The labor world., 1919-10-11

game are such that in doing so he
will be violating his obligation in
the Real Estate Mems union" Ism t.
a member Of the Duluth Real Estate
Exchange mighty inconsistent to
stand for the "closed shop" in the
real estate business and to oppose it
in the labor business:
- AS a matter of fact they are all
playing the ''closed shop" game
which is not at all original with the
unions. Labor organizations copied
it from the higher-ups in our social
strata. They have prodted by hav-
ing everything "union," and we, poor
parrots. thought we were playing the
game according to the rules when
we followed in their footsteps But
union labor does not have to make
any apology for it's efforts towards
obtaining the Union Shop, designated
by anti-union employers as the
"closed shop" We maintain that
the so-called "closed shop the
! Union Shop, is an American institu-
tion, and who is there to challenge
the loyalty of an American trade
union? 1t was not necessary to drum
| up the patriotism of union men dur
ing the war. They were there at
every stage of the fight, whether it
was in workshop, mine, factory, rail-
! road or on the firing line. They
bought War Saving stamps and Lib
erty bonds in larger proportion to
their means than any other class of
our people. They put the lid on
Pro-Germanism. They kept up pro-
duction. They stifled unnecessary
agitation, and during it all they
never were paid more than living
wage. There are no "war babies"
among the union workers of our city,
state or nation.
! Now that the war is over and pro-
Germans and industrial autocrats,
each in turn, feel at liberty to turn
loose, they find it safe to fire their
heavy artillery at organized labor.
| On one side is the Communist with
his take it alp for the proletariat,
and on the other the Industrial kaiser
who still wants to make all the rules
and all the regulations to control
the worker, and at the same time to
take it alp for himself and his
associates in business. Organized
labor stands between the two ex-
tremes. 1t is struggling for the larg-
est measure of democracy in indus
try as in government. 1t insists that
laborers be given the same voice in
determining the rules Of industry
under which they are employed as
they have in making the laws of the
| government under which they live.
Is there anything un-American in
such purpose? Can the principle
of collective bargaining and the
Union Shop of organized labor be
construed as anything short of the
effort of the American workers to
secure the highest measure of human
liberty through a perfectly orderly
and evolutionary process? There is
ut ocf HI of
Union Shop: "The union is open to
all worthy workmen," and there is
this to say about the non-union shop,
enormously called the "open shop:
1T is closed to union men, The
Union shop is the real open shop
the American shop, if you please;
while the so-called "open shop" is
the real closed shop. 1t is closed to
union men and to union influence.
BY the same token the Union Shop
is the American institution, while
the "Open Shop of the employers
belongs to that species of Prussian-
ism we thought we were putting out
of business when we won the war.
The "Citizen's Allience" of Minne-
apolis was started to uphold the
"Open Shop" there. Today that city
is seething with radicalism. We
shall see what is to be the outcome
of such an organization in Duluth.
In any event loyal trade unionists
are up against it fighting Bolshevism
on one side and the "open shoppers"
on the other. In the meantime real
Americanism is trembling in the bal
ance.
INOCULATING FOR BOLSHEVISM
Bolshe- ism is a sinister condition
of society in disorder, under state
of suspended animation of mind
! drn2ge1 hv Dreams