The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-11-28

divisions, are in open opposition to
 industrial solidarity. It may be quite true that on this account it is too formidable task for the rank and file within the organization to regard that reform towards indus strial organization as within the bonds of possibility. But that view is not suffici- ciently justified by the facts. That view finds itself condemned by the reactionary tendencies which not only i'll the past, but more so in the present have found their realization in the rank and file of radical un' ions so called. The most radical or ganization within the fold, judging by the tendency now displayed, be- comes more reactionary than craft unions themselves, and there is d general and an unchecked tendency to back track over the well marked trails of progress.
 That is the fault, immediately and directly of the rank and file.
 If the question that is before labor is faced fairly and squarely, we can surely take a proper ac- counting of work done and whether for the price paid returned value received.
 In fact for the past two years in- dustry in the United States has been uniformly active. Never before in any of them have such conditions of briskness been noted. The unem- ployed have been reduced exceed ingly low. Immigration relatively can be considered to have stopped. The crying demand for labor is in- satiable in the east. Work is admit ted to be exceptionally plentiful and both skilled and unskilled can ob- tain employment if they are normal ly employable.
 That is the condition labor faces. It has as many trump cards in it's hands as it will ever hold. Certain ly more than it has ever held before and likely enough than it will ever hold again. Under such conditions, labor should make giant progress, and the strikes should not even be necessary to enforce better cOndi- tions. But where there are strikes they should be victorious and accom- panied by much better conditions.
 Now in a few places machinists made gains, isolated gains and neg ligible. In some places the garment workers went back with higher wages according to the figures, but relatively lower according to the purchasing price of that scale paid. Tn New York the Interborough de- fled all efforts to organize the, trac- tion employees. And that effort was beaten fiat into putty while every other union looked on with folded arms. The Lonshoremen oL the Pacific coast went down into abject defeat under ideal conditions for victory, while union sailors slowed freight and worked along side of strike breakers.
 In one camp the miners went Oh strike and the union pumpmen. were kept at work to help out the em- ployers by keeping the mine fit for scabs to operate.
 And taking all the gains and all the increases which labor has made, it has not made gains equivalent to the higher costs of living at all, but it's scale of wages represent less food, less clothes and worse rooms than ten years ago could be pur. chased with their pay.
 These are facts that may not be disputed. They cannot be. They are to be read in black and white and cannot be explained away. We need not attempt to peddle to ourselves at all It is quite useless.
 It is true of course that the Am. erican Federation of Labor has ac- complished a whole lot by preven- tion. It is absolutely true that the organizations have prevented many worse conditions being inflicted than might be the case had such un. ions not existed There is no ques- ton that wages would have been re- duced and the, standard set nigh, have been lowered and that condi- lions wnnld be very much worse