The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1917-07-06
BUSINESS AGENTS
WHO MAKE GOOD
(By the Rev. Charles Stelzle)

(By the Rev. Charles Stelzle)
When troubles come in the labor
world they are usually charged up to
the business agent "the walking
delegates" as he is called. But
when everything is moving finely
all the credit is given to the "good
sense of the workingman"-and the
bosses.
The business agent is the Escape
goat" of the labor movement. Peo-
Piles do not call him that, of course,
but, nevertheless, as in the days of
the wanderings of the Israelites in
the Wilderness all the sins of others
are heaped upon him and he is sent
out to square himself as best he
can.
But the business agent is no fool.
If he were, he wouldn't be on the
job-that is, he wouldn't be there
very long. But there are a good
many people who are all the time
trying to have him make fool of
himself. For example, there is the
man without conscience who tries to
bribe him either before or during a
strike. Now a big roll of bills
must look mighty tempting to a
fellow who never in all his life saw
so much money at one time. 1t is
fine thing that very few business
agents give way to the temptation
although it is commonly supposed
that every business agent is a
crook.
Then there is that class of men
which is trying to make fool of
the business agent by thinking that
he should always be "good fellow"
He is expected to "set them up"
for the boys and he is counted a cheap
skate if he doesn't. Meanwhile
it is quite forgotten that he has
a family of his own to support and
that he usually gets no more in the
form of salary than the average
trade union member ssin the same
craft is receiving. Why should the
business agent be looked upon as
sort of an easy mark, simply be-
cause his salary is paid by other
trade unionists.
If the business agent is doing half
of what the members of the union
expect of him, he is doing twice
as much as he ought, when it comes
to question of earning his salary.
Not every business agent earns his
salary Some of them are costly
even though the union paid them
no salary at all. Some of them
are costly even though the union
paid them no salary at all. But
if business agent is making good
fifty-two weeks in the year-for, of
course, he isn't expected to take
vacation-in quiet, business-hke
way, keeping the men at work rath-
er than constantly calling them out
on strike instead of using his brain
power to settle the difficulty with
out resort to warfare-if he's do
ing this, he is pretty good sort
of man to keep on the job.
When the time comes to call
strickland there will come such
occasions-he will be in much bet
ter position to win because he has
not exhausted his power to call the
men out, weakening his forces
through petty strife-just because it
was the easiest way out.
1t doesn't require much brain pow
er to command men to quit their
jobs. Anbody can issue strike
order providing that he has the au-
thority. 1t requires a whole lot
more in the way of genuine ability
to keep men on their jobs and still
have them receive all that strike
could possibly win for them.
! If war is hell, then strikes are
"purgatory." But if men must
strike, let's at least give them de-
cent arguments for, doing so and
then stand by them until they win
out. And if they lose, let's stand
by the right kind of business agent,
for he's done the best he knew how.
If he never makes mistakes, he is
more than Humankind that kind of
an individual wouldn't make good
L L..