The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1921-09-02
By MATTHEW WOLL

ZION INTO the lives Oh the JOllefS.
On that great anniversary it is
well for thinkers and workers in
this mass movement of the family
of toll to reflect upon the strug-
giles and advances made from dis
tant past, to approximate and esti-
mate the problems of today, and to
take renewed hope and courage and
to pledge renewed support in the
work of the future to come. Let
us not take all things for granted.
Let us not imagine ourselves in a
FOOLS paradise. Let cold facts speak
for themselves and let history and
experience be our guide.
Recorded history reveals that in
pref Christian times the workers were
slaves. At that period of time, this
was the concept of religion the
origin and viewpoint of life and of
duties arising thereout of. In this
period we had also two classes;
those of Divine inspiration; those
lowly born and damned and whose
salvation lay in doing the worlds
work.
Nazarene, in preaching His doc
trine, destroyed the conception of
two gods. 1t was He who taught
the doctrine of equal rights, equal
opportunities and of common
brotherhood. OF course His teach
ings were against the conception of
the prevailing order. 1t was He
who caused a world unrest. He
was the worlds greatest disturber.
Had the word "bolshevik" been
known in His time He would have
been branded in this scathing term.
Finally He was brought into court
and charged with preaching treason
to the prevailing order of things.
The court, fearing to free Him and
fearing to convict Him, washed its
hands and threw Our Savior to the
passions of wild and tumultuous
mob, aroused by the greatest cum
ming of man and urged to take the
law into their own hands to cruelty
the man who would dare preach the
doctrine of freedom of thought, free
dom of action and equality and love
between men.
But the spirit and teachings of
Christ survived The acorn He
planted, under the most trying of
circumstances, has grown into a
planted in all civilized nations and
whose life permeates the conduct
and relations and laws of man in all
The large and many of the smaller
nations of the world.
May we not draw a lesson from
this prehistoric time and this event.
full epoch and find in the expert
ences and life and death of Christ
hope and inspiration for the doc
trines preached by trade unionism
of today? Have we not also our
two classes of men; one of assumed
Divine inspiration, calling business
their own; the other, alleged as
lowly born, damned to bear the
toll of the world? Have we not,
zoo, our prosecutors and prosecu-
tors and our courts, fearful of do
ing justice to those who preach in
dustrially the equality of man, as
Christ preached equality in the
heavens above?
Again, in the year 1850, history
informs US that men began to think.
And strange thoughts came to be
expressed. Men began to reason
hat if equality in the heavens above
was the true conception of their
Creator that surely he also intend
ed that there should be equality
on earth below. AS a result poll
teal discomfort followed. Disturb
ers to the established order were
again coming forward preaching the
doctines of political equality and
heralding the right for the democ-
racy-the common people to rule.
Again prosecutions and prosecutions
followed. The momentum gathered
could not be stopped. Ultimately
these inflamed the Instructions of
1880, 1913, to 1860, the Peace in
Vienna, the Holy Alliance, the
American and French Revolutions,
our own Civil War, eliminating in
the great World War-all having
had as their final purpose the wrest-
ing from aristocracy. bureaucracy
and militaryaucracy the power they
had usurped, and to place-democ-
racy-the common peoples - into
the saddle and return to them their
right to govern themselves and to
determine for themselves their own
destinies.
May we not, too, draw a lesson
from this great world struggle for
democracy, for the rights and lib
critics of the masses and against the
usurpers of political power and the
plunderers of the fruits of toll? Are
we not experiencing the third great
ttyp no &c
all lands for the rights of democ-
racy-the common people in our
financial, commercial and industrial
life and relations?
Call it what you will-the "Amer-
lean Plan," the "Open Shop" the
"Shop Committee" and what not -
these are but incidents to the great
er struggle at hand-the struggle
for democracy in finance, in COM
merce, in industry. This effort
against the rights of democracy in
industry is centered today upon
trade unionism as the symbol of
this great, advancing force that is
moving forward like rising tide
against industrial autocracy and bu-
reaucracy and that is the source of
inspiration to an ideal that cannot
be checked and that is nearing an
end. that cannot be denied.
Trade Unionism is here, stronger
than ever. Trade Unionism can
not-will not recede; it is here to
stay and to go onward and forward.
1t has a human mission to perform
and like Christianity and Democ-
racy it will develop and grow until
it's very roots shall form the strong
hold and fountain spring of our in
dustrial life and relations.
Law and order was the cry in
the Roman period. Law and order
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