davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The labor world., 1921-01-15
IN A. NEW FORM.

The commission appointed by the
British trades unionists to investigate
the situation in Ireland announces that
it has discovered new: and dangerous
form Of militarism.
It asserts that wherever reprisals
have been scientifically carried out in
ireland it has been "almost invariably
BY detachments of cadet auxiliaries-
men possessed Of ability and education
and indamed by political passion who
brook no interference Of other crown
forces and do not seem to recognize
even the authority Of Dublin Castle.''
The members Of the committee "feel
that this unusual military organization
"is class weapon which is being
forged in Ireland and could be used in
England
The report of the committee serves
TO call attention to the fact that simi-
lar organizations are being formed in
other countries. In France it is pro.
posed that the standing army shall con-
sist Of 100000 officers and that in case
Of foreign war the common soldiers
shall be secured through conscription.
Domestic difficulties could be handled
by the army Of officers, which, Of course,
could always be depended upon to do
the thing demanded by the employing
class.
Here at home, it is proposed to retain
more than 10000 officers on the pay
rolls, or one commissioned officer for
every squad Of six or seven enlisted
men.
The labor world., 1921-01-15
IT DENIES LIBERTY,

f'The public 3 rights are paramount"
shrek can 't'strike advocates.
These breeders Of anarchy and spawn
ers Of tyranny would handcuh portions
Of the public to their jobs and then
lisp nursery tales Of "the public IS
rights.'
"Right' based on denial of liberty
is a contradiction. TO claim the con-
trary is to uproot the Declaration Of
Independence.
A public opinion manufactured by
the SNUG forces of reaction cannot Jus.
tify wrong.
Until quite recently it was Amer
ica's boast that men are free. The
tune is now pitched to "the public g
rights' by coarse.minded, dollar-chas-
ing profteers who are devoid Of even
that sense Of honor that marked the
road agent in stage-coach days.
When can't strike advocates profess
an interest in "the public's rights,
they are untrdthful, illogical and in
consistent.
If they were truthful they would not
use the term, for right is impossible
when based on wrong.
If they were logical they would not
proclaim "the public's rights" and re.
main silent on the public's duties.
There can be no right without cor
responding duty.
|. Duties are as binding as rights. The
true man resists injustice to others as
vigorously as he insists on his own
rights. If he fails to act tho part Of
true man he will eventually lose his
rights.
If can 't.strike advocates were con.
sistent they would prove their high re.
gard for "the public s rights' by put.
ting an end to their exploitation of the
public:
Autocracy is interested in the public
for two reasons: To- exploit it and to
have it pull its chestnuts out Of the
fire.
Autocracy will defy the public or
court it, as best suits its purpose.
Today autocracy, with its long record
Of corruption, exploitation and special
privilege, il posing as a champion of
tho people-is laundering for g the pub.
lie 8 rights"
It's bellboys in legislative halls and
penny'a'aliners on its STRAIGHTFORWARD
press have taken up the cry.
But autocraty makes no call for the
public to awaken to it's 'duties~-to enter
the contest for social Justice and lib.
erty.
That call has no placs in the program
OF enslaving workers while other citi.
zens, who should be in this fight to main.
tain liberty, are rlulled into inaction by
reasoning process that reflect, on a
man s intellect.
The labor world., 1921-01-15
MAILING A LIE.

