The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1914-09-05
dBER 5, 1911
BY. Herbert CasSon.

Two thousand years ago all COL
lege professors and philosophers and
capitalists declared that laborers had:
no souls, Even Plato said that the
slave had only "haf-soul."
Consequently, slaves were barred
from religions services. All the "con-
solutions of religion" were put beyond
their, reach, and the only moral in
struction they received came from
their own organizations. The early
trade union was half church. It's
meetings were opened with short
prayer, and images of Minerva and
Ceres were generally to be found IN
the halls where the slaves assembled
Today it is universally acknowl-
edged in theory that workingmen have
souls; but as a. matter of fact the only
moral instruction that thousands of
them receive comes from their trade
uniens.s Asa rule, workingmen do not
go to church, not because they are
more moral than those who do, but
because series of social and eco
nomic reasons for which there is no
space here. The tremendous. task of
giving practical moral instruction to
l. a great number of the wage-earning
masses of our great cities is left to a
great extent to the trade union or
ganizers and editors.
In respect to the moral instruction
of Wage-workers, the unions have sue
ceeded where other agencies have
failed. One hundred and fifty years
ago, when unions were weak, the
standard of morality was very much
hor &c m,
said that one-quarter of all the print
ers he knew were drunkards and one
half were regular drinkers. Unions
have always promoted temperance.
stop your cursed drinking!' was the
advice given on all occasions by
noted labor organizer. In one prom
lnent union, any member losing work
through drink is find one dollar. In
another, member who attends
meeting in an intoxicated condition
Is fined one dollar, and five dallars if
he attends a funeral while under the
influence of liquor Some unions have
gone so far as to impose a fine for
profanity; how many capitalists clubs
have done likewise?
A close study of early American his
tory shows that the little red school,
house" was by no means so universal
as we have been led to suppose In
colonial days the British governors
were strongly opposed to educating
the working people or their children.
Sir William Berkeley, governor of
Virginia, said:, II thank God there are
no free schools or printing. houses in
Virginia; for learning has brought dis
obedience and heresy and sects into
the world" 49,. :.
At first, when the unions demanded
free education, the ruling classes tried
to compromise by giving the "pauper
Schools which were only for the
very poor They were started in PENN
sylyania in 1913, but were, wisely op-
posed by the workin gmen, who con-
tinued to antdgonize them until the
public schools we're established.
Some striking stories are told insthe
chronicles of those times of the heroic
struggles Of the poorer people to edu-
cate themselves and their children
Thurlow Weed, for instance, when but
lad in his teens, wrapped pieces of
old carpet around his feet, having nei-
Their shoes nor stockings, and walked
several miles through the snow to
borrow >':History Of the French Rev.
olution.' Enough cases of this kind
could be collected to fill a book,
showing that our public schools and
public library systems were not
gift from the wealthy and educated to
the working classes, but rather: arose
In response to the persistent demand
Of the latter for equal educational
advantage. = .: +
When the trade unions of Boston
built hall in 1886 as their general
meeting place and headquarters, the
first: use they made of it was to ar
range a course of lectures on political
economy. education, phreno1ogy, cor
porations, history, machinery, etc. It
seems to be the most sensible and
comprehensive lecture course ever
delivered up to that date. Yet the I'M
ionists had been compelled. to build
! their hall through the erefusal of every.
society in Boston to rent it's hall for
trade-union purposes,
BY 1916 labor organizations began
to esta blisf libraries and reading
rooms. In the Boston Laborers' union
the members were, assessed. 81 a.year
for the library, and cheerfully paid it.
The Baltimore Bricklayers' Union has
spent over $4,000 on their library, and
tax themselves 81 a year to maintain
it. In Detroit there is a poor me-
chanic who has 'nosed around old
bookstores" and collected a library of
over 800 volumes. 1t is safe to state
that the books in these labor libraries
have been selected, not for the sake
of binding, or the edition, or any
other reason which degrades author
ship and literature, but for the sake
of the information and ideas which
the books contained. Hundreds of
trade union papers and magazines are
| today being most ably edited.
Labor organizers were among the
first to advocate the kindergarten and
the school Of technology, long before
! both became the popular institutions
which, they are today. one of our
most progressive and minded
educators, Prof. r. T.. ELY. mas had
the courage to state that trade UNI
ions are among the foremost of our
educational agencies, ranking next to
our churches and public schools in