The daily sentinel., 1913-03-13

does not make the sheep MS frlend-
Some don't believe in collective
bargaining. There isn't any other
kind. There isn't any other kind.
II an individual seeks employment
with railroad company they have
printed list of wages, he can take 1t
or let 1t alone. If he seeks employ
ment with telegraph company, why
he takes what they offer. You could
not haggle with the superintendent,
not for a moment. But II they can
all go together they can haggle and
bargain Today there is no chance
for any kind of bargaining except col
lective bargaining, and unless men
in certain lines of industry get to-
gether they are simply helpless.
There isn't any man that wants
to give up any of the liberty he has,
nobody has too much: the problem
has always been to get more. No
body likes to give up his trade union;
man likes. SO far as he can. to be
the master of his own life. He
doesn't pay his dues over to trade
union because he likes the scheme
but because it is absolutely necessary
to his life and because he can't get
any comparative liberty unless he
gives up this much and joins with
have no doubt some wiser way
could be devised. but still it is the
best that so far has been devised.
The labor union stands for the COM
paratiye independence that the work
ingman has and without it that in
dependence would be lost.
There are great many catch
words and expressions used against
the closed shop. We are told by
people that don't believe in it-rath-
er don't want to believe in it-that
a man has the right to work for
whom, with whom and for what
wages he pleases; that a man has an
inalienable right to work. That
sounds good, doesn't it? The next
time anybody tells you that ask him
where your job is? There isn't any
such thing as an tnalienable right to
work, or inalienable right to any
thing else. An inalienable right is
something that cannot be taken away
and / don't know what that is. GER
tainly it isn't a job because that can
be taken away.
A man in this world has Just about
as much right as he can get and it
is idle to talk about thing he can
not get. Inalienable rights are well
enough for the Fourth of July. but
they don't work any other time of
the year and then they are only good
for politicians.
The closed shop then is war
measure and absolutely necessary as
. war measure. 1t is right when you
can get it, when yeu can't get it, il
isn't,
} The other fellows have n closed
shop and therefore they are stronger.
, The steel trust has closed shop
there is but one place where you can
get their goods. The lawyers have
: closed shop. The doctors have n
closed shop and you must belong to
their union or you havn't the right
to kill anybody. The lawyers are
about the same. and the ministers
are lengthening out their course OF
study, whatever it is, so there won I
be so many of them. Everybody has
his union nobody opposes any union
except the worklngmen's unions; no.
body opposes apprenticeship except
the workingmen' apprenticeship.
. Employers know that it is harder
to control worllingmen who are or
ganized than il is to control individ-
uals. so when work Is slack and men
are laid off the jobs usually fall to
the non-union man because he can
be used against the union. 1t is a
matter of business, he makes a fav-
orite of the man he can control. He
doesn't want men who give their
first allegiance to the union, he
wants the first allegiance.
When a worllingman becomes n
member of union he knows that the
non-union man, or scab, will be used
to cut down his wages; that he will
work in an unsanitary factory, and
long hours that he will stand for
anything because he stands alone,
and when men stand alone they are
helpless, no matter how good they
may be, goodness has nothing to do