Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1920-12-17
Walker Analyses Labor



take the side Of those who were vfo-
lating an agreement for selfish rea-
sons, or it would result In their losing
their membership and destroying the
union
The employer usually dlserimin.
ates against those in favor of the
union, and in favor OF those that are
fighting the union. in order TO keep
them out of II and 10 weaken IL. In
effect. a partial organization Is usual
Iy worse than useless. as IL tends to
create prejudice, hatred and division.
II aggrnvates the workers and results
In senseless strikes that could not oc-
cur with 3 well organized, educated
and disciplined union. even more pos
sibly than they would without union
al all, because il there was no organ
ization then the men that are intelli-
gent and self-respecting, would not
work there at all and only the sub
seryient serflike animal would go
there to work, and OF course that
would leave II open for all of them TO
strike at any time and take advan.
tage of any situation that might de-
yelop. any extremity the employer
may find himself in. or because OF its
being a so-called open shop. it leaves
both sides free at any time they can,
or think they can. serve their per-
sonal. selfish interests by doing IL. on
the part of the employer to reduce
wages and lengthen hours. take away
safe and healthful conditions and to
tyranize over the employe. and on the
other hand. for the workers to shut
down the plant whenever they feel
like II for any reason or no reason at
all to raise wages, to improve condi-
tions or treatment and shorten hours.
IAN open shop Is misnomer. There
is no such thing. II is either union
shop in which practically everybody
who works there belongs to the union.
and all who work there are in sym
pathy with II and go along with what.
ever the decision of the majority Is.
when there has been reasonable OPP
portunity to arrive at decision in the
light and knowledge of the facts In
the case, or II that condition does not
obtain there Is no chance for real
union man or woman to hold job at
that plant at all The only members
of the union there are In that kind OF
q plant are the serflike, servile, stool
pigeons and hirelings of the employer,
who are only members of the
union to find out who the real union
men and women are. so they can re-
port them and get them discharged.
"And the only difference In the so
called American plan from the SO
called Open Shop plan is the fact that
the so-called American Plan is worse
TO the extent that even the right to
belong to a union is restricted to only
belonging to a union of the workers
of that particular plant or shop.--it
does not permit them to belong to an
international union or any organiza
ton outside of the organization of
those particular employees. which
means that they would be restricted
In negotiating settlements to local
working men and women, no skilled
experts with larger knowledge, and
II they had to fight, they could look to
no one outside of themselves for as
sistance.
"This, in the face of the fact that
the employers who are proposing the
so-called American plan. are organized
by cities, by states, and as a nation
by industries. by kindred and asso-
ciated industries and by one big union
of all employers. merchants and finan-
elal corporations fthe National Cham
her of Commerce). They nearly al
ways have highly trained experts to
represent them in making agreements
or settling disputes. Ii Is cruel.
hypocritical farce.
THE man who advocates that plan
is just as much an American as was
Benedict Arnold after he had decided
to betray our republic. His act in es-
tablishing the so-called American plan
condition is just as much American
as was Benedict Arnold's act when he
was in the act of betraying the United
States and accepting the price for
the betrayal To call the establish,
ment of that kind of condition
amongst working people of the United
States, American. is not only traitor
Gus, but in my judgment, from the
point of view of a real American who
knows and understands and loves our
country, its institutions and, what Ii
stands for. who reveres the name OF
the men and women who died for Il.
II is about the worst kind of wrong
and sacrilege that could be commit
ted.
The man or woman who wants TO
place the working men and women OF
our country in a position where they
will be helpless and at the mercy of
the employers, compelled to submit
like animals to their dictation in every
phase of their lives, is not only not
just, are not real Americans. but that
they are not even intelligent, selashly.
because in the light of the past his
tory of our country and of our peo-
pie. all open-minded intelligent OBJ
servers must know that the American
working man and woman citizen will
never submit to any impositions that
puts the faint of slavery on them in
any way. and as long as there is ef-
fort being made to establish that kind
of an imposition on them, there will
he nothing but strife continually, and
the stronger the effort is, the more
widespread and intense will the strife
be tparticularly industrial strife) as
we'll as suffering and misery in our
country until it is ended.--and II Ia
not only right that we should have
union shop, but it is the only way