborers. The adage that
what is sauce for the goose is sauce
for the gander expresses a pretty
sound ethical proposition, aud 1t is this
proposition that the express companies
reject when they decline 70 recognize
the union Of their striking employees.
"There is distinction always over
emphasized, that the corporation Is
financially responsible for breaches of
its agreements. whereas the union IS
not The distinction is more thcorct-
zeal than practical. II the unions are
not financially responsible they are
every day getting a better sense Of
moral responsibility that In most cases
IL ne good a band for abidance by
their agreements as Is the financial
, solvency Of q corporation. A great
, many unions, notably those Of railway
employees and miners. make wage and
, working agreements with corporation
employers, and the instances Of The
= breaking Of these contracts are ey
ceedngly rare. and in the few cases
when they are broken It is not always
clear that the fault has really lair
with the unions. There have beer
cases when it was the employer VIII
In reality broke the contract by pun
poseIy giving an intolerable proyoca
ton, and in these. cases the union
have virtually no legal redress agairf
their employers, so that in point q
financial responsibility employer an
employee are pretty much on parity
| "The demand for recognition Is on
| which union cannot compromise II
| is to be anything more than a sooiet
4 for the exchange OF individual con
/ miseratlon. The legal right Of co
4 poration to refuse to recognize n unip
4 Is likewise inviolable. But the me
4 who exercise that right show little r
4 gard for consistency or moral oblig
4 ton.
i We are pleased to know that y
i Dallas News. one Of the really gre
II and influential newspapers of u
II country. holds such decided views
Il favor Of collective bargaining. Il
Il only possible basis upon which ai
II common standard Of wages, hours
Il conditions could be arranged with Y
II monopollstic express trust II !
n been notorious for years that the ei
A ployees Of the great express CONF
n MES have had numerous and gcnus
a grievances. and the conclusion was
Il evitably reached that without orgal
"A cation nothing could be done to
dress those grievances Union rec9
"A milton prevailed in the great strike
III the cloakmaking Industry in NJ
III York and Philadelphia, and II "
III finally win IN the garment worke
I'll strike In Chicago. a settlement
u any other basis would prove Of
ri lasting benefit to the workers. -Tyl
Il graphical Joarnal.
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