Our old Populist friend and former
Bolshevist, Mr.. L. G. Harris, the lawyer
president of the Citizens Alliance, has
issued another bulletin in which he
dwells upon "labor's defeat' at the
recent election. Time and space will
not permit Of review Of the bulletin
in this issue which contains many state
ments of error, among them the fol-
lowing:
/ "Mr. Gompers is the author of the
we'll known saying, 'To He'll with In
junctions,' and he and other officials
of the American Federation of Labor
have been guilty Of and sentenced for
willful defiance Of court, DEGREES.
There Mr.. Harris stopped: He stated
only a half truth, which sometimes il
worse than an untruth. In this instance
it is. Those unfamiliar with the case
would surely be misled by such an in
complete statement. Mr.. Harris knew
better than to finish the story. If he
had it would not have served his pur.
pose 50 we'll. It would have been an
Indictment against the national organ
ization Of anti.unionists, the program
Of which the local alliance is carrying
out.
Mr.. Harris neglected to tell the full
story. We will complete it for him. Mr..
Gompers was found guilty, it is true,
of violating an order Of 4 court, a. were
also his colleagues, Frank Morrison and
the late John Mitchell. They were all
sentenced to Jail. The case was ap-
pealed to the supreme court of the
United States which found the lower
court in error, holding that it had ex-
ceeded its powers and it vindicated Mr..
Gompers and his ASSOCIATES.
Now what about the judge in the
case9 His name was Wright. His bias
and bitterness in the trial Of the case
was so apparent that it ettracted ma
o~~A~ ">A0 ooGOACAOus Auo OF
Wright was discussed in many places
throughout tho land. Lawyers rebuked
him and the public treated him with
contempt. Just as his star was falling
someone "squealed.' 1t was charged
that Judge Wright had solicited and
accepted bribe from coal company
before rendering a decision; that he
was closely identified with the anti.
union association that had planned to
put Gompers in Jail, and that he was
involved in several Objectionable busi.
ness transactions.
Impeachment proceedings were began
against him in congress. When they
were fled Judge Wright put up /. bold
front, but he resigned just a. the evi.
denee against him was about to be
The labor world., 1921-01-15
tkO|A'S POSITION As
INDUSTRIAL COUNTRY

lndia's position as an Industrial
Country is presented in striking fig
ures, from official British sources,
which have been submitted to the sec-
retary-general Of the league of ma
tons. Details Of these statistics re-
ceived by the foreign information de-
partnent OF the Bankers Trust COM
pany of New York, disclose that more
than 50,000,000 persons were en-
ployed in various industries and do
mesuc service in India in 1916.
Over haK Of this. mum ber were en-
Gagged in agriculture while general, in
dpstry employed more than one third
of the total. The principal figures
in detail are:
Farm. servants and field .laborers.
25,S7a,259: industrial employees. IT,
$500, transport service, ETC.. 1884,
E862; domestic service, $2,725,S56;
factory employees. 1,004,106: mine en-
ployes, sos. S.449.
Factories include 23S cotton mills,
having 101.o17 looms and 6,26S.569
spindles, employing 271.91S persons;
70 jute mills. with 1880 looms. and
S12,421 spindles. employing 254, 143
workers; five WOODEN mills. having
6,074 employees: 1,S45 cotton ginning.
cleaning and pressing mills employing
10s,29S persons; 81 railway shops,
with 1o7,921 employees and 1907
paper, lace. sugar and rice mills and
factories, breweries, dockyards, etc.
which employ 22s,798. workers.
AS the total population of India
according to the 1911 census was
e1s,47o,oi4. the Industrial figures in
dicate that at least one person in
every six was employed in industry or
service coming. under official rscapit-
u1ation.
Production for the. year by cotton
mills was ess,155,ooo pounds Of yard
and s3o,S53.oo0 pounds of materials;
jute mills (exports) 794,152;705 bags.
1,1s2,25e,71s yards Of cloth; coal
mines, 17,254,309 tons; salt, 1,s59.243
tons and gold $685. $40 ounces.
The labor world., 1921-01-15

training in the schools. It was the
American Federation Of Labor that &C.
cured the passage Of the Smith. Hughes
act in congress. A number Of unions
give apprentices credit for the time they
attend vocational schools. What has
the Builders Exchange done to promote
vocational training in our schoolss What
has it contributed towards the equitable
settlement Of the apprentice question! !
Its officers should show something more
than dollar interest In the American
boy before they attempt to pass judg~
mont on the action Of trade unions in
the regulation and training Of appren~
ticcs.
And finally what about the welfare Of
the boyf Is that not Of greater impor-
tance than the interest of the trades
What does it avail young nan to
spend the best years Of his life at a
trade to find himself on the threshold
Of manhood with a trade aud no place
to work? If it were not for trade
unions every trade in America would
long ago have been reduced to condi-
tions obtaining in the most simple oc-
cupations. Mistakes, it is admitted,
have been made in an effort to prop
erly protect the trade and the boy, but
none have contributed such intelligent
and honest thought to the subject as
have the American trade unions.
The labor world., 1921-01-15
Dust WEST VIRGINIA COAL
MINERS FROM TENT COLONY

CHARLESTON. W. Va, Jan. 13.-
The state health commissioner has
ruled that the miners tent colony in
Mingo county is unsanitary and must
be vacated as soon as possible. The
probe was ordered by Governor Corn
wall, who never showed interest in
the wreched conditions in mining
camps that the miners attempted to
remedy through organization. These
workers were forced on strike because
they were being discharged for join
ing the union. They were evicted from
company houses by Baldwin-Feltz gun
men and the union then provided
tents to shield the wives and babies
o: these workers from wintry blasts.
The mine owners started suit to
orst the miners from the land on
which the colony is located, but evi-
IDENTIFY a quicker way was discovered
to smash the colony and again throw
tho miners and their families on the
roadside
The labor world., 1921-01-15
STAND BY YOUR UNION.

