The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1919-12-04

their organizations have not the
power to be certain to win every
strike and if the order strikes with
out cause, they are likely to lose
them and perhaps lose membership
in the unions thereby, or even lose
their own jobs.
Having failed to gain membership
sufficiently large to give complete
power by demonstrating the value of
unionism to the laborers of this
country the union leaders wish to
achieve their ends by the easier
method of having a law passed.
They would it obligatory for
all employers to deal with their en-
ployees only through union officials,
thereby practically forcing the ma
jority of American workers who have
not joined the unions to accept repre-
sentation that they have no voice in,
or to join the union and pay dues
which they do not want to pay. In
fact, the unions have SO hard time
in getting their dues that one of the
main points of their programme is
for the employer to agree to take the
union dues from each mans pay be-
fore giving it to him and to turn over
these dues to the union.
Mr.. Gompers besides urging the
and wisdom of the
theory that all bargaining between
and workers should be col
lective bargaining and all collective
bargaining should be between the en-
ployers and the union officials-be
sides urging this plan for the benefits
which he sincerely believes it to have.
Mr. Gompers says that unless the
American public agrees to his pro-
gramme it is in danger of Bolshevism.
He is unquestionably sincere in this
also for the American Federation OF
Labor has been having hard time
with the T. W. w. and
various other revolutionary elements.
These Red leaders present to Mr..
Gompers and the more conservative
abor leaders very difficult problem.
The Red leaders hold out to the ignor-
ant the most fantastic hopes. Pleasant |
promises cost little and are
easily made and no matter how i'm
possible of fulfillment they do sway /
many minds as is amply proved not
)nly in the history of labor move
nents in this country but in our poll
,ics as we'll The Red promises pull
away from the trades-union move
nent goodly number of the more
gnorant and the more depraved, and
he Red orators take the class con-
,ciousness of the worker and the dis
rust of all employers which the
;rades unions have taught, and carry
hem degree or two farther. This
competition is painful to the Ameri
an Federation on the one hand. On
the other hand practically all the
eaders in the country headed by the
PRESIDENT have said that the rising
rend of costs must stop and this has
made public sympathy with continued
demands for wage increases very
neagre. Moreover, the union pro-
yramme of liminting production is
highly unpopular with the public. Be-
ween these two fires Mr.. Gompers
md his followers are in a hard posi-
ion.
Under the circumstances it is not
that Mr. Gompers should
ell us that if the public does not give
lin a great victory in the shape of
he unionization of all industry, the
public will have to meet the Bolshe
list peril for he will not be strong
nough to overcome it. But the pub
ic need not accept Mr.. Gomper's
Judgment in this matter. Whether
Mr. Gompers can achieve some spec
acular victory or not, to strengthen
lis position, the Reds will have an
pponent in the trades union move
nent which they cannot defeat. The
ulk of the workers in this country,
nion and non-union, can not be
urned against the American govern
nent, and for any long period of
ime only few can be led astray.
But even if this were not true, if
Dr. Gompers were right, we must
i've the unions irresponsible control