The mirror., 1919-12-18

L
tan of industry" who has reached Out
and absorbed or combined the weaker
members of his industry, thus gaining
control of the entire production of q
community. Often this is beneficial
both for the producer and consumer
1t certainly makes for efficiency and
prevents economic waste. 1t is rarely
however, beneficial to the workman
in that industry.
| The scarcity of labor has encour.
aged the immigration of Thousands
upon thousands of foreigners during
the last thirty years. These people
are used to working for a low wage
and to poor working conditions
They are not able to intelligently OF
economically use high wages. But as
the aliens education and Americana
zation progresses, as well as that Of
his children, his economic wants in
crease and he demands higher wages
and better working conditions.
Along with the development and
consolidation of industry, we find the
organization and consolidation of la
Dor, first as the Knights of labor and
later as the American Federation OF
Labor. Just as the United States
Steel Corporation has for its aim, the
control of the steel industry in all
its phases, so the American Fedora
ton of Labor has for its aim the mo-
nopoly of the entire labor supply OF
the country. Both have their desir-
able characteristics and both have
their faults. Unlimited power and
control of any commodity, whether
wealth or labor, invariably leads to
abuse and oppression.
| The organization of labor has de-
veloped the principle of collective
bargaining" which is today the ac-
cepted way of settling questions be-
tween employers and employees. Col
lective bargaining means simply, that
representatives of a group of employ
ers in any industry, meet with the
representatives of a group of en-
ployes and agree upon wages, hours,
working conditions, ETC., for a given
length of time. The great drawback
at present is that we have no ade-
quate machinery to force them to
come to an agreement when differ
ence of opinion exists. The only
weapon is lockout on the one hand
or the strike on the other. The strike
is not new weapon by any means
but has been the recourse of the
laborer and oppressed ever since the
time Moses declared strike and led
the children of Israel out of Egypt.
ION the other hand l believe the strike
ethically wrong, as it brings untold
suffering, not only upon the strikers
themselves and their families but,
often on the country at large 'caus-
ing the burden to fall upon the inno-
cent. The overwhelming number OF
strikes and threatened strikes, during
the present year, especially in essential
industries and public utilities, brings
us face to face with the fact that the
strike must 60. But before it can 20
some adequate means must be found
to take its place. Some legal machin-
cry, other than the courts, where both
employer and employe can get justice
and in which they will both have
confidence must be devised to settle
differences and enforce the fulfllment
of any agreement or contract made
by them.
! The exhorbitant demands of the
workers in many industries leads one
to believe that some other means OF
compensation should be devised rather
than pay any man so much per day
or hour. The system which keeps
the energetic on a par with the indo-
lent is obviously wrong, and must
result in the curtailment of produc-
ton. The piece-work or contract sys-
tenn of paying wages is unsatisfactory,
as there is constant tendancy to
depress the rate of pay or to spur the
individual to extreme efforts detri-
mental to his life and health.
| The system which permits the ac-
cumulation of vast fortunes while
workmen in that same industry get
barely living, is also wrong. l dc
not believe that labor produces all
wealth, therefore is entitled to it, as
their leaders and agitators claim, but
| do believe that they have an inter
est in what they help produce beyond
a bare existance. Modern employers
are coming to realize that they have
a moral obligation to their employees
and that the spirit of today demands
not only living wage but a wage
that will provide for an American
standard of living. On the othe,
hand 1 believe that workman
should be paid only in proportion tc
the mental and physical effort he puts
in his work and in such proportion il