The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-07-22

AAS ID hot SoiHS to uidW up Iel us against himself. He would be fool ish if he did and these employers, taken by and large, are not fools It is not an agreement between equals. It is an agreement between one who controls the job whereby the other man lives. How can the other man then expect in relation to his employer to benefit by itt He simply cannot, and contract merely protects him to a certain extent against the opposition of the other worker. Just take a look at the terms upon which the Alaska Lighterage and Commercial Co. en- ployed Weckman. Look at the long working day, so long as we said ef ficient service during that time was a physical impossibility. Just look at what was expected of Weckman. He was everything from engineer to boiler maker from fireman to CiOIe DOS. Ahu III lcIuih Ioi IhoI he got a promise of a job that was to last from First day of May un- til the close of navigation. He was to have the job and the other fel- low that looked for it would be denied. Because he signed his name to the terms set forth by his employer, he held work.
 Does Weckman or does any one suppose the Alaska Lighterage or any other corporation makes d con tract with it's employee, if sucn con tracts are not considered beneficial to them? Does anyone suppose that if company believed that it could secure the same serivce with out these contracts they would for one moment enter into them. They give an employee a definite value in securing him work against other workers and in return for that they will weigh against it definite terms which are beneficial to them. The contract stripped of all legal phra- seology is a deed of sale. The man with labor to sell signs up with a buyer of labor power at so much per. Manifestly the buyer has lots of choice. Weckman in this in- stance was not the only man that that the Alaska Lighterage could have hired. But the Alaska Lighterage just at that time was the only company in Nome with certain jobs going at $25O a month for several months. In other words, as a buyer the corporation found lots of supply and as seller Weckman found relatively little de- mand for his wares.
 The contract is the result of the individual worker dealing by him. self and for himself. It is the an- tithesis of a union agreement While union men could get together and say that they would not hire out to the Alaska Lighter age Co. for more than eight hours a day and only for one definite job and would if they all stuck together insist upon it, the individual worker cannot control his rivals in the market and he is bound to sell his labor power also upon such terms or less as the employer may demand.
 Generally speaking what an em- ployer wants is as much work as he can for as little money as possible. It may be protested that this is no. always the case. But that is the case in the only business that will stand the test. It is impossible to expect an employing firm. how. ever we'll intentioned, to regard this in any other light. The em' ployer pays what he has to pay. It may be not what he wants to pay. He nay be forcedsto pay higher by conditions in the labor market or the necessities of getting the work done we'll. quickly and satisfactor- fly. He may pay lower than he wants to pay. But he may be com pelled by competition among rival business men to so reduce the costs of operation as to cut the wages to meet that cost.
 It is conditions of this kind that labor faces and faces always. The remedy sought by the individual is often enough by 2 contract. He establishes himself in a position of