The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1913-01-17
Ill.

The labor movement of the Pacific
Coast is face to face with a new
problem. Much depends on it's solu-
ton.
The Panama Canal is nearing COM
pletion. Two years hence the big Eu-
ropean liners will land at San Fran
cisco and Seattle, direct from the con-
gested districts of Southern and East
ern Europe.
In the New England States, in New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
other states on and near the Atlantic
Coast we have seen the effect of this
sort of immigration. In the cotton
and woolen mills Italians and Slavs
work for wages actually below the
starvation line. In the steel mills the
same conditions prevail. Government
reports, issued after thorough inves-
LEGATIONS are authorities for these
facts.
That the conditions in most coal
mines are somewhat better is wholly
due to the efforts of the United Mine
Workers of America. The crystalized
power of $4,000 organized coal min
ers has prevented the existence of
such degrading conditions as prevail
in the industries that are practically
unorganized.
In the disease-breeding sweatshops
of New York, Chicago, st. Louis and
other cities, we find probably the
worst conditions existing anywhere, a
problem slowly being solved through
the heroic efforts of the Garment
I Workers Unions, and nearly all
sweatshop workers are immigrants
from Eastern and Southern Europe
In the big packing houses hordes
of unorganized toilers from the same
} European countries are shaving under
conditions that stagger imagination.
All of this gives one an idea of
what might happen on this coast af-
ter the opening Of the Panama Canal.
And from the experiences of the min
ment workers, one may readily see
that A FORCE OF WE'LL ORGAN
IZED AND DRILLED WORKERS
WILL ALONE SOLVE THIS MOST
SERIOUS PROBLEM.
We should profit by the costly ex-
j perience of the workers on the At
1 lantic Coast and in the large cities.
I We should organize the unorganized
workers already here. We should
make it possible for the thousands
that are coming to be Immediately alb
sorbed into the great body of organ
j lied labor. We will thus make allies
out of our fellow workers coming from
I the foreign shores, instead of being
i compelled to try to compete with
them, the inevitable result of which
is the starvation wages and disease
j breeding conditions that we see in the
, Eastern States.
The lumber industry is by far the
most important in the West and in
the Pacific Northwest it is absolutely
dominating our economic and social
life. With the lumber workers organ
lied upon the opening of the Canal
great step will have been made to-
ward settling the problem we are now
facing.
That the daily press, which is large
ly controlled by big business, which
again means, in most localities, the
big lumber interests, is alive to the
situation has been made clear by edi-
torial expressions in these papers dur
ing the last few months. The Amer
ican-Reveille, of Bellingham, Wash,
has perhaps displayed little more
bluntness in handling this question
than any other newspaper. Under the
heading, Opening of Canal Will Solve
Labor Problem" this paper, which is
owned by the same interests that con-
troll The Ledger and The News, of
} Tacoma, says in part:
Labor is now rather high in price
and scarce. But the opening of the
} Panama Canal two years hence will
see the landing of $4,000 laborers from
the South of Europe on the Pacific
!, Coast, the greater portion of this num-
ber coming direct to the Puget Sound.
! Here will the labor problem be solved.
Plenty of cheap and faithful labor to
clear land, to spray, to prune, to pick
i, and pack. The fruit grower of the
Pacific Northwest will be able to have
! his fruit picked and packed by skilled
labor within three years for tithe
of what it costs him now. And that is
why so many people are going into
the berry and fruit business on a
large SCALE Until now the cost of
clearing land has been almost prohi.
\ bitive. With italian and Slav labor
two years from now 1t can be done
! for one-third the cost, at berry pick
! ing fruit picking and packing, immi
grafton of laborers from Southern Eu
rope will solve the problem that has
I confronted the Pacific Coast produ
GERS, farmers and fruit raisers from
the day Chinese immigration was pro
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