Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-08

like the political economist Of former
times, has been interested chiefly in
the amount Of production; he has for
gotten the producer in the goods pro-
duced Trade unionists and other
thoughtful men have laid the emphasis
not upon the goods but upon the man
by whom and ultimately for whom
they are produced. 1t is no longer
the machine but the man at the ma
chine that is taking the center Of the
stage in economic thought.
SENSE of DIGNITY.
Trade unionism distinctly raises
the moral tone of the wage earners
| by infusing into them a sense of the
dignity Of labor There is much lip
service paid to the ennobling effect of
labor and the dignity it confers upon
the workman, but 1t is the trade union,
more than any other institution, that
translates these mere professions into
actual deeds. The unionist feels that
it is not the work itself but the spirit
in which the work is accepted and per-
formed that ennobles the worker. The
principal element that gives to labor
its dignity is its voluntary character.
WHAT HAS BEEN GAINED.
1.-THE great new fact of American
labor is it's organization. The work
ingman has Joined with his fellow
workman and has obtained as a right,
not as a privilege, higher wages, short
er hours and better conditions of life
he ln
agreement, he has secured the right
to be consulted as to the conditions
under which his work shall be per-
formed. Every man who becomes a
member of a trade union subscribes,
substantially, to the following declara-
! ton:
I'VE are pledged to the emancipa-
ton Of our class from poverty, ignor-
, ance and selfishness; to be respectful
in word and action to every woman;
TO be considerate to the widow and the
orphan, the weak and the defenseless,
and never to discriminate against a
fellow worker on account of creed,
color or nationality; to defend free
dom of thought whether expressed by
tongue or pen; to educate ourselves
: and our fellow workers in the history
of the labor movement. We promise
that we will never knowingly wrong
brother or see him wronged when
in our power to prevent it. We will
endeavor to subordinate every selfish
! impulse to the task of elevating the
0 material, intellectual and moral condi
Il IL oil
is MORAL MOVEMENT.
THE trade union movement is pri
marily and fundamentally a mora
movement. While attention is at
{ tracted to It by its strikes and it
struggles, yet the battles it fights IL
defense of the poor and the helpless
are but phases Of the greater move
ment that is making for the mental
y the moral and the physical develop
: ment Of all our people.
II There will be, of course, recession
- and progressions of the trade uniol
J. movement like the ebb and the fioy
5 of the tide. The movement will b
II helped on in days of prosperity an
retarded in days of adversely. Their
e. can be no doubt, however, that tn
II movement is onward and upward.
takes generations to implant dignit
~ in the human breast, but once implan
~ ed II is ineradicable.
said that great, humane philost
At pher. Thomas Carlyle, This that the
re call the organization of labor is tn
or universal vital problem of the world
n
To All Members of John Buford Pos
n the Spanish War Veterans, tn
to Toman's Relief corps and Ladie
of the G. A R: There will be an ope
W meeting of John Buford post on Satu
~ day evening. March 9, and you are il
IN vited to be present W. II. Carpente
adiutant