Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-01
uatiOnS which disturb lis human heinps

uations which disturb us human beings
suppose We could find that thing
Couldn't We jump on that, both sioes
labor and capital and the public? And
might We not then find a way out?. Let's
take an impersonal look at this laundry
business.
The employers say that the bad condi-
tons are really the fault of the workers
themselves. They say that most of the
work Is easily learned; that young girls
ana DOys VINO are unprepared for more
dlHlcult trades crowd into 1t. and that
the free and easy way in which the bust
ness has always been conducted permits
skylarking, loud and bantering talk and
fun. Girls who go off to the mills, for
example often come back to the longer
hours end worse pay of the steam laun-
dry, for the fun of it. So there is COM
petition for the work. and, therefore, the
workers underbid each other and cut
their own wages. This is the statement
OF the employer. Make it as an accuse
ton and the strikers will deny it. But
draw strike leader into conversation
and he will tell you the same story
The leader who told me about one la,,n-
dry. where the boss is a good fellow
and an "easy spender," who takes his
girls out to late suppers, etc, put some
Indignation into his charge. but he went
on to say that. as matter of fact. he
couldn't get that place to strike. Life is
interesting there. And so, generally, the
employers charge that the employees are
to blame for the conditions they are strik-
Ing against is true-if anybody is to
blame.
Careless Boys and Girls.
But this diagnosis isn't scientific. 1t
wouldn't be fair to leave the blame for
their own condition upon these careless
boys and girls, and their more hopeless
older fellow-craftsmen. We can see. if
thpV hat hoy
labor in open competition. and that their
wages and their working and living con-
ditions are being fixed by the law of sup
ply and demand.
And neither are We going to put the
blame where the strikers nut IT. upon
their employers. The law of demand and
supply affects Bosses too; it determines
the wages they must pay For they also
are in competition. They are competing
with one another. And there you have
ting that wages should be higher, cannot
raise them. If one employer alone
should pay more he would be beaten in
the struggle for business. If two or
three or any number less than all should
raise the price paid for labor those that
kept wages down would have an ad-
vantage. Something decides that.
So the question changes from who"
what's the matter? And the answer, on
the surface, is that there are two unOr-
ganized groups of human beings contend
ing against each other under the pres
sure of an economic or a natural law
which is hurting them both and hurting
society, too.
The next question changes also now. We
are to ask, not who's to be DONE, but
what's to be done?
Form an Organization.
And the answer lies on the surface The
first thing to be done is what both sides
up there In Harlem are doing. They are
organizing The employers, unable to
deal separately with the question Of
wages, have formed an association. It's
loose organization, but it will make it
possible for them all to raise wages and
shorten hours, IL they have to. But they
not only will not have to, they will be
able to, unless their employees also organ
ize. Dimly perceiving this, the laundry |
to. Like their employers. having been for
years in competition, they don't know and |
don't like one another very we'll. They |
have unions. There are two branches in |!
New York of the International Laundry
Workers. but both Of them had run down |
till they were useless and powerless. The |
strike increased the membership, of |
course: that's the only reason tue labor |
leaders promote strikes. Capital is right |
there. And capital is right also in saying |
that the labor unions have to force the |
to strike. The laundry unions "had to" |
have this strike to re-establish them
selves, and they have hard work. not only |
to get the strikers to join the union, out |