The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1916-03-02

for congress from this district, has
given out the following letter discuss
ing imro rorta it questions:
/ am strongly in favor Of labor unions.
1t is the Gbd-given right of every man,
andhis right as a citizen of this great
country, to organize and unite with his
fellowmen for the purpose of improv-
ing his conditions. in general. No man
will dispute this as general propo-
sition. 1t is as natural for men to or
ganize for the general uplift of all and
for the bettering of conditions and sur
roundings as it is for water to run down
HILL
Lets look around, at ourvery doors,
and see what we find along this line.
The cotton mills, doctors, dentists, law
yers, merchants, bankers and hundreds
OF other trades and professions have
their organizations. Then why is it
wrong for the mill operatives to organ
lze? Why is he alone singled out as the
one class of our citizens ''who shall not
organize" for the betterment of his con-
ditlons? 1t seems to me very short
sighted policy of some of our mill presi-
dents to pursue the policy some have the
past months. Would it not be better
for them to say to their help, eyes, go
ahead and organize, try dsselect the
best men from your ranks for officers
and committeeman to represent you, and
when you have any grievance or COM
plant to make, we will meet you half
way. We will talk the matter over,
hear your side of the case and then pre-
sent ours, and as reasonable men we
can get together and adjust the matter"
This seems to me to be the right.course
to pursue and when anything is founded
upon right you stand upon very high
ground. 1t is a shameful state of af-
fairs when white men, living in free
country ''The land of the free and the
home of the brave"-are actually afraid
to mention a word, above whisper, in
favor of labor unions for fear of being
Immediately turned off and thrown out
of employment. do not vouch for the
truthfulness of the following, but it is
generally talked that if man takes any
part in the getting up of union, or
even speaks favorably of them, his job
is gone. And it is very difficult mat
ter to get another position with any of
the mills in this section. If this be true
it is the rankest sort of oppression and
should not be tolerated. l hope it is not
true, for it is SO unreasonable on it's
very face it is hard to believe business
men would actso foolishly. Any person
who would transmit, by phone or letter,
the name of any man who had been dis
charged for the reason he was in sym
pathy with labor unions ought to be liza
ablescriminally and any mill which ooun
tenances any such act should be liable
for damages. 1t is an outrage that free
white men should be bounded from pill
lar to post in any such manner when he
is only exercising his right as citizer
of this great country - the freedom OF
which we boast so much
l say to the mill operatives to organ
ize. The longer you put Il off just so
long are you standing in youi own light.
The masses of our people, both town
and country, are at our back. If our
mills continue the course in which they
have started they will soon find them
selves in the very unenviable position
the railroads deliberately placed them
selves by the way and manner they
treated the public a few years ago.
They soon discovered the short-sighted-
ness of their policy and set about put
ting their house in order But it took
long time and they had to reap their
bitter reward. have heard that some
Of the mills of the Piedmont section of
our state have about decided it is the
wrong policy to fight the organization
of their help and to accept the situation
and meet it as men should. This would
seem to be the only rational course for
them pursue. 1t is not much trouble
to get along with men who actually work
for living when you treat them like
human beings. The majority of the
help in many of the mills in this section
when shown that conditions do not war.
rant any advance in wages would accept
the situation gracefully. All they woulc
want, and they have perfect right to
be shown, that condtious were truth.
fully represented as to profits. When
times are hard and no profits can be
made at the present whateve,
that might be- the help, when showr
actual facts, would be willing, as ga
sonable men, to share in the depression
Then, when conditions is improved ant