It's an old story, but it is worth re-
peating at the beginning of the fight
against union labor:
The stage driver was proud Of the
skill he displayed in handling the long
whip with which he enforced discipline
among the six mountain ponies attached
to the weather-beaten stage.
He flicked fly off the ear of one
Of the leaders.
"Fine work. commented the "ten-
derfoot' seated beside him on the box.
cav, that's nuthin','' replied the
driver "see that grasshopper over
there on the rail! Watch me get him. -
The long whip shot out and "got
him.
"Great!" exclaimed the "tender-
foot.''
They passed hornets nest. Old Mr.,
Hornet was on the front stoop, enjoying
his afternoon siesta.
"Take a shot at him. urged the
tenderfoot.''
The driver looked at his companion
in disgust.
"Nuthin' doing, stranger" he said
with emphasis.
"Why mott" queried the "tender.
foot.n
"Waal," responded the driver, "you
see, it's this way: That fly was alone,
It was easy to got him. That grass.
hopper had no friends. So L swatted
him. But, them hornets, they're OF:
ganized!"
The moral Of tho story. Read the
morning paper.
Many largo employers are announcing
reductions in wages.
In almost every instance you will find
the employers are in a combine and the
workers. ore either unorganized or only
partly organized,<
The employers, great; cruel whip is
picking of. the helpless and the ignor.
ant-those: who can't and those who
won't get together for mutual protec.
tion.
But they hesitate TO attack the
strong, well.dnanced unions.
They are organized. They are de.
termined to hold what has been won
for the workers through years of suf.
fering and sacrifice. They are not look.
ing for trouble, but they will fight, if
necessary, to- prevent reduction in
wages, an increase III hours, or lower.
ing Of working conditions.
So long as they present an unbroken,
militant front, the employers will con-
tinue to denounce them, but they will
hesitate to cross swords with them.
So The Labor Worlds message to
the workers Of Duluth is:
"stand by your union, Cherish your
membership card as the knights Of old
priced shield and buckler. If you are
true to yourselves and your fellows no
power on earth can prevail against
Won ,,
The labor world., 1921-01-15
COMMISSIONERS DO. RIGHT.

The city commissioners have finally
accepted the advice Of The Labor
World. They have ordered the Duluth
Street Railway company to establish a
certain schedule to improve the service
and they have fixed a certain date fol-
the schedule to 60 into effect.
OF course the company will make OBJ.
lection. Its officers may or may not
comply with the request Of the council.
They may ignore the demand and await
the next move Of the city, which would
be to 1nandamus the company and order
its officers to show cause why the
schedule has not been put into effect.
If the question gets into the courts
in such manner we will have show
down on the street railway situation
The company must. make disclosure.
Mere statements as to its inability to
establish the kind Of service its fran
chise calls for on account of high oper-
ating expenses and such, as were made
to the council, will not go. The court
is from Missouri. 1t must be shown.
Then, too, the fact that the company
is not paying sufficient, dividends to its
stockholders will be no excuse for its
failure to fulfill that section Of its fran
chse which reads: It shall "furnish
and run a sufficient numbers Of cars to
accommodate the travelling public on all
streets which it shall use and occupy
for railroad purposes.''
|. There is no. reference in the franchise
to tho company's financial ability to
furnish service. That is taken as a
matter Of course. The company &C.
cepted the franchise and it agreed to
comply with its provisions on condition
that it would run for so years. It has
IL years more 10 run.
If after the courts decide that the
company should establish the schedule
demanded by the city, and it should
then refuse to do so, tho commissioners
would have the right and power to dc.
clare the franchise forfeited. They
could then grant new franchise to an.
other company.
1t has been rumored that the com,
pany will! go into the hands of receiver
before it will comply with the council Is
demand. In such an event it is held
that the court would order the fare in
creased to six cents. The rumor has
frightened lot of timid people, but
there is nothing in it to be alarmed
about. The courts are guided by rea,
son and the law. No judge has the
power to abrogate single clause in
the eompany's contract with the city.
He may interpret it but he cannot
change it. He cannot order the fare
raised to six cents when the franchise
limits it to five cents.
So what is the use of worryinge We
can afford to be patient and await the
results Of the councils last move, which
IS the only proper one to make.
The labor world., 1921-01-15
Employers Once Liked compuIsion
Wreck It To Get Upright JUDGE

employers have wrecked the Aus
tral1an compulsory arbitration act,
witch they forced upon this common
wealth, and Justice Higgins, president
OF the federal arbitration court since
lso|' has announced that he will re-
sign when his term expires, next Sep
tembcr.
The scheme of having unions reg
lister and set wages by law, that was
first advocated by employers is now
rejected because Justice Higgins re-
fuses to take orders. He has been
driven from office by new legislation
which provides for temporary tribun-
ais. This bill was urged by Prime
Minister Hughes, following a barrage
against Justice Higgins by large en-
ploylng interests and the tory press.
When the bill was being debateu
the president of the powerful Aus
t..alian Workers union, anC a men,
Der OF the federal parliament, de-
! clared that if it were adopted he
would recommend to his fellow union
lists that they depend upon themselves
rather than on arbitration courts.
| The passage Of Premier Hughes
bill is the elimination Of a campaign
started three years ago against JUS
tice Higgins by employers associa-
tions. The cry to remove him did
! not bring results and the next move
of employers was to throw every dis
! pute possible into the court, while
parliament aided in breaking down
the arbitration court machinery by re-
fusing to vote: appropriations for as
| sistance, Large unions waited for
months for a decision and strikes re-
suited.
The Australian Worker. published
in Sydney. New South Wales, says:
The labor world., 1921-01-15

Win the resignation of Judge HiE-
gins the capitalists of this country
and their political touts in the fed
eral parliament have ACCOMPLISHED all
they set out to do
The Daily Herald, published in Ade-
laide, South Australia, says:
''The latest developments in arbi-
tration In Australia tend to d:scredit
that method and tend to make the
workers depend more upon their own
resources. Justice Higgins has fallen
foul of the big financial and employ
ing interests whose schemes OF ex-
pioitation he nippei to some extent
by compelling employers to pay de-
| cent wages. Tho new legislation has,
according to Mr.. Justice Higgins, un-
dermined the usefulness of the arbi-
tration court and made his position
as president untenable. The judge
had in the circumstances no other
| course open to him than to throw up
his job
The Daily Herald calls attention to
| similar move being made in South
Australia against the state arbitration
court, whose presiding officer has
given Intense dissatisfaction to the
government and the employing class
es generally with his basic wage judg-
ment"
The South Australian Printing In
| dustry Employees union has decided
to deal with employers direct and
| keep away from the state arbitration
| court, and the Daily Herald says:
IF the tinkerinH WITH arbifra fion
that has gone on to date continues,
| the rest of the organized workers Will
! have no option but tc follow the ex-
ample Of the printers and ignore the
| industrial courts"
The labor world., 1921-01-15
HAVE BA1TLESH|PS
LOST THEIR VALUE?

One Of the leading questions now
before Britain is, will the future
navy consist of gigantic battleships,
or must these give way to submarines
and airships?''
The opponents of expensive battle
ships have forced the government to
investigate the question, although the
board OF admiralty had previously de-
clared tor a new program Of battle
ship construction
| One Of the leading opponents Of
the battleship theory Ia Sir Percy
Scott, who charges that the grand
fleet had to be guarded while small
craft grappled with German subma-
rine attacks ON merchant ships.
Rear Admiral Hall, in conrnuni
cation to the London Times. says:
confidence in the capital ship,
however, was badly shaken; !: ow could
it be otherwise when our grand fleet.
supported by all the fleets of our al
lies, were impotent to help us whilst
We hovered on the brink Of disaster?
Who can wonder. if the public are be-.
wildercd at the thought of rebuilding
such an armada when the cost of each
unit has risen to at = st eight mil
lions? Indeed, it is very much more,
for they require a. host of craft to
assist and protect them.
They want to know more exactly
what these leviathans are to be built
for. To be told that they will win
a naval battle. il they get one. is not
sufficient, for we have Just spent four
years waiting for such a battle, and
in the end won the war without it.
1T is time to make an examination Of
our naval experience in the last war,
with particular reference to the fu-
tttre of the capital ship, and to show
that in the full light Of that expert
ence a complete change is demanded
in the composition Of our fleet.
II am sensible Of being aboutSto
tread on holy ground, for the sane
tity of the quarter deck is ingrained
in all who have spent their life on it,
The labor world., 1921-01-15
BUILDING PROSPERITY,

From tho tenor Of the speeches made
at the annual dinner Of the Builders
Exchange last Thursday evening it
would appear that plans are under way
to force reduction in wages in the
building trades next spring. It is ar
gued that prosperity in the building
line cannot be enjoyed until costs come
down. and about the only say the con-
tractors have about costs is as to wages.
They haven't the power to dictate
to lumbermen as to the price they will
pay for lumber. The price Of brick,
plaster, cement, paint and Of every
other material used in building is fixed
by the fellows that control the product.
The contractors must either pay the
price asked for an article by the dealers
or refuse to take it. It is a closed
shop proposition that all Of US must
stand for whether we like it or not.
1t is all very we'll for the supply
men and contractors to talk about the
"open'' shop when dealing with the
workers in the building trades, but
they haven't word to say about the
"closed" shop they are supporting in
the material end Of the building line.
It wouldn't do them any good if they
did complain, for powers far beyond
their control make and unmake prices,
which are arbitrarily fixed according to
The labor world., 1921-01-15

tho judgment or conscious Of tho flxsrs.
Isn't it strange that the price Of
paint, lumber, plaster, plumbing mate.
rial and such advances and declines
simultaneously with every dealer, an.
nouncement Of which is usually made
some time ahead' There may be com.
petition for trade among the persons
ana interests that control the material,
but there is absolutely none as to
prices.
Out in Washington where much Of
the lumber that is used in building is
produced the mill workers voluntarily
offered to work for less wages, but
when they went to business and asked
for a reduction in prices, they were
advised to "tend to their knitting.'
OF course the price Of material will
decline some. It will have to come
down before it will be bought. Lum-
Der yards are glutted and the lumber
must be moved. Any losses the owners
will suffer from a reduction in price
will be made up by an increased vol
june of business.
That is not true, however, with labor.
There are only 365 days in year, and
not to exceed $50 working days for
building trades workman. In the
face Of but slow reduction in the cost
Of living he cannot stand cut in
wages without injury to himself and
family.
1t may be true that in some cases
there should be readjustment Of
wages, but this should only be done by
mutual consent and only in instances
where it can be shown that the wage
is out at proportion to wages paid in
other similar occupations. If the build.
ers should attempt to arbitrarily force
reductions according to their own sweet
will without consulting with labor they
will discover their mistake when the
pendulum swings back again.
The threat to inaugurats the So
called "open shop" in the building in
dustry would lead one to believe that
the contractors contemplate forcing the
issue. Nothing will contribute more to
the injury Of the building industry dur
ing the coming season than series of
building trades strikes, and we do not
zee how they. can be avoided unless
contracts are closed with the unions
before the work actually begins. A
trade union contract in Duluth means
no strike during its life. Under the
so.called "open'' shop there can be a
strike any time number Of men take
notion to pull one. A blind man can
sec that.
If Duluth builders are more inter.
csted in their own success and the pros"
perity of the city, than they are in
assisting in the conspiracy against
labor by the professional enemies Of
the unions they will lose no time in
settling the 1921 wage question with
the bona tde unions Of the building
trades.
The labor world., 1921-01-15
taken. he left the bench in disgrace,
a broken and dishouored man.

taken. He left the bench in disgrace,
a broken and dishonored man.
Mr.. Gompers is still president Of tho
American Federation Of Labor. No man
stands higher in tho respect Of the
American people, than he. He is only
despised by the Bourbon anti-unionists
and the Bolshevist rainbow ehasers.
Real Americans recognize the great SER
vice he has rendered to mankind and
his country in behalf Of justice and de-
mocracy.
Now is it any wonder Mr.. Harris
failed to tell the whole stow of Mr..
Gompers defiance of court decreess''
In the language Of that other anti.
unionist, G. W.. Post, who some time
ago took shortcut route to eternity:
"There's Reason.''